I went to Mumbai and all I did was spray vomit all over my colleagueās bathroom and eat cardboard sandwiches.
My room in Bombay.
View of the slums from my window.
Cardboard food and soup/liquid ghee.
Shit that I do when Iām bored at home.
Category: Travels
Emo-ing in Sydney.
I was a bit of an emotional wreck in Sydney. The beauty of the city didnāt do much to alleviate my nerves, only to get them more worked up. No, Iām not blaming Sydney. If thereās anything, Sydney has reminded me of how much I need my loved ones by my side.
Tears attempted to pierce through my eyeballs every now and then.
The room I stayed in was fantastic.
Camomile tea that practically got me into a coma.
Queen Victoria Building.
I bought a hop on-hop off bus tour ticket from city-sightseeing.com for $30, which valids for 24 hours. The tour has 22 stops around Sydney. At any one point I feel like exploring the area around a certain stop, I could get down and then take the next bus to resume my tour. The frequency of the bus is 30 minutes. I think itās a fabulous system. Maybe Tourism Malaysia could take a hint somewhere.
There are several companies offering similar service in Sydney. At first I was going to use Sydney Explorer, which was featured prominently in my hotel (good marketing). While waiting for the bus, Hop On-Hop Off arrived first and I found out from the driver about the existence of other companies. At $9 cheaper, I bought the ticket from the bus driver without much delay. Personally Iād recommend Hop On-Hop Off for its open roof double decker bus and super clear automated tour narration. Sydney Explorer uses only ordinary air-conditioned buses.
Practically had the upper deck all to myself.
Turning into Kings Cross.
Kings Cross is a red light district in Sydney famous for its strip clubs. I had a lunch of fish and chips there in a relatively populated cafe. It was quite mediocre, but the cannoli I bought next door more than made up for it. At a hefty $2.50 per piece, I had no regrets. The pastry was fluffy and crispy and the orange custard filling was simply sinful.
Fish and chips.
Kings Cross Cakes and Pies.
Mouth-watering goodies.
The scrumptious cannoli.
I had my lunch al fresco and throughout the 30 minutes there, I was approached by 3 different people asking for spare change and ciggarettes. After the 2nd person, I thought it wasnāt such a good idea being in Kings Cross alone. Nevertheless, I had a fairly peaceful 30 minutes there.
Wani.
I struck up a conversation with the bus driver, Wani. He is from Jakarta, Indonesia and has been working in Sydney for several years. I was talking to him in Bahasa Malaysia and he to me in Bahasa Indonesia. Anything lost in translation was rescued by English. Wani offered to take me around Sydney after his break but I declined. Iām sure he meant well but I suppose it wouldnāt be very safe for a lone female to go off with some stranger in a strange city. We did exchange contact numbers though.
Posing with Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The detail of Sydney Opera Houseās roof.
My reflection.
You Are Here.
On Man āO War Jetty.
Royal Botanic Gardens.
Tears threatened to flow down my cheeks while watching couples embracing each other, drowned in their own private world and families playing catch on the soft green grass. I was baffled as to how they could exist so comfortably in the cold with barely a singlet and shorts and then it struck me. I was alone and all I could hug for warmth was the damn tree.
Some alien plant.
Sun bathers.
Tranquility.
Still in love.
Wish you were here.
A shot of Sydney Opera House from Royal Botanic Gardens.
Do you notice the water droplets on the right side of the picture above? That was the very moment before I got splashed by waves and laughed at by two locals. Probably thinking, āStupid chinkā.
I went back to my hotel after that, quite happy that Iāve seen what I came to see but still bothered by pangs of loneliness. If only my boo were with me. Lovely things arenāt meant to be experienced alone.
Back in my room.
p/s: View the rest of the photos here.
I want to go back to Osaka!
Japanās favourite PJs, the yukata.
The moment I entered my hotel room, I couldnāt help but notice how everything was built for short people. The height of the bed barely reached my knee, the chair was considerably lower than average, the mirror couldnāt be used without bending my knees and so on. I believe it has something to do with the age of my hotel, as the Japanese population nowadays is considerably taller.
My hotel room.
The hotel was nothing to shout about, itās got a funny smell to it, as if the room had been bleached for hundreds of times. However, I was very comfortable as anything beyond air conditioning and hot water shower is considered luxury to me.
After a quick nap, I ventured out for lunch. I was determined to eat authentic Japanese food. No Chinatown bullshit and all that. After walking for a bit, finally stumbled onto this restaurant that specialises in katsudon. I had the house special at 500 yen and I have to say itās the best money Iād spent in Japan. The deep fried pork chop was succulent on the inside and crispy on the outside. Soaked in miso gravy and topped with a freshly cracked egg, it was served with a bowl of rice. The looks of katsudon left nothing to be desired but the dish really titillated my tastebuds. I devoured every single grain of rice with it.
Katsudon. Deep fried pork chop soaked in miso sauce with egg. OMG Iām missing it already!
After lunch, it was time for a bit of shopping. I decided to go to Namba, the shopping and entertainment district of Osaka. Itās 30 minutes walking distance from my hotel but I thought taking the train would be way more fun. I went to Uehonmachi Station, which was just right smacked next to my hotel.
Stepping into a train station in Japan was quite a nerve racking experience. Firstly, there was little information in english. Using a small and skanky photostated map (with bad english) courtesy of the hotel, I managed to make out which station to go. Secondly, the names of the stations are just too long. I suggest that you jot down the exact name of the station youāre going to and coming back if youāre not proficient in Japanese. Thirdly, there were so many people! They are well-behaved though. I suppose you could call it controlled chaos, but itās quite a scary sight for a laidback Malaysian like me.
Train ticketing machine.
The ticketing machine has english labels so itās fairly easy to use. The cost of ticket from Uehonmachi to Namba is 150 yen.
Uehommachi Station.
Waiting for the trainā¦.
Inside the train.
Namba Station is only 2 stops away from Uehonmachi Station. I was very relieved when I saw the Namba Stationās signboard as I had this nagging feeling that I would get lost in the humongous network of train stations. Turned out it was only stupid paranoia.
Namba is only a couple of steps away from the stationā¦
Entering the centre of consumerism.
Namba1ban. Cheesy but quite clever. Itās a pachinko parlour.
Inside the pachinko parlour. The game that destroyed one too many families -_-
There are many famous landmarks in Namba.
Dotonbori Street. A popular street lined with restaurants, shops and entertainment centres. Very, very colourful.
Posing with Kuidaore Taro.
Ebisubashi Bridge. Notice the weird looking Ferris Wheel?
Ebisubashi Bridge has very interesting stories to it.
ā¦.lacking someone to imitate gaijin MVP Randy Bass, the rabid crowd seized the Colonel Sanders statue from a nearby KFC, and tossed it off the bridge as an effigy. This impulsive maneuver was to cost the team greatly, beginning the Curse of the Colonel. Legend has it that the Tigers will not win the championship again, until the statue is recovered. Attempts have been made, including sending divers down and dredging the river, but so far the statue remains in the murky depths and the Tigers cursed.
In 2003, the Tigers won the qualifying Central Tournament, and fans figured this was good enough. Over 5,300 fans repeated the plunge into the canal. However, for 24-year old Masaya Shitababa it was a tragedy. He drowned in the canal, with all reports being that he had been shoved in by the revelers.
Source: Wikipedia
Another section of Ebisubashi Bridge. Itās under construction, probably in an effort to deter happy jumpers.
Japanese schoolgirls.
The infamous Glico Man!
Just for you, bitch.
Many people in Osaka use bicycles as means of transportation. I wish Malaysia were cooler, cause I definitely wouldnāt mind cycling around.
Rows and rows and rows of bicycles.
And then it was dinner timeā¦
Dinner time at a sushi restaurant.
Freshly hand-made sushis.
My top favourite salmon sashimi!
My sushi chef.
If youāre going to Osaka, watch out for 100 Yen shops. Yes, everythingās sold at 100 yen (105 yen including tax). These shops are everywhere and you just have to look out for them. Itās really a joy to shop, theyāre not unlike our RM2.99 shops, but the products have way better quality. They sell things from cosmetics to kitchen utensils to underwear to food. Lovely! (Please refrain from buying fakeplan Pokka Pokka sticks thoughā¦they taste like mouldy cardboards)
Osaka is one of the most interesting places Iāve ever visited. Itās like being in another dimension, very surreal. The people, the food, the ambiance, the billboards, the toiletsā¦they belong to another level of reality. Iād love to go back one day, to experience it all over again.