Robot Restaurant - Tokyo

On my way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I had an overnight layover in Tokyo. I decided to get as much as I could out of it. I booked a Manga Capsule Hotel in the Shinjuku district and got tickets to the Robot Restaurant. I first heard about it on a facebook post by The Points Guy and thought, "I have got to go there" even before I knew I was going to be in Tokyo.

I walked there from the Hotel. I was using google maps on my phone and not sure if I would be able to find it. Then I turned a corner and come upon this.

Yep, think I found it! I still get that song stuck in my head sometimes.

You can take a picture with these giant robot ladies outside of the restaurant.

This is in the hallway on the way inside the restaurant.

It is cheesy, expensive and touristy, but so, so fun. At the visitor counter at the airport I got a coupon for about $20 off the ticket price. You buy tickets for the show across from the actual restaurant. There are people standing outside the ticket area with large signs advertising the show. I walked right up, gave the girl my coupon and she sent me up to the ticket desk. No frills, no fuss, just business. (i.e., this is not where you are going to ask questions about the show- they move you right along - get your questions out to the person outside trying to lure you in).

When you arrive, they put you into this mirrored room with a bar where you can purchase expensive drinks and overpriced bar food. The menus are in English, or at least are available in English. The staff speak English, or at least most of the ones who interact with customers.
You can hear the announcements being made in English.

This is the floor/stage before the lights go out.

These signs let you know that it's now or never. 

By the end of the show, I was saying, "Holy sh*t!" and was kind of relieved it was over. I didn't know how much more of it I could take. Total sensory overload. 

Now for the big girl tips: It is tight in here, very tight. I was lucky to get a front row seat, but it was in the middle of the row so there were tables and people on either side of me. I'm talking just a few inches away from each other. It makes economy class airport seating look like luxury. I was upfront with the staff about the situation and they got a person on the end to trade with me. I had asked if maybe they could just pull up a chair or something but there is no extra space anyplace on the floor. Every inch is accounted for the show. If you are in the front row, they make you practice dodging the robots at the start. And you do! There are pieces of robots and contraptions that do go right over your head.

My photos and videos leave a lot to be desired because the show is dark, and my camera isn't great with dark lighting. There are so many things I wish I could have got good video of. There was a Michael Jackson dance segment where the dancers wore glow sticks all over their bodies. It was really cool, but my photos and videos are nearly impossible to make out.

For me I had this inner battle of wanting to record/photograph everything and wanting to just soak it all up in the moment. There is so much going on at every angle. It is expensive. However, I'm glad I did it. I had a very small sliver of time open for an activity in Tokyo and this fit the bill. The district is a little shady with nudie clubs as you walk by (this is the "red light" district). However, there is enough foot traffic that I did not feel unsafe walking alone at night.

It was an awesome experience!

Cambodia - Hotel

I have arrived safe and sound at home the bag for my trip to Cambodia. Since there's so much to tell about the trip I figured I'd break it up into pieces. Today's blog post about the hotel. I booked the hotel on agoda.com. since it is 90 degrees in Cambodia right now I knew that air conditioning was an absolute must for my hotel stay. I was able to limit search based on that parameter. I then decided on neighborhoods based on reading various post on the Lonely Planet message board for Cambodia. Someone mentioned a couple of streets that were good for hotels and when I found one in my price range on one of those streets I booked it. the street was 208. The hotel was https://www.facebook.com/Villa-Chaktok-568942863289480/ Villa Chaktok. the price ranged from $20-30 a night, with most nights being $23.

 That amount seems super cheap to Americans but you can get a dorm bed and Cambodia for as low as $5. I could have paid a lot more and got my own private pool and other amenities. However I decided to go middle of the road. I had the comfort I wanted with a price I could afford.

The air conditioning was awesome and I was able to control it by remote control. I had a small refrigerator in the room which had a mini-bar. There was a flat screen rejection attached to the wall. There was an armoire in the room that has robes and slippers. I had a king size bed. The Wi-Fi was awesome. When I first arrived to the hotel they treated me like a queen. They helped me get my luggage from the cab and gave me a nice cold drink.

They carried my luggage upstairs to my room for me.

All very luxurious, especially by Cambodian standards.

Here are the down sides: they did not clean her room while I was there. This meant that they didn't empty the trash. Considering that you don't throw toilet paper in the toilet and have to put it in a trash can that makes for some pretty nasty trash. They would never be in the room without me being there. I don't know if this is a cultural thing or just their practice. I know that if I would have asked them to change the trash they would have done so quickly. Any time I called reception they were there within two minutes time. However I didn't feel comfortable asking them to do that.

When I went to add a night they tried to overcharge me for my room. I finally just looked it up on agoda myself and showed them the price it was a going for on that website and that's how I got my room for $23 for the rest of the time. One of the nights that I booked on agoda (before I arrived) was $20 and another one was $30 since it was a weekend night. So when I wanted to add more they wanted to charge me $30 a night. I was ready to walk away. or just book through agoda and have then pay the commission.

They don't have a pool. there are many hotels in Phnom Penh which have a pool. It is seen as an essential given the heat in the area. This is a brand new hotel, though, and according to the manager, there are plans to add a pool, along with a sky bar. There are pictures of the sky bar on their facebook page, which show that it is almost finished.

The staff was not knowledgeable about tourist information. They we're willing to google anything to find the info, but they we're not familiar with basic things, like boat rides on the Mekong River or how to get to Siem Reap.

All in all, I was very happy with my stay there. the air conditioning worked perfectly, the Wi-Fi was good and the place was clean.

Planning and Panic

I am leaving for Cambodia in just a few days. I am so excited and nervous and know that there is no turning back now!

Just to review where all the info from this trip came:
I found out about the flight through The Points Guy on Facebook. His main schtick is getting miles from credit cards, but he also posts really good air fare deals when they become available. My round trip flight from Chicago to Phnom Penh was under $450. That is the entire reason I decided to take this trip. Give me a good deal and I'm there!

Hotel -
When it came to booking a hotel in Asia, I had absolutely no clue where to begin. I first looked at AirBnB, which is what I used exclusively during my Canada road trip this summer. There were many great listings, but I realized that I didn't know enough about the city to figure out how far away the homes were from the airport or tourist attractions. My main focus on this trip is comfort and convenience. I will gladly pay more to be dropped off at the door of wherever I am going. This trip has such a fast turnaround and such immense probability of jet lag, that I don't trust my ability to navigate on my own after traveling for 39 hours (this includes my overnight in Tokyo).

Next I went to the Lonely Planet website and found the Cambodia Forum. This led me to Booking.com and Agoda. Agoda is where I booked my rooms for Phnom Penh and I booked Tokyo on Booking.com. Booking.com does have price match, so if you find your room cheaper elsewhere, they will match it. I didn't use that feature, so I can't report on that.

TSA - I did apply for pre-check from the Transportation Security Administration. The cost was $85 and lasts 5 years. I did this last month, and here in Indianapolis, I was able to get an appointment the next day. I did not do the Global Entry, though, which apparently requires an actual interview in addition to the fingerprints. When I went, the person just asked me the same questions from my online form and took my fingerprints. I don't know if Global Entry is different. I do know that it costs more and word on the street is that in some cities it is hard to get in to schedule an interview.

As for activities while in the cities, I have found ideas from Trip Advisor and Viator. Viator is apparently the same company as Trip Advisor. I would read reviews on Trip Advisor and check out prices on Viator. So far, my plan includes a Robot Cabaret Show in Tokyo.

Did I mention I am staying at an internet and manga cafe and sleeping in a capsule in Tokyo? Yeah, just going all in.

In preparation for Tokyo, I ordered Japanese Yen from my bank. It should be in tomorrow. They were not able to order Cambodian Riel. I have no idea how one would get that money here, but I read that they also widely accept and prefer the American dollar.

This summer in Canada, my debit card would not work at stores, so I am going to have my credit cards at the ready in case I run into a similar situation. I want to have many options so I don't find myself in a financial bind.

Oh, and you have to have a visa to enter Cambodia, but you can get that at the airport upon arrival. My plan was to get it ahead of time on their website but I got tripped up by having to upload the photo and not having a scanner for my passport picture, and next thing I knew, I was out of time. D'oh.

What started out as an impulse buy has definitely turned into a lot of moving pieces fitting together. I also contacted a school in Cambodia and will be spending a day there while I am there. That is one of the things I am most excited about. If I had thought of it sooner, I could have tried to arrange more meaningful for my time there. I learned at the volunteer work camps on vfp.org, but there are none going on during the week I am there.

Whenever I become overwhelmed by a big trip, I think, "Just follow the end of your nose". Putting one foot in front of the other, I will make it there.

Single digits

Nine days (single digits) before my trip to Cambodia/Tokyo/Washington DC . Finally sorted out my night in Tokyo. I'm going to be staying in a 'capsule' manga/internet cafe. Yeah. And then I'm going to the robot cabaret. Boom.

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/08/tpgtv-robot-restaurant-in-tokyo/

For the first time, I'm feeling more excited than nervous. But then when I pause and think about it, I get nervous again. 

I'm nervous about the 13 hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo. 

I'm nervous about navigating my way around Tokyo.

I'm nervous about the seven hour flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from Tokyo. 

I'm nervous about not fitting in the seats on the plane, pushing into the space of the person next to me. Hoping I'll have an empty seat there. 

I'm nervous about being so tired from the traveling that I actually won't be able to do much. 

I'm excited to go someplace I've never been and someplace I've never even thought of going. 

I'm excited to see new things and share these experiences with my friends, family and students. 

I'm excited that I'm actually doing something that really seizing the day and getting the most out of the short life we have here on Earth. 

But for now, I must sleep. Work still awaits me at 7:15 am. Cuddly time for me and Chewy. 

Cambodia Panic Attack

I am trying to sort out the details of my Cambodia/Tokyo/Washington DC trip that I so bravely booked a couple of months back and I feel like I am ready to puke. What in the sam hell was I thinking? I knew it was outside of my comfort zone, but I was feeling all powerful and hopped up from my Canadian road trip, I thought, I am woman, hear me travel and all of that good stuff. And then I saw the plane seat size - 16.5 inches wide. WTF?! My ass is much larger than 16.5 inches wide.

Well, to console myself, I'm getting a hotel with a pool and a bathtub so I can chill when I arrive. Via taxi. Which I will hopefully have to myself. With air conditioning. I am the not the 20 something I once was, that's for sure!