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Luke Heath-Edwards

Luke Heath-Edwards

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    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      Bangla Rd

      September 30, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

      Day 1 in Phuket we had a lazy morning, explored the resort, and enjoyed a buffet breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and Milo cereal 😍 then a walk on the beach before swimming in the beachside pool. We enjoyed a pizza and some cocktails by the pool for lunch.

      After lunch, we ferried back to the mainland to visit the famous Bangla Rd (as recommended by Jen and Eddy). It was mostly a lot of bars and shows which we weren't too interested in. There are an alarming amount of weed shops here too!

      We went to a fakes store which sold fake versions of luxury clothing, shoes, and bags (Louis Vuitton, Armani, Dior, etc.). I got some shorts, slides, and a tee, and Frankie got some shoes and bags. We also bought some Bali pants from another store.

      Then we went to a salon where Frankie got some pink threads plaited into her hair. I got a foot massage while I waited.

      Then a taxi ride home from our friend Mr Superman who had driven us to Bangla Rd in the first place.

      Some bar snacks for dinner, then off to bed for some rest before a big day tomorrow.      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      The Village - Coconut Island

      September 30, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Couldn't really see too much in the dark when we arrived last night, but there's a lot more to see in the daylight!

      We are staying in Suite 23 at The Village Resort on Coconut Island. At reception, there is a small shop with some snacks, medicines, clothes, etc, and it is where we meet for our ride to the pier. We can either walk here to ask the staff any questions, or message the through the app.

      There are 3 different pools we have the option of swimming in. The upper most one is quietest but away from the beach. The lower most one is down by the bar so is a lot busier (although still only has maybe 5 other people in at once).

      There is a breakfast bar that does buffet breakfast in the morning, and the bar stays open all day making drinks. This is where we get our bottled water daily. There are also two restaurants that you can use for lunch and dinner. All food and drinks are included in our package. Some t&c's apply (e.g. room service we still have to pay 50%).

      There is a spa treatment area that we are yet to try. We get 4 massages included in our package but need to book a couple days in advance as they book up.      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon
      1

      Arrived in Phuket

      September 29, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      It was a rushed morning leaving Osaka, but overall pretty smooth! We got to the airport via uber and train, and had plenty of time to do our check-ins at the airport. Kansai International airport is so big that we had to catch a monorail from the main terminal to our departure terminal!

      The total travel time was 11 hours with a 2 hour stop at Singapore airport. I started to feel unwell with a runny nose and headache on the flight which wasn't fun! But picked up some meds at Singapore airport which helped a little. Singapore airport was nice! Also a huge airport but luckily our arrival and departure terminal was the same.

      When we arrived at Phuket Airport, we went through customs and immigration really quick. Just had to scan out passports and fingerprints then straight through. We thought we were special because we had a taxi waiting for us and a lady standing with our names on a board. But when we walked outside the airport, there was literally 100 other people with names on boards. Must be a common thing here!

      We also got our Thailand SIM cards here. 500 THB which is $25 for 25GB data at 5G speeds, then unlimited 4G thereafter. That would cost over $100 in NZ!!

      A 45-min trip over to the wharf and a 15-min boat ride to our island later, we had arrived at our accommodation. The staff are really friendly and welcoming. The pier was lit up with beautiful lights at night. Our room had flowers and towels in the shape of swans on the bed. It was lovely to come to this after a long day travelling. I think this is going to be a great week in Phuket!      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      Last day in Osaka!

      September 28, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Our final afternoon in Osaka was spent shopping around Ebisu-Bashi Bridge and Dotonburi. I snagged a couple cheeky purchases - a fancy Lego set of the famous Japanese "wave", and I bought a Nintendo Switch!

      I had sold mine earlier in the year because I didn't use it much and wanted a bit of extra cash... but now, after visiting Super Nintendo World and riding the rides, I want to play the Super Mario games again.

      So I purchased a console, two games, a case, thumb sticks, and a screen protector, all for about $560. In NZ, the console itself is priced at $620. So waaaaaay cheaper to buy here. I wasn't going to at first until Frankie pointed out what a bargain it was.

      Then we went home to pack. We only have 25kg allowed in our suitcases each and we have done so much shopping that we were way over that. We had to cut some of our unnecessary stuff to make the weight limit. Extra baggage is $170 for an additional 5kg so we definitely don't want to have to pay for that! Our bags are currently sitting around 24kg each to allow for scales inconsistencies, then we have shoved all our snacks and lollies into our carry-on luggage. If we are overweight and need to dump any kgs, we can easily dump some snacks and lollies at the airport.

      Once the bags were packed, we went off to dinner for our last night in Osaka. Ramen and fried chicken to round off our Japanese leg of the trip - no better way.

      Off to Phuket tomorrow. Hope the weather's good!      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      Osaka Ferris Wheel

      September 28, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      It takes 15 minutes to complete one full revolution, so a nice and quick way to see the whole city. We saw some familiar sights such as the aquarium, Universal studios, and plenty of famous Osaka bridges. Definitely the biggest ferris wheel we've been on before!

      Osaka looks so big from up there. It looks like a city scape in every direction - perhaps 10x the size of Auckland.

      There was an option to choose a glass-bottomed cart, but someone was too scared 😜      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon
      11

      Kaiyakun Aquarium

      September 28, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      The Osaka aquarium has two whale sharks! The enclosure is huge so lots of space for them. In fact, it is the world's largest aquarium! We got there just as the whale sharks were being fed and it was incredible to see them inhale the plankton by the bucketful.

      Also was cool to see penguins, dolphins, and seals. The building itself looked like an evil supervillain's hideout.      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      Super Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge

      September 27, 2023 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

      This was a very impressive ride! Based on the racing kart games, you ride in kart and get points for turning at the right time and shooting enemies. All your points are tracked on your holographic headset. In fact the whole interactive part was a hologram in your headset! The best part was riding through Rainbow Road.

      I got the highest points in our kart with 138😎 but the high score of all time was 330!      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      Amazing Adventures of Spiderman

      September 27, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      This was another 4D movie experience, similar to the good Harry Potter ride earlier in the day, but not quite as good. It was obviously a much older ride and a bit more janky. But we had a fast pay for this ride as it was automatically included in our pass so no complaints 😊Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      Harry Potter World

      September 27, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      We did two rides here. The first was The Forbidden Journey which was incredible! It was a 4D experience but you rode through different Harry Potter scenes. Some were in front of a big concave screen so you were fully immersed into the scene. Other scenes were through mechanical parts where snakes, spiders, dragons, and dementors would fly around you. And the transition between screens and mechanical was near seamless. We had a fast pass for this, so no waiting.

      The second was Flight of the Hippogriff. The wait was 80 mins and it was definitely not worth it! The roller coaster was very tame and only lasted 10 seconds!

      Then we ate at the Three Broomsticks restaurant and had a roast and butter beer - delicious!

      Then we walked around Hogsmeade fashioning our newly purchased wands. Frankie bought the wand as Harry Potter and I bought the same as Professor Snape. There were 8 locations around Hogsmeade where you could cast a spell and interact with the environment around you. Familiar spells such a Wingardium Leviosa to make a quaffle ball float, Incendio to make a fire, and Alohamora to make the gate unlock.

      A really cool area of the park, and one of the greatest cinematic rides we've ever been on!      Read more

    • Luke Heath-EdwardsTravelerHoneymoon

      Despicable Me Minion Mayhem

      September 27, 2023 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      I didn't get any photos of the ride, but I got plenty of the Minions Township. The street was done really well with Minions everywhere you look. The ride was a 4D movie that had you going through the Minions laboratory. It felt quite immersive but was pretty tame lol. Fun but not worth the 80 mins wait time.Read more

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