22 Years
1 month ago
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Just pictured!
Spring cleaning! Washed all my bed sheets and quilt cover. Had a surprise when I pulled out my long lost pyjama pants from the inside of my quilt cover!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Just pictured!
Read determination on face: 10 km or more on gym later.
Gym closing in 2 days' time. That's why.
Gym closing in 2 days' time. That's why.
Japan Day 5
Returning from the beauty of nature in Hakone to the joy of electronics after electronics in Ikebukuro (we were staying just minutes away from Bic Camera which was playing FF13 trailers on huge Sony screens 24/7), we hadd no choice but to give in to the temptation of advancing Akihabara to the earlier part of our trip.
Sadly, Akihabara involved too much buying and ooh-ing and aah-ing until our cameras did not see any daylight at all. But! We did remember to take pictures of the most important thing.
A 7/8-floor adult shop. *Authentic Japanese Present for Meng*
This building was so iconic that for the rest of the trip, whenever we go lost we would use it for bearing and say "Meet at M Pop's Life, okay?"
Akihabara is really like what you hear about the place. An anime central with figurine shops (new or used) at every corner, disguised dodgy stores displaying anime stuffs in front and adult-oriented stuff behind (or try looking for a basement!), maid cafes, eletronics cool-lame-weird-and-impressive all together and games games games.
Basically if you are even 5% otaku, Akihabara will be like heaven to you. (We went back 3 times after that, meaning 3 times within 4 days).
Jess was craving for sushi, the conveyer belt type.
Ray wanted to get souvenirs.
John wanted to buy himself a yukata.
So off to Asakusa we went. Our first picture was with the Kaminarimon which is 'Lui Mun' in Cantonese, which in turn sounded a bit like the Cantonese-translation of Raymond's name. Hence we called him Kaminarimon for the rest of the day. Not that he minded, bet he thought it was pretty cool.
We spent a lot of time along the shopping strait leading to the temple. The stals mainly sold souvenirs and local delicacies. Mochi, chopsticks and ceramic bowls, senbei, Japanese sweets, yukatas, toys.
The grounds of the temple was not as impressive as we expected it to be as the main temple was undergoing some renovations. So we just took pictures of the surrounding structures.
An example of the 'practical' and 'useful' products we bought in Japan. A solar-powered sumo wrestler that shakes his head. We ONLY bought 'practical' and 'useful' things, mind you. Like a laughing-robot-dog and Stacking-Sheep (a game where you stack all the sheep figurines on top of each other, for no reason at all). 
Once again, the yellow autumn leaves decorating the temple grounds were the highlights of our trip.
From Asakusa, we took the Water Bus which is basically a cruise along Tokyo Bay to Odaiba. Behold, the review for the first half of the cruise (Asakusa - Hinode pier).
Sadly, Akihabara involved too much buying and ooh-ing and aah-ing until our cameras did not see any daylight at all. But! We did remember to take pictures of the most important thing.
A 7/8-floor adult shop. *Authentic Japanese Present for Meng*
This building was so iconic that for the rest of the trip, whenever we go lost we would use it for bearing and say "Meet at M Pop's Life, okay?"
Akihabara is really like what you hear about the place. An anime central with figurine shops (new or used) at every corner, disguised dodgy stores displaying anime stuffs in front and adult-oriented stuff behind (or try looking for a basement!), maid cafes, eletronics cool-lame-weird-and-impressive all together and games games games.
Basically if you are even 5% otaku, Akihabara will be like heaven to you. (We went back 3 times after that, meaning 3 times within 4 days).
Jess was craving for sushi, the conveyer belt type.
Ray wanted to get souvenirs.
John wanted to buy himself a yukata.
So off to Asakusa we went. Our first picture was with the Kaminarimon which is 'Lui Mun' in Cantonese, which in turn sounded a bit like the Cantonese-translation of Raymond's name. Hence we called him Kaminarimon for the rest of the day. Not that he minded, bet he thought it was pretty cool.
We spent a lot of time along the shopping strait leading to the temple. The stals mainly sold souvenirs and local delicacies. Mochi, chopsticks and ceramic bowls, senbei, Japanese sweets, yukatas, toys.
The grounds of the temple was not as impressive as we expected it to be as the main temple was undergoing some renovations. So we just took pictures of the surrounding structures.
An example of the 'practical' and 'useful' products we bought in Japan. A solar-powered sumo wrestler that shakes his head. We ONLY bought 'practical' and 'useful' things, mind you. Like a laughing-robot-dog and Stacking-Sheep (a game where you stack all the sheep figurines on top of each other, for no reason at all).Once again, the yellow autumn leaves decorating the temple grounds were the highlights of our trip. From Asakusa, we took the Water Bus which is basically a cruise along Tokyo Bay to Odaiba. Behold, the review for the first half of the cruise (Asakusa - Hinode pier).Minutes before the start of the cruise. . .
10 minutes after the start of the cruise. . .
Ahem. It was just a bit slow and we couldn't understand the Japanese explanation on the various landmarks.
We had to switch ferries to take the second half of the cruise (Hinode pier - Odaiba). It was then that something might embarassing happened to me. The ticket conductor asked to me our tickets, so I nudged Ray for the tickets and showed them to the conductor to which he replied with an exaggerated "Chigaimasu!" Then only I realised Mr Tan had handed me the train tickets instead of the ferry ticket.
I forgot the story behind this picture, but like most of our pictures, we had three faces each telling different stories.
We went onto the deck to take better pictures and it was really cold. Lucky I had my leather jacket!
We took the Yurikamome train back to Tokyo. While on the train we kept looking out hoping to see the Rainbow Bridge again. After that only did we realise that the Yurikamome was actually travelling on the Rainbow Bridge. So we were on the Rainbow Bridge trying to look for the Rainbow Bridge.
10 minutes after the start of the cruise. . .
Ahem. It was just a bit slow and we couldn't understand the Japanese explanation on the various landmarks.
We had to switch ferries to take the second half of the cruise (Hinode pier - Odaiba). It was then that something might embarassing happened to me. The ticket conductor asked to me our tickets, so I nudged Ray for the tickets and showed them to the conductor to which he replied with an exaggerated "Chigaimasu!" Then only I realised Mr Tan had handed me the train tickets instead of the ferry ticket.
Anyway, the second half of the cruise was amazing. As night fell and lights lit up, I witnessed one of the best night skylines I have ever seen.
I forgot the story behind this picture, but like most of our pictures, we had three faces each telling different stories.We went onto the deck to take better pictures and it was really cold. Lucky I had my leather jacket!Rainbow Bridge.
We took the Yurikamome train back to Tokyo. While on the train we kept looking out hoping to see the Rainbow Bridge again. After that only did we realise that the Yurikamome was actually travelling on the Rainbow Bridge. So we were on the Rainbow Bridge trying to look for the Rainbow Bridge.
It was quite an early night, so we decided to head back to Akihabara for more shopping! More anime! More games! More electronics! More silly pictures!
Oh and something scary happened to me!
Oh and something scary happened to me!
I was pushed out of this disguised-as-anime-store. So I decided to wait outside for the others. Then suddenly a man approached me and asked:
Man: Hitori? (Alone?)
Me: Er, iie, erm, ah...
Man: Kodoku?? (Lonely??)
Me: Er, ah, iie, FRIENDS. . .er. . .
Then I ran away at the sight of Jess and John.
When Ray heard this, my hero said, "What? I must hold on to you at this place!"
Then my hero saw a One Piece poster and movie trailer. And ended his heroism full stop.
Japan Day 4
We stayed in Hakone for a night. I loved the futon and tatami combination 10+ years ago in Hakone and will continue loving the futon and tatami combination in Hakone for the next 10 years.
Imagine waking up to this view outside your window everyday. Even your life will be longer.
Imagine waking up to breakfasts like this everyday. Your life will be much more longer. I love how the variety you get for every Japanese meal (something from the mountains and something from the sea - my concept in the future for my lucky husband and kids).
Even now, everyone keeps saying the best meals we had were in Hakone - be it when we are eating at Grand Tofu, Pancake Parlour, McD or Sushi Sushi. Sigh.
The Hakone Free Pass I mentioned in the last post is the bomb. It allows you to take almost all of the Odakyu trains, ropeways, cable cars and buses. But what makes it the bomb is that it covers the entire route which links the top attractions in Hakone.
We took the Odakyu train from Tonosawa (our hotel's place) to Gora. Believe me when I say that this is a must when you are in Hakone. The old train runs through a narrow railway track on the edge of the mountain giving you an amazing view of the valleys and cliffs filled with autumn leaves in red, brown and yellow. You can literally hear the sound of passengers gasping at the view. And if you can't, you will definitely be able to hear the clicks and flashes of the hundreds of cameras.
Ray saw this dog at one of the stores in Gora and said, "Oh I finally remembered about Shiro! Forgot I had a dog at home!" What a difference a few days of fun make. His first words to me in the bus from Narita Airport to Akasaka was "I wonder if Shiro willbe alright at home".
Gora Park is really nice in autumn. Again, autumn leaves were the show stoppers. But what makes it more beautiful is the setting of wooden gates, wells, fountains, etc.
This is the 'apparently' artistic shot of Ray's. Well, erm, art is subjective. I think it is highly artistic (!), do you?
Finally we get a group picture!
Notice the smoke from the mountains? Scroll down! We are going to go there later!
Enough of the faces. Here are some pcitures of pure beauty. No contamination.
It was autumn, so we were not expecting to see any sakura but behold! A twig of sakura. Words can't describe the joy we experienced. We literally snapped away at this little twig. How many pictures of it, let's see . . . . 15 on my camera. What about yours, Jess?
After Gora Park, we took the Ropeway to Owakudani. But then a major crisis struck. There is a red bean on Jess's camera. All eyes were on John who was toting it and before that eating a red bean filled ice cream thing. But no one knew exactly when it happened. Why? 
The hiking trail in Owakudani is quite leisure. Definitely can have you talking and eating while walking. We reached the site where they produce the Black Eggs! Black Eggs are actually normal eggs hard-boiled in the 80-90C hot spring water. Apparently, eating one will lenghten you lifespan by 7 years! Being the nice girlfriend I am, I ate the white of the egg and gave Ray the yolk. Anything to lengthen his life for him and no it is not because I absolutastically hate egg yolks :-)
We rushed over when we saw this green ice cream cone statue. All thinking "Green Tea Ice Cream!!" (We were shivering outta our skin actually, but oh well what is there to explain?) But then upon clearer observation, 3 of us took a step back and forced the 4th person to go for it. 
We next arrived at Lake Ashinoko which is a huge crater lake that provides view of the shy Mount Fuji on CLEAR days. So we looked up. GLOOMY. Oh and is that DRIZZLE? 
The sky was increasingly gloomy as we cruised along the lake. Then we heard the sound of hope. Rigorous clicking and flashing of SLR/DSLR cameras. Then we saw the sight of hope. Hundreds of uncles/ang mohs at a corner of the ship all with their SLR/DSLR zoomed to the max as if it was a competition to see whose lens could extend the longest. 
We were extremely lucky to be able to see Mount Fuji on such a gloomy day. Extremely blessed. It was then that John said, "Mission accomplished!"
And I must add that Jess was one of the kiasu ones in the See-whose-camera-lens-can extend-the-longest competition with the uncles!
Me, I just chilled.
Ray, he just chilled as well. Well, after he tried taking a picture using his Nokia phone and ended up with a blob of blue-grey, like a bruise on his screen.
Upon arriving at the other end of Lake Ashinoko, we went to visit Hakone Shrine and prayed a bit before taking a long journey by bus back to Tonosawa and then Odawara and then Ikebukuro (new hotel's place) where the craze of Bic Camera's jingle started!
Imagine waking up to this view outside your window everyday. Even your life will be longer.
Imagine waking up to breakfasts like this everyday. Your life will be much more longer. I love how the variety you get for every Japanese meal (something from the mountains and something from the sea - my concept in the future for my lucky husband and kids).
Even now, everyone keeps saying the best meals we had were in Hakone - be it when we are eating at Grand Tofu, Pancake Parlour, McD or Sushi Sushi. Sigh.
The Hakone Free Pass I mentioned in the last post is the bomb. It allows you to take almost all of the Odakyu trains, ropeways, cable cars and buses. But what makes it the bomb is that it covers the entire route which links the top attractions in Hakone.
We took the Odakyu train from Tonosawa (our hotel's place) to Gora. Believe me when I say that this is a must when you are in Hakone. The old train runs through a narrow railway track on the edge of the mountain giving you an amazing view of the valleys and cliffs filled with autumn leaves in red, brown and yellow. You can literally hear the sound of passengers gasping at the view. And if you can't, you will definitely be able to hear the clicks and flashes of the hundreds of cameras.
Ray saw this dog at one of the stores in Gora and said, "Oh I finally remembered about Shiro! Forgot I had a dog at home!" What a difference a few days of fun make. His first words to me in the bus from Narita Airport to Akasaka was "I wonder if Shiro willbe alright at home".
Gora Park is really nice in autumn. Again, autumn leaves were the show stoppers. But what makes it more beautiful is the setting of wooden gates, wells, fountains, etc.
This is the 'apparently' artistic shot of Ray's. Well, erm, art is subjective. I think it is highly artistic (!), do you?
Finally we get a group picture!
Notice the smoke from the mountains? Scroll down! We are going to go there later!
Enough of the faces. Here are some pcitures of pure beauty. No contamination.
It was autumn, so we were not expecting to see any sakura but behold! A twig of sakura. Words can't describe the joy we experienced. We literally snapped away at this little twig. How many pictures of it, let's see . . . . 15 on my camera. What about yours, Jess?
After Gora Park, we took the Ropeway to Owakudani. But then a major crisis struck. There is a red bean on Jess's camera. All eyes were on John who was toting it and before that eating a red bean filled ice cream thing. But no one knew exactly when it happened. Why?Cause during all the intervals (for whatever, no matter how long) we have been snacking. 100 yen ice cream puffs? Bite. 300 yen grilled senbei? Bite. 3rd green tea ice cream? Bite also.
While in the Ropeway car/train.
We changed to a cable car to reach Owakudani (I think) and this is the view from up above. And this is also the smoke you saw at the previous picture at Gora Park! Pretty impressive if you ask me.
Owakudani is a volcanic valley filled with active sulfur vents and hot springs. The smell over there is top-rate. What smell? The smell of sulfur or in more common terms, fart-like smell. (But that did not deter me from eating roasted sweet potato on the way up).
The hiking trail in Owakudani is quite leisure. Definitely can have you talking and eating while walking. We reached the site where they produce the Black Eggs! Black Eggs are actually normal eggs hard-boiled in the 80-90C hot spring water. Apparently, eating one will lenghten you lifespan by 7 years! Being the nice girlfriend I am, I ate the white of the egg and gave Ray the yolk. Anything to lengthen his life for him and no it is not because I absolutastically hate egg yolks :-)
We rushed over when we saw this green ice cream cone statue. All thinking "Green Tea Ice Cream!!" (We were shivering outta our skin actually, but oh well what is there to explain?) But then upon clearer observation, 3 of us took a step back and forced the 4th person to go for it.Wasabi ice cream. Hmm. It is really NOT BAD. Funny in a way that it feels cold but sends tingling sensations at the same time.
We next arrived at Lake Ashinoko which is a huge crater lake that provides view of the shy Mount Fuji on CLEAR days. So we looked up. GLOOMY. Oh and is that DRIZZLE? The Hakone Free Pass even covers a cruise that traverse the lake.
The sky was increasingly gloomy as we cruised along the lake. Then we heard the sound of hope. Rigorous clicking and flashing of SLR/DSLR cameras. Then we saw the sight of hope. Hundreds of uncles/ang mohs at a corner of the ship all with their SLR/DSLR zoomed to the max as if it was a competition to see whose lens could extend the longest.
What else could it be? But dear Fuji-san.
We were extremely lucky to be able to see Mount Fuji on such a gloomy day. Extremely blessed. It was then that John said, "Mission accomplished!"And I must add that Jess was one of the kiasu ones in the See-whose-camera-lens-can extend-the-longest competition with the uncles!
Me, I just chilled.
Ray, he just chilled as well. Well, after he tried taking a picture using his Nokia phone and ended up with a blob of blue-grey, like a bruise on his screen.
Upon arriving at the other end of Lake Ashinoko, we went to visit Hakone Shrine and prayed a bit before taking a long journey by bus back to Tonosawa and then Odawara and then Ikebukuro (new hotel's place) where the craze of Bic Camera's jingle started!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
This world I am in
I just came back from the movie AVATAR and now I want to be a Na'vi (the blue aliens on planet Pandora).
Like most of you know, I have a thing for:
~ beautiful, out-of-this-world (literally) mythical landscape like Macalania in Final Fantasy X. (Vid 1)
~ monsters and fairies as friends like Moogles, Chocobos, Chopper!
~ stories about bonds and trust so strong that it overtook a doomed situation, like the countless tear-jerking victories in One Piece.(Vid 2)
~ heroism not in the form of muscles only but faith in friends and belief in oneself, oh and maybe magic powers and crazy skill, like Lionheart, anyone?(Vid 3)
Again, like most of you know, I can get really into the 'world':
~ Almost at the end of Crisis Core, I did not want to finish it up for I know Zack will . . . and then Aerith will. . . . and Cloud will. . . . (Vid 4)
~ I get the urge to take up sword-fighting everytime I watch the Kenshin OVAs.
~ I went out of the cinema just now telling Ray to walk further away cause I hated humans and claimed myself to be a Na'vi.
There was this phrase which Jack Sully (the lead character in Avatar) said which went along the line of, "It is like I wake up from that dream into reality but after a while, I don't know which is the reality for me anymore".
Funny enough, without the hi-tech machines or any enabling technologies right now, I can relate to what he is talking about.
Maybe I am a bit of a cuckoo or just too imaginative. In simple terms, maybe my head is always just up there in the clouds where castles are built on clouds.
Some morning I wake up feeling like laughing the whole day and calling up my nakama (Luffy-Day).
Some nights I turn up my music and sing like I am onstage with 200000 screaming fans below me (Teru Day).
Sometimes before I fall asleep, I imagine being swooped off the ground and hearing words of confession (of love) (Peter Petrelli Day).
Some showers sessions, I imagine myself being revived by the running water much like the scene in Macalania (Tidus & Yuna Day).
The latest example?
That very last 39C day (hot day), I bought the brightest coloured chilled juice from Coles Express and halfway through drinking it, I realised - hey, this is like drinking potion!*Ding* (Final Fantasy Day)
Ahh, I love this brain of mine.
Like most of you know, I have a thing for:
~ beautiful, out-of-this-world (literally) mythical landscape like Macalania in Final Fantasy X. (Vid 1)
~ monsters and fairies as friends like Moogles, Chocobos, Chopper!
~ stories about bonds and trust so strong that it overtook a doomed situation, like the countless tear-jerking victories in One Piece.(Vid 2)
~ heroism not in the form of muscles only but faith in friends and belief in oneself, oh and maybe magic powers and crazy skill, like Lionheart, anyone?(Vid 3)
Again, like most of you know, I can get really into the 'world':
~ Almost at the end of Crisis Core, I did not want to finish it up for I know Zack will . . . and then Aerith will. . . . and Cloud will. . . . (Vid 4)
~ I get the urge to take up sword-fighting everytime I watch the Kenshin OVAs.
~ I went out of the cinema just now telling Ray to walk further away cause I hated humans and claimed myself to be a Na'vi.
There was this phrase which Jack Sully (the lead character in Avatar) said which went along the line of, "It is like I wake up from that dream into reality but after a while, I don't know which is the reality for me anymore".
Funny enough, without the hi-tech machines or any enabling technologies right now, I can relate to what he is talking about.
Maybe I am a bit of a cuckoo or just too imaginative. In simple terms, maybe my head is always just up there in the clouds where castles are built on clouds.
Some morning I wake up feeling like laughing the whole day and calling up my nakama (Luffy-Day).
Some nights I turn up my music and sing like I am onstage with 200000 screaming fans below me (Teru Day).
Sometimes before I fall asleep, I imagine being swooped off the ground and hearing words of confession (of love) (Peter Petrelli Day).
Some showers sessions, I imagine myself being revived by the running water much like the scene in Macalania (Tidus & Yuna Day).
The latest example?
That very last 39C day (hot day), I bought the brightest coloured chilled juice from Coles Express and halfway through drinking it, I realised - hey, this is like drinking potion!*Ding* (Final Fantasy Day)
Ahh, I love this brain of mine.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Just pictured!
Drenched in rain and going out for Avatar in around an hour's time! Let's see how I perform!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Just pictured!
My sister posted about how big the butt of her puppy is on her blog. She certainly hasn't seen competition yet. Check it out.
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