JAPAN WINTER TRIP 2018 ( KYOTO ---OSAKA---KYOTO---NARA)

YAY !! finally time for another travel blogggg !!

AFTER A LOOOONG WAIT. FINALLY another family trip and this time ---> to the land of the rising sun

JAPAN 

KONNICHIWAこんにちは !!

PRE-JAPAN PREPARATION 

1) Air-tickets : I actually bought the flight tickets prolly more than a year before the trip actually takes place. I bought it during the airasia promo during March 2017 ( which they have it anually).  To and fro tickets to Japan from KLIA2 costs about : RM 955 ( inclusive 20kg luggage and in-flight meal) .

What a great deal right? ... not really tho, apparently they have these promos going on sometime around June/ July as well, which i found it to be a bit cheaper and with a more preferable departure time. :( 

Anyway, $$ has already been deducted from my bank account and it is near to IMPOSSIBLE to make any changes given that the whole AirAsia system is very VERY rigid ( expressing my grudge against AirAsia ..ugh long story..)  

WHAT TO DO NEXT?  Since we are going on a free- and -easy trip to Japan, me, being the tourguide for this family trip have a GREAT CONCERn----> Language.  I have been to Tokyo once in 2013 basically following my Aunt around (my aunt speaks Japanese) navigating the subway of Tokyo. When i mean follow, i legit meant BLINDLY FOLLOW. No research or anything is done before the trip. Basically, i dont even know where we are going. 

2) Learn Japanese : I actually signed up for a 3 months language course for Japanese (Level 1) in YMCA Kuala Lumpur which costs me around RM360++ including the annual member fee. The classes are good but I managed to attend only 5 class out of 10 because the weekend class just seemed to clash with a lot of events and mid sem breaks. (money flies away :() 

Nonetheless, the journey to learn Japanese did not stop. I watched youtube videos ( japanese pod 101, Japan Society NYC(Uki Uki) I highly recommend these two channels as they are comprehensive yet easy to understand.  

3) Accomodation: I have had a headache deciding on where to stay as you will have at least some ideas of where you want to visit and which city you planned to stay). Well, in the end i decided to spend 3 nights in Kyoto and 3 nights in Osaka. I booked the accomodation through airbnb.

Kyoto airbnb : RM1418.97 4pax 

Osaka airbnb : RM1031.50 4pax

RM612 per pax for 6 nights 

Note : thiis can go wayyyy much cheaper if you stay in youth hostel or backpacker hostel. But since i am travelling with my parents, they prefer having some privacy. 

It is better to stay in Osaka for the last few days because it is nearer to the Kansai International Airport (KIX) around 45 mins from Namba Station. 

4) Tickets: (bought through klook except for the icoca pass)  Note: icoca card can be purchased through klook as well.

Universal Studios Japan: RM299 

Osaka Amazing pass (1-day): RM86

Hankyu Pass: RM29

Wifi rental (7-days) : RM119

Icoca- haruka pass :https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/icoca-haruka

Kimono rental : RM153.50 (include hair-do) we cancelled the plan due to our pack schedule which will leave us with no time to spend to take LOADS of photos. However totally no regret as the winter in January is pretty unbearable in kimonos ( saw tourists in Kimonos shivering in cold and surprisingly the number of tourists wearing kimono was less that what i've expected. ) 

5) Plan your itinerary . i attribute my itinerary planning to all travel bloggers out there!!! THANK YOU ! well i guess it is now my turn to give back ? haha hopefully it will be helpful to those travelling to Japan during winter next year and years to come :) 

That's it !! basically these are what you have to do before embarking on your Journey to Japan! Will be updating with my detailed itinerary + photos soon !! (pray hard for me to not procrastinate) 

*off*

South Korea in July 한국 (Day 1) everland, Yongpyong

After one looooong year of being confined in Malaysia, the trip i've long awaited have finally came ! which is now....well... overT.T  have to wait for one more year till my next annual vacation with my family which is still not a guarantee to happen next year because i will be in university soon and it will be very hard to squeeze  a slot out of the cramped schedule T.T 

Well, enough of all those pessimistic thoughts , instead i am pretty excited to blog about my short visit to south korea .

DAY 1

(24/7/14 wednesday)

My day starts off on a freaking boring plane. Flight departs at 8.55 pm from Penang---->Kuala Lumpur  then waited for nearly 4 hours for transit to South Korea . Well, not to forget KLIA2 is freaking enormous it takes a long walk to reach the gate, so better start walking an hour before schedule, better safe than sorry rite ? the flight from KUL to Incheon airport in south korea took nearly 6 hours but since its a midnight flight, time passes by in your sleep. but not for me, i can't really master "sit sleeping" my neck hurts a lot haha.

The flight is pretty uncomfortable because i can barely stretch my loooong legs XD but its air asia x, low cost airline what can u expect from the price u are paying ? i will still choose airasia for my next flight *a hardcore fan here* 

The flight arrived at incheon airport approximately around 10am local time (Korea time is one hour faster than malaysia's) Tour guide gave us an hour to fill our empty stomach in the airport . we had a tough time choosing what to have as our first meal in korea but we ended up eating Mc donalds ..i know..so cliche . haha thats me and my bacon mc muffin .you can't find it in Malaysia though .

We were supposed to be visiting nami island but there's been a change in the schedule which we headed to Everland right after we alight the plane .Frankly speaking i am annoyed and very unhappy with the sudden change of schedule . I am so not prepared for theme park which was suppose to be on the third day.

The journey took about 2 hours and i slept throughout the whole journey. I can see other tour members were sleeping too after the long flight . Well and so we reached Everland on a RAINY DAY . the moment we reached , it rained like cats and dogs. MOOD to have fun was like literally turned-off ,not only mine but everyone else's as well..

This is how everland looks like (not really tempting during rainy season)

Our first stop which is also the only activity available in that weather is the safari ride . It totally lightened up my mood ! one thing good about rainy days is that there was no queue AT ALL ! the tour guide tried to comfort all of us by emphasizing how long the queue usually takes on normal days which is nearly 2 hours .

we boarded a bus which looks like this 

In the jungle the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight haha

The safari is famous for its Liger (lion+tiger) i did not manage to grab a picture of it but for me it looks normal. haha the highlight of the safari tour is non other than the BEARS ! the bears are huge and taller than human but it's cuteness is simply OVERLOADED the bear literally stood up beside you and lean against the window of the safari bus .The cutest part is the way it runs to catch up with the bus driver for some snacks ! two thumbs up for this ! 

After the safari excursion, miracle happened ! the rain stops !! wheee which means its PARTYYYY TIMEE !! it took some time for all the outdoor activities to resume its operation so we used this moment to grab some snacks and of course snap some pictures. one thing bad about being on a tour is that time is not flexible . We were only given around 3 hours in a theme park..=.= i was like WTH. i can spend more than 5 hours in a local theme park but this!! i can spend a lot more time here. 

But again, luck is on our side this time.during rainy season,the number of visitors DECREASES a lot ! i've never been to a theme park this empty , the longest queue is only 20 minutes ! compared to the 2 hour queue i had in Japan tokyo disneyland , this is just simply amazing. we get to try out all those thrilling games and rollercoaster except for one T.T which is the spotlight of everland ..it only operates when its about time for us to leave T.T i heard that it was a must try ! remember to try it our first when u visit everland !

This is also a must try !

After visitng everland, we headed to kimchi making .for me it's nothing special, just some normal cooking .but since we are in korea , we have to immerse in their culture .

the tired-looking me with my kimchi

after kimchi making, we went for an activity that everyone will be doing in korea ( WEARING HANBOK)

which also means PHOTO TIME

sorry, i just have to be well.. ME ?

TADAA !! its dinner time !!! time for some MEAT !

We checked-in at Yongpyong Resort which has a relaxing and calm atmosphere . FYI 2018 winter olympics will be held here ! Yongpyong district will be crowded during winter because everyone basically flood here for ski-ing .As for summer, there's not much activity to here but there's a small theme park for kids, a temporary one. The park behind the hotel is fascinating and during the night time ,parents bring their children, rent a scooter and ride around the park. The chilly fresh air makes the atmosphere even more "calmfull" (officially out of vocabulary to describe atmosphere)

sneak peek of yongpyong resort !


\Thats all for Day 1!
*Off*