The Ring

I went to Japan some few month ago, towards the end of Ramadhan. With whom? Hehe. with my bf, and his family. The purpose was to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa with the brother, Khairi who's been staying in Japan (Toyama in particular) for the past 3 years (? just a guess ) . Glad that my parents allowed me to go on this trip! So why am I only uploading the photos now you might ask? I'm just damn lazy. . Well, I have some free time now at the office (don't tell the Boss), so here goes!

We leave KLIA at midnight and arrived at Kansai Airport,Osaka the next morning around 7.30am. Sleepy am I? Not! It's my first time here in Japan, so how can I be sleepy even afterall those sleepnees journey? . Anyway, food on board Malaysia Airlines was not bad. We had Smoked Salmon sandwiches, and some desert.

Upon arriving, the huge box of food that we brought along was ripped open by the Kansai Airport Officer for inspection. There's a bamboo stick (is this how they call it?) inside, to make lemang for the coming Raya.
'What is this for?', the Japanese officer inquired in his very best English.
'Err, it's bamboo. Put rice inside. Then cook. For festival.', I think this was my bf's reply to the officer hehe

Khairi arrived some 2 hours later, due to the fact that he's never drove from Toyama to Kansai before, and also the fact that he woke up late . It's a 5-hour drive from Toyama to Kansai. That's like going from KL to Perlis! Poor him.

Our first destination was the Waterfront, that overlooks the bridge that connects Kansai Airport and the mainland. Did I mention that the airport was on a man made island? Yup. that's right! Takde apa2 sgt kat sini, Just some men collecting a seeweed-like plant.

Next was Rinku Premium Outlet. Yay! Love this place to bits! (oh my, I sound just like Farah. hehe ). Rinku is a cool shopping arcade! Coming to Rinku is like a dream come true. It has many boutiques that ranges from the still-affordable-kind, like Gap, Nike and Adidas, to the high-end-and-not-affordable-kind like.. err, I can't even remember . The cool serene weather complemented our shopping visit to Rinku perfectly. Recommended to everybody!

Afer Rinku, we drove straight back to Toyama, Khairi's place.
Long.. long.. journey.. made me sleepy...

There's actually a lot of things that you can find in your room.
Pretty Illusive

A friend of mine, Shirly has a vacation house somewhere in Janda Baik. So, she invited us over on the 23rd of July for a weekend retreat. And of course, I jumped at the opportunity . We started off with mandi sungai, then fishing some hungry skinny talapia (Paul managed to catch a huge one though), went on for a BBQ, chat and laugh our stomach out at the dinner table until late nite, moving on with a round of karaoke, and of course tido la. Didn't have a good nite sleep though, 'thanks' to the goosebumps I had all over my body. Seeing the sun rise the next morning was a bliss. Bye bye goosebumps. Hehe. Went for a morning swim, and as usual, I suck at it . So, let's talk about the jacuzzi instead (diversion, ) . It was the damnedest soothing thing ever. You think swimming is cool? Try the jacuzzi. You'll know what I mean. Enough with the water session, we went on for breakfast, prepared by Chef Wan. Note: Goosebumps are gone, I'm enjoying my breakfast. Oops, not for long though. Dear little Cammy came up an eerie story that she actually saw a 'something' last nite, twisting the latch on the bedroom door, and came out! So, that's what made her jumped out of bed the nite before, LITERALLY. Eeeek. And I was sleeping just few feet away from where she slept! Never had I thought leaving Janda Baik would left me feeling spooked. Anyway, I've got to admit. It was indeed a great weekend retreat, nevermind the spooky part . Thanx Shirl baby So, when's the next trip?