Kowloon

For me, the distinguishing traits about Kowloon are the constantly dripping water from the aircon overhanging us in the crowded streets, the flashing neon lights that completely covered the street lamps, and the large, looming hills that no one really talks about. And the amazing number of buildings they've built on those slopes.

We stayed at what I think is quite a happening part of Kowloon, a road known as Hart Ave in Tsim Sha Tsui. Surrounded by a strange mix of mom-and-pop shops, nightclubs and 7-Elevens, the area was fantastically warm and welcoming.

We had planned to see a lot of things in HK, but managed to see most and leave out some because our son had to have his afternoon nap ;) Poor guy, didn't know what hit him, from the plane ride to until the ride back. But I think he thought it was all worth it when he took a photo with dad-sized Mickey at Disneyland.

My wife's conclusion was similar to mine, at the end of the four days - we're going back there again, insha Allah, some time in the future. It's too lively to stay away from.

The Four Star that wasn't

The bathroom sink was decomposing (if it can happen). The room was stuffy, stinky/musty and had 2 or 3 mosquitoes thrown in which were irritating Yashila. In all, the whole place looked dead.

This is the Pulai Desaru Beach Resort (a very snazzy-looking website), where the website looks better than the real thing. It's allegedly a four-star hotel. It seems like they froze in time since when it was first built. Absolutely horrendous maintenance. And they don't provide toothpaste or toothbrushes!

The beach was very nice, this I will say. But nothing more than 2 days and 1 night to get away from it all.

Retreat

The whole family had a nice time at Batam last week. Ok lah, by "whole family" I mean the three of us. It was Zayed's first trip out of Singapore. Man, he was thrilled. He knew we weren't in Kim Tian, at the very least. He was like a man on fire in the resort suite - crawling up and down and spewing out all his "ahh"s and "oohs" and screams of joy.

The highlight was the trip to the swimming pool on the second day. He was totally into the whole waddling-in-water thing. He was moving his arms and legs all over the place. After about 30 or 40 minutes, we ended the session and he slept on and on... he basically tired himself out!

We tried to entertain ourselves by walking around the hotel area to get cheap food, and taking a cab to the nearest city centre. We had some smashing ayam penyet, unexpectedly spicy like hell and some A&W root beer float to douse the spice.

Batam's largely undeveloped - it's rustic and calm. There's nothing much to do there, so it's perfect for a short retreat.

Yaban

The trip to Japan was a good experience. It allowed me to see Japan, and know that there are good-hearted, simple men who are VIPs. These are the true VIPs. These are men who look beyond the form and pay close attention to the things that matter.

The trip also showed me that I was capable of pulling off a trip that had an 18-member delegation. No mean feat for someone who has never organized a delegation trip to anywhere before.

I also learnt that Japan is damn expensive. So bring extra cash. And I mean extra.

Imperial Treatment

Just found that my previous un-conventional entry earned me some flak, and somehow a connection was made to dear ol’ Japan. (In low-pitched voice) “It’s okay ma…”

Anyway, coming to the topic I actually wanted to talk about –

Tokyo is a very densely-constructed place. Imagine the compactness of Shenton Way or Robinson Road, multiplied by 100. It seems to be the true place where you can witness the “apocalyptic” post-modern (let’s not get into a hair-splitting debate on the term) noir feeling of a futuristic city setting into decrepit rust. I say this because the infrastructure is admirable; the architecture is cutting-edge; but maintenance is somewhat lacking.

The hotel we’re staying in right now is a far cry from the multi-syllable and absurdly-named Okura Frontier Hotel Tsukuba Epochal. The Imperial Hotel is a world class hotel, boasting a royal history that started in 1890. Then, it was constructed with a neo-Renaissance façade by architect Yazuru Watanabe, to quell the demand from the increasing number of distinguished foreign visitors to Japan, who were accustomed to the lavish and posh hotels of Europe and America.

So the current Imperial, built in 1970, is an exercise in luxury and indulgence. I must say that the service is the best I’ve experienced so far than in any other hotel, and the facilities are first-rate. The room is spacious, and breakfast can be a confusing time as there are 4 restaurants to choose from.

Unfortunately, I’ve not had the time to visit the Imperial Palace which is a stone’s throw from the hotel, and many other spots. But I’ve managed to sample Japan, its people’s warmth and its food quite a fair bit. The next trip, Insha Allah, will include wife and Zayed, both of whom I’ll meet soon :)

The other issue is that the weekend after I touchdown, I have to attend three wedding receptions (two for the same dude) and a tajweed class. I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but let’s hope everything goes smoothly. And I have that trip report to write… which I might start in the flight…

Lalaport

Today was such a wonderful day at Tsukuba.

In true essence of the conference, in the morning I took a 45-minute brisk walk down the park connector just outside the hotel, covering about 5km. I didn’t bring my sports shoes, so I had to walk in my office shoes and office pants, and t-shirt. So it would have looked as if I was hurriedly walking towards a place to do some tai chi.

The park connector was cool, and had both a walking and cycling trail. I went all the way to this park known as Doho park, which, in its heyday in the 70s was probably like botanic gardens. It now remains in neglect, with creepers all over the place and untrimmed plants growing out of crevices. In fact, this sense of neglect and “old-great-civilisation” is what I get throughout Tsukuba. It’s cool.

Once that was done, and once we ended off a some conference lectures and a policy meeting at 2pm, our delegation leader told us that we were off for the day! The other VIP decided to organise a trip to a shopping centre a few stations down for shopping and dinner, and we did just that.

It was a really immersive experience. I had long thought of going to Japan ever since I was smitten with anime on TV six years back. But it was just a “good-to-have”, not a “I’ll die without it!”. Fate had it that I would visit Japan. I breathed in the spirit of the people, environment, their noir technology and “kawa-eeneh” (cuteness) as much as I could. Although I very much missed my wife and son back home, today it felt as if it were a tryst between me and Japan. I have tried to capture as much of this spirit as I could through my photos, which I will put up once I return to Singapore, Insha Allah.

We went to Kashiwanoha station, just 9 stops from Tsukuba station. The train is at least 50% faster than MRTs in Singapore, probably due to the need to cover greater distances.

At Kashiwanoha station, I saw a big fat McDonalds’, and about 20 metres from the station, we saw the place we had come to visit: Lalaport. I have no idea why they named it such, but some of the shops inside gave me a clue – a lot of them were baby/toddler shops. [Just a footnote here: except for Zayed, Japanese babies are the CUTEST creatures on this planet. For a people who just love cuteness, God has blessed them with the cutest of children! Alhamdulillah!]

Lalaport was fantastic – everything Japanese was there, and so were many things from the West. They had really cool mini posters for The Dark Knight, Ironman, Wanted which people could just take. For free.

We had dinner at a restaurant that served only one dish – Japanese eel (unagi). The restaurant had two dedicated waiters and presumably one Master chef, whose sole reason for existence was to make the finest unagi for his customers. A first-time unagi eater, I was pleasantly surprised at its tenderness (tastes just like fish!) and tangy taste of the sauce.

Tomorrow is the final day of the conference, and day 1 of a 2.5-day study trip in Tokyo. The day where I will see my wife and son is coming soon, Insha Allah…

Warm

Mornings are really bright here. I almost got a heart attack when I saw the bright day outside - I thought I was late and the conference had started. Then I checked the time - it was only 6.30 am.

Conferences could be a drag - especially if they recap things you already know. Like that it takes a "multi-sectorial approach to promoting physical activity on a national level". Duh.

The language problem here is worse than I thought. The Japanese don't speak ANY English at all. Nil. So I had to resort to getting my requests written down in Japanese by an English-speaking person to ask for services at other places where they did not know English.

The Japanese, even though they don't know English, are extremely warm people. They are so sincere they they feel bad they can't help, and try to communicate in Japanese. And they really love it when you speak any Japanese you know, like "Arigato".

When in Japan, bring your 3G phone. Only 3G works here. And the phones here are cool. But big.

Nippon

Reached Tsukuba a few hours back, for the World Congress on Ageing and Physical Activity.

Looks like a pretty cool place, but doubtful that I'll get to sightsee much. Only 3G phones work around here, so my phone's a no-go. Things here are tsu-per expensive...

And check this - fajr is at 3am! How am I going to wake up at my Okura Frontier Hotel Tsukuba Epochal (bloody mouthful of a name)?

Internet at the hotel is free baby!