Tokyo Metro: Making Tokyo A Smaller Place; Easier

February 11, 2017Feature Postsjapan, tokyo, train, travelian dela pena

If you are traveling on a budget, the best way probably to navigate a city is through the train. However, the Tokyo Subway system has been known to be one confusing and difficult tangling rail lines. This might be Over the past couple of years, the Tokyo Metro has been working hard to improve their service for the benefit of tourists.

The Tokyo Metro team is here in Manila for the biggest travel event in the country, the 2017 Travel Tour Expo in SMX Convention Center to give us some exciting development about the Tokyo Metro subway system.

The Ticket

Getting from point A to point B through the Tokyo Subway, of course requires you a ticket. It can be a hassle though if you will have to buy, line up and figure out what ticket you should buy each time you enter the subway. Don’t get me wrong though, the Tokyo Metro has never been easier to

navigate as they put more English sign as part of their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics come 2020. However, lining up each time you enter the subway takes away your precious time that you could be using to getting to your destination.

Well, here’s some good news. The Tokyo Metro came up with a ticket specially designed for travelers. This ticket is exclusively made and available for tourist! These tickets will allow you to unlimited access to the Tokyo Metro from 24 up to 72 hours for a cost of a bowl of ramen!

Using these tickets will not only enable you to save time but also save money since you can use the subway over and over! So if you missed your stop, no worries!

The Subway App and Connectivity.

Honestly, I think that the Tokyo Subway can be ~~a bit~~ intimidating, with all of these transfers and lines that you have to remember. At this day and age of convenience, without even mentioning the ingenuity of the Japanese, one should not be daunted with the idea of taking the Tokyo Subway. See, aside from adding English signage around the network, the Tokyo Metro also came up with an app that you can take with you -yes it does work offline- that will help you navigate the entire Tokyo Metro subway network. All you have to do is enter what station you are coming from and the station that you want to go to and voila! The app gives you directions on how you can get there, including transfer stations!

Being connected while traveling is important. Most travelers just buy local sim cards as soon as they arrive in their destination and yes that does solve the problem. But if you are under in a subway, mobile signal can get a little iffy. Well that is not a problem with the Tokyo Metro, as most of their stations are equipped with free WiFi service. They are even working on putting WiFi on their trains! Awesome right?

Welcome Boards

As part of their efforts to make the subways more tourist friendly, Tokyo Metro has put up welcome boards in English. These boards provide information about the stations that you are at, like what is there to do on near by spots and other useful information that will help you navigate the city. And yes it is in English

Aside from these boards, you will also find Toursit Information Booths in most stations staffed with English speaking officers that are more than happy to help you get around. I really appreciate this move by the Tokyo Metro, remember those times that you already have found the answers to your inquiry through the web but just needs reassurance from a human being? Hahaha.. well that’s where I am coming from.

Tokyo has well over 100 stations all over the metropolis the Tokyo Metro subway system will take you virtually anywhere in the city. So why don’t you go ahead and plan your trip around the Tokyo Metro subway system, save time and have lots of fun!

Baguio: Mount Costa Living Gardens

February 8, 2017Benguet, Destinations, Philippinesbaguio city, benguet, gardens, park, travelian dela pena

Just off of the city of Baguio, a new attraction just opened up in La Trinidad Benguet. Yeah it’s technically not in Baguio but it still is just a few minutes travel from the city. This is Mount Costa.

According to its website www.mountcosta.com, Mount Costa is a garden of gardens filled with beautiful scenery where you can stroll and just relax. If you are from Manila, think of it like the Picnic Grove in Tagaytay only a lot better!

From Baguio City to Mount Costa via Jeep:

Go to Shagem St. (across Rose Garden, Burnham Park) and ride a ‘Long trip’ jeep that will take you all the way to Lamtang. Get off at Lamtang Irisan Cockpit.
Ride a jeep with a sign ‘Puguis Junction’ then get off at Mount Costa.

(Directions as per Mount Costa website)

Please go to their website for more information.

You can find more rooms in Baguio here

How To Get To Pattaya From Aranyaprateth

January 10, 2017Asia, Thailand, Travel Guidesaranyaprateth, backpacking, cambodia, indochina, pattaya, public transport, thailand, travel, vansian dela pena

Most travelers coming from Cambodia opts to go straight to Bangkok as soon as they cross the border to Aranyaprateth. But if you are looking for to have some time under the Thai Sun a quick stop over in Pattaya can satisfy your craving for some sand between your toes.

One can get to Pattaya from the border by booking a bus online, however most of the bus companies that I found are quite expensive. Good thing is that staff in the hotel where I as staying gave me directions on where I could catch a Van to Pattaya at a fraction of the cost.

After going through immigration find your way to the Star Plaza Mall‘s open air parking on the right side where van are located. You can buy a ticket from the terminal desk, they will issue a receipt so make sure that you don’t lose it because at some point of the journey they will be inspecting this.

Fare all the way to Pattaya is about 250 Baht.

Here are some photos of the terminal that you should be looking for.

Do you know any other way to get to Pattaya from Aranyaprateth? Let us know in the comment!

Mt. Balagbag Itinerary

January 9, 2017Mountainsbackpacking, hiking, itinerary, mountain, mountaineering, travelian dela pena

Probably one of the cheapest places to hike is just off north of the metro is Mt. Balagbag. Straddling between the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal, Mt. Balagbag offers an amazing view of the vast area of the metropolis.

The mountain can be reached by foot but 4x4s are able to reach the summit of the mountain. This makes the mountain ideal for camping for families who would like to venture into a different kind of family bonding.

There are three registration areas going up. The first registration area is as soon as you enter the road leading to the trail. You do not need to pay anything here, but a donation can be made for the cause of the people who are “taking care of the area”. The second registration is at the community hall where they ask for Php 10. About an hour for there the third registration are is found where you would have to pay Php 20.

From the last registration area, the hike up the mountain is just about 30 – minutes.

If you are doing a sunrise or sunset day hike be sure to bring extra cash. The public transport’s end time schedule is quite unpredictable and you might need to rent habal-habal or a jeep if you aren’t able to catch the last trip going back.

How To Get To Mt. Balagbag

From Mc. Arthur Highway
Take a jeep from Tabing Ilog Market Terminal in Marilao going to Muzon. From Muzon take a jeep to Tungko where you will find the terminal going to Licao-Licao

From Quezon City
Take a bus to Tungko then on to a jeep to Licao-Licao. You will get off at the end of the line where you can start your hike.

Expenses

From McArthur Highway

Marilao to Muzon Php 18
Muzon to Tungko Php 7
Tungko to Licao-Licao Php 27

From Quezon City

Cubao to Tungko Php 53
Tungko to Licao-Licao Php 27

Registration

Registration #1 – Donation
Registration #2 – Php 10
Registration #3 – Php 20

Note: There’s also a way through Montalban though the author has yet to find more information about it.

How To Cross To Cambodia From Thailand

January 3, 2017Asia, Cambodia, Travel Guidesbackpacking, budget travel, cambodia, indochina, pinoy, travel, travel cheapian dela pena

Crossing the Cambodian border from Thailand could be one of the most challenging border crossing one may experience, like how I did.

First off you need to get to Aranyaprateth, Your bus or van may drop you off at Aranya (possibly their nickname for the market area) and you would have to hire a tuktuk to get to the border it self. Some vans may drop you off at the Border like the one I took from Pattaya.

Find the entrance where it says departure and walk straight ahead. You’ll find a sign showing “Foreign Passports”, go up to the stairs -no photos and videos as soon as you enter the door; that’s the immigration area already. Line up and have your passports ready together with your departure cards to have it stamped. That’s it you are officially out of Thailand.

As you exit the immigration building you will see the Cambodian border arch, walk straight past it going to the arrival area. If you are a non-ASEAN citizen or are needing a visa you may secure your visa at the building near after the arch. There are a lot of people at the Thai border who will try to sell you or scam you in getting a Cambodian visa so be very cautious.

The arrival area is just a small office, immeadiately secure an arrival card, fill it up then queue for the immigration officers. No fees should be collected at this point. I have heard some horror stories from fellow travelers that immigration officers ask for at least $1 for different reasons ranging from so called “Processing fees” to rediculous “First timer’s fees”

Be cautious of touts as well, do not answer any greeting or question from strangers or they will follow you up till you actually get on a bus or taxi. I made the mistake of answering to a “Hello” then the next thing I knew is that there are three men following me trying to have me get their service.

Once you have processed your arrival you either take a shared taxi or a bus to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh or where ever you are bound to, at the international Bus Terminal (6kms away) by taking the FREE government bus or walk straight to the Vikram Buntham bus terminal just straight ahead down the road. Fare for this bus company ranges from 8-10 USD depending on what type of bus you will be taking.

Always remember to check for your visa requirements and have enough money , be it local or USD -which ever is acceptable to your country of destination. It is important to know what you need to do and your rights specially when traveling cross borders to avoid being scammed.

Do you have a story or different experience in crossing the Cambodian border from Thailand? Let us know at the comment section!

5 Traveler Must Have Apps

August 27, 2014Uncategorizedandroid, apps, iphone, tips, travelian dela pena

In this day and age of technological advancements traveling has never been so much easier than before. Thanks to the invention of coding (and the smart phone of course), different applications can now be downloaded to your phones of which most are free. These applications will definitely help you not just navigate from A to B, but also keep your within your budget on the road.

1. Google Maps

Who would have not have these on their phone, ey? Uhm…. iPhone users i guess? Well I am not really quite sure if iPhone users have this or not but if can download it, go ahead! Google probably has the largest database of roads mapped out on an application. So instead of carrying that big paper map why not trade it with an easy to use app like Google Maps?

2. Train Apps

Major cities throughout the world are densely populated if not widely spread to several square kilometers. For this reason most of these cities have their own Metro (train) system to move people around the metropolis. Luckily, there are apps available like Trainsity for most metros in major cities. But make sure to research more about this because cities like Hong Kong have their own super cool app for their MTR which tells you how, where and when to transfer and get off on a station to get to where you want to be!

3. Google Translate

You might think that this thing wont actually work offline, well maybe for some functions but it is really handy having this app in times where no one would seem to know how to speak English or your language. To make sure that you don’t run out of luck specially if you are off the grid, download the language packs so that it will still work even without internet connection, brilliant ey!?

4. Weather App

Seriously this is one of the most important thing that I use. I actually double check this before I leave my house going to the airport, crazy me huh!? Not really. It is important that you check and double check the weather of your final destination, you don’t want to be over dressed if there’s a heatwave going on or freeze if there was a sudden snow fall right?

5. Currency App

Making sure you exchange enough money to another currency is a vital thing if you want to keep up with you budget when you are on the road. That is why having a currency conversion app is really helpful in making those decision that could possibly hurt your budget if you do not think carefully. There are bunches of them out there but I personally recommend the XE Currency Converter, it is simple and fast and handy.

Any apps that we missed out there that you think should be part of this list? Let us know on the comments section below.

*note: any logo or trademark that appears on this blog/article belongs rightfully to their respective owners. thebackpackerguide.com does not claim any right from any of them and was used for educational/informational purposes only.