HOKKAIDO TRAVEL BLOG (OVERVIEW)

SUMMER IN HOKKAIDO 2014

It was such a memorable trip for me. Not entirely because Hokkaido is my favorite holiday destination to date but also the fact that I traveled there just one day after the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in Ukraine. I remember that I was packing my bags for the trip the night before departure and learned from a friend's whats app message that another MAS flight met with a disaster. I thought it was a hoax but it turned out unfortunately to be true....

I remember going to airport with a sombre feeling. On the way to the airport I saw a news van parked outside the airport as they get prepared to report any latest updates in relation to the flight disaster. Its a similar scenario inside the airport...just kinda sad feeling.

Not sure how it was related but the plane used for my flight was changed and since it was a smaller plane, the seating arrangement was changed without prior notice to the passengers. It was a lucky thing that my wifey checked our seat number to ensure we had side by side seats or otherwise we would be seating apart throughout the entire journey. Nevertheless, I salute the service crew of Malaysian Airlines who remained focused to deliver the required service standards although most of them were probably saddened by the fact that they may have lost their close friends the night before. 

There was one thing weird that happened during my flight though. In the midst of our flight while entering the Vietnamese air space, the service crew instructed all passengers to shut the the window shades. This is something unheard of especially during mid flight but the memories of the missing flight MH370 as it entered Vietnamese air space did trouble my mind.... 

Anyway... back to my trip. 

My Hokkaido travel turned out to be one of my most adventurous trip as I decided to have a self drive trip with Wifey. I am writing this blog about a year after so what do I remember the most about Hokkaido? Mmm... let me close my eyes. Focus...focus....Okay. Here are things that I remember about Hokkaido and miss the most:

1) Super fresh seafood.  

2) Fantastic scenery / view

3) Onsen / Hot spring experience 

 See video of my Hokkaido travel below. 

Links

Hokkaido Travel Blog - Day 1 (Transit in Tokyo)

http://fooktravel.blogspot.com/2015/07/hokkaido-travel-blog-day-1-transit-in.html

Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku Hotel Review

http://fooktravel.blogspot.com/2015/07/sunroute-plaza-shinjuku-hotel-review.html

Hokkaido Travel Blog - Day 2 (Haneda Airport, Chitose Airport and Car Rental) PART I

http://fooktravel.blogspot.com/2015/08/hokkaido-travel-blog-day-2-haneda.html

Hokkaido Travel Blog Day 2 (Noboribetsu and Kani Goten / かに御殿) Restaurant Review)

http://fooktravel.blogspot.com/2015/08/hokkaido-travel-blog-day-2-noboribetsu.html

Dai-Ichi Takimotokan Onsen Resort (Noboribetsu, Hokkaido) Review

http://fooktravel.blogspot.com/2015/11/dai-ichi-takimotokan-onsen-resort.html

Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe - Hokkaido Travel Blog Day 3

http://fooktravel.blogspot.com/2015/12/noboribetsu-marine-park-nixe-hokkaido.html

Hell Valley - Hokkaido Travel Blog Day 3
http://fooktravel.blogspot.com/2016/06/hell-valley-jigokudani-hokkaido-travel.html

HEHUANSHAN (HEHUAN MOUNTAIN) TOUR REVIEW

April 2015. Hehuanshan is just circa 25km from Cingjing but the drive up there may take up to an hour due to the climb and winding road. Overall I would sum up the trip as fun but disappointing at the same time. Sound confusing?

For convenience, we took the Hehuanshan Sunrise Tour Package recommended by our hotel (Old England Manor) located in Cingjing. The tour bus was supposed to pick us up at 3.30am so wifey and I woke up as early as 3am to get prepared. The tour bus operator gave morning call reminder sometime around 3am as well.

3.30am Waiting for tour bus @ Old England Manor

As you can see its total darkness at Old England Manor. So yah..it's a little scary but at the same time made me feel adventurous as well. We walked towards the main road as we waited for our bus. The bus finally came to pick us up at around 4am and it turned out that we were the first passengers.  The bus spent the next 30mins picking up the rest of the passengers and unfortunately one passenger was overly late and the bus driver decided to leave him or her behind yikes….

As you can expect the road up to Hehuanshan is very winding and dangerous. The bus actually went up the mountain with other buses like a convoy. The drivers will alert each other on oncoming vehicles or obstructions.

Enroute to Hehuanshan... Nothing much to see.

Enroute to Hehuanshan, we made a pit stop at a rest area and finally reached Hehuanshan at around 5.30am. Unfortunately weather was not so conducive with dark clouds over shadowing part of the view. Though not entirely bad, the view was less than perfect. Well…. To console myself maybe it could have been worse. From our view point it looks like heaven is just behind the mountains. Don’t you think so?

The sunrise view at Hehuanshan

After the sunrise, we proceeded higher up the mountain but this time the weather got even worse and there was nothing much to see other than the thick fog in front of you. L

Well, overall the trip was still okay I guess. I like the experience of the near zero temperature as I definitely will not be able to experience this in my home country. One word of advice, try not to go up Hehuanshan after a meal as the winding journey up the mountain can really make you throw up. Even though I did not eat prior to the trip, I still had this funny bloated feeling when I returned to Old England Manor which kind of spoil my appetite for the buffet breakfast. 

See the video of my taiwan trip here.