Icebergs off Newfoundland, Canada

A friend sent me these photos on May 18, 2008.  I just came across them and was awe struck again, just like I was the 1st time I saw them.  Imagine seeing those huge blocks of ice, just gently floating by in the wild North Atlantic Ocean? 

Notice a 2nd one way out in the distance! And so close to the shore.

 Thanks to my friend Marjorie for sending me these photos.  I have yet to see a glacier or iceberg.  Note to self - add to bucket list!!!

Hanayashiki's Roller Coaster

Ever been to Hanayashiki Amusement Park when you are in Tokyo (or Asakusa to be exact)? No?
This park has been in business since 1853! It didn't start out as a amusement park but as a flower park though.

The park has a roller coaster that it claims to be the oldest in Japan. Sure was a rickety ride. I think the thrill came from the feeling whether the coaster might disintegrate while we were zooming down. Kidding!

Don't forget to wave back to the nice "obasan" waving at you from that brown apartment.

Standing directly underneath the roller coaster track.

If you want to see how a park fully utilise every single inch of space, come to Hanayashiki. They sure know how to utilise all the space they have. So what under the roller coaster track? Festival style game stalls. Throw a shuriken and win a prize, anyone?

AirAsia's Big Sale!

From 12pm today to 29th May. Just USD9 for air tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo (Haneda)! OMG! OMG!  OMG! Should I book another set for next year travel now? I am sooooooooo tempted to do it! Common sense be damned! 

I wonder what are the dates for school holiday between 9 Feb 2012 to 20 June 2012?

Playing With Real Snow!

One sunny day in March 2008, we decided that we should go check out how real snow looks and feels like. So we hopped on the Tanigawa train and went to GALA Yuzawa. A mere one and half an hour's ride on the Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo and we were there. The beauty of going to GALA Yuzawa is that the skiing experience is just a gondola ride away from the train station! How cool is that?

The fastest Joetsu shinkansen will take you there in just 77 minutes, if I'm not mistaken.

A view from the gondola we took from the train station up to the slopes.

Two snow "virgins" excited to play with real snow. WOOT!

We rented the amusement set (or something) that included a jacket, pants, gloves, boots and a sled. For Raimie, we even got him a helmet. We didn't plan to do any skiing that day, so no skiing lessons for us. Just simple fun of going sledding down the kids' slopes.

At the kids' slope

A "kuma' getting ready for hibernation. LOL

and then the little "kuma" decided to come out and play. ^^

and made a new friend.

We were there from 10.00am to 3.00pm and returned to Tokyo on the double-decker Max Tanigawa train. The poor exhausted boy; who had somehow managed to get his feet wet and cold while burrowing himself in all those snow, fell asleep almost immediately in the train. Note to self, bring extra socks if we decide to do this again in future.

Arriving our hotel two hours later, he started badgering us for the PSP game-LocoRoco that "Uncle Contamination" had let him play the day earlier. Oh no!

Adventures at Busch Gardens

The Captain and I went to Busch Gardens today, where they were busily working toward next Friday's opening of their newest attraction, Cheetah Hunt.  It is unbelievable how fast these projects progress.  We last visited a few months ago and couldn't believe it is almost ready to open.

It was a hot and humid day in Central Florida where we kept going back to take a break around the Sheikra attraction where you can get wet just by being close to the water portion of the ride.  The little kids hanging out and getting drenched over and over again were so entertaining.

It was fun to hang out in "Stanleyville" today.  We really enjoyed our lunch at the Zambia Smokehouse where we were served a huge portion of pork ribs and french fries . . . well worth the $12.49 they charge for the platter.  We decided to eat outdoors so we could take in the sights and sounds of Stanleyville, goof on the people around us and be amused by the birds who would descend on the area after a table was cleared.  It is pretty cool that they stay away from the people who are still eating at the tables . . . at least they are polite :)

The disappointment of the day is when the camera batteries died and we had to stop taking photos.

Here are some photos we took of Cheetah Hunt . . . I'm working on a new video of today's visit.  We took lots of landscape photos and The Captain got some awesome shots of turtles riding on the back of the gators.  

The landscapers were putting the finishing touches at the base of the new ride.

Looking up from the base of one section of the ride.

More views of the ride, which stretches through a large part of the park.

Click here for my blog post on the introduction of Cheetah Hunt which includes videos from Busch Gardens.  

We are tentatively planning to be there for the opening of the new attraction and will take lots of photos of the completed ride.

What an awesome and beautiful day!

I Miss This... Getting Hot And Naked

A dip in hot spring bath in the wee hours of the morning, at 4.00am to be exact; warrants a B&W photo for me. It was nice having a solitary bath, listening to the drip, drip, drip of the rainfall outside. Bliss.

Funny though, walking along the dimly lit, empty corridor to get to the bath area and sitting in the bath, I didn't think about ghosts but when walking back to my room, the thought of meeting one suddenly occurred to me!

While having a soak, bathers are free to take a drink or two of the spring water. Or call the room service for a stronger drink, if you need one. Yes, there was a phone nearby for that purpose.

What's the scoop for? For you to drink the spring water, of course! Was it nice? Taste like boiled eggs.

I miss the onsens a lot. Getting naked around strangers is not a problem for me. I do it all the time at  the gym's locker room anyway.

The next time we visit, we'll just have a day trip to an onsen resort town somewhere (at the moment, it looks like Yufuin has the honour) because we can't afford a nice stay in a ryokan this year. *sob sob*

What is this used for?

We want to list this on eBay but am wondering if it a tea pot shaped sugar bowl or ? It is a souvenir from Dibgy NS (Nova Scotia) - Canada.  There is a design of a Clipper Ship (Tall Sails) on the side. Bottom says England!

My grandmother always kept a little pot with mustard that she mixed from dry mustard. But since this is in the shape of a tea pot I am thinking it is from back in the day when artificial sweetener was served at the table without the little paper packets. 

 

This has a small plastic liner and spoon. 

Only 2" tall & 3 1/4" from spout to handle

 

With the help of Lynn Dralle and the members of her Queen's Court, we are calling it a sugar bowl.  Here is the listing