allrite@

allrite
allrite
@allrite@allrite.at

Irreverently irrelevant.

Sysadmin, developer, web dude in a science research organisation. WordPress, Japan, planes, trains, Arduino, Raspberry Pi/Pico, puns, dad jokes, etc

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  • The ups and downs of Chiba monorails

    Ever since I first caught sight of the great overhead monorail tracks above Chiba station, back on that first Narita Express in 2003, I have wanted to ride them. Each subsequent Narita Express ride I promised I would but never did. Today I finally had my chance. We had caught the Chuo-Sobu Line to Koiwa. The…

  • Taiwan to Tokyo

    After almost two weeks of travel we are home. Well, our second home. From our room on the 22nd floor of the Shinjuku Prince Hotel I can see the blinking red lights of tall towers, including the Tokyo Skytree and the old Tokyo Tower, the flashing rainbow of the neon decorated pachinko parlours of Kabuchiko…

  • Tamsui to Taoyuan

    Both B and I agree. Taiwan is a place that we want to return to. On our last day in this island country the list of places we could visit was far too extensive. We could traverse the island on a high speed train or take another slow ride along a scenic route. The gold…

  • Going slow in Taipei

    One of the things I love about travel is the lack of housework. No cooking, cleaning or gardening required. The weekdays and weekends are ours to enjoy. Well, almost. On a long trip like this there is still washing to be done. The laundry facilities of the CityInn II may be free to use, but…

  • Pingxi and Shilin

    Taiwan has three scenic branch lines, along with the Alishan scenic railway. These are railway lines deemed uneconomic for normal operation which now exist solely for tourist trains. Naturally, I was attracted! The closest of these, and one of the more scenic, is the Pingxi line. It once served coal mines in the mountains around…

  • The ups and downs of Taipei

    Today we reached great heights and plumbed great depths. From the top of Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world until 2010 we gazed across the greater city of Taipei, at least until the clouds came in. But despite the Lonely Planet claiming that Taiwan’s street food rivals that of Singapore, we ended the…

  • Props to Taipei

    Can’t have a day in Malaysia without sighting snakes – it is the Chinese year of the legless reptile. True, I could have just looked down, but instead we caught a taxi to the Sarawak Museum. The museum, founded by the white Rajah Brookes, has a number of branches around the city: Chinese, Islamic, Textiles…

  • The long and the tall of it

    The history of Sarawak is like something out of an old adventure novel. Populated originally by headhunting tribes and ruled by Malay sultans, a British adventurer James Brooke aided the Sultan of Brunei in putting down a rebellion and in return was given the governership of the territory. He was the first of the “White…

  • Rangas in the jungle

    One of the pleasures of this trip is that I don’t have to pay any attention to the antics of (certain political) redheads or those that seek to displace them. Except for today, that is. Our AirAsia flight direct from Penang to Kuching, in Sarawak state on the island of Borneo, was scheduled for 7am,…

  • The taste of a name

    Westerners eat foods like cereals, toast and bacon and eggs for breakfast. Malaysians eat curries. Both were on offer at the hotel buffet this morning, but when in Penang do what the Penangites do. Laksa, curried chicken and coconut rice for starters, plus lots of fresh tropical fruit. We had to hurry our meal as…