Land of Rising Sun (Part 7)

I bet you've heard of the rainbow bridge in Tokyo and how it's tastefully done, a must-see, blah blah blah.

Try crossing the bridge on a freezing cold day. The bridge is 918 metres long in total length and yes we walked from one end (Shibaura) to the other end (Odaiba) on an effing cold winter day with only a thin layer of short-sleeved cotton shirt and pleated mini-skirt underneath my Liz Lisa brocade coat. I don't remember how long it took us to cross the bridge but it felt like forever.

The bridge is built with two decks;

One with the regular road (the one we walked on) and monorail, the other with an express highway.

Look harder at the picture above. See the monorail? Why didn't we take the monorail instead? Our brains must have been frozen because I simply have no good excuse to justify our impaired judgement.

I kept asking my dad "Are we there yet?" on a 10 seconds interval for the entire journey.

If you don't mind bracing the cold, taking in the view from the deck can be a marvellous experience.

After walking for what seemed like forever, seeing the ferris wheel was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. With the ferris wheel in sight, it could only meant one thing. Yes, we had arrived in Odaiba! Like FINALLY!

Odaiba, the large artificial island in Tokyo bay is the most beautiful sight-seeing destination. It's popular among both tourists and locals.

Tokyo, due to its close proximity to Hong Kong is a popular holiday destination among the Chinese. The familiarity of the chinese chatting away in cantonese put me at ease. At least I don't feel like a total alien. There is a food theme park with none other than "little hong kong" as the theme in the Decks Shopping Mall, probably to cater the vast number of chinese tourists. Ahhhh!! The taste of home. Well, they don't exactly have nasi lemak but dim sum could temporarily curb my homesickness.

In the same mall, the arcade in this picture below reminded me of an episode of Doraemon shrinking Nobita and Sizuka so they could wander around the miniature city. The arcade really brought us down the memory lane. Those were the days when our imaginations ran wild and knew no barrier. Don't we all just love Doraemon? Well, the Doraemon I know is probably different from the one you know because the one I know speak Malay. :P

P/S: If you've notice there are very few picture with me in it, it's simply because I refuse to post any picture of me looking like a Barney (Yes, Barney the purple dinosaur). When I'm cold, I turn into the unflattering hue of purple.

How To Lose A Guy

What do you do when guys you don't have feelings for ask you out? Spit on them, of course! Just kidding! Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind. Cruel to them to be kind to yourself, that is. I must admit that I can be a hardass sometimes. I can be harsh but I don't always mean what I do. I'm just not good in saying "NO". Initially, I'll try giving out subtle signals by making up excuses not to go out with them hoping they'll get it and eventually leave me alone. Sadly, it doesn't work like that. They probably think their determination and persistance will win me over. WRONG! It just irritates me more. When I'm provoked, I bite (not literally). I have no problem pulling the trigger when I'm agitated. That's when I start showing them my "buntut kuali" face.

When guys I've met only once or twice start declaring their "undying love" for me, I begin to ponder such questions,
"What is it about me that they like?"
"How much do they really know me?"
"Do they even know me at all?"
I could be a complete psycho and the next thing they know, I'll tie them up and push them off the cliff.

It freaks me out when they start stalking me. It gives me goosebumps when someone knew that I was absent from work last friday and that I reached the office at 8:50 this morning. He's not even working in the same company as I do. I feel like some kind of specimen being observed under the microscope where every move of mine is being scrutinized. It sends shiver down my spine just thinking about it.

Gosh! No guy would dare to ask me out again after this. They probably think I'm some mentally challenged homosexual now. Don't get me wrong. I like guys. I just don't fall easily for someone. I need to really get to know him before I could fall for him. It's unfair to say that love at first sight doesn't exist. It just hasn't happened to me yet. When I finally fall for someone, I'll be head over heels and start wearing my heart on my sleeve until......it gets broken.

-Being a chemist, falling in love is all about the chemistry-

Land of Rising Sun (Part 6)

I've been back in K.L for a month and I'm still not done with my Tokyo travelogue. So much for increasing my efficiency and productivity at managing tasks as a new year resolution. Third month into the the new year and the resolution has gone down the drain. At least I still keep one of them. Taking chances. I've never been the one to act on a whim. I plan everything I do because I hate uncertainty. Everyone says I can never be spontaneous. Now, they can eat their words.

So, last weekend I went for brunch with my best mate, Rosie and she mentioned about getting her hair done after that.

Rosie: Wanna come along?

Me: Where's the place?

Rosie: Klang!

Me: I can't go there!

Rosie: Right! You have a special driver's license and it allows you to drive only to work and malls.

Me: Come on. You know I'll get lost in Klang.

Rosie: I tell you what. Why don't you just cruise around and see where your heart takes you.

Me: That would be going home.

Rosie: Trust me, you can be more street wise that way. You have to stop counting on people to drive you around.

Me: Hey, I drive myself to work everyday. Bummer!

I paid the parking fee and headed home. Halfway to my house, I did a swift U-turn. 30 minutes later, I ended up at a friend's house in P.J. I wasn't even sure if he would be home. When I was about to reach his place, tons of questions raced through my mind. What if he's not home? What am I gonna do then? Drop him a note and say "Hey, I was here. Too bad you're not home"? I kicked myself, asking "Irene, what on earth were you thinking?".

Still, I gave myself a pat on the shoulder. It was pure gratification.

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We celebrated dad's birthday in Tokyo. Not like he would be super excited or anything. He had been there for a gazillion times. We celebrated by having him spending money on us. He bought my sis a Nikon DSLR and my mom a Louis Vuitton bag. You must think we're some cold-blooded reptiles. We're not! We love him! It's not like he doesn't already know but sometimes all of us need a little reminder. Telling your love ones how much you love them every other day is the best health supplement.

We brought him for unagi (his favourite) as lunch and sashimi (another favourite) as dinner. Unagi and sashimi, I like none of them. As long as my dad likes them, that's what we'll have.

1. The Unagi Lunch

I seriously don't think I can live in Tokyo. I would die of claustrophobia. Everywhere I turned, I was bound to hit something. I'm accident prone like that.

Then, we went strolling at this place which looked very much like chinatown.

Erm... I have a feeling this sign should be read the other way round.

Fresh seafood was everywhere. It was a market after all. We saw some gigantic crab legs. My dad suggested that we bought some back to the hotel and cooked them with boiling water. We didn't get any though coz we were not sure if we would like it plain like that. I still prefer chilli crab.

Rows and rows of stalls selling fresh seafood.

They had dried ones too. When I was a toddler, my dad would buy tons dried scallops so that my mom could make me porridge. More than 20 years later....I still like it.

They had stalls selling seafood (fresh and dried), souvenirs, hair accessories, wallets and oh my gosh..... UFO catchers too (a.k.a claw vending machines).

My mom together with my dad won us this very adorable stuffed toy. My sis and I were jumping around in excitement, screaming "A little to the left! No, right! Almost there!" Everybody else gathered around us to watch. They too were cheering for us. The Japanese are such good sport.

Then, we wandered around till it was time for dinner.

2. The Sashimi Dinner

Ordering at Japanese restaurant was a real challenge. I could totally comprehend when there was no english menu but no illustration too? We had to stand in front of the restaurant, pointing at the mock-ups of udon and ramen under freaking cold weather.

More pictures on this outfit, simply because I love it so much. It's simple and not too much fuss.

Outfit:

1. Coat - H&M

2.Knit Scarf - Forever 21

3.Sweater - Mango

4.Jeans - Mango

5.Leather Glove - Mango

6.Bag - Zara

7.Tights - Topshop