wanderlust

It's been really cold in Sydney in the past 2 days and looking at these pictures made me feel a bit warmer already.





















My friends have been planning on an epic Europe trip lately, but I have a strong feeling that it is not going to happen (lack of organisation, my visa issue etc). It came to my mind yesterday that I should go explore South East Asia, my home region, instead of Europe next year. It's cheap and I won't need to apply for visas to visit, being ASEAN and all. In my list are Bali (in style), Lombok, and Batam in Indonesia, then Ho Chi Min, Hanoi and Halong Bay in Vietnam, and then Cambodia for Angkor Wat.  At the moment I'm looking to go for 4 weeks... depending on the amount of leave I would accumulate from work I guess.

Have anyone been to Vietnam & Cambodia and have any tips to share? x

TOKYO Part 2: Ginza, Tsukiji and Imperial Palace

We depend on trains to get us around Tokyo when we were there. Our hostel is really close to the Ginza line station in Asakusa, so we catch this train almost everyday to attractions like Shibuya and Ginza. Tokyo rail network is really confusing because it is operated by a couple of companies instead of just one. We find it cheaper to buy the daily metro rail pass, which is 1000 yen, as this gives us unlimited use of the Ginza line and most of the subway lines in Tokyo. We can't use this to go on the JR line though, but this is not a problem because the Tokyo Metro usually operates another train line that is close to wherever JR line station you want to go to (for example, you can go to Akihabara station if you have the JR pass, but if you only have the Tokyo Metro Pass you can stop at Suehirocho, which is basically just 500m away from Akihabahara station). 

Only in Japan does train/railway attendant look so neat and fancy (and always happy to help!)

Ginza line takes us to Ginza (of course). We went there a couple of times during our stay in Tokyo. It's basically just one street full of high end fashion stores. Nothing too interesting here so did not take much pictures. 

 Tsukiji fish market is close to Ginza, but you do need to change trains to get here. 

 We came to Tsukiji at around 8am - did not bother to go to Tuna auction as it is impossible for us to wake up at 5am. When we got to Tsukiji we were not allowed to get in, as it is only open to public after 9am. So we decided to go eat breakfast at a sushi restaurant in the complex...

We looked up Sushi Dai first, but it was full of people and there's so much people queuing up outside to get in. I did some further googling and we went to Ryu sushi, which in a different block but not too far away. No lines here! 

The sashimi are nothing short of fabulous.  We ordered the seasonal special menu & they are all so fresh and tasty. They are pretty expensive though, I think we spent about 6000 yen for both of us. I think it is worth it though.

 I almost got hit by this mini car/trolley thing a couple of times when I was there.. what a hectic place!

 Not sure if they are mussels or what. So fricking huge!

We went to the Imperial palace (Tokyo station stop) after Tsukiji. Lots of office buildings, parks and fountains. We can see a bit of the palace but was not allowed to get in. We did get into some parts of the park though.....

Next stop: Odaiba and giant Gundam (I think..) x

in which I had gone away

Pretty literally, because I did went away to Tokyo for a week. It was a very welcome change of pace as I have been having a hectic time managing work & studying for my CPA exams, as well as trying to keep having a social life between the two thing. Oh and also, trying to manage to furnish & decor my house. My mom and my brother is staying in my house now, so that's a bit of help, but there's still a lot to do.

It did feel like another world. Concrete jungles and unfamiliar scripts. Thankfully there's English directions on every train station so we only managed to get lost twice. Photos coming soon!

We stayed in a hostel in Asakusa for about 7 days. Fantastic place. A bit far from the action (Shinjuku and Shibuya) but they are only 30 minutes train ride away via Ginza line, so all good. I'll just write up my experience in dot points, because I'm a crap writer like that:

• Favourite place in Tokyo is surprisingly Akihabara. I'm not a geek but I feel that Akihabara is where the Tokyo I dream about is at - bright lights, anime figurines, cat cafes. bizarre but surprisingly normal! I went to the notorious cat cafe and maid cafe - to one of Maiddreaming cafe to be exact - and oh my those are really some 'Only in Japan' experience. I'm fascinated with the AKB48 fandom, they are literally everywhere. The Mr thought that they are some soft core porn actress which is hilarious (they are not, they're kind of like Japanese Spice Girls on steroids)
• Trains are so much more advanced compared to Sydney.
• Tokyo station are ridiculously massive. Shibuya station is really big as well. To give you guys an idea, it's kind of like Central station, but 10x bigger
• People said that Tokyo is shopping heaven, but it's all a bit over the top for me. I didn't shop a lot, because most of the clothes there, although they are super cute and pretty, I know I won't be wearing them when I land in Sydney.
• Uniqlo make really good basics!
• Food. Oh my God the Food. This deserve a post on its own. I'm craving for some onigiri now.
• People are amazingly super nice and helpful. They make Sydney people look like the rudest people ever.
• They said that when you travel, you discover yourself a little bit. Well, I discover that I do understand a bit of Japanese & can sort of communicate.. because I spend so much of my childhood watching Doraemon... 
•  Tokyo is really flat. I know this because there was a day when me and the mr hired a bicycle and rode from Asakusa to Ginza. It was a lot of fun! 

more soon xx

its all getting real

My ASOS order came a couple of days ago. Really nothing makes you feel happier than receiving a gift from mr postman and ripping it off in the middle of boring work day. What's inside is the striped dress and the bow belt that I posted in the previous post - I love them both. Not sure what to wear with the belt though because it has red waist band thing...

Speaking of which, I signed my actual contract yesterday for my new job and sent it off last night. I'm starting next Monday. Today is my second last day and it's starting to feel like ZOMG ITS ALL REAL I'M LEAVING. I'm actually quite sad because I truly enjoy working with the people here. Best colleagues ever. It will be easier if they're all evil bitches but they are not. Hopefully my next gig will have people as awesome as them. I'm quite sad but very excited at the same time. I'm quite nervous though as I actually have the so called Probation Period. I'm sure I'll be fine but I'm just nervous.  

Isn't last weekend just fabulous? I made my first beach visit this S/S last Saturday. It was fabulous; a bit windy though. I did went in the water but it was absolutely freezing so I only last for like 10 minutes. Can't wait until it's all properly warm! I went to Chinatown on the Sunday and found out that EasyWay now does this giant 1L cups now. Being an Asian I am, of course I bought it. It was frigging humongous. Thankfully I have the boy to share it with. We went to eat in one of those food courts (I think its called Dickson's place? don't remember) and ordered one of those fabulous looking Thai deep fried fish that everyone was eating in that food court at that time. It was meh. 

The pizza was actually from the week before. I can't stomach pizzas, especially the thick one, but the boy absolutely lovesssssss pizzas and kept nagging for it. So we had it last Tuesday. It was  fab but my stomach wasn't too happy after. Not only pizzas but I also don't like bread especially white bread. I like sourdough though. I wonder if its just me not liking bread or am I actually kind of gluten intolerant? I haven't check with the GP but maybe I should *self ramble* Who else feels weird after eating bread?

Anyway gotta go. Have a great weekend ya'll!xxxx

Sunshinery

 If you have been coming to my blog in the couple of days, you may notice that my blog name have changed from frauelize to fab-a-thon and now Sunshinery. I just don't like the first two and hopefully I can settle on 'Sunshinery' for a while.

All pictures taken by my love in Hunter Valley a year ago. We're so excited that it's Spring now - time to crack out the sundresses and go to road trips!! are you excited too? x