All packed and ready to go! Percy is ready for lots of nephew cuddles at the airport tomorrow 🙂
Author Archives: Mel
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Only three more sleeps….
Four more sleeps!
Only four more sleeps!
I haven’t really packed yet but meh, I have all of Friday morning to sort that out. Plus I have a list. So nothing can go wrong right?
My burton ski pants from torpedo 7 arrived (amazing) but unfortunately while the L is too small, the XL is monstrous. Waaaaah. Taking both and I’ll sort it out when I get there.
The maximum temperature for Sunday when we arrive in Niseko is going to be -7C. Chilly 🙂 I have all my thermals and good jacket ready to go in my carry on. Not to mention my awesome dalek beanie which was a Christmas present from B.
Categories: Japan Snow Trip
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Japanuary ahoy! :)
So, we are off to Japan in just 9 sleeps. I AM A LITTLE BIT EXCITED. That might be putting it a bit mildly….SNOWSNOWSNOWSNOW!! I have never been near real powder snow before so I am a bit nervous, the excitement is definitely ruling over the nerves though.
I did say I would do a more detailed blog post once work had finished up which was a week ago but I have been busy Christmas shopping, reading and sleeping so this is the first chance I have had to sit down and do it. Okay that isn’t true, but it is the first time I have felt like writing 🙂
9 sleeps! So where are we off to and when….
- We leave Perth on Saturday Dec 28th at 11am. We are flying domestic to Sydney, then swapping to the international terminal and flying to Narita (Tokyo). From there we swap again to a domestic airline and fly up to Sapporo, then it’s a coach trip of a few hours to our accommodation near Hirafu. All our flights are with Qantas, although the domestic one is with a partner airline. Although the actual flying time is not that long (17hrs approx), the stopovers, multiple flights and coach trip mean our travel time is close to 30hrs. Buh.
- We are staying at the Freedom Inn, just outside of Hirafu which is so pretty! The guy who runs it is English and super friendly, he has helped us book and organise all my ski hire and lessons over email as well as arranging for the first night we are there to order in dinner (no restaurant on site) and take us out to an onsen when we arrive to soak away some of the travel pains. He also sorted a coach for us from the airport so we don’t have to swap trains to get out there (a bit of a nightmare with a snowboard and suitcase).
Freedom Inn
- We are staying at the Freedom Inn until January 10th. This means we will spend NYE in Hirafu which should be interesting! I hear the village goes a bit nuts haha. The plan for this part of the trip is snow, snow, snow. Lots of boarding, skiing, throwing of snowballs, frolicking and so on. We can even do some night time skiing. I am sure I will need a few days off (I don’t think I can ski for 11 days straight!) so I plan to attempt some hiking, enjoy the onsens and see what else there is to do. Massage? Massage anyone?
The different trails we can explore on the mountain
Late evening/night skiing is something we might try. Depending on how well I am going in powder!
Onsens are something I am really looking forward to…once I get over the fear of being naked in front of LOTS of people (who are all the same sex as you). Onsens are heated baths that are apparently amazing to relax in after a day on the snow. We shall see how my anxiety copes with that idea.
- On January 10th we head back into Sapporo and fly down to Kyoto with JAL. We then catch the train into Kyoto and have accommodation booked in central Kyoto. We probably won’t get into Kyoto until the evening on that day due to flight times so I imagine it will be an early night. The 11th I plan to explore Kyoto and visit some temples and the palace, the 12th we are going out to Hiroshima for the day (History teacher Mel can’t miss that experience) and on the 13th we are going out to Nara; in Nara I get to feed the deer at Deer Park! Plus just enjoy a more relaxed day in a quieter area. On the 14th we will spend the morning in Kyoto exploring a bit more before catching the bullet train up to Tokyo.
Deer Park in Nara
- We are booked into a hotel in Tokyo until the 17th. So on the night we arrive (the 14th) we are going to see Tokyo Tower at night time and (hopefully) to some nice restaurant B has been to before…mmmm yum. Then on the 15th IT IS DISNEYLAND TIME!! The 16th we are going to Ueno Zoo to see the pandas and polar bears (can you tell I go to choose all the stuff for Tokyo?) and then on the 17th we fly back in the evening. During the day we will explore Tokyo a little more as our hotel has a luggage drop option so even though we have to checkout all the bags can stay there. We have a late departure (around 8pm from memory) and an overnight flight into Sydney very early, then on to Canberra. I will leave all my snow gear in Canberra and fly in to Perth Sunday January 19th.
That’s all folks! I am getting pretty damn excited about it all now. Had a bit of drama with my snow pants not being sent when they were meant to be (thanks heaps for that Torpedo 7) but luckily a Canberra friend sent a pair over with B and they should fit. Fingers crossed! Other than that I am fully organised and ready to go – accommodation paid for, clothes sorted, yen sorted, ski gear sorted (including my own ski boots this time!), thermals sorted annnnnd of course a long list of people to buy mickey mouse ears for at Disneyland SORTED!
Mel xo
P.S. How awesome does this look? SNOWSNOWSNOWSNOW!
Looking down to Hirafu Village and back up to Mt. Yotei
Japan!
More detailed post to come once I finish work for the year but here are some photos of the Freedom Inn which is in Niseko. We will be staying there for the snow/ski part of our trip 🙂
4 weeks, 2 days and counting…..
Categories: Japan Snow Trip
Tags: asia, holiday, Japan, japanuary, niseko, overseas, snow, snow trip
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Percy is off on a new adventure….
Come December 28th 2013 Percy the platypus (with Mel and her best buddy B) will be off on a NEW overseas trip.
Percy will be spending 3 weeks in….
JAPAN!
Please note: we aren’t going overseas with batman. Really. I swear. Or some creepy person who only has a letter for a name because secretly they think it is way cooler than having a normal name like Mel. Percy and I are just travelling with a friend who likes to not have his name (or photo) all over the internet, so he will hereby be referred to as B. Don’t expect to see any photos of him either lovelies, although there will be lots of me running amok! Sake anyone?
Places so far on the “list of awesome stuff to visit” include:
– Niseko for 10 days of powder skiing
– Kyoto
– Hiroshima
– Tokyo (yay Disney land!)
Percy and I are both super excited 🙂
A summary of Percy’s adventures
Just for you Anna! And all the other Percy lovers out there 🙂 Percy had a great trip but is glad to be home and back with all his friends.
Percy having a beer at Perth airport before the flight
How exciting, first time on a plane!
Woohoo 7am and we are on the contiki bus for day 1!
All tucked up in bed while we get ready to hit Amsterdam the first night
The Heineken brewery experience in Amsterdam
Anne Frank Huis
Now on to BERLIN! Where Percy was almost lost forever in a stairwell (someone rescued him though)
The Jewish memorial in Berlin
Mmm snickers mcflurry!
Percy did visit the Berlin Wall and all the other locations in Berlin with us but I think the photos are on my camera sorry…
Percy’s adventures in Prague. Percy and I really liked Prague 🙂 we want to go back again soon!
Percy loved the view off Charles bridge
Percy had a great time discovering public transport – NOT!! We got so lost lol.
Ah Percy, you’re a drunk
Percy and I on a river cruise in Prague
Just dive right in to that CRAZILY CHEAP VODKA in Prague little buddy
Now it was Oktoberfest time in Munich.
Percy got a Percy sized stein….
Mmmmm beer he says!
Just dive right in….
Platypus mother Mel drank a lot of beer which may explain the photo before his one…
Long day for Percy. Hat thief!
Onwards to Venice. Not many photos of Percy in Venice as it isn’t really a safe place to be constantly opening and closing your handbag. He was there though!
Venice was very pretty
Percy went on a gondola ride and snuggled on the love seat with emma and Amelia
Mmmm street pizza
Austria on the way to Venice – beautiful
Now Rome! My 2nd favourite place after Prague…
We visited the Pantheon, trevi fountain and Spanish steps that first night…
Percy thought this castle was amazing
The colosseum!
Mmmm gelato
Yay Florence! Not many photos here…mother Mel and auntie emma…drank a lot and ummmm….yeah.
Looking all pretty before heading out for dinner. Sorry I came home really drunk at 1:30am Percy! Errrr and then left for Switzerland at 6am still really drunk hahaha
The bed in our hotel room…. for midgets obviously
Mmmm cocktails….messy
Yay, view from the bell tower. Which almost killed me to climb
There are no Percy pics at Pisa. I’m amazed there’s actually one of me. So hungover on the way to Switzerland!
Percy in Switzerland (where he was very upset not to climb mt Pilatus on the cool train. Rah)
Percy was sad cos Mel was homesick and missing her beautiful nephew 😦
The boat cruise and ferris wheel ride on lake Lucerne helped everyone cheer up though
Chapel bridge in Lucerne, where the famous water tower is
Mmmm macaroon
PARIS!!!!! Hooooooraaaaay. Last contiki stop and almost the end of our adventure.
Up the Eiffel Tower! 2nd floor cos you couldn’t see anything but fog at the top (we still went up though)
We saw the Mona Lisa at the louvre
We climbed the Arc de Triomphe
Moulin rouge was amazing. Percy stayed home for that one though
He was sad to say goodbye to the bus mascot, a British bulldog!
Percy and the rest of contiki were lucky enough to see the Eiffel Tower light up at night
At the end of contiki we spent a few days in London! Not many photos of Percy here as I explored on my own a bit and he had to stay in the hotel room one day because I ran out of handbag space. He was there in spirit though!
He rode the tube a lot. Terrifying at first but I had it nailed by the end!
He got a new buddy at the natural history and science museum! Baby T-Rex.
Big Ben
London bridge
SQUIRRELS IN THE PARK!!!!
Last night in London, he stayed in and we went to Hard Rock Cafe
Important life lesson for all – don’t eat at heathrow airport….you will get food poisoning and suffer miserably for the entire flight!
Thanks for following Percy’s adventures folks! 🙂
…and home!
Well I am finally home and happy in my own bed!
We checked out of the hotel yesterday morning and headed straight out to heathrow. I had some drama with my carry on bag breaking (stupid zip) but after sitting on my suitcase I managed to get all my crap into it.
The flight left heathrow for Doha an hour late (no surprise) but it meant when we got to Doha we literally had to run from the plane to the bus then to the terminal and then to our gate! As we were boarding in Doha I started to feel really gross – not just sleep deprived but dizzy and hot. On the plane the flight attendant gave me lots of water but it got worse and worse. By the time we took off (an hour late again) I was in tears.
Hello food poisoning!
Worst 13ish hours on a plane EVER. Stuck in a middle seat throwing up and suffering severe stomach pain. I
wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.
I was so glad to get off the damn plane tonight and SUPER glad that Sarah came to pick me up complete with fizzy drink and a bucket to spew in. Now I am home in bed relaxing (before exam
marking begins) and the holiday is all over 😦
I give Qatar airlines 3.5 out of 5 for really good onboard service but their planes all ran late and their airport is CRAP!
Contiki gets 3 out of 5…I enjoyed the experience but the fact we couldn’t plan anything as we didn’t know what was happening until the night before was infuriating. Not to mention the number of “buy stuff here” things we had to do. It was very good value for money though.
Tune hotel in Westminster gets 4 out of 5. Tiny, tiny little rooms but the location and the price were absolutely worth it.
Europe as a whole gets 5 out of 5 because I loved it! I particularly want to go back and explore Prague, Paris and Rome. Not to mention Greece and Eastern Europe and, and, and…
Thanks to all my lovely blog readers and followers! You guys are the best xo
Now to decide where the next trip is going to be….
Day 23 – London (ow my feet hurt)
Another long but productive day! It’s 11:30pm here and I’m 5 cocktails down so I preemptively apologise for my spelling….
Today was a very long day as it was our last full day here. We got up early and headed off to Waterloo station which was…terrifying…so many people and trains and lines and signs and, and, and PEOPLE! We sussed it in the end and after a line swap hopped off at the London Bridge stop near the London Dungeon. Arriving 15 mins before it opened still left us waiting in line for half an hour but once we got in it was great. The tour goes for 90mins and I highly recommend it, I screamed a lot and emma got burnt at the stake muahahaha must have been all the blaspheming you did in the churches young lady!
After the dungeon we walked up to the Tower Bridge and took lots of photos before walking across to the tower of London. As it was almost 1pm we decided not to go into the tower and leave it for the next time we are here so we headed on towards the London monument. My dad suggested this as a must see and it was great although I had about 3 asthma attacks on the way up the 311 bloody stairs. I know it was 311. They gave me a certificate which says so! I tried to pay the entry with all my useless copper coins and got kindly told to “fuck off” so that plan failed. I ended up giving them all to a guitar player in a subway.
The monument was awesome, it was very cold and windy at the top but the views of the London skyline were amazing and I highly recommend it.
After climbing the monument, we caught the tube to a stop near Trafalgar Square and wandered around there for a bit, then through the marble arch and back down to the palace for emma to take touristy photos. We then walked along the side of St James’s Park I went to yesterday with all the squirrels and another one jumped on me! This time on my leg! Emma got a photo, I was so excited haha. She ran through the park trying to make the squirrels her friend but they wouldn’t have a bar of it. They were definitely anti-emma squirrels!
We walked up to Big Ben and then caught the train to Oxford Circus for some last minute shopping (hooray for pretty dresses) before dinner. We trekked back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe at about 5pm. You can’t book there so we just had to show up, the guy on the phone said before 7pm was a pretty short waiting times. Lies! We got there at 6:40pm and were seated just before 8:40pm by which time I’d had a loooooot to drink. They were damn good drinks! The food was amazing and I rocked out to all the music playing. The service was awesome too and they were very apologetic about our long wait.
We had to walk for ages to find a cab after dinner and I recruited help from friendly casino bouncers but we made it back in the end (£20 later).
Now to get up early tomorrow and pack. Ergh. Then we leave tomorrow afternoon for a 5pm arrival in Perth on Thursday 😦 no more holiday fun time….
For now!
Categories: Europe 2012
Tags: cab, hard rock cafe, london, monument, shopping, squirrels, tower, tower bridge
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Day 22 – London baby! Yeah, yeah
Woohoo what a great day.
We met for breakfast at 8:30am at the coffee shop under the hotel as it is cheap and easy. After a toasted sandwich we caught the tube from here to Baker Street and walked up to Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. We got there as it opened and the line was massive already…note to self: go early for the london dungeon tomorrow.
The wax museum was awesome. I took heaps of dorky photos like me with wolverine (mmmm Hugh Jackman) and me with Captain Picard…I mean Patrick Stewart….
Oh and of course one with Shrek 🙂 all my girlfriends will like that one!
After the wax museum we headed our separate ways for the day as Emma really wanted to shop and I really didn’t. She hopped off the tube at Oxford Street and I headed off to the science museum. It was AWESOME!! The natural history museum was pretty cool as well, especially the dinosaur section which had a life size moving T-Rex.
After T-Rex love, I did a little bit of shopping at Zara’s (yay, pretty birthday dress) and bought some souvenirs. I walked all the way from the museums down to Buckingham Palace and took some photos. It started to rain at that point but the walk through St James’s Park was still beautiful and I saw lots of squirrels. THEN ONE CAME AND SAT ON MY FOOT! I squealed like a little kid, Japanese tourists took heaps of photos of me. I didn’t get one of him on my foot but I did get one of him sitting next to me eating a nut. I love squirrels.
.
I walked through the park and down towards the house of parliament and Big Ben. I also walked through Westminster Abbey which was beautiful.
After Westminster Abbey I walked across the Westminster Bridge and back to the hotel. All in all, I walked about 12kms today and I am exhausted! Tomorrow we are planning to go to the London Dungeon, Tower of London and the London Bridge so HOORAY more walking. The day after that we leave to come home *sad face*
Percy did come out with me today but because it was raining a lot and I was on my own, it’s hard to take pics! He will have to live vicariously through me 🙂
Categories: Europe 2012
Tags: adventures alone, big Ben, buckingham palace, london, Madame tussauds, parliament, tube, wax museum
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Mel's Travel Blog 