Tokyo

Over the years we had heard from various friends who have visited Tokyo that it is a very expensive city to visit. Well we can confirm that and it makes living in Singapore seem so cheap! Food prices are so much higher for casual eating but the choice is mind-blowing although many menus are in Japanese only so it is a mater of pointing to the various pictures on the menu. We are pretty sure we had grilled horse meat at one dinner!

First impressions of Tokyo is that it is a spotless city from head to toe and everything has a place whether it is a smoking area on the streets to the placement of rubbish bins which seem hard to find until you look a bit harder and find they blend in with the surroundings. Tokyo is also a city of followed social behaviour - correct ways to walk in subways, no mobile phone use on trains ( apart from texting and reading). An article in the paper suggested people should hydrate themselves in public during the current heatwave as 39 people have died in the last month. Drink vending machines are everywhere but it is unacceptable to walk around drinking from a water bottle in your hand. The weather is not as humid as Singapore but the heat from buildings and lack of large trees as well as limited air-conditioning due to power shortages makes it extremely hot. In two days we counted 6 people who fainted on train stations. Many stores offer you a free fan which comes in very handy.

 Getting around Tokyo was easy on the very extensive train network that crisscross the city with many different lines. The metro train system is often very crowded and the subways leading to platforms are extremely hot and stuffy. The trains are spotless and also extremely quiet as people tend not to speak to one another.
Taxis are everywhere with many drivers wearing white gloves and the seats and headrests with crocheted white covers. Taxi prices are extremely expensive (about 4 times the price of Singapore ), so the train travel is a much better option.
Department stores are huge and the choice is endless and many have the fantastic food halls with food ready to go although it is bad manners to eat while walking or on the street.
A week in Tokyo only scratched the surface as there is so much to see and do and next time we visit we will do some trips further afield from central Tokyo.

View of Mount Fuji from the hotel

A Metro Station subway

Gentle reminder for train travel

Mural at one of the stations

Interior of the Tokyo International Forum building

East Shinjuka

Shibuya district which has the largest intersection in the world

The newly opened Skytree

Smoking area on the street

Tokyo Tower

View from Tokyo Tower

Hungry Ghost Festival

The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated during the seventh month of the Chinese calendar and started in Singapore on the 17th of August. During this month celebrations, the gates of hell are opened up and all the ghosts are free to seek food and entertainment on earth. These ghosts are the ancestors of those who have forgotten to pay tribute to them after they have died or those ghosts that did not have a proper ritual send off. Many families also pay tribute to unknown ghosts that may be wandering during this time in order to prevent misfortune and intrusion into their lives.

People burn joss paper and pretend banknotes as these are considered to have value in the afterlife. The supermarkets sell packs of the money as well as replica gold bars. Food and drink offerings are also made and many supermarkets have hampers made up representing things like health, harmony and prosperity.
It certainly makes it a hard time to walk our dog Jess in the mornings as she is quite partial to the many food offerings that are in the streets!

On the fourteenth day of the of the seventh month a large family feast is held for the ghosts. Families leave an empty seat at the table for the ghosts as well as many samples of food are placed on an offering table to keep the ghosts happy as well as to keep bad luck at bay.

During the month the ghosts are also seeking entertainment so many communities put on live shows called Getai in which Chinese operas and dramas are performed. The front rows of the temporary outdoor stages are left vacant for the ghosts to watch the shows.
Other superstitions that are followed during this month include - not buying property and also not swimming as you may be held down in the water by the ghosts.

To make sure all the hungry ghosts find their way back to hell, at the end of the month people float water lanterns and set them outside their houses. The lanterns are used to direct the ghosts back to the hell and when they go out, it symbolises that they have found their way back.

Offerings for the ghosts

Paper money burning in our apartment complex

Offerings in the street

Money for burning and offering gifts in the supermarket

A "wealth" package for the offering table

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A weekend in Kuching

Kuching is the largest city on the island of Borneo and is also the capital of the state of Serawak. Being about an hour and 15 minutes flight from Singapore it made an interesting weekend getaway for us. 
Kuching means cat in Malay and throughout the city of Kuching are various statues of cats and well as a whole museum devoted to felines. Many of the souvenirs also are cat related.
The Sarawak River winds it way through the main  tourist centre of the town and sampan operators will take you from one side of the river to the other. The waterfront has a few hawker food stalls and sunset the river takes on a red glow.
Across the other side of the river is the rather impressive State Legislative building which was built in 2009. It is also lit up at night and certainly dominates the Kuching waterfront. Also on the same side of the river is a Orchid Garden open to the public and had a large collection of orchids.

A large hawker centre specialising in seafood was certainly interesting as there would have been at least 1000 people dining when we went for dinner. As it was Hari Raya time in Kuching and when we went it was about the time when the fast is broken for the day so many families were out having dinner.
We picked out some prawns, crayfish and a snapper  from the fresh seafood to be cooked for us and with two side dishes the total came to about 35 Singapore dollars!

Ramadan bazaars were very busy and very colorful Kek Lapis layer cakes were on offer as well as many biscuits for the Hari Raya festive season.
The city of Kuching also has many Chinese Buddhist  temples as there is a large Chinese population and a large and very noisy street procession was held on the Saturday night with many Chinese Dragons and Lions making their way through the streets.

The Cats of Kuching

Another of the many Cat statues

State Legislative building

State Legislative building at night

Sarawak River at sunset

 Houses by the river

Shophouses

Fishing trawlers on the river

Mosque

The Old Court House

Kek Lapis cakes

Hari Raya treats

Buddhist Temple

Buddhist Temple

Orchids at the orchid garden

Diners at the seafood hawker centre

Seafood on offer

Hari Raya street decorations

That's a lot of Lego !

A large Lego replica of the National Day grandstand and floating stage of nearly 200,000 pieces of  Lego has been built in the aim of raising money for charity. The display is 12m long by 9m wide and took 400 volunteers two weeks to build the grand stand and floating stage.
The public were asked to donate $5 for a Lego figurine to add to the grandstand and it is filled with approximately 27,000 Lego people .
Along with sponsorship from companies over $200,000 was raised for charity.

The grandstand

The grandstand

Back of the floating stage 

The Parade on the stage

Looking out onto the floating stage

Stairwell in the grandstand

The real stage

The real grandstand