GPSmyCity Premium Membership Giveaway

Now that the pandemic has ended, travel has come back in full swing! Woohoo! To celebrate, GPSmyCity is giving away 10 premium yearly memberships! Each membership will allow the member to use the GPSmyCity app on up to two devices for a whole calendar year.

So. What is GPSmyCity? GPSmyCity is an app containing a ton of travel articles and self-guided walking tours written by travelers like you and me. Best of all, it comes with an offline map and GPS routing capability. Searching for things to do, places to see, and food to try has never been so easy!

To claim the free one-year premium membership, all you have to do is:

1.  Download and install the GPSmyCity app.
2.  Open the app, and select Account to register.
3.  Go to More, then select Feedback and send an email to GPSmyCity with the claim code 25840922.

Go on and give GPSmyCity app a try!

Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport

For our almost 19-hour layover in Taoyuan, we opted to stay near the airport since our flight the next day leaves at 755AM. We had two choices: stay at a capsule hotel in Taoyuan International Airport or at Novotel Taipei Taoyuan just two stops on the MRT from Terminal 1 of Taoyuan International Airport. If I were on a solo trip, I would opt for the capsule hotel in the airport, but since I was with my father and my sister's family, capsule hotels were a no-go.

Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport
No. 1-1 Hangzhan South Rd., Dayuan District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

Location. Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport is right outside Airport Hotel Station, which is two MRT stops from Terminal 1 of Taoyuan International Airport. If you're on a layover and want to go shopping, but the time is too short to be going to Taipei City, the good news is the hotel is just a 13-minute MRT ride to Taoyuan HSR Station where Gloria Outlets is. (Gloria Outlets is an outlet mall with a foodcourt. Bonus: the foodcourt has Hawker Chan, a Michelin-starred hawker stall in Singapore.)

Hawker Chan at the foodcourt of Gloria Outlets

Free Airport Shuttle. The hotel offers free shuttle transfers to/from the airport. Since our flight was very early the next morning, the receptionist booked us seats on the shuttle. (The receptionist also speaks very good English.)

Room. My father and I stayed in a 28 sq. m. room with a king size bed and a single bed. The room also had a TV, desk and chair, refrigerator, air conditioning unit, electric kettle, cups, coffee, tea, and bottles of water. There were power outlets near the bed, and also near the TV. Weighing scale, slippers, and hangers were also provided.

Our room

Photo from booking.com

Toilet and Shower. The ensuite toilet and shower was huge, and complete with hair dryer, towels, and toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, razor). The only awkward thing was that the wall between the shower and the bedroom was of opaque glass.

Price. At 4827 NTD and no free breakfast (though they did have free coffee, tea, and bread at the lobby as early as 5AM), it was way too expensive.

Kyoto Accommodation: M's Hotel Sanjo Omiya

M's Hotel Sanjo Omiya is three storeys high and the upper floors can be accessed by stairs or by elevator. Entry to the hotel and the room is keyless. Self check-in was easy.

The 17-square-meter twin room had, of course, twin beds. There was a power outlet between the beds. Across the beds there was a desk, chairs, TV, refrigerator, kettle, mugs, and free tea.

The ensuite toilet and bath (shower and tub) was a bit small which, for Japan, is not surprising. Shampoo, soap, toothbrush, towels, and slippers were provided.

The lobby had a small "amenities bar" (razor, cotton buds, cotton, hair brush) available for free for guests. It also had a microwave. The hotel also has a washing machine and dryer.

The hotel is in a quiet area. Just around the corner are restaurants, a convenience store, and a supermarket. Although Kyoto Station is more than 3 km away, there is a bus stop nearby, and there are four stations about 10 minutes (or less) on foot:

• 400meters from Nijojo-mae Station
• 600 meters from Omiya Station—Omiya Station has a direct train to Osaka (Hankyu Line)
• 600 meters from Shijo-Omiya Station—direct train to Arashiyama
• 1 km from Nijo Station

My sister booked M's Hotel Sanjo Omiya in Kyoto. If I were to choose, I would not have booked this hotel. Not because it's a dump (it was very clean!), but two reasons: one, I am cheap and this was way over my budget (for four nights, we spent 51689 JPY for a twin room, plus 200 JPY/night/person for the tax); and two, although the hotel is near four stations, none of these stations had direct trains going to the airport (I would have preferred to stay near Kyoto Station since this was our last stop of the trip). 

But if money is not an issue, M's Hotel Sanjo Omiya is actually a pretty good choice.