Lyon, France

When one thinks of France, the things that come to mind are the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, the Lourve, and etc. Many people seem to have left out the 3rd largest city in France - Lyon. It's such a beautiful city with architectural renaissance buildings and monuments. In fact, it has been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since December 1998. It was once the capital of Gaul and a key outpost of the Roman Empire, and today, despite its scenic beauty, it is one of the most industrialized areas in France.

I've come up with an 8D6N itinerary to visit Lyon and its surrounding areas with the budget of RM2500 (ground arrangement which includes accommodation, return flights from London to Lyon, car rental, petrol, and entrance tickets). So, if you could get the RM1800 return ticket to London Stansted, then the trip would cost you RM4300 excluding food. Yes, RM1800 for a return ticket to London Stansted if you know WHEN to book the tickets. So you wanna know how I work the itinerary out? Read on, please....

Day One:

You will take a night flight from LCCT KL to London Stansted and reach there in the morning. Then you will catch a connecting flight to Lyon and reach there at 1355. You will then check in at your hotel which is located in downtown Lyon.

It's a comfy hotel and this is how the room looks like.

The lobby.

The breakfast room / Restaurant.

In a city as food-oriented as Lyon, a visit to the main market is a must. After unpacking your luggage at the hotel, you should go to the Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. It is located in a modern building near the Part-Dieu station, which is an enticing market where counters spill over with everything from fish to frogs legs, many different types of local sausage, including ones with pistachio nuts and truffles. It's open from 7am to 7pm but it's closed from 12-3pm.

If you love chocolates, then you shouldn't miss going to Sève Maitre Chocolatier for it's macarons.

How could you say NO to escargots when you are in France???

Sausages are the local specialty....grab some...

I guess the long travelling time and jet lag should start to take its toll on you by now. Time to rest and relax....

Day Two:

Vieux Lyon , or Old Lyon is the place that you should see as it contains an amazing collection of medieval and Renaissance buildings.

As you walk along the streets, you will get to the Primatiale St. Jean - a Roman Catholic cathedral built between the 12th and the 15th denturies.

You'll then get to Place Bellecour - one of France's largest and most charming squares with an equestrian statue of Louis XIV.

You will then take the funicular and go up the Fourviere Hill. It is part of the area which is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. You will find vestiges of the Roman city in an archeological site covering a vast area. Also, you will get to see the panoramic vista of Lyon.

One of the most remarkable buildings on Fourviere Hill - the 19th century Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere.

The golden, baroque interior of Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere.

A visit to the top of the hill wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the ruins of the striking Amphithéâtre Gallo-Romain, which was discovered in 1933 by a nun digging in a convent garden.

As for lunch, there are a few places to take a break scattered around the top of the hill. Restaurant de la Fourvière offers traditional French food, a terrace, and a splendid view, while Restaurant Simplicité’s name reflects the atmosphere of the peaceful terrace situated next to the Jardins du Rosaire.

Then, you can take the funicular and get down to Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) and stroll around the streets.

One of the main reasons travelers from all over (including the French) come to Lyon is - food. Lyon is said to have the highest ratio of restaurants to people anywhere in France. So, when you feel like eating and want to dine at a reasonably priced restaurant, then look out for those traditional bouchons. A bouchon is a type of restaurant found in Lyon that serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, such as sausages, duck pâté or roast pork. They are mainly clustered around the cobbled streets of Vieux Lyon.




Day Three:

You will check out from the hotel and go to collect the car that you have booked from the car rental company. Then, you will drive to a very attractive little village which has won numerous awards for its flower displays.

You can spend the day strolling around the old town admiring it's narrow alleys and flower-decorated balconies. There are heaps of reataurants and small boutiques too. You can also visit the castle, the tower gate and a few Roman ruins too. So, enjoy youself walking around in this car-free town!

You will then drive to the hotel which you will stay for 2 nights.

The lobby

The bedroom

The yard

Day Four:

You can spend time exploring the medieval town that you are staying in.

Then, you can have a picnic lunch at the garden next to the lake. After that, you can take a ferry tour which costs you 13Euros per person for a 2-hour ride. There are several villages situated around the lake and taking the ferry is a good way to visit those villages.

One of the villages around the lake.




Spectacular view from another village overlooking the lake.

Day Five:
You will drive to another charming town which you can see the majestic Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain.

You will then take the train to see the glacier.

Breathtaking view of the glacier....You can also visit the ice grotto which is reachable by foot.

It's time to check into the hotel.

The breakfast room



Terrace outside the breakfast room.



The games room and the lounge

Day Six:

Enjoy a cable car ride to the Alps.




Once you have gotten to the top station, you can take in the spectacular views of the Swiss, French, and Italian Alps.

Day Seven and Eight:

Drive back to Lyon Airport and stop at several places which are worth visiting en-route to the airport. The route I have chosen is quite challenging as it has quite a number of tight bends. You will get to see the magnificent views of valleys and snow-clad mountains along the route. You will then take the evening flight back to London and fly back to Malaysia with AirAsia.


I'm selling this itinerary so if you are interested in buying it, please do not hesitate to drop me an email. The ground arrangement (hotel, car rental, petrol, boat,cable car rides, entrance tickets) cost you RM2500 (2 to go). Prices may change depending on travelling dates. I will then give you all the information you need: names of the hotels, maps, route maps on how to get from one place to another, timetables of the cable car, train, information about the connecting flight from London to Lyon and etc. It will be cheaper if there are 4 people travelling together as you can share the car rental and petrol.

Please note that I do not collect any money from you except for the price of my itinerary. You will have to book the hotels and flights by yourself as I will give you the names of the hotels and their websites. I can't book them for you as you will be asked to show your credit card at the hotels and airports (sometimes) for verification.

Tokyo Trip ~ Day Five, Six, and Seven

1 July, 2008

Hakone was the destination of the day. It is less than 100km from Tokyo and is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Japan. It's famous for hot springs, natural beauty, view of Mount Fuji (on a bright and sunny day), and outdoor activities. We took the express train from Shinjuku station. We bought the 2-day Hakone Pass (5000yen) at the Odakyu Railways ticket counter in the Shinjuku station. Although we planned to spend just one day in Hakone, it was worth buying the 2-day pass because it includes a round trip from Shinjuku station to Hakone Yumoto, unlimited use of Odakyu affiliated buses, trains, boats, cablecars and ropeways within the Hakone free area, and discounted admission to selected tourist attractions.

This is the bus that goes around the Hakone area. All you need is to show the pass and you can hop on and off the bus as and when you like.

We hopped off the bus near Lake Ashi and had our lunch there.

Next, we crossed the lake by taking the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise.

Cruising..... After about 15-20minutes, we reached Togendai.

We then hopped onto the Hakone Ropeway and went up the hill. According to travle blogs and the brochures that we had, we were supposed to get a glimpse of Mount Fuji while we were on our way up. We kept looking....looking....for the most famous mountain in Japan....but sadly, we didn't see it. It was quite cloudy that day.... arrrrgggghhhhhh....

At the Owakudani stop with Sherlyn.

It is still spewing and bubbling with sulphur and thermal smoke about 3000 years after the last volcanic eruption of mount Hakone.

Photos of Owakudani craters taken from the Hakone Ropeway car showing smokes still coming from the crater thousand of years after eruption and ongoing construction works on the crater.

After snapping some photos, we went on the second leg of the Hakone Ropeway which brought us to Sounzan where we caught the Hakone Tozan Cablecar to Gora. From Gora, we took the bus to Yunessun.

Yunessun is a Natural Hot Spring Spa Resort and water amusement park in Hakone National Park which is one of the most popular and famous Onsen (Hot Springs) area in Japan. The admission price is 3500yen per person. I chose to go there because it was the only onsen I could find that does not require people to go in naked! Sherlyn was ok with the idea and suggested me trying the onsen in downtown tokyo but I refused to do so. NO WAY!!! So, Yunessun was the best choice! Definitely....Thank GOD!!!

There are more than 25 different kinds of spa related services and fun water recreational activities in Yunessun. It's not the traditional onsen type where you go in naked and soak your body in the pool. It's not a place to see and t be seen. It's a place to have fun. Lotsa fun, I mean!

This is the green tea spa....you can drink the water if you dare to....

Drinking green tea from the EXTRA big teapot... Bathing in green tea helps to enhance the immune system.

The Japanese sake spa.....real Japanese sake was dripping from the cask behind me...

The wine spa....Fancy bathing in wine? It's cool man! It's been said that even Cleopatra loved to bath in wine! It helps to rejuvenate the body.

Hey, what's that? Let's check it out...

Oh, it's the charcoal spa.

This is the coffee spa...yes....real coffee made with hot spring water...

So you think that are all Yunessun offers? No! Check out the list below:

(A) The God's Aegean Sea

(B) Sanctuary of Water

(C) Mist Sauna

(D) Foot Bathing Place

(E) Turkish Hamam

(F) Ancient Roman Bath

(G) Green Terrace

(H) Rodeo Mountain

(I) Dragon Waterfall

(J) Hot Spring Cave

(K) Finnish Bath

(L) Floating Bath
(M) Boxappy's Jungle Gym

(N) Large heated swimming pool

(O) Coffee Spa

(P) Waterfall Spa

(Q) Shallow pool (barefoot massage)

(R) Resting Place with warmed Rocks

(S) Aromatic Spa

(T) Japanese Sake Spa

(U) Green Tea Spa

(V) Tea Room

(W) Charcoal Spa

(X) Rock--lined Spa

(Y) Cold-Water Spa

(Z) Hakone Geyser

Yunessun.....a place not to be missed.....

We were back at the Shinjuku station at 11 p.m. and it was still busy.... Don't the Japs need to go home and rest after a long day at work?

2 July, 2008

We woke up at 5.30 a.m. No, we were not insane. We knew we had had very little time sleeping but we knew we just had to do it or we would regret not doing so. No, we were not going to see the sun rising. We were going to the Tsukiji Market - the largest wholesale fish market in Japan and one of the biggest in the world. Boats begin arriving from around Japan, Africa, and even from America at about 3 a.m. every morning. The market handles about 450 kinds of seafood. Wholesalers will then walk up and down the rows and tuna auction will begin at about 5.30 a.m.

We reached the market at 7 a.m. We missed the auction (which we had predicted) and wandered around the market. Suddenly, we saw 'these' on the wheelbarrows. Dead bodies???? Haha....relax....they're tunas!

Huge, frozen tunas were uploaded from the dock, laid on the ground, and numbered, This way, the wholesalers can jot down the numbers of the tunas that they want so they can auction for the them.

The machine which is used to slice the tunas...

Some prefer to do it manually...

Some need help....

Chopping and slicing.......ewwww!

You'll see these transporters everywhere....zooming here and there....zig-zagging along the aisles. So, be careful when you are there, ya?! This market is really an eye opener for me and I really think it's worth a visit. If you are thinking of visiting this place, please do go early. You need to understand that it is a market and the people there will not welcome you with a broad smile. However, you are allowed to go in and see what they do. You can also take pictures but do not use the flash please.

A visit to Tsukiji is not complete without eating breakfast there. There are many retail shops and stalls where you can buy the freshest seafood in town, plus dried fish and fish products, seaweed, vegetables, knives, and other cooking utensils. Some restaurants are really pricey so you've gotta find one which is within your budget. Just wander around the streets and check out the prices. What you see in the picture above was my brekkie for that day. Imagine eating sushi and sashimi at Tsukiji....the freshest fish....YUM YUM!!!!!

Mini pineapples....

RM300 for 1 box of cherries??

RM45 for grapes???

A vacation is not complete without going on a shopping spree. Well, that's for me la...First, we took the train to Harajuku station. We took the Takeshita-dori Exit and walk to Takeshita-dori Street, which is crammed with shops for clothing, accessories, and souvenirs, as well as crepe shops, cafes and restaurants. It is the symbol of Harajuku and birthplace of many of Japan's fashion trends. Things are not so expensive there but if only you dare to wear them.....Then we walked to Omotesando, a one kilometer long, tree lined avenue, which is referred to to as Tokyo's Champs-Elysees. There are many things to see and buy there. Sorry guys, I was too busy shopping and i didn't take any pictures there! Summer sales....that's why....

3 July, 2008
That was our last day in Tokyo. We went to the airport at 7 a.m. for our flight home. Many people have said that Japan is a very expensive country. I do agree with that. However, Japan can be affordable, if you know where to stay and plan your routes well. RM3700 for an all inclusive trip to Tokyo is definitely DOABLE.