New Food Discovery in Kanazawa

A note before I begin this entry:

I know, I know.  This blog hasn't been updated in...what?!...nearly 4 years!  (Yes, it's actually November 2014 as I write this.)  It's quite amazing that I can even think about going back 4 years in time to "re-live" my trips.  But I've been having a severe case of the travel bug lately, lurking on strangers' travel blogs & trip reports, and hearing/reading about my friends' travels.  

So, I'm going to TRY.  Thanks to digital technology and my OCD nature w/ keeping notes everywhere I go, I'm going to ATTEMPT to get back into this travel blogging thing.  However, please keep in mind that these trips occurred a while ago.  Hence, I won't be able to provide too much meaningful comments, unless something absolutely spectacular, both positively and/or negatively, happened.  It'll have to be mainly photos and short comments.  Sorry...  

I still do some traveling.  Yes, it has crossed my mind to update on a close to "real-time" basis as well.  Will it pan out?!

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Now, Kanazawa.  A quick weekend trip to check out its beauty and yumminess.  Not exactly the most convenient place to get to from Tokyo, as there aren't any direct Shinkansen routes and requires a transfer to an express train at some point.  Took close to 3-4 hours to get there.  

After checking in, the first place on the agenda was, of course, food.  More precisely, the food market.  Full of unique and delicious-looking seafood, but without a kitchen, kinda useless : (  I'm not that die hard enough to purchase stuff to ship or bring back home the next day to cook!  Instead, headed over to one of the market eateries upstairs and tried out the sashimi donburi.  I had high hopes, which generally tends to disappoint.  And this one did too.  The sashimi pieces were soooooo thin!  

Then, off to some sightseeing.  The main one (or what I remember at this point) being Higashiyama, where the famous street lined with traditional Japanese teahouses are located.  Many were small adorable shops, special inns, or food places (didn't try any!).  Nice area to take a stroll, although it was pretty chilly and drizzling.  I have a strong, great impression about this place because a local young woman offered her umbrella to use!  A complete stranger.  It was such a thoughtful gesture, albeit completely unexpected and made me speechless for a bit.  

Walked thru the Kanazawa Castle at dusk on the way to see the light-up at the Kenroku-en Gardens. 

What I remember most about the Gardens was the COLD.  Man, it was freezing.  My toes were SCREAMING at me to get out of the cold.  Fearing frostbite (hehe!), a fast-paced walkthrough and some photo taking (wasn't easy with my cheap camera) was enough.  The lightup was beautiful, but I've concluded that gardens are not very enjoyable during the winter...

Dinner.  This is where I had my new food discovery - shirako over hot stone place.  OMG!!!  The yumminess...it's light, fluffy, soft, melts in your mouth food.  It was absolutely the best thing I've had in a while. Sadly, I don't recall the restaurant.  The one I wanted to go to was full, so just walked into this izakaya.  Might I say that this was the best decision during the trip?!  

(BTW, shirako is...  can you tell?!)

The next morning, did a thorough tour of the castle.  Took a lot of pics, but I'll leave it out of here since...well, it just looks like a castle.  To be honest, I'm not very knowledgeable (or that interested) in castles as I have a very limited background in Japanese history.  Sad, huh?!

And checked out the teahouse street on the other side of town - similar wooden houses, but on a smaller scale.  Also seemed more renovated than the ones from yesterday. 

Back to the train station for our last meal in Kanazawa:

Only in Japan, can station food be cheap and good!

Fogged In(dia)

I hadn't planned on doing an entry on my trip to India. Primarily because my days were spent either in the hotel or in an office building. Not very interesting to write or read about…
But because of what happened today, the trip turned quite memorable. Might as well make a quick note!

Since a couple of days ago, there's been terrible fog in Delhi. One of my colleagues was supposed to fly out last night, but his flight got cancelled and rescheduled for this afternoon. The fog tends to abate during the day, so the afternoon flight managed to take off.
My flight was scheduled for around midnight - not a particularly good time to be flying under this weather. However, no cancellation notices from the airline, and the inbound flight seemed to be on course (although delayed a bit).
As planned, my colleagues and I headed to the airport.

Things didn't look too good when we got on the cab and out onto the roads. REALLY bad fog. So bad, that we couldn't see a thing in front of us. Under normal circumstances, the ride to the airport would've been crazy, as in crazy, speedy driving. Tonight, we were moving like snails. Safety first!!!
We figured our flight would be delayed for a few hours.

Once we got to the airport, though, things looked promising - the check-in was proceeding smoothly throughout the airport, and incoming flights were landing. Plus, the counter agent kindly informed us that the flight would be taking off, with only a slight delay.
Yaaaaay!!!!!! (But I was doubtful - I mean, look at the fog!!!)

We settled ourselves into the lounge. Well, settled as much as possible considering that the place was rather dingy (remember, this was before the opening of the new international terminal!) and crowded with many delayed passengers.
Guess what! Our departure time came along and no announcement. No signs of boarding. Actually, the plane didn't seem to even have arrived yet!
I must've kept pestering the agent every 15 minutes to try to figure out what was going on. If our flight was going to be cancelled, I'd rather spend the hours waiting at a hotel rather than this stinky, boring airport.
No luck…..
After 2 hours or so, our flight finally arrived. And, we'd be departing after the plane was cleaned. Expected total delay time of about 3 hours. So the agent says.

And, the agent was correct. To a certain degree.
We were allowed to board. But we went no where for the next 12 hours. I'm not kidding…all of the passengers were stuck on the plane for over 10 hours, because the runways were closed.
Apparently, we were the luckier ones since we had a gate, which provided us with all the electrical power necessary to keep the plane air conditioned and lighted. A couple of earlier flights, thinking they'd be taking off, left the gates, only to be stuck on the runway. They gave up their gate spots and couldn't get back to them as they'd already been occupied by another flight! On those flights, there wouldn't be any power after the fuel ran out (which would've after 10 hours!).

Never have I been soooooo glad to be in business class. Because the minute I realized we were going to be delayed for some time, I pulled out the bed and fell asleep. Very, very, comfortable, I slept for close to 8 hours. Woke up a couple of times to get a drink and some snacks. Yummy noodles. I think I shocked my colleagues with my ability to sleep in cramped quarters like I was completely comatose. But really. The bed was extremely comfy. I don't know how I would've handled the situation if I were in the economy seats…sitting upright the whole entire time. Horrid thought!
On the other hand, I'm not sure why we had to stay on the plane, rather than head back to the terminal. I'm glad we didn't though. Because the plane was comfier and cleaner than the terminal.

Finally in the afternoon, we were cleared to take off. The crew had to switch before we took off, but I don't think they restocked our supplies. It was a relatively short flight to Singapore, but we seemed to be a bit low on food and drinks. Not much of a concern to me, since I slept for most of the flight. Again.
When we landed in Singapore, there were agents at the gate handing out new boarding passes for connections missed due to the delay. A bunch of passengers, I'd assume. Amazingly efficient.
And, they were even giving out freebies (passport cases this time around) to apologize for the delay. Even though it wasn't even their fault at all… Imagine the day when American or European airlines would give out free gifts due to weather delays.
Gotta love Singapore Airlines!!!!!

Because of the delay, we obviously missed our afternoon connecting flight to Tokyo. So, we were automatically rebooked for the red eye that night. Which meant….another flight on the A380!!!!

Thank you, India fog.

Stuffed in Singapore

In the morning, I stuffed myself with the hotel's giant breakfast buffet (everything ranging from continental American to Chinese congee, all of which I managed to sample) and slowly got ready to check out. My flight to India wasn't until late in the afternoon, so I left my luggage at the lobby.

Coincidentally, my friend was also in Singapore this weekend to attend a wedding. As I knew the bride through a family friend, they invited me to join in on the lunch events at the Raffles Hotel.I don't think I'd ever stay at the Raffles Hotel; highly intriguing, but just waaaay too out of my budget. So, it was a good opportunity to check out what all the hype was about. Very elegant hotel on beautiful grounds. Perhaps similar to the Oriental in Bangkok. Not that I've stayed there either. Only experienced the spa.
Lunch was at one of the hotel's restaurants, offering a full buffet of curries. Even though I' be in India tonight and would most likely be having something curry for every single meal during my stay, I couldn't resist the temptation…and ended up stuffing myself with every variety of curry and accompanying sides and condiments lined up on the table. Stuffed.
Oh, and tasted the dessert bar as well. We were there from open to close, so there was plenty of time for multiple servings.
…Breakfast buffet, followed by lunch buffet. Not good for the waist line… Actually, I'm more concerned about the rolling tummy fat : (
Anyways, the meal was wonderful and I had a great time chatting/gossiping with my friend!!!

After saying our final congratulations to the newlyweds (basically, lunch time was over at the restaurant!), my friend and I took a much needed stroll around the hotel grounds and along Orchard Road.
And…we ended up at the mall. More precisely, we ended up at the food court. Please don't ask….
Well, since we were in Singapore, we felt like some authentic Singaporean dessert. (Remember, there was only Indian sweets at lunch). We wanted ice kachang - shaved ice with lots and lots of colorful toppings. Very high on the yummy scale (and calorie scale, too, probably).
In food coma by this point, we could't move!!! We sat at the food stall (not very comfortable or clean) until I had to head back to the hotel.

OK. I'm thinking…very, very, very stuffed now. No need to take another bite for the next couple of days.

What lies!!!!! At the airport (by the way, I took the taxi there!), I entered the lounge. Only because Singapore Airlines tends to have high quality lounges. Except that the flight to Delhi left from the older, ghetto-ish terminal, so the lounge wasn't very good.
Still, I was there, and snacks were lined up in front of me. Why not.
And of course, there was food served on the plane. Which I ordered, but didn't really eat. Sorry for the wastefulness. Really, I was stuffed. Like Thanksgiving turkey.

Chicken Rice

For years, I've associated chicken rice with Singapore.
I think this all started when I went on an Asia trip with some friends after college graduation. One of them travelled to Singapore often, and raved about the food. Especially the chicken rice. So, when we got there, you'd think that we'd get some chicken rice. Well, we took in all the major sights and sounds of Singapore (not that there are that many!), but left without the chicken rice. I still can't figure out how that happened….. The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that we must've been too engrossed with some other food, or the timing just didn't work somehow. Stuff happens.

Since then, I've always been wanting the Singapore chicken rice. Not in Tokyo or LA or HK or some other city which must have Singapore chicken rice. Nope. It HAD to be in Singapore. Specifically, at the Mandarin Oriental hotel because that's the one my friend said was definitely THE BEST.

So I went.

No….not just for the food. Even Waru isn't crazy enough to fly all the way to Singapore for some chicken rice. Plus, she doesn't have that kind of money.

It so happens that I had business meetings in India from Monday. And I'd be flying Singapore Airlines (the new A380!!!!!). Which of course meant that I'd be switching planes at Singapore.
So, I decided to leave Tokyo a day earlier, on Saturday, to do a one night stopover in Singapore, and meet up with my colleagues on the Sunday flight to Delhi.

The A380 was AWESOME!!!!!!!! Surprisingly very quiet for its size. Being so new, I noticed many passengers taking photos on board. (I was dumb enough to leave my camera in the luggage. Darn it.) I was on the upper deck, and went to the lower deck to explore. First thought - Wow…so many seats!!! Unfortunately, the flight attendant wouldn't let me go to the forward cabins, where all the suites were. Boooooooo. So wanted to see those!!!!

After a smooth, entertaining (great in-flight entertainment options!) 6 hours, I arrived in Singapore around late afternoon. Stupidly, I opted for the flat fare bus, rather than the taxi, to get myself to the hotel. I can't seem to get rid of the cheap, backpacker mentality out of my travel habits!!!!! So, it was already getting dark by the time I checked in.

Of course, the first thing I did was ask the concierge about my options for chicken rice. Actually, I just asked her if I could walk to the Mandarin Oriental from the hotel, mentioning that I wanted to have their chicken rice. Whereupon she quickly told me that the Mandarin Oriental used to be at the top of the Singaporean chicken rice list, but that they are no longer very good. Huh…interesting. Instead, she recommended a local, quick eatery for good chicken rice. It wouldn't have the glitzy aura or service of the Mandarin Oriental, but the food will be good. Well, who am I to argue?!
And that is how I ended up at the Five Star Chicken. With some Singaporean chicken rice and barley juice. Absolutely divine. Exactly what I was looking for!!! Yum, yum, yum. Especially with the ginger sauce.
Finally.
Finally.
Finally.
(Again, I was dumb enough to be without the camera - this time, I left it in my hotel room. Darn it.)

Content, I wandered around Orchard Road to do some shopping (much cheaper compared to Tokyo) and kill time before I headed back for bed.

Skiing Niseko

Every year, I try to get at least one ski trip into my dull life. But that didn't happen last year as I had much more important and interesting things to do…namely I was preoccupied with having a blast during my around-the-world adventure : ) I must've been somewhere in Latin America during the Northern hemisphere skiing season, meaning more tank tops, shorts, and bikinis, rather than down jackets, thermals, and gloves.

Since I just started working, taking a week off for a big ski trip was out of the question. No Canada, no US, no Europe. Which left me with local Japan.
Don't get me wrong…Japan has some great snow and mountains, but they tend to be much smaller in comparison to the resorts I usually go to. Thus, crowded (mostly with annoyingly young snowboarders) and short runs. The plus side, however, is that they're very convenient to get to with public transportation, have great food, and there's always a hot spring nearby!!!
This season, I decided to tag along with a family friend to Niseko, in central Hokkaido. Even though it was a long weekend (Monday off), I ended up treating it as if it were any other weekend because flights back to Tokyo on Monday were ridiculously expensive. Basically, leave Friday evening after work, and be back Sunday evening.
I know…this only leaves me with 1 full + 1 half day of skiing. Oh well, can't have everything, right?! Plus, I'm not a gung-ho skier.

So, Friday evening I took a flight from Haneda to Sapporo, where I had to wait about an hour for the shuttle bus to Niseko. I was surprised to see a bunch of Australians and New Zealanders at the airport, all headed to some ski place in Hokkaido. Even though Hokkaido has a lot of different resort options, I thought they were mostly for local Japanese…never thought about it attracting foreigners.

I didn't arrive at Niseko until close to midnight. When I walked into the hotel, something hit me….this all looked familiar!!!!!! I must've been here before!!! Well it so happens that indeed, I have stayed at this hotel before, almost 10 years ago. At that time, though, it wasn't a Hilton. Some Japanese hotel chain I can't remember. I guess Hilton bought up the place a few years ago and did some major renovations - the lobby area at least looked much nicer, modern, and attractive than I remembered. Once I got inside the room, though, it didn't seem like they spent much money on that. It was still tiny and cramped just like last time!!! And the hot spring area (yes, I took a bath around 1am instead of sleeping) hadn't changed either.

Rise and shine early next morning, had a huge buffet breakfast at the hotel, and hit the slopes!!! There was some snowfall last night, and the conditions were absolutely puuuuuuuurfect!

I haven't been on my skis for over 2 years, so I was a bit hesitant…and started on the green slopes. Which I managed to breeze through without any problems whatsoever. With my confidence built up, we hit the blues and some short, easier blacks one after the other.

But as I said earlier, I'm not a gung-ho skier. Very soon, I was at a lodge, taking a break, with coffee in hand. Then, back to the slopes, then lunch, then slopes, then break, then finish off at the slopes until the lifts stop running. I don't like night skiing.
My ski buddies turned out to be quite a bum themselves. It was great that we skied, rested, and ate at the same pace!!!

One of the best things about skiing in Japan is that every night the hotel serves decent Japanese food and that you can end the day with a dip in the wonderful hot springs to ease away all the aches and tiredness in the body. By the way, the one at Niseko Hilton smelled kelpy and the water was a bit slimy. LOVED IT!!!!!!
We had initially planned to go into the town itself to have some better food and explore other springs, but you know, after skiing….I honestly never really feel like going out. I just want to stop moving as much as possible.
Hence, we never left the hotel grounds until the shuttle came to pick us up for the airport on Sunday afternoon.

At the airport, I got really, really, really pissed off at the airline because they wouldn't let me take an earlier flight out, even though there were seats left! And I had pretty high status on the airline membership from all the flights I took around the world last year. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh.
I will spare you readers from all the details here, but let me just say that even remembering the incident now still frustrates me. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh. Argh.