We are headed for Tokyo next weekend, and I can't wait! This time round, the mister has most admirably done all the planning, so I get to be a lemming and just follow his directions. Here's the lemming routemap, at a glance:
Day 1 - Hello Japan! Lemming HQ at Shinjuku.
Day 2 - Enoshima Island, Kamakura
Day 3 - Kawagoe
Day 4 - Tsukiji, Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara
Day 5 - Ginza, Tokyo, Odaiba
Day 6 - Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya
Day 7 - The lemmings return to Singapore
I hope next week flies by! :D
身边有很多朋友的生活都在改变，也不知道是环境变了，所以生活理念也跟着变了， 或者是因为顺应生活理念上的改变，所以转换了跑道。总而言之，就是。。。变了。
一个一向很 “不食人间烟火”的老同学， 昨天对我说了， “钱不一定能买到幸福。不过，有钱可以带来更多选择， 有更多的选择，就可能找到快乐。No choice, 很辛苦。” 我虽然明白她想说的 （因为别的朋友也说过类似的话）， 但是从她的口里听到这番话，还是满震撼的。 我开始怀念从前那个纯朴的她。
是我长不大吗？不切实际？开始觉得自己有点象个苦行僧， 在人人在找捷径让日子好过一点的世界里， 我还在坚持 "苦中作乐“ 。 为了什么，我也不是很清楚， 只隐隐约约知道，害怕在花花世界迷失了自己。
*思*
This is so long overdue! But better late than never right? Without further ado, let me launch into some quick bites on Hokkaido, before I forget them all :p
- Hokkaido is a beautiful place but October is really not the best month to visit. Why? Cos you don't get to see any lavender fields or sunflower beds or much of red maple leaves. Everything's pretty much lost its colour by the time we arrived (around third week of October). So if you're hoping to see pretty blooms, avoid this time and wait till the next spring please.
- Sapporo: This is the main city in Hokkaido. However, we didn't see much of it because we miscalculated the time taken to travel to Otaru and back. We did pop over to the Odori Park (nothing to shout about) and slurp up a steaming bowl of ramen (not in the famed Ramen street but the bowl we had was rather satisfying too! yum!). Oh, not to forget the Ishiya Chocolate Factory - almost like a lifelike fairytale.
- Otaru: Like obedient tourists, we attempted to cover the must-sees including the Otaru Canal. We were hoping for a view that would take our breath away but what greeted us was just so-so. That said, Otaru is a charming little town on its own. I like the Otaru Music Box museum which has a sprawling retail space with dazzling music boxes all lined up and a little showcase on its upper levels. I used to collect music boxes in my younger days but stopped before I even hit 10 pieces cos they were just too pricey for poor student me. That might have explained why I am so in love with this jewelled place. One thing to note, most shops, F&B included, close by 6pm. That's really early by our standard. We were however lucky cos we found a little stretch that was still open at 7pm and the eateries served really delicious fare. I'd say we tasted one of the freshest sushi here, smooth beer and this deep-fried bird that looked like a cross between chicken and turkey - we had no idea what it was but it was good!
- Furano: We knew the odds of seeing lavender fields were not high but we took a chance and took a three-hour drive from Sapporo to Furano, Farm Tomita. There we had lavender sundae in the freezing weather, bought lavender tea bags and saw withering lavender. Haha! Ok, the view was not one to behold, thanks to the dried up fields, but well, it was an experience nevertheless.
- Asahikawa: After Furano, we drove for about an hour and a half so we could sleep over in Asahikawa. We didn't have proper food the whole day cos we were on the road all the time so the only goal we had was to make it to the Asahikawa Ramen Village and stuff ourselves. Oh yes, we found the "village" which was really a cluster of eight to ten ramen shops. Although there wasn't the buzz we expected, the ramen was goooood! The eggs that came with the noodles were done on the outside and slightly runny within and the soup base had this peppery taste. Oh, just delicious!
- Sounkyo: It was my birthday when we reached Sounkyo. A deliberate plan from Mister - he wanted us to rest and relax in this onsen haven. And haven, it was! I love the zen feel of the resort we stayed at (Choyo Resort Hotel), the unhurried pace of the day, the indulgent private bath, the hot stone spa and of course, the dinner buffet too! Everything was just puuuurfect!
- Noboribetsu: Again, we miscalculated the time taken to travel to this hot spring zone. By the time we reached the resort (Dai-ichi Takimotokan), it was already 7.30pm. We dashed for the buffet dinner, rested in our room for a bit before heading to their 24-hour public bath. Their public bath (one section for each gender) is divided into seven different pools - for beauty, wellness, health etc. I like the outdoor bath the best because you get to enjoy the cool breeze while immersing yourself in the natural hot spring. Very tranquil. That said, I still prefer Choyo Resort in Sounkyo to this.
- Hakodate: This is the last stop of our Hokkaido trip. We were hoping to go to the Mount Hakodate Ropeway but it was under maintenance. We thought we'd be bored for the rest of the stay there but of course, we were wrong. There is this whole other world along Motomachi - the historical district - where all the old churches, consulates and temples reside. It was here that we discovered a little cafe that was way traditional looking, quaint and cosy. Love it to bits! Of course, we also visited the Hakodate morning market, just a stone's throw away from our hotel (Toyoko Inn Ekimae Asaichi) where the freshest produce like seafood and melons were sold. We ate as we strolled - awesome!
That's about all I have on Hokkaido, at least still fresh in my head. All in all, we totally enjoyed ourselves, despite this being not the ideal season to visit. Sometimes all you need is to be a little more adventurous and see the fun in everything you come across. That makes the wrong season the right season all over again!
Out of the blue, our nephew Brandon asked me today, "婶婶 (Aunt), what is your Chinese name?"
The question took me by surprise. This means that the four-year old is now aware that the adults, like his classmates at the childcare centre, too come individually packed with their own names - with Chinese, English and dialect variations to boot.
I hesitated with my answer. For all our pally good times, the nephews have never known my name. For a moment there, I had a vision of an Internet chatroom pal suddenly demanding to know my real identity. Was I going to tell?
Nope, I chickened out. "My Chinese name is 婶婶,", I told the boy.
;)
"独", 很深
让三点半的午后, 比午夜更寂静
未成型的思绪
或随呼吸蒸发去, 或象冰块化不去
不是缥缈, 就是哽咽
"惜独"
难道也是一种病
让人渐渐步向"声"亡?
We've been back from our Osaka/Hokkaido holiday for about 3 weeks now and I realised I hadn't said much about the trip. Everything gets a bit hazier as the days go by so I decide to summarise each place in point form before I forget the details :p Let's start with Osaka, which was both the first and last stops of our vacation.
- We stayed at two different hotels in Osaka cos in between we had the Hokkaido road trip. The first was Dotonburi hotel which is about 10 mins' walk from Namba train station. The location is great though I wouldn't say the same about the hotel's cleanliness. That said, it's still one of the more popular places to stay, according to Tripadvisor.com. Next up, we booked this Flexstay inn at Shinsaibashi. Even better location cos it's right next to the busy shopping district but hotel is fairly old so expect a musty smell. Both hotels are considered cheap so if you're not fussy about hotel interiors, you can consider them.
- Food! We were told repeatedly that we must try okonomiyaki and takoyaki, both are Osaka signatures apparently. Okonomiyaki is actually a cabbage pancake fried on a hotplate, drizzled with a sourish Japanese sauce. You can throw in other ingredients like beef, pork, chicken or seafood if you like. I think it's not bad at all. But what takes the cake is takoyaki - it's just different from the ones we get from pasar malam or foodcourts here. Yum!
- We did a spot of shopping but because we only had about 2.5 days in Osaka altogether, we didn't really buy that much. Of course, we hit the pharmacy-looking cosmetic stores and stock up on Kose sheet masks. :) We love Shinsaibashi shopping street! It was bustling with life even after the shops had closed at 8pm.
- The brochures also recommended Tenjimbashisuji Shopping Street, said to be the longest shopping arcade in Japan. It must be because we walked for over 2 hours and couldn't see an end to it. But if you're serious about shopping, I'd say, give this a miss as most shops are meant for their local housewives rather than fashionista tourists like us. :p However, by some stroke of luck, thanks to the shopping street, we discovered two gems - the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living and the Osaka Temmangu Shrine. Both beautiful in their own way. You'll spot the museum just when you exit from the Tenjimbashisuji 6-chome station towards the shopping street. As for the shrine, we stumbled onto it when we took an unexpected exit to the left of the shopping street, after we were about 1.5 hours into it. Some brochure says you can get there from the Minami-Morimachi station.
- The Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan is said to be a must-see. It's not bad as we had the chance to get up close and personal with some amazing marine life like whale shark, stingray, sunfish and adorable sea otter and penguins. If you're going, remember to ask for the train ticket that includes the admission fee to the aquarium - it's cheaper that way. We got ours from Namba station - ask the friendly people at the tourism information counter. They were extremely helpful to us!
Ok, that's about all I can remember from Osaka. Next up, Hokkaido! Stay tuned!
前两天带爸爸去看医生.他看着医生们在医院里忙着, 又说了, 如果你和妹妹当年是读医科的,那有多好.
已经不是第一次听他这么说了.
又和妈妈谈到阿姨. 她说, 年轻时的阿姨也算是专业人士, 后来为了能照顾孩子,放弃了工作,当起家庭主妇. 她的牺牲, 造就了三个孩子的成功, 培育了三个前途光明的人才. 我暗自庆幸, 还好我不是阿姨的女儿, 要不然她一定后悔死 - 牺牲了, 培育出的仍是一个庸人.
我忍不住,还是和妈妈说了, 孩子是孩子, 自己是自己, 可不可以不要把两件事扯在一起? 把自己的成就感, 建立在儿女的成功与否, 是不是对儿女的压力太大了? 是否剥夺了儿女日后选择的权利?某某妈妈为了照顾年幼的女儿放弃了自己的事业, 日后女儿长大有了自己的孩子后, 是否还有权力也选择放弃事业, 在家当全职妈妈? 还是会有种无形的压力, 要努力地让上一代的牺牲与"投资", 得到最大的效应, 获得最大的回报, 所以非得"越成功越好?"
拼命地往前跑, 压力固然很大, 但坚持平淡,普通, 压力也不小.
满足于 "丰衣足食", "够吃够用" 的小幸福, 维持得很吃力.
There's something hypnotic about the big blue that silences a person with its vastness. I can stare at this visual all day and not get tired of it.... I can't wait to visit the magic in 24 hours!
Two things: I've just come back from a holiday to Osaka and Hokkaido (actually back for a week already but in denial, thinking it was just yesterday that I touched down) and I'm packing my dreams into a rattan basket and shoving it under my bed for a while. In other words, I've called it quits and moving on to somewhere else. Note: I didn't use the words "greener pastures". Fingers crossed.
