so she is now connected

well, mum finally got herself a new phone ever since that piece of crap i passed over to her from my US stint is now dead. Anyway, detour on our way to the ravel agency at Takashimaya to buy my Japan Rail Pass (14 days at $638, so freaking ex! and i had to pay with my own mooh-lah!), Mum went to Hello! Shop at basement and we decided to get the Motorola that is offered free of charge when we continue our mobile package. The phone's not very light, but she don't mind cos' it's a good clam phone that suits her perfectly. Anyway, I seemed to like the phone the more I look at it too and I'm now contemplating to persuade her to let me use it for a few weeks...haha..evil son i am, yes I know.







Oh, the wonderful thing about this deal other than the phone being F.O.C is that they have a free 1GB Micro SD Card and it comes with slot that fits into my newly acquired Fuji DigiCam! So now, I have 2GB of memories to fill up with for the impeding Japan trip of mine!!! Very Neat!

Oh, and yeah, i have not showed off my newly bought camera too, so here it is, my 12 mega pixels Fujifilm camera. I bought the black one.

so the end is indeed coming...

there are many things in life that one always seemed to be able to grasp onto but still letting it slip away. Well, I was looking at all my previous blog entries (yes, that's what I actually do to kill time and admire my writing and humor...) and realised that never did i expect this blog to be able to survive so much bitchings and rant since 2006.

I remembered that when I re-blog in 2006 after a 1.5 years absence, I was just searching for a way to complain and update and let people know abut what I was doing as an intern, then, i decided to move onto this current blog and update people about my exchange in Vienna. In 2007, I was wondering if this blog should be continued cos seriously, i felt as if there was a void in my life ever since my exchange stint.

Luckily, with new found friends, my life stayed and remained more and more interesting and in a blink, it is now 2008. Soon I will be graduating and it seemed as if it was just yesterday that I was a freshman telling my friends about the bad stuff i blogged about this person i don't like in school.

It is good to have an avenue for me to jot down my thoughts and feelings and i guess blogging does serves a purpose in leaving down a serious of notes that racks one's journey through life. how many of us do not yearn for the ability to re-llok at past moments to reminisce about the good old days. because it's the memories that enriches one and made one anticipate the future. i have so many thoughts and question marks on what I will be doing in 3 months time, will i settle down with a job here? or will i be in hong kong in an apartment job searching and updating the blog from there? or will life's many unexpected changes and fate's man mystery bring me into another place where I never expected i would be? well, i am glad i tracked these thought down now because when look back in 3 months time, there;s bound to be a voice that tells me something.

lets talk bout flying in style

ok, not like SIA first class that kind of way in style, but good enough though. I was trying to jolt my memory of Northwest World Business Class Seats cos I remember they looked really gorgeous from my view in cattle class when I flew with them years back. Well, the seats were really damn gorgeous from their promo adverts and since I cannot really afford SIA Raffles class now, I am jst glad that I can get to try outNorthwest's Biz on my trip to Japan

They have lie flat seats too, that sretches to 175 degrees, and from some reviews I've read, that 5 degree is sufficient t make you slide down from the seat when u lie...haha...but i really love the spiffy night lamp:

And the personal TV looks amazingly huge from the cattle class ones...and i must admit, Northwest have good solid economy class seats cpmparable to SIA with personal TV, and comfy seats on their A330 fleets.

Of couse, the other perk of Biz Class is to ability to enjoy the ounge: The Narita lounge is one of the gems and from the photos, I sure do not mind getting to the airport at 2 for my 7pm flight home to eat and relax.

whats at redhill?

well, shuting thought a hip eatery had opened near Redhill when I told her that I'll be meeting her yesterday. Turns out I brought her to Ikea at Alexandra Road. She rolled her eyes...haha...well, but the trip to Ikea for tea with Shuting, K.S and Tina was really because KS and I wanted to try the Semla. the Swedish bun that apparentlt killed a King in Sweden eons ago afterhe ate 14 at one go. How can we not check out an actual food item that killed off a monarch?! haha.. Well ,the bun at 3.50 is slightly pricey and is essenially bun with whipped crean and a small dollop of alomond pastee under the cream under the triangular shape:

We also ordered other food: meatballs, chicken wings and I had salmon and choco mouse too...hahayummy! I love Ikea!

finalised trip

so, after few days of planning ove a trip that was originally suppose to happen 2 weeks ago during my break week but put off due to extra classes, my jaan trip is gonna happen afterall.

This time round, what was originally scheduled to be twin city trip over 7nights got extended to a 14 night journey spanning Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, Miyajima Island, Hiroshima, Kobe and Tokyo.

I had bought my air tix on Northwest as they are havng promotional fares on their world business class and it cost only 1985 with taxes for a return! Hotel wise, I had book for al but since my trip co-incides with the cherry blossom blooming period in Japan, hotels in Kyoto are all snapped up, thus rendering me to stay in a hostel instead (4 bed male dorm, no less) So for the first 3 nights...hmmmm...


But since Kyoto has so many beautiful temples and palaces to see, I think I'll spend most of my time outsidethe hostel anway. Besides, its cherry blossom period! I can so just sit srd and infuse myself with all those cute japanese people ohh-ing and ahh-ing over the beauty of the flowers in the park!


After Kyoto, i'll pack my bags to osaka where I'll use the city as a starting base for a day trip to the ancient capital of Nara famed for its countless Buddhist temples. I'll also be touring around the city of Osaka lookng for great eats considering Osaka-ians are famous for loving their food. I am still not sure if I wanna do t, but I managed to find the beautiful hot spring town i saw on TV and is a 2.5 hrs journey from osaka and its called Kinosaki. Maybe if I have too mch spare time I'll go there and try an authentic hot spring...Oh, and this is my hotel in Osaka, the ANA Intercontinental. Got a room for 130 a night for a single room. I realised that Japan has many many single roms, maybe alot of people like to travel alone like me too?



After 4 nights in the big city of Osaka, I'll leave for Kobe, famous for its beef. haha..no, i am not there entirely for the beef. Kobe has cheap accomadation! haha, and it is also near the great Japanses castle at Himeji. So i am staying for 2 nights at Hoilday Inn Express at 80 bucks a night and visit the castle, tour a sake brewery and eat some good beef. haha...


So, after Kobe, I'm moving down further South to Hiroshima and you may ask what's to see in the city that was bombed by the A bomb in WW2? Well, the highlight of the trip is the offshore island called Miyajima and it has the best Japanese scenery ever. ahah... The red temple gate that is partly submerged in the sea at high tide? Thats' the kodak moment here. Imgine Frances' mont St. Michel but Zen inspired instead...Found a great hotel, Comfort chain, at 90 bucks a night.


Then, I'll take the bullet train back to Tokyo and end my journey with a 3 nights stay at the most expensive hotel for the trip. Hell, if i take Nrthwest promo economy fare at 745 with taxes, the hotel is even more ex! haha...but what to do considering this is Tokyo. I'll not be doing mch in Tokyo, just shopping and meeting Rachel (a friend of mine from JC who is now working there). The hotel is called Park Hotel and I got a great deal off zuji at 300 night.




I am eager for this hotel because, truly befitting to a great hotel : "Each room is decorated with Monique Le Houelleur's natural artwork and features color coordinated curtains and bedcovers. Bathroom amenities include the luxurious "THANN" Aromatic Wood Collection, exclusive to Park Hotel Tokyo. These naturally invigorating amenities help to relax the body and mind. The "Dé-Signe" nightwear and original pillows developed in cooperation with Lofty, Co. Ltd., guarantee a comfortable sleep at night. For those who have a hard time sleeping on a pillow other than the one they're used to, we offer professional consultation and advice to help our guests get a better sleep. Guests can request a massage in their rooms until 2:00am"

Perfect for me to recharge after the hectic journey across the various places...haha

pig out session at the Hyatt

Remember in january when K.S treated me and Tina to hi tea at Min Jiang at Goodwood Park hotel? Well, today, i returned the treat and after a long search high and low for good hi-tea buffets in posh settings at a price i can afford, I finally settled for the Grand Hyatt's Scotts Lounge. And i am amazed at how Tai-Tai i looked in the photo above...

The selection of food is not very wide, with only a single meat item (roast lamb), mushroom soup, 4 kinds of sandwiches and shrimp cocktail. What was good was: the desserts with a chocolate fountain with gorgeous red sweet strawberries, and selection of at more than 5 kinds of cakes and a crepe station offering only crepe with bananas.

The ultimate highlight had to be the tea selection: 16 different kinds for you to choose from the tea station so you really can get to try all 16 if you are extremely thirsty. I love the strawberries and the lamb. The shrimp cocktail was also delicious. As for the tea, well, there were some miss (Tina's vanilla) and also, i loved the lamb bt tina kept insisting that she rather have duck cos she's probably pissed about my previous blog entry calling her 'atas' for ordering duck at Prego's. Try harder lady cos there ain't no class for duck at the grand hyatt. haha...


The shrimp cocktail: i had like 3 or 4, KS loved it too.

The roast lamb station at the end of the day...

Our table after we are filled and like what KS said "so full till we nearly regurgitated". The val capacio which i told Tina (but no comments were provided so i guess it sucked)


The 16 tyoes of teas with small sniffing bottles (KS realised that the sniffing bottles are same as those in our Sec. Sch. days in the science labs containing acids)


I had 3 tyoes i think, of teas: Cassie (a blend), healthy blend of greens, and ooling


The berries are sweet and some of them are huge!


The cakes station


The chocolate fountain station with 4 kinds of tems: biscotti, mushmellows, rock melons and strawberries

Overall, the cafe is nice and with the classy victorian setting, it's pretty good to chill out. The price is kindda reasonable (33 with taxes) and I am fine with the amount of food offered despite Tina thinking there being too little offering (i mean that girl stays in ultra heartland Yishun and i guess she just really love more bang for her buck). Like Fullerton's seafood buffet over the Line at Shangri La, I think quality of food matters more than quantity, and so happen, the food at this hi-tea buffet suits me more rather than giving me a huge selection and end up eating only a few items. Ok, and the price is really reasonable too cos is just darn hard to get 28+++ buffets now in 5 star hotels.