Kyoto By Bicycle

JR pass is not really helpful when it comes to wonder around Kyoto, as most subway & train in Kyoto is run on private lines. Beside, when you bought JR Pass, which valid for Shinkansen, might as well abuse it to travel to the end of Japan like I did back in August 2009.













To wonder around Kyoto, there are 3 options you can consider:

1. Bus Pass (500 yen / day) 2.
   
2. Kansai Thru Pass (5,000 yen for 3 days & 3,800 yen for 2 days)
3. Walk / cycling
   

I don’t like to wait for bus and all information about Kyoto bus (time table, route, etc) are in Japanese, which can turn simple trip to an adventure. My Japanese language is only enough to insult people instead of asking for help, so bus is not an option for me.

Kansai Thru Pass is really ideal to see most of Kyoto. I bought the 3 days pass, but I had a plan to abuse it to travel to the maximum distance it’s allowed, Nara, Arima, & Shirahama. Although in the end, I could not make it to Shirahama.













So I was left with cycling option. You can rent a bike for 700 yen for the whole day from K’s House Kyoto. Just make sure you go down to the front desk to get the bike key before 09:00 AM, or else you can only use your legs to get you around.













I cycled from K’s House as my starting point, and then;

• cycled north along the river to Kyoto Imperial Palace,
  
• North west to Ryoanji Temple to see the Rock Garden,
  
• Continued further north to Kinkakuji Temple.
  

I have saved this cycling direction in Google Map. Click here for the link.


View Kyoto by bicyle in a larger map

After cycling like a mad man for half day (and it was winter when I did this!) a stop to Funaoka Onsen is really worth it! Although it’s called onsen, it doesn’t offer any meal. It’s purely for soaking in traditional Japanese way. Funaoka Onsen opens from 15:00 PM to 01:00 AM.

Travelling Kansai - Japan

After I got such an expensive camera on my hand, and spent a month reading books and browsing the net about DSLR photography, the next thing that came to my mind was to travel and test what I have gathered about photography so far.














So I grabbed the promotion from JAL and went to Japan... again. Even though I just went there a few months ago.

This time around though, I did not purchased the JR Pass, instead I made an itinerary with 3 days Kansai Thru Pass which is much cheaper compared to JR Pass, but it was limited to Kansai region only. Detailed (my personal opinion: way too..... detailed) map can be downloaded from here.













Well, I did not really see Kansai back in August anyway and I was able to stay for 9 days in Japan this time with even less cost compare to my previous 7 days Japan trip.

If you want my detailed itinerary, you can download it from here. Let me know if you need the excel file.













In those 10 days, I visited Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Arima, with most days I spent soaking in onsen around Kyoto area.

DSLR, Understanding Aperture, ISO, & Shutter Speed

Back in December, I finally dumped a big chunk of my hard earned dollars for a new camera, a DSLR to be exact. Ironically, I used to make a joke of those who carries a big camera around are doing so to compensate their lack of size in the “other equipment”. Well, here I am today, joining the club.














I chose the standard lens package, EF-S15-85mm IS, as I though that zoom range is already more than enough. Just 3 weeks after that, I dumped another $400 for 75-300mm USM lens!

When I bought my Canon EOS 450D, I thought how hard can it be to use a DSLR? It’s still a camera, so the “point & shoot” tactic would still work, right? How sadly wrong I was.














1 month and a hundred books of photography gone by and up till today, I am still trying to grasp the whole function of DSLR. I probably read more books in that month alone, compare to the whole year back when I was in university.

I hope the information I share below is useful for those who find the explanation in the Wikipedia too technical.

Basically there are 3 things to look out in using DSLR.

1. ISO
2. Aperture (usually known as f stop)
3. Shutter speed

I found the explanation on the net is a bit too technical for a newbie of DSLR world like me. However, I found Canon Japan, provides a really easy to understand explanation, pictures, and examples.














1. ISO = film sensitivity
Following Canon’s website, let’s imagine your film as a cup. The higher the ISO, the smaller the cup

2. Aperture = the amount of light
Let’s imagine the light as water. How much water you want to put into your cup?

3. Shutter speed = exposure time
Finally, how long you want to open the water tap, letting the water to flow into your cup.

After that, everything else is logic. To get more lights, say for night photo, we can either increase the aperture opening or lower the shutter speed. In another word, either open the water tab bigger or letting it open longer.

As for ISO, I prefer to keep it down to 400 for daylight shooting and 600 or 800 for night shooting, and adjust the aperture & shutter speed to reach the picture I want. This way, I have lower “noise” that may appear in high ISO pictures.

The last advise is go out there and do the practical training rather then staying inside eating books after books, like I did.

Green Police

Probably the best follow up of the Copenhagen climate change conference back in 2009...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVhT7P0lDfI

Bali

Despite being one of the hotspot for terrorist attack, Bali is still one of the most popular destinations in South East Asia. Indonesia maybe has the biggest Muslim population in the world, but in Bali Island, 93% of its 3.5 million residents are practicing Hindu.













English is widely spoken in Bali Island, and Japanese & German are also commonly spoken, at least by tour guides.

For lodging, I would recommend a few areas depending on your taste:

• Ubud
• Nusa Dua
• Kuta
  

Ubud
The centre of Balinese culture (for tourist). The real Balinese lives in nearby area surrounding Ubud. If you are looking for nature and rice field view, Ubud is the place. Takes about 2 hour drive from the airport. Taxi fare around IDR 250,000 (USD 25), and could be double if you arrive in Bali after midnight.














Nusa Dua
Home of the upscale resorts. Located at the southern tip of the island, it offers jaw dropping view from the cliffs, sunset, and also home for Bvlgari Resort. Takes about 45 minutes drive from the airport.













Kuta
Centre of Bali’s night life and cheap lodging can easily be found here. Takes about 30 minutes drive from the airport.













The whole island of Bali is unique and even the remote places of the island itself has superb scenery, art, culture, food, and lots more. I have been in Bali a few times and even lived here for 1 month, but still can not grasp the whole island yet.

For short time holiday, I would recommend a few places that practically can be done in 1 or 2 days trip;

• Tanah Lot temple
• Ubud
• Lunch in Ubud - suckling pig
• Sukawati Market
  
• Uluwatu temple
• Sunset: watch Kecak dance in Uluwatu

Tanah Lot temple
A well known temple and another famous landmark of Bali. During the high tides, the temple looks like it’s floating on the water.













During the low tides, around 1pm – 4pm, you can walk to a small cave at the foot of the temple to see and even touch the holy snake, “guardian” of the temple.













It’s actually a wild sea snake that somehow always comes to the cave nearby the temple every morning, and yes, sea snakes are poisonous.

Ubud
Personally, I found Ubud has lost its original cultural values due to intensive tourism. If you have visited Sukawati market, you’ll find that Ubud market offers smaller range of goods. But Ubud itself still worth a stroll, especially the Monkey Forest road. Every weekend, there’s a dance performance at Ubud palace.













Monkey Forest Sanctuary - Ubud
A good side trip if you are already in Ubud . Monkeys in Ubud’s Monkey Forest is somehow tamer than the one in Uluwatu or Sangeh.

Suckling Pig
No trip to Bali is complete without a visit to Ubud, and no trip to Ubud is complete without suckling pig (babi guling) Ibu Oka.














Try to arrive before lunch time or else risk to stand in long queue, or even sold out. Believe me, it always sold out every day, leaving some people grumbling.













Sukawati Market
Rather than spending too much time haggling with street vendors in Kuta for souvenirs, I prefer make a trip to Sukawati Market. It has every kind of souvenirs, cloths, sarong, and painting. The price is also much cheaper. As a guide line, I got 1 sarong for IDR 10,000.













Uluwatu Temple
The locations is quite remote but trust me, it’s worth all the effort. The temple itself is located at the tip of Bali’s most southern point, right on top of the cliff.













Be careful of the monkeys though. They are not afraid of people, quite the opposite, in fact.













Kecak Dance
Within the same complex of Uluwatu Temple, but try to arrive before 6 if you want to look around the temple before watching the dance. Spent about 45 minutes wondering around the temple before go to the dance "theater".













The dance may be the same dance as the one they are performing in Ubud palace, but the main difference and the reason why this one is way more famous is because of the sun set scenery. As the performance progress, the sun slowly disappears behind the horizon.














Transportation in Bali
To avoid all the hassle and to see more Bali in short amount of time, I recommend you to sign up with a local travel agent, where you can tailor make your itinerary. I know most of us hate this option, but in Bali, trust me, this can save your time & money.













For me, I know a local guide that I trust. I would call / email him informing my arrival & departure date, and tell him what I where I wanna go in Bali and what I wanna eat. He would then arrange everything for me, including picking up & dropping off at the airport.













He recently built his own website, Bali Personal Tour. He speaks fluent English & German, really experienced in arranging day tour, culinary tour, and photography trip.


















Thanks to him, I saw so many Balinese culture that I know I would not be able to if he didn't show me, as it's normally reserved for Balinese only. His price is based on how far & how many places you wanna see in Bali. But, honestly, I can say that his price is below the normal travel agency.

Mutiara Burau Bay Resort - Langkawi

I stayed in this so called resort when I went to Langkawi.














I already discounted their niceee photos from their official website, by 50%. But still it could not compensate what I saw when I arrived in the lobby.














This my friend, not a resort, ok? I know English is not Malaysia’s national language, but branding this shack as a resort is a scheme! Compare it to their pictures from their website.

Now let’s talk about the room.
Again, I did not know that this resort is a cottage based style.














What lies inside these little cottages is even more awesome.


















But the absolute shocker was the bathroom condition














Luckily the direct beach is not disappointing.















And the sunset was one of the best I’ve ever seen














Well, I guess got what I paid for.

Langkawi

This tax free island is located at the northern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, about 1 hour and twenty minute direct flight from Singapore.


















Download Langkawi pdf map, here.

If you can drive, the best option is to rent a car from the airport, right after you clear your immigration. It’s impossible to miss the car rental booths as the staff are practically yelling and waving their hand to get your attention. The rental price is about MYR 150 for 3 days 2 nights. Though to get this price, it’s gonna be like passing a Malaysian haggle exam.














Taxi counter are located dead across the arrival gate. The price is fixed (depends on your destination), and you pay upfront to the counter.

Where to stay in Langkawi
Cenang beach is the most crowed beach area, a mix between 5 star hotel/resort with budget hotels. There are so many restaurants lining up on the main street, ranging from cheap to a rip off price.


















On the other hand, most 5 star resorts is located in secluded places, leaving you with no option to eat in their restaurant, unless you are willing to drive 30 minutes to town.

To get a bird eye's view of Langkawi island, you can download pdf map, here.

My suggested itinerary for 3 days 2 nights:

Day 1
Rent a car from the airport, drive to Kuah town, about 20 minutes drive. Go to a duty free shop to buy lots of wine and beer. Don’t worry about finding a duty free shop in the town, as there flourishing like a mushroom in Kuah town.














In the afternoon, watching sunset from sky bridge would be unforgettable. Unfortunately for me, it was really forgettable as the Sky Bridge was closed for yearly maintenance!














Day 2
Choose one of the tour, mangrove tour or snorkeling tour. I booked the mangrove tour from the hotel and it cost me MYR 140 / person. If you rent a car and have enough people in your group, it’s better to drive directly to the mangrove boat central in Tanjung Rhu area and rent the whole boat instead.














To charter the whole boat is just about MRY 400 (zoom the yellow board in the picture below), and you have the whole boat for your and your group only.














In contrast to my experience, there were 16 people in total on the boat.

If you saw the sunset from the sky bridge on the first day, maybe seeing sunset at Cenang Beach would be a good option.














Another option, you could drive to Telaga Harbour park where you could watch the sunset & have your dinner from one of the restaurant over there. All restaurants over here have an outside seating. My favorite place here is The Loaf.














Day 3
If your hotel’s breakfast sucks, you can go to The Loaf as they open from 7 Am in the morning