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Kristofor Mallegrom
Kristofor Mallegrom

Kristofor Mallegrom

Long term travel enthusiast entering a new phase of travel with a young family of three boys ages 7, 5 and 1. Leer más🇦🇺Melbourne
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  • Kristofor MallegromSouth Pacific 2020Viajero

    Carnival Spirit

    28 de enero de 2020, Bass Strait ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today, our first of three full sea days en route to New Caledonia.
    We woke from a good nights sleep around 8. Dining room for breakfast again, an amazing omelette for me and junior well fed on toast and wheat bix.

    We spent the morning on deck, in a sunbed by the thundering exhaust of the main engine, before Ryland took up the sport of mini golf. Around his nap time of 12.30-2.30 we scouted some food from the buffet for him. Opening hours and food selection options is a little erratic... but we'll manage.

    During nap time, I found the gym and Nat read on our balcony, choking on bush-fire smoke as we rounded the coast of East Victoria. I found a nice burger restaurant for lunch and acquainted myself with the 18+ adults retreat area on deck 9, just a few floors above our room. Definitely a great spot for a breather/ some private time with sunbeds and recliners around a pool.

    So we've visited 2 of the 4 stops on this cruise before... one stop, Isle of Pines is definitely easy to do solo from the pier.. The next stops; Mare and Lifou, I'm not sure.. especially whether there's baby friendly swimming options just hopping off the ship. As a result we decided to visit the shore excursions desk to consider tours for these places.

    The Shore Excursions desk clerk wasn't great- "oh, trips with a baby, that'll be limited..." she clearly didn't want to be there.. but we booked a $25 transfer to a beach for Mare and a 'tchou tchou' train ride in Noumea, with hopes of making our own way to the aquarium as it was closed last time we were there.

    The dinner routine is filling Ryland up at the buffet 5.30-6, taking him for a walk, bathing him in an inflatable pool in the shower, getting him to sleep/ready for his pram and heading out for dinner and a show at 8.

    Tonight's dinner was French themed, I had deer to start and a red wine sauce chicken dish. Tragically, it was "dim the lights and loudly sing heyyyyy baby" night... which looked to challenge Rylands slumber.. yet we made it through safely. We even decided to push our luck and try 9.30 show...

    Tonight was a hypnotist. It was deafeningly loud inside, but Ryland still got through the entire show sleeping in the first pram in a wheelchair space. I can't get my head around this hypnotism concept... is this real? What's actually going on in those peoples heads? Half of 20 barely responded.. but some participants (from audience) made a real spectacle of themselves. Bed by 11 and another sea day ahead tomorrow.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromSouth Pacific 2020Viajero

    Set Sail

    27 de enero de 2020, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    It feels like we've been counting down this cruise forever, and here we are at sail date hardly able to believe we're off.

    It's our first overseas family trip. A 12 day cruise on the Carnival Spirit, departing at returning to Melbourne, touring four islands in New Caledonia. The allure of a flight free trip was heightened by our newfound baggage... a 20 month old and all the things he comes with. We'd be replacing our usual backpacks with four suitcases/duffle bags, a pram and two carry on backpacks.. so.much.luggage.

    We were dropped at the pier by my parents in a relatively hassle free affair.
    This was my ninth cruise, but first from my home city so I had no real idea about our port.
    This is our second experience with Carnival having traveled the Mediterranean on Carnival Sunshine back in 2013.

    Early impressions were honestly a little underwhelming. Spirit is a bit smaller and less grand than Sunshine, and notably less spectacular than Royal Caribbean ships - our usual preferred cruise line. Decks 2 and 3 contain the majority of bars, restaurants, the main dining room and theater and variety of shops.

    Decks 4-8 are generally state rooms and 9-10 the pools, buffet, gym and bars. There's a couple water-slides on the back of the ship as well. The pools are very small and kids under 4 aren't allowed in them so we'll see how we go with that.

    Our Balcony Stateroom is 5225. I'm actually really happy with it. It's spacious enough, with a largish, relatively secure private balcony. The doors are heavy to avoid little escapees. The bathroom is actually bigger than expected.

    It's been a big day for little fella with no naps.. We boarded around 2.30pm.
    He was happy as a clam and overwhelmed with excitement on boarding.. running around greeting everyone and pointing enthusiastically at everything. By the time the 5pm safety briefing rolled around he was getting grouchy and tired.. By 6-7 he was feral.. that worked alright in the end as he was sleeping in his pram by 8 so we could eat out at the restaurants which we intend to do as preference over the buffet bistro.

    The ship was delayed several hours (from 5pm to 8.30pm) for a broken lifeboat, so we started moving just as we were polishing off our steak and half a bottle of red.
    We chanced our luck at the 9.30 welcome show at the theater, Ryland snoozing in a wheelchair space but had to abandon that idea after 10 minutes when he woke and the show had started slowly anyway. We've now got a few days at sea to get Ryland adjusted and adapt to this new-style adventure.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Flying Home

    28 de septiembre de 2018, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Its around 1.15am China time, 3.15am AEST. That was a rancid mushroom ravioli dinner I just had. I'm dying for some good Western food... a steak or some schnitzels.

    I've actually been pretty fortunate with seat 54G. Its a middle aisle seat. I have noone next to me, noone in front of me, and no seat behind me. Just 9 more hours to Sydney.

    I'm now sitting in Sydney... waiting around after my second consecutive domestic flight was cancelled.. I was on the 3.30... then the 4.30... now the 5.30. Im scheduled to arrive in Melbourne at 7. By the time I get to Melbourne it will be 33 hours since I left the hotel at Xinzhou.

    Im sitting here chowing down red rooster, watching the clouds roll by out the window, thinking... did I see clouds in China? I feel like it was mostly smoggy.

    It was certainly an interesting experience in China, and it was a pleasure to be there for Jared's wedding. Im actually glad to be home and looking forward to seeing Nat and Ryland.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Back to Beijing

    27 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    I enjoyed my last drive through Chinese traffic madness as we arrived at Taiyuan airport. I said my goodbyes and thanks to the newly-weds and Yuans dad for all their hospitality.

    Arriving around 1.30 for a 3.30 flight, I was pretty early but a walk up checkin was still possible. Clearing security and boarding my China Eastern flight to Beijing went smoothly... the flight itself, not so much. It was a bumpy ride, the seatbelt side never coming off for the duration of the 80 minute flight. The landing was a rough one too, so much so it sounded like the wheels almost broke.

    Now, I had just a casual 6 hour wait for my flight from Beijing to Sydney...

    I'd say the time flew by, but it didn't. While waiting for checkin, I received a text to say my flight from Sydney to Melbourne had been cancelled. I'd been moved onto a later flight that just meant extending the journey another hour. Further to my dismay, my checked in bag would have to be reclaimed at Sydbey and then rechecked in.

    The Beijing airport is huge. Its a 20minute bus ride between domestic and international terminals. When u clear security at the international terminal, there's a train to take you to the gates. The international terminal itself is vast and impressive in design with a huge dome ceiling and millions of lights.

    I spent 3-4 hours lingering around the gates.. with astonishingly NO souvenir shops (only dozens of "duty free" = alcohol and smokes and luxury jewellers) I spent a couple hours at a "irish pub". Only 3 menu items of 50 were available.. but some chicken wings, a couple beers and a Starbucks coffee got me to boarding time just after 11pm.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Wrapping it up.

    27 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    I woke this morning for my final day in China. With my bags 60% packed, I met family downstairs for breakfast around 8.30. I'd begin the long journey home around noon, still leaving a little time for a couple morning activities.

    Jared and Yuan met us in the lobby at about 9.30 and we piled into a couple cabs. First up, a trip to the local Xinzhou market. This place was huge and crowded. There were plenty of weird and wonderful wares for sale; fruits, vegetables, animals, cuts of meat, clothes, furniture and more. As always, we received plenty of stunned looks.. and my efforts to befriend a young local child went awry, bringing them to tears, their nightmares to reality, and potentially traumatizing them for life.

    We each picked up an assorted souvenir or two, before walking a few blocks to the Xinzhou gardens. These were a small but pretty gardens, with a few pagodas, ponds and ornate bridges - a popular spot for people to exercise.

    By a little after 11 it was time for me to catch a cab back to the hotel to finish packing and check out. Yuan, Jared and Ba (Yuans dad) would escort me on a 90 minute drive to Taiyuan airport, for a domestic flight to Beijing.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Rural China

    26 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    The chaos and drama of yeaterdays wedding softened to a casual, leisurely start to this morning... at least initially. Around 8.30 I headed downstairs, equipped with phone, wallet and room keycard slip (with breakfast vouchers and keycard inside).

    Downstairs, I handed over my breakfast voucher to gain access to the buffet and met my parents, Brody and Alyssa for bread and a fried egg "Western breakfast". Then I got up to leave, picked up my wallet, phone and... no keycard. The whole slip was gone. Baffling, as I hadn't been anywhere to lose it.

    We explained the situation to staff and managed to get a second key (the other key remains in the room electric slot to try keep the room "cool"). This was fine, but when I returned to my floor there was a shady random local, loitering in a hall chair with view of my room.. coincidence, or had he found a lost room key to 2307?

    With Yuans translating skills we eventually had staff cancel all previous room keys, check those, and issue fresh ones. This was fun and killed a lot of the morning. By noon we had cars to take us 20minutes from the big city of Xinzhou to a small rural community with many of Yuans extended family.

    The town of Xin Wang Zhuang may well have once been a thriving farming community... now it feels 75% abandoned and much in disrepair. Still, many live here in little fenced blocks/squares that house a dozen or so. We'd spend a few hours here with locals, first eating wedding food leftovers, then a delicious charcoal bbq, kicking a ball around and playing cards.

    Following that, we visited the homes of some other friends, met a young newborn baby, (around Rylands size), visited a well maintained temple complex, and wandered about neglected cornfields, picked and tasted peppers, and poked around many abandoned homes. By late afternoon, as sunset approached, we bid family farewell and headed back to the city.

    Our final full family meal on my last night was arguably one of the best Chinese meals I had there. It was a private dining room and we feasted on things like; fish, prawns, chicken wings, donkey meat pastries, beef chunks, and Chinese burrito things. Red wine from a decanter to wash it down hit the spot.

    After dinner, dad and I went for an hour or so around the streets. For a city of 3-4 million, I've never seen a place with so little of interest. It was still good to stretch the legs.

    I'm half packed for tomorrow's long journey home. We hope to visit some markets in the morning. From there, its a China Eastern flight from Taiyian to Beijing. Then 6 hours... then Beijing to Sydney with Qantas, and again on to Melbourne arriving 4.50 on Friday.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Wedding Day

    25 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The big day finally arrived. It was a grand occasion; busy, hectic and lively from start to finish. We started off in the hotel around 8am, in the elaborately decorated room of the bride and groom for an extensive photo shoot.

    By around 9.30, we filed into wedding cars to be transported to Yuans parents apartment complex. On arrival, we were greeted by a spectacular dancing dragon show. After arrival in the apartment, the Mallegrom family was invited to a brunch feed with Yuans family.. and many more photos were taken.

    Then, back into cars and off to the wedding venue. There, we were greeted again not only by dragons but a vehicle with what looked like rocket launchers on its room that would deafen us all with a relentless barrage of fireworks.

    The wedding was set up for around 300 people.. and once the red envelopes had been handed over, we were ushered into the venue proper. It appeared some Chinese relatives had tried to steal our table, but once that was rectified, we were seated to await the commencement of proceedings.

    Food flowed before cutlery, just piled plate on top of plate. Nothing was ever cleared, as beer cans, peanut shells and litter soon cluttered and piled up on table and floor alike. The wedding ceremony was preceded by a few acts of singing, violin, harp, drums and flute before we got underway just after noon.

    The compromised and somewhat disjointed ceremony was largely effective and flowed without too much incident. My dad made the effort of memorizing his speech in Chinese to surprise the bride and groom. Sadly, perhaps 50 or less of the 300 attendees cared or even paid any attention, many talking loudly, drinking or feasting. Most didnt clap or stand when prompted via translation.

    The final touches of the wedding were a lovely coming together of the happy couple. Surprisingly, minutes upon conclusion of the official ceremony, 80% of the crowd trampled each other for the door, leaving a trashed garbage dump behind. By 2.30pm the venue was mostly empty. A few friends and family remained to toast the happy couple and enjoy some drinks; beer, red wine or "white wine" (45% spirit). I wasn't a fan of any.

    In time, drinking escalated and my parents and I opted to head back to the hotel. A couple of us went for an evening walk for a late dinner. Overall, the wedding was certainly memorable and different. It was a pleasure to be there for my brother and nice to see the bride and groom enjoy themselves so.

    Tomorrow is my last full day here. I think we have a bbq afternoons meal planned in a more rural setting.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    The Day Before

    24 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    No alarm was set this morning, which started at a leisurely pace. I met my parents, Brody and Alyssa downstairs in the lobby for a "Western Style" buffet breakfast. Well... Western it wasn't. There were some fried eggs and "bacon".. with a bit of bread, steamed pumpkin, wonton soup and that steamed corn thats so popular here. Washed down with a grape juice/ flat coke flovoured syrup it still filled a hole.

    We spent a few hours wandering XinZhou, through some shopping malls and streets. We are literally an exotic species here. I've never experienced anything like it anywhere in the world. We stopped for a "Chinese burger" and in turn stopped dozens of passers by in their tracks.. as they would literally stop, stare and grin at us from behind the cafe glass windows, like one would at a zoo... one guy pulled out a cigarette and basically got within 20cm of my dads face. It's not particularly pleasant.

    Westerners don't exist here, and have no real reason to ever come to this place. After an afternoon break, we piled into cabs to head tp the wedding venue to rehearse and plan. There was initially some major conflict between the "popular/celebrity" celebrant and the bride and groom to be.. largely stemming from a miscommunication about the bride's white and traditional Chinese red dresses, and procedural incompatibilities between procedure, tradition and process of Chinese and Western culture.

    Eventually, after 4.5 hours, enough compromise, practice and agreement had been made to satisfy a wedding plan. With the time drawing late, we settled on KFC for an unglamorous but delicious final family meal before Jareds big day. Tomorrow we look forward to what should be an interesting and memorable experience.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    From Tourist to Guest

    23 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    The train rolled into Taiyuan right on time, around 2.25pm. Here I headed for the West exit and found Jared, Yuan and her second cousin waiting for me to transport me an hour north by car to her home town of Xinzhou, where her parents lived, my family was staying, and the wedding would be held in a couple days time.

    An opportunity here to talk about traffic in China. It'll appear fairly erratic and wild by Western standards. Speed limits are guides, indicators are optional, horns are plentiful and cars go anywhere at any given time! Mobile phone use when driving is standard, and milimetre collision evasion is expected. You've got to constantly on your toes. Its chaos, but works. When crossing the street, a "pedestrian crossing" is a suggestion.. you've got to walk briskly, confidently and cautiously. If you can predict who is going where and weave between a car and bike, you can assume (and hope) they won't hit you.

    Busy traffic delayed our arrival in Xinzhou a little but we arrived without incident at the hotel I'd spend the next four nights; Funhua Jinglun Hotel. It's basically the grandest, most Western Hotel in the city, organised by Yuans (bride to be) parents. Its nice, and Im on the 23rd floor. I was pre warned about the lack of aircon and its the clear standout issue.

    By 6pm, we headed by 2 taxis (myself, my youngest brother Brody and his fiance Alyssa, my parents, Jared and Yuan) to Yuans parents apartment about 10 minutes away to meet her family and enjoy dinner and drinks. Yuans family home was lovely and her parents were gracious guests leaving us all well fed with plenty of home cooking (noodles, duck, soup, pork etc). The family dog (Jui jui) s a sheep like spawn of Satan but loveable none the less. There were many shouts of Gambei (cheers) as we tried Chinese white wine, some beer and whiskey.
    We saw plenty of excellent pre wedding glamour photos of the bride and groom to be, not before the family albums and baby photos came out. By 11pm we had taxied back to tbe hotel to rest up.

    I'm exhaustes from my Beijing adventures and content to relax, feast and experience true local over the coming days. If Beijing had the fewest Western tourists I've seen for a big city, Xinzhou has none... Tomorrow, afternoon wedding rehearsals! For now, sleep.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Heading West

    23 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I woke, finished packing and checked out of the New World Beijing Hotel. Sad to leave such a fantastic room, but satisfied enough with my time and experience in Beijing and ready for the next experience.

    Today I'd head about three hours west by Bullet Train to Taiyuan (initially). Getting there was about a 20 minute walk with pack and daybag to Ciqikuo metro station. From there, about a 30 minute metro ride on line 7 to Beijing West station.

    A bit about Beijing metro - In short, its fantastic. Colour coded, numbered, well laid out, regular trains, easy to navigate and understand, no different to the Tokyo or London systems. The trains run every few minutes and have that designated automatic door docking spot behind glass so you know where to wait. There are just seats along the carriage walls so most of the time you'll be standing!

    A unique feature of the train network was advertising screens outside the train, on the inside of the tunnel wall, visible through the windows as the train speeds by. The major annoying part of the metro was every entry to a station required a full security check with scanners for bags.

    Once I arrived at Beijing West my challenge was to find the place to pick up tickets I had prebookee for my bullet train. With previous advice, I exited at B South, went outside and guessed where the ticket hall was near a blocked off/ closed down ticket area.

    After a brief wait in a "business class lounge" (free orange drink and cookies) I headed to carriage 8, seat 1a for my business class (highest class) train ride. This ticket cost me around $100aud. It was pretty deluxe! 5 seats to the cabin, set apart that recline into beds. The trip came with lunch which was OK.
    The train whizzed us off to Taiyuan mostly travelling around 300km/p/hr.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero
    111

    Wonder Wall.

    22 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Its awesome when a wonder, landmark, museum, attraction or place has such a high reputation, that leads to high expectations, and those expectations are easily met.
    Such was the case today.

    I had a private tour from Beijing to the wall and back. Pick up was at 7am, and the drive out took about 2 hours and 40 minutes.

    The route for the day was about 12km of "wild wall" from Gubeikou to Jinshanling. "Wild" in that the vast majority of Wall we'd see today was original and unrestored. The distance from Beijing and difficulty of walk also meant for minimal crowds/company.

    The hike itself took around 4 hours.. and aside from the first and final half hour, we probably saw less than a dozen people. Another reason for this is between Gubeikou and Jinshanling, theres a part of the wall that falls onto current military territory and is inaccessible. This means an hour off road "detour" down into the valley through jungle and thick vegetation. This was fun in itself, most notably a snake emcounter and discovery of an old, remote home, abandoned around 30 years ago.

    The views of the walls were spectacular, towers seeming to stretch on and on forever. Hiking it was sometimes perilous and nerve wrecking, with very high steep stairs, slippery dirt descents and high, narrow exposed sections of the wall with steep edges. Nonetheless we (my guide Henry and I) completed our route without incident and 4 hours later returned to our driver to head off for a nearby local lunch.

    This was definitely the best meal Id had in China so far - Eggs (like an omelette) with peppers, kung pow chicken, pork with onions and onions with chili all with rice. I even made do with chopsticks, not my finest skill. We washed that down with local beer and began that 2.5hour drive back to Beijing.

    By the time I got back, after the last three days, my legs hardly carried me from car to hotel bath. Hours later after a little revovery I set out to explore some extra territory and find some dinner. In yet another huge mall, I found just one Western style restaurant, a "sizzler".. which was decent but underwhelming.

    Now Im in bed, exhausted, half packed, for my last night in Beijing. Tomorrow morning Ill check out, look to pick up tickets for a bullet train and head for Taiyuan, with Jareds wedding just days away.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    A Summer Stroll.

    21 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    After yesterdays leg breaker, I'd planned and expected today to be more casual. I should know better. Thats never how it works out. Especially solo. By myself, I can see more and go further without consulting or hesitating, but at times I wonder whether Nats advice to rest, eat or slow down might have been wise, rather than my impetuous and adventurous enthusiasm wearing my legs to exhaustion. I've certainly learned that good experiences are more treasured and remembered when they're shared.

    It was a warm one again. High 20s- 30c and clear blue skies. I left the hotel around 9.30, in a different direction, bound for a different metro station to map out a few different blocks around the hotel. The bakery breakfast and ice water coffee wasn't great, but moving on.

    The train ride out to Xiyuan in the north west of Beijing for the Summer Palace probably took around 40 minutes. It was a further 15 minute walk (not really signed) to find the Palace. Entry (all access) with an audio guide cost 100yuan (60+40) and the latter required a 50yuan deposit. The gps audio didn't work near as well as the forbidden city and wasnt as interesting.

    The Summer Palace was shades of the Forbidden City, spread out, in hilly forest, by the water. The highest temples were probably the most spectacular, the trek up the many stairs to them being fairly awe inspiring. A major problem with this complex in its entirety was just how poorly signed it was. Many of their signs, directions and distances were outright false, if not misleading and deceptive. When the punishment for such deception is backtracking or climbing hundreds of steps in the wrong direction/ for no reason, this got annoying. I probably most enjoyed the lilies and tranquility of the aptly named Garden of Harmony, and the tower of buddhist insense which offered great views.

    Once I had my fill of the Summer Palace I headed back to Beijing Central via metro. I figured I'd get off at Qianmen and walk around Tiananmen Square proper, having just walked alongside it yesterday. It's a big square. Not too much to see or do there but some interesting monuments and buildings.

    Rather than reboard the metro, I figured Id just hoof it South, all the way to the Temple of Heaven. The good part of this decision was the walk through Dashilar and Qianmen Street (busy shops). The bad part, was that I'd not factored in how big, and how much more walking thered be at the Temple of Heaven when I arrived with weary legs.

    Ultimately, the Temple of Heaven was probably the highlight of the day. The Hall of Prayer for good harvests was towering and a little unique. The Round altar down south was also different. Further appealing was how pretty the entire complex was, basically a big botanic garden. Once I'd finished and turned back north to walk to the hotel, I really enjoyed the refreshing summer breeze between the trees filled with sparrows and these noisy blue winged magpie like birds.

    I certainly made use of the bath in the hotel when I crashed back here. After a few hours of rest I set out to find dinner, roaming around a few blocks and through a few malls. I eventually settled on a Chinese place, ordering a stewed fish and fried beans with chili. The latter was delish, but former 99.99% tiny bones. I've really had a hard time finding any appealing local food or even quality western or hybrid cuisine. I guess ill stick to western and get the authentic experience in Xinzhou soon enough.

    I've been pondering many observations and unique elements to China and Beijing today. Ill post them in the coming days. For now, rest and sleep. Im up.at 6.40am to head to the Great Wall.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Walking Beijing in a Day

    20 de septiembre de 2018, China ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Im getting old. Still, I covered an huge amount of ground today, probably walking 25-30km, seeing the "top 5" attractions in Beijing (according to lonely planet), and much more in between.
    In truth, I'd only planned to see a couple things, but once I got going, I didn't want to stop! I had a good sleep and set off from the hotel around 9am. Thankfully I opted to wear sunscreen, bring plenty of water, a physical map and bring my passport along. Turns out many of the attractions of the day required a passport for use as a entry ticket.

    It was a warm smoggy day, with the sun peeking out now and then, around 26c. The primary and main destination of the day was the Forbidden City, via Tiananmen Square. Getting there from the hotel took around an hour by foot, map in hand. The most baffling part of that journey was seeing an elderly local in a Richmond Tigers cap.

    The queues and crowds for the palace were substantial, but nowhere near as dreadful as I hoped. I got a quiet start by coming in through a side entrance and seeing the Temple of Imperial Ancestors.

    The Forbidden City itself was a lot bigger than expected. It was grand and ornate, but I found over time, a bit repetitive. There were dozens of temples, buildings and structures, but most looked the same. A Russian couple actually randomly reiterated this point to me which ironically speaks volumes given that I found much Russian architecture to be about the most boring and repetitive anywhere! I did pick up an audio tour for 40yuan (fyi 5yuan = 1aud approx) which did make the palace more interesting to hear of the history and many stories the venue has to tell. I also paid extra to explore the treasury but was a bit underwhelmed.

    I exited the north gate of the Palace and continued north into Jingshan Park (5yuan). This was a pretty botanical garden with a towering hill in the centre. A climb to the top offered impressive panoramic views of Beijing. Well, views made slightly less impressive by the smog, clouding the view. From the top, to the north, in the distance, I could see the Drum Tower which was well reviewed. It was only 12.30ish so how long could it really take to get there?

    Not too long. Maybe an hour or so. There were two popular attractions here, side by side, the Drum Tower and Bell Tower. I picked up a double ticket and headed first to the Drum Tower. These both looked very different but one thing they had in common for tired legs was a steep narrow, steep and high step passage to the top viewing platform. Fortune favoured me as 10 minutes after arrival at the Drum Tower a drum performance was scheduled which was very impressive.

    As much as I enjoyed the drum performance, I really likee the Bell Tower building, tall, narrow and imposing. The bell inside (after another climb) was huge, but there wasnt much else to see.

    With the time only around 3pm, I figured I could still wind through hutongs and side streets to reach the Lama Temple a few kilometres to the east. Eventually I got there, via random alleys and hutongs (old style suburbs).

    The Llama temple is known to be one of the most magnificent Buddhist monasteries outside of Tibet. It was a busy complex with many actively praying and lighting insense here. The final temple housed a triple story giant Buddha which was very impressive.

    With wobbly legs, I made my way to the nearest train station to catch the metro about eight stops to the nearest station to my hotel at Chongwenmen.

    I spent the evening up on the hotels rooftop bar enjoying a cocktail before wandering to a nearby mall to dine at a restaurant. Tomorrow, should be a bit more relaxed. I plan to head out to the Summer Palace and visit the Temple of Heaven. Saturday I'm off to the Great Wall and Sunday I depart Beijing by train off to Taiyuan.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero
    11

    The Journey to China

    19 de septiembre de 2018, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    I made it. Its around 1.15am local time. That was a long haul. Up at 5.30am to travel with the family to Tullamarine for a 9.30 flight to Sydney.
    Theres bo denying that was an extra difficult goodbye... but lil Ryland was kind enough to dish out a great cuddle and some smiles.
    My domestic flight was pretty good. Front row window seat of economy meant loads of leg room. Getting from flight to flight was tight. The Melbourne-Sydney leg was delayed so by the time I landed in Sydney and changed terminals, my international noon flight was boarding..
    Sydney to Beijing was a long 12 hours. The seats were very tight and seemed to recline less than usual. A few movies and long chat with my neighbour, a Chinese born New Zealand citizen named Shuo made the time eventually tick by.
    I touched down in Beijing around 10.30.. The airport was huge and impressive... getting through customs, fingerprinting, transferring terminals and getting my bag was all relatively pain free. My preorganised "cab style" pick Up was even there waiting for me..
    He didnt speak a word of English but seemed friendly enough. First impressions of Beijing - no road rules, busy but not as busy as expected and very smoggy. The drive from airport to city centre hotel was about 40min.
    The internet is tedious as expected with no google or Facebook. This blog app works, but im not yet able to map my location as Google maps doesn't work ofc.
    I think ive outdone myself again for hotel room... its ridiculous... probably biggest yet, maybe bigger than my house.
    For now, I need sleep badly. I should get up at a reasonable time to get to Tiananmen Square and the forbidden palace.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromChina Trip 2018Viajero

    Flying Solo.

    18 de septiembre de 2018, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Travelling around the world has been one of the best things I've done in my life. I've been to over 200 cities on every continent except Antarctica.. This trip to China will mark around my 60th country visited.

    There are few things that I could imagine being more fulfilling and enriching than the freedom, experience and adventure of travel. One such thing happened earlier this year. After the loss of our first boy - Hendrik a year earlier, Natalie and I were able to welcome his little brother Ryland into the world on the 8th of May this year.

    It wasn't an easy start to life for Ryland or his parents. Our little man was born at just 24 weeks + 5 days (around 4 months early), measuring 32cm and weighing just 888g. For months he needed breathing support, extra medication and 24 hour hospital care. After 115 days in hospitals, Ryland was eventually able to come home and start his life with his family. That was barely two and a half weeks ago.

    Family is important. I have two younger brothers. Years ago, middle brother Jared started dating, and then moved in with lovely girl from China named Yuan. They always flagged that any potential wedding ahead would be based in China, especially with Yuan's parents and majority of family living there. I always indicated an enthusiasm to be a part of such a wedding. Time passed, and after years of living together, Jared finally got around to proposing. The gears of wedding organisation started to slowly turn, and between the tragic loss of our boy and a trip to Japan, a date was set in place, which we all agreed to. I considered it might be an opportunity to visit a handful of countries in the region I'd yet to see. Taiwan, maybe Laos, maybe South Korea?

    This wasn't to be. The timing of such a date didn't work out so well. A month after we returned from Japan, Natalie discovered she had a passenger on board, due not far from the wedding date.

    It made for a very difficult situation. Now, to attend my brother's wedding, I'd have to leave my wife and newborn child behind. That's what I'm having to do. I'm striking a balance, between not wanting to be parted from my family for long, and not wanting to miss both my brother's wedding and an opportunity to explore the world's most populated place.

    Both my brothers, their partners and my parents are already there now. Tomorrow I'll be flying to China for just 9 days. Four by myself, in and around Beijing, a transit day to Taiyuan, and then four days with family around the wedding in Xinzhou. That way I can be at the wedding, see China, and be reunited with my family before too long.

    For all my adventures over the last decade, it's actually been 12 years since I took off on overseas trip completely solo. In 2008 I toured Asia with family, in 2010 I set off for the World Cup in Africa with friends and since 2011, I've had Natalie by my side to share overseas travel with almost every year. It'll be a shame not to be able to share this trip with her. I'm fairly certain little Ryland isn't quite ready or interested to catch the travel bug just yet.

    I'm curious to see what kind of experience China will turn out to be. For such a short trip, there seems to have been a lot of work organizing it, none more so than the Visa. China will be a unique experience in that it's the first country I've been to with extensive internet censorship. No Google. No Google Maps. No Yahoo. No search engines basically. No Facebook. This will mean trawling through Chinese based browers/ search engines/ mapping sites and alternate communication methods. It remains to be seen what internet will actually work over there, this blog website included. My communication methods appear restricted to Whatsapp, WeChat and Hotmail.

    The last few months I've been focused on Ryland, watching him grow and strive from such a fragile beginning. Unlike most trips, I've hardly focused on this one at all, or given it much thought. Now however, it's here, and I hope to make the most of it. I'll be exploring Beijing myself for a couple days, then doing a guided hike out to the Great Wall, heading along a wild wall (un-restored) section. I'm looking forward to being a part of a different culture, especially in the context of a wedding. I'll hope (internet availability and functionality pending) to be able to post daily blogs on this site, including a few photos and comments. I'll look forward to everything ahead, and getting back to my family in just over a weeks time.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Trip End

    9 de noviembre de 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    What an amazing adventure we had in Japan. It certainly exceeded already high expectations. There's not too much more to add about yesterdays flight home. We departed Narita around 7.30pm on Wednesday night and arrived in Melbourne around 8am Thursday morning. It all went as well as you'd expect for a overnight flight, despite the fact that it was a relatively bumpy ride. Luckily the plane was only around three quarters full, so as soon as the guy in front jammed his chair back as far as he could, I could move elsewhere. I managed a couple of hours of 'half sleep', but by the time we slept at 11pm on Thursday night, I'd been awake nearly 40 hours.

    For the first time I can remember, we actually purchased a fair bit at the airport before heading home. The benefits of a high weight allowance and direct flight home I suppose. We picked up some plum wine, wacky flavored kit-kats (like melon and cheese), Japanese pastries and a couple souvenirs.The trip both felt like it went for ages, and flew by at the same time, such was the business of our days there and amount of experiences we squeezed in. I figured as I often do, I'd wrap this blog off with a summary of our time in Japan, with a few short lists -

    Kristofor's Top 25 of Japan

    25. Shinkansen: The infamous Japanese 'Bullet Trains' were about the most impressive I've ever been on. As punctual and efficient as all Japanese trains, these get up to speeds of around 320km p/hr and took us great distances around the country in no time. Extremely comfortable and roomy as well.

    24. Geisha Show Kanazawa: I still don't entirely understand the current 'Geisha' concept. We are assured that currently, there is no sexual aspect or prostitution that relates to services offered by Geisha. However, it seems peculiar to pay substantial sums to hire a traditionally dressed up lady to privately play the flute for you or tell you the latest knock knock joke. The show we visited in Kanazawa started off slow, but there was some laughter and amusement (and a near concussion for me) to be had from interactive game playing.

    23. Kyoto Train Station: It would probably come as a surprise that a train station made its way into my most significant Japanese experiences. Away from the platform, it had a jaw dropping 15 story open air concourse building with a dozen escalators, shops, restaurants and sky walkways.

    22. Iwatayama Monkey Park: We didn't see a tremendous amount of wildlife in Japan, so the opportunity to see these (semi) wild monkeys overlooking Arashiyama in Kyoto was a memorable one. The snow monkeys are essentially lured from the wild to this mountaintop spot at the prospect of being fed. You could get up very, very close and they seemed relatively healthy at least.

    21. Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine: Of the many Shinto temples we visited throughout Japan, this one in Takayama was probably the most memorable. Allegedly dates all the way back to the fourth century, it sits up on a hill overlooking the city.

    20. Owl Cafe & Owl Village Harajaku: A truly memorable experience to get up so close to these magnificent creatures. There were a total of 8 owls in total, which you could pet, hold and feed. Whilst the owls all appeared in good health, it was a little sad to see them tethered in captivity.

    19. Kenroku-en Gardens, Kanazawa: Known as one of the three 'great gardens' of Japan, these were a picturesque gardens including a lake, rivers, well maintained trees, ponds and lanterns. Arriving in the setting evening sun (wrong lighting) probably didn't do this spot justice. Whilst beautiful it also felt a little small and overcrowded.

    18. Mount Takao: A pretty spot about an hour west of Tokyo accessible by JR Rail. We took a cable car, chair ride and relatively easy hike to the summit here which offered spectacular views, a nice suspension bridge and a couple temples. The main track was staggeringly crowded for a week day though.

    17. Harry Harajaku Hedgehog Cafe: A memorable time getting to meet, hold, pet and feed worms to these spiky little critters. Less concern about their freedom, as they have all the companionship, space and food a little Hedgehog needs.

    16. Arashiyama Gardens: A famous and huge garden system located in the west of Kyoto. Most popular features included temples, lookouts and a bamboo forest. Also offered some really pretty autumn leaves. The area surrounding the gardens was extremely touristy and crowded.

    15. Kanazawa Castle Ruins: We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day exploring the ruins of the Kanazawa Castle. Whilst there are a few original spots, the majority of what stands here has been reconstructed after being destroyed by fire. Still a really enjoyable look at what it would have looked like hundreds of years ago.

    14. Tokyo Sky Tree: Who could resist the opportunity to travel up the Second Tallest Building in the World. Offers spectacular panoramic views of Tokyo.

    13. Shibuya Crossing: Famous as being the world's most busy road crossing, there was a special buzz about the entire area around Shibuya. Flashing lights, towering buildings, booming advertising, weird Pachinko machines and seas of people every way you look, we had a great time exploring this area.

    12. Disney Sea: Was still enjoyable despite being hammered by typhoon Lan the day we were there. We were thoroughly soaked before we even arrived, but thankfully most of the rides were undercover/ indoor. A great place with loads of original rides.

    11. Daitokuji Busdhist Zen temple: Not the most visually spectacular place, but certainly a memorable and enjoyable experience. A real haven of calm and peace and still essentially untouched for hundreds of years.

    10. Disney Land: Whilst Disney Sea probably had more adult rides, this was the bigger park, with the better vibe, more to do, and better weather on the day. Would have been even better if two of the main adult rides weren't closed on the day. Still spent a good eight hours here and the time flew by.

    9. Fushimi Inari Taisha (1000 Gates): Famous spot in Kyoto with a countless number of vermilion torii gates that wind up mount Inari. Plenty of temples, viewpoints, shrines, steps and people on the way to the top.

    8. Hida Folk Village: Most countries have them, a 'historic recreation village' which includes dozens of homes, buildings, tools and a snapshot of the lifestyle of the Japanese people over the years. Set in a really picturesque spot, this would have been even more striking if not for the downpour of rain. Really enjoyed exploring the historic buildings here and learning about Japan's history.

    7. Nijō Castle: Dates back to 1601, the spot of the rise and fall of Shogunate rule in Japan. The Ninomaru Palace had several spectacularly designed rooms designated for different waiting areas for different classes of people that would visit the Shogun. Whilst most has been recreated it was probably the best example of Japanese Art we saw on our trip.

    6. Hiroshima Memorial Museum & Gardens: An insightful, educational, fascinating and at times harrowing look at the impact of the bomb dropped in Hiroshima during world war two. The museum offers an excellent account of what occurred and amazing array of relics from the blast including a tricycle, watch, lunchbox and clothes. It was also amazing to see the remains of the Genbaku Dome, the shell of the only building to withstand the blast.

    5. Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion): A striking zen temple in Kyoto. This brilliant golden leaf coated structure, on the edge of a lake was one of the most beautiful buildings we saw on our trip and a real symbol of Japanese architecture (despite again, being a recreation after the original was burned down).

    4. Myōryū-ji (Ninja Temple): A place I knew little about before our trip, this was an amazing place to see. Sadly, no photos were allowed inside. This Buddhist Temple had countless sliding doors, trap doors, booby traps, hidden rooms and ambush spots. Nearly every stair, room, door and wall within moved. A real ingenious labyrinth, puzzle and maze.

    3. Lake Kawaguchiko (Mount Fuji): The absolute most stunning and striking autumn leaves I have ever seen. We were fortunate to enjoy beautiful weather and clear views here for our hike around Lake Kawaguchiko. We enjoyed views of Mount Fuji from all angles and an enjoyable return trip on the Mt.Kachi Kachi Ropeway.

    2. Miyajima Island: Gorgeous 'sacred' Island about an hour or so from Hiroshima. Understandably famous for its giant floating 'Grand Torii Gate' which changes with the tide, along with the neighboring Itsukushima Shrine, which dates back to the 12th century. The island offers countless hiking opportunities, most notably the views from the summit of Mount Misen. Dozens of peaceful, friendly deer roam around everywhere, undeterred by crowds.

    1. Himeji Castle: Arguably the most famous castle in all of Japan, and one of the most in Asia entirely. Probably the greatest 'wow' moment for me, even from a distance. The Castle towers above the neighboring town and it was quite awe-inspiring getting to its gates. A little empty and underwhelming inside, but it's overall grandeur, size, gardens and craftsmanship made it the most amazing spot of the trip for me.

    Top Five Hotel Experiences -
    1. Hotel Century Southern Tower, Tokyo
    2. Kyoto Tokyu Hotel, Kyoto
    3. Fuji Views Ryokan, Lake Kawaguchiko
    4. Ryokan Iwataya, Takayama
    5. Remm Roppongi Hotel, Tokyo

    Top 10 Culture of Japan
    + Nature of People; Genuine, honest, warm, polite, respectful, friendly, welcoming, kind (near always). Everyone is always acknowledged with a simple, respectful nod.
    + Cleanliness; Absolutely the cleanest spot I've ever been. Felt like you could eat out of many of their gutters. Almost zero rubbish, graffiti or dirt anywhere.
    + Japanese Toilets; No toilet experience will ever be the same once you have reached expert mode on Japanese toilet 'showers' - heated seats, water sprays, music and more..
    + Music Everywhere; trains, ATM's, lift doors, traffic lights. Every 9am, noon and 5pm cheerful music appears to designate that time. Sometime it's hard to know where it's coming from!
    + Efficiency of Trains; The rumors are absolutely true. 99% of Japanese trains arrive and depart to the SECOND, they pride themselves on it. The most efficient trains I've ever seen.
    + High Safety, Low Crime; I've never felt as safe and comfortable anywhere in the world. If you left a full wallet in an alley, you'd be more likely to have it returned full than stolen.
    + Cute Japan; Cartoon characters, stuffed animals, drawings, art, everything has a friendly, up-beat, happy charm about it. More cute things than I've seen anywhere before.
    + Vending Machines; are everywhere with cans of anything, including ice-cream. Not just cold though, I will miss my hot cans of (surprisingly good) Emerald Mountain coffee.
    + Japanese Onsen; Yes, getting naked with a bunch of strangers takes some getting used to, but these spa baths are extremely relaxing, with so much more variety than a regular spa.
    + Ryokan Hotels; A unique cultural experience. I loved the tatami, futon mats, yukatas and kimonos. Sleeping on the floor has never been more comfortable.

    5 Issues in Japan -
    - Lots and lots of sitting on the floor; it's a long way down to the ground, and sitting cross legged or kneeling, especially in a crowd, isn't much fun!
    - Small Size for everything; I mean I'm tall, but it could be even worse for some; small doors, clothes, beds, ride sizes (in theme parks). If you're over 180cm look out!
    - No Bins; Strange when you think how clean the country is, but you can walk around a restaurant area or market for hours without seeing any bins. Carrying rubbish isn't fun.
    - Seas of People; Big crowds can happen at a lot of places, but peak hour trains, some tourist attractions, the swarms of people at train stations can get overwhelming.
    - Obligation to Onsen; Whilst the communal bathing thing at certain places meant great Onsen baths, the obligation to do so (lack of showers in some rooms) can be a bit frustrating.

    Best of Food and Drink in Japan
    * Ramen Noodles - probably one of my favorite foods to come out of this trip, especially the spicy variety. Basically noodle soup, with other things like egg, pork, vegetables etc. The best Ramen was probably a random place at Takayama Station
    * Grilled Eel - Best fish of the trip, enjoyed at the Kanazawa fish market. In the first instance, I didn't even know it was eel, but that marinated skewer was incredibly delicious.
    * Tonkatsu - Japanese take on a schnitzel basically. Crumbed meat (often Pork) dish found in many places. Our best Tonkatsu meal was just Natalie and I in a mall in Kanazawa.
    * Sukiyaki Hot Pot - One of the best meals we had in Japan was an all you can eat (and drink) hot-pot experience in Shibuya (at the #3 rated restaurant of 80,000 in Tokyo). Basically a cook-it-yourself arrangement where you get different slices and types of meat and vegetables, throw them in a pot and mix away.
    * Okonomiyaki - A Hiroshima experience and specialty, Okonomiyaki (literally means ‘grilled as you like it’) and is a savory version of Japanese pancake, made with flour, eggs, shredded cabbage, meat/ protein and topped with a variety of condiments.
    * Steak - You can get one anywhere in the world, but we had a fantastic experience at Ikinari Steak House in Tokyo on our second night. Pay by the gram, choose your meat type, have the chef cut you a slice and cook it in front of you with many sides on offer. Standing only, but a great meal.
    * Canned Coffee - Hot Coffee, in a can, from a vending machine that actually tasted pretty good! I'm going to miss these back home, especially my favourite brand - Emerald Mountain.
    * Craft Beer - I loved the Nagahama IPA I found in a restaurant in Kyoto, but the best craft beers we enjoyed with Ben at Baird Tap House in Harajaku, Tokyo.
    * Other Beer - A decent standard overall, you can't go wrong with Kirin. I did particularly enjoy the favourite beer of our guide, Yebisu.
    * Other Drinks - Of the couple Japanese wines I tried, I found white to be decent and red to be below average but okay. My favorite discovery was a sake-liquor 'Plum Wine'. I didn't really get into Shōchū (Japanese Vodka) or Sake.    Leer más

  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Animal Cafes in Harajaku

    8 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We woke in Century Southern Towers in Shinjuku this morning for our final day in Japan. Still some excitement ahead before our evening overnight flight at 7.20pm from Narita direct home to Melbourne. We finished our packing, checked out, stored out bags and boarded the JR Line just two stops to Harajaku to spend some time at some 'animal' cafes. These places are not so much places to eat, but more places to pet animals. It started with Cats.. but now there's so much more.

    After a coffee and some weird cookies for breakfast, we arrived at the Musashino Owl Cafe just a short walk from the station. For a cost of around 2500 Yen ($30AU) per person, you could handle, pet and hand feed eight different owls, big and pocket sized. This was a mixed experience. Firstly, it was amazing to get up so close and interact with these stunning birds. They seemed relatively relaxed and calm for the most part. I did have my concerns about them being essentially kept tethered to a small space.. and a few spent a lot of time sitting almost wistfully looking through the window at the parkland across the road. I'm no expert, but they did appear to be healthy, well looked after and not stressed, alas many animals are kept as pets against their will and many in much worse conditions. It was a pleasure to get so close to them, and they clearly appeared to enjoy a head scratch or cheek rub. They also seemed well bonded to at least one other owl for companionship.

    Next, just a five minute walk away to Harry Hedgehog Cafe! A little cheaper and less to be worried about regarding the happiness of the animals. These tiny little guys seemed contented, with plenty of privacy, food, water, and two or three friends to cuddle up and sleep next to. They were tricky to pick up, especially when in a ball, having to get your fingers around their spikes and find their bellies. They'd either refuse to sit still or just happily fall asleep in your hands. We had a small bowl of meal-worms to feed them, which raised their excitement levels! I've never seen an animal go from extremely excited and energetic to a deep sleep within 5 seconds.

    From here, we spent another hour or so wandering around Harajaku, heading to the Design Festa Gallery to pick up a small art piece. We then explored the popular Takeshita Street, and made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags from storage. We had about a 30 minute JR train ride from Shikoku to Ueno, and then 30-40 minute Keisei Skyliner Train ride to get us to Narita Airport.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Christmas in November at Disney Land

    7 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    A slow, tired start this morning. As at 10am we had absolutely zero idea or plan to go to Disneyland. Our only remaining plans were a half day at Harujaku. Perfect for our last half day tomorrow before our evening flight home. What would be perfect then to fill out a whole day of gorgeous weather, with minimal time to think, plan or consider? Disneyland it was!

    Sadly our treasured JR passes had now expired so we had to pay our way from Shinjuku to Maihama station (via Tokyo), around 800¥ each. Getting a day ticket proved pretty tedious and painful to get from the station, but we finally got there. This was our first major expedition within Tokyo station, and I cant stress how collossal it really is... its an absolute underground labrynth.

    We finally got to Disneyland just before noon and set about exploring the rides one by one. It goes without same that 21c, blue skies and sunshine provided a much more cheery backdrop than our earlier typhoon experience at Disney Sea a few weeks back. Further to our surprise, as of today, the park had rolled out the Christmas decorations and theme on a grand scale. So Christmas started for us on November 7th this year.

    The Park overall was a little more tame and aimed at children than DisneySea but the quality of rides waa overall pretty impressive! A few more adult rides were closed too (Startours and Thunder Mountain), which left only a couple exciting ones. No complaints about 'Its a Small World being renovated, that ride always was a recipe for insanity.

    Interestingly, for both the more adventurous rides; Space Mountain and Splash Mountain, I was sized up and pulled aside at the start of the queue for each. Height concerns you see... Japanese rides are evidently designed for shorter Japanese people. On both occasions I had to follow a staff member behind the scenes and attempt to have a test run, to see if I could squeeze/dislocate/manoeuvre my legs into the carriages. With minimal ligament danage I managed to get through both rides (which were heaps of fun). Tragically both these rides had some sort of breakdown (the Space Mountain one seemed really severe and induced staff panic) which led me stuck mangled into my seat for longer than Id hoped. Actually 4+ rides broke during the day.

    As for a brief run down of the rest of the rides we went on - Pirates of the Carribbean; a tame water ride with good special effects, Jungle Cruise; a cute boat ride with some robot animals, Haunted Mansion; a Nightmare before Christmas themed carriage ride through a haunted house, Peter Pan; impressive effects on a short flying ship ride, Monsters Inc; a carriage ride where you could activate effects by shining your torch on a monster, Pinnochio a carriage ride with good effects and Toy Story, a laser gun, point scoring carriage ride.

    The two other rides which were the most surprising were the Pooh Bear ride and the Snow White Ride. Pooh Bear had a 40 minute queue, and whilst a carriage ride, we were impressed by the uniqueness of its style, car movement and effects. The other Snow White, was shockingly dark. It looked like a ride designed for young children but was ALL dark, creepy, sinister and foreboding with dozens of random scares and loud noises. It had me laughing hard at its tone and understanding why so many kids came out in tears.

    We eventually got out of the park well after dark around 8pm. Exhausted, we got back to mall near our hotel for a Japanese-Hawaiian dinner before returning to enjoy our view for our last night. We're half packed now and ready for sleep. Just a few things to do in Harujaku tomorrow before we fly home in the evening.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Busy Shinjuku & Shibuya

    6 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    After a few hours of r&r in our hotel room enjoying the views of Mount Fuji at sunset, we headed out for dinner and to explore Shibuya crossing. We spent a bit of time researching on Trip advisor and found the #3 (of 80000+) rated restaurant in all of Tokyo was only 15 minutes walk away in Shinjuku, and affordable. The first challenge would be finding it..

    It took a while to do so, Shinjuku station itself is huge and the streets outside bright, busy and overflowing with signs, lights and information. After a bit of exploring, we found it. What a find. It was basically a "cook it yourself hot pot" type affair. Choose your meats, vegetables and away you go. All you can eat in 100 minutes. All you can drink (anything) for under $20 extra wasnt a bad idea either. We rolled out of there with happy bellies, wandered Shinjuku a while and then jumped on the JR rail to Shiboya.

    We got out at the Hachiko Gate exit, rolling right out at the world famous Shiboya Crossing. It was busy, but being about 9pm, not peak. The streets here were busy still, especially for a Monday night, lit up and aglow with advertising boards, T.V. screens and flashing lights. We wandered around the place abuzz, especially the Pachinko slot machine places, which may have impaired my hearing forever.

    Just two nights and a day and a half left of our trip, as we wind up a great holiday.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Mount Takao

    6 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Today was the last and expiry day of our JR Rail Passes. They've served is well taking us all around the Honshu region of Japan, but we still keen to squeeze a little more value out them.

    We woke around 9 amd rather spontaneously decided to catch a train from Shinjuku station about an hour west of the Tokyo city centre to the base pf Mount Takao.

    Getting there was no problem, but whilst we'd hope to escape the surging seas of human crowds by getting into the countryside, they certainly followed us to our destination. There was 15 times the amount of people as I expected to find in a forest/mountain area on a weekday.

    Theres a cable car here (steepest in Japan) and chair lift that take you half way up the mountain. From there, theres 6 different paths up to the summit. We decided to catch the cable car first, and get chair lift on the way back. The cable car was jammed to capacity and the 6 minute ride reached a maximum steepness of 31degrees.

    At the top of the cable car we followed the crowds on the main path to the summit via Yakuo-in Temple. It was slow going with hundreds of people shambling along. We took in the views at the summit and decided to hike down to the chair lift by a different route; track 4 which went via a suspension bridge. It was much narrower, prettier and quieter.

    The chair lift itself was an experience where you have to jump on a conveyor belt at the right time and fall back onto your chair lift with no safety, security, belt or bar to hang on to. It was a pretty way to get back down and we headed back to the trains, returning to Shinjuku JR station in Tokyo by 3.

    The day wasnt to end there. After a few hours of r&r in our hotel room enjoying the views of Mount Fuji at sunset, we headed out for dinner and to explore Shibuya crossing.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Sky Views of Tokyo

    5 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    I was pretty impressed with our G Adventures tour and quality of accomodation, but lets just say our transfer to Century Southern Towers was a step up or two.

    We woke this morning at Candeo Hotel and had said goodbye to Mari (our guide) at breakfast. Then we made a half hour train ride on the JR Line to our hotel for our last three nights, halfway between Shinjuku and Yoyogi stations. We had a few hours wait to checkin so we dropped our bags at the 20th floor reception and went accross the road to explore a 14 story department store. We tried our 'once off in a different country McDonalds' routine, which wasn't particularly different, noteworthy or satisfying. About the same price as back home and always crowded in Tokyo. We managed to find a Pandora shop which Nat was certainly happy about.

    Check in time! Wow. We'd booked a panoramic room @ Hotel Century Southern Tower (got a good deal) but didnt expect this. In a city famed for its 'cosy' rooms where space comes at a premium, this was absolutely huge. On the 3rd top floor at level 33, it offered two giant windows facing two directions, around a King Size bed that offered spectacular views of the city. Its the best view from a room Ive ever had anywhere in the world.

    We unpacked and jumped on the JR for half hour east to meet Matthais and Sabrina (from our tour) at the Tokyo Skytree, the second tallest building in the world behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It was a good 25 minute walk from the nearest JR station, and we were unable to find our tour friends at the "suggested meeting spot" by our guide. In fact we couldn't even find a fountain. We headed up solo (4000¥ each) to catch the fading light from sunset by 5pm. It offered two viewing decks offering great views of the city, and a couple of glass panel floors. It was extremely crowded though and with the glass windows extended away from viewing platforms, crowds and reflection prevented photos doing the view any justice.

    We decended, had a quick dinner with Matthias and Sabrina, said our goodbyes, grabbed a quick custard filled, pastry thing and made haste back to the JR station to travel to Harajaku to meet Ben for drinks at a little craft brewery. Ah, Japan train efficiency, I'll miss you. Getting to Harajaku was delightfully efficient. Walking onto one train, getting off and walking onto another arriving perfectly on time. I thought we'd be 10-15 minutes late but we ended up at Harajaku 10 minutes early.

    We spent a couple hours with Ben at the Baird tap house enjoying a few very tasty craft beers. It was just one train stop back to our hotel to enjoy the night skyline views from our room before turning in.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Tour End in Tokyo

    4 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After almost 2 weeks, our G Adventures tour concluded, back where it started at the Candeo Hotel in Uneo, Tokyo. Just a couple trains and hours took us from the base of Mount Fuji to Tokyo.

    There wasn't too much planned for today, so after lunch our guide took us around to a few places by JR Line and Metro trains.

    Sumo was out of season, but we did head to the station and area of their competition by the stadium. Next on to the Sensō-ji Temple in Asakusa, one of the oldest places in Tokyo. It felt a little cheesy and touristy here, thousands of people, 100s of souvenir stalls, selfie sticks and fast food. Some of the temple buildings were nice but cheapened by souvenir stalls inside, vending machines, a mini theme park with roller coasters metres away and nearby strip clubs and topless calendar stores. Not exactly zen aesthetic.

    We then wandered drinking spots, sidestreets and shopping areaa nearby, riding wavea of crowds. On the way back to the hotel, Nat and I opted to leave the group to explore Akhihabara Electrical Town, a massive 9 story electrical department store. If its electronic related, they've got it. It was a bit like a Dick Smith or Harvey Norman store from Australia but 1000 times bigger. There was plenty of variety, 3-4 aisles of keyboards, rice cookers, gaming merchandise, popcorn makers, whatever you could think of. There seemed as many staff as customers. Nothing here was particularly cheap though.. and the biggest most expensive TV, a 75 inch UHD Panasonic that looked good but not extraordinary came in at ¥2.7 million, or around $32,000AUD.

    With sensory and people overload a factor, we returned to the hotel before 7 to meet the Group for a farewell dinner. As we arrived there appeared to be a cluster of people or gigantic European tour group arriving. Everyone looked unhappy. Their guide came rushing up to us by mistake panting, sweating, offering excess apologies and explanations.. poor guy. Hes in for a rough tour. Fortunately for us, we'd had a relaxed, punctual group without complaints or high maintenance. Dinner was fun and delicious, we shared all sorts of meat and fish dishes as well as a pitcher or four of beer.

    Tomorrow Nat and I are on our own for a few nights in Shinjuku as our trip winds up. Still a few fun days ahead.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Hiking Around Fuji

    3 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Mount Fuji is only open for hiking in July and August each year. In lieu of hiking to the summit, there are five lakes around its base that offer spectacular alternatives. One such lake being Kawaguchiko, our hotel located right by its edge.

    Todays task would be to hike around the lake. We knew it was a big one so we set out at around 9.45am. Within minutes, in a remote spot we were stopped by a local (perhaps going fishing) who struck up a conversation. In most countries, this situation would instantly raise caution and concern - whats he going to try sell me? Whats the scam? Whens he going to ask for money? In many countries this would be a valid concern, but not Japan. He just legitimately wanted to say hello, practice his English, welcome us and wish us well. Very refreshing.

    It was a gorgeous walk with stunning views of the lake, little temples, autumn leaves and Mount Fuji itself. After an hour or so we reached the Kawaguchiko Ropeway cablecar that takes you up and back from a viewpoint at Mount Fuyimidan. The summit here offered fantastic views of Mount Fuji and the lake, as well as a cute rabbit shrine.

    Once back down by the lake we continued our walk around until we reached the town of Kawaguchi. Being a public holiday today (Cultural Day - an equivalent of Australia Day), there was a huge marketplace with food stalls and music (seems they love Jazz in Japan). We picked up some grilled corn, dumplings, chicken pieces and a kebab like thing.
    By some miracle, we managed to find a bin (extreme rarity in Japan) and continued on our walk.

    The next point of interest we found was what looked like a nursery and cafe, with a variety of plants for sale, information booth, souvenirs and snacks on offer. It wasnt far from here things got a bit less fun. So far we'd walked by the lakes edge on a path but that was about to end. Much of the kilometres to follow we'd have to basically walk on the road and it was a tight squeeze at times.

    We knew this was a big lake, but we were about to find out HOW big.. huge, giant, seemingly endless. When we arrived opposite our hotel, thinking the edge was nearby, we were wrong, water continued to stretch on and on, without being sure of where the end was. By now my feet had started to ache.. mainly due to the wear, thinned soles and lack of support on my hiking boots.

    We pressed on, and on, and on, mostly dodging or being grazed by passing cars until we finally made it to the home stretch. By now, my feet were just about ruined and not even a random can of 'Gubunomi' a green lemonade with ice cream themed.. drink from a roadside vending machine could bring relief.

    By the time we got back to the hotel it was 5.15pm, half hour or so after sunset. We'd ended up walking around 25 kilometres and about 40,000 steps. Even more than we anticipated. It was the most we'd walked all trip. By the time I'd staggered into our room my feet were a smouldering ruin of blister clusters. My ankles were swollen and I had a bizarre rash around both ankles that burned to touch.. it looked like bites. I was also sunburnt and my shoulders ached from my backpack. Still, it was well worth it for all the views, discoveries and accomplishment of the journey itself.

    Of course dinner, an hour later was a decent walk away, just what I didn't want right now. It was a small restaurant by the lake where a sole gentleman played sole host, waiter, barman and chef for 11 people. It was Italian inspired food and mostly tasty enough. Hours later I dragged myself into the Onsen and subsequently fell onto my futon with bandaged feet. A gorgeous and memorable day. Tomorrow is our last full tour day as we head back to Tokyo.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Heading to Fuji

    2 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    Not too much to report today for what was primarilly a travel day. We took a total of four trains; 1 Bullet Train, 1 Express Train and 2 Local Trains to get us from Kyoto to Lake Kawaguchiko at the base of Mount Fuji. From a distance Fuji looked a little smaller than expected but its quite stunning and imposing when you get up close.

    A shuttle from Kawaguchiko train station had us at our Japanese Ryokan hotel "Fuji Views" by around 4pm. The hotel was certainly aptly named, offering a great view of the mountain from its front doors, as well as panoramic viewing rooms on its top (6th floor) level. Our room was impressive; tatami mats, futons and a balcony. We spent the remaining hour or so of dwindling daylights walking the park around the hotel.

    We spent the evening attempting to make oragami figures before enjoying a 9 course set traditional Japanese meal - very small dishes (included in G Adventures Tour). Some was okay, but most wasnt for me. I also tried my first ever Japanese wines, a glass of red and white which were decent though I favoured the white. This hotel also has a communal bath/ spa/ onsen (which involves mass gender separated nude spas) which was a relaxing end to the day. Tomorrow will be a hiking day we hope around the base of Fuji.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Castle and Gardens

    1 de noviembre de 2017, Japón ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Hopefully the wet and windy weather is behind us now. Today was a gorgeous day for our trip out to Himeji, about an hour out of Kyoto by bullet train. All went smoothly getring there, and we were at the front gates of the castle before 10am.

    The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture and its not hard to see why. Completef in 1618, it consists of a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The most striking being the main keep, a six story, ornate, stark white structure raised on a hill that towers over the town of Himeji. It was awe inspiring to admire its magnificence on the hike up to the keep gates.

    However, getting inside the keep itself was slightly underwhelming. Shoes off, polished wooden floorboards, a lot of stairs (like everywhere) but nothing else really. Some weapon racks, a couple trap doors, and little else. So in summary, I guess Himeji is like a hollow golden peanut. Magnificent and shiny on the outside, dark and empty on the inside.

    We got through the entire castle, walls and garden in around 90 minutes without rushing. We walked back to the station via temporary (tents) and then permanent (shops) markets. The train had us back in Kyoto just before 1.
    From there, a waffle for lunch to tide us over until Arashiyama. We switched to a local JLT train and headed on our way.

    Arashiyama is a huge, popular mountainous park. It features a bamboo grove, many temples, dense forest and a monkey park. We covered a fair bit of it. Unfortunately it felt a LITTLE spoiled by excessive tourism, and the fading afternoon light (sun starts to set and fade by 2.30-3) didn't do it justice. We'd planned to grab more food here but on arrival (and pressed for time) it seemed food was pricey and exploiting tourism. We saw a poor woman get forced to pay 3000¥ ($35aud approx) for a plate of about 12 dumplings.

    We pressed on through the bamboo grove, which was dense and pretty with the afternoon sun shining through the bamboo stems. From there we veered away from the hoards of tourists into the park proper to wander around, finding a nice lookout. Some of the autumn leaves of the forest and turquoise streams were stunning.

    The last stop of the day would end up being the
    Iwatayama Monkey Park. I'd hoped to make it to the Inperial Palace by its last entry at 4 but we were here, and running out of time so settled for monkeys. It was a 20 minute hike to their hang out spot... a steep climb into the mountain. There were dozens of wild Japanese macaque (snow monkeys) living here. "Wild" in that they're completely free range/ unrestricted.. but lured here by the prospect of being fed. It was still nice to see them up close and get great views of Kyoto. The monkeys appeared in decent health at least.

    By the time we got down, back to the station and into Kyoto city again, the Imperial Palace was closed. I decided to try walk what looked around half hour to at least see its exterior but alas time, light, distance and the battered, blistered ruins of what were our feet, were against us. We headed home for a local dinner for our last night in Kyoto. Tomorrow we head towards Mount Fuji.    Leer más

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  • Kristofor MallegromJapan Trip 2017Viajero

    Exploring Kyoto

    31 de octubre de 2017, Japón ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Today we had a full itinerary exploring Kyoto with our G Adventures tour. We got started with our first destination of the day, the 'Golden Pavillion' or Kinkaku-ji.

    The site of Kinkaku-ji was originally a villa called Kitayama-dai, belonging to a powerful statesman, Saionji Kintsune. Kinkaku-ji's history dates to 1397, when the villa was purchased from the Saionji family by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and transformed into the Kinkaku-ji complex.

    On July 2, 1950, at 2:30 am, the pavilion was burned down by a 22-year-old novice monk, Hayashi Yoken, who then attempted suicide on the Daimon-ji hill behind the building. He survived, and was subsequently taken into custody. The monk was sentenced to seven years in prison, but was released because of mental illnesses. Subsequently, his mother committed suicide due to the shame of her son. Grim tidings. The reconstructed building itself was spectacular though the site was the most crowded attraction we'd seen so far.

    Our next stop, the Daitokuji Busdhist Zen temple was an entirely different experience. This location was quiet and serene with little in the way of tourists. This was a large temple complex with mossy gardens and shrines aplenty. There were no photos allowed inside, but that's okay with me. It gave us a chance to sit in peace, enjoy the sun and the location. Many temples in Japan have fell victim to fire and destruction over the years but this one remains intact, exactly as it was hundreds of years ago. I really appreciated the philosophy of some of the zen pieces, so much so that Nat and opted to buy one.

    The final stop of the day was the Nijō Castle. It was built by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1601 and it the place where the shogun period started and ended. It was a really fascinating place, with some striking artwork and architecture mostly for me in the various meeting rooms of the Ninomaru Palace where feudal lords would wait to meet with the shogun. We were even fortunate enough to see a large heron in the surrounding gardens. The sun sets early in Japan and 3.30pm feels like dusk, so by the time light started to fade at 4.30 upon our exit, it was time to return to the hotel.

    We spent the evening exploring the city centre of Kyoto. Wow, what a huge place.. markets, shops, dining areas seemed to stretch for miles. Nat and I eventually decided to break off from the group and do our own thing. We found a fantastic place called Nick Stock Grill which was outstanding, with by far the best Japanese beer iv had so far, a craft beer called Nagahama IPA special. We managed to negotiate our way back to the hotel easy enough by public buses. Tomorrow we're going to use our free day to get to Himeji Castle!    Leer más

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