jet.lag

i woke up at 3am (@_@) in hunger. thankfully i already expected this in advance so i bought two onigri (rice ball, triangle) to standby in the fridge.

now that i had eaten both, my stomach is at each and will dive to my bed soon for i have a new day full of new things and great experience yet to discover today.

p.s: the photo is not taken here in tokyo, but from the window of my study room awhile back home. i am fascinating with the bokeh and out of focus shot lately.

did.it.all.happen?

everything happened so fast, it was as if a dream and so surreal, yet the next thing i realized i am already on board the aircraft heading to the east - to the land of the rising sun.

and about eleven hours later i arrived at narita, wait for the coach and head to the city and checked in to my new 'home'. a modern one bed room spacious fully furnished apartment on seventh floor. the area i am staying is called minato-ku and too bad the spa is closed today (thursday), otherwise i would have go up and swim...

anyway, here are a few snapshots of my new 'home'...

master bed room with an adjuncts balcony and connect to the bath room.

the bathroom, all white and rather hotel-like but big enough in fact much bigger than my bathroom at home. plus i have this fancy japanese toilet set, that keep me warm and some funky options (you know what i mean)

view from my balcony, although next to the main street, the glass door and windows are double glaze so there is no noise so far...

and the changing view from day to night...

the only disadvantage is that i am in an expat area that means there is no sign for local japanese delicacies that i am craving for. i went to a supermarket to pick up stuff, but much to my disappointment there only stock on foreign items especially goods from the europe. i can't even buy a bento for dinner if you can imagine how expat this area is.

i am tired now, need to do a bit of preparation and tomorrow i will be heading to my client...

good night!!

templaux.annual.antique.fair

i got my japan visa today, so tomorrow late afternoon i am leaving for tokyo.  is it for real?  yes, it is set stone now...  i haven't go the excitement yet, i am just too tired to even think of what is ahead of me...
for now, i am going to leave you with another post from my summer 2010.  this is about an annual antique fair in belgium.
~~~

it wasn’t your idea but his of going to the largest annual flea/antique fair in europe. it’s in belgium, a good two hour journey from home but the weather is perfect and tempting to make such a journey. the heat is already soaring up as you approaching waterloo, then you journey into small country road wondering if you are at the right place and you got you confirmation as there is a string of endless car leading into a really small road. you have to park your car more than 2 km away from the town and sweat your way to templaux where the flea market annual antique fair begins.

this is your first ever experience in strolling an antique fair flea market, you have been to a few antique streets before in china, but nothing really compare to this european scale antique fair or flea market (you are confused here).


you take your time to look around, touching little things here and there, you take your time but he is in the hurry. he has no interest in these junks, putting this into his words….
he is right to some extends because you never consider empty perfume bottles, used books, tableware, used toys as antiques.

some are just merely retro but others are more appropriate as thrift/second hand items.

nonetheless there are some highlights, you are intrigue by the antique irons and coffee grinders, wooden bicycle and so forth.

it was a warm afternoon, without a shade it is almost impossible to walk on under the mid noon sun. you resort to ice cream while he nurse his hunger with belgium fries and mayonnaise. you both satisfied your hunger in your own ways…

with him never ending nagging you decided to stop browsing and leave the place, while walking some 2km distance to your car, you look at the surrounding and feel like posing for a photo with the giant toilet paper as he describes it, none other than a roll of pressed grass which usually use as the reserves food for cows in the winter…

with this photo you bid farewell to templaux and head to leuven. there is no special reason to pay leuven a visit other than it is a nearby city next to templaux and he heard from his colleague that leuven has a ‘gezelig’ aka nice atmosphere town.
~~~

eat.madrid

packing stress.  waiting impatiently for ups to deliver me the document and pretty much stay put at home (i cancelled a farewell lunch that my team organized for me and i may have to cancel the meeting with an vip from my company if i don't get the delivery in the next hour or so.) as i don't want to miss the delivery man.

i still need to learn the art of packing light, it's my third attempt and i still couldn't fit everything in my packing list into the luggage.  so i will further reduce and repack again after this.  here is an overdue post.  in fact, it's the first destination of my three parts of summer holiday in 2010, but i didn't get around to talk much about madrid yet. so this post is going to be about the yummy and delicious madrid beside tapas that i already mentioned here.

chocolate and churros

you had your breakfast is the famous chocolate and churros, a chocolatier tucked in a small quiet alley behind the oldest church in mardrid. at chocolatier san gilés, you had your portion, you like the chocolate because it is not sweet but thick and full of flavor. churro gives you enough energy to carry on with the sightseeing. you really don’t mind coming back here again for another choc fix.

thick choco and sinful churros, a perfect match. just like the good old time where you remembered your dad dung his youtiao into coffee...

cocido madrileño
at night you go to tarbena de la bola, you choose this restaurant because it is close to where you ‘live’ and you went to try your luck without a reservation but you succeeded. it was quite outside but there are quite a lot of customers.

everyone come here for the one dish – cocido madrileno. it comes in a small clay pot, you first drink the soup with some spaghetti.

the soup is naturally flavored and sweeten by the meat and saffron.

when you are done with the soup, the waiter will pour out the content of the pot and there’s lot of chickpea, a piece of beef, a piece of chorizo, a piece of pork fat and a piece of smoked leg of ham. extra steam cabbage is added to your plate for a complete meal. it is a full meal by itself, you had a great conversation (sign language, facial expression) with a couple sitting next to me. they are super friendly. although you couldn’t understood each other, you were able to comment on the food.

roast suckling pig


you wanted to try the suckling pork at la botin, but the restaurant is not open till 8pm. to kill time, you go to mercado de san miguel and hang around there till about 8pm until restaurant botin finally opens it door. there were already a long queue trying to get in.

you start with half pitcher of sangria, what a binge but it's the end of the day...


you had a gazpacho cold andalusia soup, that's cool and refreshing... it soothes your throat and eventually your body as you wash it down...


a portion of suckling pig, the pork skin is extra thin and crisp, almost as crisp as a filo sheet. all are great and delicious, although it is the most expensive meal so far.



asturian grilled chicken and cider

you walk all the way to casa mingo. it’s a hot and sunny day; you have to walk a good 10 min from the metro station to where the restaurant is located.

casa mingo serves asturian cuisine and is famous for its grilled chicken and cider.you had a chicken all by yourself...

your verdict: it is over rated. the chicken is not bad but is not up to the expectation plus there is no wing on the chicken. what a bummer, not to be able to bites on the wings...
you also order a chorizo to wash down the bottle of cider. The cider is good though.

you were full (after almost a chicken minus the wings, one chorizo and a bottle of cider).  it's definitely a good way to bid goodbye to this city.

watercolor.series.part.5/5.kyoto.

hello friday!! it's been a week and i am more on my ground now. where do i start, it's been a week.

action packed week.

emotional week. (filled with anger and joy)

decision week.

but everything and decision work out for me. i was scolded by my boss in my current project like a dog on tuesday, for the things that i have not done and things that i have evidents of that either his executive assistant or himself had mixed up. but he trashed his temper and anger on me, first on the phone early in the morning and later in the meeting in front of six other colleagues. also on the same day, i had a phone interview with my client in tokyo, and he accepted me for the project.

i told my boss the next day that i am rolling off from this project as of friday (today). it was not a surprise to him and we ended the brief meeting peacefully.

i had lot of frustration dealing with the team that working on my visa application. but finally they sent out all the paper that i needed for visa application today. my accommodation in tokyo is also arranged.

i have been busy in finishing off my work, transitioning to my team, trying to find a replacement for my current role (with no luck), so the team is going to be without leadership for awhile, but it is no longer my problem.

i started now with packing. it is hard to pack for such a two months business trip. all the business suits that have been neglected and hanging in my wardrobe finally have the chance to put on the show. i guess the business attire is the same as hong kong, where there is a saying "first respect the outfit of a person before paying respect to the person itself", in other word, i have to dress for the occasion. after years in the lowland i have adopted the laid back business outfit but it's good for a change.

the experience of this week is certainly a reflection because God is actually working on great things for me. what seems to be the worst moment actually turns out to be good. i may be being scolded like a dog and lost my dignity at one hand, yet i am retreating in glory, in victory in fact, i am not defeated! now i am on an expatriate term to tokyo. i couldn't believe it when i saw the service apartment that has been reserved for me, i almost dropped my jaws. a city skyscraper in the heart of tokyo minato-ku. with a spa and swimming pool on 44th floor and a look out to the tokyo skyline. what else can i ask for more. i don't deserve all these but my Lord raise me up and i am a kingly child of God.

if everything goes well, next week this time i should be already in tokyo. and i

here are the last few sketches of kyoto. i hope i will continue to sketch when i am in tokyo.

watercolor.series.part.4/5.kyoto

another day passed by and i am closer to the desired arrival date to tokyo. however, until today i still haven't receive the paper for my visa application. this is the joy of working in a global company where nothing seems to be able to arrange in time and the six hours time difference didn't help in the entire process. by the time i log on to my email, these people in japan already calling it a day.

i got a feeling that everything is in a rush the past few days, twenty four hours in a day is too short for me, i can't seem to arrange the rolling-off from my current project, let alone preparing for my next one in japan. i do need to have some decent sleep and stop my mind from running wild before i break down completely. so many things to arrange - international driving license, take a passport size photo, my medicines for my sweet life, laundry for the clothing that i want to bring with me....

here are some sketches for kyoto, i do hope that i will be able to visit kyoto once again during my four months in japan.

watercolor.series.part.3/5.hokkaido.furano

i am going to japan next week. yes, you hear me right, i am going for a short term assignment to tokyo, japan. and i am suppose to be there sometime next mid week.

i am still waiting for all the immigration paper as i need do need a visa for business travel to japan. i am overwhelmed with a lot of to-do's and a lot of read up and research. my thoughts are not very organized at the moment but i just want to share with you some of the best and wonderful time that i once had at the central of hokkaido, a colorful ones and a scented ones...

for now i need to work on my to-do's and plan for what to pack and the never ending lists...

ciao!