Xin Yun Chloe: March 2014

March 13, 2014

Sensōji (浅草寺)

After renting a kimono, we went to the oldest temple in Tokyo - Sensōji (浅草寺, also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple). Sensōji is one of the famous tourist spot in Tokyo. It is filled with tourists from different places even though January is a non-peak season. One of the things that I like about Tokyo is that most tourist spots are free admission. This enables us to travel Tokyo with a small budget as we only need to spend on the necessities like flight ticket, accommodation and transport. This post contains a lot picture of me in kimono as I took lots of pictures of myself to make the money I paid worthwhile. Haha

To enter the temple, we have to pass through the outer gate of Sensōji which is the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate). I am attracted to the giant red lantern at the gate. There are keychains/magnets/miniature lanterns for sale in the shopping street but I didn’t get any of them because I think that it is quite pricy. Now I deeply regretted my decision!

After the Thunder gate, we are greeted with a stretch of shops at the shopping street called Nakamise. This shopping street is located between the outer and second gate of them temple. Other than local Asakusa snacks and typical souvenirs (keychain, t-shirt, postcard, etc), there are also Japanese traditional items such Yukata, fans, ninja swords and so on. You can easily spend hours in such small area to slowly discover each and every item. We however did not spend much time there as we have a busy day ahead. The only item we bought from this shopping street is a snack called agemanju which is a battered and deep fried soft cake with fillings.

Then we reached the second gate called Hozomon (Treasure-House Gate) after we passed through the shopping street. Behind the Hozomon is Sensōji’s main hall where all the statues located.

Main hall (image from google – I realized I didn’t have a full picture of the main hall L )

You can get incense sticks from the booth side it with a small fee. Incense sticks are used for prayers and blessing. It is said that the smoke from the incense can cure illness so you can see some people rub it on themselves. We did not purchase the incense but we did made some prayer in the main hall and made a small donation to the temple.

We ended our short trip to Sensōji and continue with more photos taking session in the temple and around Asakusa. I was gaining a lot of attention from other tourist that day as I was the only person wearing kimono in the temple. Some of them even ask to take pictures with me which I happily agreed to. I think most tourist thought I am Japanese due to my height and my Asian face. Most talked to me in English and was surprised that I could speak their language. Growing up in Malaysia allows us to be exposed to many languages. I spoke Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Indon and of course English that day which was really fun and memorable.

One funny incidence happened there was that there were 3 Japanese women talking Japanese to me but I couldn’t understand anything. After telling them that I don’t understand Japanese, they asked me where am I from in English which I answered “Malaysia”. Then they continued talking more Japanese to me. In between their sentence I heard “kawaii” which means cute so I thank them by saying “arigato”. Other than that, I could only stand there and smile non-stop while they are talking. But I was really happy because Japanese themselves approve my look. HAHAHA

One of the tourist activities to do in Asakusa is to have a short tour on the back of the man-powered rickshaw cart called Jinrikisya. These rides are available in front of Sensōji and there are people giving out flyers promoting it. However, we did not take the ride as it is really expensive.

We were supposed to take a train to Tokyo Skytree as it is just one station away from Asakusa. But I was too cold in the kimono and not really interested with the building, so we decided to change our plan and head to Ueno for Ameyoko instead.

Winter is Strawberry season in Japan. Price of strawberries in Japan can range from about ¥300 to over ¥6000 yen for the premiums ones. We bought a pack of Nagasaki strawberry for ¥399 and it was the best strawberry we ever had. It was really juicy and sweet without any acidity! Now I’ve lost interests to any strawberries available back in here Malaysia.

Here’s to many years more of adventures with you J

March 8, 2014

My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 2)

Click here for My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 1)

10. 認識不同地方的人

10. Meet people from different places

Yes! And I miss them a lot.

JJ & MJ from Korea. Delphine from France

Yuri from Japan. Carol from China

Selena from Taiwan

11. 在歷史名城裡遊蕩

11. Wandering in a historic city

Historic city……. Is Malacca counted?

I’ve been to Cambodia too but I do not have any pictures with me. I was too young to appreciate the joy of travelling. I will be back!

12. 來一杯地方特飲

12. Try the local drinks

This drink from Taiwan is awesome. This shop in particular

Fresh coconut in Bali

And many many more drinks that I do not have pictures..

13. 發掘一些隱世的海灘

13. Explore some hidden beaches

I never discover any hidden beaches. But I’ve been to some really nice beaches.

Cathedral Cove, NZ

Phuket, Thailand

Echo beach, Bali

14. 體驗滑雪的刺激

14. Experience the excitement of snowboarding/skiing

Look at me looking pro there! @ Mt Bullar, Melbourne. I think I fell shortly after the picture was taken. Hahaha It was my first time snowbarding.

15. 與出租車司機聊聊天

15. Chat with taxi drivers

This is my driver in Bali. Hahaha. We rented a bike and travel around Bali with it.

Well, I do have experience with chatting with bus drivers. Once I was happily talking about everything with a bus driver in Gold Coast. We were so into the conversation till he forgot to check my bus ticket. I was secretly glad because I was holding an expired ticket. I AM SO SORRY! hahaha

16. 去一趟天體海灘

16. Go to nude beaches

I’ll be there.

But I did go to a special beach in NZ called Hot Water Beach. “There are underground river of hot water flows from the interior of the earth to surface in the Pacific Ocean at Hot Water Beach”… Basically you need to dig a hole and mix the correct portion of hot water and sea water and you will get your personal spa pool.

17. 考驗自己的勇氣

17. Test your courage

I am the most courageous person I’ve ever known in terms of extreme sports…. I think.

Rap Jumping @ Melbourne

Auckland bridge bungy

Nevis Bungy (134 m), Queenstown

Skydiving @ Lake Taupo (15 000 ft, 1 min free fall)

What’s next? Cliff diving @ Ariel's Point, Boracay for my upcoming trip! Can’t wait!

18. 遊覽標誌性建築和博物館

18. Tour landmarks and museums

Refer point 3 and 4

19. 試一下地道秘製解酒配方

19. Try the local remedies for hangover

My travel time is too precious to spend it on hangover

20. 學習地方舞蹈

20. Learn the local dance

I will when I have the chance.

21. 帶走一些東西

21. Bring something back

Lots! Most importantly is that I brought back a lot of memories and experiences.

22. 留下一些東西

22. Leave something behind

I think I’ve never done this other than leaving my footprints behind.

Click here for My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 1)

Finally I've completed all 22 points! While writing this post, I realised that I have a hard time remembering the details of my trips. Hopefully I will be able to write down all my previous travel experiences so that I will never forget about those precious moments in my life. I am starting with Japan! I hope those that are reading this will do a recap of your own travelling experiences while going through the points. It will be the best if you can write about it and share with others! Enjoy travelling, enjoy life. Bon Voyage!

My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 1)

I've been arranging and looking back at my travel photos these days. I miss those times and I can’t wait for my next trip. Then I saw this article (chinese) that people have been sharing on Facebook. I can relate myself to the article and I've done most of them point listed. It makes me feel like I've achieved something in life and that I did not waste my youth. I think that travelling has been a big part of my life so far and I am inspired to re-write it in my own version. So here we go:

青春無價：年輕人在旅行中要做的22件事

Priceless youth: 22 things to do while travelling as a young adult
Click here for My Priceless Travel Moments (Part 2)

1. 住進青年旅舍的8-10人間

1. Stay in a 8-10 beds dorm/youth hostel

Checked.

Gold coast with friends. All the city in New Zealand by myself. Taiwan and Japan with Sean. The picture above is my dorm (Paradiso Backpackers) in Nelson, NZ. Awesome place. They have a pool, well equipped kitchen and free bread and soup everyday (YAY to free food!). Most memorable experience about hostel would be in Base Queenstown where I was the only girl in an 8 beds dorm and I think one of my dorm mate slept naked in Base Auckland. Also, staying in a hostel allows you to interact with people from all over the world (refer point 10) and it’s cheap!

I stay in hostel or budget hotel most of the time while travelling. However, things were a little different when in Bali, Indonesia.

Sean and I stayed in Askara Villa in Canggu, Bali. The place was a little isolated from the main area hence we paid a mad cheap price for a big villa. The price for this villa per night is the same as staying in a backpackers in Australia for 2 pax. So we indulge ourselves for 2 nights in this villa and back to budget hotel for the rest of our Bali trip.

2. 挑選一個艱苦的地點，來一次徒步旅行

2. Pick a though location and have a hiking trip

I conquered the highest mountain in Malaysia – Mount Kinabalu! (4095 m)

To sum up the hike: 6 hours hike up – spend a night at Laban Rata – Wake up at 2am – 3 hours hike up to the peak – Sunrise/photo time – 2 hours hike down – breakfast at Laban Rata – 5 hours hike down to base – Can’t walk properly for 2 days

I was suffering from altitude sickness. I couldn’t eat the night before the midnight hike and I vomited for 3-4 times while on the way to the peak. So most of my pictures at the peak were all pale and I couldn’t even smile properly. That was my biggest regret of the trip! One day I will go back and look pretty in the pictures! HAHAHA

And there was no sunrise that day after all the hard work. It rained on the way up and rained heavily on the way down.

After the Mount Kinabalu hike, we are quite into hiking and will go for short hikes occasionally:

Bukit Datuk – easy hike, awesome view

Bukit Tabur – all huge rocks. I enjoy this hike the most but my friends banned this hill after that as it is quite dangerous.

Gunung Nuang – Highest in Selangor. 12 hours hike are we crazy?????

I met this gang of friends through 2 friends that I met during my exchange to Melbourne. They are very sporting and I really enjoy their company. So thanks Jacky for turning over and said Hi to me in Cho Gao!

3. 沉醉於大自然的美景當中

3. Indulge in the beauty of nature

This does not need any explanation. A picture speaks a thousand words!

Rotorua, NZ

Huka Falls, NZ

Mount Cook (right) and Mount Tasman (left), with reflection in Lake Matheson, NZ

Lake Wakana, NZ

Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchiko, Japan

Sunset at Sizihwan bay, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (西子湾, 高雄)

4. 欣賞人類創造的建築奇跡

4. Appreciate the architectural wonders of human creation

I have not been to any 7 wonders of the world or similar things. So I gonna include some modern human creation.

Batu Caves, Malaysia

Auckland, NZ

美麗島站,高雄Formosa Boulevard Station, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

5. 用外語打情罵俏

5. Flirts in foreign language

No flirting happened. However, I can communicate in the language I am familiar with in most of the countries I’ve been to except for Japan. I did try to speak Japanese with the locals but I only know good morning, good night, goodbye, thank you, sorry and excuse me.

6. 看一場當地音樂會

6. Watch a local concert / music festival

Na-Dah. Maybe I can put it on my to-do-list.

7. 到異地品嘗特色美食

7. Taste the local delights

I love food! Prepare for some photo spam

New Zealand: