Round the world trip

[Adrianli]

Philip, u got jetlag when u arrive in Japan?

[Fitvip]

Have to sit on the right side of the plane and taking a daytime flight.

Last time, ours was a red eye flight, reaching Japan in the morning. we were seated on the left side of the plane and we could see it. To take a clear picture requires a good camera, imo.

[Adrianli]

Last time, ours was a red eye flight, reaching Japan in the morning. we were seated on the left side of the plane and we could see it. To take a clear picture requires a good camera, imo.

Mine was the flight back to SG in the afternoon. The SQ pilot made an announcement of the Mt Fuji sighting and everyone rushed to the right side of the plane.

 

Too bad, i was seated on the left side. I could see it even from my seat.

[Fitvip]

Mine was the flight back to SG in the afternoon. The SQ pilot made an announcement of the Mt Fuji sighting and everyone rushed to the right side of the plane.

 

Too bad, i was seated on the left side. I could see it even from my seat.

Well, it is good that we are able to see it with our own eyes, though it may not be close enough!

[Philipkee]

Philip, u got jetlag when u arrive in Japan?

Yes cos I was from LA. Did not sleep well but it's OK cos on holiday. After one week in Japan, I will be more or less used to Singapore time since its not that far off from Japan time then no issues.

 

Surprisingly this is first time I got jet lag during the entire trip.

 

Cos Singapore to Seoul to Beijing, timezone is same or about one hour's difference only.

 

Beijing to irkutsk to Moscow to Paris, yes the time zone change but I was in the train so easy to adjust. Paris to new York not much difference. Across USA I was on land so again not much difference. Lol.

Well, it is good that we are able to see it with our own eyes, though it may not be close enough!

I saw before, in 2011 at shirato falls. It was Jan 2011. Time flies.

Actually i tot summer was best time to see mt fuji. Another misconception.

[Philipkee]

So today I toured Tokyo with my friend.

 

Went to edo Tokyo museum. This year is the 150th anniversary of Tokyo. Prior to that, it was known as Edo.

 

Saw some ww2 exhibit. Something new. A model of a fire balloon sent by Japan to bomb USA during WW2.

 

Lunch with my friend. This friend is kinda special cos I first met him during my first ever extended vacation ever. He was my room mate in Israel. We were volunteers in a kibbutz. It was also during that trip that I had the plan for this trip so I thought it was kind of fitting that I meet up with him again during this trip.

 

Saw this in the car park. What happens is that after you park, the sensor will activate and the barrier will go up. So your car cannot leave. The barrier will only go down after you made the payment. Seems like a good idea to tackle illegal parking at the loading bays.

[Philipkee]

Today, I actually planned to go to the skytree to look at mt fuji. But as I left my hotel, I noticed it was cloudy so views might not be good so I decided to go all in and go to kawaguchiko to Mt Fuji fifth station.

 

The route there is at least three hours one way, just in case some are interested to go there and it costs close to 5000 yen to make a return trip and it assumes you have a JR pass.

 

Akabane to shinjuku to otsuki - JR pass

Otsuki to kawaguchi - 1140 yen one way

Kawaguchi to mt fuji fifth station - 2200 yen return (same day only)

So I kind of don't recommend a day trip to climb mt fuji and back from Tokyo.

 

When I reached there, a man asked me if I intended to climb to the top of Mt fuji. I wanted to scold him. "You crazy ah, I never bring water or sweater.."

 

On the other hand, maybe I am a little crazy

 

Anyway, I better say this thing cos I dunno if any MCFer wants to climb mt fuji in the future so if he thinks you can dash up mt fuji without water since @philipkee did it, I better declare that the climbing photo was posed. I was really there and I climbed the trail (a few steps only ). Visibility is good but it can change suddenly.

 

 

 

These two photos are barely a few minutes apart so one must always be prepared and do a proper risk assessment before attempting to climb. Bring water with you from kawaguchiko. Don't assume you can top up water at Mt fuji itself. There are vending machines if you feel rich enough though to spend money on small bottles of drinks to last you up and down mt fuji....

 

 

When I came down the weather suddenly cleared and mt fuji appeared. Normally it is covered in fog.

 

Did I get altitude sickness? Well, fifth station is over 2000m above sea level. It was OK but when I bent down and suddenly exerted myself getting up, I felt a bit dizzy suddenly for a short while. But it's OK. I am not going to do burpees up there. Bottom line, don't exert yourself unnecessarily. Do a proper risk assessment. I walked in the fog and rain but I could see where I was going, it was level ground (except that few. Steps up the trail ).

 

Tomorrow I have no real plans since I have done all I wanted to do today. Probably just go and chill and relax in an onsen. It's been a long trip since my first destination at Seoul almost two months ago. Even my first extended vacation was different. While it was longer, I was mostly in a kibbutz in Israel so while I moved around, I had a "base". But this trip every few days I have to pack up and move, and keep moving.

 

It's been one wild trip but it also has its moments of stress tiredness and as I spend my last full day of my trip overseas, it's probably time to relax and reflect. I leave Japan on Tuesday and it's back to the real world.

[Philipkee]

OK. Back to Singapore now. Same luggage bag but with many more stickers. Whew. One long trip. It's been a wild trip.

 

In terms of cash spent, it's less than 2k SAD but obviously it's not accurate until I have also calculated my credit card expenditure.

 

I will calculate my expenditure over the next few days. My budget was 10-12k SGD so let's see if I fall below, within or over the budget.

[kdash]

OK. Back to Singapore now. Same luggage bag but with many more stickers. Whew. One long trip. It's been a wild trip.

 

In terms of cash spent, it's less than 2k SAD but obviously it's not accurate until I have also calculated my credit card expenditure.

 

I will calculate my expenditure over the next few days. My budget was 10-12k SGD so let's see if I fall below, within or over the budget.

welcome back and thanks for sharing your journey with us. for people like me who will likely never do such a trip, it feels like we are travelling with you all the way.

 

all the best in your adjustment back to reality

[Philipkee]

OK. I have done my calculations. All in, I spent about SGD $11200 with the two day car rental in Las Vegas accounting for almost $500.

 

 

Some caveats. I did not add the travel insurance inside which is about another $300+++ cos it is an annual plan which I have been using since laser year.

 

And of cos some expenses especially earlier in the year are estimates cos I cannot find the statement already.

 

Expenditure during the trip itself is close to SGD $5000 which covers all expenses from moscow onwards and some of seoul, China and Russia (like I prepaid a certain percent of the hostel fee in Singapore and the rest over there).

 

And I never add lost income due to the taking of no pay leave.

 

Is the trip expensive? Not too bad considering how far I went and the length of the trip.

 

Only thing I regretted is that i realised that once you start planning the trip, it is actually not that difficult as long as you have guts. I wished I had done this trip years earlier when I was fitter. I would have had more fun.

 

Transportation

Plane - sin to seoul, Paris to new York, la to Tokyo and Tokyo to Singapore

 

Train - trans siberian and amtrak

 

Bus - greyhound

 

Ferry - incheon to tian Jin ferry

 

Public transport- Seoul, Beijing, irkutsk, Moscow, Paris, new york, charlottesville, Chicago, Las Vegas, seattle, Los Angeles and Tokyo

 

Private shuttle - irkutsk to lake baikal

 

Hitched rides - Moscow and tianjin (the tour bus)

 

Car- Las Vegas

 

Accommodation

Hostel - seoul, Beijing, irkutsk, Moscow, Paris, Chicago, Las Vegas, seattle, Los Angeles

 

Inn - charlottesville

 

Capsule hotel - Tokyo

 

Private home - new York

 

Others - ferry, greyhound bus and trans siberian

 

It's been a long trip. Stressed at times but it was one wild trip.

 

I will more likely than not never travel like this ever again.

 

[Atrecord]

Welcome home!

 

And many thanks for the blow-by-blow account of your long trip. Not too extended and long, and just nice enough as something like a TV serial to get a decent idea of your adventure.

 

Well done! And really admire you.

 

 

 

OK. I have done my calculations. All in, I spent about SGD $11200 with the two day car rental in Las Vegas accounting for almost $500.



Some caveats. I did not add the travel insurance inside which is about another $300+++ cos it is an annual plan which I have been using since laser year.

And of cos some expenses especially earlier in the year are estimates cos I cannot find the statement already.

Expenditure during the trip itself is close to SGD $5000 which covers all expenses from moscow onwards and some of seoul, China and Russia (like I prepaid a certain percent of the hostel fee in Singapore and the rest over there).

And I never add lost income due to the taking of no pay leave.

Is the trip expensive? Not too bad considering how far I went and the length of the trip.

Only thing I regretted is that i realised that once you start planning the trip, it is actually not that difficult as long as you have guts. I wished I had done this trip years earlier when I was fitter. I would have had more fun.

Transportation
Plane - sin to seoul, Paris to new York, la to Tokyo and Tokyo to Singapore

Train - trans siberian and amtrak

Bus - greyhound

Ferry - incheon to tian Jin ferry

Public transport- Seoul, Beijing, irkutsk, Moscow, Paris, new york, charlottesville, Chicago, Las Vegas, seattle, Los Angeles and Tokyo

Private shuttle - irkutsk to lake baikal

Hitched rides - Moscow and tianjin (the tour bus)

Car- Las Vegas

Accommodation
Hostel - seoul, Beijing, irkutsk, Moscow, Paris, Chicago, Las Vegas, seattle, Los Angeles

Inn - charlottesville

Capsule hotel - Tokyo

Private home - new York

Others - ferry, greyhound bus and trans siberian

It's been a long trip. Stressed at times but it was one wild trip.

I will more likely than not never travel like this ever again.

 

[Ash2017]

great job philipkee

[Philipkee]

Lessons from the trip

 

Language barrier

It is really an issue. Don't assume you can just wing it. If you are Chinese, you might be able to wing it through China with poor mandarin. Some might be able to get through France with just English and no French. Russia is a different thing all together. So be mentally prepared. I had cute girls helping me with drivers giving me free rides and conductors not collecting my fares but it might not be the same for the next traveller.

 

Weather

It can storm in summer so be prepared.

 

Items to bring.

Don't bring new or expensive stuff that you cannot afford to lose. I lost a sock and an old pair of slippers there despite checking to make sure I left things behind.

 

Be realistic in imagination

It is very exciting to imagine oneself waiting in the dark for a bus for hours but it is NOT exciting when you are actually doing it.

 

Lastly, YOLO safely

You can YOLO all you want but do a proper risk assessment each time. Not just chiong and hope for best. I do it sometimes, I admit i do it sometimes but it's done "carefully".

In addition, do it when you are young if possible. Walking for half an hour with a suitcase or climbing up and down double decker beds and no shower for four days is not something generally desired as you get older.

Edited August 15, 2018 by Philipkee

[inlinesix]

When I went Mongolia for cycling trip, I had 4 showers in 8 days.

 

Somemore pangsai is NS outfield style when we are out of Ulan Bator

 

There are 8 gals vs 6 guys

[Philipkee]

Another point. Not directly related to the trip.

 

Before I left, I disconnected my car battery.

 

After returning, I reconnected. The car starts with no problem. No obvious issue with cranking.

 

But everything has to be reset. When I started driving I was wondering how come the car feels wrong. Turns out when you disconnected the battery the air con is disconnected also. When you on the air con and then shut off the car, when the car is switched on, the air con comes back on. But if the battery is disconnected, it does not come back on. You need to on it again. Same goes for the button for recirculating air.

 

All previous trip mileages are also gone. Back to '0'. The car mileage is still there, just trip mileage gone.

 

Tires lost about 10kPa. When I left, I pumped to 250kPa. On returning, about 233-40 kPa.

 

Car was dirty but nothing a car wash cannot rectify.

 

So two months without using the car will not affect it if car battery is ok (not dying ). I will probably replace car battery soon anyway since its over 1.5 years (before 2 yrs I usually change).

Edited August 16, 2018 by Philipkee

[Wt_know]

next time send your car over when you round the world

we will make sure your car engine run in smooth smooth ... lol

 

Another point. Not directly related to the trip.

Before I left, I disconnected my car battery.

After returning, I reconnected. The car starts with no problem. No obvious issue with cranking.

But everything has to be reset. When I started driving I was wondering how come the car feels wrong. Turns out when you disconnected the battery the air con is disconnected also. When you on the air con and then shut off the car, when the car is switched on, the air con comes back on. But if the battery is disconnected, it does not come back on. You need to on it again. Same goes for the button for recirculating air.

All previous trip mileages are also gone. Back to '0'. The car mileage is still there, just trip mileage gone.

Tires lost about 10kPa. When I left, I pumped to 250kPa. On returning, about 233-40 kPa.

Car was dirty but nothing a car wash cannot rectify.

So two months without using the car will not affect it if car battery is ok (not dying ). I will probably replace car battery soon anyway since its over 1.5 years (before 2 yrs I usually change).

 

[kdash]

next time send your car over when you round the world

we will make sure your car engine run in smooth smooth ... lol

ya and +10k mileage

[Philipkee]

Credit card statement came in. Turned out the total expenditure for the trip is closer to S$13000 instead

 

But OK la for a yolo trip once in a life time rtw trip.

 

OK. Now that this is behind me, it's time to focus on the next phase of my life.