Asia
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Doha Travel Guide: Getting Around, Top Sights & Best Things to Do
We had slept for almost 11 hours managing to catch up on the lost sleep from our overnight flight. We woke refreshed at 8.00 a.m. and then enjoyed a long, relaxing breakfast on the terrace of the hotel’s Al Terrace restaurant enjoying the gentle breeze. I started the day with a glass of freshly squeezed…
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Qatar Airways Stopover Programme Review: All You Need to Know
A series of posts on my holiday to Doha, Jakarta and Bali which I visited in autumn 2019 and haven’t documented previously. I realise that we can’t travel right now but are all itching to leave our homes and start exploring again be it near or far, so for the time being why not sit…
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Review: Arban Hotel, Busan, South Korea
Hotel Review Location: Busan is South Korea’s second largest city, situated on the south eastern tip of the Korean Peninsula and is noted for its beaches, mountains and temples. We had taken the Korail high speed train direct from Seoul arriving into Busan in 2 hours and 45 minutes. We were then pleasantly surprised to…
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Exploring the Museum of Toys, Singapore – A Must Visit for Toy Lovers
We were up shortly after 7.00 a.m. so that we could make the most of our final day in Singapore. Breakfast in the hotel’s Crystal Cafe had been good all week and it ended on a high with my favourite roti prata and bread and butter pudding both being included in the morning’s selection. Reluctantly…
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The Ultimate Guide to a Day at Sentosa, Singapore
We made an early start to the day as it was our intention to travel over to Sentosa Island before it started getting busy. After our breakfast in the hotel’s Crystal Cafe we took the MRT to HarbourFront station and then followed signs for the Sentosa boardwalk. Visitors to the island can reach Sentosa by…
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Guide to Walking the MacRitchie Trail, Singapore – Tips, Routes, and Highlights
I helped myself to some nasi goreng at breakfast but the hotel’s version was made with salted fish which had a distinctive strong flavour which didn’t appeal so I moved on to some curry puffs and french toast that was more to my liking. Breakfast over, we picked up some bottles of water and headed…
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Mt. Faber Cable Car and Henderson Waves Walk – Singapore’s Scenic Adventure
After spending the previous day on the tranquil and unspoilt island of Pulau Ubin, it was a change of scene with a visit to Sentosa, dubbed the island of fun! From our hotel we took the MRT from Somerset on the North East line over to HarbourFront station as the Singapore Cable Car runs from…
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A Day in Pulau Ubin, Singapore – How to Get There and What to Expect
At breakfast this morning along with my usual yoghurt and fruit I sampled some fried carrot cake. This tasted quite good but I’m unsure how it gets its name as it is neither a cake nor does it contain carrots! It bears no resemblance to the sweet carrot cake popular in the west but is…
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Why You Should Take The Fullerton Heritage Tour, Singapore
After a leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s Crystal Cafe where we were tempted into sampling many Asian delicacies, we took the MTR to City Hall station. Just outside the metro station stands the anglican St. Andrew’s Cathedral so we started our day there as we were slightly early for our planned activity. The cathedral was…
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Exploring Kampong Glam, Little India, and Supertree Grove – Singapore’s Cultural and Iconic Sights
After a good night’s sleep, we were interested to find out what breakfast would be like. Although the Orchard Grand Court is a serviced apartment, it also offers guests the option of an inclusive breakfast in its Crystal Cafe. Unlike the apartments which have a contemporary feel, the Crystal Cafe is a traditionally furnished restaurant…
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Flying AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and getting from Changi Airport by public transport
It was our final morning in Kuala Lumpur and we started the day with a relaxing breakfast. We then returned to our room to finish off our packing before checking out of the hotel. The lifts were still out of order at the nearby monorail station so once again we had to manoeuvre our heavy…
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How to Visit Putrajaya from Kuala Lumpur – Travel Tips and City Highlights
It was my favourite morning at the Holiday Inn Express as I noticed that the delicious flatbread roti canai was on the menu and I couldn’t resist having several slices along with my usual selection of cheese, fresh fruit and yoghurt. We had planned to spend the day in Putrajaya, 25 km from Kuala Lumpur…
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Guide to Visiting Batu Caves and Menara Tower, Kuala Lumpur
Alongside my usual breakfast selection I couldn’t resist a bowl of bread and butter pudding and custard, a little heavy for so early in the day but delicious nonetheless. Weighed down with our puddings we took the monorail to KL Sentral to transfer onto a KTM Komuter train to Batu Caves located to the north…
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Malacca Highlights – Organised Day Trip from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We were up bright and early as we didn’t want to have to rush our breakfast as we’d arranged to be picked up from the hotel at approximately 8.45 a.m. for a day trip to Malacca. Although we usually travel independently, getting to Malacca and seeing all the main sights scattered around the city isn’t…
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Explore Kuala Lumpur’s Civic District – History, Architecture, and Top Attractions
We slept really well, not waking until our alarm went off at 7.30 a.m. despite the five hour time difference from Qatar. Breakfast was served in the large, airy restaurant on the first floor, a little too airy perhaps as on future mornings I planned to wear a cardigan! There was a large variety of…
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Qatar Airways Doha to Kuala Lumpur – Flights, Arrival, and Public Transport Guide
It was just after 2.00 a.m. when we boarded our Qatar Airways A340-600 flight at Hamad International Airport bound for Kuala Lumpur with a journey time of 7 hours 55 minutes. Our selected seats of 21A and 21B were situated on the second row of the economy cabin and the seating configuration of 2-4-2 meant…
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Review: Souq Waqif Boutique Hotel, Doha, Qatar
Hotel Review We had taken advantage of the Discover Qatar Programme which is available to passengers who have booked flights with Qatar Airways and can be taken in either direction of travel. After booking flights it was very easy to add the Discover Qatar programme to our itinerary, with visa free entry being available for…
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Why You Should Visit Katara Cultural Village & The Pearl, Doha
We slept until 9.00 a.m. but as we had a long day ahead of us, it didn’t matter. It was so nice to be able to ring for the club car to meet us at the door and take us over to the Al Mirqab Hotel for breakfast on its terrace. As we had enjoyed…
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How to Make the Most of a Day in Doha – Top Sights, Food & Culture
We had slept like logs in our extremely comfortable bed and ignored the phone alarm at 7.00 a.m. preferring an extra hour in bed. Finally raising the energy to get up I was brought back to life in the shower which probably had the largest monsoon head that I had ever seen and I lingered…
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Discover Qatar Airways Doha Stopover Programme: Key Features
I had travelled down to London the previous evening where I met my son at the Premier Inn, Gatwick Airport. This hotel is conveniently located at the north terminal and can be easily accessed from Gatwick Railway Station at the south terminal by means of the inter-terminal shuttle service which takes only two minutes. It…
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Exploring Stanley by Bus – Hong Kong Travel Guide
It was our final day in Hong Kong and fortunately it was to be a long one as we had arranged overnight flights back to the U.K. The sun was shining brightly through the large windows of the hotel restaurant as we enjoyed our final breakfast at the IBIS North Point. Back in our room…
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How to Get to Lamma Island, Hong Kong by Ferry – Travel Guide
We woke to yet another bright, sunny morning and after eating breakfast we took the MRT to Central and sped along to ferry pier 4 with just a few minutes to spare before the 10.10 a.m. fast ferry to Yung Shue Wan on Lamma Island departed. We paid the HK$16 (£1.60) fare using our Octopus…
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Sha Tin’s Monastery of 10,000 Buddhas: How to Visit, Tips, and Highlights
Our plan for the day was to explore places in Hong Kong that we hadn’t previously visited. We started off the day with a journey on the MRT to Hong Kong University station (HKU) Exit A. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 and is the city’s oldest university. It is located on…
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Tai Kwun, Hong Kong: Why This Old Police Station Is a Must-Visit
We thought we had set our phone alarm for 7.30 a.m. but for some reason we didn’t wake until just after 9.00 a.m. Fortunately, our lie in didn’t affect our schedule and we still had time for breakfast in the hotel before going out. Our plan for the morning was to take the MRT to…