Yay! Yamapi's face is a guiness world record...

Yay! Yamapi's face is a guiness world record...

.....er....not exactly his face....but his face was still used!!!

Whee~~~ it's for kirin's namacha 10th anniversary. They decided to make a huge mossaic picture of Pi's CM for them using 4770 bottles, with 9540 participants.

Where? at the main stairs of Fuji Terebi.....

Over 4 days, people bought namacha at the event and were given tickets to have their pictures taken on either side of the board below with Pi's picture in the background. The pics were then printed onto the bottles....2 person per bottle.

The bottles were then used to build the huge world's largest mossaic picture as the one below. Participants were even given id numbers so that they could locate their pictures on the mossaic once it's completed. The full mossaic pic can be seen here :http://www.namacha-event.jp/pc/mosaic.html and true enough, you can really key in ur id number to track our picture. And here's the CM for the namacha......

What's better than 1 Pi is having 2 Pis....haahaa......

Taiwan Trip part 2

Day 2, leaving to Kaohsiong form Taipei

Last minute picture session at the beautiful veranda....

Looks just like a cozy home....

Last group pic before leaving...

How can we not pose with the sign board too?

Moving out huge luggages.....
Stopping to buy food at a local family mart.....super convenient! Anything....you name it, they've got it!!!

My favourite is still the plain and simple onigiri. the have rice, noodles....chinese, japanese, western....frankurts, cakes, puddings, sandwiches and stuffs.....You can basically get your 3 meals from there.

The yummy german sausage...which they'll heat up for you. Not really healthy in my opinion as the food is still in it's plastic packaging and they just heat it up for you in a microwave oven. ...but who knows, maybe the manufacturers used microwave safe plastics.

A lovely sign....must apply..... Some bento meal bought from a small mini mart at the Taipei Main Station. It comes in a think papaer boz and they'll reheat it for you. We saw a large empty area at the station where dancers are allowed to practice their dance. I didn't see any mirrors at this particular area but I heard there are areas with mirrors. This part where I saw has at least 8 empty slots with sockets for their portable CD players. At that moment, only about 5 slots were used with groups of dancers practicing dance.

It's really difficult to learn without mirrors but these guys seem ok and the sight it just so amazing. Over here, if 2 or more people gather and do something like this at our lrt station, we would be kicked out by the guards or charged for illegal gathering.

Me...waiting for the time board the bullet train......

Tada- the ticket for the shinkansen ride (bullet train). So excited to be on one since I've always wanted to ride in one. Ahhh...how I wish I was travelling from Tokyo to Osaka instead! lol...but Taipei to Kaohsiong is pretty cool too.....

Yea, finally get to enjoy my onigiri on the ride.... Just follow teh 1,2,3 instructions to open the wrapper. Picture session first......before we zzzzzzzzz............during the 2 hours ride. Someone who stayed awake doing waackin during the ride curi-curi took pic of us.

Yea....finally arrived at Kaohsiong Main Station and we need to change trains.....*dragged our luggage here and there*

Dancers hangin outside Dreams club when we arrived for the party. Actually...ppl were gathered around the legends and chatting happily with them. Original T-shirts were being sold at the entrance.

Spot my shoe!!! er...the most non-dance looking one.....but it's totally me!!!

hahaa..pink and flowery~~~

whee~ to be continued....

Taipei Trip part 1

Whee....

Part1 of my super anticipated trip to Taiwan!!! Glad that I made the trip even though it made me 3.5k or more poorer....

We boarded the plane on 16/04/20 at KLIA to Taouyuan, Taipei, at 3.20pm via EVA Air. The air fare costs about RM772. Not sure what the normal rates are but I think it's ok.....as long as the flight is comfortable and you're provided with all the extra stuffs without having to pay extra.

It's a good thing that we didn't get Air Asia because for such a long flight....almost 5 hours, you really need some in-flight entertainment, blanket, pillow and hot food to make the journey more comfortable. Plus you don't have to worry about getting lousy seats because EVA Air sends you an itenary which included all the necessary information such as flight details, travel tips and seat number! Oh and we get 23kg for baggage instead of only 15kg.

There were supposed to be 8 of us on this trip but unfrotunately 1 couldn't make it and there goes his ticket! So I ended up with an extra empty seat next to me during the flight. Or else 8 of us would have occupied the entire row of 8 seats.

I love in flight entertainments esp. movies. Managed to watch Kaiji and bits of Avatar. Kaiji was a bad choice as it was scary and I started imagining bad things on the flight!!! haahaa......

I was so happy when the food arrived because it was getting cold and I was getting hungry.

"Chicken or Fish?"

"erm...fish??"

...and it turned out to be curry fish. haahaa......but not bad because I love caramel puddings....

Yes food is always better than No food....

Here's the chicken one.....
Realising that I'm now of age to drink alcohol......I immediately asked for red wine. It's not that I like alcohol.....but just for the fun of it. Lol.....Luckily I had a fellow drinker next to me!

Cheers!!!

Anyways I don't like red wine because of the bitter taste but it did help warm me up.

I soon found out that I couldn't use my phone when we landed. Sigh~ I also forgot if I was able to use my phone or not when I last visited Brunei with the same sim card.

The line for international tourists was super long!!!!! But the immigration officers were still managed to put on a nice smile when it was my turn and they can speak englishh well~

We bought bus tickets for NT160 which included return nus tickets to Taipei Main Station and from there we took train to Guting for only NT20.
I immediately realised that taiwan has a lot of mini marts esp. 7/11. During my short bus ride, I must have seen at least 20 7/11. Another thing I realised was that they have so many petrol stations own by different companies. Plus they have many tiny shops, as in really tiny..., along the road with huge glass walls facing the road. And inside, you can see 1/2 girls sitting there, doing something......erm...nail art shops?? or tailor???

Taiwan has really good public transport system. It's just like Japan, everything's underground and they have several types including shinkansen. Even the ticket machine resembles those in Japan.

The train stations are clean and tourists friendly with hanyu pinyin or english signs. They have even have maps at every exit so that you know you're exciting from the right exit and how to proceed from there.

The only things that were different from here was that they use fake plastic coins with computer chips in them instead instead of paper tickets. It's so easy to misplace them because they're so tiny and shaped just like a 20cents coin except for the fact that they're blue. Oh, and in Taiwan....."slow folks on the right please!" haaha.....I'm so used to standing on the left!!!

Plus we're travelling with our huge luggages. I had to make sure that my luggage stays right behind me when I'm on the escalator.....so that I won't block anyone and I had to do it fast!!!

Every where we went, we were probably the noisiest bunch because 7 of us....dragging 9 luggages as we walked on the streets on Taipei at night.

Was super happy when we arrived at the backpackers place but no one answered the door. We saw an enveloped stuck to the door with 1 of the guy's name written on it, opened it and found keys plus instructions to the rooms on it.

How nice of the person!!! Ain't she worried that some thief might take the keys instead? At that moment, I thought, "wow....Taiwan is really safe". haaha.... We walked up the dark scary stairs and tried the keys on different floors before we called the person and found out that it was on the second floor, haaha...we thought it was the whole building!!!

Dumped our stuffs there and went to the night market, located just right behind the Chocolate Box!!! yea~~~ I was starving by then.....

Even before we crossed the street to the Shida night market, I could smell this......

huu...it's was my first time smelling it. It smelled better than expected but I still dare not try it!

Instead I tried delicious takoyaki's, yummy hot steamed dumplings, hot peppery squid soup and CREPES!!!

Even though it was midnight, the place was still packed and we did manage to shop a bit for leggings, bangles, earrings, socks etc.

Before leaving, how could we not visit their 7/11 to get some snacks first??? Calpis drinks!!! here I come!!

Here's our room...it has 4 bunk beds! I slept at the lower compartment on the right. Bad choice!!!! Sun rises at 5.15.....and gah.....I can't sleep with the sun glaring!!! This bed has got to be the hardest bed I ever slept on!!!! But the comforters were super soft and fluffy!!!!

Taiwan trip

whee~~~

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My Taiwan trip was amazing....

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I LOVE TAIWAN!!!

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I love the country and it's people!!!

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Taiwan is now No.2 on my list of countries to revisit. No.1 is Japan and No.2 is now Taiwan. haaha....

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Just like Japan, Taiwan's public transport system us also very very efficient and thus it's very easy to travel around. Plus with bullet trains, one would hava no problems travelling up north or down south.

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I guess spring is the best time to travel there as the weather is cool and there's not much rain. So it's easy to travel about without having to worry about bad weather.

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Even though I've only been to Taipei and Kaohsiung, I still love the country. I especially like Kaohsiung as it's less packed compared to Taipei. It's a clean and beautiful city with nice people.

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Plus food, accomodation and shopping is cheaper compared to Taipei.

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Hiphop culture there is huge compared to here and there are a lot of great dancers there. My jaw totally dropped seeing them dance live!!! The way they move and freestyle to the music, you'd think that the different movements from their body were responsible for making the music.

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Yea, the way they play with the beats and hiting on them at the right time....woooo~~*jaw dropped*....how I wish that I could freestlye like them. Just 10% of their skills and I'd be super happy! That's how good they are! hehe...the dance party was definitely an eye-opener. People starts dancing once the music is on and it's party time!!

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Having to meet 'the legends" there was one of the best part of this trip. How many people would get to meet them and what more, to see them dance live!!!! My jaw totally dropped to the ground!!!! Especially during the house showcase. I felt like I need to learn house....I want to dance like that too!!! Omg~ the way those legs moved and the body.....ahhh~~ I never thought that anyone could dance like that!!! OOOoo..I need those fast legs!!!

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Seeing the legends dance and hearing them talk about dance was amazing. Their viewpoints and hearing them share stories from their trips!! Then to see them crack jokes!! Ahh...I only wished that it would last longer.

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Unfortunately my trip there this time was too short and I didn't have enough time to visit more places or experience their culture more. Overall, it was a greatexperience and fun trip. Just dragging out luggages from places to places and sleeping few hours per night. Moving on here and there every now and then, and munching on meals bought from7/11.

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Hope that I would be able to visit the country again~

...will break down my trip in the next few posts because I wanna keep a record of all these amazing memories!

台湾(タイワン) へ

whee~ last round of practice tonight and I'm off to Taiwan tomorrow!

I'm so excited for my trip....but at the same time I couldn't help but think how much I've spent or will be spending there!! ahh...and for such a short trip with such an expensive ticket! Plus I'll be staying only at Kaohsiong....

Well, the reason why I wanted to go initially was to see the dance scene there. Then now that we'll be performing there, it makes the trip a whole lot more meaningful.

There'll be several workshops organised there by the original hip-hoppers. Omg~ but it's expensive and all the way in Taipei!! My plane lands in Taipei and we'll be travelling by shinkansen to Kaohsiong which costs like around RM150.

If I were to take the work shop, that would means that I need to travel 4 times between the 2 areas....which means RM600 on just shinkansen fares!! Omg!! Another round and it would be equal to my air fare. My goodness~~~ plus I need to pay for the workshop and dance party.

Crazy~~~ all my money would be spent only on travelling alone....

Plus there's the scary thought that it might be a waste for me to spend so much on the workshop because with my level of hiphop, there's no way I could catch up with the workshop. Maybe the steps, yes, but the bounce and feel....I'd be happy if I can even get 1% of it!

Another thing is that after the workshop, I'll have to take the shinkansen again, back to KS for the perf.......tiring~~ I wonder how though will be workshop be....hehe....testing my stamina here!

Ok, not forgetting that I want to shop too. Well, there goes all my money just for travelling!!!

Argh~~ my mind is playing tricks on me.

At some point I'm worried that I might regret for travelling so far and to be so lucky that they have the workshops there too, not just in US.......and I didn't go!!!

Then I'm worried that I might go there and gain nothing from it because I'm too stupid to remember any thing!! Ahhh....and worse yet, having to spend so much travelling to the workshop location and paying so much for it!!! When I could've gone shopping and pamper myself with some nice stuffs.....

Argh~どうしょう......

*fuun...*

Anyways...I'm hoping that this trip would be a memorable one. I know my jaws would definitely drop when I see the ppl there dance. Hope that I'll be able to get some nice shoes, clothings and taste some yummylicious Taiwanese food. ahh~~~ please let everything go smoothly....

I think I can only decide to go or not for the workshop when the day comes....because my mind keeps jumping back and forth....

:D

今日のランチ

Thanks to my lovely thermoflasks which keep my food warm. Rice+ 3 pieces of pork ribs+ fried thinly sliced lotus roots with pork+ soup. Hehe...I call this the chinese style bento which is quite different from the rectangular japanese bentos.

The little ones used to store the rice and veges fit into a separate thermoflask which doesn't seem to be as good as the big one used to store my soup. The big one is really good for keeping food or drinks warm. The soup burnt my tongue when I tried to drink it immeidately after opening the lid.

Hahaha....of course I cooked neither the soup nor veges. I'm only responsible for eating them up! nyom¬nyom¬

たこ焼き Party

About a month ago, we held a takoyaki party at my centre as a farewell party for my sensei who would be returning to Japan.

It's my first time making takoyaki and therefore I was pretty excited. I love takoyaki!!

Here we are trying to figure out the correct composition of water and flour. Sensei read the instructions and we just followed. We added less water than required though.....and we already mixed in out cabbage bits by mistake....

Lol...the beautiful maker belongs to my classmate who bought it from HK. Ahh~~ after the party, I wanted to get myself one too so that I can hold my own takoyaki party too....

It was really hard to get tako here in Malaysia but luckily my classmate managed to find some and they certainly don't come cheap!!! Ahh....fresh takos!!!! I bet outside stalls don't use takos like these because it's just too expensive.


That day must be our lucky day because an uncle from Osaka happenned to be there and he taught us all how to make it. Lucky~ After all たこ焼き is an iconic food from Osaka. Simple and easy, unlike those you see from supermarkets where people make half and then leave it there till customers orders it. :P Bleh!!! 全然食べない！(I don't eat those!)


Our 1st round of takoyaki!!! Beautifully decorated with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), aonori(green seaweed powder), mayonnaise and takoyaki sauce. Nyom-nyom YUMMY!!! Hot and fresh!!! The more sauce you add in, the tastier it is!!

The first round ones were a bit too dense as we didn't add enough water. Subsequent rounds got better and better. We even used sausages, cheese and "chilli chips". Yea...potato chips-yaki!! Weird...but yummy!! Another reason why it's yummy could be because we added katsuobushi into the takoyaki too while cooking.

Tada a super huge card and a beautiful home-made marble cake decorated with rainbow candies in sensei's name.

See how big the card is?

hehe...at the same time, another class was having sushi party where they get to make their own temaki. Went in to have a look and managed to sample some sushis!

lol....

二十八宿 (Twenty-Eight Constellations)

Interesting findings.....hehee~

Recently I've been watching back the old school animes of the 90s and oohh....so nostalgic! I miss them so much! I was watching Marmalade boy, I think it's my forth time. Anyways, one morning I decided to read up on the 28 constellations of Fushigi Yuugi as I wondered where Yuu Watase got the idea from.

So interestingly....I found that the Lunar calendar was somehow related to the 28 constellations. I never knew about this before cause no one told me.

Based on ancient astrological grouping from India, the 27 or 28 points that the moon passes through in one month is associated with star constellations. Each of these points (constellations) is associated with a deity, although the point-deity association varies among nations and sects.

A similar grouping of 28 was developed independently in China. The Chinese merged their system with that from India following the introduction of Buddhism to China. Unlike India, the grouping in China was always 28. It is the Chinese system that was imported by the Japanese.

The 28 moon lodges or 28 lunar mansions (as they are often called in English) are divided into four clusters, with each cluster made up of seven constellations. The four clusters represent the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west).

Each cluster is associated with one of Four Celestial Emblems, a Buddhist guardian deity (the Four Heavenly Kings), a season, a color, and numerous other attributes.

Credits all the infos to HERE<<

North- Genbu the Tortoise
South- Suzaku the Red Pheonix
East- Seiryuu the blue-gree Dragon
West- Bakyo the White Tiger

hehe...it's exactly the same as in Fushigi Yuugi. so cool~

Imagine the immense amount of research a mangaka has to go through in order to create a good manga. The background research to make sure facts are right, then research on architectural designs and clothings.

Lol...wehn I was younger, being a mangaka was one of my dreams because I love drawing pretty boys and girls. Plus all the influences I've gotten from watching animes which I later found out were based on mangas. At that time, I was really amazed by their works as they were able to create such wonderful stories and at the same time create beautiful illustrations.

^_^!! according to the star signs...I'm supposed to be under Seiryuu and my birth date is the closest to Nakago (心/ Heart).

Ahh...Shock-da! my tamahome's enemy!!!

The hot blonde in the middle~

*sniff* meawhile my tamahome belongs to suzaku!!

hehe...if you read mangas, you'll that all characters have a biodata just like all of us and their own characteristic characters.

hehe...it's late to only realise this so many years after the manga and anime ended but FY is still one of my all time favourite!!

lol...anyone directors wanna turn this into a drama???

Cone Pizza revisited

Yea, revisited the place with my colleagues.

We claimed 2 free mushroom soup with the coupons that they gave us form our last visit.

Since it's free, can't complain much......

Iced tea

Hot Tea

Forgot what's the name of the pasta but it's the same dish, we just ordered it in different pasta type.

The tuna cone pizza! Looks like ice cream right? It's so cute! Next time I must try it!!!!

Spaghetti Arabita

It looks like I will be visiting the place again. Why? well...cuz they gave me another 2 coupons and this time is for free garlic bread! haahah....what a great way to keep customers coming back! Give them something free everytime they come!!!

Yea, this is something Hot Piper has to learn from. We went there for lunch today since they just newly open in the area. A colleague came to know of their buy 3 free 1 lunch set. There's only 3 of us but we went anyways. The service was horrible. We couldnt' get waiters to serve us and the food was bad too. We asked if we could get the free set since it's stated there buy 3 free 1 right. He said if we can finish our food, he'll serve it to us!!! What?? like we can't finish it ??? Oh well....but according to the waiter they have very nice a la-carte meals.