Golden Week

Like I said on Facebook, I wish I have a Golden Life (as gold as the 生ビール in the picture), if not at least a Golden Year because the Golden Week (a period of 5-consecutive public holidays including the weekend) is simply too short! Imagine not having to work for life or for a year...*wistful sigh".

Just a brief recap on how I spent my Golden Week this year. As usual, forget about travelling because it's ridiculously expensive & crowded everywhere, be it in Japan, Narita airport or destinations popular among Japanese tourists! I always prefer to stay where I am in Golden Week & just chill out and do things that I normally won't have time to do when working.

So it's a good thing that Timothy Su (one of my Su brothers. People with the surname "Su" is one of a kind, at least in Singapore. The only "Su"s I know are guys. One from Singapore & the other from Canada, although the latter was born in Taiwan.) from poly, whom I hadn't met for 7-8 years, decided to come to Japan for a holiday during GW with his soon-to-be wife, Valerie! Some people never change & Tim is still the super laid back, very forgetful, extremely sociable "boy" he used to be! Funnily, his weaknesses are also part of his easy charm. I still remember having to always check up on him to see if he had done his share of work whenever we had team projects together...And he thought and still thinks I was bullying him when doing projects!

The elegant lady here is my ex-Japanese tutor, 中村先生, who used to teach me Japanese almost every week when I was living in Shiraoka. She's in her sixties but she sure doesn't look or sound like one! Every time I see her (we only see each other about 2 or 3 times a year now), I'm always struck by how well she maintains herself! 

The not-so-fun part of Golden Week would be going through the process of applying for a new apartment. I swore to Heaven & Hell that I would never "budge" after going through all the hassle of moving (have to emphasize that you'll fall into the eighteenth rank of hell when moving in Japan!) almost two years ago. But now, here I am having to relive the horrid memories of finding a new place! How I wish apartments just fall straight out from the sky & all I have to do is open the door and move in! 

2 more hours before Golden Week is officially over. Time to go and sulk. :(

♥ flowers

I really feel the wonder of nature when I see beautiful flowers like these (don't leave out the tiny flowers in the background). There's perfection in the beauty - how on earth do we get so many shades & tones of colour and tiny little details in one flower? God is truly amazing sometimes....

花見in2009

Just a quickie 花見 on Sun before going apartment hunting! Just 10 minutes there - snap, snap & go!

Salsa performance this year

Finally have the time (& courage) to put up the videos of our salsa performance held two weeks ago. Unlike last year, I did two items and also at the same time had much less time to practise. Not anything to do with me as I turned up for classes religiously every Sunday afternoon prior to the performance and turned up for most of the rehearsals (which were few & very last minute). It was just that our instructor, being the passionate dancer that she is, is not very good at time management and only finished choreographing our opening dance the week before our performance! Perhaps creative people are also prone to sudden inspirational moments, as every week when we'd gone for practice, we would always find a little tweaking in the steps or the overall choreography. Being the slow learner that I am, I wasn't too hot on that, but I just had to stick it out since I like dancing and had already committed myself to the performance. Not sure if I like performing as much though (just not a natural born performer), but I do get a sense of satisfaction from it even if I'm not that good. It's the sense of achievement - that I've done something for myself. Also you do learn a lot about yourself (in terms of your movements) and will strive to improve when you look at how bad or mediocre you are on video!

A piece of warning for those who intend to press the "Play" button: It's rated violent & a little sexual as you'll find decapitated bodies and some close up shots of my ass in one of the videos! It's all the video camera man's (my boyfriend) fault.

Also, may I ask you to be kind and close one eye or even better two eyes when you spot my mistakes?

The Finale

Romance not in the air

Didn't celebrate Valentine's Day because the boyfriend is MIA & celebrating the love of another couple at their wedding. Didn't succumb to all-out commercial attempts at trying to trick me into buying Valentine's Day チョコ either. And I aborted my half-hearted resolution to buy a V-Day card at Mini Plaza in the station because I couldn't decide if I wanted to pay 168 yen for a tiny card and I was afraid of missing my train back home...

What an unromantic Valentine's Day! I guess it's hard trying to be romantic by yourself without feeling like an idiot. Hmm, I wonder if days like V-day starts becoming a no-big-deal affair as you grow older...

In any case, I'd have to make up for this uninspiring feelings for a special day for lovers some time and sure hope I'd be on the receiving end too.

Our villa cottage

Have I ever dreamed of owning a house like this? You bet! This little rustic villa cottage set in abundant green & serenity (well, almost. you'll know later why..) was our home for three nights in Panglao, the adjoining island of Bohol. It was love at first sight when I discovered it online and the real thing didn't disappoint.

What I also like about it is that there are only three more cottages, which gave us a lot of privacy, and the warm hospitality given by the owners, Bob & Sid. There isn't a reception area (which I innocently asked about when we were met at the front gate) so whenever we needed something, we just had to walk a few steps to the house of the married couple! And the fresh flowers on the bed and found in the towels basket were such a nice touch! I loved it so much that I placed the flowers next to my pillows while I slept. 

But nothing is perfect and there definitely is no perfect hotel/resort...hmm...maybe if I pay like a few hundred dollars a night (still I doubt it). What I didn't like about this place is the lack of hot shower. Even the cheaper and really ugly bed & breakfast we were staying in Tagbilaran city has hot shower and they even changed our towels every day. But here, we would have to use them for three days before they would change it. Not a big deal to me though, as we could hang them on the clothes line besides our cottage to dry. 

Another issue I had was the NOISE that I didn't expect! Okay, maybe because I'm from the city and have the misconception that the countryside or rural area is serene & quiet. But when you have the presence of mad barking dogs and crowing roosters (who says that roosters only crow in the early morning?!) from the neighbours at night, they can create more ruckus than anything else in the city! And the worst thing was I couldn't shout at those animals to keep their snout or beak shut so that I could get a decent sleep! And those animals had no sense of time as they were going on their noisy business all the way till the wee hours in the morning...! 

So although I really loved climbing up & down the wooden stairs in the cottage, and reading my book at night on the balcony, and the feeling of being surrounded by nature, I was glad that we didn't stay there on New Year's Eve. When we were leaving, the owners let on that nobody can sleep that day. Why? Because Filipinos go crazy on eves - Xmas eve, New Year's Eve - they set off cheap fireworks they buy at stores or stalls, blast on their music, sing at the top of their voice from midnight till they are satisfied that they have kept everyone up. 

Why do I sound like I know so well? Because that was what happened on Xmas Eve (well, similar) at our first hotel - a live band near our hotel started playing at 2 am and woke me up in my bed on the 12th floor and I had to call front desk a few times before I could move to another room (twice actually) so that I could actually catch a wink! 

If that happened near a big four star hotel in the city, I can't imagine what the commotion would be like around our cottage, with the thin walls and openness...

Well, some people might say, "If you can't beat them, join them" but I've only lived in places that celebrate significant days with a lot more calmness and consideration, so going without sleep, no matter how special that day is, is out of the question. 絶対無理。

Just dive it!

I did it! And I have a certificate to prove for it too! 

Was actually planning to take a diving license in the Philippines, but after a very dampening response from the boyfriend, who wasn't keen to spend 3-4 days of his holidays learning how to dive, I settled on just the introductory dive. It wasn't such a bad thing, as I do have my fears from not being able to swim. I actually can do some swimming underwater, but I just can't tread water no matter how hard I try. So that still amounts to "not being able to swim"...hrh. I also still remember how I was so hyped up before my skiing trip in 2006, thinking that I would be able to ski through powdery white snow effortlessly once I've been taught the ropes...hah! But see what happened to me up on the ski slope? That would mark my very first and last attempt at skiing. So it was good to just discover what diving entails before I commit myself.

I have to admit though that I was really unconfident during the pool training - couldn't breathe properly through the mouthpiece, and wasn't sure I was able to equalize. I was also shivering uncontrollably from the cold. At a certain point, I thought I was going to give up, and not go into the sea. But with more practice, my confidence grew and it was really awesome being able to breathe normally (almost) underwater! And guess who opted out of the open dive eventually? He complained of dizziness and decided to miss the opportunity of his life. Poor thing though as he'd forgotten to take his motion sickness pills before the course. It was pretty disappointing not having him as my diving buddy...

So that left me with three Chinese people from Hong Kong, my handsome Swiss Korean instructor (forgot to take a picture with him....damn!) and even cuter Swiss dive master. 

From our boat, we flipped into the water backwards one by one - me last and I was wondering if there were any other gentler way of going in because it was freaky dropping into the sea like that! We descended slowly with a rope until we reached the sandy bottom. And after everyone has gathered, we moved on slowly, and before I know it, when I looked below, there was nothing but bottomless depth that goes way way down. The sea was such a deep blue that I'd never witnessed before.

In all my fear, nervousness, and straining myself to adapt being underwater, I wasn't really able to enjoy seeing the marine life (had a much better experience snorkeling actually). Besides, it all ended in an instance, or so it seemed to me. I was rather sad that I'd to leave the world that I'd only just acquainted myself with...

But I'll probably be back again...

the little one

Tarsier - the smallest and oldest (already existed 45 million years ago) primate in the world. 

You know how some people are not photogenic - the tarsier is exactly so. It looked to me a very ugly creature, a cross between ET and a gremlin, with its yellow-glassed eyes when I first saw its picture. But I was still intent on seeing it in Bohol, the only place in the Philippines where the tarsiers inhabitat, because it's an endangered species and because it's sooooo tiny.

When I saw it, it looked so much cuter in person (monkey??). It's so small that I gave a little jump when the boy, one of the caretakers, plucked it out from a small tree and placed it on a bar in front of me! I wasn't sure I wanted to have one on my arm when asked, but I plucked up the courage to bear the feel of its long and rather creepy looking fingers on my arm. Surprisingly, the fingers were really light and they felt like an insect resting on me. When I stroked it, I was again surprised that its fur was really soft - my hand running smoothly over it. 

Due to my excitement over seeing the teeny-tinny monkeys, I failed to realise only much later that the place I was at wasn't the place I'd intended to visit - the Tarsier Visitors Centre. It was one of the tourist operated places near the Loboc River, that I was advised not to visit in The  Lonely Planet, as the tarsiers being shy, nocturnal creatures, are disturbed and frightened by thrilled visitors like me, who want to pet and hold them and take their pictures. 

I'd thought that the tour we booked with our hotel would include a trip to the official centre, so I didn't sense anything amiss and was totally preoccupied with the little things hiding in the trees around me. After I realised that I'm also one of the bad visitors that causes the tarsier's lifespan to be shortened by 5-6 years, I was plagued by a sense of guilt, but the damage was already done. When I asked my driver why didn't he bring us to the centre, he replied that it was too far and being a sanctuary, it'd be hard to spot the tarsiers, so there'd be no chance of a close-up shot of them, let alone touching them . I guess unless you go by yourself, no tour operators or drivers would want to bring you there, as it's convenient for them to bring you to see the tarsiers near the Loboc River before taking you to the river for the cruise.

to the tarsiers that i'd unintentionally disturbed or scared: ごめんね、、

Virgin Island

When I heard the name Virgin Island, my mind conjured up a picture of pristine white sand, beautiful untouched waters, and a feeling of adventure and solitude. But such expectations rarely fail to disappoint you. Or rather, don't believe too much what the locals there tell tourists just to get money out of you, which I've experienced a few times there.

We were brought to Virgin Island by our boatman after snorkeling around Balicasag Island (my best snorkeling experience ever! It was as if I'd had discovered Underwater World - a world filled with the most amazing array of colourful marine life.), as part of our island hopping tour, which also included a disappointing wild dolphin watching time, with NO dolphins. To think that we woke up at 5 am just for that. We were so miffed that we didn't have the mood for snorkeling at Balicasag at first, until we were drawn by the excited shouts of other snorkelers. 

Virgin Island in reality was littered with trash (perhaps because it was during low tide that we went), prowled by touters selling drinks and pearls that looked fake for 50-100 pesos (cheap, but why do I want to buy fake pearls that are uneven in shape and size?), and not conducive for swimming. Although the water was clear, you could see and feel a lot of seaweed, which could land you into a very tangly spot!

But I was lucky that I was able to get some good shots of locals fishing for sea urchins (日本人が大好きなウニ!）and sea cucumbers and got to touch them too on the "untouched" Virgin Island.

the young ones

This little girl has such a nice smile and her eyes are so twinkly bright. :) I didn't have much contact with the kids there as I was travelling mainly around by taxis in Cebu, tricycles in Tagbilaran and the habla habla (motorcycles/scooters) in Panglao, adjoining island of Bohol, so there was very little walking. But I could see many kids playing on the streets or outside their houses. It was rather strange to see kids playing on the streets with no one supervising them, as you'd never see that in developed countries, at least those that I've lived in before.

And there's the boy who was helping our boatman on the dolphin watching (but we didn't see any!!!!! )/island hopping tour. He's eleven, but small for his age. A brother to many children, he has no father and has to work to support his unemployed mother and family. He doesn't speak English as he has never been to school. So I communicated a little with him using gestures and he'd grin bashfully and look away every time I did that. :p

I wish I remember his name, but it's in Tagalog (i think) so I forgot the moment I heard it...

Chocolate Hills, Bohol

So much was done in the Philippines that I don't know how and where to start. So I'll just talk about it in bits and pieces in random order at my own pace, trying to dig into those memories while they're still pretty fresh in my mind. It's such a weird feeling every time after you come back from somewhere else. It never fails to feel like a dream, even though it was so real while you were there. It's really true that we can never go back to the past, and revisiting will never bring back the same exact feelings...

This is my first attempt at a panoramic shot so the seams are not smooth and you can see some overlapping...oh wells! The Chocolate Hills in Bohol was my favourite during my stay in the capital city, Tagbilaran. It earned its name due to the brownish colour of the hills. Don't worry....I'm not colour blind as the hills are green now due to the wet season. Heard it's only chocolaty in colour in the dry season....bummer.

But it was still magical up there, minus the other tourists, many attempting to take a special effects shot either by themselves (like me) or money-making vendors with their professional cameras. The one photo that really struck me is of one with people flying on a broomstick over the hills! Did they get that idea from watching Harry Potter? Hah....but many tourists really digged that idea.

Wish I could still feel the quiet and cool breeze up on the Chocolate Hills that make me think of Hershey's chocolates. :)

will update all my photos on flickr some time...