Saturday, December 21, 2013

Tokyo, Japan Notes

Sightseeing 


There is a public bus "Tokyo Shitamachi Bus" or "Tori Bus" that takes through the most famous tourist places. It is a public bus that cost 200 yen per ride adults.
You can also purchase one-day pass for 500 yen.

Bus runs every 20 minutes.
You can pay when boarding the bus, only coins or 1000yen accepted.

On weekends it has an extended route and goes to additional 3 stations: Tokyo Station, Nihombashi and Akihabara.

Timetable and Bus stops here


Must DOs:

- Eat fresh sushi for breakfast at Tsukiji market (grab a map and navigate yourself to the restaurants, check out the market itself); Have cash ready, not credit cards.
- Various temples in the area
- Robot Cafe show Robot Restaurant (Shinjuku) (do not order with meat - find dinner to eat around the are instead). Arrive earlier, follow instructions. Book tickets online here: http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/system.php?lng=en 

Where to eat:


  • After arriving to Shibuya - head to Genki sushi (5 min walk from train station);
  • Other good meals: Shabu Shabu beef; fresh sushi in the morning at Tsukiji market. 



Sunday, August 18, 2013

Costa Rica

Day 1. San Jose airport. La Fortuna.
Day 2. La Fortuna. 
Woke up early because of few hours difference. Hotel brealfast was nice but continental. 
Went off to find some tourist activities. Rented 4wheel cars and rode to the river.  Worked out the $40 per hour deal instead of regular $90. 




Thursday, June 20, 2013

Gift Wrapping Idea - Jeppesen Maps


Jetlag Benefits


Hotels in Baden-Baden, Germany

Baden-Baden is famous for it's SPAs.  It has two termal SPAs.

  1. Caracalla located in Romerplatz 1, Baden-Baden
  2. Freidrichbad (Roman-Irish) 


List of inexpensive hotels in Baden-Baden, Germany.
It took me 3.5 hours on a plane to put together this list. Later, I did not go to Baden-Baden after all. I am posting the list for my own future references.

The main thing to have in mind when searching for cheap hotels is to look for an address. It should say "Baden-Baden" as a city. Otherwise you are risking to end up with  a long commute everyday to reach that bathhouse you wanted to visit so badly.

Hotels:

  • Kull von Schmidsfelden Hotel $57 with free wi-fi and breakfast
  • Hotel Am Froschbachel $71 
  • Henre-Punant Platz 2, Buchl (this one is way to far from Baden-Baden though)  
  • Faxe Schwarzwalder Hof #68
    Weinstrasse 79, Kappelrodeck
  • Christliches Nichtraucher-Hotel $64
    Sonnenbring
    Olgastrasse 65, Bad Wildbad
  • Hotel Beck 85 euro, 
  • Hotel Regent 61 euro
    +497221973880  
  • Hotel Merkur 82 euro
  • Bad Hotel zum Hirsch 90 euro
  • Guesthaus Auerhahn 59-79 euro  - two buses from Hbf, one bus to City center/
    +4972217435
  • !!Hotel am Markt 60-80 euro 
    Marktplatz 18 +49722127040
  • !!Historic Hotel Rathausglocket from 77 euro +49722190610

Hostels:


  • Werner-Dietz Jugendberge
    Hardbergstrasse 34. Check-in time 17:00 15-27 euro.
  • Booksunshine
    Augustplatz 25-30 euro - private room, shower on a floor.


Getting Around Munich, Germany

When you arrived to the MUC airport, there is a train from Flughafen (airport in German), it runs right from there.
The city center is Main platz. There are two trains that go there. S8 and S1. The fastest is S8. I made a mistake and took S1, it took me 45 minutes to get to the city center. S8 goes straight to the center while S1 goes around the whole city and makes lots of stops.

Costs:
It cost 10.40 euro for one-time trip from/to Flughafen. If you plan to take more Subway trips that day - buy 11.40 euro all day pass.

Other things about Munich:

Main bus station called Munchen ZOB Hackerbrucke
Address: Arnulfstrasse 21, Munich
+498945209890
---Taking bus to get around Bavaria is often more convenient and much less expensive that trains.

Main train station called Munchen Hbf
is located near bus station (just one stop away on S-bahn).



List of inexpensive hotels in MUC near Hauptbahnhof

I put this list together when I was preparing to stay in Munich for a day, while commuting to the States.
  • InterCity Hitel Munchen 80
  • Condor Gastro GmbH *** 85
  • !! Hotel Modern * 55
  • Atlas CityHotel  *** 50
  • Pension/Guesthause am Hauptbahnhof 58
  • Hotel Jessin 35 
  • !!Easy Palace Station (Smart Stay) 39
  • Hotel Tessin 35
  • Hotel Dolomit  9  


Prices at June 2013 

P.S. I guess you can call yourself well-traveled when you can spell "Hauptbahnhof" without mistakes. Lol