Dogs are shining examples of enduring love and faith. Could we as Homo Sapiens, a breed far more intelligent than mammals, fare better? I guess not.......
[Quoted from Noah's Ark blog http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2008/06/mans-best-friend-in-life-and-death.html]
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Im back from Tokyo!
I'm back from Tokyo after spending 4 days there! It was a short but nice trip. We stayed in Tokyu Stay Hotel in Yotsuya which is quite near the Tokyo train station.
Tokyo is a clean and modern city with a homogeneous Japanese population. The Japanese are polite and civic-minded. They will sort out their trash into bottles, cans, papers and combustibles etc before disposing them off in the respective bins. Compare that to Singapore where you see people throwing their leftovers into recycling bins. *Yucks* The streets are clean and the salesperson are friendly and helpful. Always welcoming you and ready to serve you, even though you did not buy anything. The service is truly first-class. The Japanese also have high integrity. Most of the people living near where we stayed rode bicycles and they can just park their bikes outside the shops and nobody will ride off with their bikes. Again, compare the stark contrast with the case in Singapore where even if you had LOCKED your bicycle, your wheels and handlebars will still get stolen. The only safe place to keep a bicycle (especially an expensive one) in Singapore has to be your home, I suppose. =S And one more thing, their pavements are wide and there's a special lane for bicycles. How I wish we have that in Singapore!
We travelled from place to place by train and the train system in Tokyo is very efficient though it's quite complicated. [Photos from http://vagabond.air-nifty.com/kp/images/JR-KantoRailway_2.png]
The tokyo station itself is so big that you can get lost inside there though you go there to work everyday, according to my sister. =S The station itself is a shopping mall selling all sorts of things and shopping inside there itself can take one whole day. Inside the trains, the Japanese also behave in an orderly manner, sitting only when seats are available, instead of rushing in and jostling for seats! A happy journey is just like that! =D
Of course, leaving in Tokyo has its downside (or else the whole world would have migrated there right?) The things there are really very expensive. =S A meal for 3 at a restaurant will easily set you back by $60-$80 Singapore dollars (partly due to the high exchange rate). So you may ask, why did we have to dine in a restaurant then? The answer is..... there are only restaurants and cafe there! There are no hawker centres, food courts or whatever place that sells cheap food. =(
In fact, I don't think one will ever use the word 'cheap' anywhere in Japan. Ok, maybe for cigarettes and alcohol. The cigarettes are sold using vending machines and a pack costs only 300+ yen which is like only $4+. If I were a smoker, I would have smoked my guts out there. Thankfully, Im not. =) The most incredibly-priced thing in Tokyo in my opinion has got to be swimsuits. The bikinis and tankinis cost $10,000-$15,000 yen which is like $150-$280!!! Im not sure how much they cost in Singapore but Im sure they are cheaper than that. And don't ask me why I was checking out the prices of bikini. =P
Ok, sorry for the lack of pictures as they have not been uploaded yet. Once I get my pictures into the computer, I'll post them up together with my experience for the highlight of the trip. The trip to Tokyo Disneysea!!!!
*To my darling: I missed you a lot throughout the trip and I wished that you were with me. Happy 10 months together! I love you!! This time round, I'll let the presents do the talking ;) !!!
Tokyo is a clean and modern city with a homogeneous Japanese population. The Japanese are polite and civic-minded. They will sort out their trash into bottles, cans, papers and combustibles etc before disposing them off in the respective bins. Compare that to Singapore where you see people throwing their leftovers into recycling bins. *Yucks* The streets are clean and the salesperson are friendly and helpful. Always welcoming you and ready to serve you, even though you did not buy anything. The service is truly first-class. The Japanese also have high integrity. Most of the people living near where we stayed rode bicycles and they can just park their bikes outside the shops and nobody will ride off with their bikes. Again, compare the stark contrast with the case in Singapore where even if you had LOCKED your bicycle, your wheels and handlebars will still get stolen. The only safe place to keep a bicycle (especially an expensive one) in Singapore has to be your home, I suppose. =S And one more thing, their pavements are wide and there's a special lane for bicycles. How I wish we have that in Singapore!
We travelled from place to place by train and the train system in Tokyo is very efficient though it's quite complicated. [Photos from http://vagabond.air-nifty.com/kp/images/JR-KantoRailway_2.png]
The tokyo station itself is so big that you can get lost inside there though you go there to work everyday, according to my sister. =S The station itself is a shopping mall selling all sorts of things and shopping inside there itself can take one whole day. Inside the trains, the Japanese also behave in an orderly manner, sitting only when seats are available, instead of rushing in and jostling for seats! A happy journey is just like that! =DOf course, leaving in Tokyo has its downside (or else the whole world would have migrated there right?) The things there are really very expensive. =S A meal for 3 at a restaurant will easily set you back by $60-$80 Singapore dollars (partly due to the high exchange rate). So you may ask, why did we have to dine in a restaurant then? The answer is..... there are only restaurants and cafe there! There are no hawker centres, food courts or whatever place that sells cheap food. =(
In fact, I don't think one will ever use the word 'cheap' anywhere in Japan. Ok, maybe for cigarettes and alcohol. The cigarettes are sold using vending machines and a pack costs only 300+ yen which is like only $4+. If I were a smoker, I would have smoked my guts out there. Thankfully, Im not. =) The most incredibly-priced thing in Tokyo in my opinion has got to be swimsuits. The bikinis and tankinis cost $10,000-$15,000 yen which is like $150-$280!!! Im not sure how much they cost in Singapore but Im sure they are cheaper than that. And don't ask me why I was checking out the prices of bikini. =P
Ok, sorry for the lack of pictures as they have not been uploaded yet. Once I get my pictures into the computer, I'll post them up together with my experience for the highlight of the trip. The trip to Tokyo Disneysea!!!!
*To my darling: I missed you a lot throughout the trip and I wished that you were with me. Happy 10 months together! I love you!! This time round, I'll let the presents do the talking ;) !!!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Today is National Day!
Happy 44th Birthday Singapore!
I love Singapore! Weeee! =D
I love my darling too!!! Muacksy!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)