[Day 3] Exploring Siam Ocean World, Bangkok

Siam Ocean World is one of the largest two-storeys in-door aquarium in Southeast Asia which is located at the basement of Siam Paragon Shopping Mall in Bangkok. The exhibit is divided into 7 zones with individually designed theme and apart from its recreational options, it also proves a very good learning center for kids too.

With our Day 3 schedule packed with fun at Siam Ocean World, afternoon tea at Agalico and cruise dinner on board Chao Phraya Princess, I am sure you will be excited to follow us through the posts and read about our experience in those places.

[Day 2] Health Land and Mahboonkrong (MBK)

After spending the whole morning at Chatuchak Weekend Market till almost 1.00pm, we decided to visit Health Land which is located near Asok Station (about 10 minutes walk) where we could pampered ourselves with Foot Reflexology And Body Massage to re-fill our energy level and continue the shopping spree. Furthermore, foot reflexology is one of the common spa services that tourists love and it could be easily found at most shopping malls, shops along the streets and even in their night/weekend bazaar too. And the face is it really cost much cheaper (around half the price or less) then what we usually paid in Singapore.

[Day 2] Exploring Chatuchak Weekend Market

One will never miss the wholesales weekend market at Chatuchak whenever they visit Bangkok. This weekend market has became a landmark as well as a "must-visit" place for tourists. With more than 8,000 market stalls that occupied the 35-acre area, Chatuchak attracts more than 200,000 visitors on just a typical weekend to sift through the goods that their offer.

For your information, the weekend market is open on both Saturdays and Sundays from 09:00 - 18:00, and Fridays 18:00 - 24:00.

Cuisine Unplugged and Executive Lounge @ Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel

During our stay at Pullman Bangkok last year, we have enjoyable breakfast at their Cuisine Unplugged which is an all-day dining concept restaurant featuring an open kitchen with pizza, pasta, rotisserie, soup and noodle hot-pot, sushi counter, wide selection of salad and fresh fruits. On top of it, there is also a unique bakery situated within the dining area that producing home-made fresh breads and croissants.

[Day 1] Exploring Asiatique, The Riverfront

[Continue from previous post] Upon arrived, check-in into our hotel and etc, we decided to head out to Siam Paragon for our dinner. Traveling there by BTS was pretty fast as it was only 3 stops away from Victory Monument station which is near our hotel.

After the meal, we deiced to visit Asiatique The Riverfront which is Bangkok's first large scale riverside night bazaar that filled with boutiques, eateries and etc.

[Day 1] Our Family Trip to Bangkok (BKK), Thailand

Sorry for this super "late" Bangkok (BKK) trip writeup which I have drag more than 6 months since December 2012 till now. And for friends and readers who have follow me on my Instagram or Facebook Page, you would probably know that we just had just returned from our awesome Taiwan trip last week. So in order to pen down as many memories as possible on our travel experiences for future reference, I need to first clear our BKK backlogs before I could start sharing something on our recent trip on Taiwan.

Exploring The Convenience Stores and Bakeries In Tokyo, Japan

Whenever we travel to a country, we love to visit their convenience stores to see what special food/beverages or stuffs they offered in it. And since Korean, Japan and Taiwan all have convenience stores like Seven Eleven (7-11), Lawson and Family Mart it makes us thrilled whenever we visit these stores because we could often find similar stuffs that we tried and miss having it.

I am not sure about your habits, but for us we always like to stock up some bites and beverages from these convenience stores for our bus journey as well as supper in the hotel room. And as you view through this post, you could find all kinds of food and beverage they offer in the stores as compared to what we have in Singapore.

[Day 6] Shabu Shabu @ Shabujo, Shinjuku

Japan trip won't be satisfied if we did not try their sushi, sashimi, omurice, shabu shabu, takoyaki and etc. So on the last night of our trip, we decided to go for Shabu Shabu which was perfect for that  cold and wet evening when everyone needs some hot food to keep warm. So after searching around for a decent Shabu Shabu restaurant near our hotel at Shinjuku ( 新宿), we finally settled for Shabujo which is listed in their recommending food good guide. For your information, Shabujo is about 6 minutes walk from JR Shinjuku Station, East Exit.

[Day 6] Tokyo Ramen Street

On second last day of our Japanese trip, we went to First Avenue Tokyo Station (東京駅一番街) which has a three-floor commercial and retail featuring 120 stores and restaurants with the first floor connected directly to the Yaesu exits of Tokyo Station (東京駅).

And with the two main attractions like Tokyo Character Street and Tokyo Ramen Street, we decided to go there to try their well-known Ramen shops in Tokyo as well as shop for some cute souvenirs back too .

Fujisoba (名代 富士) At Akihabara, Tokyo

We had long day out for "Day 5" starting with Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場), lunch at Tsukiji Sushi Kiyoshi (築地寿司清本店), more shopping trip at Ginza and sightseeing over at Kaminarimon (雷門) plus getting the famous Dorayaki (銅鑼焼き) from Kamejyu (亀十). In the evening, we took the train over to Akihabara (秋葉原) which is a district in central Tokyo, that is famous for its many electronics shops because cousin wanted to find some Anime figurines.

[Day 5] Kaminarimon (雷門) @ Asakusa

Asakusa (浅草) is located in the center of Tokyo with Sensō-ji Temple (金龍山浅草寺) as its main attraction. Kaminarimon Gate (雷門) or also known as the "Thunder Gate" is the outer of two large entrance gates that leads to the Sensō-ji Temple. With its Giant Red Lantern and statues this attraction is popular with tourists as well as hot spot for photos taking too.

[Day 5] Tsukiji Sushi Kiyoshi - 築地寿司清本店

[Continue from Tsukiji Fish Market post] After walking around the Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場), we decided to settle for a sushi brunch and there are quite a number of well-known Sushi restaurants or street stalls selling all kind of assorted sushi, sashimi and etc too. Before my trip to Japan, I have saw some clips and introductions about this famous fish market from a few Japanese sightseeing programmes on television. So when uncles marked down a day to visit Tsukiji fish market we were pretty excited to see their wholesale seafood market as well as a chance to sample their freshly made sushi.

[Day 5] Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場) @ Tokyo, Japan

Visiting Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場) was listed as one of the "must go" places in our Itinerary. Although with kids in our group and we could not managed to be at the seafood auctions as early as 4.00 am in the morning to witness the show. But we were still able to reach there around 9.00 am in the morning for some fresh sashimi and sushi for brunch.

Other than selling seafood, there are also groceries stalls, marinated products, Japanese kitchen tools (such as plates, bowls and knives), restaurant supplies as well as street food, sushi bar and restaurant for visitors too.

[Day 4] Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド)

Visiting Tokyo Disneyland is always one of my dream theme park which I would like to bring my kid to enjoy the fun and family time together. So when uncle Hock Cheng includes Disneyland as one the main highlight for this Tokyo trip we were all excited about it till the date we arrived at the park. As you could see from the above photo, we even bought the "open date" tickets way before hand at  JTB (ION Orchard) to avoid the crowds and queuing time just to make sure everything is on the right track.

[Day 3] RAKERU （ラケル） @ Shinjuku, Tokyo

[Continue from Exploring Shijuku (新宿) post HERE] There are many theme restaurants/cafes in Japan such as RAKERU (Alice in wonderland), Vampire cafe, Hello Kitty Cafe, AKB48 Cafe and etc. And with RAKERU as one of the nearest themed restaurant near our hotel at Shinjuku (新宿西口店), we actually went for a dinner to try out their mouthwatering Omurice (egg omelette with rice) and waffle desserts.

[Day 3] Exploring Shinjuku (新宿)

Last year during our trip to Tokyo, Japan. We stayed at Keio Plaza Hotel (京王プラザホテル（新宿）公式サイト) which was just about 5 minutes walk to Shinjuku (新宿) Station and shopping districts with department stores such as Odakyu, Takashimaya Times Square, Kinokuniya and etc. Although there might not be a lot of sightseeing around Shinjuku area but indeed there are plenty of shopping, cafes and eateries which could satisfied both your sight and appetite.

On the 3rd day of our trip, we were on a more relax itinerary while taking a break from yesterday's Day Tour (visiting Mount Fuji and Grape Farm). And before Uncle Hock Cheng's family move on to meet up with their Japanese friends for lunch and sightseeing, we decided to explore the food counters and supermarket located at basement 2 of Odakyu Shopping Mall to grab some quick breakfast.

[Day 2] Day Tour to Katsunuma Winery, Lake Kawaguchi and Koyodai In Narusawa

View of Lake Kawaguchi from Mt Kachi Kachi Ropeway

We arrived at the meeting point at about 7.30am to join the local Club Tourism Yokoso Japan Tour to Mount Fuji (富士山) and Yamanashi (山梨県). It was a beautiful Monday morning and we all look forward for our trip to visit Mt Fuji. But due to the early snow that covered almost half of Mt Fuji, the tour guide mentioned that we might not be able to go up to the Kawaguchiko 5th Station ( 富士山 河口湖 五合目) depending on weather in the afternoon.

[Day 1] Exploring Harajuku (原宿) and Takeshita Street (竹下通り)

[Continue from previous post HERE] After about an hour of rest and relax (unpacking, shower and etc) in our hotel room, we were out again to exploring Tokyo city. And since we need to wake up early for tomorrow's day trip, Uncle Alan suggested we should just explore somewhere nearer to our hotel such as Harajuku (原宿) where the famous Takeshita Street (竹下通り) is located.

From some of my read up, it is best to visit Harajuku on a Sunday because many young people would gather around Harajuku Station and engage in cosplay (costume play) where they dressed up in excentric costumes to resemble anime characters, punk musicians, etc.

[Day 1] Our Family Trip to Tokyo, Japan

2012 was indeed a blessing year for our family to have 3 traveling trips such as cruising with Royal Caribbean International, Voyager Of The Seas during June (read more here), flying off with Japan Airlines to my dreamland at Tokyo, Japan in November (read more here) as well as a short weekend getaway to shopping paradise at Bangkok, Thailand in December (will update the trip after Japan posts).

Traveling to Japan was an impromptu trip because we had never thought of planning another trip for that year after our cruise trip in June. It was only less than 2 months before departure that we decided to join Uncle Alan and Uncle Hock Cheng's families on their Free And Easy trip to Tokyo, Japan in later autumn (mid November).

Voyager Of The Seas - Royal Caribbean International [Shore Excursions At Phuket]

Phuket has long been luring tourists to it's drop dead gorgeous beaches and dramatic bay scenery. It is also Thailand's most famous island destination for vacation from around the world. Apart from all the new developments, Phuket's natural wonders are still the main attractions where beaches, rainforest trek or boat ride to Phi Phi Island and etc are the must try or do for tourists.

And after a day in the sun, you could also pamper yourself with traditional Thai massage to experience this ancient art of healing.