Western Australia - Naturally. Or not.

[Note: This was from a trip in July 2014. I never "published" it. Might as well do so now.]

I started titling this blog piece as "flora and fauna of Western Australia" - like I was an expert. I was just going to post some pictures of flowers and wildlife.

And the caption would go along the lines of "here's a blue wildflower." And "here's a small yellow one. I don't know their names."

Helpful huh?

So if you stumbled on this while Googling for "flora and fauna of Western Australia - the definitive guide", this is not it.

The Kindness of (Japanese) Strangers

From a previous post:

I did not realise that there were TWO terminals at Haneda, and we were at Terminal 2 looking for JAL when it was ALL ANA flights. 30 minutes before our flight we were still at Terminal 2, and we approached ANA ground staff to ask about our flight. They told us we were at the WRONG terminal. So I tried to find my way to Terminal 1... with less than 30 minutes to spare.
Fortunately, the ANA staff ran towards us, checked our flight and bookings (I had a print out of the details), and ran with us to the shuttle bus (shuttling between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2), caught the shuttle bus to Domestic Terminal 1 and put us on it. At Terminal 1, we hunted for the JAL check it, connected with their "Smile" service, and the woman immediately sprang into action! 

(We had also asked a security guard for help and he sent us to the second floor to the check in counter). 

The JAL ground staff took our documents, and checked us through.
It was less than 15 minutes to our flight.
She tagged our luggage to be checked in and we ran for the gate. 
Fortunately, the flight was delayed for 5 minutes. For us? I do not know. Didn't think so,
The flight crew did not mentioned that. We did not seem to have caused any undue delay, so the 5 minutes holdup might just have been lucky coincidence.

An Izakaya in Mombetsu

Mombetsu was not what I imagined it to be.

We arrived at the Mombetsu Prince Hotel at about sunset. I was led there by the GPS it the car, but the hotel's name was written in Japanese. I was not sure if it were the hotel.

It was. I checked at the front desk, and then checked in.

It was dusk when we walked out to find dinner. According to Google maps there were eateries within two blocks or so. We walked.

Trust me. I don't trust myself driving at night. Heck! I don't even trust myself driving during the day!

Changi Airport - Tips by videos

Changi Airport is the first thing visitors to Singapore see.

Unless they come in by sea or land or illegally swam to Singapore.

Changi Airport has 4 terminals. 1, 2, and 3 are linked. Terminal 4 is the newest and linked by a free bus service (from Terminal 2). Terminal 4 is rather separated from the other three terminals. So the video below doesn't include Terminal 4, which serves very limited airlines for now (AirAsia and Vietnam Air if I recall. Might have changed by now.)





Changi Jewel has opened. The videos below are the exploration of the latest offering (from 10 June 2019), and the first preview just before it opened to the public.








The wannabe copywriter in me wants to write: "Changi Jewel - now you don't want to fly".

Rest Areas/Lounges (free, I believe)
If you are transiting in Changi Airport, and you will be there for a while, but not long enough to leave the airport, here are the rest areas:

Here is the list of best places where you can get good and comfortable sleep for overnight at changi airport: (This video will show you the details - not a very good video in presenting information)

Terminal 1
Snooze Lounge, Level 3 Transit Hall (Near Cosmetics and Perfumes by Shilla)

Terminal 2
Departure Lounge, Level 2 (Near Tunglok Tea House)
Sanctuary Lounge, Level 2 Transit Hall (Opposite Gate E5)
Oasis Lounge, Level 2 Transit Hall (Opposite Gate E11)

Terminal 3
Departure Transit, Level 3 Mezzanine (Near DFS Wine and Spirits)
Snooze Lounge, Transit Hall (Near the Singapore Food Street)

Terminal 4
Departure Transit, Level 2 (Near Coffee Bean)
Departure Transit, Level 2 (Near Texas Chicken)
Snooze Lounge, Level 2 Transit Hall (Near Peranakan Gallery)


Transit Hotels

If you want a proper bed and have the cash to spend, there are transit hotels at each terminal. Here's a video:


There is a minimum of 6 hour booking - you can leave earlier, but you will be paying for 6 hours - and you can then extend hour by hour.

Zoo. Zoo. Zoos!

On our latest trip to Japan, we visited the Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, and the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

"Meh! It's too hot. I'm a Penguin, not a Peking Duck!"

We had missed the Asahiyama Zoo the last time we visited Hokkaido because the zoo was closed. That was in late autumn. Now, being Spring, we should be (and was) luckier.

Partially, anyway.

At Asahiyama, we wanted to see the penguins from the Penguin Arch. This was a plexiglass underwater archway where we could walk and see penguins "flying" overhead in the water.

Unfortunately, because of the warm day, the penguins went "meh" and stayed in their climate controlled rooms where it was cooler.

Log House Wagyu Bibi

Log House Wagyu Bibi Restaurant Entrance

I had wanted to come eat here since I first read about it a few years ago, and since I discovered wagyu beef.

I like food more than I like photography. So I have NO photos of my time at the Log House. You can google "Log House Bibi Restaurant" and find lots of photos, probably better than any I could take.

Driving in Hokkaido

There have been surveys that found that 90% of drivers believe that they are above-average drivers.

This of course cannot be objectively true.

(Unless the survey was conducted in Lake Wobegon from Prairie Home Companion.)

At least 40% of those surveyed were over-estimating their driving skills.

I belong to the 10%. I don't claim to be an above-average driver. At best, I am a barely competent driver.

Well, I believe I am a better driver than my wife, but that's only because she doesn't have a licence.

Anyway, I do not drive in Singapore, saving my driving skills to terrorise drivers in foreign countries (I have driven in Canada, US, Australia, and Japan.)

Back to Hokkaido

The plan is to fly to Tokyo (Haneda or Narita). Stay a day or so at Narita.

There is a Unagi Restaurant we're trying to find. If we can't, well, there are other things to look for in Narita.

Then we fly to Asahikawa.

I should have checked if there were a train link to Asahikawa Airport.

There is none.

There is a shuttle bus from the Airport to Asahikawa Train Station. And there is always taxis to fall back on. But we plan to try with the bus.

We will stay a few days in Asahikawa, and visit Asahiyama Zoo. The last time we came, the zoo was closed for the season.

This time, it will be spring, so it should be fine.

We hope.

Brief Hotel Review - Late May 2019

In May 2019 we visited Tokyo (specifically Narita and Ueno) and Hokkaido for 2 weeks. Here are the hotels we stayed in and my brief "review" or impression of them.

Omotesando Street in Narita - The Street of Unagi Restaurants

[Not to be confused with the Omotesando in Tokyo, Harajuku which is a high end fashion street.]

Omotesando Street in Narita Town is the Street of Unagi restaurants. I have also heard the term "Omotenashi", which means "Public face" (Omote), and "Nothing" (Nashi), which together means to serve with nothing hidden in one's public face.

I am sure I am mangling the translation, so take this as a rough translation.

So the Unagi restaurants on Omotesando grill, and even prepare the live eels in full view of the public. There is nothing hidden. (Coincidence or intentional to the idea of Omotenashi? I don't know.)

If you are queasy about seeing your food prepared (and by "prepared", I mean "slaughtered") before your eyes, this is not where you want to be. Unless you intend to go to an Unagi Restaurant and order chicken.