On the last night of our Nippon trip, sitting on the bed of Hotel Sunroute Plaza and thinking back about the week. A couple of Nippon truths seen from my pair of squinty eyes:
1. Thin sheets of single ply toilet paper.
It's crazy, especially when you need to roll it round your four fingers just to get sufficient thickness to ensure it does its job.
2. Clean public toilets and toilet bowls
One of many things that you don't get at home unfortunately. No matter how long the queue is for the ladies', you get clean cubicles every time. (But of course, we are so much better than our neighbors. I just cannot tolerate wet toilets.) The toilet flushes the very moment you sit, of which till now I still have no idea what for. And when you are done, you are faced with many buttons and symbols at the side of the toilet bowl with options for you to wash your bottom. But many times, you just want to find that one most important flush button that is hiding among the others.
3. Kawaii
Never takes longer than 30 min to spot another one.
4. Best looking fishmongers..
is at Tsukiji market.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Morocco-Spain: 8 Oct_Erg Chebbi Desert (4 Oct 2013- 20 Oct 2013)
A confusion in the itinerary had us packed up for the night out in the desert within 10 min. We were supposed to stay out only on the 9th of Oct, but Yusof had arranged for us to be out on the 8th instead. We were totally not ready mentally and in terms of the baggage but gladly went ahead.
I was about to fulfill an item on my bucket list one day earlier, who cared about being under packed or forgetting stuff from the limited packing time?!
I was going, NO MATTER WHAT !
The first thing that we learnt before we started out on our desert night out was that the camels that they had in Africa are mostly imported and there were no wild camels anymore. The camels that they had had only one hump and these species were called Dromedary Camels. The ones with two humps were found mostly in Central Asia and they were called Bactrian Camels. I wouldn't have noticed the number of humps if they didn't say! Having seen and gotten used to seeing the Dromedaries, Bactrians looked so weird to me now.
Apparently Dromedaries were pretty grumpy ones too, given the little hustle that two of the males had while the camel guides prepped the saddles for us. I was pretty worried for a moment that the hustle duo just about 5 metres in front of me would land on top of me. Me no want to die from being flattened by camels, no no.
The camel ride to the camp site took an hour and made it in time for the sun set. Watching the sun set in the Sahara Desert while on a camel was an indescribable joy and excitement.
Although the town was fully in sight from where we were at the camp site, it took us almost an hour on the camels to finally reach it. We had to walk along the ridges of the sand dunes because some of the dunes were too steep and the sand was too soft. Camel rides are..not..comfortable! The sudden surge because it had stepped onto soft sand and the falling off feeling because it was moving upwards was the most uncomfortable feeling for my butt ever. At the end of the hour ride, I had bruises on my butt. Am not kidding. The best part of the ride was when it stood up, hind legs first then the fore legs.
The first thing that we did after leaving our bags in our room was to walk up to the top of a dune to look at the view. It took us about 7 min to get to the top of a 100m slope because we kept sliding back to the start point on the soft sand.
The camp site was in a crater in the middle of a few dunes and I could understand the reason for putting up camp in that area. The wind was constantly blowing sand and having camp there allowed us to hide ourselves from the wind. Camp had a total of about 7 "rooms", a "function room", a single cubicle toilet, a kitchen and a prayer area. Needless to say, dinner was done under the blanket of stars. We were joined by couples from Australia, America and Germany for the night out in the desert and it was fun chatting and looking out for shooting stars.
The funniest joke about the shooting stars that night by the German guy:
"The small ones are too small to matter while the big ones are too big to matter after that."
We skipped showering that night since it wouldn't make us any cleaner being out in the desert anyway. In fact, they didn't even had any showers in the toilet.
So after dinner and a long chat with the rest of the group, we decided to spend some time lying under the night sky and the blanket of stars on top of a dune. It felt like the sky belonged to us.
7am sun rise in the Sahara. The highest peak on a sand dune was the worst place to look at sun rise. We were sand bombed and could only face our backs towards the sun to avoid the wind. Nevertheless, being on top and looking at the desert was amazing.
Shortly after the sun rose, we packed up and left the camp site. Butt was bruised and I was seriously considering walking with the guide.
So after a torturous hour further bruising my bruised ass, we ended our desert day out and took the most comforting hot shower ever. (I love my hot shower times. )
One step closer to dying happy.
Hit by a Moroccan bird shit at the pool.
Morocco-Spain: 8 Oct_Merzouga (4 Oct 2013- 20 Oct 2013)
9.30am, Moroccan time
On the roads again at 9am. Road side markings are not made from cylindrical concrete blocks like what we have at home. Instead, they are made up of many small piled up rocks that are painted in white. Yusof explains that the white reflects light under this constant sunshine that they have here. That is why important markings and warning areas are painted in white and houses/ buildings in red ochre. Reds ochre is less reflective to the eyes on an everyday basis. In places like Alaska where there are long winters with little sun shine through the year, buildings and houses are painted in white or reflective bright colors so that the buildings reflect enough light to brighten up the place.
Mud houses
11.39am, Moroccan time
Todras Gorge. It has a 20 m/66 ft wide entrance, 304 m/1000 ft high rock walls that stretch 99 m/325 ft back on either side.
你看我我看你,你看 我, 几时我有这么高兴过.
Kids running in an old kasbah that we visited
Alleys inside an old kasbah
3.27pm, Moroccan time
Heading towards the desert village in Merzouga.
Watching the landscape transform from mountains of the High Atlas and Anti-atlas to flat plains of infinity in yellow-brown. Watching the ground change from large stones and gravels to fine sand and soft powder. All these under this 40 oC heat, sunny and painful to the skin yet a comfortable cool in the shade. Once in a while, opposing wind directions form a little sand tornedo in the middle of the ground afar. And once in a while, there are herds of camels with their heads held up high walking across the plains, looking somewhat proud.
4.14pm, Morrocan time
Stopped to top up petrol earlier and Yusof left the engine turned on during the top up. We were nervous about that and asked him if that was ok. He replied saying that it was and that Moroccans were smart. Said that if it were to explode, it would.
=Z
Left Alv and I a little uneasy. And then he went on saying that at home, they changed the gas pipes by themselves and in order to test if it was ok, they would light up a lighter in front of the pipe to check the sealing.
“The husband changes the pipe, the wife tests it. If it blows, it blows.”
=Z
My favourite remark from him was “Women drive men crazy. Women kill men.”
On the roads again at 9am. Road side markings are not made from cylindrical concrete blocks like what we have at home. Instead, they are made up of many small piled up rocks that are painted in white. Yusof explains that the white reflects light under this constant sunshine that they have here. That is why important markings and warning areas are painted in white and houses/ buildings in red ochre. Reds ochre is less reflective to the eyes on an everyday basis. In places like Alaska where there are long winters with little sun shine through the year, buildings and houses are painted in white or reflective bright colors so that the buildings reflect enough light to brighten up the place.
Mud houses
11.39am, Moroccan time
A long stretch of date trees along the valley. Yusof explains that the greens in this area are irrigated by a stream that flows down from the Todra Gorge, that's where we are heading to now. The brown rough ground, mountains and houses, the pretty greens from the trees and grasses, and the cloudless blue sky create such beautiful colors to this place.
Todras Gorge. It has a 20 m/66 ft wide entrance, 304 m/1000 ft high rock walls that stretch 99 m/325 ft back on either side.
你看我我看你,你看 我, 几时我有这么高兴过.
Kids running in an old kasbah that we visited
Alleys inside an old kasbah
3.27pm, Moroccan time
Heading towards the desert village in Merzouga.
Watching the landscape transform from mountains of the High Atlas and Anti-atlas to flat plains of infinity in yellow-brown. Watching the ground change from large stones and gravels to fine sand and soft powder. All these under this 40 oC heat, sunny and painful to the skin yet a comfortable cool in the shade. Once in a while, opposing wind directions form a little sand tornedo in the middle of the ground afar. And once in a while, there are herds of camels with their heads held up high walking across the plains, looking somewhat proud.
Humps on the sand are wells that were dug to transport water to the oasis. And it goes on for 100s of metres. Each track of humps belongs to different groups of people and there are 100s of these.
4.14pm, Morrocan time
Stopped to top up petrol earlier and Yusof left the engine turned on during the top up. We were nervous about that and asked him if that was ok. He replied saying that it was and that Moroccans were smart. Said that if it were to explode, it would.
=Z
Left Alv and I a little uneasy. And then he went on saying that at home, they changed the gas pipes by themselves and in order to test if it was ok, they would light up a lighter in front of the pipe to check the sealing.
“The husband changes the pipe, the wife tests it. If it blows, it blows.”
=Z
My favourite remark from him was “Women drive men crazy. Women kill men.”
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Morocco-Spain: 7 Oct_Dadès Valley (4 Oct 2013- 20 Oct 2013)
10.34am, Moroccan time
On the roads to the High Atlas mountains. The sides of the roads are filled with cactus instead of plants or bushes or trees that are more familiar to us from all the other road trips. Reddish brown made up everything from the ground to the buildings with dashes of many, many greens from cactus plants, all under a blue sky. Houses are copper red and made from mud, plaster and something else I didn’t catch from Yusof’s remark. All of them look so rough from the outside, some of which even with broken windows and broken walls. They call these groups of houses Kasbahs, which means fortress. According to Yusof, the people in the village have their rights to build as many houses as they want to as long as they are within their own property and these are not taxable. He has 4 houses, several date trees, a couple of donkeys and camels and continuing to build more. Wah.
1.30pm, Moroccan time
Made a stop at the UNESCO heritage site of Ait Benhaddou situated along the Ouarzazate River (pronounced as wa-za-zat. Yusof had a good laugh over wu-za-za-ti last night during dinner. Lol.) This was where they had used as a backdrop for movies like the Gladiators and The Mummy. Simply amazing.
Left foot exposed to the sun shine and right foot in the shade. Yin and Yang…Hot left brain and a cool right brain
5.30pm, Moroccan time
It has been a full day on the roads towards the Valley of Roses and the Dades Valley, known also as the valley of one thousand kasbahs. It kinda reminds me of our drive in Normandy, only that the houses are in rugged browns. The hub says he has found his retirement place, I say I have fallen in love with Berber Whiskey.
7.30pm, Moroccan time
Tonight’s accommodation reminds me of a Flintstone home. Tonight’s buffet dinner table is filled with a mix of western and moroccan food. I very much prefer tagines. I love the evening night sky and this chilly weather. I love the twinkles against the dark blue sky.
Accomodation: Xaluca Dades
On the roads to the High Atlas mountains. The sides of the roads are filled with cactus instead of plants or bushes or trees that are more familiar to us from all the other road trips. Reddish brown made up everything from the ground to the buildings with dashes of many, many greens from cactus plants, all under a blue sky. Houses are copper red and made from mud, plaster and something else I didn’t catch from Yusof’s remark. All of them look so rough from the outside, some of which even with broken windows and broken walls. They call these groups of houses Kasbahs, which means fortress. According to Yusof, the people in the village have their rights to build as many houses as they want to as long as they are within their own property and these are not taxable. He has 4 houses, several date trees, a couple of donkeys and camels and continuing to build more. Wah.
1.30pm, Moroccan time
Made a stop at the UNESCO heritage site of Ait Benhaddou situated along the Ouarzazate River (pronounced as wa-za-zat. Yusof had a good laugh over wu-za-za-ti last night during dinner. Lol.) This was where they had used as a backdrop for movies like the Gladiators and The Mummy. Simply amazing.
Left foot exposed to the sun shine and right foot in the shade. Yin and Yang…Hot left brain and a cool right brain
5.30pm, Moroccan time
It has been a full day on the roads towards the Valley of Roses and the Dades Valley, known also as the valley of one thousand kasbahs. It kinda reminds me of our drive in Normandy, only that the houses are in rugged browns. The hub says he has found his retirement place, I say I have fallen in love with Berber Whiskey.
7.30pm, Moroccan time
Tonight’s accommodation reminds me of a Flintstone home. Tonight’s buffet dinner table is filled with a mix of western and moroccan food. I very much prefer tagines. I love the evening night sky and this chilly weather. I love the twinkles against the dark blue sky.
Accomodation: Xaluca Dades
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
3 hours ride from Valencia to Barcelona,
30 min ride from the renfe station to the hostel,
20 min to get ready leaving the hostel for our late afternoon out in town,
30 min late lunch
And now back in the hostel for 30 min since to take turns running for the washrooms.
Large part of our Spain tour is exploring their washrooms. Fml.
30 min ride from the renfe station to the hostel,
20 min to get ready leaving the hostel for our late afternoon out in town,
30 min late lunch
And now back in the hostel for 30 min since to take turns running for the washrooms.
Large part of our Spain tour is exploring their washrooms. Fml.
Every morning, we have breakfast, walk the streets and then look out for the washrooms.
Every afternoon, we have lunch, walk the streets and then look out for the washrooms.
Every night, we have dinner, walk the streets and then look out for the washrooms.
Every night before bedtime, we watch tv and take turns to go to the washroom.
I don't think whatever we have been eating or drinking so far have been absorbed by our bodies and slightest bit.
Every afternoon, we have lunch, walk the streets and then look out for the washrooms.
Every night, we have dinner, walk the streets and then look out for the washrooms.
Every night before bedtime, we watch tv and take turns to go to the washroom.
I don't think whatever we have been eating or drinking so far have been absorbed by our bodies and slightest bit.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
12 Oct 2013
A travelers' nightmare is having a bad stomach and bad gastric pain all at once, on the way to another city, meeting crappy unhelpful ridiculous people and feeling cold from being weak. Big boo boo.
Morocco-Spain: 6 Oct_Marrakech (4 Oct 2013- 20 Oct 2013)
Marrakech Medina
Started the Sunday feeling fresh from good sleep. Breakfast from the riad consisted of bread, prata-lookalike and crepe that went with either butter, strawberry jam, honey or marmalade. Bread was always serve prior to the start of every meal as an appetizer and mint tea was their main local beverage. Breakfast this morning was served at the lobby area and was abruptly interrupted when a French man with a big tummy walked out of his room that was right in front of the breakfast area in his black square underwear and greeted us with a “Bonjour!” and a smile. And then his wife in her nighties followed behind as well. What a morning greeting. Ha...So, while I thought we should be pretty ok here with English, it turned out that they understand and read French better.
Riad Amin. Looks ordinary from the outside, but amazingly beautiful inside.
Our funky bathroom
Breakfast at Riad Amin
Zara, Moroccan style.
Jemaa el-Fnaa on the background
Pretty lamps.
Skinny eeyore.
So here's the most memorable part of Marrakech Day 2:
During our own exploring of the bazaar in Jemaa el-Fnaa, we were approached by a stranger who said that he could take us to the tanneries that were outside of the medina. Being tempted by the word "tanneries", I agreed to follow the man and persuaded the hub that it would be ok. So after a good 15min to 20 min walk, we finally reached the tanneries and were introduced to the place by a big bellied man who was like the supervisor of the place. We were given mint leaves to cover the smell of the pits that were filled with pigeon shit that used to soften the animal skin and were briefly walked around the place. After a couple of photos, we were taken to the leather shop that was part of the tanneries and one of the shop sales person then persuaded us to take a seat and look around. We pointed out a leather cushion for the house, only to be aghast by the 1250 Dirham (SGD$360) he quoted. We eventually marked it down to 350 Dirham (SGD$53) after much unhappy negotiations that left the guy sitting on the floor acting sad. He then shamelessly requested for gifts from us for his kids. And stupidly, I pulled out my newly bought SGD$7 camera pouch for him, after which he kept going on for more gifts. Bloody extortion! We kept repeating that there was nothing left for him and I pulled out my worn socks to show him there was nothing more. He then shamelessly put his hands out to ask for my worn socks and then continued looking down on the ground in sadness after taking them. We left right after that, only to be stopped at the entrance by the supervisor and the stranger who brought us there, asking us to pay 400 dirham for the tanneries tour but we refused to. After much argument, I eventually gave him a 70 dirham to the dismay of an already annoyed hub. As soon as the supervisor walked off, the stranger who walked us there then asked us for gifts for walking us to the tanneries. Wth. In the end, we gave him the remaining coins that we had and he gave us a random direction saying that it'll bring us back to the square. Zzz. In the end, we took about 30 min to finally get back to the main square by following a London gay couple whom we thought knew their way and a Spanish couple who had thought we knew our way. By now, I was disgusted and pissed off by the people of Marrakech and just wanted to hide in the Riad. I had enough of Marrakech! Get me out of here.
Started the Sunday feeling fresh from good sleep. Breakfast from the riad consisted of bread, prata-lookalike and crepe that went with either butter, strawberry jam, honey or marmalade. Bread was always serve prior to the start of every meal as an appetizer and mint tea was their main local beverage. Breakfast this morning was served at the lobby area and was abruptly interrupted when a French man with a big tummy walked out of his room that was right in front of the breakfast area in his black square underwear and greeted us with a “Bonjour!” and a smile. And then his wife in her nighties followed behind as well. What a morning greeting. Ha...So, while I thought we should be pretty ok here with English, it turned out that they understand and read French better.
Riad Amin. Looks ordinary from the outside, but amazingly beautiful inside.
Zara, Moroccan style.
The day’s itinerary started with a guided morning tour that took us to the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace and then a brief walk around Jemaa el-Fnaa, which was a Unesco Heritage site city square of Marrakech.
4 things that left me deep impressions of Marrakech:
1) The architecture of the buildings, the arcs, symmetrical lines and patterns of the tiles, the vibrant colors of the insides of the buildings despite the normal looking to the point of run down facade on the outside.
2) When we told people that we were not Japanese but Singaporeans, they immediately said "Oh, welcome to Morocco!" in a very proud and welcoming way. But I guess most of them didn't know where Singapore was. I could see their question marks popping off their heads. Most people were friendly to each other.
3) Bread (usually home made) all looked alike and in the shape of a flat piece of round dough, mint tea tasted better in Morocco than back at home, tagines were amazing cuisine, couscous were usually enough to feed a cow and meat skewers were not that great in Morocco. Who said skewed Moroccan lamb was any good??
4) Everybody in the bazaar just wanted to slaughter tourists with exorbitant prices. And every direction or question you asked required you to pay a "gift". FML.
The best tip that the local guide gave us this morning was to avoid looking or taking pictures of the snake charmers or the monkey tamers because they would come up to you, put their animals on you and make you pay. Other than that, the only other thing I remembered about him was that he liked bringing us to shops that he probably would get a cut from. Alv described him as "piece of shit".
Jemaa el-Fnaa on the background
So here's the most memorable part of Marrakech Day 2:
During our own exploring of the bazaar in Jemaa el-Fnaa, we were approached by a stranger who said that he could take us to the tanneries that were outside of the medina. Being tempted by the word "tanneries", I agreed to follow the man and persuaded the hub that it would be ok. So after a good 15min to 20 min walk, we finally reached the tanneries and were introduced to the place by a big bellied man who was like the supervisor of the place. We were given mint leaves to cover the smell of the pits that were filled with pigeon shit that used to soften the animal skin and were briefly walked around the place. After a couple of photos, we were taken to the leather shop that was part of the tanneries and one of the shop sales person then persuaded us to take a seat and look around. We pointed out a leather cushion for the house, only to be aghast by the 1250 Dirham (SGD$360) he quoted. We eventually marked it down to 350 Dirham (SGD$53) after much unhappy negotiations that left the guy sitting on the floor acting sad. He then shamelessly requested for gifts from us for his kids. And stupidly, I pulled out my newly bought SGD$7 camera pouch for him, after which he kept going on for more gifts. Bloody extortion! We kept repeating that there was nothing left for him and I pulled out my worn socks to show him there was nothing more. He then shamelessly put his hands out to ask for my worn socks and then continued looking down on the ground in sadness after taking them. We left right after that, only to be stopped at the entrance by the supervisor and the stranger who brought us there, asking us to pay 400 dirham for the tanneries tour but we refused to. After much argument, I eventually gave him a 70 dirham to the dismay of an already annoyed hub. As soon as the supervisor walked off, the stranger who walked us there then asked us for gifts for walking us to the tanneries. Wth. In the end, we gave him the remaining coins that we had and he gave us a random direction saying that it'll bring us back to the square. Zzz. In the end, we took about 30 min to finally get back to the main square by following a London gay couple whom we thought knew their way and a Spanish couple who had thought we knew our way. By now, I was disgusted and pissed off by the people of Marrakech and just wanted to hide in the Riad. I had enough of Marrakech! Get me out of here.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Morocco-Spain: 5 Oct_Marrakech (4 Oct 2013- 20 Oct 2013)
6.53am, Doha time
Sitting in the 40 euros per pax Qatar Oryx lounge and waiting for our next flight at 9.05am from Doha to Casablanca. How long have I been here already? I've lost track of time and am too lazy to count back the hours. But I've watched the sky turned from dark to super glaring and I've watched the lounge went from being crowded to quiet and back to being crowded again. The stopover has been pretty comfortable I must say, other than the constant coughing that goes on forever. There is constant flow of light snacks and drinks and shower rooms are available. I remember my last awful long stopover at Beijing over a night was spent chewing on french fries at McD with no sleep at all.
I am on my way to fulfilling one of those things on my bucket list and I am very excited.
Trips' guardians- Crest and Snugs
Making ourselves comfortable during the long wait.
Doha sunrise
Marrakech
Our first friendly encounter with a Moroccan was at the Casablanca airport baggage pick up, where we met Alv’s SG-Doha flight’s pretty and chatty neighbor who was on her way home to Casablanca from her Bali holiday. She recognized us at the pickup and offered her number in case we needed something or recommendations in Morocco. Sweet pretty people. Alv was happy to make new friends in a new place, I was just thrilled to meet pretty people. Lol.
We were greeted by our Camel Safaries guide, Yusof, at the airport when we had arrived at Casablanca. Flight was delayed and by the time we had reached, it was almost 4pm, including daylight savings by an hour. We immediately took a 2.5 hrs drive to Marrakech where we stayed for the first two nights. It was our first time in a riad and Riad Amin, which was within the Medina, had set the standard pretty high. I was pretty impressed and excited because it was not like the usual hotels that we stayed everywhere else. Dinner was cooked by one of the staff, called Mahmood and despite eating with our eyes closed and dozing off midway through chewing (We were super jet lagged), we truly enjoyed the Chicken tagine. It was one of my favorite meals so far and had become one of my favorite Moroccan cuisine ever since. Moroccan mint tea, known as the Berber Whiskey, had become my favorite drink here. My favourite place of the riad was the terrace on level 3. On the terrace, we could see the streets and the roofs of other short buildings, all under the dark blue sky. The tallest building in Marrakech was the mosque, all the other buildings were of maximum 3 levels. Wine on the terrace lasted 5 min tonight before we started dozing off under the starry Marrakech sky.
Welcome to Morocco.
Camel Safaries- 8D7N, 830 euro/ pax
Accomodation- Riad Amin
Sitting in the 40 euros per pax Qatar Oryx lounge and waiting for our next flight at 9.05am from Doha to Casablanca. How long have I been here already? I've lost track of time and am too lazy to count back the hours. But I've watched the sky turned from dark to super glaring and I've watched the lounge went from being crowded to quiet and back to being crowded again. The stopover has been pretty comfortable I must say, other than the constant coughing that goes on forever. There is constant flow of light snacks and drinks and shower rooms are available. I remember my last awful long stopover at Beijing over a night was spent chewing on french fries at McD with no sleep at all.
I am on my way to fulfilling one of those things on my bucket list and I am very excited.
Trips' guardians- Crest and Snugs
Making ourselves comfortable during the long wait.
Doha sunrise
Our first friendly encounter with a Moroccan was at the Casablanca airport baggage pick up, where we met Alv’s SG-Doha flight’s pretty and chatty neighbor who was on her way home to Casablanca from her Bali holiday. She recognized us at the pickup and offered her number in case we needed something or recommendations in Morocco. Sweet pretty people. Alv was happy to make new friends in a new place, I was just thrilled to meet pretty people. Lol.
We were greeted by our Camel Safaries guide, Yusof, at the airport when we had arrived at Casablanca. Flight was delayed and by the time we had reached, it was almost 4pm, including daylight savings by an hour. We immediately took a 2.5 hrs drive to Marrakech where we stayed for the first two nights. It was our first time in a riad and Riad Amin, which was within the Medina, had set the standard pretty high. I was pretty impressed and excited because it was not like the usual hotels that we stayed everywhere else. Dinner was cooked by one of the staff, called Mahmood and despite eating with our eyes closed and dozing off midway through chewing (We were super jet lagged), we truly enjoyed the Chicken tagine. It was one of my favorite meals so far and had become one of my favorite Moroccan cuisine ever since. Moroccan mint tea, known as the Berber Whiskey, had become my favorite drink here. My favourite place of the riad was the terrace on level 3. On the terrace, we could see the streets and the roofs of other short buildings, all under the dark blue sky. The tallest building in Marrakech was the mosque, all the other buildings were of maximum 3 levels. Wine on the terrace lasted 5 min tonight before we started dozing off under the starry Marrakech sky.
Welcome to Morocco.
Camel Safaries- 8D7N, 830 euro/ pax
Accomodation- Riad Amin
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Hong Kong for a hoof shake from Eeyore/ Day 3 (31 Mar 2013, Sunday)
Checking in at the airport and staring out at the grey, hazy outside. Doesn't look like good conditions for flying.
Day 3 started with, finally, HK milk tea and Po Luo You bun at a local 茶餐厅. Breakfast the local way- love that. Spent the rest of the morning doing shopping at Tung Chung outlet mall and buying random stuff. Our best and only buys were two Esprit beach towels, a gym towel and new biks. Ready for beach again after June.
Night
Back at approximately 8.45 pm. Flight wasn't entertaining but it was nice packing char siew rice and HK milk tea onto the flight. Arrived on homeland with family drama finale and a late dinner. Supr shag.
Back to 6.15 am mornings and very vexed over tomorrow's work plans. -_-
New friend- a cantonese donkey.
Checking in at the airport and staring out at the grey, hazy outside. Doesn't look like good conditions for flying.
Day 3 started with, finally, HK milk tea and Po Luo You bun at a local 茶餐厅. Breakfast the local way- love that. Spent the rest of the morning doing shopping at Tung Chung outlet mall and buying random stuff. Our best and only buys were two Esprit beach towels, a gym towel and new biks. Ready for beach again after June.
Night
Back at approximately 8.45 pm. Flight wasn't entertaining but it was nice packing char siew rice and HK milk tea onto the flight. Arrived on homeland with family drama finale and a late dinner. Supr shag.
Back to 6.15 am mornings and very vexed over tomorrow's work plans. -_-
New friend- a cantonese donkey.
Hong Kong for a hoof shake from Eeyore/ Day 2 (30 Mar 2013, Saturday)
Day 2 started with an abrupt breakfast call at the door and finding out that the rest of the family were getting ready to leave while the 3 of us were still snoozing away. We finally went down at 9.20am and had found the entire entourage waiting in the van. =X
The entire day was spent sight seeing, being cold and walking in the rain. Hadn't had chance for stocking tea yet, not even 老婆饼. But we had lots of pig trotters and dim sum. So far, Hong Kong was mostly about eating and walking around with the babies. Funniest parts of today included playing Emoji with the hub and watching Brendon have mixed emotions between laughing out loud at 外公 and crying from sleepiness at the same time.
Need to at least fulfill the stocking milk tea crave before leaving!
Day 2 started with an abrupt breakfast call at the door and finding out that the rest of the family were getting ready to leave while the 3 of us were still snoozing away. We finally went down at 9.20am and had found the entire entourage waiting in the van. =X
The entire day was spent sight seeing, being cold and walking in the rain. Hadn't had chance for stocking tea yet, not even 老婆饼. But we had lots of pig trotters and dim sum. So far, Hong Kong was mostly about eating and walking around with the babies. Funniest parts of today included playing Emoji with the hub and watching Brendon have mixed emotions between laughing out loud at 外公 and crying from sleepiness at the same time.
Need to at least fulfill the stocking milk tea crave before leaving!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Hong Kong for a hoof shake from Eeyore/ Day 1 (29 Mar 2013, Friday)
Survived 22 hours of staying awake (from 4.30am Thursday morning to make it to the airport to send them off till 2.30am Friday morning to send myself off in a plane) and finally concussed the entire flight till we reached Hong Kong. Cathay Pac had to be one of the most uncomfortable planes. As bad as United.
Arrived at HK finally with a very excited dad. He always loved family travels. We took the MTR from the airport to Disneyland, which took us close to an hour to finally reach the hotel to meet the others. Waiting for the shuttle took us quite a while.
Day 1 was spent at Disneyland and the most enjoyable part was to see Eeyore dancing through during the parade with an ugly hair. Didn't get to shake his hoofs nor get his autograph. I felt like a big kid being that excited walking around Disney.
Took a train down to Central after dinner and hung out at Mid Levels at SOHO area. So glad I still remembered my directions around this area. The long escalator area still is my favorite place in Hong Kong. By the time we finished our gelatos and drink and made our way back to Disney, it was 12.20am. Sat at the shuttle bus waiting area for a good, cold 20 min before we finally got away from the icy night. 19 oC, in shorts, a sleeveless top and a jacket and ran on the spot for heat. Super cold !
Survived 22 hours of staying awake (from 4.30am Thursday morning to make it to the airport to send them off till 2.30am Friday morning to send myself off in a plane) and finally concussed the entire flight till we reached Hong Kong. Cathay Pac had to be one of the most uncomfortable planes. As bad as United.
Arrived at HK finally with a very excited dad. He always loved family travels. We took the MTR from the airport to Disneyland, which took us close to an hour to finally reach the hotel to meet the others. Waiting for the shuttle took us quite a while.
Day 1 was spent at Disneyland and the most enjoyable part was to see Eeyore dancing through during the parade with an ugly hair. Didn't get to shake his hoofs nor get his autograph. I felt like a big kid being that excited walking around Disney.
Took a train down to Central after dinner and hung out at Mid Levels at SOHO area. So glad I still remembered my directions around this area. The long escalator area still is my favorite place in Hong Kong. By the time we finished our gelatos and drink and made our way back to Disney, it was 12.20am. Sat at the shuttle bus waiting area for a good, cold 20 min before we finally got away from the icy night. 19 oC, in shorts, a sleeveless top and a jacket and ran on the spot for heat. Super cold !
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Hong Kong for a hoof shake from Eeyore/ Day 1 (28 Mar 2013, Thursday)
CX714 rescheduled to 02:14 hrs, an awful stomach and about to throw up. -_- It's going to be a wet weekend. But! I think I will give Eeyore a big hug when I see him. Andy's coming!
First thing I'll do when we reach- drink a sock milk tea and look out for 朝伟 and 天乐! =D
CX714 rescheduled to 02:14 hrs, an awful stomach and about to throw up. -_- It's going to be a wet weekend. But! I think I will give Eeyore a big hug when I see him. Andy's coming!
First thing I'll do when we reach- drink a sock milk tea and look out for 朝伟 and 天乐! =D
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Melbourne on a campervan/ Day 7 (17 feb 2013, Sunday)
Night, 6.17pm Aud time
Sitting at the waiting area to board the plane. Haven't had enough fun.
Had our biggest meal yet at Brighton this afternoon and a quick drive by the beach where the colourful changing rooms were. I liked Brighton. Today's temperature was at a scotching 35 oC and people were sunbathing. How did they do that in that heat??
Night, 6.48pm Aud time
Sitting on rows 24E to H and feeling a tinge of sadness from the short week. We haven't had time for many of the places we have originally planned for. Have had a great time though. Our first holiday adventure on a campervan isn't the most comfortable but it certainly has brought me more memories than the usual ones.
Going home.
Night, 11.30pm Sin time
In my half awake stupor, I carried my bags and walked out of the plane towards the PBB and for a split second I thought I was in China when 3 airport personnel stood and waited at the entrance of the plane in a row. Genuinely thought so with my sleepy head. =X
We are home and planning for next trip!
All of us woke up with red faces and noses and severe sun burnt this morning. The day started at 4.30 am Aud time for us as we wanted to catch the early morning light for our last shoot of this trip at the Cape Schanck Light Station.
Sunrise at Cape Schanck Light station
We spent a couple of hours taking gown shots at the cape and left when the sun got really strong. On our way to Brighton for lunch now before returning the van and heading to the airport for our flight at 7pm Aud time.
I love how Australians are always generous with their compliments and smiles.
One week is too short.
Night, 6.17pm Aud time
Sitting at the waiting area to board the plane. Haven't had enough fun.
Had our biggest meal yet at Brighton this afternoon and a quick drive by the beach where the colourful changing rooms were. I liked Brighton. Today's temperature was at a scotching 35 oC and people were sunbathing. How did they do that in that heat??
Night, 6.48pm Aud time
Sitting on rows 24E to H and feeling a tinge of sadness from the short week. We haven't had time for many of the places we have originally planned for. Have had a great time though. Our first holiday adventure on a campervan isn't the most comfortable but it certainly has brought me more memories than the usual ones.
Going home.
Night, 11.30pm Sin time
In my half awake stupor, I carried my bags and walked out of the plane towards the PBB and for a split second I thought I was in China when 3 airport personnel stood and waited at the entrance of the plane in a row. Genuinely thought so with my sleepy head. =X
We are home and planning for next trip!
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