A Good Day To Run

Travel Fun Adventures

[mkilleen2]

Three weeks in Indonesia

With the glow of the Philippines still warm, Indonesia had a lot to live up to. At first Bali seemed so touristy and polished in comparison, but as I have learned, this is with good reason. We only explored a relatively small part of this vast state, but there is so much on offer in this amazing country and something to suit totally different types of people. I will tell you the places we visited but I think you could spend a year here, taking time in far reaching jungles in Sumatra and diving to Papuan depths, without getting bored.

Bali - Kuta, 2 nights, Ubud, 4 nights, Seminyak, 2 nights

Our first destination would be Bali island, a direct flight and reasonably priced from Manila. We arrived in late so decided to spend two nights in Kuta so we could explore for one day before going to Ubud. We'd heard quite a bit about the madness of Kuta and there was certainly plenty of bars and clubs on the main street Legian offering options, many with blaring dance music. It was pretty empty though as we passed through as "schoolies" hadn't started - when you can expect an influx of Aussie teenagers. Note to avoid or join depending on your needs 😂 We stayed at the The Bene hotel which had a lovely pool and tasty buffet breakfast, all in walking distance of the main beach and plenty of bars and restaurants. On our Kuta day, we basically spent the morning in the pool and then got David a haircut (turned out pretty well actually!) before taking to Kuta beach for the afternoon and sunset. The beach is really long and quite clean (I've read during peak season this might not be the case) and there were plenty of people attempting to surf so it's perfect for a couple of beers and some people watching before sunset. There's plenty of Western and local food options in the area but we didn't find anything that blew us away.

Next stop Ubud. We planned to take a bus but these were sold out online (surprising considering it's not peak season) so we ended up getting a Grabcar which cost about the same as our two bus tickets. Warning; traffic is crazy in Bali, anywhere we went in Indonesia really, so it can take a longer time than expected to wind around the narrow streets to get to your destination. It took us about two hours, which was okay in our air conditioned space.

We stayed at the Sarin Ubud Suites, right by the Sacred Monkey Forest; with mentions of monkey sightings in the garden from reviewers, we were sold. The staff were so welcoming and decorated us with flowers and rice on arrival. We had a huge room with panoramic windows and there were only 8 rooms in the building so often when lying by the pool it felt like we had a private villa.

First stop was the monkey forest, although we had some previews, spotting some close to our hotel entrance and crossing the street by the forest too. There are loads of monkeys inside and they are often sitting at ground level so you don't have to be David Attenborough to find them! Do be careful of any loose belongings, especially food, as we witnessed a few things being taken and one followed me across a car park when I was carrying an empty juice carton!

There are plenty of places to visit around Ubud including temples, rice fields, waterfalls and coffee plantations. Most of the organised tours seem to be 8 or 9 hours with 8-10 stops. We didn't want to spend so long in a car so opted to hire a driver for a few hours and did about 6 stops (temples, coffee, rice, some swings) and were back to Ubud for lunch time. We originally planned to rent bikes to do a few more sights but I ended up getting a cold with a headache so we just did the ridge walk which is close to Ubud instead. The coffee/rice fields are beautiful to see but it's basically a photo opportunity - most places offer the giant swings so that people can get that all important insta photo. In the ones we visited there was no guide or information about rice fields, farming etc.. (Call me a nerd!) So we took a couple of quick photos and left the rest of the insta people in the blistering sun.

One thing I would recommend doing in Ubud is the Mt. Batur sunrise hike. Most of the tour companies do a fairly similar version with 2am pick up, a small pre climb breakfast, an egg and toast at the peak and a third breakfast after the climb - ours was a buffet and boasted panoramic views. The company we did the tour with was called Bali Eco Tours and they also brought us to the hot springs after the climb. The hike itself is quite steep and took us about an hour but nothing too difficult, especially if you take a few breaks and go at your own pace. We were with four others, including an ultra competitive middle aged marathon runner (had marathon bag on back) and a Belgian lady who ended up taking one of the motorbike taxis to a stop just before the summit, so I'd say this is quite accessible! The summit is freezing, especially as you are hanging about waiting for the sunrise for an hour or more before going back down. So bring a jacket and hat, maybe opt for leggings if you are predisposed to feeling chills like me. David had serious nip nips coming through his light jumper in our photos! Even with the clouds, we still got to see some great views and you always feel a bit accomplished with you've already done a hike and eaten three meals before 9am 😂

Ubud is packed with hipster cafes, veggie/vegan restaurants and craft shops, in fact it was much bigger than I expected so there are loads of options for eating out etc.. In general we found the food here pretty good. Our favourites were Habitat, which is right across from the monkey forest, a place called the Onion Collective - delicious jack fruit tacos, and the Italian on the corner (which also has delicious ice cream stand next door) - I can't find the name on my maps, but it's across from the Coco supermarket. We didn't really come across any bars, although we were taking it easy ourselves. Some of the restaurants or resorts might have live music but it's definitely not a party town in any way!

Yoga is very popular here and originally I'd planned to go to Yoga Barn for a class but I wasn't feeling well the day after the hike so I didn't bother. If you are a yoga fan, then I've heard that this place is great.

Seminyak; we used as a layover destination and stayed at the Dafum Savvoya between trips. The area is busy like Kuta but doesn't seem as crazy for nightclubs etc.. There's a lot of bars and restaurants in the area and speedy laundry options for those who may require.

Gili islands - 5 nights

After much deliberation and taking into account the "party" nature of Gili Trawangan, we still decided to spend our five Gili island nights here. We opted to stay on the quieter north side of the island, away from the "strip" on the Eastern coast. We booked transport over from Bali with Bluewater express. It cost about 200eur total return but this includes pick up and drop off to your accomodation in Bali. A bit pricey, but from reading online these guys seemed reputable and we had a pretty seamless experience.

I ended up liking this destination more than I expected. We stayed at Karma Kayak, with the friendliest staff and breakfast (included) served on the beautiful quiet beach every morning, not to mention the ice cold coconuts! The rooms are in separate buildings mostly and I think there's only a handful so it was ultra relaxing and most days there were only a few other guests around. The other resorts/hotels along this section also looked lovely, quiet, with beachfront restaurants offering barbeques, live music or movies.

We rented bikes (which could have done with a refurb, but were perfectly adequate), so we could explore the island at our own pace. You can circle the whole island in about 45 mins, some parts are a bit too sandy so you have to walk - and at night some areas have no street lights so maybe use your phone or something as a torch, mostly so other cyclists can see you! There are horse and carts but no motorised vehicles so it's safe and the lack or engine noise and fumes adds to the peaceful vibe.

We rented snorkel gear to go in search of turtles, just ask at your accomodations and they will point you in the right direction, approx north eastern area. There's lots of nice places to watch the sunset on the westside of the island and some options for beach based cinemas to have a chilled out evening. Just check the signs outside the venue which should have the movies on there for the evening, mostly showing from 7 or 8pm. We ventured to the eastside a couple of nights for dinner and drinks and it wasn't too party at all, a couple of places seem to have promos for the evening and dance music but you can choose to join in or easily avoid too. We found some places along the seafront with live bands which were great and there were mixed crowds with couples and groups of friends too. I would say Gili Air is more suitable for families, we took the boat over and spent a couple of hours here. There were definitely more families here and the side we visited had a lovely quiet beach. Gili islands are stunning and relaxing. There are options for diving or island hopping trips if you are looking for this or you can take a very chilled out approach making sunset watching and drinking from coconuts your priority either!

Java island Volcano Tour 3D/2N

David came across some volcano tour options for Java and booked us into a three day trip with IndoTravelTeam. As per many of our explorations, we didn't really know much of what to expect in advance; just a couple of early mornings and walking shoes would be required. We were picked up in Bali at 5am and spent most of the day being driven across the island to the port where we boarded the ferry and then a couple of hours the other side until we reached Bromo town. We were lucky with only three others on the tour so we had some extra space to try and sleep/relax in the minibus, although the last few hours of the journey up the winding hills to Bromo don't lend themselves too well to relaxation.

Next morning we were up at 3am and driven up by jeep to the viewpoint area for sunrise. The winding roads continued but it was cool to see the line of jeep lights going up the hill in the middle of the night. We had some tea before walking up to the viewpoints and settling to a good position for photos. It's very cold up here as we were at about 2300m and especially before the sun comes up, so jackets, hats, gloves and definitely not shorts are recommended. We had beautiful views of Mt. Bromo and surrounding volcanos below; the scene was something like what you could imagine Mars to be or maybe a scene from Jurassic Park. Pretty impressive. Next was time for a quick banana fritter snack before we were taken by jeep to the foot of Mt. Bromo. The route here is quite sandy and dusty so our shoes, socks and feet were covered in dust after the hike. It's quite steep and you can feel the altitude but its not too long or arduous to reach the edge of the crater. From here you can see the steam rising from the acid lake and a different perspective on the "Mars-like" scenery. A great experience, another one ticked off before 9am 😂

After a quick shower we were back on the road for a few hours, reaching the town of Bondowoso by late afternoon and trying to get some rest before our 11pm start! Watching the Dark Knight probably wasn't the most sleep inducing but after our hike we managed to get a few hours.

We were driven to the base of Mt. Ijen and started the hike at about 1am. This was a bit tougher than the other ones we'd done. In the pitch dark though, you can only see what your torch shows, so I feel that this didn't seem too long for me on the way up. Coming back down in day light, I was surprised how long it really was! It took about an hour or 90 minutes to reach the top and from here we had to make our way down the crater. I found this a bit harder as you have to watch your footing on the crumbly surfaces. As we neared the bottom, our local guide advised that we put on our provided gas masks to avoid the fumes from the sulphur. These were a bit uncomfortable but you get used to it, the only issue is your eyes aren't covered so they can start to sting from time to time when sulphur smoke gets in. The only thing to do is close them for 30 seconds until they get comfortable, rubbing them with your dust covered gloves or hands is not a good idea.

At the bottom of the crater you can see the blue flames caused by the sulphuric gases which ignite when they come in contact with air. There are men who are working here also, collecting and transporting the sulphur manually to the craters edge. As the sun starts to come up the blue coloured acid lake comes into view providing a stunning contrast to the bright yellow sulphur, the rust coloured rocks and white steam rising. Another amazing scene to experience and worth missing our sleep for!

We were taken back to our accomodation in Seminyak that evening, exhausted but happy. Definitely up there with one of the best experiences on this trip.

Komodo National Park (2 nights in Labuan Bajo, Tour 3D/2N)

There was a toss up between dragons and orangutans for our final days in Indonesia. Getting to Sumatra and the threat of wet season meant that Komodo would be the winner this time. We got flights from Bali to Labuan Bajo for about 60Eur and stayed at the Golo Hilltop which had lovely views of the bay and a decent breakfast.

We had pre booked a 3 day, 2 night tour for Komodo National Park with Great Komodo Tour who had good reviews on Trip Advisor. Apparently you can get better prices by looking in the town but we didn't want to risk not having a plan for the only three days that we would be there. We actually booked a group tour but the other people didn't turn up and we got a call from the tour company that morning to say the other option was wait another day or pay a little extra for a private tour. As we were literally bags packed and ready to get going, we decided to pay the extra and headed off for our first day with our lovely guide Paskal, a former trainee monk who had traveled Australia.

Our boat was quite basic but considering we were the only guests, we felt luxurious enough having the whole place to ourselves with a top deck perfect for sunrise and sunset. The cabin was small and air con/fans only worked until mid night when the electricity was turned off, but it was perfectly adequate for our two nights. We also had a great crew including a chef who cooked delicious meals for us every day!

For this trip we got to explore some of the scenic islands in Komodo National Park including some short hikes to beautiful view points. We visited both Rinca and Komodo itself and got to get very close to some actual dragons! We did some snorkelling too; missing out on the elusive manta rays, but getting to hang out with some turtles was a highlight.

This was one of the best things we have done on the trip and I would highly recommend a visit. The flight to Flores is not that expensive and you can get a shared boat trip for maybe 200/250 for the whole experience. Our guide said that visitor numbers are down a lot this year because there were reports that the park would be closed or the price would be extortionate. For us it was easy as we booked as we went along but hopefully there can be clarity on the issue as the visitors support the local economy and ensure there are funds to protect the animals and their habitat.

Safe to say we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Indonesia - there's so much to see and do! Maybe next time, the orangutans will win! 😁

[mkilleen2]

Three weeks in the Philippines

Some views in the Philippines are easily the most breath taking I've seen, with shards of rock jutting skyward from the crystal blue waters, adorned with lush gravity defying foliage, and dotted with powder white sand beaches. Am I getting a bit poetic? Maybe it's appropriate.

Here's some snippets from our experiences. We didn't spend loads of time researching but with tips from some previous visitors tips and an afternoon in Japan, we put together a plan for almost three weeks. 

Cebu (1 night)

We flew into Cebu city, deciding that we didn’t want to take any days in Manila. Cebu is bustling but dusty and haphazard - I couldn't see myself staying here for long, but a good central point for some of the islands and we got a cheap taxi from the airport to the centre. We booked one night at The Red Planet hotel as our flight was getting in late. The hotel was perfectly adequate, basic room and good location near the Ayala mall. They have tons of shops if you want to get any last minute clothes or holiday accessories. We also got a local SIM here as we had read that WiFi was almost non existent and a SIM would prove useful. I actually found the WiFi was okay in most places we stayed - not enough to stream but fine for doing some research and checking things out on Google maps. The SIM (we got the SMART one, maybe other brands are better) seemed only capable of sending notifications to my phone, but anything I clicked on wouldn’t open and I couldn’t search anything in Chrome or Maps for example. 

I did some research on the buses from Cebu to Oslob and there seemed to be loads of options with different times, air con/no air con - so we just headed to the South Terminal around mid day to try and find the next one leaving with air con. I read one blog post saying that the bus terminal was pretty organised, somewhat like an airport. This is not the case :-) There’s no ticket desk and we just found a bus with the destination on the front and got on with some coaxing words from bystanders. Aboard was chaotic to say the least, with four or five guys trying to sell burgers/pizza/biscuits/drinks to the passengers. No sign of a driver or bus conductor. We pushed through anyway and sat at the back, the air con wasn’t great but we waited patiently, sellers coming and going for about 40 minutes before a driver and bus conductor arrived. The bus got going, it definitely was not luxury travel but for about 250PHP each we managed the five hour trek to Oslob before they dropped us by our hotel. 

Oslob (3 nights) 

We wanted to do whale shark watching, cayoneering at Kawasan Falls and visit the Tumalog Falls - so we figured Oslob would be a central point to base ourselves. It’s a tiny village/town and its not very developed for tourists - e.g with restaurants or bars so we mostly stayed in the hotel/hostel and went to bed early. Probably for the best as the nearby roosters were waking us at about 4:30am and they seemed to be commonplace around the villages. There are no beaches along here so maybe it would have been worth going to Moalboal or one of the other areas - even from Panglao you could probably day trip over for the activities. We stayed here three nights but two would have been plenty as it turned out we did the Whale Shark watching and Canyoneering before lunch on our first full day! 

We stayed at Sascha’s Lodge. It had a nice deck with sea views and some rocking chairs for chilling out. They also served food, which was grand if you are hungry, but you are not in the Philippines for the cuisine :-) We had a spacious double room with air con, apart from the early and frequent cock-a doodle-doooing - everything was pretty dandy. 

Some people might opt out of the Whale Shark watching for ethical reasons - and I was a bit torn - the fish are fed small amounts by the locals to keep them in the bay for the morning so that tourists are guaranteed to see them. There are questions about the affect to their diets and also their migration patterns - but I guess its better than hunting them. Also it has brought some prosperity to a very poor area - my thinking is that people will realise how valuable these creatures are they will do all they can to protect them. They already give tourists a run down of rules before getting in the water like not to touch or upset the animals and I would say of the Filipino people in general, they are quite environmentally conscious.

As we were staying close by we were out by 5:30am (already well roostered awake!) and in the water just after dawn with about six or seven boats. We had snorkel gear and life jackets so that we could view these graceful fish. It’s amazing how close we were to these beautiful animals, they looked so huge under water and David managed to get some pretty cool videos on his underwater camera. One actually hit him with its tail when swimming past. An experience to remember for sure!

After some breakfast nearby we went Canyoneering at Kawasan falls. I was a bit traumatised at the prospect of jumping from 8/10 or even 2m into waterfalls along this route but our guide was really friendly and being on the back of the motorbike up to the start of the route was probably the most dangerous part. We opted to do the new zip line at the start which was pretty cool with great views of the forest/jungle below. It took me some gentle coaxing but I got into the whole jumping-in business eventually and even did the ten metre jump (I did chicken at the last one) but David did all of them and honestly the whole day was one of the best things I’ve ever done! There’s usually a way around most of the jumps but I think there are a couple of the smaller ones that you need to slide through for example - so it's not so scary if you really don't want to do the big jumps and a fun way to explore the beautiful countryside!

Next day we planned to visit the Turmalog Waterfalls but the local guides informed us that there wasn’t much water at the moment so they wouldn’t be good to visit. Not something I would have expected after rainy season... So we decided to go to Sumilon island. There’s a private resort on here and you can go for a day trip of lunch and activities which I read online was equivalent of about 25EUR each. However when we arrived to catch the boat at the Bluewater (resort) pier, it turned out to be 50 each. We decided to get a local boat instead and go to the sandbar and beach on the island which is the only part that is not part of the resort. Not sure if this was the best solution really - and we ended up getting sunburnt badly because the morning was cloudy. Turns out the strong tropical sun can burn through. After sun at the ready!

Bohol (3 nights)

We took the ferry over to Panglao at the bottom of Bohol and stayed at the Venezia Suites hotel, which had a nice enough pool but was about 5 min on a trike/bike to Alona Beach. They advertise island tours from here but as we were so sunburnt, especially David, (he was still red/peeling two weeks later) so we took the first day off and just strolled along the beach and did a few chores like laundry and sorting out an issue on our cameras SD card in the local Internet cafe. We did one of the inland island tours on the second day - it's a pretty standard route with about nine or ten stops. We just had a driver and then we could choose which stops to go into or if we didn’t want to we could opt out and wait for the others to come back. We ended up having a look at everything - highlights included photos with pythons, a tasty but strangely song filled floating lunch on the Loboc river and the Chocolate Hills which were not so chocolatey but still a stunning view. 

We managed to find two places with decent food along the beach at Alona - Oasis Resort which we went back to for dinner a second night and the Buzz Cafe. Everywhere else and in Oslob was pretty poor although I would say that sticking to local options from the menu usually turned out better - e.g curries/stir fries instead of pizza, burgers or pasta. 

El Nido (5+2 nights)

We were advised to prioritise this stop and initially booked four nights, planning to return after Coron depending on how that was going. We took an Airswift flight from Panglao to El Nido - cost about 100EUR each and saved about a days worth of boats/buses. We found a good deal at a nice hotel (it was only about 8EUR more than the bunk room in Spin Hostel that everyone seems to rave about) called Cuna which was right in town and had an amazing view from the rooftop restaurant and pool. Happy days! Our “budget” room had a view of the back yard but the bed was super comfy and the shower was powerful, so no complaints here! We booked two tours but unfortunately a storm was brewing and all travel was cancelled on our first full day. And the next day. And the next day! The wind and rain was pretty heavy so mostly we moped around some of the bars and took refuge in our hotel. We managed to make it out to Las Cabanas (also called Vanilla) beach two afternoons for a swim and to watch the sun go down. There are a couple of nice bars along the beach here and you can have a swim in the water although it's a bit cloudier than some of the other beaches. The beach in El Nido town is not so nice and not for swimming so if you are stuck here there isn't much to do.

We originally booked a ferry to Coron for the Friday but this didn’t go until Sunday. Luckily by the Saturday (as we found out in our hasty retreat from checking if the Coron ferry was running) most island tours were able to go and we booked into Tour A. This experience was amazing - the views are breathtaking, the water is clear, I think 7 Commandos beach is one of the best I’ve ever seen, snorkeling and kayaking around for the day, amazing! The boats are pretty standard and you get a nice lunch cooked by the crew, not 5 star or anything but adequate. We definitely would do a second tour if things worked out differently with the weather - something to take care for especially if only going for a two week holiday.

We stayed at Peak House Garden Pension, just around the corner from Cuna, when we got stuck here for the extra days. A reasonably priced option with a private air conditioned room - basic but perfectly fine when you are out and about during the day. Breakfast was also included and the lady was very helpful. 

After Coron we returned for two nights to El Nido as our flight to Manila was going from here. Initially we probably would’ve tried to fit in an extra island hopping tour but after 6 days in a row on boats we wanted a break from the sea! We rented scooters and drove about an hour out to Kuyawyaw Falls. There’s three falls and you do a short hike (with guide) up to each one, where you can swim and take photos at your leisure. The water was lovely and refreshing and there aren’t so many tourists so most of the time we were in the water on our own which was pretty amazing. 

There’s a few decent options in El Nido for food/drinks. We thought Happiness, Angel Wish (50/50), ArtCafe, Scape (top floor of Cuna), Big Bad Thai, Holy Smoke were all decent food wise. ArtCafe and Happiness are good for drinks too and we most liked the Rooftop bar as well. We also went to the famous Altrov’e on our last night - there’s a queue every night and usually we are starving - but the queue actually moved pretty quickly and our pizza and pasta were definitely the best things we’ve eaten here! Also had a glass of wine which was a welcome break from the San Miguel!

Coron (4 nights)

Our ferry finally left on Sunday and of our original five night booking, only three remained. After checking online and speaking to the staff we managed to wrangle an extra night at the original price. We stayed at the Coron Westown Resort which had stunning views of the hills, three pools, a jacuzzi and our bedroom was massive. Still had a bit of a damp smell - I think its the rain and the finish could do with some maintenance but it was great value and we felt we were really living it up. The restaurant was okay - local dishes were always better, and the bar was nice with live music every night. 

We were mostly here for the diving - David to do his PADI and I was going to give one day a go for a “discover” experience. We found the Reggae Dive centre on Trip advisor and they were extremely helpful and friendly especially when I was getting panicked under water! Things can be a bit disorganised in the mornings trying to get everyone out onto the boats with all the correct gear but once we set off, all was good. The PADI is pretty full on activity wise so it's a busy day with getting the gear ready and prepping between each dive location. On the second day I basically went along to go snorkeling at the dive locations which were still quite shallow. We had only a small group aboard so I could chill out on the boat reading and sunbathing if the others were finishing their diving skills. David really enjoyed the diving - some skills were tough enough but he seemed to take to it pretty well and the instructors are patient if you need a couple of gos to get something right. There are loads of shipwrecks from WWII around the islands here so there’s plenty to explore if you are a novice or a more experienced diver. David’s videos look great and he loved swimming through the wrecks and being so close to the marine life. 

Overall

Most people who had been to the Phillippines had warned us about getting sick but we managed to make it through without any issues. We were quite cautious avoiding ice, lettuce and brushing teeth with bottled water. Although by mid "stranded in El Nido week" we finally had some icy cocktails in Happiness bar and survived! Most “good” places use service (locally treated) water for ice, cocktails etc. so it should be okay - but we still stuck to buying bottled water in most places and avoided any “street” food. I don’t think we were missing much! :-)

This is a great place to visit if you like being in water, being outdoors and don't mind leaving some luxury behind. There are some amazing looking resorts if you want to splash out (not expensive really compared to Europe!) and even most of the places we stayed were actually pretty nice on 10-25 EUR each a night budget. The people here are naturally friendly and helpful (one guy drove his motorbike after us so he could show us where we could get our flat tyre fixed) and I felt like although people are obviously trying to sell their wares to tourists, they don’t pester you and aren’t trying to scam you. Also, I felt safe everywhere we visited. Everywhere is still a bit rough around the edges, but I didn’t witness any fighting or suspicious behaviour, people seem to go about their lives with a smile on their faces. I don't think it will be too long before a lot more tourists discover this gem.

[mkilleen2]

Japan

Wow, Japan, this might be a bit long so I’ll break into a few key sections :-)

Cities, accommodation and sightseeing

Fukuoka probably wouldn’t be on an ordinary itinerary for Japan but its a nice city with decent bars and restaurants, I’d imagine its a nice place to live. We stayed at an airbnb apartment just by Hakata station. Perfect location for this trip with the matches and the space wasn’t too small - bonus of having a washing machine.

Okayama, we visited family here - again this wouldn’t be a standard city for a Japan trip but was nice to see somewhere smaller and we visited the charming gardens and castle, using the city bikes to get around.

Osaka - this is one of the food capitals in Japan so there’s loads of choice for restaurants and bars here. The Dotonbori area is pretty crazy, properly neon so you can wander here for a while and check out the gaming arcades which sometimes go on for six or seven floors! As a non gamer I was still entertained with some drumming, dancing and air hockey - but can imagine its a treasure trove for anyone with an interest. It’s also fun to watch the dancing and drumming pros - I mean some seem to visit the arcade solo, it's almost like a gym workout! During the day, we visited the Osaka castle, Shitennoji temple/shrine, Shinsekai area and the aquarium. Nothing out of this world but worth a look. Night time is where this huge city comes alive.

We stayed in an apart-hotel near Kujo station so it was quite easy to navigate the city is easy with trains/metros.

Kyoto- this should definitely be on the list for a Japan trip. On arrival, we headed to the canal area by Kiyamachi-dori and Gion areas where the buildings and streets are so much prettier than anything else we’d seen in Japan. There are plenty of restaurants around here although some are quite expensive; we usually strolled nearer to Nishiki market area to find some cheaper deals. Nishiki market is open during the day til 6pm and it was very busy when we were there - but we had some tasty snacks. Gion is where you might see some Geisha or Maiko but I think you need to book with a tour if you want to see a show/have tea. We met some guys who had been to one and they weren’t too impressed but would depend on your interest in such things. We didn’t bother. The Yasaka shrine/temple at Gion is nice and we took a stroll at night when all the lanterns were lit up.

For day time activities, we went to Arashiyama area for the temple and gardens leading to the bamboo groves and then onto the monkey park. Some nice views along the river here too and the hill up to the monkey park will work up an appetite for lunch. We also went to the famous Inari shrine and hiked through the red gates that afternoon. It’s mostly steps and it took us less than two hours to do the full route although we aren’t ones to stop for too long taking photos :-)

We stayed in another little apart-hotel called Japaning hotel near Nishioji station, one stop from the main Kyoto station, so this was pretty handy for getting around. Much along the same lines as the other places we stayed, compact but had a fridge and washing machine. I think we even cooked eggs on a tiny hob one morning!

Tokyo- So massive! Mostly this was focused around matches but we managed to see a couple of places on the off days too. The first weekend we stayed in Akihabara area. Hotel3000 - not great, we had a bunk bed in this mostly empty place, the only early night we needed, a crowd of noisy people arrived into the dorms on our floor. But it did the job for our trip, just wouldn’t recommend for a relaxing stay! Akihabara is called electric town and looks very grey in the daytime, but full of neon, anime and arcades at night. Also you can visit one of the numerous maid cafes off the main streets.

On the second weekend we stayed in Ginza, a perfectly adequate hotel called Via Inn. Ginza looks quite fancy and modern with lots of designer shops on the main streets and much less neon - more of a western vibe about the place. We popped to Tsukiji famous fish market nearby - I think you have to be up at 5 am if you want to see the Tuna auction - but we strolled and bought some snacks (as usual!). We took the train to Haranjuku to check out the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. Park was lovely on this sunny day and then we explored the quirky Haranjuku with its crazy outfits and numerous creperies to taunt your sweet tooth. We had to of course take a visit to the Shibuya crossing and popped into Starbucks for a birds eye view. We were even crossing during Friday rush hour and it was pretty crazy to see the volumes of people that arrived to cross between the quite frequent lights. A great representation of the crazy busy Tokyo.

Food

General point, we found the food here delicious and we were doing the budget options. Even getting a 4EUR ramen from the ticket machine places turned out pretty well for us.

So a few highlights....

Yakitori - As David has visited family in Fukuoka before, there was one (food related ovs) item on the top of the list! Yakatori or meat on a stick as we've been calling it. The word means grilled chicken on a skewer, but normally you can get lots of different meats, vegetables and fish too. The restaurant we visited was called Tenjin Nobunaga Nishidori shop; it was packed when we arrived to the welcoming shouts of the staff! If you are lucky you can sit along the bar and watch the chefs cook and pick your next "sticks", this time we had a table in the corner. The menu was only in Japanese, no pictures, so we had to go up to the bar/counter to point out what we wanted, as usual not a clue what half the things were! But everything was delicious, I think my favourite was asparagus wrapped in pork. We also visited Torikizoku in Tokyo, which is a chain, but this 4th floor restaurant had a good atmosphere and tasty, reasonably priced food. My highlight was the wafu potato salad.

Sushi - It actually took a few days before we remembered to prioritise sushi for our visit! I did a little research and found a few places in Osaka. Genrokuzsushi is on one of the busy streets in Dotonbori so you can soak up some of the craziness while waiting in line for this popular and cheap conveyor style restaurant. We had loads of little plates -I think the highlight was a crab salad roll. There’s a menu with pictures so you can order extras that are freshly put together by the chefs, if you want to try something that you miss on the conveyor. Highly recommend, spent about 20EUR for the two of us here. Sushi became our travel lunch when getting the Shinkansen so we didn’t really explore any more restaurants with this as a speciality. Maybe I will regret this! :-o

Ramen - I don’t think you can go wrong here, even the cheapest places are pretty good but one of the places under Hakata station (I can’t find the name) in Fukuoka and Ramen Zundo-Ya Shinsaibashi in Osaka - both with machine based ordering, provided extra tasty bowls of this staple.

Katsu curry, home cooked by David’s sister in law, delicious! I'm going to attempt when I get home.

Octopus from Nishiki market in Kyoto - we didn’t try that much crazy stuff in Japan, but these little octopus looked like a challenge and we’d seen similar ones in Korea too. There’s actually a quails egg in the body of the octopus (or is it the head??) so it was a pretty tasty combo with the sauce and texture.

Tempura pork/shrimp/chicken - varying types that come with miso and rice. We had a few across the trip and it’s that lovely tempura batter which makes everything taste so good! The giant shrimp/prawn ones are probably my favourite. Easily picked up in markets as a snack either.

Things we missed...

More sushi :-o

Osaka is famous for crab and we debated going to Kani Doraku Dontombori Honten which is a reknowned chain. Definitely would be on the cards for a treat or a regular holiday but we weighed up the price this time and opted out.

Kobe beef - just missed on this trip due to other expenses but I was pretty happy with my Ramen lifestyle :-)

Getting around

Transport was definitely our biggest expense in Japan. We checked online before hand and as we planned to do five train journeys on the Shinkansen (bullet train) in two weeks it would be more economical to get the two week Japan rail pass (at nearly 450EUR each, ouch) than paying around 120 for each journey. Just check the website before you purchase based on your planned itinerary and it will do the maths for you. The rail pass can also be used for some of the city train lines - called the JR lines - so in Tokyo and Kyoto we were able to flash our rail passes on entry and use instead of buying single fares. We did purchase the Pasmo cards which we could top up and use for the other subway/metro lines. There is also an option called Sucia, I don’t think there’s much difference, the Pasmo was the first machine we saw.

The Shinkansen is an impressive beast - I saw someone say that all other trains shame in comparison! When waiting on the platform, seeing the trains that were just passing through, the speed was actually unbelievable, scary I would say. I assume it’s similar to sitting on a cloud watching an aeroplane pass. The trains look cool and inside they are spacious and have plenty of room for luggage and toilets etc are available. We reserved seats for our journeys in advance, but actually took a couple of different trains when we arrived at the station early etc. and there was always loads of space in the unreserved sections.

Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto all offer a pretty complex public transport system with combinations or metros/subways/trains/JR lines/buses, but the station names are all printed in English on the trains or maps and the locals and staff are very helpful if you are confused. We found it relatively easy to navigate on our own, using google maps and the maps of the lines in the stations. Our biggest problem was often finding our way out of the giant stations in Tokyo in particular. Arriving in Shinjuku and trying to find an exit to the outdoors was difficult, most exits seems to lead to other entrances e.g of shopping centres which isn’t so great when you are trying to get your bearings. Also a word to the wise - don’t ever say “I’ll meet you at the ticket machines” at at Tokyo station!

Last mention is important, (maybe we should’ve checked in advance) the Tokyo subway/trains finish up around midnight, so if you are out late taxis are expensive! Fair enough when you getting dropped to the other side of this huge city, but maybe something to consider in your accommodation options.

Rugby, drinks and karaoke

Obviously the major attraction for this trip was the Rugby World Cup! The first match we attended was Ireland vs Samoa in Fukuoka, where a serious Irish contingent made their mark. The Fanzone was just outside Hakata station (where the train to the stadium embarked), so it was packed with green on the sunny day of the match. A pint of beer was about 6EUR which turned out to be a bargain on prices in Tokyo! Fukuoka put on a great show with endearing presenters going through some rugby moves on stage and entertaining the crowd with local culture (some kind of samurai dance I think) and a Japanese band playing Irish music which was brilliant. Match went well of course and we continued celebrating in Fukuoka, rounding off with a karaoke session (90 mins, is that really necessary :-o). Our machine had some issue (maybe it was us) and we somehow ended up singing Bruce Springsteen on repeat. This is a scar that was deepened in Tokyo and still fresh today! :-)

The next weekend was a bit of a mess up, considering most Irish fans had tickets for the Sunday Quarter final. Numerous Facebook groups and Twitter conversations urged swaps with the Japanese fans but David shelled out for two online in the hope that a third one would be easier to get on close to match day. (Plus we now wanted in on the Japan vs South Africa experience, and didn’t want to swap if possible). I took the hit for the Irish match and sacrificed the second ticket to David's brother. There were no signs of touts or any options coming up to the game, in the Fanzone (which was a bit rubbish) or at the RWC superstore. But sometimes if you are patient.... I went out to the stadium anyway and about five minutes before kick off, I was chatting to a couple of South African guys who were also looking to buy when a random Japanese man came over. He had one ticket to sell at face value! The South Africans had seen that David and Brian had gone in already so they said that I should definitely take the offer. I couldn’t believe my luck - and on the advice even brought the poor Japanese guy to swipe the ticket at the entry before I’d give him the money. But it worked and I literally sprinted to my seat with the biggest smile plastered on my face! *I’m not going to talk about the match.

Afterwards we grabbed a snack and a drink before getting the train back to Shinjuku. We bumped into a few people we knew from Ireland and then proceeded to explore the amazing little bars in the Golden Gai area. Similarly to the previous night, the area was packed with rugby fans with Ireland jerseys a very common sight! I have to recommend coming here - the bars are tiny, I mean some have four or five chairs around the bar and thats it. But you will be forced to have a chat with new people, you may love or hate, but it’s something I haven’t really experienced anywhere else. Although possibly draws a more similar line to Irish pub culture than a lot of places I’ve visited. Of course some post match karaoke was required and with some newly acquired friends we proceeded to belt out the classics with some decent views of the city in the background. We were glad to hold onto our tickets for the Japan vs SA match and probably enjoyed this one more, less pressure - and the Japanese fans were great. Safe to say it was a mad weekend all round! We had our final weekend when the semis were on and decided to watch in some of the sports bars - there’s a couple in Shinjuku so we looked till we found a spot in one called Sector 7G. For the second one we watched in a place called Hub in Ginza near our hotel as we were having a quieter one before our flight.

Overall, this country has so more to offer than we even had a chance to experience like the iconic Mount Fuji or some of the traditional villages. We had an amazing time here and even if you are on a tight-ish budget you can find accommodation, food and entry to tourist attractions at reasonable prices.

Finally I want to mention that although we didn't get caught in any typhoons while we were visiting, Hagibis caused much damage including taking lives in northern Japan. Such a tragedy, my condolences to those affected.

[mkilleen2]

Japan

Wow, Japan, this might be a bit long so I’ll break into a few key sections :-)

Cities, accommodation and sightseeing

Fukuoka probably wouldn’t be on an ordinary itinerary for Japan but its a nice city with decent bars and restaurants, I’d imagine its a nice place to live. We stayed at an airbnb apartment just by Hakata station. Perfect location for this trip with the matches and the space wasn’t too small - bonus of having a washing machine.

Okayama, we visited family here - again this wouldn’t be a standard city for a Japan trip but was nice to see somewhere smaller and we visited the charming gardens and castle, using the city bikes to get around.

Osaka - this is one of the food capitals in Japan so there’s loads of choice for restaurants and bars here. The Dotonbori area is pretty crazy, properly neon so you can wander here for a while and check out the gaming arcades which sometimes go on for six or seven floors! As a non gamer I was still entertained with some drumming, dancing and air hockey - but can imagine its a treasure trove for anyone with an interest. It’s also fun to watch the dancing and drumming pros - I mean some seem to visit the arcade solo, it's almost like a gym workout! During the day, we visited the Osaka castle, Shitennoji temple/shrine, Shinsekai area and the aquarium. Nothing out of this world but worth a look. Night time is where this huge city comes alive.

We stayed in an apart-hotel near Kujo station so it was quite easy to navigate the city is easy with trains/metros.

Kyoto- this should definitely be on the list for a Japan trip. On arrival, we headed to the canal area by Kiyamachi-dori and Gion areas where the buildings and streets are so much prettier than anything else we’d seen in Japan. There are plenty of restaurants around here although some are quite expensive; we usually strolled nearer to Nishiki market area to find some cheaper deals. Nishiki market is open during the day til 6pm and it was very busy when we were there - but we had some tasty snacks. Gion is where you might see some Geisha or Maiko but I think you need to book with a tour if you want to see a show/have tea. We met some guys who had been to one and they weren’t too impressed but would depend on your interest in such things. We didn’t bother. The Yasaka shrine/temple at Gion is nice and we took a stroll at night when all the lanterns were lit up. For day time activities, we went to Arashiyama area for the temple and gardens leading to the bamboo groves and then onto the monkey park. Some nice views along the river here too and the hill up to the monkey park will work up an appetite for lunch. We also went to the famous Inari shrine and hiked through the red gates that afternoon. It’s mostly steps and it took us less than two hours to do the full route although we aren’t ones to stop for too long taking photos :-)

We stayed in another little apart-hotel called Japaning hotel near Nishioji station, one stop from the main Kyoto station, so this was pretty handy for getting around. Much along the same lines as the other places we stayed, compact but had a fridge and washing machine. I think we even cooked eggs on a tiny hob one morning!

Tokyo- So massive! Mostly this was focused around matches but we managed to see a couple of places on the off days too. The first weekend we stayed in Akihabara area. Hotel3000 - not great, we had a bunk bed in this mostly empty place, the only early night we needed, a crowd of noisy people arrived into the dorms on our floor. But it did the job for our trip, just wouldn’t recommend for a relaxing stay! Akihabara is called electric town and looks very grey in the daytime, but full of neon, anime and arcades at night. Also you can visit one of the numerous maid cafes off the main streets.

On the second weekend we stayed in Ginza, a perfectly adequate hotel called Via Inn. Ginza looks quite fancy and modern with lots of designer shops on the main streets and much less neon - more of a western vibe about the place. We popped to Tsukiji famous fish market nearby - I think you have to be up at 5 am if you want to see the Tuna auction - but we strolled and bought some snacks (as usual!). We took the train to Haranjuku to check out the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. Park was lovely on this sunny day and then we explored the quirky Haranjuku with its crazy outfits and numerous creperies to taunt your sweet tooth. We had to of course take a visit to the Shibuya crossing and popped into Starbucks for a birds eye view. We were even crossing during Friday rush hour and it was pretty crazy to see the volumes of people that arrived to cross between the quite frequent lights. A great representation of the crazy busy Tokyo.

Food

General point, we found the food here delicious and we were doing the budget options. Even getting a 4EUR ramen from the ticket machine places turned out pretty well for us.

So a few highlights....

Yakitori - As David has visited family in Fukuoka before, there was one (food related ovs) item on the top of the list! Yakatori or meat on a stick as we've been calling it. The word means grilled chicken on a skewer, but normally you can get lots of different meats, vegetables and fish too. The restaurant we visited was called Tenjin Nobunaga Nishidori shop; it was packed when we arrived to the welcoming shouts of the staff! If you are lucky you can sit along the bar and watch the chefs cook and pick your next "sticks", this time we had a table in the corner. The menu was only in Japanese, no pictures, so we had to go up to the bar/counter to point out what we wanted, as usual not a clue what half the things were! But everything was delicious, I think my favourite was asparagus wrapped in pork. We also visited Torikizoku in Tokyo, which is a chain, but this 4th floor restaurant had a good atmosphere and tasty, reasonably priced food. My highlight was the wafu potato salad.

Sushi - It actually took a few days before we remembered to prioritise sushi for our visit! I did a little research and found a few places in Osaka. Genrokuzsushi is on one of the busy streets in Dotonbori so you can soak up some of the craziness while waiting in line for this popular and cheap conveyor style restaurant. We had loads of little plates -I think the highlight was a crab salad roll. There’s a menu with pictures so you can order extras that are freshly put together by the chefs, if you want to try something that you miss on the conveyor. Highly recommend, spent about 20EUR for the two of us here. Sushi became our travel lunch when getting the Shinkansen so we didn’t really explore any more restaurants with this as a speciality. Maybe I will regret this! :-o

Ramen - I don’t think you can go wrong here, even the cheapest places are pretty good but one of the places under Hakata station (I can’t find the name) in Fukuoka and Ramen Zundo-Ya Shinsaibashi in Osaka - both with machine based ordering, provided extra tasty bowls of this staple.

Katsu curry, home cooked by David’s sister in law, delicious! I'm going to attempt when I get home.

Octopus from Nishiki market in Kyoto - we didn’t try that much crazy stuff in Japan, but these little octopus looked like a challenge and we’d seen similar ones in Korea too. There’s actually a quails egg in the body of the octopus (or is it the head??) so it was a pretty tasty combo with the sauce and texture.

Tempura pork/shrimp/chicken - varying types that come with miso and rice. We had a few across the trip and it’s that lovely tempura batter which makes everything taste so good! The giant shrimp/prawn ones are probably my favourite. Easily picked up in markets as a snack either.

Things we missed...

More sushi :-o

Osaka is famous for crab and we debated going to Kani Doraku Dontombori Honten which is a reknowned chain. Definitely would be on the cards for a treat or a regular holiday but we weighed up the price this time and opted out.

Kobe beef - just missed on this trip due to other expenses but I was pretty happy with my Ramen lifestyle :-)

Getting around

Transport was definitely our biggest expense in Japan. We checked online before hand and as we planned to do five train journeys on the Shinkansen (bullet train) in two weeks it would be more economical to get the two week Japan rail pass (at nearly 450EUR each, ouch) than paying around 120 for each journey. Just check the website before you purchase based on your planned itinerary and it will do the maths for you. The rail pass can also be used for some of the city train lines - called the JR lines - so in Tokyo and Kyoto we were able to flash our rail passes on entry and use instead of buying single fares. We did purchase the Pasmo cards which we could top up and use for the other subway/metro lines. There is also an option called Sucia, I don’t think there’s much difference, the Pasmo was the first machine we saw.

The Shinkansen is an impressive beast - I saw someone say that all other trains shame in comparison! When waiting on the platform, seeing the trains that were just passing through, the speed was actually unbelievable, scary I would say. I assume it’s similar to sitting on a cloud watching an aeroplane pass. The trains look cool and inside they are spacious and have plenty of room for luggage and toilets etc are available. We reserved seats for our journeys in advance, but actually took a couple of different trains when we arrived at the station early etc. and there was always loads of space in the unreserved sections.

Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto all offer a pretty complex public transport system with combinations or metros/subways/trains/JR lines/buses, but the station names are all printed in English on the trains or maps and the locals and staff are very helpful if you are confused. We found it relatively easy to navigate on our own, using google maps and the maps of the lines in the stations. Our biggest problem was often finding our way out of the giant stations in Tokyo in particular. Arriving in Shinjuku and trying to find an exit to the outdoors was difficult, most exits seems to lead to other entrances e.g of shopping centres which isn’t so great when you are trying to get your bearings. Also a word to the wise - don’t ever say “I’ll meet you at the ticket machines” at at Tokyo station!

Last mention is important, (maybe we should’ve checked in advance) the Tokyo subway/trains finish up around midnight, so if you are out late taxis are expensive! Fair enough when you getting dropped to the other side of this huge city, but maybe something to consider in your accommodation options.

Rugby, drinks and karaoke

Obviously the major attraction for this trip was the Rugby World Cup! The first match we attended was Ireland vs Samoa in Fukuoka, where a serious Irish contingent made their mark. The Fanzone was just outside Hakata station (where the train to the stadium embarked), so it was packed with green on the sunny day of the match. A pint of beer was about 6EUR which turned out to be a bargain on prices in Tokyo! Fukuoka put on a great show with endearing presenters going through some rugby moves on stage and entertaining the crowd with local culture (some kind of samurai dance I think) and a Japanese band playing Irish music which was brilliant. Match went well of course and we continued celebrating in Fukuoka, rounding off with a karaoke session (90 mins, is that really necessary :-o). Our machine had some issue (maybe it was us) and we somehow ended up singing Bruce Springsteen on repeat. This is a scar that was deepened in Tokyo and still fresh today! :-)

The next weekend was a bit of a mess up, considering most Irish fans had tickets for the Sunday Quarter final. Numerous Facebook groups and Twitter conversations urged swaps with the Japanese fans but David shelled out for two online in the hope that a third one would be easier to get on close to match day. (Plus we now wanted in on the Japan vs South Africa experience, and didn’t want to swap if possible). I took the hit for the Irish match and sacrificed the second ticket to David's brother. There were no signs of touts or any options coming up to the game, in the Fanzone (which was a bit rubbish) or at the RWC superstore. But sometimes if you are patient.... I went out to the stadium anyway and about five minutes before kick off, I was chatting to a couple of South African guys who were also looking to buy when a random Japanese man came over. He had one ticket to sell at face value! The South Africans had seen that David and Brian had gone in already so they said that I should definitely take the offer. I couldn’t believe my luck - and on the advice even brought the poor Japanese guy to swipe the ticket at the entry before I’d give him the money. But it worked and I literally sprinted to my seat with the biggest smile plastered on my face! *I’m not going to talk about the match.

Afterwards we grabbed a snack and a drink before getting the train back to Shinjuku. We bumped into a few people we knew from Ireland and then proceeded to explore the amazing little bars in the Golden Gai area. Similarly to the previous night, the area was packed with rugby fans with Ireland jerseys a very common sight! I have to recommend coming here - the bars are tiny, I mean some have four or five chairs around the bar and thats it. But you will be forced to have a chat with new people, you may love or hate, but it’s something I haven’t really experienced anywhere else. Although possibly draws a more similar line to Irish pub culture than a lot of places I’ve visited. Of course some post match karaoke was required and with some newly acquired friends we proceeded to belt out the classics with some decent views of the city in the background. We were glad to hold onto our tickets for the Japan vs SA match and probably enjoyed this one more, less pressure - and the Japanese fans were great. Safe to say it was a mad weekend all round! We had our final weekend when the semis were on and decided to watch in some of the sports bars - there’s a couple in Shinjuku so we looked till we found a spot in one called Sector 7G. For the second one we watched in a place called Hub in Ginza near our hotel as we were having a quieter one before our flight.

Overall, this country has so more to offer than we even had a chance to experience like the iconic Mount Fuji or some of the traditional villages. We had an amazing time here and even if you are on a tight-ish budget you can find accommodation, food and entry to tourist attractions at reasonable prices.

Finally just want to mention the terrible Typhoon Hagibis that struck while we were visiting. Luckily it avoided our path but it caused death and damage near Tokyo and further north. My condolences to those affected.

[mkilleen2]

South Korea

Seoul, if first impressions count...

It was lashing when we arrived so we decided to stay local to our AirBNB for our first dinner. We took shelter in the little restaurant two doors down and it turned out to be buzzing with people chatting loudly and enjoying mostly large sharing plates which looked delicious! We ordered two hotpots of some sort featuring pork, noodles, rice and veg and we're promptly given aprons, water and numerous side dishes. The food was delicious and the laid back atmosphere was perfect for us after our journey. It remains one of our stand out meals in Korea!

We did a good bit of sightseeing in our first full day, we were up and out at 9am and walked so much! We went to the main palaces Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, which you have to pay a couple of euro to enter. It was also National Foundation day (Oct 3) so there were some events around Gwanghwamun square, a short walk from our AirBNB. We were greeted with blaring music, lots of ladies on traditional dress playing drums in the street and attendees gleefully waving Korean and US flags! We were enjoying the spectacle and I think most locals mistook us for Americans handing us flags and drumsticks to get involved and taking photos of us, even some guys from newspapers!

We continued eating our way through places and enjoyed lots of favourites like bimimbap and bulgogli, and the fish/onion pancakes, often not really having a clue what we were going to get. But mostly it turned out pretty well! We also booked a cooking class on Airbnb experiences and spent an evening in the market and making some dishes with a lovely lady, Junghee. Delicious and will definitely be attempting some of these recipes when we get home.

We had a DMZ tour booked but unfortunately it was cancelled because of Arifcan Swine fever, apparently a problem near the border. But these tours are often cancelled, David was here a few years ago and his tour was cancelled because of some missiles 😲. So we decided to go to the War Memorial museum instead so we could learn a bit about the conflict with North Korea. The museum is big, about four floors so we started with the two areas on the Korean wars 1950-53. There was loads of info and some pretty cool displays so I would definitely recommend if you have an interest. We did a quick run around one of the other floors but there's quite a bit in here and after the first two parts we were full up on history for one day. Lots to see though if you have the stamina for it!

We tried to catch some shows at Dogdaemun market but it was closed around 10pm when we arrived (not as much of a night market, recommend try the evening 😬) so we strolled and found a spot called Chicken and Beer and treated ourselves to some tasty fried chicken for our last night.

Gyeongju

We took a bus to Gyeongju, which took about three hours, on a pleasantly fancy bus, taking us across most of the length of South Korea. I did have a snooze for the first hour, with my extensive leg room 😁 but for the next part of the journey I was surprised that most countryside we passed was mountainous and covered with trees. Guess that's how all these megacities exist with everyone living in small urban areas.

We were staying in a little guesthouse - sort of like a little hostel with a kitchen shared, but we had our own room complete with one inch think matress on the floor and a padlock for the door 🙈👍 Something different...

Gyeongju, I'm not sure how to describe. We went for a stroll that first evening to the park with the pond that's lit up at night. The area seemed really quiet, we passed quite a few of their (bazillion) fancy looking cafes, which were pretty much all empty. But at the park it was packed with people, at every corner taking photos of the reflected scenes on the pond. The next day was mostly raining so we didn't do any hikes or walks and mostly stayed around the guest house. We did try some of the famous Gyeongju bread, filled with the ( ever common on our trip so far) red bean paste. We also came across a lovely restaurant doing Dak Galbi, marinated spicy chicken that is cooked in the middle of the table and you make little rolls with rice and leaves- so hot and tasty!

In Gyeongju there's not loads to do - but if we had better weather it would've been good to rent some bikes and get out to some of the temples that are a bit outside the city.

Busan

Next stop, Busan, sometimes reported as the Miami of South Korea. I've never been to Miami so I can't confirm but we stayed in one of the high rise hotels by the beach and it seems to be a cosmopolitan, vibrant beach city with over 3 million people living there. The beach was lovely and clean and as it was October, there were no sun loungers or anything along the sand. It was a bit chilly for the locals - (like 25°C!) most people were sitting around in jeans and jumpers and barely anyone was in the water. Spot the two Irish in bikinis and shorts, swimming at 4pm 😁 No harm to us!

We explored the city centre a bit too, though it was quite the trek on the subway, almost 20 stops! In the evenings we were able to go for some nice strolls along the seafront, checking out Bay 101 and Gwangalli beach for views of the colourful skyscrapers and bridge. We also found some delicious food, including an amazing fish lunch by the Jagalchi market (there are loads of options, we just picked one on the street outside, most menus are quite similar), and a tasty evening of barbeque on our way to Gwangalli beach. A nice relaxing end to our South Korea experience 👍

For transport we got a T money card in Seoul which we then used to get around in Busan also; each trip was equal to a euro or so. Both subways were clean and relatively easy to use, we only spotted one man shouting in the train one day; mostly people seem so civilised, no shouting into phones and no rubbish anywhere! 👏

Overall I'd say South Korea is a pretty cool destination, there's plenty to do and eat, as you can see most of my highlights are food related. I'm surprised that Korean food hasn't taken off as much as some of the other Asian cuisines - but maybe a few more stops will give me some more perspective 😋

[mkilleen2]

Taipei, Taiwan

It wasn't quite the scheduled 15 hours and 15 minutes later that David and I arrived in Taipei. It's safe to say that the city has surprised me in many ways, although partially because I did so little research before arriving. In general the city is quite modern, safe and the people are extremely friendly; no one is trying to flog you things and people go out of their way to be helpful. There's quite a lot to explore here, just people watching and eating can keep you going but there's loads more too, much we didn't get to aswell.

Markets and Food

Two of my favourite things at the worst of times! The night markets, which are famous here, are an attack on the senses, with endless options for food and goods for sale, although that stinky tofu smell seemed to get more pungent in our noses as the days went by. Our favourites were Shilin and Roahe but we also spent a god bit of time around Ximending as it was close to where we were staying. It's a huge shopping area, not technically a night market but has lots of late night options. We got a couple of ideas from random blogs like Nick Kembels - Thanks Nick lol!

One of our main aims on this trip was to taste and enjoy lots of food, which we succeeded with in Taipei! Half the things we had, we didn't know what they were called or what was inside but I'll try to describe what to look out for.

Sticky rice hot dog - no idea what it should be called but the lady sliced a "roll" of rice down the middle, added two full spoons of garlic sauce (this taste lasted for hours!), some salad veg and some sort of sausage. Delicious!

Mango shaved ice- almost like shaved sorbet with fresh fruit and ice cream- they have loads of different flavours but mango is the original I believe.

Breakfast pancake type roll - we tried a few from an old lady's market stall, chopped up and thrown into a plastic bag. Some mix of egg, ham, spring onion with soy sort of flavours too, yum.

Chicken fried chicken steak - who doesn't love eating a wedge of chicken from a paper bag with a can of beer on a public bench ☺️

Pork intestine noodles - sounds bad, tastes good! Cheap and comforting.

Dumplings (Xiao long nap) - Kao-Chi on YongKang stret was excellent - lots of other restaurants/vendors in this area too.

Chicken cartilage - tasty, David was a fan but I just wasn't loving the texture

Spicy squid - Serving the full tail (Is it a tail?), tasty to share, one would be a bit much for me

Meat bun thing - we got one at one end of the Raohe night market, but saw versions of them a couple of places, basically a bun stuffed with some meat, maybe pork and some veg.

Some kind of fish balls with octopus pieces- They are cooked in a tray and the chef keeps rotating so that the outside is lightly crisp and the inside is hot and gooey. They are quite rich though, two was enough for me.

There were a few dodgey looking things we avoided like the sort of rice soup which I had a version of on the plane and I wasn't a fan but maybe some in the city would have been better. Lots of crazy things to try if you are adventurous!

Shopping

I genuinely don't think I've ever seen so many shops in my life. So many streets are lined with them, one after the next, often selling similar wares, and mostly with no customers inside! There was one street where almost all the shops were selling a vast array of dried fruits and/or nuts. In our stroll of this 500m or so stretch I don't think anything was being purchased! I mean it's just mad and also, how do these people make a living?! We also visited the 12 storey digital mall, a dream for gaming/tech fans I'd imagine. We messed around with a couple of games and massage chairs for an hour taking shelter from the rain.

Rain

On that topic, I can say in our short 5 days we experienced many types of rain, mostly thanks to the incoming Typhoon, Mitag.

Lovely slow rain - the drops are only about one per second and in the steamy heat of Taipei these were welcomed on our sweaty heads!

Umbrella rain - actually falls straight and you can stay dry under an umbrella. It's also warm so shorts and tee-shirts are preferred or else you will roast! We had about two days of this.

Irish rain - cold and windy, jacket required and only umbrellas of the highest quality stand a chance.

Biblical rain - Noting will keep you dry, the rivers that you are walking through will wet your legs and soak your shoes for two days.

Top tip: spare socks or shower shoes

Transport

The metro was excellent, it was super clean, air conditioned and there are toilets at every stop, incuding family/assistance one. Very handy when you've been wandering around markets for hours eating and drinking. We took the 1819 bus from the airport to Taipei main station on the way in which was quick at 5am but took the MRT back to avoid any traffic- cost 150 local each and took 35mins.

Sightseeing

We were staying near Lungshan Temple - the area is a bit run down or authentic/traditional according to guide books. It was good to explore but quite different to some of the built up areas around Taipei 101, which is very modern. From our hotel we could walk to some of the nearby sights- Peace park, Botanical Gardens and Liberty Square - which we later discovered is one of the main attractions in the city, featuring purple and orange roof tiles and a homage to Chaing Kai-Shek. (Later in the hotel I watched a great video explaining a short history of Taiwan/China and why the "country" status is so confusing!)

We also spent an afternoon at the Beitou hot springs . We went to the public ones which are cheap but David had to buy swim trunks on entry as they don't allow beach shorts. So bring your Speedos or similar! Nice place to relax a bit, not sure if everyone's cup of tea, but we enjoyed the experience and the thermal valley is quite nice also.

On our final night we did the elephant hike, which is basically a load of steps to viewing points. I'd definitely recommend this for the views of the city in darkness. But be warned, I got a few of bites in spite of repellant and pants being worn! Also something tickling my sandal clad foot turned out to be some GIANT cockraoch type being! I ran away so fast and I didn't even want to know but there were other tourists taking photos of it after I left so I don't think it was your average beetle! Ugh!

We didn't really get any chance to go further into the countryside as the weather wasn't great and we were so jet lagged but it sounds like there are loads of nice places to hike/beaches etc. not too far from the city.

Overall a great experience, lots of food, good value and plenty of places to explore and people watch. Thanks Taipei!

[mkilleen2]

Toronto Bites

Leaving Dublin on what looked like the sunniest day in a while, we took the West Jet flight with a short stopover in Halifax. It was the cheaper option with no entertainment or food provided but it was grand and we arrived in Toronto on time with all our belongings, all set for the fun few days. We had a fabulous extended weekend for Ashton and Johanna's wedding at Elmhirst resort, about two hours drive from Toronto. So a massive thank you to them for having us ❤️

Safe to say we were absolutely wrecked on return by Monday but looking forward to a couple of days to explore Toronto. Monday night we treated outsleves to a nice italian- Ardo- the wine was a bit pricey but the food was really delicious, maybe even the best pizza I've had outside Italy! Next morning, after doing a few chores, we strolled from the Airbnb (near Regent park) to Nathan Phillips square for a couple of photos with the Toronto sign and a bit of people watching. Then we walked down to the harbour front where we got some lunch and rented some bikes for the afternoon. It was 15$ for the first hour then about 7 for each hour after. We took the ferry over to the islands; all the "islands" are really just one, so having the bikes we could take any of the ferry's over and make our way around on the other side. The islands were pretty quite e.g the kids theme park was closed (a bit zombieland with no one around) but a couple of cafes seemed to be open and there were a few people milling around on bikes or having a stroll in the sun. Great views of the city and a peaceful place to spend a few hours. After taking the ferry back we cycled some more along the water- there's a cycle path that goes miles around Toronto on the waterfront, but we weren't that ambitious and took back the bikes before the 6pm closure of the shop.

The next day we checked out the Distillery District which is pretty cool and had a good choice of places to eat- we had lunch at Pure Spirits, which specialise in seafood, very tasty! After this we racked up another few thousand steps - as is standard these days for our holidays, checking out China Town and Kensington market areas before having a last dinner with the family before going to the airport that night.

Toronto seems like a good city to live, although I'm not sure I could ever hack the winter cold. Tipping is also a pain, I'm sure you get used to it when you live there but between tax (13%) and tips (15-20%) it adds quite a lot to your bill. Just something to take into account when budgeting (which I'm terrible at). It would have been great to get some basketball or ice hokey tickets- everyone here seems sports mad but we didnt on this visit. I wouldn't say there's loads to do here but it would be a great base to do one or two nights, get some nice food and go see some sports before taking off to the countryside for hiking or whatever else. Niagra is also a day trip from here but we had been before.

Next up is the dreaded 15 hour flight to Taipei! I just hope to dream of noodles and dumplings 😁

[mkilleen2]

A year since we set out on our way, first stop Cuba! #takemeback #southamerica #cuba ❤️❤️ #theseguys #travelfamily 😍

[mkilleen2]

Beach days I miss you! #florianopolis #brazil #beach

[mkilleen2]

Some graffiti in São Paulo 🇧🇷

[mkilleen2]

Travel bag

A few friends that are going travelling asked for some tips on what to pack so I decided to pop this up, also so I will remember for my next one! Jean and I had a good few discussions before we left and I think this is a pretty good list. I did get sick looking at the same things every day but it was pretty practical, catering for most weather variations and events (hiking in the rain and cold to new years eve and even dinner in the Four Seasons) so I would recommend something along the lines of below.

Bag: 55+15 litre

What I brought….

1 Jeans

2 black sports leggings

1 loose patterned trousers

3 shorts (1 denim, 1 sports, 1 patterned)

3 dresses (1 red, 1 navy, 1 patterned)

7 tank tops (2 black, 2 white, 2 coloured, 1 pattern)

1 tee-shirt (white sports material)

2 jumper (both fine knit, 1 hooded)

1 rain jacket (invest! I didn’t)

1 North Face windbreaker jacket, no hood

1 black kimono top (handy to make an outfit look different or keep out the sun)

1 crochet mini cardie (helped make outfits look slightly different)

1 multi-purpose scarf (beach and cold)

1 woolly hat (doubles as pillow when stuffed with scarf)

1 flip flops

1 pair comfy Addidas trainers (Converse style)

1 pair Salomon trail runners (long walks/hikes/travelling)

Lots of socks/undies (you don’t want to get caught needing laundry just because you didn’t pack an extra pair!)

3 bras + 1 sports bra

4 bikinis

Rain cover

Cotton sleeping bag liner

Fanny pack (in spite of the jokes, this was fantastic, mine was small, but kept my phone and money safe for over four months)

I’m not going into detail on toiletries…. just keep it to a minimum - shampoo, toothpaste, suncream, moisturiser and mosquito repellent are necessary of course. Eye liner and mascara are no harm to pack for special occasions. Leave all expensive jewellery behind, maybe bring a cheap watch, but you will only attract thieves with bling. 

Hope that is helpful to someone :-)

Happy travels xx

[mkilleen2]

The Final Leg: Florianopolis and Sao Paulo

Feb 21 - March 6, 2016

We arrived into Florianopolis somewhat wrecked after about two hours kip between flights and waiting in the airports. We went straight to bed as soon as we got to the hostel and only woke up to have dinner before returning! By the next morning we were ready to roll again but realised that we were about four km from the nearest beach. The hostel was good but we decided to book into the Barra Beach Club in Barra de Lagoa, which is the best hostel in Latin America for 2016 according to Hostelworld. The hostel had an amazing view and was only five minutes’ walk from one of the longest strands on the island!

For a few days, that was literally all that we did, wake up, go to the beach and read. We used up the rest of our factor six oil as well as the more suitable factors and it was fantastic. This was a really different experience for us as it was the most time we spent in any one place. It was so relaxing not thinking about moving on for over a week, in spite of some brief discussions about going to Uruguay, we were satisfied to stay in Florianopolis for quite some time. We rented scooters for a day and explored some of the more remote parts of the island, went stand-up paddle boarding and went horse riding on the beach. The horse riding was particularly fun as the guide allowed me to get into a full gallop on the beach, even though it was only my second time rising a horse (see Ecuador) and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing! The horse was so well trained that it followed the commands of the guide from another horse – amazing!

We did have a couple of nights out too, enjoying some drinks on the beach from time to time and some open air live music in Lagoa one night.  We also went to Pacha, a huge venue near the north of the island and ended up back at a house party with some Brazilians that we met. The party was in a conservatory in the grounds of a fancy apartment block, complete with decks and DJs and in spite of the neighbours’ complaints, the party continued! We left at about 2pm the next day but were told it kept going until 6pm the day after that!

The clock was ticking and we had to make our way to Sao Paulo to fly home. We were only spending two nights here and just wanted to make sure we had a full feed of the best food Brazil could offer. We found a churrascaria rodizio called Fogo de Chao and bore a hefty price tag to enjoy all manner of meats, including chicken heart, and some wine from Mendoza. We strolled around the next day to get a feel for the city, including the famous Ibirapuera Park and Batman Alley, full of amazing graffiti.

After four fabulous months, some of the most exhilarating experiences of my life and making memories that I will cherish forever, the end was nigh. We booked return flights from Sao Paulo to Dublin, as they were 400 pounds cheaper than the one-way option, insane!

I couldn’t believe the time to go home had finally come.

So on March 6th we took off and left Brazil and South America behind….. but, hopefully not for too long!

Safe to say, I loved every moment! ❤️ SA x 

[mkilleen2]

Rio Take II

It was time to make a second attempt on Rio and without the madness of Carnaval, we experienced a more subdued version of the city.  We booked into an eight bed dorm in the Botofogo neighbourhood, as accommodation was difficult to find. We had heard some interesting things about the favela tours but we had some discussion about a tour possibly being offensive, going to an area almost as if it was a zoo. However, we felt that the favelas and their history were an integral part of the city and it would be an eye opening experience to understand the culture in these parts. The tour we took also funds a local pre-school in the favela.

Rocinha is the largest favela in Rio and houses about 70,000 people according to the census, although supposedly a lot more people actually live in favelas than are documented. Some of the favelas are being pacified (taken under police control) but most remain under the control of the local drug gangs. We were told to not take pictures if we happened to see any such characters on our tour, so this must be relatively common. It was quite revealing to see the conditions that people live in, with no proper sewerage systems, chaotic electrical supply and only basic shelter. Apparently Rocinha is one of the most advanced however, and many favelas operate without electricity or running water. There are some spectacular views from the hills and the pretty colourful houses serve as conflicting backdrop to the harsh lifestyle.

The next day we were lucky to finally get clear weather and took the opportunity to go to the Sugar Loaf. While we had a little trouble working out the cable car directions (I know it sounds simple!), we made it to the top and the views from here really were outstanding. I think this is when I decided that I really loved Rio. I can’t think of anywhere else with such a vibrant culture, a gritty edge, stunning beaches, jaw dropping hills and friendly locals. This might not have the elegant charm of Buenos Aires but it has so much more to offer!

Unfortunately our eight bed dorm wasn’t such a success, featuring plastic covered mattresses and snoring men, one was sure to have a few hours awake. I ended up looking up a “sleep” playlist on Spotify in an effort to drown out one guys’ outrageous snoring. I contemplated telling him to see a doctor in the morning! But we had only booked two nights and found a private room in a funky looking hostel in Leme, a small pacified favela on a hill just next to Copacabana.

Once we arrived in Leme I was a little worried by some similarities to the Rocinha area, but the lovely staff in the hostel ensured us that the area was very safe and people looked out for one another. We had a few beers with the other guests before heading to bed for an early night. Jean and I were both reading in bed when we heard a number of gunshots going off! It sounded like at least one automatic weapon was being shot, although it only lasted about 20 seconds. We looked at each other, a little in shock, but not worried as we supposed this is just something that happens from time to time in a city like Rio. That was until two of the staff knocked on our door and told us to “get on the floor”! Jean jumped like I’ve never seen and I flicked off the light before joining her on our tiny floor space. We heard a few more shots, but nothing too major and in a few minutes the staff were back to tell us that it should be okay and we got back into bed. We were a little freaked to say the least, and didn’t have a great sleep, hearing a few more shots and me suspecting that every other noise (including floorboards, the storm outside and cats fighting) was some drug lord creeping around the building. Finally morning came and we decided that it was time to get out of there and return to the lovely Ipanema!

It was time for Christ the Redeemer, take 2, and this time the sun was splitting the stones! The crowds were much bigger than our first attempt, and the views were spectacular, in spite of the hordes of tourists trying to take selfies with the big man! We met our Cusco/Bolivia travelling buddies, Sam and Gena, at the monument and went about planning our last few days in Rio. Jean and I would try and get our much spoken of tattoos and also try to acquire some Rolling Stones tickets.

We visited a tattoo parlour in Ipanema called Ipanema Ink after checking the reviews online. We discussed some ideas with the artist who had the most English, but after a night of google image search, discussion and pen artwork on our bodies, we had some new ideas for him the next day. He was really helpful and drew up our new designs; finally we were ready to get inked! Jean settled on an original version of an Inca sun on her left shoulder, and I got a barley sheaf on my left side. Mine had no real connection to South America, but I will always remember getting it there and it is more of a link to my home and being from the country (I do get some confused reactions to it!).  

Sadly it was time for our last hurrah (last actual time, this time!) in Rio. We managed to acquire two tickets to the Maracana Stadium for the Rolling Stones concert on February 20th. I was looking forward to it, but the event itself far surpassed my expectations. Mick and co. were on top form, playing all the favourites with a quality and energy I wouldn’t even expect from men half their age! The crowd were brilliant, singing along all the way with the huge stadium forming a perfect backdrop. It was fitting way to spend our last night in the city, before setting out at 5am for our flight to Florianopolis.

[mkilleen2]

Beautiful beach, burning time in Ilha Grande 

[mkilleen2]

Ilha Grande mini adventure

February 12-15, 2016

After the carnage of Carnaval it was time for Jean and I to bid adieu to our travelling buds of three and a half months, Tom and Keevey, and set out for the island of Ilha Grande, about four hours (bus and boat) outside Rio. Yvonne and her friend, Sinead, would be our companions for a few days much needed rest and relaxation. This tiny island boasts some of the best beaches in Brazil and due to its unusual history (including it serving as a leper colony and a top-security prison), has remained untouched and unspoilt by industry, property developers or even cars. The island is now a protected site with stringent development restrictions.

We stayed in a lovely guesthouse (Pousada Mar Azul) on the sea front in Vila do Abraáo, the town where all the main restaurants and bars are located.  After an early night, we took a boat to a beach in Lopes Mendes, although it included a 20 minute walk before arriving on its beautiful shores. This stunning beach is quite secluded and there are no shops or restaurants, only a couple of vendors with drinks and crisps. Jean and I were a bit optimistic with our sun cream use, opting for a light factor six (oil, which makes a delightful paste with the sand!). Needless to say, after a day in the glare, we were burnt to shades that only a lobster could be jealous of! We took another two nights on the island, which was mostly lovely but unfortunately three of four of us ended up with food poisoning so some of our days were taken up being as close to a bathroom as possible! Not a pleasant experience, but the island was a good place to relax from the bustle of the city.

It was also high time for Jean and I decide what our next destination would be. We spent quite a bit of our food-poisoning-recovery day looking at our options. Patagonia was on our original wish list, but in checking the times and cost as well as the number of journeys it would take, we decided that after our busy and expensive time so far we would book flights home for the start of March and take the last few weeks of February relatively easy in Brazil. 

Next stop would be Rio to re-attempt the tourist views and hopefully get tickets to see the Rolling Stones!

[mkilleen2]

Rio snaps

[mkilleen2]

Rio de Janeiro, Part I

Part I: 3 - 12 February 2016

I don’t know how I can possibly explain the magic of this city, the diversity, the mess and the beauty, all in one place.  We stayed at the Mango Tree hostel, reuniting with Keevey and Tom and meeting Yvonne and Cian, all anticipating a week of fun. The hostel was super, all yellow and bright, with sturdy three tier bunks, a great breakfast, located only one block from Ipanema beach and featuring a free barbeque on a Friday.

The city was buzzing as Carnaval loomed and people filled the streets and beaches in vibrant costume and mood. We ventured to the streets nearby to taste the first drops of Carnaval atmosphere. In spite of the hype, I really didn’t know what to expect. We probably stood out on those first few days, pale skin, gaping eyes, wondering at the crazy outfits and antics!

It didn’t take long to feel relaxed and start getting some party hats and glitter on and fit into these friendly surroundings. Trucks drove through the streets with samba bands blasting music and each street would come alive with samba dancing people following the trucks. Everyone was smiling and clapping, some amorous boys exercising their tradition of trying to kiss (with all their friends shouting “beijão”) unsuspecting girls until they gave in!

Blocos such as this continued for the week, with varying degrees of madness. Some started early – I managed to make it to one at 11am which had a Beatles theme. This was one of the best; a huge stage was set up on the shoreline near the centre of the city in Glória. The sun was blazing and the crowd were singing every word of the songs being blasted by the band, which included about 100 drummers! The best moment was probably when the lead guitarist sang the word “yesterday” and played the guitar while the crowd sang the entire song.

We also went to a rave that took place in an unused building site. The place was jammed and pumped out electronica music mixed with some of the Brazilian hits like “Baile de Favela”. Please look up this song, it’s one of the biggest selling in Brazil and I don’t have words to describe how awful but truly catchy it is! We were also lucky enough to get tickets to the Hardwell gig on the last night of Carnaval, rounding off an excellent week at about 7am on Wednesday morning, just in time for Lent!

The beach was mobbed all week as well, locals and visitors enjoying the intense heat and those forceful waves. It was such a great way to sleep off a few hours hangover and get ready for the next night, watching the sun go down with a beer and joining in the clapping when a good, worthy sunset took place!

Even just after Carnaval I was already in love with Brazil and Rio, in spite of its main flaw, Portuguese (I was just getting the hang of Spanish!)! The people here are so friendly and fun loving. We met some locals who really made our experience fantastic, showing us around, bringing us to the best gigs and blocos and helping us to get taxis successfully! I was also quite surprised at the amount of Brazilians who had been to Ireland and were so eager to show us pictures from their visits.

However, Rio is not all about Carnaval, as I was assured, people do work here and the streets are not always filled with revellers. We decided that after a day of rest on Wednesday we would have a full day of seeing the sites on Thursday before we split the group. I remember waking in the night to what sounded like a broken fan or really heavy rain. It couldn’t be rain, surely. But unfortunately, like Iguazu, it was going to rain on us again.

Torrential rain continued until morning leaving the outdoor section of the hostel reminding us of home. The sky was cloudy and we suspected this would not be the best day to visit the Sugar Loaf or Christ the Redeemer. However, the tour couldn’t be cancelled without us losing all the money, so we braved the lousy weather and headed out for the day.

The only bonus was that the queues for Christ the Redeemer were much shorter than normal and we didn’t have many people getting in the way of our statue selfies. Although, you couldn’t really see the statue, just a vague outline through the cloud, so it didn’t really matter. As for the view of the city, this was completely clouded over, so our tour group were ready to leave pretty quickly. We did get to see a view at a lower point on the drive down and visited the Lapa steps but it wasn’t really the day of sightseeing that we were expecting!

That night we had our last supper with Keevey, Tom and Cian so we treated ourselves to a churrascaria rodizio. Rodizio is an all-you-can-eat style service where you pay a fixed price for the waiters to bring samples of food throughout the meal. This could potentially be any type of food, but the tradition in Brazil is meat; chicken, pork and beef. Churrascaria refers to the style of cooking – churrasco, which is Portuguese for barbeque. It was a little expensive, about 70 BRL for the main meal, but we tried to each as much as possible to ensure we got value! The meal was delicious and a great way to spend our last evening before going for a few drinks and waiting for the sun to come up on the beach. I was truly delighted with our time in Rio…..!

Next morning we took the bus and boat to Ilha Grande for some well-deserved relaxation.