Posts Tagged With: Travel

白浜 Shirahama @和歌山 Wakayama, Japan

Once we arrived at 白浜駅 Shirahama Station, we quickly made our way to 三段壁 Sandanbeki and 千畳敷 Senjojiki via bus.

三段壁 Sandanbeki is a cliff with rocks engraved with the works of nature. Ripple marks were created on the surface of the layers about 16 million years ago when waves and currents moved sand and mud from the seabed. At the bottom, there’s a legendary cave where Kumano naval force hid ships as long ago as the Heian Era, and one of Japan’s largest bronze statue Murodaibenzaiten is dedicated in the cave. One can pay to go down an elevator to the cave but we didn’t venture.

千畳敷 Senjojiki meaning “one thousand tatami mats” is a rocky coastal plateau in Wakayama known for unique geological formations. This is a vast, white, terraced rock plateau eroded by the Pacific Ocean, allowing for coastal hiking.

The weather was beautifully sunny—great for photos, but not so great for our sun-fried selves, LOL! Luckily, a refreshing strawberry-flavored shaved ice (¥150) from one of the souvenir shops revived us a little.

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Categories: Dinner, Food, Japan, Travel, Wakayama | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

熊野古道 Kumano Kodo @和歌山 Wakayama, Japan

Our main activity for this trip was to walk the 熊野古道 Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trails, which are ancient pilgrimage trails on Japan’s Kii Peninsula, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site along with the sacred sites they connect.

The trails offer various trekking options, ranging from half-day strolls to multi-day treks. Since we aren’t the most active couple, we opted for the easier half-day walks, on the Nakahechi pilgrimage route. The route starts from Tanabe on the western coast of the Kii Peninsula and traverses east into the mountains towards the three famous Kumano grand shrines, namely 熊野本宮大社 Kumano Hongu Taisha, 熊野速玉大社 Kumano Hayatama Taisha and 那智大社 Nachi Taisha.

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Categories: Japan, Travel, Wakayama | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Taipei Trip 2023

Scoot started having its Tuesday promo, and we found a relatively inexpensive deal! After hubby mentioned it to a few friends, we found ourselves an additional companion for the trip and a free Taiwan SIM card plus free MRT rides between Taoyuan Airport and Taipei Main Station. 🙂

It was K’s maiden trip to Taipei, and she wanted to try beef noodles and do more scenic visits, so this trip deviated a bit from the 8-meals-per-day kind of itinerary, haha! Hubby wanted to eat a lot of braised pork rice, so I die die squeezed in 4 meals of beef noodles and braised pork rice into the itinerary. Happy bellies, happy companions 😛

This time, we decided to stick to our our usual hotel stay in 新驛旅店台北車站 CityInn Hotel Taipei Station. Note that Branch II and III are just side by side, and we have stayed in both before. Both felt the same.

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Cafes in 台北 Taipei, Taiwan 2023

Cafes in Taiwan were relatively more expensive compared to local food options, and since we were no longer young with huge appetites anymore, we only managed to visit 4 cafes during this short 4-day trip.

Note that you are expected to order at least one drink per person or there could be a minimum expenditure per person required at the cafes.

Given the extensive cheap local foods available, we may well end up visiting less cafes in future in Taiwan,

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Categories: Coffee/Tea Break, Food, Taiwan, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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