Budget London Trip Itinerary - 8 Days 7 Nights - Spring season

London is an expensive city to visit. However, you can do it well under budget of MYR2500 (500 Pound) for one week for food, entrance fee and within London travel expenses exclude flight if you are able to plan well. Do skip insignificant places which charges high entrance fees as London free museums are world class standard and you will need a few days just to visit them. The good thing about London is the entrance to the major museums such as British Museum, Tote Modern, Victoria & Albert museum and Natural History Museum are all free. Being a capital of United Kingdom, there are many food options, culture and attractions to visit. Do try out the food from many ethnic groups here for the unique taste.


Oyster card is a must for budget traveller in London. If you stay for one week, do consider an Oyster card and load it with one week unlimited travel on zone 1 and zone 2. Applicable for both London tube and buses.

Iconic red telephone booths.

St Pancras railway station.

Shopping area of Piccadilly Circus.


Me with the Royal palace guard. Its end of winter so the guard need to dress in thick clothing. You can only see the red guard uniform during summer.

Mummies of British Museum.

Punk and gothic area of Camden Town.

The Royal Albert Hall.

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
Day 1 (Wed)		1. Travel from Kuala Lumpur to London via Malaysia Airlines on Airbus A380 flight. The journey takes approximately 13 hours.	1. Check in at Palmer Lodge Hillspring hostel near Willesden Green Underground Station.	1. Japanese sashimi don dinner at Sushi-Say shop near Willesden Green Underground Station. 2. Having night view of Houses of Parliament of England by Walking around Westminster.
Day 2 (Thur)	1. Breakfast at Palmers Lodge Hillspring hostel. 2. Visiting St Pancras railway station. This railway station is known for its beautiful architecture. The King Cross station located beside St Pancras is also having great architecture view inside.	1. Joining SANDEMANs NEW Europe London Free walking tour. This a 2.5 hours tour to get a glimpse of London. 2. Changing of guards at St James Palace 3. Changing of the Horse Guards Parade	1. Late lunch at The Old Monk. Having fish and chips.	1. Visit London Chinatown by stopping by Leicester Square tube station. 2. Visit Piccadilly Circus to view London largest billboard area. This area is known as Times Square of London. 3. Visit M&M's World London 4. Roasted duck rice dinner at Four Seasons in Chinatown.
Day 3 (Fri)	1. Having Bombay potato khobez as early breakfast. 2. English breakfast at Franx Cafe in Covent Garden.	1. Visiting shops and event watching around Covent Garden. 2. Visit Camden Town. Punk and hipster of London.	1. Heading to Canary Wharf then switch to London DLR tube to go to Greenwich. Meridian Greenwich is located near the Greenwich station. This is where the international time zone starts (GMT). There are many attractions around Greenwich such as Cutty Sark ship and Old Royal Naval College.	1. Visit British Museum to view mummies and famous artifacts. 2. Fish & chips dinner at Rock and Sole Plaice in Covent Garden.
Day 4 (Sat)	1. Breakfast at Palmers Lodge Hillspring hostel.	1. Lunch at Ace Cafe London. Nice cafe with big bikes around.	1. Chelsea stadium. 2. Lewis Leather shop. Interesting shop with beautiful leather jackets.	1. Shopping in Oxford Street. You can find bargain in Primark. Working and casual shirts is so cheap here. You can't believe that you get such price in London. 2. Dinner at Beijing Dumpling in Chinatown, London.
Day 5 (Sun)	1. Visit Tower Bridge London 2. Sightseeing outside of Tower of London. You can view London tallest skyscraper (Shard) from here. 3. Famous Portobello road market. Do visit this road market specialized on food and antiques if you happen to be in London during weekends.	1. Indian food lunch at The Monsoon in Brick lane, London 2. Sightseeing around Brick lane and visit sunday Brick lane market.	1. Modern building of Lloyds of London. This is corporate body underwriters which have futuristic building during the time of completion in 1986.	1. St Paul Cathedral 2. Seafood noodles at Golden Dragon Restaurant.
Day 6 (Mon)	1. Borough Market 2. Modern arts at Tate Modern museum.	1. Millenium bridge	1. Late lunch at Bricklane Brasserie. 2. The National Gallery. Short visit as near to closing time. 3. Trafalgar Square.	1. Walking to Westminster station. 2. Vietnamese food as dinner in Viet Pho nearby Leicester Square London tube. 3. Piccadilly Circus billboard viewing and photography.
Day 7 (Tue)	1. Brought Falafel and Houmous wrap from Tesco as light breakfast 2. Proper breakfast/lunch at Regency Cafe 3. Strutton Ground with many fancy bakery shops around.	1. Victoria and Albert museum. This is a great museum to visit. 2. Royal Albert Hall. 3. Natural History Museum. This museum have a large collection of dinosaur skeletons.	1. Late lunch at Marks & Spencer Marble Arch 2. Window shopping at The Harrods. Knightsbridge tube station.	1. Dinner at Italian restaurant of Ristorante Cappuccetto 2. Sightseeing around Leicester Square.
Day 8 (Wed)	1. Burberry factory outlet visit. Not recommended to visit as price is not that cheap. Nearby Hackney Central tube station.	1. Neal's Yard cheese shop 2. Gold mine Bayswater roasted duck.	1. Back home London to Kuala Lumpur via Malaysia Airlines on Airbus A380.

Budget Amsterdam Trip Itinerary - 5 Days 4 Nights - Spring season

Amsterdam as a beautiful place with many canals, bridges, waterways and thousands of 17th century mansions which is build side by side. The place is very tourist friendly with paved bicycle track, boat trip in the canals and multi-cultural community. The place also famous for its delicacy such as herring, stroopwafels and cheese. If you go further, you can find traditional windmill and tulips garden which is iconic to Netherlands. Amsterdam is an open city which tolerates sex clubs and dope smoking. Do come here if you have chance to savour the beauty of this Dutch capital.




Beautiful tulips in Keukenhof. Come here from Mar-May each year if you don't want to miss viewing this tulip garden.

Wondering if you know what type of chocolate is this in Albert Cuyp market. Just look don't touch!

Amsterdam hype about marijuana. From marijuana drinks, cakes and cookies.

Do sample their cheese, its delicious.

Windmill at Zaanse Schans.

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
Day 1 (Tue)		1. Travel from Paris to Amsterdam via Thalys fast train. 2. Check in at Trianon Hotel @ Museumplein 3. Walking around Dam Square and scenic selfie at Amsterdam canals.	1. Purchased some grocery at Albert Heijn store. You can get quite a good deal from Albert Heijn and can get Dutch delicacies such as Stroopwafels here.	1. Traditional Dutch meal dinner at Haesje Claes
Day 2 (Wed)	1. Breakfast at Trianon Hotel. 2. Visiting Keukenhof the largest flower garden in the world. The garden is located at Lisse. You may purchase the combo ticket online (bus + adult entrance ticket).	1. Continuation of Keukenhof visit.	1. Visited the Roman Catholic church of De Krijtberg Kerk.	1. Traditional Dutch dinner at Oud Holland located opposite Dam Square.
Day 3 (Thur)	1. Breakfast at Trianon Hotel 2. Following SANDEMANs NEW Europe Amsterdam Free walking tour. This is a tip based 3 hours walking tour which will covers Dam Square surrounding.	1. Visiting windmill in Zaanse Schans	1. Following SANDERMANs NEW Europe Red Light District Amsterdam tour. This is a two hours walking tour around red light district of Amsterdam.	1. Steak dinner at Cocina Argentina (Mas Y Mas) near Amsterdam Chinatown
Day 4 (Fri)	1. Visit flora Holland flower market. This is the world largest flower auction centre located in Aalsmeer. Come early to watch the flower auction process.	1. Visiting Albert Cuyp Market. This is Amsterdam largest open air market. Do try a variety of cheese samples and delicious herring. 2. Having Kroketten at Cafe Hoppe	1. Orange Day parade	1. Dinner at Asian Kitchen
Day 5 (Sat)	1. Van Gogh museum	1. Amsterdam river cruise	1. Dutch snack bitterballen at Het Gasthuys	1. Flight going back home Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines

Budget Tokyo Trip Itinerary - 4 Days 3 Nights - Sakura season

Tokyo hanami season starts in late March or early April and lasts about a week. The exact dates is different year by year depending on weather. This is the most interesting time to visit Tokyo when the cherry trees (sakura) bloom everyone wants to be outside. Companies, friends and families hold hanami parties under the trees.

There are literally hundreds of sakura viewing spots in Tokyo and during my this short trip to Tokyo, I cover three of the main hanami spots: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Ueno Park and Showa Kinen Koen. My visit to Tokyo this year is a bit late so I miss the full bloom in Ueno Park. However, full bloom can still be viewed in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden as usually the cherry trees are late bloomer type. Tokyo is among the most expensive place in the world and my plan below which I did it economically and fun.


Sakura in Shinjuku Gyoen.

Tulip garden and sakura at Showa Kinen Koen.

Nanohara and cherry trees.

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
Day 1 (Thur)	1. Arrival 7.00am at Narita International Airport via MH88 2. Taking train to Tokyo city via Keisei Skyliner package 3. Check in at Fukusen Hotel	1. Sushi lunch at Ameyoko, Ueno 2. Ueno Park for hanami viewing/sakura.	1. Ameyoko street market 2. Tea time. Having ramen at Aji No Tokeidai Ramen 3. Harajuku walk 4. Shibuya walk 5. Visit Book Off Shibuya	1. Dinner/supper. Chicken soup ramen at Minami Senju.
Day 2 (Fri)		1. Lunch. Sushi Zanmai lunch set at Akihabara 2. Sakura viewing at Showa Kinen Koen	1. Shopping in Koenji.	1. Dinner. Smart Sushi at Koenji.
Day 3 (Sat)	1. Breakfast. Sanuki Udon Hanamaru at Akihabara.	1. Sakura season at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden	1. Shimo-Kitazawa	1. Dinner. Curry Tonkatsu at COCO Ichibanya, Shimo-Kitazawa. 2. Shopping in Shibuya.
Day 4 (Sun)	1. Travel to Shanghai via Japan Airlines

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

Keukenhof @ Lisse, Holland

Let me post this blog entry first as Keukenhof for 2012 season is going to end on 21st May 2012. Each year, this park only open for two months which starts from 21st March to 20th May. This is also one of my backpack tour highlights to Europe. Keukenhof is currently the world largest flower garden with almost 7 million flower bulbs. Initially I thought I just need 2-3 hours for the flower garden but it turns out that I spent almost 6 hours there. I am quite lucky as the weather on that day is sunny and good. For the previous few days, it was raining in Amsterdam.

The park is huge and besides flower, there is a small interesting farm in there. The farm act like a children playground to learn about animals. Every year, the flower arrangement is based on a country' theme. And this year Poland was chosen.

Keukenhof is not in Amsterdam. You will need to take bus number 58 from Schiphol airport. The journey by bus takes around 45 minutes. In order to save cost and time, I would recommend that you buy the combo ticket online at 21 Euro per person. The combo ticket includes the entrance fee and return bus to Keukenhof and back to Schiphol airport.


Keukenhof farm shot from bus.

Main entrance to Keukenhof.

Greeted by tulips at the entrance.

Yellow, orange & red.

My timing was good. The flower was blooming.

This is known as Marconi.

Its impressive.

So many tulips and all different colours.

Red and purple.

Nice arrangement.

The flower towards the white horse rider statue.

Smell good.

Many old folk visitors.

Another angle.

So much flowers.

The bottom purple is lavender. The smell is so good.

Directly on top the flowers.

Signboard at the main intersection.

Tulip exhibition.

White tulips.

Windmill of Keukenhof.

Another impressive display.

So pretty.

Lovely path.

Nicely arranged trees.

Look familiar? Maybe its on your computer desktop.

Newly wed couple should just walk here.

Kids here just like the piglet.

Don't come near. This is not your food :-)

My best angle shot :-)

Endless discovery of flower arrangement.

Another nice view.

Can't leave this place without my picture in :-) Me with the tulips.

How to go: Keukenhof is easily accessible from Schiphol airport by bus number 58. There is a bus every 15 minutes. Do reach there early in the morning as the line queue for the bus can get quite long by afternoon.