#147 Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland

When I was a teenager I visited Finnish Lapland, more specifically the capital Rovaniemi. This would have been around....2007? So while I've finally decided to share my experience, I realize the information below may be a little outdated, but it should still be a good place to start. We visited at Halloween, which may sound a little bizarre, but the only reason we went is because my sister spent a semester at the University there (which admittedly is also a little bizarre, but anyway!).

I'll firstly mention a few highlights: we were there about 5 days and did not see the Northern Lights, we did not do a sleigh/husky ride into the wilderness, we did not sleep in an igloo or an ice hotel, we did not get naked in a sauna and run outside into the snow. We did visit Santa at his workshop, we did cross the Arctic circle, we did visit the Arktikum museum and we did see the restaurant owned by Eurovision winners Lordi (however it was seasonally closed, and now I presume forever closed?).

To get to the point, would I recommend it? No! Although my parents arranged and paid for it (I believe it was outrageously expensive), I really don't think it offers value for money, especially for families.

Ok, so now for a little more detail!

The Northern Lights

We've all seen those mad photographs where the sky is an amazing big greeny haze. The reality of you seeing the Northern Lights is quite low, and the chance they will be even half as distinctive as in the photos even lower. This is based on the experience of my sister who spent 5 months living in Rovaniemi, my own personal experience visiting for a few days, and also the experience of a few friends of mine who spent a fortune travelling to Swedish Lapland and came home bitterly disappointed after a few days as they had only barely seen a greenish glow on one night, and it didn't come out in any photos. I believe they are better times of year and better places to view them, but I think you're mostly depending on the weather and pure luck. So, if you desperately want to see the Northern Lights, please be aware despite what the travel agents are selling, there is a very good chance you will not see them, or they will be very faint and not "Instagrammable".

Here's another interesting experience I found online: https://luxeadventuretraveler.com/northern-lights/


Up next....

The Real Santa Claus

Ok, so I was at an age where I knew Santa wasn't real, and as I said we visited on like 28th October or something, so not quite seasonal but I do think there was a little snow. I personally enjoyed our visit to Santa's workshop. My sister has previously been on a group trip and was terribly disappointed, so admittedly I was surprised when it wasn't bad. However if you go in thinking it's like a scene out of "The Santa Clause" or "The Polar Express" you will be disappointed.
Again there has probably been upgrades to it since I went, but basically there was lots of pretty wooden huts selling numerous types of souvenirs. I think there may have been some reindeer. There is a big red line on the ground indicating the Arctic Circle, and you can get a certificate to say you crossed it. For Santa's compound, we were the only people there I think, but we were greeted by an elf who asked us what language we speak (I guess there are different Santas for different languages maybe?) and we walked in, spoke to him a little, got a photo taken and left. Santa himself was good, friendly and had a top quality suit and beard. The queuing area was nice, similar to maybe one before a ride in Disneyland, and I remember it had a big machine that helps Santa stop time to travel around the world (or something to that effect?), but to be honest a lot of home-grown Santa experiences here in Ireland have really upped their game in recent years, so while it was nice, it wasn't exactly made of childhood dreams or probably worth the cost of going there just to see Santa.

For more up to date information, here's a link to their official website:
https://www.santaclausvillage.info/santa-claus/santa-park/

Santa Claus in Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi

It's a lovely little town, incredibly clean and modern. Felt very safe and welcoming. I remember spending a lot of money in the local H&M! I can't really remember much about restaurants or food, I know we ate at my sisters apartment a few times and had breakfast inclusive at our hotel.

Arktikum Museum

This is a science/natural history museum based on the local area, and one of the highlights of the trip. It was very insightful as well as being fun and interactive. I think I remember there being like a "northern lights" kind of cinema experience but I could be wrong.

#146 Bruges, Belgium

My experience of Bruges (also known as Brugge) was absolutely magical. I had seen the movie. I had read it was nice. But I really only decided to go because I found incredibly cheap flights to Brussels and Bruges was a short train ride away.

Bruges was like a fairy tale, with incredibly old winding streets and picturesque old buildings. I only spent about 24 hours in this wonderful place, and while it was more than enough to see all the main sights, I could easily have spent a few more days just relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere. It is one of the few places that I would highly recommend to visit, and in fact I look forward to returning again.

Transport and Accommodation

I got to Bruges via train from Brussels which took just over one hour. Since I am under 26 years old I qualified for a Go pass, which means I can travel anywhere in Belgium for only €6.40, which is fantastic value! I was also surprised to find out that there are a few hostels in Bruges, and they were similar in price to what I found in Brussels too. I stayed at Hostel Lybeer which was very close to both the train station and the historic centre and although it was quite nice, however I would be open to staying somewhere else if I were to return.

If you haven't, you should try watch the film In Bruges before you go. I'd seen it a few years ago but I actually didn't have the time to watch it before I went so I'm rusty on the details. I'm probably a little prejudiced since it's an Irish film, it's a black comedy and a little bleak at times, but a really well made film and it does show you quite a few sights around Bruges as well. It was on Netflix however I think it may have been removed from the lineup.

Weather

As I visited in May, the weather was gorgeous - getting to around 29 degrees Celsius (which for my Irish skin was a bit much). Apparently I was lucky with the weather as I was told Belgium is quite a rainy country, and in fact it rained on my second day there, however I had already seen all the sights and was getting ready to leave anyway. Since the aesthetic of Bruges is all outdoors, I do think wet weather would put a damper on it, but these are risks you take!


I arrived on an early train from Brussels, left my baggage at the hostel and started my day with a free walking tour by Legends of Bruges. It was a 2 hour tour and was a good introduction to Bruges and took us around all the main sights, as well as giving a brief history of the town. I really enjoyed it, and think it may have been one of the better free walking tours I had been on. Following on from the tour I walked around the sights again and took my time, especially with photos etc.

The best way to get around Bruges is walking, it's a short walk from the train station and the town itself is very small to get around. There's also horse and carriage rides, and of course boat rides as well. The boat ride tour itself is very good value, €8 for about 30mins, and they run every few minutes. I found it very enjoyable, however they really fill the boats so it was a little cramped in terms of legroom.

While Bruges does offer surprising more value for money than expected in terms of accommodation and sightseeing, I feel the biggest barrier is eating out. I found it difficult to find or decide on a restaurant that would offer value, so I settled for buying my own breakfast and lunch in the supermarkets. There is a McDonalds, however I am glad to say I didn't need to visit!

Food

One of the many things Belgium is famous for is chocolate - and there are plenty of places in Bruges to buy some. My preference would probably be The Chocolate Line by Dominque Persoon, as you can try chocolates with strange flavours there, such as wasabi and bacon. In terms of Belgian waffles, I admitted in a previous post I'm not a huge fan, but there are a few different places you can get them, I went to Chez Albert based on reviews but I didn't think it was anything special in comparison to other places.

#145 Brussels, Belgium

I spent a lovely 24 hours in Brussels, which I found was more than enough time to see all the main sights in the city. 

I started the day with a free walking tour, which took me around all the sights and gave me a brief history of the city. Although I didn't particularly like the tour guide I still enjoyed the tour and being brought around the city, and would recommend it as a good way to see the all the sights if you only have a short time. 

 
Belgian WafflesBelgian Beer 
Transport 
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After the tour I had lunch, then revisited some of the main areas again so I could get more photos and soak in the atmosphere a bit more. Of course the main attractions are the Grand Place (the big colourful square) and the Mannequin Pis (the tiny statue of the boy peeing), both within a moments walking distance of each other. 

The most popular places for lunch would be the many places that sell French fries, of course the fries being a Belgian invention that was introduced to Americans by some French speaking Belgians (hence the confusion of the name, although in Ireland we just call them chips).  

Weather

Being mid-May the weather was glorious and got as hot as 27 degrees, although I had heard that it usually rains a lot in Belgium and had rained for a few days before my visit. To beat the heat I treated myself to a visit to one of the many gelato places in the city centre, they all seemed to have similar prices and flavours. 

Belgian Waffles

As for the waffles - I have a confession. I didn't really like them!! I absolutely love sweet things and had been drooling over photos of Belgian waffles on Instagram in the days before my trip. However I had two - one was plain and I thought it a bit stale tasting, and the other was covered in strawberries and cream from an eatery in Bruges (which is apparently the best), and while it was definitely fresh I still found it very heavy and a bit chewy, not what I was expecting. My sister has a waffle maker in her house and I much prefer the light and fluffy ones we make, sorry Belgium! 

After a return to my hostel for a shower I headed out again to the Parlementarium, the interactive exhibit about the European Union, which is of course based in Brussels. They provide free audio guide devices with little screens which you can use to interact with the many exhibits. I was tired and honestly skipped through a lot of it but it's a modern and interesting facility nonetheless and would be a good place to visit while the weather is very hot in the afternoon. 

Belgian Beer and Belgian Chocolate

Of course Belgium is also very famous for its beers and there are many bars and restaurants with plenty of space to sit and relax outside, a cold beer in hand. One of the most famous bars in Brussels is Delirium Village, a complex of about four or five different bars ranging from tequila bars to beer, based on the famous Delirium beer, a very strong beer with a pink elephant logo.

There are also many chocolate shops, however you will find that many are for example Leonidas or Godiva and are the same as you can get in these chain stores in your home country, or are tourist traps selling very poor quality chocolate in boxes from China that say "Belgium" on them. It can be difficult to try find a genuine chocolate shop!

Transport

In terms of transport, most of the main sights are within walking distance of each other, but there is a metro, bus and train available. During my visit to Belgium I also went to Bruges, which is just over one hour away by train, so very closeby. You can also get trains to countries like the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.

#144 On Travelling During The Summer

So we're at the end of April now, and summer is steadfast approaching! I'm sure a lot of you have already planned your summer holidays away.

Summer holiday. Eponymous. Renowned. A standard part of life for many people. Yet a summer holiday is something I admittedly don't really understand. Why travel during the summer? The reasons I can think of would be that either a) you have kids in school, b) you're still in education yourself, c) you work in education, or d) you like really hot weather.

Sandhamm, a popular holiday island in Sweden

So basically it mostly revolves around school. If you're not a teacher and you don't have child in school, I have no idea why you would actually ever want to travel during the summer season. I personally hate summer travel, I did it last year in Asia as I was unfortunately in the above mentioned grouping of being a teacher, and I would have much preferred to have done it any other time of year. Why do I hate it so? Summer travel is a) crazy expensive, b) overcrowded, c) tons of unsupervised children running riot and d) just too damn hot.



Irish people don't get a lot of warm weather, so most of them like to holiday in Spain or somewhere with a warmer climate. However, a lot of places are quite warm all year, and by going in the summer the Irish subject themselves to weather that is uncomfortably hot (although they will deny it) and earn dodgy tans and wince-worthy sunburns that they will wear back home like badges of honor.


I don't like hot weather. I don't like annoying children. I don't like being ripped off. I do not like summer holidays. Next month I will make a short mid-week trip to Belgium, and then I will remain static until around October, when the weather cools off, the prices dip, and the crowds are few and far between. Bliss.

Sunset on an island in the Stockholm archipelago

#143 Edinburgh, Scotland

Since I’m from Ireland, visiting Scotland didn’t seem particularly exotic or exciting for me because it’s so close both geographically and culturally. However, for my sister’s birthday this year we decided to finally visit the capital, Edinburgh, and cross it off the to-do list. The fact that flights were really cheap also helped make up our minds, and honestly we had an absolute blast. We really, really enjoyed our time in the city and would recommend it as a great place for a city or weekend break. 

Flights and transport

Writers Museum

When we arrived at our hostel early in the morning she guessed we were either from the Dublin flight or the overnight bus from London, so now we know coming from London that the bus is an option. You can also get trains and flights but these are likely to be far more expensive.

Edinburgh International Airport is really close to the city and connections are cheap, you can get either the tram or bus – we opted for the route 100 airlink bus which cost only £7.50 return and took about 30mins each way. The bus had a few stops along the way (including Edinburgh Zoo) and we got off at the final stop at Waverly station, from where we could easily walk to our hostel in the Old Town. I had looked up tickets for the tram and buses should the weather be very bad to walk around, but actually all the main sights in Edinburgh are very close together and since the weather was clear (although very windy) we easily just walked everywhere.

Sightseeing and things to-do

It's worth mentioning first of all that most of the attractions in Edinburgh are quite expensive, so unless you have a large budget you should plan in advance and try and pick and choose what to see and what to leave out. We had considered getting a free walking tour, and actually while eating breakfast we happened to notice a crowd forming for one right outside the restaurant so we went out and joined it. Sandemanns do lots of walking tours around Europe and this Edinburgh one was enjoyable, although there are also different groups and types of tours available too. It was a good way to see the city and get your bearings, so I would recommend doing it the day you arrive as it will give you ideas on where to go back and visit again yourself. 

National Museum

We were never given a map which is probably a first on my travels, but I had downloaded an offline Google map of the city on my phone and since the city's quite small anyway we didn't really need one. Obviously the main attraction is the Castle, but since our hostel overlooked it and we're really cheap we actually just took pictures outside...we never paid to go in. This sounds like a sin, but honestly we just weren't up to paying to go inside as we were fairly certain we didn't have an interest, and we're fine about that choice. The attraction we enjoyed most was the National Museum Of Scotland, it was free, absolutely huge and had great exhibits including ones on Scotland but also lots of interactive ones with natural history and science.

Greyfriar's Bobby

Some of the sight-seeing areas include Greyfriars Kirk graveyard, the statue of Bobby the dog, the Elephant House cafe (where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter), Calton Hill (good views of the city and also the Greek monument), Arthurs Seat (views) and Prince's Street (shopping). We didn't climb up to Arthurs Seat, this was for a variety of reasons like we didn't have any appropriate clothes and we really weren't sure how difficult it would be as reviews were mixed between it was easy and quite tough, so in the end we decided not to risk it just in case. 

The other main attractions are the Edinburgh Dungeons and Real Mary Kings Close. I've done the London and Amsterdam Dunegon's and I find them good fun although I appreciate they wouldn't be for everyone. This time I  had read lots of positive for Real Mary Kings close, so we said we would spend our hard earned cash going to this. This was a big mistake, we absolutely hated it. We found it incredibly overpriced for what was offered - namely empty rooms, and I genuinely can't see how it's so busy and how it's so popular as it was by far the worst attraction I've every visited on any of my travels around the world, so please avoid it and spend your money elsewhere. Many people also visit the city just for the Zoo to see rare Giant Pandas, but I've already seen them in China itself so I didn't need to see them here too. 

Food and Drink

Elephant House café

We have probably never eaten so well as we did on this trip. The fact that obviously everything was in English and we were familiar with the food and menus also made it easier for us to pick and choose wisely. I had looked up some places on TripAdvisor and also looked for deals on Groupon – opting for a cocktails and nachos deal in a bar. 

There are absolutely tons of places for afternoon tea in Edinburgh, and although it’s primarily an English thing you’re still in the UK so with the variety it’s a good time to try. The best and most expensive would be in the famous Balmoral Hotel, this was out of our price range but as it was my sisters birthday we still opted for a relatively expensive set at the Fourth Floor Bar in Harvey Nicholls. While I enjoyed it I would probably try somewhere else in the future, especially somewhere a little cheaper too.

We didn’t go out of our way to try any haggis but we did end up trying a little as part of our large cooked breakfast (sausages, pudding, eggs, bacon etc) at the City Café which was very enjoyable, it was like an American diner and looked like a cool spot to go out at night too. On another morning we had porridge and gourmet tea at Eteaket which was a quaint café and a must for any tea lovers as they had a great selection.

For dinner our highlight was Cosmo, which I believe is a buffet chain around the UK. The foods were delicious and there was a great selection including desserts (which are usually a let-down at most buffets). Would absolutely recommend this as a great place to really load up for the day (we skipped lunch so we were really hungry by the time it opened at 5.30). It can get very busy on weekends and even on a Tuesday at 6pm it was crowded so go early if possible.

Another Scottish thing is deep fried Mars bars, which is basically a chocolate bar dipped in batter and fried. We found one at Grassmarket for £2.50 which was definitely overpriced as the bars cost them less than a pound, so shop around and pop into any chipper (fast food restaurant) and you should be able to find one. 

#142 Amsterdam, Netherlands

I enjoyed my time in Amsterdam. I wasn't sure what to think before I went, but I found it made a for a really good relaxed city break, and if you're careful it can be a cheap trip too!

Transport

Bikes and canals

Everyone says the best way to get around Amsterdam is of course by bike, but we opted to walk around, and it really didn't take that long to get from A to B, so if you want to save a little money or you're not a keen cyclist than just walk! There are of course trams and buses but as the city isn't that big and the sights all quite central we didn't need to use these. We became very lazy and didn't partake in a walking tour as we had planned which I do regret as I imagine it would have been good, however we did splash out (literally) on a canal boat cruise and it was honestly quite nice just to sit back and relax and be taken around instead of walking, although due to the price it's not something I would usually do.

Sightseeing

I think one of the most important attractions is the Anne Frank House, which houses the attic where Anne and her family hid during WWII, and from where she wrote her famous diary. It is obviously very popular and gets very busy so it's best to book in advance through the website and get an allotted time slot at which to go. I found it very poignant but also a little disappointing...the rooms were all empty but some did have photographs of recreations of what they would have looked like. Apparently this was at the wishes of her father who didn't want them to furnish the rooms so I feel bad criticizing it, it's just not quite what I had expected when I had planned to visit.

Clogs

Some of the other main highlights include the Van Gogh museum and a few other art museums, but I have absolutely no, and I really mean no, interest in art so there was no way I was shelling out for the expensive entry fee. The Heineken Experience is also quite a popular tourist attraction and my sister went another time and said it was good, however my friends weren't interested in going and I was happy saving my money anyway so we didn't visit. We did the Amsterdam Dungeons which was good fun, but I realise that it is quite a cheesy attraction and not for everyone's taste. It's worth noting it's a little cheaper to book this online.

Red Light District

Of course we all know what are the most famous attractions in Amsterdam....drugs and hookers. We were an all-female group so there was no chance we were going to partake in an hour with a lovely woman, but we did have good fun walking around the Red Light District and I will admit that the vast majority of the women in the windows were gorgeous so I can see the temptation. I'm going to say I am too cool to do drugs of any kind so I didn't visit any of the special weed cafés, but my other friends visited before and said the "moon cakes" and "space brownies" tasted disgusting and had a very gritty, sandy texture. There is a definite smell of the wacky tabaccy when you're walking around the streets so if you really don't like it then obviously Amsterdam is not a good place to visit for you.


As for more cultural things, there are tons of little towns and villages close to Amsterdam which are easily accessible by train. We visited Zaanse Schans which is famous for it's windmills. It was a short trip on the train and the ticket was very cheap. Although the weather was a bit on the cold and damp side when we visited, the area was very pretty with lots of little tourist shops and cafés. There is also a cocoa factory there so when you get off the train there is a sweet chocolate-y smell in the air which is very unusual!

A windmill at Zaanse Schans

Shopping

Cheese

Of course the Netherlands is very famous for clogs so you'll find lots of these everywhere, but you'll also find lots of cheese shops and flowers as well, especially tulips. We visited the flower market but it was a bit of a let down, just lots of stalls with primarily seeds, but perhaps this is because we visited in November and it was out of season. My friends took home some cheese, but I just opted to pop into every cheese shop around and stuff my face with the delicious testers.
Also just in case: don't be a fool and try take any weed home with you ;)

#141 Pokemon Center Tokyo 2016

A few years back I wrote about my rather disappointing experience at the Pokemon Center in Tokyo. However, I went back at the end of last summer (in the height of the Pokemon Go craze!) to the newest Pokemon Center, located at a major attraction, Tokyo SkyTree.

I have to admit, there was a huge improvement. While it's still basically just a shop full of Pokemon goods, the difference was amazing. On my first visit the location in Minato ku, Tokyo, was little obscure (not so close to other attractions) and there were mostly goods from the newer generations of Pokemon aimed at the Japanese market (things like chopstick holders or little napkins to place your lunch on - not something particularly useful in the West!). I found I wanted to spend money, but had nothing worthwhile to spend it on.

Since I was in the neighbuorhood of Tokyo Skytree I found the brand new Pokemon Center, located the "Solamachi" - the big shopping complex at that houses the base of SkyTree. This time, I found I wanted to buy half the shop! There were absolutely tons of the first generation Pokemon found on stationery, soft toys, apparel etc. While the price isn't cheap, there should be something for everyone regardless of budget.

Pokemon, much like Hello Kitty, is one of the many quintessentially Japanese themed things many people think of. While I do think there are better ways to spend your time in Japan, and I whole heartedly recommend you to also check out places like Daiso (dollar stores) for cheap things with Pokemon and various Japanese characters on them, a visit to Skytree is worth it, and since you're in the area you might as well pop in!

#140 Cheap Japanese Souvenirs 2016!

I wrote a short post about this all the way back in October 2012, but since it's now one of my most popular posts on this blog I've decided to write an update here.

Daiso in Harajuku

So, having lived in Japan twice, I can now confirm the absolute best and cheapest place to look for souvenirs is at the Japanese dollar store equivalents - the most popular being Daiso, but there are tons of other chains and smaller stores that can offer other great products too (such as Watts and Seria).

All 100yen store prices are set at 108yen (including tax), with a very small selection of products 216yen or more (but they will be very clearly labelled as such, and the cashier will remind you when you checkout too so there's no surprises).

Maneki Neko (lucky cat)

Some of the great things you can buy here includes chopsticks, lucky cat statues, keyrings, Japanese fans, flags and head ties, green tea sweets, Japanese stickers, Japanese socks, fancy Japanese paper, traditional Japanese games etc. I've gotten so used to some common Japanese household objects that I don't even see them as special anymore so it surprised me when my sister visited and picked out some Japanese household items we don't have in Ireland to take home with her, so I'm sure you'll find something weird too! Some stores have more souvenir type goods and the best place in Tokyo for these is in Daiso in Harajuku, but all stores around the country will have something you can find to take home with you.

Japan is probably the most expensive country in Asia, and pretty far up the list in the world too, so buying souvenirs can really empty your pockets here if you're not careful. Therefore, the worst places you can shop is at any of the main tourist areas - sure they look great and they're better quality, but you will be paying up to ten times the price for similar items. Some of the worst tourist shopping areas in Tokyo are at Akihabara (the electric town) and the narrow street approaching Asakusa Sensoji Temple (the one with the giant lantern). I would say you should shop around at the 100 yen stores first, and if there's an item you absolutely must-have or need then splash out on that item there.

Obviously you are limited with 100 yen stores as you're not going to find a katana sword or kimono clothing or something more spectacular - but then my next piece of advice is to find a recycle store (second hand shop). These places will only take high quality goods so you can be sure of getting something decent, but then it may not be as cheap as some charity/second hand stores you're used to in your country. Another good place to look would be at flea markets, we accidentally found a very good one in Osaka at Shittenoji Temple and got some very cheap kimono (a little old and a little stained but this didn't bother us) but this is unfortunately only held about once a month so you would need to check the dates before you plan your trip.

Green tea Oero

Japanese paper

Japanese masks and flags

Japanese stickers

Japanese traditional games

Special goods for Rio Olympics

#139 Singapore

Singapore is a very interesting little place. It's both a city and country in one, incredibly multicultural, vibrant and modern, and best of all everyone speaks English and it is very clean and safe. However it is also one of the most expensive places to visit in Asia, so best for a short trip or as part of a long stop-over. Overall I really enjoyed my short visit, and honestly it looks like a cool place to live.

The highlights of the city are the gardens, in particular the Botanical Gardens (which are free) and the Gardens by The Bay (paid attraction). When I visited it was in the summer holidays and the height of the Pokemon Go craze, so there were lots of young people crowded around the Botanical Gardens on their phones. I appreciate nature and getting out  for a nice walk but I'm not hugely interested in types of flowers etc so in hindsight visiting just the free Botanical Gardens would have been more than enough for me, and probably for most people too.

Cloud Forest

The Gardens by the Bay were quite expensive but since it's one of very few attractions there I splashed out to pay for it. The Cloud Forest was really cool, but you have to be careful as the misting only happens for a few minutes every few hours and unless you're there for that it's a bit pointless, so plan in advance. I was lucky and happened to be walking in just as misting started, so I ran around the different levels taking as many photos as I could while it lasted, then when it was over I finally relaxed and went back around again taking my time. I had an enjoyable time and since the domes are temperature controlled it was really nice taking a break from the heat, but overall unless you really like flowers it's not amazing and probably isn't worth the money.

The Gardens by the Bay area is also where you will find the Super Trees and also for a good view of the Marina Bay Sands hotel with the Infinity Pool on top. The only way to get to the pool is to stay at the hotel which is obviously very expensive so I didn't do this. The absolute highlight of my visit was the SuperTrees light show in the evening. They change the music and theme every few months, and when I went it was a 70's disco theme which I absolutely loved beyond words. You can pay to walk around the trees but it's only a small walkway between two of them so it didn't look like it was worth the money.

Shopping

There are tons of shopping malls and high class boutiques around the city, which for commoners like me aren't exactly budget friendly. Despite this I liked my visit to The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, it had a little Venetian boat ride going through the mall which is a first for me. It also had a deck out the front with a great view of the water and city skyline, I came here in the evening at sunset and waited around until it got dark.


The good places for eating, shopping and souvenirs would be Chinatown and Bugis Street which both had lots of stalls. There were also two malls beside Bugis which had familiar high street brand names and restaurants.

The Shoppes

Chinatown

Bugis Street

Transport

The best and only way to get around Singapore is the MRT (underground trains) which is very easy to use, very clean and safe and quite cheap too.

For getting to the country itself, I incorporated a visit to Singapore as part of a wider trip which included Thailand and Malaysia, which I think many tourists do. There are a few options for this including train, plane and bus, and in the end I flew to Thailand, flew to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, got a bus to Singapore and then flew back to Thailand again. It's slightly more expensive to travel from Sinagpore to Malaysia than vice-versa which is interesting, and therefore I decided to go to Kuala Lumpur first and travel to Singapore.

I had originally planned to get an overnight train but they changed the schedules and routes shortly after I booked so I had to think fast, and opted to get a bus instead. The bus was luxury and the ticket was quite cheap, but the downside was it took a long time - we left KL at around 7am but didn't arrive in Singapore until around 1pm. Sinagpore Changi Airport is supposed to be the best in the world with all these crazy attractions - but to be honest I saw very little of this - there was a small Japanese garden, a small sunflower garden on the roof, and a small cinema room, which were nice but nothing particularly amazing like I had imagined.

#138 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Unfortunately, I had less than 48 hours in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur. Thankfully, it's quite small and I found I could just about get everything I wanted to see done!

Getting to KL

My first piece of advice is to try plan carefully when you will arrive in KL. I got an early flight from Bangkok and arrived in KL early afternoon on a Monday - and immigration was absolutely madness. I had to wait in line for 1hr40mins, there were hundreds of people in front of me and very little/no information from staff. I think avoid Monday mornings/afternoons as it seemed to be clearing up by the time I finally got through.

So when I finally arrived at my hostel, showered and prepared to go out it was about 5pm and quite late. I made friends with a Spanish girl who was also in KL for the same amount of time as me, and we went out together. First we headed to the Central Market, Chinatown and City Gallery (home of the I <3 KL sign). Thankfully these were all within walking distance of each other and easy to find. There weren't particularly spectacular and we didn't spend a long time, but they were nice and a good place to visit in the late afternoon or early evening before dinner.

Food

Our hostel was located beside the popular Jalan Alor street food street and we ate there, although be careful where you eat as some of the Chinese restaurants have giant menus and are not actually so cheap (and forgot to put in our order, so eventually we left and went somewhere cheaper further down the street). Make sure to watch out for all the durians (well...more like smell out!) too.

Batu Caves

On our second day we headed off to the wonderful Batu caves. It was very cheap and easy to get to, we simply caught one of the regular trains from KL Sentral for only 4ringitts (90c!) return that took about an hour. The train is very clean and modern, and there are even women only carriages! The caves themselves are free to enter and look very remote and exotic despite being so close to the city. It really is an amazing, WOW-factor destination without all the hassle. Perfect!

Best Place for a View

On our way back we visited the famous Petronas Towers. I wasn't eager to actually go up the tower since it was very expensive (85rm/€18), and it turned out tickets were completely sold out for that day by the time we arrived (around 2pm) so if you do want to go up make sure to go early in the morning or get tickets in advance.

We went to the Skybar located at Traders Hotel that night to take photos of the Towers at night. It was quite busy and there were no seats at the window, but we found a couch at the window and sat there and took photos. No staff approached us to take our order, and so we got away without even having to buy a drink. They also weren't strict on dress code - we didn't look bad but we also didn't dress up either!

Although my time in KL was very short, I felt I could still get a good feel for the place and I had a very enjoyable time. I didn't get the opportunity to visit the Islamic Arts Museum but I have read good reviews so I would encourage you to visit there too.

#137 Ayutthaya, Thailand

Ayutthaya is an old city full of old ruins, a 2 hour train from Bangkok. Think of it like a cheap and convenient version of the temples at Siem Reap in Cambodia, and a nice day trip from the city. It is also a world heritage site.

While accessible via a private tour bus run by many hotels and hostels, I arranged the trip by myself by getting a train to Ayutthaya station, then a very short ferry ride across a river, then a tuk tuk around the ruins. Overall the whole thing cost about €20!

Train, Boat and TukTuk: Transport

The trains run quite frequently, I couldn't find a timetable online so I just turned up at Bangkok Central Hualamphong station (accessible by MRT) and asked for a third class ticket to Ayutthaya, which cost 20 baht (about 50c!). The train wasn't leaving for about another hour but I decided to go outside and check where it was leaving from, and it was actually already there. Third class looked dodgy with unscrupulous looking men, but the attendant pointed me towards the 2nd class carriages. A sweet Thai girl then confirmed that despite the ticket I could sit anywhere and encouraged me to sit beside her in the leather seats in 2nd class, which also had fans and open windows.

Since I was on a day trip I only had a small bag, but there were many backpackers with large bags who had trouble fitting on the train. The train also filled up well before departure time and people had to stand. So if possible, please be early for your train and check if it has already arrived. You do not want to stand, especially with backpacks and also local venders walking up and down trying to squish past you carrying who knows what!

The return journey home cost 29baht (75c) because it was a slightly faster train. The seats weren't as comfortable, hard benches, but it was fine, almost everyone managed to get a seat, and it was mostly full of backpackers.

On arrival, you just need to walk across the street and keep walking until you find the river, it's very close, and there are many other backpackers who you can ask for help or try find it together! The ferry cost 5baht each way (about 25c or so total) and it leaves every few minutes and takes literally 2mins.

Upon exiting the ferry there is bicycle rental which I did not partake in due to the heat, but is definitely a fun and cheap way to see the area if you have good fitness and a change of clothes afterwards (you will be drenched in sweat). It is also possible to rent like a motorcycle, but there was no way I was trying that! I walked past this and was met by some tuk tuk drivers who tried to charge me like 1,000baht. I had read the average price was around 400baht, and eventually I got them to 500baht (€12) for 2 hours and gave up because I was alone and hate haggling. As for the length of time, I felt rushed in 2 hours, but then the temples all start to look alike after awhile and it's very hot so I don't think I would have been up to much longer either.

TukTuk Trauma

My only problem was this; the tuktuk driver who I was speaking to first took me to another place and switched drivers to some young guy. This guy apparently had absolutely no English and no idea where any of the temples where. He got lost trying to find one of the biggest ones and we circled around for about 10 mins, then he stopped and asked for directions, and then he eventually dropped me off at the wrong one. I obviously didn't even try to tell him and get to the right place as it would have wasted more time. As I said the temples are quite similar so it wasn't a huge deal, but it was still frustrating.

Entry to the temples cost about 50baht each (€1.20) but there are some that you could easily just take photos outside instead of paying to go in, even though it's a small fee it starts to add up after awhile!

Overall, it was a fun day out and wasn't too difficult to organise on the day without any prior booking. It was very cheap and a bit of an adventure getting outside the city, and I was happy to see some ruins as I couldn't make it to Siem Reap this trip!

#136 Bangkok, Thailand

I had a really great time in Bangkok, and can definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to go!

Sightseeing

Wat Arun (under construction)

I was in Bangkok for quite a long time - 4 full days. Surprisingly, I think you could do it 48hours. The major tourist sites are all along the Chao Phraya river, so could be done in one day. This includes Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Grand Palace and Khaosan Road.
Wat Arun is currently under some kind of restoration/reconstruction so has scaffolding around it so unfortunately doesn't look so great in photos.
I couldn't actually find Khaosan Road, I got the boat to the right area but without internet couldn't find the exact street, so be careful of that!
The Grand Palace was very expensive at 500baht but considering everything else is very cheap it's not so bad. It was also the strictest out of anywhere on dress code - I was wearing shorts and thick black tights and was still refused entry so had to join a long line to rent a sarong.
Wat Pho is very nice and that area has a lot of delicious food stalls and cheap snacks including coconut and coconut ice-cream and fruits like mango, watermelon etc.

Grand Palace

I thought the Jim Thompson house was nice - but not great. It's actually quite small and you must take a guided tour - our tour guide was very sweet and made it enjoyable, but I'm not sure why it's such a major attraction and if you're in a rush I'd give it a miss.

Jim Thompson House

Shopping 

Chatuchak Weekend Market - This was my absolute favorite thing in Bangkok and I would advise people to try schedule to have at least one weekend day in here so you can visit. It is absolutely huge and I got lost in it for awhile before eventually finding an MRT station.
I'm not a fan of shopping, and honestly I expected it to be full of souvenirs and fake and knock off brand items - and although there were plenty of these there were also a huge amount of boutique stores selling really hip,cool and unique items for far cheaper than you would find in your home country, and also some food stalls and weird stuff like a huge animal section with fish, lizards, dogs etc (although I questioned the ethics so I refused to take any photographs or document otherwise).

There are a ton of shopping malls in Bangkok including Terminal 21, Siam Paragon etc. They're nice to get inside from the heat and relax, but of course the prices are much higher than what you'll find outside. You can also find luxury cinemas here - the prices seem very expensive but in comparison to your home country I think you'll find it affordable for the luxury service.

Safety

This was my biggest concern. When I visited Manila, Philippines I felt very unsafe as there were very few tourists, no public transport and I had men leering and shouting at me on the streets. However, I am glad to say I had none of these problems in Bangkok! Being August it was absolutely full of tourists - no matter where you go there is almost always guaranteed to be another tourist nearby. I feel like this alone gave me a secure feeling, that knowledge that you're part of a group and not on your own.

Soi Cowboy - gogo bar street (and safe!)

I had one man (taxi driver I think) comment on how beautiful I was and although it made me a little uncomfortable I just ignored him and had no other problems. I was always quite well covered up, but there were many a beautiful young woman wearing tiny short shorts and skimpy crop tops so it must be fine.
I was robbed in my hostel, but they only took some cash and didn't take my electronics or passport so it was probably the nicest robbery possible haha - more detail further below.

Public Transport

Both the BTS and MRT (skytrain and underground) were very clean, cheap and easy to use. The Chao Phraya boat was also fine - the first day I took the special tourist boat but after that I used the regular commuter boat and had no problems.
I took only one taxi to the airport which was arranged by my hostel, I felt it was perhaps a little overpriced but since the price was set I felt a little safer knowing I couldn't be completely ripped off.

I also took a train to Ayutthaya, and although I paid for a 3rd class seat, the platform attendant encouraged me to sit 2nd class and I had no issues! The only place I used a tuk-tuk was in Ayutthaya, and it wasn't the best experience...they obviously tried to triple charge me but I got them down to an acceptable price which was fine, but then they switched drivers and mine didn't speak English and somehow had no idea where the temples were and got lost and took me to the wrong ones....also we very, very nearly crashed into a car which was terrifying.

Generally speaking, I think they're very dangerous so I really wouldn't recommend it unless you really had to (like in Ayutthaya). On a slight side, there are elephant rides in Ayutthaya but as an animal lover I find them vile, disgusting and harmful to the elephants, so I beg you please not to ride them or even take pictures as some idiot will see it online and think it's a cool idea. Rant over.

Weather

Chatuchak Weekend Market

The heat is almost unbearable. When I went I had been living in Japan which has similar weather, but being outside in the sun visiting tourist sights is very different from sitting in an office with air conditioning most of the day, and I can't imagine how people visiting from colder climates must feel.

From living in Japan I have a few summer-proof tricks up my sleeve, including; carrying a facecloth/small towel to help mop up your sweat, carrying a hand fan, wearing a hat, sunscreen, and wearing a thin vest underneath your tshirt/dress/shirt - you'd think adding more clothes is a bad idea but when its 35 degrees there is no feeling cool or getting less hot, and the purpose of the vest is to absorb the sweat so it doesn't seep into your outer tshirt, and it also makes you feel more comfortable than having itchy sweat running all over you. You've ever seen people with wet tshirts cuz their backs are so sweaty? Well it's a very rare sight in Japan because the vest thing is so well-known. Trust me, and trust 127 million Japanese people. The sweat vest works.

In terms of it being a rainy season - it did rain everyday but it was almost always late afternoon, and at that point I was always back in the hostel relaxing after a cool shower and a morning of sight seeing before heading out for dinner in the evening. It also does dry up very quickly - but carry a small umbrella just in case.

On getting robbed

So I thought the hostel I stayed in was really good...up until the point when I was robbed, and now I obviously don't think it was that good anymore. So we had lockers but one night I slept with my handbag beside me on the bed in my dorm, but since it's not a bunkbed they easily leaned over me while I was sleeping, took out my wallet and took a 1,000baht note. I noticed the next morning that the note was gone, but since there was still a few 200baht notes and my phones etc were still there, I assumed I had just misplaced it and put it somewhere else, since the probability of someone having the opportunity to take all my stuff but only taking one note seemed odd to me.

Delicious coconut icecream!

Then, a few days later in Singapore I happened to notice all my Japanese yen was gone. I forget how much I had, but it was around 5,000yen, so quite a lot. It was hidden in my backpack that was locked in my locker - so it appears they somehow got into my locker as well. However, I also had a Kindle and my passport in there, so all in all for the sake of €100 or less I'm not too annoyed - especially since they could have taken my phones, passport, credit card etc etc.

Since they got into my locked locker I have a feeling it must have been hotel staff, but then it has very good reviews so maybe it was someone in my (small) dorm. They are very clever, since they know that you will either not notice straight away/you'll think you misplaced it, or even if you do notice it seems like a small amount to go to the police or really complain over - and that is how they get away it. 1,000baht from many tourists results in quite a lot of money I'm sure.

 I also met a girl who had €100 in cash taken from her safe in a hotel in Cambodia - they didn't take any other money or currency so obviously when she complained the hotel staff told her she must be mistaken.
Moral of the story; Trust no bitch, check all of your cash regularly, and bring a heavy duty lock to lock up your shit!