Everyone’s going north!

A number of my friends have booked their holidays and I see a very striking trend. Everyone’s going north!! Let us see where they are going: (Click the map for a bigger and better view)

See the trend? Even I am going north, to Tokyo, Japan at the end of the month. Hock is going to Shanghai, China tonight. Dee is going to Hong Kong, China right after Hock, and Allen just came back from a brief trip to Taipei, Taiwan. What a big coincidence! So what will we be doing there? How far is it from Singapore?

Distance:

Singapore—Hong Kong: 2573 Kilometers

Singapre—Taipei: 3248 Kilometers

Singapore—Shanghai: 3579 Kilometers

Singapore—Tokyo: 5313 Kilometers

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HONG KONG, China

Dee will be going to Hong Kong, for a short trip with her peeps. From what I know, they will just be going shopping, since Hong Kong is a shopping haven, with lots of merchandises both genuine and fake . I’m sure they will have a great time there. With a very cosmopolitan environment, they will very much feel just like home. I haven’t been to Hong Kong, but im pretty sure it’s a great retreat and an excellent place to go shopping. But lately with the economic boom in China, and the recent reports of worsening air quality I just hope that she goes at the correct time of the year. Seeing the city skyline without any fog/haze/smog has been difficult lately from what I’ve heard.

According to the climate history, it would be a cool 25 degrees celsius average temperature. Not too hot and not too cold. Rainfall isnt the heaviest during this month. (June is the heaviest). 3rd highest in terms of population density, expect large crowds on public places. The city has about 6.8 million people, 100th most populous places. Tallest building in Hong Kong today goes to the International Finance Center standing at a height of 415 meters from ground to spire.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan

Taiwan political landscape amazes me. Ive never seen a more aggressive parliament session ever, with chairs, shoes thrown about during parliament sessions and cat fights between members of parliament. Politics in Taiwan (which i have no prior knowledge of) is sure volatile.

But without doubt the country has its charms. Taipei, Taiwan’s center for education, pop culture and politics, is where Allen went to for a short trip out of Singapore. With a population of 2.6 million people just in Taipei alone, it is quite respectable a number, making it the second most densest places within Taiwan alone.

Taiwan should be fairly cool at this part of the year, with average temperatures of 25 degrees celsius, just like Hong Kong. And rarely reaches high 30s in midday. Should bring some rain at this point of time though I’m not too sure about it.

After the construction of Taipei 101, Taiwan has put itself on the world map. The tallest building in the world currently, the design of the building was inspired by bamboos, signifying, stability, hardiness and uprightness. It has 101 floors, hence it’s name. 509 meters is the current record holder for this building and more impressively, it can withstand earthquakes and high velocity winds from super typhoons. The building even has 2 of the world’s fastest double decker elevators from Toshiba.

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SHANGHAI, China

Hock is heading to Shanghai today, with his brother. They are going on a tour, organized by his brother’s company. Along Shanghai, which would be free and easy, they will also be heading to Suzhou for a tour. Shanghai has been completely transformed over the last decade, as part of the China’s economic boom after opening up its economy to the world. But still the old and the new are intertwined tightly and it is quite evident, when comparing the different sides of the Yangtze River Delta banks. It has sprouted numerous skyscrapers, a testament to the growing importance as a financial powerhouse.

The tallest building in Shanghai is the Oriental Pearl Tower. It ended construction in 1995 and has since transformed the city’s skyline. Standing at 468 meter, this tower is very hard to miss. Standing almost like a tripod shaped base, it spirals upwards towards the sky. With a population of 18 million people, going about doing their business, it is no wonder that they have to look up for landspace, as it is rated within China, as one of the densest in terms of population density. But 18 million is nothing to the burgeoning 1.3 billion people living in the whole of China.

Climatewise, it would be at a very cool 18 degrees celsius on average, a welcoming weather especially in hot and humid Singapore. Shanghai would be moderately wet at this time of the year as compared to other months, but it is nothing compared to wet Singapore.

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TOKYO, Japan

Of the true metropolitan areas of the world, it also holds some impressive records. Japan is 10th most populous country in the world (127 million) , and number 1 most populous metropolitan area in the world (35 million in Greater Tokyo Area). Even within the city center itself, it houses over 8 million people alone. It even held as the most expensive city for over a decade.

Tokyo alone does not have a city center. Rather, you must see Tokyo as a group of many smaller “cities” each with its own uniqueness. Like Akihabara, or Shinjuku, or Shibuya. Each has its own unique flavour and their own skylines too. Since Japan is seismicly active, that doesnt mean stop them from building skyscrapers. Though they do not have any record breaking structures in terms of height, they do share a few spectacular buildings as well.

Tokyo Tower for example, with its likeness to that of Paris’s Eiffel Tower (324m), stands 332m tall, making the tallest mad made structure in Japan. It was completed in 1958 and during that time, reflected Japan as a country with an exploding economy, leading the way to the ascension of a global economy. You can clearly see Tokyo Tower from the image above, the steel building in red.

As part of a tour group that ill be going at the end of the month, ill be heading to Mount Fuji first, where ill enjoy the stay of a couple of days in a traditional onsen, with hot spring bath against a scenic background. Ill also be heading (if im not mistaken) to Lake Kawaguchi before heading to Tokyo Disneyland, finally with 2 days free and easy.

Climatewise, its gonna be quite good actually, just before the start of the hot and humid summer months of July and August, and just after Spring (unfortunately). It would be a very cool 20 degrees celsius on average and it would unlikely heat 30 anytime soon during my stay. On a downside, June happens to be the start of the wet season, so expect some showers during the day. Not sure about humidity, since summer humidity is really bad from what ive heard.

My trip is just around the corner and I can’t wait. In the meantime, ill be very keen to hear from my friends their experience overseas when they come back.