The Cube

Singapore: Elephants and Marina Bay Sands

2012-01-28T18:51:00.006+08:00

There was a Elephant Parade in Singapore when I was there end of last year. There were heaps and heaps of them. Of course, I have not seen all of them, just a handful. Some were really cute though :)

I have every intention to visit the Hendersons Wave Bridge when I was in Singapore. However the weather wasn't too kind for outdoor activities, and we had to can it. As compensation, there was an evening without rain, and I get to see Marina Bay Sands ^_^

I didn't enter the casino though.. and that was the first time I learned that Singaporean citizens and permanent residents have to pay to enter the casino. Hmm..

Side note: online shopping is hazardous...

Singapore: Food!

2012-01-17T06:59:00.001+08:00

The 2 weeks to Singapore and back home were mostly on food. I had a couple of lists - errands to run, things to buy and one on food to eat. The food to eat list consists of food that I craved for over the time, I can't find them in Sydney or those that available but just does not taste the same. Unfortunately with my very amateur-ish skills, I just couldn't get the taste right.

Little P and Moo Moo Gal were most hospitable, housed me, planned my itinerary, brought me around the city and to eat in their midst of moving. Especially, silly crazy me strolled in Singapore with S$50 to spend for 2 full days.

The Supper
You read that right. The flight I took was a little delayed and by the time I picked up my luggage and passed Immigration, it was closed to 1am. Little P and Moo Moo Gal was already frolicking in the airport waiting for me. It appeared that they sat at one of those benches looking over the gates, just like cinemas seating facing the screen waiting for me and I strolled out from another gate.

As all of us were hungry, yes at 1am and I had both the meals offered on flight, we nicely walked in to TCC (The Coffee Connoisseur) for supper.

Deluxe Snack Platter

Hearty Breakfast with Eggs & Shrooms

We also ordered a Shrooms Bite, of mushroom and cheese which surprisingly not found in my photos collection. Must've jumped at the food and forgot to take a pic... though I thought I did grab a picture. Shrug. On top of the 3, we also placed an order for a pasta meal but it took way too long and we decided to cancel the meal as sleepiness crept in on us all. According to the waitress, they ran out of pasta sauce and need to make it from scratch, hence the wait. Shrug. The food was ok but the wait was a little too long.

Changi Airport T3 Arrival Hall
65 Airport Boulevard #01-22 Terminal 3 Arrival Hall
Phone : 6214 0680 Fax : 6214 0386
Business Hours: Daily, PH & PH Eve - 24 Hours

The Breakfast/Brunch
Breakfast (or maybe brunch due to the time we woke up) at Day 1 (yup, a couple of hours of sleep after supper) was at Toa Payoh Food Court.

Singapore Hokkien Mee served with sambal.

In Alor Setar, we sometimes referred Har Mee as Hokkien Mee, and KL, the black stir fry noodles are also called Hokkien Mee. So, this is a totally different variant. In fact, I reminded me of Lam Mee of some sort because of the starchy feel to the gravy.

Oh Chien, the salty version. Fried oyster with egg, also served with sambal. See how Singaporeans and Malaysians are generous with their condiments :P

The famous Soon Heng Rojak

Little P was given the task to queue up at the rojak stall while Moo Moo Gal went round to get the rest of the food. I had the easiest of task, sitting at the table to guard the space :P

Little P's breakfast - slow cooked soup or literally translated as old fire cooked soup. It's like treasures inside a small bowl.

My dose of coffee and Moo Moo Gal's Teh C Peng

Toa Payoh Food Court
Basement 1 Food Court
HDB Hub Toa Payoh Central

Day 2 breakkie was with a friend, a simple cappuccino and bun, nothing special and no picture to show.

Day 3 breakkie was nasi lemak in airport. How I miss having nasi lemak for breakkie! :P

The Lunch
Day 2 lunch was a simple fare. I tried to convince myself that I need the detox after stuffing myself silly the first day I touched down... also that my friend is a vegetarian.

Cobb Salad from Salad Stop, Novena Square

I was introduced to Cobb Salad when I was in SF and this is one salad that I really like. The Cobb Salad from Salad Stop was a little different though, the obvious different was the egg was not served as hard boiled egg. I prefer the one I had in USA though.

Salad Stop
238 Thomson Road, #02-24, Novena Square, Singapore 307683

The Snacks

Ole Ole fries from Best Fries Forever - Salsa get creamed, Spanish style

Best Fries Forever
Raffles City
#B1-55 Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road
Nearest MRT: EW13 City Hall

The one we went was in Raffles City, picking up the fries and to meet up with Little P who was queueing for Buffet Town. I was told reservation was difficult to get too, after all it was Christmas Eve.

Sinful toast with thick coat of kaya + butter from Toast Box. Yumm. I did try to replicate this at Sydney but I think it will taste as good if you spread it with very thick layer :P
Hence, sinful :P

313@Somerset B2
313 Orchard Road, #B2-31/32/33
313@Somerset
S(238895)
Tel 6634 2863
(At least, I think it is this one that we went...)

The Dinner
Dinner at day 1 was at Buffet Town - it was a Christmas Eve dinner. I was ashamed that I didn't prepare enough gifts for all who present. Umm... was even contemplating of hiding in the washroom when it happened..umm

Christmas was around the corner, so we had roast turkey! Yumm..

Prawns, satay, chilli crab with deep fried mantou, sushi, sashimi, Peking duck, fishes, veges, selection of ice cream (the ones pictured was black sesame and ... can't remember), oysters and ginger bread house (we didn't have this) but we had much much more than what was photographed.

Buffet Town
252 North Bridge Road, #B1-44E Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore
Tel: +65 6837 3793

Dinner for day 2 was kolok mee! I so miss kolok mee, but unfortunately it is not the easiest thing to find even in Malaysia, outside of Sarawak. It was served together with a small bowl of soup.
This was found actually in the very upmarket Marina Sands Bay - a stall call Jiaxiang. They literally make you walked all the way across the mall just to get to the food court, which I suspect is the cheapest eatery in the whole shopping mall. :P

It will at least curb the cravings for kolok mee for a while, I suppose. By the way, mind you, it was difficult to get a table, we were there at dinner time. Not sure if it would be much empty outside peak hours.

Side note: Should I travel again for this CNY?

Singapore: Christmas 2011

2012-01-16T07:39:00.000+08:00

That was my 4th Christmas after moving to Sydney. Christmas in Sydney gave me the feeling of CNY, family gathering and the gifts exchange were a little similar to angpow. Of course, there were instances where people do not exchange gifts and note the word exchange, rather than angpow where you received from people older than you.

Anyway, the previous 3 years, I was in Sydney. I bit the bullet this round and booked a return ticket home. Not specifically for Christmas, but for a dear friend's wedding. So I thought I'll travel to Singapore to visit some friends on the way home, rather than making a separate trip to Singapore. Come to think of it, as the years go, more friends have moved across the causeway and earn the Singapore dollar.

I remembered Orchard Road in Singapore has having some really nice Christmas decoration, there were one year where they had M&M as the theme. Shopping complexes had their own decorations and were very much elaborate, compared to Christmas trees in Sydney

I flew home with Singapore Airlines, after work on 23rd December which coincidentally was on a Friday last year. Even the flight was decorated with mistletoe. But no, the dessert was not Christmas pudding or panettone. Grin.

Christmas theme this year in Changi Terminal 3 was *drum roll* - Angry Bird. Very uptodate, isn't it? Little P and Moo Moo Gal already had their rounds of taking pics and posing with the decos while waiting for my flight to touch down.

Here are pictures on the Christmas decoration taken in Orchard Road, and I must add, on a rainy night of Christmas Eve. Despite the thought of bringing along an umbrella did flashed through my brain, but not only I did not check the weather forecast, I did not bring an umbrella along :P I was tagging along Moo Moo Gal's froggy umbrella (it's froggy or was it rabbit?)

~ Hehe.. this obviously is taken during daytime, however still a drizzly day, while waiting for another friend and her little girl. I believe was outside Paragon Shopping Centre

~ Wonder if the horsey can support the weight of a little girl... *ponder*

~ Shiny tree from Tiffany & Co

~ very shiny tree

~ I'm not very familiar with images from the Bible, the only one I think I may get it right is the one on bottom right - Shepherd and Sheep

~ I like these little snow globe looking thingy the most, beautiful aren't they?

Side note: A very merry Christmas, albeit very much late greetings :P

Perth: Sunset at Trigg Beach

2012-01-15T05:29:00.000+08:00

My over the weekend trip ended with watching the sun set at Trigg Beach. Just some random pictures I took.

~ Not just us who were waiting for the sun set eh :P

~ Do you have someone growing old and watching sunset together?

赤い空
akai sora
red sky
きれいな日没
kirei na nichibotsu
beautiful sunset
長閑な秋
nodoka na aki
tranquil autumn

Side note: The photo was actually taken on a summer evening :P

Fremantle

2012-01-14T16:37:00.013+08:00

Unfortunately I can't comment much on going to Fremantle by train, as both times I was there, I was driven to Fremantle. It is conveniently near Perth, therefore it is easy to include Fremantle as part of the itinerary.

My bro-in-law accidentally drove to the Fremantle Port on our way to find the E Shed Markets. However thereafter we decided to go to the other Fremantle Market as thought E Shed Markets does not have any souvenir stores. From the E Shed Markets website, appears that they do.

Fremantle Markets reminded me of Paddy's Market in Sydney, with stalls selling fruits, food, souvenirs, toys, etc. One thing I have not seen in Paddy's Market yet, was thes - Ostrich Eggs.

Somewhat across the street stood the Fremantle Oval.

And just a short walk further up from the Oval, one can find the Fremantle Prison. We only took a picture from the outside this round. :P

I feel it was not somewhat incomplete to leave Fremantle without having a fish and chips meals, so we went back to Cicerello's Fish & Chips.

I still feel there were way too much chips, but not lack of salt, and it would be a big bonus if they would provide free flow of sauce free of charge. From memory, they offered 2 tiny packets of tartar sauce for the 2 whole big packet of food. They do offer vinegar and salt at no additional cost and silly me thought dipping vinegar is a new way of eating chips only to realise that it was for salads. :P

~ Fish & Chips were wrapped up using some white paper

~ Maybe cos calamari were more expensive, hence were put on styroform boxes.

Side note: Wonder what can I do over the weekend in Darwin :P

Perth: Ciao Italia

2011-12-18T10:06:00.006+08:00

I missed trying the Pasta al Nero di Seppia, in other words pasta in squid ink that my sister recommended. So I when I was back in Perth, I have requested for a squid ink pasta. This place by all means is not cheap, and it was rather annoying standing outside of the restaurant for a seat with a hand shooing away any approching flies. There is a no reservation policy for this restaurant, also all parties must be present before allowed into the restaurant.

The restaurant, Ciao Italia opens at 5pm for dinner service. We were there before 6pm and it was already full house with a queue outside. My sister left her name and we were lucky to be admit into the restaurant after about 30 minutes.

There were 6 adults, 2 children and 1 baby altogether, of course baby has her own food :P

We ordered bruschetta for starters.

3 pasta dishes and a pizza to share as main meals. I didn't take picture of all the food, some where a little far from where I sat, and by the time we swapped the plates, a big chunk were already not on the plate :P

My favourite dish among the mains - squid ink pasta.

Marinara Spaghetti - tomato sauce based for the kids

We also had Spaghetti Carbonara and Calzone.

Dessert was this very heavenly tiramisu. So very good.

Ciao Italia
273 Mill Point Road,
South Perth, Cnr Douglas Ave.
Phone: 9368 5500
TUESDAY to SATURDAY, 5pm to 10pm. SUNDAY & MONDAY Close

Side note: 4 1/2 days to go ^_^

Swan Valley: Wineries and Honey

2011-12-15T09:09:00.009+08:00

According to my second sis who stays in Perth, she would recommend a photo of this winery. Just right across the Margaret River Chocolate Company, a beautiful scenary greeted us. Being the lazy photographer, can't be help, it was scorching hot, we took the photo under the shed across the road. This was till my sister helped me to take a photo and she said I looked like some live size billboard sticking to the winery. So, I had to cross the road the make the photo looked more believable. :P

As we have taken some shot of the beautiful vineyard, we thought might as well visit the winery and tried some wine and cheese at Lancester Wines.

Unfortunately it wasn't the most comfortable place to enjoy wine and cheese, especially on such a hot day. It definitely didn't help when there were flies hovering around. I only had a little sip and some cheese, my 2 bro-in-laws were trying some, they were thinking of buying a bottle but did not in the end as we thought of going to another winery to try first. Maybe the people at the winery reckoned we were not keen on purchasing, I feel that they were not very friendly actually.

Nonetheless, a beautiful place. Would be much comfortable if it was a little less hot.

I wanted to go to the Ugly Duckling Winery to pick up a dessert wine for a friend, so that was the next stop while my eldest sis and family went off to Windarra Honey first. I tried the dessert wine and really like it. It was too sickly sweet, just nice :)

I think its a strategy to have beautiful place to drink some wine to interest people into buying them :P

Pardon the photo but this is my purchase from Swan Valley - Viognier

After getting the wine, met up with my eldest sis at Windarra Honey

It was a small place, nothing too exciting inside the shop. It was outside the place that attracts my nieces. There were some cows and they had fun feeding the cows.

Side note: How nice if I have some honey now.. bleh...

Swan Valley: Margaret River Chocolate Company

2011-12-14T15:46:00.009+08:00

I was back to Perth, once again. Among the capital cities in Australia, Perth tops the list of destination for myself (excluding errand and work related). I'm still short of Darwin and Hobart at the moment. My eldest sister and family had a planned travel to Perth for a holidays, and mom already in Perth at this time, I told, what the heck, I'll fly in for a short family gathering, and of course, to see my adorable baby niece :)

Found that Virgin Australia had a very nice flight time to Perth from Sydney. I left work and took the 5.25pm flight to Perth, estimated touchdown time at 7.25pm WA time, just right on time for dinner :) Yes. I did the weekend Perth trip again, reaching on Friday evening and departed on Sunday night, back to Sydney on Monday morning and off to work.
As it was such a short trip, there was no long distance travel, just around Perth - this time to Swan Valley and Fremantle.

So I cheated, I was in the Swan Valley's Margaret River Chocolate Company, not exactly in Margaret River. Grin. As Christmas was approaching, there were some nice Christmas theme chocolate. Don't know what got into my head, I didn't get any of them.

However, my brother-law-law got my nieces & I got some ice-cream (don't worry not the baby), very nice for a hot afternoon in Perth. I think it was up to 34 degree celcius. My pick was the macadamia flavoured, said to be winner of some competition. I wish it has more macadamia and the flavour though. At some parts, it feels more like vanilla ice cream with bits of crushed macadamia. :(

One of my niece likes everything pink and picked the pink colour bubblegum flavoured ice cream. :P

Side note: Supplements are expensive stuff...

就想赖着你

2011-12-13T05:42:00.001+08:00

Running out of drama to watch, and found this in some old collection.

In episode 1, 杨果's boyfriend left her, she was drunk and she said...

"我希望总有一天可以遇到····那个不管我有没有钱漂不漂亮····他都会永远爱我···那个真正懂得珍惜我···在乎我的人"

In one of the later episodes, 杨果's friend, 雁玲 after found out that her boyfriend was seeing another girl, said...

"我真的好难过
原来那些幸福都是假的
如果连他都会骗我
那以后还有谁可以相信呢"

Side note: To buy or not to buy...

Kirribilli Art & Design Market and Fashion Market

2011-12-12T11:37:00.002+08:00

From the previous North Sydney market, I have moved and now staying near another market - Kirribilli Market. There are 2 markets being held in a month at the same location - General Market on the 4th Saturdays; and Kirribilli Art & Design and Fashion Market on 2nd Sundays. Thre are held at a very strategic location, at the Burton Street Tunnel, very near the Milsons Point train station.

Actually both markets are rather similar if you asked me, except that in General Market there was a stall or 2 selling vegetables and fruits. Here are some pictures of Kirribilli Art & Design and Fashion Market. Coming from Milsons Points side, it always starts with food stalls.

Some of the food stalls has been around since when I first moved in, some are new ones. Like the one above - Dutch Poffertjes is one of the ones been around for a bit, so are Russian Blyni, Turkish Gozlemes. Lately the Sri Lanka dishes stall also put up a stall at the Kirribilli Markets.

There are some pretty good buys at the market, especially on handmade jewelleries. Some are on the pricey side but there are pretty good ones. I didn't take a lot of pictures as this being the Art & Design Market, many stall owners do not allow pictures being taken of their goods.

Lately, both markets has been well expanded and it was great fun poking around looking at the things. Especially Christmas is around the corner, might be a good place to get some Christmas presents :)

Side note: Nursing the itchy throat, stuffed nose and headache at home. Have to get it sorted before I travel home...

Whale Watching Sydney

2011-11-25T05:26:00.000+08:00

~ Welcome to Sydney :)

It so happened that a good fine Friday night I thought to myself, "I want to go whale watching." So after finishing some work on Saturday, I made an impromptu online booking for whale watching the next day.

The company seem to be the popular one around, and if the cruise does not see any whale, one could return on another cruise within the year as a standby passenger. There was complimentary biscuits, coffee/tea and apples onboard.

There was two departure points - Circular Quay or Darling Harbour, also two types of boats - 3 hours bigger boat, or the 2 hours smaller boats. I poked online a little and decided on the bigger boat, reason being bigger boat would be more stable. I was worry of motion sickness.

I took the morning departure at 9.45am. The boat departs from Darling Harbour, and headed to Circular Quay to pick up more passengers. So it was like boat cruise + whale watching, hit 2 birds with one stone.

~ Under the Harbour Bridge

~ Around Circular Quay

~ The obligatory picture on Opera House :P

Then off we went to chase the whales! We were informed of the wind speed and all, in case we changed our mind and want to go another day. Also that there is a safety distance that boats have to be away from whales to protect the whales, something like 100m from adult whales and 300m from their calf.

The one we saw as a mommy whale and her calf. I didn't have the kick ass camera like the guy from the whale watching company, unfortunately. Not even a SLR. His camera was like those you see in football matches, the superbly long ones.

Anyway, here are some measley pictures I took.

And no, just to make things clear. The whales did not jump as high as Willy in Free Willy, though at one point, the calf did breached but I only caught the water splashing in my shot. Still not as high as Willy, over the boy.

Unfortunately, I did experience some motion sickness but fortunately, it was towards the end of the cruise. I read that ginger would be helpful, example ginger candy or some sort but I didn't have any, except a bottle of grated ginger in the fridge. I didn't bring that along, if you are curious. However I overheard some moms telling their children that apples helped with motion sickness. So I went down and grabbed an apple, probably that was the reason why they dished out complimentary apples. I am not sure if it does help but I felt better when the boat started making it's way back to shore.

Side note: I wonder how to carry a 45cm floor fan back by train, and working out how to discard the old spoilt one... hmm..

Sydney Opera House Open Day 2011

2011-11-20T13:15:00.003+08:00

~ Don't bash me but I still think Opera House is more beautiful from far :P

Sydney Opera House held its annual Open Day last month on 16th October 2011. I missed the Open Day last year as I was in Maroochydore. It gives visitors a chance to see the inside of the famed Opera House for free :)

It opened at 10am and closed at 4pm. I remember leaving home at 10am, thinking it even if I reached by 11am, it was still fairly early. However the queue already has built up.

I remember being in line for a fair bit and it was a fairly warm day. Or how Aussies would say "It's a lovely day.". Grin. Anyway, so I keep myself amused by taking some pictures.

~ father and son enjoying the sea view

After a while, we were ushered in to the Opera House.

They put up some costumes on the stage in the hall. There was no scheduled concerts or shows on that day.

After leaving the hall, we were given time to see the remaining area.

There was also some lookout area where you can look out to the Harbour Bridge and more water view.

Side note: I am so peckish, I wish there's some chips to munch. Mental note to stock up my snacks. *bite*

New York: Food

2011-11-14T06:21:00.000+08:00

Alright... last post of USA travel log :)

~ Not as main meals...

(1) Manhattan Chillies
Grand Central Terminal
Lower Level Dining Concourse
New York, NY 10017
(212) 682-6644

~ Texas Chain Gang: All natural coarse ground beef, kidney beans, plum tomatoes, fresh jalapeños & chipotles

~ The Real McCoy - "No Beans, No Tomatoes, No Bull." Chili the way they make it in the Lone Star State: chunks of all natural beef & 5 kinds of chili powder

~ side dish: mini corn muffin

We had it on two different occasions - both times for lunch. The first time I had it with rice, not the second time though. However I do find it weird to have it as it is.. not accompanied with rice.

(2) T.G.I. Friday's
We went to the one in Times Square area.

~ Jack Daniel's Burger

I read somewhere that Jack Daniel's sauce is the signature sauce of TGIF, so I thought I'll give it a go... but the calori... chotto...:-S

(3)Magnolia Bakery
Grand Central Terminal
Lower Level Dining Concourse

~ Magic cookie bar with graham cracker crust

My bad. So apparently Magnolia Bakery is famous for their cupcakes, not for this cookie. We saw a long queue and thought it would be promising. Maybe, just maybe if I had a cupcake I might say differently but this magic bar - sickly sweet, even for my sweet tooth.

(4) Avra
141 East 48th Street
New York, NY 10017
212 759-8550
fax: 751-0894

~ Grilled filet of wild Pacific salmon served with marinated grilled vegetables

This was good, fresh fish and nicely cooked. Thanks to N and husband for buying dinner.

(5) Junior's Cheesecake
Restaurant
Lower Level
Dining Concourse
(212) 983-5257

~ Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

I love this. Nice, dense cheesecake. Not sweet, just nice with complement of raspberry. We did a takeaway.

(6) Sweet Grass Grill
24 Main Street
Tarrytown, NY 10591
914.631.0000

~ Sweet Grass Grill - Pancake Suzette Style

This cafe is located in Tarrytown. It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and we were told it would be safer to avoid going into the city, hence we had our brunch in Tarrytown.
Very generous portion of food.

(7) BBQ at home ^_^
We bought some sausages, yakitori and corns, there was also salad...

(8) Hotdog
Street food. I had this while shopping in Woodbury Common Premium Outlet. Um.. streak of shopaholic in making? LOL. I won't post up any further on Woodbury Common as friend drove us there, and the only activity we did was of course, shopping :P

Side note: I wish Saturdays are longer...

New York: Downtown

2011-11-13T05:06:00.000+08:00

If there was uptown, then there was downtown. The first day with bright blue sky in New York - we seized the opportunity to tick off the places we wanted to see. Also, the first time I get to at the roof of the bus. There were reminders after reminders of sitting down and beware of head hitting the traffic lights and trees.

So, despite all the friendly reminders, we got lucky! The bus stopped at the traffic light and I got to stand up for a picture of this beautiful piece of architecture - the Flatiron Building.

Here's another picture of the building... Just because :P

Another skyscapper - Empire State Building. Probably also made famous by the movie King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle... and no, I did not embark on some movie themed tour or something. Just so happen a lot of Hollywood productions were filmed in United States itself, and I believe many movies shot in the Big Apple itself.

The bus actually went for quite a big loop and we got off at a stop nearest to Statue of Liberty. There are 2 ways to see the famous icon, the first one via the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour. There were a few options on offer, some allows to go up to the crown, but most includes access to Ellis Island Immigration Museum (read: Hitch). If you decide to pursue this option, I was advised by my friend to purchase the ticket in advance.

Anyway, the second option - free of charge ferry to Staten Island. That was our option, consideration taken into we were not a big fan of museums... (don't throw rotten eggs at me). That being said, I was aware of great reviews given on the Ellis Island Immigration Museum but we decided to proceed with option number two. Ferry to Staten Island is free of charge (as of my travel in 8th Sept 2011), but please be aware that there was no stop made to Liberty Island.

However one was not allowed to remain on the ferry once reached Staten Island. Also by the time one got off the ferry, you won't be able to make the direct trip back. Instead would have to wait for the next ferry trip.

From where we took the Staten Island Ferry to Wall Street was a short walk.

Speaking of Wall Street, here's a picture of the Wall Street icon - the famous Charging Bull. I said it was famous because there were a lot of people stood around to take a picture with the bull. Some sat on the head, some stand at the side, there were also some who squat down and held the testicles and posed for a picture, or two.

~ come to think of it, I think I saw a lot of US flags everywhere, much more than in Australia & Malaysia.

U.S flags at Ground Zero, the red and blue stripes were people's name.

South Street Seaport... took some pictures while we were waiting for the bus. Luckily we were right in front of the bus door or we would have to wait for the next bus, or the one after.. till there was one with seats available.

We got off at the United Nations Headquarters ... but it was already closed for the day.

Side note: Good weather today but I spent the way indoors having my own movie day :)

New York: Uptown and Rockefeller Centre

2011-11-12T15:35:00.003+08:00

~ Yellow cabs outside Dakota Apartment

Weather still not great the next day, and the ticket for Hop On/Hop Off bus was still valid. So we decided to do the Uptown Loop that day. Pictures were not great due to rain and we were in the bus, with photos taken from window.

The Dakota Apartment in the picture above is best known as the place where former Beatle John Lennon was gunned down in December 1980. I reckon it would be a nice place to stay (if you are rich and do not mind the obvious history of killing) as it overlooks greenery - Central Park.

Also in the loop was Harlem.

Harlem is a neighbourhood in the New York City. Since 1920s, it has been a major African-American residential. I read that it was originally a Dutch Village and name after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Now.. that kind of explains the Amsterdam Av then :P

Nestled in Harlem, one can find the Apollo Theatre, said to be one of the most famous music halls in the United States, especially for blacks. Appears that the late Michael Jackson had performances in this theatre previously.

We did got off the bus after this and walked, a good 40 blocks at least, and unfortunately in the rain. New York is not prettiest when wet, in my humble opinion. Anyway, walks do good in building up appetite :P

~ Nah, didn't have dinner there

We went to see the Rockefeller Center before dinner, while waiting for friend's friend, N's husband (now my friend too!) to finish work.

Rockefeller Center is actually a commercial building, founded by Mr John D Rockefeller Jr and placed right in Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

One of the many shops was this.

Side note: Ohh.. Inside Man is a good movie ^_^

New York, New York

2011-11-10T16:58:00.004+08:00

Not sure if it was intentional or purely coincidental, the flight to USA from Sydney via United Airlines showed this movie called Arthur. There were no individual inflight entertainment but a shared screen. So, there wasn't any option to pick movies myself. So, back to this movie.

The reason as to why I brought this up is this...

~ Grand Central Terminal - at night

~ Inside Grand Central Terminal

So, yes, before Little P comment on what movie is being filmed here, I'll shall put up this one up. The main character of the show - Arthur met one of the main female character of the show, Naomi in this Grand Central Terminal.

The movie also showed the "whispering gallery" which was located in the dining concurse near the Oyster Bar & Restaurant. Grand Central Terminal is a fully operational train station, equipped with shops and dining area. You can also find MTA - Transit Museum there.

Another thing - do look up the ceilings ya :)

It was pouring cats and dogs during the first day of our NY trip. In fact, it rained since morning, didn't stop at all. Aftermath of the storm I heard.

I finally succumb to the Hop On/Hop Off bus. Personally, I am not a fan of those buses but I am not against it, especially considering the weather. That was the first time I took the Hop On/Hop Off bus. 3 things I learnt about the bus.

1. It was horrible during rainy days. It is only glorious to ride on the bus on good days, otherwise, not only you can sit on the open roof top, rubbish flowed down from the rooftop in "waterfall". It was dirty and wet. I would've thought they could have done something about that staircase leading to the roof of the bus.

2. Still have to queue to wait for the bus and if the bus is full, will have to wait for the next bus. I used to have wishful thought that there would be buses all the time, no waiting time :P

3. The bus did not stop if there were no seat available. Not on it didn't stop, no indication were given to people waiting for the bus at the stop. We saw people waving and flagging down the bus, thinking that the bus didn't see them :-S

Anyway, we did a night tour and saw Brooklyn, on a rainy night before and after braving the rain in Times Square. Despite the rain, Times Square was still vibrant and bustling... the best word to describe I can think of is にぎやか :)

Just because we are talking about Times Square. We did, of course went back to Times Square another day, when the weather was better.

~ where the New Year Eve Ball descends...

Side note: I've discovered the best and effective recovery walk - with 小さな恋の歌 blasting in ears.

Washington: Of Labor Day and Union Station

2011-11-05T14:23:00.002+08:00

Uncle K and Aunty L shouted us for all the meals. I feel bad. It was understandable for them to buy their niece lunches and dinners, but I was the random stranger who went holidays with their niece. After much persuasion, Uncle K and Aunty L allowed us to buy brunch before we left for New York.

It was a public holiday that day - Labor Day (I used the American spelling on purpose). Most of the eatery places that we tried were not open. The last option was Table Talk. It is a local, no fussed diner. Apparently, this place have big surge of customers from a nearby church after service.

I had an egg toast, bacon and grit. There was an option of substituting grit with home fries (or vice versa). I thought of giving grits a try. Grits are a food of American Indian origin common in the Southern United States and mainly eating at breakfast. Taste wise... chotto....
Tasted like a cross between of oatmeal and congee. Let's put it this way, I will stick to home fries if there were future option arises :P

We didn't do much that day, just chillax then off to Union Station, taking Amtrak train to NY.

Side note: Hungry and peckish.... :P

Washington: The Nation's Capital

2011-11-02T18:35:00.002+08:00

Itinerary of the day was to spend time at the National Mall & Memorial Parks. We were in Washington DC after all. The day started with brunch at Carlyle, which is one of the chain restaurant of Great American Restaurants. Next to it is Best Baked Bun Company (BBBC) which is also part of the same group. The brunch food there was absolutely scrumptious. It was at this place where I previously mentioned the waiters were dashing. Umm.. no picture of both - food or waiters. As mentioned earlier, nil food picture at all as I was dining with Uncle K and Aunty L and was trying to be at my best behaviour. Ahem. Though food pictures in DC would have been one of the best food picture. Selected meals were Mango Chicken & Spiced Pecans and BCCC Brioche French Toast smoked bacon, scrambled eggs and home fries.

Aunty L droved us to the area of National Mall & Memorial Parks and dropped us off. Uncle K was the appointed tour guide of the day. Our first stop - White House.

This is actually the main entrance of White House. I was standing outside of the gate, with the camer fitted between the grills. Not standing anywhere on the grass outside of the White House.

~ Secret Service on top of the roof

The National Mall & Memorial Parks grounds is actually a very large area. According to the map, distance between Lincoln Memorial and U.S. Capital is of 30 minute brisk walk. So it is not an uncommon sight to see people cycling around the ground to get to places. We, instead of walking or cycling, were given a tour from a air con car.

~ National Gallery of Art

We were being spoiled, Aunty L came back to pick us up before dropping us off to somewhere nearer to the National Air and Space Museum. This museum is on the recommended 'list' of Uncle K.

From afar - Capital Hill.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial and U.S Capital were all lined up in one straight line. Coincidentally (or intentionally, I don't know) New Parliament House, Old Parliament House and War Memorial in Canberra is also standing in one straight line.

Red arrow: Lincoln Memorial; Orange arrow: World War II Memorial; Pink arrow: Washington Monument; Brown arrow: U.S. Capitol
Source: Map from here

~ Washington Monument

As the National Air and Space Museum is in the list of our 'tour guide' today, that was where we headed to. This museum is one of the 19 museums under the Smithsonian Museums.

Entrance to the museum is free, though special exhibit and 3D shows occur a fee. Uncle K bought us ticket to watch the 3D show as he have had watched a good one previously. The next available show was "Legends of Flight 3D".

I stupidly imagined they would show the Wright brothers' adventure in building the first successful airplane... but it was nothing near that. In fact, it was a paid 3D advertisement of Boeing 787. If I am part of the team who contributed or worked on the Boeing 787, I would be so proud of the flight. I can totally relate to that. Though that was all I could say. Otherwise, it was like an advertisement for Boeing 787, and we actually have to pay to watch the adv. Umm...

By the time we left the museum, it was time for dinner! On the way to dinner, we passed Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

And USA Air Force Memorial

~ It resembles the shape how the Air Force plane flies.. no?

Uncle K and Aunty L brought us to Indigo Landing Restaurant, strategically located on the Potomac River. I had Broiled Chesapeake Crab Cakes. It is said that crab cake is one of the local specialty.

After finishing dinner, we went back to The Mall for the World War II Memorial.

Uncle K said that it was one of those that you need to see at night as it was to be seen lighted up. If Uncle K had his way, we would hop off to see the Korean War Veterans Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial as well. However Aunty L argued that it would be dangerous to wander around at night. So we only did the World War II Memorial returning retiring for the night.

Side note: I missed the volunteering registration for 15th Japanese Film Festival. *bonk self*
:(

Virginia: Mount Vernon & Old Town Alexandria

2011-10-29T18:02:00.004+08:00

We took an overnight flight from Las Vegas to Washington D.C., with a short transit in Atlanta.

Free coffee in the airport lounge. Don't know how it taste, I didn't try.

Thanks to my friend, we have free accommodation in DC and also New York. Friend's uncle, Uncle K and aunt (Aunty L) were very hospitable. It was like I got a free package tour including accommodation and meals to Washington DC. We were given separate rooms, and Aunty L even left bottled water in the room for us! Also, I am not able to provide any information on transportation as we were ferried everywhere. It was so comfy (coupled with tiredness) that I couldn't prop my eyes open on the day we reached there.

Back to Mount Vernon.

Potomac River, on the way to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate.

Mount Vernon is the most popular historic estate in America, is the home of George and Martha Washington. It is along the Potomac River in Northern Virgina. Anyway, in short, it is estate of George Washington. Weather was not too great for outdoor activities, and we didn't visit the estate. LOL :P

I am guilty of not reading up or researching much on this USA trip, and even more so on the part of Washington DC area. However Uncle K had his own list of itinerary of the places he wanted to show us. In the list for first day - was the above George Washington Mount Vernon Estate which we just had a glance from the car, and Old Town Alexandria.

Old Town Alexandria is a quaint historic town on the other side of Potomac River. It was an important colonial port in the old days. At present, is a waterfront attraction with colonial houses, shops and restaurants.

Uncle K and Aunty L brought us to have an early dinner at Chart House. I was trying to behave myself, so I did not take any pictures on the food I had in DC, as I was dining with friend's uncle and aunt. But, those food were so beautiful, both presentation and taste. Also, looking out to the waterfront scenary.

After dinner, we had a walk down to the shops and initially planned to visit the Torpedo Factory but unfortunately it was closed earlier that day due to a booked event. It was said that torpedo were manufactured there during World War I and II. Now it acts as an art studio.

No, this is not the Torpedo Factory.

Side note: Vietnamese coffee... yum ^_^

Arizona: Grand Canyon South Rim

2011-10-26T17:40:00.002+08:00

... I have to add... Arizona: The amazing Grand Canyon.

Despite the not very imaginative name of adding the word Grand to the word Canyon, somehow it is probably the most suitable name for it. Sounds cheesy, but the Grand Canyon... is simply grand (*avoid flying slippers)

Anyway, a bit of reading on this beautiful place.

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona. It is contained within the Grand Canyon National Park. It is a very large area, cover up to 446km long, 29 km wide and depth of over 1,800 metres.

~ Grand Canyon Train - errr.. to break up those long text :P

Before we make any booking, I had a read up on Grand Canyon and one could visit West Rim, South Rim or North Rim. The North Rim itself is not as easily accessible as compared to the other two rims, also only open for a short period of time due to weather condition. It is higher than both West Rim and South Rim, hence it is said to be covered in snow for the colder months. Most people get to North Rim by driving and since that was not what we wanted to do, we were left with West Rim and South Rim.

West Rim is known to be the where the U-shaped glass walkway is located. It is also closest to Las Vegas. However the West Rim is not actually park of the Grand Canyon National Park, as it lies outside the park's boundaries. On the other hand, South Rim is positioned closest to the Colorado River, and offers water views as well as magnificient canyon views. This... I decided, was where I want to go, instead of West Rim.

Ok... back to my story.. once we reached the starting point, we were given some time to go to the washroom and spend some money at the souvenir shop. There were some nice goodies there :P
As I stepped out of the shop via the other door... this amazing view greeted me.

I thought to myself, if I know the other door opened out to this, I would've made up my mind faster on what to buy and spend less time in the shop. :P

I was rather hungry at this point but lunch was not far away then. Regardless, it was a late lunch compared to my usual time. Gourmet sandwich, (my pick: roasted beef), grapes, cheese, crackers and water bottle for lunch with the nicest view for picnic.

... and a bird joining us...

We stopped by a few view point, and I'm having a bit of trouble deciding which picture not to post up. Not that my photography skills are great or what, but I really love this place. It is definitely worth a stop, at least for a day trip, if you are at somewhere close.

And.. we stayed for sunset.. :)

Side note: BT mouse is back working... so I'm back blogging. I know how to use the touchpad and I do have a wired mouse...just.. haha :P

Arizona: Route 66 Seligman

2011-10-20T18:23:00.000+08:00

I have a confession to make. I am pretty much clueless when it comes to United States, to the extend that I have no idea where San Francisco, New York, etc are. In fact, I didnt even know San Francisco and New York are so far apart. Ahem. So I can attest to travelling does increase Geography knowledge. LOL.

Route 66. I first heard about it a year ago, on a planned holidays which unfortunately did not materialize. Route 66 also known as the Main Street of America. It was first established on 11th Nov 1926, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahama, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Californa before ending at Los Angelas. In fact, one could do a road trip of Route 66, stopping at certain stops.

As mentioned in my earlier post, we joined the Grand Canyon Sunset Tours by Grand-Adventures which was included a Route 66 Stop in Seligman, Arizona. Seligman is the birthplace of historic Route 66.

Angel Delgadillo (I take it that's the reason why Angel was written on the sand) was born and raised in Seligman. He who owned a barber shop in Seligman is one of the moving forces of Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and in preserving this historic highway.

Juan Delgadillo, Angel's brother operated the Snow Cap Drive-In burger joint. I read that he was said to pull antics on tourists when they ordered food and drinks. That... still happens to this day, not by Juan himself of course, but by the person who currently runs the place. I ordered a chocolate malt drink there! :)

You see the yellow bits, that was the opening to order food/drink.

Behind the Snow Cap

On another note - Little P make me realised that all these places in Vegas related to some movie in a way or another. So, you asked, which movie is Seligman related to? It is said that Cars is loosely based on Seligman. :)

Side note: I just want my Bluetooth to work :(

Nevada: Hoover Dam

2011-10-15T17:34:00.000+08:00

Las Vegas is a state in Nevada, United States. At the Hoover Dam area, I saw this sign "Welcome to Nevada, The Silver State". According to our tour guide to Grand Canyon, Silver is one of the top economy source of Nevada. From Wikipedia, Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" due to its importance of silver to its history and economy.

Back to why I said tour guide, opposed to usual transportation between states in United States, we didn't drive. If you know me well enough, you would've known the fact that I ride motorcycle better than I drive, due to lack of practice on the latter. Though of course, if need be, I could. Anyway, after considering time and convenience factor, we decided to take a day tour to Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. After checking out some websites, we placed a reservation on the Grand Canyon Sunset Tours with Grand-Adventures Tour, priced at $150 per person. We got a 5% discount with discount code obtained from their page in Facebook. I like it as it was a very small tour group, only 8 of us. 6 others were married couples.

The price included breakfast and gourmet sandwich for lunch. Breakfast was McDonalds', whichever meal you want. By the way, do you know that they even serve oats in McDonalds'? Well, they do, in the States. Here's the proof. Taste wise, not bad oh.

Ok. I digress. Back to Hoover Dam. I've done some reading, Hoover Dam was previously known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch in the Black Canyon of Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada. The dam's generators provide power for Nevada, Arizona and California.

We did not go down to the dam itself, but view it from a bridge - The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. This bridge was the first concret-steel bridge built in the United States and opened on 19th October, 2010, linking Nevada with Arizona. This bridge is located about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas. It was built as part of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project.

Here's the dam from above...

and if it looked like a hot day to you. Believe me, it was seriously hot, after all, it was desert. It doesn't help that I was in jeans, this being I only brought along a shorts and a khaki pants. As we were unsure if we need to do some trekking and climbing, so canned the idea of wearing shorts. As for the khaki pants, that was the remaining fresh clean pants, not entirely wanting to wear that to a dusty place. By the end of the day, I couldn't wait to peel off the jeans and had a hot spring bath. LOL, of course, there wasn't any hot spring anywhere. That was wishful thinking.

Side note: A few blinks and Saturday is gone :(

Las Vegas: Road Trip

2011-10-14T20:41:00.000+08:00

After stuffing myself silly the day before, it was time to do a road trip out of Vegas. I really anticipated this part of the trip, it was at least something not in the city.

Though I have high tendency to doze off while on the trip, there were still times that I was awake.

As I looked at the blue sky... suddenly a certain song came to mind, something along the line, "I wonder how, I wonder why, Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky..." I don't think there's any link to anything just the word "blue blue sky" :P

I like this picture, thought the clouds looked like wolf :P

A car in the middle of nowhere...

Hmm.. just for the fun of it, a few more pictures :)

Side note: TGIF!

Las Vegas: Spice Market Buffet

2011-10-13T19:42:00.000+08:00

One of the station in Middle Eastern booth.

Remember I mentioned about top 3 buffet in Las Vegas? I went to one on our first day there - Bellagio's. Here's another one of them - Spice Market in Planet Hollywood, said to be good food with value. We had lunch, $20.53 incl tax.

Here's part of my share...

Bits of Middle Eastern and Mexican food :)

Umm.. I started on the prawns then remember I just have to grab a picture! :P

Just some of the dessert I tried - a very nice baklava, and cannoli at the back.

Oh.. and there's a pancake booth, you get to pick the fillings that you like, I shared one with friend. It was divine.

I think those cotton candy will be a hit with little kids, not the type of dessert I like though. Never really like cotton candy.

Ok.. back to the main meal's booth...
Oh.. on tray first.

Side note: Hopefully people will like the beef rendang I'm bringing tomorrow...

Las Vegas... at night

2011-10-12T17:08:00.006+08:00

Nope.. .I didn't recycle my photo from Paris last year...

People said Las Vegas come alive at night. Nothing describe it better. Even if you don't have enough time, you should always, always stay a night, just for the lights. :)

Planet Hollywood, a comfy night stay... but on/off we got lost cos it is a little big, grin.

Caesar Palace - Rome themed hotel, yup - the one in The Hangover movie.

Monte Carlo

MGM - nearest hotel when you travel from McCarran Airport, it's actually a green colour building.

Bally's & Flamingo - yea.. we walked a fair bit that night, looking for a place to have dinner.

You see the ABC sign? It's a convenience shop.

Bellagio.. looks familiar?

The fountain in front of Bellagio. The one scene that I remember from Ocean 11, where Rusty (Brad Pitt) and Danny Ocean (George Clooney) were standing in front of a fountain, and I thought that's a nice fountain - Bellagio's Fountain. My friend said with 2 good looking hunks and all I saw was the fountain. Hmm...

Side note: Is it Friday yet?

Las Vegas: Lunch Buffet in Bellagio

2011-10-07T19:53:00.002+08:00

According to our guide to Grand Canyon (that's for another post), one of the top 3 buffet in Las Vegas is Bellagio's. I actually stumbled upon Bellago's buffet on a blog and my friend also suggested about having lunch there. So there... we were there before heard about it from the tour guide. Cost: $21.50 including tax per person.

My friend went to get our first round of food, but she was nice enough to bring back some Asian food to share - a good share of cocktail prawns, fried noodles, veges. I didn't take a pic on that. Then, it was my turn. Um... in total.. I had 3 servings, excluding desserts.

Roast beef, mussel, salmon, chicken, mushrooms and some wrap looking thing has cheese filling. All were good except the wrap looking thingy but the winner were the mushrooms :p

Beef slider (unfortunately not nice), some beriyani with chicken and potato, pasta in pesto sauce, veges (trying to include some greens in my fattening diet)

And here's some of what was on offer... of course, there were more...

Choices of pasta - I like the pesto :)

Healthy wraps

Seafood..yumm

Selections of pizzas

Here comes the dessert, pretty little things... I think I unconsciously took more pictures of the desserts than those main meals :P

I had a couple of the sweets :P

Chocolate eclairs with chocolate fillings.. yumm

Napolean cake

Cheesecake

Somehow buffet lunch is much cheaper than our dinner meal. Hmm...

Side note: Melancholy Friday...

Welcome to Las Vegas

2011-10-03T13:10:00.003+08:00

Vegas seriously gave the feel of what you see on TV, somewhere where you go and had fun. LOL. Somehow I got the impression people in States doesn't think much of Vegas, but I think it served as a good long weekend away place. Also somehow it feels like Genting Highlands, magnify it a few more times, but much hotter, cos I was there right smack at the end of summer. Like Genting Highlands, it could be alright for some people, but some people dislikes it.

We took a bus from McCarran Airport to the Stripe, there were a few different ones, just pick one. Approximate $7.00 one way, maybe be slightly cheaper if you purchase a return ticket. If I'm not wrong, you need to ring to inform on pick up time for the return leg. We only got one way. Another option is getting a cab. I stumbled upon this website when I was googling prior to the trip, it gives estimation of how much you need to pay for the cab, excluding traffic jam.

Here's how the Stripe look like during the day.

We stayed in Planet Hollywood, considered as midrange. Cheaper than Bellagio's, Caesar's Palace.

It was really hot during the day, bordering to 40 degrees celcius so we spent the day roaming inside Planet Hollywood, checking out Miracle Miles shop.

Bellagio, just like Ocean Eleven.

Check out the glass blown flowers at the reception area.

Inside Paris Las Vegas

A fountain at Caesar Palace.

Side note: Still can't get the service pack 2... *grumble*

San Francisco: Hotel and Food

2011-09-30T21:33:00.003+08:00

Ok, this is going to be a long post. Though I hope not too long.

We stayed in Touchstone Hotel.
Address: 480 Geary Street, SF

Location wise - it is a short walk to Union Square area, pretty convenient.
Though I think it could be noisy at night. I am not too sure if it is throughout the whole night cos I could sleep with noise and light but I did hear some noisy on the not-so-deep sleep times.

We picked a 2 single beds, ensuite room.
As below, there was a small table and TV. Complimentary a water bottle each every day and wi-fi. There was also 2 computers for use, free of charge. We didn't book with breakfast inclusive but were given a 25% discount voucher if we eat at the adjacent deli - David's Deli.

(1) Daily Grill
347 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Reason why we were there - looks pretty good from outside, and we were starving. But I do find the food taste good. Though it worry me that people has been saying how servings are very big in US. I find it alright. Am I eating too much? Deco is pretty cosy.

Tuscan Brick Chicken - Roasted Under a Brick until Crisp and Golden Brown, Served with Herb Brown Rice and Tomato Provençal $15.95

Chicken Quesadilla - Grilled Chicken Breast, Melted Cheddar Cheese, Salsa, Guacamole and Sour Cream $14.50

(2) Breakfast at David's Deli
- umm.. not recommended, so I won't put in the address :P

Classic deli feel, food nothing to rave about. For convenience sake and 25% discount, though I still feel the price is a bit too expensive.

Blueberry pancake and coffee $15. I find the salt taste is a little too strong. From memory, salt is part of the ingredient of pancakes but I find it a little too much.

3 egg salami omelette with hash brown and side of 2 pieces of toast. Ok, that was too big portion for me. Better than the blueberries pancake, so so. $17

(3) Eagle Cafe @ Pier 39
Pier 39
Ste 103
San Francisco, CA 94133

Looking out to a nice view but shame it was too cold to sit outside to enjoy it. We got a table near the window anyway. This is also cos we were starving after Alcatraz but the food was good.

Oven Roasted Prawns stuffed with Dungeness Crab on rice. It was yummy though the garlic butter stuffing was a little too rich for me.

Fisherman's Platter

(4) Ghirardelli Cafe
900 North Point St.
San Francisco, CA, 94109

Some very delicious looking and sinful dessert. Per my earlier post, I only had dark choc sundae but my friend also had a cappuccino to go with the ice-cream.

(5) Deli Sandwich at Golden Gate Market
221 2nd St
Sausalito, CA 94965

This has got to be the best sandwich I had in the States. To set things straight, I wrote "the best I had", so don't go flaming other sandwiches out there. I don't know if all the cycling make me hungry and hence having illusion or what not, but it was really good. Yumm. Many thanks to my friend who gave up her order cos both my order were not available. But I did share half with her. :)
If you do the cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge, it is on the way to Sausalito after the bridge.

It doesn't even look much but let me present to you - Grilled Chicken with Bacon Ranch Dressing, lettuce, tomato.

(6) Delfina Pizzeria
3611 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

We had pizza in Delfina with friend's friend. This come highly recommended. I was refraining myself from taking pictures of the food, so unfortunately this doesn't have any photos to go with it. Friend's friend has been staying in SF for a bit, so this is a recommendation from someone who can be considered as a local.

(7) Farm: Table
754 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94108, United States

This is also the recommendation from friend's friend. He did mention that this is a little pricey comparatively, however considering the price of David's Deli, I think this is cheaper than David's. If I'm not wrong, they change their menu everyday. It is a very small place with only a communal table in the shop, though there were 2 smaller table outside on the walk way.

House cereal with yoghurt & blueberry. Not in picture - Latte with house almond milk.

(8) Tartine Bakery & Cafe
600 Guerrero Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

There's a Bar Tartine as well but the one we went was just a few shops away from Delfina Pizzeria. Shame there were no sandwich at that time, so I had a quiche and bread pudding. Looks small but very filling, somehow.

(9) Burger Bar
Macy's
251 Geary St, 6th Fl
San Francisco, CA 94102

We initially planned to try the Cheesecake Factory. Have you watched The Big Bang Theory before? One of the character works in the Cheesecake Factory, and silly me somehow didn't link the connection between the two till my friend pointed it out. However it was fully packed and needed at least 40 minutes wait, so we went to the nearest option - Burger Bar.

Sorry about the pictures, we were hungry and I fear if I attempt to take a few more shots, the food will disappear under my nose. Joking.

Cobb Salad - I've never had salad for a meal but this is good.

Marinated Chicken Breast burger with Jalapeno as a side - so so, looks a bit dry for a burger, doesn't quite bother me, but I know a lot of people cannot stand food without sauce.

Side note: How come the blister doesn't seem to reduce in size at all...? Bleh

San Francisco: Lombard Street and Cable Car

2011-09-29T17:59:00.003+08:00

I didn't bring my tripod with me at that time, and it was difficult to get a good shot. I hope you can see the zig zag of the street. Can you?

Lombard Street is known as the croocked street in SF. However it is not the "crookedest" street in the world or SF. The "crookedest" street is actually Vermont Street. However Lombard Street is the famous one. The well-known crooked portion of Lombard Street is located between Jones St and Hyde St. There's a cable car stop at the top end of the crooked street. However, we got there by walking from Ghirardelli Square.

The way to view is from the bottom, hence we actually walked to the bottom of the curvy street. I took the shot and ... we walked up the crooked street, just nice to take the famous cable car back, it was threatening to rain too then.

Alright, don't strain your eyes trying to see the zig zag. I borrowed a picture from here to spare the eyes. :P

By the way, there's staircase by the side for pedestrian. There are some nice houses around the area.

I took the shot above on our way to Lombard Street. Apparently the light in the middle is the light from a cable car, assisting an elderly lady to get to her house on the top right, bypassing the staircase. I don't know how true that is, but a man who was walking his dog telling me I was taking picture of his house :P

Anyway, back to the cable car. From observation, the cable cars in SF stopped in the middle of the road, sometimes in the middle of a crossroad. I actually don't know if the driver can see us waiting at the stand with all the cars parking by the roadside. But somehow the cable car did stop. I have posted the picture of cable car before, so here's two on the inside of it.

So, if you want to get good pictures of Lombard Street, I'll say try to go before it gets dark :P

Side note: It's going to be a wet long weekend :(

San Francisco: Union Square, Alamo Square, Castro & the Mission

2011-09-28T17:39:00.004+08:00

The last full day in San Francisco was spent walking and walking. We started with around city, checking out Union Square and nearby. To my shock, I thought I have blogged and included some pictures on Union Square in my earlier post under SF: City. Apparently not. I must be dreaming. = ="

So to make things right, here's how Union Square looks like.

According to Wikipedia, Union Square is a plaza bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton Streets in SF. It also refers to the central shopping, hotel and theater district that surrounds the plaza for several blocks. The area got its name because it was once used for rallies and support for the Union Army during Civil War.

There are heaps of shops and shopping centre in this area. Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue just a stone throw away from each other.

Then, it is tribute to the 'Painted Ladies'. Easily reached by bus, you can check the bus route needed on the free map from hotels.

These houses were made popular if you watched the sitcom "Full House" years back. The term "Painted ladies" is a term used for Victorian and Edwardian houses and buildings painted in three or more colours that embellish or enhance their architectural details.

There's a park right in front of these houses where you can have a picnic, or just sit, enjoy the sun and watch the world go by. Though I can feel the uneasiness if I am to live in one of these houses. Imagine every 5 minutes there's a tour bus slowing down right in front of your house and 40 pairs of eyes looking in and 30 cameras snapping away. I am in the opinion that there are people staying in these houses cos there was a postman leaving the place.

From there, we walked to Castro District. We thought of flagging down a bus along the way but as things have it, we ended up walking all the way.

The Castro, is a neighbourhood in Eureka Valley and is one of America's first and best-known gay neighbourhood. As we stepped into the area of Castro, I noticed the colourful flags all around, not in other neighbourhood. Apparently those are rainbow flag, a symbol of LGBT pride.

As you wander down the road in Castro, there's a shop called Under One Roof, address: 518 Castro St, SF, CA 94114. 100% of profits goes to HIV/AIDS organisations, and they sells cute, quirky gifts.

From Castro, we walked towards Mission District ("the Mission).

There are some good food recommended by friend's friend around in this area. And he described this building as "a lot of people come here to take picture of this building."
The Women's Building - murals and paintings of Latin America culture.

Nearby here, one can find Dolores Park. It was said hipsters hang out there.

From Mission District, we walked back to the city again. That, was a pretty long walk. Good to shed off all the food I ate though. ^_^

Side note: 2 more days to long weekends ^_^

San Francisco: Sausalito

2011-09-27T17:24:00.002+08:00

Cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge brought us to Sausalito.

Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California. Overall the road from the bridge to the port area was flat, there were bits of downhill and a little uphill.

As it was by the waters, there were nice bits of view, and some shops to keep you occupied :)

Of course you could cycled further on after dropping by Sausalito but ~~it never crossed our mind to subject ourselves to that~~ we decided to enjoy a ferry ride back.

There are 2 ferries company which operates the ferry from Sausalito back to Fisherman's Wharf. Do check the ferry schedule and where you want to travel to. There's a booth near the bicycle parking place. Depending on the time, the ferry might be going back to the Ferry Building or Pier 41.

We took the Blue & Gold Ferry departing to Pier 41, as it is located nearer to where we picked up the bicycles earlier. Tickets were sold on board - $10.50 per person including your bicycle.

It was quite a sight seeing everybody pushing their bikes to board the ferry. It's a first on, last off thing. So if you were right in front and get on the ferry first, your bicycle will be right at the front and furthest from the exit, so you'll have to wait for your turn. Also you will be reminded to have your tickets ready for inspection upon getting off the ferry :)

I have been going on and on about bicycle, here's the one I rode :)

And here's a picture to show the bicycles on the ferry. Hmm.. make sure you can recognize which was the one you rented oh :)

As of when I was at Sausalito, the public toilet was one of those temporary ones.

Side note: Sigh, looks like it is going to rain this weekend too :(

San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge

2011-09-26T17:50:00.002+08:00

This...

...is easily the highlight of my short stay in SF. The bridge, and the journey.

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge links San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. Total length including approaches, 1.7 miles (2,737 m). The pain colour is orange vermillion, also called international orange. Architect Irving Morrow selected the colour because it blends with the bridge's setting.
(source: gocalifornia & wikipedia)

It is a very touristy thing to cycle towards the Golden Gate Bridge from Fisherman's Wharf, onwards to Sausalito but it is also a very fun thing to do. Umm... yes, I say that despite my very unfit state.

We picked Bike and Roll, Jefferson Kiosk as it is nearest to the starting point of cycling path, minimal cycling on side of road. There's a cycling path starting at the end of Jefferson Street, with beautiful view along the way, all the way to the famous bridge. Here's the link of the trail map. Cost for bike rental for a day: $35

And you can see Ghirardelli Squre from far

Uphill towards Fort Mason - I had to get off the bicycle and push, true to its name - push bike :

See, I told you it's a very popular touristy thing to do

And if you want, you could dropby Palace of Fine Arts. I'm don't think I have artistic gene in me but the building looks sugoii. We didn't go though :(

At this point, you pretty much already can see the whole bridge. I stopped ever so often to take picture of the bridge and everything else that it is only short of a miracle that my friend did not attempt to kill when I was asleep at night :p

Since we didnt stop by Palace of Fine Arts, I just have to take more pictures of it from afar.
But it does looks very relaxing does it, with palm trees and all too.

After more cycling, and an steep uphill bit (even before the above picture was taken, I've already started pushing instead of cycling up. *guilty*)

But hey! The bridge was near now... I didn't give up half way :p

Alright.. one last phone on the bridge. Seriously, if I have it my way, I would've stopped so often that we will not have reached the other side till late evening :P

Of course, there's an option of cycling back (return trip) or you can take a ferry back together with the bike. Considering the fact that we would love to try how it is like to by taking a ferry, we didn't cycle back. LOL. (how am I trying to kid? :P)

Side note: How long does it take for blisters on palm to dry out?

San Francisco: Ghirardelli Square

2011-09-25T07:41:00.004+08:00

Dark Chocolate Sundae $4.62
I thought it is a little too sweet but my friend thinks it is just right. This is a little strange cos I'm the one having sweet tooth :p

Ghirardelli Square can be reached by foot, from Fisherman Wharf. More than a century ago, this square was orignally a chocolate factory, established by Domenico "Domingo" Ghirardelli. In the 1960's the chocolate manufacturing operation was sold and transferred to San Leandro.
(source: Ghirardelli Square website, you can refer there for full history)

This picture was actually taken a day after our visit to Ghirardelli Square, along the cycling path towards Golden Gate Bridge.

Ghirardelli Square is located at 900 North Point Street at the corner of Beach and Larkin Streets, west side of Fisherman's Wharf. It is near the Cable Car turnaround point at Beach and Hyde Streets. There's no way you can miss the Cable Car turnaround pointas there is a long queue to get on the Cable Car.

No more chocolate factory at this point, but you can enjoy chocolate desserts and stock up on chocolates from the shop.

As you can see, everybody seems to have the same idea as us, popping by for a dessert after dinner. You have to look for a seat yourself, hence you can see people hovering around tables like dim sum place.

A small section in the shop showing chocolate making process.

"Our candy makers will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the chocolate making process. They produce our hot fudge sauce and chocolate topping served at the soda fountain"

"1. Cocoa Bean Roasters - the outer shell of the of the bean is removed leaving beehind the kernel also called "nibs". These nibs are then roasted thus developing their unique flavor."

"2. Chocolate Mills - in three tiered mills a combination of grinding and frictional heat melt the cocoa nibs into a liquid called chocolate liquor or unsweetened chocolate as we know it today"

"3. Melanger - Granite rollers then mix the chocolate liquor with selected ingredients. These may include whole milk powder, sugar, vanilla and additional cocoa butter in varying amoutns, depending on the type of chocolate being made."

"4. Conche - conching is a final step in the chocolate making process. It smooth es and aerates the chocolate developing its falvor and texture. The chocolate is then tempered and deposited into various size models."

I've read review somewhere that it is more expensive to buy Ghirardelli chocolates at the square, and advisable to buy in Walgreens or what not. However we did check out the price in Walgreens prior and it was comparable. Also there are more choices sold at their outlet shop. I don't know if this varies from time to time or not though.

These are pretty good chocolate though. I haven't tried all yet but had the Dark Raspberry one, just nice. Not sweet but I'm bias towards dark chocolate, liking it bittersweet :P
Though the milk choc with caramel was very sweet = ="

Side note: I'm hungry but it's raining. Looks like going to pour the whole day making going out to buy lunch a bit painful... hm...

San Francisco: Pier 39 and Fisherman Wharf

2011-09-24T16:08:00.002+08:00

Travelling back from Alcatraz, we were back to Pier 33. A short walk from Pier 33 brought us to Pier 39. By this time, it was already closed to dinner time and we were famished. We only had brunch, hiked up to Pier 33 and spent time in windy Alcatraz. So, an early dinner was in order. I know restaurants in Pier 39 don't get good reviews but too hungry to anywhere else for food. Anyway, I thought I'll do it differently this time, to put that in a different post.

Pier 39 is a waterfront tourist attraction, with souvenir shops, restaurants, cruises and the all important bicycles rental place.

Apparently one of the famous thing to do in Pier 39 is to watch sealions. Hmm.. but I don't see any. Either I mata sepet or there wasn't any at that time. Hope it was the latter, cos it is said to have a lot of sealions, I must be blind if they were there and I didn't notice.

Old Port Gate

Alcatraz at far end

Further down after Pier 39, we saw a man cleaning a fish on a boat, with other people looked on. I'm guessing it might be some fishing tour or what-not. Not sure I am right or not though.

If you continue on, you'll reach Fisherman Wharf.

Being at waterfront, seafood is the thing to eat, and from my observation, quite a few stalls selling chowder.

Foggy San Francisco. So you see the street car at the side, that's the F line stret car.

Oh, by the way, SF was cold, even though end of August (when I was there) was suppose to be summer.

Side note: Huge blister on my palm...

San Francisco: Alcatraz

2011-09-23T19:31:00.002+08:00

"Break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz"

If you ask me, I'll say the first rule of going to Alcatraz is plan and buy the tickets online early. This is of course to prevent disappointment of not able to secure a ticket (I believe Alcatraz is one of the top attractions in SF), also guaranteed of not to put yourself in the dilemma of not going to Alcatraz or pay cut throat price to touts.

Hmm.. second rule is please be there earlier. Ferries to Alcatraz departs on time. Departure time is printed on the tickets, you'll need to make the ferry prior to the given time but can leave any time as you wish (of course before the last ferry)

Ferries to Alcatraz departs from Pier 33, which is a short walk after by taking F line Street Car or cable car. At the point where we were going to Alcatraz, we thought it could easily be reached by foot. We could, but I'll say allocate more time. We started by strolling from Union Square area, by the time we reached Chinatown, we realised we only have 10 more minutes prior to ferry depature. It doesn't help that it was all uphill from there.

See the tower? That's Coit Tower. The walk from Chinatown brought us passed by the foot of Coit Tower. My heart sank when we reached the end of the road as shown on the map. So near yet so far. From there, it was climbing some flights of staircase and run towards Pier 33. We made it just in time.

Ferry ride from Pier 33 to Alcatraz takes about 15 minutes, with beautiful scenary of Oakland Bay Bridge.

Once reached, there was a short briefing. We joined one of the free talk called "Escape from Alcatraz". Apparently there's a movie called "Escape from Alcatraz", starred Clint Eastwood. I have never heard of the movie, maybe I should give it a go. I've watched "The Rock" though. :P During the briefing, they asked "Has anyone escape from Alcatraz aside from Clint Eastwood?" Haha.

Also, it is said that one could hear the cheering and wine glass toasting during New Year in SF city from Alcatraz, making prisoners' life even more difficult. So near yet so far.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Alcatraz.

Recreation Yard

Barracks/Apartments

The following are pictures taken in Cellhouse, while listening to the Cellhouse tour.

Shower area

Dining area

Inside one of the cells

Side note: I don't feel like eating my own cooking :(

San Francisco: City

2011-09-22T17:26:00.004+08:00

Buildings with fire escape staircase located outside of the building as above is a common sight. Dotted all over the city. I like it, I decided that they have a distinct character :D

And the next thing that caught my attention, was these newspaper 'vending machine'. Those that you see all the time on TV. I don't know the exact term to describe them but it works like a vending machine anyway.

Speaking of San Francisco city, here's the city hall. I realise city hall are usually beautiful, eye catchy buildings, everywhere.

And... this statue is opposite City Hall, unfortunately I can't remember the name of the statue.

On the other side of the city - Chinatown with the usual arch .

A man playing er-hu in Chinatown, SF - the largest outside Asia.

Side note: Camera is back home and looking good. Yay!

San Francisco: Transport

2011-09-21T17:37:00.005+08:00

My first flight with United Airlines, not the most enjoyable flight. Main reason being there was no individual inflight entertainment. Food was less tasty compared to some of the other airlines food. Getting to Sydney Airport wasn't the most smooth sailing, for the first time after more than 2 years, I took the wrong train. = ="

Anyway, fast forward all that. Touching down in SFO, strangely enough it felt very much like Australia. The food court in the airport, the feel of all of it. Hmm.. not quite what I expected. However, once we stepped out into the streets in the city of SF, it no longer resemble Australia. :)

One of the easiest way to get to the city is via BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). We had reserved for a ensuite room near Union Square area. To get there via BART, the station is Powell St. (SF), one way cost $8.10. Return fare was $16.20. It is not any cheaper if you decided to get return ticket or one way. Ticket can be purchased from machines, and you set the amount you want put in your ticket, based on your travel. Sorry, no picture on BART. In my haste, the picture is not clear :(

As we are in the train topic, let me introduce another type of transport - the ever famous cable car.

I confess, all these while I stupidly think that cable car must be those hanging in the air, going from a lower end to a higher end or vice versa. So I was quite surprise to find that this famous transport is referred to as cable car initially. We reached SF on a Saturday and the queue to get on this cable car was very, very long. I read somewhere that the queue to get on a cable car is always long, unless you are game to wake up early to be one of the first passengers. So they said early bird gets the worm. Despite it is a form of transport but considering the long queue and the cost (one way $6), it is not very feasible to use it as a frequent transportation.

Next up - street car

We used these a fair bit, certain stops have a lot of tourists but its cheap and help in getting to places. Cost $2 and good for 90 minutes. The F line Street Cars run pass the touristy places.

Muni Passports are good for unlimited rides on Muni including cable car, does not include BART. The prices are quoted on their website, I'm not sure if they are still uptodate cos we didn't get any. We found that paying as we go with the 90 minutes grace period were more cost effective. That being said, we only took one way of the cable car.

Aside from all that, the waitress who served us during lunch said that the best way to see San Francisco is by foot, of course :)

Side note: I bite the bullet and admit my beloved camera to the shop. Keeping fingers crossed that everything will be alright soon with the cost involved.

Stepping in to the States

2011-09-20T18:14:00.005+08:00

Map courtesy of Lonely Planet.

So... I am still in the stage of keeping myself awake later so I stop waking up at 4ish everyday. As to why 4ish.. I have no idea, considering is 10 hours difference. Anyway, the story started when a friend invited me to join her trip to US. A new continent for me. The route as above - flight to San Francisco - Las Vegas (day trip to Grand Canyon) - flight to Washington (transit in Atlanta) - train to New York - back to Sydney via Los Angeles (transit)

Despite it being an 'easy' destination, considering it is an English speaking country and all.. there are some big differences. Or I learned...

1. Tipping/Gratuity - it is already difficult determining if need to tip...
Do you need to tip when you buy something at the counter because they have a tip box but you dont exactly receive a service... or do you tip the concierge who keep your luggage but they didn't carry it up the room...
There are some receipts that gives some suggestion of tipping depending on excellent, great or good service... but I don't think the service is good, do I still tip then?
Ok.. so once you have decided that you should tip, then there's the question of "How much?"
(I can't advise further on this, haven't quite work out this thingy :)

2. Tax - what you see is not what you pay. Be prepared to pay a certain percentage of tax on top of the price shown, this includes food in restaurant, goods in supermarkets. Not only that, the tax percentage is different from state to state, apparently also on the amount spent. At this time it is above 8% in both California and New York, 5% in Washington DC.

3. Pounds vs Kg, Fahrenheit vs Celcius
Luggage limit 50 lbs equivalent to approximate 23 kg

4. Coins denominations
Unlike the usual - it goes as 1 cents (penny), dime (10 cents), quarters (25 cents)

5. Overall - I find people in SF are more friendly, whereas generally New Yorkers including sales assistants are grumpy. So, they say NY is big, fast paced city, hence the unfriendliness, but I find people in Tokyo are still pretty much friendly and nice.

6. It is said that SF and DC are popular places for gays

7. There are cute guys in DC. Even the waiters at where we once had brunch were good looking :P [reality is a very cruel thing, for all I know all the good looking guys I saw maybe gay]

8. Starbucks must be the national coffee place. It's everywhere, at every block and corner! And Starbucks are good locations for free wi-fi :D

9. SF are much laid back, you'll be people wearing jumpers walking about. So me in hoodie and backpack very much blend in. In NY, everybody dressed up much better, in trench coats, nice overcoats. I stuck out like a sore thumb with my backpack... but I stuck to it for the benefit of my shoulder.

10. I might not say this if I am still working in Malaysia but with better spending power, I would say US is a great shopping destination, even for someone like me who doesn't shop a lot.

11. Overall - US is not a cheap country to travel

12. NY is not fun on rainy days.

13. My friend remarked that there isn't enough rubbish bin in NY, though later on I notice there are heaps of rubbish bins along 5th Avenue.

14. People have been saying that food portion in US is very big, and can be shared by 2 person. Hmm... I seem to think it is alright. Makes me wonder if I have been eating wayyyy too much than I should.

15. There's no security check to enter casino in Las Vegas :P

Side note: Umm.. I'm getting sleepy again....

Lake Macquarie and Newcastle

2011-08-22T10:32:00.000+08:00

Lake Macquarie is the largest coastal saltwater lake in Australia, at 24km long, four times the size of Sydney Harbour and located between the Central Coast and Newcastle.

It is promoted as a location for aquatic relaxing holiday with activies as cruising on the lake, mountain walks, lakeside dining and shopping.

When first planned, it was meant to be an overnight stay in Lake Macquarie. Somehow, the accommodation were rather pricey. So we canned the thought of staying overnight. Till now I am not totally sure if we actually gone to the right place (I mean where all the activities are) but it doesn't seem very tempting. We were quite relieved that we didn't book for a night's stay.

As said, I am not totally sure if we were at the hype touristy location , in fact I don't exactly have any cool pictures of Lake Macquarie. :P May I should've asked my colleague, heard she has a holiday home in Lake Macquarie.

Trip to Lake Macquarie was not successful, hence to make the drive a little more worth it, we popped by Newcastle. I had memory of being rather sleepy at that time, not too sure why but.. anyway..

Newcastle is also famous for its beaches, and can be reached by Cityrail.

I believe there are quite a few tours to Hunter Valley departs from Newcastle. Don't take my word for it, cos I have not been to Hunter Valley :P

Back to Newcastle being famous for its beaches, there were a lot of people doing paragliding when we were there.

We walked to the end, near to the waters... I remember it was a rather long walk

And we saw big vessel with some tug boats...

Side note: Yay for AI fish curry... ^_^

Hawkesbury River

2011-08-20T15:42:00.003+08:00

One of the short breaks idea given in NSW Short Breaks book from the VisitNSW holiday planners is Hawkesbury River. And no, I did not undertake so many breaks in short duration of time, this was a while back but feel that I haven't been blogging much on Sydney, and this current place where I call home at the moment deserved more mention.

So, while lazing on the couch, with Detective Conan anime running, a mug of coffee, I looked up on some picture folders filed away and found a couple of places that I could write about.

First up - Hawkesbury River.

The introduction given in the holiday planner as this is location an hour's drive north-west of Sydney. From the early 1790s, the farms of the Hawkesbury River Valley were crucial to the colony's early survival. The remaining of the introduction, you can read from the link itself.

I remembered the day we were there was gloomy, and it rained. Not a brilliant day for a day out. From memory, at least to me, there wasn't much to do. More of those rest & relax holidays, perhaps with a cruise and wine in hand sort of break.

By the way, Hawkesbury River can be reached by train, with the station name of the same - Hawkesbury River.

We didn't go on any cruise, just wandering about. In fact, we didn't stay very long.
Anyway, here's some pictures... with gloomy weather :P

Side note: I caved in and bought the bag :P

North Sydney Market

2011-08-17T19:45:00.004+08:00

I'm so slack lately. Sometimes to the extend that I'll do my groceries after work on Friday night, and ~~nua~~ hibernate over the weekend. On rare occasions, I'll drag myself out for the sun. Last Saturday, was one of the rare occasions that I dragged myself out... to the North Sydney Market. It so happened that one of my classmates in Japanese class mentioned that she is manning a stall in the North Sydney Market regularly and we could pop by to visit. I used to visit the North Sydney Market, which was a stone throw away from where I used to live, now... I frequent the Kirribilli Market :P

North Sydney Market is located at Miller Street, next to the Stanton Library, every 2nd Saturday of the month, from 9am to 3pm. I thought I'll walk a bit... to absorb some Vitamin D.

I thought the gate looks nice... if I'm not wrong, the building is a church

Roundabout at Milsons Point

Bridge connecting the City to North Shore

First sign of Spring? Doubt it though..still very much in winter

Graffiti at one of the back lane leading up to North Sydney

Banner showing the North Sydney Market is in operation

Kiddies clothes on sale

Middle Eastern looking cloth on sale. Don't take my word for it though...

More clothes

Scarves... was tempted ... but I didnt..

Sri Lanka dishes - 4 vege dishes at $7, 4 vege dishes+1 meat (choice of chicken or mutton on the day I was there) at $8. The lady even offered to refill before I take the pictures, but I told her it's alright :P

Glutton me also bought a piece of the finger food ($3, though I'm not sure if all were priced the same) to munch when walkabout.

Back to dropping by to say Hi to my friend... I can't seem to locate her stall. Haha. When I saw her a couple of days ago, she described the neighbouring stalls and guess what, I remembered all of them, but somehow didn't see her. I must be mata sepet = ="

Walking away from the market... there's a red phone booth where I spent a lot of 50 cents and phone cards calling mom

Buildings opposite the market, thought the contrast colour looks nice

... and drumroll... here's the building where I used to stay.. for at least 6 months.

Side note: Am tempted to get this bag in stone colour. :P

Random Sunday Night

2011-07-31T19:20:00.002+08:00

Was googling about flying home and some domestic flight... tried my luck using one of those website that crawl through all the airlines and ended up = ="

I was contemplating of SYD-SIN-AOR... and to my horror.. the website actually suggested flying from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur but transit in Jakarta, then from KL to Alor Setar. Ummm... beyond me how that could happen = =""

Anyways, I'm now fluffing on the couch, with the TV playing "The Devil Wears Prada", and me typing away. Prior to that, I have been cooking up a storm. Lately I've been adopting the method of cook-the-whole-week's-dinner on Sunday night. So tonight I cooked fish curry (hmm.. ended up a bit too sour to my liking, must've put too much lime), prawn cooked with black soy sauce, sugar & a dash of sake (can't seem to find back where I initially found the recipe), stir fry bean sprouts, stir fry lettuce with dash of mirin & soy sauce, potato in lime+sugar+black soy sauce, of course 2 cups of white rice cooked using rice cooker. Hopefully it will last me till Friday, have been cooking a lot more compared to last week, which unfortunately only lasted till Tuesday.

Anyway, its Bank Holidays tomorrow... I offered to work, but boss said too many people working, so I have to take the holidays tomorrow. Hmm... I didn't expect that :P

Alright.. done rambling...*yay for non working Mondays* :)

Side note: waiting for off peak time..

Golden Kiwi

2011-07-27T18:01:00.002+08:00

My recent fruit quota is being filled with mandarins and golden kiwi. Unlike the usual green kiwi, this taste better, and I have not tasted a non sweet golden kiwi yet. Unfortunately, this cost much more than the green ones.

Side note: Keeping my fingers crossed for leave during Christmas period..

Adelaide 3 Hour City Walk

2011-07-14T05:36:00.000+08:00

Ok.. first things first. I don't know how long this walk takes. It's the title of the walk, from a visitor guide I picked up in Adelaide, called Adelaide and Attractions Visitor Guide. I tried it out but skipped some places and I did not enter any of the buildings, exception to the Adelaide Arcade.

It is called Enjoy Adelaide on foot via Rundle Mall and North Terrace. I didn't go according to the numbers though :p Unfortunately for you, I'm putting this up based on how I walked :P
Gomen ne.

I started on this walk after travelling back from Glenelg. I took the tram to the station nearest to my starting point, at North Terrace. That's the number 1 on the map.

No - this is not in the list. Just the tram stop.

First up - Holy Trinity Church (1). This is the State's oldest church, also the first Anglican church in South Australia. A feature of the church is the fully restored clock, which was made in 1863 and shipped from London.

I accidentally walked to the wrong side of the street, so I missed West's Coffee Palace (2), Tattersalls Hotel (3) and Edmund Wright House (4). I did see The Beehive Corner (5), in fact the corner shop was the local chocolate place - Haighs but I didnt realise that at that time, so no picture :P

From Holy Trinity Church (1), I walked on to Adelaide Train Station (not in list).

At the front of the Railway Station, there's a sign saying "Adelaide Casino This Way".

I turned in and walked towards the Festival Centre (20). Before that... here's what was found outside.

Looking down from Adelaide Festival Centre (20), was this bit of greenery. Pretty inviting I would say but due to limited time, I really want to finish the walk, to see what's on offer, I canned the idea of wandering off too far. Oh, the bits of greenery is call Elders Park

Retracing my steps, I headed back to the main street and ticked off the next in line - Old Parliament House (22). South Australia's original Parliament House.

Next to it, the Parliament House (21). According to the guide, said that the first part (western portion) opened in 1889. Remainder was completed in 1939.

Next up - Government House (19). Here's where things got a bit fuzzy cos I don't seem to see the Government House but it has to be there, according to the map. But the area in front of it looks pretty :)

Then the National War Memorial (18)

Crossed the road to the State Library of SA (16). Behind it situated the Migration Museum which I skipped.

Next to it - SA Museum (15)

All the coming buildings are all in one stretch...

Art Gallery of SA (14)

Adelaide University (13) - there were a few buildings, all under the wing of Adelaide Uni.

A slightly newer looking building - University of South Australia. I like it though, a different flavour to all the brown buildings :P

Then, passed the Royal Adelaide Hospital, to the end till you reach Botanic Gardens (11)

Right across the road is this Botanic Hotel (not in list)

I crossed the road and cut cross by the side of Ayers House (10)
The narration from book - From 1855 until 1897, Ayers House was the home of Sir Henry Ayers, premier of South Australia. The house was used for parliamentary dinners and grand balls. One of the Adelaide's grandest stately homes is filled with outstanding antiques, furniture, chandeliers and decorative arts. With a spectacular $1.6M upgrade, Ayers House also features picturesque gardens.

I strolled along Rundle Street till Pulteney St, turned right to Ruthven Mansions (7) - Adelaide's oldest apartment block, built in 1911.

...and Scots Church (8). Built in 1850.

Then I was back to Rundle Street Mall stretch. There was a beautiful Adelaide Arcade (6), built in 1885, with fountain at the outside.

I bought a pair of jeans on sale here... and missed the famous pigs of Rundle Street Mall.. cos I went into Myers to use the bathroom and back out on another exit... totally missed it.. oh well... can't be helped.

Side note: Phew...that was long....

Glenelg

2011-07-13T06:31:00.000+08:00

Glenelg is about 30 minutes tram ride away, a town by the seaside. It was great that I was there when the sky was blue! :)

Am pretty sure there are buses which service to Glenelg but I love trams. LOL. Trams within the city area are free of charge. Nearest tram station to Glenelg from the hostel I stayed in was the one at Victoria Square.

This tram station was situated right in front of Hilton Adelaide. No.. I'm not doing advertising...and I didn't stay here.

I was the jakun who got on the tram and asked around on how do I pay for my ride :(
However the few people I asked were tourists as well, so they didn't know either. I then found the conductor...haha..he told me to take a seat first and he will come to sell the tickets in a bit. I then realise because the tram ride is free in the city area, he only started collecting after the tram is out of the free service area. So there... if you read this, you wont be jakun like me :P

Day ticket $8.60

Reaching Glenelg, a very short walk from where the tram stopped, was this building... with palm trees, indeed very beach feel. The Information Centre is located inside this building.

I then had a stroll along the beach, there was some life guides event at that time.

I wonder how much these apartments cost... :P

A little further away from the Life Guides event, still at the beach area.

I decided that I would do a walk around the town before treating myself to lunch.

Treat to myself - Fish & Chips... it looked like only chokeful of chips but there were fishes, at the bottom. Had initially wanted to try to have lunch at the Glenelg Jetty Hotel but they don't have a menu on display outside, hence I wasn't too keen to enter.

Side note: I think I still need my dose of wedges or maybe... fish & chips :)

Kangaroo Island: Flinders Chase Visitors Centre & Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

2011-07-12T05:57:00.001+08:00

Flinders Chase National Park is one of Australia's largest and earliest conservation park. We were given a bus tour to feel how big it is... but a stop was made at the visitors centre. That was actually the last stop, as mentioned on the itinerary but the driver/guide told us that if we are quick, he will squeeze in another location to see koalas and kangaroos. I admit it was a nice gesture, especially to travellers outside of Australia :) (but yes, rest assured, I have experience of seeing koalas & kangaroos many times)

I was the last again getting on the bus from the stop for Admirals Arch. Don't know what that happened, I was last but I was on time. So... it must be the rest who came back earlier. Anyways, I was very determined not to be the last again, second last would be fine :P

Anyway, back to the Visitors Centre. Many bought coffee, they have a small coffee takeaway place, also selling souvenirs and stuff. I bought a bottle of water but what caught my eye was this.

I honestly thought, "Hey, chocolates!"... till I saw the sign :P

Oh... I wasn't last :) I was third last, lucky that the cashier who served a couple at the next register to the one I was queuing up was a tad bit slower. So I got lucky.

We were treat to an additional stop - Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. And it rained.
:(

Koalas were high up on some of these trees, but it wasn't fun when it was raining and I don't have an umbrella with me, and jacket wasn't really waterproof.

The other attraction was these Skippies here...

A couple who offered to take a picture of me together with these kangaroos were quite surprise I told them it's alright. LOL, guess I wasn't really in the mood and yeah, I have had photos with kangaroos. I'm actually quite scare of them. The one staring straight at me looked very much like it would jump and give me a huge kick.

That was the last attraction stop for Kangaroo Island Highlights Tour :)

Side note: Woke up this morning thinking about Eastern Europe... its totally random thoughts..

Kangaroo Island: Admirals Arch

2011-07-11T05:19:00.000+08:00

Like mentioned earlier, this is a short way from Cape du Couedic Lighthouse. The bus passed the lighthouse, but stopped for us to have a stroll in this spot.

This is a natural Arch formed by erosion from the pounding sea, and is the breeding ground of New Zealand Fur Seals. It's a bit of a nice walk but we were told not to stop but walk straight down till we reached the stairs and to the end, which translates to you got limited time, so don't fluff about. :P

I tried hard not to be the last to get on the bus again... but I can't ignore the sights and not take any pictures, can't I?

Though I did listen to the guide, on getting to the end first. Here are some pics on the way...

Prior to reaching the end of the Arch, I got distracted with a seal, resting. Hmm... somehow, this place has the animal smell, compared to Seal Bay, I don't know why though.

This was not the end of the walk yet... there was more to go... If I wasn't travelling with the tour, I was pretty sure I would've taken much more time strolling around.

Alright... here's where we were told to head to by the driver/guide.. It is pretty isn't it?

And a little seal looking out at the sea :)

Side note: Sigh...

Kangaroo Island: Cape du Couedic Lighthouse

2011-07-10T07:59:00.000+08:00

I feel a little cheated that this is included in the tour highlights.. cos it was viewed from the bus...and from far cos we hopped by to Admirals Arch (which is short walk from there).

I know the lighthouse is not open for tours but just feel disappointed. :(
Anyway, this lighthouse was built in 1906. So this also explains why this post is totally short.

Side note: Does sinful food really makes people happier?

Kangaroo Island: Remarkable Rocks

2011-07-09T19:19:00.003+08:00

I wanted to have a crepe, loaded with fruit and cream but the shop was closed. I wanted to have wedges, dipped in sour cream and sweet chilli sauce together with big mug of coke, totally guilty food but it was sold out. So here I am, having a mandarin and a mug of ovaltine, watching tv and the scene was showing the girl eating fries. *roll eyes* It's totally unrelated but I'm not feeling too happy peppy since yesterday. Am glad it's the weekend or a blanket day is definitely in order. Anyway, totally unrelated to this post. In fact, this post is suppose to be remarkable, after all... it's the Remarkable Rocks. *crows flying past* Alright, lame joke.

I'm copying this from the information leaflet handed out by Sealink Kangaroo Island tour that I took.

Remarkable Rocks are a cluster of granite boulders, sculptured by the
weather and perched on a granite down rising steeply from the ocean. You can
take a walk around these huge rocks that have been carved into many different
weird and wonder shapes by the wind and the ocean spray over many centuries.

Views around the rocks...

Walking towards the said rock

This was where we headed towards...

Let me present to you... the Remarkable Rocks...

Like the usual tour, the guide will remind you on the time you need to be back. The same as this one, strangely enough when I was about to get off the bus, the driver/guide specifically reminded me not to be late. In my little heart, I was thinking to myself, "Do I look like those trouble maker who will be late?" Umm.. I spoke (or rather think) too soon. I was the last one to get back. The consolation - I was with another couple, walking back rather briskly together, just that I was the last to get on the bus :P

Side note: Suddenly feel like having tomato-ey stuff... cheesey tomato bake rice.. yummm..

Vivonne Bay Bistro and Australian Birds of Prey

2011-07-01T20:18:00.002+08:00

Regretfully, no picture of this lunch meal. I was unfortunately of not able to secure those 2 person table and hogging the whole table to myself... was in fact, had to sit at the 8 person table, so out of effort to behave less strange, I refrained myself from snapping pictures of the food.

First meal was vegetable soup, which was warm and toasty. Kept us warm. That followed by some selection of food from a short buffet bar. There were coffee or tea to end the 2 course pre-paid lunch. Anyway, the lunch was at Vivonne Bay Bistro, which of course was located in Vivonne Bay.

A short stroll from the bistro, there was this Flight Presentation of Australian Birds of Prey, including eagles, falcons and owls. Apparently, Dave Irwin (who is a relative to Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter) gave a small talk regarding the birds before the flight presentation which I missed, cos was loitering a little too long at the food bistro.

Anyway, here are some of the birds...

And this little owl here, was really friendly. She was hopping from lap to lap of everybody who sat the front row...and I was seated on the front row :D

This, however is a picture of here, sitting on the lap of a elderly gentleman next to me.

Side note: Wonder why the washing powder is running out so fast lately = ="

Kangaroo Island: Penneshaw and Seal Bay

2011-06-26T15:33:00.006+08:00

Jetstar is offering sales tickets to Osaka and Tokyo again. Uggh.. it drives me crazy every time I see those sales. I want to go to Japan!... but the travelling time are selected dates from September to December this year. I must keep in mind of this sales next year if I want to go to Japan during autumn next year.

Anyway... I got distracted... easily. Back to Kangaroo Island. Ferry brought us from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw.

Getting off the ferry, there were people directing the ferry passengers to respective day tours operators. I headed towards the Sealink. There were a few selected tours, so after a quick confirmation, I hopped on the bus.

Journey from Penneshaw to Seal Bay actually took quite a while. Along the way, scenary were not bad but sky looked gloomy, threaten to rain again.

The bus drive who also acted as our guide gave some introduction along the way, at some point, he pointed out for us to looked out and see kangaroos roaming freely. So there are kangaroos in the wild, not in parks. Have yet to see any while koalas though. My colleague's partner who is from the UK reckons koalas don't live in the wild... think sooner or later, I have to agree with him :P

Seal Bay is home to the third largest breeding colony of Australian sea lions. It is said that these sea lions usually spend 3 days feeding in the sea and 3 days on shore resting, that's where we were going to see those sea lions.

Apparently, the guide said we would spend about 40 minutes seeing the sea lions. I thought to myself, 40 minutes sound decent time. However, I have to say I was rather disappointed, and I am not too sure if we did spend 40 minutes, it was totally short visit. We barely stepped to the beach.

~ look at the hanging bridge, asking to be explored!..but we didn't go anywhere near

We were to move in a group, led by a guide from the park... on a wooden plank walkway, heading towards the beach. Where we saw these 2 little sea lions playing. They were very far away actually...

At certain point... this far away...

At at nearer view, were this family of sea lions... to which when I showed my friend, she commented, "Look like a family of sea lions commited suicide"
= =""

Then, we were all told to head back. On the way back, I saw this sea lion.. this was the closest view I saw. Actually, the sea lion was looking straight up to a little girl, sort of inviting her to play. I just so happen to walk past near the little girl. Lucky ^_^

Side note: Hope the sleepy spell has worn off...

Kangaroo Island: The Beginning in Cape Jervis

2011-06-24T05:45:00.000+08:00

I was undecided if I wanted to take a day tour to visit the Kangaroo Island. It was expensive, the price is equivalent to my return flight ticket from Sydney to Adelaide, which supposedly was on sale. Though of course, a slightly higher sale price considering it was a long weekend.

Anyway, considering that I might not return to Adelaide in the near future, I decided to bite the bullet and made a booking. Reason for daytrip - I was travelling by myself, it may actually be cheaper than me driving and all, and of course, I don't exactly have a license to drive in Australia. Also Kangaroo Island is a bit of a pain to travel about without motor transport.

I booked my Kangaroo Island daytour with Sealink. Sealink actually runs the ferry between mainland and the island. My choice was the Kangaroo Island Highlights Day Tour. Many recommended on staying for a couple of days, however I have only 3 days and I am not willing to spend more than this on Kangaroo Island or Adelaide. This tour includes pick up from hostel/hotel to Cape Jervis where we continue our journey by ferry to Penneshaw of Kangaroo Island. Then back to a bus for touring around the island and the return journey.

After a very early flight to Adelaide the night before, this day tour is a very long tour. I was picked up from the hostel I stayed in at 6.15am. Reason being time included to pick up other passengers, and from Adelaide to Cape Jervis about 90 minutes.

I hopped on the bus when I was still fuzzy from sleep, in a still dark morning sky. Most of my fellow tour member were couples. That's the downside of tours I suppose.

When we reached Cape Jervis, the sky has brighten up. I treated myself a cup of coffee and tuna bun I packed earlier. Still can't get how people travel in style with a tiny little handbag, when just a camera has hogged up all the space, let alone some snack, bread, water bottle, beanie....

~ View to accompany a skim flat white

On board the ferry..

~ doggies are allowed on board

~ the front of the ferry, looking out to the destination

~ A small counter selling some food and drinks

2 kids on board of ferry were teasing a doggie by dropping a dog soft toy of the floor. Not the doggie in picture, another doggie...

Side note: Hibernating over the weekend...

Adelaide: Central Market

2011-06-23T17:05:00.002+08:00

Central Market in Adelaide is one of the most visited tourist attraction in South Australia. And from this website, it is said to be the largest fresh produce market in the Southern Hemisphere. I don't know how true this is as I have got the impression that it took me longer to wander through Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. Maybe in terms of fresh produce market it is.

Anyway, you can even register for a guided tour when visit this market. I didn't, was just wandering about by myself. However, do note of the opening hours, just in case you turn p on Mondays and Sundays and it is closed.

I bought a most unlikely thing at this famous fresh produce market in Adelaide - sweat pants. Umm.. not from the fresh food stall of course, but yeah.. a little unlikely purchase. It is winter now and at that point of time, it was rather cold and I thought it is a good buy, to sleep in anyway.

I was very tempted to buy some German sausages back after those very yummy sausages in Hahndorf but I dare not risk it. It's raw food after all, and Australian Custom is not very forgiving about bringing food even across states. It may be alright but I'm not prepare to risk it.

I did however, grab an apple pastry and a doughnut for dinner the next day.

Side note: Just one more day to go...

South Australia: Beerenberg Farm

2011-06-22T17:43:00.004+08:00

Beerenberg is German for 'Berry Hill'... unfortunately I was there in June, where all the strawberries plants are pretty much bald. It is said that Beerenberg hillsides are covered with ripe strawberries from late October to early May. In fact, I think the big attraction of visiting Beerenberg Farm is picking your own strawberries during the strawberry season, with a small fee of $3, free for kids 13 years and under.

Botak strawberries plants when I was there, in fact it was with gloomy sky. I make good use of my daytrip ticket, taking a bus from bus stop 55 to bus stop 57.

The farm shop was empty, aside from one lady manning the cashier... and me. There were other things on sale aside from strawberry jam like chutney, honey, sauces, dressings.

There are different sizes on sale, from big to little ones. Also those 'rejected' on lower price. 'Rejected' meaning it doesn't fill up to the usual volume, etc. They used another term for it but I can't remember it.

Everybody else who visited the farm shop drove. I must've been this strange lone girl who went there on a bus and then stood at the bus stop, by the side of the road, in the rain waiting for the bus to come. I dare not stand under the shed, just outside the shop as I would not be in time to flag down the bus then. Anyways, all's good, it was not pouring like cats and dogs. A friend said am I try to prove that I can withstand the cold or am I not scare to get sick. Huh? Of course not. There were no intention of such. Probably developed some sort of immunity over the years of riding the bike in the rain, not by choice either.

Anyway, so there... not exactly visiting the farm, more so the farm shop :P

Side note: Got to stop all those snacking after meal :(

Hahndorf: A German Settlement in Australia

2011-06-21T17:35:00.003+08:00

Hahndorf is located in Adelaide Hills, and is one of its most famous town. It is also Australia's oldest surviving German settlement. I can't comment if it really resembles a German town as I have never been to Germany before, but it is a lovely town. Technically, the main attraction is Hahndorf Main Street, where shops line both side of the street, including some quirky shops and German bakeries.

To me, Hahndorf sounds like a popular day trip destination... but strangely, when I asked the lady at Tourist Info in Adelaide Airport on public transport to Hahndorf, she didn't know. She seem troubled that I was going to do it as a day trip and suggested that I joined a day tour. Me? Nah. I was pretty sure there are public transports to Hahndorf. I thought I'll ask at the backpack place when I checked in. They were a little better, at least they know there are public buses but said it is a difficult to get to. I wasn't too convinced and I found the best place to ask - Adelaide Metro :)

And you know what? It was heaps easy to get to, right outside Adelaide Metro at Currie Street, bus no 864 and 864F at stop E1. And since I'm going on about public transport... Adelaide Metro is great, and the best thing is a daytrip ticket at $8.60 - covers everything serviced by Adelaide Metro - trams, trains, buses. How cool is that... none of such thing in Sydney, unfortunately :(

Getting to Hahndorf by bus takes approximately 45 minutes, get off at stop no 54. This is somewhere near bus stop 54 - some sort of winery/restaurant from memory.

Not too sure if this is someone's house, but I find the hanging bicycles interesting. :P

Along the streets, were some nice shops to explore and poke about.

~ This reminded me of Moo Moo Gal... hence the photo :P

St Paul's Lutheran Church at the opposite end of the street.

It started drizzled at this time, opposed to what the weather forecast showing sunny days throughout the long weekend. Oh well, I suppose it was a little different, what I saw was forecast for Adelaide, this is in Adelaide Hills. So there... see the weather forecast but bring your umbrella, which I didn't. No umbrella, no raincoat, no poncho. However, the lucky thing was it was pouring heavily.

I walked back down the street, it was time to warm myself up with pipping hot, hearty meal. Nothing better than some German sausages in Hahndorf :D
I had my meal in Bistro 25.

~ very yummy venison sausages, served with sauerkraut and purple cabbage.

~ yummy lunch complete with hot chocolate.

I spend the next few minutes waiting for a bus going up the street, at this bus stop, opposite of Bistro 25. Not the building... just the bus stop :P

Next stop - Strawberry Farm

Side note: I feel like a slug. I don't know why but am really tired. Maybe cos I'm stuffing myself silly with snacks after meal? Doubt it is related...

An early flight to the south of Down Under

2011-06-14T18:04:00.002+08:00

I worked really hard on weekdays, worked on Saturdays and when I thought the rough days were easing away, I got myself into working on a database which is 'side dish' to the usual day to day work. I justified to myself that after all the hard work, I'm entitled to a holidays. I called it one of those cuti-cuti Australia. One thing evident, cuti-cuti Malaysia are way much economical than cuti-cuti Australia.

I'm in the midst of collecting Australia's state capitals, at current count, I still need Hobart and Darwin. As I was going to travel on a long weekend (Queen's Birthday), flight tickets on Friday night and back on Monday night is way expensive. As I raked up a day in lieu from working on a few Saturdays (a few hours here and there), I decided to request if I can take the day in lieu on Friday instead. It worked out the cheapest way to fly is the earliest flight on Friday morning and back on Sunday instead of Monday. On top of that, I would save a night of accommodation as well.

After the very long-winded explanation, that is the reason as to why I get shots like this from the flight.

Side note: Brrr... cold...

Happy Dumpling Day

2011-06-07T19:32:00.003+08:00

A day belated, but happy dumpling day to all, nonetheless. Since I stepped into Kangaroo Land, I have not had any homemade dumplings or bak chang (whichever your preference to refer it as). I still remember the year I came it was a couple of days after Duan Wu Jie and one of my friend brought me some homemade dumpling.

And.. that was the last of yummy dumpling. Last year, I tried to join the bandwagon of eating dumpling on the day itself, and got myself one. It... was horrible. I didn't take any picture though. This year, I thought I'll give it another chance. I bought not one, but 2. Hmm..

One is pork with salted egg, the other chicken with mushroom. I would've only got one if they make one with chicken+salted egg+mushroom. Anyway, I tried the one with salted egg first.

Seeing the pale colour of the dumpling, my heart dropped. I was not hopeful that it would be tasty. Oh well..it wasn't but being brought up not to waste food, I finished every bit of it, dousing with a spicy ABC chilli sauce. That was a big ball of rice with only 1 piece of pork about 1cm x 1 cm x 1 cm, 1 piece of pork fat of the same size (which I don't eat), 1 piece of salted egg and the yellow bean that you can see. I am not exaggerating though I don't have pictures to prove cos this is the only picture I have on that dumpling.

I kept the other dumpling till yesterday. This one was the chicken with mushroom dumpling.

If you think the dumpling looks quite tasty, I welcome all credit on my photography skill. If you think otherwise, it is not my lack of skill but how the fact is. In fact, I can't seem to remember seeing any mushroom, maybe it has been chopped to small pieces a mixed together with the minced chicken.

So there... if you have any intention of making yourself disliking dumplings or bak chang. Welcome to Sydney, buy some and eat them. I assure you that in time, you will grow to dislike this specialty food on Dumpling Day.

There may be some good ones that I have not encounter but my colleague at work who seem to know where to find all the good deals and food have not found any yet either. So, I'm not hopeful.. and mind you, I paid $3.50 for each one of these dumplings.

So there.. despite my ramblings on dumplings. Hope all had a great day anyways :P

Side note: The line is always scheduled to be on trackwork when I really need to catch the train.

Balls Head and Berry Island

2011-06-02T18:29:00.002+08:00

Sometime end of last year, I bought a book - Sydney's Best Harbour & Coastal Walks. Its full colour guide to 37 walks. Some of them I've done it over and over again, especially the ones that crossed the Harbour Bridge. Anyway, I decided to kick myself out of the house and did one of the walk. My pick this round - Balls Head and Berry Island. It was Walk number 19.

I took the train to Waverton, armed with a couple of leftover cookies I made the week prior (oh..maybe should blog that up sometime :P) and stopped by to grab a takeaway skim flat white. Funnily, at a cafe called The Grumpy Baker.

From there, I walked up to Larkin St, passing the Waverton Park.

Continuing on, and veered into the former BP site.

Initially, I thought the BP site was just that... as I walked on, I found there is much, much to it! Also to my surprise, I've been there, during the 7 Bridges Walk. Haha.. didn't know what it was called at that time :P

There was this viewing deck...

... looking out to this beautiful view of Sydney.

Haha.. there was 10 pit stops... and all that was just the first one. I sure took too long to move on :P

One from the Berrys Bay.

From there, I followed the course down to Old Quarantine Depot.

Pit Stop 3 - view from Balls Head Reserve.

Looking over to Cockatoo Island.

Some random flower to practice my macro shot

After making a loop at the Balls Head Drive, I was back at Horace Street, heading to HMAS Waterhen. Heading down to that, Oyster Cove.

Where the rich people have their nice boats...

Then I continued onward to this place call Badangi Reserve... and I got a little confused with the track.

It said, low tide - go via beach, otherwise, heaad to Millars Road. Initially, I attempted going down low tide track... just that the track sort of disappeared. I can't seem to get down to the edge of the headland, and I can't remember where exactly I walked from, after all it was all trees and bushes. No track to be seen. That was when the iPhone worked wonders - with google map and compass. Retraced my steps in a beat.

Got to Berry Island from the high tide track. I did the Gadyan Track, was starving by then. LOL.. I must've spent my own sweet time taking pictures :P

The suggested route of getting back to Wollstonecraft Station is via the long winded Gore Cove Track. It was surprising a very nice, calm and green track. I enjoyed this part of the walk very much, it is unexpected that this... is in the middle of North Shore :)

Oh... and to end it, I rewarded myself with a yummy Lebanese Chicken Wrap for lunch :P

Side note: I need Microsoft Access Graphs for dummies.. :P

Manly to Spit Bridge Walk...almost

2011-05-27T19:42:00.003+08:00

Suddenly realise I didn't write about Sydney itself as much as I should... so here is one of the walks I did with a friend sometime last year, the scenic Manly to Spit Bridge Walk.

We took a ferry from Circular Quay to Manly one fine Saturday morning and started our walk there.

~ Some random view of buildings taken from the ferry

The return ferry tickets itself, isn't cheap. The walk is said to be about 4 hours. You could either start at the Spit Bridge, or Manly. We picked the latter.

I believe this is still somewhere in Manly Cove.

Hmm.. let's not try to pinpoint where I took all those pictures... :P it was a good walk.. but boy, I am so unfit.. :P

Haha.. and no, there is no picture of Spit Bridge... cos we didn't reach the bridge :P

Side note: Want to attempt another walk tomorrow... will see how it goes :P

JAPAN: Kingdom of Characters

2011-05-23T06:30:00.000+08:00

... now in Sydney, umm.. since 8th April. Ending this 28th May though... enough time to dropby still :P

It is organized by Japan Foundation Sydney and here's the link. Admission is free. Before you build up your imagination that it has a few rooms of exhibition, there isn't. It is a small scale exhibition but there are, however some life size characters on display :)

I won't go into details of the exhibition, it's on the website but here's some pictures, taken with phone. Forgot to bring my camera to work, I went after work on a Wednesday evening (open until 8.30pm on Wednesdays)

Japan Foundation is strategically located in Chifley Plaza, in CBD. Can consider to drop by either during lunchtime or after work :)

Side note: To go or not to go..

Short eating trip to Perth

2011-05-22T08:44:00.002+08:00

I was back to Perth, after my first visit in 2007. This was a much shorter visit, only around Perth, main objective was to bring my mom on flight from Perth to Sydney.

Sis and bro-in-law's hospitality was top notch. Prior to my departure from Sydney, my lunches and dinners venue has already been set. The only miss was the squid ink pasta. Well... there's always next time then.

Late night supper the night I touched down in Perth Airport - apple strudel from Corica. I flew on Saturday night, no thanks to Jetstar which re-scheduled my flight from Friday night to Saturday night, they cancelled the Saturday morning flight. Anyways, back to the apple strudel. Corica does not open on Sundays, so sis bought it on Saturday morning and I had it for supper. LOL :p

Pardon the photos, it doesn't do any justice to the taste. I was too eager to dig in. It was awesome.

I didn't do much on the 3 days there, totally pigged out - literally eat and sleep, with minimal walks. Seriously.

Lunch on Sunday morning was dim sum, didn't take any picture, too hungry then. Pizzas from Little Caesers Pizzeria's was set for dinner on Sunday night. We travelled all the way to the shop in Mundaring. 4 savouries pizza to feed 5 people, and another 1 sweet pizza as dessert.

One pizza missing as it was with background of people busy eating, so I decided to omit it. Unfortunately, I didn't jot down what pizzas we had, and there are too many varieties, umm.. I can't remember the name :P

I believe this is Janes Addiction (garlic prawn, mozarella, cream cheese, lemon) but I could be totally wrong

CBGB (sauce, mozarella, garlic, chicken, seeded mustard, brazil nuts, capsicum, onion, roasted butternut pumpkin)

BBQ (bacon, shaved ham, mozzarella, chicken, pepperoni, bbq sauce)

Black Forrest (choc cherry cake, dark chocolate, icing sugar, vanilla ice-cream, cherry syrup)
This is for serious sweet tooth, eating the pizza without ice-cream won't last you very long. The ice-cream mellow down the sweetness of the chocolate, surprisingly :P

Duck rice for Monday... and a home-cooked meal before flying off on Monday evening. I'll be back for squid ink pasta! :P

There you go, my eating trip in Perth.... with just a little stroll in the city. Very little.

The signature black swan outside Perth Train Station.

Side note: Is Kangaroo Island worth it?... *ponder*

A walk in the Capital

2011-05-12T20:24:00.001+08:00

Little P said I stopped blogging after I finished the Japan trip series, and that to promote more posts, I should go travel more often. LOL.. *ponder

Anyways... I found myself back to Canberra, ACT. Hmm.. not that there are a lot going on there for me to go back again and again. Despite my 3rd visit to the capital of Australia, I have not step my foot at the Australia War Memorial. This trip was more so of running an errand, an important one.

I took a Murrays Coach this time round, and googled up on public transports in Canberra, as I did plan on going to the Australia War Memorial (as there wasn't much choice left) and Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets, just because it was a more feasible distance destination. But no, I ended up walking the whole time I was in Canberra, no buses, no Australia War Memorial and no Fyshwick Market. Blame the weather, it looked so threatening to rain but it didn't *roll eyes*

I stayed in Rydges Lakeside Canberra, after being conned by google map. I promised when I first googled it, it told me this said hotel is on the same side as Malaysian High Commission. Just like this...

Walking direction and it's 3 minutes away! I was a happy girl. Note the 'was'. Imagine my horror when I reached there.. and it told me walking time about 45 minutes (from memory). I googled many, many times and it told me it was 3 minutes away.

Despite coaches stop at the other side of the city, I decided that I would stay in this 3 minutes away from Malaysian High Commision hotel, in spite of not so good review in tripadvisor. By the way, those reviews are pretty much hit on the spot, nice lobby but the room were old. Overall it was clean but the carpet makes me tip toe when I walked and hotels in Australia doesn't provide slippers.

So, in the end, I spent 15 minutes walking to the city where they have the big Westfield, and 45 minutes to Malaysian High Commission. Also, as I did not bring my mobile charger with me at that time (thinking it was only a night), and didn't want to risk getting lost or late the next morning, I tried walking 45 mins there...and back (another 45 mins).

The whole trip pretty much revolved around me walking back and forth :P

Behind Rydges Lakeside Canberra, there was this little bridge, the beginning of the walk towards Lake Burley Griffin.

See.. there's the hotel, even the building looks yellower than the rest of them.

From small bridge to bigger bridge. View from the bridge.

The lake itself!

Parliament House from afar

Back to the main road after a stretch of walk by the lake.

Crossing the big bridge which connects the 2 side of Canberra.

That was the bridge that I just walked crossed.

The other side of the lake.. Canberra Nara Peace Park

Don't play play, this led to where the embassies/consulates/high comms... I was unsure, looking at the little path...that was what google map said (when it was showing the correct distance.)

Destination.

Side note: I must be more productive tomorrow! Ganbaro!

Kyoto: Shichijo-dori

2011-05-02T09:54:00.001+08:00

Lunch was simple Japanese curry rice at ココ一番 (Coco Ichiban). However, it was not short of effort. After missing having it in Akihabara a couple of days before, as well as in Nara. I take note of the location of ココ一番 shop in Kyoto when I passed it whilst on the bus.

The location was reaffirmed on my walk back to Capsule Ryokan Kyoto from Sanjusangen-do Temple. I did not visit Sanjusangen-do temple, it was about 8pm then, I hopped off the bus at what I thought was a nearby bus station. LOL. I suspect it would've been nearer walking back from Gion straightaway the night before. I put it down as getting to know Kyoto better ^_^

Here's how some part of Shichijo Dori looked like.

I had pork curry the last time, this time around I wanted to try エビにこみカレー (prawn curry)

...with a side of soft boil egg.

After lunch, with some more time to kill, I walkabout around Kyoto station.

This is a little random but ... here's a picture of washroom in Porta, a shopping complex adjacent to Kyoto train station.

I am very impressed with the hooks provided for hanging things. How cool is that?

~ Umm.. yea, I succumbed to peer pressure and got a bright pink beanie, but credit given for keeping the ears warm.

By this day, the precious 14 day JR pass had already expired. I got myself the JR Kansai Area Pass for 2,000 yen as Haruka Limited Express to Kansai Airport (non reserved) cost 2,980 yen one way. However one cannot use any shinkansen or other limited express using this pass.

I returned to Capsule Ryokan to pick up my fatty backpack and things, shed all the layering before walking back to Kyoto Station to board Haruka 31 bounding for Kansai Airport.

I was sooo tempted to get an ekiben and eat it on flight. LOL.. but didn't in the end as flight was 8ish and I could grab dinner in airport, then brushed my teeth. :)

Last meal in the Land of Rising Sun, Ebi Tempura donburi.

Side note: Alright... thank you for reading my very long-winded journal on my Japan trip undertaken in January. I might randomly write other stuff ... but that's another story...

Kyoto: Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮) & Tenjin-san Flea Market (天神さん)

2011-05-01T08:49:00.000+08:00

Breakfast of the day - パターフレーキ

As I finished breakfast, a fellow traveller hang out in the lounge room and we had a brief chat. He was also travelling by himself, a South Korean financial analyst but coincidentally working in the same street in Sydney. LOL but no, we didn't exchange contact. I'm not very good in making friend, aren't I = ="

It was his first day, my last day though :(

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine Flea Market, or commonly referred to as Tenjin-san Market, held on 25th of every month on the grounds of historic Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮). Different websites give different operating times, but approximate 6am/7am to 4pm.

It was at the northern area of Kyoto, nearer to Kinkakuji. I remembered being on the bus forever, I must've got on one of those slow bus.

First morning snack of the day.

There were a few selections. I had とりもも串(100 yen). とり being chicken but I wasn't too sure what もも meant. Not willing to risk eating some internal organ or what not, I fished out the trusty phone and checked. Grin, もも = thigh. :P There's no yakitori on chicken breast meat or I would've got those.

Tenjin-san being a flea market, housed many stalls selling pottery, old kimono and obi, antiques, tools, etc. Of course, there were no shortage of food stalls.

~ Big wok of oden on cooking

There were even plants on sale.

My second morning snack - sakura mochi. I have always been curious about sakura flavour. It was pretty good.

Beautiful piece of mochi, isn't it? I was not too sure about eating the leaf as well, so I asked. Haha.. yes, the whole thing can be eaten. :P

I bought a packet of 七味 (shichimi), the elderly couple who manned the stall was so friendly that they even gave me a candy just for buying the shichimi. :)

How could I travelled all the way but not visit the shrine as well? Here it is... Kitano Tenmangu Shrine.

Not too sure what this is called, but from observation, people will touch the statue and then a relevant part of their body. Example, touch the leg of the animal statue, followed with touching their own leg. I assumed it is to cure some pain of the body.

Side note: Why the chiffon cake I baked don't look like chiffon cake? = ="

Kyoto: Gion

2011-04-30T00:44:00.002+08:00

I found myself in Gion, twice. First time with Moo Moo Gal and Ms Mo, second time myself, after travelled back from Amanohashidate.

Unconsciously, I actually missed lunch but was glad I had remaining swiss roll in my bag as snack. By the time I reached Kyoto, it was time for an early dinner. As I wanted to be in the 'golden time' (approximately 4.30pm to 6pm) to catch a glimpse of maiko or geisha, I had a quick dinner in a small shop in Kyoto Station, very near to where I got off Hashidate train.

Kakiage soba, 400 yen. Simple but delicious, look how clear the soup was. Different from the little shop in Hiroshima station where we had to eat standing, I get to sit for this one. Ordering as usual, to indicate soba or udon, and pick up my choice of topping, in my case - kakiage. A new popular soba/udon shop has opened in Sydney with this type of operation, I have yet try but it's in the list to visit.

Stepping in the main street in Gion, it was difficult to imagine how one could meet any maiko or geisha. It was bright, with stretch of shops on both side of the road. Hmm..

This look more of a probable place hor, a little quieter...

Anyway, I later (before my second visit) found out that one has to hover around some particular street, and not some Tom, Dick and Harry street - it was called, 花见小路 (I think it's read as Hanami-koji).

I reached there somewhat 5ish. I loitered about till 6pm, I think. I saw only one maiko, and I think she was not a real one, just dressing up. It was a blur photo too - it did not help when the camera's battery is dying, she was walking, it was dark and I didn't want to flash, so I won't post it up here.

On another note, when I was in Gion the first round, there was some sort of festival called Toka Ebisu (January 10 Business Success Festival). A lot of people were carrying a bamboo branch plant. According to JNTO website, it it said that buying a good luck bamboo branch and pray to Ebisu, the patron deity of commerce for success in business.

Hence, there were stalls set up and mobile toilets to which I'll leave the story to Moo Moo Gal :P

Here's some pictures on the stalls.

~ toffee apples or in this case, りんごあめ

~ Takosen, I read that they break the takoyaki and smeared it over wafer biscuit. I didn't try though, next time!

~ たい焼き (taiyaki)

Side note: Hehe.. I did get those Tobira textbooks from Junkudo bookshop in Kyoto, right before they closed for the day ^_^

Amanohashidate (天橋立)

2011-04-29T07:41:00.002+08:00

I initially planned to take the 1.52pm train back, as no change of train needed. That... was a wishful thought as there is no way it could be done if you walked across 'the bridge'.

One of the very first thing you will see is a boat pier - Ichinomiya Station. The boat leaves at interval of approximately 15 minutes, I think it is worth a check on the time before heading off to the viewing park, especially considering the infrequent train.

After a few days of good weather, the sky threaten to rain and it did - rained and snowed. :(

Armed with a map I got from the tourist info office at the train station earlier, I walked towards Kono Shrine for cable car/lift.

This is Kono Shrine... and to get to the cable car/lift station one have to walk through the archway and by the side of the temple, which is a bit weird but.. oh well.

I got myself a return ticket (640 yen) from a vending machine, hoping to go up with a cable car and return on a lift. Luck not on my side, the lift service is closed for maintenance. Only cable car was available.

Despite all the hype on how beautiful Amanohashidate is (and yes, it is beautiful), to me, the surrounding of the viewing park was kind of let down. It just doesn't jive, like a wrong jigsaw puzzle piece. I got out of the cable car, up a flight of staircase, went in a souvenir shop and out on its "balcony" - welcome to Kasamatsu Park.

Here's the viewing spot, where you stand and view the sandbar upside down through your legs - a practice call "matanozoki". Back to the name of the place, Amanohashidate - Bridge in the heaven. By view it upside down through the legs, the sandbar was as if crossing the sky, in a way :)

~ this one to show what mata nozoki is.. in case I make no sense :P

Yes, I did that but at the same time worried I would toppled over. :P

Despite I have reservation about the viewing park, there is no doubt it was a beautiful sight. Even the gloomy weather added to the magic.

In Kasamatsu Park, there was a similar wisdom ring.

Speaking of that souvenir shop, there was a chirimen postcard size picture on Amanohashidate which caught my eye. I was tempted, but I didn't buy it. I could've so kick myself now. Hmm.

After taken enough photos to my content, I took the next cable car back to Ichinomiya. There were shops along the way.

~ These blowfish (fugu) ward off all kind of evils (such as sickness, bad luck, etc)

I decided to take the boat on my way back - one way cost 520 yen. Thinking back, I think the weather was kind to me. The weather was pretty good on my walk. Only started to rain after I finished crossing the sand bar :)

Two ladies bought a small packet of prawn cracker on sale at the boat pier. I thought they were going to eat on boat, but no. They fed the birds from the boat.

Those birds chased the boat we were in for a bit till all the snacks were gone.

And so, I obviously missed the 1.52pm train I intended to. I love the JR pass... cos I casually hopped on 3.04 train bound for Shin Osaka. I thought, oh well, I could easily get another train back to Kyoto from Osaka. LOL. In fact, I slept on the train and only woke up when it stopped briefly in Fukuchiyama. Seeing a lot of people got off the train, I thought I would to and hey, I found a connecting train to Kyoto. *Lucky* :)

Edit:Forgot this very eye catchy manhole :)

Side note: Oh.. looks like blogger has been fixed ^_^

Amanohashidate (天橋立): Nearby Sights and 'the bridge'

2011-04-28T07:33:00.002+08:00

I didn't get a shot of the famous busy Shibuya crossing... but here's one crossroad on my way from Capsule Ryokan to Kyoto Station. (Mental note to self: More attempts to find a seat in Starbucks in Shibuya which is said to have the best view of that crossing and watch the world go by)

Breakfast for the day - swiss roll with coffee before I make my way Amanohashidate.

Amanohashidate or "Bridge to Heaven", is actually a 3.6 kilometers sand bar planted with 8,000 pine tress. This sand bar spans across Miyazu Bay on Tango Peninsula in northern Kyoto Prefecture and it ranked as one of Japan's three most scenic views (nihon sankei) along with Matsuhima in Miyagi Prefecture and Miyajima in Hiroshima Prefecture.

It takes about 2 hours to get to Amanohashida from Kyoto. Hashidate are direct trains from Kyoto to Amanohashidate with a brief stop in Fukuchiyama.

I took Hashidate 1 which had 7 cars. Car 1 and 2 were reserved seats, car 3 to 7 were non reserved. However car 5 to 7 stopped in Fukuchiyama and not proceed to Amanohashidate. I am not sure if it happens to all trains but worth to confirm before boarding the train.

JR pass does not cover the whole train ride, only up to Fukuchiyama. I paid 1380 yen (one way) from Fukuchiyama to Amanohashidate. The conductor only collected the fare at Fukuchiyama as it was covered by a different company.

There was a ticket sleeve at the train seat. I later observed the person sitting at the opposite seat left his ticket on the sleeve so that the conductor did not need to wake him up to check the ticket.

As the travel to Amanohashidate took some time, one may want to also visit some other sights.

Chion-ji Temple Monju-do which popularly known by saying "Out of the counsel of three comes wisdom of Monju". This gate said to call the Golden Tower.

Next to this temple, a few tea shops sells a popular delicacy, a type of mochi - Chie no Mochi (Wisdom Rice Cake).

Kaisen-kyo (Rotary Bridge)

Likewise the name, this bridge is said could rotate. I didn't exactly see it in action but I think it works the same like Pyrmont Bridge.

View from the bridge...

Nearby to the bridge, one can find "Chie no Wa" (Ring of Wisdom). It is said that you may grow wiser after you pass through the ring three times (not sure exactly if it meant to throw a hoop over it or literally passing through it). There was another one at the Kasamatsu Park viewing deck.

The beginning of the walk on 'the bridge'

Yeah, I walked crossed the sand bar and awarded myself with a can of hot chocolate drink. :P

Pine trees and beach partly covered with snow. The photo on the title bar was taken in Amanohashidate, when walking cross the sandbar.

The blog post is getting a bit too long, I'll split it to another part.

Reference: Japan-guide, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Ama no Hashidate View Land

Side note: *Yawn*

Osaka: Namba and Shinsaibashi

2011-04-27T14:24:00.000+08:00

I found myself back to Osaka for the neon lights which we missed the previous trip. Back to familiar changing of train to reach JR Namba Station.. as well as Namba Walk.

This time, the aim was to find a bookshop as I wanted to buy textbook for my course. The selling price in Australia was two times the retail price in Japan... some daylight robbery. So, since the timing was right, I am willing to lug the book back. I googled and found that Kinokuniya is nearby, also that most smaller scale bookstore does not carry foreign books or textbooks for foreign students. Since I did not have map on Osaka, I thought it would be good to drop by the tourist info centre and get one. Little did I know, it took me ages to find that tourist info office, that I lost count the times I walked back and forth in Namba Walk. = ="

~ Namba Walk is not pasar malam ok. It's an indoor place with mazes of shops and lanes, connected by trains and subway.

The good news was, I found it and they suggested that I try Junkudo Bookshop, one of the biggest bookshop available. It was lucky that I asked, as it was very, very near JR Namba Station. Definitely easier to get to compared to Kinokuniya in Osaka.

I tried my very best to locate those textbooks (and thank you to my sis and Little P for texting me the details of the books) with my limited Kanji. Unfortunately, Junkudo in Osaka didn't carry the book at that time. The helpful shop assistant checked and found that their branch in Kyoto did have them in stock and asked if I want it to be reserved. I didn't know if I would have time to go pick them up, so I didn't.

I spent so much time hovering in Namba Walk, ended up having my dinner there as well - エビフライド＋カツ丼　(Ebi Fry + Katsu don)

Thereafter I walkabout Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi.

~ outside Hotel Dotonbori

~ a passerby was staring as to why I was taking picture of it... hmm.. am I weird or he is weird?

Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi gave a feeling of とてもにぎやか. Here's some pictures on the vibrant neon lights.

And one last one.. of the pretty manhole

Side note: I wish today is Saturday!

Arashiyama (嵐山)

2011-04-26T12:17:00.001+08:00

I came out of JR Saga Arashiyama, not too sure where to start walking. It was a little random turning into a smaller lane but I went ahead.

Before that, a picture of the map:)

Along the way to the main street where tourists headed to...

The biggest attraction in Arashiyama was likely the Path of Bamboo.

It was a serene, long walk. At the side before the start of Path of Bamboo, was a little shop selling food which I made note of. An alternative to walking, one could rent a jinrikisha, transportation coupled as guide and photographer.

A short walk after the end of bamboo path, was this pond.

There was heaps of temples around the area. I did not enter any of them though.

Around the area, were also signs indicating directions. I decided to use another route to get back to original spot, not retracing my steps.

I was starving after the bamboo walk, and decided to treat myself to some 甘あげそば (amaagesoba)

It was only 300 yen but smaller portion comparatively. That was alright though, cos it gives me tummy space for snack which I picked up right next to the soba shop.

Snack in the form of ホット芋 (hoto imo), sweet potato with black sesame. It was delicious! Bet Moo Moo Gal will like it.

After settling the hunger, I walked down the road, the opposite side of Path of Bamboo. On the way, one can find Randen Arashiyama station. Around the station area were eateries and shops, there was also public toilet.

Aside from Path of Bamboo, I wanted to see the Togetsukyo Bridge, which translated as Moon Crossing Bride. This bridge spans the Oi River in Arashiyama. Many jinrikisha could be found hovering around this bridge looking for customers.

Side note: Long weekend ending :(

Warabimochi

2011-04-22T14:19:00.001+08:00

I first learned about warabimochi here. Don't know what has gotten into me then that prompted me to sit down in a tiny eatery in the grounds of Kiyomizudera to have this snack with tea.

I mean, I wanted to try warabimochi... but I also know that eating in such a tourist attraction place would be much more expensive compared to other places... but I just walked in and ordered this delicious piece of mochi. :P Must be warabimochi voodoo of some kind. :P

Warabimochi is very much different from the usual mochi. The texture is more jellylike compared to usual soft chewy.

I found that it is not made from usual glutinous rice flour but instead bracken starch and coated with kinako (sweet toasted soybean flour).

So there, if you do not like mochi because of its texture (though I cannot see how and why people can dislike mochi), at least there is a type of mochi that you might like :)

Please do give it a try and you'll be surprise how tasty this little thing can be ^_^

Side note: Love this long weekend!

Kyoto: Jishu-jinja Shrine

2011-04-19T18:21:00.002+08:00

As I wandered around the grounds of Kiyomizudera, I saw an archway leading to a shrine.

Another shrine next to the grand Kiyomizudera, that's not out of ordinary.

What unexpected was to find a Love Shrine, or rather a shrine dedicated to Okuninushino-Mikoto, Japanese God who is in charge of love and good matches. The rabbit beside him is a messenger of the God.

There is no explanation as to why the messenger is a rabbit and not tapir or pig or cow or koala. But koala way out of line since it is such representation of Australia. Anyway. I digress.

As mentioned, Jishu-jinja is a Love Shrine. Charms on sale were love related.

As you can see, the charms were of higher end of cost. Don't know why charm to 'deepen relationship' and 'good marriage' is cheaper than bind your love tightly. Too late for me to get that now. I don't know if these works, didn't get any to test it.

When I was there, a group of girls where looking at the charms and teasing their friend on buying one. Grin

One the many Gods worshipped in this shrine, here's Okage Myojin, said who will answer the prayer, whatever it is and believed to be a guardian deity especially for ladies. I made a wish at this one :P

Next to this, one can find Love Stone, or called "Love-fortune-telling" stone.

It is said if you walk safely from this stone to the other with your eyes closed. Your wish will be granted soon. If you can't it will be long before your love is realized. If you need guidance to to finish the walk, means you will need a go-between with future love.

I'll confess. I tried walking to the other stone with my eyes closed.. but I cheated, opened my eyes a little at one point fearing that I would knocked into other people. However, strangely, during my attempt, nobody was walking around the area. So I potentially could've succeeded in walking safely with eyes closed, but... oh well ;)

Side note: Now all is left is wait... till 29th

Kyoto: Kiyomizudera (清水寺)

2011-04-17T08:45:00.003+08:00

I could write a whole new post on Kiyomizudera, because I paid for entry (300 yen) for this temple, rather than just look see look see from outside. :P

At the very entrance...

Kiyomizudera or translated as "Pure Water Temple", takes its name from the holy water of Otowa Spring. I won't type the whole thing out, but here's a picture on the story how Kiyomizudera got its name.

To me, I think this temple has a different feel, being up the hill and of wooden structure.

Queuing up to enter the temple...

Wash hands before entering temple... with a nice dragon statue.

Kiyomizudera, with background of Kyoto Tower.

Here's how the temple looked like looking up from the bottom of temple.

Prior to leaving the temple grounds, one could have a taste of the holy water. The Otawa Waterfall is located at the base of the main hall. There were 3 streams of water flowing down, visitors could either use the free cups attached to long poles to drink from them or buy a cup on sale and attached to a long pole. Free cups were cleaned via infrared system.

Japan-Guide website, it is said each stream have different benefit - longevity, success at school and fortunate love life. However drinking from all 3 streams is considered greedy. Hmm.. I don't know which strem represent what. I didn't know that at that time I was there, in fact I can't even remember which stream I took the water from. LOL.. but I did remember being worry I would drop the pole. Lucky that didn't happen. *phew*

Side note: Wish me luck for speaking test. Exams makes me worry

Kyoto: Getting to Kiyomizudera

2011-04-16T20:10:00.000+08:00

As I only spent a day and a half previously in Kyoto, I resumed my adventures in Kyoto terrorizing Kyoto by myself.

From a very informative file provided by Capsule Ryokan, I learnt that I could get to Kiyomizudera by a bus station just around the corner.

I took a picture of the bus stop sign, which very funnily caused me to get off the bus in a totally wrong bus stop later on. = ="

I left ryokan rather early, and there were many notes mentioning that Kiyomizudera could be crowded with day trippers later in the day.

I had a bit of trouble locating the direction to walk after got off the bus. Then, I realised there was a little sign showing the way.

A smaller road leading uphill.

~ hey look! 4 t-shirts hanging out to dry.

A sign that I didn't get lost was souvenir shops starts to dot on both side of the road leading to the temple as I get nearer.

Some of the shops were just opening. Haha.. a sign that I was rather early :P

Oh look! They have those crepes here too!

Side note: Please God, please let me pass my IELTS tests. I don't want to retake

Tokyo Banana

2011-04-15T17:08:00.003+08:00

I stumbled upon this banana snack when I was googling for food to try in Tokyo before my first trip.

I saw it all over in shops in Shinjuku train station then but as my travel buddy ~~didnt like~~ swear off bananas and all banana flavoured food. As for Australia, I might not know what can be bring in or what can't but one thing I remember reading - bananas are prohibited at all cost, regardless of what form they are in - banana cake, banana cracker. So I'm pretty sure Tokyo Banana will be dump in the bin if I attempt to bring it in.

I didn't see any Tokyo Banana when walkabout Tokyo with Ms Mo and Moo Moo gal, but fate had that I see them right before I boarded on shinkansen to Kyoto :) The best part was, it was a 4 piece packet. Hehe.

The shelf life was approximately 1 week, like most of the snacks sold in Japan. Tokyo Banana has custard banana filling. Not a bad taste though as it wasn't too sweet, which is good. :)

Each of the bananas were individually packed.

And sitting on a banana shaped plastic tray.

Dig in!

I had this and a mug of coffee for breakkie before leaving for Kiyomizudera.

Side note: Had my height measured for a medical exams and I was told I'm 1 cm shorter than what I always remember. How can! = ="

Unagi Donburi at Haginoya

2011-04-14T15:19:00.000+08:00

I walked back to JR Nara station, planning to get back to Kyoto and have an earlier night. Grin, I was easily distracted. Saw a plastic replica of unagi donburi on a display cabinet outside of a eatery - Haginoya

I had not have unagi in Japan yet then. I argued that taiyaki and karaage were just on tray. Haha.. so I went in and was told to find a seat.

Was a little disappointed that it was full house, so I came back out. When I reached the reception area, a lady came out and told me there was an empty table. :)

I grab a seat and then an elderly uncle came in. There was no other available tables. The earlier lady asked if I mind sharing the table with the uncle. I didn't and the uncle didn't mind either. Fate had it that right after that, everybody seem to have finished their meal and left. Seriously, the uncle and I were the only 2 person left. Haha.

The lady asked if he or I wanted to shift table, we didn't. So I had my dinner sharing table with the uncle. I already made up my mind before entering the shop - unagi donburi for me. There were 2 types of unagi available in that shop, from memory Grade A and Grade C. Grade A being the more expensive one... and I had the Grade C unagi (980 yen). Uncle ordered unagi donburi as well.

Uncle was very patient, still willing to have little chat with me despite my very poor Japanese. :P

And I unbashedly told uncle that I was going to take pictures of my food :P

See the tsukemono served together? It is called Narazuke pickle, a specialty of Nara. Uncle told me that. I had a bite, it was a bit salty to my liking but I finished it all.

Halfway through our meal, an Asian solo traveller to which I suspect from Taiwan came in. Upon ordering, he brought the lady to the front of the shop, I think to show her which food he wanted. Food plastic replicas are great that way isn't it?

Uncle told me that he was also from Kyoto, travelling to Nara for the yamayaki and has been attending it for every year. He used to work in a bank for 40 years, retired at the age of 60. Uncle was surprised that I was travelling by myself at that time and asked if my parents were worried. I told him no, cos it is in Japan and Japanese are kind. He laughed. :P

I could tell that solo traveller was laughing away. = =""

It so happened that all 3 of us went out to pay for our meal together. The fellow traveller was behind me and said “会讲日语真好。” That what why I guessed he is from Taiwan, from the accent. Though I have no clue why he laughed at me when I chatted with uncle. = ="

I bowed to uncle a little and we went on opposite direction. Both the other traveller and uncle were heading towards the Kintetsu Nara train station which I walked back to JR Nara Station.

Side note: I'm so simple. Little things like this made me happy. :)

Wakakusa Yamayaki

2011-04-13T19:58:00.002+08:00

This was the reason why I set to go to Nara on the same day I travel back to Kyoto from Tokyo.

When I reached Wakakusayama, the event haven't started yet.

I was initially told by the nice lady at tourist info reception on certain grounds to be a good place to view fireworks but I wanted to see the event as well. So I lingered around Wakakusayama.

Around the festival area, there were heaps of food stalls.

Hehe... I caught sight of taiyaki and wanted a snack :P

I wanted to try taiyaki with other fillings but unfortunately only left red bean left. I bought it anyway.

The other thing I aimed to get was these cute little deers.

I was so determined to get them that I went in shops after shops and scanned for them. Very focused that I went in the shops holding my taiyaki fish snack. When I finally saw it in one of the shops, I put my fish on one of the food box on display and grabbed a couple of them. Someone came along and wondered who left a fish there :P Hehehe.. this is call glutton shopaholic in action :P

When I came out of the shop with my loot, I saw a procession arrived at the base of mountain, carrying the torches.

The prayer was in session for quite a while and together with all other people, I was standing in the cold waiting for it to end.

Imagining the prayer still going on... Yamayaki is a event originally due to boundary disputes among temples. It is held on 4th Saturday of January yearly and postponed to the next Saturday if the weather does not permit.

Then came the fireworks!

It actually went on for a while, among the fireworks were shapes of animals and everybody trying to guess what was it :) I didnt get any of those though.. cos I was trying to have a guess too :P

After fireworks ended, fire from a bonfire is used to set the grass on the mountainside alight.

Everybody was watching in awe.

Another one.. from roadside.

I barely get any good shot, it didn't help as I am short and it was at night. Almost all of the photos I got are with people's head or camera
= ="

On my way back, I thought I would just grab some food along the stalls and skipped a big proper dinner.

Then I saw karaage, thought I might not have other time to try, so I grab a small one (300 yen). Somehow I got butter-fingers-syndrome and dropped a piece = =" (it MUST be the cold weather... and not because I was clumsy)

My first experience of a festival in Japan :)
It was a good one

Side note: *yawn*

Around Nara

2011-04-11T19:50:00.005+08:00

~ Look! Pinocchio is in Nara!

Walking straight down from McDonalds after a satifying Ebi Burger lunch, I reached Sarusawa-ike Pond.

Across from this pond, was a long flight of staircases leading to Kofuku-ji Temple.

Kofuku-ji Temple is located in Nara-koen Park and built in the early 8th century by the Fujiwara clan.

~ The Eastern Golden Hall and Five Storey Pagoda

I was waiting for the lady to move on but she did not. Now that I look back at this photo, maybe it pretty good with her in it. LOL

~ Northern Octagonal Hall

The grounds are free but Kofuku-ji's Treasure House and Eastern Golden Hall charged an entrance fee. I only hover around the grounds. Getting to Todaiji Temple from Kofuku-ji Temple, I passed Yoshikien Garden.

I am pretty sure there are other places to visit in Nara, and one of the recommended landmark is Kasuga Taisha, which is known as Nara's most celebrated Shinto shrine. Unfortunately, it was getting dark and more importantly, it was getting to 6pm and I want to be at Wakakusayama then.

Following to route from Todaiji, I proceed to Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shrine.

Oh look! Deers were having a group discussion.

Source: JNOT ,
japan-guide

Side note: Keeping my prayers with Japan