Figured that if I don't start writing about this trip now, I'll never be able to finish by the end of this year...
Let's embark on another fun-filled adventure brimming with beautiful scenery and wonderful Mother Nature. =)
The first few pictures below were taken from Changi Airport Butterfly Park. This little corner is only accessible in the Terminal 3 restricted area (after crossing the immigrations). I've departed through T3 quite a few times but never got to visit this park because it is closed at night. Ya, due to mostly night departure flights.
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| Overview of the Butterfly Park. It is only that small. But come on, the butterflies are small too. |
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| In this park, you can come in direct contact with butterflies. I used to be very afraid of moths when I was small, so somehow I didn't feel completely at ease when I saw fluttering wings surrounding me. |
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| Butterfly 'resting spot', shaped in a butterfly. If you recall your primary school science, you'll know what attracts these butterflies to the flowers. |
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| Lol, I think this is a very artistic picture. Look at how the colours match. He must be a relatively new airport staff. |
Being able to see the butterflies would mean that my flight timing isn't very good. Reached my destination near midnight. Rushed to catch the last train towards city centre. Didn't book any accommodation that night. That was really a bold move as we thought we could just wander around the streets until next morning. We believe the country is pretty safe for this haha. But in the end we didn't loiter the streets, of course. It is still a long trip ahead and we didn't want to drain our physical energy right from the start.
Oh I haven't mentioned which country I went, but it should be pretty obvious isn't it? The title kinda tells it too.
And so we found a comic cafe. Comic cafe is where you can rent a private cubicle, which comes with a computer, and read comics at your pleasure, available from the cafe's selection. Comic cafes often provide overnight package too, specially for people who missed the last bus/train and couldn't get home, or people who simply want to spend their night out of home. This package serves as cheap accommodation for budget travellers too.
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| It's a really tiny (but cozy) cubicle. This is the widest I can capture - I've already plastered myself against the wall. |
The comic cafe is really quite at night since people are sleeping. Thus even a little noise can be disturbing, especially when all the cubicles are so close to each other. Used the computer for a while to check mail, FB and chat before trying to sleep. The space is so small that I can't stretch my legs fully even when my head is already touching the wall. =(((
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| First encounter with a foreign keyboard. It looks similar to the standard one, but I still had trouble typing smoothly. And because the spacebar is too short!! |
Couldn't sleep well of course. Left the cafe and made our way to the train station. Another 6 hour journey before reaching our true destination.
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| This new bullet train is introduced in March. This characteristic dolphin-like nose drew many photographers. The crowd at the platform seems to be just waiting to take pictures rather than passengers. |
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| Some encouraging words to spur the you-know-where region. This train travels across the region and is often disrupted by frequent earthquakes. Thankfully when we took this train back and forth there was no disruption at all. |
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| Passengers (or just curious onlookers) snapping away. The train conductor looks pretty friendly haha. Wait...I'm supposed to board this train, don't leave me behind! |
Sadly, all the seats were fully booked when we bought the tickets. Had no choice but to stand all the way. For 3 hours+ OMG.
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| Interior of the bullet train. Looks ordinary (since this is the ordinary class after all). The First-class seats look better but it is out of bounds to ordinary ticket holders. Oh the seats can rotate as you can notice. |
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| Long journey so BTH. It can take 1 hour between two adjacent stops zzz. |
The scenery from the bullet train is not so fantastic, but the train is travelling really fast.
After that we changed to an undersea train. It's like the Channel Tunnel between UK and France, but shorter.
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| 远离尘嚣 |
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| Train station and post office combined. How cute. =p |
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| See that hill beyond the sea? That's our true destination. |
After 24 hours upon leaving SG, we finally reached where we wanted to, thanks to the poor flight timing and budget considerations.
WELCOME TO HOKKAIDO 北海道!!!
