My Life, My Dreams, My Destiny

Jan 5th 2011 Switzerland - Zurich (Day1)

2011-09-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

Time flies and it has almost been a year since we went for our honeymoon. To keep the memories fresh, i will blog on the places we went to in Europe.

We took almost a year in advance to plan for this. We plan to start our trip on the 4th day after our ROM and where better to end it other than ROME. Our plan is to fly into Zurich (Switzerland ) head south towards Italy and leave from ROME a total of 20days/18nights. In case you didn't notice, 'S' is till wishing to see more snow ( not knowing how deadly her wishes could be) . If you have read my earlier post from Jeju Seoul , we ended up experiencing something we have not experience before :)

Our flight was suppose to leave on the 4th Night and flying off early 5th morning to Zurich. We had a few hours break at the Singapore Airport. And we are also in for a surprise when we found out that we are flying on A380 on the long haul on the upper deck.

Pic 1. Boarding pass to Zurich

Pic 2. SQ 346... BOARDING....

Once we arrive at Zurichairport, we quickly found out way to the train to the city and checked into Hotel Continental Zurich. The train station from the airport to Zurich city center is just below the airport arrival deck while our hotel is just few minutes walk from Zurich main train station.

This has got to be one of the best choice for the hotel as not only it is near to the main train station, the hotel took customer service defination to the next level. We arrive at the hotel ~9am but was told that the hotel was not ready until 11am. The staff was pleasent and gave us some hint on where to go for breakfast and kill time. You can read the review about hotel continental zurich on tripadvisor here.

Pic 3. Hotel Continental room ( very spacious)

Pic 4. Chopard amenities. 'S' was delighted.

The best from the hotel was yet to come.

We didn't really catch much sleep on the plane but still, we are excited and exhausted from the wedding.

We the spend the whole evening exploring Zurich along Limmat river as you can see from the pictures below. It just felt amazing to be there then enjoying this special moment with my special someone.

Pic 5. 'S' in front of the hotel

Pic 6. 'S' in front of Lindt ad.

Pic 7. Random shots at Zurich city center.

Pic 8. Moulin Rouge, not as grand as the one in Paris.

Pic 9. One of the alley.

Pic 10. One of the bridge at Limmat river..

Pic11. St Peter's Church

Pic 12. Grossmunster Zwingliplatz

Pic 13. Shops along River Limmat

Pic 14. Somewhere along Zurich Old town

Pic 15. Somewhere along Zurich Old town. Posing with the water fountain for fresh Swiss Mineral Water.

Pic 16. Grossmunster

Pic 17. Another view of buildings aroun Limmat river.

Pic 18. Sunset view of buildings around Limmat River.

Pic 19. Night view of Zurich Main train station terminal

It got dark pretty early so we we on the way back to the hotel by 7pm+. And guess what greeted us when we went into our room.

A complimentary bottle of campange & YesfoLov Cosmétiques du plaisir.

Pic 20. Complimentary campange

Pic 21. YesfoLov Cosmétiques du plaisir

2010 Nov Zhou Zhuang

2010-11-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

July 2010 Melbourne Photos

2010-07-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Day 8th Harajuku

2010-05-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

We have decided to spend out last day in Tokyo for shopping and try our luck to see if we could by any chance meet otaku @ Harajuku.

We passed by Yoshinoya which is located within 500m from Sunroute Shinjuku. As you can see, eating at Japan could be rather cheap at such places whereby they serve a meal ( rice, chicken, vege and soup , inc. water ) for 270yen which is ~Rm10.

Pic 1: Yoshinoya

Upon reaching Harajuku, the first thing we saw was this group of people in short tight pants. not sure what they were doing buy 'S' was saying that some of them did not wear any underwear. Hmm...could you tell?

Pic 2: Reality Show?

The view below is captured @ Harajuku bridge. Interestingly, the station is full of crowd.

Pic 3: Harajuku Station

Pic 4: Harajuku street

Pic 5: Otaku sighting

Finally, we manager to catch glimps of otaku...

Pic 6: Harajuku streets

Pic 7: Harajuker.....

Pic 8: Crepes....few shops along the way.

Pic 9: Nice Hairstyle.

Pic 10: Harajuku street

Pic 11: Otaku costume...

Pic 12: 'S' contributed to this shops revenue...

Pic 13: Clenching out thrist after walking all the way to Omote Sando

Pic 14: Polo Raplh Lauren @ Omote Sando

Pic 15: The walk from Harajuku will lead to Omote Sando.

Pic 16: Dior building @ Omote Sando

Pic 17: The crowd @ Harajuku in the evening...

Pic 18: Ramen beside Sunroute Shinjuku

Pic 19: Ramen beside Sunroute Shinjuku

Day 7 Tsukiji Market, Ueno Park, Akihabara

2010-05-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

We decided to return to Sushi Zanmai @ Tsukiji Market for it's sashimi which is just located 1 stop away from our hotel. This place is highly recomended for its fresh sashimi dish. I had almost the same dish I ordered last year while S tried something different. Price wise, it's not too much more expensive than Malaysia as you can see below. Quality wise, you can't find anything more fresh than here.

Pic 1: Sushi Zanmai menu

Pic 2: Yummy Food

Pic 3: prices of sashimi @ Sushi Zanmai ,Tsujiki Market

Pic 4: Scallops 500 yen

Pic 5: Had this at the same shop the year before

Pic 6: Met a group of performers while we were having coffee.

Pic 7: Excellent coffee at yonemoto coffee

Pic 8: Coffee prices @ Yonemoto

Pic 9: Yonemoto coffee in front of Tsukiji

Pic 10: Headed to Ueno

Pic 11: Stalls selling food at Ueno park

Pic 12: Look who's enjoying himself.....

Pic 13: Groups of people picnic under the sakura's

Pic 14: Sakura's falling everytime the wind blows

Pic 15: Sakura flowers

Pic 16: View of Ueno from the park

Pic 17. Met a famous charcoal artist and manage to buy a few painting at a cheaper price

Pic 18: Charcoal painting of Mount Fuji

Pic 19: Famous "Maid" @ Akihabara

Pic 20: You can also get a akihabara maid chocolate for souvenir

Pic 21: Akiharaba

Pic 22: Huge departmental store " yodaibashi" @ akihabara.

Pic 23: Back to the same place dinner place. Food was too good. After that we head off to Shinkuku to spend our last 2 nights @ Sunroute Shinjuku

Courtyard Marriott Ginza

2010-05-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Located at the world famous Ginza district, the Couryard Marriott Ginza is surrounded by shopping and sightseeing attraction. Higashi Ginza station is located within 2 minutes walking distance while Ginza station is within 5-10mins. Tsukiji Market is located 1 stop away from Higashi Ginza Station where you can find abundance of fresh seafood.

Ueno Park, Tokyo Station and Akihabara is all within 15-20mins ride away. Highly recomended if you plan to stay in central Tokyo.
Map

Pic 1: Corridor

Pic 2: The Bed

Pic 3: The bed

Pic 4: Restroom

Pic 5: Bathtub

Pic 6: Amenities

Pic 7: Working area

Pic 8: Coffee area beside the lobby

Pic 9: The lobby

Pic 10: The entrance

Tokyo Day 6 Tokyo Disneysea

2010-05-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Unlike last year, we got up early earlier this year after enjoying a good night sleep on the sheraton sleeper bed. Tokyo Disneysea which is located just beside tokyo disneyland opens at 10am. Bought the ticket off the counter at the lobby and head off to disneysea via the shuttle bus.

Pic 1: Shuttle bus to the monorail.

Pic 2: Entrance of Tokyo Disneysea

Pic 3: Mediterranean Harbor

Pic 4: Meditteranean Harbor enroute to mysterious island

Pic 5: Trying to act like the Bee....

Pic 6: Mediterranean Harbor

Pic 7: First ride of the day.....

Pic 8: Mysterious Island

Pic 9: 20000 league under the sea

Pic 10 : Second ride, Journey to the center of the earth

Pic 11: Third Ride, Raging spirits

Pic 12: The queue and they are waiting for........

Pic 13: Spicy Smoked Chicken leg

Pic 14: Couldn't go wrong when there is such a long queue patiently waiting for the food.

Pic 15: Mystic Rhyme show.

Pic 16: Indiana Jones

Pic 17: Sinbad the sailor @ arabian coast

Pic 18: Sinbad

Pic 19: 'S' @ arabian coast

Pic 20: Notice the similarity?

Pic 21: Where is my genie....

Pic 22: I wonder how much are these worth back home.

Pic 23: Arabian Coast

Pic 25: Arabian Coast enroute to Mermaid Lagoon

Pic 26: Entrance to mermaid lagoon

Pic 27: Mermaid lagoon

Pic 28: Donald duck

Pic 29: Arabian Coast on the way to port discovery. Took a wrong route.

Pic 30: Bump into this pretty girl lost in the jungle

Pic 31: Duck posing for the camera

Pic 32: 'S' posing with duffy. Every one seems to be carrying duffy in tokyo disneysea.

Pic 33: 'S' couldn't resist to let go of this duffy

Pic 34: 'S' planning to bring back duffy

Pic 35: 'S' blowing duffy a goodbye kiss

Pic 36: 'S' got herself a duffy present to bring back

Pic 37: Port Discovery

Pic 38: Port Discovery

Pic 39: Titanic @ American waterfront

Pic 40: Titanic @ American waterfront

Pic 41: Manage to catch the ending of the show.

Pic 42: One last pic of Disneysea before we leave for our hotel @ Ginza

We left Disneysea about 8.30pm and got to Courtyard Marriot at around 9.30pm. After checking we went out to look for food and manage to find a very nice restaurant just around the corner of the hotel.

Pic 43: The restaurant is located at basement accessible behind this billboard

Pic 44: The entrance

Pic 45: The menu

Pic 46: Grilled beef...

Pic 47: 'S' absolutely love this fish

Pic 47: Garlic fried rice cooked to perfection.

Pic 48: Excellent teriyaki chicken

Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay 8th-9th April

2010-05-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

Pic 1: Lobby at 11th floor.

Pic 2: We got an upgrade to room "1111". This is going to be our lucky number

Pic 3: Sheraton grande tokyo bay room. Very different from the family room we stayed last year.

Pic 4: The dressing table

Pic 5: So Good...

Pic 6: Bathroom

Pic 7: Long bath

Pic 8: Ammenities

Pic 9: View of Tokyo Bay from the hotel lift

Pic 10: Disney counter at the reception. You can purchase disneyland/disneysea ticket directly from here

Pic 11: Sheraton grande Tokyo bay reception

Pic 12: The link - Free internet connection

Pic 13: Something to keep the young busy while waiting for their parents to check in

Pic 14: Restaurant

Pic 15: Bar counter

Pic 16: View of the hotel from our room

Pic 17: View of Tokyo disneyland/disneysea from our room

Pic 18: Hotel entrance

We chose to stay @ Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay enroute to Tokyo Disneysea because of the overall experience we had during our previous stay. This trip, we got upgraded again to the executive floor (11th floor). What makes it special is the room number that was given to us.

You can read more about Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay in my previous post under the label "Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay" which includes direction how to get there.

Day 5 Shinsaibashi, Namba

2010-05-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

We were due to head to Tokyo Disneysea resort on Nozomi in the evening, hence we decided to spend our 5th day walking around Shinsaibashi Suji to Namba.

Pic 1: Shop selling ballet dress in front of our Hotel.

Pic 2: LV located in Shinsaibashi Suji shopping mall , < 5min walk from our hotel.

Pic 3: The main street.

Pic 4: The trend in Japan

Pic 5: Shinsaibashi Suji shopping gallery

Pic 6: The crowds shopping at Shinsaibashi Suji

Pic 7: Oppss...no photos allowed.

Pic 8: Dotonbori street. Lots of food along this street.

Pic 9: Dotonbori hotel

Pic 10: Hmm.. unfortunately close for the day.

Pic 11: Stop by a shop on Dotonbori street for Okonomiyaki and yakitori

Pic 12: Our Okonomiyaki and yakitori

We pick up our luggage from the hotel around 4pm and head off to Shinsaibashi Station to catch the subway to Shin-Osaka station. There we bought the Nozomi Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. The journey on the nozomi to Tokyo takes 2 1/2 hours.

Pic 13: Isn't she lovely

Pic 14: Nozomi Shinkansen

Pic 15: Nozomi with its cousin

We reach tokyo station close to 9pm and immediately change to the JR line to maihama station. Yes, we will be going to back to the hotel we stayed last year and this time around, we will be going to Tokyo Disneysea. This place really brings a lot of memories.

Pic 16 : Expert guiding the way to the hotel.

Pic 17: New brochures.

Pic 18: This will lead us to the hotel.

Day 4 part 2/2 Nara Park, Ukimido Hall, Umeda Sky Building

2010-05-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

We head off to Ukimodo Hall at Nara Park which is located around 20minutes walk from Todaiji Temple.

Pic 1: Sakura in full bloom at Nara Park ( above Ukimodo Hall @ Sagi Ike )

Pic 2: Attempt no 88x feeding the deers

Pic 3: Come here...

Pic 4: The deer posing for the camera

Pic 5: Ukimodo Hall

Pic 6: Lake around Ukimodo Hall

Pic 7: Sakura taken from Ukimido Hall

Pic 8: Picture taken from Ukimido Hall

Pic 9: Ukimido Hall

Pic 10: Ukimido Hall

Pic 11: Ukimido Hall

Pic 12: We see deers roaming everywhere on our walk back to JR station

Pic 13: Last remaining deer food. Finally got the deer to face the camera.

Pic 14: Kufukuji Temple

Pic 15: Entrance up to Kofukuji

Pic 16: Kofukuji Temple

Pic 17: Stalls we passed on the way to JR station

Pic 18: Bought rice cake from this shop for snack

Pic 19: JR Nara Station

From Nara , we headed to Umeda Station via Tennoji. After that it took us another 20minutes walk before we arrive at Umeda Sky Building.

Pic 20: Umeda Sky Building

Pic 21: Umeda Sky building souvenirs

Pic 22: Love @ Umeda Sky Building

Pic 23: Where we are at now

Pic 24: Coffee area at Umeda Sky Building

Pic 25: We decided to order cake and coffee to enjoy Osaka Night scenery

Pic 26: The night view of Osaka City from Floating Garden @ Umeda Sky building

Pic 27: Unique escalator at the top of Umeda Sky Building

Pic 28: Escalator leading from 57th-58th floor

Pic 29: Love @ Umeda Sky building

Pic 30: Night view of Osaka

Pic 31: Night view of Osaka

Pic 32: Floating Garden reception

Pic 33: Umeda Sky Building view from ground floor

Pic 34: Supper @ Dotonbori before we call it a day.

Pic 35: Dotonbori

Day 4 part 1/2 Nara Todaiji Temple,Nigatsudo Hall

2010-04-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

On day 4, we decided to visit Nara in the morning and Umeda sky building in the evening. The journey from Shinsaibashi to Nara takes around 45mins to 1 hour. We took the Midosuji subway from Shinsaibashi to Tennoji and change to the JR Nara line.

Pic 1: JR Nara Line

Pic 2: Takeaway at Tennoji Stations

Pic 3: Nara station. We were at Nara on 7th April

Our first destination in Nara is Todaiji temple otherwise known as the Eastern Great Temple. The temple have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site as Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. The Great Buddha Hall is the largest wooden building in the world and it houses the world's largest statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known to the Japanese simply as Daibutsu. Thw wooden building have been rebuild twice after fire apparently 30% smaller than the original predecessor.

According to the information counter, the temple is within 20-30minutes walking distance. However, we decided to take the bus there and take a stroll back to the station. The bus ride cost 200Yen per person.

Pic 4: The bus route to Todaiji temple.

On the way, we pass a couple of open park. Soon we find out that deers roam around Nara city freely. They are known as Sika Deer regarded as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion. Hence there you have it, our main focus to photograph for the day.

Pic 5: Deers welcoming us as we alight from the bus

Pic 6: Path to Todaiji Temple. Deers leading the way

Pic 7. You could see they love 's' instantly. In case you are wondering, S is holding the deer food we purchase for 150yen.

Pic 8. S tried to hide the food in the pocket, but the deers are really smart.

Pic 9. Food, come and get your food.... S caught in between

Pic 10: S posing with deers.

Pic 11: Entrance of Todaiji Temple

Pic 12: Entrance of Todaiji Temple

Pic 13: Don't you dare snatch my food.

Pic 14: PH to the rescue. Calming the situation. Everything can be discussed

Pic 15: Map of Todaiji. Huge area to cover to the day, i mean few hours.

Pic 16: Pond & torii gate in front of the Great buddha hall entrance.

Pic 17 : Entrance to the Todaiji main temple

Pic 18: S posing in front off the middle gate to Great Buddha temple. One of the many photos without the deers.

Pic 19: Map of Todaiji temple. Seems to be everywhere so it's fairly safe and easy to navigate around Nara.

Pic 20: Close up of the Todaiji Temple map

Pic 21: The middle gate to Great Buddha Hall

Pic 22: Great Buddha Hall

Pic 23: Great Buddha Hall

Pic 24: Buddha Vairocana in Great Buddha Hall

Pic 25: Stairways to ??

Pic 26: Todaiji Temple miniature replica.

Pic 27. "A supporting post in the Daibutsuden has a hole apparently the same size as one of the Daibutsu's nostrils. Legend has it that those who pass through it will be blessed with enlightenment in their next life." - Wikipedia.

After that, we head off to Nigatsudo hall as recomended by theperson at the information counter. Apparently you will get a very nice view of Nara from the balcony of Nigatsudo Hall. The hall is located towards the east of the Great Buddha Hall

Pic 28: The belfry

Pic 29: Sakura in full bloom. Notice that is it "raining sakura" when the wind blows

Pic 30: S posting in front of the sakura trees

Pic 31: It's raining sakura...

Pic 32: See, it's all over the ground.

Pic 33: Another potrait shoot.

Pic 34: The belfry

Pic 35: On the way to Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 36: Deer posting in front of souvenir stall on the way to Nigatsudo hall

Pic 37: Pathway leading to Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 38: Superstar pose

Pic 39: Model pose :)

Pic 40: Bend a little over......*muak*

Pic 41: Stop by for lunch/tea in front of Nigatsudo hall

Pic 42: Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 43: Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 44: On the way to the balcony of Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 45: Balcony of Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 46: View from the balcony of Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 47: Potrait taken against the wall of Nigatsudo Hall

Pic 48: Area to wash your hands before praying :)

Pic 49: Pathway leading down to towards Great buddha hall

Pic 50: Nigatsudo Hall Balcony

Pic 51: Long way down....

Pic 52: Pass a nice Japanese house on the way down

Pic 53: Another house with sakura in full bloom.

Pic 54: S recording the sakura falling as the wind blows.

Pic 55: Trying to get the deer to pose for the camera. Attempt no 888

Day 3 Kyoto Part 2/2 Fushimi Inari Shrine

2010-04-25T01:23:00.000-07:00

From Kinkakuji, we then made our way to Fushimi Inari Shrine, the head shrine of Inari. As Inari is the god of prosperity & business, each torii gate there is donated by a Japanese business. The view there is stunning the the hundreds or thousand of torii gates leading up the hill forming a pathway to walk. On the top of the mountain, there are hundred of mounds for provate worship. We did not make it to the top of the mountain as it was getting dark.

Fushimi Inari Shrine, is located withing very short walking distance from the Inari station ( 2 stops away from Kyoto station ).

Pic 1: Shops selling lunch boxes at Kyoto JR station

Pic 2: Train to Inari

Pic 3: Inari station

Pic 4: Building opposite Fushimi Inari Shrine

Pic 5: Huge torii gate at the entrance of Fushimi Inari Shrine

Pic 6: 2nd torii gate at the entrance of Fushimi Inari Shrine

Pic 7: Hand washing area

Pic 8: Fushimi Inari Shrine

Pic 9: Another torii gate. More to come

Pic 10: The start to the endless torii gate path. Just imagine the size of this torii gate

Pic 11: More torii gate.

Pic 12: Where does this path lead to?

Pic 13: Business names?

Pic 14: Where does it end?

Pic 15: Still do not see the end after 10mins of walk
Pic 16: Finally came to an open ground. Barely 5% of the Torii trail.

Pic 17: Start of the next section of the torii gates

Pic 18: After 20 minutes, we seem lost but continued on with the hike.

Pic 19: Came to a pond and passed a number of mounds. Decided to move on.

Pic 20: More of the gates at Fushimi Inari shrine

Pic 21: Finally after close to 1hour of hike + picture taking, we reach this sign. We are at the big "dot" as highlighted in the map. If we turn right, it will lead us up the mountain to the loop. As it was getting dark we decided return back by using the other route.

Pic 22: Looking straight ahead, that would be the path leading uphill.

Pic 23: Came across few houses on the way downhill

Pic 24: Japanese house on the way to JR train station

Pic 25: Japanese house on the way to JR train station

Pic 26: Japanese house on the way to JR train station

Pic 27: After 30 mins, we finally made it to the foot of the hill

We left Kyoto around 7pm and took the JR back to Namba station. There we went to Dotonbori street. I wonder why I did not come to this place earlier since it is only a 15-20minutes walk from our hotel.

Pic 28: Dotonbori Street

Pic 29: Excellent Ramen

Pic 30: The expression says it all

Pic 31: The Best ramen shop. Seriously... thats what is written on the sign and attracted us into the shop.

Pic 32: You will need to order through the vending machine and pass the ticket to the waitress.

Pic 33: Dotonbori Street

Pic 34: Another ramen shop on Dotonbori Street. We came here the next day.

We walk around until we reach Takashimaya. Isn't the building structure interesting? Kind of remind me of Paris. After that we walk back to our hotel.

Pic 35: Takashimaya at Namba

Day 3 Kyoto Part 1/2 Kinkakuji Temple

2010-04-24T23:49:00.000-07:00

On day 3, we decided to Kinkakuji Temple ( Golden Pavillion ) and Fushimi Inari Shrine. To get to Kinkakuji, we will need to take B3 city bus from Kyoto station. Both Kiyomizu temple and Kinkakuji are the most taken photo in Kyoto.

Golden Pavillion is a zen buddhist temple representing Kitayama culture of Morumachi Period. It is a 3 storires building with the top 2 stories are covered with gold leaf.

Pic 1: Interchange at Shin Osaka Station

Pic 2: Shop located at Shin osaka station

Pic 3: Osaka Station

Pic 4: Kyoto Tower viewed from the entrance of Kyoto JR station.

Pic 5: City Bus stop

Pic 6: Bus B3 to Kinkakuji

Pic 7: Once you alight from the bus, follow the sign ( or crowd ) to lead you to Kinkakuji.

Pic 8: Entrance to Kinkakuji Temple

Pic 9: Sign board

Pic 10: Hokaido ice cream- green tea and sakura flavor

Pic 11: Kinkakuji Map

Pic 12: Another photo at the entrance.

Pic 13 : World Heritage signboard

Pic 14: Golden Pavillion

Pic 15: Golden Pavillion

Pic 16: Building structure at kinkakuji

Pic 17: Encountered a small waterfall while hiking up the hill

Pic 18: Interesting hut on the way up to the temple

Pic 19: Small temple at the top of the hill

Pic 21: Taken on the Kyoto subway line

Pic 22: Kyoto Station - interchange from subway to JR line.

Kyoto part 2/2 Kodaiji temple

2010-04-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

Coninuing from my previous post, we left Kiyomizu temple around 3pm and followed Nene No Michi ( The path of Nene ) trail to Kodaiji temple.

Pic 1 : Still a lot of people coming at 3pm.

Pic 2: Stop by and had crepes at one of the shop.

Pic 3: Passed a Pagoda on the way to Kodaiji

Pic 4: Passed a nice Japanese house with cherry blossom in full bloom

Pic 5: Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil -temple on the way to Kodaiji

Pic 6: Potrait Shot

Pic 7: Kodaiji Temple map

Kodaiji temple is the ringal school of zen buddhism in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. It is the largest sub temple of keninji brach established by Nene in 1606 to pray for her late husband. Be prepared to spend around 1 hour walking around the garden. We took some time to stop and admire the weeping cherry blossom located in one of the tea house ground.

Pic 8: Stunning scenery of nearby temples after the entrance at Kodaiji Temple

Pic 9: One of the hut in Kodaiji

Pic 10: The gardens are the work of Enshu Kobori and the teahouses were designed by the legendary teamaster Sen-no-Rikyu.

Pic 11: Weeping cherry blossom

Pic 12: The gardens are the work of Enshu Kobori and the teahouses were designed by the legendary teamaster Sen-no-Rikyu.

Pic 13: One of the temple at the top of the hill leading to the bamboo groves

Pic 14 : Bamboo groves at Kodaiji

Pic 15: Bells at the exit of Kodaiji

Pic 16: Kodaiji temple

PIc 17: Ryozen Kannon -war memorial commemorating the Japanese who died during World War II located in Eastern Kyoto

Pic 18: Sakura potrait shot 2

Pic 19: Sakura potrait 3

Pic 20: Pagoda view from Nene no Michi

Pic 21: Pagoda view from Nene no Michi

Pic 22: Buddha statue

Pic 23: Weeping Cherry Blossom at Maruyama Park - main center for cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto, Japan

Pic 24: Booking a spot under the cherry blossom trees while waiting for friends to arrive

Pic 25: Takoyaki sign board

Pic 26: Takoyaki

Pic 27: Eating under cherry blossom at Maruyama park

Pic 27: Street lamp at Maruyama Park

Pic 28: Yasaka Shrine

Pic 29: Sushi and sashimi prices in Gion

Pic 30: Kyoto Tower

Pic 31 : Back to Shinsaibashi

Kyoto Part 1/2 Kiyomizu-dera Temple

2010-04-18T03:05:00.000-07:00

For day 2, we head off to Kyoto and cover Kiyomizu temple and the trail surrounding that area. As usual , we would walk pass Shinsaibashi Suji to get to the subway.

Pic 1: Shinsaibashi Suji

One of the quickest way to Kyoto from Shinsaibashi was to get to Shin Osaka station using the Midosuji Subway line and change to the JR train to Kyoto. As Shin Osaka is one of the major train station where you can also board the Nozumi Shinkansen, the station is quite busy with lots of shops all around for the travellers to purchase food to be taken on board for dining. We came across a cheesecake shop and bought one plain cheese cake and one strawberry cheese cake to try.

Pic 2: Buildings viewed from Shin Osaka station

Pic 3: Shin Osaka station

Pic 4 : Cheesecake shop in Shin Osaka station

Pic 5: 3 different trains S.rapid, rapid and local.

Pic 6: Konica Minolta plant located between Shin Osaka and Kyoto

Pic 7: JR train to Kyoto

Pic 8: Kyoto Station

Once arriving at Kyoto station, look for City bus. Both bus D1 and D2 will get you to Kiyumizu Temple. The bus drop us off at the foot of the hill and we had to walk around 20 minutes to reach the temple. Along the way, we passed a lot of food/souvenir stalls as shown in the picture below.

Pic 9: Japanese house on the way to Kiyomizu temple

Pic 10: Japanese house on the way to Kiyomizu temple

Pic 11: Souvenir shops on the way to Kiyomizu temple

Pic 12: Souvenir shops on the way to Kiyomizu temple

Pic 13: Map surrounding Kiyomizu temple

Pic 14: Japanese Figurine

Pic 15: Kiyomizu temple entrance

Pic 16: Kiyomizu temple entrance ( deva gate )

Pic 17: The surrounding at Kiyomizu temple entrance

Pic 18: Feasting below the cherry blossom

Finally we found a spot to enjoy our cheese cake. Sat down below the cherry blossom slowly indulging on the cheesecake bought from Shin Osaka station. After that we spend 2 hours walking around exploring the temple and I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Pic 19: View of the temple from where we are sitting

Pic 20: Pagoda at kiyomizu Temple

Pic 21: Best season to visit Kiyomizu ( Spring & Autumn )

Pic 22: Washing my hand before entering the main building

Pic 23 : Pathway leading to the main building

Pic 24: Side view of the main building

Pic 25: Cherry blossom in full bloom at Kiyomizu temple

Pic 26 : Potrait shot #1 with cherry blossom in full bloom

Pic 27 : Potrait shot #2 with cherry blossom in full bloom

Pic 28: Torii of Jishu-jinja, a matchmaking shrine

Pic 29:Okoninushino-Mikoto - japanese god in charge of love and good matches

Pic 30: Area where they pray in hope to find a good partner

Pic 31: One of the altar

Pic 32: Card containing the wishes

Pic 33: Love stone

Pic 34: S, washing her hand

Pic 35: One of the most taken spot in Kyoto - kiyomizu temple

Pic 36: Kiyomizu temple

Pic 37: Pathway down to Otowa-no-taki, the waterfall where visitors drink for health, longevity, and success in studies

Pic 38 : Otowa-no-taki, the waterfall where visitors drink for health, longevity, and success in studies

Pic 39: Cherry blossom with Kiyomizu pagoda background

Pic 40: Map around Kiyomizu

One thing we notice is that there is quite a number of maps put around Kiyomizu. We spend the whole of our day 2 just exploring Kiyomizu and Nene No Michi route which will be shared in part 2.

Osaka Himeji Free and Easy Day 1 part 3/3 ( April 3rd 2010 )

2010-04-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

Directions from Shinsaibashi to Himeji
From Shinsaibashi to Himeji, we will have to take the Midosuji subway line to Umeda which cost 230yen per person 1 way, and transfer to the JR Osaka station. Then change to the JR line using the JR west pass. The journey itself from JR Osaka station to Himeji will take around 1 1/4 hours. Do remember to take the special rapid train instead of local ( which will clearly be displayed on the board ). Local trains will stop at all stations while special rapid will skip the smaller stations hence will get you to your destination faster.

Trying to keep awake ( after a red eye flight ) prove to be difficult. However, we were exited as it was sakura season and in full bloom and we could see it all along the way.

Pic 1: At Himeji station

To get to Himeji castle, exit the Himeji station. There is no subway that link you directly to the castle and the rest of the journey will be on foot. Look out for central exit which is clearly displayed as you follow the exit sign after coming off the train.

Pic 2: Central Exit

Pic 3: Walking along the main street to Himeji castle.

Pic 3: Himeji castle

Finally, after 15-20minutes stroll we caught glimps of the Himeji castle. What amaze us was the crowd that was going to the castle so we had to shovel our way through the crowd into the castle.

Pic 4: Sakura's full bloom around the compound.

Pic 5: Sakura's at full bloom.

Pic 6: Photo of us at Himeji castle entrance

Pic 7: Crowd at Himeji castle

At the castle compound, you could see a lot of people picnic below the sakura tree. We on the other hand tried to go enter the castle. We did not make it to the top as the wait going up the castle was like 2 hours so we spend sometime enjoying the view of sakura in full bloom ( hanami ) and took photos around the compound.

Pic 8: Sakura's full bloom at Himeji Castle

Pic 9: Close up of Sakura's

Pic 10: Close up of Sakura's with himeji castle background

Pic 11: Close up of Sakura's with himeji castle background

Pic 12: More sakura's

Pic 13: Himeji castle wall structure

Pic 14: Himeji castle wall structure explained

Pic 15: Himeji castle roof structure.

Pic 16: Himeji castle map

Pic 18: S under Sakura full bloom tree

We decided to leave the castle around 6pm to have an early rest. Along the way back. there was a food fair organize to raise the fund for the castle's restoration. We bought a yakitori and okonomiyaki and had dinner there before proceeding back to our hotel.

Pic 19: Yakitori

Pic 20: Okonomiyaki

It was a tiring day but luckily Hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi healing room comes with a foot massage chair which really came in handy after so much walk.

Osaka Himeji Free and Easy Day 1 part 2/3 ( April 3rd 2010 )

2010-04-15T07:17:00.000-07:00

Before going to Himeji, we have decided to drop our luggage at the hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi in Osaka. We have decided to purchase the JR west pass for 4 days ( which cost 6000 yen per person ). This pass will provide faster access to Himeji , Kyoto and Nara. Since we are not staying on the JR train route, we will need to pay additional 460 yen per person to and fro the nearest JR station in Osaka which is Umeda, Shin Osaka and Tennoji.

Don't forget to print the map below which will come in handy prior to your trip to Kansai.

Pic 1 : Osaka JR & subway map

Upon arrival at Kansai airport , decide to settle down, collect some local information before proceeding to our hotel. Hence we took some photo surrounding the arrival gate. We also took the opportunity to take Osaka, Kyoto and Nara brochures and maps.

Pic 2: Arrival gate of the airport

Pic 3: Preview of where we are visiting in Kansai ( Himeji, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka )

Pic 4: Tourist information counter at Kansai Airport.

To access the JR & subway, you will need to go to level 2 and cross the sky link bridge which takes around 5 minutes

Pic 5: Walk across this bridge to the JR & subway access.

Pic 6: Futuristic building ( the aero plaza ) viewed from the JR office.

Pic 7: JR train and subway machine counters

You can only purchase the JR west pass ( which is only eligible for tourist ) at the JR counter which is located in front of the machine. You will have to show proof of your passport and your departure plate ticket itinerary ( so do not forget to print it ) .

Pic 8: JR train to Kyoto

Pic 10: JR train destination at Kansai airport.

To get to our hotel ( which I have written in the hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi review ), you will need to get off at Tennoji and change to the Midosuji subway line.

Pic 11: Random photo at the basement of a shopping complex at Tennoji

We arrive the hotel around 11am and are not able to check in ( check in time in Japan is mostly at 3pm ) so freshen ourselves up and left our baggage at the hotel before planning our trip to Himeji.

Since it is almost close to 12pm, we decided to have a quick lunch at this sushi bar restaurant which is located just 2 -3 minutes walk at the shinsaibashi suji walk.

Pic 12: Lunch at Shinsaibashi Suji

Pic 13: Lunch at shinsaibashi Suji

Pic 14 : First sushi meal.

After lunch we headed off to Hiimeji which I will share in the 3rd post.

Osaka Himeji Free and Easy Day 1 part 1/3 ( April 3rd 2010 )

2010-04-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

My flight miles were expiring back late 2009 and I have decided to redeem 2 flight tickets to Japan on the 4th -12th April 2010. The cost of 2 tickets flying into Osaka ( Kansai ) and flying out from Tokyo ( Narita ) cost me 59500 miles and ~Rm780 for 2 tickets. What a bargain so I immediately redeem the miles back in Sept09 and started planning for the trip then.

Unfortunately, 2 day before the departure date, S was admited to Subang medical center due to suspected appendicities. Luckily, it was a false alarm and she was dischange on 3rd April , 1 day before the departure.

Pic 1 : S just before being admitted into Subang Medical Center

With only a few hours to pack, we rush back caught up with sleep and immediately head off to KLIA the next day.

Pic 2: S with 2 SIA boarding pass

Pic 3: Boarding pass KL-SIN-KIX

Pic 4: S looks better compared to Pic 1.

We took off from KLIA at 8.30pm and arrive at Singapore Changi airport around 9.30pm. As we have 4 hours to burn before our red eye flight to Kansai, we head off for dinner at Ajisen Ramen at 1st floor on terminal 3.

Pic 5: Singapore Airport terminal 3

Pic 6: Ajisen Ramen

Pic 7: S in front of Shanghai TANG

After dinner, we decided to walk around and I stumble upon a small section that have been converted into a butterfly farm. I manage to spot quite a number of butterflies and snap a few photos.

Pic 8: 1,2, Smile....

Pic 9: Much more energetic compared to Pic 1.

Pic 10: S at T3 boarding gate

Finally after 4 hours, we heard the final call for SQ618 to Kansai. The flight was schedule to depart around 1.30am and arrive at 8.30am Japan time ( which is 1 hour ahead of Malaysia )

Pic 11: Breakfast Menu

We manage to catch some sleep on the flight and soon before we know it, the crew was ready to serve breakfast ( around 5.30am Malaysia time ). Iopted for the Japanese selection while S took the international selection.

Pic 12 : International Breakfast selection

Pic 13 : Japanese Breakfast selection

Soon after breakfast, we freshen up and in no time, we were flying in Japan airspace. I manage to snap a few photos of Japan as we approach Kansai airport.

Pic 14 : Aireal view of japan approaching Kansai

Pic 15: Touching down at Osaka Kansai international airport

Kansai International Airport is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay. You have to see the structure with you own eyes to be amaze with the construction of this airport.

Pic 16 : Taxing to the terminal

Pic 17: Awaiting for the sky train

Finally , after 6 hours of flight ( thanks to the tail wind ) we arrive at Osaka Kansai international airport at 8am ( 1/2 hour earlier than the schedule time )

Pic 18: WELCOME TO KANSAI

Hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi ( Osaka ) 4/4/2010 - 8/4/2010

2010-04-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

Hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi is located within 5 minute walking distance from Shinsaibashi station. I've book myself into this hotel simply because of the location, room and rate.

Hotel Villa Fontain Shinsaibashi is at the heart of the Shinsaibashi shopping district and within easy access to the subway and close walking distance to Namba & dotombori. There are various shops that are open till late at night ( if you need midnight snacks/groceries ). As for the room, you have the choice of choosing a room with massage chair or foot massage. Having a foot massage in the room is a big plus especially after 12 hours of walking! There is also a ice dispencer, washing machine ( 200 yen per wash for 4.5kg load ) and dryer ( 100 yen ) on the 12th floor.

The rate for the semi double room is 8200yen including breakfast ( for 2 ) and internet access. The best part is that you can book directly from the hotel receive confirmation and only pay when you arrive.

Directions
If you come from Kansai Airport and have a JR west pass, take the JR train until Tennoji. At Tennoji, change to Midosuji Line subway. You will need to purchase a ticket that cost 230yen per person from Tennoji at Shinsaibashi. Once you reach Shinsaibashi station, you could reach the hotel easily through the exit 1 OR 3.

Exit 1 : Easiest and most convient ( for those that have huge luggage )
As you approach exit 1, you will see a flight of stairs, do not go up but instead, keep left and walk until the end of the building. You will come across a lift. Take a lift to the ground floor. Exit the building.Facing the main road, turn left and walk around 25-50m you will come across the main shinsaibashi shopping mall. Turn left into the mall. after another 10-20m, you will come across the FIRST junction. Turn right into the alley. The hotel is located just another 5-10m(1min walk) away

Exit 3 : Nearest to the hotel. As you exit exit 3, you will come across a mall. Turn left and walk for another 10m, you will come across escalator on your left. Take the escalator up and you will end up at the front of the shinsaibashi shopping mall. Similarly turn left into the mall and take the FIRST right turning into the alley.

Pic 1 : Hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi

Pic 2 : Hotel Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi exterior

Pic 3: Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi Lobby

Pic 4 : Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi waiting area at lobby

Pic 5 : Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi semidouble room. Healing room with foot massage

Pic 6 : Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi semidouble room.

Pic 7 : Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi semidouble room TV area.

Pic 8 : Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi semidouble room TV area.

Pic 9: Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi semidouble room bathroom

Pic 10: Hotel Villa Shinsaibashi semidouble walkway to room

Pic 11 : Shirt presser available at the corridor.

Pic 12: Breakfast at Villa Fontaine Shinsaibashi

Hooi Swan and Som Wedding 28th March 2010

2010-03-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Venue : E&O

This post is dedicated to one of my dear college friend Hooi Swan who had her marriage reception and tea ceremony last weekend. I would like to take this opportunity to wish both Hooi Swan and Som an everlasting happiness.....and here's the photo I've captured on this special night.

Pic 1: The stage

Pic 2: The entrance

Pic 3 : Making the grand entrance

Pic 4 : Making the grand entrance

Pic 5 : Lady in Red

Pic 7: Wine pouring and toasting

Pic 8: The guests.....

Westin Taipei 2010

2010-03-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

The Westin Taipei
133 Nanking East Road Sec 3, Taipei Taiwan 10487
Telephone : (02) 87706565
Fax : (02) 87706555

Pic 1 : Executive room with WESTIN HEAVENLY BED

Pic 2: Bathroom Amenities

Pic 3: Bathroom

Pic 4: Bathroom

Pic 6: Bathroom amenities

Pic 7: Unwind yourself when staying in westin

Pic 8: Welcome...

Pic 9: Executive Lounge on the 2nd floor.

Pic 10: Executive Lounge on the 2nd floor.

Pic 11: Executive Lounge on the 2nd floor.

Pic 12: Executive Lounge on the 2nd floor.

Pic 13: Executive Lounge on the 2nd floor.

Pic 14:Breakfast at East and West restaurant

Pic 15: Breakfast selection at East and West LG

Pic 16: Lobby

Jan 2nd 2008 Palace, Myeong Dong Shopping, Hot Spring Lotte world

2009-12-30T02:20:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I last updated the blog as I was caught up at work and also the upcoming Chinese New Year. For those who have just celebrated Chinese New Year 2010, Happy New Year and do drive savely back.

Continuing on with with Korea trip, we headed off for Korean buffer breakfast followed by visiting the palace early in the morning. We spend most of our time cam whoring around the palace. In fact, most of the time, we were busy taking photo and lost track of the guide.

Subsequetly, we headed off for a steamboat lunch and were given time to shop at Myeong Dong shoping street. Myeong Dong is not a place to be missed as this is the place where most youngters will drop by to shop during the weekends. 'S' bought a number of skin care products from her as according to her, they have more variety and cheaper compare to Malaysia.

After that, the other group of 4 split up from us as they were meeting up their Korea business partner. Hence the remaining 4 of us 'S','B','L' and myself headed off to the spa/sauna which is included in the package. This Sauna is located close to the city and have 5 levels. It was 'B''s first experience and it was trully funny as we have to strip naked going in. It feels wierd as well since both of us are best friends the the thought of seeing each other in our birthday suit.

So the conversation went like this ( clad in our towels )

Me: Lets go. I will "try" not to look at you and lets act natural

'B' : Don't wan ler. I'll never look at you the same way again when we meet.

Me : Aiyo. Lets not waste time... ( Turn aound take off and go in - Immediately head for a shower and into the pool )

After a while 'B' came into my pool with his SWIMMING TRUNKS on. Fu la ma... everybody started staring at us.

'B' : why is everyone looking at us

Me : #$^&#(&$$. I think you are the abnormal one out here with your trunks on.

'B' : Never mind....I'll go and try the salt room.

Later...

'B' : Tell you something funny. I was in the salt room and the korean guy keep looking at me. He saw my leg was reddish so he demo to me to take the salt and rub. Then he ask me to take off my pants and show me to a sign saying that that we are not allowed to wear fabric due to the reaction with the water.For a moment there I though he wants to rub for me when he was doing the demonstration

Me : See you catch unwanted attention leh. Ask you to take off earlier. Luckily he didn't strip you ;)

Conclusion : If you do go for hot springs, you must enter the pool naked. Just follow how the rest does it and you'll be fine. Other wise, everyone will be looking at you!

Anyway the sauna room was 5 stories tall and they have different theme in each section. The only place we had to be naked is at the basement floor where you bath. The 1st and 2nd floor is family theme floor and you see kids running around, people just sit down and chat. The 3rd floor is where they have all sort of sauna room. Did not try to go higher due to time factor.

We headed off to Lotte world after the spa/sauna session. It is a combination of indoor and outdoor theme park which open until 10pm. Since we arrive around 7.30pm, we basically have only 2+ hours including dinner. Dinner was on our own that night so we settle for some burgers and headed off for the rides.As some of the rides have closed, 'S' and myself spend most of the time taking pictures of the place.

Next post.... EVERLAND...........

Jan 1st 2008 Nansaksa Temple, Abai Village, Mt Sorak , Seoul

2009-12-30T01:38:00.000-08:00

We welcome 1st of Jan 2008 by waking up early (???) eagerly hoping to see more of Seoul but little did we know that what is in store for us later that evening.

We had breakfast at the hotel at 7am and left the hotel almost at 8am. As the hotel is situated is some national park ( lots of trees and higher ground ) it was really cold that morning.

Pic 1 : Hotel Kensington Flora

Our first stop was to Naksansa Temple which is located at the slope of Naksa mountain. We were told that this is one of the few temples that overlook the sea. Our bus parked at the bottom of the slope and we had to walk through a morning market before reaching the foot of the hill. Interestingly, there was a lot of fished ( salted fish? ) being sold

Pic 2 : The custom will not be too happy if I were to bring this back

Pic 3 : Las Vegas in Naksansa? I told you I was not dreaming. ( road leading to the temple )

Pic 4 : The view of the beach while "hiking" up the trail. Buses are not allowed

Pic 5: On the way, we pass Naksan beach hotel. After 15min of walk, I don't understand why they don't throw in sauna into the package ;)

The steep hill climb started after this hotel and we had to walk for another 10 min passing through souvenir shops before reaching the entrance.

Pic 6 : We have made it only to be told that we have 1.15 hour to meet back.

Pic 7 : Attraction at Nansaksa Temple. 1.15 hours? Impossible to complete so we decided to do what we can.

A pavillion by the cliff caught our attention so we headed there. Along the way, there were lanterns hung all over ( probably welcoming new year ).

Pic 8 : Lantern against the Clear blue ocean backdrop at Naksansa temple

Pic 9: Clear blue ocean at Naksansa temple

Upon reaching the Pavillion, we wasted no time to snap a photo with the clear blue ocean and quickly headed to the next spot. Seems like 15-20min have already passed by then.

Pic 10: Photo taken in the pavillion

Pic 11: Naksansa temple

Pic 12 : Another picture of us with the clear blue ocean

Pic 13: Getting some blessings from the mini "guan yim". Apparently there is a bigger statue higher up and clearly we did not have time to see it

Pic 14: Stuff with worries? I recomend you to go to Naksansa temple. They have place to "untie" your worries. So why worry? :)

Pic 15: Interesting tree at Naksansa

Clearly 1.15 hour is up by then and we have manage to only cover 5% of the whole place. If you are interested to visit this temple, do allocate a few hours to be able to cover all the building.
We started our hike down and enjoy the beauty of Naksa beach

Pic 16: Naksa beach

After that , we headed to Abai village where the korean drama Autumn in my heart was filmed which is located not too far from the temple. If you have not watch the show, please do and make sure you have a box of tissue paper within your reach.

Pic 17 : Abai village

Pic 18: One of the film location in Abai village

Pic 18: Picture taken inside the convenient store

Pic 19: Abai village

Pic 20: Was this bicycle used in the filming?

Pic 21: Autumn in my heart filming location

Pic 22: Last picture at Abai village before we head of to the next destination Mt Sorak.

Alas, we reach Mt Sorak(Seoraksan) almost around noon time. and wasted to time and exploring it. The best time to visit Mount Sorak is during autumn as the colours at the area are considered the most beautiful in Korea. As you can see, the leave have all drop during winter

Pic 23: Pathway leading to Mt Sorak

Pic 24 : Mt Sorak Entrance

Pic 25 : Group Photo taken at Mount Sorak entrance

Pic 26: Bronze Buddha of Sinheungsa located close to the entrance of Mt Sorak.

PIc 27 : Pathway leading to Sinheungsa (Buddhist Temple)

Pic 28: Sinheungsa (Buddhist Temple)

Pic 29: Sinheungsa (Buddhist Temple) with Mt Sorak at the background

Pic 30: Sinheungsa (Buddhist Temple)

Pic 31: Another view of Sinheungsa (Buddhist Temple) with Mt Sorak backdrop

Pic 32:Sinheungsa (Buddhist Temple)

Pic 33: Bronze Buddha of Sinheungsa taken on the way out.

Pic 34 :Mt Sorak map ( we barely cover 0.1% of the national park )

Next we headed off to lunch and supposedly stopover at everland park on the way back to Seoul.

Pic 35: Korean BBQ restaurant

Pic 36 : Marinated and barbecued to perfection.

After lunch, we took off to everland. However, we got caught in traffic in a tunnel( as we then found out that most people are returning to Seoul after the long weekend ) What was suppose to be a 1/2 hour passage in teh tunnel turn to be a 4 hours jam. We even saw people "untieing their worries" along the passage in the tunnel. There was a toilet at the end of the tunnel but was greeted with long queue. Ended spending another 1/2 hour for the toilet.

We were almost met with an accident whereby the bus went into a wrong toll lane and manage to stop just inches away from height limit pillar. The sharp brake cause our korea tour guide to fall and injured herself while our malaysian guide sprain her wrist trying to catch hold of the korean tour guide.

We witnessed the whole incident as the tour guide has just started to get on the mic telling us about the change in itinerary due to the incident. Luckily nobody was hurt in the incident and we could see that the driver was clearly tired from the drive. We were suppose to go to dongdaemun that night but decide to move it out and allow our bus driver to rest.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we were to tired and immediately headed off to bed.....What a day....

Pic 37 : Arrive at Seoul Hotel lobby

Pic 38:Seoul hotel lobby

Dec 30th-31st 2009 Korea ski slopes

2009-12-29T01:25:00.000-08:00

After spending more than 8 hours loitering around Jeju airport (most time spend in a single airport waiting for my flight and the second one on this trip ) , we FINALLY arrive at Seoul Incheon international airport ( what a relief )..

Pic 1 : S in Incheon Airport

Time is almost 10pm+ and we were told that the journey to the mountain will take another 2 1/2 - 3 hours to Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort. ( *fainted* ). I don't have any recollection after boarding the bus other than feeling cold ( probably I really did faint )and next thing I know , the bus stop. Must have fell asleep along the way. Just as we reach the ski resort ( around 12.30am ) it started to snow. Our tour guide went into check in while the group of us went down to take photos.

Pic 2 : Look, it's snowing.....

Pic 3 : The ski slope at Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort

Pic 4: Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort entrance

After checking in ( ~ 1am ) we were told to meet up at 6.30-7am. The hotel is huge but given the morning call time at 6am and we have not bath, we decided to head off to the room. The room or rather lodge that was given to us was really amazing. Upon entering the room, we realize that it is a house type - double story with 4 rooms, 3 bathroom, kitchen and living hall. The living hall and the master bedroom have a full glass height view of the ski slope! And the most interesting thing of all, 2 person was allocated to each room ......

Pic 5 : The room layout taken from Hyundai Sungwoo official website

Pic 6 : Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort living room

Pic 7: Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort entrance and stairways to room 1 and 2

Pic 8: Night view of the ski slope from Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort master bedroom

Pic 9: Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort master bedroom

Pic 10: Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort master bedroom's toilet. This picture does not do justice to the size of the toilet. The toilet is much bigger than this and separated to a few area. Regretted not having wide angle DSLR then.

Pic 11: Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort room 2.

Overall, at 1.30am, we spend 1/2 hour enjoying the night view of the mountain and headed off to bed. We did not even have the time to look into room 3 and 4. What awaits us the next morning was breath taking ( see picture below )

Pic 12 : View from Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort master bedroom balcony. I can 't wait to get on the ski slopes. It will be the first time for S and we are all excited about it.

Pic 13 : Hyundai Sungwoo Ski resort

Pic 14 : We had buffet breakfast at the hotel before heading out to rent our ski gears

Pic 15 : Went to a nearby shop ( ~10min from the hotel ) for our ski gears.

Pic 15: Hyundai Ski slope, here we come. ( Professional skiers :D )

Pic 16 : Rest & food area at the ski resort

Pic 17: Ready to hit the slope

We spend most of the time going through the ski slope at D1. It was fun + tiring for the beginners in the start but at the end of the day, all of them are able to go down the slop without falling. What a success. Before headed back, I bought a 2 way pass up the ski lift. Did the B1 first and followed by the B2. As they did not collect my ticket on my second trip, I manage to get a free ride up again and did the B2 slope. Really had fun and looking forward to the next skiing trip. Miss skiing at Lake Tahoe and Bluemountain.......

Pic 18 : Hyundai Sungwoo resort beginner ski slope

Pic 19: Hyundai Sungwoo resort intermediate ski slope

Pic 20 : Graduated in Skiing from Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort.

Pic 21 : View of Hyundai Sungwoo ski resort from the slope

Pic 22 : Snowboarding? Looks very "gaya"

Pic 24: Girls having fun at the slope

We left the slope about 5.30pm and headed off to the mountain near Mt Sorak. Apparently we were going to spend 2008 new year at a hotel up in the hill with nothing around. However , we were prepared and have bought wine from Incheon Airport to celebrate the occasion.

Along the way, we stop by a restaurant for dinner and had korean steamboat. It was really good to have something hot after the whole day up in the slope. Actually skiing is pretty tiring and you actually sweat alot if you ski.

Pic 25: Korean Steamboat

After dinner we headed off to Kensington Flora Hotel located at Pyeongchang. This time we arrive at the hotel around 10pm+ . Took some shots of the hotel lobby while checking in. The were not too many people at the hotel ( probably everybody is in Seoul or at some ski resort counting down while we are at a national park )

Pic 26 : Kensington Flora Lobby

Pic 27 : Kensington Flora Lobby decoration

Pic 27 : Kensington Flora Lobby fireplace

Pic 28 : Kensington Flora Lobby

Pic 29 : Kensington Flora Ondol room

Pic 30 : Kensington Flora Ondol room bathroom

Pic 31 : Kensington Flora Ondol room bathroom

Pic 31 : 2008 New Year Countdown at Kensington Flora hotel

Pic 32 : 2008 New Year Countdown at Kensington Flora hotel ( quite empty )

Pic 33 : 2008 New Year Countdown at Kensington Flora hotel (whole hotel to ourselves )

Finally we had a toast at 12am Jan 1st 2008 in Korea. Can't believe I'm counting down with one of my best pal Mr B and L.... Hope to have more white winter/christmas trips in future.

*Can't believe I am aactually blogging about this trip after 2 years. FY10 resolution, should be more active in sharing:) *

19th Dec 2009 : Delicious Korean Dinner by "L.A.M.B."

2009-12-22T06:47:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday , I was invited for dinner at B's mansion. Was told before hand that L's coursemate 'M' and her husband 'A' is a great cook. Found out later that M's sister is married to a Korean and they got the recipe off her. No wonder the food taste so good!

Well, putting all the letters together, you will get L.A.M.B. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Pic 1 : The venue

Pic 2 : Korean Fried Dumplings

Pic 3 : Chicken by 'L'. Was told they got this off a famous recipe book and it taste really good

Pic 4 : Highlight of the day! Cook by 'A', and if I don't see it with my own eyes, I would have thought this was bought from a Korean restaurant.

Pic 5 : The host "B"

Pic 6 : The cook

Pic 7 : The boss of the house

Pic 8 : Behind every successfulman, is a sapporo beer, I mean girlfriend, I mean wife to be...

Pic 9: 'M' & 'A' posing by Penang bridge view

Pic 10: Model of the day

Pic 11 : Trying our her brand new G11 camera.

Pic 12 : Late comers TH & PL.... TH concentrating on Street Fighther 4

Dec 28th-Dec30th 2007 Korea Jeju Island

2009-11-29T02:12:00.000-08:00

This had got to be the most challenging trip I have ever planned ( up till 2008). Back in June 2007, we bought a travel package from Golden First Travel to Jeju/Seoul for 8d/7day trip for Christmas and New Year. We were so excited about the trip anticipating the atmosphere spending christmas and new year there.

Unfortunately 3 weeks before the actual trip, we were told by the travel agent that they were cancelling the trip as there were not enough people. We manage to look for another package 2 days after that with a travel agency in KL. However, the tour was hanging on the lifeline as there was not enough people but FINALLY, 2 days before the trip, they finally confirmed the tour is going ahead even with 8 people. Well, if you think thats the challenges we had, wait till you finish reading the blog.

Our flight on China Airways ( via Shanghai ) was suppose to depart at 1am on Dec 28th. On the day itself, we went to KLIA early ( around 8pm ) to meet up with B&L who have flown in from Penang. We grouped up at KLIA and found out that the other 4 tour member is around our age. ( can you imagine how fund that could be :) ) Checking went onn smoothly and in no time, we were in the waiting room.

Close to midnight, I could sense that something is not right as the plane that we are suppose to board looks quite dark from the waiting hall. It is funny as I would expect at least to see some light. Later , it was confirm that the plane had some electrical failure and they are trying to rectify it and were told our flight have been delayed to 3.30am. We tried to catch some sleep and could start to hear people complaining.

During that time, we also found out that the other group faced similar problem where they did not know whether this trip is on or off until the very last minute. In fact, we found out that if it wasn't their parents putting pressure on the travel agent ( seems that the parents are quite close to the boss ) the trip would not have go on ( so we really should have thank our lucky stars ) Also the tour guide mention that she was suprise that she got to accompany us since there was only 8 of us. Normally, the tour agent will send a guide if there is > 16 people or minimun 10 person.

Anway, we waited patiently at the lounge until 2.30am when we notice that the lights on the flight are still off. We were then told that the flight have been delayed till tomorrow. "What the #*&%# " What seems to be a easy trip for the guide seems to be challenging now. We were then told the flight will take off at 8.30am. Luckily our guide took no change and after some running arround, phone calls she manage to get us on the next available flight on MAS to shanghai at around 9am. At the same time we heardthat they have managed to fix the flight so passengers who wanted to fly on China Airline could still do so. Anyway, we didn't want to take any chances and by that time, it was almost 5am so we went to claim the free meal at Burger King and waited patiently for 9am.

Pic 1 : B and myself at Shanghai airport being transported to the terminal

The transit time in shanghai was short as we had to catch an immediate flight to Jeju. Seems like we were the final passengers that boarded. So by the time we arrive in Jeju, in the evening, out luggage did not make it and will only arrive on the next day.

All of u were pretty hungry then so they took us to eat dinner

Pic 2 : The group at dinner.

We found out that our travel buddies are from KL ( 3 of them brothers & sister ) while the other is the big brother's girlfriend.

Pic 3 : Our 1st dinner. Steam boat

We were so hungry that we clean up everything.Yup, I would worry if the plates were edible because I don't think they will be spared.

Pic 4 : Dragon head rock

Next , we were taken to Yong Du am ( dragon head rock) located at the western end of Jeju. Based on our itinerary, we are suppose to be here in the morning. Anyway we lost ~8 hours of precious sightseeing time ( and that is not all ). Lesson learn , it if fun to travel during winter but you could face with a lot of unforseen circumstances.

Anyway, back to Dragon Head Rock. As it was quite windy then, we did not spend much time but I was told that the red colour section is suppose to be the dragon head. Do you see it? I'll leave it to your immagination.

Pic 5 :Jeju Underground Shopping Arcade

Next we headed to the Jeju underground shopping arcade. Lots of winter clothing and skincare shops around that. You can find brands like faceshop, etude house etc ( much cheaper that what you can get in malaysia eg buy3 free 1 type of pricing ) and they give in cute giveaways for every purchase you make. Only the 1st day and 5% of the budget spend... I bought myself some facewash...( Got to do some investment if I want to every try to get into the Korean Drama Actor list )

Pic 6 : Our tour guide and S outside the Jeju Underground shopping arcade

It was almost 11pm so we headed back to the hotel " Jeju Pearl Tourist hotel". Before going into the hotel we drop by a convenient store to get ourselves toothbrush since our luggage have yet to arrive. Luckily for us, we did pack a spare clothing in our handcarry and it did come in handy. Wonder how the rest are sleeing the night ;)

Pic 7: Shopping for toiletries

DAY 2
Woke up ~7am that morning and looked outside the window. Pretty glommy. We quickly showered and went downstairs for breakfast.

Pic 8 : View from the Hotel room

Pic 9: Jeju Pearl Tourist Hotel

Pic 10: Jeju Pearl Tourist Hotel room

After breakfast we headed to the Jeju Stone statue park. I'll let the pictures below do the talking.

Pic 11: Stone statue welcoming us to the park

Pic 12: Group photo

Pic 13 : Posing for the next Korea Dorama album cover

Pic 14 : Don't we look good in this pose?

Pic 15 : How many time do you get to rest your hand on the "statue" :)

Pic 15 : 4 grown adults trying to fit into the house. Hello, anybody there>

Pic 16 : A pose for record. Hmm It's suppose to show 2008

Pic 17 : Ever wonder how does it feels like to have bigger butt when you sit down :)

Pic 18 : From the small land to the giant land. Gosh now I feel tiny standing beside this statue.

Pic 19 : Where do we go next after this? Of coz, just follow the SIGN.

We spend a bit longer time here taking photos and actually got warning from our Korea guide for arriving back 15 mins late. ( OK, I have to explain here that our guide is a part time guide and she is doing her part to ensure we complete our tour itinerary. However, seems like all of us are looking for free and easy. We manage to clarify with her after that and agreed that we will sign the consent form acknowlegding that we are okay to miss some of the tourist spot ) After that we headed to the mysterious road, a place where you point your car downhill and put it on neutral gear, the car actually goes up.... Amazing

Pic 20 : Does this sign looks mysterious enough...

Pic 21 : OK we tried really hard to stand straight.

Pic 22 : This explains it all.

Pic 23. Saw this cute creature on the way to the toilet. Me learning to be cute.

After that we headed back to the hotel as our luggage ( yes, the casulties that did not make it to the same flight as us ) have arrive. We quickly move all our stuff into the room and headed off for lunch. We were brought to a korean pork barbecue lunch very near to a village we were visiting and I must say that this has got to be the best korean barbecue I/we have ever had. As it is buffet style, I think we took 3 or 4 bowls of porks and were the last to leave the table.

Pic 24 : Korean barbecue..

After that we walk to the village and the tour guide explains to us Jeju island's culture.

Pic 25 : If 3 sticks are up, means nobody is it home. DO NOT ENTER...The rest, need to refer to your tour guide for those who are going there. Since you are paying for your trip, you better listen :). Otherwise, I will have to charge you for the fee I paid to learn :P

Pic 26 : Explaining kim chee making process.

PIc 27 : Places where they cook

Pic 29 : The house. To keep the house warm, they actually patch the surrounding with dried shit.

Pic 30 : This is interesting, the area on the left is where yo do your business and guess what happens to it :) The black pig is considered a delicacies here. Gawd no wonder the korea barbecue I had just now taste so GOOD..

Pic 31 : A closer look at the house and how it is being patch up to make it warmer

After that we headed to Seopji Koji the area where they film "All In" starring Lee Byung-hun and Song Hye-kyo. If you have not watch the show, watch it before you come to Jeju.

Pic 32 : The church where "All In" was filmed

Pic 33 : Future movie stars for "All In" part 2 :)

Pic 34 : Another shot for the movie cover. Actually warming my hands as the weather was too cold.

Pic 35 : My co-star. How often do you get to stand beside her :)

After that we headed off to the sleeping volcano. As it was getting late, we did not make it up to view point in time.

Pic 36 : Path leading up to the volcano

Pic 37 : View of Jeju from the volcano

As it was getting dark, we decended and shop at the souvenir shop around the area before heading for dinner. Bought a few key chains and fridge magnets from here.

We had steamboat again for dinner. Mr B was so excited that he ordered souju to go with the steamboat.

Pic 38 : Steamboat dinner
After that we left for the hotel to call it a night as we had to wake up early the next day to catch the flight to Seoul ( or so we thought.... ) . Stay tune for the next post

Jeju Airport Dec 30th 2007 Snow, snow and snow...

2009-11-29T01:38:00.000-08:00

Today was suppose to be the first "snow" experience for S. Our flight was schedule to leave Jeju around 9.30am in the morning and immediate head up to the ski mountain where we would spend a night. We got up for breakfast at ~6am and was told that we just missed seeing snow as it snowed for a while earlier.

After quick breakfast, we head off to the airport. As we approach the airport we notice that the sky was quite dark. It seems like they are expecting snow thunderstorm and the incoming flight and outgoing flights have been suspended! What the $#%#&$.... Thoughout my travelling years, this is the first time I see so many cancelled flights on the board.

While our tour guide sort out the flights, we decided to walk around and take some pictures.

Pic 1 : Flight cancellations...

Pic 2: Jeju airport

Not long after that , it started to snow. For S, it was very exciting as it was her first experience . For me, it's starting to sink in that we might be stuck here longer then expected. Instead we should be arriving at our ski resort around lunch time enjoying the facilities...

Pic 3 : It started to snow..

Pic 4 : Snow covering the cars.

Pic 5 : Jeju airport souvenir stalls

Pic 6 : More souvenir stalls at Jeju Airport

Pic 7: They sell fishes here as well. Not very cheap though

Pic 8: B&L resting since we woke up almost at 5am. Time now is around 8am.

Pic 9 : Had drinks and some snacks at Lotteria

After around 1 hour of snow, it stop but the airspace was still close. We were told that even if the flights were allow to fly, they will first ferry the earlier passengers and there is only a few planes operating. Eventually Korean air sent bigger planes from Seoul to pick up the passengers here. We were told that our flight might be move to 3.30pm. Since we had this, our tour agent decided to bring us out for sightseeing and lunch.

We ended up going to a museum nearby. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside and this is the only picture I have.

Pic 10 : Muzeum entrance

Spend around 1 1/2 hours here and after that we were brought to a shop nearby the airport to Korean Ginseng Chicken for Lunch. I had to say, this is one of the best korean ginseng chicken I have ever had.

Pic 11 : Korean Ginseng Chicken shop

Pic 12 : Posing for a group picture

When we go back at 2pm, we were told that we could not get on the 3.30pm flight. I was so pissed off then that I wanted to speak to their manager and came across this scene. For the fact that I could not speak fluent korean and they probably will not understand my complain, all I could do is watch our tour guide negotiating with them.

Pic 13 : Everybody rushing to confirm their flight

Finally we got some positive news and we have manage to secure our seat for the 8pm flight. Though the flight to Seoul is ~1 hour, we have wasted a lot of precious time spending at this airport. This would be the longer time I have spend in an airport.

Pic 14 : Finally, having sandwiches while waiting to board the plane

Pic 15 : After almost 12 hours at the airport, we are finally at the boarding gate

We could not be happier when the plane took off from the runway. Now we could start to picture the ski resort but unfortunately the whole day have been wasted. Stay tune on my next post on what we have missed out on the ski slopes.

Janet and Dhillion's wedding pictures

2009-10-31T22:39:00.002-07:00

Pic 1 : Wedding Venue

Pic 2 : GL, Janet,Helena

Pic 3: Helena, Aimee

Pic 4 : Janet

Pic 5 : The stage setup

Pic 6 : The main table

Pic 7: Table 33 where I am placed together with BK, Helena, Joo Ann, Gwen, Vivian, Yip Wee, Siew Bee and Le Ann ( Gwen's Daughther )

Pic 8 : The menu

Pic 9: The band Sweet Notes Music Entertainment
Contact : Dino , 0164122868 sweet.notes@yahoo.com

Pic 10 : The lovely couple posing for cake cutting.

Pic 11 : The lovely couple posing for cake cutting ( take 2 )

Pic 12: The wedding cake

Pic 13 : Champagne pouring

Pic 14 : Champagne pouring

Pic 15 : Of all the limited photos I have taken, I like this photo best.
I can sense their happiness from the way they look at each other.

Pic 16 : Another take of the champange pouring.

Pic 17 : Janet dedicating Heavens by Olivia Ong to Dhillion

Pic 18: Dhillion giving Janet a rose in return.

Pic 19: Aaawww......

Pic 20: Toast to the guest

Pic 21: The guest....

Pic 22 : The guest..

Pic 23 : YS and TL

Pic 24: Le Ann ( Gwen's daughter )

Hard Rock Cafe Penang

2009-10-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

International Lion Dance on Stilts Competition 2009 Penang

2009-10-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sept 26th -Sept 27th 2009 Komtar Dome Penang Malaysia.

The night earlier, my friend TH offered to bring me for one of the best nasi kandar ( located in Transfer road ) and to snap the the lion dance on stilt competition. I was not aware about this until then so I decided to take up the offer.

We woke up late that day ~8.30am and left the house at 9am. True enough, there were not many choices left at the nasi kandar stall ( no pictures but will snap them the next time )

After that we left to Komtar. We were early and had to wait almost an hour before the event start. The stage setup for the competition was quite poor ,as IMHO ( in my humble opinion) they could even better promote it if they organize it at the open area at Gurney , Queensbay or Timesquare. Having a Lion dance competition in an enclosed area just does not give the "uuhhmm" feel. Secondly, I felt they could do better with the prompts as it looks like it is really a cheap stage ( the organizers lay cheap foams and matress around the stilts ).

Having said that, I was really amaze with the quality of the lion dance and dragon dance that was displayed. If you notice carefully, the stilts are constructed at an elevated level and it slowly gets higher. One of the team actually jump up at the middle section of the stilts which really amaze me as it it probably ~5-6 feet high.

Hopefully they will further promote this and I really enjoyed watching them perform.

林海峰Facebook真~主題曲

2009-10-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

A Facebook song I came across. Dedication to Facebook friends...

朋友佢有百幾個朋友
朋友個個也好似朋友
奇怪晚晚去Facebook游走
游到凌晨仍係唔夠
朋友你送佢一個蓮藕
朋友你送佢一塊雞柳
回禮佢送你一杯紅
酒收咗紅酒當你最佳好友

時時共你 Facebook之中傾通宵都不夠
我冇瞓過覺你有沒有
好多好玩東西Facebook都有
Add咗400個Group盡情留言評論夠
日日夜夜用力擴闊宇宙
等班friend愛看佢個戶口
現實佢共你有十個月冇聚頭
但上網佢叫你朋友

問佢有沒有確實也沒有
Friend拎Friend未知電話
都係得電郵陳舊電話簿係最薄
冇Facebook咁厚
返工你又有沒有繼續博命鬥
又玩又Add 一路一路游
人人在Facebook亦變做佢Brother老友
早知登記後各自有各自嘅地球
奇就奇在你在佢佢在佢戶口
每日留下片面語禮物要電郵
無謂卻唔會想Logout

有沒有確實也沒有
Friend拎Friend未知電話
都係得電郵陳舊電話簿係最薄
冇Facebook咁厚
返工你又有沒有繼續搏命鬥
賣出自己比大家收購
人人在Facebook "禁"兩"禁"
有一班老友腸蛋仔佢仲有
十個廿個萬個老友

Genting Strawberry Leisure Farm Sept 22 2009

2009-10-01T04:03:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we've decided drive up to Genting for a day trip to enjoy the cool air. We stopped by Gotong Jaya for lunch and on our way out to the Genting Skyway, we stumbled upon the Genting Strawberry Leisure Farm.

Apart from strawberry, they sell plants and mushroom. Do drop by if you want to grab some fresh strawberries, preserve strawberries or even mushroom on your way up/down Genting Highlands.

Tokyo Day 7 Feb 19th 2009

2009-09-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Day 7, last day in Tokyo before we head off to Hong Kong. Our initial plan was to cover Roppongi/Harajuku and Shinjuku. However as we need to head off to the airport at 4pm to catch our flight at 8pm, we decided to just walk around Shinjuku.

After waking up and packing our items, we checked out,left our luggage over at the conceige and head of to the Shinjuku Tokyo Metropolitant Government building. It provides free of charge observation deck where you would be able to view the panoramic skyline of Tokyo.

Pic 1 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 2 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 3 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 4 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 5 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 6 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 7 : Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building model

Pic 8 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 9 : Restaurant at the top deck of Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 10 : View from Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

Pic 11 : Walking toward Sumitomo building for lunch

Pic 12 :Tokyo Metropolitant Government Building

After that we walk towards Sumitomo building ( not too far away from Century Hytaa hotel ) for lunch. The top 4-5 floor of the building are filled with restaurant and it offers a great view of Tokyo. We decided to eat at the shop below and prices for the mean was quite reasonable.

Pic 13 : View of Tokyo from Sumitomo Building

Pic 14 : Salmon Teriyaki

Pic 15 : Restaurant at Sumitomo Building

After lunch, we did some last minute shopping at Odakyu shopping mall. I manage to grab my camera LCD protector. Also check out the canon camera but find that the prices are quite comparable back home due to the high exchange rate then.

We headed back to the hotel at 4pm to collect the luggage and took the Hilton Free Shuttle Bus to Shinjuku and subsequent board the metro to Haneda airport. The terminal 2 ( where we got off from the metro ) is modernly design unlike terminal 3 ( which we were suppose to board our plane ). We should have spend more time in terminal 2 but then again we were quite tired and decided to head to the lounge to rest before the flight.

Pic 16 : Haneda Airport

Pic 17 : Haneda Airport

Pic 18 : Haneda Airport

A friend of mine recomended me to try Royce chocolate. This chocolate is very unique whereby it is kept at a control temperature and customers are advice to immediately eat the chocolate. The chocolate melts as you put it in the mouth.....

We felt sad that we were leaving but we mentioned that we will definately come back for Osaka,Kyoto and Hokkaido in near future...

Pic 19 : Royce chocolate

I will post my other side trips from previous trip soon.... If you are reading this and are heading to Japan soon, I wish you alll the best and enjoy your trip!!! .....

Tokyo Day 6 Feb 18th 2009

2009-09-28T07:45:00.001-07:00

it's a world of laughter, a world or tears
its a world of hopes, its a world of fear
theres so much that we share
that its time we're aware
its a small world after all

CHORUS:

its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small world after all
its a small, small world

There is just one moon and one golden sun
And a smile means friendship to everyone.
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small small world

Yes, Tokyo Disneyland here we come. By staying at the Tokyo Disneyland affiliated hotel, we could actually go in the park 1 hour earlier than the other walk in visitors but due to the tiring trip to Hakone and Gotemba, we overslept and end up entering the park 1 hour later than the rest of the crowd.

Unfortunately, Tokyo Disneyland is pretty crowded and the queues for the rides are really long. We queue up to 1 hour for the haunted mansion and 1/2 for Space mountain. Nevertheless, we spend the whole day at the part until it the Night Disney Parade. There's always this magical feeling whenever I enter Disneyland.. No worries, no stress ... just felt like a kid again. In fact, Disneyland Tokyo was the first Disneyland I ever came when it open not too long ago( back in 1985 ) with my family while in transit to the Disneyland in Anaheim LA and I can still remember the Haunted house vividly. Time flies... I was just a 7 years old then and my cousin ( 2 years my junior ) was with me and he was unable to ride most of the ride due to height requirement. I was lucky to have barely pass the minimum height requirement for the rides. The other most memorable ride back them was riding the log.

We left the park at 10pm to collect our luggage from Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay and heads off back to Shinjuku. After dropping our bags at Hilton Shinjuku, we decided to go out for midnight snack. As there is nothing much around Hilton Shinjuku, we went back to the shops in front of Odakyu Center and came across this shop. After dinner we head back to the hotel and called it a day.

Tokyo Day 5 Feb 17 2009

2009-09-26T23:48:00.000-07:00

Day 5 : Gora (Hokone) to Gotemba Premium Outlets and back to Tokyo Disneyland.

The earliest bus available from Gora to Gotemba depart at 940am (arriving at 1050am). This gave me the opportunity to have a go for another round of Onsen at the hotel early in the morning.

After checking our at 9am, we walked up the slope for around 5-10 minutes to get to Kami Gora station to catch the Hakone Tozan Cable Car back to Gora.

Pic 1 : Hike up to Kami Gora Station from Hyatt Hakone.

Pic 2 : Hakone Tozan Cable Car

As we did not want to miss the 9.40am bus ( if we do, we will need to wait for another 2 hour for the next bus ) we ensured that we arrive at Gora station at 9.15am. Since we have some time, we walk around the station took some photos and bought some souvenirs. The building around Gora reminds me of the typical house shown in anime.

Pic 3 : Shops around Gora

Pic 4 : Shops around Gora

Pic 5 : Shops around Gora

Pic 6 : Shops around Gora taken from the area where we waited for the bus.

Pic 7 : This hotel is directly opposite the bus stand for Gora -> Gotemba premium outlet.

Pic 8 : Bus number/stand to board from Gora to Gotemba Premium Outlets

Finally, after 1/2 hours wait, the bus finally arrive. Luckily the bus was not so packed when we board so we had seats to ourself. The bus will move about and picks up and drop passengers along the way. I would advice to queue up if you see a long line. The journey from Gora to Gotemba takes around 1 hour. ( Do drop me an email if you would like the Hakone Freepass ride schedule before your trip)

Pic 9 : The bus is here! Finally...

Do stay awake along your journey especially when you are getting close to go Gotemba. On a fine day, you will get a good view of Mount Fuji. If you are driving, do take note as you are going downhill as I came across one spot where you can stop and get a really good view of Mount Fuji for photo snapping. Unfortunately the bus does not stop there so the picture below is the only picture I manage to capture.

Pic 10: Gotemba city & Mount Fuji

We arrive at Gotemba Premium Outlet at 10.50am and immediately place our luggage in a paid locker. The design of the outlet is exactly as what you would see in the US. Do go to the information counter as you are able to get some discount coupons. There are many brands there eg Ralph Lauren, Gap, Levis, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Samatha Thavasa. However, I notice that the only Gap have similar price compared to the outlets in US. Nevertheless, I would recomend to go there if you happen to be in Hakone as you will get a good view of Mount Fuji on a clear day.

Pic 11 : Gotemba Premium Outlets

Pic 12 : Gotemba Premium Outlets

Pic 13 : Gotemba Premium Outlets

Pic 14 : Gotemba Premium Outlets ( more shops on the other side)

Pic 15 : Gotemba Premium Outlets ( Bridge leading to the other section ) Notice Mount Fuji?

As we were hungry , we immediately head off to the Cafeteria located across the bridge. We ordered the famous Gotemba Curry Chicken.

Pic 16 : Gotemba Curry

Pic 17 : Gotemba Premium Outlet

Pic 18 : What happened to Mount Fuji? Now you see it ( Pic 15) Now you don't.
That is why we were so lucky to be able to get a clear view of Mount Fuji the day before and in the morning.

Pic 19 : Crazy crepes. Do try but make sure you have ample time to finish it as the bus do not allow food and drinks on it.

We decided to take the 6pm Asagiri train back to Shinjuku from Gotemba station. After shopping, we took the free shuttle service from Gotemba Premium Outlet to Gotemba station which took around 15min. There is nothing much at Gotemba station and luckily our wait is not that long as it was really cold and windy then.

Pic 20 : Gotemba train station.

Pic 21 : Gotemba train station.

Pic 22 : Asagiri ( bullet train )

We arrive at Shinjuku at around 8pm. As we were heading towards Sheraton Tokyo Bay( Tokyo disneyland hotel) for the night, we decided to have dinner at the station as the journey there would take another 1 hours. Most of the shops are almost closed but we found this small nice cosy restaurant.

Pic 23 : Noodle in Miso Soup

Directions from Shinjuku to Maihama ( Tokyo Disneyland )
From Shinjuku , take the Manunouchi Line from Shinjuku to Aksaka-mitsuke and change to Yurakucho Line from Nagatacho to Shin Kiba. The Akasaka-Mitsuke and Nagatacho station are closeby and within walking distance. From Shin Kiba, change to the JR Maihama line and get off at Maihama.

Travelling in Japan alone for a female is quite safe. At times, you will notice that certain section of the train are for women only during the peak hours.

Pic 24 : Women only carriage

The Disneyland Resort Line is located just opposite the Maihama station exit. Once you exit, you will start to hear music from Disneyland greeting you. The signs leading to the Disneyland Resort line is quite clear. To know which stop to exit if you are staying at a disneyland hotel, do refer to my Sheraton grande Tokyo Bay post.

Pic 25 : Disneyland Resort Line station

Pic 26 : Tokyo Disneyland Resort (Official Disneyland Hotel).

Pic 27 : Handles in the shape of Mickey Mouse

We headed toward Bayside station and at the exit of the station there are free shuttle busses that to ferry the hotel guest to their respective hotel. To get to Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay , board the shuttle at the first counter.

Pic 28 : Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Shuttle Bus

Tokyo Day 4 Feb 16th 2009

2009-09-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

2 day 1 night ( Hakone, Hot Spring & Gotemba Shopping)

Hakone located within 2 hours away from Tokyo is famous for its onsen (hot spring). For those planning to go to Hakone Free and Easy by yourself, hopefully the infomation below will help you in your planning. As we plan to go to both Hakone and gotemba and experience the bullet train, we plan the following : -

Purchase the Hakone Freepass to get around Hakone and upgrade to Limited Express Romancecar (Limited Express Romance Car Timetable) from Shinjuku to Hakone Yumoto. As the Hakone Freepass covers Hakone Tozan Train, Hakone Tozan Cablecar,Hakone Ropeway, Hakone Sight Seeing Cruise ,Hakone Tozan Bus, Odakyu Hakone Highway bus and Nomazu Tokan Tokai Bus to designated area.

From our hotel close to Kami Gora Station to Gotemba, our plan is to take the Hakone Tozan Bus from Gora Station to Gotemba premium outlet. On weekdays, there are 6 direct buses from Gora (0940,1040,1320,1440,1620,1720) to Gotemba Premium Outlet and the journey takes 1hour 10 minutes.

We purchase the Hakone Freepass ticket,limited express romance car and JR Limited Express Asagiri from Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center. However because we are taking JR Limited Express Asagiri ( which is different company from Odakyu ), we were require to pay a slight extra at the JR counter. ( Anyway, do not worry to much as the people who attended to us at the Sight Seeing Service counter was very friendly and helpful ). The typical Hakone Freepass for 2 days 1 night cost 5000yen. We were require to pay extra 860yen to reserve the seats for the limited romance express train.

Pic 1 : Hakone Yumoto Freepass Map

Pic 2 : Odakyu Train Station ( location to board Romance Car ).

Pic 3 : Limited Express Romance Car from Shinjuku Odakyu station

Pic 4 : Odakyu Limited Express Romancecar reserved seat.

Pic 5 : Hakone Yumoto station. From here we change to change to Hakone Tozan Train to Gora

Pic 6 : One of the stops on the Hakone Tozan Train

Pic 7 : At Gora, we change onto the Hakone Tozan Cablecar to get to Sounzan. We stop on the 4th station(Kami Gora station) to drop our luggage at the Hyatt Hakone ( refer to Hyatt Hakone post)

Pic 8 : At Sounzan we change on the Hakone Tozan Ropeway to Togendai. The Ropeway will take you across the volcanic mountain and stop at Owakudani whereby you are able to get a good view of Mount Fuji on a clear day.

Pic 9 : View of Owakudani from Hakone Tozan Ropeway. Can you see the sulphur gas coming up from there?

Pic 10 : View of Owakudani from Hakone Tozan Ropeway

Pic 11 : You are required to make a change at this stop to get to Togendai to board the Hakone Sight Seeing Cruise. There is quite a number of things to see at this stop and don't forget to try the famous kurotamago black egg that is cook naturally by placing it above the sulphuric gas and suppose to prolong your life for 7 year/egg.

Pic 12 : Owakudani. The view as you exit and turn left. For those that plan to hike up, do take note of the notice. I personally witness someone who fainted and had to be carried out by ambulance when I was there. Hopefully it did not fall onto the boiling hot water.

Pic 13 : View of Mount Fuji as you head to the right when you exit the station. Walk on as you will be able to get a great photo of Mount Fuji on a clear day.

Pic 14 : This is what I manage to take. I can't believe that we are so lucky to be able to view Mount Fuji on such a clear blue sky. You'lll see in my Gotemba post that Mount Fuji is quite shy and most of the time, it is hidden behind the clouds.

Pic 15 : After spending close to 1/2 hour taking photo of Mount Fuji, we headed back towards the mountain. The temperature was quite close so we decided to head to the shops for the famous Kurotamago and some light snacks.

Pic 16 : Souvenir Shop. There is a mini food court attached to this shop

Pic 17 : One of the counters

Pic 18: Kurotamago.. 5 pcs for 500 yen. "Eat One and get 7 years longetivity".

Pic 19 : We got a package but end up sharing this with friends we met along the way.

Pic 20 : Food Counter. Apparently they serve fresh milk. I took the ice cream though and it taste really good.

Pic 21 : Warning sign as you climb up the hill. Do heed it. There is a very strong smell of sulphur.

Pic 22 : Natural Sulphur water. The temperature of these water is almost at boiling point. " DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TOUCH IT"

Pic 23 : Another great view of Mount Fuji as we hike up the Mountain.

Pic 24 : At the top of the mountain. I notice that some of the boxes here contains the kurotamago eggs.

Pic 25 : At the top of the mountain.

Pic 26 : We proceeded to Togendai on the 2nd leg of the Hakone Tozan Ropeway

Pic 27 : Pass UBAKO station along the way. The second leg of the journey provides a better Mount Fuji view.

Pic 28 : All the rides starts and end one after the other. What this means is that when you exit Hakone Tozan Ropeway, the Hakone SightSeeing cruise is just in front.

Pic 29 : Pass by this shop along the way to board the pirate cruise

Pic 30 : Pirate cruise on standby

Pic 31 : Our Pirate cruise docking

Pic 32 : Cruising Lake Ashi

Pic 33 : Cruising Lake Ashi ( view of Togendai)

Pic 34 : Cruising Lake Ashi ( view of Mount Fuji and Tori gate )

Pic 35 : Moto Hakone. We reach here around 3.30pm. As Hyatt Hakone offers free cocktail from 4pm-7pm , we decided to head back as soon as possible to enjoy the free drinks and also the Onsen. We decided to do a late lunch here as well on one of the shops.

Pic 36 : Moto Hakone

Pic 37 : Our late lunch. Udon with tempura

Pic 38 : Our late lunch. shrimp cake

Pic 39 : This is where we waited for our Hakone Tozan Bus ride to Gora to catch the Hakone Tozan Cable car to Kami Gora station ( where Hyatt is located). Opposite is a convenient store. We bought some food from the store back to savour in our hotel room for late night snacks.

Pic 40 : Sunset at Moto Hakone

Pic 41 : The bus dropped us at Kowakudani station and we had to take the Hakone Tozan train towards Gora.

When we arrive at the hotel, it is almost 5.30pm and quite dark. There's nothing much at the hotel so we spend time at the hotel lounge enjoying the music and free coctail. After that I head off to the hotel onsen. What a relief for my leg and body. I could not have slept better that night.

Tokyo Day 3 Feb 15th 2009

2009-09-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

On Day 3, our plan was to cover only Tsukiji Fish Market and Ginza. As we plan to leave on a 6.30am Odakyu Romance train to Hakone the next day,we have decided to move to Sunroute Shinjuku Plaza which is nearer to the Shinjuku Station. Also we will need to move our big luggage to Hilton Shinjuku later that night to offload some of our unused items which is the hotel we will be staying on the last day.

Directions from Higashi Shinjuku to Tsukiji
After checking out from the Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku hotel and placing our luggage at with the conceige, we took the Oedo Line to Shinjuku change to the Manunouchi Metro Line to Ginza. From Ginza, we change to Hibiya line to Tsujiki.

Tsukiji Fish Market biggest wholesale fish and seafood market and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. However, unknowingly the market closes on Sundays and holidays. Otherwise the market would gave open for frozen tuna auction from ~5am.

Pic 1 : Walkway to Tsujiki Market

We only found out that the market was close when we were there. However, we did not want to miss the opportunity to taste the fresh sushi so we selected Sushizanmai. With the Yokoso 2009, we were given a free complimentary sushi.

Pic 2 : Sushizanmai Menu

Pic 3 : Sushizanmai Counter

Pic 4: What I have ordered....

Pic 5 : What Sharlin have ordered...

Pic 6 : Crap soup miso... Yummy

Pic 7: Sushizanmai

Pic 8: Walkway to Tsujiki Fish Market

Pic 9: Walkway to Tsujiki Fish Market

Pic 10: Fresh Osyter and Scallop for 500yen

Pic 11: Fresh Scallop for 500yen

After walking around, we decided to head of to Ginza for Shopping. We too back the Hibiya Line from Tsukiji to Ginza. Ginza is one of the luxurious shopping district in the world and houses flagship stores such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, ,Coach, Burberry. One of the things that most tourist look for would be the limited design burberry blue label handbag design which can only be purchase in Japan.

Direction to Burberry store from Sony Building.
Walk downwards towards the Gucci store direction. You will pass Hermes, Coach, Armani and Dior. Continue walking until you reach the junction of Mitsukoshi Department. Turn right and walk until the end. Burberry is located on 2nd last store on the right.

Along the way, we passed by Manneken Belgium Waffle and could not resist to try them out. We stopped by Le Cafe Doutor ( at the junction of Mitsukoshi Department ) for a cup of coffee which cost 380 yen.

Pic 12 : Ginza

Pic 13 : Ginza

Pic 14 : Coffee time at Ginza

Pic 15 : Ginza

Pic 16 : Manneken Belgian Waffle

After shopping and visiting the Burberry Shop, we decided to head back to check in at Sunroute Shinjuku Plaza and put our heavy luggage at Hilton Shinjuku before we head out to Hakone/Gotemba/Disneyland the next few days.

Directions from Ginza back to Shinjuku

We took the Manunouchi Line from Ginza back to Shinjuku and switch to the Oedo line to Higashi Shinjuku.

After checking in , we repack and move our stuff to Hilton. Little did we know we have not had dinner so on the way back to our hotel, we decided to take a supper at Yoshinoya.

Pic 17 : Yoshinoya chicken set meal

Pic 18: Night view at Shinjuku

Pic 19: Night view at Shinjuku. Walking towards Sunroute Shinjuku Plaza