Vintage trams , trolleys and streetcars - the cutest part of San Francisco

Streetcars and trams are all part and parcel of San Francisco . 

They are such bona fide vintage , working antiques , my heart skipped a beat , each time one after the next whizzed past me .

Felt as if time had stopped and I was in a warped bubble straight out of the 50s .

View 6 bridges via scenic Tram No.2

Budapest's Tram No.2 runs along the banks of the Danube river in what is acknowledged as one of the most scenic views in the world. 

Some call them streetcars , others.... trams .

Whatever name you refer to these vehicles as , it doesn't matter ..... just hop on and enjoy the amazing ride .

Steeple chasing escalators on the Budapest metro

For the first time visitor , hopping onto the escalators that take you to the bowels of earth is like taking an adrenaline thumping ride on some scream machine. 

Holy sheeet....I haven't been to the one in D.C. but this brutal one at Szell Karman Ter is enough to make me feel faint .

See how small the people are at the end of the line !

Don't know whether this is higher than the one at Rakoczi Ter because that one was so jaw dropping , my stomach churned till I didn't even dare hold my cam up !

The Budapest 7 day travelcard

Currently, the 7 day travel card costs 4950 forints.

And that entitles you to unlimited travel on buses , streetcars, trams, the underground, trolleys , cogwheel even local trains within Budapest ! If I am not mistaken you may also hop onto certain public boats by the Danube too but since I didn't try that out, can't confirm it. 

Should you take the monthly pass, that would require a passport sized photo ID which you can easily snap at a mobile photo booth for around 1000 forints. 

Here's a complete list of prices. The Hungarians thought of everything. There are even dog and bicycle passes. 

Types of Tickets and Passes

The city is huge . I could have rushed it from the get go but I chose not to because no way, I hate that.... that's not the way I wanna travel. As a result, I did not get to ride the cogwheel . No matter, I was having too much fun exploring the city itself and this way, the memories do stick !

However, the week long pass did accord me rides on one of the world's oldest electrified subway line in the world ....

see the leather holders.

Getting acquainted with Keleti Pályaudvar

I am on Baross Square and that's a statue of Baross Gábor, the Hungarian statesman who managed the feat of connecting the massive Austro-Hungarian railway into one efficient system that worked like a charm from the 1800s till today. 

Hualamphong หัวลำโพง is not Bangkok Dangerous

Well , here I am on the return leg and one thing I can tell you is that while Hualamphong railway station looks stunning in photos , you might not feel that way when you first step onto the platform.

The feel is not far removed from the old KL railway station , complete with smells that could have come straight out of Chow Kit or Chowrasta

The new KTM Butterworth train station

Well , it took some time but now it is finally completed.

Outwardly, it looks very comfortable and promising but let's go in and take a look shall we ?

Walking in from the very spacious carpark where the patches of grass have yet to take root , shows you just how new the station is.

Twizy vs tram outside the Ducati Caffe

By now, you would have already heard that they're introducing the Twizy in Putrajaya. Geared specifically towards tourists, I wonder if they ever anticipated this scenario.

Twizy vs Tram.

Who will win ?

Burger King, Istiklal Av - crack the code to use the toilet

Yes, another item struck off my bucket list. Have finally used The Tünel Underground funicular tram to get to the other end of Istiklal Avenue. Opened in 1875, and in operation for 139 years, I'm a little bit dissapointed that the tram itself is not like the wooden marvel that is Line A found in Buenos Aires.

Still, it was a quick and easy ride, with almost no crowd. Just take the ride down and take more pictures at the nostalgic ticket counter in Karakoy.

Watching the Shinkansen pass by at Shimbashi station

Last time, we were here, we headed to Tokyo station just to see the Shinkansen. But as you can see, as we made our way from the Yurikamome line towards the Ginza line, you don't need to go all the way there ,unless you wanna include the palace and major glitzy food halls in your itinerary

Using the Yurikamome monorail

The Yurikamome Line is an elevated monorail which connects Odaiba to the mainland. 

Decided to get the Day pass for unlimited stops till 12 midnight.

Riding the Funicular to Taksim

From the Kabatas, this is the Funicular you have to transfer to, if you want to get to Taksim Square

Sleek, modern and efficient....

Riding the Historic Red Tram - Istiklal Avenue

Whether you are a kid dangling at the back for a free ride ( won't last long as the driver will shoo you away soon enough)

.....or a full paying adult, there's some magic about these trams.

BTS - Bangkok's Sky Train system

The BTS connects all the famous shopping districts in one big loop. 

See the left hand side of this photo below ? That's a station located near Siam Paragon 

Because it's perched up to a height of 30 metres , it's also better known as the Sky Train.

 For most travelers, it offers a really comfortable way of seeing the city skyline, without getting ripped off by a cabbie or tuk tuk driver.

Holborn station To Stratford City

We started early from Gloucester Station and got off to change trains at Holborn station. If you have a fear of heights, just cling on tightly and don't look up or back, when you come to these dizzying escalators

By the time we came to this landing my legs had turned to jelly already



Turned left into this corridor towards Central line

Walla..all we have to do is wait now

Which isn't long really as trains are fast and smooth flowing without any hiccups



Public announcement service in the flesh

Many,many stops later, this is where we get off

There are two exits but due to crowd control purposes , we were asked to head over this way



Came across this intercity train on our left

Made our way down these steps



Somehow everyone seemed to want to pose for pictures against this mosaic wall

Up we go again.



Almost there

There's the exit up ahead

Simple as that



Hong Kong Metro- best in the world

The Hong Kong subway system or also known as the MTR is said to be the most effective in the world. It's almost always on time ,with hardly any glitches.

Great for people watching too.

I held my breath as I watched a lady barge through the doors as they were closing. Miraculously, they bounced back instead of squashing her like one case in KL.

Trams of Wan Chai

Stepping out onto the streets of Wan Chai district is like taking a step back in time . There are trams everywhere !

The trams are known locally as Ding Ding because of the light clanging sound from the bell, used to warn traffic and pedestrians of their approach.

It's an awesome,magical experience you won't want to miss when you are on Hong Kong Island

Riding one however, is quite a challenge because you need coins or an Octopus travel card. Also you need to know your destination and when exactly you want to get off.

While it is not exactly easy, it's worth a try at least once. No worries about getting lost. Each tram is numbered and you only need to remember which side of the road you were dropped off on.

Disneyland Railroad

You will definitely have to pass the main railway station on your way in from the entrance.

Whether you come in from the left or the right, just go towards the centre and climb the stairs .
Offers quite a vantage view of Main Street once you get to the top.

The train station is popular because it goes around the resort in a loop but you don't get to see much due to the trees.

The crowd melts slowly away under the sweltering heat

Notice that no one is smiling

The other queue over on the other side of the room .

Almost the same.

I pull away from our line for a moment to take pics of this girl with a big question mark over her head as she looks at the wall pics.

A disguised elevator shaft

When the first train pulls in, not many people on board get down.

Have to wait again for the next coach.

Fuh....

Finally....

Rushing to sit here

We don't sit the whole loop but get off halfway

Disneyland Resort Line

You'll probably miss out on this experience if you come via tour bus.It's such a brilliant idea. Always awesome no matter how many times I board it.

Hold on tight to this.

Or sit by the window to feel like a kid again

Don't worry about Donald Duck spitting saliva all over you.

He can't. Ngeh ngeh ngeh.

I want to sit here later on the way back

Plush blue sofa. So well maintained !

Bye bye train

Yea, I'm going loco. Talking to the train now.

Pillar also want to take picture.

That's not so bad compared to the time we stayed in the Disneyland hotel.

I even photographed their dustbins

View from the top of the stairs

Sheer magic