[Friday, June 26, 2009]
Labels: Hong Kong, RL, what I did on my holidays
Home again, home again . . .
Hokng Kong's humidity is worse than home--note to self, don't go to Hk or Macau in the summer.
The cat left something in the box at [8:59 PM]
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[Tuesday, June 23, 2009]
Dear Work,
Argh.
No love,
Eline
The cat left something in the box at [7:49 AM]
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[Thursday, June 18, 2009]
Labels: Japan, nom, RL, what I did on my holidays
Nomnomnomnomnom . . .
Ginza in the afternoon. It's a bit out of our price range, but there was the 100% Chocolate Cafe (Kiyobashi Station, Exit 5) by Meiji. With 56 types of chocolate!
J had an unfortunate reaction to that one raw shrimp on the sushi--she's allergic to them, poor thing--and we retired back to Ikebukuro for her to rest and detox. It got much better after a lot of water and a short nap.
J's Japanese friend joined us at dinner and we had dessert at Denny's afterwards because it's the only place that opens late (24 hours a day). Pancakes at 10pm! Girl talk is something very different, when done in groups like this. I tried my best, but it's not really my thing.
The cat left something in the box at [8:52 AM]
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[Wednesday, June 17, 2009]
Labels: Japan, RL, what I did on my holidays
16/06/09:
We went to Hakone with J's Japanese friend--who was not the one doing the guiding. It's onsen time!
The Hakone Freepass is a very useful thing. It covers all transport in Hakone (except for that bus up to the pension) and can give discounts at attractions. For once, we had the time to go visit one of those attractions.
We trained it to Hakone (after a slightly late start due to an "accident" on the Odakyu Line) and went to the Hakone Open Air Museum.
Lunch was at the Bella Foresta restaurant buffet. The chocolate mochi in the dessert section was fab. Then we remembered that we were there to see the museum. Eheheh . . .
It was a fabulous experience. "Man and Pegasus" was our favourite statue. And "Closer" was the gag favourite and will henceforce be known as the "passed out drunk position"/"ate too much and passed out position".
The lovely Hakone-no-mori Okada has been putting up with the likes of me since 2005 or so. I pop by with relatives and friends now and then and this was the second largest group I brought over.
I had asked for the "Japanese culture experience" advertised on the website and I thought it would be small individualised portions of sashimi and soba. The feast that awaited us was phenomenal assortment of dishes with sashimi on a small boat-like dish and massive fried shrimp that would give a guy penis envy. We forged forward bravely, no doubt regretting the large amount of lunch we had. I got unwarranted praise for organising the trip--dude, I only wrote an email to the pension and asked.
My travel-planning skills are apparently awesome. (You try travelling with people who leave all the planning to you for six or seven trips and you'd be good at this organising business too.) But I won't give up my day-job. Being a travel guide is almost as stressful as my real job.
The arrival of an unexpected complication has taught me to pay attention to the smaller details and not underestimate my body's ability to screw up. (I sound like a fortune cookie.)
17/06/09:
The anti-clockwise route around Hakone was punctuated with rest stops and much food sampling--especially at Owakudani. Like wasabi ice-cream. And black nikku-man. Pluse egg ice-cream (custard-flavoured). On top of the black eggs cooked in the sulphur pits (seven years extra on your life bar).
Back in Tokyo, weshoved the bags into lockers and went out to Shinjuku to shop and have dinner. Shinjuku is a kind of sensory overload plus neon plus a lot of people thronging the streets around the busiest train station in the world. I was feeling it when they were in the pharmacy and I was wut? because my hormones were at an all time low.
Dinner--after a mad search of crowded yakitori joints--made everything better. That and the shochu with lemon.
I don't normally drink during a meal--after, yes. The thing is, this group of my friends are non-drinkers. Outside of that one time at a club, I don't think I've ever had a drink with them. (My job and my friends probably kept me from becoming an alcoholic.)
Laundry time.
The cat left something in the box at [6:39 AM]
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[Monday, June 15, 2009]
Labels: Japan, nom, RL, what I did on my holidays
This holiday is going to be the one where I might gain weight despite the walking. Went to the Yokohama Ramen Museum and had two bowls of ramen. Mini-bowls, they were labelled. Still filling though. The Sapporo ramen shop Eki was the best--with an inch of oil floating above the soup and springy, almost al dente noodles. (Slightly better than the bankara last night when the lard was floating on top of the stock. Delicious and warming.)
Yokohama's Chinatown is still a touristy tourist trap. We had to be the only tourists who were there and did not eat Chinese food or buy a large nikku-man. (Teh irony.)
PSA: The Curry Museum closed last year, but not all guidebooks are up to date--like my friend's guidebook. (Make your own--it's always better.) The walk was not wasted as we went to the nearest Uniqlo and Daiso to shop.
Got a bit damp today. It rained when we were going back to the hotel and I shared my brolly with my friend who forggot her own. This has been the rainiest season I have spent in Japan.
Hakone tomorrow.
(I doubt I will find any tigers for my aunt. Those things are made for the new year.)
The cat left something in the box at [7:42 AM]
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[Sunday, June 14, 2009]
Labels: Japan, RL, what I did on my holidays
Today was a leisurely Sunday with a lot of appointments and a lot of food. But at least I walked a lot. Shinjuku Park is very nice on weekends--everyone lolling around on the grass and me sitting on a bench reading BL manga I bought from Akihabara in the morning (half-way behind a bush because there were children running around). I'd have lolled on the grass too, but I didn't bring my poncho.
Met Ange for lunch, which was monjyu at an okonomiyaki place in Shinjuku. Smelling faintly of pork and cheese/seafood monjyu, we wandered off to Afternoon Tea for afternoon tea. For the price of the tea, we sat our butts down for two hours before heading for Nakano and the warren of shops that is Nakano Broadway (very misleading place name--it's a lot of narrow corridors), all filled with assorted goods and items of specialised interest.
Went back to Ikebukuro and the usual run-around Otome Dori--eheheh . . . An SMS from one of my friends brought me back to the station and the travel party was almost complete. Met J's Japanese friend a little later and we went out for dinner. The thing about going out with friends instead of family members is that you stay out very much later.
And I drank coffee for the first time in years. A very good macha latte.
The cat left something in the box at [8:53 AM]
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[Saturday, June 13, 2009]
Labels: did on my holidays, Japan, what I did on my holidays
Now I remember why I don't like transits. Expensive airport food, boring lounges and arriving in Tokyo very late. *yawn*
Note to self:
- Food at HK airport is expensive.
- Trains from the airport get fewer towards the end of the day.
- Counters for discount tourist transport passes close at 9pm.
The cat left something in the box at [8:41 AM]
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