8AM: breakfast in hotel

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast." - If you agree with this quote, you may want to select a hotel stay-package which comes with a breakfast. Our hotel, Prince Hotel Myeong-dong provides exactly what we need to fuel ourselves before a busy day ahead. The breakfast spread provided by Prince Hotel Myeong-dong is decent and nice. 

9.30AM: indoor theme-park

Located in the heart of the city, Lotte World is the nearest theme park you can explore in Seoul. It is a theme park filled with thrilling rides, an ice rink and different kinds of parades, as well as a folk museum and a lake. The structure inside makes use of the natural sunlight and you do not have to worry about weather when you visit Lotte World as you are mostly covered by a roof (unless you go to the outside section of the park, of course). 

2PM: parade time

Who have time to sit and have lunch when there is an awesome parade to catch at 2PM? Go slightly earlier to save yourself the best spot to watch the parade. You don't have to worry about someone tall standing in front you as everybody must sit down so that everyone can enjoy the parade without being blocked.

4PM: what do you call in-between lunch and dinner (lunner?)

Go ahead to Hongdae to Yeolbong Jjimdak, which is owned by the Korean celebrity, Se7en, for a taste of its famous dish, Andong Jjimdak (re: Andong chicken). Be warned about the spicy level that you can choose for yourself. Andong Jjimdak is S-P-I-C-Y!!! A small portion of Andong Jjimdak can easily be shared amongst two to three people. A bowl of white rice may help you to finish the dish without being beaten by the spiciness. 

7PM: up-in-the-tower

Go burn the calories of the Andong chicken by climbing all the way to 63 Sky Art observation deck at Korea's tallest building, 63 Building. Enjoy the sun going down over the horizon of Hangan River and the surrounding Bugaksan, Namsan and Gwanaksan Mountains. 

8PM: dine-and-shop 

You will never run out of things to do even though the sun has set in Seoul. If you love the crowd, go ahead to Myeong-dong where the shopping and dining scene in Seoul goes on until the wee hours. International cosmetic stores like Innisfree, Etude House and Faceshop can be found nearly side by side in the bustling road of Myeong-dong. Fashion giant, Uniqlo, also has its flagship store here. 

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9AM: breakfast near hotel

If you are staying in crowded area like Tsim Sha Tsui or Mongkok, you don't really have to worry about breakfast. Chances are the nearest breakfast restaurant is located only a few steps away from your hotel. There is a dim sum restaurant located only two shops away from our hotel, Butterfly on Prat at Tsim Sha Tsui. Stomach never feels hungry in my trip. Really.

10.30AM: riding central mid-level escalators

Central mid-level escalators have often been featured in so many Hong Kong movies but the funny thing is, my first time knowing about the existence of this famous mid-level escalators is from Korean variety show named Running Man. This is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. You can view the unique mess of housing and shops in downtown Hong Kong while riding this cool walkway system. 

11:30AM: viewing pier

Head down to the Central ferry pier, which is located within walking distance from the mid-level escalators (preferably a cup of HK iced milk tea in hand if you are walking in a summer day). Hong Kong's weather is often foggy no matter when it is hot and cold but the sombre view of the pier will not make you down because after all, you are on a vacation. The busy pier lets passengers hop on and off the ferry between the main Hong Kong side and Island side. 

1PM: lunchie

Grab a bite at one of the many restaurants in the near IFC Mall in Central. It has some of the popular restaurants in Hong Kong like Tim Ho Wan (go for the yummy BBQ pork buns) and Agnes B cafe. If you are looking for some kind of dessert after a hearty meal, you can grab a delicious chocolate ice cream from Godiva. So far, I have only seen this menu in Hong Kong's and Singapore's Godiva.

3:30PM: on-board the tram to the Peak

As well as the Madam Tussaud's wax museum, the Peak is home to a countless number of tourists. Be prepared to queue for the peak tram with a thousand (or maybe more) of other tourists. It is best to go up before the sunset as it may take a while for you to reach the Peak because of all the queuing madness. 

4:30PM: mastering Wing Chun art from Master Donnie Yen

Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum in Hong Kong is part of the brand's franchise which can be found all around the world. However, the museum in Hong Kong features the wax figures of famous Asian artists too. I was so eager to meet Donnie Yen, which plays the famous Ip Man character in the movie with the same title. Now, let me master the Wing Chun art for a while here. 

7PM: admiring sunset from the Peak

When the time is near to the sunset (7PM-ish in summer), go make your way to the skydeck and join the crowd waiting for the sunset. Some of the crowd are passionate enough to chop the best viewing position since few hours back before sunset. There is nowhere like it anywhere in Hong Kong and the wind is pretty cool in the evening. 

8PM: dinner at Tsui Wah or any dim sum stall in Tsim Sha Tsui

There is no lack of restaurants opening at night in Hong Kong. If you are in the mood of dining in the Hong Kong cafe-style, go ahead to Tsui Wah and be prepared to be overwhelmed with uncountable selection of Hong Kong cafe dishes in its menu. The condensed milk buns are the local favourite and they really able to put a joy in our stomach. 

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8AM: a convenience-store inspired breakfast

As our hotel, Ibis Styles Kyoto, is located right opposite Kyoto Station, we just grabbed the Japanese rice balls (re: onigiri) and Japanese milk/ instant coffee to eat in our hotel for breakfast. You should not underestimate the beauty of convenience store in Japan. They basically have everything you can think of.

10AM: a stroll at the bamboo forest

Morning is the best time to go to Arashiyama for its serene and magnificent bamboo forest. You can access the bamboo forest directly from the main street of Arashiyama, near the entrance to Tenryu-ji Temple. There is just one main path through the grove. The path is slowly going uphill so walking is quite tough for you, you can approach one of the macho men who pulls carriage as their main line of income and he will gladly bring you around on his carriage. All you have to do is paying him according to the rate, of course. Go slightly deeper to avoid other tourists photo-bombing your picture in the heavenly forest.

12PM: lunchie at Arashiyama 

After all those walking, one needs a good food to fill his or her empty stomach. You can choose either eating at a traditional restaurant (Shigetsu is one of the famous choices of restaurants to eat in Arashiyama) or indulge in the local street food. We opted for the latter and we never regret our decision as these four-flavour ice cream taste like nothing we have ever tasted before. Not everybody has ever tasted sweet potato before in his or her life. 

3PM: ninja-training

After indulging in various street food at Arashiyama, it is time for us to continue our journey toward the greatest skill to learn in Japan, the art of ninjas. There is nowhere else better than Ninjatown (which is also officially known as Toei Kyoto Studio Park) to master this otherwise-historical-art. Wear your ninja garb and be prepared for some intense training inside the park. If you think ninja art is not for you, you can also consider to train to become a great samurai instead. After all, the sky is the limit here at Ninjatown.

7PM: dinner at Teramachi street

With all those training to avoid the traps, we could not help but being hungry again. It is, therefore, the right time to visit Kyoto's Kitchen, Nishiki Market and Teramachi Street. There is something bewitching about the Japanese way of displaying food behind the glass. With this kind of display, we were immediately lured inside the restaurant to enjoy a plate of hot and yummy omurice (i.e. fluffy egg omelette upside down served on top of fried rice). 

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8AM: Breakfast 

Even though a lot of businesses are not opened yet so early in the morning, this does not apply to hole-in-the-wall breakfast stall like Yonghe. Yonghe could be easily located at every corner in Taipei. If you like to experience traditional breakfast of Chinese fried culler (re: you tiao) and soya milk, you can simply pop by any hole-in-the-wall breakfast stall. For a start, there are some of them located along Ximending and Shida Road. The size of the you tiao is humongous. 

10AM: Strolling

I personally think that the best activity to do after eating is taking a stroll. While you are enjoying a nice sight, your stomach has a good time to digest all the goodies that you enjoyed during breakfast. There are so many nice sightseeing places to see in Taipei. One of my favourites is Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, which is located only a stone away from exit 3 of Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall MRT Station. 

If you come to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall during spring, you will be able to see a row of sakura trees in full bloom. Do check out their website for the timing of changing guard ceremony which is held every hour at level 4 of Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. 

1PM: Lunch

If you want to avoid office lunch crowd, you should probably try to avoid lunching at exactly 12PM. The crowd at 1PM is still a lot but relatively lesser than 12PM. Taiwan is known as the country where Din Tai Fung, a famous Xiao Long Bao restaurant, is originated from. So, if you would like to taste this delicate Chinese dumpling at its best, do visit Din Tai Fung at either Yongkang Street (the original place with amazing long queue) or Taipei 101 (which relatively shorter queue).

Occasionally, Din Tai Fung in Taiwan will roll out special menu exclusive only in Taiwan. Use this chance to grab that special menu because you really will not be able to taste it anywhere else. Really. 

3PM: book-worming

I have never thought that the Taiwanese loves reading so much up to the point I heard about the 24-hour book store named Eslite. My Taiwanese friend told me that this place is a haven for those people who are waiting for their morning train, students who need a better place to study for exam (other than their own house) and those who got nothing better to do. Wait, do you mean that you can read the book that Eslite sells for free? Eslite provides samples for the reader so that they can check out the book before they decide to buy. If you decide to be opportunistic and read the book until the end, I guess nobody will blame you. In fact, a lot of people is doing that leisurely in Eslite (for example, by sitting on the floor like it's their own house). Notwithstanding your motive, this place is a heaven for book-worm like me. 

7PM: dinner time

Night time means a fun time in Taipei. There is no foodie in the world who will miss the chance to have a go at Taipei's famous night markets. Since I was at Eslite before dinner time, I decided to take the subway to go to Raohe Night Market. There are so many yummy food you can find in Raohe Night Market from the black pepper pork buns, sausage sticks, stinky tofu, pig-blood cakes and even, snake meats. I gave the last one a miss, though. #notadventurousenough

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