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Shangri-La Tokyo, Mandapa, Chedi Club, Amanjiwo...
This is gonna be a visual journal of our amazing trip to Asia.
Some impressions rather than a very deep review. Feel free to ask, if you have any specific questions :) - Andrew 1. LAX-NRT - a GREAT ANA First flight. A really great crew, took care of us the way we did not expect. 2. We booked Shangri-La airport transfer to avoid any public transportation. A really great driver waited for us in a BMW 7. A painless and very quick ride. 3. Absolutely amazing welcome at Shangri-La. They prepared TWO air-purifiers for us, one in each room. Everything was ready. A beautiful Premier Suite. Great Bulgari amenities. Outstanding rain shower. A GREAT view. Their club is rather small with limited selection of food. Overall food could be better, both breakfast and lunch. 4. Did the wagyu beef dinner at Dons de la Nature. Something we will not forget. You pay for the first bite :) You have never tasted a steak if you never experienced this restaurant. One on one with the chef as we were the only guests. Gorgeous weather in Tokyo. A few pictures I took during our explorations. http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1316.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1987.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1382.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1405.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1387.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1482.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1516.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1702.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC1900.jpg |
Originally Posted by Big_Foot
(Post 26703732)
4. Did the wagyu beef dinner at Dons de la Nature. Something we will not forget.
You pay for the first bite :) You have never tasted a steak if you never experienced this restaurant. One on one with the chef as we were the only guests. Like you, we were the only ones in the restaurant. I'm ruined for steak for a while :) Looking forward to the rest of your report. |
10. Moved to The Chedi Club, booked their unique Hadiprana Villa.
It's a 6000 sq ft 2-bedroom owner's villa, a living museum. 11. Outstanding service at Chedi, Alain the GM was waiting for us, Bawa was our butler. The guy is the most amazing butler we have ever met. Funny, helpful, kind. Outstanding. Great food. The chef called Mandapa personally to learn about my wife's food allergies. 12. Beautiful landscape, the only regret - they just cut their rice fields. Still, continued our morning trips with Made and captured more Bali beauty. Yes, still gorgeous weather :) http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2166.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2196.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2209.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2230.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2267.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2327.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2377.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2613.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2673.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2404.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2485.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2470.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2488.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2497.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2507.jpg |
13. AirAsia to Jogjakarta.
14. Transfer to Amanjiwo, more traffic from hell. 15. Amanjiwo... A wonderful pool villa on the upper level, towards the back (next to the spa). Beautiful. Love the location. 16. What can I say, a different level of service. You must experience it to understand. 17. Visiting Borobudur every morning, trying to capture the best light. Very tough. The place is crazy busy, we didn't expect that. The driver takes us to the "VIP" entrance, gets us "sunrise" tickets. After we are done, he takes us back to Amanjiwo. Repeat every morning :) You must get there early, but no need to get sucked into the 4AM craziness. Just go around 5.15AM. The best light is just before sunrise. Because everyone else has been there for an hour or more, they all leave just after sunrise and the gates are not open yet. You have at least 30 minutes of magic. Very few people and the best light conditions. http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2588.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2600.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2611.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2617.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2619.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2724.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2740.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2662.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2718.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2759.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2774.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2808.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2844.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2870.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2944.jpg http://lenticulartravel.com/Bali_Pics/DSC2903.jpg |
Oh man, you sure know how to take outstanding pictures, I'm in awe.
Would you be shooting with a Sony A7-R? + a bit of vibrance in Lightroom? :D Anyway, it's an impressive job and what a beautiful trip. I did the same but didn't get as lucky as you with the weather in Borobudur. I guess your persistence to come over and over again until you got the right one was a good idea. Superb job, probably my favorite trip report on FT. Or anywhere else for that matter! |
This thread strikes me as a trip report more than luxury hotel reviews. So I am going let it run for a bit here and then send it to the Trip Reports forum where it will likely have a wider audience.
RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels |
Great great shots... looks like the upper level pool at Amanjiwo is more private (we had first level)... what a special place it is! Good to hear that the service is still top notch.
FDW |
You take fantastic photos. ^^ Just curious, do you post-process them with a HDR process?
Shangri-la Tokyo and Amanjiwo are two of my favourite properties. |
Amazing pictures. Really glad this is in this forum, and glad that you see luxury hotels as part of a continuum of travel rather than just a hotel room.
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Nice Villas:D
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Originally Posted by SeamasterLux
(Post 26704418)
Would you be shooting with a Sony A7-R? + a bit of vibrance in Lightroom? :D
I do have Sony A7 R II, but I shoot manual glass only, Leica + Zeiss. Plus an amazing little wonder - Sony RX1 R. All this doesn't matter. Really. The most important thing in photography - light. Always remember that. There is no shortcuts. You want good pictures, you need great light. And thanks for your wonderful comments!
Originally Posted by FlyingDoctorwu
(Post 26704686)
Great great shots... looks like the upper level pool at Amanjiwo is more private (we had first level)... what a special place it is! Good to hear that the service is still top notch.
FDW And yes, Amanjiwo is out-of-this-world service wise. I will give you some examples later. Let me just say now they have patience for my photography passion :D We keep changing our plans as the weather changes... They never say no.
Originally Posted by BENLEE
(Post 26704825)
You take fantastic photos. ^^ Just curious, do you post-process them with a HDR process?
Shangri-la Tokyo and Amanjiwo are two of my favourite properties. And thanks again to all of you for your nice comments. I will add more content/places later. |
Originally Posted by Big_Foot
(Post 26704943)
That would be too easy :D
I do have Sony A7 R II, but I shoot manual glass only, Leica + Zeiss. Plus an amazing little wonder - Sony RX1 R. All this doesn't matter. Really. The most important thing in photography - light. Always remember that. There is no shortcuts. You want good pictures, you need great light. And thanks for your wonderful comments! RX1 R or RX1 RII ? |
Wow! Amazing shots, congratulations!
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I have an RX1 R plus all the big Canon bodies and lenses and the RX1 R is far and away my favorite camera. Its unprocessed output looks better than most post-processed pics from other cameras. BTW-your photos are stupendous.
ADDED: Your photo style looks very familiar. Did/do you have a travel photography website? |
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