Saturday, August 31, 2013
Air Asia
My first experience with an international low cost carrier was in 2009. I flew from South Florida to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Let me sum it up by saying it was not a good experience. That was my first and last flight with Spirit Airlines. So back in June when I booked our flights from South Korea to Sydney, Australia with Air Asia (AA), I had some reservations. But as usual, a great sale will get me, all the time.
I had some issues booking our flights on AA's website, and had to call the 24 hour customer service line in Australia to help with the booking. The customer service agent stated that the problem was with using a US issued American Express card. The agent was able to process the booking for us over the phone. I choose to book the return flights on Expedia's website and still couldn't use a US issued American Express card. We ended up booking with our Korean Mastercard. Lesson learned; US issued Amex cards cannot be used to book AA flights on Expedia or AA's website.
Now on to the flight. My experience with the low cost carrier was lovely, but there are some things about AA that you need to know. First, they charge for every extra perk. I opted not to pay for an inflight meal, but was expecting at least a drink and snacks for free, but passengers have to pay for such items. Luckily, I did have snacks in my bags, but once we got on the plane, I noticed signs that said food brought onto the plane could not be consumed on board. I get the rule in theory, but I didn't see it being enforced. Plenty of people were consuming food that they brought on the plane without being hassled. AA also does not provide inflight blankets. They could be purchased or rented, but not borrowed. If you get cold easily like I do, then you should bring something to keep you warm during the flight. On my second flight segment from Kuala Lumpor to Sydney, I requested to buy a blanket before the flight took off. However, I was not provided with one as I was informed that they had sold out of blankets. They offered to rent me one, but I am not big on renting anything so I declined the offer. Lets just say it was a cold flight, and a mistake never to be made again.
I am fine with AA's "a la carte" way of doing business. It allows me to only pay for services that I need!
Happy Travels
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Sumo Wrestling in Tokyo!!!/Welcome Back
Wrestlers entering the ring before the matches.
I'm attempting to make a comeback after my two year hiatus. Let’s hope I can keep this up.
I recently traveled to Tokyo, Japan. I have lived in Asia now for about three years, but never had the desire to visit Tokyo or Japan for that matter. However, I am growing tired of paying (ridiculous!) visa fees, so I am looking into visa free destinations. And that is where Japan came in. A few weeks ago, I had the notion to look up packages for Osaka. I found a few flight and hotel packages that were reasonable, but for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to book one. Then one night something said "check into packages for Tokyo." And boy was I surprised when I found the packages were $132 USD less per person. Needless to say I booked my Tokyo trip that SAME night! I truly enjoyed my Tokyo getaway and hope to visit the area again in the near future.
In this post I am going to focus on the Sumo Wrestling experience I had while I was in Tokyo. From my understanding, sumo wrestling takes place in Japan only six times a year, three times in Tokyo, once in Osaka, Fukuoka, and Nagoya. If going to a bout is your main reason to visit, please make sure to book your vacation during a period the matches take place. I found out after, I booked the package that I would arrive during a match period. YEAH!!! So of course, I knew this was something I had to do on this trip. Prices for tickets range from 2,100 yen to about 11,300 yen. That equals to about $21 USD for the cheapest tickets which are also known as the general admission tickets. Tickets for other seat selections are sold in advance, online and at various locations around Japan, but the general admission tickets can only be bought the day of at the stadium box office.
I was told to get to the box office early (8 am) to buy my ticket and then return at 4 pm for the matches. I didn't quite make it by 8 am, more like 10ish, but still managed to grab two general admission tickets. At the box office, I got the low down of how the tickets work. Basically, there are matches from 8 am until 6 pm. The better wrestlers are later in the day, hence why I was told to return at 4 pm. I was informed that I could leave and enter the stadium for matches on the day the tickets were purchased for. I think that makes the price even sweeter. I was not purchasing tickets for a two hour event, but rather a whole day's worth of events. We went inside to check out the stadium, and were heading to our area, but quickly noticed the stadium was more or less empty. We sat in the "box seats", which are more expensive seats as their closer to the ring and watched about 30-45 minutes of wrestling. We left to meet up with a friend, with plans on returning around 4 pm.
Upon our return we had correctly assumed that the stadium would be filled with onlookers. We took our seats in the general admission area, and were glad to have had both the up close/empty stadium vs. far back/packed stadium experience. You could only imagine the atmosphere in the filled stadium.
The matches were short, and not as drawn out as the preliminary exercises that take place between the two wrestlers before each match.
It was definitely a highlight of my trip to Tokyo!
A few pointers if you attend a match in Tokyo:
1. Check out the Museum Exhibition Room. It is free and explains the deep history of this sport.
2. Rent a radio at the stadium and tune in to the English language commentary of each match. The rental fee is about $1 USD, but you must place a refundable $20 USD deposit.
In a few days, I will be going to Osaka. I'll be sure to blog about that trip as well.
The preliminaries before the match.
The empty stadium.
Front row seats are allow one to get up close and personal with the wrestlers.
Happy Travels!!!
I'm attempting to make a comeback after my two year hiatus. Let’s hope I can keep this up.
I recently traveled to Tokyo, Japan. I have lived in Asia now for about three years, but never had the desire to visit Tokyo or Japan for that matter. However, I am growing tired of paying (ridiculous!) visa fees, so I am looking into visa free destinations. And that is where Japan came in. A few weeks ago, I had the notion to look up packages for Osaka. I found a few flight and hotel packages that were reasonable, but for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to book one. Then one night something said "check into packages for Tokyo." And boy was I surprised when I found the packages were $132 USD less per person. Needless to say I booked my Tokyo trip that SAME night! I truly enjoyed my Tokyo getaway and hope to visit the area again in the near future.
In this post I am going to focus on the Sumo Wrestling experience I had while I was in Tokyo. From my understanding, sumo wrestling takes place in Japan only six times a year, three times in Tokyo, once in Osaka, Fukuoka, and Nagoya. If going to a bout is your main reason to visit, please make sure to book your vacation during a period the matches take place. I found out after, I booked the package that I would arrive during a match period. YEAH!!! So of course, I knew this was something I had to do on this trip. Prices for tickets range from 2,100 yen to about 11,300 yen. That equals to about $21 USD for the cheapest tickets which are also known as the general admission tickets. Tickets for other seat selections are sold in advance, online and at various locations around Japan, but the general admission tickets can only be bought the day of at the stadium box office.
I was told to get to the box office early (8 am) to buy my ticket and then return at 4 pm for the matches. I didn't quite make it by 8 am, more like 10ish, but still managed to grab two general admission tickets. At the box office, I got the low down of how the tickets work. Basically, there are matches from 8 am until 6 pm. The better wrestlers are later in the day, hence why I was told to return at 4 pm. I was informed that I could leave and enter the stadium for matches on the day the tickets were purchased for. I think that makes the price even sweeter. I was not purchasing tickets for a two hour event, but rather a whole day's worth of events. We went inside to check out the stadium, and were heading to our area, but quickly noticed the stadium was more or less empty. We sat in the "box seats", which are more expensive seats as their closer to the ring and watched about 30-45 minutes of wrestling. We left to meet up with a friend, with plans on returning around 4 pm.
Upon our return we had correctly assumed that the stadium would be filled with onlookers. We took our seats in the general admission area, and were glad to have had both the up close/empty stadium vs. far back/packed stadium experience. You could only imagine the atmosphere in the filled stadium.
The matches were short, and not as drawn out as the preliminary exercises that take place between the two wrestlers before each match.
It was definitely a highlight of my trip to Tokyo!
A few pointers if you attend a match in Tokyo:
1. Check out the Museum Exhibition Room. It is free and explains the deep history of this sport.
2. Rent a radio at the stadium and tune in to the English language commentary of each match. The rental fee is about $1 USD, but you must place a refundable $20 USD deposit.
In a few days, I will be going to Osaka. I'll be sure to blog about that trip as well.
The preliminaries before the match.
The empty stadium.
Front row seats are allow one to get up close and personal with the wrestlers.
Happy Travels!!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Best Place for a Layover!!!!
If you ever find yourself with a layover in Shanghai, by all means leave the airport and go see the city. The Shanghai Maglev Train will get you downtown from Pudong International Airport in 8 minutes. The distance covered in those 8 minutes are 30.5 km (18.95 miles). Needless to say it is a very fast ride, so hold on!!! The train allows you to connect to the metro (lines 2 and 7) at the Long Yang Road stop. Once you get into the city’s center, other forms of transportation can be found as well.
Sit back and enjoy the ride!!!
Happy Travels
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Philippines-To Relax and Discover
I write this entry from Camiguin Island in the Philippines. I never had a strong desire to visit the Philippines. Last week however when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance. And I am glad I did. We flew from Seoul to Manila and then to Cagayan du Oro. To be honest we didn’t even know the name of where we were going until we landed. Passengers kept asking us where we were going and we would show them our boarding passes. The same happened when the cabin crew asked us where our connecting flight was too.
The first thing that caught me by surprise is that the majority of the population speaks and understand English. I hardly heard the native language being spoken. The signs on the roads are all in English as well as menus at restaurants. The people here are also very warm and friendly. And the food is WONDERFUL.
The Philippines are made up of over 7000 islands. We were be able to visit about 2-3 islands. To get to Camiguin Island, we drove about 1.5 hours to a dock and boarded a ferry to the island. The ferry took about 1.5 hours to reach the island.
We are staying at the Camiguin Highland Resort. It is nestled in peaceful mountains and the view of the palm trees and ocean is breath taking. Our room is very nice and has a cute balcony.
Camiguin Highland Resort
Our room at the resort
After checking in, we headed out to the Ardent Hibok-Hibok Springs. At this Hot Spring, the “pools” are open 24/7 and you can even spend the night there. We got there as the sun was setting, and the crowd just kept on coming. I am sure people will spend the night there.
The resort offers horseback riding for a small fee among other leisure activities for its guests.
We had the opportunity to go to the near by White Island, where we were able to rent a wave runner for about an hour.
Popular White Island
After leaving White Island, we went and saw the Sunken Cemetery. The Sunken Cemetery is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world as the cemetery of the town sank below sea level during the volcanic birth of Mt. Vulcan in 1871. The place is commemorated by a huge cross erected in 1982.
Sunken Cemetery
I truly must say that I enjoyed our trip to the Philippines. I will define it as one of Asia's best kept secrets. Planning a return trip to see more of this country.
The first thing that caught me by surprise is that the majority of the population speaks and understand English. I hardly heard the native language being spoken. The signs on the roads are all in English as well as menus at restaurants. The people here are also very warm and friendly. And the food is WONDERFUL.
The Philippines are made up of over 7000 islands. We were be able to visit about 2-3 islands. To get to Camiguin Island, we drove about 1.5 hours to a dock and boarded a ferry to the island. The ferry took about 1.5 hours to reach the island.
We are staying at the Camiguin Highland Resort. It is nestled in peaceful mountains and the view of the palm trees and ocean is breath taking. Our room is very nice and has a cute balcony.
After checking in, we headed out to the Ardent Hibok-Hibok Springs. At this Hot Spring, the “pools” are open 24/7 and you can even spend the night there. We got there as the sun was setting, and the crowd just kept on coming. I am sure people will spend the night there.
The resort offers horseback riding for a small fee among other leisure activities for its guests.
We had the opportunity to go to the near by White Island, where we were able to rent a wave runner for about an hour.
After leaving White Island, we went and saw the Sunken Cemetery. The Sunken Cemetery is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world as the cemetery of the town sank below sea level during the volcanic birth of Mt. Vulcan in 1871. The place is commemorated by a huge cross erected in 1982.
I truly must say that I enjoyed our trip to the Philippines. I will define it as one of Asia's best kept secrets. Planning a return trip to see more of this country.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Korail Pass (S. Korea)
Traveling around South Korea is relatively safe, inexpensive and manageable. My preferred mode of transportation the train. You can get a train to almost any small town in the country. The popular train types are the KTX, Saemual, and the Mugunghwa. The KTX is the fastest and most expensive and the Mugunghwa is the slowest and cheapest. The KTX takes about 2.5 hours between Seoul and Busan while the Mugunghwa takes 5 hours. The prices on the KTX vary on the time of day of your trip. Back in 2004-2005 when I lived in Seoul, I vowed NEVER to take the KTX since it was twice the cost of the slow train. However, I recently had to travel to Seoul for the weekend and was pressed for time both going and returning. In order to save time and money, I decided to look into the Korea Pass. This is a pass tourists and non-Koreans can use to travel for a selected amount of days (1-10)on the trains. Travelers can ride the trains, not subways, unlimited in the economy seats. You can even upgrade to first class for a small fee. I was a bit excited to finally ride the KTX and I recommend the pass if traveling round trip from Seoul to Busan. The price of a three day pass is cheaper than buying a round trip ticket from Seoul to Busan. And I was even able to squeeze in an extra trip to visit a friend during the weekend with my pass. The pass must be purchased online at www.korail.com. The website is tourist friendly and in English. You will need your passport number to book the pass. This is definitely an inexpensive and convenient way to travel to different cities in the country.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Busan to Ulsan (South Korea)
There are many ways to get between Ulsan and Busan. One of the more budget friendly ways to get between the two cities is to take an intercity bus. The bus leaves from Nopo Bus Terminal which is on subway line 1 (the orange line). The buses are outside and don't depart from the same location as the other buses heading to cities further away. The two buses that I know you can take to Ulsan are 1127 & 1137. The one way
fare if paying with cash is 2,000 won and if paying with the Busan transportation card is 1,800 won. The ride takes about 1.5 hours.
You can also get to Ulsan via the trains and express buses. The one way fares for the train and express bus ranges between 6,000-7,000 won.
Happy Travels!!!
fare if paying with cash is 2,000 won and if paying with the Busan transportation card is 1,800 won. The ride takes about 1.5 hours.
You can also get to Ulsan via the trains and express buses. The one way fares for the train and express bus ranges between 6,000-7,000 won.
Happy Travels!!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Back in the ROK
Hello All! I ve been thinking about doing this travel blog for quite sometime, but never got it started. As most of you know I LOVE to travel. Currently I'm living in South Korea (for the 2nd time) and the experience never presents a dull day. This blog will give you an insight on my expat life here in the East as well as travel information in different cities around the world. I'm very cautious about who I travel with and rarely go on trips with others without outlining what it's like "traveln with Rachel". The hope of this blog is to give readers an insight on too often missed information when traveling. Hold tight and hang on! You are now Traveln with Rachel!
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