tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10859077190228556322024-03-10T18:49:38.366-07:00wandering... can't go homeIT IS NOW TIME TO GO HOME.welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.comBlogger424125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-90477275008973884112020-09-30T01:51:00.004-07:002020-10-17T22:17:40.473-07:00"Snowless" Shirakawa-go<div>Before lockdown was implemented in Philippines in March we were lucky to visit Japan, our "happy place," in last week of February. Yes, the wife and I love Japan due to its culture, beautiful places, food and it is the nearest place to enjoy snow. Though I was able to enjoy snow in Grenoble, France in 1997, it was a truly memorable experience to enjoy snow again with the wife, it was her first time, during our visit to Sapporo a couple of years back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Read: <a href="https://welscua.blogspot.com/2019/03/winter-in-sapporo-japan-then-prepare.html"><span style="color: red;">Our Winter in Sapporo </span></a></div><div><span style="color: red;"></span><br /></div><div>We booked our Japan trip as early as 2019 without expecting that there would be less snow in Japan in 2020. The last time we visited Sapporo, Japan was experiencing its heaviest snowfall in the last 40 years.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moving ahead, the wife included in our itinerary the historic villages of Shirakawa-go in Gifu; it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Area. If you are not familiar about this place then just Google it to learn about this place that turns magical during winter. Wife drooled for several months before our trip.</div><div><br /></div><div>Upon learning that there would be less snow in Japan in February, wife and I gambled and decided to push through with our visit. We did a DIY tour; trust me it is pretty easy to make a DIY tour in Japan. From Osaka we travelled to Nagoya station where we bought our round-trip bus tickets to Shirakawa-go. We disembarked at the lone bus station of Shirakawa-go and would be picked up later in the afternoon. By the way, in case you want to change the time of your return ticket you may ask assistance from the counter staff at Shirakawa-go; we changed our return trip from 3:55pm into 2:30pm.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiA2D5WEXTj86zlD6x3gPtVShPCy6IdpqCWS67YtHit5xTU6Yx_ufNQy5Jw0uUUdGjX8Xw9lMoaG08Zhtf7xsZsSirOnnl8LcXSlGPN6ZcifkSPwETD3N_QqnHb3_U4Cl4UquGOfLUoME_/s4032/20200229_083143.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiA2D5WEXTj86zlD6x3gPtVShPCy6IdpqCWS67YtHit5xTU6Yx_ufNQy5Jw0uUUdGjX8Xw9lMoaG08Zhtf7xsZsSirOnnl8LcXSlGPN6ZcifkSPwETD3N_QqnHb3_U4Cl4UquGOfLUoME_/w300-h400/20200229_083143.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uPORYjtQjBE8MIakWvtdceckVVNLBvXfhutMda-7nYgLjh60iGA83q6JlrO40l4dY8PQzVET8YyAzpqjK8FC-KG0Gaz-id31gYDkKlrDq8uVf_l1mq0BcmBlGrpVb1f9qma5G9FQfqXL/s4032/20200229_083214.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uPORYjtQjBE8MIakWvtdceckVVNLBvXfhutMda-7nYgLjh60iGA83q6JlrO40l4dY8PQzVET8YyAzpqjK8FC-KG0Gaz-id31gYDkKlrDq8uVf_l1mq0BcmBlGrpVb1f9qma5G9FQfqXL/w300-h400/20200229_083214.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3EqWZlIQdrebj-VBzexdSdCd-7_QoNNdjgab-dGSeCsklBg4_O8M23nEY_9FXr4zoY6s95oUPYze6JsDgo-UGb_pSFrcN8nNe5OWDE7wV_enDPXZcYixjkuYQbB1136o6K86FCXORK3u/s4032/20200229_135155.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3EqWZlIQdrebj-VBzexdSdCd-7_QoNNdjgab-dGSeCsklBg4_O8M23nEY_9FXr4zoY6s95oUPYze6JsDgo-UGb_pSFrcN8nNe5OWDE7wV_enDPXZcYixjkuYQbB1136o6K86FCXORK3u/w300-h400/20200229_135155.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>In short, we reached Shirakawa-go on Feb 29. As expected, the village was "snowless." Though we were a bit disappointed we still enjoyed our stay here since the chilly but "snowless" weather allowed us to fully explore the area including the observation hill.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRmLh8XQaAf9gWd90SBxGmnGFE5xvvlc1gKBXmsr6mBN1pZjlTwsTF1s_KbAgbq3kaO7XH2A9CF7fxNrG4KIUGsH6UNlRF_vkHt3Kks2moV0ZbhIm75Js2M1jQ2ihR5bSZuQer8ElOZqq/s4032/20200229_130508.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgRmLh8XQaAf9gWd90SBxGmnGFE5xvvlc1gKBXmsr6mBN1pZjlTwsTF1s_KbAgbq3kaO7XH2A9CF7fxNrG4KIUGsH6UNlRF_vkHt3Kks2moV0ZbhIm75Js2M1jQ2ihR5bSZuQer8ElOZqq/w640-h480/20200229_130508.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKxJ5Ys9qNE4K7dCgywCLKsEq_t8TA3tSsS2SI2EOOwfq733LceKAFfEFglwhO1uBjKHPo7q84r2qK4-In84deGAvBk63feT_O0LmvmQZ49ZOmQ6Oo-YveoJCdylhel65hrkooyplFa9f/s4032/20200229_130355.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKxJ5Ys9qNE4K7dCgywCLKsEq_t8TA3tSsS2SI2EOOwfq733LceKAFfEFglwhO1uBjKHPo7q84r2qK4-In84deGAvBk63feT_O0LmvmQZ49ZOmQ6Oo-YveoJCdylhel65hrkooyplFa9f/w640-h480/20200229_130355.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cdfNmBKRa9jVTtfRoTvzqXi5O1H3n3QOvpYcgN7vK6uDFCLZm1Cdr8Tg77e7pOk_sNxUaC3qBj0-s-iT3-Mxtk-yRdMfD_hvIQaABY-k7BrzL3xGttfG39xKbwSSKgpB6FjZiBn5pKau/s4032/20200229_113413.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cdfNmBKRa9jVTtfRoTvzqXi5O1H3n3QOvpYcgN7vK6uDFCLZm1Cdr8Tg77e7pOk_sNxUaC3qBj0-s-iT3-Mxtk-yRdMfD_hvIQaABY-k7BrzL3xGttfG39xKbwSSKgpB6FjZiBn5pKau/w640-h480/20200229_113413.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUaQ4gyF8YEiwK0fCCdI4Ekz9QyDG34o5MKzVuAat-qqjz7B2pWjoD9HgBInmIBxt64yaVr79KeJi0snvYLill8eYFOOjCQe9qiGcWibSa2Eth33kBIuxHCOrP0c_Ne08npeuzkwYWXBz/s4032/20200229_125856.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUaQ4gyF8YEiwK0fCCdI4Ekz9QyDG34o5MKzVuAat-qqjz7B2pWjoD9HgBInmIBxt64yaVr79KeJi0snvYLill8eYFOOjCQe9qiGcWibSa2Eth33kBIuxHCOrP0c_Ne08npeuzkwYWXBz/w480-h640/20200229_125856.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>There are two golden rules to follow while in Shirakawa-go. Since the entire village uses thatched roof and wooden material it is strictly forbidden to smoke in public places. There are designated area where you can enjoy your nicotine shots. Second rule is to respect the privacy of the locals. This place is not a museum; people are living in those old houses.</div><div><br /></div><div>We walked through narrow side streets and reached river bed at the backside of the village. We returned back through the main roads and strolled up to the observation hill. Considering our age, wife and I stopped several times before reaching the peak.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-SULlzzWSDFcqcP8W_WP_bVltl-t7dPjA5s6YficTuKdBLyNu1yvbKDH3t_5rRK5r-haaO-bXyvFl9U4eFsVvKIt0tu88ct1lIUUIw0eLOqI0VxY0H9DBoLf7-KfXQqwx3ORQqplCGVQ/s4032/20200229_132218.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-SULlzzWSDFcqcP8W_WP_bVltl-t7dPjA5s6YficTuKdBLyNu1yvbKDH3t_5rRK5r-haaO-bXyvFl9U4eFsVvKIt0tu88ct1lIUUIw0eLOqI0VxY0H9DBoLf7-KfXQqwx3ORQqplCGVQ/w640-h480/20200229_132218.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwqXe6pquOJm0GwHo0hAT-DjE82z93tkqEIWFMBuAfb2-uj4m0DZ26Ix2kZK94PCL9hK20Xx1sileXufwMM2-2xiOeIVGb6USCD3euk6XuBCx73YGXmXcgXpBBRnZ4wm2QCsShgNmK6Qu/s2640/20200229_132346.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1980" data-original-width="2640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwqXe6pquOJm0GwHo0hAT-DjE82z93tkqEIWFMBuAfb2-uj4m0DZ26Ix2kZK94PCL9hK20Xx1sileXufwMM2-2xiOeIVGb6USCD3euk6XuBCx73YGXmXcgXpBBRnZ4wm2QCsShgNmK6Qu/w200-h150/20200229_132346.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div>Once we were at the top of the hill, we were mesmerised by the surreal beauty of the entire village. The wife told me that we were at the same point where those travel magazines or websites have taken some of the famous village photos.</div><div><br /></div><div>After an hour here, we decided to have our lunch at one of the local restaurants. We ordered beef with rice.</div><div><br /></div><div>After lunch we strolled for some time searching for souvenirs and local sweets for our kids in Philippines.</div><div><br /></div><div>Soon afterwards, we trekked back to the bus station and waited for our bus. Take note that the bus station has several departure gates so make sure you know which gate your bus would be waiting. Also, look for the main entrance because it would be improper to enter the station through exit or departure gate.</div><div><br /></div><div>Given a chance, the wife and I would love to return here as long as snow would be there too, lol. <br /></div><div><br /></div>welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-59769589213479857102020-09-28T23:51:00.004-07:002020-09-29T07:10:57.147-07:00Our Mom is a Covid survivor<div>On Aug 31, one of my sisters brought our mom to RMC or Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City due to extreme fatigue and fever. Prior to that, she brought our mom to a different hospital due to continuous fever for three days; our mom's initial diagnosis was UTI and high blood sugar.</div><div><br /></div><div>She was immediately admitted at RMC ER and considered as person under investigation (PUI) since she was manifesting Covid symptopms. She underwent PCR or "swab" test. Hence, all family members exposed to her were also considered PUI and must quarantine. I haven't visited my mom since February to minimize her exposure. Our mom is considered as immunocompromised individual due to her Hypertension and Diabetes not to mention that she is already 72 years old.</div><div><br /></div><div>Initial diagnosis at RMC, aside from suspected Covid positive, was uncontrolled Diabetes, her blood sugar was above 300, and controlled high blood pressure plus sign of mild pneumonia.</div><div><br /></div><div>She needs to be admitted but considered as PUI so she followed Covid protocol; meaning she would be isolated and won't be transferred to "clean" room unless her swab test result is negative.</div><div><br /></div><div>The following day, my mom was transferred to a Covid "private" room since the swab test result is not yet released; my sister stayed at the waiting area of RMC. With the help of nurse on duty, she provided a celphone to our mom so we could call her from time to time. More so, she needs to talk with our Dad because he wouldn't eat or take his medicines without talking to our mom. </div><div><br /></div><div>They treated my mom's high blood sugar, hypertension and pneumonia while waiting for swab test result. She was in oxygen the whole time. Aside from medications, my mom was put in "proning" position from time to time to aid her breathing. Her vital signs were stable according to her doctors though blood sugar remained high.</div><div><br /></div><div>On Sept 3, we got the result. Our mom was positive for Covid.</div><div><br /></div><div>We kept on calling our mom day and night since we are aware that there are cases of Covid patients not being able to say goodbye to their loved ones. We are also aware that we won't be able to even hug her body if the worst thing happens. We were praying and all eight sibllings and grandchildren were united in this trial.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since our mom was Covid positive, the family members that have been exposed to her went for swab test in Pasig City. All of their tests returned negative. Though we were happy with the result we were wondering how come that only our mom became infected? She never went out of her house when the pandemic started.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU91ahA-a1DhPaIpVrBb04phSZk2MCzDM9EcG7uJd5WfAS5WD4sXDAxznRHHdiuH27G5bBwc1BohzD58Z6zSKbgFUEtGMFnQiVLZu9L7wxGbj7JrD_qwDY-4sLc8F_gKttcwEn1IA6PhyphenhyphenW/s1738/20200929_072508.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1738" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU91ahA-a1DhPaIpVrBb04phSZk2MCzDM9EcG7uJd5WfAS5WD4sXDAxznRHHdiuH27G5bBwc1BohzD58Z6zSKbgFUEtGMFnQiVLZu9L7wxGbj7JrD_qwDY-4sLc8F_gKttcwEn1IA6PhyphenhyphenW/w398-h640/20200929_072508.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWkBivivpVNBTjz-2O7B6-8mVkkQ3jcyyiBxosdLidEeT9admcpwRX5Nw6SqvqmobAKoH0JqtGYPVte4St9b3oAvxomhDVdydSa8Ju5sy6KbeqpZF-ERDBV2z3jDOPKF7-j2inwzkZ2Hr/s1765/20200929_072539.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1765" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWkBivivpVNBTjz-2O7B6-8mVkkQ3jcyyiBxosdLidEeT9admcpwRX5Nw6SqvqmobAKoH0JqtGYPVte4St9b3oAvxomhDVdydSa8Ju5sy6KbeqpZF-ERDBV2z3jDOPKF7-j2inwzkZ2Hr/w392-h640/20200929_072539.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>What lifted our spirits was our mom's determination to recover. Though she started getting annoyed and sometimes raising her voice whenever we call her we were happy to know that she is stable and "grumpy" when she run out of diapers, lol.</div><div><br /></div><div>My sister signed a form allowing my mom to undergo "Remdesivir" treatment; she needs 6 vials, two vials on first day and one vial daily for the following days. I asked another sister who is a nurse why we need to sign a separate form. According to her, this is because Remdesivir is a new and costly drug. One vial costs around 7,000 pesos.</div><div><br /></div><div>To make this short, our mom completed 6 shots of Remdesivir. She also completed her moderate pneumonia treatment and now taking insulin for her diabetes. After two weeks in RMC, her swab test result returned negative and she is now recuperating at home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her bills reached 203,000 pesos including professional or doctors fees. After Philheath and senior citizen's discount we paid 43,000 pesos.</div><div><br /></div><div>My (nurse) sister told me that in private hospital, the bill could easily reach 500,000 pesos. </div><div><br /></div><div>We need to ensure that she wouldn't be reinfected by Covid because Philheath discount would dramatically decrease in case she got reinfected by the same disease in 3 months.</div><div><br /></div><div>All told, we are very thankful to God that our mom is back "online," lol. Many thanks too to RMC staff for taking good care her.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-22988817409133681122020-09-26T02:35:00.005-07:002020-09-26T02:44:47.433-07:00Dad's Review - Beware of Eastar Jet<div>My wife, daughter and I planned to explore jeju Island on third week of April 2020 but due to pandemic out flights were cancelled from Manila - Hong Kong - Jeju Island.</div><div><br /></div><div>We booked one-way ticket for three from Hong Kong to Jeju Island through Eastar Jet since it was the only airline offering flights on our preferred date. We paid around 18,000 pesos for the three of us.</div><div><br /></div><div>On March 11, we received notice from Easter Jet regarding flights cancellation due to pandemic so we ended up filing for refund which they agreed. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AYk7V_fwwGH5cau_f4HrXntc4z6iWT1ESYFT0K6hdPNLvFB_RG6jMl3CPrmo1-Nu4kdFnoZ9j6TIB85e5EU-oDW1CxtymqXbC-XbCIXDzzQN9LQC4XO8tGIzW9n-ag_Ld_ckl1iDo-Cb/s2220/20200925_070303.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2220" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AYk7V_fwwGH5cau_f4HrXntc4z6iWT1ESYFT0K6hdPNLvFB_RG6jMl3CPrmo1-Nu4kdFnoZ9j6TIB85e5EU-oDW1CxtymqXbC-XbCIXDzzQN9LQC4XO8tGIzW9n-ag_Ld_ckl1iDo-Cb/s320/20200925_070303.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>On March 25, I received an email from Eastar Jet informing me that they had refunded the full amount to my credit card.</div><div><br /></div><div>Several months have passed, I haven't received any amount from Eastar Jet. I tried sending emails to them but it seemed that the only way to contact them is through phone call in South Korea. I checked their FB page and realized that they haven't refunded any of their clients that were affected by flight cancellations caused by the pandemic.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moreover, a take over plan by Jeju Air to Eastar was scrapped putting the low cost airline in deeper financial trouble. Obviously, this airline would find it extremely difficult to fly again due to its existing loans and delayed payment of wages of its staff. Not to mention its tarnished image due to non-payment of ticket refunds.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2020/09/774_296422.html"><span style="color: red;">https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2020/09/774_296422.html</span></a><br /></div><div><span style="color: red;"></span><br /></div><div>So guys, stay away from this airline!</div><div><br /></div>welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-82924100177062813292020-02-11T07:38:00.000-08:002020-02-12T04:19:20.577-08:00Noni's Resort - Alitagtag, Batangas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">My family enjoys celebrating Christmas Day outside Manila. The road trips would be a breeze and a welcome respite to daily traffic and mall congestion during the holiday season. In addition, we intend to celebrate our eldest son's birthday the following day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hence, we planned a "staycation" in our favorite get away place, Tagaytay City, since we used to think that Tagaytay City has the best accommodation and landscape view of Taal Lake. In fact, we stayed in this area a couple of times during our out-of-town trips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, on our recent Christmas Day trip the family decided to see the other side of Taal Lake that led us to Noni's Resort in Alitagtag, Batangas. That was our first time to visit that town though we have been to other places in Batangas such as Taal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Using Android Auto I drove through SLEX and Star Toll way passing through provincial roads criss-crossing different towns. Unknowingly, there were two narrow and rough roads connecting this resort to the main highway. I missed the first one and fortunately was able to spot the second one due to a big Noni's Resort signboard. Be aware that this second road is just a couple of meters wide and passing through a residential subdivision. After passing through it, we were surprised that the remaining road can be a perfect location for an horror movie. Sugar canes at both side and without any houses for several kilometers; nobody would know if you met an accident in this area. If not for the signboard directing us through this way I would have turned back and search the first road along the highway. We passed through this road again early morning the following day after check out and encountered a police mobile car doing a routine patrol in the area. The whole family was eerily silent; it was obvious that crimes could have been committed here before thus the presence of this mobile car. Nevertheless, this post is not about this road though, lol.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4eCidPs6w_s3RA6JFMZ_PImSQbqLI8m59J2PqrSFuQHr3UISIcK8Kcc0QdeCcmSIZmrA5k2ZswxANb0DN8RGmffJ9oPL8gSYSCtrqjfrotmI1vfdOlibie5tB2p6XaR5u1IBz0rW4C8y/s1600/20191226_102806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4eCidPs6w_s3RA6JFMZ_PImSQbqLI8m59J2PqrSFuQHr3UISIcK8Kcc0QdeCcmSIZmrA5k2ZswxANb0DN8RGmffJ9oPL8gSYSCtrqjfrotmI1vfdOlibie5tB2p6XaR5u1IBz0rW4C8y/s640/20191226_102806.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batangas Villa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfCV9DnRiebN6lIUp6ZkmjRJ_3NlLUGlDOHi8fzSrPuNa061zqO7cxLpzetHpw50SHvO9_wvb4_ilZh2gyjlW2D6lwUguZ9auVD8RufDXbWIvyplu-8xlu_baVokbXJKgO_vDG8Kn8hsJ/s1600/20191225_150251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfCV9DnRiebN6lIUp6ZkmjRJ_3NlLUGlDOHi8fzSrPuNa061zqO7cxLpzetHpw50SHvO9_wvb4_ilZh2gyjlW2D6lwUguZ9auVD8RufDXbWIvyplu-8xlu_baVokbXJKgO_vDG8Kn8hsJ/s640/20191225_150251.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids' Room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu64yBvUGl_N4F_hH3uhKYQHfPtNCjCS0fAuNXOLIU_AxjKwpW9lAppRcdsDBn3bvL3-B8lA0ysnn0AdojXrRMrYMU7GCIJ7O-_oZzAqS1YhHalAKWsyw4wIXWjZg9EU5171RQRCSjuar-/s1600/20191225_151723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu64yBvUGl_N4F_hH3uhKYQHfPtNCjCS0fAuNXOLIU_AxjKwpW9lAppRcdsDBn3bvL3-B8lA0ysnn0AdojXrRMrYMU7GCIJ7O-_oZzAqS1YhHalAKWsyw4wIXWjZg9EU5171RQRCSjuar-/s640/20191225_151723.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our room</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTeqFPnjPKrxmGtc9tMKIxbOS_i_lEaYZHOob6qEE15xfhi2OC5Ezt0V1hhMqPK5ypnnGMaYk7IpKvuNzq2-hqsRjgzMZp_Mt5R8s_ivSj36b-2F-njeVwd7d8_kyBsoYKkDReHZHz5BlL/s1600/20191225_151740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTeqFPnjPKrxmGtc9tMKIxbOS_i_lEaYZHOob6qEE15xfhi2OC5Ezt0V1hhMqPK5ypnnGMaYk7IpKvuNzq2-hqsRjgzMZp_Mt5R8s_ivSj36b-2F-njeVwd7d8_kyBsoYKkDReHZHz5BlL/s640/20191225_151740.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnAGx8JDvvaQjW9cWfY4fDnxUvRHxtOO7CRRHbyvo5BlYxpdfY_DTEFKU9S1IlxM3Wmf3vT5iv6cW_U_onPc3Ojjknu9yKbioVtRKVwrECUk2PzeAN3BfwABgeLmudfmGJPEnJdfZTfBe/s1600/20191225_150243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJnAGx8JDvvaQjW9cWfY4fDnxUvRHxtOO7CRRHbyvo5BlYxpdfY_DTEFKU9S1IlxM3Wmf3vT5iv6cW_U_onPc3Ojjknu9yKbioVtRKVwrECUk2PzeAN3BfwABgeLmudfmGJPEnJdfZTfBe/s640/20191225_150243.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free refill of mineral water</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ91O5rGMARbcXDQ06uzXQxMahoFMPJY6BO_bVmyWeUK4EeqbUOPOnYh99UdPhFpgtIUGpbvDIdwy3894JO5U9ZiXN3YpkiqUZE9nqgljQKUDLlPiQb9N0uqTh7lEANtNSltc8dhR2CtCV/s1600/20191225_150429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ91O5rGMARbcXDQ06uzXQxMahoFMPJY6BO_bVmyWeUK4EeqbUOPOnYh99UdPhFpgtIUGpbvDIdwy3894JO5U9ZiXN3YpkiqUZE9nqgljQKUDLlPiQb9N0uqTh7lEANtNSltc8dhR2CtCV/s640/20191225_150429.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pool at the backside of the villa</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKNyV1yrScAaDwpQayhzq-pGPKin_28mwbrQXxtFcC8CLLV3wKKQ7MPCnO9YJSrpVXHSTZ3FR5cgcvxBBBq-f_G9ecR8wv-7PTBcnfVK32z27PbbVtRDLRa5NLAE7d0Tjvo5dhY7qtAay/s1600/20191225_150231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKNyV1yrScAaDwpQayhzq-pGPKin_28mwbrQXxtFcC8CLLV3wKKQ7MPCnO9YJSrpVXHSTZ3FR5cgcvxBBBq-f_G9ecR8wv-7PTBcnfVK32z27PbbVtRDLRa5NLAE7d0Tjvo5dhY7qtAay/s640/20191225_150231.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The wife booked Batangas Villa for an overnight stay. It is like a small house with two bedroom and dining area with an infinity pool at the back. Though there is a kitchen with fridge, electric kettle and dining table, we didn't find any kitchen utensils and glasses. Nonetheless, we have welcome sweets and instant coffee mixes and teas. Later on, they provided coffee mugs and spoons after we requested them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Both rooms have flat screen and own bathroom. Bed is comfy while towels and linens are in pristine condition. Toilet is top-notch if I may say so.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The entire villa can be locked, including both rooms in case you want to explore the resort.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMJ0EadQ8k14-P49bUrOsgDrbdjPMOjgGmP_eibtNZBcSO1M02dSklOOk6Khm9CY2HBHdQ4sTc8sN2ONSnbQ3oZTltjPQT2Nvi2nAgZm1rW0pUbGDOm0fqzQeV8E3V_j05HqeTHlOcbKD/s1600/20191225_162008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMJ0EadQ8k14-P49bUrOsgDrbdjPMOjgGmP_eibtNZBcSO1M02dSklOOk6Khm9CY2HBHdQ4sTc8sN2ONSnbQ3oZTltjPQT2Nvi2nAgZm1rW0pUbGDOm0fqzQeV8E3V_j05HqeTHlOcbKD/s640/20191225_162008.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reception Area</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSgDnOBXXrRJ6fovesV5JP01GDV1X9u1Ft6rBEET5TBu3Fo8sodaWCL2vmfX7WmX4QYUDA1Yj137W3dVhqxXVMHPCwI-jhlq3jyeG_EGR6QMAcU-GQoPB4GYbGFg3OnnVg1uYdtJWA6V7/s1600/20191226_075311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSgDnOBXXrRJ6fovesV5JP01GDV1X9u1Ft6rBEET5TBu3Fo8sodaWCL2vmfX7WmX4QYUDA1Yj137W3dVhqxXVMHPCwI-jhlq3jyeG_EGR6QMAcU-GQoPB4GYbGFg3OnnVg1uYdtJWA6V7/s640/20191226_075311.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast buffet at the restaurant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0KM0xzgh8bEWJHCYEacNn2bgOAE_pai5MPnQmvR6WtOSRKRVa04APwTDX80UuQsbng_DYW2OZ0idOIGYYyYLUVaZoPsdNSCDXDJfSiFF6cKetfdxrtT0J_bDKJnScjpMpXLxCAPr6UKK/s1600/20191226_074402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0KM0xzgh8bEWJHCYEacNn2bgOAE_pai5MPnQmvR6WtOSRKRVa04APwTDX80UuQsbng_DYW2OZ0idOIGYYyYLUVaZoPsdNSCDXDJfSiFF6cKetfdxrtT0J_bDKJnScjpMpXLxCAPr6UKK/s640/20191226_074402.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Upon arrival, we parked outside the resort and searched for the lobby or reception area. Check-in area is at the main building housing the restaurant and other facilities as well. Waterproof wristband is attach on your arm to identify that you are a guest. Wifi password sadly was a hit and miss; for the first set, only two of us were able to connect. Later on, they provided us another set of passwords. Yes, one unique password for each gadget. Wifi signal is strong even inside the room.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After check-in, they told us that we can park our car at the front of our villa making it easier to arrange our things.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLqghUuNxggM7doIaHTpOya6AbOVodwk19C1TLmxBv4SekpJOMvBsFgp9ta5x8PjRbCQ37WTssWgLIiJ8JE95oKxj8pKsflhLhNoUnfhdniryDx__pXzY1YwXNPPi_Tc7dnAOp3fZftXn/s1600/20191226_103213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLqghUuNxggM7doIaHTpOya6AbOVodwk19C1TLmxBv4SekpJOMvBsFgp9ta5x8PjRbCQ37WTssWgLIiJ8JE95oKxj8pKsflhLhNoUnfhdniryDx__pXzY1YwXNPPi_Tc7dnAOp3fZftXn/s640/20191226_103213.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe0pOON0WvftEn3DSn-nzWO6YWiSK_zSJzILokKKj_POq5-PuQw7QfcLviofKON9XvjKTRhMBkK7ElFFg4s5FJ8GLHEi2e7pR_5wdS40pJhqnL9Cp0XTVB3ZfwNmbrq2jQmGQHlCGXBE9/s1600/20191225_152634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe0pOON0WvftEn3DSn-nzWO6YWiSK_zSJzILokKKj_POq5-PuQw7QfcLviofKON9XvjKTRhMBkK7ElFFg4s5FJ8GLHEi2e7pR_5wdS40pJhqnL9Cp0XTVB3ZfwNmbrq2jQmGQHlCGXBE9/s640/20191225_152634.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The place is overlooking the scenic view of Taal Lake and has a clear view of the actual Taal crater, the flat one that erupted recently and not the taller crater that you normally see from Tagaytay City. We had al-fresco snacks and drinks outside the restaurant. Sadly, some items in their menu were not available at that time. Koi fishes abound the small pond outside the restaurant.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">At around 5pm, the family decided to enjoy the heated infinity pool. We had a great time. Since we were lazy to walk to the restaurant, we opted to take our dinner in our villa. We ordered their local specialties but some of them were not available. Not a big deal since the menu boasts wide varieties of Filipino foods.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We arranged the plates and left-over after dinner and left them outside. We brought with us USB drive with downloaded movie and watched it inside the kids' room. After watching the movie, the wife and I proceeded to our room while our eldest son decided to have another dip at the pool; he really loved the heated pool. He waited for his birthday in the pool; I suspect he was chatting with his girlfriend until midnight.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The entire experience was truly unforgettable especially due to the heated and lighted infinity pool, not to mention the creepy road on our way here, lol. The following day we had a sumptuous breakfast and fortunately deep fried "Tawilis" was already available. We checked-out early and drove around the lake towards Tagaytay City to celebrate my eldest son's birthday at Josephine Restaurant.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Given a chance, the family would love to come back here. I hope, Noni's Resort has been spared by ashfall from the recent Taal eruption.</span><br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-68866625592263455042020-02-02T21:07:00.000-08:002020-02-02T21:07:18.518-08:00Day trip to Norh Coast from Ximen - Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen, Shifen & Golden Waterfall<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">The wife and I booked a day trip to Taiwan's north coast through Klook.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The meeting point is near Ximen MRT Station which is coincidentally near our hotel.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The area is crowded because this is also the meeting point of other tour operators; no worries since the coordinator would be holding a sign and announcing their tour company and destination.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Since it was an early morning trip, there were less traffics in going out of Taipei City. The lady tour guide tried her best to explain everything about our trip. She even acted as our photographer. Surprisingly, almost all of us in the tour group are Filipinos. There were around three who were of different nationalities.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgjrEeNeg1gZC5XsIF2XGbUDB92jplg2rlrIBfDGsTPY6YIlC3kqVlQdk8fmS0naMErFnBhwqGb1f4CM110D_FfCAx8NJE23YIvlVki3DuPYNQMKSfcxSK5jLhGrx-qlJ21gzs130b_K0/s1600/20191128_094510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgjrEeNeg1gZC5XsIF2XGbUDB92jplg2rlrIBfDGsTPY6YIlC3kqVlQdk8fmS0naMErFnBhwqGb1f4CM110D_FfCAx8NJE23YIvlVki3DuPYNQMKSfcxSK5jLhGrx-qlJ21gzs130b_K0/s640/20191128_094510.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geological Rock Formations</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8cSkyBjmZOBq9ZKUFeDukl8BkxQOKJV3rX8l3OFDqXnU_lPb2Xr2ilf9fHvb8fzB35yN4zensGj9G1C4rsggKPlIWZoG0BRG-SW94_gf2_a-s-sNxTPYcHwV_5YSUvrc8yMpMzNz0Gnd/s1600/20191128_094747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8cSkyBjmZOBq9ZKUFeDukl8BkxQOKJV3rX8l3OFDqXnU_lPb2Xr2ilf9fHvb8fzB35yN4zensGj9G1C4rsggKPlIWZoG0BRG-SW94_gf2_a-s-sNxTPYcHwV_5YSUvrc8yMpMzNz0Gnd/s640/20191128_094747.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restricted Area</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGR4vLnPTIwVXnfvGqT2OR21cn101H81xyMqGqRT8o5HuJmWfuPw45qKTCWSJp7ftETOWo3D4hwEU0kjqM6tRQKXtyhuSQ2Z0F65CDmrXXQ3JuIcDtoMO39rj7D2nDuUJhmb52M6Wy2iS/s1600/20191128_094334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGR4vLnPTIwVXnfvGqT2OR21cn101H81xyMqGqRT8o5HuJmWfuPw45qKTCWSJp7ftETOWo3D4hwEU0kjqM6tRQKXtyhuSQ2Z0F65CDmrXXQ3JuIcDtoMO39rj7D2nDuUJhmb52M6Wy2iS/s640/20191128_094334.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yehliu Geopark</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our first destination was Yehliu Geopark. At that time there was a slight drizzle aside from strong sea breeze so we were not able to explore the entire area but nevertheless we had plenty of times to enjoy the views and the astounding rock formations. Some of the visitors purchased raincoats from the vendors; our umbrella didn't hold out in such strong winds so we preferred to loiter near the observatory deck. There is a famous rock formation and they called it "The Queen's Head" since it really looks like a head of a queen. We stayed here for an hour.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9-0Iva9U2MK2vMdWD9Mrq2hoQKxLXeePApSsR4XTQlqM2I9PszlhgKq4_mcgjo5Q8vm_bb-O0HZMGoEMeq1CCCS21pCQ9YvscvQltuGrZhfd03Q_XTcUWuzk7HoO7ZZtBpgR4u8lwZ5P/s1600/20191128_095603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9-0Iva9U2MK2vMdWD9Mrq2hoQKxLXeePApSsR4XTQlqM2I9PszlhgKq4_mcgjo5Q8vm_bb-O0HZMGoEMeq1CCCS21pCQ9YvscvQltuGrZhfd03Q_XTcUWuzk7HoO7ZZtBpgR4u8lwZ5P/s640/20191128_095603.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA57N6M5txCV1iJkhM58mwTeiEQrFu-4MlVo-lVnKZHIV3FXltAO3hXl6OICfGV5QXtqeDQA4fLa1HQzlzRhaRRrBD8YZMDx3-wLpL1o8BZP7CBUdphHjQGOfjcsLlaSnZ8iQKcgjCAdbv/s1600/20191128_112821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA57N6M5txCV1iJkhM58mwTeiEQrFu-4MlVo-lVnKZHIV3FXltAO3hXl6OICfGV5QXtqeDQA4fLa1HQzlzRhaRRrBD8YZMDx3-wLpL1o8BZP7CBUdphHjQGOfjcsLlaSnZ8iQKcgjCAdbv/s640/20191128_112821.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEnJ9lXVfSwSdUwu0elYxJU2g2pJjmvoOn-W6HNbJG7yBAW_xhrKGaeyyiIwheezzsGZan-pdIBXLo2FQhZnL7PuldBKwfPV6CBa-u89AtH5E7nzX7M5X6-oN_aE1i-aOTB3Xub2YutUE/s1600/20191128_113743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEnJ9lXVfSwSdUwu0elYxJU2g2pJjmvoOn-W6HNbJG7yBAW_xhrKGaeyyiIwheezzsGZan-pdIBXLo2FQhZnL7PuldBKwfPV6CBa-u89AtH5E7nzX7M5X6-oN_aE1i-aOTB3Xub2YutUE/s640/20191128_113743.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Waterfalls</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next in line was the Ying Yang Sea. It seemed that this is an abandoned military camp facing the sea. After a few minutes of sightseeing we proceeded to Golden Waterfall. The guide has explained to us that the golden color of the waterfall was due to certain mineral or chemical; nothing especial actually in this area. We stayed here for a couple of minutes.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y3-3uM-TFx1OH_QR7Lq_3tWyjixw8Eghb9NrChDt3Xkpdyt5pgrLLzvLeBMS28ktPxXVjldYKQvoEwfKzYT0Tbe6_SnUq2QOOETJSwfO9d5QNCtUJipTb0w1r1yR4AaBETHctLAROp6j/s1600/20191128_120531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y3-3uM-TFx1OH_QR7Lq_3tWyjixw8Eghb9NrChDt3Xkpdyt5pgrLLzvLeBMS28ktPxXVjldYKQvoEwfKzYT0Tbe6_SnUq2QOOETJSwfO9d5QNCtUJipTb0w1r1yR4AaBETHctLAROp6j/s640/20191128_120531.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Jofk-oMVkqE_zAT9NE-baT6-STUiCh1gOBmU2AjriCMhDGXcV2p11i5KvpEDxn2HW1yaD6Q-AjUhwyNFjO9A_n7QQXfpywO8MorpqapvwHeP_3nIa5Rp4Xr-tg5z6N2osGEUtQw0KnW4/s1600/20191128_123827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Jofk-oMVkqE_zAT9NE-baT6-STUiCh1gOBmU2AjriCMhDGXcV2p11i5KvpEDxn2HW1yaD6Q-AjUhwyNFjO9A_n7QQXfpywO8MorpqapvwHeP_3nIa5Rp4Xr-tg5z6N2osGEUtQw0KnW4/s640/20191128_123827.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvX4jNPGDuZ2uVmkMntbu9725GeVV4mKGPMox8THhKfRQ3pdOsYugcgXJTE9U4m7Er8I1oSKiipyUJmoxK8oF6lgJcV0g66MIX9JLLzrFIZ_tMNbEmxr4bkAtcAe3lQiSWESxqySwvjoe/s1600/20191128_120233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGvX4jNPGDuZ2uVmkMntbu9725GeVV4mKGPMox8THhKfRQ3pdOsYugcgXJTE9U4m7Er8I1oSKiipyUJmoxK8oF6lgJcV0g66MIX9JLLzrFIZ_tMNbEmxr4bkAtcAe3lQiSWESxqySwvjoe/s640/20191128_120233.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After a while, we reached the old street of Jiufen. We stayed here for around two hours. Since it was raining we found it hard to find a place to take our lunch. We ended up taking a bowl of steaming hot soup with dimsum and noodles. Shops selling different local delicacies and souvenir items lined-up the main street while old houses serve as food shops. We strolled along the crowded main street and bought sweets and souvenir items. Since it was chilly due to rain we opted to spend our free time and have a cup of coffee at Family Mart if I remember it correctly. If not for the rain we would have fully enjoyed the place.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndZs3ind2meeV-qw3bRHmkxwmpxnHK-NVAKB3rr7adTE550dGrd4BBcGjaPgGV9euXww7-im-VoWEyb8KyaFj424NKArGuH-0sM6xg0HZRnzY4BCal0ySXHVkePe2m0uo9mmomAMgiCJZ/s1600/20191128_155542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndZs3ind2meeV-qw3bRHmkxwmpxnHK-NVAKB3rr7adTE550dGrd4BBcGjaPgGV9euXww7-im-VoWEyb8KyaFj424NKArGuH-0sM6xg0HZRnzY4BCal0ySXHVkePe2m0uo9mmomAMgiCJZ/s640/20191128_155542.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFPv5JxoUEceB9_mu3yH4Y6ROXemOBNAsaj43Amb_5TDe6ZglnJEJtzsIMaJSRlgXGM_wXtM0mLgtDmRdC47p6XcJdSTNTesIxbmwWQCwVZWoAKGSKfb6kErcPHKl5eNoQhB-4TtF-zMF/s1600/20191128_155537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFPv5JxoUEceB9_mu3yH4Y6ROXemOBNAsaj43Amb_5TDe6ZglnJEJtzsIMaJSRlgXGM_wXtM0mLgtDmRdC47p6XcJdSTNTesIxbmwWQCwVZWoAKGSKfb6kErcPHKl5eNoQhB-4TtF-zMF/s640/20191128_155537.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_-5LMoqyPSeCRrnGaW-RxnflcCaL6oBOoOK9-5wJ4HNrVCR2Atb6pzCE2FnCDizXI9QkiocK5TgdOAIulTTyI_UigLTW1Fdjg0oEYNnQypUzS3Ze_SSl4CMS4sBkAnZQXsqXFmkaOiK1/s1600/20191128_155552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_-5LMoqyPSeCRrnGaW-RxnflcCaL6oBOoOK9-5wJ4HNrVCR2Atb6pzCE2FnCDizXI9QkiocK5TgdOAIulTTyI_UigLTW1Fdjg0oEYNnQypUzS3Ze_SSl4CMS4sBkAnZQXsqXFmkaOiK1/s640/20191128_155552.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There goes our sky lantern</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The last on our trip itinerary is the old railway of Shifen. Before reaching the place our guide passed a list where we can select the number of colors our sky lantern would be, each color represents something good; we selected 4 colors. Upon disembarking at Shifen, we were lucky to witness an actual train passing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We followed our guide to the shop where our sky lantern has been prepared; the staff showed us the sky lantern that we reserved and paid; the more color you choose the more expensive the sky lantern. We wrote on the four side of the sky lantern and waited for our turn to release it. Soon afterwards, one of their staff brought our sky lantern outside and started to light the small burner or candle while another staff acted as our photographer. It was a well-coordinated move so in no time at all we got plenty of selfies and our sky lantern flew together with our money, lol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">All told, it was a memorable experience for both of us since it was our first time to light a sky lantern and see the local cultures of Taiwanese people in a pretty convenient and safe way. I just hope that what we wrote or wished on the sky lantern would come true for this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For more details about this day trip see: <a href="https://www.klook.com/en-GB/activity/2953-yehliu-geopark-shuttle-bus-ximen-taipei/"><span style="color: yellow;">Yehliu Geopark Shuttle Bus</span></a></span><span id="goog_1814116517"></span><span id="goog_1814116518"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-1259755534448721592020-01-29T21:06:00.001-08:002020-01-30T04:00:02.692-08:00Westgate Hotel - Ximending, Taipei<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">I am going to be straight forward and enumerate why I recommend this hotel:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Bus station is 5 min walk</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">- We came here from the airport by bus. It was pretty cheap and convenient since you don't need to transfer unlike when you travel by train. Get on the bus with your luggage; get off the bus and walk for around 50 meter. That's it! No worries since Ximen bus station is right after the Taipei Main (Bus) Station.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. Ximending MRT Station is just around the corner</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">- The MRT station is just around the corner. In fact, it is much nearer than the bus station.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Ximending district is at the backside of the hotel</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6VXOT6NjptJ_BGTmxfnSWSICSHH7WnmnQt04hRowcuUEVJa4izoPIzpz11HD7aGBkvg12SLZNSAaOTuHL8hSKkfBjn9g-bjlRq6_5zPYl8IzHAoThcSMdnhl7mFeQw1hMlp5IC0tKZay/s1600/20191128_075441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1600" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6VXOT6NjptJ_BGTmxfnSWSICSHH7WnmnQt04hRowcuUEVJa4izoPIzpz11HD7aGBkvg12SLZNSAaOTuHL8hSKkfBjn9g-bjlRq6_5zPYl8IzHAoThcSMdnhl7mFeQw1hMlp5IC0tKZay/s640/20191128_075441.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowds are usually present here - taken early morning</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">- Ximending is just right at the back of the hotel. Very eager to have a selfie at Ximending? Then this is the place to be. This area is always crowded with people vying for a solo shot. Stay at this hotel and you can run to this place right after you wake up, lol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">- Restaurants, fast foods and shops abound within 100 meters.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Top notch hotel facilities and services</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical Asian breakfast</td></tr>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">- Secured entry due to key card access even at the elevator</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">- Strong WiFi signal even inside the room</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">- Spacious room</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">- Complete amenities</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">- Decent breakfast</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">- And my first time to use a multi-point shower heads. I don't really know how it is called but you can select whether to use the overhead, upper body or lower body shower. Hence, you don't need shower cap anymore.</span><br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-63767584489810400392020-01-20T04:16:00.000-08:002020-01-22T21:02:03.744-08:00Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village day Trip - Taichung, Taiwan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Since public transportation in Taichuung is limited, we opted to join a group tour. The wife booked this day trip through Klook. We were about twenty tourists and many of them were from the Philippines.<br />
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The meeting place is at Exit 6 of Taichung Station.<br />
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The wife and I left Taipei City early morning and travelled to Taichung by THSR high-speed train; we booked our THSR ticket through Klook too. To be honest, we find it pretty convenient and secure booking most of our trip activities from Klook.<br />
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The bus arrived on time with English speaking and courteous guide.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgooOh8aha4zy4IWYsYZBefgdKxmMTB0Wvsl3shhinsb-36Hqw-H5mn-fo2Wi3Cp-ATJhK1cLtKmkI2zpE8hViUQNhmP4VzZqegRrcPHbqROE_MJT-p2YaPC2TERUU32juy42v4cvBbnEe7/s1600/20191127_112549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgooOh8aha4zy4IWYsYZBefgdKxmMTB0Wvsl3shhinsb-36Hqw-H5mn-fo2Wi3Cp-ATJhK1cLtKmkI2zpE8hViUQNhmP4VzZqegRrcPHbqROE_MJT-p2YaPC2TERUU32juy42v4cvBbnEe7/s640/20191127_112549.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial view of Sun Moon Lake</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red;">I RESERVED THE ENTIRE PARK FOR MY WIFE, LOL</span></b>.</div>
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We disembarked at Sun Moon Lake Cable Car Station. We used the cable car in going to the Formosan Aboriginal Village. All admission fees including cable car and park entrance are included in the tour package except foods and drinks.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nFGOM-wjhy04Vk6Pt0e70Ah-2QNiKYoINwaeRw6USBe_HhFPwhwDi7ApU_pF9MOSQOzce_QonP_CFP3ey3Ztx-OJ-IdBA1KWZileUAWFeQ2vwYJCrULhf0Xiru9XUuQY39snh8nBFf95/s1600/20191127_132852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nFGOM-wjhy04Vk6Pt0e70Ah-2QNiKYoINwaeRw6USBe_HhFPwhwDi7ApU_pF9MOSQOzce_QonP_CFP3ey3Ztx-OJ-IdBA1KWZileUAWFeQ2vwYJCrULhf0Xiru9XUuQY39snh8nBFf95/s640/20191127_132852.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meteor Garden Mansion?</td></tr>
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We visited the place during "lean season" thus; the entire park was devoid of the usual crowds you see at many theme parks. Though we missed the Cherry blossoms, we enjoyed the tranquillity of the place and the performance of the aborigines, which was the highlight of our trip. Moreover, the wife told me that "Meteor Garden" TV series used the castle like structure inside the park if I remember it correctly.</div>
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Since it was lean season, it took us some time to locate the restaurant since some of them are closed. Fortunately, we had park map with us. On the other hand, we enjoyed the different rides and attractions inside the park.</div>
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After spending a couple of hours inside the theme park including watching the aboriginal culture village performance, we decided to return to Sun Moon Lake Cable Car station where our bus was waiting and had some snacks.</div>
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This place is quite stunning especially when the weather is clear. The wife loves this shot.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">SUN MOON LAKE WENWU TEMPLE</span></b></div>
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At exactly 4PM, we left the Sun Moon Lake cable car station and proceeded to Sun Moon Lake's Wenwu Temple. I have visited countless Buddhist temples but this one is massive compared to other temples.</div>
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At 4:40PM, our group left and returned to Taichung Station. From here, we boarded a THSR going back to Taipei. Actually, our trip was supposed to be at 6PM but they allowed us to take the 5:30PM trip.<br />
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Sun Moon Lake has its own magic and charm compared with other attractions in Taichung. It is like admiring the beauty of Taal Lake minus the volcano and condos.</div>
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For complete details of this trip, refer to <a href="https://www.klook.com/en-GB/activity/3390-formosan-aboriginal-culture-village-day-trip-taichung/"><span style="color: yellow;">Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village Day Trip - Taichung</span></a><br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-42181816067005981132019-12-16T22:04:00.000-08:002019-12-17T04:26:46.248-08:00Food Tripping at Shilin Night Market, Taipei City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Shilin Night Market is famous not only because of its market but rather because of its affordable street foods. I have been to several night markets in Asia and this is the first time I have seen massive concentration of street foods in a single area.<br />
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Getting there is pretty easy; get off at Jantan MRT Station (Red Line) and follow the throngs of people walking towards the market; you won't get lost, trust me. However, coming back to the station you might need to follow Google Maps since to explore fully the place you need to enter a couple of small alleys, not to mention the contniuous flow of crowds in some streets.<br />
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There is a covered market where you can buy local sweets, delicacies and dry goods.<br />
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Be aware though that the main attraction is outside this covered market.<br />
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The wife and I are fascinated due to festive atmosphere and lively crowds enjoying the wide arrays of street foods EXCEPT the Stinky Tofu. It was in our bucket list but upon smelling the horrible scent the wife begged off, lol.</div>
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So we settled with pork and vegetable buns, creamy balls with shrimps (similar to Takoyaki balls), assorted fried dumplings and of course, milk tea.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkCFQMbivuYxhqUvVz587Xo9tW8MkuJz3ly6NED2HwzpZsJ6dreTFdQcZFg4ivWY6g59_BsrDmJn15ahnouTJaQ1qCy7eU5dvsqtD3ofvmsSn6MfZ5-9zn5nr32TbpG8HxzVPul1_A5-n/s1600/20191126_185751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkCFQMbivuYxhqUvVz587Xo9tW8MkuJz3ly6NED2HwzpZsJ6dreTFdQcZFg4ivWY6g59_BsrDmJn15ahnouTJaQ1qCy7eU5dvsqtD3ofvmsSn6MfZ5-9zn5nr32TbpG8HxzVPul1_A5-n/s640/20191126_185751.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can choose between original or spicy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wQc4CWxfznBLnbBaTKGAGsQOKZUfc3sEiOcWuycXXUYjso0ndwpe-3lC3PF0FnnzSJl3GR0wJyCpVPVHyXo1ZkBEZedZw9i04yBNfjZGDYWdr1Nltr1l4GVstXCY_gQG0Mn_VmC_Lpkt/s1600/20191126_191621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wQc4CWxfznBLnbBaTKGAGsQOKZUfc3sEiOcWuycXXUYjso0ndwpe-3lC3PF0FnnzSJl3GR0wJyCpVPVHyXo1ZkBEZedZw9i04yBNfjZGDYWdr1Nltr1l4GVstXCY_gQG0Mn_VmC_Lpkt/s640/20191126_191621.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't expect sterile gloves when you come here</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF98DIx55zgC6FpC_Nj6HO8e4bPWppuUqlsYG84ZeFEZHfyOfDZH1Vr32T_6oS331ZC3tmDCHwE_6cgyQILoZEw-0Du5ezqRAR2tfdtTHvsBrvmU2B44PVpzYgGGadFfqzTK3ebN9lgQmT/s1600/20191126_185952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF98DIx55zgC6FpC_Nj6HO8e4bPWppuUqlsYG84ZeFEZHfyOfDZH1Vr32T_6oS331ZC3tmDCHwE_6cgyQILoZEw-0Du5ezqRAR2tfdtTHvsBrvmU2B44PVpzYgGGadFfqzTK3ebN9lgQmT/s640/20191126_185952.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've seen these in the movie, Alien vs Predator, lol</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wife and I love this</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasty balls</td></tr>
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We spent a couple of hours exploring the place and spending our accumulated local coins. It was fortunate that the weather was perfect for strolling.</div>
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Having visited Shilin Night Market I can say that Taiwanese street fooods are undeniably one of the best in the world.</div>
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-62135295823026316012019-10-26T05:11:00.002-07:002019-10-26T21:54:18.822-07:00Queen Margarette Hotel Main Domoit - Lucena City, Quezon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
First thing first, there are two Queen Margarette Hotels in Lucena City, Quezon. One is the main hotel located along Domoit road while the other one is located at the downtown.<br />
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It was our first time to travel to Lucena City, my wife and parents were with me to attend my cousin's wedding, so I used Waze to guide me to Queen Margarette Hotel. Unbeknownst to me, the first Queen Margarette Hotel I selected was at the downtown area of Lucena City. The wife's intuition saved us precious minutes. She was the one who booked our rooms through Agoda and knew that there were two Queen Margarette Hotels and obviously we were going towards the hotel located at the center of Lucena City. So I parked along the shoulder of the main hiway and shifted my GPS to Google Map and fortunately Queen Margarette Hotel Domoit appeared on top of the list. Anyway, to make this short, we were able to reach the correct hotel after 4 hours travel.<br />
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The hotel looks fine and modern from outside. The actual hotel building is separate from another building which houses the hotel's different functions rooms, restaurant and a bar.<br />
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Parking is not a problem since they have a wide and secured open area inside the hotel compound where I left my car overnight.<br />
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Sadly, the two Queen Bed Junior Suites that we booked were not yet available since we arrived an hour earlier than check in time which is 2:00pm; the same time the wedding ceremony starts. We need at least a room so we can change to our semi-formal attire; we accepted the reception's offer to exchange one of our booked Junior Suites to an available twin room. My mother gladly volunteered to stay in the twin room which by the way is also spacious - I knew she wanted to sleep solo since my father snore loudly, haha - while the wife and I waited for our room to be released after an hour.<br />
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Upon check in we were give a keycard and breakfast coupon for two for each room.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our balcony</td></tr>
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The room is indeed spacious and newly refurbished. The window type ac is working fine. Basic toiletries were provided including disposable slippers. 2 complimentary small bottled water greeted us. Huge and comfortable bed, wide flat screen, telephone set, corner sofa, study table and massive cabinets are some of the creatures' comforts inside the room. Bedding and towels are fairly pristine too. Sadly, there is no coffee or tea making facility and the unused small fridge is visibly corroded.<br />
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The wedding (dinner) reception was held at one of the function rooms of the hotel. After the reception, the wife and I rested for a while and changed our clothes then proceeded to King's Bar. It is just beside the function room where the reception was held. We stayed there for a couple of hours and enjoyed the acoustic live band; soon afterwards, some of my cousins also came. After 3 shots of Chivas we called it a night and walked back to our room.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am on a diet, LOL</td></tr>
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Breakfast is from 7:00am to 10:00am at the restaurant near the reception area. We were all satisfied with the breakfast. They have an omelette corner where you can have your omelette cooked in any way you want it and would be brought to your table as well. You can enjoy typical Filipino breakfast such as fried/garlic rice, corned beef, ham, (Lucban) longganisa and fried dried fish. They also have breads, cheese, fruits and pancakes. Brewed coffee and juices are readily available.<br />
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Check in and check out are flawless though don't expect early check-in. Local staffs are courteous and polite.<br />
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Thus, if you are after a spacious and comfy room with decent breakfast selection in Lucena City then you won't regret booking at this hotel.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-3344833213478321512019-07-28T22:06:00.001-07:002019-07-29T22:10:11.819-07:00Mimaru Tokyo North Ueno<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Our room is perfect for a small family or group due to 4 single beds and a double bed with a small dining table; maximum of 6 people can be accommodated in our room. The toilet being separated from the bathroom could be an advantage rather than disadvantage due to obvious reason that one person can use the toilet while the bathroom is occupied.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reception area</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Utensils are inside the drawers</td></tr>
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There is a small kitchen with fridge and utensils, perfect since the hotel has no restaurant or dining facility. The kitchen is ideal in case you intend to prepare your breakfast and midnight snacks. A small electronic vault is also provided in our room. Though there is a Handy Phone we find it easier to use our MAPS.ME app. By the way, when you use this app in locating the hotel it will direct you at the parking or backside entrance.<br />
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On our second day, the wife borrowed flat iron and ironing board while my daughter asked for power adaptor for her hair dryer. You can borrow these items at the reception. Light switches, power source and USB chargers are conveniently located at the headboard.<br />
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We didn't bother turning on the TV since we knew that English channels are not available in most Japanese hotels. We enjoyed more having nice chit-chat after a day of walking.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cozy dining area</td></tr>
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Beds are comfy and bedding are pristine. Towels are replaced and garbage collected daily but no housekeeping until the third day. Be aware though that if you don't put the old towels inside the laundry basket in the bathroom they won't collect them, you'll start accumulating towels in the room. Toiletries such as razors, disposable slippers can be availed at the reception area.<br />
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The man drawback is the location; we came here from Narita Airport by Skyliner. It is a bit far from Keisei train station. Meaning, you have to walk for at least 15 minutes before you can board Skyliner. However, if you are using local Tokyo trains, the hotel is near to JR Ueno Station's Iriya Exit. No worries if the weather is fine, you will surely enjoy strolling from the station to the hotel but on our last day there was a slight drizzle. Lugging our trolleys, we walked fast up to Keisei station to avoid getting drenched by rain. In addition, there are less food shops around so we always shop at the convenience store outside Iriya Exit before heading back to our hotel. Thankfully, our kids are expert in ordering foods online; having lived at a condominium for several years during weekdays while in college, our kids have become expert on this matter. They downloaded Pizza Hut Japan mobile apps and ordered online. I waited for the delivery guy at the lobby; my only contribution to our meal.<br />
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Special thanks to our kabayan - they have one kabayan as reception staff - for guiding us on how to return back to Narita Airport by Skyliner.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-18137918880762350452019-07-23T22:46:00.000-07:002019-07-27T22:00:55.384-07:00Day Trip to Farm Tomita and Hill Town BIei<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Arguably, visiting Furano is quite tricky and confusing if you intend to use public transport. So, the wife and I have decided to book online a family day trip through Chuo Bus.<br />
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The meeting point is at 2nd floor of ESTA building at least 15 min before the actual tour; since we have visited a couple of times BIC Camera shop inside this building during our previous toy hunts we easily found the place. Just to add, when you receive your tour voucher, the direction to the meeting point is clearly stated.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tour Group L-1, Bus 2, Seat 27 ( 9AM )</td></tr>
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We presented our voucher at Chuo Bus tour counter - it opens at exactly 7:30AM while our tour starts at 9AM - and received our tour tickets indicating the "group tour number," bus and seat number too. We waited for the staff to announce our "group number" while holding a big signboard.<br />
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We proceeded to the ground floor where our bus was waiting. The bus is big and comfortable, there is also free Wi-Fi on-board. However, there is no multilingual guide and no headsets provided for another language so we just enjoyed the sceneries. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Stop - 15 min break</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mini Park at Prince Hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wooden House at Prince Hotel</td></tr>
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We had a 15 min toilet break in a "wooden barn" along the way. Soon afterwards, at around 11:30 AM we had another stop over at Furano Grape Farm. It wasn't grape season yet so we never saw any single grape on the vineyard. Our bus left after 20 minutes; the tour guide distributed discount vouchers for different attractions at Prince Hotel<br />
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We arrived at Prince Hotel at almost 12:30 AM. We had buffet lunch; the hotel offers wide variety of dishes and desserts. Don't hurry since the dining area is quite huge, you would never run out of food and place, just coordinate with your tour guide. After dining, we loitered around the hotel. There is a nice mini-park at the back of the hotel. We didn't bother to avail the ropeway since our bus would leave at 1:50 PM.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lavender Plants</td></tr>
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We arrived at Farm Tomita at 2:15 PM. Unfortunately, not all flowers are in full bloom yet but nevertheless the entire place is beautiful and the lavender shrubs look pretty awesome. There are several types of flowers cultivated in the area. It was the first time the family has seen this kind of greenery. The ladies immediately started taking their IG shots. We tried their lavender flavored ice cream but the kids didn't like it, LOL. After an hour our group left the place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hill Town at Biei</td></tr>
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Arrived at Hill Town of Biei at 3:40 PM. We paid 500 Yen each for a ride at Tractor drawn carriage. We have only 35 min here so we opted to take this ride rather than spend our time walking around the massive place. The same situation here, most flowers were not yet in full bloom.<br />
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Left the place at 4:15 PM for Sapporo. We had a short stop over at one of the tiny malls in the middle of nowhere. We disembarked near the Sapporo TV Tower and took our dinner at Tanukikoji shopping arcade.<br />
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All told, I am sure the place is pretty awesome when all the flowers are in full bloom. We visited the place on the last week of June. Even so, there were already plenty of tourists in the area.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-87332600385976684872019-07-13T22:28:00.000-07:002019-07-23T21:54:47.574-07:00Karaksa Sapporo Hotel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"Adjacent" is a magic word for a small family looking for hotel rooms with their kids. We seldom see adjacent rooms posted in hotel's websites. So the wife was ecstatic when she was able to book two adjacent triple room. However, the connecting door between the rooms was left unlocked; reception wouldn't give the key for this door and told us that the door would be opened or closed permanently during our stay for security reasons. The answer was obvious; wife chose it to be opened.<br />
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Hotel location is perfect due to its location. It is 5 min walk from Susukino train station (Nombuko Line) passing through Pole Town and Tanukakuji shopping arcade where the hotel back entrance is located. Also, the airport limousine bus terminal is around 50 meters away. Trust me, it is very convenient to travel back to the airport from this place as long as you know the time of arrival of the airport bus; we used our SUICA cards. Aside from that, Norbesa Mall is a stone throw away. This mall is "haven" for toys and Japanese anime collectors because you'll find here Mandarake, Jungle and Surugaya Specialty Shops. If you're a toy collector and has visited Japan then there is no need to explain about these shops otherwise you can "Google" this place.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast coupons and access card</td></tr>
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Check-in was smooth; we were given breakfast coupons and e-card for our rooms and elevators.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comfy beds with pair of pyjamas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spacious room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1OIMys-4Y5bf_DGT56jGZT1YkgzIkxLJhfzsPPsxITd2xFpcBgOMJDALDqOhE7CZ4wv23VIo3XKN3ARQQD8jCsJCXi-hA2dnEcTY9cQSLVYP5_dgR0nTIeq1vKpOlKS0j2vxcwuV7lSc/s1600/20190622_161400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1OIMys-4Y5bf_DGT56jGZT1YkgzIkxLJhfzsPPsxITd2xFpcBgOMJDALDqOhE7CZ4wv23VIo3XKN3ARQQD8jCsJCXi-hA2dnEcTY9cQSLVYP5_dgR0nTIeq1vKpOlKS0j2vxcwuV7lSc/s640/20190622_161400.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Connecting door</td></tr>
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Inside the rooms, wide flat screen is useless like in many Japanese hotels due to lack of English channels. The same with the free Handy Phone because we were asked to choose a "plan" before we can fully utilize its different functions. As usual, toilet is separate from the bathroom. We have a small coffee table and drink cooler (fridge) perfect for midnight snacks and red wines.<br />
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Power outlets and room lights control are conveniently located at the head board, the headboard lights are also dimmable. There is a portable humidifier inside the room; perfect for my youngest son due to his frequent nose bleeding whenever the air becomes too dry. Having opened recently, the bedding and towels as expected are still in pristine condition. The hotel also provides toiletries such as razors, toothbrush and combs, the only drawback is the reusable slippers.<br />
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The family enjoyed Asian breakfast staple such as rice and viands though breads and pastries are also provided. Staffs greeted us warmly every morning and we never run out of table. The restaurant serves only breakfast but you can have your lunch and dinner by reservation.<br />
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This is the second Karaksa Hotel we have stayed in Japan. The first one was in Osaka. Because of this, I can say that you won't regret staying at any Karaksa Hotel in Japan.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-58112889037960812212019-07-06T22:44:00.002-07:002019-07-10T22:02:41.433-07:00"Willer" walking tour to Ghibli Museum, Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you haven't heard about this "peculiar" museum then you aren't an avid Japanese cartoons or animation fan. I don't blame you because I have never encountered "Ghibli" works during my younger years too. Our kids suggested to include this place in our itinerary.<br />
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If you are living outside Japan it would be near to impossible to purchase admission tickets online because of limited numbers aside from being available in advance reservation only. Even when you're in Japan, you can purchase the tickets only at Lawson convenience stores. Aside from that, newly released tickets can easily run out in a matter of few hours. So, if you intend to visit this place you have to plan ahead since you cannot purchase admission tickets at the gate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMgG9JbRYyoxCYUFBok-KEOUmmub6GoilXEPTLCiWDeOdoQmRIYp7X9Vg66YtDwywk3aRY0ML8r0LEGnv7zye-qZRm4xmtCvQPjOE67ZtMzQIgNmBSrUHonalOVkLxRDXes4iEK1kZ7DJ/s1600/20190628_100253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMgG9JbRYyoxCYUFBok-KEOUmmub6GoilXEPTLCiWDeOdoQmRIYp7X9Vg66YtDwywk3aRY0ML8r0LEGnv7zye-qZRm4xmtCvQPjOE67ZtMzQIgNmBSrUHonalOVkLxRDXes4iEK1kZ7DJ/s640/20190628_100253.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willer staff at Kichijoji train station</td></tr>
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Fortunately, the wife was able to purchase our tickets online through "Willer." As expected the cost is quite staggering compared to the actual price of the ticket which is 1,000 Yen only; we paid 19,500 Yen for 5 persons. However, our tickets are still cheaper compared to other third party/agents tickets. To sweeten the deal, "Willer" has included a "walking tour" at Inokashira Park which is right beside the museum. Their staff wearing pink vest waited for us at the train station. We were 43 in the walking tour group with different nationalities. Five didn't arrived on time so one of the staffs was left behind to wait for them. It took us around 45 minutes to walk from the train station up to the museum passing through the park; be aware that the distance you'll cover from the station to the museum is almost one kilometer so wear comfy shoes and bring water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8sE9urAfOpAX_wBKPr3tPx_NnpQKCq_oL-1ZoKHgZ2M8T-BgcygN28pU28aQtJbWQ0LlJBETD_xKw_csYigYvoHAPeKAkp5OzUHuAJaS6Q7Btg-dGLEPDLaAHxhHCMNunZ6LGQuJrh_4/s1600/20190628_105640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8sE9urAfOpAX_wBKPr3tPx_NnpQKCq_oL-1ZoKHgZ2M8T-BgcygN28pU28aQtJbWQ0LlJBETD_xKw_csYigYvoHAPeKAkp5OzUHuAJaS6Q7Btg-dGLEPDLaAHxhHCMNunZ6LGQuJrh_4/s640/20190628_105640.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing to enter the museum and waiting for our tickets</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgs7F1AoARmsQHmGRQ4XFuQRMWIDxhe_UZKEGhMENj84zh3qVlU5MJ2gHCafZz0XbfLvQ6dP0rN_NvysadNhBilY3aGoMCgaJlqHxi9KvUS8hFfvpFx_qV3HBKiK-Md3lIbXKiuSkakRGo/s1600/20190628_105755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgs7F1AoARmsQHmGRQ4XFuQRMWIDxhe_UZKEGhMENj84zh3qVlU5MJ2gHCafZz0XbfLvQ6dP0rN_NvysadNhBilY3aGoMCgaJlqHxi9KvUS8hFfvpFx_qV3HBKiK-Md3lIbXKiuSkakRGo/s640/20190628_105755.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum</td></tr>
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We left the train station at 10AM and arrived at the museum 10 minutes before it opens; admission tickets were distributed outside the museum.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGtJa2NJlXPsP2rI7z9Zvo97BxuXeMd9vhpuPHYApcxflqy7Qne5mhHClZ9X7pwjqxIEzO68b2VPo3_1A3ekSl5GurjSgbwUJ-4CL2NPAPXAFieWvcJlzTTT1y5vcF1xRAz0YHz9S41ri/s1600/20190628_115902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGtJa2NJlXPsP2rI7z9Zvo97BxuXeMd9vhpuPHYApcxflqy7Qne5mhHClZ9X7pwjqxIEzO68b2VPo3_1A3ekSl5GurjSgbwUJ-4CL2NPAPXAFieWvcJlzTTT1y5vcF1xRAz0YHz9S41ri/s640/20190628_115902.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laputan Robot Soldier</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IvoF9RlVqAkbXon1aOExQxMHGy6CfYYNU3grx5Ey9V8D2HTZ05hsYXyX097EIQm7jqri_2_X26ee1gXM2G9KsiTax1iMCRj684Xyws0nhMX11hHA-A8wkMudbEq3jUjRyYcaOUpiML4x/s1600/20190628_120115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IvoF9RlVqAkbXon1aOExQxMHGy6CfYYNU3grx5Ey9V8D2HTZ05hsYXyX097EIQm7jqri_2_X26ee1gXM2G9KsiTax1iMCRj684Xyws0nhMX11hHA-A8wkMudbEq3jUjRyYcaOUpiML4x/s640/20190628_120115.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the rooftop - you need to take the spiral staircase</td></tr>
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Once inside, you are not allowed to take photos or selfies except at the rooftop where you'll find a giant "Laputan robot soldier." This robot is from the first Ghibli Studio film entitled "Laputa: Castle in the Sky."<br />
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Inside the museum are sketches and drawings, 3D animation, memorabilia and other Studio Ghibli's produce; there is also a souvenir shop at the third floor. We bought "Totoro" souvenirs since it is the only character that looked familiar to us, LOL. Beside the museum is a small cafe. <br />
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We watched a free but very entertaining cartoon done by Ghibli Studio.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV55lt8q4dHm2YVEzofFJh5Bu9mwZpzIuaSu2jt4SCkTxWbMeTSusH1mUvLhhoe-B8JIYXf3PjX6Ga1alerLfUMWlS4OgIIRMCWpdVYQgQtSnK1q80InjEr4wjFzsj9FVOjp3JfS7q8VEN/s1600/20190628_120156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV55lt8q4dHm2YVEzofFJh5Bu9mwZpzIuaSu2jt4SCkTxWbMeTSusH1mUvLhhoe-B8JIYXf3PjX6Ga1alerLfUMWlS4OgIIRMCWpdVYQgQtSnK1q80InjEr4wjFzsj9FVOjp3JfS7q8VEN/s640/20190628_120156.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visitors queue</td></tr>
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Though the museum is perfect for kids and kids-at-heart but if you are not aware about Ghibli Studio then I suggest not to bother visiting this place because there are other places worth visiting in Tokyo. In addition, the place is quite far. From Shibuya Station you need to transfer to Keio Inokashira Line and disembark at the last station, Kichijoji Station. Be aware that since this is a local train it would stop at many stations so it would take around an hour to reach Kichijoji from Shibuya. However, there is a "Rapid Train" stopping at Eifukucho station; if you are running out of time like what happened to us we disembarked at Eifukucho and immediately transferred seamlessly to the "Rapid Train" to Kichijoji where the Willer staffs were waiting.<br />
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Since we arrived early we were able to enjoy the place due to less crowds; we stayed for a couple of hours only. Going back to Kichijoji station, we opted to take the bus since the ladies were tired. You may ask the museum staff regarding the location of the bus stop; there are two bus stops, don't wait at the bus stop near the museum entrance, you can wait for the bus going back to Kichijoji at the farther bus stop. There are plenty of local restaurants outside Kichijoji train station so we took our lunch here; the meal price here is quite cheap compared to other touristy places. <br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-32754169036544531322019-06-01T05:04:00.004-07:002019-06-01T05:04:52.187-07:00Otaru Music Box Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Long before we set foot at Hokkaido, Japan, the wife has been dreaming of visiting a famous shop selling locally made music box.<br />
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Searching the net I realized that the shop is called Music Box Museum and located in Otaru.<br />
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Long story short, we ended up visiting the Music Box Museum on our recent visit to Japan a couple of months back. It is located at the end of Sakaimachi Street if you are coming from the train station. Upon arrival at the train station get the free map to easily identify the places of interest in Otaru since there is no free wifi here. No worries since most of these places are walkable from the train station.<br />
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Sadly, Hokkaido was experiencing the worst snow in forty years when we were there so our time was cut short due to harsh weather.<br />
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At any rate it was one of the best places we have visited in Japan due to its uniqueness and the memories it brought back to me. I vividly remember enjoying the music box that my father - who is a retired seaman - bought for my mother eons of years ago. I kept on fiddling it so I can continuously watched a small ballerina rotates while listening to a hypnotic metallic melody.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IHBUfiY1jHFEQlxMRZCGmrpXG0U67ZYTjTjOazkC7MksTMlbMrgJoxNCMRL3PNaTUt0CVdoaaPB-SBGxTCpfDAfmvCP10z5oMUegyhQIUgKtuxq-WiFN9J2FkvnnfIaTnFhBkoDDDJix/s1600/20190208_111311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IHBUfiY1jHFEQlxMRZCGmrpXG0U67ZYTjTjOazkC7MksTMlbMrgJoxNCMRL3PNaTUt0CVdoaaPB-SBGxTCpfDAfmvCP10z5oMUegyhQIUgKtuxq-WiFN9J2FkvnnfIaTnFhBkoDDDJix/s640/20190208_111311.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1_6ojaUzWyRSprE-hx343hXWOsVh39ZA8P13HJiiCYT3cy9XgOFSkzRV21YsqYkPrAAj_P9wGTFJ2uVrqDA2TS6oHL5nOp25coWREPVhE_cLuC_9DvATNFKXAZiZ5su7QZK_ZKor78iH/s1600/20190208_110644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1_6ojaUzWyRSprE-hx343hXWOsVh39ZA8P13HJiiCYT3cy9XgOFSkzRV21YsqYkPrAAj_P9wGTFJ2uVrqDA2TS6oHL5nOp25coWREPVhE_cLuC_9DvATNFKXAZiZ5su7QZK_ZKor78iH/s640/20190208_110644.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Aside from being a museum, the shops also sells wide arrays of locally made music boxes</span>. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdO5lhpz76yI6v8oCKLLZ7CjDKhkb68NPP1p2RoP5IEAdR3DPZkbsjnXRk5ZugwuZVngfeiWaBLYerDKHi6Om_amuOP7emqG9q6uDDJCZPW6K0rJpudljdXKLWvcy8AOI7BP6IUMECuyv/s1600/20190208_111200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdO5lhpz76yI6v8oCKLLZ7CjDKhkb68NPP1p2RoP5IEAdR3DPZkbsjnXRk5ZugwuZVngfeiWaBLYerDKHi6Om_amuOP7emqG9q6uDDJCZPW6K0rJpudljdXKLWvcy8AOI7BP6IUMECuyv/s640/20190208_111200.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antique musical devices</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiAvgHccqkMcmZNLWs3Z0zHFjuEtbkg1Qs8MZFuHW-ew9NDHEXtihMyFXHm8h8ddHdoHe63y13LlLPQVNARL5zRzEeLqVDDc51ydF9FwVy4-Dk5LAdMw-ujDHBNcQ7mQHMHeXqKH_rBMT/s1600/20190208_111152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiAvgHccqkMcmZNLWs3Z0zHFjuEtbkg1Qs8MZFuHW-ew9NDHEXtihMyFXHm8h8ddHdoHe63y13LlLPQVNARL5zRzEeLqVDDc51ydF9FwVy4-Dk5LAdMw-ujDHBNcQ7mQHMHeXqKH_rBMT/s640/20190208_111152.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creeky wooden floors at the second floor</td></tr>
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As expected, the wife opted to survey the entire place first before deciding to purchase our music boxes. We bought a couple of small music boxes that now adore her souvenir display cabinets. Remembering how the music box looks like that my father bought for my mother I could say that it costs him a big amount of money by comparing it to the same design I saw in the shop; my wife even found it way beyond her budget.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij42f9R2oP5w5VPLAHkfxrh4IJz-LdIYvtf_4NR940Pi1aNqCBxPPt-nGwk05M_DkOvkzMdvxN58zWvPQRwFawJ0813elYvH2rtgzf6o_PTW6aEPiRgKmZpJt0_8Wwm890U0KBuYAcPshO/s1600/20190208_104044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij42f9R2oP5w5VPLAHkfxrh4IJz-LdIYvtf_4NR940Pi1aNqCBxPPt-nGwk05M_DkOvkzMdvxN58zWvPQRwFawJ0813elYvH2rtgzf6o_PTW6aEPiRgKmZpJt0_8Wwm890U0KBuYAcPshO/s200/20190208_104044.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Coming here from the station was no easy task during winter but when the snow is gone it would be very pleasant to stroll along Sakaimachi road since there are plenty of souvenir and food shops along the road. On our way back to the train station, we dropped by at "Le Tao," a local shop famous for its flavourful cakes and other pastries.<br />
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A couple of hours would be enough to enjoy the place.<br />
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Upon seeing our pictures, our kids are now prepping to visit this place in June. Fortunately, snow is long gone so we'll have plenty of time to enjoy the place. <br />
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Remember this, Otaru is famous not only for its canal; there are many interesting places that are worth visiting. Yes, together with our kids, we'll be back in Otaru in a few weeks.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-54440587837033552242019-05-09T22:15:00.000-07:002019-07-08T22:21:06.515-07:00Hotel WBF Sapporo City, Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Due to flight cancellation caused by heavy snow in Tokyo we hurriedly booked online the last twin room of Hotel WBF while in Chitose airport, Sapporo City.<br />
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With our luggage, we travelled back to Sapporo city and searched for this hotel.<br />
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Check in was flawless; we were given breakfast coupons for 2 day and 2 bottle of water. Key card for the main door was also provided since there is no reception staff during night time.<br />
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I can say its location is ideal since it is near Tanukikuji shopping arcade and just opposite McDonald's. More so, Odori Station is a mere 3 min walk from the hotel.<br />
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Our room has massive twin beds; pyjama gown is replaced daily, basic toiletries are also provided but the reusable slippers were grumpy - I hope they sterilize or clean them. We have small fridge and air purifier/humidifier inside. The wife loves the "hotdog" pillow, LOL. Surprisingly, the handy phone is set at English language so we were able to use it outside.<br />
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Power outlets and room lights control are conveniently installed at the headboard.<br />
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Video on demand is also available including adult theme but you need to purchase 24 hour access at 4th floor.<br />
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They have a small cafe cum bar at the lobby. If yu avail their membership you would be given a discount to avail the "unli-drinks" for a limited time and this membership is honored in all WBF hotels in Japan. I don't know the complete specifics about the membership since I prefer to buy my alcohol shots at Lawson.<br />
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Unlike the other hotels we have stayed in Japan where we truly enjoyed our breakfast, WBF offers limited breakfast options. Aside from that, the restaurant is also small thus seats are limited as well. <br />
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Be aware though that there is one main drawback regarding our room. <br />
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I am claustrophobic so I can easily feel suffocated be it inside the plane, car or anywhere that has constricted space and limited ventilation.<br />
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It was the peak of winter at that time. Unlike other hotels we have stayed in Japan where you can vary or adjust the room temperature, this hotel is not like that. You can only change the fan speed; there is no temperature adjustment in our room. I don't know whether all their rooms are like that. I felt suffocated due to warm air inside. The temperature was more pleasant at the lobby.<br />
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Another contributing factor is the space. The two massive beds have occupied almost the entire room leaving limited space for you to move around.<br />
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If not for this factor, I can say that this hotel is almost perfect due to its location.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-4000243237474592932019-05-04T22:55:00.000-07:002019-05-09T21:55:10.153-07:00Passport renewal at DFA Robinson Galleria for OFW<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOy2XQX6kaJZUufsmI3yhq973HZ32aJyNEuADHs3EENxgqVrangYO-uvn0gVfop4xhbnCuiCWQe-tae0v6PXl93HiJWd3sLUd1ezwHE1ORGYMEaGgSmqd20tK7HX3OzkmSOSi4ZbxehZjF/s1600/20190426_133331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOy2XQX6kaJZUufsmI3yhq973HZ32aJyNEuADHs3EENxgqVrangYO-uvn0gVfop4xhbnCuiCWQe-tae0v6PXl93HiJWd3sLUd1ezwHE1ORGYMEaGgSmqd20tK7HX3OzkmSOSi4ZbxehZjF/s640/20190426_133331.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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My passport would expire in December 2019 so I had no choice but to renew it in April during my vacation.<br />
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The most convenient place where I can renew my passport is at DFA office in Robinson Galleria.<br />
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Unfortunately, due to Lenten Season, DFA Galleria was releasing new passports after 22 days; no "express" service at that time. I applied on April 1 and got a claim stub for April 23. No worries since I would be flying back to my work in Africa on April 29.<br />
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To summarize this, here are some tips and procedures to follow:<br />
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1. Come early since DFA office opens at 8 AM.<br />
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2. The guard at the entrance would give you queue number and application form.<br />
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3. Wait for your number to be called.<br />
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4. Initial document inspection will follow. You have to photocopy your passport data page, work visa and arrival stamp. No worries since there is a photocopy counter nearby.<br />
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5. After this, you have to submit your passport and application form to evaluation counters.<br />
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6. Next step is payment at cashier window; I paid 950 pesos. You leave your documents here.<br />
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7. Final step is data encoding and biometrics (picture, fingerprints and signature); you wait for your name to be called. This is the most important step. Ensure that all data that has been entered is 100% correct. Anyway, you will be asked to check on the computer screen the actual data that will appear on your passport. Once you have confirmed that your data is correct you will sign an acknowledgement receipt attesting the correctness of your data; claim stub will be issued.<br />
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8. Return back to claim your passport. You need to hand over your old passport before your new passport will be given to you for signature and inspection. Once you have confirmed that your new passport is correct then that would be the time your old passport will be punched.<br />
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<strong><u>TIPS:</u></strong><br />
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- This is a walk-in passport renewal; no need to book an appointment - it is a first come first serve basis.<br />
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- This DFA office is for OFW ONLY so they'll be looking for your work or residence visa. If you don't have any work visa then I have no idea what documents you need to bring to support that you are an OFW.<br />
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- No need to bring PSA birth certificate and picture, your old passport is enough.<br />
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- No wories for car owners, you can park at the basement and proceed to DFA office even if the mall is not yet open.<br />
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- Once you have received your new passport for inspection, double or triple check your data and look for any physical damage. Check also the sequence of pages - report if any pages are missing or in wrong order. Trust me, you don't want to face any passport problems during your flight date.<br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: red;">This is the most common question: Can I still use my old passport while waiting for the release of my new passport?</span></u></strong> <br />
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Yes! <br />
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Your passport will be punched once you have received and inspected your new passport otherwise your old passport is still valid. In my case, while waiting for my new passport, I used my old passport to process my OEC (Overseas Employment Certificate) and attached my old passport to my new passport by rubber band - avoid stapler; I am now back in Africa without encountering any problems in our immigration. Just to add, my colleague applied for a new passport and returned back to our work using his old passport; he would claim his new passport on his next vacation since you're allowed to claim your new passport within 60 days from release date. This is possible for my colleague since we have a 4 week / 4 week job rotation. Meaning, we work for one month and goes for vacation for another month. HOWEVER, if the validity of your old passport is less than 6 month then chances are the immigration officer won't allow you to leave; POEA won't issue an OEC as well, remember that.<br />
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That's it!<br />
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By the way, it took me less than 30 minutes to renew my passport and less than 10 minute to claim it. I got my first 10 year passport and probably my last since I would be retiring in a few years. This is what I call "change is coming," LOL.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-22842791956748685892019-03-21T22:13:00.001-07:002019-05-13T22:01:50.295-07:00Snowmobiling at Snowmobile Land Sapporo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The wife and I experienced our first winter or snow at Sapporo, Japan in February. We wanted it to
be memorable so we searched for suitable winter activities that we can enjoy at
Sapporo aside from sightseeing.<br />
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We tried to book online a two-seater snowmobile but got refused by Klook and Snowmobile
Land since there were only two of us; in case of group booking or more than 2 snowmobiles then
we can avail a 2 seater. Having no choice, we booked and paid
“Klook” for 2 snowmobile vehicles for 60 minute and 5 minute banana boat ride
on the snow.<br />
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Our group rendezvous was at Princeton hotel which was a couple of blocks away from our
hotel. We were the last passengers to arrive though we were 10 minutes earlier
than the meet-up time given by Klook. Once seated, the bus left the place. It
took our bus around 45 minutes to reach Snowmobile Land.<br />
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Inclusive in our fare was the complete snow attire including snow boots. I recommend that
you avail their gears to avoid damage to your personal outfit and to have
complete weatherproof protection. The vehicle is diesel fed so chances are, diesel
droplets could splatter on your winter jacket while snowmobiling. Also, you’ll
be tempted to roll on the snow, make snow angel, or simply drop on your face
due to knee-deep snow. It happened to me, the wife thought I was joking but it
was a pleasant experience. No worries about your personal things, they would be stowed inside a room by the staff.<br />
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We were two couples in our group, the other couple were from Australia and also
snowmobile first timers; they came with complete skiing outfits though. Since we paid
for 2 snow mobile, our instructor asked my wife whether she can drive alone.
She refused so we ended up with a two-seater snow mobile – we got what we
wanted but at higher fare.<br />
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We had a short training course within the base camp. After a while we went direct to the
mountain. Without the thrill of seeing snow covered landscape you would be
nervous due to narrow path; there are no barriers so if you’re not careful you
can plunge off cliff with your snowmobile.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2XKdDQcGiJ2lIUMCHTaX3RmB6gDpuBB7WSnn_qlVUEWy18aD7rQNptYFGyVxq1_FVjMAoEkdW60p_ntbhK3y4PvrQJWsiK7A-lCWtdPef4nnOtzQq9xk9_CAq8IL0jljObnjAeMDKl1w/s1600/20190206_100742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2XKdDQcGiJ2lIUMCHTaX3RmB6gDpuBB7WSnn_qlVUEWy18aD7rQNptYFGyVxq1_FVjMAoEkdW60p_ntbhK3y4PvrQJWsiK7A-lCWtdPef4nnOtzQq9xk9_CAq8IL0jljObnjAeMDKl1w/s640/20190206_100742.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Base Camp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEit9vJ-AAO59UjSL0XSGuQRvTJAIgKBjSDBMwb07imeevhKSRE7aWoXtVagdJAf-h0ZLIEHoC-r9rwmLEYZCllLUoAN6qkBRL_UI3dZGm-X73JTBG2pcEp0IPc33NO3V6FcoGwLg7120/s1600/20190206_110537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEit9vJ-AAO59UjSL0XSGuQRvTJAIgKBjSDBMwb07imeevhKSRE7aWoXtVagdJAf-h0ZLIEHoC-r9rwmLEYZCllLUoAN6qkBRL_UI3dZGm-X73JTBG2pcEp0IPc33NO3V6FcoGwLg7120/s640/20190206_110537.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2-seater Snowmobile</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkeYLf5hoDFZztd5pNuiHijBBi-72WzDqSiOHAIr2qBTdg625Dd2PRJM_72xIKORKWeE2a9Prdfcssxs79uqx0ui_fep5vPrObQjQRKyUSifFcc1ogYXRvI2UlO1aHgFYPpColi1yZpGLV/s1600/20190206_110123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkeYLf5hoDFZztd5pNuiHijBBi-72WzDqSiOHAIr2qBTdg625Dd2PRJM_72xIKORKWeE2a9Prdfcssxs79uqx0ui_fep5vPrObQjQRKyUSifFcc1ogYXRvI2UlO1aHgFYPpColi1yZpGLV/s640/20190206_110123.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making a Snow Angel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFtXGkqtr5m5lXZxNnmdEGLJ90K41KgQ3Dk_r2pYeORr9f39Y6eLmxVTg8PWa58n-Ohzs4W7nb3DCxKY8zYUkb12VMruMn5D65aV2iHkEZ2VbFClyGYEXV86a5-7C79QhQtoRJGGxeZ1Q/s1600/20190206_110342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFtXGkqtr5m5lXZxNnmdEGLJ90K41KgQ3Dk_r2pYeORr9f39Y6eLmxVTg8PWa58n-Ohzs4W7nb3DCxKY8zYUkb12VMruMn5D65aV2iHkEZ2VbFClyGYEXV86a5-7C79QhQtoRJGGxeZ1Q/s640/20190206_110342.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">600 meters Mark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Soon afterwards we reached a 600 meter marker. This is the highest point of our
snowmobile trip. Our instructor gave us plenty of time for selfie; he acted
also as our photographer. The surrounding area is truly mesmerising as if you
have been transported to a wonderland; a typical snow postcard scenery. Well,
that what my wife and I felt since it was our first time to enjoy and feel
real snow. We stayed for around 15 minutes before deciding to return back to the base. On our way down, we
met different groups a couple of times. Since we’re going down, the
opposite group would stop in a safe area to allow us to pass.<br />
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Our instructor guided us to another place which offers magnificent views of mountain ranges.
Aside from that, there is small hill nearby fully covered by pristine snow. I made
snow angel here, LOL. It was one of my ardent dreams when I was young so I
wasn’t embarrassed even if I am now a golden boy; the wife laughed her heart
out while recording my childish act. Truly unforgettable. We stayed here for
another 15 minutes before we returned back to the base camp.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqa9tpS4hJF5c2x6hpVmL_rwe4xRlujv5FuQxkGzxXmicoG1VEMnacBGtMrsuXDJjtldJCPtZjSrnPL2Bt4ju7a70uSRx6GbMTXTaBzBUU0lDby9KrHZ4Wsc31rbutAC9Iud6qw-dPqSk/s1600/20190210_233458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqa9tpS4hJF5c2x6hpVmL_rwe4xRlujv5FuQxkGzxXmicoG1VEMnacBGtMrsuXDJjtldJCPtZjSrnPL2Bt4ju7a70uSRx6GbMTXTaBzBUU0lDby9KrHZ4Wsc31rbutAC9Iud6qw-dPqSk/s640/20190210_233458.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Upon arrival at the base camp, we were greeted by a coordinator. A 5 minute banana boat ride
on snow is inclusive in our package. It was another exciting experience. Who
would guess that you can have this kind of ride on snow?<br />
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Since our group was the first to leave the base camp we were also the first to return.
While waiting for the other groups to arrive we scoured the camp and checked our souvenir photos. A pair of photo costs 2000 Yen; it was expectedly expensive but it was a once in a lifetime experience for us. We bought 2 pairs, one for snowmoble and another pair for banana boat ride. After an hour,
we took the same bus and disembark at Princeton Hotel.<br />
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That concludes our snowmobile experience. If you’re planning to visit Sapporo during
winter I strongly suggest this winter activity. You won’t regret it, promise.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-65303884647491462692019-03-11T21:43:00.000-07:002019-03-11T21:43:50.655-07:00Hotel Leopalace - Sapporo City, Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFmANgrlSZE63FKTgJQPIdlUHQwzUwPr1rxmcYNzwvc2x-FNgQLAVUza774S3hrifaFWD6Zuk-tf5EfIevb3gYjbCNglNcyaK7LWFaY5Ar1oIPlDcdX_og3nyHcKON1rSPSsXA3dveh44/s1600/20190209_080206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFmANgrlSZE63FKTgJQPIdlUHQwzUwPr1rxmcYNzwvc2x-FNgQLAVUza774S3hrifaFWD6Zuk-tf5EfIevb3gYjbCNglNcyaK7LWFaY5Ar1oIPlDcdX_og3nyHcKON1rSPSsXA3dveh44/s320/20190209_080206.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast coupns and access cards</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We were at Sapporo last February. It was winter's peak season so most hotels near Odori Park where the yearly Snow Festival is being held are fully booked. The wife has recommended this hotel to me due to good reviews.<br />
<br />
I agreed. We stayed here for 5 nights.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsLh2Qg23-qjSiBrj1RAOBjkuDsfPFORrNZyRJTv6usEfL01FjQwN_q9vmyFZeOwV03IioY7CYIxkgIw-3GGcFoE9Slo0_bssxjCf9X_oIZdFO0WE8J5p3ALPjx-UpZILSJFw28sAFd2p/s1600/20190204_144030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsLh2Qg23-qjSiBrj1RAOBjkuDsfPFORrNZyRJTv6usEfL01FjQwN_q9vmyFZeOwV03IioY7CYIxkgIw-3GGcFoE9Slo0_bssxjCf9X_oIZdFO0WE8J5p3ALPjx-UpZILSJFw28sAFd2p/s640/20190204_144030.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bed and pyjama - notice the air humidifier beside the bed</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8S9qWtFtdWp0_O96VRTMfX5jhUAtRmuTOtuJ1m-2wMV2W8kAR8iDho-aknBMlsakggA_Gp-nUU0P-ryH55vRA6HgA-bbMiCQvlBR2AdpGJkmloDAduI60iTB6D5jRXOzdXEYFx6DbpTi/s1600/20190204_143951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8S9qWtFtdWp0_O96VRTMfX5jhUAtRmuTOtuJ1m-2wMV2W8kAR8iDho-aknBMlsakggA_Gp-nUU0P-ryH55vRA6HgA-bbMiCQvlBR2AdpGJkmloDAduI60iTB6D5jRXOzdXEYFx6DbpTi/s640/20190204_143951.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handy Phone in Japanese - wifi password is shown on flat screen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzjrG6CA89l9wSPH39CHqwYK0-NkmwSAfQICzVK-GMOhsrZnuv8SqRMsvT-tiNVi3O_KbV9gCMdcY8-I2XMTC1frgQ29zUXB4sNzSAtlH5fMCr6dW8hCXPhSdswDQnr427zzimPcFjTO0/s1600/20190209_080601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzjrG6CA89l9wSPH39CHqwYK0-NkmwSAfQICzVK-GMOhsrZnuv8SqRMsvT-tiNVi3O_KbV9gCMdcY8-I2XMTC1frgQ29zUXB4sNzSAtlH5fMCr6dW8hCXPhSdswDQnr427zzimPcFjTO0/s640/20190209_080601.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restaurant at the second floor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStlvd_Q2aZZC5iPc4a4QdeueKRaQgO8i1Dhb6oWRqNDMqlslvK6HTQewrfBfhMtkcoMZzgjg8FsR1g0ARo5kM9no4YOqVGOFl8wkjeXP8DhhU74W29aHCBsFh2ATQlH0_NI3b-nVTGJvI/s1600/20190204_145433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStlvd_Q2aZZC5iPc4a4QdeueKRaQgO8i1Dhb6oWRqNDMqlslvK6HTQewrfBfhMtkcoMZzgjg8FsR1g0ARo5kM9no4YOqVGOFl8wkjeXP8DhhU74W29aHCBsFh2ATQlH0_NI3b-nVTGJvI/s640/20190204_145433.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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To make this simpler I'll just enumerate the Pros and Cons in staying here.<br />
<br />
Pros:<br />
- Spacious room<br />
- Secured ingress due to key card at the entrance and elevator<br />
- Wide selection of breakfast and spacious dining area<br />
- In-house restaurant<br />
- One block away from Tanokikuji shopping arcade - you'll find it at the back area of the hotel<br />
- Aeon convenience shop at the ground floor but outside hotel's building<br />
- 7-eleven at the opposite road<br />
- Individual room temperature setting<br />
- Toiletries and amenities such as disposable slippers, pyjamas are replaced and replenished daily<br />
- Portable air purifier / humidifier inside<br />
- Comfy bed<br />
- Small fridge<br />
- Light switches are located at the headboard<br />
- 2 blocks away from Odori Park<br />
- Nice and polite hotel and restaurant staff<br />
<br />
Cons:<br />
- 10 min walk from Odori Station exit 1 - exit 1 is at the farthest end of the station<br />
- Handy phone is set at Japanese <br />
- No bottled water<br />
- Movies are available but mostly are Japanese<br />
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During winter time, it could be arduous to walk from the train station up to this hotel. However, considering the other factors such as spacious room and complete amenities I would recommend this hotel in case you can bear the harsh Sapporo winter.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-57229532018946322402019-03-09T21:23:00.000-08:002019-03-11T04:53:51.777-07:00La Boqueria - A Foodie paradise in Barcelona, Spain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj67UE8iyo6GWZojx60RpZEWTt8mwmLMWhS6E4NK25OSn_HNpbeuPMxY_cyFEE1ESlCwGClU4hDU78eTzZ9Xg2tLdPaXtOndbRTmiDEVEjufLVuHFtNx-LS-qiyQigBPCn7MnuPp-jVvig/s1600/IMG_7394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj67UE8iyo6GWZojx60RpZEWTt8mwmLMWhS6E4NK25OSn_HNpbeuPMxY_cyFEE1ESlCwGClU4hDU78eTzZ9Xg2tLdPaXtOndbRTmiDEVEjufLVuHFtNx-LS-qiyQigBPCn7MnuPp-jVvig/s200/IMG_7394.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
If you are a Filipino or live at any Asean countries then La Boqueria is the Spanish
equivalent of our typical covered public market but cleaner and more hygienic.<br />
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You’ll find at La Boqueria shops selling local pastries, sweets, cheese, hams, fruits, and other
local delicacies. You can buy them by weight or in pack. Does Empanada sounds familiar to you? Well, this is the country where our Filipino
Empanadas came from. I agree that it is
normal to find local products at any public markets but what makes this place a
must visit for Foodie are the numerous food stalls that offer gastronomic
experience to both locals and visitors. This place won’t be called Europe’s largest
and most famous food market for nothing; don’t expect fine dining experience
though. Be prepared to eat on a long narrow table counter with seats lining up
its side while the center area is used for food preparation. No worries because
the entire place is covered or under one roof.<br />
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The perfect time to visit the place is just before lunch time.<br />
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The wife and I searched for “Quim de la Boqueria” and fortunately we found it with available
seats. Later on, we noticed some patrons in queue and waiting to be seated.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7jMfdcX7TK09XT0yShh6KQz9Rjfx2GabvZpbGER_z9a3Fzd1K1DxZp_neJYqeHTjUt8a09dYHLZFLHWV6gg8WrqK-yjJ5LYWl-KuoTC9pu6UeFyONLwyAMNu95-xJTW7tA_sR01bkmcs/s1600/IMG_7404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7jMfdcX7TK09XT0yShh6KQz9Rjfx2GabvZpbGER_z9a3Fzd1K1DxZp_neJYqeHTjUt8a09dYHLZFLHWV6gg8WrqK-yjJ5LYWl-KuoTC9pu6UeFyONLwyAMNu95-xJTW7tA_sR01bkmcs/s640/IMG_7404.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Orders</td></tr>
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We ordered their famous “fried eggs with baby squid.” To maximize our dining experience,
we also asked for grilled Tuna - they provide breads along with your orders so we didn't bother asking for rice. We shared our orders and trust me, I was truly
ecstatic in being able to taste baby squids along with fried eggs or what we call
sunny side up eggs. I loved the taste of the yolk mixed with the baby squid
sauce. Never in my life have I eaten baby squids along with fried eggs. We are
used in eating “adobong pusit” or squids cooked in soy sauce and vinegar with rice but baby squids with
eggs? It was definitely a thrilling experience specially the baby squids was cooked
in Catalan’s way.<br />
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After lunch we bought several torones and local chocolates in packs for our kids. Don't leave Barcelona without visiting this place; try their baby squids with fried eggs.<br />
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At the end of the day, another tick off on our bucket list.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-37677834297693812552019-03-02T21:48:00.001-08:002019-03-05T08:01:55.266-08:00Going to Sapporo Beer Museum? Then take the bus!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We were at Sapporo, Hokkaido last February; it was the peak of winter season at Hokkaido, Japan.<br />
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Being a beer drinker I included Sapporo beer museum in our itinerary. The wife and I usually take the train or subway as much as possible whenever we are in Japan due to language barrier. From the train station we trekked to our point of destination using MAPS.ME - an offline maps apps. We always reach our destination fast and safe using this apps; we even used it during our previous trips in Europe.<br />
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Based on my research on the net, the nearest train station is Higashi-Kuyakusho Mae Station on the Toho Subway Line; the museum is 15 minute walk from here. In short we found ourselves following the direction of the map apps. It shouldn't be a big deal actually; we have located our hotel and different touristy places in Madrid, Spain using the apps and sometimes it took us longer period to reach our destinations. However, I overlooked one critical thing, it was winter in Sapporo.<br />
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The map showed us the fastest route which means we have to pass along side streets far away from the main roads. Since it was winter and night time, we found the side streets deserted with dim road lights aside from knee deep snow in some areas. It was like walking along the streets similar to the movie "28 Days of Night," LOL. To be honest, I enjoyed the scenery and the adventure. But the wife... she was murmuring initially and later on started complaining that the place was so creepy and in case something bad happens to us nobody would be there and so on and so forth. She exclaimed finally that she wouldn't pass on the same path again going back to the station. I explained that it was Japan and the place was safe for both of us. Even if the streets are deserted; people would surely be there inside their houses. I kept on reassuring her until we reached Sapporo Beer Museum.<br />
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Upon setting foot in the museum all negative vibes of the wife vanished into thin air. That's my wife!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ5hcjrKypQzMkyyJPvwH8LMPhCh9fbTpd8jdSDP7-Av3IHXNpqetyN5WgA06A6V7bGa8gijrHXTRaTwuXoIjdmBPuHY__fRkAxJK48oz655SUZkTvFJ1UGwGP_L7DA27QySFjahQtTya/s1600/20190205_183413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ5hcjrKypQzMkyyJPvwH8LMPhCh9fbTpd8jdSDP7-Av3IHXNpqetyN5WgA06A6V7bGa8gijrHXTRaTwuXoIjdmBPuHY__fRkAxJK48oz655SUZkTvFJ1UGwGP_L7DA27QySFjahQtTya/s640/20190205_183413.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beer Museum</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkoqVwpkQumm9e0n9RB4-NKMPM87eQjTNcSoU4KUxB29ilzi-qVcW96rqBeeDS0FBljpWlw-Fkx2lhGJ19ze06gryR5IQ6SPI4kzfArwBpi4W5wxAhWIP9bZYAEvS_oWHSNqeFP1QMC2q/s1600/20190205_184635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkoqVwpkQumm9e0n9RB4-NKMPM87eQjTNcSoU4KUxB29ilzi-qVcW96rqBeeDS0FBljpWlw-Fkx2lhGJ19ze06gryR5IQ6SPI4kzfArwBpi4W5wxAhWIP9bZYAEvS_oWHSNqeFP1QMC2q/s640/20190205_184635.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sapporo Beer models</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPFmQanefjV-xT4IvmJVXlO43teyexwS92XQbi14Uhl_scpG1U9JUu741K0gBVzA7l4HXuRfPX1KRPi3sz-aXsVw5AnBRwjvwY9J8jS6FA0ECKGfigOPQD6tZUtg6hNba9GDWPzRkR0cK/s1600/20190205_184911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPFmQanefjV-xT4IvmJVXlO43teyexwS92XQbi14Uhl_scpG1U9JUu741K0gBVzA7l4HXuRfPX1KRPi3sz-aXsVw5AnBRwjvwY9J8jS6FA0ECKGfigOPQD6tZUtg6hNba9GDWPzRkR0cK/s640/20190205_184911.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beer tasting Area</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiSpfM59vnd5HI0cCBZb6W1gauFuAugJRSwK2bdarDoUsJJ9-i2IGl6fkUZltjubcNkGu0XUZV12Zr3L52RPOJa6XBaMzdtj2ECBeGRnAr_S8K7v3WWFmtWbrep1x6qfq5pWCneIOaFKk/s1600/20190205_184010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiSpfM59vnd5HI0cCBZb6W1gauFuAugJRSwK2bdarDoUsJJ9-i2IGl6fkUZltjubcNkGu0XUZV12Zr3L52RPOJa6XBaMzdtj2ECBeGRnAr_S8K7v3WWFmtWbrep1x6qfq5pWCneIOaFKk/s640/20190205_184010.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1BTzBXNreA45M-5VzLMYVs2iCf26I1hSZtdSXVFOvXICftAIuVaZnklC0ePWKe592RJX22ekH3D2lHbFjctRNFWTGvATKQlJKoYjXVOFZ26-Zd_HO_HwbqtwmYpJWrzvpfNy9x1Tceck/s1600/20190205_184336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1BTzBXNreA45M-5VzLMYVs2iCf26I1hSZtdSXVFOvXICftAIuVaZnklC0ePWKe592RJX22ekH3D2lHbFjctRNFWTGvATKQlJKoYjXVOFZ26-Zd_HO_HwbqtwmYpJWrzvpfNy9x1Tceck/s640/20190205_184336.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Pq5eHK1j2zIsok-zfczPlGtzL7PibuVkoGRLOTD6meNeGFrOcV2wITAo11M6Vbgy98fJ0RLzVKYZFn7z5X7iA90M5py9hvsxyVLtq2QeVrar1zRSRRuuzeH8xQgphcBNhlrYPchlExf3/s1600/20190205_200608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Pq5eHK1j2zIsok-zfczPlGtzL7PibuVkoGRLOTD6meNeGFrOcV2wITAo11M6Vbgy98fJ0RLzVKYZFn7z5X7iA90M5py9hvsxyVLtq2QeVrar1zRSRRuuzeH8xQgphcBNhlrYPchlExf3/s640/20190205_200608.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the museum area seems deserted and creepy!</td></tr>
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We toured the place. Unfortunately the beer tasting counter has taken its last clients; now I am the one complaining to the wife, because of this wife was ecstatic, LOL We took our dinner at nearby mall and returned back to the museum to start our journey back to our hotel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUojkOJVIO7yU7hy_DsA5xBrs9NdHZ_Qi7WlzsVOUSscbFMsMkJDfQkK9QrgH_CXWANF7daz2bNiNRPl728rsD7RXh07kAlAWSyC7muTWFmD_d2JpXvmpaH_gJVtfph1eJn0ssvxAnXE16/s1600/20190205_185629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUojkOJVIO7yU7hy_DsA5xBrs9NdHZ_Qi7WlzsVOUSscbFMsMkJDfQkK9QrgH_CXWANF7daz2bNiNRPl728rsD7RXh07kAlAWSyC7muTWFmD_d2JpXvmpaH_gJVtfph1eJn0ssvxAnXE16/s200/20190205_185629.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Beside the museum is the bus station where we found Bus no 88; it's marked "Sapporo Factory." To all Dads out there, don't forget the bus number and name. I remember during my research on the net that bus 88 passes at Odori Station. Without any ado, I grabbed my wife's hand and we boarded it. I would gamble in taking the bus and get lost rather than earn the ire of my wife again. Anyway, I am sure that sooner or later the bus would pass at a train station. Moreover, our Suica card is loaded and the bus fare is fixed, no worries at all even if we return to the same spot. I was prepared to shell out a big amount of money for taxi.<br />
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To make this short, we took the bus and disembarked at Odori Station, near the TV Tower. In no time at all we were back in our hotel a few blocks away from Odori Park. The wife was thankful that she didn't have to pass along the same narrow and creepy side streets where vampires could be lurking and waiting for their dinner, HaHaHa!<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-85769215834112096782019-03-01T04:03:00.002-08:002020-01-28T21:26:55.089-08:00Winter in Sapporo, Japan? Then prepare for the best and the worst!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The wife and I travelled to Sapporo, Japan to enjoy our first winter. We opted to have our first winter experience in tandem with Sapporo Snow Festival being held every February.<br />
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Having visited many countries we thought we were completely prepared for our Sapporo trip. Since it was our first time to experience winter or snow we researched extensively on how to safely prepare for winter. We checked the weather forecast from time to time and purchased winter clothes and boots. My wife even had a taste of winter, minus the snow, when she accompanied our medical student daughter in December last year to Seoul, South Korea during her "elective medical clerkship" for two weeks. She was a bit disappointed though since there wasn't any snow during their stay. <br />
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On February 4 we arrived at Sapporo City, Hokkaido and stayed near Odori Park where the yearly Snow Festival was being held. We were jumping, laughing, and having snow fights on our first couple of days. We loved the feeling and sound of snow getting crumpled under our snow boots. In addition, we booked a one hour snowmobile experience and a 5 minute banana ride on the snow. I even fulfilled my dream of making a "snow angel."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is Naruto restaurant at Otaru.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Otaru Canal</td></tr>
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On our fourth day, while visiting Otaru Canal, we were surprised that instead of being surreal and romantic, Otaru area was literally covered with thick blanket of snow and we found it difficult to traverse along the canal bank. Moreover, I could say that there was a blizzard since strong winds were blowing the snow from the roofs. Aside from that, the wife was shaking and coughing profusely due to extreme cold. We never thought winter in Otaru would be so harsh that you couldn't even clearly see the road. So after strolling along the canal bank and shopping at music box museum and Le Tao we decided to return back to Otaru train station without even bothering to try the famous Naruto's Fried Chicken. We took our late lunch back at Sapporo City.<br />
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Later that day we learned that Hokkaido was having a record breaking cold snap in forty years. If I remember it correctly, the mercury dropped to as low as -22 degrees Celsius. In addition, Tokyo City was affected by heavy snow as well. On the same day, we received an email from Jetstar stating that our flight was rescheduled. Our (cancelled) flight was supposed to leave Chitose Airport at past 3:00PM while the email stated that our new flight was an hour earlier. I didn't noticed the date, I thought it was the same day, February 9.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vuxz6HehT4hLW84J791rN7r02MHiztJJtZ8z1ABS1xqnrlZDOm9q6AKq6s5mboqXC2uz80032M20K9W1zSuM60gY8uVRObB2qVbsdAYMQkv8o7o-VtmxlUDAEYftDuVylNfIRS2V0KY6/s1600/20190209_115728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vuxz6HehT4hLW84J791rN7r02MHiztJJtZ8z1ABS1xqnrlZDOm9q6AKq6s5mboqXC2uz80032M20K9W1zSuM60gY8uVRObB2qVbsdAYMQkv8o7o-VtmxlUDAEYftDuVylNfIRS2V0KY6/s640/20190209_115728.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cancelled flights on February 9</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Thus on Feb 9, after purchasing several boxes of Le Tao cheesecakes at Chitose airport Duty Free shops, we lined-up at Jetstar check-in counter and noticed that around 5 flights to Tokyo were cancelled due to heavy snow; only our flight was as per schedule. Upon reaching the counter the staff couldn't find our booking; that was the time we learned that our flight was rescheduled from Feb 9 to Feb 11; mind you, we were not alone in this predicament. Several passengeres ahead us were even arguing with the staff regarding their cancelled flights. Since there were 5 flight affected by the heavy snow fall in Tokyo, obviously hundreds of passengers scheduled to leave on that day need to extend their stay at Sapporo City; definitely hotels would be fully booked.<br />
<br />
We hurriedly proceed to nearby airport hotel; sadly there was no available room. Fearing that we would end up sleeping at the airport, the wife while in panic mode immediately logged-in to her accounts in Agoda and Booking sites. She's expert on this matter because she's the one normally searching and booking our hotels whenever we travel. Thankfully, within 10 minutes, she was able to book a twin room for 2 night at Sapporo City.<br />
<br />
In short, we extended our stay in Japan and spent additional 24,000 pesos for 2 night stay in hotel not to mention the train fares in travelling back and forth between Sapporo City and New Chitose Airport and our meals. Also, can you imagine the time and effort in travel preparation and inconvenience this has caused to us? My wife was unwell due to extreme cold.<br />
<br />
We never purchase travel insurance so we ended up spending large amount of money for the extra 2 day. I apologized to the wife since I overlooked the date of our new flight.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU97N3NEl-HST10peV6rPX6pGLXe2Wg-yH77s6jVuORLQvm1QZSYzPisaQd3afgQkpnbRvgvB3LAS-cGaDJOz8zticS6D0eQV8Bxv-2UpDokfpm6lkFtptm5ZAtXp4ZYJvywnt4cBaB3mz/s1600/20190211_110905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU97N3NEl-HST10peV6rPX6pGLXe2Wg-yH77s6jVuORLQvm1QZSYzPisaQd3afgQkpnbRvgvB3LAS-cGaDJOz8zticS6D0eQV8Bxv-2UpDokfpm6lkFtptm5ZAtXp4ZYJvywnt4cBaB3mz/s640/20190211_110905.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our flight GK108 was allowed to leave while 4 flight were cancelled </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Two days later we were back at the airport. We noticed that several flights to Tokyo have been cancelled on that day too. Nervously we approached the counter and we almost shout in joy after receiving our boarding passes.<br />
<br />
The flight to Narita airport then back to Manila was flawless so our stress immediately disappeared into thin air and joked and laughed about our Sapporo winter experience.<br />
<br />
At the end of the day, we concluded that our first winter together have been the best and worst times of our travelling experience but definitely unforgettable!<br />
<br />
Our next winter escapade hopefully will be at Niseko, Japan and this time we will be prepared for the worst.<br />
<br />
</div>
welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-20594720356621511292019-01-27T08:15:00.000-08:002019-02-28T20:39:25.905-08:00Dad's Review - BPI Bank Fraud and Phising Alert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In November 2018, my BPI credit card started accumulating transactions in Indian
Rupee. I learned this when I received several text messages from BPI stating
that several transactions were cancelled due to suspected fraud. Likewise, the
text message indicates a BPI hotline that I need to call.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was
overseas and the last time I used the said card was a month earlier for online
booking.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I promptly
called the hotline and learned that several transactions at PAYTM were successfully
credited to my card. However, the customer staff instructed me to wait for a
dispute letter while they immediately cancelled and blocked my card since it was
already compromised. They arranged a new card to be delivered to my residence
in Philippines. I received a dispute letter from BPI on the same day and I
replied stating that I have my card with me and never used it for PAYTM.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After a
couple of days I was back in Philippines and received my new card.
Interestingly, I am still receiving text messages from BPI regarding new
cancelled transactions. It means my credit card was still being used in PAYTM.
So I followed up my reply to the dispute letter sender and called their
customer service again.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Normally, when
you use your credit card for online purchase the merchant asks for an OTP or
one time password to be sent by the bank to your registered mobile number. I
googled PAYTM and learned it is not requiring an OTP thus the initial
transactions went through.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
To make this
short, I was billed around 125,000 pesos but I didn’t pay the amount as
instructed by the customer service. On my next billing, the amount generated an
interest charge. However, after a few days I received a notice that the
disputed transactions/amount together with interest charge were reversed. It
took BPI around a month to rectify the situation.<br />
<br />
Until now, I have no idea how these fraud transactions have transpired.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Fast
forward, on Jan 22 I received an email from <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:expressonline@bpiexpressonline.ph."><span style="color: #0563c1;">expressonline@bpiexpressonline.ph.</span></a></span>
The email address looks authentic isn’t it? It shows a clear BPI logo and flawless
grammar and almost a perfect duplicate of BPI standard email. It asks you to
click a link for customer verification purposes. Aside from that, the email
states that your credit card is suspended until you have completed submitting the
details on the said link. The link looks like a BPI website asking for all your
personal data including your online banking username and password but I noticed that the URL of the link is not an official BPI website but rather a
“template” only though it is a secured website due to “HTPPS.” In addition to
this, I remember that BPI normally sends email with “customer security zone” –
this is a confidential number pertaining to your card and this email doesn’t
have one.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_Yf5JMfn9WmtaKqc0L0cSQR1jjCQRxUFGZVx9iGDSJpRWFpMrMfau0ZY40bhAAL0jUgI1UyClifvmBCs-l4Er-AdN6YJVWKlkah9bIOzU4Y8SyEuY344RyZSp7HGxwcfHD8awMERtmrN/s1600/BPI5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="461" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_Yf5JMfn9WmtaKqc0L0cSQR1jjCQRxUFGZVx9iGDSJpRWFpMrMfau0ZY40bhAAL0jUgI1UyClifvmBCs-l4Er-AdN6YJVWKlkah9bIOzU4Y8SyEuY344RyZSp7HGxwcfHD8awMERtmrN/s640/BPI5.JPG" width="338" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>This email seems authentic</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LfXknctUL0AWtU9CZGcZ3f9ll5llroaxlVhMXLcNPvure7k-Gb8h76B8kOBJ3jP54idm9OgYwWGLtjG8zY988bfr_r4EaIgNR8rdU1N0o2u36iZQ9vnJSOnVTzhfVXe2RYIaunuqziA7/s1600/bpi6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
So I
forwarded it to an authentic BPI email from where I am receiving my monthly
billing for verification. Aside from that I replied to the “other” email informing them I won’t enter my data unless they send my security zone
number. To my surprise, yahoo replied that my email is undeliverable to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="mailto:expresssonline@bpiexpressonline.ph"><span style="color: #0563c1;">expresssonline@bpiexpressonline.ph</span></a></span>.
Got Ya!<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43aDF68bC9CNuGnFUlq-oEh32bylvEYZGbMUsIfBqF3dIkx7-iyv4kYXMMD-4HEcTdraH2AskGrIsjB0dDrCHpRF8_RPqs4i9xMAGBk09KSFHRj6Y8Dcmg_1I9ZP6nANh8xLCH8New8Sx/s1600/bpi10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="515" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43aDF68bC9CNuGnFUlq-oEh32bylvEYZGbMUsIfBqF3dIkx7-iyv4kYXMMD-4HEcTdraH2AskGrIsjB0dDrCHpRF8_RPqs4i9xMAGBk09KSFHRj6Y8Dcmg_1I9ZP6nANh8xLCH8New8Sx/s640/bpi10.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yahoo couldn't locate the sender's email anymore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LfXknctUL0AWtU9CZGcZ3f9ll5llroaxlVhMXLcNPvure7k-Gb8h76B8kOBJ3jP54idm9OgYwWGLtjG8zY988bfr_r4EaIgNR8rdU1N0o2u36iZQ9vnJSOnVTzhfVXe2RYIaunuqziA7/s1600/bpi6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="567" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LfXknctUL0AWtU9CZGcZ3f9ll5llroaxlVhMXLcNPvure7k-Gb8h76B8kOBJ3jP54idm9OgYwWGLtjG8zY988bfr_r4EaIgNR8rdU1N0o2u36iZQ9vnJSOnVTzhfVXe2RYIaunuqziA7/s640/bpi6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>BPI look-alike online banking site - whatever character you type here will be accepted</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPuzomgjWT91ZMAotmGydXYfZ7otaUFftw-Sl6ofK3FDkt8RzrQEfmq_2Av0XuC4ddoypf2XpPfZ6E7K3Jccf2dc5tfQq2poaaifYyd4FnI2acSFG0N0yQgetGrMyWF62OOqoBIggv-V_/s1600/bpi9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1486" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPuzomgjWT91ZMAotmGydXYfZ7otaUFftw-Sl6ofK3FDkt8RzrQEfmq_2Av0XuC4ddoypf2XpPfZ6E7K3Jccf2dc5tfQq2poaaifYyd4FnI2acSFG0N0yQgetGrMyWF62OOqoBIggv-V_/s640/bpi9.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>Note the URL or website - it is definitely not the official website of BPI - enjoy filling-up this form</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My heart pounding with excitement, I
immediately click the link provided and "cursed" them. Yes. I cursed them! It felt good! I
even made fun of them too.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So guys, be very careful. Any correspondence you received from your “bank” asking for your personal
details should be treated with extreme caution. Your bank won’t ask you to
divulge your username/password/credit card/cvc/etc. by email for the sake of
verification. Remember that. Don’t get carried away about the threat of getting
your card suspended since it won’t cause you any damage. If you need to use
your card urgently then you just need to call their hotline. Further, if you
are in doubt then reply to that email and put in ccopy your bank’s official
email. There is nothing to lose if you spend a little time in verifying this
matter. Aside from that, you can also click the “link” provided by the email
and check whether the URL is your bank’s official website but don't ever give any details.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In case you
have confirmed that the email is a fraud then you can enjoy the luxury of
annoying those scammers like what I did.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWuNmCNBQhIkSJa1GGRoPACiTeLZDU3s5FeEnRmtXmDOoDv60X9qju3nZf8oJXl-XGQpPHwahdISQLS81DNp1k96ZaUx6ZE45r0CL_ZYiqHvgQ9sF-A2wfytuan8WIGDR7eGGtKoTDG1s/s1600/BPI8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="532" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWuNmCNBQhIkSJa1GGRoPACiTeLZDU3s5FeEnRmtXmDOoDv60X9qju3nZf8oJXl-XGQpPHwahdISQLS81DNp1k96ZaUx6ZE45r0CL_ZYiqHvgQ9sF-A2wfytuan8WIGDR7eGGtKoTDG1s/s640/BPI8.JPG" width="582" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><strong>BPI's reply to my email</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
BPI
replied and confirmed that what I received was a “phishing” mail. They
suggested that I change my online banking password through BPI official website
which I promptly did. As an industrial system specialist guy, the scammer would
be needing a supercomputer to debug my password, LOL.<br />
<br />
I am happy that BPI is able to manage the "phishing" situation immediately while the fraudulent transactions recorded on my credit card was professionally handled as well. It is very comforting to know that your bank is trying its best to protect you and your hard-earned money from unscrupulous individuals.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<em><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer:
Some minor details have been changed to protect my personal information.</span></em></div>
<br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-44168812439027252582019-01-16T21:18:00.002-08:002019-01-16T21:18:58.827-08:00The Old Town of Prague<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Visiting Prague City never crossed my mind until my Romanian work colleague in Africa mentioned to me that it was included in his bucket list during our conversation regarding the places we have visited. It made me wonder why a European guy would dream of visiting another less-known European city. I can understand if he says Paris or Rome, but why Prague?<br />
<br />
Then one time while we were at work I asked him about Prague. He started narrating about its old town which was never damaged during Second World War unlike other European cities. The town's medieval structures especially The "Old Town Hall," the "Astronomical Clock," and St. Charles Bridge have been preserved for several centuries. He triggered my explorer instinct so I started googling about the "old town of Prague."<br />
<br />
Long story short, the wife and I spent several days in "Old Town" of Prague City during our recent second European trip.<br />
<br />
Tough I have been in several famous cities in Europe I could say that Prague City has its own charm. Now I understand why my colleague was hell-bent in visiting this place. Sadly, he left our company; I think I have visited this place ahead of him. Hence, I am truly thankful that he had mentioned this magnificent place to me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkuJM-tnQfWxarva89I2E9ZqgovAiqYSllD7Ap_MjRbDGNQPBxTvkn2CjMdDLKAPHb0-HAxGujpbCnPh40HhxLdH-rOvnm1uU5XDfS0HO84naC3B_sZ1aKi_ggKXOXTlmjb-HyGIFho8_/s1600/IMG_6833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkuJM-tnQfWxarva89I2E9ZqgovAiqYSllD7Ap_MjRbDGNQPBxTvkn2CjMdDLKAPHb0-HAxGujpbCnPh40HhxLdH-rOvnm1uU5XDfS0HO84naC3B_sZ1aKi_ggKXOXTlmjb-HyGIFho8_/s640/IMG_6833.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trams of Prague City</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You can easily explore Prague City by Trams; it is a small place with an overlooking hill where you'd find Prague Castle. You can visit many of its tourist spots either by Trams or foot. Fortunately, my wife was able to book our room at the outskirts of the "Old Town Square" so it was pretty easy for us to explore the area. Our hotel is 5 minute walk to the square where you'll also find the "Old Town Hall" and the "Astronomical Clock."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaWUro7tTvcgRxGK04yjvAwrC21VOf9X4W8_QNsAZNuUu7rYbjB7dyzP-nxFbTAc8U7X2zZNTeBHzP1FIlC4S771ALJAHG91HG8NNAKSS0deGAd6KmXmyzbwD9TggXUgJ2akmmj6J0pbk/s1600/IMG_7151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaWUro7tTvcgRxGK04yjvAwrC21VOf9X4W8_QNsAZNuUu7rYbjB7dyzP-nxFbTAc8U7X2zZNTeBHzP1FIlC4S771ALJAHG91HG8NNAKSS0deGAd6KmXmyzbwD9TggXUgJ2akmmj6J0pbk/s640/IMG_7151.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vintage cars</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNrY5SUvnP-6gbCKs84sT5VZBTl3c6jryv-ZvdRKMIUFRpvRCk2QBns2TOVza5KVBeEnBL2kyRCs3NRGOiLW6xXe-oYQKa0snqnPWCkqPVE_GYDqvnWmyQHER7sNeDBQWJlFQPRtMjbDt/s1600/IMG_7152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZNrY5SUvnP-6gbCKs84sT5VZBTl3c6jryv-ZvdRKMIUFRpvRCk2QBns2TOVza5KVBeEnBL2kyRCs3NRGOiLW6xXe-oYQKa0snqnPWCkqPVE_GYDqvnWmyQHER7sNeDBQWJlFQPRtMjbDt/s640/IMG_7152.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The place is like a scene in medieval movies</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Astronomical Clock" behind is under renovation</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free Hugs</td></tr>
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There are plenty of Al-Fresco restaurant at the main square while some of them have dining area in the cellar. Several horse drawn classy carriages are parked along its main road waiting for passengers. In case you want to explore the place in style you can hire vintage cars with driver. From this point, the "Old Jewish Town" is just a few blocks away while the famous St. Charles Bridge is also walkable. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trdelnik being roasted - the bread is rotating like our "Lechon Manok"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After finishing the ice cream you can start eating the bread</td></tr>
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The wife visited a famous Belgian chocolate shop and bought several boxes for our kids. Don't bother buying souvenir items here, you'd find the same items at lower price outside the square proper. We enjoyed their local bread called Trdelnik. It is a circular roasted hollowed bread; you can put ice cream inside. It was good.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early Morning</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon crowds</td></tr>
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The perfect time to enjoy this place is early morning. You can have great selfies due to less crowds. Unfortunately, the "Astronomical Clock" was under renovation during our visit. At mid-day until late afternoon, this place is teeming with tourists; it transforms into a huge market place. Probably we were there during peak season.<br />
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Given a chane, the wife and I would love to return back to this place.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-77663316435538045822019-01-05T21:27:00.000-08:002019-01-12T21:46:57.973-08:00Le Charme Suites - Subic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We left our house in San Mateo, Rizal at 6 AM and had our breakfast at Petron Station along NLEX. We did some shopping first at Royal Subic Duty Free which is beside Le Charme Suite. At 11 AM we inquired whether we could have an early check-in; we were lucky that our rooms were ready.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Royal Duty Free - view from our room</td></tr>
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Upon check-in you'd be given a bunch of coupons aside from your key card. Coupons include breakfast and wifi password and discount coupons for Tai Ichi Spa, Virtual Reality Games and Tepan 101.<br />
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The place is perfect for staycation. Plenty of fast foods and specialty restaurants around such as Mr. Taste Halal and Tepan 101. At Mr. Taste, I enjoyed my favorite Chicken Masala with Chapati while the family ordered Chicken Biryani and Chicken Pakora. At Tepan 101 we devoured the juicy medium rare tenderloin steak. If you are a fitness buff like my eldest son then you can have a short work out at their fitness center at ground floor. I was initially planning to rent a bike from the hotel but due to drizzle I forego my plan otherwise it would be a thrilling experience to explore Subic by bike.<br />
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Aside from being near with Royal Duty Free you can also stroll up to Puregold Duty Free, Nike and Adidas Outlet Shops. Also, at the ground floor of the hotel is an American Premium Outlet Shop selling US brands clothes; shopping won't be a problem here. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roof Deck Swimming Pool</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spacious room with large cabinet</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgudZhGQqmADlfFSyyp5-i3L-GuBPtxDTgr6T5X0leiQpAgRjkGRuguM995g5ZIa6KzteaYtFctXEGC8j5vikHKi9gNT1DkaC4K0KqB8i7tMu9XBHCKKSI5McAI0-Nmu5NYxt_8ALR2So/s1600/20181223_111139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgudZhGQqmADlfFSyyp5-i3L-GuBPtxDTgr6T5X0leiQpAgRjkGRuguM995g5ZIa6KzteaYtFctXEGC8j5vikHKi9gNT1DkaC4K0KqB8i7tMu9XBHCKKSI5McAI0-Nmu5NYxt_8ALR2So/s640/20181223_111139.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of coziest tubs I have used</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclMQAKD_alkooOP7N6sDdaFDHiI383jL8Ej2PqiTjDLDlG_WsXYpP9qOwauRKNjd60VHUWjGnrXRgXLY9Qw_2ScCyYoCQApiY8APESVb1lf6O9D9f2qsdzr0XO0vB-gVjNv1qDegamtyx/s1600/20181223_110609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgclMQAKD_alkooOP7N6sDdaFDHiI383jL8Ej2PqiTjDLDlG_WsXYpP9qOwauRKNjd60VHUWjGnrXRgXLY9Qw_2ScCyYoCQApiY8APESVb1lf6O9D9f2qsdzr0XO0vB-gVjNv1qDegamtyx/s640/20181223_110609.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great views</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We stayed here for one night and booked two rooms, one double and one triple. Albeit the rain that prevented us from night swimming at their roof deck swimming pool I could say that we truly enjoyed our stay. The family availed the 50% discount for whole body massage and foot reflexology at Tai Ichi Spa; I even had my foot nails cut and cleaned before the foot reflexology. For me, the foot reflexology here is more enjoyable than the foot massage I had at Khao san Road, Bangkok City.<br />
<br />
Breakfast is mostly local dishes such as "Daing na Bangus," "Longanisa," fried rice and breads. Nothing special, actually. I noticed that there were limited seats available at their restaurant.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLz1cTNzxqoN85VPLDBuJh9uxJQVOo0E1xXtjxmCoFRXfayWGk9EFs8-TWSME_afpFIVx0HdE_RcTTNJ6w4vBBaNg24kCB-JJpnx3QjIcw3b54pLOssXf0oeHdJ7B17UtK9HfLBzLVhPAI/s1600/20181224_102041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLz1cTNzxqoN85VPLDBuJh9uxJQVOo0E1xXtjxmCoFRXfayWGk9EFs8-TWSME_afpFIVx0HdE_RcTTNJ6w4vBBaNg24kCB-JJpnx3QjIcw3b54pLOssXf0oeHdJ7B17UtK9HfLBzLVhPAI/s640/20181224_102041.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hotel Entrance - outside is my son loading our things during check out</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic16e4RwiuBjjonBqJl2DIVlfZdJ8JTaz5FmxXAobTsfu33ATURZ4R6-xgBOKfuTwskBZbpa4Eyu4hXn8OsKlkblP8XCYQLuVKUUU8faEZD0dDsbXO_8o42w1CKc4OAa-teUFb4iSLlISJ/s1600/20181224_093159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic16e4RwiuBjjonBqJl2DIVlfZdJ8JTaz5FmxXAobTsfu33ATURZ4R6-xgBOKfuTwskBZbpa4Eyu4hXn8OsKlkblP8XCYQLuVKUUU8faEZD0dDsbXO_8o42w1CKc4OAa-teUFb4iSLlISJ/s640/20181224_093159.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hallway</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeTeBgrhzugQfY6ubfemJ6PhuJwYRiJd6rfM0d6YdhiJzdup3ANWSFy-W-w2PQEOpCmfQNDAGKHPh13KjKcxdzCOMLyCeM9VgdAe0lIPbJPshm6Q4hwrGooX_GwfNjvOD64KGz93eI2KH/s1600/20181224_084506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeTeBgrhzugQfY6ubfemJ6PhuJwYRiJd6rfM0d6YdhiJzdup3ANWSFy-W-w2PQEOpCmfQNDAGKHPh13KjKcxdzCOMLyCeM9VgdAe0lIPbJPshm6Q4hwrGooX_GwfNjvOD64KGz93eI2KH/s640/20181224_084506.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play area for kids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Le Charme offers one of the biggest and highest ceilings among all the hotel rooms we have stayed in and out of the country. Moreover, the amenities are comparable to some 5 star hotels. We have bathrobes, disposable slippers, complete toiletries, electronic vault, full size tub, plenty of massive mirrors, study table, free minibar non-alcoholic drinks, portable hair blower and fast wifi.<br />
<br />
The hotel doesn't have an exclusive parking so you end up leaving your car at the open area in front of the hotel. No worries since a 24 hours security staff is available at the entrance. Night time, before retiring to our room, I inquired with the security staff about my car, he asked me to move my car directly in front of the hotel's entrance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnHtfFyR_cIWPcQHWaFGmhcDAv0BQvG9MTOhnTplJ-aWAGugerGSUNMeQyZ9TzLhHZvlKr2cKmfzBUbLBx0bw05u4YJz_DcNl4LfKV9StFNlpVYeml7K65ibUKCQlPwM0fShwRf75UYn-n/s1600/20181224_092754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnHtfFyR_cIWPcQHWaFGmhcDAv0BQvG9MTOhnTplJ-aWAGugerGSUNMeQyZ9TzLhHZvlKr2cKmfzBUbLBx0bw05u4YJz_DcNl4LfKV9StFNlpVYeml7K65ibUKCQlPwM0fShwRf75UYn-n/s200/20181224_092754.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
After checking out we drove to nearby Harbor Point Mall, explored the place and took our lunch at Kuya J restaurant before travelling back to Manila<br />
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About the staff, they are simply awesome.<br />
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</div>
welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085907719022855632.post-54662013934106186952018-11-27T21:35:00.002-08:002019-01-04T21:10:53.498-08:00St. Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
First things
first - St. Vitus Cathedral is located inside Prague Castle and this is the most visited tourist attractions in Prague.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Prague Castle
looks modern in contrast with the Gothic style cathedral; for some visitors,
the cathedral could be the main attraction in this place. My wife and I initially had the same impression. Don’t get me wrong, St. Vitus Cathedral is a magnificent place of
worship. In fact, we stayed inside for some time to appreciate and adore those
religious ornaments, artefacts and stained glass windows. But coming from
Philippines where we have many gothic style churches my expectation is not that
high.<br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We availed
the complete tour package - without tour guide - from the business office. After payment, we received a map that
shows the different locations that are open for visitors. Actually, we were early so we waited for almost an hour before the business office opens; thus we had ample time to explore the open areas without the perennial crowds. <br />
<br />
The castle complex opens at 6 AM but the historical buildings open a couple of hours later.<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Though the
castle seems modern from outside it was completely different when you explore the
entire place.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpoL2Ds_cDjjyYb3FkOFgzZk2mKgXHx9bT6JaeR3QBkXYEvpLrrnQdWoup7e3rcfOFwkMjcXGxbNq-fQLz8oD6detkIdQB2sKOqEy_svLpkkhcW7mL3xvIxT0VD_UOsyPEWo24CSAazaF/s1600/IMG_6886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpoL2Ds_cDjjyYb3FkOFgzZk2mKgXHx9bT6JaeR3QBkXYEvpLrrnQdWoup7e3rcfOFwkMjcXGxbNq-fQLz8oD6detkIdQB2sKOqEy_svLpkkhcW7mL3xvIxT0VD_UOsyPEWo24CSAazaF/s640/IMG_6886.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the castle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GgiDfdJOMu_d8wwoXpox9Eb_y_xq5WRjGd8a8afV9gEmJ4-J3TLDuq7_Oz6dWj59z3ze5FrdY7wRt2DQHzXCGiuQUybebU09hZXIjdRccZOq7dS7kHmE0MQcApDduBvuT-HrXVdKBQwj/s1600/IMG_6876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GgiDfdJOMu_d8wwoXpox9Eb_y_xq5WRjGd8a8afV9gEmJ4-J3TLDuq7_Oz6dWj59z3ze5FrdY7wRt2DQHzXCGiuQUybebU09hZXIjdRccZOq7dS7kHmE0MQcApDduBvuT-HrXVdKBQwj/s640/IMG_6876.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cathedral at the back</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4YedB5zbeKjkfOY_sw2Mx79OnzfzWoPJNVIpd0UkAHT6ZQsA9sqG_fuVfhvNofiPjyW99VGmUfasnd6Dnz7W3h_CHBRp5js-YHncWEFLSsRFev3nMHy858oafxkhyDbyxyHevr2yeewo/s1600/IMG_6872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4YedB5zbeKjkfOY_sw2Mx79OnzfzWoPJNVIpd0UkAHT6ZQsA9sqG_fuVfhvNofiPjyW99VGmUfasnd6Dnz7W3h_CHBRp5js-YHncWEFLSsRFev3nMHy858oafxkhyDbyxyHevr2yeewo/s640/IMG_6872.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuJJxPy-CgVBjQBgf9LMvYnz9M7ytPermrBkzAXsna-5QqeuROzT2KjiCrB7gaQiY6ni3fsk_AYdWjStTTbpgP_bM7VuYrSJpv9vAZoi3HOpT1MEz2_MfGF4jnp2x8C3chp2LZxqciRgr/s1600/IMG_6891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuJJxPy-CgVBjQBgf9LMvYnz9M7ytPermrBkzAXsna-5QqeuROzT2KjiCrB7gaQiY6ni3fsk_AYdWjStTTbpgP_bM7VuYrSJpv9vAZoi3HOpT1MEz2_MfGF4jnp2x8C3chp2LZxqciRgr/s640/IMG_6891.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinALmjhKul6azQM_GfBgpT6Ne2ivD6hXJf5Y49Neo1mRFoyaEN-kMdmslNahLFOMdqUxsiviF49lPLqyH-lKvstMvmPqcL9zYB6uMvTeJD6ZW0YkT6EfsyHhJ3UKPxSFNw3wQ-2aoDI96_/s1600/IMG_6903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinALmjhKul6azQM_GfBgpT6Ne2ivD6hXJf5Y49Neo1mRFoyaEN-kMdmslNahLFOMdqUxsiviF49lPLqyH-lKvstMvmPqcL9zYB6uMvTeJD6ZW0YkT6EfsyHhJ3UKPxSFNw3wQ-2aoDI96_/s640/IMG_6903.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks like this is entirely made of silver</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1rdHuntfeGP0PGHC1veCqu36xd5mmcQ47zjMvrDrlc_Py2LfXybVQ-o-bEQEH0Ko2PIbIdne5hnd_-Iiy0OY9Y5_EH3hTKp3p6dXkPtS0tV0-NsQvL8_woxmVnG_TR416OeowRqB7Gx6/s1600/IMG_6889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1rdHuntfeGP0PGHC1veCqu36xd5mmcQ47zjMvrDrlc_Py2LfXybVQ-o-bEQEH0Ko2PIbIdne5hnd_-Iiy0OY9Y5_EH3hTKp3p6dXkPtS0tV0-NsQvL8_woxmVnG_TR416OeowRqB7Gx6/s640/IMG_6889.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0n1ivWL5WIZ1akGkzqEYaoOpCzvLIwGoXjHFIm3pPStDSmmkO6XlGSEIjUJWM-Qy0-figs1AQjvIlaeke-KW6tG5VmcL2d9PX3SyDQ9q1wFQS33OPrqnA0W_Cu7emNk54loPJwegRjqk/s1600/IMG_6909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0n1ivWL5WIZ1akGkzqEYaoOpCzvLIwGoXjHFIm3pPStDSmmkO6XlGSEIjUJWM-Qy0-figs1AQjvIlaeke-KW6tG5VmcL2d9PX3SyDQ9q1wFQS33OPrqnA0W_Cu7emNk54loPJwegRjqk/s640/IMG_6909.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-nup shots in front of the cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOv17wEKZlbQJN4H6iAvbbwfm3veMF4uBOUMFsMFbNxT7J-eh4NWTxqXgl8d6iRLV4vOtX3VQinb01FEBUr5K8qRvtUN2VKq8NrfpeVkTMV1zyj7NdFnMHR3CJJuLHn1oZAy7Ld06EksR/s1600/IMG_6884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOv17wEKZlbQJN4H6iAvbbwfm3veMF4uBOUMFsMFbNxT7J-eh4NWTxqXgl8d6iRLV4vOtX3VQinb01FEBUr5K8qRvtUN2VKq8NrfpeVkTMV1zyj7NdFnMHR3CJJuLHn1oZAy7Ld06EksR/s640/IMG_6884.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. George's Basilica</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpT_du3GKgilL71NLVDlfC06kj2SkxOBLxmENDt7EbrDz6zUeHAFrjjbpOCNQVDHHs5Sjm7ZLKC6PoISaRozp7E3O-bZmliYitLxHSJijEQ3zD7YZCUnLfKQfRR7-qT2JMqkX9bQrkrnw/s1600/IMG_6917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqpT_du3GKgilL71NLVDlfC06kj2SkxOBLxmENDt7EbrDz6zUeHAFrjjbpOCNQVDHHs5Sjm7ZLKC6PoISaRozp7E3O-bZmliYitLxHSJijEQ3zD7YZCUnLfKQfRR7-qT2JMqkX9bQrkrnw/s640/IMG_6917.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIR7nlCM8NZ4PCTvFSBW8iMq3yA7BzK5SGG1pdokmOl2yakEsglTE4cunsvO2jG1y5L7OaLSzMKTimniRCiwz5995QQRC5xqLsCYRqaFk5Le7Ggf_rJZ0kw9Zf0b7IQWAAihdoSCHEAFpB/s1600/IMG_6919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIR7nlCM8NZ4PCTvFSBW8iMq3yA7BzK5SGG1pdokmOl2yakEsglTE4cunsvO2jG1y5L7OaLSzMKTimniRCiwz5995QQRC5xqLsCYRqaFk5Le7Ggf_rJZ0kw9Zf0b7IQWAAihdoSCHEAFpB/s640/IMG_6919.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those small houses are like museum inside</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpoL2Ds_cDjjyYb3FkOFgzZk2mKgXHx9bT6JaeR3QBkXYEvpLrrnQdWoup7e3rcfOFwkMjcXGxbNq-fQLz8oD6detkIdQB2sKOqEy_svLpkkhcW7mL3xvIxT0VD_UOsyPEWo24CSAazaF/s1600/IMG_6886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEfq7Bj7u1FHPTIL70Ov8e1H7guheJXCiOhCvj0IYahFKj3HS08EjxEr0h5NrVw6Bbhu_ljfgjZwrvriYZ8H2AAteIqu7gQUvoj4y_z6g8uzGiBDz2A78XymI3Y_-jJxI_p2hYi_5ylQ4/s1600/IMG_6926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEfq7Bj7u1FHPTIL70Ov8e1H7guheJXCiOhCvj0IYahFKj3HS08EjxEr0h5NrVw6Bbhu_ljfgjZwrvriYZ8H2AAteIqu7gQUvoj4y_z6g8uzGiBDz2A78XymI3Y_-jJxI_p2hYi_5ylQ4/s640/IMG_6926.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preserved rooms that serve as museum</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4bDZgRqm3eq3fOz9TSWVH0oTMrPYIrUkrtUCiKIsYnjCS28GtR3aLk0N3UXo9D6wTOCLVRG9iZRdz06Ska0StQAd_w713yMizFt1jOgOKyvEx0nP0N6mYniVYcvCk3aT_PxKLBn8liB5/s1600/IMG_6951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4bDZgRqm3eq3fOz9TSWVH0oTMrPYIrUkrtUCiKIsYnjCS28GtR3aLk0N3UXo9D6wTOCLVRG9iZRdz06Ska0StQAd_w713yMizFt1jOgOKyvEx0nP0N6mYniVYcvCk3aT_PxKLBn8liB5/s640/IMG_6951.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Soutern part of the castle complex is a massive garden overlooking the city</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3nNbc9dq86CTPvzxpGCI7PEQDC-CkBEP4N9gCJKpMdKB-RlcmPR7QD0sPa0dDn0opJ0HI-b0eoOX5wVz-EgW45v7GIEqLD-1iy6xNBLEWCDim4Adb69mBT9Ip7WwbPY7FigsnOdQP3tl/s1600/IMG_6932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3nNbc9dq86CTPvzxpGCI7PEQDC-CkBEP4N9gCJKpMdKB-RlcmPR7QD0sPa0dDn0opJ0HI-b0eoOX5wVz-EgW45v7GIEqLD-1iy6xNBLEWCDim4Adb69mBT9Ip7WwbPY7FigsnOdQP3tl/s640/IMG_6932.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prague City</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It was our first
time to see so much medieval armours and weaponries in one place. It was like
those worn by knights fighting dragons in movies. Aside from that we were able to see the
different medieval torture equipment.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaa7Rv3YlM8jxUtm51dsuNV2kLU0DJcrZr-kziSQ4Lv-KpY0WTdTfT117sRKpwefqIZy1ptBFMf48F8sWGJ5HRVKfJBG_vE5YcYA0-UBywMPfJflWj9OdUpj0u_9g6HE-nn5QkYfcTZOz/s1600/IMG_6927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaa7Rv3YlM8jxUtm51dsuNV2kLU0DJcrZr-kziSQ4Lv-KpY0WTdTfT117sRKpwefqIZy1ptBFMf48F8sWGJ5HRVKfJBG_vE5YcYA0-UBywMPfJflWj9OdUpj0u_9g6HE-nn5QkYfcTZOz/s640/IMG_6927.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the perks of being an "early bird"</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8TGXwQHgh_GQ7j34sjAG7oTScGgYGCuOIMQiMu1lc-T7eAHq6wsv_kmveTkUZfSV_G8SECBiHMVcH5FKwMjg0Zk8vlT9egY-NpxHR0qgLJLgz-Oo59Eelt0eRc5GJGFTu0gturEyz0DC/s1600/IMG_6925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8TGXwQHgh_GQ7j34sjAG7oTScGgYGCuOIMQiMu1lc-T7eAHq6wsv_kmveTkUZfSV_G8SECBiHMVcH5FKwMjg0Zk8vlT9egY-NpxHR0qgLJLgz-Oo59Eelt0eRc5GJGFTu0gturEyz0DC/s640/IMG_6925.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV268njrI5ELYrXxmxNFrmyYq98DDJQlxoenqUggbN8SpWnsv_79f05-vOA4baG5bsMUR8tZitSRapcH5ucwZwE3ZvTADvPn5OZvBHKCpOh8CQGhIon_YpCAHkiId-yZ_2Wfo-djMo-mxQ/s1600/IMG_6924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV268njrI5ELYrXxmxNFrmyYq98DDJQlxoenqUggbN8SpWnsv_79f05-vOA4baG5bsMUR8tZitSRapcH5ucwZwE3ZvTADvPn5OZvBHKCpOh8CQGhIon_YpCAHkiId-yZ_2Wfo-djMo-mxQ/s640/IMG_6924.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torture equipment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XwZLMB4xd3m4_ALeMttAEZ_wC-lyXHQDhJ1rs0Edg1UFn4i6-fafQ45Ab0fHBWTF33ZH47tcI1oH1RezB_3llmtmnpVokAVS-DYB-6s8W9mVEH2NGc48KHpdgu0A5c9wQXp67gCLA8dQ/s1600/IMG_6923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XwZLMB4xd3m4_ALeMttAEZ_wC-lyXHQDhJ1rs0Edg1UFn4i6-fafQ45Ab0fHBWTF33ZH47tcI1oH1RezB_3llmtmnpVokAVS-DYB-6s8W9mVEH2NGc48KHpdgu0A5c9wQXp67gCLA8dQ/s640/IMG_6923.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Wishing Toilet"</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There is a peculiar
place that used to be a medieval toilet. But due to coins thrown by visitors the toilet now looks like a wishing fountain, lol. Unfortunately, vandalism is also present here.<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We visited
this place by Tram. It was pretty easy to locate this place since the castle is
on top of the hill overlooking the city. We were early birds so we took the opportunity to fully enjoy the place minus the crowds.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-OKH_W1Cen-1TA4hBxUAeUJQiSs1H5746XiOFtsl63QvPtaSvyi4tXeCBAZnHH2Vqn4Rh1UHiKOPo7V2pfav3qXZvBMbyhBFHtpaXFEoQnly9mqdAi2x37su1uH2krJR61EbH6q54csK/s1600/IMG_6878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-OKH_W1Cen-1TA4hBxUAeUJQiSs1H5746XiOFtsl63QvPtaSvyi4tXeCBAZnHH2Vqn4Rh1UHiKOPo7V2pfav3qXZvBMbyhBFHtpaXFEoQnly9mqdAi2x37su1uH2krJR61EbH6q54csK/s200/IMG_6878.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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If you are
in Prague, you must visit this place otherwise you lose half of your life, haha.<br />
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welscuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181712777969847862noreply@blogger.com0