The view of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory from the Telstra Tower on Black Mountain.
Canberra - "Bush Capital of Australia"
It has been a while since my last blog post and since mid-2017, I had changed jobs and relocated from the Land of the Rising Sun (Tokyo, Japan) to the Land Down Under (Brisbane, Australia). Recently, I had the chance to travel domestically for work in Australia for the first time and got to visit the so-called Bush Capital of Australia, Canberra for 5 days at the end of October 2018.
The view of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory from the Telstra Tower on Black Mountain.
The view of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory from the Telstra Tower on Black Mountain.
More than One Month in Haiphong and One Day in Hanoi
From March 17, 2015 to April 14, 2015, due to working on an international (Japanese) aid funded transport-related project for work, I stayed for more than one month in Haiphong and one day in Hanoi. (usually it would be the other day around, right?)
This was my second time in Vietnam and my first time in Northern Vietnam. The first time was last year when due to work purposes again, I stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for around one month.
One of the symbols of a typical Vietnamese city and Haiphong, a colonial French-style opera house, topped off with giant national flags and a portrait of Uncle Ho to show who is in charge these days.
This was my second time in Vietnam and my first time in Northern Vietnam. The first time was last year when due to work purposes again, I stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for around one month.
One of the symbols of a typical Vietnamese city and Haiphong, a colonial French-style opera house, topped off with giant national flags and a portrait of Uncle Ho to show who is in charge these days.
Ho Chi Minh City - "Independence, Freedom, Happiness"
On May 11, 2014 I was assigned by the Japanese company that I work for to Ho Chi Minh City (a.k.a. Saigon) for 41 days to work on a project at the local project office.
The skyline of modern Saigon from the window of the project office, a rapidly changing city. What will it look like 10 years later?!
The skyline of modern Saigon from the window of the project office, a rapidly changing city. What will it look like 10 years later?!
2011 Taiwan Trip: Taipei Back to Tokyo
April 4, 2011 was our last day in Taipei ending our week long trip to Taiwan. On this day our flight was in the afternoon so we still had the morning to explore a little bit of Taipei before we left.
Takeoff from Taipei's Songshan Airport on a cloudy day with the Taipei 101 building sticking out in the background.
Takeoff from Taipei's Songshan Airport on a cloudy day with the Taipei 101 building sticking out in the background.
2011 Taiwan Trip: Taipei - Martyrs Shrine, Grand Hotel and Maokong
On April 3, 2011, during the last full day of our Taiwan trip in 2011, we explored a bit more of Taipei. We went to visit the Martyrs' Shrine had a buffet lunch at the Grand Hotel and went to Maokong.
Changing of the guard at the Martyrs' Shrine.
Changing of the guard at the Martyrs' Shrine.
2011 Taiwan Trip: Presidential Building (總統府) and Tamsui (淡水)
During our Taiwan trip in 2011, on April 2, 2011, we explored a bit more of Taipei after getting out of the Taipei area for the previous 2 days to visit Taichung and Kaohsiung.
We were lucky that our trip coincided with the official open house of the Presidential Office Building of the Republic of China (Taiwan) that only happens once per month and on that month it happened to fall on April 2 so the first thing we did that day was visit the Presidential Office Building.
The Presidential Office Building from a distance.
We were lucky that our trip coincided with the official open house of the Presidential Office Building of the Republic of China (Taiwan) that only happens once per month and on that month it happened to fall on April 2 so the first thing we did that day was visit the Presidential Office Building.
The Presidential Office Building from a distance.
2011 Taiwan Trip: Taiwan by High Speed Rail - Taichung (台中) and Kaohsiung (高雄)
On March 31, 2013 and April 1, 2013, on our week long Taiwan trip, we went to Taichung (台中) and Kaohsiung (高雄) respectively.
One of the major reasons was to try out Taiwan's high speed rail line which opened in 2007 and to see how it compared to Japan's Shinkansen. Unfortunately, at the time, Taiwan High Speed Rail did not offer a rail pass for tourists like Japan and other European countries, but luckily the ticket prices were not so expensive, compared to say, that of Japan's.
Also we wanted to see how other cities in Taiwan looked like outside of its capital of Taipei. Since our hotel booked for the week was in Taipei, we had to pick some destinations which would work for a day trip. From the guidebooks it seemed like Taichung and Kaohsiung would be interesting places to visit...
The high speed trains of Taiwan with the distinctive orange stripe. What is interesting is that the only other places that uses Japanese Shinkansen trains for high speed rail are Taiwan and China, with Taiwan using the newer model while China uses the slightly older one. The trains that Taiwan uses are actually a derivative of the trains that run on the Tokaido Shinkansen line in Japan.
One of the major reasons was to try out Taiwan's high speed rail line which opened in 2007 and to see how it compared to Japan's Shinkansen. Unfortunately, at the time, Taiwan High Speed Rail did not offer a rail pass for tourists like Japan and other European countries, but luckily the ticket prices were not so expensive, compared to say, that of Japan's.
Also we wanted to see how other cities in Taiwan looked like outside of its capital of Taipei. Since our hotel booked for the week was in Taipei, we had to pick some destinations which would work for a day trip. From the guidebooks it seemed like Taichung and Kaohsiung would be interesting places to visit...
The high speed trains of Taiwan with the distinctive orange stripe. What is interesting is that the only other places that uses Japanese Shinkansen trains for high speed rail are Taiwan and China, with Taiwan using the newer model while China uses the slightly older one. The trains that Taiwan uses are actually a derivative of the trains that run on the Tokaido Shinkansen line in Japan.
2011 Taiwan Trip: Taipei - National Palace Museum, Official Residences and Markets
On our second day in Taipei on March 30, 2011, visiting museum and museum-like attractions took up the bulk of our day.
The main museum that we visited on that day, the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院) from the outside, designed as a fusion of 1960s architecture combined with traditional Chinese architecture.
The main museum that we visited on that day, the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院) from the outside, designed as a fusion of 1960s architecture combined with traditional Chinese architecture.
2011 Taiwan Trip: Taipei - Presidents and Towers
March 29, 2011 was the second full day of our week long trip to Taiwan. It was my first trip to Taiwan and my mom's first trip to Taiwan in 20 years. On this day we mostly spent the time exploring Taipei.
My mom had heard that Taipei had been "completely rebuilt" after the devastating 1999 earthquake and wanted to see how "modern" Taipei had become since the last time she had visited ages ago.
The symbol of Taipei, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
My mom had heard that Taipei had been "completely rebuilt" after the devastating 1999 earthquake and wanted to see how "modern" Taipei had become since the last time she had visited ages ago.
The symbol of Taipei, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
2011 Taiwan Trip: Flight from Tokyo Haneda to Taipei
On March 28, 2011, as a continuation of the almost one month long trip that I took with my mom when she visited me in Japan while I was studying there, we flew to Taiwan for a 1 week trip.
I booked the hotel and flight package from Rakuten Travel and it was surprisingly cheap. The 7 nights, 8 days package including the airfare cost 140,000 yen (US$1400) for 2 people. That is like 70,000 yen (US$700) per person for 7 nights in a hotel and the airfare!
The airline in the package was All Nippon Airways and the flight was from Tokyo Haneda airport to Taipei Songshan instead of the much farther Tokyo Narita airport. Because international flights from Tokyo Haneda airport are usually targeted to business travellers, the flight tickets are usually much more expensive, thereby making this hotel and flight package even more of a deal!
Historically, Tokyo Haneda airport was designated for domestic flights while Tokyo Narita airport was designated for international flights. At the time, they changed the laws to allow for short distance international flights to Asia at Tokyo Haneda airport so an international terminal was newly built.
The brand new international terminal at Tokyo Haneda airport.
I booked the hotel and flight package from Rakuten Travel and it was surprisingly cheap. The 7 nights, 8 days package including the airfare cost 140,000 yen (US$1400) for 2 people. That is like 70,000 yen (US$700) per person for 7 nights in a hotel and the airfare!
The airline in the package was All Nippon Airways and the flight was from Tokyo Haneda airport to Taipei Songshan instead of the much farther Tokyo Narita airport. Because international flights from Tokyo Haneda airport are usually targeted to business travellers, the flight tickets are usually much more expensive, thereby making this hotel and flight package even more of a deal!
Historically, Tokyo Haneda airport was designated for domestic flights while Tokyo Narita airport was designated for international flights. At the time, they changed the laws to allow for short distance international flights to Asia at Tokyo Haneda airport so an international terminal was newly built.
The brand new international terminal at Tokyo Haneda airport.
