After a short stay in Tokyo I took the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto to have a look around the former capital.
I decided to stay at the ANA Crowne Plaza in Kyoto which is about 15 minutes north of Kyoto station by the hotel mini-bus.
The hotel is just across the road from Nijo Castle and very close to Nijojomae subway station
ANA Crowne Plaza Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Having just arrived in Tokyo and being totally overwhelmed by the mega city of Tokyo, I arrived at my hotel for the first part of my Japan holiday.
I’d planned on how to get to the InterContinental Tokyo Bay from Narita Airport but that all went to pot when I only bought a train ticket to Tokyo Station rather than Shinbashi station where I could have transferred to the train that would have dropped me at Takeshiba Station for a quick walk to the hotel.
Not knowing that I could have topped up my ticket for the extra station and then use my Suica card to get to Takeshiba I opted to use a taxi from Tokyo station.
InterContinental Tokyo Bay, Tokyo, Japan
With the Cricket World Cup and Chinese New Year happening the week I was to travel to Auckland decent, reasonably priced hotels were at a premium and so I ended up at a hotel on Queen Street called the Park Regis. But don’t start thinking that you’ll be staying at anything that looks like the St Regis in New York – far, very far from it.
Park Regis, Auckland, New Zealand
I don’t normally stay at a Marriott hotel as I try to stay at an IHG or Accor hotel so I get my points (yep, I’m a bit shallow like that!) but this week due to all my normal hotels being full in Brisbane I decided to give the Marriott Brisbane a go having driven and walked past it many times.
The Marriott Brisbane is a relatively large hotel at the intersection of Queen and Ann Streets, though your taxi will take you to the back entrance on Howard St.
Brisbane Marriott Hotel, Brisbane, Australia
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Sometimes life can be difficult, like the 3 days I had to spend in Fiji. Going to a tropical paradise where it’s 30 degrees everyday and things happen on “Island Time” is just so hard to take.
Upon the landing of my delayed Fiji Airways flight from Sydney I found myself negotiating with the taxi driver at Suva airport to get me to my hotel. I’d been warned by a colleague not to pay more than F$30 to get to the hotel. The first offer was for F$40 which I scoffed at and offered F$30 in return which was accepted. I later learned that I probably could have offered F$25 and still got my ride.
And so I found myself pulling up to the Suva Holiday Inn after the bumpy taxi ride from the airport to be welcomed with a hearty Bula!
Holiday Inn, Suva, Fiji