Walking Fukuoka History Apr 14 - Nagasaki

We went for a day excursion to Nagasaki to understand the atomic bomb history. We were following the footsteps of our friends and followed them to visit the museum, one-pillar shrine etc. However, it was raining very heavily and we have to skip some outdoor places of interest. 

Seafood @ Nagasaki Port 

We were on the epic centre of the atomic bombing at Nagasaki - the place was near to the museum. Statues of peace and posters and tiles by school children asking for peace and no bombing could be seen near the steps up towards the museum.  The aftermaths of war affected many.  The museum showed footages of bombing and also pictures of the bombing. I was worried that my wife would be scared of the images and I have warned her before the journey to be prepared.  One of things that strike me was the clock and watch that "stopped" at the time of the bombing. The time basically froze at 11am. I told my wife the date of the bombing was 9 Aug. 

There were also pictures of "shadows" cast by the trees during the bombing. We could imagine how hot it could be to leave the "shadows" markings on the walls. Scary.

As it was still raining, we took the tram and tried to find our way to the one-pillar shrine. Along the way, we "bento" from a local shop and ate our lunch hiding from rain at a garage. Cold and wet day. Of cos, I threw some tantrums due to the disruptions by bad weather. My wife was quick to spot the sign leading to the one-pillar.  If not for her, we were likely be stranded searching for it. I really gave her a big thumb up for that. Of cos, didn't want to admit it that I actually didn't see the sign, haha. Good work, my wife =).

Next, I decided to go straight to the Nagasaki Port to see the "Tall Ships" festivals. There supposed to be many tall ships.  Unfortunately, the bad weather dampened the festivals and many stalls could not open. We decided to have a hot grill seafood at one of the restaurants there. They served big portions of shells and seafood. Imitating the chef in Hokkaido, I did the grilling like a master chef with gloves. My wife was so fascinated by my skill that she took a video of how I managed to dig out the sea creature from shell. Frankly, I still not sure what we ate. With the backdrop of drizzling sound and cold weather, the meal sort of warming us.

Decided that the rain would not stop any moment, we went back to train station. It was there that we saw many local delicacies again. We were given some samples of the pork buns and they were yummy. So, we bought one to eat on train back to Hakata. 

I have wanted to visit one famous sponge cake shop in Nagasaki. Though we didn't manage to go there, there was an outlet near the train station. Without hesitation, we started to order boxes by boxes - but they have limited shelf life so we could not buy too many. A pity. I rem my wife sharing with me that the Japanese dun put preservatives in their local delicacies, thats why we dun have extended expiry dates. Well, I am a strong believer in expiry dates. 

Famous Sponge Cake of Fukusaya 福砂屋 

The sponge cake originated from Portugal. It was really to my liking. I especially like the top. It is one of the must-try in Nagasaki, I think. I wonder how it would taste if we visited the actual shop in Nagasaki. Would they taste the best while they were baked and served hot? Haha, my wife and I shared a cute story in HK as we travelled all the way to visit the original shop to buy wife biscuits. I was under the impression that the biscuits would be very different. Well, similar to those that I can buy in Sogo. The journey was really far. 

We hope we can come back to Nagasaki another time. We didn't really explore the place much. 

Walking Fukuoka History Apr 14 - Yatai Experience

Yatai, Fukuoka

One local thing that we wanted to try is to visit the Yatai, the mobile food stall. Actually, I didn't know such Yatai exists and my wife read to discover it. My job is to search for the congregation of Yatai and feast on some local delicacies. My wife has been talking about 明太子, so we definitely would have to try it. We found a few of Yatai along the river en route to Canal City.  Not sure why we didn't a whole group of Yatai but there were still some with queues.  As usual, my wife walked up and down to recce which stalls have the most customers and which stalls at least have things that I could eat. 

I already knew that I would feast on Ramen. No doubt about it, so no matter which Yatai, I would order Ramen. I am a "mee" person actually. My wife has no problem guessing what I like to eat for breakfast. Back to Yatai, these mobile food stalls made me recall those stalls at Chinatown. My parents brought us to some stalls with wooden tables for dinner. The concept was the same but the atmosphere was different.

We queued at one very popular Yatai among the rest and waited for our turn. The Yatai was typically small and like "western bar" concept. We got our seats next to another Jap couple - actually we were surrounded by locals, not much tourists.  The Jap couple besides us ordered Ramen and so did we. My wife spotted the couple drinking the soup in the bowl after they finished the noodles, and she followed suit. The soup was nice. We also ordered chicken satay (grilled chicken yakitori) besides the 明太子.  The yakitori tasted a bit different, a bit fatty and I just ate without thinking.  Later, my wife told me they were chicken skin! At least not chicken buttocks or chicken feet.  

The "lead actor" came - the 明太子 and it was made up of many many fish eggs. "Mentaiko" looked too "egg" for me. However, since the locals like it and we have ordered, have to go for it. My wife asked me she didn't know why many like to eat Mentaiko.  To me, it tasted a bit saltish. Fukuoka shops have different cans and packages for Mentaiko souvenirs as gifts.  Want some Mentaiko?

Yatai experiences were fun. It was a place where locals ate and drank. It felt like a open-air pub.  The bill was not cheap though, and I could sense from my wife that she preferred to dine elsewhere since the cost was similar to that in restaurant. 

Walking Fukuoka History Apr 14 - Beppu to Hakata

Waking up early to go to a very old traditional onsen in the neighbourhood near Beppu Guest House was one thing we did. We didn't bath in the GH (a small episode that I was locked insides the toilet, trying very very hard to unlock myself). There seems to be a "warning notice" about the lock in the shared toilet - all in Japanese words and I was without phone. Prayed and finally got out after a while. Thank God.

We googled our way to the onsen. It was really very traditional and locals went to onsen before they went to work. I bought a towel (not sure why they issued me a pink towel) and off we went in. The public bathroom usually hangs a blue cloth for gents and pink cloth for ladies. It was very hot and I saw a group of very old tanned uncles soaking in the bath. It looked very hot. For the moment, I looked fair compared to most of them - they were red due to the steamy bath. The pool was really small, like the baby pool in the swimming pool. Without delay, I went on my routine of public bath, bathing and soaking and bathing. HOT. Ouch. After about 20 mins plus, went out to look for my wife. We stayed for a while to cool down with tea. This is really a very traditional bathhouse. 

We had our cute chicken pie for breakfast and got on with our journey to the Beppu Train Station to Hakata. Beppu Town is the typical old town - peaceful and quiet and a place for relaxation. I like old quiet town.  

It was interesting that the trains arriving at Beppu sounding a very cute lullaby "Beppu Beppu Beppu....". For a while, I imitated the lullaby and gonna miss Beppu while anticipating what's would be in store for us in Hakata. 

Hakata - It took us about 2 hours+ to reach Hakata from Beppu, can't rem exactly. We checked in at our favourite Route Inn hotel and as they have specific check-in time, we went around Hakata shopping centre. There, my wife, started to measure her buy in terms of handkerchiefs. Yup, each handkerchief cost 500YEN. It is interesting how she likes japanese handkerchief. She can spend most of the time on them. Of cos, we dun forget the japanese umbrellas. I can't rem when she started collecting the handkerchiefs. At times, I wonder why we need so many handkerchiefs haha. 

We went for evening walk by taking the 100YEN bus. Hakata operates a 100YEN bus which brings u to places within city area. It's economical and saves walking time. We planned to go "Canal City" and we wanted to try local Yatai. Our first stop was a temple - looked quite old as well. There was a very gigantic display and my wife helped to pose in the photo to show the contrast.  I noticed that my wife got very interested in looking at the wishes the locals put on string. We saw them a few times and she was interested. I believe it is knowing and trying to understand the culture of the people in the country that we visit. 

We saw people (likely they knocked off from work) streaming slowly into the temple for prayers. One thing that I rem from visiting japanese temple is the sand that they put on the temple ground. Something different from the grounds when you visit other temples. 

Off we went off and walking through a long stretch of shopping arcades. Made me remember the ones in Hokkaido. I like to hold my wife's hand while we strolled down the arcades. She recently said we have been holding hands even after x years of marriage. 

Walking Fukuoka History Apr 14 - Beppu Town

Yes, we are back in Japan again. This time we went to Fukuoka region - the far west of Japan - inspired by the trip of Zhengjia and Jenny. Something I like about this journey - it is shorter flight time to Fukuoka, not the 9 hours or longer flight time. 

My wife loves the donut in Japan - Mister Donut. And without fail, we saw it and munched it haha. I still rem the green coloured taste of the drink too, and it was our first snack in Japan Fukuoka.  We were heading to Beppu town - a town of steamy hot springs and onsens. I read that there were steam coming out from holes underground, and this made me wary not to step on any manholes or drains ~ in case they gave way ~ haha. I read about eating onsen eggs and watch TV shows on them before with my mum. So, we would feast on them. 

We didn't manage to check in our luggage at the hostel though. They only man the reception at certain hours and though the door was opened, I felt uneasy putting our stuff there. Not very friendly leh. As usual, my resourceful wife suggested to use the lockers at Beppu Station. Hmm.. no doubt, she was smart. And lucky we didn't have BIG bags.  After storing the bags in the lockers (Opp is public toilets), we went to makan our first official meal in Beppu and then off to Jigoku (Hell Valley).  There were many "Hells" in Beppu Town with most of the famous ones in Kannawa.  And we were going to have a private onsen this time too at the Hyotan Hot Spring. (I have asked the hostel to book for me, so they are quite customer-friendly on this request).  This "Hyotan Hot Spring" has been awarded 3-star michelin - wow - though they mentioned in their website they were uncertain how they were assessed! 

I told my wife we would be focusing on a few Jigoku only.  One blue one and one white one.  It was interesting but touristy for Jigokus.  We saw the boiling eggs from onsen and off we bought 5 eggs (they came in a pack so can't choose 1 or 2 eggs). They have a small makan place for you to eat the eggs - too bad they didn't provide soy sauce or pepper. The egg yokes were quite tender and nice but after stuffing 4 of them in our tummies. We kept one to feast elsewhere. 

The foot onsens are quite popular here at Beppu. Almost in the two Jigokus and places of interest you can see the foot onsens - they are FOC too! We did our foot onsen-ing at the two Jigokus and they were hot. My feet looked suntan and red after each foot onsen-ing. On our way to Hyotan Hot Spring, we passed by another public foot onsen - a circular resting shed and of cos, we foot onsen-ing again haha.  I guess my feet have never enjoyed such luxury before in one day. 


We didn't try the onsen steaming cooking though as we thought it was not very special. Haha, we did however drink the saltish onsen water. It tasted like swimming pool water of lower concentration of minerals though. 

I wonder where did my wife take this interesting guide on onsen. Frankly, she thinks that I am quite an onsen expert already. For every trip, I would go to public bath without fail. This onsen habit has been part of me whenever I am in Japan. She is shy of cos, and she didn't like public bathing.  

I told her I would teach her how to onsen during our private onsen in Hyotan. It would be like the "Japan Hour" type of onsen-ing with privacy. Looking forward to it, and with milk that my wife would buy.  We were early at Hyotan after getting lost trying to find the place - somehow we planned to go early so that we won't miss the booking time if we were lost haha. While waiting, my wife's eyes sparkled when she saw the vending machine - milk! She told me she would buy to drink after our onsen.  For me, my eyes sparked at the restaurant and we would makan there after onsen. Sometimes, I wonder whether it is the milk or onsen meals that pull us to onsen or the other way round. 

We "so like" onsen. 

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 - 巴黎漫游徒步

真的很难找 － 莎士比亚书局。 我们兜了几圈才找到， 一次在夜晚，一次在白天。书局很古色古香。As inspired by my previous trip and the TVB show, this is another place that I wanted to bring my wife. We spent quite some time here, walking up the steps to the 2nd floor, sitting on the wooden bench reading. It was quite crowded and I was quite obedient not to take photos insides - following the notices. I learnt quite a few books that I should have read before - one of which is "The Little Prince". Didn't know about it so I got one for my nephew too. We got a few other books and got also the signature stamp of Shakespeare and Company. I feel this is a place that my wife would like and yes, I think she likes it a lot. At least from the books she bought :P.

We also have some "small" disagreement while searching for the bookstore at night. We chanced upon a chinese restaurant and we feasted there two times. Not sure why but we have serious craving for chinese food in european countries. I have earlier wanted to go to Chinatown for more authentic recommendations but my wife actually made a good decision for us to eat there. We saw one traveller, I think so, eating there on two days we patronised the shop. To me, it's like going back home with familiar food and smell. I have wanted to try the mee though but didn't do so. 

We didn't know that there was this famous building - Notre Dame Cathedral. It is a very grand building and the entrance to the building closes early before 6pm I think. So, we missed it. We were told by our "Free Tour" guide that many of the decorations in the building remained unchanged to-date and descriptions in the book "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo can still be appreciated if we visit the building. Wow. Interesting. Again, I have not read that book before. One thing I realise when I travel in Europe and also with my wife is that I dun really read a lot or widely. My wife reads and she also mentions that her brother reads a lot too. Difficult to catch up, especially on childhood books? 

We planned to walk to Eiffel Tower and then walked along Seine River to go to one Candle shop. It was drizzling and made the trip a bit uncomfortable. I was still hoping that the drizzle would become snow flakes? Eiffel Tower - still as beautiful as before - and it gave us some good memories during our honeymoon trip. This time, we didn't go up as the queue was still long. We took some pictures and videos and decided to stroll along Seine River instead of taking the river cruise - too dark to see and rainy too.

The walk was kinda romantic. Muddy but it was quite fun walking and chatting. This is the kind of quality time that I want to have. Family time is important and I think not everyone understand that. For me, I want to enrich my family life, not with cash but with quality. Quality of life - it means having time with my family and doing things together. It means exploring new things together and helping and supporting each other. 

We couldn't find the Candle shop. However, we did enjoy the walk though it was getting dark and darker. Dusk fell. In a way, it marked the ending of our Christmas holidays. I can't help but think that Paris is still very attractive place to visit. Sure, I think we will still come again. 

Happy New Year 2014, Paris.  We spent our new year celebrations in the blue skies of Paris though. 

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 - Loving Paris Again

We revisited Paris again. This time around, we stayed at Jules Joffrin area - a totally different feel from our previous stay near Gard Du Nord. It is very near Montmartre - the area that I wanted to bring my wife to see. At hill top, the view was fantastic, I think it is nicer than the view at Eiffel? The whole area gives us a feel of "latin" - very very different and we liked it a lot.

This leg of journey was in a way inspired by the TVB show we watched and the previous official trip I went. I wanted to do a few things this round with my wife but I dun want it to be mission-based, no longer the excel spreadsheet itinerary and the SOP-type journey though. Of cos, coming to Paris needs us to be street smart and it is important to cover each other carefully.

There was also christmas market at the Montmartre area but my dear said it was "different" - but they still sold german beer and also similar snacks leh. As I was a bit hungry after passing through the food stalls, I managed to persuade my wife to try an onion soup to replenish our energy a bit - though I felt she was a bit reluctant to do so. We walked around the area and spotted the Eiffel at one corner and it was something different from the usual backdrop we saw on the postcards. I could see that my wife loved the area though it was very crowded. Actually, we were trying "hard" to enjoy Paris after our previous bad experience in Paris. 
They have fenced up the field which travellers could sit and enjoy the view. Not sure why. Something that I wanted to do with my wife though. But overall, the Montmartre trip was still nice and cozy.  We went to another place that was inspired by the TVB show. We heard of it before but didn't really go there during the previous trip. It was a walk along the river to Pont Des Arts.  "Pont" means bridge. There are many bridges in Paris and it is not hard to find this "Pont" cos it will be packed with locks. I did some research to make sure I got the right "Pont". According to guide, there are two bridges - one is Pont Des Arts - the lock is for committed love and the other is Pont De I'Archeveche which is for lover =).  Very interesting and the "Free Europe Tour" guide said that the local authority has to cut away the locks as they are adding load onto the bridge. We have prepared our lock and marker so we need not buy from the stalls or people there. 

Hee Hee. There were so many locks and it was difficult to find a slot. My wife managed to spot one and we hooked our lock on it. Got another couple to take picture for us, and we helped other couples too. As a fun tradition or thing-to-do, we grabbed and held our key together and threw it into the river. Our committed love together.  I can't help but think that the Parisians were so romantic in things they do... It is not hard to understand why Paris is the most visited country. 

Next time we come to Paris, I will ask my wife to visit the bridge and see the lock again. 

在巴黎这个浪漫的都市，我们学习浪漫，锁住爱情，不知不觉也变得比较浪漫吧？

白色圣诞 Dec 2013 － Le Mont St Michel

I never knew there is such a place. Thanks to the reading by my wife and planning to visit this island during our 2nd leg of the white christmas trip in Paris. Booking of accommodation was challenging as many of the hotels were booked Full. My wife wanted to stay very close to the Abbey - and we really got a room high up near the Abbey. This meant we needed to take our heavy luggage up to the top on our way up?

It was raining when we were on our way there. Kind of irony as we wanted to have rain in cold weather and rain would equate to snow? My first impression of the Le Mont St Michel was "impressive" - on our small little shuttle bus across the swamp and sea - there lies the "fortress"-kind of building. Like fairy-tales. Initially, I was still trying to search on how we could walk over from main town - they really have this causeway for vehicles to move and for people to walk over. I think it would take about 15 mins? It is even amazing or scary when at high tides, this causeway may be submerged and cars being drifted away?

A closer look at the building shows how weather has also created an impact on it. A big massive "brown" building. Dear mentioned that there were only less than 300 people living at LMSM. And the tourists were actually more than the natives =). We went to our hotel to check-in and off to try our crepes and omelettes! The omelettes were supposed to be very special. We got our crepes but no eggs yet. There were warning signs/posters reminding us not to venture out into the swamps. This would be the time for extra caution really, and I actually felt good to stay "higher" despite the walk.

The "mud" or "swamp" created different nice patterns as the day went on. It was beautiful. At times, we did see people walking on the "mud" and I told my dear they were on guided tour. No way we would to try though - the always cautious and careful me. No doubt, the feeling of touching the mud on feet ought to be nice (something like our first Germany trip on mud play?). 

Just like it was Christmas seasons, we found out that many shops closed early and we decided to try the "touristy-looking" restaurant near the entrance of the LMSM. There were groups of japanese. I glanced at some europeans drinking some drinks on a big cups so I signaled to the waiters to have the same beverage - guess what? It was cider - dear said I liked to follow local customs. As LMSM was an island, we ordered mussels too and we have our omelettes. My first taste of the eggs - like they pumped air into the eggs and my verdict was OK. Haha. The mussels were however very fresh and yummy. With the cider, they made a good meal. 

Exploring the LMSM is challenging as it is not that small either. We decided to go for Abbey tour the next day early morning and have a good rest in our hotel. Night was starry and well, we stayed quite near the cemetery too. We have a big squarish balcony and the church "bell" was also quite nearby. Cold wind, stars and occasional vehicular lights from far on the causeway - that was the backdrop of our night. We however were woken up by the church bells at 0600hrs - there supposed to be a mass at the Abbey. Not sure and not adventurous to venture out at 0600hrs to walk up the Abbey - still as mysterious to us. 

The Abbey tour was hosted by a "half-nomandy and half-britanny" guide. She was very responsible and friendly - a perception that we always have when it comes to parisans not living in paris. Something that I rem from the tour was that the monks were supposed to eat at a dining place and they were not allowed to talk while eating. Of cos, there was this "小orange鸟" which was not afraid of us and kept following us, and my dear losing her gloves at the waiting area.  The overall tour of the Abbey was interesting. I saw a guy sitting at the small church near the coastline and I have wanted to go there take a look. However, we did not have enough time to venture as I wanted to have sufficient planning time to take bus and then in time for train to move back to Paris. One point to note was my dear was smart to remind me to put bulky luggage at our hotel in Paris so we dun need to carry them to LMSM. 

Afternote: There was a brand of cookies originated from LMSM - the cover of the butter cookies box shows the LMSM. Didn't know about it until my friend told me that he bought a tin in NTUC. This is one of the funny learning that I like during traveling.