Vacation Snippets: Krabi, Part III

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asia, boat, cliff, climbing, day, Deep, do, east, holiday, Hot, jump, krabi, photos, Railay, rock, sail, snippets, solo, south, thailand, things, to, Travel, trip, vacation, wanderlust, water

our last full day in Krabi, we took a day trip out to sea with Hot Rock Climbing School to try some deep water solo – which is essentially free solo climbing where your exit is essentially into the deep water below you. We went out on a sailboat in the morning and our guide took us out to two different sites. The climbing was good and really fun; the cliff jumping was… well, terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, but mostly terrifying. I was stranded about 10m above the water for 20 minutes contemplating the jump, which was my mistake because the longer you spend thinking about it, the less you want to jump (I did, eventually). Steve and the other guys out with us were rock stars, jumping from highs of 15-20m. It was definitely an experience we’re both happy we had and we’re kind of hoping for some deep water soloing in the Bruce Peninsula when we head back to Canada in August.

We ended the trip with a short snorkel off Chicken Island, then a slow sail back to Railay, high off the adrenaline and saltwater, basking in the sun – kind of the perfect way to end an amazing day. If you’re ever in Krabi, we’d definitely recommend trying this, you won’t regret it.

Overall, Krabi was a dream – if you’re into climbing, the sea, breathtaking views and adventure as much as we are, you’ll fall in love quick. We can’t wait to go back already.

For more on our vacation in Krabi, see Part I or Part II.

Vacation Snippets: Krabi, Part II

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asia, boat, day, do, east, holiday, kayak, krabi, photos, Railay, snippets, snorkel, south, thailand, things, to, Travel, trips, underwater, vacation, wanderlust

On our third day in Krabi, we enjoyed a somewhat leisurely morning, followed by a late morning kayak trip. We rented a kayak off a shop on West Railay and paddled around the caves and islands in the vicinity of Railay. Kayaking in a cave is quite the thrill, given the tight corners,narrow passages and the often low ceilings (our heads were just about brushing the ceiling when the tide rose). The sun was out full time, so we pulled our kayak up on the tiniest patch of sand on one of islets for a little bit of shaded break. Also, hilarious fact: a pretty good test of any relationship, get yourselves out on a double kayak in open water – thankfully, over the years, we’ve perfected the double kayak and curbing the “you’re not steering this thing properly!” or “are you having a break again?!” remarks. Plus, it’s hard to get annoyed when you’re surrounded by the beauty that is Krabi.

After 1.5 hours of kayaking, we were wiped and really needed an afternoon nap. But since we were booked on a 3pm sunset trip, we got it together and took off on a boat for some snorkeling and sunset adventures. The snorkeling wasn’t the best we’ve done – for that, I’d go back to Perhentian or Koh Samui (or word is, the snorkeling off Koh Lanta is pretty darn spectacular) but given it was rainy season and the visibility wasn’t that great, we still saw plenty of fishes (even big parrot fish in the reefs). A note: since it is wet season, there will be more jellyfish in the water, most of them won’t do too much damage and you can spot the big ones easily in the water so just steer clear of them. To cap off the night, we got to see phosphorescent plankton in the water after sunset – they light up with movement in the dark. If you jump into the water, your limbs kind of “glow” as you swim. Overall, we had a good time but if you’re short on time in Krabi, I’d say go deep water soloing (most of the trips have a little snorkeling in them too) instead.

For more on Krabi, see part I. Tomorrow, deep water solo!

Day Off

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Our cousins are visiting from down under, so we took a day off this week to accompany them to Singapore’s little island playground, Sentosa. We went to Universal Studios, took most of the rides there – including the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster about 4 times (tip: the cylon coaster is better than the human one – way more loops and inversions; also the Transformers ride is surprisingly good for a simulated ride) – thankfully, the lines weren’t long. Then, we went off to the Wavehouse, where the boys got their feet wet on the flow barrel. Without saying, we were exhausted after getting home so we ordered some take out and sat in bed watching The Muppets. Good times!

Vacation Snippets: Jiyugaoka, Tokyo

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We spent an afternoon walking around Jiyugaoka, another charming little neighbourhood, a little bit like Shimokitazawa. It has a myriad of cute little shops and bakeries/cafes so you could spend the better part of your morning or afternoon just browsing through everything. 

We tried several snacks from the different bakeries. A banana donut from Hara Donuts (more like a cake donut) – which sells soy based donuts. We also had some a banana, strawberry and chocolate crepe from Momi and Toy’s Creperie.

A fun afternoon, though it was kind of chilly so we didn’t quite have the best time walking around outside. I imagine it’d be perfect in the summer!

Vacation Snippets: Shimokitazawa

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bread, do, eat, japan, miso, neighbourhood, okonomiyaki, pan, restaurants, shimokitazawa, things, to, tokyo

Our first day in Tokyo, our friend S. took us to Shimokitazawa for lunch. We had lunch at a little restaurant specializing in okonomiyaki – a savoury Japanese pancake with a variety of ingredients like cabbage, egg, flour etc. S said the restaurant was famous and boy, did they have a right to be. The okonomiyaki was delicious, full of flavour and perfectly cooked (not like the undercooked ones in Singapore with the crunchy crunchy cabbage or the soggy overcooked ones). The boy got a super deluxe one with a sticky potato thing at the bottom. Yums. 

On our last day in Tokyo after snowboarding, we headed back to explore the neighbourhood. S introduced us to Angelica Bakery, famous for it’s miso pan (miso bread). We had to wait till 11am for the bread to come out of the oven but it was so worth it. It was warm, fluffy and had just the perfect hint of miso flavour. 

Later, we spent some time walking around the neighbourhood, browsing through the quirky little stores. There are so many vintage and thrift stores, antique stores and many other interesting things to see (like a store full of decals or one with curious old school toys). There are also a whole bunch of cafes with delicious looking menus (and waffllleeeess!). If you enjoy spending time in charming little neighbourhoods, then you should definitely visit!

Vacation Snippets: Shinjuku, Tokyo

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There’s a lot to see and do in Shinjuku, you could spends hours wandering and still not even really leave the station itself (the underground bit of Shinjuku is huge and crazy).

Some of our favourites?

Night view at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buidling. It’s a bit of a chilly walk from the station in winter, but the view is pretty great. And best of all, it’s free! If you go during the day, you can even see Mount Fuji!

Ramen at any tiny little ramen shop. We especially like hole in the wall ramen shops, the seats are all counter and you buy your noodles from a vending machine. It’s especially adventurous if you can’t read Japanese and are solely relying on pictures. We found ramen to be a great option for dinner, given that it’s relatively cheap during dinner compared to restaurants in Japan. Tip: if you want to save money but still eat at a fancy Japanese restaurant, try going for lunch. A lot of the restaurants have set meals during lunch that are a fraction of their dinner prices. 

Snacks from everywhere. Including, but not limited to, taiyaki (these Japanese ‘pancakes’ stuffed with filling, shaped like fish) – every flavour, red bean with mochi, matcha, chocolate custard – and Krispy Kreme rum and raisin donuts. 

Sashimi dinners. The brother and H went to this little sashimi restaurant they saw on Japanese TV last year and we went back with them this time for some huge slabs of fresh Maguro (so thick and delicious!) and stewed cod. It is a favourite with locals and the menu is entirely in Japanese. We didn’t have a reservation so we had to sit outside (in winter, brrr) but thankfully, there was hot rice, tea and miso soup to keep us warm (oh, and the waitress also brought out a bucket of hot coal to warm us). The exit from Shinjuku station is A15 but other than that, I have no clue how to find my way back there.

Department store basements. You can get pretty much everything you want at a department store basement, even Pierre Hermes macarons (in pistachio and rose, available at Isetan). Our last night in Tokyo, we went down to Isetan and Odakyu around 1/2 hour before closing time. All the food goes on sale and the floors are packed with people trying to score a good deal. If you wait till the last minutes, the sales people will start packing up items in plastic containers and sell the mishmash of items to you at a heavily discounted price – pretty darn awesome if you’re on a budget.

Vacation Snippets: Ghibli Museum, Tokyo

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A definite highlight from our trip to Tokyo? The Ghibli Museum. You should go, really.

Now, Spirited Away is one of my absolute favourite movies of all time (it is just so stunning and magical) and the boy and I are somewhat enamored with most of everything Studio Ghibli makes. So this was put on our Things to do in Tokyo list almost immediately.

Now, the tricky part about going to visit the Museum is actually obtaining the tickets. The tickets sell like hotcakes and are typically sold out weeks in advance. For some lucky people, you can actually buy tickets online. Unfortunately for us, we are not those people, so we had to buy them in Tokyo. Now you buy the tickets from a machine at the convenience store, Lawsons… but of course, we had no internet and could not for the life of us find one! But finally, after hilarious attempts at deciphering instructions in Japanese, we found one in Ochanomizu (there’s also one along Omotesando) and by some stroke of luck, managed to get two precious tickets at the last slot on a Monday. 

The Museum is at Mitaka Inokashira Park, you take the JR Chuo line from Shinjuku to Mitaka and then, take a nice 15 minute stroll to the park (or if you’re late like we always are, a 7 minute mad dash). 

Our first stop? The rooftop garden, landscaped by Miyazaki’s son, has a huge statue of the robot from Laputa.

I wish I had more pictures what’s inside the museum, it’s fascinating and has all these magical details, like a tall narrow iron staircase that brings you up 3 floors and through a door in the wall made for people half our size, stained glass windows with the kodama from Princess Mononoke and a fully functional countertop (like the one Sen’s parents were eating at) complete with dishes and utensils that you could sit at. My favourites included the exhibit showing all the original drawings and concepts behind the films and the exhibit on the bottom floor which housed a Totoro zoetrope. But then again, I’m glad photography isn’t allowed in the museum, it allowed us to be fully immersed in the experience – somehow, everything is more fantastical in our memories. 

Vacation Snippets: Asakusa, Tokyo

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Lovelies, this week, I’m going to be posting a little about our trip to Japan in February. I’ll try to cover the different neighbourhoods we went to in Tokyo and also where we went snowboarding in Nagano.

So our second day in Tokyo (the first being consumed mostly by traveling and sleep), we took a little subway trip out to Asakusa (we were staying at a friend’s apartment, which was about 30 minutes from Asakusa). The Tokyo subway lines are strangely organized for something that looks so confusing. The lines and stops are quite clearly marked so we really didn’t run into too much trouble getting around. 

We wanted to visit Sensoji Temple, one of the more popular temples in Tokyo. It was really crowded along the Nakamise, the shopping street leading up to the temple.

Along the way, we stopped for a variety of local snack, including these sweet fritters (we tried a matcha one with red bean filling and a sweet potato one). 

The main temple is also bustling with activity. 

After some walking around the temple, we found some vendors by the side selling a variety of yummy snacks – the boy tried some chicken karaage. Then, we saw a stall adjacent to the main street leading to the temple with a huge lineup. Obviously, we scoped it out and ordered some delicious sweet potatoes in honey with sesame seeds and this little madeline like custard thing – neither of us had any clue what it was, even after eating it. 

And then somehow, after all that snacking, we still had room for a delicious lunch at a restaurant around the area. See, happy camper.