ReNe: one more month

One more month till we fly to Singapore.

We haven't been back since we left three years ago. And, unsurprisingly, we've been thinking more and more about Singapore. About people and places we'd like to visit, food to eat, things to do, food to eat. Yes, the food is a big part of our memories.

On the less material side of memories, we've been remembering how we felt when we left, and what changed. We had perceptions, preconceptions and a few misconceptions about what it meant to live in a different country. For myself, I'd say I've settled into living in a foreign country better than I expected.

We're very curious; will we feel like visitors to Singapore? Not tourists, but not locals as well? Or will Singapore slip back like an old, comfortable shoe?

What do I miss about Singapore? Food tops the list. Having our own place as well. Sometimes, usually in the depths of winter, I miss the blanketing humidity as well. I imagine my skin becoming dry and stretched and old when the humidity here drops to 15%. I've made some new friends but they tend to feel transient. I do miss the comfortableness of relating to people I grew up with. And, rather surprisingly, I miss the rain. I miss the pouring monsoons and thunderstorms that can go on for hours. Rainwater is never warm in Toronto. I miss the tropical evenings, the warm orangey haziness and the cool that finally settles after a buzzingly hot day. I also miss Orchard Road.

There are a lot of wonderful things about Singapore but these are the specific stuff I miss.

On the flip side, will there be anything we miss about Toronto? Perhaps that should be the subject of a post sometime in the future.

ReNe: osore-zan [june 2005]

The picture above was not taken at a beach, in fact, it is nowhere near an ocean or even at ground level.

It was taken at Osore-zan (恐山), a sacred volcano in Aomori, Japan. According to Japanese tradition, Osore-zan, a barren volcanic wasteland, is the gateway to hell. Making the trip there can be quite a hassle (the transfer of trains and buses alone will take up half a day), but the entire experience and destination are well worth it.

The lake in the picture above is Lake Usoriyama (宇曽利山湖), a caldera lake or volcanic crater lake. The white sandy beach might look inviting in the picture, but the water is actually full of sulfur and other mineral deposits, and is far too poisonous to sustain any life. The heavy miasma of sulfur dioxide hangs in the air, and the atmosphere of the place is sombre and poignant. This is where the Japanese come to pray for their dead, especially their dead children.


All around the barren landscape of Osore-zan, there are jizo statues; Jizo is the patron saint for dead children. Bibs and head-scarves adorn the statues, and colorful plastic windmills spin in the wind. These simple toys were left for the spirits of the dead children.

The entrance to Osore-zan.

Jizo statues.

Directions: Take the JR train to Hachinohe (a major station; the shinkansen stops there) and change onto a Limited Express train to Noheji (30mins). Then change to the JR Ominato line to Shimokita station (1hr), and then again to the Shimokita-Kotsu line until Tanabu (7mins). Alternatively, if you start from Aomori, there are direct trains to Shimokita station (90mins). Tanabu station is located in the town of Mutsu; once in Mutsu, there are hourly buses to Osore-zan (1hr). That's a lot of transfers, but the trains pass through parts of Aomori that are quite rustically scenic. Note that about 45mins into the bus journey, which is even more scenic as the bus wends its way along the lush mountainous region, the bus will stop for passengers to rinse their hands and mouth. Before entering a temple or sacred area, you're suppose to do cleanse yourself, but there is no fresh water at the top of Osore-zan so this would have to suffice.

The trains will get progressively smaller and slower as you transfer until you end up riding just one carriage.

ReNe: asahikawa street [june 2006]

It's lovely to go through photos of old trips. Going on a trip is a whirlwind experience, so much to see and experience and remember in the span of days or weeks; that's why we take photos and buy souvenirs. Later, when life is quiet again, I like to open a random folder of vacation photos, zoom in on a one-day time-slice and look at the photos to try to remember where they were taken and what they were about.

There would be the rare, definitive shot. The one that captured that place, the one you'd print and frame (when you were still using film), the one you'd save and use as wallpaper (when you finally switch over to digital).

Then there were the middling shots, the ones that were interesting as well but didn't quite make it into the 'selected' folder and remained in the original folder. Those were the hidden gems you forgot about.


The photo above was one of those hidden gems. It was taken in Asahikawa, the second largest city in Hokkaido, Japan (June 2006). It's just one of those quick shots taken as we were walking around the city; we chanced upon this side-street, looked up and did a double-take. WTF? That's some really funky ...street lighting wiring? (The bendy thick poles on the right-hand side.)

ReNe: tea plantations [dec 2006]

Ah, this is bad. Along with the warming weather, we're seeing, and hearing, a lot more motorbikes on the streets. And 90% of motorbikes in Toronto seem be at least Class 2 (>400 cc), i.e. big. And most of the bikers would be decked out in armor. I understand that this is not a hot and humid place so it would be comfortable to wear armor, but back in Singapore, armored biker = touring biker on way out of Singapore.

Anyway, some old pictures. These were taken on the ride up to Cameron in Dec 2006.


The Malaysian North-South Highway. We got to know this road pretty well over Dec 2006... I looked kind small on my bike.


One of Cameron's famous tea plantations -- we're riding through the Boh tea plantation.

Us, after having gone up the highest motorable road in Peninsular Malaysia. Looking back at photos taken just a year, a year plus ago, we'd noticed that we looked significantly younger and less stressed then. That's bad.

Gorgeous views.

And, the requisite, largely unplanned crazy spur-of-the-moment thing we do almost every time we travel -- that time, it was a night ride. We went back to the same plantation road (as seen in the previous photo above) that night. It was dangerous because there were no street lights, of course, and the one-lane road winds and curves back along the hills, creating blind switchbacks with steep drops and no guard rails. But it was fun and very peaceful. The light pollution we could see north of Cameron (that would be Ipoh) kinda spoilt the night view though.

ReNe: classical romance [dec 2002]

Talking about reminiscing over old photos, here's a really old set of photos, taken in Paris. We spent a month in France, 2002, and it was an amazing trip for us, full of many firsts and intense emotions. First time we've been out of Singapore for so long, first time we've traveled in winter, first time we've seen snow, first time in Europe... Though Paris was beautiful, it wasn't the highlight of our trip; the memories I loved most were of exploring quaint cafes and old castles in southern France, and seeing snow for the first time at a skiing resort (Le Saisies). In a way, it could be considered the honeymoon we never had, as a trip to romantic France is typically considered a classical honeymoon. However, I like to think that our 'honeymoon' is not restricted to just one trip, nor should this rosy period be one that only occurs for a brief time after the traditional ceremony.

MiKE: single picture retrospective [june 2006]

We've been quite quiet for some time. It's been busy. Still busy now cos the assignment deadlines are just around the corner. When not working, I've been doing various things, including looking at old pictures, incorporating them into my Aperture library. One of the photos I came across was this one. We went to Japan in June 2006, for about 3 weeks; all over Hokkaido. Best trip ever. That day, we had just finished a 27 km hike which was supposed to take about 8 hours - the locals called it the "Hachi Jikan Haikingu Kōsu" (8時間ハイキングコース) - on Rebun-tō, one of a pair of islands on the northern most tip of Japan; so close, in fact, that of the flotsam we saw washed up on the beach was a bottle of Russian bleach (i think). We had started at 7 am in the morning, and were done at about 3 pm, by which time my feet were badly blistered after having to carry food and water for myself and my Hime; and to top it off, the next bus would only come in 2 hours time. With no place to hang out for 2 hours, and the outside being cold (about 15C, probably colder with the brisk wind), we decided to limp the last 4 or so km back to our room. Along the way, we saw this view of Rishiri-san, on the neighbouring island, right beside the torii. Seeing this, made the sore feet all worth it.