Cool Anime Stamps As Souvenirs

Apart from collecting stamps all around Japan's tourist spots and train stations like the  JR 77 stations' stamp rally, we love getting commemorative postage stamps in Japan. They do make cool souvenirs for us! I guess we are somewhat immature in things that we love about Japan and the stuff we take back as souvenirs. :3

For those into animes, you can rejoice getting postage stamps that features Doraemon, Conan, Fullmetal Alchemist (I think we need to get these for Zaini next time), Hello Kitty, Naruto and so much more!

Of course, we don't only collect anime related postage stamps, there are several more traditional postage stamps in our collection too.

Wouldn't mind getting these for the collection too...

Most post offices do offer some of these special stamps, but for more choice, you need to head off to bigger post office. We usually went to the central post office in Marunouchi or the one in Shinjuku.

Would you send a letter/postcard to yourself when you are abroad for the stamps? We would!

Filling Our Cruising Days with Fun

You can define F-U-N with snippets…these are what I found in dictionary.com: enjoyable, makes you smile/laugh, makes you feel happy; not necessarily free-spirited or structured, ordinary or out- of-the ordinary or just lighthearted or deeply intense, or simply the first time and pioneering or repetitive and memorable, or alone or with someone, depending on who you are or who you are with.  I made a bucket list of things to do and places to see before I die! The list was filled with stuff that’s fun 

It has ordinary things I have not done before like flying a kite and riding a bike.  Bill’s has things he thoroughly enjoyed before like flying a plane, diving under a sea, and skiing on a mountain. Or it may contain things you greatly enjoy doing together like dancing and hiking, things you enjoy doing with others like karaoke sessions or those that don’t cost much like potlucks!  I even asked myself what will be my priorities during the end days?  And included the answers!

As far as places to visit, the list would include places I have not seen (like Yellowstone or Glacier National Park) or were different from places I had been to (so, if possible, no more hot springs, please…) or I thoroughly enjoyed before (like Yosemite or Key West).   If you look at my below, you will see what I mean.  In other words, the only criterion is ENJOYMENT, not wealth production, not knowledge generation, and certainly not reputation building.

You may say that the list is the same whether you are in a cruising lifestyle or not.  The big difference is  that one can definitely work his list a lot faster while cruising, especially in an RV, and most especially in Phase 2! Why?  This is because you easily can have the resources and facilities for any of them, there are many available people of like interests around, and you are already in places that are ideal for such activities! More importantly, you not only seem to have the time but you make it!

The campground we are in right now, Green Mountain Park in Lenoir, NC, has a 9-hole golf course, a tennis/pickleball court, two mini-golf courses, billiard tables, horseshoe courses, two pools, and all the board games you can think of at the adult lodge.  Each site has a deck around it for easy entertaining.    What Three Flags Resort in Wildwood, Florida lacked in facilities they made up for in organized activities: jam sessions, poker and other card games, craft times, karaoke, concerts, potlucks, etc. every week. 

On the other hand, The Oaks at Point South in Yemassee, South Carolina had neither facilities nor activities but Savannah, Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Charleston were all within an hour’s drive from it. So it worked out well that we could tour our visiting friend from the Philippines from there.  Sometimes, a campground has all three, like Orlando Thousand Trails Resort! It was our base for the Disney and Universal Studios tours, days of spas and fitness exercises, and hours of dancing and singing.

Needless to say, it is a huge bonus if the campground is also near spectacles of nature! Like when we found the Big Sur State Park on a cliff right next to the glistening Pacific Ocean! Or the campgrounds right inside Yosemite, Joshua Tree or even Everglades National Park.  The one we cannot forget is Big Pine Key Resort at the Keys.  It was surrounded on three sides by water, a bus ride away from Key West and beside the forest where rare Key (mini) deer roamed. 

Yes, cruising in an RV is made for endless fun-filled days! Unbeatable.

So as not to forget, this is my matrix of fun things, cells all filled in, like thus:

                                     Alone                         With Someone

Free-spirited     Writing blog                 Tubing, canoeing or kayaking

                          Taking photos               Hiking a little known trail

  

Structured        Attending a talk             Playing bridge, poker, etc.

                         Hearing a good homily   Performing a choreography

                                                                                      

Ordinary          Planning/cooking meals  Having cocktails  

                         Reading a book             Dining potluck style

                         Sketching scenes/faces   Sitting around a campfire

                         Watching American Idol Working out at the gym 

                             DWTS, or a movie                                      

Un-ordinary   Planning trips                     Lstening to a great concert  

                       Finding a bargain/treasure Watching a great play           

                       Putting a party together      Riding a motorcycle

Lighthearted Riding a carousel                Having a picnic

                      Surfing on the net                Dancing/karaoke/jam session

                      Playing video games            Managing a complex project

  

First-time      Flying a kite                        Posing at the Arctic Circle

                      Riding a bike                       Riding a helicopter

Repetitive    Seeing bright yellow flowers Visiting family & friends

NEXT THOUGHTS: Keeping Fit while Cruising

                                                                   

                                         

Becoming A Billionaire/The Birth Of The Rich

I don't really watch all that much Korean drama, preferring the variety shows like Let's Go Dream Team and 1N2D but there is one drama I look forward to each week titled Becoming A Billionaire/The Birth Of The Rich (부자의 탄생).

The drama follows the story of a man, Choi Suk Bong, who believes that he is actually the son of a rich father and heir to a chaebol group (family business/conglomerate or something...). He meets Lee Shin Mi, who is actually a chaebol heir but acts nothing like one, with her scrimping and frugal ways. Although they get off to a rocky start, with her help, he struggles towards his goal of attaining wealth.

It is a fun story, with liberal doses of light hearted scenes and comedy. My only problem is that I only watch TV on weekends and the time slot of 8.00am-11.00am on Sunday makes me having to fight for the time slot with Raimie and Zaini. LOL 

Something for Raimie's Ultraman Collection

An Ultraman Zero jigsaw puzzle, from the movie Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie to add to Raimie's ever growing Ultraman & jigsaw puzzle collections.

For Ultraman fans, a new series for Ultraman Zero starts airing on May 20, 2010 in Japan and will have a total of 26 episodes. Zaini will get busy soon downloading the episodes, I bet. 

Probably have to wait for ages for it to be shown on Malaysian TV. Astro is currently showing 2001-2002's Ultraman Cosmos and TV3 is showing 2005's Ultraman Max. Thank goodness for the internet and file sharing! It's too long to wait for a new Ultraman series to be shown on Malaysian TV.

Exploring British Columbia

(This is a post of a previous trip and the picture above is what greets you right before entering Vancouver from the north.)

The highs of our Arctic Circle experience did not readily subside as we cruised back to the lower 48.  From Dawson City we had to go through Whitehorse again but before reaching Watson Lake we had to take a right to the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, also known as Glacier Highway.  This nickname intrigued me no end.  But what gave me incomparable thrill was seeing the letters BC, formed by rocks we had earlier laid out on that small stretch of the Alaska Highway (before we made the right turn), were still there!

Stewart-Cassiar is a lonely highway through northern British Columbia.  I did not see a glimpse of a glacier-topped mountain until after a few hours, when we were making the turn to the town of Stewart, British Columbia towards the coast.  But the big surprise was the town of Hyder, Alaska which was only two miles from Stewart’s border!  That little town of almost a hundred people gave us two unforgettable experiences:  driving up to Salmon Glacier and witnessing a spectacular performance at Fish Creek. 

  

Salmon Glacier is the fifth largest glacier in North America and as we went up the hill (15 miles) from downtown Hyder and Stewart, it slowly made its appearance. When we reached the summit, we saw its entire extent. The pictures I show here do not give it justice.  But the price we paid was high.  The road was dirt-gravel all the way.  And since it was also rainy that day, it was MUDDY dirt/gravel!  I can only imagine the brutal punishment we gave Star.  But there was no other way to get there.  There was nothing commercial about the towns of Stewart/Hyder. No one even wanted to take Bill out fishing on a boat because it was off-season!

Fish Creek, on the other hand, right on the foot of the hill, had a side show waiting for us.  A good-sized black bear showed up and for about thirty minutes hunted for and devoured the salmon he could find on the creek.  I tell you…Bill and I were clicking our cameras non-stop (yes, I used my other point-and-click camera).  At times he was a mere twenty feet from us and we were rendered incognito to him! It really felt like he was putting on a show for our benefit!

British Columbia had many other memorable experiences for us along what is called the Yellowhead Highway:  the small salmon hatchery we found along the way in New Hazelton where we learned how and why they counted the salmon that passed through a small river, some of the oldest totem poles in the world in the small village of Kitwanga, and some native Americans who had the sole privilege of fishing a stream and did so using fish nets in the swirling gorge in Moricetown.  We camped and grilled right next to the river that night. We were not native-Americans so we were not supposed to get that privilege…but they graciously allowed us.

 

Ripley’s must be active in BC, too, for in Houston, we found the world’s largest fishing rod (60-ft tall, conceived by Jarvis) and in 100 Mile House (which is 100 miles from the start of the gold rush there and which fronts reputedly the best fishing in the world in what has been nicknamed the Fishing Highway) we found the world’s largest cross-country skis! But the exploration was not complete until we got to the Rockies again.  There the town of Lilloet, nestled among the high foothills, offered the biggest emeralds I have ever seen…all firmly planted around town.   But the steep grades going down the mountain sides virtually destroyed our front brakes and we paid another steep price for those thrills on the hills.

Further beyond was Whistler, BC, where the Winter Olympics was going to be held January of the following year.  We saw all the frenzied preparations, including the only peak-to-peak gondola in the world, connecting Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.  At the top of Blackcomb were a mountain side rocky hike and spectacular scenery. But, soon the beautiful coast unfolded before us, as if telling us the remarkable city of Vancouver is not far. 

Before you reach the city, you will be shocked at the great big boulder that welcomes you.  We were in Vancouver before so this time around we went to where we had not been, the Lonsdale Quay Market, to see a view of the city skyline. And when we crossed the border to the state of Washington, seeing Mt. Baker at a distance, we knew we were coming home! But, aside from this therapeutic pinch to a little homesickness, we were also ecstatic…about the substantially less expensive gas with which we could now feed hungry Star!

Lasting thought about Canada besides its vast beauty:  the country is so RV-friendly.   Maybe that is why almost every other RVer we saw there was a European! They have discovered the secret!

Next Stops:  Bend, Columbia Gorge, and Portland, Oregon and Longview and Long Beach, Washington  

Not Another Pair?

I bought a pair of new boots the other day. My fourth pair of shoes I bought this month. It took me a total of two minutes to decide that I want to buy the pair.

I love boots ever since college days though I graduated from wearing a Doc Mart boots to a more lady-like heeled boots when I started working. My ofiicemates and Zaini always joked that whenever I wear my boots, it'll rain that day! And yeah, it rain so heavily the first time I wear this boot!

I'm envious of the Japanese ladies who get to wear knee-high boots. They sure look so nice in their boots and you see them everywhere in Japan; from teenagers, office ladies to housewives taking their children out. Japanese ladies wear tall boots everywhere - don't the feet ever get tired/painful in those boots?

I practically salivated over those gorgeous leather boots every time we went to Japan. Unfortunately for me, owning one is not practical for me living in Malaysia. Not to mention they'll cause a serious dent to the wallet. Huhuhu

You know, buying shoes in Japan is something I need to get used to. I really am not familiar with staff waiting on their knees holding the shoes for me to try on. That and the fact that I fall under the "L" size category when I went shoe shopping in Japan! My size is 24cm BTW if anyone cares to know. :3

Operationalizing Phase 2, Part 2-Salisbury, Spencer, Star, and Charlotte, North Carolina

Bill thought the title of this post strange so I looked up operationalize in dictionary.com.  Two results popped up: 1) to define a concept or variable so that it can be measured or expressed quantitatively and 2) to put into operation, start working.  It is this second meaning that I intended for this title.

After getting renewed, Chillaxin’ in Advance for three weeks, we went to the Bass Lake Resort in Salisbury, NC with the full intent of running around  Charlotte, Salisbury, Spencer, Star, and other nearby towns with very little time to relax.  What we found were not only great places and plenty to do but also many new and good friends!

Salisbury is a good place to be.  The city does a good job of promoting the town.  Every Friday, from 5-9 PM, there is a Spring Night Out. Shops and restaurants do something unique for the towns people and tourists: face painting for kids, roses for moms, free apple pie bites for everyone, free water and candy for all, free balloons and free band music and dancing in the streets. 

Bill and I had our fill of excitement…and more.  While combing the establishments, we found a wine cellar at the basement of an old building.  Bill had a great time there but what thrilled me was something else.  Before you reach the basement I got lost in a whole ground floor of antique and collectibles consignment booths.   And there, tucked among old quaint stuff was my treasure! 

I found my ornament tree, a golden three feet tall tree with hooks for thirty-two ornaments, for only $11!  I told Bill I could have died a happy girl then.  Little did I know that soon a strange feeling of emptiness would set in and replace the glee, realizing that I had no more treasures to hunt.   But, soon I had a new list…a quaint magazine rack, unique tray tables, and the best dinosaur toy for my grandson!

But, besides finding my treasure, I also found many great opportunities for photos of people selling their craft.  You see, I would like to join the ‘I am an Entrepreneur’ Photography Competition of Seven Fund. I took pictures of a face painter, a potter, and street dancers.  But it was in the Webb Flea Market the previous weekend where I found more…a cedar wood artist, ax handle craftsmen, fragrant oils retailer, a plant lady, an elephant ear cook, and a motorcycle airbrush specialist. 

Every second Saturday, Salisbury also has a Studio Crawl, a walking tour of art galleries and artists’ studios.  We went to the studios of a painter (Robert Crum), a glass fusion artist (Syed Ayamm), a sculptor, and some art galleries. We found out that the city has a thriving art community, an overflow from Charlotte where the cost of living is much higher. As a matter of fact, around the town’s streets are about two dozen pieces of fine public art.   A digital camera is definitely a good thing to have!

Art degrees via accredited online schools are available for people to earn who love art. People who are fascinated by sculpture, glass fusion, and more, are often interested in taking art courses.

Salisbury also has some historical places to boast of.  Andrew Jackson studied law there. Daniel Boone’s family trekked there.  Many union soldiers were buried in trenches near the Confederate Prison and National Cemetery there.  And now, the Colborns have left their mark there.  Back at the resort, they met three other couples and a bachelor. We all took turns making dinner for everyone to share. One of the wives is a Filipina, the first and only Asian I have ever encountered in the RV world.  

But that is not the end of the Salisbury Tales.  From the distinguished shelves of a retail outlet of the famed Goodwill Chain we discovered a Wowee RoboReptile dinosaur that was for auction the following Tuesday.  And, of course, my dashing knight in shining armor won for his queen the prize!  I became the happiest grandma in the whole wide world!  

Spencer, NC, just next to Salisbury is where the state’s famous Transportation Museum is located.  Spencer was a thriving railroad depot in the early 1900s until diesel replaced the steam engines and the depot died and the town whittled down, not being able to retrofit their shops fast enough.  But there we saw the relics of the steam engine era, including the luxury train, named Doris, of the Duke family after whom Duke University is named.

We were surprised to discover that Charlotte, NC is the second largest financial center in the USA (second to NY). It is home to almost 700,000 people, the largest city in the state.  On May 11, the day before we visited, the city had just inaugurated the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  Charlotte is also the home of the National Whitewater Center, an Olympics training site, and the Billy Graham Library.  In the Fourth Ward at the end of the free trolley rides is the site of historically restored Victorian era homes and establishments.  

On the way to Sea Grove community of potters in Star, NC we chanced upon a large group of colorful tents. I thought it was a flea market but it turned out to be remote control car racing!  Some of the small hobby  cars had thousands of dollars put into them. It was very interesting to meet so many so engrossed in this sport.  Bill told me that the South, having vast spaces of land, is fonder of auto racing as a sport than the north!

And, finally, Sea Grove is an unbelievable community of about a hundred potters clustered around four roads of Star, NC.  There we found various techniques of glazing pottery…the crystalline way, the 15^th century Chinese way, etc.  Some pots cost $2,500 (reputedly, it costs 4x more in Atlanta).  But in the Great White Oak Gallery one red Asian inspired pot stood out from the rest.  Bill and I thought that it would fit beautifully in someone’s Zen-inspired home and bought it!

Next Stops: Lenoir and Asheville, NC

Us, Saving On Accommodation

Our ways to save a bit of cash on accommodation helped us to lower down our expenses.

The money saved on accommodation can be used for more important stuff like eating good food and shopping. Don't you agree? *^-^*

Memberships do pay its worth, and for us that meant having:

Frequent Flyer Membership even if we don't travel all that much

I enrolled the three of us to Japan Airline's JAL Family Club (JAL FC)  for a mere 3,150yen a year membership.

As JAL FC members, we can pool our mileage and redeem the mileage for vouchers that can be used for shopping, dining and hotel stays in Japan at their JAL Hotel.

A night's stay at Nikko Hotel Nagasaki-Huis Ten Bosch, Nikko Hotel  Ginza and Nikko Hotel Kawasaki were all paid using JAL vouchers. A return trip for three to Tokyo can give me enough mileage to redeem for a 20,000yen worth of vouchers.

Even if we don't have any vouchers, there are good deals on room rates to be found with the JAL Mileage Bank Membership (JMB) which is considerably cheaper than reserving without one.

Hotel Membership

When we were regulars to Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, and Zaini being a Marriott Rewards member; we raked up enough nights and points to redeem for a night or two at Marriott Hotel in Japan. That's usually translated to a savings of between 16,000 - 30,000 yen per night.

Toyoko-Inn is a good option for a cheap yet comfortable stay. Rooms are clean and they are pretty much standard at any locations in Japan. With rooms that cost less than 10,000yen per night for us, free breakfast, laundry option and the hotels' close vicinity to train stations - this chain is our favourite.

Zaini enrolled for a Toyoko-Inn Club Card International Membership and the few privileges the membership accords him are - 30% discount on quoted room rates for check-in on Sundays and public holidays, 6 months' advance reservation (instead of 3 months for general public), early check-in at 3.00pm instead of the normal 4.00pm and for every 10 nights' stay, we get a free single room night.

Membership only cost us a one time fee of 1,500yen and Zaini got his card immediately upon signing up with all the privileges accorded immediately too. You have to be physically at one of the Toyoko-Inn hotel to sign-up though.

Last year, we were in Japan during the Silver Week holiday and raked huge savings because quite a number of nights' stay were discounted. An 8,000yen room cost only 5,000yen for us after discount and that's a double room fit for the three of us. With free breakfast thrown in (and dinner at some branches) that can translate into a pretty good savings.

Other ways of savings for us:

Overnight trips on a sleeper train/bus

 Express Noto

When we were traipsing around Japan using their exceptional train service, fully utilising our JR Pass, we took the Express Noto Midnight Train to/fro Tokyo/Kanazawa and spent the night in the train. Another planned overnight train ride on the Sunrise Izumo didn't pan put because there were not enough seats available. :(

Express Noto Midnight trains has a ladies only compartment, and the compartment even has blankets available for commuters to use. Noto only have seats available and no private berths.

Sleeping on the train by just reserving a seat is of no extra cost to JR Pass holders unless you go for the berth/sleeping compartments. If you need to sleep lying down, the extra fares incurred to use the berth/couchettes on the night trains will be pretty much the same as spending a night in a hotel.

How about you? Any tips you can add to save on accommodation during your trips overseas?

Nothing Much Of An Update... Of Yen And Stingray For Lunch

Been pretty quiet lately and no further progress in our planning for our next vacation in September other than helping friends planning to visit Hokkaido in June by monitoring the Yen fluctuations against Ringgit Malaysia (RM). Yes, I monitor the Yen regularly and got rather worried when Yen went back up to RM3.60 - RM3.70 last week after coming down at a rather more affordable RM3.40 - RM3.50 weeks before.

I bought some stingray slices that were on sale in Jusco and instead of cooking the stingrays the normal way i.e. assam pedas (a sourish fish stew) or grilled ala Portuguese style, I decided to play around with the gochujang paste and kimchi stocked in my fridge.

Just thought I'd post some food photos of our lunch today.

My stingray "jigae". Look similar to assam pedas, right?

The rest of the meal - sake kamameshi (salmon & vege flavoured rice), stir fried stingray with kimchi and asaparagus and a bowl of miso soup for Raimie.

What's your lunch today? ^-^

Operationalizing Phase 2, Part 1-Chillaxin' in Advance, North Carolina

We were transitioning into Phase 2 of the RV cruising lifestyle when we were in Florida (see the posts entitled ‘Spending Winter in Florida, Parts 1-3’ and ‘Going through the 5 Stages of the Cruising Lifestyle’).  But, because we had a dear visiting friend from the Philippines, we slid back to Phase 1 (sight-seeing) when we were running around Savannah, Georgia and  Beaufort, Hilton Head, and Charleston, South Carolina (please see ‘Touring Low Country USA with a Friend’). 

But, now in North Carolina, we finally feel very much in Phase 2, a combination of sight-seeing and relaxing.  This part will be about ‘Chillaxin’ in Advance’.  Advance (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable) is an unincorporated community with a total land area of 62.3 square miles (161 km²) on the western bank of the Yadkin River. It is nestled within the Piedmont Triad (Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro). 

The country cottages along the roads were pretty with azaleas in full bloom.  I even saw a mushroom farm see the piles of oak above) at Sandy Creek Farm nearby. In this little community was Forest Lake RV Resort, an RV park frequented by many locals in the area as a weekend vacation spot.  Here is where Bill took out a fishing license and alternated between the small stocked lake on the property and the Yadkin River a few hundred feet away.  For almost three weeks, we just kind of ‘chilled out’, playing mini-golf and billiards, hiking the trails, and sharing dinners with fellow RVers.  I even beat Bill at least once at mini-golf and billiards! And, while he was drowning worms, this blog got a great deal of attention alongside a lot of housekeeping!

We wished the spa was open but they said peak season is Memorial Day to Labor Day and that is when all the amenities, including two pools, are open.  You see when my friend left to go back to the Philippines, I noticed that I had gained a few more pounds and begun to develop love handles (the negative side effects a happy state) between my waist and hips. So we took to playing table tennis (I beat Bill once here, too!) and studying how to play pickleball. We also picked up exercising again and doing some yoga and Pilates. Alas, I realized the problem would not go away soon! Bill is telling me that I have to do something about eating, too! 

On a few days we ventured out of the campground and hunted for treasures around the consignment shops and flea markets in downtown Lexington (eight miles away) and Mocksville (ten miles away).  I wanted to send my grandson a dinosaur/robot and find an ornament tree for Christmas.  Instead we found a beautiful wooden five-bottle wine rack for our counter for only $18! On many days, however, we would simply go to the library to get a better connection for faster Internet surfing.  

On one Sunday, we even went to Winston-Salem, drove around the city and spotted a seven-foot coffee pot along the road.  We also went to three vineyards to sample North Carolina wine, rumored to be making a comeback! At the end of the day Bill treated me to a Cracker Barrel dinner/experience, my first! And when we went to hear mass at the Catholic church, we found a 62 Corvette with the plate, Carol's 62, and two Knights of Columbus elders in attendance!  That was a special treat for me!  I had been looking for a great application of my name in both North and South Carolina! Carol's 62 on a Corvette beats Carolina Leasing or Carolina Insurance! 

So, we can truly say…we were ‘chillaxin’ in Advance’!

Next Stops: Salisbury and Lenoir, North Carolina