If you're a huge fan of Memoirs of a Geisha, this will be a thrilling, exciting experience for you in Kyoto! I wanted to visit all the shrines that were filmed in the movie, run around Gion like little Chiyo did, and of course, become a geisha.
I absolutely fell in love with the rich heritage and culture of Kyoto. Could a city be so modern yet so historical and grounded in its history? Yes, in Kyoto.
Here's my short list of things to do in Kyoto.
1. Visit Shrines
I checked out the MUST-SEE shrines, Kinkakuji (above), a shrine made out of gold, Ginkakuji, a shrine that.. is not made of silver and Fushimi Inari. You'd think that Ginkakuji would be made of silver right? Haha, me too. Instead, it has a sand garden with a massive sand cone named "Moon Viewing Platform" and a place to check out the view of Kyoto's eastern mountains.
credit: google
Fushimi Inari, absolutely gorgeous. To walk around the entire place, it'll take about 2hours and a LOT of climbing. But we were tired so we completed half or three quarters of the trail. Truly gorgeous and many of the torii's (gates) have been there since the inception of the shrine! Advisable to bring water and comfortable shoes. It's a loooooooong climb.
View is worth the climb :)
Don't forget that what goes up has to come down hahaha, save some stamina for the climb back!
2. Walk along Gion
A peaceful and historical area, just get lost and enjoy the scenery already! Don't forget to bring your camera.
Also, be sure to check out tiny alleyways, that's where you get to explore all the hidden finds! It's really safe in Japan so don't worry :)
3. Become a Maiko/Geisha/Samurai
It's a once in a lifetime experience! Prepare to shock yourself (and perhaps your friends and family) when you look at yourself in the mirror once the face make-up is done! I know I did. Will post up my pictures in my detailed post :) You're in Kyoto, famous for geishas, and to immerse yourself in the culture, you have to become one!
PSST! I got mine done here! Say you read about a promotion in a magazine and they'll give you a different price list ;)
Not sure if this is the website but you can try renting a costume and making reservations at this website.
Managed to snap a picture of a maiko returning to her okiya! I didn't want to be like a stalker paparazzi so no front views were captured. I'm a sneak paparazzi haha.
We learnt how to distinguish okiyas from other shophouses and got to see many maikos/geishas entering and exiting the place! Will share the secret in another entry so you'll be able to see them as well! They're really beautiful to look at and it's such a cool tradition that's maintained until today :)
4. EAT
A great thing about Japan is that any random shop or restaurant will have pretty decent food. So here are two street snacks that I'd like to recommend.
First up, Inari!! What is Inari?? It's the name of the sushi that's basically fried tofu skin and rice. I don't know how they do it, but it's delicious. Slightly sweet too! The tofu skin forms when boiling soy milk, so it's healthy as well.
Inari is the sushi on the right dish. nomnomnom
With my japanese friend, Junko, who recommended me this stall that has really famous Inari!! Will share where in another post. You can choose the seasoning in your rice - ginger, sesame or curry. I could eat this for breakfast everyday.
We also noticed that Green tea is everywhere in Kyoto! We spotted a reaally long queue for this green tea cafe along the main street of Gion, here's how the shop looks like for TAKEAWAY, and there's a staircase leading up to the cafe. Super long queue no matter what time we walk past it!
So of course, I had to try their ice cream. Didn't want to queue to sit at the cafe (might take an hour!!) And it was delicious!
We couldn't decide between the matcha green tea or the other type of tea so we bought both. It was rich and tasty, and PERFECT. Worth our 400 yen (About 6 SGD) or something around that price. Worth it! Stuff yourself silly with green tea :)
5. Shop
Of course there's the obvious shopping district, with big departmental stores like Takashimaya and OIOI, but if you like finding hidden places like me, look for the arcade which is only a short walk away from the main area!
There, you'll find more AFFORDABLE shopping and if you take short detours on the left and right, you'll find some hidden shops (food, clothes, etc) We found a ninja-themed restaurant too!
I will post detailed entries of my time in Kyoto! Here's a summary so it's easier to look at :) Hope you have as much fun in Kyoto as I did!
It was my virgin trip to Bangkok! You can imagine how excited I was. But seriously, what's with the clearance at Bangkok?? You literally are dropped off at one end and have to walk all the way to the other end?!! And when you fly off, the same thing happens! Grr. Well, I guess the whole point is to build a greater air of anticipation. Haha! (Either that or they want to screw people over who are late)
This entertained me for a while! I also caught a movie. Forgot the title but Channing Tatum was in it with the GORGEOUS Rachel McAdams. Okay I just googled it was called 'The Vow.'
We arrived in the early evening, but by the time we cleared customs, bought data plans, took a train (since it was peak hour anyway, btw I would recommend a train because you get to catch a great view of the city), cabbed from the station to our hotel, and finally settled down, it was almost dinner time!
Stopped by the tailor that my friend recommended so that my friends could tailor their stuff, and I decided to get a red dress! (More on that later). We checked out food recommendations near our area (no to foodstalls that had tons of flies buzzing around and ON food) and found, 'Once Upon a Time.'
Mystified by the name of the place, we were excited to try out their food! It was in a quiet nook and we decided to sit indoors where there was air-conditioning instead of outdoors where we would be feeding flies.
A possible mistake.
The interior. It was alright at first but after you stare at the photos and INTO the cupboards, you'll start freaking out. There was a screamer head in one of the paintings (which I obviously would not take a picture of), and the cupboards had freaky looking dolls etc. From what we gathered , this place was probably a photography studio in the past?
Needed to use the washroom... and it was upstairs. Halfway up the stairs, you're hit by HOT AIR. Like as if there was no ventilation, just thick, hot air. It freaked me out even more. The rooms upstairs had beds in them... and I didn't want my eyes to wander longer. Just washed my hands and headed (bolted) back down.
The food wasn't too bad though! Our pineapple rice came served IN a pineapple for extra fragrance and my friends liked the Tom Yum soup!
We ordered quite a few dishes (about six?) and I think it was about 70 sgd in total. Quite worth it.
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Feeling like we accomplished nothing all day, we took a cab to the skytower, the tallest building in Bangkok! My point and shoot digi cam doesn't do very nice night shots, but I will be bringing the G1X to Japan to capture everything better! :)
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Having heard so much about Patpong, you can't go to Bangkok without even knowing WHERE it is! Or how the street looks like! It's like a little pasar malam lane, with many guys trying to get you in to watch tiger shows or ping pong shows. We didn't go in but we did peak inside when we got the chance! Girls standing on bar tops in their undies and push up bras.
I don't even know how they do these things.
That's all for the first post!
Tell me where you've been in Bangkok, or how you found these places when you've been there! I'd love to hear from you :)
Don't leave for Bangkok without reading this!
So I just got back from Bangkok about a week or two ago, it was my first time and of course, I made a few mistakes here and here. Here's my compiled list of tips I'd recommend... and I hope you guys learn from my mistakes and benefit from my stumbled-upon luck!
1) Taxi fare matters
The locals use METER for their cab rides, and you should too, as long as it's not during peak hours. The jam is crazy so you'll be better off in a tuk tuk if that happens. Most of the time we were ripped off by cab drivers charging us 100-150 baht to just drive us within the area. Some even quoted us 200! We just stood our ground and said 100 maximum ($4 sgd so per person would be $1 each? Okay la) If you ask before you get in, they'll know you're a tourist immediately.
2. Foodgasm
Coconut ice cream comes in a husk where you can scoop out the flesh and coconut juice at the bottom!
Seriously I had the BEST mango sticky rice and coconut ice cream EVER. At Chatuchuk market's food section. Think there was only one stall that sold mango sticky rice and next to it, the stall that sold coconut ice cream!! Here are my food pics. Mango was perfectly ripe and coconut ice cream was perfect for the insanely hot weather!! Plus I got free coconut juice too! (I initially thought it was water).
Stall that sold me the coconut ice cream :)
Delicious mango sticky rice!! Think it was 80 baht.
3. Watch where you're going
Too many times in a day, I walked into a hole and almost sprained my ankle. There was one time I was trying to get ON a tuk tuk, right leg on the tuk-tuk, left leg still on the ground (with my weight resting on it) and suddenly my left leg slipped into a hole. My ankle hurt for a while after but I recovered in a bit. If I had an old injury I'm pretty sure it would've screwed me over!! You'll learn to appreciate Singapore roads much more after your trip.
4. Wholesale wholesale Shopping!
If you haven't already heard, many stalls will quote a cheaper per item price if you buy in bulk. For eg, 1 top is 400 baht, but 2 would become 300 baht each, and if you buy more than 10, probably 200 baht each. Now comes your dilemma. If you buy 2, you'll be spending 600 baht. Whereas if you bought one, it would be 400. Unless you have 10 friends or you're actually going to sell your items, you're actually paying more money for something you didn't actually want. Diminishing marginal returns!
5. Do as the locals do.
Insane shopping!
Thanks to Peggy's recommendation, I checked out Rot Fai Night Market, which surprised the taxi driver when we told him we were heading there! It's a NEW local hotspot, and not many tourists know of this place. In fact, I think we were probably the only OBVIOUS tourists there! Everyone spoke to us in Thai, the items were cheap-ish already, could see a variety of handcrafted items, furniture, vintage cameras etc. There was even a stall that sold puppies!! The best part? There were bars operating out of Volkswagen caravans. If that's not cool, I don't know what is. It's only open on weekdays and gets really crowded from 9pm onwards, so head there at about 7pm and you'll be in good time!
Sorry for crappy picture quality! But this is an example of a caravan bar :D
Hope you liked my tips! Will post a more detailed travelogue later on! Thought this post would come first since a few readers are going to Bangkok this month for your holidays!
<3!
Scoot treated a few of us bloggers up for a ride in the sky - at the Singapore Flyer! Seriously this was my FIRST time on the flyer and I was nervous but excited! (FYI, I am afraid of heights) Anyway, Scoot is Singapore's newest airline with their FIRST flight to Sydney on 4th June, available for booking from today! Scoot is actually a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (100 percent owned) so you can trust the airline already :P
Just in time for Australia's winter. All you students who will have school holidays, inform your parents about Scoot while hinting that you're DYING to get away from the heat!! With prices starting from 158 SGD, you already have a higher bargaining power :P
They offer NO-FRILLS service on medium to long haul routes! Focusing on safety, reliability and punctuality. Initially fleet accomodates 402 seats with two cabin classes. Premium cabin with feature extra width and legroom of 32 seats!
With Kevin, while waiting for our carriage to arrive!
We had two full oscillations, the first for those of us who were ON TIME :P and the rest who were late. We played pictionary for the first spin, and the second was the presentation.
Scoot isn't a usual airline name! It's short and conveys spontaneity, movement, informality and... a touch of quirkiness! Like, "Eh let's scoot out of here!"
Seemingly harmless, but had alcohol in it. Drinking on an empty stomach is never good, especially when you're up in the air.
With Darren who takes really nice pictures!
Guests will be empowered to customise their travel to suit personal preferences, picking only elements they want! Eg, meals, preferred seats and baggage are available for selection!
Scoot's CEO Campbell Wilson giving us a presentation... using a towel. An airline with a different attitude, peopl with a different attitude.. SCOOTITUDE! More on that later.
So one fine day, Campbell was given a USB drive and was told to have this airline up and running by 2012. YES everything you see has been completed IN A YEAR! Impressive!
I found that Scoot's market positioning was very clearly defined, with a focused strategy that was guaranteed to be successful. You see, they are fully utilizing social media. The way of the future, for sure.
As I was saying, SCOOTITUDE! It's a way of interaction. Being engaging, reliable, friendly and different! As of now, flights are available for certain parts of Australia and China!
Tickets are available for booking at www.flyscoot.com or through the call centre at 65 3158 3388 (Singapore)
Those who have previously signed up on Scoot's mailing list also enjoy advance access to EXCLUSIVE, LOWER fares prior to the public sale!! If I were you I'd register now for future benefits. Lol.
Here's a sneak peek of where Scoot is heading! Their geographic footprint is expected to grow steadily to encompass, India, Eurpoe and other markets at a later stage as the fleet expands and longer-range aircraft are inducted!
After the presentation, we proceeded to the food heritage trail for tons of local food! Seriously there was SO MUCH food on the table.
With Christine. I need more sleep zz.
I had sugar cane! Attempt at an arty shot.
Yes the table was huge.
Sat next to Campbell who was really friendly and answered all my curious questions.
Marina (direct left) wearing the Scoot's air stewardress uniform! Scoot's staff are REALLY engaging, they told us that if we have any marketing suggestions that are executable, they'll be more than willing to implement them!
Haven't linked Darren (direct left) yet! Darren's blog and Suhaimi doesn't have a blog so. We were given a stress ball each! (Scoot's logo!)
Demonstrating 'Scootitude!'
A normal picture with Campbell. Haha.
With Captain Yap on the right. He shared many interesting stories that night! Told us about his flying experiences, for example, there was a passenger on the plane who didn't put on his seatbelt when the seatbelt sign was on, so there was turbulence and the passenger hit his HEAD on the ceiling, then landed on the passenger BEHIND him. Insane right?? I swear I'm going to wear my seatbelt everytime the seatbelt sign is on. Your safety is at risk!
He also shared with us a story about how a bird smashed into the window when he was flying, causing a HOLE (and I'm guessing, the dead bird in the cockpit). They had to land immediately.
With Steven, luckily I noticed that the picture was blur so.. I took a self shot next!
I felt that this event was planned well, the Singapore Flyer was as an apt choice of location to hold this event. The dinner held at the food trail reinforces their target audience - the budget conscious (aka, students or young working adults). Will be sure to fly Scoot the next time I head to Australia!
Check out their Facebook page
here!
