The Hakone Crater

05/07/2012

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This is Kuro-tamago (black egg) Owakudani’s specialty of egg hard boiled  in volcanic water with hydrogen sulfide gas. It is said that consuming the eggs will increase longevity. If you eat one egg, you will increase your longevity by 7 years.
If you eat two eggs, you will increase your longevity by 14 years.  So how to get into Owakudani "The boiling valley" and participate the ritual egg eating?
Access to Owakudani is via Hakone ropeway.The Cable Car takes tourists half way up the mountain. The aerial view is just amazing!
What I love about traveling solo is you meet new friends along the way. This is May and Sonia my travel buddies for the day! 
 Stunning view of Mount Fuji from the cable car.
Picture taking with the sacred Mt Fuji beyond.
Owakudani "The boiling valley" is a volcanic zone where sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced.
We had to climb all the way to reach the top of the gondola.
Sonia! It's an uphill battle... it's the climb... :-)
 Visitors gather where eggs are boiled in the sulphur pools.
The egg dipper.
The smell of the sulphur is actually very stinky.
We continued the journey to the scenic lake ashi by taking Hakone ropeway to Togenda port.
I just love the cable transportation experience!
Lake ashi view from the tram.
The solo traveler is heading to the next adventure ;-)
A cruise on a pirate ship!
Japanese pirates...
I couldn't stand the cold wind outside brrr.....
Reached the destination - Moto Hakone port. Moto Hakone is famous for shrines and torri gates but we didn't explore the place much.
It was lunch time when we arrived MotoHakone so the search for best ramen began!
We settled on this pure vegetable ramen. I thought is was very tasty and healthy.
Window shopping at Moto-Hakone. I thought this store is very cute :-)
Shopping for Japanese slippers.
After a day of a lot of walking and climbing at the Hakone crater we decided to relax and rejuvenate at "Onsen sanctuary" recommended by Sonia. One of the famous onsen in Hakone. Of course cameras are not allowed inside onsen facilities ;-)
It was sad to finally part with Sonia and May. Toast for our friendship!
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Hakone-machi ryokan and onsen

05/01/2012

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Sakura madness did not stop in Tokyo. Cherry blossoms were also blooming in Hakone. 
I went for a side trip to Hakone for 3 days. I couldn't take Julynn away from little Gabby so I had to travel alone. Traveling solo is also something that I do enjoy a lot! The journey takes about 90 minutes from Tokyo Shinjuku station to Hakone-Yumoto Station by train (Odakyu Line). 
Lovely cherry blossoms!
I stayed at Tenseien Ryokan at Hakone-machi. Loved the traditional Japanese style and the relaxing open air bath on the roof of the hotel.
Hakone is not only known for its great Mt. Fuji viewing spots but it is also famous for hot springs.
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. - Lao Tzu
The outdoor onsen bath was the highlight of the day! I did not know that everyone is expected to be nekeed in an onsen bath!  It has a separate male and female facilities. I went with my swimsuit and the care taker gave a "Where the hell are you going?!" look! It was quite em-bare-ssing but I did not want to miss it.  So after some serious stripping, got into the water and it was actually very relaxing and rejuvenating experience. 
The ryokan has a beautiful setting adjoins to a  beautiful garden with awesome waterfalls.
Dinner at ryokan restaurant.
Had a good and sound sleep after a long time with the beautiful sound of the pouring rain at night.
I woke up the next morning to the beautiful weather and wonderful view from the window with my Japanese breakfast!
Ready for the next adventure!!!
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Tokyo Cherry blossom (Sakura) festival!

04/28/2012

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Day 1 in Tokyo! First on my itinerary is picnic at Yoyogi park. Yoyogi park is one of  Tokyo's sakura viewing spot in spring. I did not expect the large and devoted crowd of people. It was a complete sakura madness!
Had to trudge along with the massive crowd to find a nice spot for viewing.
Picnic under the shade of the cherry trees.
Beautiful white cherry blossoms against perfect blue skies. 
Also did a lot of catching up with my beautiful friend Ms Julynn Tay who have made this trip possible. 
After Sakura madness next stop is the Meiji Shrine located just adjacent to the Yoyogi park. 
 
Meiji shrine is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. - Wikipedia
It's a long walk on pebbles around 10 minutes that leads to the sacred place of worship. People are supposed to walk slowly, feel at peace and reach a state of calm upon reaching the shrine but I just couldn't find my peace walking on pebbles with my booties. It hurts my legs too much arghh.
Sake barrels along the pathway at Meiji shrine.
These wine barrels are gifts to the emperor from France.
Cleansing by pouring spring water on both hands as form of respect before entering the shrine.
Finally reached the shrine but taking photos inside the shrine is strictly not allowed.
Shinto weddings are also common in  shrine and I was lucky to capture this bride.
These wooden plaques with wishes written on them are known as "Ema".  Worshippers and tourists write their  wishes and the ema are then left hanging up at a tree near the shrine.
That ends my first day in Tokyo. It was a very interesting experience and the beautiful spring weather made day.
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The Truth - A hero lies in you.

03/09/2012

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I've been feeling down and sick for the past few days. Trying to find something to uplift my soul, reading stuffs from my other cave and found this heartfelt and beautiful message from a friend.


You see that truth is an ancient energy of love, service and care propelled and received as one, from the intelligence of beating our hearts. The heart hears and feels what the ego expels. The ego hears and feels the infatuations of it’s own desire for false perfection. All of which…. you soulfully understand.   ~Pp


 *sniffle* so this calls for a sweet "Death" and so once again  I found another "ego death" theme song :-) from Mimi's collection. Here is a beautiful piano cover from one of my favorite classic song of Mariah Carey "Hero".

There's a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are
There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away

Chorus;

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

It's a long, road
When you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand
For you to hold
You can find love
If you search within yourself
And the emptiness you felt
Will disappear

Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone
Tear them away
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time
You'll find the way
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Flowers at Sentosa Flower Festival 2012

03/04/2012

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Take some time to smell the flowers....
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Hongkong - Disneyland

01/23/2012

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So... she decided to remove her warrior booties for awhile... come out from her cave... feel the world...... absorb happy energy... and found herself in...................






Disneyland!!!!
The poinsettias are beautiful and they look happy here lol!
Minnie and Mickey mouse balloons!! Soo cute... arrghh I miss my little bro ;-( 
Stuff like this reminds me of my little ram...
The Flights of Fantasy! 
Loved the music and the dancing.... 
of course we didn't want to miss the chance to take a snap with the most famous stars of Disney...
Mickey and Minnie mouse!! 
Mickey fountain....

"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse."—Walt Disney



and a now it's a pancake.... :-)
Sleeping Beauty and her castle...
Tarzan's Tree house...
Tarzan and Jane's crib..
It's a world of laughter, a world or tears.
Its a world of hopes, its a world of fears.
There's so much that we share.
That its time we're aware.
It's a small world after all...
Its a small world after all..
Its a small, small world...
“Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would I'd never leave.” ~ Winnie the Pooh
One of the cutest character in Disney. She is quite friendly too.
The PhilharMagic is 4-D film featuring 3D effects, scents, water and all Disney stars. A must watch show if you happen to visit Disneyland.
PhilharMagic....
Sleeping Beauty castle at night...
Rapunzel castle...
Hades, oh Mr harsh reality!
I want to forget everything for a little while... but why do I see you everywhere? 
I missed you ;-( By the way, I didn't know that you sing??!
love, Persephone
The Royal Banquet...
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the beast...

*sniffle
I never thought I would enjoy Disney at this age lol! It's definitely a fun and dreamy experience...
and this is the "Happy ever after moment".... the highlight of the night!
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Hongkong - Randomness :-)

01/21/2012

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Finally landed! Tired and Dizzy from the flight!
HK Airport...
Friendly Mr Ginger Bread Man at the airport...
Sweet...
Panda couple at Panda hotel where we stayed for 4 days....
Panda massive invasion!!!
HK is truly a shopping paradise... but I loved the cold weather more than the shopping :-) 
We were lucky to find this restaurant opened at 12 midnight after a tiring Macau day tour. They have the best rice noodle soup I've ever tasted.
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Macau - The Venetian hotel resort

01/20/2012

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We are not in Venice! We are at The Venetian hotel resort of Macau :-)
The Venetian gondola... it's quite interesting to watch the singing gondolier...
My all dolled up travel partner... Ms Felice :-)
Loved the Venice inspired architecture and captivating interior design! By the way most of the snaps are taken using iPhone.
The perfect blue skies is actually a painting....
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I'm in love..... darn!!

01/18/2012

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Love is joy and love is pain

It's kissing in the rain

It's doing dishes when it's late
Isn't it, baby

It's the art of compromise

It's hellos and long goodbyes

It's the picture of our lives
Isn't it crazy


~


The simplicity of love....


~

I've realized that I have to really hold on tight to my faith in GOD to surrender to these feelings and not doubt anymore.... I'm in love......... 

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Hongkong - The Peak and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

01/15/2012

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New year's eve at the peak...
It was freezing cold when the deep temperature reaches 10 degrees celsius. I forgot to bring my gloves and I had wind chill factor so we decided to not wait for the fireworks display...
Brangelina at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum ;-)
Edward and Bella Swan....
Hollywood Stars...
Pop stars...
Asian stars...
Hitler was cool! 
Sport stars...
Hollywood and Bollywood hunks!
The Painting...
Ok... it is blurred but being an A.E. fan it is my favorite among the bunch!
"A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be" - Albert Einstein
Madame Tussaud herself...
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