Since I am in Prague for a business trip, I made use of the weekends to do some exploring. If you're interested to read more my adventure in Prague, check out my older travel post on my Prague trip in 2014. I'll be updating a new blog post on my current Prague trip when I return to Singapore (which will be in 2017).

Kutna Hora is a historic town located an hour train ride from Prague. Kutna Hora is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to some of the most magnificent churches. Kutna Hora also sits on a silver mine.

Kutna Hora is an hour train ride from Prague. To get to Kutna Hora, buy your train ticket either online or at the Prague main train station (Praha Hln). The train will take you to Kutna Hora Hln and you'll have to switch to a connecting train to get to the town center, Kutna Hora Meso station. So make sure your ticket brings you to Kutna Hora Meso instead of Kutna Hora Hln. The return ticket will cost 209czk. The train comes at an interval of 2hours in the morning so make sure you check the timings, especially on your way back.

I alighted at Kutna Hora Meso and walked to the town center. It was winter, and one of the coldest days, so nobody was on the streets. The shops were all closed too so I highly recommend not to come in winter.

The first stop is to the Church of St Barbara.

It's such an amazing sight just walking to the church. I took a rather long way, winding some alleys, because I got kind of lost and I was refusing to take off my gloves to navigate the map on my phone because it was freezing.

Church of St Barbara is a gothic style cathedral that began construction in 1388 but was only completed in 1905.

The entrance fee for the church is 60czk and you can actually get a bundle ticket which will include the other main attractions in Kutna Hora.

To be honest, I did not do much research before going over so I had no expectations and idea of what the main attractions looked like. Neither did i know that there's an entrance fee. So I went in on a Sunday when there was service and managed to sneak in for free. I only realised that there was an entrance fee when I was buying tickets at the other attractions and they were showing the bundle package which included Church of St Barbara.

Before leaving, there's this hidden gem with a great view of Kutna Hora just next to the cathedral.

This is the Stone Fountain in Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora Stone House is around the corner and unfortunately, it's closed in winter. During warmer days, you can actually go on a tour into the silver mines.

As mentioned earlier, it's winter and not a single shop was open. So at the sight of an opened store, I went in immediately. The chocolate museum serves chocolates made in Czech and they allowed tasting. So I kind of left the store with a little more chocolates than expected.

Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is the other attraction in Kutna Hora. While the Church of St Barbara is located at the Kutna Hora Meso station, the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is closer to the Kutna Hora Sedlec station.

It takes 30 minutes to walk from the town center to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. Would not really recommend it so it's better to take the train.

While the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist has a gothic style, the interior of the church has a clean look with the minimalistic style.

But the key attraction of Kutna Hora has to be the Sedlec Ossuary. My colleagues, who recommended me to visit Kutna Hora, was raving about the bone church where they used bones to decorate the interior.

It's a little unusual to use bones to decorate a place but it's definitely an interesting sight. There's piles and piles of bones lined up as decorations.

To be honest, I felt Kutna Hora to be a little underwhelming in the winter with the empty streets and closed shops. But it was definitely worth the escape from Prague to visit somewhere less crowded. If you have extra time on your hands, do drop by Kutna Hora.

Will be updating the blog again real soon as I will be clearing some of my backlogs from my other previous travel adventures.

Till then!

I travel leisurely frequently and people are often asking me how I get the money to continue this hobby. Here's the secret, I'm always getting the cheap deals and travel on a budget. For example, my return flight to Sydney/Gold Coast only cost me $375. My Osaka hotel accommodation was less than $25/pax/night.

I'm going to share some of the tips to travel on a budget (because we are all students here!)

Cheap flight

Cheap hotel

I booked a lot of my hotels with Agoda (or used to till I had a bad service experience with them). I've been using Expedia since because of their exceptional service and experience. Expedia is great because they help secure the cheapest prices. Haven't had any problems with Expedia!

There's another option to cheap to hotels - hostels. I love hostels, especially when I'm on the road in Europe. They're cheap and hip. Booking.com and Hostel world are perfect sites to look for cheap hostels and I've used them way too many times when I was in Europe.

Another option is to go for home stay aka airbnb. They can be pretty cheap, and there are some hits and misses with airbnb. My only advice is to read the comments very carefully. I actually prefer going with airbnb in Australia but when I'm in Asia, I would stay away from airbnb.

Offline Maps

If you do not have a mobile data connection, it may seem like it's going to be very difficult to navigate your way around. You wouldn't be able to find wifi anywhere either. When I was in Tasmania, I had poor connectivity because I'm always out in the mountains. That's when offline maps come in handy.

I adore the app maps.me and it allows me to download maps in advance so I don't have to worry about them not loading when I'm overseas. If it rings a bell, that's because I've mentioned about maps.me before in my other posts. You can also use Google Maps to save an offline map so you'll be able to use it without connectivity.

Do you know that you can actually use GPS without data connection? Simply make sure you have GPS turned on and it'll work without incurring costs!

Plan

A great way to save money while travelling is to plan well. Why do you need a good plan? Because there are early bird promotions, especially when you get accommodation or transportation deals.

If you're planning to travel by HSR in Taiwan, booking early saves you money. If you're travelling to Japan, you might want to calculate if a JR pass is worth the money. It can actually save you money if you plan to do a lot of travelling around.

Therefore planning your route before hand may be a wise idea. Planning in advance also allows you to better understand the area you're going. You can easily find cheaper alternatives when you're planning rigorously.

Save with Rebates

The last hack I'll be sharing will be the use of rebates.

Shopback allows you to get rebates from making online purchases. They have a long list of partners ranging from Expedia, Agoda, Booking.com, HostelWorld, Jetstar, Tigerair, Singapore Airlines, and so many more. The rebate amount depends on each partner site.

I've saved so much from Shopback just from booking my accommodation and flights. So here's how you can go about doing so.

Firstly, create a new account using the referral link!
After signing up, you're ready to start saving! Whenever you want to shop at a certain site, simply go into ShopBack first. Look for your site from the long list of partners they have (or simply use the search function). Click Shop Now and you'll be given some terms and conditions and a notice that you have to stay on the same window while making the purchase. You'll be redirected to the site of your intention and you can begin making your purchases! Again, I emphasize on staying on the same window whole making the purchase.

The rebate is not immediate (as how credit card rebates are not either). Thus, be patient and you'll be able to see that your transaction is pending after a couple of hours.

After the money is in (the days differ between different partners), you can cash out your money! Kaching!

It's simple as that! And here's the extra catch! If you sign up using my link, you'll get a $5 immediately which you can cash out together with your first cash out. That's  $5 just for signing up an account!

https://www.shopback.sg/?raf=QYoCbl

So these are 5 tips I use when travelling to save money and I hope you find them useful!

Amsterdam, best known for its canals and narrow houses. Putting the famous red light district and coffee shops aside, the capital of the Netherlands has many other attractions.

I stayed at the Central Station Hostel, a tiny hostel right smack in the middle of all the buzz in Amsterdam. We had a 6 bed mixed dorm en suite, so no complaints there. It was convenient, cheap and clean.

The first stop of the trip was Anne Frank House. It is a biographical museum dedicated to Anne Frank, a Jewish who was in hiding during the World War II. The queue for Anne Frank House can get really long so we started queuing before the museum even opens. Either come early to queue, or prebook the tickets.

The Anne Frank House was thought provoking and solemn. Even the wait may be long, I felt that it was worth the visit because it was an eye-opener.

After the trip to Anne Frank House, we hopped by The Pancake Bakery which is just within walking distance from the museum. I ordered a savoury pancake and realised I pretty much prefer my pancakes sweet. Fret not those with a sweet tooth, The Pancake Bakery do have pancakes for you too.
After a hearty meal, we made our way to the Heineken Experience. Heineken Experience is an interactive tour around the history of Heineken. My expectation for this attraction wasn't high because after all, we only went for it for the free tasting after the tour (FREE ALCOHOL).

However, the tour turned out a lot more fun than expected. All of us enjoyed it tremendously because there was so many things to do in there. Even the people who don't drink enjoyed the tour. We even played a football match on the xbox in one of the interaction rooms.

You'll get to customise your very own Heineken bottle by printing your name on it. It will make the perfect gift for a friend.

After the tour, you'll get a free boat ride. How can you say no to ride a boat along the canals of Amsterdam. I may have slept throughout the boat ride because I drank a tiny bit too much beer back in the experience (blame it on friends giving me their free drinks & also because I'm a bad drinker).
When the night falls, Amsterdam changes into a city of lights. The famous red light district comes to life. Girls in lingerie, standing behind the glass door, waiting for a customer to approach her. Sex stores at every corner, and even sex shows going at 2 euros for 2 minutes. In a dark box, drop 2 euros into the machine and the curtain in front of you will open, revealing the act, and closing shut after 2 minutes.

After a tour around, we walked to Winkel 43, which was said to have the best apple pie in the world. Two thumbs up! I would say you have to definitely give the apple pie a try if you're in Amsterdam!

The rest of the night was spent looking for coffee shops. The Bulldog Cafe is one of the more popular coffee shops in Amsterdam, and the moment you enter, you'll see photos of celebrities who have visited the place.

The next morning, head over to Van Gogh Museum . I walked there from the hostel, so it was a good morning walk! After which, the famous IAMSTERDAM sign is just nearby the museum. It is impossible to take a proper photo of the sign without anyone spoiling your photo.
Hi from the top of the T! :)

The next trip was to Zaanse Schans! We took a train to Koog-Zaandijk from Amsterdam Central Station before walking approximately 10 minutes to this lovely place. There weren't many visitors so you really had the space to yourself.
You don't get to see many of these windmills around anymore. This place is the close to Amsterdam so most visitors visit this place for a taste of The Netherlands. There's also shops there that sell cheese and stuffs.
That's it for my short trip to Amsterdam! Stay tuned for more posts on my trip to Europe!

It's a lot cheaper to travel to Japan nowadays with the help of budget airlines. I got my return tickets to Tokyo for slightly less than $300. So my week in Japan began on the 10th May. We missed the sakura season by a week so it was kind of a disappointment.

It was a packed week and we tried to cover quite a few places, but I felt it was just nice and we managed to cover most of the places we wanted to.

Before the trip we ordered our Japan Rail Pass online and got it delivered over. It is highly recommended if you're planning to take the shinkansen, which we did. The Japan Rail Pass covers some of the shinkansen lines and the JR lines in Japan.
After the 10 hours flight (with a layover in Taipei), we finally reached Narita Airport. We were starving so we quickly went to the train station to get our Narita express tickets (which the Japan Rail Pass covers) and some onigiri before boarding the train. The train frequency is approximately half an hour but there are certain hours with limited trains.

The Narita express ride took approximately an hour to get to Tokyo. There are a few stops in Tokyo, including Shinjuku.

Tokyo

We stopped at Shibuya because I wanted to see the famous Shibuya crossing. We got off the wrong exit though, so we were lost for a bit in Shibuya. But we managed to find a conveyor belt sushi place selling each plate at only 100yen (118 yen inclusive of tax) What a steal! We were hesitant initially because there weren't any gaijin but once they know we are not Japanese, they brought us a menu.



The guy beside us was really friendly and even though he couldn't communicate in Japanese, he gestured to us to get ourselves a cup of green tea and a plate of soy sauce. The chefs are in the middle of the place and basically you just tell what you want to the chefs and they'll slice up some sushi for you immediately. Or you can be like us and just take things off the belt because we were too shy to order directly.

Our bill was only 1,500 yen for two satisfied and full tummies. We left the place feeling over the moon with our first meal in Japan. And we decided to ask an elderly policeman for directions to the crossing. Apparently saying words like "Shibuya" and "Yuumei" (有名) doesn't get us the directions to the famous crossing. But he was being really helpful and told us the directions to where he thought we were going, in JAPANESE. Thank goodness we understood Japanese.


So we crossed a few overhead bridges, and walked for a distance till we finally reached the Hachiko statue (which was where the famous crossing was). Nothing special, in my opinion. There are other junctions in Tokyo that have the same diagonal crossing. If you want to go there, exit from the Hachiko Exit.


But I guess a photo at the crossing is always a must. We walked back and forth for about 6 times before returning back onto the JR line. Our next stop was Meiji Shrine, which was at Harajuku, which was one stop away from Shibuya, on the Yamanote Line (the line which most tourists will take because it covers all the famous spots in Japan).


Takeshita Street sits directly outside the Harajuku JR station and if you walk down to your right, you'll be able to find Meiji Shrine. Or you can just follow the crowd blindly because everyone will be going to the same place.


The walk in to reach the shrine is pretty deep and it's a nice walk away from the bustling Tokyo city life. The road is kind of dusty though, and our shoes were covered in thick layers of dust.

I noticed the Japanese always turn towards the shrine and bow whenever they pass a Torii gate, both when they are entering and exiting, and of course, I followed suit without understanding why.

Before entering the shrines in Japan, there will be this cleansing area. You are encouraged to cleanse and purify yourself before entering but then again, nobody can fault you for not doing so because you're a gaijin.


Instructions will be given (if you're at a tourist area).

1. Scoop some water with right hand and rinse your left hand.
2. Switch over to the left hand and rinse your right hand.
3. Switch back to the right hand and pour some water into your left hand. Use it to cleanse your mouth.
4. Tilt the scoop upwards and let the water flow down the handle to clean the handle.



Another point to note is that there are weddings held at the shrine on Sundays so you'll get a glimpse of them in their wedding costumes.

After the trip to Meiji Shrine, we made our way to Takeshita Street which is where youths gather. There, you can find a really big Daiso store.

Our airbnb host was the kindest. The rooms were cheap and well furnished so no complaints there. Moreover, when our host found out that we wanted to go down to Omoide Yokocho for dinner, he walked us there. We had ramen and then yakitori over at Omoide Yokocho. It was definitely cheap, but not the best we had in Japan so far.

We walked around Shinjuku and spent quite a fair bit of time at the arcade before heading back to our apartment. The next day, a morning visit to Tsukiji Fish Market, where you can find the freshest sashimi.


Afterwhich, we split up and I went to Odaiba while my companion went to Ikebukuro. The reason why I went over to Odaiba was because I wanted to visit the Fuji TV building.


I've watched Japanese dramas since I was young and I've always wanted to look at the props, the studio, and the TV station. If you're not a huge fan of the Japanese dramas, you can skip this place. In the tour around the building, I saw some props from VS Arashi, SMAPxSMAP, and even Domoto Kyoudai which had ended. I even saw the studio used for recording Hey! Hey! Hey! so it was all cool.


Odaiba also offers a clear view of the Rainbow Bridge. It looks a lot better at night though. Also, I did a fair bit of shopping while at Odaiba because there were just so many shops and stores there. I left the place before lunch and headed to Hamamatsucho station to visit the Tokyo Tower!
Along the way, I spotted a standing soba store and decided to give the experience a try. The Japanese are always short on time, rushing off for work so the fastest way to finish a meal is to stand and eat. The food was really good, I guess you just can't find bad Japanese food there.


The Tokyo Tower can be seen from the Zojoji. It was a long walk from the JR station. Didn't pay to go up though. On the side note, we also did see the Skytree from afar on our first day in Tokyo.


Special mention for the Tsukemen Ramen we had because I've never had tsukemen ramen before. Why can't we find these in Singapore? It makes more sense to eat this in a hot weather as compared to bowl of hot ramen!


To catch the shinkansen to Osaka, we went to Shinagawa station because it was less confusing and was recommended to us by a staff. As the journey was 3-4 hours long, we grabbed some snacks at Shinagawa station.


There's something amazing about Kobe Croquette. Especially the kani one. I even went back on my last day to get it again. If you happen to come across it, don't forget to get one! It's a bit on the pricey side but it's definitely worth it.

Osaka

The shinkansen brings you straight to Shin Osaka station, and you can easily hop onto the JR line from there. There are two main city centers in Osaka, Umeda (which is further up north) and Namba (south of Umeda).

We chose to stay at Umeda station because it was more convenient for us. We picked Hotel Kinki which was really affordable, and had really good ratings. Moreover, it was within walking distance to Umeda station, easily accessible by the underground path, and there are plenty of food choices around the area.


Hotel Kinki is located in a tiny little road, away from the main road. It took us a while to figure out where it was because when we arrived at night, this street was filled with pubs. Still, it was a safe location. I would definitely return to stay in the hotel on my next visit (next summer?)

Did I mention the 24hour Don Quijote store is right across the road from the hotel? And you wouldn't have to squeeze with all the tourists in the outlet in Tokyo Shinjuku. Ippudo ramen is also just across the street, which we had on our last day in Osaka.


We had Osaka's famous okonomiyaki and yakisoba on our first night. Don't leave Osaka without trying these - and takoyaki too!

We had an early night after some kirin beer as we recharged for our Kyoto day trip the next day.

Kyoto

Kyoto, the most beautiful city in Japan. Did you know Kyoto was taken out from the list of cities to drop the atomic bomb in WWII? A city, rich in culture. However, it's also very expensive to stay in Kyoto, a lot more expensive as compared to Osaka. Thus, we decided to make it into a day trip (two days would have been perfect to cover everything).
At Osaka station, hop on the JR Kyoto line over to Kyoto. It's really easy and accessible. Upon arrival, we went to get the bus pass because it's a lot more accessible to travel by bus in Kyoto. Taking three bus rides would have made the all day bus pass worth it. Also, do remember to grab a bus route map from the tourist center!

Our first stop was Kiyomizudera (清水寺). It is a Buddhist temple, founded in 780. It is best known for its wooden stage. There is a direct bus that brings you from the station to the temple. But of course, you have to walk up a street to reach the temple as it is pretty high up.
Most people rent kimonos to wear in Kyoto and I'll say why not? I spotted a few stores renting our kimonos  for tourists. I didn't get any though, maybe next time when I'm not on a budget backpacking trip!

Imagine how beautiful this place will look in Spring, with all the sakura, or in Autumn, with all the crimson leaves. Parts of Kiyomizudera is currently under renovation, but it does not disrupt the visit, at least not now.

 The Otowa Waterfall! They said each stream represents a different benefit (but I'm sure those tourists queuing up for this doesn't know one bit why are they doing this).
And outside the paid area of Kiyomizudera, we went over to Zuigudo Hall and paid 100yen to enter this pitch dark basement. It was a really intense experience, walking in the dark, but yet, it was a really good experience. It said that if you touch the stone and made a wish, it will be granted :)

There's also the famous love stone in Kiyomizudera, where you have to close your eyes and successfully walk from one to another.

The crowded street leading up to Kiyomizudera! :)

After which, we returned to the bus stop where we dropped off and boarded another bus to Kawaramachi station. From there, we walked to Nishiki Market, where we had our lunch. Nishiki Market is a long stretch of road with lots of shops selling all kinds of things.

The most memorable part was when we settled on having lunch at this store. The fresh sashimi was really affordable and I can't stress how awesome it was.

The oyster was really huge too! I have never seen a larger oyster than this and this cost me only 700yen. We only ordered it after seeing the couple beside us eating, and the next person saw us eating and also ordered it!

Even though we only had bits and pieces of food along the way, we were full to the brim and decided to head off to our next stop - Nijojo (Nijo Castle). We pretty much find a random bus stop (because by then we were lost) and looked for buses passing by this attraction. You'll be surprised how easy it is to travel by bus in Kyoto.

This castle was built in 1603, in the Edo era, and my companion particularly loved this place because he missed it out the last time he was here in Kyoto. This place needs to be placed higher on the places to visit in Kyoto list.

Also, something to note is that the floors make squeaky sounds whenever you step on it and this is to alert the people living there that an intruder is around. We tried our best to walk as silently, but failed miserably.

And our next stop for the day was the Kinkakuji. The golden pavilion. The silver one was at the east side of Kyoto, which we didn't have the time to cover (and also because my companion visited that place the last time).

I was so disappointed in this place because it was overly crowded with tourist groups. So I couldn't snag a good photo with it. The architecture was beautiful though, but the experience of squeezing in the heat wasn't enjoyable.

After we were done with this place, we hopped on a bus and went back to Kyoto station before changing to a train to head towards Inari, which would be our last stop because it was getting dark soon.


And that summed our day in Kyoto! Sure, we missed out the Kinkakuji (silver pavilion), the philosopher's walk and also the famous bamboo forest - Arashiyama, but I felt we had a fruitful day travelling from East to Central to North and then to the South of Kyoto.

Nara

These deer are so well conditioned to bow for biscuits. Sometimes it seems that they are trying to headbutt you, but they are just innocently bowing for food. We met one lonely one, grazing peaceful. And the moment he looked up and saw us approaching him, he made a bow. How polite! 

We even saw some of them using the traffic crossing to cross the roads when the green man is on. How law-abiding can these deer get!


But deer aside, Nara is home to the Todaiji. Constructed in 752, it is the world's largest wooden building. More than 2 million Japanese worked on this temple (according to our Japanese guide who told us the history of this majestic building). There's a huge bronze Buddha statue inside the temple hall.



This has ought to be one of my favourite temples in Japan. It's really huge and majestic. I loved it so much, I decided to make a donation to help in the reconstruction of it. And in return, I got to write my blessing on a roof tile that will be used for the new roof.

Many of the Japanese temples have these fortune telling boxes (omikuji). I tried one in Todaiji and I got the best fortune! It was Great Blessing, which is the best of the best lucky tokens. The guy over the counter was so excited for me, even more so than me.

And I'll have to say before my Japan trip, my life wasn't going good. But after coming back, everything has been going smoothly for me. I do hope the luck doesn't run out too quickly!

We were planned to head to Kofukuji after Todaiji but it was pouring heavily. It was hard to admire the pagoda in the rain so we decided to just find somewhere to have our lunch before heading back to Osaka.

It is off to the famous Dotonbori Canal over at Namba station. This has got to be the best shopping heaven. I absolutely loved walking through the alley. My favourite place was Book Off, a second hand shop that sells books, manga, CDs, DVDs, and many other random things. We spent nearly 2 hours in the store, just browsing and looking around before leaving the store with our bags of loots. They even sell second hand clothes and bags, which I didn't have the time to explore.

Fujikawaguchiko (Mt Fuji)