Puroland in Tokyo is an indoor theme park dedicated to the Sanrio characters of whom the most famous is everyone’s favorite cat, Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty is something of a phenonemum in Japan and elsewhere across the world with fans unable to get enough of Kitty and her merchandise. If you are a Hello Kitty tragic you will enjoy the video above of the park’s boat ride, if you cant make it through the whole 7 mins this park may not be for you. Don’t get us wrong we love Kitty but we still have cute overload flashbacks from Disney’s “it’s a small world” ride. Sanrio Puroland is located in the Tama New Town district of Tokyo approx 40 mins by train from Shinjuku station. Read the rest of this entry »
Posts under ‘Asia’
Grand Prix action in Macau
The Grand Prix comes to the Portuguese island of Macau next weekend for what promises to be a huge weekend but for those who cant get there for the action there is a great museum you can visit during the year. The museum celebrates the the 50 odd years of racing in Macau and has some great displays. Opening in 1993 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Macau Grand Prix the centre has some great memorabilia and amazing racecars and motorbikes. For those who want a real bargain and want to see some of Macau’s other great museums like the Wine Museum (which is next door), the Maritime Museum, Lin Zexu Museum and the Museum of Art there is a a bargain joint ticket available.
Breakfast with the orang-utans
Orang utangs are one of the most precious and endangered of all forest creatures and there is nothing quiet like coming face to face with them over breakfast. Singapore Zoo one of the worlds finest zoos offers one of the most unique experiences you will ever have. Imagine sitting down to a fresh banquet of tropical fruits and other breakfast fare with an orang utang. These beautiful animals are one of the zoo’s star attractions they are the first zoo to have free ranging area which is home to over 20 of these orange hairy creatures. The zoo is part of a very important breeding program which is helping to save these animals from extinction. With people able to get up close and personal with the orang utangs it is hoped that we better understand the needs for survival and conservation of their habitat.
A market for the ladies
Hong Kong is a shoppers paradise and there is no better place to pick up a bargain at one of the many markets. The ladies market on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok Kowloon is no exception it is full of amazing merchandise for the shopper. The market dosn’t only sell products for the ladies although there is a huge range of clothing, jewelery and fashion accessories it sells just about everything, toys, DVDs, food, you name it. A lot of the high fashion products are a fraction of the retail price but be ware many goods are pretty convincing fakes. The market opens about lunch time and goes into the evening closing at about 10:30 pm. Remember half the fun is to bargain you can save heaps of the first price. The easiest way to visit the market is to catch the MTR to Mong Kok Station then a quick walk along Prince Edward Road from the B2 exist will get you to Tung Choi Street. While you are there visit the gold fish market, it’s only a few blocks away and amazing.
Thailand’s Maeklong railway market
A video that has been hitting our email boxes recently prompted us to do a bit more investigation on it, it is of a market on a railway line in Thailand where the market stall holders have to adjust their stalls displays and verandas every time the train comes down the track. The video is often miss credited as in Bangkok but it is really located in Samut Songkhram on the maeklong railway. Samut Songkhram sits on the River Kwai just before it exits into the bay of Bangkok. There is no bridge on the River Kwai, well not for trains at least as when you get the river everyone has to hop onto a ferry to continue their rail journey on a waiting train on the other side of the river. Read the rest of this entry »
Toyota’s Megaweb
In Odabia which is the new waterfront technology district of Tokyo, Toyota has a giant showroom come, car museum, come theme park and its really fun for the whole family. There is plenty to do including ‘driving’ the Crayon which is a self driving electric micro car. As you can see in the picture the car is one of Toyota’s latest efforts to revolutionise transport. Reading sensors on the road this car follows the track around the complex. There are simulator rides, an outdoor driving course for people wanting a test drive of a Toyota product and plenty of technology exhibits including Toyota’s cutting edge designs and quite a good display on hybrid and new power plants. The centre also features a beautiful museum where iconic cars from around the world (not all Toyota) are on display and then there’s a discovery centre hall which demonstrates how products are designed to suit as many people as possible. The centre attaches to the huge Pallete Town shopping complex where you can easily find plenty do do for the whole day.
Gadgets, gadgets and more gadgets
Tokyo’s Akihabara is home to what would have to be the worlds highest concentration of electronic gadgets on sale. The whole suburb sells electronics, whether it be Mobile phones, digital cameras, stereos, videos, DVDs, computers or you name it. The prices are all good but the technology overload gets you so confused, so many models so many things you want, you don’t know where to start. Read the rest of this entry »
This ferry is a star!
Hong Kong’s Star Ferry dates back to 1888 and still today is one of the best ways to cross the harbor from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon. The 10 – 12 minute journey from Central To Tsim Sha Tsui Service only costs $2.20 HK which works out to to be about an American Quarter a trip. The Star Ferry Company has a fleet of 12 ferries and they carry over 26 million people a year. They have a few different routes and also have a tourist service which stops at Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Wan Chai, and Hung Hom. Read the rest of this entry »
Vietnam’s Cu Chi Tunnels
During the Vietnam War in the late 1960’s early 1970’s the area of Cu Chi was heavily bombarded by the American’s using their huge B52’s and monstrous fire power. The Viet Cong in the area moved their offensive underground in an expanded tunnel system first used during the war with the French in the late 1940’s. The tunnels were an incredible maze holding hospitals, storage for food and weapons, schools, weapons factories and command centres not forgetting hundreds if not thousands of people. They stretched over 200km through the country and had an amazing array of booby traps and security mechanisms built in for protection. The entrances doors were in many cases no bigger than a A4 piece of paper and very well disguised.Today the some of the tunnels remain and have been widened to allow visitors to experience the conditions and ingenuity of the Vietnamese people. Many small tourist operators from Ho Chi Min City offer day trips to the tunnels which are about 70 km out of town.
Mount Prometheus Volcano on Mysterious Island
Mount Prometheus is an active volcano on Mysterious Island which can be found off Tokyo Bay in Japan. Well its not quiet active, although it spits lava and smoke out and makes some pretty deep bellowing noises. It’s also not a real mountain, it’s made out of a lot of steel and concrete- in fact it is the centerpiece of DisneySea at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort. The mountain is a ride based on the Jules Verne novel Vulcania. It is a fast moving (75km) an hour journey to the centre of the earth in a drilling capsule designed by Captain Nemo. The three minute ride is one of DisneySea’s most popular, people queue up for hours to experience the ride which travels through mine shaft which goes to the Earth’s core, well at least into the bowels of DisneySea.
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