travelling | The Shapsogh Sisters

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!

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

The Shapsogh Sisters

Tag Archives: travelling

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