The year's top 10

Wheeeee! And like this, 2011 is gone.

To capture the highlights of my life this year, I've compiled a top ten list. Feel free to stick your nose right in! :)

Ten.

I was featured in a local woman's magazine for having an interesting job. And I got to wear a pair of impossibly high heels, which made me too terrified to move, for fear of toppling over and flattening my nose. It was a spot of vain fun and I'll probably not do that again. :)

Nine.

Singapore's general elections and presidential election got me emotionally flustered, much of it due to extreme opinions for and against the ruling party formed by incorrect information. Social media has made it too easy to spread information, whether or not it is accurate. And people who don't usually give a shit about national politics suddenly became keen and propagate frustratingly wrong views. I lost faith in my fellowmen, the majority of whom are complain queens who have no memory of how the country came along, as well as in the directions of the new generation of leaders who do not think before they speak and disregard the life and views of the common man.

Eight.

I am no longer a cruise virgin, having taken my first ever cruise on December 28-30. It was nothing extravagant - just a family-styled cruise from Singapore to Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, and then back, but it was an experience to be remembered.

Seven.

I visited India - New Delhi, to be exact - for the first time. It was an unforgetable trip - a terror bomb went off at the parliament house, 2km away from the exhibition hall; an earthquake threw me out of bed that same day; and I had to dodge waterfalls from the leaking ceiling of the exhibition hall everyday. Unfortunately, I cannot declare that it was my first and last visit to New Delhi. A new company project will take me to that city every year from 2012 on. Urgh. And I will have to be there every August, which eats into Joshua's birthday celebrations. :(

Six.

Heeding the advice of good ol' Uncle Hans, who often preached that family is most important, I learnt to pace myself and pass on work to team mates and successfully took several holidays with the husband this year. We took an inpromptu weekend getaway in Malacca in February, two lovely weekends in Sentosa at two beautiful resorts, escaped to Batam (awful guestroom and F&B selection, but we had each other to ourselves), had a makan holiday in Penang, and finally in December, explored Japan over eight days. All that time together made me love him even more.

Five.

 

As editor of my magazine (a role I took on in August this year), there was no escaping the necessary awards citation at the company's annual industry awards night. Every year, the editorial team will pick winners of four outstanding awards, and on THE day, the two editors will go on stage to make a short speech before announcing the winners. I had jelly knees for weeks leading up to the evening.

But I made it through successfully, and looked most wonderful too, don't you agree? :)

Four.

I was the editor of a live trade show daily for the first time in my career. Sure, I was editor of my magazine, but it was a different ball game to head the editorial team at a trade show to produce daily newspapers for four days straight.

There was a hiccup right at the start - my Thai colleague had to stay home because of the floods, so I was one man short. I had to get my sub-editor to help with reporting instead, and it was tough for her because she did not speak a single word of Mandarin, and we were in Kunming, and she her reporting skills were rusty. Much of the burden of getting news to fill my pages fell on one colleague who could speak English and Mandarin. To share that burden, I had to juggle editing and reporting, and at the same time, tread carefully around the political sensitivities of the Chinarians.

But I survived! :D

Three.

We may not have gone through the traditional rites of marriage at that point in time (that came eventually on June 3), but we decided to give hongbaos to our juniors and unmarried relatives. I've never done it before and found it awfully tedious to budget, plan and execute. For instance, silly me forgot that fresh notes do not miraculously appear in my drawers, and I did not go to the bank to exchange for new S$2 notes. That got me rather flustered the day before the eve of the new year. Thank goodness mummy had extras to change with me.

But the act of giving away hangbaos was emotionally fulfilling and I suddenly felt that it was time I started behaving like an adult. :)

Two.

I got hitched on June 3 the way my parents wanted - in the company of my closest family members and undergoing the traditional rites. It came four years after we were legally married. My sudden decision to comply with my parents' wishes surprised many and raised suspicions that I had a bun in the oven. Hah. I must have disappointed many. :)

One.

What could beat the fact that I finally have my own home? This is the proudest moment in my life and in 2011. We moved in on January 1. It was a splendid way to start the year, and the husband and I went on to enjoy every second in our little pink abode. We still love our own place immensely, so much so we rather go straight home after work than hang out at beer bars.


So that was the year for me. I hope the year has been as kind and generous to you too, and may 2012 bring even greater joy to you. :)

My creative 'lil boy

The husband has unleashed his creativity once again through his latest short film. A homemade short film, that is. It tells a brief story of our recent holiday in Japan.

I LOVE IT! And the cheerful song (sung by local singer, Olivia Ong) is now stuck in my head. :)

I hope you will love it too.

Jolly Christmas

Merry Christmas, people!

I spent Christmas eve with good friends and Christmas Day among my closest relatives. Both days involved a lot of feasting, and I ended up as stuffed up as the turkeys that fed my friends and family.

This year's stash of presents comprised many cute things. I guess friends and family have finally figured out that I am a real softie at heart. :)

See that flat pack on the far right (picture above) with a Hello Kitty face? That's a pack of facial mask, courtesy of cousin Nora, who also gave me that pink tube of sparkly hand cream. Who would have guessed that there were Hello Kitty masks? :)

The husband laughed, "Will you look like Hello Kitty after using the mask?"

Then there's also a Hello Kitty luggage tag (which I'll never bear to use) and a superbly comfortable set of PJs from Topshop, both courtesy of generous colleagues.

The Hello Kitty figurine at the back, as you already know, was a gift from the husband, who accurately and apologetically reflected that he has never given me a gift that was wrapped up. He has always presented his gifts as they were packaged. Most times, the gifts were things that I saw and fancied, and purchased right away, so there was no need for gift-wrapping.

"Never mind," I dismissed. "You are saving the earth."

My gift to myself this year is this - a Samantha Thavasa purse and a London bus charm.

I first saw Samatha Thavasa products while I was in Tokyo last year. I warned myself not to give in to its range of incredibly girlie and happy bags, purses and accessories. They are addictive. Once you start buying its products, you'd pay even more attention to its future collection. And because they were not as pricey as brands such as Gucci, one was more likely to buy - not just one item, but several at one go - without sufficient consideration.

It was a scary brand to fancy.

But I gave in this year, after seeing this at a Samantha Thavasa store in Kyoto. Why? I have no idea. There's no need for a woman to justify her shopping anyway. :)

I just have to make it a point to avoid the brand's outlet in Singapore from now on if I intend to keep my money in the bank.

Anyway, happy holidays, my friends. Enjoy the rest of the year as well as you can, before the rat race is upon us once again.

Eight days in Japan - Final

In the final three days in Japan, we visited two cities spelt with the letter K. But that's where the similarities end - how different these cities are!

Kanazawa is bland. I don't even know why we agreed to make an overnight stop in Kanazawa. I did some brisk research on Kanazawa before departing for Japan and found only a few places I was interested in seeing. It was too late to ask my travel consultant to cancel our hotel booking there and let us have another day in Kyoto instead.

We arrived in Kanazawa by train on December 14, some time past 1.30pm. We took a taxi from the train station to Kanazawa New Grand hotel, which set us back by slightly over a thousand yen or almost S$17. We did not expect the hotel to be more than two turns away.

Kanazawa New Grand was the worst hotel we stayed in on this trip. The guestroom was musky and small - one side of the bed was set against a wall to provide more walking space - and the air-conditioner was not working. While it was cold outside, the room was as hot as a summer day. The staff apologised for the faulty air-conditioning and suggested that we keep the window open.

Not being able to tolerate the room, we decided to head out and spend as long as we could bear outdoors.

First, we needed to look for lunch. After wandering the streets for an hour we were still not able to find a place to fill our tummies. We found mostly fashion boutiques. There were some small cafes, but they were not open for business.

The people in Kanazawa don't eat! All they want is to buy clothes!

Finally, we spotted this family restaurant on a quieter side of town, next to a private carpark. It was dark inside but a waiter beckoned us.

The menu was all in Japanese and the waiter could not speak a single word of English. Joshua's limited Japanese also got us nowhere. We had to take the waiter to the front of the restaurant, and pointed at the display of faux food to place our order.

With our tummies filled, we went in search of the Kanazawa Castle and the Kenroku-en, the only attractions in the city I was keen on.

It was quite a long walk, and a painful one too, as my back and ankles were already strained by the past few days of non-stop walking. Fortunately, the walk took us down rather scenic paths and the sight of bald trees calmed my soul.

Kanazawa Castle is surrounded by much greenery and there were many quiet garden paths one could enjoy.

The castle has an interesting history. It was built in 1583 and underwent several reconstruction after being destroyed by war and natural disasters. Several parts of the castle still stand today, including the Hashizume-mon Tsuzuki Yagura watchtower and the Tsurumaru Storehouse.

We were there too late and the castle was already closed. We could only roam the expansive gardens and admire the castle from outside.

Then, we crossed a busy street to get to Kenroku-en, the city's famous garden which used to be the castle's private outer gardens. Kenroku-en is recognised as one of Japan's three greatest gardens.

Pity too that the garden was already closed to visitors.

So we trekked back to the hotel and had dinner at a sushi place in the basement.

Again, we hit a language barrier with the chef at the sushi place. This time, we did not have any photos or faux food displays to point at. Using a mix of garbled Japanese and English, Joshua managed to find out that the restaurant offers only set menus. So we placed our order for two Set 1s.

And this, my friends, is Set 1:

It cost us 2,800yen. Of course, we didn't know that until at the end of the meal. It was the priciest platter of sushi I've ever paid for. However, it was really fresh and the sea urchin was nice and creamy.

With dinner done, we returned to our room and spent the night massaging each other's feet and watching hilarious Japanese variety shows.

The next morning, we exited Kanazawa and headed to Kyoto, the final lap of our holiday.

We arrived in Kyoto at 1.33pm and my spirits were immediately lifted. I couldn't wait to show the husband Kiyomizu-dera. The first time I visited the temple was last autumn and it was at night. It was beautiful then, and I wanted to see it in daylight.

However, I knew I had to brace myself for lesser autumn foliage, as most trees would have already shed their leaves.

Still, it was beautiful and we took a million photos. :)

We also explored the shops that lined the pathways leading up to the temple. So many things to buy and eat!

And the husband bought me this:

"Your Christmas present!" he chirped and rubbed the top of my head as if I was a little girl.

Done with Kiyozumi-dera, we proceeded to Gion, bearing hopes of seeing a couple of geishas.

Wandering around Sijodori, where much of Gion's life is, we wondered where we should go to find geishas reporting to work. Just then, a geisha swept past us very quickly and rounded a bend in a blink of an eye.

We quickly followed her and found ourselves going down a dimly-lit way, lined on both sides with neat, old-fashioned houses. She hurried on and passed through a wooden doorway that led to an even more dimly-lit house.

Such secretive places!

A few other geishas came by, and just like the first one we encountered, they walked really fast. So fast were they that they appeared as a blur on our photos.

They reminded me of F1 cars, which our amateur cameras cannot catch. They are F1 geishas!

I suspect brisk walking is one of the many skills geishas have to master.

As the evening wore on, temperatures fell and we had to get out of the cold and into a nice, warn cafe. It was not hard to find a decent cafe in Kyoto.

Later that night, we braved the cold (it was probably 4 degrees Celcius that night) and hit the streets in search of an izakaya. We found one a couple of streets away from our hotel.

Ichiban, it is called, and it stays open till 2am. Wonderful.

We went in, overcame the language barrier by pointing at whatever other diners had on their table and shooting off words that came to my mind, such as buta (pork) and biru (beer), and remained there till past midnight.

It wasn't a massive spread - just five yakitori dishes and four mugs of beer, but the bill came up to over 5,000yen. Wow wee wow wee. Japan isn't cheap and the strong yen doesn't help.

The next day we took a train to Saga-Arashiyama, where the beautiful Tenryu-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, calls home. But before we went to the temple, we went on the sight-seeing Torokko Romance Train, which travels along the Hozu River.

You know why it is called a Romance Train? Because the wind that blows through the open-air carriages are so cold that couples have to cling to each other for warmth. I was so cold I could hardly pay attention to the scenery.

I was frozen stiff by the time the train terminated at Torokko Kameoka Station, and we had to stay indoors, where the heater was on at full-blast, until I was warm again.

Then, we walked about 10 minutes to get to the nearby JR Kameoka station to take another train back to JR Saga-Arashiyama station, and from there walk to Tenryu-ji Temple. It was an enjoyable walk, although the cold really bit into my bones.

Then, to our immense delight, light snow started to fall! Very, very light snow. And it fell only for a minute or so.

We were hungry when we arrived at JR Saga-Arashiyama, and went looking for food. We found a small tofu speciality shop near the bamboo groves, and ordered hot, soupy noodles.

Happiness!

From there on, we took a leisurely stroll through the bamboo groves to get to Tenryu-ji, where we spent more than an hour exploring its gardens, taking photos and sitting in a corner to daydream meditate.

Arashiyama's Togetsukyo Bridge is also a must-see. It is renowned for being flanked by cherry blossoms and spectacular autumn foliage. Alas, it was the end of autumn when we were there, so the trees along the bridge and the banks of the Oi River were brown and bare.

The good thing, though, was that the bridge was very near shops that sold HOT food! :)

In fact, the whole stretch of road linking Tenryu-ji to Togetsukyo Bridge was packed with restaurants, cafes and shops selling lovely snacks. There, I found a shop selling steamed buns with beef fillings.

Happiness! It is so easy to make me happy - just feed me, especially when I'm cold and tired. :)

We hung around a bit more, then returned to Kyoto city, where we spent our night again at the izakaya. It snowed again that night, while we were walking back to our hotel. The husband and I stood silently on the streets, with our heads craned towards the midnight skies, marvelling at the white specks that floated down.

I love you, Kyoto. Next time I will dedicate an entire trip to you.

All in all, this holiday was a wonderful one. I got to spend all day with the husband, chatting, joking and getting lost together. What else can I ask for? :)

Eight days in Japan - Part 2

In the days following my return from Japan, a standard conversation often ensued between me and friends and colleagues:

XYZ: Oh, so you had a holiday in Japan? Where did you go?
Me: One day in Tokyo...
XYZ: Oh, did you buy anything? Tokyo's great for shopping!
Me: No, I didn't want to shop. Then I went to a couple of cities in Nagano...
XYZ: Oh, did you shop there?
Me: No, I didn't want to shop. Then I went to Takayama, which is all laid back and full of history.
XYZ: Oh, so did you shop there?

Hokay. Is it so strange that trips to Japan did not involve any form of shopping? Apparently, shopping for souvenirs and edible gifts is not considered shopping.

The other common question tossed my way was: "Why didn't you buy any Fancl products? Fancl is SO cheap there!"

But I don't use Fancl!

Anyway, enough of that. I want to tell you about Takayama, a charming town in Gifu Prefecture.

In Takayama people walked slowly and spoke tenderly. Shopkeepers who emerged from their shops would pause and smile or nod at passers-by.

In Takayama, much of the architecture appeared to have stood still in time.

The husband and I enjoyed walking down the streets slowly, stopping wherever, whenever we desired.

We chanced upon a cafe called Coffee Don. Its interior is reminiscent of an era when gentlemen donned bowler hats and smart black suits, and women wore their hair puffy and their eyes thickly lined, with a flirty flick at the end.

My heart did a little joyous dance when I realised that Coffee Don was playing the soundtrack of The Sound of Music film, which starred Julie Andrews. It was one of my all time favourite films. :)

So, while I waited for my caramel cappuccino and apple pie, I sang along to the songs.

The coffee was fragrant and the apple pie addictive.

We chatted with the boss of Coffee Don and learnt that the cafe has been in operation since 1951. His father started the business and now he's in charge.

"Coffee Don is the oldest coffee shop in Takayama," the boss chirped proudly.

"And it is really beautiful," came my dreamy rejoinder.

I hope his children or younger members of his family take over Coffee Don eventually, so people can continue to enjoy the place for many more years to come.

I asked the boss to recommend a restaurant that sold quality Hida beef that would not bankrupt us. You see, Takayama is famed for Hida beef, which brings red meat lovers to gastronomy heaven with its rich, buttery flavour.

I first tasted Hida beef several years ago when Gifu Prefecture's tourism representatives visited Singapore and brought with them a HUGE slab of it. They grilled it most deftly, leaving the meat still pink, while the fats were all melted and superbly fragrant.

And because Takayama is so renowned for Hida beef, there are just too many restaurants serving the meat. We did not want to end up in an outlet that served poorly prepared Hida beef at ridiculous touristy prices. We wanted to go to a restaurant that locals loved too. And I trusted Coffee Don's boss enough to rely on his recommendation.

He pulled out a map, scribbled the word Natupa on it, and gave us directions in halting English. Wonderful!

That was where we adjourned.

The boss of Natupa (pronouced Nappa) was a jolly old man who was so excited when he found out we were from Singapore. "Nice! Nice!" he exclaimed. Then he brought out his menu, which had only four items on it - all Hida beef dishes, and pointed at the second item.

It was a Hida beef steak, priced at 3,500yen (S$58) a piece. I looked at the other items and realised that it was the cheapest available Hida beef steak.

"This ok?" the chef asked, with a kindly smile on his face.

"OK!" the husband and I chimed together, and hoped it would be good enough.

While we waited for our lunch to be served, we horsed around and took this photo, hoping it would impress the chef and earn us a discount.

He was amused, but not impressed enough to shave a couple of yen off the price tag. :)

Anyway, here's our 3,500yen worth of red meat.

It was such a thin slab of steak, my friends. And it tasted so darned good! So tender, so creamy, so worth every single cent of the price.

Still on the topic of food, we also came across an eatery that stood out from the serene streets. In fact, it disturbed the serenity of the area with an ad jingle that has the ability to invade your head and stay in there for the rest of the day.

The jingle went like this: "Gyu tako gyu tako gyu tako..." and some other Japanese words.

No points for guessing what it sold.

Beef-filled takoyaki. Takoyaki is a Japanese ball dumpling made with batter, usually filled with diced octopus. It is the first time we tried it with beef fillings, and it is superb. :)

Apart from stuffing our faces in Takayama, we also fed our brains with visits to some heritage and cultural attractions. There were actually many attractions I was dying to visit, but we wanted to take it slower in Takayama. Moreover, all the hurried walking in Shinjuku, Yudanaka, Nagano city and Matsumoto had strained my back and weak ankles.  Many times I had to lean onto the husband in order to walk. :(

The first attraction we visited was Takayama Jinya, which used to serve as Takayama's government office during the Edo Period. Walking through the preserved architecture, visitors could see how the ancient officials used to function.

In this room, important visitors were received and served tea. I was going to touch the kettle when I suddenly remembered my travel consultant's warning: "Don't touch the old exhibits. You might attract a spirit and bring it home with you."

Her warning came from experience. She once visited an ancient architecture like the Takayama Jinya and in her excitement, slipped her feet into an old pair of straw slippers. She fell sick after that and when she got back to Singapore, a relative with special powers told her she has a Japanese 'friend' tailing her.

Hokay. My goosebumps are up now. *shivers*

I kept my hands to myself throughout the visit.

The photo below shows a sedan for VIPs. Judging from its size, the ancients must have been so tiny!

The gardens at Takayama Jinya looked quite dreary - must be the season. I'm sure it looks most charming in spring and autumn.

We also visited Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall and Sakurayama Nikko-Kan, which are located side-by-side. An 800yen ticket grants you entrance to both attractions.

Because there was a Shinto shrine at the back of the Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall, the path leading to both attractions was fronted by this structure.

Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall displays a number of elaborate festival floats, which are used during the annual festive celebrations.

The Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall has also a small theatre where a video of the festivities is played, so visitors can understand how important these floats are.

A few steps away is the Sakurayama Nikko-Kan, where a one-tenth scale replica of the Nikko-Toshogu Shrine in Tokyo is on display.

The visit to Takayama would not have been as lovely if the hotel we stayed in was a dusty, old shack (which is how I would describe the hotel we stayed in Kanazawa; next post).

Takayama Green Hotel was the best property we stayed in throughout this holiday. Best Western Shinjuku Astina came in a close second. :)

Food was great; service staff was attentive, polite and knowledgeable; the guestroom was spacious and clean; and it offers private onsen to help us overcome the strict restrictions imposed on people with tattoos visiting public onsen.

Japan still holds much reservation against people with tattoos, perhaps because of the strong grip the Yakuzas still have in the society.

The travel consultant had earlier suggested that we cover our tattoos with plasters. I laughed. She has no idea how extensive my tattoos are. I would need to turn myself into a mummy in order to enter a public onsen.

Thankfully, Takayama Green Hotel has private onsen for hire at a price of 3,000 yen for 45 minutes. So that was where we spent our first night in Takayama. :)

 

The husband was the eager beaver about having an onsen experience, and he was also the one who preferred to shower in hot water. I, on the other hand, cannot tolerate extreme temperatures. Yet, I took to the scalding water very easily, while the husband huffed and puffed in discomfort. Hah.


Dining experiences at the hotel was also rather enjoyable. Breakfast and dinner was included in our stay and we got to choose Japanese or Western meals.

We had Japanese on the first night and the following morning. Both exceeded our expectations.

Dinner was a set meal of exquisitely prepared sashimi and other things, as well as a generous Hida beef shabu-shabu.

And we washed dinner down with quite a bit of excellent sake.

Breakfast was an impressive array of very healthy, but tasty, dishes. I'm not quite a breakfast person, so the spread was a tad overwhelming for me. But because every dish was so light, I warmed up to the meal quickly.

On the second night, we went for a Western dinner at the hotel's top-most floor. We started off with a delicate appetiser of prawn, sea bream and salmon sashimi with a sweet radish mousse.

The first main was a pan-fried cod fillet with garlic butter, and the second main was a well-done Hida beef steak. The latter was such a waste of good meat, as beef steak should never be done completely.

We ended dinner with a pretty selection of sweets. Such a lovely plate. Now I'm tempted to replace all the plates at home with such romantic creations.

Despite being so well-fed by the hotel, the cold weather got to us and made us hungry all the time. We snacked heavily on both nights in Takayama, and even emptied a one-litre bottle of local sake on the second night.

I'm sure I put on some weight on this trip. :)

We departed Takayama teary-eyed on December 14, bound for Kanazawa. And that leg, my friends, will be dissected in the next post.