Day 7

It was a day at Yokohama, this day was spent on shopping for food actuallY! nothing much to play in yokohama so we bought LOADS of food! hahaa it's like food day! pigged out at chinatown too~ hahah since we were playing bridge at night, maybe should have some snacks to go along with our game! had a really nice dinner i thought, cheap and nice actually but we gave so many coins to the cashier that she almost went bonkers! ahhaha!



Day 8

Home sweet home as we board SQ 11 back to singapore, touched down at 2am! wow, it has been a really exciting and enjoyable trip. and a good practice session for my japanese tongue, glad that i was able to communicate with the japanese! hehe, and really it's fun to go on free and easy though loooots of walking has to be done. can be a form of exercise anyway! and i felt that i've toured tokyo thoroughly, and there's this sense of accomplishment that u wun get if u were to go with tour packages! reallY! would like to visit hokkaido some other time! maybe next year?! hehee



well well, 10 more days to italy and switzerland with my parents! hehe~

Day 6

Oh my goodness! This day was spent at lovely disneyland! we all suddenly returned to our childhood times, feeling so innocent and playful! haha, admission ticket was 5800yen, which is around $80! haha but then it's still worth it. saw very cute characters like snow white and the 7 dwarfs, cinderella, winnie and mickey! din get to take fotos with winnie and mickey cos the queue was toooo long!





we took a couple of rides like space mountain, it's a small world, haunted mansion, pirates of the carribean and thunder mountain. space mountain was a mini roller coaster and it was my first time on a roller coaster cos i'm a faint-hearted persoN! hahah! and i screamed at the top of my voice while chyork kept laughing at me! argH! nevertheless, it was still a good experience. thrilling enough, but i dun fancy thrilling rides still! hahah! it's a small world was cute while haunted mansion was cleverly done! they could make ghost like figures using some light and i saw hologram! many interesting physics were used, sadly we cant take any pictures! hehee, took this ride when i was in LA and i was bent on taking it again in disney! hehe. pirates of the carribean was the best ride i had there cos i'm a fan of pirates too! the ride was really interesting and the model of jack sparrow was really really like him! there was this very interesting phenomenon whereby they use water vapour gas as the screen for jack sparrow enemy's face to talk! haha! interesting! sugoi! bought like $80 worth of souvenirs from there, to give to others and for myself to keep! very pretty souvenirs!








piratessss!

well well, the best part was the parade i felt. we sat by the road to view the parade. they were belting christmas caroles and dancing. their happiness is really contagious, as we danced along with them. it's my first time dancing in disneyland! i felt genuinely happy then! and the beautiful mascots made it even more enjoyable! wa! rox! hq also told me that he was very happy and i believe chyork and ys were toO! hahah~ i think i have a fetish for christmas caroles, always feel relaxed and happy after listening to it! hehe~


the really enjoyable parade!




dancing to the music!

and at night, we had our dinner buffet at crystal palace! 2500 yen per person, not really ex but food variety wasn't good again! hehee, but still it's a hearty meal. the cakes were cute, esp 1 with lilo or stitch on it! and we stayed back to watch the fireworks. the fireworks wasn't that magnificent though, but with disney castle as the backdropm it's still beautiful! hehe... and disneyland at night has a totally different feel! the lighted shops and rides were really pretty! seriouslY! hahaa, nv had so much fun in disney be4! it's good to go with frens to disney. and i really think the creator of disney is a genius!




a really memorable day at disneyland!

Day 5

hoho~ this was 1 whole day at harajuku. we got up early to travel all the way to odawara then changed to the odakyu line and purchased a 1 day free pass! hakone is a really pretty place for sightseeing. we took a total of 6 rides like cable car, ropeway, cruise, bus, trains... and i found the ropeway and cruise the best. really really splendid rides! together with a picturesque scenery, that day was truly enjoyable!


we've reached!


interestingly humongous sweet!

well on the ropeway, met this japanese family who is really friendly. they offered to take fotos for us while we're on the ropeway(their version of cable car), and the father chatted with me after that, asking where was i from. he even mistaken me for living in japan, haha cos my japanese was quite fluent. ooPZ, not bragging here la. haha! but i was glad i was able to understand him stilL! hehee. and we took a nice foto with his family with the pretty mountainous background. those mountians were interesting cos there were smoke from the onsen 'bellowing' out from some holes. haha! but sadly, we couldn't catch a glimpse of the peak of mount fuji as it was shrouded in clouds! haha~


in the ropeway! panoramic view!


pretty pretty isn't it?! those smokeand mountain makes us feel like we're in heaven!

i especially like the cruise ride, feels so reinvigorating when the cold wind blows against ur face! and when u get to view such a scenic place with frens!


ding hao trying to be fire monster! hahah they were eating bbq squid!


gosh! it's sooooo cold over there!


The japanese family and us!

Day 4

SHOPPING! yeah! it was a whole day of shopping. and who says 1 can't shop in japan?! there're still affordable stuff, in places like Harajuku! really fun to shop there and squeeze with the many teenagers over there without sweating! cos it's like 10 degrees?! hahaa! well, bought a nice winter jacket, white turtleneck, black burger king pullover for dad, bag for mum, metal bracelet and a pair of nice shoelaces! haha~ love that place lots! we also managed to see very interestingly designed buildings by the creative japanese! well, we ended our shopping spree at harajuku with a neoprint session and it only costs 300 yen which is S$4.50! cheap again! hahaha. our neoprint session was disastrous yet fUN! and i decorated my bed buddy huihan in 1 of the pics. kinda funnY! argh, i really miss shopping in harajuku~ luckily i have 1 of the shops online add, so i may be able to shop in future! weee!


harajuku!!!


yeah there's this free hugs thing! can see that in youtube!

night was spent at shinjuku! it's like the world's busiest train station according to chyork! and reallY! 1 line to the other is about 560m apart! can u imagine how huge that station is. and there're soooo sooo many ppl! really, can get squashed in their trains! but still it's a fun experience. and whereever u go, u see ppl running, rushing for this and that! crazily frenatic pace! ahah~ well, we strolled along the streets of the famous shinjuku! and we saw this group of singaporeans on a tour package. singaporeans are easily distinguishible from the dress sense and when they start speaking, bang, confirm plus chop. haha! and we actually talked to them after i shouted singaporeans, frens thot i was mad then! ahhah but well, lets be friendly singaporeans! went to their metroplitan building and got to get a ride to 45th storey for free! had a nice glimpse of night tokyo! pretty prettY! shinjuku isn't a place to shop but it's pretty at night, reallY! the night life here is unimaginable!


that's takashimaya in shinjukU!


our neoprint!

Day 3

Alright this morning was spent at the Imperial Palace! Managed to see their change of guards parade and kinda pity those guards standing there doing nothing. it's really sian and i can understand that! haha~


my BIG BIG takoyaki ball! hahah it's $4.50 per ball! hahaa~

Then we went to the controversial Yasukuni shrine, of course i din pray there~ but it's a good experience to take a look at this controversial shrine! After which, we headed to Tokyo Dome which had cosplaY! really interesting to see ppl dressed up in their queer dresses! guess that makes tokyo interesting! ahha~ and also had a fine sushi spread at ikebukuro for dinner~

Day 2

We woke up early in the morning at 6am to go to Tsukiji fish market for our breakfast which was acclaimed to be japan's busiest fish market? ahhaa forgot a little already! and we saw many many different kinda fishes and some sizes were comparable to my height! wa~ everybody is so busy over there and the 'traffic' is heavy yet organised. the place was filled with clamour which kinda brings the whole place to life! ahhaha, was quite enthralled by the really weird fish species which i nv get to see in singapore! interesting pictures taken and we had ramen at 1 of the shophouses thereafter. it was the best ramen i ever had, cos there were so many cha shao in it, soup base is delicious, and it's cheap. most importantly, we stand while eating; got to experience the natives' lives and that was gratifying!





Then we went to Ginza which is like our Orchard but a much bigger 1 of course! things are kinda takai(ex) over there! so din get anything from there, went into their sony building and saw tatalising models not up in sg yet! was so tempted to get 1 but there isn't any eng modelS! so guess i'll still get it in sg instead! alright then we made our way to the famous rainbow bridge which was built to signify the prosperous future of japan! haha, it was really pretty and breathtaking when we went near it! walked along the bridge and we can feel it oscillating actually and it's a tad scary when u can feel vehicles passing by u really quickly, as if it gonna hit u anytime! hahah! but really nice photos were taken at some stops that proudly presents tokyo bay! seriously pretty i thought! prettier than dearest marina bay. hehe!



so after gazing at the pretty landscape of tokyo bay, we went for a buffet lunch. nice ambience but the range of food was bad! hahaha, japanese buffet pales in comparison to singapore ones! but it's cheap la, costs like S$20. after lunch was palette town, took a ride on the huge ferris wheel which was really pretty! sun sets at 5pm, so we had a night view of tokyo though we were on it at 5.20pm! haha, palette town is like another amusement park, with quite many things to see, like the toyota exhibition and stuff! ahha.





and our night activity was the 1 that marks our day! we went for onsen! yeah, we had to be stark naked when we get in! but it was totally cooL! made a din in the onsen place cos we couldn't get used to the sudden change in temp. and we got to experience paoing wen quan in the open air, it was kimochi(comfortable)! got to wear the yutaka while the girls wear their kimonos. and there's this pseudo-meiji period place where we get to shop, eat in our traditional costumes. really cool i thought!

yeah! and i'm back from tokyo! touched down at 2am yesterday and slept at 4am. kinda shag today, nevertheless i shall still blog about this splendid trip spent with my bmt frens! I personally felt it's a much nicer place to go than taiwan, with a greater eclectic selection of shopping and sight seeing! haha~ alright, so i shall start from day 1!

Day 1, we arrived at our dearest Changi airport and took SQ632 to Tokyo, with a transit at Bangkok airport. arrived at 7am at tokyo and all of us were shagged out cos we weren't able to sleep well on the plane! there were so many movies on board! spoilt for choices but i only watched stardust! after touching down, we went straight to our hotel and i realised i forgot to print the map of the location of our hotel! so we walked around and i went to ask 1 of the shop keepers in JAPANESE! haha! my first jap tongue uesed and they kindly gave me directions after searching the address for me! ahhaha~




that air stewardess looks like sharon au, doesn't she?! she even knows it herself and she's from osaka! hahah! chatted with her for some time~

so after washing up, we went stragight to asakusa sensoji temple! really huge and it's japan's oldest temple, there was holy water and dearest yuan shao went to scoop using his bottle for his uncle, haha was a little paiseh but then it's us! ahah~ then, we went to ueno for the ameyoko night market. it pales in comparison to taiwan i think! maybe all of us were too shag to keep walking, haha i was really tired then and couldn't enjoy myself. but nice photos were still taken!




our group photo! yuan shao met his fren there who took this photo for us!

wee! I'm back from taipei! it has been an enjoyable trip filled with LOADS of shopping, and of course some sporadic sight-seeing.

alright, shall let the pictures do the talking!

so this is day 1, flying over there. since it's our first time flying together, we were like some suagu tourists taking photos in the airport! haha~ and when we touched down, we had our 1st dinner and shopping at ximending~ also took this photo with this female shop assistant who looks like zhang shao han. haha!



day 2, our first time on their metro and we travelled to so many places cos some places can be toured finish in just a few minutes. we went to the national palace museum, then to dunhua to find jay's shop but to no avail as he only lazily opens his shop at 2pm. anyway, prices there are exhorbitant, so not much shopping can be done there. and we then travelled to taipei shizhenfu to visit xin guang san yue and taipei 101! and we only stayed for like 30min at this iconic place cos things are expensive again! as time allowed, we rushed to wufenpu for a shopping spree! it was really a shopping spree; bought all my sweaters and stuff there! seriously great, and together with the chatty and friendly shop keepers, our shopping spree was an enjoyable 1! and i actually crapped with 1 of them and he said that i was really playful. ooPz! my frens almost left me there cos of our incessant conversatioN! haha


look at their english in the metro, there were actually more which i think was quite hilarious! haha~

so we proceeded to the nearby raohe night market for our dinner and i can say that their night market is always filled with people, regardless if it's a weekday or weekend. dun the ppl there have to study?!




Day 3, we 'conquered' yang ming shan! the peak was 2km high and we only managed to climb 1.2km before our batt went flat! and the local ah pek and ah ma are sooooo strong, as they can climb further than us. that's their daily exercise! and i was quite shocked! the view at 1.2km was quite pretty with the qixingongyuan shrouded in mist and clouds! rain was quite heavy when we reached there and all of us looked so drenched! very lang bei. and we had a nice hot spring at beitou for the night! it was a public hot spring and only costs NT $40; lots of taiwanese aunties and uncles like to visit there! and then we had a night movie back at the cinema near our hotel! watched game plan which was a touching, simple story; liked it!



Day 4, we made our way to longshan shi and prayed in this big, famous temple! then thinking that jiufen is another shopping heaven as said by samuel's fren, we took a 1h bus journey there. it was quite a corny journey as we passed by dilapidated buildings and went through highway and stuff, and we were all thinking that we may have been misled! ahaha, nevertheless, it was still a pleasant surprise when we reached there! It's actually a food street with all the shops selling their specialties in this hilly or mountainous area! picturesque scenery snapped taken and exotic food eaten, what more can i ask for?



Day 5, we went to taipei 101 again, but this time for a different agenda! we took the lift up to 89 storeys and then walked up to 91 storey for an outdoor view. each 'pitstop' requires us to pay! haha so we spent a total of S$20 to get to 91st storey. the view was expectedly breathtaking and it was interesting to know the structure of this building and it's buidling process. there's a huge damper called the baby damper in the middle of the building. does it ring a bell to physics students? yeah to damp the oscillations of the wind! haha, and the lift takes only 37 seconds to reach the 89th storey. an incredibly high speed of 1010m/s! cooL~


The damper!

after which, we made our way to mirarmar which was totally a turnoff. i think tampines mall would be betta! hahaha! after which, we had our dinner at shihlin market! there are some really exotic food, like da bing bao xiao bing and they use a hammer to prepare this dish! after which, we went back to ximen and shopped again! bought a shoe and had a nice haircut with weidi which only costs S$20 which comes with a pro-hair stylist and pro washing!


Day 6, home sweet home. went to this place with really cheap authentic perfumes and the 3 of them bought loads. since i dun use perfume, shall not spend unnecessarily! then, we went to collect the tu chan we ordered from jiufen at taipei main station. and had a final lunch at the pasta bar at ximen be4 going to the airport! bought a taiwan magazine at the airport to expend my NT$100 notes! hehe~



so altogether, i've bought 3 bags, 1 cardigan and 1 pair of shoes from ximending; 2 sweaters and 1 long sleeve from wufenpu, and 1 quicksilver and scarf from xinguang. hehe!

and i'll be flying to tokyo tml at 8.40pm! weeee~ it'll be a really exciting trip!

yeah~ will be on the plane in 14h time and at the airport in 12h time! alright, not really excited, guess i'll be excited when i wake up tml. ok, time to go! shall have an exciting trip by shopping lots!!!

ORD! =) I can finally call myself a mr tan. haha sounds a little old actually but nvm, cos it's always better to be a civilian! weeee!

met lip yong at 10am at camp and we had a hard time getting the last few signatures! when we finally got hold of our pinkish, radiant IC, it was already 3pm! whew~ and after bidding farewell to our frens, we made our way down to town to meet our BMT frens for dinner at sakura!

wow, it's a really really great dinner! all of us were super high! esp when we became crazy over the photo-taking sessioN! took so many photos till my phone batt went dead! and also did some stupid antics there! like flashing our ic in public while posing for a pic! guess those ppl around us also know that we've just ORD! Dinner was just satisfactory, and i din binge unlike the past! shall be more health conscious now! haha but the company was terrific! couldn't have asked for more. we laughed at past jokes which we nv get tired of. like how bc became a stepping board literally during their mp training, how i went over to ch and ys basha to slp during field camp due to huihan's snore, how bc always likes to kiwi his boots till he became so oblivious to many things and how funny it was when we were punished for some dumb mistakes. haha! totally hilarious!


happY!!!



had really a nice chat with bing fu too, esp when i haven seen him for eons! and benedict, he finally joined our outing! it's always hard to catch him during the weekends! and hui han, my bed buddy, finally met us up too! he's still quite blur, impervious to wat's gonna happen next wk when it's our tokyo trip! so we crapped and spent so much time taking memorable fotos such that we were the last to leave when we were the first to come in!

060106, we were all the toot toot botak soldiers and 1 yr 10 mth later, we had grown, our personalities have improved and our tolerance threshold has definitely 'skyrocketed'. It has really been a craggy 1 yr 10 mth, but still filled with much joy and laughter from the staunch camaraderie forged; I am really glad to say that I've matured. =)


All of us together! flaunting our PINK IC!!!