Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto

Because I'm longing for a vacation but cannot go or plan anywhere. Hence this post. Cannot plan anything kills me a little inside especially since this year seems to be a holiyear for parents plus sis. Le sigh.

So to continue on with my travel post from last year. Heheh I'm so slow. We took the train to JR Inari station to Fushimi Inari Shrine.

I came here primarily for the hundreds of torii gates only. Looks so good in the movie - Memoirs of a Geisha. So uniquely Japan. 

Mirror images!

OK don't want to bombard you with photos of the same thing.

Took this cos the leaves are so red! The only bright colour among the greens. 

Sigh..Kyoto is really beautiful..simply point your camera like us also can get nice photos. This place would suit Jerrick.

A lot of girls in traditional wear walking around Kyoto. Such a nice sight. I wanted to try one on and take photos as well but I forgot! I forgot to consult my to-do list and thought hmm why today so free one? Haih only remembered after I saw some tourists wearing the kimono on the way back to the hotel. Then it was too late to go already. 

Cs' pimple says hi. 

We went to a shopping mall's food court after that! Think it was Takashimaya. I love their food court! Normally its located at the basement. We chose some food for our dinner that night. Or was it supper?

Simply pick and choose cos we didn't know what was in any of it. No English words..its okay. More fun this way.

They make salads look so appetizing also. 

Banyaknya octopus!

And desserts..Omg drool. I love looking at their desserts. Look but no buying. They look almost too pretty to eat.

Think I posted this before aih never mind. Drool again. Talking about myself.

Our room was big enough to do laundry. Nice! Most hotels have washing machine and dryers so its really convenient. They also mostly provide those yukata - night gowns that Cs is wearing.

Ohh back when I could still drink.

Bought this from Family Mart of 7-11 forgot. Miss their convenience stores!!

Looking at this room brings back such fond memories of being on holiday and the cool winter air. Its so hot in Kuching these days that almost everyone is sick at one point or another. So many people coughing in the office. Urgh. I'm trying not to fall sick as well.

Btw, its Ramadan already! Means one more month to Raya! Time flies!

KL trip

Cs and I decided to go on a short KL trip before baby comes out as we foresee that we won't be going anywhere for a while. I wanted to go to KL for relaxation reasons, shop for more baby stuff, and go to IKEA for house stuff. I'm so aunty now eh. 

OK la. Can't expect me to keep drinking and partying non stop eh. I'll still drink after giving birth and breast feeding but not so soon. And hopefully not as much as I did before. Only mum drinking the beer at home and its going down so slow. Winnie is hardly drinking these days too but her, for different reasons. 

We stayed at Hotel Royal for one night cos we wanted to stay in Bukit Bintang area. Go to H&M, Pavillion and Sungai Wang.

The room exceeded my expectations. I didn't expect to find a nice, new, modern renovated room cos its a rather old hotel. But the bed! Soo comfy. Love the pillows and mattress. I didn't wake up even once at night. Unlike Cititel's (where we stayed 2 nights) - I woke up a few times at night. Bed creaking and pillows not as comfy. This is not me being precious. Cs agreed too.

Some of the baby clothes we got in varying shades of pink. As we headed to checkout, I said we are so kiasi people don't know we are having a girl. Got practical clothes instead of the poufy dresses I wanted. But also cos mostly newborn clothes not as cute. Just simple ones. 

We are so noob though. Why is this newborn onesie smaller than this newborn? How many should we get? Should we get 3 to 6 months as well? What if she's big and tall and can wear them for like 2 weeks only? What if choi choi choi she's a premie?

Cs dragged me to Jalan Alor for supper that night. So many angmoh's there. Really a tourist spot - food was pricey but not bad la. I like the char kueh tiaw. Nice.

The indoor pool at Hotel Royal. It used to be Coronade hotel btw. I remember staying here with my family once many many years ago. We had pictures taken at this pool that's why I remember.

That morning, it was empty. Yay for us. But as we jumped in, I realized why it was empty. SO BLOODY COLD!!! Because it was indoor so no sun shining overhead. And cos it rained the day before.

I love these mushrooms from Italiannes at the Gardens. Reminds me of the ones mum make. Gotta hint her to make some soon. :) And I really gotta learn to make this.

Pizza was ok. Meh. Don't remember it being mehh last time around. I meant the toppings a bit mehh ok. Crust was good. I should have ordered another flavor.

Lasagna was awesome though. Urgh..salivating now. Hungry! We both finished the lasagna and had a slice of pizza each. Tapau-ed the rest of the pizza back to our room. 

In case he emo why there is no photo of him on my blog. 

 

Happiness is an ice cream cone.

Happiness is also Tony Roma's hot wings.

Oh yea I was trying to look for maternity clothes that don't look like maternity clothes (makes sense?) Bought a maternity jeans that are pull up type. They look normal just that the waist area is expandable. 

I hate maternity clothes shop btw. Even Cs says: why do maternity dresses have to look like maternity dresses? They are so auntie looking. Long over the knees, ugly colors and no style. I bought one dress (by force from Cs) and kinda regret it already. 

Bought a few tunic dresses from Uniqlo. Hope they fit when I'm 9 months pregnant eh. Else I'll be eating my words and wearing those auntie dresses.

Cheese cake that I was craving a few weeks back. I'm damn stubborn - refused to go to Secret Recipe because its not the same! Now damn regret I didn't buy more.

Not my fault Cs has his eyes closed here heheh. The only flattering photo of me so far. New top from Uniqlo too. Think I'll have to live in tops like these for awhile. :)

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto

If you Google places to go in Kyoto, most likely you'll see this place. Kinkakuji (金閣寺, Golden Pavilion), a Zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Hence the name.

We took the bus from our hotel. No need to change..just straight to the entrance, which was very convenient.

Kinkakuji can be accessed from Kyoto Station by direct Kyoto City Bus number 101 or 205 in about 40 minutes and for 220 yen. Alternatively, it can be faster and more reliable to take the Karasuma Subway Line to Kitaoji Station (15 minutes, 250 yen) and take a taxi (10 minutes, around 900 yen) or bus (10 minutes, 220 yen, bus numbers 101, 102, 204 or 205) from there to Kinkakuji.

Nahh copied the information from Japan Guide for you. 

Selfie on the bus!

And we arrived! Beautiful autumn colors still. We were lucky to be able to see them and take photos. 

Admission price was Y400/RM 12 per person. Still ok. Definitely worth a trip.

That's the entrance ticket. 

Because I SPK never seen a Haagen Daz vending machine. Heheh. Didn't buy. We bought another green tea ice cream cone instead. 

There were tourists all around (as usual) so squeeze in and take your shot. This shot turned out not bad eh?

Saw some people throwing coins here and decided to join in as well. Hehe..dunno if we're supposed to make wish or what. 

There are quite a few stalls selling souvenirs. We bought some snacks..the wasabi nuts were soo spicy. Damn syiok! Dad loves them. I love them too but baby doesn't. Haih.

Overall, I would say this is definitely worth a trip. So beautiful and serene. Simply point your camera anywhere and can get good photos.

There's a silver pavilion (Ginkakuji) as well but we didn't go to that one as I didn't want to cram too many temples in my visit. After this, we went to Fushimi Inari. Always wanted to visit. Did you watch Memoirs of a Geisha? The scene where little Sayuri (or Chiyo as she was known then) went to make a wish at the temple after Chairman gave her the coin? Yah that temple. Update next time. 

Singapore

Singapore trip from last year. Found this in my Drafts. 

Fond memories of shopping with mum, stopping for beers and recharging ourselves - me playing with my phone and her playing Hay Day whenever we come across free wifi.

Mum bought me that demon light thingy cos it was Halloween and lots of people were wearing it. She said it suits me. So I wore it to dinner with dad's friends and inside the casino. Hahah. Got a few stares - this juvenile girl not gambling but walking around the casino with that ridiculous head bead drinking beer. Yep that's me.

Another night found mum and I inside Planet Hollywood (me thinks) drinking again after our shopping. Looking at these photos got me thinking: would be nice to have a daughter right? More than a boy cos daughters will accompany mum's shopping and drinking but not boys. 

Look at how often Winnie and I went out with mum to VA over the years, and Planet. Proof eh. And how many times Kev went out with mum? None! Kev doesn't drink or shop. Cs ah? Don't remember the last time he went out with his mum only too. Mostly just his sister. More proof!

Gawd we two are bad influences for each other. This was after shopping at Orchard. Tired from shopping - find a bar to sit down and drink. =.= Talk and people watch.

And this is our pre-dinner drinks in the hotel lobby. In our defense, there was some happy hour going on. Buy 1 get 1 free I think. Uncle Johnny and dad came to join us shortly after this! :)

OK last photo. Aside from all the drinking, we ate a lot of food during the trip. Shopped a fair bit. Gambled a fair bit (the men only). 

In case you think we are such alcoholics, we only drink in the day time on holidays okay. Holidays what. Why not? And its not just me. When mum and Winnie go on holidays, they do the same! 

Notice what's the thing in common? Mum. So its mum's fault. Hehe.

I can imagine her reaction reading this.

Spluttering in disbelief: moi?? moi??

OK bye.