IRIS

Just finished watching a Korean drama series called IRIS. Nope, contrary to its name, it is not a drama about a group of ophthalmologist or something to do with the anatomy of the eye.

Have to say, it's top notch and one of the best drama series I ever watched in my whole life (yep, more than a quarter of a century worth).

If you like thrilling action movies with plenty of suspense and twists, you have to watch IRIS. The storyline, the characters, everything seem to develop very well making it a great drama to watch!

1Malaysia Boleh!!

Satu lagi projek Barisan Nasional! 1Malaysia Boleh!!

Terminal gone bust: Shattered glass are strewn all over the soon-to-be-opened bus terminal after the 150m-long roof came crashing down. — M. AZHAR ARIF / The Star

150m-long skylight comes crashing down at new bus terminal

KUALA BERANG: Another roof of a public building has collapsed in Terengganu, just six months after the roof of the state’s main stadium gave way.

Yesterday, the 150m-long glass roof of the soon-to-be-opened express bus and taxi terminal here collapsed, sending hundreds of sheets of glass crashing down.

Four workers suffered cuts from the broken glass.

Terengganu has been hit by a spate of revelations about buildings with shoddy construction.

Besides the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, defects have also been found in the Batu Burok Aquatic Complex and the Sultan Mahmud Airport terminal.

Malaysia: Third world income, first world tax.

It amuses me to read that Malaysia's Second Finance Minister believes that having GST will put Malaysia at par with other developed countries.

With stagnant income growth, worsening crimes, deteriorating education standards and poorly maintained infrastructures, Malaysia is becoming more and more like a third world country (if it's not already one).

But this chap who is the Second Finance Minister believes otherwise.

What more can I say? Malaysia is led by silly people.. And they make silly comments.

GST Implementation Is To Place Malaysia At Par With Developed Countries, Says Ahmad Husni

IPOH, Dec 19 (Bernama) -- The implementation of the goods and services tax (GST)is a means of placing the country's economy at a level that is at par with those of developed nations and in keeping with changing times, said Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.

He said the GST implementation gave the government an advantage,particularly in enhancing income flow, which can then be used to implement projects for the benefit of the people.

"Only three countries in the South-East Asian region do not practice this taxation system, that is Malaysia, Brunei and Myanmar. Brunei does not have a taxation system and we will join 143 other countries in implementing the GST.

"We need to change to ensure we stay in the best grouping," he told reporters after a gathering at the Tambun parliamentary constituency mobile service centre here on Saturday.
-- BERNAMA

Malaysia is an ‘oil cursed’ country despite not having a lot of oil

Malaysia is in a dire state with the leaders squandering the nation's wealth for themselves. This is despite us not having a lot to start with.

Now, the only thing Malaysia can do is to salvage whatever that is left and move from there. With BN and their bunch of clowns, it's hopeless. With PR, probably still got faint hope. Can't expect much.. Hai, why is Malaysia in such a pathetic state?


KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — Petronas founder and former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today that Malaysia had squandered its oil wealth and had become an “oil cursed” country dependent on it like a narcotic for quick fixes.

In his most scathing remarks yet about the management of the country's oil reserves and the economy, Tengku Razaleigh said oil money had been used as "a giant slush fund that has propped up authoritarian rule, eroded constitutional democracy and corrupted our entire political and business elite."

"Our oil receipts, instead of being applied in the manner we planned upon the formation of Petronas, that is, according to its original developmental purpose, became a fund for the whims and fancy of whoever ran the country, without any accountability.

"The oil that was meant to spur our transition to a more humane, educated society has instead become a narcotic that provides economic quick fixes and hollow symbols such as the Petronas Towers. Our oil wealth was meant to help us foster Malaysians capable of building the Twin Towers than hire foreigners to build them, a practice in which we preceded Dubai. I would rather have good government than grand government buildings filled with a demoralised civil service," he said in his speech at the Young Corporate Malaysians Summit here today.

He said that when he started the national oil company in 1974, he did not foresee that he would one day wish that the country had not discovered oil.

The Umno veteran said that Malaysians were no longer productive and no longer used their ingenuity to improve themselves to take the leap forward.

This he blamed on the mismanagement and abuse of the country's oil reserves.

"Our nation is blessed with a modest quantity of oil reserves. As a young nation coming to terms with this natural bounty in the early 1970s, our primary thought was to conserve that oil. That is why, when Petronas was formed, we instituted the Petroleum Development Council. Its function was to advise the PM on how to conserve that oil and use it judicially for national development. We knew our reserves would not last long.

"We saw our oil reserves as an unearned bounty that would provide the money for modernisation and technology. We saw our oil within a developmental perspective. Our struggle then, was to make the leap from an economy based on commodities and low-cost assembly and manufacture to a more diverse, economy based on high-income jobs."

He said the government then had planned to apply oil royalties to strategic investments in human capital.

The government, he said, was to have used whatever money was left after making cash payments and allocations for development funds, and place it in a Heritage Fund for the future. The Heritage Fund was for education and social enrichment.

"Instead of being our ace up the sleeve, however, our oil wealth became in effect a swag of money used to fund the government’s operational expenditure, to bail out failing companies, buy arms, build grandiose cities amidst cleared oil palm estates. Instead of helping eradicate poverty in the poorest states, our oil wealth came to be channelled into the overseas bank accounts of our political and politically-linked class. Instead of being the patrimony of all Malaysians, and for our children, it is used as a giant slush fund that has propped up authoritarian rule, eroded constitutional democracy and corrupted our entire political and business elite.

"Malaysia is now an ‘oil cursed’ country. We managed to arrive at this despite not having a lot of oil.”

Tengku Razaleigh said that his generation's failure had been both "political and moral."

"We have allowed greed and resentment to drive our politics and looked the other way or even gone along while public assets have been stolen in broad daylight.

"I encourage you to take up the cause of national development with the ingenuity that earlier generations of Malaysians brought to this task, but the beginning of our journey must be a return to the basics of public life: the rule of law, honesty, truth-telling and the keeping of promises," he told the young corporate leaders in his speech.

“So before we can reinvent ourselves we need to recover our nation. That larger community, bound by laws, democratic and constitutional, is the context of economic progress, it is the context in which young people find hope, think generous thoughts and create tomorrow."

Sarawak is rich but its people poor

Sarawak is a rich state blessed with many natural resources, but its people are poor. Many still live in remote areas where even basic amenities are hard to come by.

Among them is the Penan, with large scale state-endorsed logging and plantations, they may soon lose their forests they call home.

It's sad to see the leaders are given a freehand to plunder the wealth of the state.

But we have to remember that it's the people who voted them into office. Despite being marginalized, Sarawakians are still die-hard supporters of BN.

Well, what can I say, you deserve what you get..

MIRI: A group of 200 Penans has declared 163,000ha of forest in Upper Baram as a Penan peace park, claimed the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), a Swiss-based environment movement.

In an e-mail to Bernama, BMF claimed a declaration ceremony took place recently at the remote village of Long Ajeng in Baram to endorse the park, the Penans’ last remaining primary forest, as a nature reserve.

“The Penans wish to develop tourism in their region and insist on the protection of their native customary rights,” the statement said.

The statement quoted former headman James Lalo Kesoh as saying that his community depended on the forest for their livelihood and needed to preserve it for future generations.

“Even though we have been settling down and starting life as farmers since the late 1950s, we still depend on the forest for our food, medicinal plants, raw materials such as rattan to make handicraft and other jungle produce,” he said.

Meanwhile, Long Ajeng headman Jawa Nyipa said the Penans hoped the declaration would enable them to live peacefully with neighbouring tribes as fully-recognised Malaysian citizens.

“We named it as Peace Park because peace is an important concept in our culture,” he added.

The Sarawak government had earmarked the area for logging. — Bernama

Incheon and back

Last day in Seoul.. Incheon International airport is so impressive that it makes KLIA looks like some budget airport.

Plenty of chairs, spacious and good view..

Korea airlines..

The airport has a relaxing atmosphere..

Main area in the satellite terminal..

If you are lazy to walk..

Last few shots of the airport before boarding..

Flew with Malaysia Airlines..

Sadly, MAS still used this old and out dated A330 in this day and age.. No personal TV! Even budget airlines now got PTV already.. Though have to say, the leg room was very generous.. So 'compensate' a bit la.. but would be better if got good legroom and PTV..

Sea bass on rice.. Pretty good..

Korean chicken on rice..

MAS's kacang with Korean jelly..

Before I knew it, holiday was over.. Back to work...

Busan, South Korea

Went to Busan in our last few remaining days in South Korea..

Well, Busan is far from being bosan.. It got plenty of things to do and the place is a heaven for seafood lovers..

Went to one of the many "raw fish" village..





Snapper's "wing"...

Fresh stuff!

Korean sashimi.. Quite different from those you get in Japan.. Different cutting technique and as you can see, different type of fish..

They have different way of eating sashimi also..

With rice ball..

With minty leaves.

Wrap the rice ball with raw fish..

Sashimi with minty leaf and miso paste..

Sashimi with seaweed and ketchup

Posh ikan bilis..

Pretty nice sunset view from Busan..

Korean people eat weird sea creatures..

Saw a talking dog.. This dog actually could say "I love you" with a doggy accent of course.. It actually starred in a few movies..

Near Busan's famous Jagalchi Fish market..

Seen more Fugu in South Korea than in Japan..

Jagalchi Fish market..

Seen more whale restaurants here than in Japan also..

Inside Jagalchi Fish market.. So many fish.. No need to go to aquarium, you can see most of it here..

Nearby old town Busan..

Plenty street food and hawker stalls that would make Malaysians feel welcomed..

Took a sunset "cruise"..

Onboard..

Hmm.. unlike seagulls in Australia, those in Korea have black spots on their ears..

Sunset on Busan's famous Diamond bridge.. Some locals pronounced it as de-mon bridge..

U-turn here..

Saw our Malaysian own Rotiboy in Busan.. Koreans love Rotiboy!

Jalan-jalan in Seoul..

Plenty of street food.. If not because of the freezing weather, it would be pretty similar to Malaysia..

Fried "intestines" with onion..

Seoul Tower...

Somewhere inside the tower..

Seoul at night..

Fried rice Korean style..

Fish roe hot pot.. Simply the best!

Fish dumpling...

Baby octopus..Before..

Baby octopus..After..

Yep! Raw octopus! A Korean delicacy..

Various parts of tuna sashimi!

Korean's no1 fast food, Lotte Ria.. Love their seasoned chips.

Chicken fillet..

Shrimp burger..

View from city square..

City square was under renovation when i was there.. It seemed they have big plans for it.

Near their "White House"..

Colourful cabbage.. Not for consumption though..

Korean war exhibits..

More Seoul photos

Busy streets in Myeong Dong in North Seoul.. Lots of street food also like in Malaysia..

Happy faces..

Green tea ice cream..

Modern Korean dishes..

Yup, it's Korean fine dining.. I think it was some beef with mango sauce..



Sedapnya~~

Salad..ok ok la.. not big fan of salad..




Korean version of Nestum prawns.. Nice nice..


Like any other Korean fare, you are given a wide range of wide dishes.. So much food that people can get full by eating the side dishes alone..




Wearing polar bear skin..

Korea is so much ahead of the rest of world. They were already celebrating Christmas 2010..

They called it "intestine".. Maybe it got bits of intestines in it but it didn't look anywhere near like intestines I saw when doing colorectal surgery.

Fantastic mango yogurt drink! Went for second.

Fruity yogurts..

Seoul..

An old temple in the heart of Seoul city..

Good place for Kung fu movies..





Mini pagoda



They didn't have alarm bell back then...

Some of you may know that I was in Seoul for a conference.. Our Korean hosts were pretty hospitable.. They made sure everyone had a pleasant time and even treated us with some Korean performances.. Above was some "Fire and Water Drum"..

Korean traditional dance?

A group called the Little Angels of Korea..

More of the Little Angels..

Some grown up angels..

And more..

Fine cuisine in Korea.. King crab meat salad..

Mushroom soup..

Orange sorbet..

Australian beef.. Surprised that they served this.. Not enough money for wagyu beef I supposed..

Dessert...

Downtown Seoul

Went sightseeing in downtown Seoul..

Korean castle..

Some "Royal guards" with their spears and swords.. Mainly for the benefits of tourists, otherwise they would be carrying machine guns and the latest firearms..

Inside the castle.. That's the main hall..

Where the king used to sit..

Sheep? Dog?

Monkey? Orang utan?

Large pond..

Swimming pool..where the King used to swim..

View of the nearby pagoda..

In the narrow alley inside the castle..

Large castle compound..

After we left the castle, we went for a walk in nearby north Seoul..

In one of the many markets.. I heard many Korean films were filmed here..

Honey shop..

With two dentists.. Actually not la..

They sell traditional Korean sweets..

Cocoon concoction..

Eating cocoon.. Actually quite delicious..

Enjoying the cocoon..

Street food aplenty in Seoul..

Err.. some vegetarian stuff..

Another vegetarian dish with lots of chili..

Shopping in north Seoul.. The streets were more chaotic than Malaysia..

Looks like pasar malam in Malaysia..

South Seoul..

Seoul Traditional Folk Village

At Korea Traditional Folk village.. Short bus trip away from Seoul..

According to my Korean friend, the people used to be poor, so they hang their fruits and vege to preserve it... With a bit more effort, it's also good for decoration..

Throw the bamboo sticks into the hole game..

Err..traditional BBQ area?

The company of girls..

The lone guy..

The river the divided the village..

Walking around the village..

With the renowned blacksmith twin..

Testing the purity of the water..

Walking around the village..

With our Korean friend..

Pity the squirrel.. Had to be content with eating dry brown leaves.. If only it were in the lush rain forest of Sarawak..

Persimmons...

Collecting persimmons..

Rice mill..

How the people kept themselves warm in the olden days..

Went to this traditional herbal shop..

Korean herbal tea..

Korean pancake.. Looked like pizza minus the cheese..

Any pancake..

Someone falling off the horse.. Well, almost..

Archers on horseback..

Accuracy not too bad..

Pretty elegant horse..

Walking on tightrope..

Mock traditional Korean wedding to entertain tourists like us.. This fake bride pretended to be shy..

Traditional Korean torture toys.. For the womenfolk to punish their naughty husband..

More torture toys, complete with manual at the side (not in photo)..

And more..

Plenty of weapons to play with..

Dress up as Korean fighter..

Seoul Lotte World

Went to Lotte World in the heart of Seoul city.. Pretty nice theme park..

Got indoor and outdoor part..

View from the top..

Fellow tourists.. Actually one was local..

The place was packed many rides and stuff..

Another view from the top..

Mini roller coaster..

Went to the tomb of horror to see Korean ghosts.. Not that scary la..

The last chamber in the Tomb of Horror..

Stopped for a short lunch..

What's Korea without Kimchi..

Beef? Pork?

Fried eggs..

Shiny noodles..

Lots of other side dishes apart from Kim Chi..

More vegetables side dishes..

Back for more rides..

Good to go..

Bungee drop.. Felt like bungee jumping but on a chair..

An even higher one!! Nice view from up there..

Still going strong...

Some crazy swinging compass!

Roller coaster..

Nope, I didn't go up this one.. but someone else did..

Returned from Korea..

Photo taken somewhere in between South Korea and Malaysia..

Just returned from Korea.. South Korea of course..

Flew with Malaysia Airlines.. Bought the ticket several months earlier at jaw dropping price, as in very cheap! Jaw dropping can be used to describe something very expensive also..

Read that MAS was awarded Best Cabin Crew award as well as 5 Star carrier by Skytrax this year.. They certainly offer excellent value for money.. Good service and good food also.. Though their A330 planes they used to Korea were old and outdated..

Also noticed they have quite a few Korean and Japanese stewardesses.. And one of the Korean stewardesses could speak Malay!

Anyway, will post more photos soon..

Land of the rising sun revisited 11: Kinugawa, Tokyo & the end!

Tokyo Disneyland!

If you want to go there, go early, if you can't make by by 3pm, don't bother..

Some people in Disney mood already..

One of the rides in "Adventure World"..

Another ride..

They have one indoor roller coaster but overall they don't really have those heart-stopping rides.. Pretty mild..

Went hunting for good food in Shinjuku..

Tuna sashimi from two different parts of the tuna, thus different colour..

Clams soup..

Large grilled prawns.. Pretty cheap, as cheap as you can get in Malaysia (if not cheaper)!!

Went to this whale restaurant.. Taruichi..

Whale sashimi from four different parts of the whale.. The red one tasted a bit like tuna..

Fried whale cheek.. Cheek meat is always delicious..

Fried whale meat..

Went to nearby Kinugawa Onsen town on our second last day..

Shooting down the rapids and valleys.. Actually gentle rapids la..

Paddling down the calm water..

Cable car up the hill to see monkeys (literally)..

View from top of the hill.. Who said Japan is a concrete jungle?

Kinugawa town..

Fresh water fish sashimi

Rice with vegetable

Grilling fish

Fresh water fish sashimi

Salmon with vegetable..

Dessert..

Asashi.. Reputably Japan's most popular beer..

Journey back.. Kinugawa to Narita Airport..

In Narita International Airport..

Malaysia Airlines all the way back to Perth.. Actually not really la.. Stopped in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur..

Food on Malaysia Airlines has certainly improved a lot.. Pleasantly surprised that the all food we had was very delicious.. Best airline food so far..

Really nice seafood dessert..

Snack box on regional flights..

Sunset over the horizon..

Brief stopover in Kota Kinabalu.. Felt good able to step my feet on East Malaysia soil even for awhile..

Malaysia is actually a very beautiful country but the people must learn how to maintain it.. Not turning every bit of jungle into oil palm plantation, and keep the place pristine..

Land of the rising sun revisited 10!! Gifu, Toba

Last minute eating in Kyoto before leaving for Gifu..

Love their almond pudding!

3 in 1 ramen.... chicken, beef and pork..

Red beans with ice creams..

Japanese dessert... crispy and nice.

Japanese also have Ice Kacang.. actually better than a lot of Ice Kacang in Malaysia as they were quite generous with 'substance'.. In Malaysia, sadly some were more generous with ice than substance..

In Gifu already.. Gifu Castle on top of the hill..

Gifu old houses.. Didn't see any geisha..

Dinner..

Tofu..

Some vegetarian dish..

Sashimi.. Hmm.. don't know how many kilos of raw seafood I have eaten in Japan..

Hot pot..

Fish ball the size of a golf ball..

Fell in love with their almond pudding..

At night we went to see Ukai.. traditional Japanese fishing..

Also called cormorant fishing.. Basically using cormorants to catch the fish, like how in some parts of Malaysia monkeys were used to pick coconuts..

Not just gimmick for tourists.. They actually caught some fish..

After Gifu, we left for Toba..

After seeing cormorants catching fish, we were now eager to see women collecting pearls..

Got one.. posed for the camera.. These women divers were called Ah ma.. Sounds pretty homely..

Seafood in Toba.. Have to eat oysters la in Toba..

Also have to eat abalone as well..

Plenty of lobsters in Toba as well.. But actually lobsters in KK cheaper..

Land of the rising sun revisited 9: Kyoto, Nara

We stayed overnight in Kanazawa after we left Shiragawago..

Went to Omi Cho market for dinner..

Fresh stuff.. Nope, didn't eat them straightaway.. Had enough sashimi already..

So we boiled the hell out of them in the hot pot..

On the way back to our ryokan.. It was somewhere near Higashi Chaya district (the ex-geisha town).. Pretty quiet and peaceful now..

The next morning.. View from our ryokan..

Breakfast.. opted for something economical..

Another typical economical meal in Japan..

Then we headed to Kyoto.. Had a short trip to Nara, a nearby town..

Nara was popular with deer.. Plenty of them in the Central Park.. Maybe they have deer sashimi as well but I didn't bother to find out..

The deers were open range.. be careful not to step on their poos..

One of the temples in the Central Park..

Kyoto!! Err.. I actually forgot what this place is called.. It's one of the attractions in Kyoto..

Rented a boat.. Girls loved this kind of stuff.. They sat at the back..
From the observation point..

Nearby bamboo garden..

Surrounded by tall bamboos.. No lights in the place.. so it could get pretty gloomy, good place for ghost stories..

Tenruji temple nearby..

Still fascinated by Japanese roof..

Replica of lion dance head..

One of buildings of Tenruji temple..

Stopped for quick desserts.. Simply sedap!!

Ice kacang on bamboo...

Red bean campur.. High class dessert..

Golden pavilion..

Though Japan is a bit land strapped.. They have some fondness over lakes.. So plenty of man-made lakes around.

Kyoto Castle..

Inside Kyoto Castle..

The waterway in front of the castle wall, filled with crocodiles and imported Pirana used protect the previous occupants...

Castle buildings..

Gold plated arch..

The start of our food trail in Kyoto..woo hoo..

For food lovers.. Pontocho is a good place to go for food at night.. Lots of variety..

Makan..Non stop makan..

Eat again.. We truly showed the Japanese what Malaysians are capable of..

One restaurant after another.. we went hunting for our next target in the narrow lanes of Pontocho..

Spotted our next target.. a Japanese Ikazaya (pub cum restaurant)..

Quench our thirst first..

Their modified satay (Yakitori) came in two flavours.. pork and beef..

Pork satay.. Somehow more presentable than Malaysian satay.. OK, admit defeat.. Japanese are more artistic with food..

Some fried chicken.. Better than KFC I was told..

Black pepper soup...

Fried prawns..

Delicious food so far..

But of course, being Malaysians, we were not that easily satisfied.. So we went to yet another one.. This time it was a vegetable + chicken gourmet restaurant..

They called them vegetable sashimi..

Don't be fooled by your eyes.. These were no ordinary tofu.. They were so SEDAP that it could turn die-hard meat-eater into vegetarian!

Japanese kampung chicken with cheese..

Fried tofu casein.. crunchy on the outside but soft delicious casein inside that flowed like molten lava into your mouth.. The ultimate in vegetable dish!

Land of rising sun revisited 8: Hirayu, Shiragawago

Still in Hirayu Onsen town.. Dinner..

Love the prawn sashimi at the side.. Didn't know raw prawn can taste so good.. In Japan, you can get away without a stove, you can eat raw food for anything..

But they still use stove and fire la.. More variety... Wondering what's in the pot?

It's Wagyu beef with vegetables..

More food... Hard to go hungry in Japan.. I am actually surprised how most Japanese can still keep in shape with so much temptations..

Next day's breakfast.. If you don't like seafood, then Japan is not for you.. you will go crazy, they have fish for almost every meal..

The good old miso paste on hot plate..

Boiling eggs using hot spring water.. Save money..

Japanese love fish.. rearing them (and eating them..)

Traditional roof in certain parts of Japan.. Thick hay bundled together..

Wooden logs.. err.. obviously..

Using cold mountain water to keep drinks cold..

And hot spring water to keep other drinks hot.. Yep, harvesting the power of nature..

After Hirayu, we went to Shiragawago.. One of the UNESCO historical sites for its well kept traditional village..

Above photo: Leisurely walk in the village for the girls..

Leisurely walk in the village for the guy..

Inside one of the buildings..

Huge pot in the center.. Enough to make seafood hotpot for the whole extended family.. Can make dodol also if only they have the recipe..

In another room, huge kettle in the room...

Village view

Someone's house

Walking on wooden poles.. Quite hard, like walking on huge chopsticks..

My other half wanted to try also..

Growing paddy takes patience.. Nothing much grown yet..

Stopped for quick lunch..

Suspension bridge..

Somehow people like to take photo with suspension bridge..

The village of Shiragawago...

My other half grinning from ear to ear after finally made it to the top of the hill..

My other half + me.. + someone else's shoulder at the edge of photo..

Saw a snake on the hiking trail... Tried to warn some Japanese as they were dangerously close to the snake but they didn't understand what I said.. Oh well, nothing happened, so I just took photo of the snake..

More village photos..

More..

I must say Shiragawago is one of the most successfully commercialized village yet still maintaining its unique identity.. Yup, people still live there..

If you put a few kampung chickens and cows there, it will have some sort of Malaysian feel..

Mini Japanese garden..

Lonely hut..

Big fish in the drain!! Wow, the water was so clear and clean.. If only Malaysians keep their drain clean.. Would like to see big fish in front of my house also..

Looked like trout.. Very big... like more than a foot long.. Can feed a family for a meal..

Bunga-bunga Jepun..

Bunga-bunga Jepun..

Bunga-bunga Jepun..

Bunga-bunga Jepun..

Hmm.. reminds me of native's arts in Sarawak... just a bit more smiley..

Man-made waterfall and pond.. Constant flow of water, so no mosquitoes.. Not that I saw any in Japan..

Places with streams and water have some special appeal.. If the water is clean of course..

Some places still harvest energy from water for simple stuff...

Shiragawago..been there done that.. Finished with ice creams.. 3 ice creams, one was mine..

Land of the rising sun revisited 7: Hirayu, Kamikochi

Hirayu Onsen town sits in a mountainous region..

A longkang made beautiful enough is called a stream..

Multi-layer man-made waterfall behind me..

Wagyu beef.. I heard they give the cows frequent spa and massage treatment before slaughtering them..

Dinner in Hirayu.. Main set..

Tempura vegetable

Rice with soup

Miso paste heated on dry leaf for unique flavour..

Next morning's breakfast.. Notice that Japanese often have salmon for breakfast..

Rice with soup..

After breakfast, we left for Kamikochi. Just a short bus ride away.

Catch of the day.. This guy caught quite a few fish directly from the stream.. just bumped the fish's head against the table to make them unconscious, then slit open their gut to clean them and off to the grill. So that was the fresh catch of the day..

Kamikochi Mountain in the distance..


One of the several lakes in Kamikochi..

Another view..

Stagnant water with no crocodiles..

Lake placid with plenty of fish but no crocodiles.. I'll show you photos of the fish later..

Those red/orange leaves certainly made the scenery more beautiful..

Yeah, reached the end of the walking path! Actually not the end la.. but we decided that was enough after walking several kms.

Crystal clear river..

Crystal clear river flowing down mountainous Kamikochi..

If only rivers in Malaysia are like that..

For some reasons, my other half like to pose with a suspension bridge in the background..

You can choose to cross the bridge the "proper" way or the monkey way..

Wild cherries.. Don't know how it taste like..

Probably delicious as this monkey kept eating it..

Red-face monkey.. Yes, the monkey was very shy..

Another view of the river..

Yet another lake.. There were a few lakes in Kamikochi area..

Same view with me in the photo..

Random tree bark..

Swayed in awe.. Kamikochi mountain in full view..

Kamikochi Mountain.. If you look hard enough, you can actually see snow on the mountain.. Yup, winter was approaching in Japan..

Those autumn foliage could make anyone cheerful..

On the walking trail..

It was autumn.. leaves turned orange yellowish..

Walking trail..

One of the many streams in Kamikochi..

Fish!!

Simply breathtaking..

Another fish.. different species from the previous one.. Probably taste different as well..

Kamikochi swamp..

Wild ducks in the lake..

Playing Gameboy while waiting for customers...

Left Kamikochi.. returned to Hirayu Onsen town..

Air Asia with their inconvenience fee..

No admin fee! No fuel surcharge! Air Asia made big hoo-haa about removing those added fees..

But quietly introduced a new fee just recently..

A new fee unashamedly called "Convenience fee" meant to inconvenience passengers..

Yup, unless you are using voucher, now everyone will have to pay extra money.. The amount depends on where you are departing.. RM5 for Malaysia and AUD$5 for Australia per person per flight.

And they conveniently only reveal this extra fee just before you make the payment when purchasing a ticket.. This will make their air tickets appear cheaper than they really are..

Guess some other airlines do the same also but I hate this kind of cheap tactics to cheat people.. This kind of fees should be stated upfront.