Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

5-3-20 Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan During the booking stage, I recall that the hotel rates in Tokyo had already increased quite a lot on average for a stay after mid-March. After weighing my options, I decided to go for Hotel Listel Shinjuku, which is located about 15 minutes away from Shinjuku railway station and 10 minutes away from Shinjuku-sanchome subway station by foot.

SIN-HND (6h 30m) Boeing 777-200 ETD: 10.25pm (GMT  +  8) ETA: 5.55a m (GMT + 9) Even though I've been to Japan a couple of times, last year saw me flying with Japan Airlines, the flag carrier of the Land of the Rising Sun, for the first time in my life. Having its headquarter in Shinagawa, Tokyo, the airline was founded in 1951, but it was only two years later that it became the national airline of Japan.

Level 3, Transit Area, Changi Airport Terminal 1, Singapore Daily: 3.00pm - 11.00pm Welcome to the next Japan travel series! While my current job doesn't allow me to fully experience the full bloom of  sakura  (lit. cherry blossom) in the Land of the Rising Sun, I was thankful for the opportunity to be able to catch some early-blooming ones in March last year. Before flying off from Terminal 1 of Changi Airport, I spent some time at British Airways Lounge.

PEN-SIN (1h 25m) Boeing 737-800 ETD: 12.15pm (GMT + 8)  ETA: 1.40 pm (GMT + 8) As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely crippled the global airline industry. I wonder how's the progress of the Silk Air fleet upgrading before the full-service regional wing of Singapore Airlines is merged into the parent company in the future. Would that short hop from Penang, Malaysia to Singapore be my last Silk Air flight?

Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia Today's short post, as well as the next one that's going to be equally short, shall be the end of the Penang trip series. Previously known as Bayan Lepas International Airport, Penang International Airport was opened in 1935. Besides being the oldest airport in the country, it's also the third busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic.

George Town, Penang, Malaysia George Town is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang, which is also the third most populous city in the country. It was the very first British settlement in Southeast Asia. Its historical core, retaining a unique town landscape and multi-cultural heritage, has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

Bukit Bendera, Penang, Malaysia Located approximately 9 km to the west of George Town, Penang Hill is a popular hill resort comprising a group of peaks, the highest of which is 833 m above sea level. The most developed peak visited by most people is known in the local language as Bukit Bendera (lit. Flagstaff Hill). My group rode on a funicular to reach that peak.

Gurney Drive, Penang, Malaysia Today's short post is on Gurney Drive, a popular seafront promenade in George Town. Even though my group didn't really spend a lot of them there and neither did we actually get to enjoy the view of the sea, I think it's still worth mentioning about the globally known hawker centre as a separate post.