Onward to Tokyo... Day 1

So we re-traced our steps and went onward to Tokyo. I was particularly excited because Tokyo was meant to be amazing. (Or as Rachel Zoe would say, AMAH-ZING). But may I proceed with my first observations with Tokyo - the subways have no escalators!!! I had to lug my bag up flights and flights of stairs, and it was a nightmare. Why oh why did I bring all that stuff from Malaysia? What was I thinking? Why oh why did I buy that moh-chi from Hakone? Seriously!!! Travel light. MUST. TRAVEL. LIGHT. My mantra from now on. (Fast forward a few months... still didn't learn my lesson!)



Got to Roppongi and checked into the apartments - they were really cool and have I mentioned that they were better than Hotel Kyotokko? (I think anything would be better than Kyotokko in my eyes!) As we were in starvation central, we thought that we'd wander into this ramen store next to the hotel. I thought the food was tasty enough, but Daisuke told me that it was crap. Oh, did I mention that I met up with Dai? More of that later on...

So cut to later that evening when we decided that we should head to Shinjuku to what Mel De-Costa would say "Let's go see lights". The neon lights in Shinjuku were meant to be AMAZING and that would outdo anything we've ever seen before. But to be honest, either they did not live up to the expectations, or we had wandered into the wrong hood (we were lost ALOT, but it was a lot of fun!). I have a feeling that it was the latter. :)

But we managed to get up the one of the Tokyo Government Buildings (Jin, Von, KS - help me here, what was it called?) and saw the Tokyo night skyline. And it was amazing. We took forever to get there and when we were there, we made the most of it. Photo after photo after photo, so worth it!

We finally got some dinner - there was a huge debate about who wanted what, so we finally bought some burgers (it wasn't Moss burger people - I just can't remember what it was called) from this burger joint. Mine was pretty rank, but Kok Siew came out on top with her ebi burger! Who knew??? Ebi=prawn.

We finally decided to get some sleep and get ready for the next day to go to the Magic Kingdom! Woo hooo!!! Oh, and I think Jin might've punched me in my sleep, right about here....

Hakone - the Ryokan Experience

DAY FOUR!!!! We are OUT of Kyotokko - aaaaahhhhh..... I think I might've been the only one that was happy to leave. I think Kok Siew, Jin Lee and Yvonne have gotten attached. :)


Brekkie at the same awesome place - I can't remember what I had this time, but needless to say, it was GOOOOOOOOODDDDD....


On another note, thank God I had the other three girls with me, I would've been so lost in Japan. It amazed me how all three of them knew exactly where we were going, which trains to take and which buses we needed to be on! They even knew how much the fare was!!


Switched trains at Odawara and proceeded with another train to Hakone. Fun fun! The initial plan was that we store our luggage at the train station, but upon arriving at Odawara, we found that we could not. So, we thought that it would be a good idea to take our bags to Hakone with us and store it at the train station in Hakone. Great idea. NOT.

We thought surely, as there would probably be less people at Hakone, surely we will be able to get lockers to put our stuff there. We were SO WRONG. And then there was a frantic moment of looking for lockers to put our things. We saw somewhere that said "LUGGAGE STORAGE" and breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to lodge our baggages there. The guy who was manning the place told us in no uncertain terms (well, it was in sort of English, so I guess it was in uncertain terms! Haha...) that we were not allowed to do it and we attempted to lawyer our way through it. FAIL. Sorry, lemme rephrase that: COLOSSAL FAIL. J

However, we were a little cunning (or at least we thought we were) and sought the help of the tourist centre (which was the window next door) and even they thought that they were being ridiculous in not allowing us to store our bags overnight.

Anyway, after a lot of arguing and kerfuffles, we managed to store our luggages in A BAKERY. Honestly, the Japanese hospitality (barring the silly man at the luggage storage area) never fails to astound me.

So then we boarded a bus to take us further into Hakone to where the ryokan was. On our way, we all sat in different spots, Kok Siew, Yvonne and I listening to our MP3 players and Jin with her head buried in her Bromley’s guide to Japan. On the way in the bus, we saw some sort of procession on the street, which until this day, I have no idea what it was. So for people who have lived in Japan, a little enlightenment would be great! And that’s the thing about Japan, we didn’t have a local tour guide, so half the time, we had no idea what was going on. Although I should say that most times, it was fun though.

During the bus ride, clearly Kok Siew’s brain had ticked over and she was convinced that she had worked out the bus system and how much it cost. She was WRONG. I never thought that I would say it, but KS was WRONG. Oooohhh… that provided us with some form of entertainment for a while.



Moving along – we arrived at the ryokan and successfully checked in. The most expensive accommodation (well, anything is more expensive than Hotel Kyotokko!) we’ve been to, but for a private onsen, who’s complaining. Certainly not me!!!

Got into our room and it was SO COOL. Futons on the floor. A little table filled with Hakone mochi – apparently everyone knows about it in Australia. I had no idea what it was, but I had sampled some and quite enjoyed this delicacy and was determined to buy some on the way back from the ryokan.



Jin wanted to explore the area (what was there to explore? There are nothing but mountains in this sleepy town) but as we were tourists, and while in Rome, why the hell not. Walked along this somewhat deserted road only to find, in the midst of a town that seemed to be stuck in the past, a 7-11. Score. Of course, true to Hua Zhong hostel form, we bought out the shop. Noodles, chips, facials, ice-creams – I seriously think that our eyes were bigger than our tummies. The only difference between shopping with these girls now and back in 1996-1999 was that we can legally buy alcohol. And since we were in Japan, we bought sake. Cheap and nasty. Just the way alcohol should be. J

As I could not resist ice-cream, I bought this cool Sakura shaped ice-cream which was filled with some red bean paste. Interesting, but a little sweet for my taste. But still enjoyed it.



As predicted, there was nothing else to see, so we made our way back to the room, where we proceeded to put on our yukatas and tried to jumpstart our modelling careers. I won’t upload the piccies to the blog- there are too many, but I have uploaded them to my facebook. But here's a taste...

Just for fun (and because we could), we made our way down to the dining hall for some dinner, which turned out to be like an eight course meal. It was all very delicious. WAIT. I’m taking that back. Because some of it was NOT delicious. Like the fermented soy beans (WTF) and raw calamari. No deal.



Of course while at dinner we also saw a very beautiful girl with an older, clearly less unattractive man, which made us wonder… hmmm…..

And of course we had to grab some cards from the front counter to continue our tradition of chor tai ti and Bridge!!! Now that we were older and wiser, we thought we were way too mature to play Asshole Tai Ti (we weren’t) so we played Tai Ti and the losers had to drink. And Kok Siew lost, big time. :) And same went with Bridge. Which Kok Siew lost again. :) The other two shared the losses and I was having a gay old time with my winnings (I got ice-cream and the calories – BITCHES). And of course when we were merry, we reverted to Asshole Tai Ti. Which Kok Siew lost. I sense a theme here.

I should just say as well ( while I remember) that we did attempt to play cards in Kyoto (at my favourite Hotel Kyotokko). Unfortunately, let’s just say that the cards Jin provided were not to the groups’ satisfaction and we had to abort mission. :) And when I said that they were not up to satisfaction, it meant that it had canned food on the cards. WTF indeed. Jin - gotta love you! And I should mention that we would've played if Yvonne could stop giggling!!!

Oh, did I forget to mention that we jumped into our private onsen? Yes, it started with someone (can’t remember who but I daresay it was Yvonne) saying – let’s all dip our feet in the onsen. And that was nice. Then we realised that we could all fit in the onsen and have some facials done. But we had already dipped our feet in the onsen. So Yvonne came up with this GENIUS (please note the sarcasm here) idea of emptying the onsen and refilling it. “Don’t worry, it will refill” she says. “It refills very quickly” she says. BULLSHIT. It took forever!!! So each of us took a shower in the open freezing cold balcony (yes, it was OPEN). So imagine a balcony. The cold night air. On one side of the balcony is the onsen and on another side, a stool and a shower. Stripping stark naked and sitting al fresco on a tiny little stool and taking a shower. NICE (not). But despite all this, it was an experience and a very good one at that. I’m just complaining because I like to.

End of Hakone. Bring on Tokyo.

Day 2 - Osaka and Nijo castle.

Osaka Osaka - well, we figured that since it is the third largest city in Japan, we should make an effort to get on the convenient train and travel a whole 20 mins (maybe more than that, someone can correct me if I'm wrong) to see it. Jin, having read up on Osaka has confirmed that there is food there, so we decided to go. :)


Fell in love with Osaka once I got there. Stepping out of the train station itself was quite an experience. It was vert spacious and very beautiful - (it also had the cherry blossoms on their side!) Plus, the weather was PERFECT so we knew that we were going to have a good day.



Kok Siew and Jin Lee have been raving about this thing called the Takopachi - some octopus balls that were sold in Singapore. Apparently it was very good and had originated from Osaka, so it was a must try for me. Upon stepping out of the station, we were not only confronted with the lovely picturesque surroundings, but lo and behold, a takoyaki stall. (It's really name is takoyaki). Jin Lee ran over and bought some and we all dove in and had a bite each.



First reaction: HOT. HOT HOT HOT HOT. I think Kok Siew burnt her tongue. It was burning hot.


Second reaction: BLEAH. What the hell was this?

For those who don't know, the takoyaki is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, green laver (aonori), mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (fish shavings). Did I steal that from somewhere? Yes, now that you mention it, I stole that from Wikipedia.


What I can say about it though, it's NOT MY CUP OF TEA. Jin Lee, Kok Siew and Yvonne tell me though, that it was horrible. It was not just me, but that stall's takoyaki was extremely not up to standard. Even the Singaporean takoyaki surpassed this. They were determined to redeem the takoyaki in my eyes.


Whatever, let's just head to Osaka Castle. On the way to Osaka castle, we got to walk through the loveliest park, which was also filled with sakura (is it me, or is it just EVERYWHERE in Japan?) There was a little train that went through the park, and I'm sure that if we understood Japanese, we would be on that train. However, we don't, so we continued walking on.

First glimpse of Osaka Castle.

Von leaned over and asked "So what are we meant to look for here?" To which the answer that Jin (or was it me? Whatever it was, it was quoting the guide book) provided was "Osaka Castle is famous for its stone walls". OK then - we are going there, look and the stone walls and scoot. I'm getting hungry. :)

The weather was perfect, clear blue skies and the atmosphere was amazing! Underneath all the cherry blossom trees, and in perfect sight of the castle, people were having a good time, picnicking and laughing and enjoying the warm weather and the pretty sakura. Why didn't we bring a picnic basket? Honestly....

While walking, we had a catch up on what was going on with the people we used to know in high school and somehow that lead to Jin and I (eventually pulling Kok Siew and Von into this) plotting to scale the Osaka Castle walls. NINJA style. See, some things don't change!!! The end result of that was that we needed ropes and bow and arrows to do it, and as I left my crossbow in the hostel that day, it was not do-able.

Yes, this is us trying to figure out how to scale the Osaka castle walls...

By the time we got to Osaka castle, we were a little hot and bothered as it was a long walk and the weather was beating down on us. I was complaining of the heat (I do not like the sun) and rested on the cooooooool stone walls! It was awesome! Of course we then decided to spend 10 minutes taking photos there - just so that we were in the shade and so that we could lean on the stone walls. Plus, you know, since the castle was known for its walls, we thought that we would how it the respect that it deserved. :)

After taking our modelling photos, we proceeded to look at the front of the castle. Apparently I was staring at this dog that was dressed in a Sailor Moon outfit, I think the owner thought I was thinking HOW CUTE (because the owner stopped and waited for me to take a photo of this thing) But in actual fact, for the record, I need to say, that I FREAKING HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE DRESS UP THEIR PETS!!!! What is the point of that??? Anyway, because I felt obligated to, I took a photo of that dog. How embarassing. And looking at this dog, you would think that the owner was a little girl - NO, it was a big fat man. Not anyone that you would expect to dress a dog up!

Anyway, we wandered around Osaka Castle and debated whether we should go in. This is how it went:

Jin Lee: Should we go into the castle?

Ness: Are we that cultured?

Kok Siew: No.

Yvonne: OK, let's go then!

:)

Still got a photo out of it though!

So onward to Dotomburi, which was the Gourmet street! We were slightly lost and finally found it, and YES, it looks like a GOURMET street for sure! We decided to have lunch at one of the restaurants though - it was one that we saw in Ginza the night before and it had heaps of people, so surely the food must be good. And it wasn't bad at all. I was so full at the end of it, I could barely walk!!!

Coming out of the restaurant, the girls were still keen for me to try the takoyaki, which I was sure I would still not like it, not because I was not open-minded about it, or that I already had a bad experience. I KNEW that if I were to put anything else into my mouth - I was going to cross the line into UNCOMFORTABLY FULL.

Eitherway, I sampled the okonomiyaki AND the takoyaki. Both of which, I can't say that I enjoyed. Oh well.

Walked around a little bit more before then deciding to head back to Kyoto to Nijo castle to see what the big dealio was about. Got some bento boxes (yes, I know we were full, but you never know with later) and made our way to Nijo castle.

Now I understand why people rave about Kyoto. Nijo castle was all lit up and they had cleverly placed lights underneath the cherry blossoms. I have always liked the night and night time activities (even though I'm afraid of the dark - go figure) so this was very exciting to me! The whole castle was beautifully lit up and the trees seem to be almost dancing with the shadows of the THRONGS of people that were there! Unfortunately, the colours would not translate into pictures, so for now, you might just have to take my word for it. :)

After walking around Nijo castle, the girls and I came to some stalls selling food and souvenirs. We quickly found a couple of benches to eat out bento boxes and just generally enjoy the night. And that's the thing about Japan. Even though it's crowded, there always seems to be a quiet corner to sit and gather your thoughts.

After another immensely enjoyable day, the four of us wandered back to the hostel, celebrated the fact that it was our last night in Kyotokko and had a very good night's sleep.

Thought that I had to add this pretty piccie of me outside Osaka Castle!

Kyoto Day 2

Woke up and had had HAD to take a shower in one of the dreaded shower stalls on the ground floor. Only three bathrooms between the however many of us in the hostel. GROSS. It did smell gross and I was quite please when I was done with my shower and out of the hostel.

Realised that it was Good Friday and as a devoted (not) Catholic, I was not meant to eat any meat.* So we went for a wander and found a nice modern breakfast place near the Kyoto train station. It was very clean and little AND more importantly, it had a vending machine which dispenses little tickets that you had to take to the counter so that they know what meal to cook for you. The food was very good and cheap, and we left feeling really quite satisfied. I had a clear udon broth with some inari. BARGAIN.

Anyone who has been to Kyoto will tell you that you have have HAVE to see the Golden Pavillion, or as the locals call it, Kinkakuji. So Jin Lee, Kok Siew, Yvonne and I made the journey to see it. Only one thing we overlooked. We decided not to listen to the nice Japanese lady who told us that it was "far" - she seemed to be saying that it was too far to walk. But did we listen to her? NOOOOOO.... :)



The upside about walking that much was that you got to see a lot of things on foot. We stumbled upon what I think is Hirano Shrine, girls - correct me if I'm wrong! But it was breathtakingly beautiful. I'm not sure whether breathtaking is the correct word for it, hell, I'm not a wordsmith! I always thought that breathtaking would be something grand and majestic. This was more dainty and beautiful, but nonetheless, it took my breath away. Rows and rows of cherry blossoms providing a bursts of pink throughout the whole area. There were stalls everywhere and gathering from the banners and stuff, they must have been selling food! The stalls were closed because it was too early in the morning, but that provided Jin Lee and I the rare, once in a lifetime opportunity to duck behind one of them and pretend that we were selling! Of course, I will give the credit to Jin Lee for the great idea - even though it may have been borderline illegal, but hey, whats another overseas offence, hey, Jin? ;)


There were two little girls who were dressed up and LOVING the attention that everyone showered them! They smiled for the cameras and posed for photos. Eat your heart out Paris. There were also some interesting characters dressed up and typical tourist style, I asked for a photo. :) Including some guys in their samurai looking get ups.



Onward to the famous Kinkakuji - I have been told that the Silver Pavillion was more stunning, Ginkakuji, but we found out that it was under construction and therefore, decided to give it a miss. Finally arriving at the Golden Pavillion and while it was pretty (big disclaimer there), I think the common reaction among us girls was "Is that it?" I have to say, that it was not as big, grand or as stunning as what you see in the photos! Oh well, we did a famous landmark and when someone says Kyoto, I can say that I saw the Golden Pavillion. Although having completely bagged it out, I will say that it was nothing like I've ever seen before, so I guess that is a plus!

After Kinkakuji, we made our way to Kiyomizu-dera. I must've read about it somewhere because it is extremely popular tourist attraction, but I did not have that much expectations for it, after the sort of disappointment of Kinkakuji. Anyway, it was BEAUTIFUL. The temple was set up a little higher than anything else, so it gave us a fantastic view of the Kyoto skyline (and the ugly Kyoto tower - yech). On the way up to the temple as well, the streets were filled with souvenir shops and food places, which we did not even STOP to look at to start with (upon hindsight, that was a BAD idea!) Took plenty of pictures even before entering the temple. Typical tourists!!!


The theme for that temple (and I find out later that it was a SUB-temple called Jishu-jinja was love. There were love charms everywhere and more importantly, there were 2 love stones. If you are able to walk between the two stones (which were 18m apart) with your eyes closed, then you will be lucky in love. Well, so we thought. But it turns out that being able to complete that task would confirm your loved one's affection (once again, after some research - AFTER the trip!). WELL, because we thought that it was going to make us lucky in love, we decided to do it. And cheat. And here is how we cheated:

Yes. We are not former ASEAN scholars for nothing. :)

Saw a couple of geishas (or were they maiko?) on the way out. Could NOT find anywhere to eat as it was already 3pm and we had decided not to eat at Kiyomizu (stupid decision - I think I was the person who thought that we shouldn't eat there - oops!) So we searched and searched for somewhere to eat and finally found somewhere to eat (they ran out of spoons that's why they decided to give Jin a ladle! ;))






Then onward to the famous Philosophers Walk – on the way, I was told that we are meant to be “one with our thoughts” there. (Which one of you girls said it to me – admit it now!!) THOUGHTS? THOUGHTS????? I don’t have any thoughts. I have ONE…. Maybe. :)

But you know, when I got there, it was so beautiful, the canal (which did in fact look like a giant longkang, but a clean and non-smelly one!) was strewn with fallen cherry blossom petals and the walk itself was once again lined with cherry blossom trees – very very pretty.

There was one occasion where the wind blew and all the petals came tumbling (ok floating) off the trees and it looked like it was snowing petals! Absolutely amazing.

Instead of going back to the hostel to rest and whatnot, we decided to then head to the Gion region for some food. Found this restaurant and I thought that I should try the tempura. Never really liked it when I tried it in Australia, it always had very thick batter and very oily. Nevertheless, I thought that I should try it, because let’s face it, you can never go wrong with something fried.

Heaven. Absolutely heavenly. I love the tempura in Japan. Really light and fluffy batter, and the tempura sauce that was drizzled over the rice was absolutely AMAZING. Thoroughly enjoyed that dinner, although I think Jin Lee might not have enjoyed hers so much. :)

Walked around the Gion region, which was interesting in itself. What was more interesting was walking in a lonely, dark back alley (who’s fault was that!!!). Managed to asked about English books in a bookstore, (there were a total of ZERO books that I would have bought).

Another funny incident. We were quite lost and were trying to make our way back to the hostel. I saw the Pig and Whistle bar and said to the girls – we can ask them in English and they will understand (you know, being an English pub and all). The guy at the pub spoke perfect English and proceeded to give me instructions. But I must’ve had a blank look on my face, because he then decided to TAKE me to where I needed to get the bus from. We walked PAST the girls, who were looking at me, quite amused, and proceeded to take me down to the subway station. By the time I got back, it was a good 10 mins that I had been gone and the girlies were teasing me about it. That I could’ve been raped and killed. IF THAT WAS THE CASE, WHY DIDN’T ANY OF YOU FOLLOW ME???? Biatches. :) But that was Japanese hospitality for you – always willing to go the extra limb to help someone out. Amazing.

Thus was the end of Day 2.

Kyoto. DONE.




*Well, not intentionally anyway. I did eat meat on Good Friday in 2004 and again in 2008. 2004, the boys and I were hungover as all hell. Biggy got a call from Timmy (or was it Brendon) to pick them up from wherever they had passed out. Paddy and I got Biggy to get some Maccas on the way back. Halfway through breakfast, Timmy said "F**king good lot of Catholics we are - eating meat on Good Friday!" To which we were horrified (for the record) but figured that the damage was done. The other time was in 2008, when we were in Canberra and Nicole had made us beef tacos, quite forgetting about Good Friday too! Oh welll.....

Kyoto - Day 1

As previously mentioned. Arrived in Japan and hopped on the shinkansen to Kyoto. To my absolute HORROR, Kyotokko Cheapest Inn was called CHEAPEST INN for a reason! We were quite quite lost when we first arrived not knowing how to walk to the hostel. But luckily, Jin Lee pulled aside some people who were staying there and they took us straight to our LOVELY accommodation. *bleah*.

Anyway, I had 21 roomies. No SHIT. TWENTY ONE. Or were there more Kok Siew? It was insane. All the beds were bunkies and had drapes over them - there was absolutely NO privacy. What was worse was that there were three bathrooms for showers downstairs and they had a weird smell! EEEWWWWW.....

To drown our sorrows, we decided to go to a nearby izakaya (Japanese for "watering hole") or in other words, a typical Japanese pub. It was lovely!!! The food was AMAZING. Even though we didn't understand a word of Japanese, we managed to point to what we needed on the menu and it was all brought to us in all its hot, steaming goodness and Japanese hospitality!!!

Japan day 1

So landed in Japan. After months and months of talking about it, have finally landed in Japan. For starters I was met with disappointment because for some reason, my phone didn't work in japan. International roaming bullshit. Oh well, I guess that I would enjoy my holiday better if I didn't check my phone every 5 mins.



The immigration and visa side of things went fairly smoothly. Went to get out japan rail pass exchanged for an actual ticket, which seemed to me a little silly because they still insisted on looking at ur japan rail pass even though you have a ticket. Oh well.



Anyway, am currently in the shinkansen on the way to kyoto. We took the train from narita to shinagawa. Now from shinagawa to kyoto. And then another one kyoto to nijo. Can't wait to see the country already!



Xoxo

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Singapore - reminiscing the good ole days..

Flying to Singapore. So so SO excited to see the Lion City, which had been my home for four years. It has been 9 years since I've last been back in Singapore- it was the time I had to collect my O-level results.



Anyway, it was much more exciting this time. The EIGH gang and I were heading to Japan for our 10 year reunion. Ten years since we've graduated from high school. Ten years since we stopped doing everything together and started doing our own thing.



We were called the EIGH gang (by no one else but us) because Jin Lee had once worn a shirt that had a goblin/elf/something looking completely drunk that said EIGH. Thus the EIGH gang was born. Not that we weren't friends before the shirt.



We all had arrived in Singapore on the same ASEAN scholarship. The ASEAN scholarship was a full scholarhip given by the Singapore government to the brightest students from Malaysia, the Phillippines and Indonesia.



We were put in the same hostel. Yvonne and Kok Siew were put in the same toom. Jin Lee and I in rooms opposite from one another. Same school, CHIJ (Toa Payoh), the same class, 1/1. Ever since then, we did everything together. We all woke up at 6am, all had breakfast at the canteen at 6.15am. Ran for the bus, either the 151 or the 154 which would take us straight to school. Sometimes we would take the 156 and change buses at CJC. Went to the same higher malay class which was outside school hours at Bradley, only to have it moved to Bishan. We ran home after higher malay to make it for prep that night.



We attended the same ASEAN functions and had dinner together every night.



I miss those old days. But who knew 10 years later, the four of us would take a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun to renew our friendship and catch up with each others' lives. Can't. Wait.





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KL - day #1

So I had to make my way to the Japanese Embassy to apply for my visa. It was all well and good getting there because mom was lovely enough to drive me. Then I said to her that I was going shopping. In ampang park. Stuff that for a joke, growing up I hated Ampang Park and looking at it now, I don't think its changed very much!



My real love and somewhere that never disappoints me was KLCC. I know, I'll walk to Ampang Park and take the train to KLCC. So as I was leaving the Embassy, I asked the guard for directions. Here is how the conversation went:



Me: Hallo, macam mana nak pergi Ampang Park? (How do u get to Ampang Park?)

Guard: Jalan terus akan sampai (walk straight and you'll get there)

Me: Berapa lama? (How long?)

Guard: (incredulously) Huh? Kau nak jalan? Panas tau!



Basically he was surprised that I was going to walk and told me that it was hot. A LOCAL is telling me that it was hot. That can only mean trouble.



Determined to prove that the Malaysian sun is no where as bad as the Australian sun, I set off to find Ampang Park. I came to a junction that basically said "Ampang Park- straight" and "KLCC turn left" and I saw the twin towers looming in front of me and thought that it would be closer. Unfortunately I forgot to factor in the fact that KLCC was much bigger and even though it looks close, it really isn't. So the walk was extended to 20 and I am burnt to a crisp. Thanks KL, thanks.



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KLCC - revisiting old times

The minute I walked into KLCC, it was like I never left. The bright glare of the stores, Bally, Hermes, Prada, Gucci, Tiffany's, Escada, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs - they all made me feel so excited. And upon looking further into these shops, nothing jumped out at me. When I shop in Australia, I was excited. I can just imagine how awesome a pair of shoes would look, I could see the top, in my mind's eye on the latest episode of gossip girl. But not here. They look dated, and dare I say it - cheap?



Let's hope I have better luck in Singapore and Tokyo.



Xxx

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Delayed flight 2

So its 0349 and I'm still in Tullamarine airport waiting to board. Which is not too much of a problem now that I have had an hours sleep in me.



Best investment: travel pillow and travel blanket. I am so glad I caught the newagents before they shut. Found a quiet corner and lay on the bench, and slept for a good hour. Was awoken by the announcement stating that we should be underway before 5am, which is great.



Oh, and I got that sleep mask as an added treat. The bright lights of the airport were kinda hampering my sleep. :)



Please let this be fixed soon so that I can go home!



Xoxo

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Delayed flight

Delayed flights sucks especially if u're alone. I have been in this airport since 1330 and it is now 0214. There is a "technical error" with the aircraft and frankly, it worries me. So I'd really rather have it fixed so not going to complain that much abt the delay. But I am sleepy and this also means that when I get into kl, its peak hour traffic. Great.



I'm never flying air asia again.





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Day 1 - on route to KL

So I'm now sitting in the airport, getting extremely excited abt Japan! The more I read abt it, the more intrigued I am. No wonder everyone wants to go back, once theve come.



Can't. Wait.



Oh, hope I get my Japanese visa too!



Xxx

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Proposed Japan itinerary

After an hour long discussion with Tang Kok Siew and Yvonne Loy, we had come up with a proposed itinerary to show the Japanese Consulate so that we will be able to get our visas. Thanks to Kok Siew, who had so thoughtfully typed it up, I present to you the Japan itinerary:

9 April

Arrive at Narita Airport

Proceed to Kyoto Ryokan Budget Inn

10 April

Kyoto Full-Day Sightseeing Tour including Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple

11 April

To Osaka

Universal Studios Osaka

Himeiji Castle and Sake Brewery Museum

Back to Kyoto in the evening

12 April

Self guided tour of Gion area of Kyoto

13 April

Check out of Kyoto Ryokan Budget Inn

Proceed to Tokyo

Check in Tokyo Inn Hotel

Shop in Ginza

14 April

Tokyo Disneyland

15 April

Mt Fuji and Hakone

16 April

Self Guided Walking Tour (one day)

Shibuya, Meiji Jingu Shrine and Harajuku

17 April

Self Guided Walking Tour of Ueno including Ueno Park with its museums.

Then catch a train to Odaiba for the afternoon and dinner in the evening

18 April

Check out of Tokyo Inn Hotel

Free and Easy

Back to Narita Airport for return flight

I'm SOOOOOOO excited.

Sydney Day 3

Well, the day started off with all of us deciding to go our own separate ways for the day. Nadia and Mel were off to Manly to visit Yana, Luz and Jill were going to spend time by the water and Elizah and I had plans to yum cha for that morning. Although she was meeting a friend of hers who I didn't know, I was there for the food. The yum cha was yum yum yummy and after that a day of shopping was ahead of us.



Needless to say, I love shopping with Elizah almost as much as I love shopping alone. As usual, I got insane bargains, and stuff I could NOT wait to wear once I got back to Hobart. Of course it rained on us, and we hurriedly boarded the monorail to meet Luz and Mel at the Lindt Cafe. Even though we had terrible service, you really couldn't go past Swiss Chocolate though.

As the rain descended heavily, Elizah and I fretted in the monorail because we knew that we were late meeting Mel and Luz. I called Luz to explain why we were late and after talking on the phone for about 5 mins, we realised that we were all on the same monorail, just different carriages.

Arrived at the Lindt Cafe, which was packed out and so decided to head to the Blackbird cafe just above. Had some food, some cocktails and some AMAZING cakes while watching the rain. I do love the rain, BUT was also thinking about Elizah and I having to brave the storm for dinner later.

Luz and Mel left and Elizah and I were the only two standing. Jill and Nads had left in the afternoon (they insisted that the torrential rain was because the heavens were sad that they were leaving *gag, gag* :))

After the rain died down for a bit, Elizah and I went a-wandering for some food and finally found a food court which was open. We ordered enough food for it to be classified as a banquet and headed back to the hotel for the final night.

The much anticipated Sydney trip was over. It was great, and will definitely plan another girls weekend away.

xoxo

Sydney Day 2

Day 2 started off well. Elizah and I were up bright and early and met Luz and Mel for a leisurely morning and a bit of a shop. Had some brekkie and to be completely honest, I can't for the life of me, remember what we did that day. I will have to talk to Elizah when she is here next weekend and find out and re-write this section.

BUT walking along the waterfront and we decided to do a cruise. Well, I was the only one really keen for the cruise because the other girls were keen for the jet boat ride. Are you kidding me? I can't stand heights, but I figure that jet boats are going to make me queasy as well, so I put my foot down and said NO. But gave in in the end.

Thought about Nads and Jill who were getting in that afternoon. And we thought that we should ask whether they were keen for the jetboat ride. Which they were. In the end, the boat had to practically wait for them as they tore down past all the shops to get to the waterfront. When Jill realised that it was a jetboat, the look on her face was priceless. They had just experienced turbulence in the air and were a little green. Needless to say, she was not impressed.

Nads, who is always up for a good time jumped into the boat. To say I noticed all this before the ride would be lying. I was so nervous and, pardon my French, was s***ting my pants. Refused to sit in the front row (which the crazy daredevil Elizah wanted to do) and climbed into the second row. Was also told by Elizah that seatbelts were unnecessary ( I think on some subconscious level she wanted to kill me) and clung on to dear life - til my knuckles went white! Was also singing "My Favourite Things" to make me feel better.

Turns out that sitting in the second row was a blessing in disguise because I was perfectly dry by the end of the ride and the rest of the girlies who had no choice but to sit in front were saturated. To my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and was like "Again, again!!!"

The rest of the arvo flew by and before I knew it, it was time for the Bledisloe. Met Gibbo and Russell at the train station, (where they were late, btw - I was anxious!) and got to the stadium. at Homebush The match was so great - it was amazing to be there at another international test and barrack for my boys! They put on another awesome performance and decisively beat the All Blacks. I think the rest of the girls had a good time, it would be hard not to.

After the match, all of us had a drink at the pub next to the stadium before taking one of the last trains back to the hotel. End of day two.