Well I wouldn't say spending two weeks in Jakarta is a holiday but since we had a family thing going on I went back for a bit, not to mention having to apply South Korea's tourist visa.
The travel agent that we're going with applied for my visa and I was told that it's the 'express' application so we had to add about $30 for the fee. I was sceptical at first but apparently it was really quick, They submitted the application on Monday and obtained the visa by Wednesday. Superb.
First of all, South Korea facts that I learned from the local tour guide during the trip:
- Other than ginseng, South Korea doesn't export produce. This is because their land are mostly rocks instead of soil
- Like in Japan, it's frickin' hard to find garbage bins
- Cosmetic surgery is a common thing. In Gangnam they have more than a thousand plastic surgeons. An eye job could be done for as quickly as twenty minutes
- It's common for guys to wear makeup
- Around 95% of cars on the streets are either Hyundai, Daewoo, KIA or other South Korean brands
- There are more men compared to women in South Korea. If I remember correctly the comparison is 3:1
- Most hotels have wireless internet connection (wi-fi) in their lobbies only
- There aren't a lot of porters available at hotels
- air-cons can't be set lower than 25 degrees in summer because they're trying to go green, but man that was quite a torture (especially this one night when I drank a bottle of soju, big mistake). I think it's also the same in winter
- South Korea isn't a religious country with most people having no religious preference but the biggest religion is Christianity
- Biggest company in South Korea is Samsung
And on to the trip.
We arrived at Incheon International Airport and was taken to dinner straight away. We spent the night in Songdo and was about to visit the convenience store when it started to rain and decided to just stay in and rest for the night.
The next day was the Seoul city tour. Went to the National Folk Museum of Korea and Gyeongbok Palace. I really liked how they showed the exhibits with bevelled letters since they make some really good photo objects. I especially liked this one passageway where it was quite dark and they had some tiles with numbers indicating years and some neon lights lighting the bigger tiles.
Gyeongbok palace was cool. Lots of colour and details. When we were about to leave, the changing of the guards was on so that was quite a bonus.
That day was raining quite a bit and that was definitely a bad combo in the humid summer weather.
Couldn't remember if we had lunch before or after flying from Gimpo airport to Jeju Island but afterwards, we went straight to the Mysterious Road (Dokkaebi-Doro) which earned its name because the surrounding trees created an optical illusion that would make objects appear to defy gravity and roll up the hill. Had some fishcake snack here as well. Food is always welcome.
Halla Arboretum was next. It was pretty much for me like the botanic gardens. Gotten some pretty nice shots here as well then off to the Dragon Head Rock (Yongduam Rock). It was created by nature and looked like a dragon's head and apparently there was a legend behind it, just like any other folklore. I'm not going to elaborate here, google it yourself. And after dinner, that was the end of the day.
Jeju Island day 2 started out with a hike. I love hikes. For me this was one of the two highlights in Jeju. We went to the Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) but I thought it was quite late to catch the sunrise, which was a shame really. I wouldn't mind waking up really early in the morning to get a glimpse of the sunrise since I haven't shot sunrises and sunsets for God knows how long. But again this was a tour and we had to be together, so, quite late we went. I hiked up ahead on my own and left mom and my cousin to hike by themselves. Now that I think about it now maybe I shouldn't have done it. I always just think of taking photos during trips, so so bad. Fortunately I still had my water bottle on my hike down. I gave it to them. And I did buy them soda when they finished. Kiss ass! haha.
Seongup Folk Village was next. We had a look of how traditional Jeju Islanders live day by day and of course it wouldn't be a tour if they didn't try to sell us something. This time it was honey and the Five-Flavour Tea. I tried but didn't buy any. It was refreshing though.
Then to Cheonjeyeon Falls. By this time I was pretty sure most people in the group were already pretty tired because of the hike earlier but I quite liked this place although still quite touristy. Oh by the way, all the places we went to were the touristy places so they were always packed with people because of the summer holidays. Hate the people, especially in photographs. This was also the place where I regret not having a tripod and an ND Filter. It's flowing water! But then again I prefer not to break my back carrying these items with me all the way so I made do with whatever was available.
Then half hour at the Oedolgae Rock (Lonely Rock). This also had a back story / legend but again I won't elaborate. This place actually reminded me of the Great Ocean Road heheh.
Jusangjeolli Cliffs. This was my second highlight in Jeju. Also proves that nature could sometimes go artsy fartsy. Loving the patterns on the rocks and cliffs. And the colour too. The rock was black, not gray, not dark gray, black. Just plain black.
Last visit of the day was to the Teddy Bear Museum. It was…amusing? They had pop culture stuff like Monalisa, the Beatles, Elvis etc immortalised in teddy bear form. I walked around and snapped quite quickly and had a bite of what I didn't have the chance to try in Japan before. Lotteria.
That night we went to see the Nanta show. A Cirque du Soleil-ish show utilising cooking equipment. Very entertaining, I would highly recommend this show to anyone.
Next morning we flew to Gimhae Airport in Busan and quickly visited Busan Tower (and the observatory at the top) and Busan International Film Festival Square. Then off by bus to Gyeongju and visited Tumuli Park which houses the Cheonmachong and other burial grounds covered in hill-like green vegetation. I found a wi-fi hotspot while inside believe it or not.
Before going back to the bus, we got to try the Gyeongju bun. It's like a small dorayaki. This time I bought a box (20 inside). Finished them in two days. Then visited Bulguksa Temple where I almost got lost on the way back to the bus. Yes, again, I walked around by myself although we were in a group. Way to go.
I hated the hotel we stayed in Gyeongju since we had to move quite far to the dark alleys inside the hotel lobby to find a working wi-fi spot. Boo!
Next morning was the eight hour bus ride to Mount Seorak. Once there, we went on the cable car to Gwonkeumsung Fortress and, again, I hiked for a little bit and went back down from the area where they didn't have steps anymore. It was foggy, it was wet and I didn't have my hiking shoes on (I wore a canvas all the way) so I wasn't brave enough to hike more than what was recommended.
Highlight of the day (and of the whole trip really) was that in the cable car going up they played Stevie Wonder - I Just Called to Say I Love You. I was laughing inside thinking if they couldn't find any other appropriate song to play in the cable car (Korean songs maybe?) and if the cable car broke and going down, that would be a really nice soundtrack going out.
Back down we visited Shinheungsa Temple and the Tongil Daebul (The Great Unification Buddha). I was, again, walking further on my own trying to visit the monks' residential area while mom was praying but reached a coffee shop instead. A lol moment there.
Second last day in South Korea we visited Nami Island. Only five minutes from the mainland by ferry. Pretty cool huh? This place was famous for the Korean drama fans because the drama Winter Sonata was shot here. It is its own country called Naminara Republic and apparently has their own passport etc (form my internet research). It also supported a lot of art exhibitions and worked a lot with UNESCO And UNICEF as there are plenty of their signs in the island.
Sightseeing ended here as for the rest of the day we spent in Seoul. Went to the ginseng place (I felt sick on the bus on the way). Wasn't allowed to take photos. Hate these kind of places. Learned a bit more about ginseng and tried some. Amazingly my sickness went away (or was it just my mind playing tricks on me). Then 'learned' how to make kimchi but when I told my brother (who's into cooking a lot) what they did (radish and mixed seasonings were already prepared), he sneered. The touristy things you do hahaha.
Then it was shopping time at Dongdaemun Market. I only bought souvenirs, seriously. The rest of the free time, I had my dinner (Burger King, lol) and sat down for coffee.
Last day in Seoul finally. In the morning they took us shopping again but this time for cosmetics (South Korea is infamous for cosmetics) and duty free goodies. I saw the demonstration they did for their cosmetics and I have to say I was pretty impressed, but then again I don't understand cosmetics. And again, I went for coffee by myself haha. I do love my coffee.
After lunch, I had hoped it would rain so we would go to Lotteworld instead of Everland. That didn't happen. So we spent some time in Everland and went back to Incheon airport afterwards. On the way to the airport, one of the bus' tires blewout and we had to wait for it to be replaced, right in the middle of the highway. That was an unforgettable experience. We also went to the toilet which was through a long tunnel under the toll booth and since we didn't have enough time to make it to dinner, we got Maccas instead. More bulgogi burger haha.
And the flight back, wow, that was tiring.
I flew Incheon-Singapore, then Singapore-Jakarta, went back home, packed up, slept for a bit, then off to the airport again and flew Jakarta-Singapore then Singapore-Melbourne.
I got home 9AM and slept all the way through to 3PM. Super tired. Overall was a good trip, but personally I still love Japan more. Maybe because I didn't have anymore time to explore, I don't know.
Oh, pics are up on my Flickr.
Next trip (last trip for this year) is end of this month. Turkey here I come! I'm not ready yet, aaacckkk!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
escaping winter - july edition
OK, my trip this time isn't much of a holiday.
I'm attending my cousin's wedding in Ko Samui and got to
spend a few days in Singapore
on the way back to Melbourne .
The kicker? I get to make people at work jealous and as a
bonus, escaping the gloomy winter weather of Melbourne and bathing myself with some warm
(maybe a bit hot) tropical weather. Sun!
There were no major dramas this time. Finally!
The only thing was this time, my taxi on the way to the
airport had a data jammer. Isn’t that cool? Actually I don’t know if that’s
true or not but the moment I got into the taxi, my 3G went off and even until
five minutes later when I restarted my phone it still had a hard time finding
3G. I got the last laugh though.
I was so tired that night of my flight. I caught a cold and
on the way to the airport I must have slept almost all the way. That was also
the case on the plane. After I got on, doors were closed (seat next to me was
empty, yeah!), plane took off and when PEDs (portable electronic devices) were
allowed back on I zoned out blaring out music from my iPhone through the
Sennheiser earbuds and I was out cold. I even skipped the first meal, or rather
didn’t know they were serving it and didn’t wake up until the second serving of
the meal which was around two hours before touching down in Singapore .
Met mom in Changi airport and boarded the flight to Ko Samui.
Five steps later I was already in the baggage area then off
to the hotel.
The hotel was amazing. Must be the best resort I’ve ever
been into even though I’ve only been into a couple (I’m not the type of person
who likes doing nothing the whole day during holidays). Price-wise I think it’s
about $450 per night (private villa with outdoor bed and swimming pool) which
was OK compared to the villa I visited in Bali
($3600 per night). For me the room looks something like it came out of an IKEA
showroom with all the light coloured wood décor but still very nice.
Cons: I had to call a buggy whenever I want to go to the
lobby and actually do stuff since the lobby was a long hike from the villa.
Most of my time here was spent in the private outdoor pool
with Wi-Fi on my phone and just update whatever on the phone. Yes the Wi-Fi
coverage actually reaches the pool area which was a good thing.
And on the fourth day it was byebye fake paradise and hello Singapore .
Checked in at Marina Bay Sands at 2PM, they said my room
wasn’t ready yet since the allocated check-in time was 3PM. Not a problem, I
had to be somewhere anyway. By the time I returned to the hotel at 6PM, they
said my room wasn’t ready as of yet. OK, how long does it take to prepare a
room for a new guest? Especially when I finally got in, at 9.30PM mind you, and
saw that the room was pretty standard.
Mom was furious at the customer service. They said they’d
allow us late checkout which was at 1PM on the day of our flight. Whatever, but
for a hotel of that caliber that was uncool and it made it to my unsatisfactory
service list. No hard feelings.
It was mostly catching up with friends, and food. I did
visit the Gardens by the Bay and even though in my mind this looked like the place where aliens would nest if they were to start invading the earth, it was still really amazing. I want to go back again since
it was raining half-way I was there so I didn’t get to see the whole thing. Curse
you weather.
Oh actually on the way to the Gardens by the Bay I was
supposed to catch an elevator but I couldn’t find it and so I took the stairs.
It was over a hundred steps so it was a bit like London all over again. Bummer.
And last but not least, the excess baggage.
Mine was 15kg, mom’s makeup artist had 30kg of baggage and
the winner was mom with almost 50kg of luggage just for herself. So the three
of us had almost, literally, a ton of baggage with us. Mom had to pay 23kg of
excess baggage because she was flying home by herself.
Now I’m back in Melbourne
but I’ll be flying out again in three week time. Jakarta
and South Korea ,
wait for me.
Pics as usual are up on Flickr.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
escaping winter
That's right folks. By Friday next week I will be spending a few days under the tropical sun of Koh Samui.
I remember the first time I came to Australia, winter was wonderful, it was something I never experienced before and loved it for the first few years here.
Now I loathe it.
Well maybe not to that extent. I just want the sun back. After all it's only human to want to have what you don't have anymore right?
Anyway, I'll be attending my cousin's wedding in Koh Samui and shoot around if I get the chance of course, then three days in Singapore (to eat mostly) before going back to gloomy winter.
This mini trip will also be trialling me travelling without my Macbook Air but replacing it with a Samsung Galaxy Note instead. Will see how that goes in a few weeks time.
Will update again after the mini trip when (hopefully) pics are up.
I remember the first time I came to Australia, winter was wonderful, it was something I never experienced before and loved it for the first few years here.
Now I loathe it.
Well maybe not to that extent. I just want the sun back. After all it's only human to want to have what you don't have anymore right?
Anyway, I'll be attending my cousin's wedding in Koh Samui and shoot around if I get the chance of course, then three days in Singapore (to eat mostly) before going back to gloomy winter.
This mini trip will also be trialling me travelling without my Macbook Air but replacing it with a Samsung Galaxy Note instead. Will see how that goes in a few weeks time.
Will update again after the mini trip when (hopefully) pics are up.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Hong Kong & an afternoon in Macau
First of all, Macau.
What stuck in mind? One word, casinos. They're not all located on a strip like in Vegas (I've never been to Vegas but that's what I imagined them to be) though. Macau is divided into three major islands; Macau, Taipa and Coloane, which are connected by man-made bridges and the casinos are mostly located in Macau and Taipa. Coloane is more like the quieter side of the three.
All the casinos are built inside unified complexes, huge ones, which houses the casinos, hotel rooms, food courts and shops.
I stayed in The Venetian, which was built to emulate Venice, as you may have guessed. The resemblance is uncanny! They have St Mark's Square, the canals, the gondolas, Ponte Rialto. The only differences are the air-conditioning and when I was in Venice I don't remember seeing outdoor food courts and Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry and Chanel shops when walking from the Rialto Bridge through the escalator to St Mark's Square. Oh the water was crystal clear and didn't smell. *sarcastic rant ends here*
My friend took me around and showed me some other casino hotels; Wynn, MGM Grand and Galaxy. They're alright. She also took me to the Ruins of St Paul's Church. It was cool on many levels. I was told that they actually tried rebuilding the church ten times and every single time, it burned down. Maybe God doesn't like a church being built in a casino-infested territory? So after the tenth time, they stopped trying to rebuild the church but the facade never got burned down. It is now the symbol of Macau. Amen.
Food? The most famous snack is Lord Stow's Bakery's egg tart and I swear it was the best egg tart I've ever tasted. I'm not usually a fan of egg tarts but I was hooked on this one. My friend also took me to a Chinese Macanese restaurant for dinner and so I don't forget, the name of the place is Cafe Litoral, located really close to Galaxy. If you do want to go in the weekends, book ahead. It's pretty popular.
Ferry ride to and from Hong Kong was effortless. It took an hour each way though.
One more thing, the currency is Macau Pataca, abbreviated MOP. Where did the 'O' come from though? Shouldn't it be MCP or MPT or MPC? Here's the thing, HK$ is received everywhere in Macau (usually with a 1:1 exchange rate) but the MOP is only good in Macau. You can exchange it for HK$ but they will charge currency exchange rates. Cheeky! So make sure you spend all your Patacas before going back to Hong Kong.
So I was back in Hong Kong.
Note to self: don't visit Hong Kong (and Macau) in winter for photography. White skies and foggy days.
The whole MTR experience was awesome. First of all, the tap card system works. The Octopus Card works very well, it's cheap and you can even use it to shop in 7 Elevens. Trains run on time and I never not get 3G. Sometimes it would turn to 2G but most of the time anywhere underground I'd still get 3G. My only complaint is that the gates are too small for me with my sling bag on the side, but again I am considered XL in Hong Kong. Oh, and whenever you're on the escalator anywhere, the lazy line (my line) is on the right hand side, and they have this fascination of holding the handrails, so make sure you hold on tight.
I think my hotel has all-day housekeeping in action. No matter what time of day I past through the corridors, I'd always find their carts lurking around.
I met Bruce Lee at the Avenue of the Stars. It was just a statue but I met him, and fortunately he didn't kick my ass.
A Symphony of Lights is on every night at 8PM. Yes it's free. Come early, the promenade fills up really quickly.
The trip to Lantau Island was definitely memorable, not so much in a good way but still memorable. I started quite late that day and didn't expect it to be raining. MTR ride took about a half hour then it took me some time to figure out where the bus stop was. I asked somebody inside but was only told it was outside. Some help huh? The bus ride was an hour but didn't feel that long, maybe it was the winding road so we kept on turning all the time. When I got to the Tian Tan Buddha (it was big, no, huge!) it was raining hard and I was forced to buy an umbrella. Then it was challenging. On one hand I had to hold an umbrella and on the other hand I had to hold my camera because I couldn't just let my camera hang around to get wet not to mention taking photos and zooming in and out. I think I spent maybe an hour and a half at the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. So I got to the bus stop only to have to wait for another half hour because the current bus was full. Then it was another hour back to Tung Chung and another half hour back to Tsim Sha Tsui.
I also went temple-hopping. Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin - Tin Hau - Man Mo. The first one, a lot of fortune telling from a chim (bamboo stick shaken out of the box). The second was quite small and I wasn't allowed to take photos inside, so I stepped outside and snapped the inside. The last one was, for me, the most impressive and the hardest for me to find even though I have the power of Google Maps in my hands. It had millions (ok I'm exaggerating, but there was a lot) of coiling incense inside and I snapped like there's no tomorrow. Tried the beef brisket noodle soup at Kau Kee as recommended by a friend. I will come back again someday to try it with rice noodles and the curry one.
A visit to The Peak was disappointing. It was foggy! The Peak Tram was cool though. On the way back, it went backwards at a 45-degree angle.
I also spent some time just wandering around in Central and at one point I was just walking to the Ferry Terminal because I thought I might be able to get a glimpse of the junk boat with the red sails and everything. I was quite tired at that point and was standing at an intersection waiting for the red light to turn green when I turned to the left. The new Apple Store! Once the red light turned green, I went to the middle of the road, snapped it, and walked away just in time before the light turned red again. So I got to the Central Pier and wanted to have a look at the junk boat but couldn't find it, then I went up to the observation deck and I was at the ferry pier going to Tsim Sha Tsui which is where I was staying. So I tapped my Octopus Card and a minute later I was crossing the peninsula and reached my hotel in 10 minutes instead of walking all the way back to the MTR station.
Also explored the markets (not really). Flower market, bird market and goldfish market. All in Mong Kok. I really liked the bird market, the other two were so so.
What I loved most of all: Hong Kong's dusk, the crowds, the food (which I eat a lot of them in Melbourne, especially the congee and wonton noodles), the neon lights and the old Shanghai feel.
I'll come back again someday, some summer days.
Photos are online at my Flickr and also, if you want to have a look at some photos from my recent Bali trip, click here.
What stuck in mind? One word, casinos. They're not all located on a strip like in Vegas (I've never been to Vegas but that's what I imagined them to be) though. Macau is divided into three major islands; Macau, Taipa and Coloane, which are connected by man-made bridges and the casinos are mostly located in Macau and Taipa. Coloane is more like the quieter side of the three.
All the casinos are built inside unified complexes, huge ones, which houses the casinos, hotel rooms, food courts and shops.
I stayed in The Venetian, which was built to emulate Venice, as you may have guessed. The resemblance is uncanny! They have St Mark's Square, the canals, the gondolas, Ponte Rialto. The only differences are the air-conditioning and when I was in Venice I don't remember seeing outdoor food courts and Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry and Chanel shops when walking from the Rialto Bridge through the escalator to St Mark's Square. Oh the water was crystal clear and didn't smell. *sarcastic rant ends here*
My friend took me around and showed me some other casino hotels; Wynn, MGM Grand and Galaxy. They're alright. She also took me to the Ruins of St Paul's Church. It was cool on many levels. I was told that they actually tried rebuilding the church ten times and every single time, it burned down. Maybe God doesn't like a church being built in a casino-infested territory? So after the tenth time, they stopped trying to rebuild the church but the facade never got burned down. It is now the symbol of Macau. Amen.
Food? The most famous snack is Lord Stow's Bakery's egg tart and I swear it was the best egg tart I've ever tasted. I'm not usually a fan of egg tarts but I was hooked on this one. My friend also took me to a Chinese Macanese restaurant for dinner and so I don't forget, the name of the place is Cafe Litoral, located really close to Galaxy. If you do want to go in the weekends, book ahead. It's pretty popular.
Ferry ride to and from Hong Kong was effortless. It took an hour each way though.
One more thing, the currency is Macau Pataca, abbreviated MOP. Where did the 'O' come from though? Shouldn't it be MCP or MPT or MPC? Here's the thing, HK$ is received everywhere in Macau (usually with a 1:1 exchange rate) but the MOP is only good in Macau. You can exchange it for HK$ but they will charge currency exchange rates. Cheeky! So make sure you spend all your Patacas before going back to Hong Kong.
So I was back in Hong Kong.
Note to self: don't visit Hong Kong (and Macau) in winter for photography. White skies and foggy days.
The whole MTR experience was awesome. First of all, the tap card system works. The Octopus Card works very well, it's cheap and you can even use it to shop in 7 Elevens. Trains run on time and I never not get 3G. Sometimes it would turn to 2G but most of the time anywhere underground I'd still get 3G. My only complaint is that the gates are too small for me with my sling bag on the side, but again I am considered XL in Hong Kong. Oh, and whenever you're on the escalator anywhere, the lazy line (my line) is on the right hand side, and they have this fascination of holding the handrails, so make sure you hold on tight.
I think my hotel has all-day housekeeping in action. No matter what time of day I past through the corridors, I'd always find their carts lurking around.
I met Bruce Lee at the Avenue of the Stars. It was just a statue but I met him, and fortunately he didn't kick my ass.
A Symphony of Lights is on every night at 8PM. Yes it's free. Come early, the promenade fills up really quickly.
The trip to Lantau Island was definitely memorable, not so much in a good way but still memorable. I started quite late that day and didn't expect it to be raining. MTR ride took about a half hour then it took me some time to figure out where the bus stop was. I asked somebody inside but was only told it was outside. Some help huh? The bus ride was an hour but didn't feel that long, maybe it was the winding road so we kept on turning all the time. When I got to the Tian Tan Buddha (it was big, no, huge!) it was raining hard and I was forced to buy an umbrella. Then it was challenging. On one hand I had to hold an umbrella and on the other hand I had to hold my camera because I couldn't just let my camera hang around to get wet not to mention taking photos and zooming in and out. I think I spent maybe an hour and a half at the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. So I got to the bus stop only to have to wait for another half hour because the current bus was full. Then it was another hour back to Tung Chung and another half hour back to Tsim Sha Tsui.
I also went temple-hopping. Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin - Tin Hau - Man Mo. The first one, a lot of fortune telling from a chim (bamboo stick shaken out of the box). The second was quite small and I wasn't allowed to take photos inside, so I stepped outside and snapped the inside. The last one was, for me, the most impressive and the hardest for me to find even though I have the power of Google Maps in my hands. It had millions (ok I'm exaggerating, but there was a lot) of coiling incense inside and I snapped like there's no tomorrow. Tried the beef brisket noodle soup at Kau Kee as recommended by a friend. I will come back again someday to try it with rice noodles and the curry one.
A visit to The Peak was disappointing. It was foggy! The Peak Tram was cool though. On the way back, it went backwards at a 45-degree angle.
I also spent some time just wandering around in Central and at one point I was just walking to the Ferry Terminal because I thought I might be able to get a glimpse of the junk boat with the red sails and everything. I was quite tired at that point and was standing at an intersection waiting for the red light to turn green when I turned to the left. The new Apple Store! Once the red light turned green, I went to the middle of the road, snapped it, and walked away just in time before the light turned red again. So I got to the Central Pier and wanted to have a look at the junk boat but couldn't find it, then I went up to the observation deck and I was at the ferry pier going to Tsim Sha Tsui which is where I was staying. So I tapped my Octopus Card and a minute later I was crossing the peninsula and reached my hotel in 10 minutes instead of walking all the way back to the MTR station.
Also explored the markets (not really). Flower market, bird market and goldfish market. All in Mong Kok. I really liked the bird market, the other two were so so.
What I loved most of all: Hong Kong's dusk, the crowds, the food (which I eat a lot of them in Melbourne, especially the congee and wonton noodles), the neon lights and the old Shanghai feel.
I'll come back again someday, some summer days.
Photos are online at my Flickr and also, if you want to have a look at some photos from my recent Bali trip, click here.
Monday, February 06, 2012
more travels
I haven't blogged and posted my recent trip to Bali. Not because I don't want to but because I didn't really like how the photos turned out to be.
On the upside, I will be flying to Hong Kong and Macau this coming weekend, so hopefully the photos would turn out to be awesome.
Stay tuned.
On the upside, I will be flying to Hong Kong and Macau this coming weekend, so hopefully the photos would turn out to be awesome.
Stay tuned.
Friday, December 30, 2011
a day in jakarta
This won't be a long post.
I am now bloated since I've had six meals the whole day.
Why? Because I caught up with three different friends in three different malls. But if I only caught up with three friends in three different places shouldn't that make three meals only?
OK, here goes.
I woke up in the morning and had a bowl of chicken noodle for breakfast (yes, you can have chicken noodle for breakfast in Indonesia, same goes for nasi goreng or whatever food you think you can only have for lunch or dinner).
Then when I went to the first catch up, we went and ordered two kaya toasts, two soft boiled eggs and a cup of coffee, aah yes, coffee.
After the semi brunch, we actually went to another restaurant inside the same mall and I ordered pasta. This particular restaurant actually stated that customers could buy their menus (yes, you read that right) if you want. Apparently this is to deter people from actually stealing menus from the restaurant. Weird? I thought so too. Do people actually eat menus? I don't know.
3.30PM, I arrived at the next mall for the second catch up and ordered a dark waffle with ice cream. This was shared with a friend (so I could also share the sin of my gluttony).
Then by 6PM, I already sat down at a ramen restaurant in yet another mall and slurped dry a bowl of ramen. Had an overpriced bottle of Erdinger afterwards (double the price I used to pay dammit! Rip off!) but as my friend told me, twice the price thrice the fun right? Then I went home.
So finally at home, I also had a little bit of rice with rawon soup.
And as I said above, I am now bloated and my tummy is also somehow filled with lots of wind.
Note to self: This can never happen again, ever. And also, taxis are, at the moment, my best means of transportation in Jakarta. They're cheap, well air-conditioned and I can avoid looking for parking which can waste a lot of time, seriously. When it's not raining though, motorbikes are you best friends.
Alright, bedtime.
Monday, December 26, 2011
my strike continues
Well, well, well, apparently my-things-always-go-wrong-when-trying-to-fly-off-of-Melbourne stories reveals a new chapter tonight and this is how the story goes.
The night was breezy. I could still see the clouds floating beneath the starless night sky. I was in a taxi on my way to the airport. The driver was South Asian and the car smelled. It wasn't too bad that it was unbearable but it was enough to keep my snifflers alert all the time. I tried to occupy my mind with something, anything, and it worked, for a while, but then the frequent sound of the wiper wiping away all the water droplets falling on the windscreen brought me back to reality.
I hung on.
Just before we got on the freeway to the airport the driver told me that he's out of gas and needed to fuel up. I didn't mind since I've already checked in my flight online and just needed to grab my boarding pass and drop my luggage.
So he kept on driving and I minded my own business when I realised we were moving slower than we could have. The driver had turned on the hazard lights and we were moving slower and slower until he pulled over and stopped.
The taxi was out of gas, but the driver told me the petrol station wasn't far away. I was OK with that.
Then he started the engine again and accelerated slowly. We were gonna make it for sure. The petrol station was just two red lights away.
Then comes the uphill. It wasn't that steep that I never really paid attention to it myself when I'm driving but for a two ton steel box with a few drips of gas to burn, it was an uphill we could not climb. The engine died a second time.
He tried starting the car a few times and surprisingly managed to overcome the seemingly high obstacle until we reached the first red light. The engine died again.
I thought the driver turned the engine off on purpose to conserve gas but that wasn't the case. He tried starting the car again and again to no avail. I suggested turning off the aircon in hopes to be able to shed some of the gas necessity of working the car again. He did. It didn't help. And this makes me hate cars with gas (instead of petrol) more than before since I was pretty sure that there was no way you could tell if the tank is close to empty, or could this be just the driver's discretion?
Anyway he tried time after time after time. It just didn't want to start. The gas tank was empty. He apologised and I said it was alright. Nothing dramatic right? So we sat there in the middle of the road with the hazard lights on.
Luckily we were close to Crown Casino and the taxi driver managed to call another taxi passing by. I paid him what I owed and transferred to the other taxi. Poor guy.
After that it was smooth sailing, taxi didn't smell either.
The airport was packed, and I mean jam packed like if you put Disneyland ride queues side to side in a small space. Immigration was the same, like the ride queues without a fastpass. And somebody farted in the queue! @#$%#$%^$%^&*&^%!! Everbody seemed to be going to Bangkok. The Hangover part 2?
Funny, the queue for my flight dispersed straight away the moment they announced they were boarding by row numbers. All the while I was watching from the sidelines. Huge hand carries anyone?
And so I'm signing off now, my flight's ready to depart and the next place I want to head off to is dreamland. Not the beach in Bali, but you know, sleep.
The night was breezy. I could still see the clouds floating beneath the starless night sky. I was in a taxi on my way to the airport. The driver was South Asian and the car smelled. It wasn't too bad that it was unbearable but it was enough to keep my snifflers alert all the time. I tried to occupy my mind with something, anything, and it worked, for a while, but then the frequent sound of the wiper wiping away all the water droplets falling on the windscreen brought me back to reality.
I hung on.
Just before we got on the freeway to the airport the driver told me that he's out of gas and needed to fuel up. I didn't mind since I've already checked in my flight online and just needed to grab my boarding pass and drop my luggage.
So he kept on driving and I minded my own business when I realised we were moving slower than we could have. The driver had turned on the hazard lights and we were moving slower and slower until he pulled over and stopped.
The taxi was out of gas, but the driver told me the petrol station wasn't far away. I was OK with that.
Then he started the engine again and accelerated slowly. We were gonna make it for sure. The petrol station was just two red lights away.
Then comes the uphill. It wasn't that steep that I never really paid attention to it myself when I'm driving but for a two ton steel box with a few drips of gas to burn, it was an uphill we could not climb. The engine died a second time.
He tried starting the car a few times and surprisingly managed to overcome the seemingly high obstacle until we reached the first red light. The engine died again.
I thought the driver turned the engine off on purpose to conserve gas but that wasn't the case. He tried starting the car again and again to no avail. I suggested turning off the aircon in hopes to be able to shed some of the gas necessity of working the car again. He did. It didn't help. And this makes me hate cars with gas (instead of petrol) more than before since I was pretty sure that there was no way you could tell if the tank is close to empty, or could this be just the driver's discretion?
Anyway he tried time after time after time. It just didn't want to start. The gas tank was empty. He apologised and I said it was alright. Nothing dramatic right? So we sat there in the middle of the road with the hazard lights on.
Luckily we were close to Crown Casino and the taxi driver managed to call another taxi passing by. I paid him what I owed and transferred to the other taxi. Poor guy.
After that it was smooth sailing, taxi didn't smell either.
The airport was packed, and I mean jam packed like if you put Disneyland ride queues side to side in a small space. Immigration was the same, like the ride queues without a fastpass. And somebody farted in the queue! @#$%#$%^$%^&*&^%!! Everbody seemed to be going to Bangkok. The Hangover part 2?
Funny, the queue for my flight dispersed straight away the moment they announced they were boarding by row numbers. All the while I was watching from the sidelines. Huge hand carries anyone?
And so I'm signing off now, my flight's ready to depart and the next place I want to head off to is dreamland. Not the beach in Bali, but you know, sleep.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Europe trip - Jun 2011
Europe trip was awesome bla bla bla don't feel like writing about it even after settling down and about to fly on another mini holiday.
Maybe some other time when I really feel like it.
Alright I'll do it now, might as well right?
London felt a lot like Melbourne, or should that be the other way around, whatever, but I didn't feel like I left Melbourne at all. Still curious with Pret though. Oh, when we first arrived at Goodge St station, people were queuing for the two elevators. We couldn't be bothered and took the circular stairs. Boy was that a hasty and wrong decision (but can you blame us for being tired from the fourteen hour flight and just wanted to check-in to the hotel?). The stairway was over two hundred steps. Congrats and welcome to London.
Paris, first of the three attempted theft/scams, right after we got off the Eurostar and got on the train at Gare du Nord. Responsible parties: a group of three young girls. Uncool. Relaxing on the stairs in front of the Sacre Coeur with buskers entertaining us though, was cool. Eiffel tower, so so, but when we did the Paris by night tour, that's when the madame really shone. She was colourful, the lights, the sky, the bridges, the river, the everything.
Amsterdam, in my opinion, was the best city I visited on this trip. The canals, the bikes, the bike lanes, Indonesian food, Suriname fried rice (best meal I had on the trip), the red light district, everybody spoke English, windmills, boat hotels and a real plus for not having the annoying company of thiefs or scammers. Beautiful.
Venice, I thought was ok at first, you know, the gondolas (for €100 per ride, oh c'mon), the canals, the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, St Marco, everything was right until the next day when I woke up with my body full of bug bites. I will never go back to Venice again, this I swear. PS: this oath is only valid until I feel like going to Venice again or someone would somehow pay for my trip to Venice then all is forgiven.
Florence was a nice city, I think, we didn't spend much time in Florence since we went straight to Pisa (trust me there's nothing in Pisa except if you like seeing people posing like they're trying to support the weight of the leaning tower, talk about your big time waster) after checking in then straight to Cinque Terre. Supposedly beautiful but we couldn't get to the really nice parts because they were closed. Aaah the beauty of travel. The Vespa Tour was definitely a breather. The countryside of Tuscany (we went to Chianti) was beautiful and my feet got a well-deserved rest from all the walking for the past ten days.
Rome, the second of the three attempted theft/scams, again right after we got to Termini station from Florence and got on to the train going to our rented apartment. Responsible parties: a group of three gypsy mums. Merda. Spaghetti was the size of hokkien noodles and pizzas were beautiful, thin based, just the way I like it. Coffee was molto delizioso.
Madrid. I had very little recollection of Madrid. The ones I remember were Zara, trying to buy a new electric adapter, a flamenco show, Zara aaaaaaand...Zara again.
Valencia, the last attempted scam. I was by myself and it wasn't until the scammer asked me to input my credit card pin into his phone that I realised they had scammed me. And it actually almost worked if I did input it in. The City of Arts and Science made it all go away though. I loved spending time in the Oceanographic. I felt so calm in there.
Barcelona, the last city on the trip. Gaudi, Gaudi and Gaudi. La Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. The international airport needs a redesign though. Who on earth decided to put the stores before the immigration and not after? Who? Who? Spent the last hour and a half in the airport waiting in McDonald's because we couldn't walk around into the stores anymore. Muchas gracias flawed airport design! Mierda!
So that was it. Inspiring? Definitely, especially the Eurorail train rides, definitely the way to travel Europe if you have the time. Tiring? You betcha, after all, a lot of the time we had to carry our backpacks and we had to be alert the whole time and that by itself made the trip far less enjoyable. I didn't whip out my camera as much as I would like to and it's not Southeast Asia, this continent runs on Euros baby, and that was harsh on the bank account.
Until next time…I hope. Oh and pics are, as usual, up on my Flickr
Maybe some other time when I really feel like it.
Alright I'll do it now, might as well right?
London felt a lot like Melbourne, or should that be the other way around, whatever, but I didn't feel like I left Melbourne at all. Still curious with Pret though. Oh, when we first arrived at Goodge St station, people were queuing for the two elevators. We couldn't be bothered and took the circular stairs. Boy was that a hasty and wrong decision (but can you blame us for being tired from the fourteen hour flight and just wanted to check-in to the hotel?). The stairway was over two hundred steps. Congrats and welcome to London.
Paris, first of the three attempted theft/scams, right after we got off the Eurostar and got on the train at Gare du Nord. Responsible parties: a group of three young girls. Uncool. Relaxing on the stairs in front of the Sacre Coeur with buskers entertaining us though, was cool. Eiffel tower, so so, but when we did the Paris by night tour, that's when the madame really shone. She was colourful, the lights, the sky, the bridges, the river, the everything.
Amsterdam, in my opinion, was the best city I visited on this trip. The canals, the bikes, the bike lanes, Indonesian food, Suriname fried rice (best meal I had on the trip), the red light district, everybody spoke English, windmills, boat hotels and a real plus for not having the annoying company of thiefs or scammers. Beautiful.
Venice, I thought was ok at first, you know, the gondolas (for €100 per ride, oh c'mon), the canals, the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, St Marco, everything was right until the next day when I woke up with my body full of bug bites. I will never go back to Venice again, this I swear. PS: this oath is only valid until I feel like going to Venice again or someone would somehow pay for my trip to Venice then all is forgiven.
Florence was a nice city, I think, we didn't spend much time in Florence since we went straight to Pisa (trust me there's nothing in Pisa except if you like seeing people posing like they're trying to support the weight of the leaning tower, talk about your big time waster) after checking in then straight to Cinque Terre. Supposedly beautiful but we couldn't get to the really nice parts because they were closed. Aaah the beauty of travel. The Vespa Tour was definitely a breather. The countryside of Tuscany (we went to Chianti) was beautiful and my feet got a well-deserved rest from all the walking for the past ten days.
Rome, the second of the three attempted theft/scams, again right after we got to Termini station from Florence and got on to the train going to our rented apartment. Responsible parties: a group of three gypsy mums. Merda. Spaghetti was the size of hokkien noodles and pizzas were beautiful, thin based, just the way I like it. Coffee was molto delizioso.
Madrid. I had very little recollection of Madrid. The ones I remember were Zara, trying to buy a new electric adapter, a flamenco show, Zara aaaaaaand...Zara again.
Valencia, the last attempted scam. I was by myself and it wasn't until the scammer asked me to input my credit card pin into his phone that I realised they had scammed me. And it actually almost worked if I did input it in. The City of Arts and Science made it all go away though. I loved spending time in the Oceanographic. I felt so calm in there.
Barcelona, the last city on the trip. Gaudi, Gaudi and Gaudi. La Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. The international airport needs a redesign though. Who on earth decided to put the stores before the immigration and not after? Who? Who? Spent the last hour and a half in the airport waiting in McDonald's because we couldn't walk around into the stores anymore. Muchas gracias flawed airport design! Mierda!
So that was it. Inspiring? Definitely, especially the Eurorail train rides, definitely the way to travel Europe if you have the time. Tiring? You betcha, after all, a lot of the time we had to carry our backpacks and we had to be alert the whole time and that by itself made the trip far less enjoyable. I didn't whip out my camera as much as I would like to and it's not Southeast Asia, this continent runs on Euros baby, and that was harsh on the bank account.
Until next time…I hope. Oh and pics are, as usual, up on my Flickr
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Europe trip preparation
Getting the visas
Notice that I needed not only one visa but two. Allow me to elaborate on this seemingly simple matter.
The itinerary is London (2), Paris (3), Amsterdam (4), Venice (1), Florence (2), Rome (3), Madrid (3) and Barcelona (2). Note that the numbers in brackets indicate the days I'll be spending there. Then I'm stopping over at KL for two nights and Singapore for three nights.
All the flights, trains and hotels were already booked by the end of Feb so all the documents I need for my visa applications are mostly ready and here is where the drama begins.
I filled in the online UK visa application, made an appointment for my biometric data to be taken and sent my application in the mail early March. I got my passport back by Monday the following week. How fast was that. Then I flicked quickly to see the visa sticker they stuck on my passport.
They had my name wrong.
Even on my visa application I already typed that my full name is on page five of my passport, they still had my name wrong.
Oh boy.
So I gave them a call (at a premium rate of $3.50 a minute mind you) and asked them what they could do about it. They told me they'd get back to me as soon as possible to fix the matter and this is where things started to get really draggy.
I had to wait three working days for them to text me saying "give us a call" so I gave them a call only to have to tell them again the problem I had which I already told them at the first place. The only response I got this time was that they were going to tell me what to do in the next couple of days. OK, so I waited a couple more days and they asked me to call them again. This time they told me to send my passport page which contained my full name and to wait for them to contact me again. So, after a couple more days they finally told me to send my passport back to them and so I did. I waited for maybe almost two weeks for my passport to come back to me and it had to be Easter by that time as well. I felt mentally tired just waiting for my passport.
So it finally arrived and I quickly checked my name on the visa sticker again.
It was correct. Cool.
So for my next visa application, which is for the Schengen zone, I had to apply for it in the embassy of which country I will be spending the most time in, so in my case it was Italy and I had to book an appointment online just to lodge my visa application (which I think is just ridiculous, but hey, to each his own right?). I didn't have any appointments set up since the earliest appointment I could get was for mid-Jun and my flight would be by the end of May. Impossible right?
So my friend told me to try and apply the Schengen visa at the Spanish Consulate General. I did try it but they said I had to apply for it at Italy's unless I change my travel plans and spend more time in Spain.
Fair enough.
So I went to the Italian Consulate General only to be disappointed as I thought they weren't really helpful at all. They asked whether I had an appointment or not, I did not. They said go and make an appointment so I explained about my flight and the appointment availability. Then they told me to send them an email or give them a call (I was already there!!! Why!!!) to which I replied that I sent an email the previous week to which nobody replied and I called as well but I couldn't get through to anyone since I only heard recorded messages and the call was disconnected after the recorded message was finished. So they told me to send them another email telling them it was urgent. By this time my patience were running really low and I told them again about my flight arrangements. Besides I was already there, why couldn't they just help me out a bit anyway only to be replied that if I had no appointments they wouldn't accept my visa application.
*swear word here*
So I left. I went back to the city and changed a bit of my travel plans in an internet cafe then submitted my visa application to the Spanish Consulate General. They accepted. I was told to give them a call in two weeks and if within those two weeks they needed more documentations from me, they would give me a call. They did not.
I have both visas now but it was just mentally really tiring for me. I think at some point I had a thought of cancelling the trip or just to go somewhere else where applying for a visa wasn't such a pain in my ass (hint: maybe back to Japan even with the radiation and all that).
So at the moment I have all my documents ready to go and I'll be flying in a week!!! My excitement had slowly started coming back.
I wish I could hold a dual citizenship, be an Aussie citizen but still retain my Indonesian citizenship as well. That would certainly make travel life a lot more easier.
Packing
Aaaaaah, the hardest part of the trip. What to pack. This will be my first time backpacking and if that wasn't a challenge enough for me, I'd still have to bring along my camera and laptop. And up to this point all I have packed is nothing. Seriously, nothing. I'd have to start packing little by little starting tomorrow and when I say little by little I mean literally small amounts of top and pants. I do not want to break my back just yet.
More updates soon.
Notice that I needed not only one visa but two. Allow me to elaborate on this seemingly simple matter.
The itinerary is London (2), Paris (3), Amsterdam (4), Venice (1), Florence (2), Rome (3), Madrid (3) and Barcelona (2). Note that the numbers in brackets indicate the days I'll be spending there. Then I'm stopping over at KL for two nights and Singapore for three nights.
All the flights, trains and hotels were already booked by the end of Feb so all the documents I need for my visa applications are mostly ready and here is where the drama begins.
I filled in the online UK visa application, made an appointment for my biometric data to be taken and sent my application in the mail early March. I got my passport back by Monday the following week. How fast was that. Then I flicked quickly to see the visa sticker they stuck on my passport.
They had my name wrong.
Even on my visa application I already typed that my full name is on page five of my passport, they still had my name wrong.
Oh boy.
So I gave them a call (at a premium rate of $3.50 a minute mind you) and asked them what they could do about it. They told me they'd get back to me as soon as possible to fix the matter and this is where things started to get really draggy.
I had to wait three working days for them to text me saying "give us a call" so I gave them a call only to have to tell them again the problem I had which I already told them at the first place. The only response I got this time was that they were going to tell me what to do in the next couple of days. OK, so I waited a couple more days and they asked me to call them again. This time they told me to send my passport page which contained my full name and to wait for them to contact me again. So, after a couple more days they finally told me to send my passport back to them and so I did. I waited for maybe almost two weeks for my passport to come back to me and it had to be Easter by that time as well. I felt mentally tired just waiting for my passport.
So it finally arrived and I quickly checked my name on the visa sticker again.
It was correct. Cool.
So for my next visa application, which is for the Schengen zone, I had to apply for it in the embassy of which country I will be spending the most time in, so in my case it was Italy and I had to book an appointment online just to lodge my visa application (which I think is just ridiculous, but hey, to each his own right?). I didn't have any appointments set up since the earliest appointment I could get was for mid-Jun and my flight would be by the end of May. Impossible right?
So my friend told me to try and apply the Schengen visa at the Spanish Consulate General. I did try it but they said I had to apply for it at Italy's unless I change my travel plans and spend more time in Spain.
Fair enough.
So I went to the Italian Consulate General only to be disappointed as I thought they weren't really helpful at all. They asked whether I had an appointment or not, I did not. They said go and make an appointment so I explained about my flight and the appointment availability. Then they told me to send them an email or give them a call (I was already there!!! Why!!!) to which I replied that I sent an email the previous week to which nobody replied and I called as well but I couldn't get through to anyone since I only heard recorded messages and the call was disconnected after the recorded message was finished. So they told me to send them another email telling them it was urgent. By this time my patience were running really low and I told them again about my flight arrangements. Besides I was already there, why couldn't they just help me out a bit anyway only to be replied that if I had no appointments they wouldn't accept my visa application.
*swear word here*
So I left. I went back to the city and changed a bit of my travel plans in an internet cafe then submitted my visa application to the Spanish Consulate General. They accepted. I was told to give them a call in two weeks and if within those two weeks they needed more documentations from me, they would give me a call. They did not.
I have both visas now but it was just mentally really tiring for me. I think at some point I had a thought of cancelling the trip or just to go somewhere else where applying for a visa wasn't such a pain in my ass (hint: maybe back to Japan even with the radiation and all that).
So at the moment I have all my documents ready to go and I'll be flying in a week!!! My excitement had slowly started coming back.
I wish I could hold a dual citizenship, be an Aussie citizen but still retain my Indonesian citizenship as well. That would certainly make travel life a lot more easier.
Packing
Aaaaaah, the hardest part of the trip. What to pack. This will be my first time backpacking and if that wasn't a challenge enough for me, I'd still have to bring along my camera and laptop. And up to this point all I have packed is nothing. Seriously, nothing. I'd have to start packing little by little starting tomorrow and when I say little by little I mean literally small amounts of top and pants. I do not want to break my back just yet.
More updates soon.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Europe trip ticket
HAS BEEN BOOKED!!!
It's only the airplane ticket for now but it's a start nevertheless.
Excited!!
Will keep you posted when the accommodations and visa have been booked as well.
Ciao amigos
It's only the airplane ticket for now but it's a start nevertheless.
Excited!!
Will keep you posted when the accommodations and visa have been booked as well.
Ciao amigos
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
portrait of the composer
I took the Jung's Typology test the other day as recommended by a friend. She told me she'd bet that I was the Artisan type aaaaaand *pause for effect* she was correct. I'm an ISFP.
ISFP (intuitive-sensing-feeling-perceiving), according to Dr.David Keirsey, falls under the temperament Artisan, the concrete utilitarian. The temperament Artisan is divided into four divisions. He calls the ISFP Composers.
The following is a direct quote from Keirsey Temperament Website.
---
ISFP
As Concrete Utilitarians, Artisans speak mostly about what they see right in front of them, about what they can get their hands on, and they will do whatever works, whatever gives them a quick, effective payoff, even if they have to bend the rules.
Portrait of the Artisan
Artisans are the temperament with a natural ability to excel in any of the arts, not only the fine arts such as painting and sculpting, or the performing arts such as music, theater, and dance, but also the athletic, military, political, mechanical, and industrial arts, as well as the "art of the deal" in business.
All Artisans share the following core characteristics:
- Artisans tend to be fun-loving, optimistic, realistic, and focused on the here and now.
- Artisans pride themselves on being unconventional, bold, and spontaneous.
- Artisans make playful mates, creative parents, and troubleshooting leaders.
- Artisans are excitable, trust their impulses, want to make a splash, seek stimulation, prize freedom, and dream of mastering action skills.
Artisans are most at home in the real world of solid objects that can be made and manipulated, and of real-life events that can be experienced in the here and now. Artisans have exceptionally keen senses, and love working with their hands. They seem right at home with tools, instruments, and vehicles of all kinds, and their actions are usually aimed at getting them where they want to go, and as quickly as possible. Thus Artisans will strike off boldly down roads that others might consider risky or impossible, doing whatever it takes, rules or no rules, to accomplish their goals. This devil-may-care attitude also gives the Artisans a winning way with people, and they are often irresistibly charming with family, friends, and co-workers.
Artisans want to be where the action is; they seek out adventure and show a constant hunger for pleasure and stimulation. They believe that variety is the spice of life, and that doing things that aren't fun or exciting is a waste of time. Artisans are impulsive, adaptable, competitive, and believe the next throw of the dice will be the lucky one. They can also be generous to a fault, always ready to share with their friends from the bounty of life. Above all, Artisans need to be free to do what they wish, when they wish. They resist being tied or bound or confined or obligated; they would rather not wait, or save, or store, or live for tomorrow. In the Artisan view, today must be enjoyed, for tomorrow never comes.
There are many Artisans, perhaps 30 to 35 percent of the population, which is good, because they create much of the beauty, grace, fun, and excitement the rest of us enjoy in life.
Artisan - Portrait of the Composer (ISFP)
More than the other Artisans, Composers are in tune with their senses, and so have a sure grasp of what belongs, and what doesn't belong, in all kinds of works of art. While the other Artisans are skilled with people, tools, and entertainment, Composers have an exceptional ability-seemingly inborn-to work with subtle differences in color, tone, texture, aroma, and flavor.
Although Composers often put long, lonely hours into their artistry, they are just as impulsive as the other Artisans. They do not wait to consider their moves; rather, they act in the here and now, with little or no planning or preparation. Composers are seized by the act of artistic composition, as if caught up in a whirlwind. The act is their master, not the reverse. Composers paint or sculpt, they dance or skate, they write melodies or make recipes-or whatever-simply because they must. They climb the mountain because it is there.
This ability to lose themselves in action accounts for the spectacular individual accomplishments of some Composers, and yet on their social side they show a kindness unmatched by all the other types. Composers are especially sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, and they sympathize freely with the sufferer. Some have a remarkable way with young children, almost as if there were a natural bond of sympathy and trust between them. A similar bond may be seen between some Composers and animals, even wild animals. Many Composers have an instinctive longing for the wilds, and nature seems to welcome them.
Composers are just as plentiful as the other Artisans, say nine or ten per cent of the population, but in general they are very difficult to observe and thus greatly misunderstood. Very likely the difficulty comes from their tendency not to express themselves verbally, but through their works of art. Composers are usually not interested in developing ability in public speaking, or even in the art of conversation; they prefer to feel the pulse of life by touch, in the muscles, in the eyes, in the ears, on the tongue. Make no mistake, Composers are just as interested as other types in sharing their view of the world, and if they find a medium of non-verbal communication-some art form-then they will express their character quite eloquently. If not, they simply remain unknown, their quietness leaving their character all but invisible.
---
there you go ENTP heheh.
ISFP (intuitive-sensing-feeling-perceiving), according to Dr.David Keirsey, falls under the temperament Artisan, the concrete utilitarian. The temperament Artisan is divided into four divisions. He calls the ISFP Composers.
The following is a direct quote from Keirsey Temperament Website.
---
ISFP
As Concrete Utilitarians, Artisans speak mostly about what they see right in front of them, about what they can get their hands on, and they will do whatever works, whatever gives them a quick, effective payoff, even if they have to bend the rules.
Portrait of the Artisan
Artisans are the temperament with a natural ability to excel in any of the arts, not only the fine arts such as painting and sculpting, or the performing arts such as music, theater, and dance, but also the athletic, military, political, mechanical, and industrial arts, as well as the "art of the deal" in business.
All Artisans share the following core characteristics:
- Artisans tend to be fun-loving, optimistic, realistic, and focused on the here and now.
- Artisans pride themselves on being unconventional, bold, and spontaneous.
- Artisans make playful mates, creative parents, and troubleshooting leaders.
- Artisans are excitable, trust their impulses, want to make a splash, seek stimulation, prize freedom, and dream of mastering action skills.
Artisans are most at home in the real world of solid objects that can be made and manipulated, and of real-life events that can be experienced in the here and now. Artisans have exceptionally keen senses, and love working with their hands. They seem right at home with tools, instruments, and vehicles of all kinds, and their actions are usually aimed at getting them where they want to go, and as quickly as possible. Thus Artisans will strike off boldly down roads that others might consider risky or impossible, doing whatever it takes, rules or no rules, to accomplish their goals. This devil-may-care attitude also gives the Artisans a winning way with people, and they are often irresistibly charming with family, friends, and co-workers.
Artisans want to be where the action is; they seek out adventure and show a constant hunger for pleasure and stimulation. They believe that variety is the spice of life, and that doing things that aren't fun or exciting is a waste of time. Artisans are impulsive, adaptable, competitive, and believe the next throw of the dice will be the lucky one. They can also be generous to a fault, always ready to share with their friends from the bounty of life. Above all, Artisans need to be free to do what they wish, when they wish. They resist being tied or bound or confined or obligated; they would rather not wait, or save, or store, or live for tomorrow. In the Artisan view, today must be enjoyed, for tomorrow never comes.
There are many Artisans, perhaps 30 to 35 percent of the population, which is good, because they create much of the beauty, grace, fun, and excitement the rest of us enjoy in life.
Artisan - Portrait of the Composer (ISFP)
More than the other Artisans, Composers are in tune with their senses, and so have a sure grasp of what belongs, and what doesn't belong, in all kinds of works of art. While the other Artisans are skilled with people, tools, and entertainment, Composers have an exceptional ability-seemingly inborn-to work with subtle differences in color, tone, texture, aroma, and flavor.
Although Composers often put long, lonely hours into their artistry, they are just as impulsive as the other Artisans. They do not wait to consider their moves; rather, they act in the here and now, with little or no planning or preparation. Composers are seized by the act of artistic composition, as if caught up in a whirlwind. The act is their master, not the reverse. Composers paint or sculpt, they dance or skate, they write melodies or make recipes-or whatever-simply because they must. They climb the mountain because it is there.
This ability to lose themselves in action accounts for the spectacular individual accomplishments of some Composers, and yet on their social side they show a kindness unmatched by all the other types. Composers are especially sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, and they sympathize freely with the sufferer. Some have a remarkable way with young children, almost as if there were a natural bond of sympathy and trust between them. A similar bond may be seen between some Composers and animals, even wild animals. Many Composers have an instinctive longing for the wilds, and nature seems to welcome them.
Composers are just as plentiful as the other Artisans, say nine or ten per cent of the population, but in general they are very difficult to observe and thus greatly misunderstood. Very likely the difficulty comes from their tendency not to express themselves verbally, but through their works of art. Composers are usually not interested in developing ability in public speaking, or even in the art of conversation; they prefer to feel the pulse of life by touch, in the muscles, in the eyes, in the ears, on the tongue. Make no mistake, Composers are just as interested as other types in sharing their view of the world, and if they find a medium of non-verbal communication-some art form-then they will express their character quite eloquently. If not, they simply remain unknown, their quietness leaving their character all but invisible.
---
there you go ENTP heheh.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
melbourne - singapore - jakarta - bangkok - siem reap - bangkok - jakarta - singapore - melbourne
Everytime I go travelling there's always some kind of drama going on. This time is no exception. Here's how it went.
The flight schedule:
07 Nov, 01.00AM, Singapore Airlines - Melbourne to Singapore
07 Nov, 07.40AM, Singapore Airlines - Singapore to Jakarta
08 Nov, 01.30PM (roughly), Thai Airways - Jakarta to Bangkok
15 Nov, 08.30AM, Thai Airways - Bangkok to Jakarta
16 Nov, 06.00AM, Singapore Airlines - Jakarta to Singapore
16 Nov, 10.10AM, Singapore Airlines - Singapore to Melbourne
The drama
On the night of my flight from Melbourne to Jakarta, I ordered a taxi. Remembering it was a Saturday evening, I did order the taxi about a half hour before I had to leave the house. After half an hour, no taxi showed up. I gave them a call back asking where my taxi is and I was told that they are resending one straight away.
Cool. Half an hour later, no taxi showed up again. I was getting quite impatient. After all, have you ever had to wait for a taxi for an hour? So I gave them another call and guess what I was told? 'A taxi was in front of your house at 11.05PM but no one was waiting outside'.
Huh?
So according to this woman, I was supposed to wait for the taxi (that never showed up) in front of my house for the past hour? Is she nuts? Couldn't the driver just get off and knocked on my front door if honking wasn't allowed? I did turn on my lights outside. What the hell man? Anyway so she told me she's sending one right now and that I should wait for the taxi outside. 'No way in hell' I thought to myself.
So while waiting for the taxi (again), I received an SMS from Singapore Airlines telling me that my flight from Singapore to Jakarta had been cancelled due to Mt.Merapi's volcanic activities.
Great. The taxi never showed up and now my connecting flight is cancelled.
I still went to the airport anyway. I must be the last person checking in since the check-in line was empty and while I was dropping off my baggage I received a call from Tullamarine Airport's Singapore Airline's customer service asking if I was still flying tonight. I said I was at the counter already and he checked me out from the other end of the check-in counter.
I also asked about my cancelled flight from Singapore to Jakarta and was told that it might just be a system error. I was told that a passenger received that SMS previously as well but they weren't told anything about it.
Woohoo! Now nothing stood between me and the Thailand & Cambodia trip anymore. It was already 12AM by that time and I even still had the time to get my MacBook Air GST back. Sweet huh? Not long after that, I boarded the plane and quickly fell asleep. I felt really tired after all my effort to get to the airport and the supposedly system error SMS.
So I arrived at Changi airport in the morning, got off the plane and asked the customer service straight away, "which gate is SQ956?". She answered me straight away "Oh flight SQ956 to Jakarta has been cancelled sir".
SAY WHAT?
Remember that SMS I received last night? Apparently that was correct. All flights going in and out of Jakarta had been cancelled and I was told that Soekarno-Hatta airport was closed (of course this wasn't the case). I could see how it was a precautionary measure by airlines. Still I was groggy and I was pissed off.
So I was told to gather at the Transfer Station where they gave us stickers to check in to the Pan Pacific Orchard.
At this time I had a few choices.
1. Go back to Melbourne
2. Re-route my flight to Bangkok instead of Jakarta
3. Wait and hope Singapore Airlines will still fly me to Jakarta
Not long after I received the sticker to check into the hotel, the customer service made an announcement. He had news that there might be a flight flying to Jakarta at 11.30AM. Might, not will. So I decided to wait and got another sticker to fly that might-be-flying flight.
Fortunately, it did fly. And my travelling drama ended here.
The trip
The trip itself was quite fun. It's a bit like last year in Bangkok.
We visited the Grand Erawan Shrine for the birthday of the Four Faces Buddha. Same thing happened this year, lots of smoke from burnt incense, lots of tears (because of the smoke) and lots of coconut drinks. Ayutthaya was also the same with the addition of Wat Ban Rai.
And on the fourth day of the tour we went by bus and stopped at the border crossing in Poipet. From there we took another long bus ride to Siem Reap. Roughly 400km wasn't supposed to take that long but the road condition and the traffic made it quite long and felt like a never ending bus ride.
The next day, we visited Ta Prohm, the Bayon and Angkor Wat. They were unreal. I loved the details of the carvings in these temples. It was really hot though, the typical Southeast Asian heat where you'll just be sweating for no reason whatsoever and by the end of the day your top would have went through the cycle of being wet and dried again for a few times. And that night we also went to Angkor night market and visited Artisans Angkor the day after before heading back to Bangkok. Here'are the pics (also live on my Flickr).
After going back to Bangkok I went to Wat Arun and Wat Pho. Wat Arun because I've always wanted to go since last year's Chao Phraya river dinner cruise and since Wat Pho was just across the ferry pier, I'd just visit it briefly.
Wat Arun wasn't too big, in a sense that you'd be able to walk around it in less than half an hour. It was really high though, and tourist were only allowed to climb up to the third level I think. So I climbed to the highest I was allowed to (you'd know you're at the highest since the don't have anymore stairs afterwards) and felt vertigo kicking in straight away. The way down was even more scary. I had to climb down the stairs fairly slowly, but I made it.
I didn't spend too much time in Wat Pho. Only went in to see the huge reclining Buddha.
If you want to see what I snapped in Thailand this time around, click here.
That was essentially the trip this time. I'm still planning my Europe trip for next year (May-June) but to my dismay I still haven't got a travel buddy yet. Fingers crossed.
The flight schedule:
07 Nov, 01.00AM, Singapore Airlines - Melbourne to Singapore
07 Nov, 07.40AM, Singapore Airlines - Singapore to Jakarta
08 Nov, 01.30PM (roughly), Thai Airways - Jakarta to Bangkok
15 Nov, 08.30AM, Thai Airways - Bangkok to Jakarta
16 Nov, 06.00AM, Singapore Airlines - Jakarta to Singapore
16 Nov, 10.10AM, Singapore Airlines - Singapore to Melbourne
The drama
On the night of my flight from Melbourne to Jakarta, I ordered a taxi. Remembering it was a Saturday evening, I did order the taxi about a half hour before I had to leave the house. After half an hour, no taxi showed up. I gave them a call back asking where my taxi is and I was told that they are resending one straight away.
Cool. Half an hour later, no taxi showed up again. I was getting quite impatient. After all, have you ever had to wait for a taxi for an hour? So I gave them another call and guess what I was told? 'A taxi was in front of your house at 11.05PM but no one was waiting outside'.
Huh?
So according to this woman, I was supposed to wait for the taxi (that never showed up) in front of my house for the past hour? Is she nuts? Couldn't the driver just get off and knocked on my front door if honking wasn't allowed? I did turn on my lights outside. What the hell man? Anyway so she told me she's sending one right now and that I should wait for the taxi outside. 'No way in hell' I thought to myself.
So while waiting for the taxi (again), I received an SMS from Singapore Airlines telling me that my flight from Singapore to Jakarta had been cancelled due to Mt.Merapi's volcanic activities.
Great. The taxi never showed up and now my connecting flight is cancelled.
I still went to the airport anyway. I must be the last person checking in since the check-in line was empty and while I was dropping off my baggage I received a call from Tullamarine Airport's Singapore Airline's customer service asking if I was still flying tonight. I said I was at the counter already and he checked me out from the other end of the check-in counter.
I also asked about my cancelled flight from Singapore to Jakarta and was told that it might just be a system error. I was told that a passenger received that SMS previously as well but they weren't told anything about it.
Woohoo! Now nothing stood between me and the Thailand & Cambodia trip anymore. It was already 12AM by that time and I even still had the time to get my MacBook Air GST back. Sweet huh? Not long after that, I boarded the plane and quickly fell asleep. I felt really tired after all my effort to get to the airport and the supposedly system error SMS.
So I arrived at Changi airport in the morning, got off the plane and asked the customer service straight away, "which gate is SQ956?". She answered me straight away "Oh flight SQ956 to Jakarta has been cancelled sir".
SAY WHAT?
Remember that SMS I received last night? Apparently that was correct. All flights going in and out of Jakarta had been cancelled and I was told that Soekarno-Hatta airport was closed (of course this wasn't the case). I could see how it was a precautionary measure by airlines. Still I was groggy and I was pissed off.
So I was told to gather at the Transfer Station where they gave us stickers to check in to the Pan Pacific Orchard.
At this time I had a few choices.
1. Go back to Melbourne
2. Re-route my flight to Bangkok instead of Jakarta
3. Wait and hope Singapore Airlines will still fly me to Jakarta
Not long after I received the sticker to check into the hotel, the customer service made an announcement. He had news that there might be a flight flying to Jakarta at 11.30AM. Might, not will. So I decided to wait and got another sticker to fly that might-be-flying flight.
Fortunately, it did fly. And my travelling drama ended here.
The trip
The trip itself was quite fun. It's a bit like last year in Bangkok.
We visited the Grand Erawan Shrine for the birthday of the Four Faces Buddha. Same thing happened this year, lots of smoke from burnt incense, lots of tears (because of the smoke) and lots of coconut drinks. Ayutthaya was also the same with the addition of Wat Ban Rai.
And on the fourth day of the tour we went by bus and stopped at the border crossing in Poipet. From there we took another long bus ride to Siem Reap. Roughly 400km wasn't supposed to take that long but the road condition and the traffic made it quite long and felt like a never ending bus ride.
The next day, we visited Ta Prohm, the Bayon and Angkor Wat. They were unreal. I loved the details of the carvings in these temples. It was really hot though, the typical Southeast Asian heat where you'll just be sweating for no reason whatsoever and by the end of the day your top would have went through the cycle of being wet and dried again for a few times. And that night we also went to Angkor night market and visited Artisans Angkor the day after before heading back to Bangkok. Here'are the pics (also live on my Flickr).
After going back to Bangkok I went to Wat Arun and Wat Pho. Wat Arun because I've always wanted to go since last year's Chao Phraya river dinner cruise and since Wat Pho was just across the ferry pier, I'd just visit it briefly.
Wat Arun wasn't too big, in a sense that you'd be able to walk around it in less than half an hour. It was really high though, and tourist were only allowed to climb up to the third level I think. So I climbed to the highest I was allowed to (you'd know you're at the highest since the don't have anymore stairs afterwards) and felt vertigo kicking in straight away. The way down was even more scary. I had to climb down the stairs fairly slowly, but I made it.
I didn't spend too much time in Wat Pho. Only went in to see the huge reclining Buddha.
If you want to see what I snapped in Thailand this time around, click here.
That was essentially the trip this time. I'm still planning my Europe trip for next year (May-June) but to my dismay I still haven't got a travel buddy yet. Fingers crossed.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
to japan - part 5 - the finale & encore
Monday, 5 April to Monday, 12 April
So we arrived back at Tokyo. What a familiar feeling. So many people, all busy, noise everywhere. I was home. And felt more at home when we finally got back to our ryokan. After re-checking in, we went to dinner and rested.
Next day, Shinjuku. Yep, back to the busiest station in Tokyo. It was so big that when we got separated, even if we knew where we needed to meet up, we couldn’t find the right exit.
Went through Takashimaya and around 3 or 4PM, I went back to Asakusa. Went to Daiso/Hyakuen shop (100yen shop) and back to Senso-ji. Took photos of it and I learned my lesson that day. And boy I was glad my camera handles high ISO photos better than my previous one.
Japanese temples are much better photographed at dusk. They are OK if you photograph them during daytime but at dusk, that’s when they really shine. Or maybe it’s because my daytimes in Japan are mostly filled with clouds, not the nice ones, the gloomy ones.
After dinner, it was just the routines, fully packed train ride, Sunkus konbini opposite Minowa station and bought breakfast the next day and headed back to the ryokan.
The next two days were Disney themed with Odaiba in between.
First day we went to Disneysea. Took the Disney themed monorail from Maihama station. Even the station attendants kept on waving at people to look nice and happy.
I didn’t have that much fun in Disneysea. It’s not the place, it was the cold and drizzly weather and my stomach. My stomach hurt the whole time and I had to do my business a couple of times. Can you believe that? Finally at around 3PM I decided to bail. I went to Odaiba then back to Ueno to grab myself a quick dinner at Gyuu no Chikara then back to the ryokan.
The next day at Disneyland, it was much better. The weather was nicer, although still cold and my stomach wasn’t acting up anymore. Had lots of caramel popcorn. We stayed until late and left after the fireworks. Saw lots of parade there. Dinner, again, at Ueno. Had a karage set in a nice small diner at the corner of an alley in the market. It was so good Then back to ryokan.
And Friday came. Went to Mitaka to Ghibli Museum. After that we just went straight to Shibuya, just to take photos of the crossing, then back to Akihabara. Tried going into one of those maid cafés. I felt weird. I won’t explain what it is. If you don’t know and you want to know, click here.
Later that night we had some yakiniku at, yes, Ueno then headed home..
Two days before we left, we went to Ueno station quite early and bought ourselves the Skyliner tickets for us to go back to Narita airport on Monday. I didn’t bother bringing my camera out today. My shoulder was sore. Then off to Shinjuku to have lunch, then off to Shibuya and just explore the alleys. Later that night we were taken by my friend’s friend, a local, to have dinner at an izakaya in Shibuya (if I’m not mistaken, sorry Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro is now a blur to me heheh) and she promised to take us to this spicy ramen place the next day in Ikebukuro. Woohoo! Spent the night, yet again, in Ueno. Got myself a Crayon Shinchan plushie after the machine ate probably 2000yen of our money. Never again.
Last day in Tokyo, we went to Ikebukuro and as promised we were taken to this spicy ramen place called Nakamoto ramen. People were queueing outside and I didn’t dare try the spiciest ramen (10/10 fires) since tomorrow I had to hop on a plane and I don’t want my stomach acting up again, just a precaution. If I were still there for a couple of days, then I would.
The verdict, it was spicy.
Then spent the afternoon around Ikebukuro and Harajuku and that night, yep, you guessed it, Ueno again. I’ve become so attached to Ueno because of their small alleyway markets. The food was awesome and it was close to our ryokan, only two train stops away. I tried to go back to the place where I had Hambagu rice on our first week in Tokyo but I was too late. When I got to the alley where it was located, I saw a sign on the door and straight away I had a bad feeling. And I was right, the sign said ‘closed’. Argh! Next time I’m in Tokyo I have to go back there again. I hope I still remember where it is.
And on the day of the flight, we woke up quite early, took a taxi to Nippori station where we then took the Skyliner to Narita airport. There I returned my rental simcard, had breakfast at McDonald’s (yup, they had a muffin with pork, how cool was that?), bought some snacks and was on my way home.
Would I come back? Definitely, but I’d like to travel around to other countries before I go back to Japan if possible.
Things I’m gonna miss: definitely the food and the snacks. They’re fast, they’re easy on the stomach and they look good too. And the toilets. I love Japan’s toilets.
Things I definitely don't miss: getting lost, the noise, the packed trains, the packed trams, the packed buses, the continuous ‘irashaimaseeeeeee’ (welcome) in high pitch voices whenever you enter a store (it was cute at first but after a while it becomes quite annoying), the maid cafés and the scarceness of rubbish bins
Photos as usual, are up on my Flickr.
And I will post again soon, hopefully, just about anything.
to japan - part 4 - banzai kansai
For my Japan trip photos, click here.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010 to Monday, 5 April 2010
We were on our way to Tokyo station quite early. Shinkansen leaves at 8.30 (from memory) so we didn’t have time to dilly dally.
Got to the platform on time, bought ourselves bento boxes for lunch and we’re on our way to Hiroshima.
It was our first Shinkansen ride. We were excited.
The Shinkansen passed the Mt.Fuji view but I was able to resist my urge to take photos of it. I don’t know why but for me Mt.Fuji wasn’t that exciting. I couldn’t remember if we needed to switch to another Shinkansen somewhere but the train ride to Hiroshima took about five hours from Tokyo and of course, most of the time we were sound asleep.
And so we arrived in Hiroshima.
We didn’t waste much time in Hiroshima station. Went straight to our hostel, checked in and straight back to Hiroshima station since we wanted to catch a train to Miyajima-guchi.
When we were waiting at the platform, I wasn’t sure of what was going on but nobody seem to be getting on board the train, so we tried asking around, and by asking around I meant asking around since it’s really quite a daunting task if you don’t speak Japanese.
Not sure what was really happening but apparently the train to Miyajima-guchi wasn’t running at that time and we had to take the tram to Miyajima-guchi.
No worries, I’ve been on trams before, they’re alright.
Mistake! Apparently everybody from the station (yes I’m exaggerating a bit) had already queued at the tram stop for tram No.2, the one that’s going to Miyajima-guchi. And after we got on the tram, it was jam packed with people *reminiscing my Tokyo trains experience* and so it began, the hour-long tram ride to Miyajima-guchi. It felt like so long that when there are actually space in the tram for me to sit down, I didn’t feel like it anymore.
An interesting fact: you get on the tram from the front door and exit from the left-hand side door where you pay your fares to the conductor there.
When we got to Miyajima-guchi, it was freakin’ cold. I finally sat on board the ferry that’s going to take us to Miyajima island.
And there it was, Itsukushima jinja. I went all the way to Hiroshima just for this.
And so began the long walk from the ferry terminal to the actual giant tori and when I got there I was amazed. It was huge. Photos didn’t turn out great since the sun was facing our way and I, being a lazy person that I am, didn’t bother bringing a tripod with me so I could HDR the view.
We stayed there until the sun went down. It was freezing. I bought a few manjus on my way back and when I finally got back to the ferry terminal, the warm tea in that pet bottle felt like the best tea I’ve ever had. It gave me warmth, it gave me sensation (of all twenty days of travel this day killed my legs the most. It was far and it was cold), it gave me life.
Back at Hiroshima station, I was already craving for some Hiroshimayaki and I got mine from Reichan in the Hiroshima station complex shopping mall. It was big, it was tasty, it was satisfying. And afterwards, we went back to our hostel.
The next day, it’s our second Shinkansen ride. We’re going backwards to Osaka. Took about two hours from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka station. From Shin-Osaka station we had to take another train to Osaka station and from there we had to take the Osaka-loop train to Noda.
In Osaka, nobody speaks English.
That’s not an understatement, they’ll actually force you to speak Japanese. Don’t trust me? Well, seeing is believing. Go ahead and try.
And the subway system didn’t help making it any easier either. I think Osaka’s train system is the worst compared to Tokyo and Kyoto. We didn’t reach the ryokan without getting lost first by a rapid service that actually went past Noda. We had to go back a bit.
As usual, after we got to Noda station, maps didn’t help so we had to…yes, ask around. We finally found the hotel we were staying in and even there, they just spoke really really broken English. Example: yes, phone *pointing to a telephone*, black, free.
We waited until we could check ourselves in. It was 3PM by then and we went out again half an hour after that.
The site we were after was the Osaka 1970 Expo park. It was located at Banpaku Kinen Koen station. Got on the train to Senri Chuo station and took a monorail from there. Walked a bit more and I finally saw it from afar.
The Tower of the Sun.
As glorious as it was drawn in the 20th Century Boys manga..only without the ‘friend’ logo.
After getting lost again, of course, we managed to get ourselves to Dotonbori. Time to feast! My friends ordered tempura, seafood etc etc and I could only manage to get myself a pot of sukiyaki, with raw egg, of course. It was delish. And so the night ended.
The trip to Koya-san the next day was probably the longest trip without Shinkansen ever for us. It was two train rides, a cable car ride and we had to take buses within the Koya-san complex. The whole trip to Koya-san probably took an hour and a half one way.
Went straight to Okuno Dobyo, the deepest site at Koya-san complex and made our way backwards to the entry. It was already 4PM when we left. I was quite tired and hungry.
That night we went to Naniwa Kuishinbo Yokocho, a foodcourt which supposedly was modeled after Osaka in the 70s (or 80s) but we got there quite late and most of the food stalls were already closed. Dammit! Had a curry rice but it wasn’t great.
The day after, took another Shinkansen to Kyoto. After checking in, we had lunch at Sukiya. This was one of the many meals we were going to be having at this place. For us, it was cheap, it was delicious, it was fast. I, of course, got myelf a gyuudon with raw egg.
Inari station was only two stops away from Kyoto station. Here lies the infamous Fushimi Inari Taisha. For you who has seen the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, this is the place where they shot the oh-so-many-red-gates scene. We didn’t finish the whole complex as it was quite big. We decided to have a walk around the district and had a look at a lot of shops, mostly selling seafood and souvenirs.
That afternoon, we went to Gion. I had to see what it was like and it was quite packed. Had to take a bus to go there and, as usual, it was jam packed without any seats left.
Fact: get on the bus from the left-hand side door and exit from the front door next to the driver where you’d pay your fares there. Prepare small change.
We weren’t quite sure what to do in Gion so we walked around and ended up at an opening of a festival. Can’t remember what it was but it had something to do with the sakura. Got one free shot of sake and felt a bit woozy afterwards. Yes, I haven’t had anything to eat yet. Stayed in Gion until probably 8PM-ish and back to, yep you guessed it, Sukiya! Actually we wanted to have dinner in this fancy place where they’ve got like a kaiseki but it was fully booked.
Next morning, another Shinkansen ride to Himeji. Took about an hour from Kyoto. When we got there, me and a friend just rushed to Himeji-jo as there was a sign that said, in English, waiting time at the entrance of the castle was 40 minutes. I knew we couldn’t waste so much time since we had to catch our Shinkansen ride back to Kyoto later that afternoon.
So after a lot of queueing, we got to enter the castle. The wait is finally over.
Apparently not. It was the same inside. And after what felt like a few hours of queueing, we finally were able to go into the castle, explore all six levels of it, went back down and exit. We had to take our shoes off to enter the castle but they did provide plastic bags for us to carry our shoes. Free of charge.
After Himeji, rode the Shinkansen again back to Kyoto and I went to Pontocho dori, next to Gion, which is an alleyway famous for nightlife, geisha, restaurants and teahouses. Got some snaps of a couple of geishas, or as they say for geishas originating from Kyoto, geiko.
The bus ride to Kinkakuji the following morning was a long one. As usual, it was packed. I guess everybody wanted to get a look at what the Golden Pavillion is all about.
Got there after about an hour standing in the crowded bus.
Once we got to the photo spot of Kinkakuji, I was pissed and I can now say that Chinese tourists are the worst. Well, maybe that’s not true but these people made it seem that way for me.
I was just doing my business, that’s photographing my view in front of me. I was leaning on the fence in front of me when this couple of Chinese tourists started pushing me to the side.
First push I thought OK, they might just be getting themselves next to the fence in between other people so I sorta let that go. Then came the second push, so I took a quick look at them and went back to photographing. While I had a glance at them, the woman said something in Chinese, which I didn’t understand, but I was sure it wasn’t asking me politely to move away (I kinda guessed out of her facial expression), so I just continued taking photos when another push to my hand landed.
Seriously, couldn’t you just wait for a few seconds?
What does she think? That I’d be standing there the whole day just to not let her have her picture taken with her boyfriend/husband?
Back to Kinkakuji, I did a circle of the complex and out. Went back to Kyoto station area and had lunch. Not at Sukiya but at this fancy restaurant I wrote above.
Afterwards, went to Arashiyama to Sagano bamboo grove. To tell you the truth, I was expecting more, but I took photos nevertheless.
Later that night, I did my laundry and hung around at our hostel with a large can of Sapporo.
The following day, it was time to go back to Tokyo, but not before visiting Kiyomizu dera.
The bus to Kiyomizu dera was the same with the one we took to go to Gion, only we didn’t have to stop as far.
It was quite a long hike to the entrance but I persevere. It was still early after all. The temple was gorgeous. Especially with the sakura around it. Walked till I finished the whole complex and went back down. My friend rented a kimono and I took a few photos of her.
Had a bowl of Kyoto style noodle soup and we were on our way back to the hostel. Checked out and went to catch our last Shinkansen ride of the trip back to Tokyo.
To be continued…
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