Over the next few weeks I'll be making a start on my posts for each of the countries we visited in December and January, but for now I'll just do a very brief introduction into each place and add some photos for my #Take12Trips challenge.
How's everyone else going with their trips/activities?
A lot of you would've had trips away at Christmas and New Years with family and friends which I hope were filled with lots of love and laughter while creating everlasting memories.
Now that you're back into work and your time each day is filled up with chores and everyday life it's really important to plan trips or activities so that you've got something to look forward to.
There's no rest for us any time soon - this weekend we're going down south for my friend's baby shower and then next weekend we're back down south again (to a different place) for another friend's wedding.
I love living a busy life - it makes every day exciting! And it makes the time spent at home cuddled up on the couch that much more enjoyable instead of it being something that's done every weekend.
Here goes:
30 December 2013 - Singapore
We flew out to Singapore on 30 December 2013 and stayed for 3 nights. This is where we spent New Years Eve and had a fantastic time celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next at the Marina Bay Sands Casino and along the waterfront at Marina Bay taking in the fireworks with thousands of other onlookers. We had a fantastic time exploring the city and parks, and window shopping along Orchard Road. A trip to Sentosa on the cable car made for a lovely place to have dinner one night and we were treated to a fantastic merlion lightshow.
2 January 2014 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Our first border crossing by land
We took a train from Singapore to KL (interesting, I'll write more about this in another post) and spent 3 nights there. Once again we had a blast exploring the city and parks and really enjoyed heading further afield to the Batu Caves and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia where we did a hike and a canopy walk. There were amazing shopping malls everywhere in KL (window shopping only of course, we were already maxing out our luggage allowance). One day was spent at a local cinema (something we never normally do, but thought it would be a nice way to relax) and treating ourselves to a lovely massage.
6 January 2014 - Beijing, China
After a 5 hour wait on the tarmac at the KL airport we finally made our way to Beijing. And it was freezing! But it was so worth it. Exploring the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Jingshan Park (just to name a few) was so much fun. The architecture was amazing, with such incredible detail. We had a great time at a Kung Fu Show one night and a trip up to the Summer Palace made for another great outing. We even got to go 'ice skating' on the frozen lake - now that's something we'd never get to experience in Perth! A day trip out to the Great Wall of China was even more amazing than we could've imagined.
10 January 2014 - Hong Kong
It was nice arriving in Hong Kong and knowing we were going to be there for 10 days. We explored different parts of the city, took two trips out to Lantau Island, spent a day at Ocean Park and of course Scotty competed in the Vibram HK100. There was a wide variety of food to enjoy and we met so many lovely people. Scotty even celebrated his birthday in Hong Kong (more on that another time).
14 January 2014 - Macau - Our first border crossing by sea
Since we were so close (and someone we met out at Lantau Island recommended it) we thought we'd take a day trip to Macau. It was such a fun experience with a great contrast between 'Vegas' casinos and old fashioned Portugal.
20 January 2014 - Tokyo and Nozawaonsen, Japan
We had 2 nights in Tokyo which were filled with exploring the city, going to a sumo wrestling tournament and being taken out for dinner by some lovely Japanese locals. We then caught the bullet train and a bus to get to Nozawa. It was like a winter wonderland when we arrived. The village was right at the base of the ski field and only a 5 minute walk from our resort to the main gondola. We spent the next five days skiing/snowboarding, eating (a lot!) and playing in the snow. Not to mention experiencing some of the more traditional Japanese experiences in the onsens.
After one night back in Tokyo at an airport hotel on 29 January we were on our way home the following day via KL and arrived in Perth on 31 January at about 2am.
It was a whirlwind adventure! 6 countries in 5 weeks... An incredible way to see some of Asia.
As I said above, this is just a small introduction into each country we visited and a couple of photos to keep you intrigued until I upload some more. I'll go into more detail in my posts over the next few weeks about each country with tips on what to do, where to stay, and some things to look out for.
In the meantime, I hope you are all planning your next trip. It doesn't matter how big or small, something to look forward to each month will bring a bit of extra excitement and joy to your life.
I love living a busy life - it makes every day exciting! And it makes the time spent at home cuddled up on the couch that much more enjoyable instead of it being something that's done every weekend.
Here goes:
30 December 2013 - Singapore
We flew out to Singapore on 30 December 2013 and stayed for 3 nights. This is where we spent New Years Eve and had a fantastic time celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next at the Marina Bay Sands Casino and along the waterfront at Marina Bay taking in the fireworks with thousands of other onlookers. We had a fantastic time exploring the city and parks, and window shopping along Orchard Road. A trip to Sentosa on the cable car made for a lovely place to have dinner one night and we were treated to a fantastic merlion lightshow.
2 January 2014 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Our first border crossing by land
We took a train from Singapore to KL (interesting, I'll write more about this in another post) and spent 3 nights there. Once again we had a blast exploring the city and parks and really enjoyed heading further afield to the Batu Caves and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia where we did a hike and a canopy walk. There were amazing shopping malls everywhere in KL (window shopping only of course, we were already maxing out our luggage allowance). One day was spent at a local cinema (something we never normally do, but thought it would be a nice way to relax) and treating ourselves to a lovely massage.
6 January 2014 - Beijing, China
After a 5 hour wait on the tarmac at the KL airport we finally made our way to Beijing. And it was freezing! But it was so worth it. Exploring the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Jingshan Park (just to name a few) was so much fun. The architecture was amazing, with such incredible detail. We had a great time at a Kung Fu Show one night and a trip up to the Summer Palace made for another great outing. We even got to go 'ice skating' on the frozen lake - now that's something we'd never get to experience in Perth! A day trip out to the Great Wall of China was even more amazing than we could've imagined.
10 January 2014 - Hong Kong
It was nice arriving in Hong Kong and knowing we were going to be there for 10 days. We explored different parts of the city, took two trips out to Lantau Island, spent a day at Ocean Park and of course Scotty competed in the Vibram HK100. There was a wide variety of food to enjoy and we met so many lovely people. Scotty even celebrated his birthday in Hong Kong (more on that another time).
14 January 2014 - Macau - Our first border crossing by sea
Since we were so close (and someone we met out at Lantau Island recommended it) we thought we'd take a day trip to Macau. It was such a fun experience with a great contrast between 'Vegas' casinos and old fashioned Portugal.
20 January 2014 - Tokyo and Nozawaonsen, Japan
We had 2 nights in Tokyo which were filled with exploring the city, going to a sumo wrestling tournament and being taken out for dinner by some lovely Japanese locals. We then caught the bullet train and a bus to get to Nozawa. It was like a winter wonderland when we arrived. The village was right at the base of the ski field and only a 5 minute walk from our resort to the main gondola. We spent the next five days skiing/snowboarding, eating (a lot!) and playing in the snow. Not to mention experiencing some of the more traditional Japanese experiences in the onsens.
After one night back in Tokyo at an airport hotel on 29 January we were on our way home the following day via KL and arrived in Perth on 31 January at about 2am.
It was a whirlwind adventure! 6 countries in 5 weeks... An incredible way to see some of Asia.
As I said above, this is just a small introduction into each country we visited and a couple of photos to keep you intrigued until I upload some more. I'll go into more detail in my posts over the next few weeks about each country with tips on what to do, where to stay, and some things to look out for.
In the meantime, I hope you are all planning your next trip. It doesn't matter how big or small, something to look forward to each month will bring a bit of extra excitement and joy to your life.
SIX countries in five weeks! Amazing! What a great month of travel! I can't wait to see what you get up to next, Liz. Your year is off to a rocking start...
ReplyDeleteThanks Clare. It was an awesome way to kick off the year! NZ is next and then things are a bit up in the air after that... Will let everyone know as soon as I do!
ReplyDeleteWow what an amazing trip! I look forward to hearing more about your Beijing trip especially :)
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