smartypanties
the family spent an afternoon at the istana a few weeks ago,
and didn't meet the president.
instead, we sat through an award ceremony,
and watched my sis receive her psc scholarship.
the awardees put up a rather amusing skit,
and a few touching songs that left many in the hall tearing.
we also met and took photos with two very tall ministers.
nabnab also left for switzerland that night
to much fanfare at the airport.
it seems like it wasn't all that long ago
when i was the one heaving all those bags
and heading off alone for my studies.
after we got rid of her,
the cousins went upstairs to breeks for a late-night snack.
and fawn, if you look at the photo on the bottom right corner of the previous collage,
that's van, sam and kane attacking a massive chocolate/cookies and cream creation.
muahaha
i went off to osaka a day after that,
and spent a whole lot of time at namba
which is this huge shopping area
and, according to the japanese stewardess,
quite a dodgy many-lupsup-karaoke/many-drunk-cheekohpeks place.
it was so brightly lit and vibrant at night,
and i saw, for the first time, vending machines that dispensed tickets
for bowls of ramen!
i wandered around till i got hungry,
then popped into a quaint little restaurant
for some delicious hotpot udon.
walked my dinner off and did a little shopping after that,
and tasted a yummy chocolate crepe
that was just perfect for dessert.
like amsterdam, many people ride bicycles here
and there were bikes everywhere!
on the way back to my hotel at the close of the night,
i also walked past a yakitori stand,
and a pet shop where i fell in love with a little pup.
the guy at the pet shop doesn't speak english,
so we had a lot of difficulties communicating.
but he let me cradle the sweet chihuahua
and i wanted to put her in my bag and bring her back. =(
most of the next day was spent in namba again,
coz i decided not to check out the universal studios
or gion since they were both pretty far out.
i had lunch in another jap restaurant,
and this time, had refreshing soba and tempura.
bought my muji cabin bag after that
before taking a train back to the hotel
met up with three japanese girls in the evening
who very kindly played hostess
and brought me to check out the tenjin festival.
if i'm not wrong, this is a festival to celebrate the sky god.
there were many people wearing japanese traditional costumes
and i was so tempted to buy one and join in the fun.
pasar malam-like stalls lined the streets,
little tykes tried catching fish with thin paper nets,
and food stalls aplenty sold stuff like doraemon/pikachu puffs
and other japanese-y delights.
we went back to namba for dinner
and i had a taste of the food osaka is most famed for:
okonomiyaki and takoyaki.
yum.
i'm off to lausanne tonight,
to courier stuff to my sis
and spend a few days gallivanting with her.
yay!
the family spent an afternoon at the istana a few weeks ago,
and didn't meet the president.
instead, we sat through an award ceremony,
and watched my sis receive her psc scholarship.
the awardees put up a rather amusing skit,
and a few touching songs that left many in the hall tearing.
we also met and took photos with two very tall ministers.
nabnab also left for switzerland that night
to much fanfare at the airport.
it seems like it wasn't all that long ago
when i was the one heaving all those bags
and heading off alone for my studies.
after we got rid of her,
the cousins went upstairs to breeks for a late-night snack.
and fawn, if you look at the photo on the bottom right corner of the previous collage,
that's van, sam and kane attacking a massive chocolate/cookies and cream creation.
muahaha
i went off to osaka a day after that,
and spent a whole lot of time at namba
which is this huge shopping area
and, according to the japanese stewardess,
quite a dodgy many-lupsup-karaoke/many-drunk-cheekohpeks place.
it was so brightly lit and vibrant at night,
and i saw, for the first time, vending machines that dispensed tickets
for bowls of ramen!
i wandered around till i got hungry,
then popped into a quaint little restaurant
for some delicious hotpot udon.
walked my dinner off and did a little shopping after that,
and tasted a yummy chocolate crepe
that was just perfect for dessert.
like amsterdam, many people ride bicycles here
and there were bikes everywhere!
on the way back to my hotel at the close of the night,
i also walked past a yakitori stand,
and a pet shop where i fell in love with a little pup.
the guy at the pet shop doesn't speak english,
so we had a lot of difficulties communicating.
but he let me cradle the sweet chihuahua
and i wanted to put her in my bag and bring her back. =(
most of the next day was spent in namba again,
coz i decided not to check out the universal studios
or gion since they were both pretty far out.
i had lunch in another jap restaurant,
and this time, had refreshing soba and tempura.
bought my muji cabin bag after that
before taking a train back to the hotel
met up with three japanese girls in the evening
who very kindly played hostess
and brought me to check out the tenjin festival.
if i'm not wrong, this is a festival to celebrate the sky god.
there were many people wearing japanese traditional costumes
and i was so tempted to buy one and join in the fun.
pasar malam-like stalls lined the streets,
little tykes tried catching fish with thin paper nets,
and food stalls aplenty sold stuff like doraemon/pikachu puffs
and other japanese-y delights.
we went back to namba for dinner
and i had a taste of the food osaka is most famed for:
okonomiyaki and takoyaki.
yum.
i'm off to lausanne tonight,
to courier stuff to my sis
and spend a few days gallivanting with her.
yay!
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