RSSOct|31|2006
Affordable Tokyo? Part Three
Posted by Zahir as Asia, Backpacking & Budget, Cities, Shopping, Tips
In my last installation on Affordable Tokyo, I’ll end this series on one my favourite parts of any trip – shopping!!
For the best bargains in town, look to further than the ¥100 shops found virtually everywhere in the city. Like the Dollar shops, everything in these stores is ¥100, and you’re sure to find something useful for all members of the family as there are usually different sections in each shop from homewares to children’s things, to pets and cosmetics.
Great Japanese gifts to take back home can also be found at the Oriental Bazaar, 5-9-13 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. If the children are with you (or you’re into kitsch), drop into Kiddyland, 6-19-19 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, which is in the same swanky Omotesando district.
The Tokyu Hands, Creative Life Store is another Tokyo institution which again sells an abundance of cool Japanese things, from the useful …
Comments Off
Oct|29|2006
Affordable Tokyo? Part Two
Posted by Zahir as Air Travel, Asia, Cities, Transport
Transportation
Lots of cheap flights to Tokyo are now available on a lot of carriers (even low-cost ones), and if you are travelling on one Japan‘s two national airlines, JAL or ANA, you should look into purchasing any inbound flights you plan to take as it comes out cheaper this way.
Upon arrival at Narita Airport, make it a point to purchase the Tokyo Metro Tourist Open Ticket which buys you unlimited rides on all Tokyo Metro trains as well as a few others. A one day pass costs around $5. Getting around by train is by far the cheapest way to get around the city, with taxis being the most costly. Luckily, Tokyo has one of the most affordable and efficient local transportation networks in the world, so getting around is very cheap and easy.
Eating
Convenience stores found in every street corner offer …
Comments Off
Oct|27|2006
Affordable Tokyo? Part One
Posted by Zahir as Asia, Backpacking & Budget, Cities
Growing up, I always had the idea that Tokyo was one of the world’s most expensive cities in the world. And I think that many people still believe that today. However, some good friends of mine recently returned from there saying that the opposite was true, and that a decent holiday in the capital of Japan could actually be happily affordable.
So inspired to learn more about the new “Affordable Tokyo” (and perhaps start researching for a trip in the near future), I found several articles online that agreed with my friends. Here’s the gist of it:
Accommodation
The best thing about cheap accommodations in Tokyo is that it is always CLEAN, unlike some of the fleabag places you’d find elsewhere in the world for the same price. Lowest down of the budget are Youth Hostels, which will set you back around $30 a night. Next level …
Comments Off
Oct|23|2006
Is It Safe To Travel To Sri Lanka?
Posted by Zahir as Asia, Cities, News
As you may know, a few months ago I visited Sri Lanka and blogged about it in previous posts. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the Galle suicide bombings on CNN and BBC news. Shock, horror….and even more surprise when the correspondent interviewed Karl, the owner and manager from the Galle Fort Hotel, who had become a friend.
Galle, south of Sri Lanka, has never been attacked by the Tamil Tiger rebels before, and was considered by tourists to be a “safe” haven away from the attacks usually seen up north. But apparently, the rebels had a change in their tactics. The suicide bomb, which took place on the shores of the Naval base in Galle injured 26 and killed 2 soldiers.
So is it safe? Apparently so. Major tour operators like Kuoni, Explore and Experience Sri Lanka, …
Comments Off
Oct|21|2006
Eric Newby, The Original Travelogger
Posted by Zahir as Books, News, People, Reading Room
Eric Newby, the thinking man’s travel writer and perhaps one of the best of the 20th century had died at the age of 86. The British writer was known for his keen eye for detail and entertaining style of writing about his travels around the world, the most famous of which was “A Short Walk in The Hindu Kush”.
Prior to writing the 1958 classic in which he recounts his thrilling and funny journey while climbing Mir Samir in Afghatistan, Newby was in the fashion industry, with nearly no experience in mountaineering when set off on his Hindu Kush adventure.
Born and raised in Hammersmith, London, Newby’s first adventure in travel was in 1938 when he gave up his job in advertising to set sail from Australia on the Finnish grain ship Moshulu by way of Cape Horn . He later told the story of this voyage in …
Comments Off
Oct|19|2006
Staying Connected While Travelling
Posted by Zahir as Business, News, Tips
Connected in the internet sense, that is, and when it comes to staying online for business travellers, those in the know say that the only way to go is wireless.
Here are some useful tips to stay connected even in the most difficult places:
1. Know the Hotspots
Before you leave, visit websites which list down wi-fi access hotspots to know what you’re up against. Wifi Free Hotspot, Wifi Finder and Ji Wire are good sites to check out, having useful lists and/or search tools to find your location. Also including airports and hotels around the world.
2. Consider Hardware Aids
You can now find hardware tools that combine wireless scanners with network adapters enabling you to scan your location for Wi-Fi signals before you even turn on your computer.
3. Be Wary Of Steep Charges
Hotels, airports, airlines, cafes and the like may offer wi-fi at a convenience, but the …
Comments Off
Oct|15|2006
New York’s Street Vendors and Counterfeiting
Posted by Zahir as Americas, Cities, Getaways, Shopping, Tips, United States
If you come into Manhattan via the Staten Island Ferry, one of the first things you’ll notice is the plethora of street vendors hawking all manner of wares. Many items are counterfeit, especially designer bags. Others are of questionable quality.
The street vendors are part of what give New York its charm, and part of what makes it hard to stomach at times. You see, women are starting to not carry designer bags because anyone carrying one is assumed to have purchased a counterfeit. And while I think the idea of carrying around a prissy pink $700 repository for your $300 in cash is a stupid idea, the purse pattern and fabric, etc., still belongs to the designer who created the damn thing.
You counterfeit things, you should pay. Pirates, regardless of video and music “piracy,” are not counterfeiters; they are thieves and profiteers, taking booty in an honorable …
Comments Off
Oct|13|2006
Getting Around New York City
Posted by Zahir as Americas, Cities, Getaways, Tips, United States
If you go to New York City, you need to know how to get around. There is a reason only about half of all New Yorkers over the age of 16 have a drivers license: driving in New York sucks.
So here’s your strategy: you find every possible free mode of transportation first, and use it. Mine are my feet and the Staten Island Ferry, which deposits you at the tip of Manhattan Island. Simple.
But you’ll probably need to get further up the island than this. So you have two main choices: a taxi or the subway/bus mass transit system.
I suggest the taxi for short trips, and the subway for longer excursions. A cab will charge you $2 as soon as you get inside. After that, it’s $2 for each additional mile, measured in fifths. As you can see, it adds up quickly.
There are a few other …
Comments Off
Oct|11|2006
The World Trade Center, AKA Ground Zero
Posted by Zahir as Americas, Food and Drink, Getaways, United States
Our first night in town, we went to Manhattan for dinner. It was late on Friday; while every imaginable fast food joint was open, many of the nicer restaurants were not.
So we walked, passing restaurant after restaurant that wasn’t quite suitable. (By the way, there is tons of construction going on in downtown Manhattan, probably left over from the damage to the World Trade Center area. Be careful.) At last, we found a nice little park with lights in the sidewalk, so we turned down it.
I realized fairly quickly that there was no building in front of me. This was strange. For blocks, it had been cheek-to-jowl buildings, with hardly an inch left between them, and with each one pushing as far out into the sidewalk as was feasible.
As we grew closer, I could see the mesh fence around the area in front of us. Without meaning …
Comments Off
Oct|09|2006
New York’s Chinatown: A Bargain in Every Shop
Posted by Zahir as Americas, Arts & Culture, Cities, Food and Drink, Getaways, Shopping, United States
New York is amazing, but I think my favorite neighborhood has to be Chinatown.
First, it’s the smells. Smell, you realize, is the first of the five senses to develop in a child, the most primitive of our senses, and it’s connected directly to our emotional center. Evokes an instant gut reaction, no matter how rational you think you are.
Judging by smell, Chinatown is totally schizophrenic. Fish markets are common; roast duck hung by the neck can be seen from time to time in store windows. Next door, dumpling shops and noodle vendors release marvellous cooking smells into the streets. And the shops burn incense, and have furniture and other items carved from sandalwood and cedar and camphor, so you have those smells too.
Chinatown has its share of street vendors, but while some of the items being sold were tacky, I don’t think they were illegal. Certainly I …
Comments Off
