Tag Archives: Tourist

Why Italy wasn’t exactly my favorite.

IMG_3337
at Dubai International Airport, not knowing what’s waiting for us on the other side.

After having everything planned and our week in Italy laid out, we arrived in Milan excited and anxious to get our incredible trip underway.

We had planned to hire a car and do a mini tour of Italy hitting up spots such as Florence, Lake Como and Venice. We have booked it online through Carrentals.com . After passing customs we headed to the car hire desk to collect our wheels for the week.

The lady behind the desk checked our details and asked us for our credit card to pay the balance remaining on the hire. This is where the trouble began.

Credit card? We don’t have a credit card! We explained that we only had a debit card or cash, but apparently, neither would be accepted.

Even though their website clearly stated that the use of a debit card would be accepted with a 1,700 euro hold on the card which would be released upon returning the vehicle. After pointing this out, she still refused.

We remembered that my brother had a credit card, but again, unless it was here with us, it wasn’t allowed. Great.

We approached every other car hire company at the arrivals terminal, each and everyone turning us away when they learnt we didn’t have a credit card. Tears started to fill my eyes through complete despair and frustration. I couldn’t believe there was only ONE way you could rent a car. There are no other options!

Everything was booked. The hotels. The tours. Our whole trip was about to get flushed away over a piece of plastic.

We had a 3 hour tour booked in Milan for 3pm which had to be cancelled. Where would we leave our luggage while we were on the tour? We had done zero research on these things as we didn’t expect not to have a car.

Our hotel was booked for that night in Verona, two hours away from Milan. In hindsight we could have left our luggage at the train station, but at the time it didn’t cross our mind.

We headed straight to Verona and started researching public transport options. We only had a week and we had an itinerary full of activities.

That evening, feeling totally down and out about the car hire mess we grabbed some pizza at the Arena. Our waiter approached us and asked if we spoke Arabic to which we obviously replied, yes. After chatting for a little while I turned to my husband and proposed the idea that we could ask the waiter whether he knew anywhere or anyone we could rent a car from.

The waiter told us that he had a friend who may be able to help us out and he would get back to us later that night. Surprisingly, he did indeed get back to us and told us his friend could rent out his car for the week.

Amazing! Finally, we can get on with our trip! We arranged to meet his friend at the restaurant the following night.

As promised, his friend did indeed have a car he could let us hire but after my husband expected it, he quickly realized the tires were not safe enough to go long distances.

Our mystery man said he would get them fixed by tomorrow 12pm and that was that.

The following day we packed up our belongings and checked out of the hotel. We had plans to head to Venice that day which was only an hour 20min from Verona. This is when problem number 2 popped up. The guy was unreachable. We sent him messages. Tried to contact the waiter. Nothing. It is like they just vanished off the face of the earth.

Public transportation would have taken 4 hours to get to Venice and we really didn’t want to waste half a day so again, it had to be cancelled. Venice stinks and I suffer from motion sickness, I told myself.

Feeling defeated yet again, we called our hotel in Verona and asked if we could extend for another night. After all this bad luck we should have really expected the following response. “Sorry, we are fully booked”

Really? Really!?

After some searching, we found another hotel to take us in.

Following Venice we had plans to head to Tuscany, that too, had to be cancelled.

Up till now, absolutely nothing had gone right on this trip. We had seen nothing we had planned to see. It was just one obstacle after another. We had one more trip paid for. A hike up Mont Blanc. This has to work out. It just had to!

We took the bus from Verona to Turin and after spending the night we met up with our guide and left our luggage at their house. The hike would involve sleeping out in the mountains for the night and she reassured us that our belonging would be safe.

The hike was incredible! Finally something good had happened! After hiking for 5 hours we still had 2 hours to reach the lake, then another hour to arrive at our accommodations for the night. We were exhausted. The cold was intolerable and made every movement slow.

Our guide then turned and informed us that the hut we would be staying in was not at all equipped with heating or even bathrooms! No chance. The cold was too much. My only savor would have been a nice warm and cozy hut where I could have a warm shower and sleep. Our bodies couldn’t deal with sub-zero temperatures, we are from Dubai, 50 degrees we can handle, not minus 10!

We skipped the sleepover and headed back down the mountain. After trekking for a further 4 hours back down, we stayed in a wooden house in the mountainsides. It was absolutely stunning. Modern with hints of vintage chic! Finally!

Easily the best two days in Italy!

The bus took us back to Milan and after leaving our luggage at the airport we went and explored Milan for the day, it was amazing. After all that had happened, at least we managed to have a couple of good days without being rejected, ditched and/or abandoned!

All trip details coming up in my next blog. Stay tuned.

From Dubai to Tokyo – Tips

I can’t walk down the streets of Japan without finding something unusual or peculiar. It’s just so stimulating.” – Michael Booth

If you’re from Dubai and plan on going to Tokyo, or the other way around, here are some things to keep in mind.

Similarities:

It’s VERY clean!

If you are from Dubai then you probably know all too well how clean the streets are, after all we are known for it (cleanest city in the region). Just when you thought you couldn’t find a city to match Dubai’s level, think again. Tokyo really goes above and beyond to keep their malls, streets and even public toilets at an A grade of cleanliness!

DSC01386
Streets look like they’ve just been freshly painted.
japan-narita-toilet
This is a PUBLIC restroom

Diversity

When travelling to different countries in the world, you may sometimes get the feeling that you don’t quite fit in. That you stand out because of how you dress or the color of your skin which can make for an uncomfortable vacation. This is not so in Japan. The country is highly diverse and welcoming to visitors from around the globe, so there is no need to worry about feeling like a stranger in this already wonderfully strange land!

foreign visitors

more welcoming countries

Excellent Service

It seems no matter where you go in Japan, the service is outstanding. Whether you are in your hotel, eating out at a restaurant or relaxing in a spa for the day, the staff go above and beyond!

Great food options

If you have a craving for it, there is a high chance that Japan can supply! It’s amazing how varied their food options are, which ties in with how diverse the country is as a whole. A word of warning though; with less than 1% of the Japanese population being Muslim, they haven’t quite mastered vegetarian or Halal dishes just yet!

Super safe!

Like UAE, the crime rate is low in Japan which makes for a very relaxing trip however, this doesn’t mean you can disregard all common sense and think that nothing bad could ever happen! Be cautious but relax and enjoy your holiday knowing that Japan is one of the safest countries in the world!

Safe_cities_index_World-map-2
Source: Global Peace Index 2015

Family Oriented

If you are planning a getaway with the family to Japan then you are in luck as just like Dubai the country is geared towards families offering attractions and services to meet the needs of all ages. On a side note, there is no need to worry about clothing as the Japanese are really quite modest themselves!

Differences:

Transportation:

We have all heard about the mayhem which is the Tokyo underground. With their map offering little to no reassurance, you really should add on an extra half an hour to your journey as the “helpful” map is a language of its own! It may be a little hectic at first, but unlike Dubai, public transport in Japan can get you anywhere you need to go for much less than a cab charge. Just remember that all services stop running at midnight, which isn’t too much of a problem when all the shops close by 10pm anyway!

Tokyo Transportation Network
Tokyo Transportation Network

Pay before you eat anything!

Have you ever walked through supermarket and started sipping on a bottle of water you just selected from the fridge before you have reached the register? Well if you do as Maysm did and tried this stunt in Japan then you would be in for quite a shock as our attendant freaked out when we passed her the bottle of water we were drinking!

Being adventurous with food – Maybe not

Now, when we are travelling to exotic and foreign lands, we always strive to try new and weird delicacies with the motto “Well if I don’t like it, I’ll just throw it away!”. Not in Japan. There is a distinct lack of garbage cans ANYWHERE which means if you don’t like what you have just purchased, you are stuck with it till you get back to your hotel!

Why’s that? – ‘You can’t find a rubbish bin in Japan because of a religious cult that killed 13 and injured 5,500 while trying to install a messianic yoga instructor as the new Emperor of Japan.Full story here.

img_2372
See those little ones on the side? Yeah. That’s all you get.

Be quiet

The Japanese people are extremely polite, but they are also VERY quiet. To the point where speaking loudly on the metro or trains is not allowed and even your phone in these areas MUST remain on silent. image4

Selfie sticks

With the era of the selfie stick in full bloom, you may be tempted to slip in a shameless selfie with you and your friends whilst at one of Japan’s theme parks. This wouldn’t be a wise move as selfie sticks are completely banned with signs dominating the parks, looks like you will have to do it the old fashioned way and ask someone nicely!

yqmbmlw

Travel in the right direction

Japan is one busy place, we all know that. So when moving with a large crowd or up an escalator, make sure you keep to the left to allow enough space for people to overtake you!

hqdefault

Queuing

Just like in England you will queue for everything, there seems to be a line for just about anything you can imagine having to wait for. So if in doubt, join the back or make your own line, just to be polite!

2506049851_7117dedb8b

Be on time

Things in Japan run like clockwork. Literally. A lot of Asian countries might be known for being laid back and “late for everything” but Japan is different. It could be said that they are ahead of time and if you walk into a restaurant with a 7pm reservation, they will not greet you or seat you a minute before!

We’ve all watched this video, right?

 

Language barrier

Unless you are fluent in Japanese then you are bound to encounter a huge language barrier as not many people speak English. It’s best to be prepared with a few common phrases, a translator app like Google Translate and also, keep the name and address of your hotel written in Japanese on a piece of paper. Picking up a business card from the front desk to show taxi drivers and locals is another great tip!

english-satisfaction
Source: Young Japanese desire English Report

ATM’s

For a country so forward thinking and highly developed in all areas of technology, there is a distinct lack of ATM machines that will accept foreign cards. So, to avoid a sticky situation, always keep some extra cash on you until you can find an ATM which will accept your card!

BN-HJ806_jatm03_P_20150312214327
Your best bet.

Tap water

Japan’s tap water is 100% safe to drink, really!

drinking+fountain
These are pretty much everywhere.

Tipping

If you are coming from a country where tipping is mandatory or just seen as polite; then leave your guilty conscious at home because contrary to Japan being an extremely polite country, tipping is considered VERY rude! Servers are paid a good living wage unlike those working in places like the US so if they owe you a single yen in change, wait and receive it.

Things-About-Japan-That-Shock-First-Time-Visitors-10

Japanese people are so wonderfully friendly and polite, even though you could probably get away with a certain level of “mistakes” because you are a tourist, it is always much nicer if you follow the simple tips above to begin with.

~ The Shapsogh Sisters