This Blog Is Dead. New Blog Rises from the Ashes

May this blog RIP.

New blog pops out of me, screaming at the top of its lungs. Let's see. I'll name it girlmalaysia.blogspot.com

Trotting in Tokyo (Day 1)

Finally I'm getting around to writing about my trip to Tokyo after bugging Navin endlessly to pass me the photos . Through daily skype messages, SMSes and verbally no less.

We purchased the flight tickets 5 months ago during the MAS promo fair at RM2300 return. We thought it was a steal until recently JAL came up with the RM1300 offer. Ah well...

I had one big luggage bag that I discovered didn't work very well (I'll illustrate in later posts) and Navin had his belongings in a bag that was placed in a bigger bag (turned out he really needed 2 bags...you'll see why later).


On 4th April 2009, 11am, we took off from KLIA to the land of Sakuras...if we had tails, we'd be wagging them.

This is probably the longest flight I've ever been on and the first time I've ever had airplane meals. It's more delicious and elaborate than I expected!





6 hours later, we start decending for Narita Airport! Japan is one hour ahead of Malaysian time, so local time was 7pm.

Once we got off, we rushed to the first toilet we could find. Not only to answer nature's call, but we couldn't wait to experience first hand the famous Japan toilets. We'd come across more interesting ones during the rest of the journey, but this struck me as...odd:


What is the man doing propping up the lady's legs while she is in a horizontal position? Only indecent thoughts come to our minds...

Navin made the first boo boo of our trip. We spotted our first machine at the train station while waiting for the Narita Express to bring us to the connecting local railways. "Ooo! Coin exchange machine" and he eagerly feeds it with 1000 yen (RM40 approx). Out pops a small card. What the...? A phone card. The then miserable Navin would later discover that the phone card would come in handy after all.

We took the train to Ueno park and switched trains to get to Tawamarachi station. Our first accomodation was Ryokan Asakusa Tokaisou (about 15 mins train ride from Tokyo centre). For 9000 yen per night for 2 pax, it was decent, clean and quite cosy.






After chucking our bags in the ryokan, we set out with hungry bellies to look for FOOD!
For Malaysians who are used to the humid tropical weather, 10 degrees in the wind is so very cold! We huddled under our jackets and walked around the area for awhile before coming upon a little ricebowl shop in the corner. We had to first figure out how to choose and pay for the food at the vending machine outside the shop. Everything was in Japanese. We compared the writings on the few food pictures displayed with the tabs on the vending machine, and simply hoped for the best. After putting in the money and pressing the buttons, we collect food vouchers from the machine.



We entered the shop to be greeted by a lone old man who had the most lovely wrinkled face. We sat at the ala bar style counter and placed the vouchers on the countertop. The old man asked a question in Japanese and after we looked at each other in puzzlement, he held a strand of soba in one hand and a scoop of udon in the other.

"soba? udon?"

"aah. udon!"




We heartily tucked in while observing the old man clink-clanked around the kitchen. He was a one man show after all - cooking, cleaning, prepping all by himself. That was one of the best katsu-dons I have ever tasted.

Tummies filled, we trot back to our ryokan and spotted another form of accomodation that we neglected to consider:


Moving along, we finally came upon...


...our first sakura sighting! By a quaint little temple in the midst of the shoplots.

With that, it was the end of our first day. We don the yukatas provided and settled down for the night eagerly anticipating great new sights that await us for the next 8 days.

Opps

I just realised that my blog's setting required me to approve the comments. Gosh, there were 20 comments waiting for my approval from eons ago. Opps. Sorry to my friends who commented. I didn't mean to be rude...

yummy yummy in my tummy

I'm not an expert of Korean food, but I likey Han Woo Rii @ Taipan.
I stumbled onto this quiet restaurant when I tried to get to the other gaudy one with bright LED lights on the outside (I tried it later and I won't go again).

Han Woo Rii has great service, yummy bbq cows, yummy side dishes, yummy kimchi jighe (i don't even like kimchi!) and yummy dessert to cleanse the palate (a sort of red dates water with rice)

They don't have many customers though, probably because customers are DECEIVED by the blinking lights outside the other restaurant. I felt so bad for the manager, I am compeled to offer my marketing services.

SPD: Smiling at Plastic Disorder

Warning! There is a new disorder that has surfaced in modern societies whereby a person starts smiling at a piece of plastic in his/her hand or sometimes at bigger chunks on the table.

This is the Smiling at a piece of Plastic Disorder or SPD.

It is observed that this disorder appeared the same time as SMSes and Instant Messaging. Sometimes, the person will also be induced to laugh at the plastic.

People who are at risk of getting SPD are those who usually communicate through SMSes and IM, rather than physical conversations with another person.

There is no actual danger from SPD, accept the people around him/her might perceive this person as not quite right 'up there'

Eavesdropping

I was browsing at an accessories store. In comes a girl and her mother.

Girl : Ma, look. Look at the earrings, so nice. RM13 only. Buy for me, Ma.

Ma: You already have so earrings, girl. You don't need more.

Girl: Where got, Ma. See, I don't have purple. Purple is an 'in' colour now. Look at the necklace. Buy for me, please.

Ma: You don't need this, girl.

Girl: I can wear to work, Ma.

(now this is where I get really annoyed. Not only she was blocking me from browsing the area I wanted to, she is already working and still (1) asking her mother to buy her things and (2) it's an unnecessary item! She's pleading like there's no rice to feed her hungry belly)

Her sister comes in.

Girl: See! Look at the ring. Isn't it nice?

Sister: Yes, very nice. Very reasonable price too.

Girl: See, Ma. Buy for me.

Ma: No.

Sister: Which one you want? I buy for you.

(At this point I want to grab a necklace and choke the whole family - for spoiling and being spoiled)

Conversation with MJ

through IM...

MJ: I dreamt last night that you resigned and said "I'm fed up with the corporate world!"

Me: Ohmygoodness! You're reading my mind! I HAVE been restless lately thinking what am I doing in the rat race that I never intended to join in the first place.

*theme from Twilight Zone plays*

MJ: Ya. I'm wondering what are you still doing there. Thought you would have left by now.

Me: No guts. Love money.

Excuse me for wanting to have an arse

Ok, so I've gained weight. Big deal.

Okay, I moan about it sometimes, but essentially I've finally made peace with the body I have. I actually have gained a nice, grab-bable arse.

So, to those people out there who have been spitting in my face "so fat now! diet! exercise!", stop projecting your ideal image of beauty on me. You can obsessed with your own body all you want, but leave me alone. Let a girl love her body if she can for the sad fact is that few girls can withdraw from the mainstream idea of beauty to find it in herself.

Excuse me for not wanting to spend my life obsessing about how my body is less than perfect, feeling guilty whenever I eat that cookie half, or exercising like that would end poverty & famine (there are more important things, my point is).

In the renaissance era, great artists painted masterpieces of women with curves. They were the beauties of that time. I bet people went up to the slim ones and spat 'so thin! eat more! don't exercise!"

Essentially, beauty is just an illusion that varies through time, culture and beholder.

So, excuse me for thinking that my arse is beautiful. Can you say the same of your skinny one?