Experiences

This is something interesting. Can't wait to experience it.. The Alpine Route is a spectacular scenic passage over the Japanese Alps connecting Nagano Prefecture’s Omachi with Toyama Prefecture and the Sea of Japan. This is an area of immense snowfall, and when the road opens in mid May, it is surrounded on both sides by walls of snow 1 0 meters tall.  Special hybrid busses carry amazed passengers from the Toyama side to Murodo, which is the starting point to climb the peak of Mount Tateyama, one of Japan’s Three Sacred Mountains.  From Murodo, the route conveys people on an exciting variety of transportation including cable car and ropeway to massive Kurobe Dam then through a 6.1 km tunnel (an amazing engineering feat) to the Omachi side. http://www.go-nagano.net/

Nagoya, Takayama, Shirakawago and next is Kanazawa.. Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture. Kanazawa Kenrokuen is one of three most beautiful Japanese gardens in Japan. It's the most popular tourist spot in Kanazawa and is a great place for viewing cherry blossoms and fall foliages.   http://gojapan.about.com

1. Nagoya 2. Takayama 3. Shirakawa-go Shirakawa-go is another place that won't be missed.. Shirakawa-gō (白川郷), formally Shirakawa-mura (白川村), is a historic village in Gifu . Together with Gokayama in Toyama, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on December 9, 1995.  The village is famous for its farmhouses, which are built in a unique architectural style known as gasshō (合掌). The name means "hands together" as in prayer, referring to the steep roofs that keep the snow off in the winter. Underneath the roofs, the large attic area was used to house silkworms.  http://wikitravel.org/

Takayama is another favourite place.. Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture , which has retained a traditional touch like few other Japanese cities, especially in its beautifully preserved old town .    Takayama during the Spring Festival Takayama gained importance as a source of high quality timber and highly skilled carpenters during the feudal ages. The Takayama Festival , held in spring and autumn, is considered one of Japan's best festivals . http://www.japan-guide.com

Surely we would be brought to visit the Japanese shrine..This is one popular shrine in Japan. Atsuta Jingu (Atsuda Shrine) has been revered as the most important shrine in Japan after Ise Jingu in Mie prefecture since the ancient times. Its history goes back 1900 years, and the name appears in Japan’s oldest chronicle Kojiki, “Record of Ancient Matters” compiled in the 8th century. Atsuta Jingu enshrines the Atsuta no Okami (Amaterasu no Omikami), and houses the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, one of the three sacred Imperial regalia alongside mirror and jewel, which are now stored in Ise Shrine and the Tokyo Imperial Palace respectively. http://www.wattention.com

Since I will be visiting Japan one day..I am already doing some research starting with the airport. Central Japan International Airport Centrair (airport code: NGO), just outside Nagoya , is Japan's third most important international airport after Tokyo's Narita Airport and Osaka's Kansai Airport . It is also known as Chubu Airport. Constructed on a man made island in the Bay of Ise, Central Japan Airport was opened in February 2005 in time for the Expo 2005 Aichi , taking over all international and most domestic air traffic, formerly handled by Nagoya's Komaki Airport. http://www.japan-guide.com

Last year I went to Europe with my sister-in-law and her daughter. Initially it was not easy to get hold of her. I had to ask someone to go with me as I wouldn't want to go alone. Finally she agreed to go with me but with her daughter too. So we ended up sharing a room for three. If I were to go alone, I had to pay an extra of RM2k for hotel accommodation. We had our fun time in Europe and since that holiday, my sister-in-law kept asking me, "Where are you going next? Make sure you call me." I have wanted to go to USA (Los Angeles) but the time is not appropriate for me. So I had to choose somewhere else. So when I had decided, I called my sister-in-law and gave her time to make up her mind. She has to consult her husband and daughter first. When she called to confirm that she is going, she told me that her daughter might join us last minute. That doesn't matter as long as I have a partner. This morning, I have called the agency to confirm our booking. Now left to...

Well, my friend's husband loves to go for wedding dinners or any other dinners. I guess he loves to drink more than enjoying those dishes. As for my friend, she enjoys the food more than anything else. Every time, her husband would just sit for a while and then he would be all over the place "Yum Seng" until at a certain stage, he got drunk. When he is drunk, he could sing and even dance. She just ignored whatever he was enjoying. At times, the people surrounding him might be wondering if she ever get angry. She didn't seem to get angry or show any disapproval. She just let him be. Some concerned people would make sure that she drives him home. She would say, "Don't worry. He's fine." According to her, he could find his way home even though he's drunk. She would normally take over the wheel unless he seems ok to her.. Well, it has been many years for her getting accustomed to this situation..I salute her..

My husband who is the boss has to attend a meeting cum dinner at Sepang Gold Coast this evening so I have to take care of his business today. Somehow, today's business was rather quiet. So I took the privilege to close the shop at 8pm instead of the usual 10pm. Everyone seemed to be at ease without the boss around. We were happy and we felt quite relaxed too. But the boss seemed to be worried. He called as soon as he reached his destination. Later just before the meeting started, he called again. I told him, 'Don't worry. Enjoy yourself there and take care too!" Tomorrow I have to start the business early in the morning. Normally, the boss will be at the shop first. This time, I have to be there first and get ready for business.. Sometimes, it's nice to be the boss! I like it...

Valentine's Day is not just for lovers. For me, Valentine's Day is meant specially for my family. Since today is a working day for me, I couldn't celebrate it anyway. But I have already planned ahead. Few days ago, I have already booked a place for my family vacation.. We haven't been to this resort before. We are going to spend a night at this awesome place soon..This will be my best Valentine's gift to my family. Happy Valentine's Day to my love ones..

Valentine's Day is primarily for lovers. But, you can also celebrate Valentine's Day with your friends. Strengthen the bond of friendship with a simple act of love. Let your friend know how much you enjoy her companionship with these Valentine's Day quotes for friends.  Mother Teresa If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Leo Buscaglia Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life. Winnie the Pooh Some people care too much, I think it's called love. John Lennon We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Love does not dominate; it cultivates. http://quotations.about.com/od/Valentines-Day/a/Valentines-Day-Quotes-For-Friends.htm

This was my first time trying out at Sakae Sushi. Very impressive.. just with the click of the mouse.. we ordered.. sushi.. chicken katsu don yasai kakiage tempura moriawase sushi - RM3.99 (pink plate) sushi - RM1.99 (green plate) potato koroke sushi - RM5.99 (red plate) ebi ten don teriyaki chicken ramin Not cheap though but satisfying..

I have not experienced fish pedicures before. So I took this chance when I was at the Streams at Queensbay Mall. It just cost RM25 for 30 minutes. I asked the guy and he could speak English.. I saw this at the entrance to the spa room.. Here's the room.. I sat at the far end facing the window glass.. It was ticklish at the beginning.. Those fishes kept on nibbling and nibbling on my toes and feet.. After the session, my feet felt so smooth.. A very nice experience indeed!

Last Friday, I decided to make my holiday break a little longer. Initially, my intention was just to meet my friends for lunch in Taiping and then to get back to Ipoh. I was supposed to go alone to Taiping but when I mentioned that I wanted to go to Queensbay Mall for window-shopping, my girls wanted to follow. So that was how I googled for a hotel. And I found Apple 1 Hotel which offered only RM168 for a family room. When we reached there, we were told that there wasn't any family room for us. How disappointing! They had saved only a standard room for us. I was not happy and suggested that we couldn't trust Booking.com. The person in charge called the boss who suggested that some of us had to stay elsewhere to be offered by him. I insisted that we came as a family and why should we stay apart. He had no choice but to let us have the room. But I could tell that it's going to be very crowded. Just have a look at the size of the room.. a Queen size bed.. and a small to...

My long lost friend came back for Chinese New Year but I was not able to meet her up in Taiping on the second day. So I casually asked her through facebook when would she be back to UK. She told me that she would fly from Penang on the 6 Feb. So immediately I decided to see her on the 5 Feb. And it was up to my other friend to arrange a meet-up. It seemed to be successful. Fifteen of us turned up. I got to meet seven new faces. They are actually our long-lost friends found through facebook.. Finally, we met up at CRC Taiping..And we had a scrumptious lunch. Guess we talked more than we ate. There were some leftovers.. Goodbye to my dear friend.  She must have reached London by now.  Hope to see her again next year.. Would easily be able to see the others again.

2012 will be the year of the dragon which starts on Lup Chun (Li Chun). Lup Chun is the first day of the spring and it falls on 4 Feb 2012..  I didn't know about this day until a few hours ago. My staff told me about it and I wanted to try it after work. So 10 minutes before midnight, my girl tried it and it worked.. Strange, it stood there until midnight and it rolled over.. Happy and Prosperous Day!

I never thought my girl takes after me. She likes baking too. Yesterday she went about hunting for ingredients needed to bake the cheesecake. Yesterday night when I came back after work, she wanted to bake the cheesecake. I was actually lazy to do any baking. But seeing that she was so eager to go about it, I had no choice but to help her. She did the base by using the digestive biscuits and butter. Nicely done. I helped to beat the cream cheese. Ingredients like sugar, lemon juice,  cornflour and whipping cream were added gradually. Lastly added the beaten eggs. Then, I helped her to cut the apples. She added sugar,  lemon rind, lemon juice, cinnamon powder, flour, raisins and cashew nuts. I steamed the whole lot until it thickened. I poured half of the cheese mixture onto the base.  Spread the apple filling and topped it with the remaining cheese mixture. My girl prepared the crumbled topping. Just used flour, sugar and butter. Then sprinkled the crumbl...