Thoughts from the Director

LA–Day 10

2011-10-23T17:58:00.001+11:00

Well, today was a day of leisure on which I had decided to take a full day tour of LA using http://www.lasightseeing.net/. I had opted for the Grand tour and stars homes.

Waiting outside my hotel in Anaheim for the shuttle bus to pick me up for my tour of LA.

We were shuttle to main tour location in Santa Monica. We then hopped our appropriate tour bus and headed off.

The first was Santa Monica beach, where we could take in the Pacific Ocean and the famous Santa Monica Pier. This location is also the most westerly end of the famous Route 66.

We then headed off to take in some star’s homes.

Gates to Jackie Chan’s home.

Penelope Cruze apparently lives here (nice).

The witch house of Hollywood.

Remember this street from the Beverly Hillbillies?

Rodeo drive.

Hotel from the movie “Pretty Woman”

Bugatti Veryron on Rodeo Drive.

LA Town Hall in central LA.

LA’s main station.

First streets of LA.

Entrance to China Town.

Capital Records.

Mann’s Chinese theatre.

LA–Day 10

2011-10-08T16:17:00.001+11:00

I arrived from Las Vegas into LAX and picked up my bags. I then headed out to the Supershuttle to catch my shuttle to the hotel.

The trip to the Sheraton on Harbor in Anaheim took about 1 hour.

The room was pretty swish but for some reason contained two double beds? Oh well, at least it was on a low floor which meant I could by pass the lift. This was especially handy given the amount of other computer people here at the moment attending the conference.

After settling in I headed over to the Anaheim convention center to register for my conference. It took me a little while to find the right entrance but it wasn’t too hard once I found all the other people doing the same thing.

The next few days where taken up with the conference. However, on one night we all headed over to Disneyland to watch the show and take in some rides.

They basically shut down the whole park just for conference attendees.

After entering the park we were treated to a musical show around the lake.

Sorry the video is a bit small.

The first ride I went on was the haunted house. Perhaps a bit tame by todays standards but still very impressive in its implementation.

After a few more rides,including Splash Mountain, where indeed I got splashed, or probably more correctly – soaked, I headed over to Space Mountain.

Space Mountain is basically an enclosed roller coaster which means you have no real idea of which direction the ride is going to take since it is basically in the dark. The other nasty surprise is that at the end the zap you with a bright light (to take your photo) which I can tell you is really blinding after you have been in the dark all that time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_ZxXq9es-U

Here’s a video to give you a better idea of the experience, although it is pretty hard to see what is going on in the dark! If you ever make it to Disney you really need to have a go on this ride as it is unlikely any other I have been on.

As I finished up for the night and headed out I passed Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse’s statue in from of the Magic Kingdom castle.

It was time to head back down the main street to the exit,

passing one more reminder about who’s the boss here.

Las Vegas–Day 3

2011-10-03T02:24:00.001+11:00

Today was again spent at the SMBNation conference.

After which we headed to dinner at the Voodo Steakhouse which sits atop the Rio Hotel on the 50th floor, with a view over all of Las Vegas.

We didn’t have much time to dwell as we had tickets for Penn and Teller. It was a great show and always great to grab a live act of some very famous magicians.

Tomorrow is the last day of the conference and I am heading out in the early afternoon to Los Angeles to attend my second conference in Anaheim.

Las Vegas–Day 2

2011-10-01T07:44:00.001+10:00

An early start to the day as I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. No worries, plenty of emails to read and things to get ready.

After sending an email to a mate also attending SMB Nation we decided to meet up for breakfast.

After that I spent some time with him going over some content he was preparing to present for the conference. We then took a ride out to the Fry’s (the local computer mega-mart) to buy a few extra things he needed.

After we returned I headed into two sessions. After that I caught up with a few people and headed out for dinner again. Japanese grill. Different but enjoyable.

As we drove back my friend pulling the car in Caesar's casino while he ducked off to get a chocolate desert for us. I was left still in a no parking zone, in the passengers seat with the engine running. Was feeling a little exposed but luckily no one came alone to tell me move along.

We returned to the Rio, consuming our chocolate desert (which again was excellent).

Here’s a few shots from the car park overlooking the strip.

Here’s a video also which perhaps gives you a better idea of the extent of the strip.

I headed back to my room to grab some sleep as the conference has an early start tomorrow and I want to get everything in.

Las Vegas Day 1

2011-09-29T17:56:00.001+10:00

Time to once again make the trip to SMB Nation in Las Vegas. This mean taking the Qantas A380 to Los Angeles and then onto Las Vegas.

Luckily, I was able to upgrade to business class using my frequent flyer point and boy can I tell you was it worth it. Business class on an A380 is amazing. If you sit an a seat your legs can’t even touch the seat in front! Even when full stretched out! This is because the seats recline flat so you can lie down. There is just so much space!

Unfortunately, having seats that do recline to totally flat didn’t help completely overcome jetlag but travelling business class is certainly the way to go.

Arrived in Las Vegas without incident, bags came off quickly and was then on my way to my accommodation at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

Gotta say that I am pretty impressed with the room. Well, it isn’t really a room, more of a suite as you can see from the photos, with a lounge, desk etc.

The view out the window ain’t too bad either.

Here it is at night.

The Rio is about a 5 minute drive from the strip so it is a little isolated but none the less has all the amenities. I counted at least 3 Starbucks so we are covered there.

Had dinner with a contact and then headed back to the suite to catch up on some sleep. Depending on how I recover tomorrow I’ll try and catch a few pre-sessions. After that there is a party at one of the in house establishments.

That’s tomorrow planned and the conference starts the day after.

Vancouver–Day 7

2011-06-16T00:18:00.001+10:00

I took a car service from my hotel near the airport to just outside the CN Tower where I could catch the tourist bus.

I jumped aboard the www.citysightseeingtoronto.com bus and headed off for a full loop of the city.

CN Tower

One of the stop is at Dundas Square which is supposed to be the ‘Times Square’ of Toronto.

Bata Shoe museum.

Casa Loma

CN Tower

Financial district

Art Gallery

Union Station

NYC–Day 3

2011-06-12T21:46:00.001+10:00

I headed out the door today into a humid New York day. I dropped by the same diner again for breakfast and then caught the subway to the upper west side intending to visit the church of St John the Divine.

As normally happens, when I exited the subway I initially headed the wrong way. Eventually I got my bearings and found the cathedral.

Just outside the Cathedral is a ‘children’s garden featuring the above statue. Personally, I think this statue is a little scary for children but still it is very impressive.

The Cathedral is huge, as big as any I’ve seen in Europe.

Entry to the Cathedral is free but a donation is suggested.

The Cathedral is one of the things you don’t expect to find in New York to be honest. If you do visit, I’d really recommend a trip to see it. Most of the standard tour buses stop right outside and it is not very far from the subway.

My photos are all a little bit dark simply because the place is so huge.

With the humidity rising I decided that the best bet would be to go somewhere in doors. I therefore chose to head over the upper east side and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or just the Met).

The Met isn’t all just about paintings and sculptures, as you can see from the above. It has some great exhibits and generally should have something to interest all.

One of the must see exhibits is the Temple of Dendur.

The Met is really one of the great places in New York (especially when the weather is ‘challenging’).

I headed back east to the subway.

Across Park Ave and caught the subway to ‘tourist central’, 5th and 58th street.

Being a technology person I couldn’t resist snapping this shot of the NYC Apple store.

I headed further south down 5th Ave and called into St Patrick’s.

My day ended with a meeting with business contacts.

The next day I was booked to fly out early from NYC to my next destination. After such a brief stay I still gotta say that love NYC and recommend that if you ever get the chance you should but it on your itinerary as you’ll never be disappointed.

NYC–Day 2

2011-06-08T13:34:00.001+10:00

After finally getting some sleep in the horizontal position I showered and shaved in preparation for my first full day in New York City.

In the above shots you can see my room at the Chelsea Lodge. It is different from a normal hotel room. It has a shared bathroom in the hall but the room contains a sink and shower. The room is perhaps a little small by normal hotel standards but I really like the place as it has great character. You also can’t beat the location (a few minutes walk to the subway) or the friendly staff. If you are coming to New York I really recommend you take a look at the Chelsea Lodge.

I hit the pavement (the above shows the street where the Chelsea Lodge is located). After my first good nights sleep in a while my next priority was a decent breakfast. The best place to find one of these in NYC? A local diner. A block or two away I found a great little place and hoed into a full breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. Ahhh…much better.

I then headed to the local subway station to catch an Uptown train to visit my business contact for the day. Being a smarty pants I thought that I’d get my Metro subway card from a vending machine. It was certainly glad to see me and welcomed me to NYC by shallowing my money and then claiming to be out of order. Hmmm, ok some things about this place haven’t changed.

No major drama (apart from losing a bucks), I went over and purchases a 7 day unlimited Metrocard from the man in the booth, which is honestly easier than trying to insert a wad of well worn bills into a vending machine.

With Metrocard in hand I swiped into the subway and waited for my ride Uptown.

After a short while in the train I realized that I had come too far Uptown on this particular line. No problems. I simply hopped off, went back a few stations and transferred to the appropriate line. That is the really great thing about the subway here in NYC, any mistake you make is rarely fatal. You simply transfer to the right connection. It all seems so intimidating with the vast array of stations and lines but honestly, if you can master the subway your well on your way to getting the best this city has to offer.

My business contact was located around 125th street on the upper east side. His place was a penthouse suite with access to a roof where we spent the morning shooting the breeze.

For lunch we headed back downtown to 36th and 9th to meet with his business networking group.

After lunch we headed back to his place to conduct some more business.

It was now about 6pm so while there was still daylight I decided to head down to the Wall Street area to have a look at my old stomping ground (having worked here for 15 months prior to Y2K).

The place has changed a little, with security certainly more evident, but much of it is how I remembered it.

I continued east to Pier 17 (which hasn’t changed much at all) and then back west to Ground Zero.

There is not much to see here apart from a lot of construction. There is really not a lot for the tourist to see at all. If I get some time tomorrow I might go again and have a look.

I decided that I’d catch the PATH train to Hoboken across the river in New Jersey, where I used to live for a time when I was here. One of the PATH stations was under the World Trade Centre and still operates today. I used to catch this train every day to and from my job on Wall Street. So it was back down memory lane.

Even though the entrance is a little different you can certainly tell that much of the station is the same.

I emerged from the PATH train to the familiar scenery of Hoboken. Again, things are very similar, more than 10 years since I was last here. If anything it is perhaps a little trendier but the local Starbucks is still here along with many of the places I used to frequent.

I discovered that my old address appeared almost identical to what it looked like when I was last here. Some things just don’t change, even after all these years.

I headed back to the PATH train and hopped off at 23rd street (again, very close to the Chelsea Lodge). I called into the local diner again for dinner and headed by to the Chelsea Lodge to catch up on some more sleep as I could feel my energy waning.

One more full day tomorrow. Whatever shall I do?

NYC–Day 1

2011-06-07T16:41:00.001+10:00

Well at about 1.30pm in the afternoon I jumped on the Qantas Jumbo for one of the longest commercial flights in the world, director Fort Worth Dallas. The plan then was to connect through to New York, but not everything goes to plan now does it?

By the time we landed it was about 1.30pm local time and my connecting flight boarded at 2.50pm. Should be ok I thought. That was until I joined the immigration line. After about 20 minutes there I was able to jump the queue, due to my imminent departure.

I cleared customs quick smart with a priority pass and started to race to my gate. However, when I looked at the board by flight had been cancelled. DAMM. I headed to the gate anyway, which meant taking the monorail hey have in Dallas to move you between terminals (this place is huge).

When I got to the gate, yup the flight was cancelled and worse still was booked for the 7pm flight instead! The airlines rep said I could try my luck with a stand by for the 4.30pm flight but I said I would rather take the confirmed booking as the 4.30pm flight was fully booked as it was.

So what did I do for those extra four hours? I walked around the terminal, I had a snooze, I used the free internet (bring an Ethernet cable when you come here to take advantage of it), I went to Starbucks, etc, etc. Finally my 7pm flight boarded and it too was full.

I finally arrived at La Guardia airport in New York at about midnight. I went down the baggage claim and not seeing many bags coming on the conveyer. I checked in with luggage services people and my bag had arrived earlier. Important tip I learned last time I was in Vegas. If you flight gets delayed or cancelled, chances are you bags get sent ahead. So go check with the baggage services rather than being a dork and standing looking an empty carousel.

I located the ground services desk and made my call to SuperShuttle. They charge about $20 each way and was pretty good I reckon. Typically, on the shuttle (I chose the shared option) was, yes, you guessed it another Australia. So we discussed State or Origin Rugby League on the trip into the City.

By the time I finally arrived at the Chelsea Lodge it was about 2.30am. Luckily, I had forewarned them of my delays (even though they have 24hr reception) and I was soon in my acconmodation, finally glad here.

I’ll write more tomorrow once I have gotten some sleep.

Vegas–Day 24

2010-10-29T16:05:00.001+11:00

My last day on this trip. Given that I had to leave early in the afternoon I simply walked around a few casinos doing the tourist thing and taking plenty of pictures.

View from my hotel room.

First stop Caesars.

Atlantis Fountain at Caesars from Robert Crane on Vimeo.

Every hour on the hour even the fountains in this place do something!

Next stop, the Bellagio.

Paris Hotel from the moving walkway aside the Bellagio.

Then to the Paris Hotel.

Then to the

I waited for the water display outside the Bellagio but it didn’t happen.

Once more through the Forum shops at Caesars for some last minute shopping.

Across the road back to the Flamingo and then it was all over.

My last shot while waiting for my airport transfer.

Vegas–Day 23

2010-10-29T15:50:00.001+11:00

With SMBNation now done it was time to kick back and really act like a tourist.

I started the day hanging around with another Aussie who left the first location of the day up to me. So I took him to my favourite place in Vegas. Yes, the LAs Vegas Gun Range AGAIN!

Las Vegas Gun Range from Robert Crane on Vimeo.

From there we headed down to the Encore. There is discovered they have complete Ferrari showroom and service centre. Unfortunately, it costs $10 to get in (cheap I reckon) and you can’t photos. On show they even had a FXX and Californian. I was in heaven.

As my colleague headed out of town he dropped me at the Excalibur hotel where I was to be picked up for my Bootleg Canyon zip line tour.

By the time we arrived at the top of the canyon it was already dusk which meant that most of the runs would be done in the dark. Now having been before last year I was excited to do this again in the dark.

As you can see, in the dark you don’t get to see a lot of scenery but the whole zip line stuff is completely different. You basically have to wear a head lamp and guides give you landing instructions via glow sticks.

If you get the chance I highly recommend both the day and night zip line tours. It is something really unique.

Unfortunately by now my Pure nightclub stamp had washed off so I could get back inside.

After gettign back to town I wandered around for a while and then headed back to the Flamingo.

Oh no. Only one more day to go before it is all over!

Vegas–Day 22

2010-10-29T15:35:00.001+11:00

The final day of SMBNation.

Looking out from the conference centre on the third floor after was all over. Phew, only 2 more days before it’s time to leave Vegas.

Las Vegas–Day 21

2010-10-29T15:31:00.001+11:00

Today was the second day of SMBNation.

The end of day 2 at SMBNation is the big party night and I was lucky enough to score an invite to one these at Pure Nightclub at Caesars Casino just across the road from the Flamingo.

Here’s the check in at Caesars

The vendors ‘event’ ran until 10pm for the conference geeks but once that was finished we could remain in the night with all the ‘beautiful people’ also in Las Vegas.

So after 10pm the club opend up fully and we could go inside to the dance floor.

Pure Nightclub from Robert Crane on Vimeo.

or head up to the veranda that looked over the city.

The other thing that we found out was that P. Diddy was also playing there and that’s when the place got really packed!

All in all a great night, a late night but a real ‘Vegas’ night and if I hadn’t been dressed lick such a dag I might have felt like one of the ‘beautiful people’!

Las Vegas–Day 20

2010-10-24T02:45:00.001+11:00

Opening day of SMBNation conference.

Keynote

Picture of the room prior to my SharePoint presentation.

After the end of the day at the conference we had something to eat at a steakhouse in the Flamingo Hotel.

From there a group of us headed across the street to Caesars for a party thrown by one of the vendors.

Here’s the view from the suite looking back towards the Flamingo.

Here’s the view of the Flamingo from across the road at Caesars. My room is somewhere up there on the right (probably just over Marie’s shoulder).

Looking back to the Paris Hotel.

Here’s the view from my suite the following morning.

Las Vegas–Day 18

2010-10-22T17:21:00.001+11:00

My last day in San Francisco started with a visit to the Hiller Air Museum.

The museum is full of exhibits I had never seen before. Such things like huge unmanned vehicles, the Boeing SST program, hovering platforms, oblique wing aircraft.

After this I was picked up by a contact and taken to Sacramento (which is about 2 hours or so away) from San Francisco to meet with some business contacts and give a presentation.

After two days in Sacramento I returned to San Francisco for another presentation before heading off early to Las Vegas for the SMB Nation conference.

After arriving at the Flamingo Hotel and checking into the hotel and discovered that my room wasn’t ready yet. Luckily I dropped off my bags with another person attending the conference I knew, grabbed something to eat and then headed out to the Las Vegas Gun Range for more target practice.

First weapon of choice was a M-16

Then a Baretta pistol.

It is always an interesting experience to actually shoot some of the weapons you see on TV and movies. Very different from the way it is portrayed in my opinion.

Here’s the shop.

and the indoor range.

After returning to my hotel and picking up the keys to my room I can only show you the pictures of what $99 buys you here.

The place is huge. I have already gotten lost a number of times on my floor. If you see the length of the halls you’ll see why.

My room actually overlooks the strip and is right across the road from Caesars Palace

I’ll get some better shots tomorrow and post them up of the view during daylight.

San Francisco–Day 12

2010-10-19T00:39:00.001+11:00

So commenced day 2 in the city by the Bay and unfortunately the weather was wet.

I started off with breakfast at an American diner right next door to the hotel in which I am staying. Tim Carey from SFLink once again played tour guide and the plan for today was to spend our time in and around the major sites of San Francisco.

After parking near Union Square we jumped on a cable car for the ride to Fishermen’s Wharf.

As you can see the weather could have been better but luckily I had a seat inside the tram at the front so I didn’t get quite as wet as those actually hanging to the outside.

I find it interesting to note that these days they still allow people to hang outside a cable car through the streets of San Francisco metres from other trams

and traffic. Indeed, when you pass another car there is not much gap, especially if there are people hanging on the outside of both cars.

Still it is a lot of fun and something I’d certainly recommend to anyone who comes to San Francisco, rain or shine.

At the end of the ride is the famous Fisherman’s wharf. Here you will find an assortments of tourist shops (some of which are quite interesting) as well a number of places attempting to sell you on their seafood cuisine.

One of the interesting places that Tim took us to was the Musee Mecanquie, which basically houses a collection of old penny arcade and video gaming machines. Walking amoungst the collection I found a number of childhood favourites including centipede, battlezone, star wars and more. Entry to the Musee is free and all teh machines are in working order. This means that for 25 cents you can play them which is a great way to get some enjoyment as well as help out the museum.

The musee is right on the waters edge and across the bay you get a glimpse of Alcatraz island.

We wandered around to Ghirardelli’s Chocolate shop in Ghirardelli’s Square where we partook in some of the find examples of their products.

Given the weather conditions (as it poor weather for walking around) Tim decided that we’d head back to the car. To do that we took another cable car ride back to Union Square.

After picking up the car we headed to Twin Peaks which is a mountain that over looks the city.

Here you can see the city in the background. The main street you see in the middle is market street.

We then wound our way around the hills to another vantage point where you can get some great shots of the Golden Gate bridge.

Even some without trees!

A bit further along we stopped at China Beach.

Following the coast around we passed through the Presidio and to Fort Point.

This spot certainly offers some great view of the Golden Gate bridge,

and Alcatraz island.

Just a pity the weather wasn’t a bit better.

We then headed to Berkley to a favourite restaurant of Tim’s for a wonderful meal.

On the return trip we stopped at Treasure Island for another photo opportunity (my photos don’t do the view any justice at all!).

San Francisco–Day 11

2010-10-18T00:09:00.001+11:00

Today was my last day in Tokyo before flying out to San Francisco in the evening. Thus I had about half a day to kill which I decided to spend in and around Shinjuku.

I walked from my hotel pas the Skinjuku station and into the eastern part.

Even in these bustling areas you find the occasional escape to serenity of a temple somewhere behind the main drag.

Shinjuku is another that place that would really appeal to those with a shopping fetish.

When I arrived at this temple there was actually a weddings in progress.

So it was farewell to Tokyo and hello to the long plane ride across the Pacific touching down in San Francisco at about midday.

I was picked up my Tim Carney from SFLink and my US odyssey began. First point of call was a Costco, which is basically a warehouse shopping experience where you can buy everything under one roof. The reason for my visit here was two other Aussies had been dropped off here by Tim while he went to get me from the airport.

After a visit to another US shopping experience, Frys (an electrical retailer), we headed back to my hotel so I could grab a shower and change and get ready for some more site seeing.

After picking up the two other Aussies Tim took us into the heart of San Francisco, firstly to see the town hall (a replica of the US Capitol building).

We then headed to Lombard street. This is the famous really windy street that you see on just about all of the shots of San Francisco. As you see another San Francisco institution (the cable car) also goes right by. It actually stops at the top of the street so that tourists can grab that essential San Francisco shot.

The interesting thing about Lombard street is that you can actually drive down it.

All the streets in this area are very steep but perhaps not as famous. Tim took as a street or two over and performed another one of those essential San Francisco experiences, the ‘street chase’.

This is where you go racing over the edge and get some ‘air’ as you go barrelling down the hill. The above shot shows us waiting for the traffic in front to clear before we commence our ‘run’. Our course we had to do this a few times just to get ‘it right’. All I can say is I’m glad it wasn’t my car, but a a huge amount of fun no less.

We then headed across town to Coit tower which offers command views of the Bay.

A bit hard to see but in the distance is Lombard street.

You can actually travel to the top of Coit tower for even more commanding views of the Bay but inside the base are some very interesting murals.

A few other favourite sites you can see from Coit Tower include Alcatraz

Transamerica (even though this shot was taken from down on the waterline).

Tim then took us to a wonderful restaurant overlooking the bay near Pier One called the Slanted Door.

We ended the night with a night tour of the city and across the Golden Gate Bridge to the other side to take some night shots, which you can see didn’t really turn out.

Back the hotel for some well earned rest to ready for another day touring San Francisco.

Tokyo–Day 10

2010-10-16T10:43:00.001+11:00

Sumo Museum and stadium

Nice park nearby

Shrine to those lost in the great earthquake of 1924 and the bombings of 1944-1945.

Museum in the park.

Back through the park.

Tokyo-Edo museum.

Senso-ji temple, Asakusa.

Shibuya

Meiji Shrine.

View from top of Metropolitan Government Offices near my hotel.

Tokyo–Day 9

2010-10-15T00:02:00.001+11:00

Today it was time to move on from Kyoto and head to Tokyo. The best way to do that? By bullet train (Shinkansen) of course! You actually get 2 tickets which you need, so don’t lose either!

After breakfast I checked out and headed to the station. The Shinkansen entrance was on the same (southern) side as my hotel so it wasn’t hard to find. I placed both of my tickets into the machine together, the gates opened and I was through. It is important to insert both tickets at all gates.

Here are some links that I found helpful when it came to mastering the Shinkansen process:

http://gojapan.about.com/library/howto/htbullettrain.htm

http://mickwest.com/2007/04/02/skinkansen-tokyo-kyoto-and-back/

http://vimeo.com/4358995

http://chrisatwaseda.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/shinkansen-to-kyoto/

http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-ride-the-Shinkansen

Here’s another video someone else made:

That will give you a better idea of the experience.

I was now waiting on the platform for my train to arrive.

With each preceding train I was able to work out which half of the carriage was closest to my seat and that I would be sitting next to the windows (yeah!).

When my train arrived I jumped aboard and took my seat for the 3.5 hour trip to Kyoto.

You don’t get to see to much as they country side whizzes by and apparently on a clear day you can also see Mt Fuji, but not for me today.

We were soon at Tokyo and my next task was to find a subway station for the ride to my hotel near Shinjuku. Interestingly I had to pass through 2 sets of barriers before getting ‘outside’ the regional station. This is obviously why you have two tickets, one must be for the Shinkasen and the second must be for other regional trains. Anyway, to get of the regional station and get to the Tokyo subway you need both tickets.

Now the trick with the Tokyo subway is to find an entrance to the platform and not far away will be the ticket machines. I found a Pasmo machine, keyed in my details and gave it some credit and it spat a card back at me that I can use on the subway and recharge as needed. These are really the best way to use the subway I have found as all you need to do is simply swipe the card at the entry and exit barrier and the cost of travel is automatically deduced from the card.

I swiped past the barrier and headed down to the platform to hop on the subway. Luckily, Skinjuku is on the same line as Tokyo so all I had to do was wait a few stations.

Skinjuku is a HUGE station and last time I was here I could never get the right place to exit. This time I took my time and read all the maps and found the exit I wanted. It was very refreshing to start seeing things I remembered from my last visit. I was in the right place.

I waited in the location where the shuttle bus to my location was due to arrive. Here’s a few shots I took from that location at the lower level of the station entrance.

After about 40 minutes I began to realize that it wasn’t running at this time. This was confirmed by a friends bus conductor who had been watching me for a while and came over to tell me the bus to my hotel didn’t start till 4.30pm. Oh well, a little more walking wouldn’t hurt.

After about 10 minutes I finally arrived at my hotel, New City Hotel and checked in.

The view wasn’t as good as last time I was here as my room now just looks out onto more buildings and not onto the front road like last time.

What I like about this hotel is that it is really close to Shinjuku station (which is a major hub) and it is near the Shinjuku shopping area amongst other things that are still active after dark. The hotel is pretty basic but it is cheap, especially for a single room that suite me fine.

After a short breather I still had part of an afternoon left so I decided to use it and head out to the Salt and Tobacco museum near Shibuya station.

After changing trains I arrived in the locale and hit the streets. Typically I headed the wrong way. This is one place in Tokyo I have never been so it took a while to get my bearings.

Ends up the region is well know for its shopping and pokey side streets which doesn’t help when you are trying to find somewhere specific. I once again had to resort to Google maps as the map in my guide book was not detailed enough.

At last I arrived at my destination the Salt and Tobacco museum. A bit of a different museum. It is only really 3 floors with 1 floor dedicated to salt and 2 dedicated to tobacco. All the exhibits and explanations are in Japanese but it is still easy enough to work out what is going on.

I snapped these two shots on the salt floor before I realized that perhaps photography was frowned upon.

If are in the area and want to see a very different museum then I’d recommend that you stop by. You get a much better idea of the impact that tobacco (and salt to a lesser extent) has made over the years.

Time to head back to the hotel but the more I walked around the more I realized that this a pretty trendy area. Given that I haven’t been here before I’d like to try and make some time tomorrow to return if I get a chance.

Back on the subway. Where are all the people I hear you ask?

Here they are! Transiting like me between lines.

Finally back at my hotel ready for something to eat.

The hotel has a coin operated internet cafe at the ground level which I thought was the only internet access they had. Wrong! Turns out if you ask at the desk they will give you a modem that you can plug into your cable TV in your room and allow you internet access on your laptop in your room. Yet another reason to recommend the place in my books.

Kyoto–Day 8

2010-10-13T23:29:00.001+11:00

So I jumped back on the subway this morning and headed back north. I wanted to see more of the temples in the Daitoku-ji temple area.

Turns out there are four major temples you can visit in the complex. Yesterday I finished the day at the Ryugen-In temple and today I started out at the Zuiho-In temple.

As you can see it has a number of exquisite Zen gardens. Luckily, being the first thing in the morning there was no one else there. Very serene and a pity I couldn’t spend all day here.

Next it was off to the Daisen-In temple which has the most famous of all Zen gardens in the area. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos. Too many tourists taking too many photos with flashes has ruined for everyone else. However, it was certainly worth coming back to see this as the Zen gardens are some of the most intricate I’ve seen and I’d also have to say that the staff are some of the friendliest. I bought some souvenirs and had the head abbot sign them for me (for a fee) as my contribution to helping them maintain this amazing place.

The final temple is the Koto-In temple which is completely different from the others (they are all slight different but this is very different).

for starters it is shrouded in tall bamboo.

and instead of a rock garden it has a ‘lawn’ covered in moss (a green Zen garden I suppose). Again, you can sit on the veranda and contemplate the scenery, which is very different from any other garden I have seen during my time.

From here I headed back towards the centre of the city and to Nijo castle. It is a pretty popular place and filled with loads of school kids taking the tour.

Basically you can walk through the castle structure (again not photos allowed) and then traverse the grounds. There is probably not much to see inside the castle buildings unless you are into Japanese architecture and culture but it is included in the price of you ticket so even if you breeze through I’d still take a look.

You can then also walk the grouns.

My final destination for the day and my time in Kyoto was the Toji temple which has the tallest pagoda in Kyoto.

So all in all a very different place from Tokyo. If you are interested in the culture and history of Japan then Kyoto is really worthwhile. Many of the best sites are unfortunately a little off the beaten track and at the edges of the city but you can certainly spend a whole day in these areas seeing a whole heap of things.

So web sites I found helpful in planning my trip.

http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/index.html

http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/

http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/walking/walking-oldcapitalwalking.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2158.html

Kyoto–Day 7 (Part 1)

2010-10-13T20:30:00.001+11:00

So todays little adventure can probably be labelled Lost in Kyoto Parts I and II.

I’d managed to locate the machine that dispenses the Kyoto 2 day travel card. This provides free access to the subway and buses for 48 hours from purchase.

My aim was to head out towards the North West of the city and see the temples in that area. The only problem is that this area is not well served by the subway so I knew I would have to do plenty of walking.

After exiting the subway I headed north and unfortunately the further I went the more and more suburban it became. The more and more I realized that there wasn’t any English to help me find my direction and finally I had to admit that I was getting lost.

Time to take my first life line, my mobile phone with GPS and Google Maps. After firing it up and downloading the map I was abled to find that I was indeed heading the wrong direction. After a quick course correct I was back on track for my first destination, the Ninna-ji temple.

One of the parts of this temple is the palace that served as the residence for the ex-emperor. I would say that this is really worth seeing.

It has this amazing garden that you can look at from a wooden veranda. It is really very pretty and quite serene.

Aside from the palace there are a number of other structures on the site.

including this bell tower.

and a five story pagoda.

My next stop was to be the Ryoan-ji temple and its famous Zen garden. This meant a hike of a few kilometres further north.

So here;’s the famous Zen (or dry garden).

You can sit yourself down on the wooden veranda and just contemplate. A bit hard to do with so many people but still very serene.

Kyoto–Day 7 (Part 2)

2010-10-13T10:38:00.001+11:00

The temple was built in the 15th century and contains a number of other features besides the Zen garden.

It is basically a complete circuit and I was amazed at how well the grounds are tended, they were even sweeping up the leaves from the ground (not the path) when I passed.

A little further to the north is the Rokuon-ji temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion. Once again onto the pavement I went for the 15-20 minute journey.

As you walk in they have a bell you can 200 Yen to ring. Luckily I could stay aways and listen to its mystic sound.

When they say golden, they do mean golden don’t they?

This is a shot of a few bowls placed in the garden. All the silver stuff around them are coin people have tried to through in (and missed). I did have a go and landed a coin in one of the bigger bowls but it didn’t seem to help me later on in the day. Maybe this wasn’t teh location for help from the gods of direction?

From here my plan was to go further around to the north to the Daitoku-ji Temple but that all went pear shaped.

I continue to head north but stuck close to the road next to the mountain rather than taking a main thoroughfare closer to the centre.

I soon found myself wander through suburban streets again with not so much as an English sign. Not good. When I got to a road that disappeared up into the forest I decided it was time to back track.

I found someone at a local recreational club who spoke English and pointed up in the direction of another hill. Up I went and along the street at the top until I reached another intersection that didn’t like it was going towards a populated area.

Ok time to pull try my previous life line, my mobile and Google Maps. Seemed like I must have used up all my credit because it had no idea where I was. Hmmm…ok, this ain’t good, I found someone who looked like a policeman (maybe just a crossing guard) and between my bad Japanese and his non existent English he pointed me back in thee direction I came from.

Ok so if I’m going back the way I came I might as well completely back track to the Golden Pavilion, which is what I did.

After a very long walk I was at least back at a reference point now. As I tried to get Google maps going again on my mobile, I walked up and down a main street trying to decide the best way to go. After finally getting Google to tell me a direction I struck out for the subway.

As I trudged back along the main drag I checked my map again. Hang on, the Daitoku-ji temple should be just around here….

I found a temple off the main street that turned out to be next door to the Daitoku-ji temple, which was annoying because I’ll have to come back to see the main temple tomorrow but I’m glad I ran across this little temple as you can see from the shots below.

Even better nobody else was here! So I had the whole place to myself. After all the mucking about, going backwards and forwards, getting lost and finally ‘almost’ finding what I was looking for, this was worth it as I sat on the veranda and admired each garden in serenity.

Given it was late in the day and the temple was closing i had to leave but I’ll be back to visit the main temple now I know where it is.

I headed back to the main road and following it to Kita-Oji subway station at the very north of Kyoto. I grabbed a seat to rest my tired legs for the few short stops back to Kyoto station.

So even getting lost in a place that doesn’t show any signs of English is what makes travel experiences worthwhile. don’t get me wrong, there is always a voice in the back of your head worrying about how you’ll get back to your head but as long as you keep your wits about you (and use your lifelines – Google Maps and asking people) then things usually work out. You also get a great story to boot!

Kyoto–Day 6

2010-10-12T00:05:00.001+11:00

So I hit the road for my first full day in Kyoto.

As you can see the weather was fine and a rather hot 27 degrees C. I headed east from my hotel.

I crossed the Kamo River.

I walked along Shichijo-dori towards the Sanjusangen-do temple.

I think I paid about 600 Yen to gain entry.

Apparently it is the longest wood structure in the world. They used to have archery competition along the veranda. Apparently they still do but only once a year as a ceremony to honour tradition.

It is certainly an impressive structure from the outside.

After skirting the exterior I removed my shoes and went inside. Again, unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos but one side of the hall is filled with rows and rows of statues (and that would be hundreds) and one large statue in centre which is of the god ‘Kannon’. There are 1,000 smaller statues of Kannon with 124 made in the 12th century and 876 made in the 13th century.

There are also 28 statues in front of the 1001 Kannon statues that protect the Buddhist deity Kannon.

I continued my journey east and ran across more temples.

Interestingly, many of these were quite active with some even conducting services inside.

I came across a crowd of people heading up the hill and since that was in the general direction I wanted to head I followed along.

At the end of the road was the Kiyomizu temple.

The first sight is the gate which you walk through and head towards the temple.

View back from the gate over Kyoto.

Near the gate is this pagoda.

From memory you pay 300 yen to enter the temple (which isn’t very much at all).

This temple has an impressive veranda that is held together without a single nail.

Impressive to think that there are no nail holding all those people up the veranda.

The path then winds through a wonderful garden and makes it way back around to the front of the temple.

Back down the hill I went with everyone else.

After a few twists and turns I ended up at the Yasaka Pagoda. Note the Geisha in the front wearing green.

Here’s an examples of the streets in the area.

I then entered a memorial dedicated to the Japanese soldiers who dies in World War II. There is a small fee to enter and you also get an incense stick.

I also found an interesting memorial to all Allied soldiers killed in Japan during war (during their internment I believe). There is soil from these countries in a shelf off to teh side (including Australia).

People were also heading up the hill here so I joined them.

There seemed to be some sort of entry fee to go further up the hill so I kept going and found a path on the side that didn’t charge a fee.

At the top were two temples and a graveyard.

Interestingly, this area was far less trodden than the paid area (which you can see over a fence). It is therefore in much better condition.

So back down the hill I headed again, snapping this outside a new museum.

I continued through the street coming across many temples and other interesting sites.

I also came across the big cemetery with great view across Kyoto.

Yasaka Shrine

Heian Shrine

Kyoto–Day 5

2010-10-10T22:04:00.001+11:00

So an early start today to get the transfer bus to the airport from my hotel. No sooner had I checked out than I was on the bus and off to the airport.

Checking in took only a few short moments and I passed through immigration, changed some money and sat down at my gate to await my flight.

My trip with Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Osaka took about 3 hours but was a little hard to take now I was back in ‘cattle class’. Like I’ve said before, once you have travelled business class it is hard to go back.

I arrived in Osaka in the late afternoon and moved through customs and immigration quickly as ours seemed to be the only inbound flight at the time. Interesting, they have big signs up here about protecting against terrorism and now take your fingerprints.

Another interesting point was the customs guy asked me a few questions about what I was doing in Japan, when I planned to leave etc. Nothing major expect I was expecting that from the immigration guy.

I was now out of the terminal and looking for my transfer bus. Turns out that these leave from just outside the terminal. Basically just keep walking to the kerb outside the terminal. I located the sign telling me which bay to wait at and off I went.

I showed the attendant my ticket and confirmed that I wanted to go to Kyoto station. He nodded in confirmation so all I needed to do now was wait for the bus.

Just behind me (shown above) is the information desk where you can also purchase transfer fares. All very straight forward and nearly everything is also in English, which makes it even easier.

In a manner of moments I was on the bus on my way to Kyoto station.

I was basically freeway all the way but it took about 90 minutes to arrive at Kyoto station, where I hit the streets trying to get my bearings.

I would be staying at the New Miyako Hotel which is right near Kyoto station. Only problem was I wasn’t quite sure which side of the station I was on, but I took a punt and ended up guessing correctly that I was on the correct side.

Moments later I had checked in and was enjoying the comforts of my room.

View from my window. There is even a balcony!

Upsides? Free Internet! Downsides? No hotel safe (but that isn’t a huge issue).

Being rather exhausted after todays travels I headed down to one of the hotel restaurants for dinner and to practice my atrocious Japanese . After a great 3 course dinner for about AUD$35 I headed back to my room to plan for tomorrow’s adventure.

Hong Kong–Day 4

2010-10-10T00:32:00.001+11:00

The plan for today was to visit the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. This would mean catching the subway, so I headed toward the closest station to my hotel, Jordan.

Now the trick was to find out how to purchase a one day tourist pass on the Hong Kong subway (the MTR)

Now the ticket vending machines were easy enough to find but I discovered that:

1. They only dispense single journey tickets and

2. They only accept coin (no notes).

This meant that I needed to find an information counter which was located in the centre of the station. There I was able to purchase my 1 day tourist pass, which is good for travel on the whole MTR (except into China and via the airport express) for 24 hours. For only HK$55 this is a bargain I reckon.

So with the pass in hand I entered via the turnstiles. Here’s a video to show you how easy it is:

With only one line serviced by this station I just needed to decided which direction I would take. No matter what I chose I would have to change trains. When the first train came (headed south to Hong Kong) it was pretty packed so I decided that I’d wait and try the train in the opposite direction (to Tsuen Wan). If you ever need map you’ll find one here:

http://www.mtr.com.hk/jplanner/images/maps/routemap.pdf

So I needed to change at Lai King for the Tung Chung line.

This was easy enough to do. Basically just cross the platform.

The MTR is really easy to use. There are diagrams of the lines just about everywhere (on the station, on the train, etc) with everything given in English.

Soon I have arrived at Tung Chung and needed to locate the cable car that would take me up to the Big Buddha.

Basically you just check the signage at the station for the best exit for the cable car and head away from the station (basically in the opposite direction to the shot of the station you see above).

Another little bonus I found with the MTR one day tourist pass is that it contained a number of discount vouchers and one of these is for the cable car. With that in hand I went to the counter. Like most things these days you have lots of ‘trade up’ options. In this case you can get a package that includes some tours, a glass bottom cable car or a photo memento of your visit. I declined all these and a return trip Ngong Ping 360 cable car cost me the princely sum of HK$68 (again, a real bargain) .

So with my ticket in hand I headed through the turnstiles and waited in line to get aboard. Luckily because I was only by myself I was able to jump the queue fill up the numbers on an earlier departing car. So I think it too me a grand total of 15 minutes from the time I arrived at the station to when I was away on the cable car. However, judging my the miles of crowd control ropes it could take a lot longer.

The ride takes about 25 minutes and is well worth the fare as you get to see some fantastic sights including the International airport.

As you approach the end you get a glimpse of the Buddha from the cable car.

After you exit the cable car you end up a pretty touristy ‘themed Chinese village’ (and yes there is a Starbucks here). Be warned that it is VERY touristy but never fear you just have to walk through it.

After the village there is a pathway under the arch above that leads to the foot of the Buddha.

The old Sydney Opera House isn’t quite the furthest place from here but it is aways.

Looking back down toward the ‘Chinese Village’ and the cable car.

So I entered the base of the stairs to head up to the Buddha and find there is another small charge to be paid. It isn’t very much and you have the option of either purchasing it with a ‘meal’ or a ‘snack’. Turns out this ends up being pretty good value and another reason not to waste your money at the ‘Chinese village’. More on this a little later.

So I head up the 260 steps or so and then walk around the base.

There you will find statues of Buddhist saints (Bodhisattvas). My guide book says that you throw a coin into their cupped hands for luck but it seems the practice has been banned (most likely because of the damage that caused from so many visitors attempting this).

the surrounds are also very scenic.

You can enter inside the base of the pedestal that the Buddha sits on. Inside you are not able to take photos and you’ll find what looks like a whole lot of remembrance plates.

You can then go up two further levels and at the top level inside and view the sacred relic of the real Buddha (a tooth in crystal container which you can’t really see).

So back down the stairs I went heading for the Po Lin monastery.

Outside the monastery you can purchase and burn incense for your intentions. As you can see from the above shot you can purchase some monster sticks of incense (over 2 metres tall and thicker than my arm).

You move through this outer gate to get to the monastery proper.

Interestingly, inside this place you are allowed to take photos and I am sure glad you can because as you can see it is amazing!

and of course you can still see the Buddha in the background.

Over to one side you’ll find a nicely shaded and relaxing area where you can use the meal voucher you obtained as part of the entrance fee to the Buddha. Even though I only went for the ‘snack’ I got a good helping of noodles, two sweet cakes and a cup of coffee. I gotta say I was impressed with this ‘snack’ and felt sorry for anyone who pigged in the ‘Chinese village’ upon arrival. It kinda makes you wonder how much extra you’d get if you took the option of the full meal.

So here’s a tip, upon arrival at the Buddha. Steer past what’s on offer at the ‘Chinese Village’ and head straight for the Buddha. In exchange for entrance you’ll get a minimum of the ‘snack’ I listed above from the monastery nearby. Great value and clever marketing by the monks no doubt.

So I headed back through the ‘Chinese Village’ and towards the cable car as I didn’t have any need to stop at Starbucks (not that I would have here).

Now my guide books says that you can also take a footpath back to the station at Tung Chung instead of taking the cable car and I quote – ‘the lovely 7 km wooded path through the Tung Chung valley’. I was in two minds whether to take this but since I couldn’t find the start of the trail I decided I make better use of my time by taking the cable car back (and I had paid for a round trip anyway). Can I just say that when I looked at how much work the trail would have been (up and down plenty of steps which were quite steep in places, I decided I had made the right decision). I expect that you need to allocate a few HOURS if you want to take this route.

So back down the mountain by cable car we go.

As I headed back towards the subway station I concluded that it was going to hard to top this experience on my visit here. It is a little hard to describe and perhaps it was bit spiritual. Whatever it was, it was particularly special and something I’ll always remember. So if you are in Hong Kong put a visit to the Big Buddha high on your list.

I jumped back on the subway and decided that I’d spend the remaining part of my last day in Hong Kong at the Science and History museums to the east of my hotel.

I eventually arrived after getting off at what I thought would be a good station (turned out I was wrong and ended up walking aimlessly through some shopping centre till I gave up trying to get to the street).

After a bit of a walk my next stop was the Hong Kong Science museum. Although it is pretty much like most science museums you’ll find it was probably one of better ones I’ve been to. There are plenty of knobs and gadgets to play with and the exhibits are excellent.

It was now getting late so I headed over to the Hong Kong Museum of History rights next door.

I have to say that both of these museums are excellent value. My entrance fee to the Hong Kong Science museum was HK$25 and HK$10 to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Amazing value.

Given it was already late in the afternoon, I knew I wouldn’t have time to see the whole museum so I headed directly to the ‘Hong Kong Story’ exhibit which runs through the complete story of Hong Kong from pre-historic times till now.

Turn of the century store.

Turn of the century street scene.

Inside double decker tram.

It was now time to leave as the museum was closing. I would say that if you are running out of time then the Museum of History probably better value but both are excellent in my opinion.

I headed back to my hotel knowing that I’d had a special day in Hong Kong and wished that I had more time to see more of this unique place. I think Hong Kong is really a place that you’d need a good couple of day to really say that you’ve seen the major sites. There is just so much here. Everything is great value and in plentiful supply. If you love shopping then this place would be heaven because shopping is clearly the national pastime.

I was surprised at how clean everything was, I was expecting more grime. The only downers for me where the constant humidity (but you get used to that) and the hazy weather. Most of the places I visited would be nothing short of spectacular on a bright sunny day.

All in all, I can now understand why this city is a renown city of the world. So if you have never been, put it on your list of places to visit. I know that if I had the opportunity I’d come back because there is still so much to see and do.

Here are some additional web sites I found handy when planning my trip:

Hong Kong: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours

Hong Kong Airport

Hong Kong Walks

Hong Kong–Day 3

2010-10-09T00:59:00.001+11:00

Once again I started out with a good breakfast, hit the streets and headed to the Tin Hau temple and the Big Bus stop for the second day of my ticket.

You aren’t permitted to take pictures inside the temple but I doubt whether any would turn out given the haze on incense permeating the establishment. Although there is not whole lot to see it is still worth a look given the reverence the locals have for their gods.

I had again arrived too early and had to hang around with all the ‘characters’ in the park at the rear of the temple until the bus arrived.

Lippo Building (once owned by Alan Bond apparently)

I stayed on the bus until it reached the Peak Tran terminal and then I bailed and headed towards Statue Square.

The Cenotaph.

The Legislative Council Building.

As walked around the Legislative Council Building there was a particularly noisy demonstration going on. From what I can tell it had something to do with the world banking crisis but I may be wrong. Even though it appeared peaceful I decided (given the number of police also in attendance) that it would probably be better to skirt around, rather than go through, the protestors.

After checking my map I decided that I would head to the observation deck on the 43rd floor of the Bank of China Tower.

Once you get inside the lobby you’ll find a security scanner over on one site. Go over there and send any bags through the scanner in exchange for an ‘all clear’ card. Now take that card to the reception desk and produce some ID. A passport is probably best but I only had my driving license, which was good enough luckily. Your details are recorded in exchange for a pass.

You then take that pass over to the second bay of elevators (that services floor 43 and above). At the entrance to the elevators you’ll find a helpful security guard who shows you how to swipe you card to gain entry to the lifts. Once past the barrier you grab a lift.

Inside the lift you’ll find only two buttons, one for the 43rd floor and one for the floor you are currently. Push the 43 button and shortly you’ll find yourself on the observation deck.

After exiting the tower I headed west into the financial centre of the city.

Past the HSBC building which has these two lions outside. If you look closely you’ll see they have plenty of holes and nics. Apparently, during the Japanese occupation they were used as target practice.

I then headed to the Exchange Square for a quick drinks break.

I then headed to the escalator which is a 792 metre long string of moving stairs that runs up the hill from the afternoon till late at night (it runs down the hill in the morning).

much easier than working up steps I must say.

My next stop was the Man Mo temple where I would pick up the Big Bus again.

Prior to bus arriving I went inside the temple (again not pictures are allowed). I though the Tin Hau temple first thing was hazy, it was nothing compared to this temple. Wow, make sure you don’t suffer from breathing aliments before you enter.

Prior to the Big Bus arriving about 6 or more other tour buses arrived and disgorged their cargo of tourists (the white socks brigade again) so when my bus did turn up I had to jog down the street and catch the attention of the driver or I would have missed.

So it was back on the Star Ferry back across Victoria Harbour and onto the Big Bus for the blue route through Kowloon.

I jumped off the Tin Hau temple, which is close to my hotel to take a bit of break before heading out later in the evening.

After dinner I finished off the day with a walk through the Temple street market.

Plenty of interesting stuff and people. If you like markets and haggling this is the place for you and best of all it operates every night.