Tag Archives: Travel

Traveling Made Easy: Apps to Help You Along the Way

June 1, 2016 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

I love to travel! When most people think of leaving their comfort zone, they quince and shiver. I am here to assure you that it is really quite easy. Actually, it’s incredibly easy. This is the future, after all, and we have technology that can help us through anything. To ease your traveling mind, I would like to share with you a few phone apps that have helped me along the way.

Hopper

You are probably aware that flight prices vary depending on the time of year you are
purchasing your flight, but did you know that they can vary as much as hundreds of dollars, within just a few days of each other? Hopper wants to help you save this money by letting you know the absolute cheapest times to fly to your desired destinations. This app will let you know that flying to Hawaii on Wednesday, rather than Friday, will save you big money.

Expedia

Expedia is your one-stop shop. They will help you find the best prices on not only flights, hotels, cars, cruises, vacation rentals, and activities. Not only that, but they will help to set you up with “bundle deals,” where you can mix and match deals, such as a hotel with your flight. Expedia is ridiculously helpful and super easy to use; plan out and pay for your entire trip with just one app!

Airbnb and Booking

Now introducing… One of the coolest ways to find accommodation: Airbnb! Airbnb lets you experience a location as if you are a local; it allows you to connect with locals in an area and stay at their place or guest house while they are out of town. It is also much more affordable, especially if you are traveling in groups, because it operates on a fixed price per night.

If hotels are more your style (which is cool too), Booking is a great app that helps you easily find and book hotel rooms in the area of your interest.

Viator, Yelp, Foursquare, and Sygic Travel

Have you ever finally made it to a location, dropped your bags on the bed, and thought, “now what?” Luckily, for common instances like these, there are apps to help guide you. Sygic Travel and Foursquare let you know what is going on and popular in your area (using an interactive map), and what people are saying about these places/events. Yelp gives you an awesome heads up about places you are considering visiting via real-life reviews, and Viator not only has reviews, but will actually help you to plan an entire trip or set you up with a hand-picked tour.

HalalNavi and Happy cow

If you find yourself in Japan, looking for Muslim friendly food, this app is your hero! It not only presents you with a list of restaurants in your area, but gives you directions, restaurant information, and reviews! Likewise, Happy Cow helps you find vegan, vegetarian, and healthy food in your area (not limited to Japan).

Tripit

Do you ever get so overwhelmed with options and things to do while traveling that you actually end up doing less? This is a very common issue. TripIt is here to help by allowing you to plan out your entire trip and organize it all in one place. You can import calendars, set up directions, share with your travel buddies, and much more!

Splitwise

You know that awkward moment after having dinner with a friend and you realize you left your wallet in the hotel room? Don’t fret, we have an app for that! Splitwise helps to ease the pain of these awkward moments of sharing bills and giving out IOUs by helping you keep track of what is owed in an organized, transparent, and professional manner.

Google Maps

Google Maps is probably my most-used travel app of all time. It helps you figure out where the heck you are, what is around you, and how to get from place to place (whether on foot, bike, bus, or car).

Packing Pro

Ahhh, yes, the difficult moment of staring at the empty suitcase lying open on your bed before a big trip. . . Packing Pro assists you in making a list of all that you need to bring along, using information like how many people (adults, children, male, female), destination, temperature, food prep, and much more!

Google Translate

A life saver. Google Translate will save you from situations like having to give directions to a taxi driver that doesn’t know a word of your language, by translating words and phrases between English and 100+other languages.

That’s all for now! These are only a few of the wonderful apps that have made my life 50x easier while traveling. Remember though, this is the future and there is an app for almost everything. Good luck and happy traveling!

Uncategorized

One Day in the Future at Miraikan: The National Museum of Emerging Sciences and Innovation

May 28, 2016 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

The future always has something that beguiles us. It can drive our imagination to possibilities that we have never seen before, or it can be an elusive far fetch vision of a world that we wish to have in our lifetime.

When I stayed at Tokyo, one of the best parts of my itinerary turned out to be a visit to a science museum. Not the old museum type, but the one that offers a fascinating view of the future! Miraikan means “Hall of the Future”, and it’s located in Odaiba, an artificial island in Japan’s capital city.

Odaiba is a fascinating futuristic place. Technically, Maraikan is labeled as the National Museum of Emerging Sciences and Innovation. It’s near the famous Gundam Statue and the iconic-shaped building of Telecom Center Train Station.

The most desirable feature that sets this science museum from the rest is the way they’ve designed the exhibits. All of it encourages interaction with the visitors, from the robotic pets to Asimo, scale model of the space station to the geo-scope zone, and you’ve got to try the “Personal Mobility UNI-CUB” rides!

From time to time there are new exhibits, but there are the permanent ones that will impress you even at the second time around. While the permanent exhibits have English and Japanese translations, most of the temporary shows are only in Japanese.

Tip: If you see that the line is long, make sure to get your number and scheduled time of return. Some of the popular exhibits allow you to come back on that schedule and you’ll be able to enjoy other exhibits at your own pace.

Feel the Earth in Motion with Tsunagari

Once you enter the science museum, the one impressive exhibit that catches everyone’s eyes is the huge globe that hangs above. Made up of organic LED panels, it’s a rendition of what Earth looks like from space. With over 10 million pixels, the Tsunagari shows real-time data on airflow and clouds streamed throughout the world! There are times that they change the display into geographical data, statistics of people travelling and weather projections.

Tip: If you feel tired midway through your exploration at the museum, the geo cosmos zone has a great lounge area that you can rest and sit down while gazing at the earth above.

Asimo

Can I really evolve to human-like characteristics? Let Asimo introduce you to his world! It’s a talking, walking, and dancing robot. He can speak in Japanese and later translate it into English. What else can he do? Take a look at this video.

The Asimo show is quite popular to visitors. Make sure to check the schedule first at the information center so you won’t miss this impressive show. Come at the Asimo zone as early as 30 minutes before the show to get the best seats in front.

What Will the Future Look Like?

We’ve seen the Hollywood version of the future from the movies, how about from science itself? This exhibit propels your mind to take a peek at the possibilities of what Earth will look like 50 years from now. This one made an impact on me, making me think on what one person can contribute for future generations.

First, you choose one of the areas on the planet that you consider most important, then while in the middle of the game, you’ll receive an email from the future – specifically, from your grandchildren! This might sound like a spam email for all single people, but I assure you, it’s no marketing scam. The letter will describe to you how bad the situation is 50 years in the future, urging you to do something.

Now, considering the theories about time travel, paradoxes and possible changes in the timeline, would you just ignore the message or actually do something to change the future and make this world be a better place?

Space Center

Ah space, the final frontier. While were grounded here on Earth, the International Space Station exhibit is a great way to learn how it is to live up and “out” there. You can walk into a tunnel which is a scale model of the ISS living quarters. They have realistic control panels, samples of astronaut food packets, and autographs by famous astronauts!

Stories of One, Everyone and You

Are you a nerd or an artist? An analyst or a more of a leader? This exhibit allows you to interact with personality tests and exercises and know more about yourself. Part of me thinks that this might be one way that the museum gathers information about the types of people who visit the place.

Cells in Progress

This was one of the exhibits with more people in queue, but when you get inside, it’s not that crowded. It displays the current breakthroughs and theories in cell biology and medical engineering. There’s also a section where you’ll see the images of the brain on different physical activities.

The most interesting part among the 5 sections in Cells in Progress was on stem cell research. You’ll be presented different types of injuries that one may have and how the amazing breakthroughs and possibilities that stem cell therapy can bring into medical technology.

Miraikan: National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation

Open Hours: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Weds to Monday, Closed during Tuesdays.

Admission Fee: Adults – 620 yen

18 years old and under – 210 yen

Other fees: If you want to enter the Dome Theatre, it has separate fee 300 yen for adults.

For more info on museum schedule and exhibits, check out www.miraikan.jst.go.jp

Uncategorized

The Value of Values

May 8, 2016 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

When you see a glass, do you see it half empty or half full?

Do you live for today or dwell on the past?

Do you thrive on positive contact or wallow about what people may have meant?

Whether you are predisposed to your personality traits by birth, or you believe that you are who you are by virtue of nurture and how you interacted with those around you as you grew up, there are indeed other factors that determine your outlook on life.

One of the main factors that determine your attitude towards others is in fact your country of birth, or to put it in more specific terms, your culture. A country that is a prime example of this is Japan.

Japan is a country known for many things – sushi, sumo, anime and technology – but running through the core of the country is an admirable balance of respect and regime, with the structure of these coming together to make a country who is revered for its values. So imagine a society that puts elders first, instils in children a sense that if you behave correctly towards others, this will be repaid in reciprocal respect kindness – sound idyllic?

Whilst there is no suggestion that living in Japan adds up to a perfect existence, or that people from other countries and cultures are distinctly lacking in similar moral values, the overall ‘vibe’ of the country does ooze an enviable feeling of satisfaction. Indeed, the rate of serious crimes such as murder is statistically one of the lowest in the world, suggesting that respecting your fellow humans runs deep into the Japanese psyche.

One of the reasons for this may be that there are subtle reminders about how to behave towards each other wherever you go. Public parking areas not only make allowances for the disabled and parents with young children, but also the elderly and pregnant ladies. The tradition of taking your shoes off as you enter a home is not just an age-old tradition, but a way of life that signifies how you should treat the belongings of another. And one that is hard to get used to, is that in Japan there is no tipping – a job should be done correctly without any added incentive and a clear price makes financial exchanges seamlessly cordial.

This all adds up to a place where if you put down your phone and walk away from it in error, return and it is likely to still be there, or put your bag on a chair that’s meant for sitting on, and it is likely to be frowned upon.

In other words, Japan is a country that values values.

Saito, one of the most beautiful souls we met. | Osaka, Japan

Uncategorized

Places you MUST visit when in Northern Italy.

November 12, 2015 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

After arriving in Milan at around 10am and battling with every single car rental company in Italy to no avail, we decided to jump on the train to Verona via Milan’s Central Station. As we purchased our tickets from the self-service machines, a slightly concerning message flashed across the screen, warning us to be careful and to watch out for pickpockets.. We had just arrived from one of the safest cities in the world. How bad could it be that it would warrant such a warning?

Verona

When we finally arrived at what was meant to be our hotel, we were taken aback by the fact that everything from the room keys to the cards were hotel-esque, except for the actual building itself. More like a renovated house than a hotel, it was clean and comfortable.

After a small rest to recover from our disappointing arrival into Italy, we decided to head to the Arena, situated just 15 minutes away from our “hotel.” Full to the brim with shops, cafes, and restaurants, I was able to snag a beautiful Pandora charm for my sister.

Verona was wonderful; the churches, ancient buildings, intricate architecture, and vast amount of Italian marble dominated the large stations.

Granada Land

With our love for amusement parks, we headed to Granada Land the following day for a bit of fun! The park was celebrating its 40th anniversary, which they advertised with large signs scattered throughout the park. Wow, I thought. This place is almost as old as the UAE!

We could easily see why this theme park was ranked fifth of the best amusement parks in the world! If you like plenty of rides and a fun day out, you should definitely check out Granada Land!

Parco Natura Viva

After checking out and leaving our luggage at the train station, we headed to Parco Natura Viva; a huge Safari Park and Zoo. We decided to grab a rental that had Four Wheel Drive to explore the park. It was so refreshing to be able to drive through the grounds and see the animals free to roam without cages or restraints!

The animals were clearly used to humans driving around; as one very bold giraffe peeked into our window! Even though the safari park was not as big as we had anticipated, the zoo was so huge that we, unfortunately, didn’t have time to explore it all.

Visiting Parco Natura Viva was a really great experience and we would highly recommend it; just give yourself enough time to explore it all in depth!

Mont Blanc

Not everything had gone as planned thus far. However, I was determined not to let the next part fail. Forget everything else. We were about to embark on the ultimate adventure, which we had been dreaming of for years; hiking Mont Blanc.

We headed back after our mini-safari adventure to Verona, where we jumped on a bus to Turin. Arriving quite late in Turin, our host met us at the station and drove us to our hotel. A small, yet stunning room was waiting for us; well styled and gorgeously modern, I loved it!

We rose early with a spring in our step. This was the day we had both been waiting for. After gathering our things, we headed to the station to meet our guide, Elisabetta. We agreed to leave our luggage at another guide’s house whilst we went for the hike.

Boots, bags, sleeping bags, and food for the trip were all packed and ready. It was time to head for the mountains. The trip there was incredible in itself. The greenery was such a striking contrast compared to how it is back home and there was so much of it! Waterfalls, houses in the mountains, old castles; was this place real?

After driving for two hours, it was time to jump out and start walking. The cold air hit our faces immediately and I had no other choice but to wear every single item I had brought; hence the mix-matched outfit! That didn’t matter. I didn’t care. I was finally doing it.

When we initially booked the hike, the website; Trekking Alps asked us whether we wanted to opt for the easy, medium, or hard hike. We were coming to see it all and live out our dream; so we went with HARD. What were we thinking? The hike was tiring and cold, simply unbearable.

The breathtaking views and intense adrenaline rush were what pushed us forward the whole time. Just knowing that we were hiking the “white mountain” kept our spirits high! It may have been deadly cold; however, we had been sweating underneath our layered clothes, which caused an icy chill to shoot through us when we stopped for some lunch.

Powering through, we continued on for another two hours. We were done. Completely exhausted. Or so we thought. Elisabetta turned and looked at us, imparting some not-so-great news. “We need another three hours to reach our hut. It’s not heated or equipped.” Followed by, “Come on guys, we can do this!” To which the only response that was appropriate was, “No, no we can’t.”

Elisabetta told us of a hotel we could stay at back down the way we came, to which we quickly agreed! After giving them a call, we were all booked in. Yes! I had seen the views, felt the burn, now I was ready to warm up and feel the soft sheets of a large bed! “How long will it take to get to the hotel?” I asked.

“Around three hours,” Elisabetta said calmly.

We wanted to cry. Surely, she could not be serious! After thinking we couldn’t take another step, we made it to the hotel. We knew along the way that the river was the half way point, back when we thought we couldn’t take another step, yet look at us! We laughed and felt proud on our way back down, with the occasional, “Go on without me, I can’t go any further!”

Feeling the burn from our muscles, we started to think that our gym membership was a waste of time. This was a completely different type of workout and to be honest, even though we were unprepared, we were surprised by how much we achieved!

After a grueling four hours, we made it back to the car. We did it! The moment I got into the car, I fell fast asleep, awaking to the view of a beautiful wooden house. The owner of the house, a very proud man, greeted us and showed us around. The bed was the most inviting thing I had seen all day; but not before one of the best hot showers of my life! That night, we slept like babies!

The next day, we awoke feeling well rested and proud of our previous day’s adventure! Our host had prepared breakfast for us, but not just any breakfast: homemade Italian breakfast. Honey, eggs, marmalade, cheese, bread; all locally sourced, mainly from the farm! It was incredible!

After packing up our stuff, we went and had a little walk around, where we bought some souvenirs before heading back to Turin. Looking back on the hike, I feel so immensely proud of what we achieved. I suppose you never really know how strong you are until it’s your only option.

Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.

Uncategorized

From Dubai to Tokyo – Tips

August 16, 2015 The Shapsogh Sisters Leave a comment

“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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

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

Uncategorized

A Muslims Journey to Japan

July 29, 2015 The Shapsogh Sisters 3 Comments

Before departing on our trip to Japan where Maysm was attending a conference in Yokohama, we had very few expectations of the country we would be visiting. All we expected was to witness first hand the Japanese’s love for technology, their innovative inventions and their overly polite nature. Our only real concern was regarding food. Being Muslims, we were curious as to how we would find the food options available to us, but we thought, it’s only for ten days, if we have to give up meat and go vegetarian, it’s not the end of the world! We soon came to realize that it wouldn’t be that easy. We happen to dislike seafood and with sushi bars dominating the streets of Japan and their need to include some sort of seafood in every vegetarian dish, we were hitting some unexpected obstacles. An even bigger problem revealed itself when we couldn’t even grab a bowl of chips because they would have been fried in pork fat.

The language barrier only exasperated the issue. There was so much variation on the words alcohol and pork that even if we were told a dish was free from both, it probably wasn’t. This problem persisted until we discovered an app that would make things a whole lot easier; HalalNavi. The app contained a whole bunch of restaurants and would show which dishes were free from pork products and also present alternative options.

The app managed to magic up other wonders like directing us to a Turkish Halal restaurant which turned out to be a Circassian restaurant! With such a small minority of Circassians in the world, we couldn’t believe we found one in Tokyo of all places!

Even though we only stayed for ten days, we couldn’t get over how polite everyone was. At first we were slightly dubious about how genuine their kindness was until we took the Metro one evening to get back to our hotel in Yokohama. A rather intoxicated Japanese gentleman was sat next to my husband and proceeded to what I can only imagine was to use my husband as a human pillow. Gently pushing the sleepy intoxicated man off, he suddenly regains consciousness. Oh no! I thought, please don’t turn into a fight! On the contrary; the man couldn’t be more apologetic for his actions. Wow. Now these are genuinely nice people!

IMG_0444 (1) — The sweet people of Japan.

Over our ten days in Japan we only encountered two other women wearing Hijabs. With less than 1% of Japanese residents being Muslim, this was not a common sight. As we walked down the street we would get the feeling we were being stared at, only to turn around and for that person to look away quickly. On that note, at no point did we ever feel isolated or threatened by these stares. They were looks of pure curiosity, nothing more.

After accidentally stumbling across a festival in Tokyo we were confronted with a lot of curious locals. They would point at our Hijabs and mutter a question in Japanese. I can only imagine they were asking us a question or maybe paying us a compliment. A word we got rather used to was Kawaii, meaning cute in Japanese.

Even though we had a few obstacles with finding suitable restaurants; We loved our time in Japan and even though there is only a small population of practicing Muslims, we were greeted with only curious and polite looks from the locals (a few requested to have photos with us!) and a ton of great memories from our short trip to this fast paced land.

Sanja Matsuri Festival | Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan | 15 May 2015

اضغط هنا لقراءة القصة بالعربية

~ Sondos Shapsogh