Pics from my Winter Holiday Tokyo - New Zealand - Singapore

Transcription

1 Pics from my Winter Holiday 2016 Tokyo - New Zealand - Singapore Kristi Rohtsalu February 2016

2 Part I: Tokyo Six days in the Land of the Rising Sun

3 7 January: Arrival Can you speak Japanese? I was first asked in the customs. No, not a thing But at least there are Burger King, Starbucks and 7-Eleven. So, it should work in any case. And it did. I found Tokyo one of the most welcoming large cities (if not the most welcoming) where I have been so far. 3

4 8 January: Visiting Tokyo Stock Exchange Then: Tons of paper work Now: Flashing numbers It was so quiet there! Even during the trading hours. Gone are the open-outcry trading and the times when stock prices were written on a blackboard. 4

5 9 January: Attending Grand Sumo Tournament Opening Ceremony with Sangenjaya International Meetup I m the one with blue hat 5

6 10 January: Climbing Mt. Takao, about 50 km from the center of Tokyo Apparently, it s very busy there, especially during the weekends. Expect to see and experience quite a bit of Buddhist. 6

7 11 January: Lexus International Gallery Aoyama, Sony Building & Sound Planetarium, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Observatory 7

8 12 January: Walking over 918m long Rainbow Bridge to Odaiba Discovering a replica of the Statute of Liberty here in Tokyo Nicely prepared sushi for lunch to add some color to this grey and cold day 8

9 Part II: New Zealand Three weeks in the Land of the Long White Cloud D

10 14 & 15 January: In Auckland (1/2) A view from Mount Eden, the highest of the Auckland volcanoes (196m) 10

11 14 & 15 January: In Auckland (2/2) The City Neighborhoods Auckland Domain Auckland Art Gallery: a piece of art 11

12 16-18 January: Queenstown / Arthurs Point (1/3) I stayed by Claire and JP Arrowsmith; it turned out to be a great choice Shotover River and home, sweet home in the Arthurs Point 12

13 16-18 January: Queenstown / Arthurs Point (2/3) Just the Ben Lomond saddle; Queenstown and lake Wakatipu in the background 13

14 16-18 January: Queenstown / Arthurs Point (3/3) Queenstown: Looks like a small town 14

15 19-20 January: From Queenstown to Stewart Island via Invercargill InterCity bus that transported me from Queenstown to Dunedin It had a cool driver, btw. Wide streets of Invercargill It s such a small plane to Stewart Island And the Invercargill Airport has only one gate: Gate 1 My first glance to Stewart Island: So this is the jungle I m about to go! 15

16 21-23 January: Stewart Island / Rakiura Track, Day 1 of 3 The chain link sculpture at Lee Bay marks the entrance to the Rakiura National Park Maori Beach swing bridge Accommodation in Port William Hut before and after hikers moved in for the night: fairly modest Grey sand and a bit of flora 16

17 21-23 January: Stewart Island / Rakiura Track, Day 2 of 3 North Arm: It s beautiful, isn t it? 17

18 21-23 January: Stewart Island / Rakiura Track, Day 3 of 3 Views, historic sites, mud I did it (despite of the rain)! 18

19 24-26 January: Trip from Stewart Island to Franz Josef (1/2) One of the last glances to Oban / Halfmoon Bay Morning in the Queens Park in Invercargill Fantastic collections in the Southland Museum and Art Gallery 19

20 24-26 January: Trip from Stewart Island to Franz Josef (2/2) Another fairly modest accommodation, this time in Base Queenstown for the stopover Most of the day in the bus behind: it wasn t that bad after all Mandatory stop for Thunder Creek Falls Here we go 20

21 27 January: Peters Pool & Franz Josef Glacier (Little walk followed by hot chocolate and Glacier Hot Pools) 21

22 28 January: Walking (climbing) Alex Knob in a cloudy day On the way Apparently, some found it a good idea to dry their shirts there in the top 22

23 29 January: Bus trip to Greymouth Visited the national KIWI Centre in Hokitika, on the way from Franz Josef to Greymouth It was not allowed to take a pic of the kiwi; so I took a pic of this lovely little blue fish with big bulging eyes instead 23

24 30 January: Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki, just on my way InterCity buses in NZ stop for such attractions. This day we had a notably great, funny etc. driver too. Everybody, listen! He is great, one of the passengers announced at the end of the trip. I fully agreed. 24

25 31 January: Trip from Nelson to Picton to Wellington There are many boats in Picton Don t cross the Cook Strait, cruise it! or so they are InterIslander On the background: a view from the bus window while travelling from Nelson to Picton (Note the clouds!) 25

26 1 February: Trip continues from Wellington to National Park Village They even have golden houses in Wellington And this little bird welcomed me to National Park 26

27 2 February: Walking the Tongarino Alpine Crossing (1/2) Well, walking a world-renowned trek means that you are hardly left alone. They all want to see it 27

28 2 February: Walking the Tongarino Alpine Crossing (2/2) Illusion of magical stillness I was there too 28

29 Part III: Singapore Six days in the Lion City D

30 5 February: Arrival to Singapore Yeah, it s clean but not THAT clean here I was welcomed by the tropical heat and rainfall. During the next few days, the Rochor Centre showed me the way back to my hotel. 30

31 6 February: In the Singapore Zoo Zoo and Year of the Monkey Do you know the bite force of a crocodile? Like these guys (or girls?) in the background: the one on the right is weighing nearly 300 kg and is years old (or young). 31

32 7 February, pic 1: Sentosa Island Yes, that point is here on Sentosa And so was I. Like a picture from a Tour Magazine 32

33 7 February, pic 2: Singapore Night Marina Bay Sands: One of the giant shopping centers that is worth a look On the background: Singapore s national icon, the mythical Merlion with the head of a lion and the body of a fish 33

34 7 February, pic 3: Festivities of the Chinese New Year, Year of the Monkey Celebrate they can. No wonder that the streets are relatively empty on the daytime (given the population density) if they have such an active night life. 34

35 8 February (1/2): In Coney Island Park One could almost pretend that there are large forests in Singapore 35

36 8 February (2/2): Some more pics There will be room for many more people in Punggol That s how Malaysia looked from Singapore Little India looks always busy. Night walk in Chinatown: it s 3:51 AM 36

37 9 February: Festivities continue Of course, the Monkey and the Dragon were there. 37

38 10 February: Observed everyday life of regular people in Singapore Where they live Where they work How they spend their spare time 38

39 The End Let s get back to work. 39