Mom, How Are You?

Happy Mother's Day.

For those who can understand Malay, check out the lyrics and its Malay translation over Kak Lela's Awan Okinawa Berlalu... For those who can't, sorry! XD

Our 70 Foot Colorado Spruce Tree Got a Make Over

 

Our house guarded by 2 70' Colorado Spruce trees.  They are about 50 years old and have been trimmed every 5 years or so when they were younger.  According to the aborist (who we consulted with a few weeks ago) - they are the prettiest trees in all of Colorado Springs. 

The last few years we have noticed the top of the south tree was starting to separate. 

  

 When we looked close we could see that there were 2 trunks - called co dominant trunks.

 I called Tall Timbers Tree Co. here in Colorado Springs for a consult.  He said that the best thing to do is to cable the two trunks, pull the cable tight which will bring them together.  He also said that with the winds we had this winter, we were lucky one half didn't blow/fall off. (That is Pikes Peak in the background!)

They brought the bucket truck and he got out of the bucket and climbed around the branches to get the cable around the two trunks, pretty close to the top of the tree.

And now our beautiful tree after it's make over. The top is all closed and looking grand again!!

Natto!

We just can't get enough of it!

Natto wrapped in straw, which was served when we were having breakfast at Taenoyu Onsen in Nyuto Onsen

Natto in a plastic pack, enjoyed during breakfast at JAL City Hotel in Sendai

Gooey and sticky. It does look like it's been covered in snot, doesn't it? That sure brings up the appetite! LOL

If you goggle-up Natto, one description would come up: foul smelling. To this, I digress. The smell isn't that bad, and it sure doesn't taste like rotten cheese either. But then, don't take my word for it since I grew up eating "tempeh" - our own version of fermented soybeans over here in my part of the world. I think I'm OK with most fermented soybean products (or anything fermented for that matter) - I love Korean Doenjang not to mention the bean paste called tauchu; lovely fermented soybean in salt. Zaini even put tauchu in his instant noodle sometimes. If natto isn't so expensive here, I think we would've plonked some in our instant noodle too!

How to enjoy natto:
1. Put natto in a small bowl or just lift up the plastic off the natto plastic container.
2. Add soy sauce and stir well.
3. Add chopped green onion and karashi mustard, if you want to.
4. Put the stirred and seasoned natto on a bowl of steamed rice and enjoy the gooey goodness! Yummy!

Be prepared to get sticky!

But don't limit your natto experience to just putting them on top of a bowl of rice! Be adventurous. Eat natto anytime. ^^

You bet I'm gonna eat a lot when I'm in Japan. ^^

This is my Japan and I'm sharing it with folks over at Show Me Japan Vol 1 Issue 24. W00T!

OLA: Enjoying Great Day Trips from Manila

Taal Volcano, the smallest volcano within a volcano's crater, Taal Lake

Metro Manila is a megalopolis of 20 M people in 16 fused cities and suburbs. At the heart of it is Old Manila, the Walled City of Intramuros, where the Spanish colonial rule of 300 years is etched, despite the ravages of war. Then 1 ½ hours away in the town of Tagaytay, Cavite is a natural wonder…Taal Volcano, the world’s smallest volcano within a volcano on whose ridge the town has grown.

14 guns at the walled city of Manila

Intramuros, located along the southern bank of the Pasig River, was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century. Its name literally means "within the walls". For hundreds of years, it was the nerve center of the Spanish rule but it suffered grievously in WW II. In the 1980s, the government led a major restoration effort and today it is a prominent tourist spot where visitors can experience Spanish-era Manila. The tricycle driver that we hired to ferry us around had to remove his canvas top to allow Bill’s head to fit!

Fort Santiago

A major part of Intramuros is Fort Santiago, built in 1571, a fortress against marauding Chinese pirates, a prison for Spanish-era political prisoners, and a Japanese torture chamber in World War II. The Battle for Manila in WW II almost succeeded in destroying the Fort altogether. Today, it is a relaxing place to visit – a beautiful and informative gateway into the Philippines' colonial past. While we were there, a new documentary on the Philippines’ National Anthem, ‘Lupang Hinirang’ was being shot!

Manila Cathedral

The Manila Cathedral is the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Manila. The present structure is actually the sixth church to occupy the site. The first one, built in 1581, was razed to the ground by fire two years after it was built. But the nearby San Agustin Church, like the 3 other churches featured in my last post, is a World Heritage Site. It was first constructed in 1571 and destroyed by marauding pirates in 1574. It was built (and destroyed) two more times before the present structure was completed in 1604 with a design so stable that even earthquakes or battles could not topple it.

Rizal Park

San Agustin Church

Near the Walled City is Rizal Park where the monument for our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, stands on the site where he was martyred by the Spaniards. Originally a part of Intramuros, the University of Sto Tomas was transferred to its present site, preserving the arch. The Pontifical and Royal University is a private Roman Catholic university founded in 1611, 25 years before Harvard. It is the world's largest Catholic university in terms of enrollment found on a single campus. As a Pontifical University in Asia, it the only one visited by two popes: once by Pope Paul VI in 1970 and twice by Pope John Paul II in 1981 and 1995. Flor, my sister-in-law, who studied there and worked 16 years after was our personal guide.

Entrance Arch at UST

the University of Sto. Tomas

From a reliving of the history of Manila, we go to the cool natural wonder of Tagaytay, a city that sits on the ridge of an extinct volcano’s crater. In the middle of this crater lies Taal Volcano, the smallest in the world. Just a few weeks the Taal town folk were evacuated as it spewed gases but it is now quiet again. During our last trip in 2009, we took a banca to Taal, mounted two horses that took us to the top, loved the cold coconuts served us when we made it there and at the top and marveled at the volcano’s crater.

preparing to ride up to the top

me at the crater of the smallest volcano

Returning to shore gave us nice fresh seafood fare from the lake. The cool air in Tagaytay certainly draws many to escape the Manila heat to and visit places like Sonya’s Garden, the Caleruega Chapel, and just take in the peaceful scenic wonder. At The beaches in the lowlands of the nearby province, Batangas, Bill and April took several dives at the famous dive spot in Anilao.

on the shores of the smallest volcano

There are other day trips we ran out of time to do. There is a small river rafting trip to Pansanjan Falls, a relaxing visit to the City of Seven Lakes, San Pablo, and a short hydrofoil ride to Corregidor Island in the middle of Manila Bay which was the last stand of the Filipino-American troops in WWII. And, of course, at the reclaimed area where the Mall ofAsia is also lie the new wonders, the Manila Oceanarium and the Ocean Park. Truly, Metro Manila can be a base for many wonders to be explored in just a day.

Bill and April preparing to dive at Anilao

Next stop: Taking Great Side Trips to HK and Taiwan

Children's Peace Monument And A Story Of Sadako Sasaki

We visited Hiroshima Peace Park in 2008. When we reached the Children's Peace Monument, we saw brightly colored paper cranes everywhere and this monument. The photo wasn't good, I know, but on top on the bell-like structure is a statue of Sadako Sasaki holding a crane. I didn't know who she was and the significance of her and the monument at that time.

Who was Sadako Sasaki? She was a Japanese girl who lived in Hiroshima, Japan. She was two when the atomic bomb was dropped about one mile away from her home. She and her family managed to escape, although her grandmother; who ran back to fetch something from their house was never seen again.

Though an atomic bombing survivor, Sadako was a healthy and energetic child who never missed a day of  school due to illness and was also a good runner. However, she fell ill when she was 11, and it got worse. In 1955, she was diagnosed with leukaemia, a cancer which affected many children who had been exposed to radiation because of the atomic bomb. Her family was told that she would have less than one year to live, and as she grew more ill, she was admitted to Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital. In August, 1000 paper cranes folded by high school students in Nagoya were delivered to the patients in the hospital. Sadako's room too, was brightened by the cranes folded in a myriad of colors.

Believing that folding paper cranes would help her recover, she too started folding them. However, on October 25 1955, after an eight-month struggle with the disease, she passed away; exactly a year since her class  (and team) had won the relay on their school's Field Day. (Oh my... I've started tearing up as I'm typing this)...

Sadako's death triggered a campaign to build a monument to pray for world peace and the peaceful repose of the many children killed by the atomic bomb. The Children's Peace Monument (原爆の子の像), Genbaku no Ko no Zō; was designed by native artists Kazuo Kikuchi and Kiyoshi Ikebe. It was built using money derived from a fund-raising campaign by Japanese school children including Sadako's classmates, with the main statue entitled 'A-bomb Children' being unveiled on the 5th of May, 1958, on Children's Day in Japan.

Thousands of origami cranes from all over the world are offered around the monument on a daily basis, with ancient Japanese tradition holding that one who folds a thousand cranes can have one wish granted.

At the base of the monument is a black marble slab on which is inscribed in Japanese:
これはぼくらの叫びです　これは私たちの祈りです　世界に平和をきずくための
Kore wa bokura no sakebi desu. Kore wa watashitachi no inori desu. Sekai ni heiwa o kizuku tame no.
This is our cry. This is our prayer - for building peace in the world.

To know more about Sadako Sasaki, click on this link.

Trains, Trains, Trains & A Tram - The West

We had a blast taking numerous trains in Kyushu. However, for the West (by West, I mean the area covered by JR West) it was just a few trains that we tried. The East trains (JR East) were a bit more fun and I'll cover it next month.

Trams in Hiroshima. Not covered by the JR Pass, but we got on one for the experience and headed to the Peace Park.

The Sanyo Shinkansen; Hikari Railstar.

This, we got on to get to Kansai Airport; it's the Limited Express Haruka, which is covered by both JR West and JR Passes.

But I kinda like riding on this cool Rapi:t on the Nankai line to get to Kansai Airport. Not covered by JR Pass, by the way.

This Noto sleeper train we took to get from Kanazawa to Tokyo (Ueno Station) and saved a night's budget on hotel taking it. This train used to run daily, on the JR West line but is now a seasonal overnight express train. From Mar 13, 2010 this train came under JR East.

Both Raimie and I reserved seats in the ladies only coach and we got blankets to cover us on that trip. Nice warm seats and blankets. No such luxury for Zaini in the normal coach!

I remember we took this train to get to Tokyo from Kanazawa one year, arrived Ueno Station, put up our luggage at our hotel, read my e-mails, found one e-mail from Contamination and met up with him afterwards having not shower and all! Did I smell that day, Contamination? ^-^!

By the way, the good Contamination has the honour of being the first non-Malaysian blogger I've met in Japan. 

And this is a shot of the Limited Express Thunderbird which we got on at Kyoto Station to get to Kanazawa.

The Limited Express Raicho bound for Kanazawa from Osaka. 

The last remaining Raicho service was discontinued from the start of the 12 March 2011 timetable revision, with all trains subsequently using the Thunderbird trains. The Raicho train had the dubious honour of a "memorable" trip for me because the train we were supposed to get on was delayed by a few hours and not wanting to wait any longer, we hopped on and boarded the unreserved smoking car on the Raicho. To say that the trip was horrible is an understatement. Try sitting in a train filled with cigaratte smoke one day and you'll know what I mean. And to make that particular trip lovelier, the 2 hours plus trip turned into an almost 5 hours' trip due to slowing train (something about crosswind being the cause, I think - my Japanese is negligible so don't trust me understanding much of the announcement). Well, at least the train was moving and we weren't stuck at the station.

Next month will be of the trains covered by JR East. Plenty of interesting trains that we took there! Stay tuned! And mentioning JR East, Tazawako Tourism Association put up a post about the Akita Shinkansen Komachi resuming operation on Saturday, Apr 30th.

My home town . . . Tampa

Tampa is such a cool place to live with so much to do and see.

It is where I have lived most of my life . . . it is home!

Rather than write another post, I thought I would post videos

that I have gathered from YouTube to show Tampa from

the perspective of others.

A tourist's video view of Tampa

 

 Visit Tampa/St Petersburg video

 


Destination . . . Tampa Bay

 

 Travel Guide - Tampa Bay

 

 Tampa Bay, The Movie ~ History in Tampa
 

Tampa Video and Audio Tour