Thursday, July 03, 2008
= trip overview =
this hokkaido trip is quite relaxing.. and it's like rearing a pig(me) like tat.. lol.. eat more than usual, sit, leisure, sleep.. haha.. and becos of this, i gained weight.. =( already got round face.. now become rounder.. super sad de lo...
*tour guide- his dad is japanese and his mum is taiwanese.. so he knows how to speak japanese, taiwanese (aka hokkien) and mandarin (once he speaks.. immediately i know he is from taiwan.. haha)
- his wife is a certified beautician (by govt.. so is very recognised) and his mum is in the trading business of health and beauty.. so basically, he is good in keeping himself young and good-looking.. lol.. he also shun bian helps to promote some of the beauty stuff to us.. and he succeeded in clinching a few orders.. haha.. anyway.. he also got give us some tips on beauty.. lol..
- he tells us alot stories of other tour group he took and about himself too.. he also jokes around, has very 'over' actions sometimes.. the way he talks is quite entertaining too.. and his behaviour is quite niang de lo.. haha
*tour group- is a 16 ppl group.. i am the youngest (together with another gal) there.. got 3 not-so-old grannies..
- all are very coooperative.. no lateness and most of the time they are earlier than the time set..
- becos is a small group and they are not those arrogant ones.. so our interactions are quite good.. we even leave our contact numbers behind to keep in contact.. haha..
*food- got seafood bbq/steamboat.. japanese style of meal.. chinese cuisine.. buffet..
- their food are quite salty for mi.. so i ended up eating more rice to balance out the salty taste.. zzz..
- japanese rice are quite sticky.. but they are soft lo.. not those grainy or hard hard de.. hee..
- like their green tea.. really different from wat i had in sg.. the green tea leaf itself is so diff le.. haha..
*time- jap time is an hour faster than sg time..
- their sunrise timing now is jap time 3+am (summer period).. while sunset timing is ard the same timing in sg..
- according to tour guide.. during winter, the sun sets very early.. if i nv rem wrongly.. is 3+pm..
- the shops closed ard 8pm.. so at nite basically got nothing to do other than watching japanese program which i dun understand.. lol.. can only guess by the actions or by the chinese words in the subtitles.. hoho..
*local ppl- according to the tour guide.. the locals lead a very healthy lifestyle.. they have early good diet meals.. 7+am, 11+am, 5+pm (jap time for 3 meals).. they sleep very early too (10pm jap time to mi is consider early.. haha.. cos it's 9pm sg time!!)..
- they are very courteous and helpful.. and always wear a smile.. nice ppl~
*hotel- their toilets are quite small.. so are the bath tubs inside (except for the hotel on the last night in tokyo)
- changed hotels daily..
- spent 2 nights on hot spring hotels where we got chance to wear yukata there.. hehe.. these 2 hotel rooms are the bigger ones..
- slept on tatami on the 1st hot spring hotel only as it's the only hotel (out of all hotels we spent a night in) without beds..
*hot spring- my 1st attempt in hot spring.. somemore nid to go naked.. haha..
- the hot spring is natural and comfortable.. skin feel smooth smooth after that.. hee..
*weather- 20-25 degree celcius in the day, 16-18 degree in the nite.. was like staying in aircon room.. will be cold only when there's wind.. (same weather for the hk trip i went)
- not humid at all.. so good~ plus there is no rain and cloudy weather during these few days.. sunny throughout.. this type of weather is the best!
*famous for- here, we can see seafood(crabs, scallops and salmons etc), rock melon and its products, white lover choc biscuits, lavendar products and hokkaido milk everywhere.. they are nice~
- especailly for the hokkaido milk.. it is not very thick or thin. just nice.. and it's smooth and there is no aftertaste at all.. yummy.. (was missing the taste of it now =<) - other than those mentioned above.. sweet corns, potato and pumpkins are the next mostly seen food.. haha.. they are really sweet lo.. hee..
*price increase- price increases w.e.f 1st jul 08 in japan due to increased in oil prices.. so lucky that we are able to buy most of the souvenirs on the day before 1st jul.. haha..
- the price increase is about 100+ yen for a product.. for eg.. the white lover choc (jap name = ishiya choc).. increase from initial 693 to 740 yen for a 12-piece box..
- fyi: exchange rate is 1000 yen approx equal to 13 sing dollars.. (we are kind of rich ppl there.. haha.. spending in hundreds and thousands.. lol)
*disappointing stuff- no lavender field.. they are still growing in progress.. zzz.. can only see them from mid jul to end of jul.. (tour agency cheat us one =<)
-anyway, heard from the tour guide that the lavender are not grown in the fields.. they are grown elsewhere and then are being transferred to the field one by one when they are going to blossom.. wah.. so troublesome.. but if it is not done in this way.. the stalks will grow in many directions and tidy, beautiful and magnificant fields will not be seen.. haha
*interesting stuff- the crows there are big fat ones.. their calls are very loud too.. black crows to the japanese is considered a lucky symbol instead..
- there still got shops which sell cheap stuff.. ie 100 yen shop and 1050 yen shop..
that's the end of my overview.. i still have not upload the photos.. very lazy.. haha..
but will try to do it asap..
stay tuned~
Labels: vacations
6:25 pm
