Cont' Day 4 Hakone

So anyway, I suddenly recalled I haven't blogged about Day 4-8 of my Japan trip and yes it is long overdue. Like it's been 7 months?! And I'm going back again really soon! Excited much. So yes, let's continue shall we. Click the tags below "Japan" and you'll find the rest of my post.

Continuing Day 4; Owakudani/Hakone and Hakone Jinja

Photos from this post are taken using my iPhone 4. Very poor quality. But the camera battery died halfway! Bummer. But we have no choice yea.

Look at THAT perfect egg.

I love hard boiled eggs so so much!

Me, looking like a boy. Weather on top was super unbearable. I have to bundle my hair into my hat.

We made our way to Owakudani via cable car and boy was I excited. I wanted to eat those black eggs so badly! according to sources, those kuro-tamago(black egg) supposedly increase your lifespan (+7 years) Of course you're not suppose to take it seriously. But it makes it more fun to eat. The sulphur eggs come in packets of 5 and comes with packet of salt as dips. SO YUMMY! maybe I'm hungry, but I love the eggs!

Owakudani has sulphur points and it can get really hot. There's stairs up to see the sulphur water and I was sweating just to get there! That being said. The view was pretty breathe-taking. I love the color of the hills. There's also a store there that sells hello-kitty collab stuff with the kuro-tamago and also some Fuji-San merchandise.

This place looks straight out from a Japanese story book.

Next! We continued with the cable car ride followed by a ship ride to get to the Hakonemachi-ko for the Hakone Jinja! The ride was pretty memorable. Too bad Fuji-San was hiding from our sights.

Made our way to the temple and we were greeted by rows and rows of hydrangeas! So gorgeous. It's amazing why these pretty flowers are on the streets #onlyinjapan

I love the quiet route to the shrine. Also, those huge tori gates are one of my favorite sites!
I don't have a clear photo of those tori gates. Cause photos taken in dimly lit areas tend to be very grainy! Doesn't do the place justice.

Left the place really late and I thought we would get stranded over there. thankfully not! I think we got lucky and managed to catch the last bus out of Hakone.

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All in all, you need at least 2 full days to get a full taste of Hakone.
It was a pretty tight one-day trip. But I'm glad I went there nonetheless!



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Love and It's Poison

The notion of falling too in love with your partner/boyfriend/girlfriend scares me a little. Maybe more than a little.

Many times I've seen people getting all crazy in love and all of the sudden, next thing you know is that both are on Splitsville. I mean, to me, I find it absurd. How one can do that. It is possible. Yet, unbelievable at the same time if it really does happen. So for me, I do these 2 points to spare myself and others a scene.

1. Not to fall so hard to a point whereby if she/he leaves, I'll be lost.

I hope that whether I'm with someone or not. I'll be entirely in acceptance of myself. To love myself. I don't want another's existence to prove to me I'm in this world just because of them. I want to be here for myself. To love others. Not to let others destroy me. Maybe I'm cynical this way.

2. Limit the amount of online PDA.

Honestly, some people overly does this and it makes me grossed out. So much that I really do block their feeds from popping up. Right. Actually I might not mind online PDAs but have you SEEN the amount of people that goes from together to not-together-forever-and-ever? That scares me. It's the kind news I do not want to see that happened to me. Sure, if you are 1000% sure you are with that person. Go ahead and post all your smooches and love affairs. Just make sure you don't end up breaking up.

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Falling in love is easy. Being in love is not. I'm still pretty much a romance person. I can love someone fiercely. But yet, I control my feelings and actions. I force myself to do so. Over the course of my life (though not very long of course), I've grown this way. Not sure how. But it is just the way it is.

This being said and done. Well baby, I still love you despite my crazy ideas about love.

X

Overdue

So, I'm about to leave for The Land of Rising Sun soon! And... I haven't even finish chronicling my Tokyo Summer 2013 trip. Lol. I feel so guilty now?! But you know. There's a lot of work to be done when doing up a travelogue. You gotta screen through all the photos. Filter and filter and filter down to photos you liked best. Edit the colours. Resize the pictures. Do up a post. Edit, rearrange and rearrange again. Enter captions.

I think each Japan blog post takes me at least a few days/weeks to complete. I get sleepy editing photos you know. HAHAHAHAHHA


So yes, I've got my next entry in draft and am working on it! Hopefully I'll get it done real soon before I fly!



Okay I'm in the midst of planning my trip! Planning a trip is both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. But I do enjoy the whole progress (:

Coral

Got my nails done today and it's currently in one of my favourite colours. Coral! I'm a warm skin tone. Hence this colour very much complements me. Also, brought my JC Play sneakers out today during dinner. The feeling of donning on a new pair of shoes is... awesome. Especially to a shoe-holic like yours truly.

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Rings - H&M

Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell Play from NastyGal

Top - ASOS

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Phuket Tales; Day 3-4

Holla, I'm back!


So Day 3 and 4 was pretty much spent slacking at hotel, exploring beaches, looking for swimwears and just soaking up the last bits of the ocean. I'd wandered to Kata beach and Karon beach! Personally I prefer Karon beach. Check out the photos above!

Also, I managed to score 6 pairs of new bikinis! Thanks to various blogs resources, I found out that the usual price the vendors retail them for is at 390baht. And with good haggling skills, you can actually get them at 250baht! However I got some unique designs(like duo twirl strings/photo above) hence I paid 300baht each for the ones I got. Frankly speaking, S$12 for a set of bikini is not much. So yay! Anyway for own references, you can get towels for 200baht.

They will quote you a high price for EVERYTHING. So I've learned to be shameless. Most of the time I'll just bargain for 50-60% of the price and slowly work my way up. Lol. It works!

In conclusion:
Bikinis 250-300baht
Beach Lounge Seats 100baht
Towels/Scarfs 200baht
Massage 300baht


At Phuket Airport, there is a wide range of fast foods like Subway and whatnot. But once you checked in, it is crazy. There is only overpriced food and the boarding area looks like some dodgy place! Hello, burgers cost 400baht?!(S$16) drinks 75baht?!(S$3) I call it daylight robbery in Phuket. And the stalls are like some random stalls. No name brands. So for your own sake. Go to the airport slightly earlier. Have some food before checking in or have them takeaway.


I have so many people asking me about the islands and my camera for this trip! Super glad to have went and explore this little part of the country.

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Finally, Here's a short video to sum up my trip!

I'll be glad to answer any questions pertaining to my trip!
ask.fm/nsofina


XOXO

till then, go travel the world and be fabulous.

The Similan Islands

DAY TWO

PHOTO DIARY

Booked Similan Islands Snorkeling from godivephuket.com for (2,800baht/S$112)
I've checked the cheapest tour is 2,200baht from Mr Mark Tours but I don't have much info about them hence I booked from GoDivePhuket. The price is less than the average price quotes!


The Similan Islands itinerary was eventually carry out by Ruk Talay Tours, not too shabby actually.
There's about 30 pax on-board.
6am-8.30pm, seriously no joke.
I'm exhausted by the end of the day.
Please remember to bring the following everytime you are out to the sea.
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Waterproof mat - Trust me, you wouldn't want a towel mat that is soaked in salt water and sand. Been there done that, regretted the hell out of that.
Towel - To keep dry onboard.
Hat - It might get too sunny for your liking.
Shades - The wind hitting your face as the speedboat races to the islands is an issue.
Huge bottle of water - For washing up onboard and hydration.
Huge scarf - To wrap yourself if you're seated at the open area of the boat.
Waterproof bag -  No brainer why.
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So we went to 2 beaches and 2 snorkelling spots. The best beach in my opinion is Honeymoon Bay at Island No. 4. At the end of the beach lies fine sands and out-of-this-world super clear waters. (photos as above)

The best snorkelling spot? Island No. 7/ Sea Turtle Spot (if I remember correctly). It's filled with many fishes and best part, you don't have to feed them to spot them. They are EVERYWHERE. And if you follow me on instagram you would have knew I saw a sea turtle! #mindblown I never thought I'll encounter one during snorkelling. Amazing, breath-taking experience.


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Next up, final post and a vlog of my trip! X

*click for questions - ask.fm/nsofina