The Seas, The Sun & The Air - The Okinawa Way Feb 2017 (VI)

Having explored the western side of Okinawa, our onward journey moved to the eastern side of the country.  We had this "child-like" thought of staying at both sides of the country to experience something "different". We drove via the Kaichu-doro drive to Miyagi Island and stayed at Hamahiga Island.  It was very funny feeling of driving from islands to islands connected by roads.  Our lodging was at Hotel Hamahigashima Resort - it was very quiet when we checked in and I was worried if we were the only couple staying for the night. Imagine the whole resort with us and the hotel staff only.  It was "so quiet" that we had to inform them that we would be eating dinner at the hotel in advance!  How remote feeling it was.

We decided to "trip advisor" and selected one Japanese Restaurant called Fukuya in Uruma, the main island.  It was an easy drive but the tough part was to navigate into the sharp 90 degree turn into the restaurant.  Not very big but very "jap feel".  The waitresses could not communicate in English at all, not even simple words and menu all in Jap.  A very interesting encounter occurred - two ladies next to our table could speak a bit of English and helped us in our order.  We chose two different types of fish and we requested for "local dish".  

While waiting for our dishes, the ladies started to scoop up some of the "appetisers" and passed them to us to try. Gosh, very hospitable and warm-feeling.  One tasted like fried potato chips while the other was vegetables with meat. 

With the background jap music and guys in another corner drinking and chatting loudly, it was really special.  We realised that Okinawan dish and Japanese dish are different - even the ladies asked us whether we wanted Japanese or Okinawan dish.  We chose one "Japanese" and one "Okinwan" dish. 

I was anticipating my Okinawan FISH, and wondered how it tasted like.  When the dishes came, we saw that one of the fishes we ordered with help was the Japanese "grilled fish".  Mine, so many bones and tough to eat, and it was really like Saba Fish.  The other one was Okinawan FISH. WOW, it was really yummy when my dear passed to me to "try".  I kept telling my wife who passed me the OKinawan fish was so delicious, fresh and yummy.  And it was supposed to be her fish, her meal.  To-date, I still dunno how to find the Okinawan Fish.  We also ordered two Okinawan Beer and had a great time communicating with the ladies and waitresses there.  My dear had to use wedding tunes "here comes the bride" to tell the ladies that we were "married" haha. It was so funny.  


We drove back carefully to the resort and it was dark on the roads.  I saw "green eyes" on the trees when I drove back. Seeing a few cars at the carpark assured us that at least we were not the only ones in the resort.  Quiet, lull period I guess.  

The sunrise the next morning was nice.  Staying in the resort in the remote island gave us a serene feeling though.  I went up to the public bath area but didn't stay long as I was the only one. Didn't catch the sunrise as planned in the area as it should be quite dark to go there to wait for sunrise....

Breakfast was a good spread and it was then that we realised got several families actually staying there yesterday night.  My dear liked the breakfast. I was still searching if there were any Okinawan Fish! Haha.

After checking out, we drove around and would stop at jetties or near breakwaters to see if we could spot any sea creatures.  Why? Cos when we were at Miyagi Island the day before, we stopped near a jetty and saw how clear the water was.  We could see clearly sea urchins, and a few memos.  Very clear, and this simple little thing fascinated us a lot.   

The Seas, The Sun & The Air - The Okinawa Way Feb 2017 (V)

We visited a few "Capes" during our drive to our next destination, the American Village. One particular interesting thing at one of the Capes was the "couple rock" - the Okinawa version.  We didn't see the rock clearly but could see the rope tied between the Hubby rock and the Wife rock.  I remembered telling my dear that there was a beach resort nearby and the visitors could see the rock clearly from their resort.  For my wife and I, we also "tied ourselves" together regularly even at home - holding hands even in the kitchen and quite funny when we ask ourselves why.

My dear has the "passion" to see pottery which I wasn't aware of.    She even did a research and found a very interesting pottery village known as "Yomitan Pottery Village".  Visited the Pottery Village and saw the kiln and pottery shops.  

 

It was a new experience for us as we have not seen a real kiln before. During one local pottery exhibition, I recalled my wife told me to feel each pottery art piece as each art piece has its own uniqueness and could understand the feeling of the potters.  Though I may not grasp how she feel it, I diligently feel each art piece.  No wonder she was touching the pottery when we were at the village - trying to talk to each pottery and the potter behind it? Haha.  We did find one which could really communicate with her but practical reasons kicked in - whether we have use for it and of cos, S Eleven also matters.  

Something else attracted my attention at this village though - the glass maker using recycled soda and beer bottle.  I was particularly attracted to an article placed on the wall outsides on recycled glass shop - it stated there was an Okinawan poem - "When life is blown into reticent discarded bottle it starts to speak".  Seemed that there were many glass bottles left behind during WW and locals started to recycle them to put into better use.  We didn't buy any of the glass art piece.  

We reached the American Village and stayed at Beach Tower Resort.  Managed to get a glimpse of the sunset from our hotel room.  My wife was surprised to see an owl at the hotel and she initially thought the owl was just a fake decoration.  The hotel was quite strict in the dress code - no bathrobe at reception.  One surprise was the onsen linked to the hotel and it was like the authentic public bath that I tried at Beppu.  Finally got to dip into onsen and I couldn't remember if that was the reason why we booked the Resort. 

The feel at American Village was a bit different from our previous visits to other parts of Okinawa.  It felt like a town with outlet malls, fast-food and more US-brand goods.  We decided to pay a visit to the Village due to "Tanglin" show and we tried to find the cafe shown in the show.  The cafe was closed that day.  We had taco-rice, as our dinner and the taco-rice was quite popular food in the Village - one of the few restaurants opened during our visit.  

We celebrated our Valentines' Day in Okinawa too.  We happened to chance upon a bread shop and surprised to see our favourite turtle bun.  I secretly bought a small gift on our journey to the Village and a simple treat for both of us in Okinawa.  I felt that I was quite romantic, haha.  


As part of our routine travel, we will buy a Starbucks for our uncle.  Well, it happened to be the launch of the Sakura-series of mugs and bottles again, and I helped my wife to decide on which one to buy and it was a good choice to-date - people will take a glance at her tumbler whenever she brings it out.  

The Seas, The Sun & The Air - The Okinawa Way Feb 2017 (IV)

One of the most luxurious hotels that we stayed in Okinawa was Hotel Nikko Alivila. The moment we parked our car and moved in the lobby, we were "wow"ed by the "golden" coloured lobby.  There were heated pool, and elevators with view of the seas.  It would be quite x around $1K per night? 

After checking in with the assistance of the service staff (she was on working holiday and a chinese and this was the first time that I actually realised how popular working holiday is), we went out to take a look at the beach.  The water was very "okinawa" - blue, and we chanced upon some cute rock formation - like Taiwan Yeliu Rocks?  Spent some time dipping our feet in the cool waters, and hearing the waves hitting the rocks.  It was a great way to chill and relax. 

There was also a church nearby and we happened to see a wedding photography session. Quite a good choice to have photos taken here. 

The drive to Kouri Ocean Tower, a stop that was inspired by the "Macau Law Wai Son" show, was also scenic.  My dear was "wow wow"-ing at the beautiful oceans when we were driving there and she told me I had to concentrate on driving and I could not stop to see the views.  The vehicles were suddenly moving very slowly as we got onto the bridge leading to the Tower.  Magnificent view, absolutely.  We should have bought a Gopro!

The famous portion of the Tower was the bell at the top, and this was the place that we could see the 360 degree view of the seas.  The space was quite small and all of us have to take turns to take photo with the bell.  

We went to the souvenir shop to get some goodies and we tasted most of the samples before deciding what to buy.  Interestingly, there was a lucky draw when you made payment at the cashier and the amusing part was if the cash register opened with some music, my purchases would be FOC! Haha. 

The Seas, The Sun & The Air - The Okinawa Way Feb 2017 (III)

There is this village of Longevity known as Ogimi Village that I have heard since young.  I recalled there was this documentary showing the very healthy grandpas and grandmas at Okinawa who have lived for more than 100 years! I still remember that the music of the documentary was very cute and I have tried to recall the tune to my dear.

One of the "secrets" of Longevity is the food they take at Okinawa.  Uniquely that most of the traditional Okinawa dish have bitter gourd. There is also this purple potato which we saw it in the TVB show.  Googling for a good place to makan, we found one very interesting restaurant known as Eminomise (Emi's restaurant).  There was this special "longevity" meal which you needed to book in advance but too bad we didn't realise until we were about to check out from our hotel!

We still decided to proceed there and asked the hotel staff to help us booked a table. Upon reaching Eminomise, we parked our car and saw a vegetable farm opposite to the restaurant. My dear said the farm were the source of ingredients for the meals and the food would be fresh.

We were ushered to our wooden table by the staff who all spoke very good English. We were near a TV set which was showing documentary of Ogimi Village, I think.  We were seated also next to the windows and we could hear some noises from the school nearby.  We got to try any versions of longevity meals they offered as we needed to live another more 100 years to travel to many more places and experience life. 

The lunch was indeed very nicely placed and fresh! It was the very first time that I ate a bitter gourd that was not bitter! I was not sure why and my dear's explanation was they were from the farm - fresh from the oven, and organic! I was not sure why they liked to put the giant "ikan bills" - these fishes were the only one that I passed to my dear to eat.  I liked the okinawa donuts which were slightly sweet and since then I craved for them whenever we makaned in okinawa.  My dear commented in the diary that I was very "game" in trying new food in a new country.  However, I would conveniently pass to her what I dun dare to try. Cos of this, she usually ordered another dish different from me.  She didn't indicate the reason(s) but I thought she could pass some of the stuff that I liked to eat to me bah?  Haha. 

The Seas, The Sun & The Air - The Okinawa Way Feb 2017 (II)

Our trip happened to coincide with the Sakura Festival for Okinawa -  there was this Sakura festival at Nakijin Castle and we had not seen Sakura@night.  So, we purposely timed our journey to catch it at night - 12 Feb 2017 supposed to be the last night of the festival.

We passed by this Butterfly Garden from the Aquarium to hotel to prepare for our night "excursion". It is known as Ryugujo Butterfly Garden.  From the exterior of the building, it didn't look like a garden but more like a castle to us. It was a small garden with one indoor section where we could see more butterflies.  I rem I wanted to bring my wife to see the one at Airport (recently we went and did not see many).  It was both fun and a bit scary to see that the butterflies rested on a bouquet of flowers and a red hat which were tools for visitors to use for photo-taking.  We took turns to put on the hat and I had to make sure I dun "snap" or "flap" any butterflies flying or hanging around my head with the red hat. Of cos, took pictures to see how we looked.

The journey to the Nakijin Castle was on GPS and there were full parking everywhere.  We did a few rounds to try to get parking lots but no luck.  My dear then did a very clever move and decided to stop at the entrance of a carpark and tried to seek help from the parking attendants - they looked like retired grandpas but still very strong and fit.  The "grandpa" attendant heard that we could not find any lots and allowed us to wait a while and enter the carpark! Bingo, we got one lot haha.  

We always like to visit Japanese festivals and we had gone to a few. They were very interesting and traditional - you could see arts & crafts, old childhood goodies (I assume as I could not find in Japanese shops) and music. 

Wondered how this Sakura festival would turn out? 

It was quite apt and "romantic" especially nearing Valentines' Day. Imaging ourselves in seas of Sakuras and likely no bees at night to disturb us?  The Sakura trees were "lighted up" with lights and we followed the locals and walked up orderly.  Maybe we were the only foreigners?  

As I didn't take my tripod out, we had to hold our breath and steady our hands to take night shots. I believed my dear loved the night viewing of Sakura. Since our first encounter with Sakura, my dear has been loving them whenever she sees them. Many times, I have to remind her that there are many bees flying just above her head when she gets too close to the Sakura trees.

There were also performances by locals and we sat down on the benches to cheer and clap like everyone. There was then this particular tune and the cute whistling that caught our attention.  Re-playing the video immediately reminded us of the ambience and festive joy then.  I started to feel the warmth of Okinawa people.


Hungry, we decided to get some "local food" and I again wanted to try the local Okinawa noodle soup. My wife asked me to order one bowl to "test" first and I was initially a bit grumpy why so "troublesome".  Again, she was the smarter one as she knew I dun fancy the "fatty meat" in the bowl. Lucky we only ordered one bowl. 

Something that I should learn to be practical and not too adventurous. 

[See more info for your road trip -  on the Festival at http://okinawatravelinfo.com/events/nakijin-castle-cherry-blossom-festival-2017/]

The Seas, The Sun & The Air - The Okinawa Way Feb 2017 (I)

We decided to venture to Okinawa after being prompted a few times from shows from TVB and Channel 5. A lot of preparation works needed to be done and my dear got the most important thing to get us started - A big Okinawa map.  The map helped us in planning our routes and this was the first time that I would be driving in an overseas setting.  Couldn't help but felt a bit anxious especially with the road signs and driving patterns.  We did our International Driving Permit and one more document to take besides our travel documents. My dear did more research than me, getting the "map codes" and "phone numbers" of places that we planned to visit [These nos were the GPS] after I told her which regions that we would go.

We had a very pleasant surprise when we checked in at Airport - upgraded to premium economy seats and delighted that we joined Asiamiles membership. Haha, I was still a bit frustrated when I could not check in on the self-service kiosk cos they had upgraded our seats.  My dear thought only my seat was upgraded and she thought we would have to sit separately which I won't do so.

Cosmo Omoromachi Station 

We took Cathay to HK and transit to Okinawa & the journey was good. From flight to Okinawa from HK, we were amazed and at the same time a bit anxious flying over the deep blue seas haha (too much TVB show). We decided to relax and stay one night in Naha. We had booked our rented Toyota car near DFS and we stayed near the Omoromachi Station on Yu rail monorail. It was like a service apartment and typical small room but very clean and neat.  There was a big emporium nearby for replenishment.  To be well prepared for journey tomorrow, I was asking my dear to observe how people drive and park, and how was the parking system.  A bit too edgy.

"Ninja" WIFI

One point worth mentioning is the rental of WIFI Box - we got this Ninja WIFI rental from Naha Airport and it turned out to be a very useful tool for our WIFI on the move like "Ninja", haha. In fact, kudos to my wife for the suggestion as I was still stuck to "travel SIM" method. 

We didn't do much shopping but my dear already "targeted" her shoes and things to buy. As we would also be returning car to the same place, we could buy the stuff on way back. My wife promised me that she would help me look out traffic when I began driving tomorrow. Yup. 

Picking up the car was easy and took us about an hour including registration, short briefing on road signs and driving speed (40 km/hr) and purchase of discount tickets. We had chosen Toyota Axio - slightly smaller than Altis but still a very comfortable car which could seat 5. It was a white car and we were taught how to use the in-built GPS and off we went.  Car rental is useful and essential if you need to travel around Okinawa. With this mobility, we also managed to go Hotel Hopping daily. The first step out into the roads was quite OK though we got lost in making too early turn. After 10 minutes, we were quite used to the Okinawa Car and on our way to our first sight - Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.  It was a long drive and we were on the Expressway which allowed 80km/hr drive. We collected the toll ticket from the entrance of the Expressment and payment of toll would be done at the exit point. Very interesting feel for us. 

After driving for a while, the GPS "spoke" to us that we had been driving for nearly 2 hours and asking us to take a break! It was so funny and interesting and we drove past some eateries and decided to stop at one to try. Amazing feeling just like the show in "Japan Hour" where the hosts would drive and stop to taste nice food. You never know what to expect to eat if you have not planned  to do so. My dear asked me to order a vegetable with luncheon meat noodles soup while she tried the Okinawa pork noodles. Well, the dish was suitable for me as not much "fats". It was a pleasure makan for replenishment.  I liked this kind of feeling and impromptu stop, and I didn't know I was "addicted" to it during the journey.

The climax of the Aquarium was the big tank and seeing the big whales. Very big aquarium and largest one we had ever seen in our history of aquarium or underwater world visits.  Haha.  We wanted to see this "Kuroshio" Adventure and missed the lift to Level 4 a few times until we had to ask an auntie at the cafe.  There are fixed timings to venture into Level 4 and hence could not miss it. Surprisingly, not many people or visitors were interested. This place is where you can see and walk along bridges above the water tanks with the whales/fishes below you.  It was a big complex and you could also have a bird eye view of the seas around the Aquarium.

   

Well, we also followed the crowd to see the Dolphin Show. They were very well-trained and some were really very big. I wondered how the big ones jumped so high. Very cute dolphins and it reminded me of "Free Willy" equivalent though Willy is not a dolphin. 

 

Bangkok - Doing Things Differently in Aug 16

We did different things this time round in Aug 16 - a nearly two-week stay in Bangkok and we decided to venture into other areas of Bangkok.  First thing was to stay near Chao Phraya River and got to get a better view of the river.  We checked in to Chatrium, a very clean and good hotel instead of staying at our usual hostel (We stayed a few days). The view was splendid and I was tempted to stay near the river every time we visit Bangkok. Though the place was without BTS, we could still easily get to point to point via boat or taxi. One point that impressed us was how they kept our baggage and asked us to identify our baggage when we came to retrieve it.  Very professional. 



It was quite interesting though to hear workers doing morning exercises at the construction sites nearby. There seemed to be very ongoing projects, and not sure if the view would be obstructed next time. 



We visited a night market which was quite far from our hotel.  About 30 mins taxi ride.  It was a "Train Market" - a very huge complex behind Secon Shopping Centre. The complex was huge and there were exhibits - old vehicles on display. This night market was different from Chatuchak or the night markets that we visited. However, we didn't buy anything though we took some photos. Weather was hot in Aug, and probably why we didn't stay long enuff till dusk.  I had wanted to buy a couple shirt but they dun have our sizes.



Have wanted to do the Mae Khlong Train Market route for many times. This time round, we decided to do so via tour agency.   Didn't want to be bothered with the DIY journey, and not sure if the market was opened or not.  We joined this Taiwanese-operated tour agency and it was quite fun mingling with the travellers.  There were 4 taiwanese in the group, and my wife was de facto tour guide. She explained and talked more than the tour guide.  I think she is a natural "tour guide". While she was entertaining the group, I was too tired and dozed off on the return leg.  Focusing on the Train Market, it was very fun to see the train moving slowly into the market and the vendors steadily keeping their stuff. My dear was too excited and she accidentally stepped onto the "boundary" of one auntie and she slapped my wife's leg. Frankly, I was a bit pissed off by the action but my wife looked quite guilty and our focus was re-directed to the coming train. Till now, I could still remember the "loud slap on the leg" - actually I was quite angry.  My wife was still videoing as the train crawled in and I have to keep telling her to come back behind the railings.  Behind the backdrop was constant loud whistling by the train warden.  



Part of the tour package included the famous touristy Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Unlike the previous round with my parents, my wife and I were sitting in a wooden boat going through fun corners of the river.  A bit different.  The stalls seem to be lacking in variety of stuff to sell - not as interesting as before.  I tried to find the big fan hanging on the wall but couldn't find it.  I remember my mum took a photo with it and it wasn't there anymore.  Something similar no longer there. 

We also tried thai cooking class this time. Haha, I used to be quite reluctant to do so but since we had a longer holiday, we decided to try.  We got to learn to cook green curry, satay and tom yam soup during the lesson.  It was quite interesting to start the class by visiting a local market and understanding how to select the ingredients. During the class, the first task was to chop a bunch of ingredients and my wife thought I would be quite slow to do so. However, when she saw me chopping like a "pro", she knew she was the slow one.  Another surprise for her was the operation of the stove.  I was able to on the gas without much difficulty, and I was grinning at her with my "achievement".  However, I was labelled by our teacher to do "bungy jump"ing the ingredients.  The oil looked pretty hot and so I "dropped" the stuff into the pot and it was "bungy jumping" to the teacher. 



We got to know a mother and daughter team during the lesson.  The mother was quite surprised to know that we purposely came to learn cooking as part of our trip. She had thought we were working in BKK. Her daughter however was actually working there. When we shared about the cost of ABC cooking, she mentioned that we could do "instalment".  Didn't get the point that we wanted to put across for sharing.

It was quite fun doing things together and doing different things in familiar grounds. Truly enjoyed the good longer break and made new discoveries with new experiences:

* My wife bought a few local lady wear and she looked like a local Thai lady in it
* We also stayed at Chinatown and we got to see morning Chinatown and taste a new noodle shop
* Morning Chinatown market was where my wife got her local wear
* Stayed in cab for nearly 1 hour during evening peak and didn't realise the long duration when we were chatting
* First time doing haircut in BKK
* Coffee Bean-ing at Dao - very nice cake shop
* Volunteering work to play with babies - a very unique experience and we hope we had made a little joy in the short day with the babies
* 7-11 Banana cakes were very popular snacks
* A new vegetable that goes well with egg - a dish recommended by our Thai friend