World Top 5 City Destinations

This post is just my personal opinion based on the place that I have visited so far. Some of the places maybe better than the places that I mentioned below but just because I haven't visit the place, doesn't mean the place is not nice. Each places below are rated based on 5 major criteria namely place of attraction, food, shopping options, cultural uniqueness and ease of travelling by public transport.

No 5: Munich (Score:38)

Awesome attractions which includes castle and concentration camp. Much history to learn from the city especially during the Nazi era. Being the largest city in Bavaria, the city is also the richest in Germany. Munich is well known for its annual Oktoberfest. The city has among the tastiest beer in the world. Munich always ranked high on the most liveable city list. The food with famous pork knuckles with beautiful historical architecture and people are polite as well.

Place of attraction:8/10
Food:8/10
Shopping:6/10
Cultural:8/10
Transportation:8/10


Marienplatz during sunset.

Crispy pork knuckles with beer and Sauerkraut. Eating at English garten in hot sun.

BMW city.

Neuschwanstein Castle is just 2 hours trip away via train.

Water rafting in the middle of Munich. Heavy flow of water inside English Garten.

No 4: San Francisco (Score:41)

San Francisco is a city which have fantastic view as the surrounding area hilly. Its walkable from one attraction to the others as the city small size. Famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, the weather in San Francisco is always foggy and it have a nickname of city by the bay. As the location near the sea and hilly, there is always constant breeze around the city makes travelling very comfortable in San Francisco. Food wise is delicious and good quality. Its also a city which is very liberal with many gay and lesbian restaurants.

Place of attraction:8/10
Food:9/10
Shopping:7/10
Cultural:9/10
Transportation:8/10


Pier 39 of San Francisco.

Delicious lamb shank at Olea San Francisco.

Balmy Street Murals. Virtual outdoor art gallery featuring colourful murals featuring expression of outrage over human rights and political abuse in central America.

Should not miss the icon of San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge.

No 3: Kyoto (Score:42)

Kyoto was Japan capital for more than 10 decades. The city have many historical attractions which is currently listed in UNESCO World Heritage sites. You will be amazed that more than 10 sites listed as World Heritage sites. Besides many old and historical buildings, it have a full functional Gion district which you still can watch working geisha walking around. During spring and autumn, this city boast the best cherry blossom and autumn foliage respectively in the World. You will be amazed at how beautiful it is during spring and autumn in Kyoto. The city is not as busy as Tokyo and very suitable for those who like to travel on slower pace to enjoy the scenery and learn about Japan traditional culture.

Place of attraction:10/10
Food:8/10
Shopping:6/10
Cultural:10/10
Transportation:8/10


Famous Fushimi Inari temple.

Beautiful autumn foliage at Maruyama park Kyoto.

Autumn foliage red colours at Nanzenji temple.

Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji). Its one of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Kyoto.

No 2: Paris (Score:45)

Paris itself is full of attraction. From the famous Eiffel tower to world class art museums. The city also have unique cafes which you can have a seat to enjoy the view while having tea or snacks. People here seems to relax and enjoying their life with spurge of luxury shops and high end dining places. Famous landmarks such as Louvre Museum and Notre Dame are in Paris. Do enjoy this city of romance.

Place of attraction:10/10
Food:9/10
Shopping:9/10
Cultural:10/10
Transportation:8/10


Inside Notre-Dame.

Paris at night.

Love lock bridge.

Luxury shopping and ladies heaven of Louis Vuitton.

Impressive architecture inside Palace of Versailles.

No 1: Tokyo (Score:45)

Tokyo is the largest megalopolis in the world with modern living but in old fashioned manners. Super huge city but still clean and people are polite. Amazing food selection and best quality with suits every budget levels. I have been visiting Tokyo on multiple occasion but still haven't tasted anything bad yet. Book shops are everywhere and filled with manga and special interest magazines. The transportation system is unmatchable by other cities in term of punctuality and comprehensive coverage. Traditional looking shrines and stone lanterns also scattered around the cities with amazing selection of shopping malls, ramen shops, huge high tech electrical stores and brightly lited pharmacies. Weird fashion and the hippest can be found in Tokyo especially in Harajuku and Shibuya area where youngsters gather. In 2015, Monocle magazine has ranked Tokyo as the most liveable city in the world.

Place of attraction:8/10
Food:10/10
Shopping:9/10
Cultural:8/10
Transportation:10/10


Abundance of fresh and unique seafood. Here you can have fresh sea urchin and huge fresh oysters.

Fresh wasabi.

Ginza famous shopping district.

Cool leather jacket easily available.

Traditional wedding in Meiji shrine.

Budget Paris Trip Itinerary - 6 Days 5 Nights - Spring season

It has been a while since my trip to Paris during spring of 2012. There has been a few request from the readers on my full itinerary of my Paris trip. Hope that the table below are able to help those who would like to explore Paris in the near future. Paris is a wonderful place to go and explore as its full of culture, history, shopping and fashion. If you like to travel Paris budget style but not compromise on quality, please find my trip itinerary below. Hope that you will find it useful.


Paris is not just about Eiffel Tower. It has more waiting for you to explore!

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
Day 1 (Thur)	1. Arrival 6.40am at Charles de Gaulle Airport via MH20 2. Check in at Neptune Hotel	1. Sundemans Paris free tour.	1. Champ de Elysee 2. Lamborghini test drive 3. Tea time. French baguette. Brioche Doree cafe 4. Arc de Triomphe 5. Le Marias	1. Dinner. L’As du Fallafel 2. Chocolate shop. Maison Georges Larnicol 3. Visiting Carrefour for breakfast stock
Day 2 (Fri)	1. Versailles Palace – Main building	1. Versailles Palace – The gardens	1. Versailles Palace - Marie Antoinette’s estate	1. Musee du Louvre – World largest art gallery and to view Mona Lisa. 2. Dinner. Le George V cafe for escargot
Day 3 (Sat)	1. Breakfast – Tang Gourmet 2. Montmatre - Sacre Coeur	1. Montmatre funicular ride 2. Bersih event in Paris	1. Notre Dame Cathedral	1. Dinner. Le Jean Bart for sliced duck 2. Eiffel Tower at night
Day 4 (Sun)	1. Fontainebleau Palace		1. Musee d’Orsay for Impressionist masterpieces	1. Dinner. Leon De Bruxelles for French style mussel
Day 5 (Mon)	1. Pete Lachaise cemetery. Burial place for famous people.	1. Lunch. Obododo cafe for pork rib with honey sauce 2. Galeries Lafayette shopping centre	1. Sainte Chapelle church	1. Dinner. Dudule Restaurant
Day 6 (Tue)	1. Breakfast. Boulanger Patissier for goat milk quiche 2. Travel to Amsterdam by Thalys train

Hotel Neptune @ Paris, France

For those who follow my blog, you are sure wondering where did I stay during my last trip to Paris. Due to my busy schedule, I only have the convenience to post this entry now. I booked this hotel a day before I reached Paris. The hotel accepts the booking and efficiently checked me in when I reached Paris early morning since there is empty room available. This hotel is clean, good location, fast wifi and friendly reception. The location is very good as its nearby supermarket (Carrefour), eating area and just within 5 minutes walk to Place d'Italie metro station which is the intersection for 3 metro lines (line 5,6,7). It also very convenient if you plan to take RER train. From Paris Nord, you can just use line 5 and reach this hotel directly without any transfer. Do bare in mind that you many not want many transfer in Paris as this means a lot of stairs climbing with heavy luggage. If you are someone particular about wifi, this hotel is good for you as the connection is stable and fast. Grocery shopping is also easy as Carrefour is just 10 minutes away and there is also bars and French and Chinese restaurants nearby. The bed is comfortable and toilet are clean. My 5 nights stay here is good and fully recommend this hotel for everyone. If you can speak Mandarin, language is not a problem here as most of the workers here are from China.

Rating:9/10(Recommended for everyone either solo traveller, budget traveller, partner or family. The location, service and wifi is great. The place is quiet and you can rest well at night after whole day of travelling in Paris).
Price:Around USD90 or MYR290 for a twin share room per night. Good for budget traveller who wants privacy and convenience.


Very nice bedroom. This room can stay for 2 persons.

Clean toilet with soap and tissue available.

Located at Rue Godefroy.

Coordinate/GPS: 48.831843,2.357377
Address: 15, rue Godefroy, Place d'Italie, 75013 Paris
Metro station: Just 5 minutes walk from Place d'Italie station.

Paris to Amsterdam by Thalys

Thalys is a high speed rail service between Paris and Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne. I decided to take Thalys train as oppose to take flight due to travel by train is easier and basically you don't need to be 2-3 hours before departure to reach the platform for boarding. By taking train, you only need to be at the platform about 15 minutes before departure. Flight with Paris and Amsterdam is priced at such an expensive price an its not worth it. The journey from Paris to Amsterdam by Thalys takes around 3 hours.

Due to my flight from Kuala Lumpur is on standby basis, I have no choice but to book this train quite last minute. And at the time, I booked my ticket, I notice that the price of second class cabin is the same as on the first class cabin. Sure when you are paying for the same price, you will take the best available offer. First class cabin comes with free reading material, WIFI and meal. I would give my thumb up on the meal offered. Its tasty and good quality. Another good thing is that they start serving after each stop. So they served me 3 times during the journey.

From Paris, passenger need to board the train from Gare du Nord train station and follow the signboard for Thalys.


This is the red colour Thalys train.

This type of time display board is still in use. Its a really old train station.

Time for boarding train 9339.

First class cabin. Red colour seats and huge comfortable chair.

My lunch. Courgette terrine with mint, tomato coulis, salmon fillet with guacamole, organic quinoa salad with herbs and roast aubergine slices. Wow such a technical dish name!

Zoom in the meal to make this blog reader hungry :-)

I request for free red wine of Emilen D'Albert from France.

Pistachio cheery tart.

Butter cake.

Finally I reached Amsterdam Centraal station.

For more information on the Thalys train service, please visit: http://www.thalys.com/

Impressionist masterpieces at Musee d'Orsay @ Paris, France

Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It is best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces and it is the largest in the world by such painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

I am quite fortunate that I am able to step into this museum. I only reached the entrance at 5.00pm on sunday and I am leaving Paris on monday and they closed on monday. Wow, I almost missed it. As soon I gained access to the museum, I went to look for a few famous painting that I read before such as Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin & Seurat. The good thing about arriving late is that they let you in for free and they don't want to disappoint anyone who have been queuing for quite some time but due to time, they are not able to go in. Its amazing to see most of the museum in Paris that people are dying to try to get inside there!


Musee d'Orsay is previously a railway station (Gary d'Orsay).

Very nice interior and creative to convert railway station into reputable art museum.

Painting by Renoir.

Sculpture on the main corridor.

Main corridor.

Admission fee: EURO 10.
Opening hours: Open from 9.30am to 6pm daily, except Mondays. Late night on Thursdays until 9.45pm. Last tickets sold at 5pm (9pm Thursdays). Museum cleared at 5.30pm (9.15pm Thursdays)
group visits, pre-booked only, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4pm (Thursdays until 8pm). Closed on Mondays, on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
Metro station: RER Musée d'Orsay (C) or Métro Solférino (12).
Address: Rue de Lille 75343 Paris, France
GPS/Coordinate: 48.860367,2.325068

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery @ Paris

When I told my friends that I visited Pere-Lachaise Cemetery as part of my Paris trip they mentioned to me that "don't you feel creepy and scary visiting such place?". Most of the people gives don't quite agree to visit this place. But for me, visiting this cemetery is quite worth while and the way to know French life and how they appreciate the dead. The tomb shape is quite unique and this cemetery is very well maintained and become one of the top tourist attraction in Paris. Do you know that this cemetery is the most visited cemetery in the world and it also a site of three World War 1 memorial.

Père Lachaise is still an operating cemetery and accepting new burials. However, the rules to be buried in a Paris cemetery are rather strict and only for people who die in the French capital city or if they lived there. Its difficult to get buried in Pere-Lachaise nowadays as there is a waiting list and very few plots are available. The gravesites at Père Lachaise range from a simple, unadorned headstone to towering monuments and even elaborate mini chapels dedicated to the memory of a well-known person or family. A lot of the tombs are about the size and shape of a phone booth, with just enough space for a mourner to step inside, kneel to say a prayer, and leave some flowers.

According to official website of the city of Paris, to date, one million people have been buried there.


Tomb.

Cone shaped tomb.

Mini chapel tomb.

Each section of the cemetery is divided by division.

Creative.

Tomb for whole family members.

This place is hilly.

Phone booth tomb.

Normal grave.

Pyramid shaped tomb.

Towering monument.

Metro Station: The Paris Métro station Philippe Auguste on line 2 is next to the main entrance, while the station called Père Lachaise, on both lines 2 and 3, is 500 metres away near a side entrance. Many tourists prefer the Gambetta station on line 3, as it allows them to enter near the tomb of Oscar Wilde and then walk downhill to visit the rest of the cemetery.
Address: Boulevard de Ménilmontant.
Coordinate: 48.859802,2.3909