My Trip to Cambodia : Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

Period : 28th April - 5th May 2018

★ Flight : Air Asia
KIX - KUL 11:00 - 16:35 (I slept at my parent's house then went back to the airport the next morning)
KUL - REP 06:45 - 07:50
PNH - KUL 08:20 - 11:10
KUL - KIX 14:00 - 21:25

★ Accommodation : Sign up to booking.com with this link and get JPY1,800 as a reward!

Siem Reap → Nita By Vo Urban Resort
Review : I booked this resort on booking.com 5 months before our trip while I was daydreaming and thank God I did because a few months after that management changed and the prices almost tripled (but still what I'd consider reasonable for the level of comfort and service they provide)! They kept their T&C which stated I would pay the price agreed upon when I actually booked so that was great. We stayed in the Cabana Garden Suite. The room was huge and came with your own little garden. We had a chance to try out their room service menu because I was too lazy to go out and everything was delicious. This resort is pretty secluded and a bit far from the main city area but they have a free tuk tuk service on site.

Phnom Penh → Vacation Boutique Hotel
Review : We stayed in the "Deluxe Double Balcony" because I wanted a room with windows. The room was spacious and I loved the bathroom decor and tiles. For breakfast they have you tick what you want on a form with all kinds of drinks and foods written on it and prepare it fresh so allocate at least 30 minutes for breakfast. The location was good, close to a market and some restaurants. The staff were friendly and always had a smile. 

★ Schedule
Below is the schedule I set up. We managed to see and do almost everything you see there.

I booked a tuk tuk driver + tour guide for the whole duration we were in Cambodia. I highly recommend you do this if you are not great at haggling and want a more wholesome experience. Only licensed tour guides (they have a uniform and card) are allowed on Angkor Wat grounds and the surrounding temples.

Having someone explain to you the significance of the carvings, designs, stories of the temples and area is so much better than just trudging along with no back story whatsoever.  You will appreciate the whole trip a lot more.

Our tour guide while we were in Siem Reap used to be a monk and had also studied so much about other major religions in his youth so the way he explained everything and the depth of knowledge he possessed was just amazing!

Siem Reap driver + tour guide :
Angkor Tuk Tuk Travel
http://www.angkortuktuktravel.com/
I booked the 3 day package with a tour guide(+USD45/day) for 2 days

Phnom Penh :
Sophoarn (he doubles as a tour guide)
Sophoarn Tuk Tuk Phnom Penh Facebook

Both of them replied to my emails within 1-2 days and were very accommodating towards any changes of timing/places.

★ Extras
1. Use USD everywhere. It's used more commonly than the local currency.
2. Leave tips for drivers/ housekeepers/ waiters/ bell boys etc. Just USD1-5 (depending on where you're staying). Everyone we met was super nice and I know that wages are low so I want to help any way I can.
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Weekend at Yuzanso Onsen, Kyoto

Lobby

Room:

The outdoor bath and the view of Lake Biwa (not visible in this photo is the shower area next to the tub)
Don't worry about getting naked outside because nobody can see you due to the height/location of your room

[Accommodation Plan]　Please enjoy Muslim-friendly dinner and breakfast "This plan is for Muslim."
1 "Sanyaso Room (with open-air bath)" Total  49,680JPY    
　　　男性 24840JPY * 1person(s)
　　　女性 24840JPY * 1person(s)
　　　*male 1person(s) female 1person(s)  Total  2 person(s)
[Optional charges total] 300JPY  tax included (1)Bathing tax (02/24)　　300JPYｘ1

Food:
Dinners are served quite early at Ryokans because after dinner you are supposed to relax either by bathing in the onsens/ getting a massage/ having drinks at the bar etc. We chose to have dinner at 6pm. You will need at least 1.5 hours to get through the whole course. Take your time and ask your server if you are not sure how to eat/ prepare certain dishes. They are super friendly and will go out of their way to help you out.

Each guest/group has their own dinner space so you can relax in private in the dining area. Make sure to come to the hall on time as they set the table according to the time you asked for during check-in.

So much food! Really take your time so you can enjoy each course.

Breakfast menu

We liked the furikake (seasoning to sprinkle on rice) so much that we bought a bottle at the ryokan's gift store!

Service:

Service was amazing. As soon as you check-in, a personal greeter will guide you to your room and explain the layout of the ryokan. They will ask you what time you would like dinner and breakfast to be served. Make sure you arrive on time because each room gets their own private dining area but space is limited so they use a timetable to make sure everyone has a place to eat. If you have any questions, ask your greeter and they will happily guide you on everything.

Notes

1. Have your shower before getting into the hot tub/ofuro.
2. You are allowed/expected to wear the provided cotton robes(yukata) while on the ryokan grounds with the provided slippers.
3. You are not allowed to wear anything in the shared onsen bath tubs. No one is looking at you. Everybody is busy relaxing themselves.
4. Yuzanso provides POLA toiletries which I adore! I have facials at POLA's beauty salons and use some of their products as part of my daily regimen. 
5. I booked 3 months in advance. I suggest booking at least 1 month before your date to avoid disappointment. 

Review : I loved our stay and am already planning on coming here again during the winter in 2018!

Yuzanso's official English website : http://yuzanso.co.jp/f/e/
Information on the Halal menu : http://www.yuzanso.co.jp/english/muslim/
Book here http://www2.489ban.net/v4/client/planinbound/list/customer/yuzanso/lang/4

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Transferring money to different countries? Use Transferwise ! Great rates, low fees, fast service. Get JPY500 off your first transaction through my link.

My Trip to Vienna, Austria

Period : 11th - 16th February 2016

The Belvedere

★ Travel Agent H.I.S
Price → Around JPY180,000± for 2 people including travel insurance and private airport transfer to our hotel
Review → I booked the package online and made payment with a credit card. The website was user friendly and I got confirmation straight away. For this particular package the airline and hotel is chosen by the travel agent but they do have a set list to choose from and you can choose the star rating of the hotel you want. A week before the trip we received our travel package which included the e-ticket and hotel information.

H.I.S always has sales and offers throughout the year so sign up to their newsletter to be the first to know.

★ Flight : Turkish Airlines
Osaka - Istanbul - Vienna
Vienna - Istanbul - Osaka
Price → Included in the travel agent package
Review → The flight itself was uneventful and as expected the food was delicious. The seats were average sized and we took off and arrived on time.

★ Accommodation : Novum Hotel Kavalier
Price →  Included in the travel agent package
Review → The room was spacious and looked out on to the main road but because we were not in the city center it never got loud at night which I am thankful for. The hotel breakfast is basic but was enough.
Sign up to Booking.com with this link and get JPY1,800 as a reward!


★ Schedule

We ended up switching around a few items while we were there & I left Monday blank just in case.

Getting around Vienna is very easy with their subway/trams. We got the 3 day pass, if I'm not mistaken. It came with a coupon book and maps.

Information on some of the sights.

★ Extras
Apple Strudel Show at Schönbrunn Palace link
The show was very fun and the pastry chef had a bright personality. Grab a hot chocolate and enjoy the show!

Austrian Parliament Building Guided Tour link
I learnt so much from our guide. He was friendly, really knew his stuff and was open to all sorts of questions throughout the tour. A must do in Vienna!

https://www.wien.info/en : Use this link to get itinerary suggestions, book tickets to shows and a whole range of other services.

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Transferring money to different countries? Use Transferwise ! Great rates, low fees, fast service. Get JPY500 off your first transaction through my link.

My Trip to Taipei, Taiwan

National Theater and Concert Hall

Period : 13th - 16th August 2016

★ Flight : Jetstar
Price → JPY46,100 for 2 people with no add-ons
KIX - TPE 12:15 - 14:25
TPE - KIX 14:05 - 17:40
Review → The check in was smooth and the flight itself was okay. Crew were friendly and polite. We took off and arrived on time both ways.

★ Accommodation : Taipei Sunny Hostel booked through Agoda
Price → JPY 13,244 for Twin Room Ensuite Bathroom
Review → The room was comfortable and clean. The staff/owner was very friendly. It sits opposite a park with access to a train station 2 minutes away. Great place to stay.

Sign up to booking.com with this link and get JPY1,800 as a reward!

★ Schedule
Let me start off with I loved Taipei! I tried so many kinds of vegetarian dishes that were tasty and drank so much bubble tea! Also, I should have been more prepared for the walk(hike?) up Elephant Mountain. It was blazing hot and I was wearing skinny jeans, not the best workout gear. The view from the top was worth it.

We didn't manage to go to Tamsui but everything else went as planned

★ Extras
Book Taipei 101 tickets online to skip the long lines.

There aren't that many Halal places in Taipei but there are lots of vegetarian restaurants that sell so many kinds of dishes very cheap. Lots of mock-meat (made from tofu) cooked a hundred ways. Just search for vegetarian/vegan on Google maps or ask your hotel/hostel staff for recommendations.

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Transferring money to different countries? Use Transferwise ! Great rates, low fees, fast service. Get JPY500 off your first transaction through my link.

Universal Studios Florida - Wizarding World of Harry Potter

I remember reading a news update about how Harry Potter would come alive at the Universal Studios Florida but I never imagined that I would have the chance to actually step foot there. One more thing has been checked off my bucket list. Alhamdulillah :)

Love at first sight

Summer Holidays Yay!

Holidays = Legit reason to take as many photos as humanly possible 

My finals are over and so is the first half of the third year of my Engineering degree. My family are coming over and will be spending Raya with me in Osaka. I'm going to take them on a 10 day long adventure of Japan.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Summer.

Neko Manma, Cat Cafe in Nagoya

Last Sunday, on our way back from the camping trip in Shizuoka, we stopped at a cat cafe in Nagoya. We actually failed to locate this place at first and only managed to get here after two tries.

Cat cafes are very much a legit thing in Japan. You can find them much easier in larger cities such as Tokyo and Osaka to name a few, but that doesn't mean that they're not available in smaller towns too. 

The one we went to was called Neko Manma(ねこまんま). Here is the link to their site; Neko Manma.

The cafe's sign board

 It costs ￥750 for 30 minutes and includes an all-you-can-drink bar. You can stay in there longer if you wish at a rate of ￥100 for every extra 5 minutes. If you're not wearing socks, a ￥100 fee will be charged to equip you with slippers.

The owner explaining the rules to us. You can see the cats they own on the wall.

Everyone playing with the cats

A poster explaining the cats' name and behaviour

The drink bar

Catwalk

The white one is so FLUFFY!

This was in the Female Cats Room, the Male Cats Room is next door

One of the male cats. He is huge! Like the size of a human 2 year old

You can see how big the cats are by comparing them with the humans next to them LOL

Cats galore!

Excuse the crappy pictures. I couldn't be bothered to dig around for my camera so all this was taken with my lowly iPhone 4S.

A Day Out in Nagoya

Last week during Golden Week, I met up with a few friends in Nagoya just to meet and catch up. Nagoya is a beautiful old city. Just because it's old doesn't mean it can be vibrant and modern at the same time too. I definitely recommend anyone thinking of travelling to Japan to come here, even for a day. There are a lot of attractions, see Nagoya Info Website. The site has all the information you'd need.

Every time I come here, I'll have dinner at a famous Unagi(eel) restaurant that's located in the mall above Nagoya Station on the 8th floor(or was it the 7th?). It costs around ￥3000 per person. A tad on the expensive side, but seriously so freaking worth it.

Here are some photos I snapped while walking about with my friends.

Makanan wajib kanak-kanak Malaysia di Jepun. Sedapnya!

Nagoya Castle

Beautiful hanging flowers that I don't know the name of

The park right next to Nagoya Castle

At Oasis21 with the Nihon Terebi Tower at the back. Lights up beautifully at night

Kau hingat New York je ada Central Park? Nagoya pun hado ok!

You guys can make a day stop to tour Nagoya as you're on your way to Tokyo from Osaka or vice versa because it's in the middle of those two places.

Kobe 神戸

I went to Kobe during my Winter holidays but I only stayed a short while so I didn't really have time to sightsee all the spots but I'm sure I'll come again.

View from my hotel room. Concrete jungle!

 All the buildings look kind of 70ish, right? There's something retro about them. I love that they have the slanting thing going on.

Making our way down to the bay area

 Get off at Kobe Station and Harborland and the Mosaic are within walking distance. Since we came during Winter, the roads were lined with pretty little lights illuminating our way there. There's also a decently sized underground mall at the station. I saw quite a good selection of restaurants and there's also a 10 meter tall water display. I rode up and down the escalator that runs beside it just for the heck of it.

Kid's play place

At the pier/bay area(?). So pretty!

 We got here around 4pm so it was still light but we only had to wait for a bit before the sun set and this beautiful night scene came on. The spiky rooftopped building reminds me of Minangkabau houses. Maybe the architect has some Minangkabau in his blood, who knows?

Partial view of deck at the Mosaic and the cruise ship

 I wanted to take a ride on the cruise ship but we couldn't make it in time because we were too busy eating our faces off. The ride lasts for about an hour and cost ￥2100 per person. A schedule is available at the white mini steps in front of the Mosaic's deck (you can see it in the picture). The last boarding time is 7:20pm.

The ferris wheel 

 I had to ride on this as soon as I saw it. There are two kinds of gondolas; the normal one(￥700 per person) and a see through one(￥800 per person). We took the see through one. The view from up top was beautiful. You don't get to see too far out, though. I was hoping there'd be some heating inside the gondolas, there wasn't. Sad face. Cold bum.

It was really cold, by the way. I know it's Winter and cold is normal but I thought that Kobe being in the South would be a bit warmer, it wasn't. Luckily, the wind wasn't too strong or I would have frozen my butt off.

Yes, please!

 For dinner, we went to the Fisherman's Market. Apparently, it's really famous among Malaysian students studying in the Kansai area. It's an all you can eat buffet restaurant. Costs ￥2580 per person, includes drinks. The food is mainly seafood, as you can guess from the restaurant's name. There are salads, cold meats, soups, spaghetti, pizzas, crabs, popcorn, cakes, ice creams and lots more. Definitely worth it. Best part is that there's no time limit! The crabs they serve are huge and tasty. I also loved their smoked salmon and salad bar.

Bye bye, till next time.

After leaving Kobe, I headed for Okayama!

Yamaguchi

On the 9th of June I had an entrance examination at Yamaguchi University. Yamaguchi is really far away from where I live now. Like I had to get on a plane type of far. Japan is basically made up of four parts; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Well, Yamaguchi is on the very bottom edge of Honshu. 

Yamaguchi University was my second choice. My first choice was Gifu University (which I've gotten into, FYI). I tried out for Gifu University by recommendation so I didn't have to sit for any papers. For Yamaguchi University however, I had to sit for their Maths paper. I only studied for like two days which explains why I could barely answer the questions. I so suck. 

I booked a ticket a month before my departure so I was entitled to ANA's Early Bird Discounts. I think my tickets were half price. Woo! Still had to fork out almost ￥15,000 for a return ticket for Tokyo's Haneda to Yamaguchi Airport though. I was just glad that the Yamaguchi Aiport was so close to the university. If I had decided to travel there by train, it would have taken me around 8 hours-ish. So not gonna happen.

A bunch of my friends were also trying out for this university, so for me, it was like a mini holiday too. 

My journey; from Haneda to Yamaguchi

The MAGIC button

I got a window seat which was awesome, but I was at the wing part, not so awesome. Anyways, there was this button below the window. At first I wasn't sure what it was for but then the sun started to bug me so I wanted to pull down the window cover thing but there wasn't one! I came to the conclusion that this button was responsible for getting the sun's rays out of my eyeballs.

The top white half will let more light through while the darker lower half will dim the lights. How cool is that? I have no idea how this works. Is there some sort of chemical in the glass or something? I want to know!

The change in the strength of the light is gradual. It's not like it'll instantly darken but it will slowly fade(?) into the desired strength.

I got the wing seat. Urghh...

The window without any adjustment

The window after I've darken it to the highest level

From left to right : Shah, Me, Ahmad, Acap, Kimie and Azul

Men in suits are just so...

At the Yamaguchi Airport

Weird egg art thing at the airport grounds

This is the furthest I've ever been in Honshu. I'm thinking of travelling to Kyushuu next year. Fukuoka; land of no tax!

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