Konnichiwa Tokyo!

So much to see, so much to do, so much to taste, so much to buy, so much to experience. Tokyo is really the land with everything. Although I’ve been there before, the city itself never ceases to amaze me. The bright lights, the flashing neon signs, the porcelain featured (or made up rather) girls, the clicking of stiletto heels running up the subway stairs, the men with perfectly manicured eyebrows, just to name a few interesting observations.

The subway map drove me nuts! But thankfully we had local friends to act as guides, making the experience less painful. I’m sure alot of you out there are just as fascinated as I am with the Harajuku cultures and sub-cultures. A visit to Yoyogi Park, I stumbled upon a group of Denim Elvis’s and a group of Black Elvis’s. No they were not Black as in African American; they were just dressed in all black. And the Denims were dressed in all denim. They all dress up as Elvis and dance in the park all afternoon. Like, are you for real? Yes, that’s what they do every Sunday. It’s quite entertaining really. Apart from the Elvis’s, there are groups dressed like vampires, groups dressed like Little Bo-Peeps, groups dressed as punks and many other interesting themes. I admire how these people can get all dressed up, catch the sub and parade themselves around in public. They are in a world of their own. I’m not kidding.

Food is another big highlight of Tokyo. I got the opportunity to taste a wide array of fine Japanese foods. One of the most memorable meals was at an Izakaya restaurant in Shinjuku. Everything on the menu was Y270. That’s like AUD$3.50! The beers, the sakes, the dishes, everything was Y270. By the end of the night after filling my belly with more food and alcohol than I can imagine, I walked away spending less than AUD$30.

Shopping is also great in Tokyo. Things can get quite expensive if you shop in a departmental store. However, UniQlo is pretty reasonable in price and ofcourse there are the street stores in Harajuku. Here, the variety and fashion is crazy. Like I said so much to see, so much to buy. Just remember the sizes here are pretty tiny. Japanese fashion is interesting. When one person wears a particular outfit, the entire nation will follow. This is why Japanese girls all look the same. They all have the same long curly locks, heavily made up face, long fake eyelashes, platform heels, mini jumpsuits, miniskirts, leg warmers and garters. Yes, garters. Dont ask. Sexy though.

Sumo wrestling is a must see when in Japan. Watching it live is nothing compared to watching it on tv! Amazingly, so many naked men running around and yet it did nothing for me. Hahaha. The actual match only lasts for about 1 minute. As soon as they knock each other out of the ring or someone hits the grown, the match is over. We were so fortunate that BBs got us box seats and we were like the 10th row from the front. Thanks BBs! It was so fun!!


Mt Fuji and Hakone is a must see destination when in Japan. Look up 1 or 2 day tour packages. The tour will take you by bus to My Fuji, then a cruise along Lake Ashi, a traditional Japanese lunch and finally to Hakone where you can enjoy the many Onsens (hot springs) in the area. I was in a hotel with its own Onsen which was nice. Rules and regulations you must abide by when entering a Japanese public Onsen:

1. You are not allowed to wear anything in the pools
2. The tiny 50cm x 50cm hand towel you are provided with is not allowed in the pool
3. You are not allowed to have any tattoos (WTF?)
4. You must shower and scrub (WTF?) all your bits before going in the pools
5. Men and women are not allowed to share pools

Apart from that, the whole experience was wonderful. The pain of scrubbing my bits in front of a dozen or so naked women and a 70 year old naked grandma staring at me kinda gave me the creeps. Well the sight of the 70 year old naked grandma scared me more than her stare. Trying to hide my tattoos wasn’t too bad. Mine are not all that obvious, but Babyface and BBs were a laugh when they tried to cover their tattoos. Can’t describe it, it’s just one of those you had to be there moments.

Back to food and back to Tokyo, I had the privilege of tasting the culinary sensation of Les Creations de Narisawa. A French restaurant in Tokyo, fancy that. Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa has a creative flair in food preparation and his restaurant is now ranked number 24 in the world according to S.Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Not much of a French food fan myself, but I was impressed with the meal. The “nature” theme to the menu was interesting, the meal was tasty (especially the rabbit dish) and the service was impeccable. For those who have a bit of a sweet tooth, the dessert trolley was superb with choices of cakes, cookies, macaroons, mousses, so many things.

My last shout out is to my dear friend Obasan. I hadn’t seen her for over 10 years and man she looks exactly the same!! I love you Obasan! Was really great to catch up with an old friend. We picked up where we left off all those years ago, like good friends do. It was just like the good old days in GC, Concorde Hotel, the apartment (whatever it was called!), Metro gang fight, the Melbourne tattoo shop. So many memories. I look forward to seeing you again real soon!!

As you can see, there’s so much to see and do in Tokyo. I can’t wait for my next trip to Tokyo. Will have to make a special effort to visit Osaka and Kyoto.

Mornington Manhunt

The setting was in Blairgowrie, a beautiful house called The Dunes. 18 friends, a brilliant chef, lots of food and ofcourse a never ending supply of alcohol (I'm not kidding, the supply was endless, we ended up bringing half the alcohol back to Melbourne). The house was magnificent and fitting us all in very comfortably, fancy finding a place that sleeps 18 under one roof.

The Peninsula Hot Springs was absolutely divine. We had to endure the cold 10C temperature outdoors but enjoyed much comfort with the 40C water in the pools. Simply heaven. The new refurbishment makes it look so much better than what it was 2 years ago. I really love the hot springs!

So how did it turn into a manhunt? Well, after the hot springs, the evening of the second night, everyone was enjoying a drink or two and Kam got really drunk passing out on the living room floor quite early on in the night. Miranda wouldnt let him sleep so woke him up and made him continue to drink more. Big B and I joined the 2 of them and hung out for about an hour when Kam decided to go downstairs to get more alcohol. We didnt think much of it at first but an hour later, after I had already gone to bed, Big B realised Kam never came back with his drink. So we all went downstairs in search of this sneaky fella. Our first thoughts were, where could he be hiding to get away from drinking? As you can imagine with a house that fits 18 people, it would be an ideal place for hide and seek. So we began searching in every room of the house. No luck in finding Kam. We went out to the driveway and searched his car, again no luck. By this stage we had searched the entire house and its surroundings for over half an hour. There was no sign of Kam anywhere! How does a drunken person just disappear from the house?

Miranda, Cuz, RF and I walked out on to the street with a flashlight in search of the disappearing Kam. It was very dark, wet and cold. Out on the street we still couldnt locate him. We took Miranda's car for a drive up and down the street in hope for a sighting of Kam. With little experience driving a manual car, I surprisingly got us moving along quite well. Nevertheless, no sign of Kam. As we put the car back and walked up the driveway back into the house. RF and Cuz stumbled on what looked like a huge rock in the front lawn. Here they found a snoozing Kam wrapped up in his picnic blanket on the grass. What the???

We brought him back into the house before he turned blue, gave him a scotch then started lecturing him. Hahaha ..... he was worried his snoring would wake the house up so he decided to sleep on the front lawn in the freezing 6C temperature?! And he kept telling us he loves the cold?!

Good thing is we found him, but what an adventurous night, trekking around the bushland in the dark in search of a drunken DJ.

Where Are All The Men?

Are all the good ones always taken? The hot ones, the nice ones, the f*ckable ones? It seems of late, I know so many people seeing married men. Married men?? Have we resorted to this because we've run out of men?

Olivia is a classic example. Gorgeous, smart and independent. Yes, she has 3 of the best qualities as a woman. But yet, her choice of men, or man rather, falls in the married category. Actually, the still married category. Yes, the excitement is always there when doing something wrong. Well, seeing a married man is wrong isn't it??? It's only wrong if the wife is your friend! No, seriously it's not fair on the wife or kids if there are any. But then don't forget, it takes two hands to clap, tango, whatever. So if Olivia chooses a married man, the married man has got to choose her too. Back to my point, why settle for a married man? Aren't there any available ones out there? Is Olivia not looking hard enough? Or is she just comfortable that this one has fallen in to her lap, literally.

I'm not one to decide what's wrong and what's right. People are old enough to decide. Another girlfriend, similarly gorgeous, intelligent and independent, is seeing a man who fits in the still married, but separated category. It's all good fun, both parties have a good time and no strings attached. Don't get me wrong, Olivia is doing exactly the same thing, no strings attached. But what happens when you fall for that married man?

Is it our age that attracts men that fall into these categories? Samantha Jones was seeing a man recently, although not married, he has been married before. So he falls in the divorced category. So now we have a common theme, still married, married but separated, been married before. Where is the single and available category??

Ladies, keep doing what you're doing I say, but if you're with one that falls in the still married category, tread very very carefully. Deny, deny, deny! That's my advice. And at the same time, keep your eyes and ears open. I'm convinced these single available men are out there, I just don't know where yet.

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Like a Moth to The Flame

Like a moth to the flame. You must be thinking of that Janet Jackson song "That's the Way Love Goes"? Someone once told me "you should always be the flame and try not to ever be the moth". I know many women who seem to always be the moth. They simply cant tear themselves away from the flame. The attraction is just so great that they have to caress themselves against the flame and risk getting painfully burnt in the process. Women just generally need to be in the know-how, know-when and simply know-everything. While men sit back and act like the cool (burning) flame. We should learn to be the flame!

Let me pose these questions:

What do you do if the guy you are seeing sms-es you? Do you reply straight away because you are so excited he sms-ed you in the first place? Or do you play it cool and let him sweat it out a little?

I wonder how many of you would actually wait a good 8 hours before replying. Most of the time we are so anxious that we must reply immediately. In my opinion, men dont think that way at all. They just go about doing their own thing and when they get a moment, whether it's on their lunch break, toilet break or smoke break, is when they will decide to reply to your sms. This often happens to be the next day or 10 hours later if you're lucky.

Do you drop all your plans when the man calls and wants to see you?

Again, most of you would say yes immediately! But why?? Trust me they will wait for you even if you tell them you have plans and will meet them another day. Actually making them wait will show your independence and the fact that you have other things to do in life.

Social independence is an important thing in this society. Gone are the days where the woman was socially dependant on her man. These days, we all have our own social activities. And more importantly these days, we actually have our own friends we hang out with regularly.

Ladies, let's keep them on ice and only retrieve once ready to consume. It's really not that difficult.

My Sweet Elephant

My sweet elephant is visiting from Bangkok and what a surprise it was when he brought me a belated birthday present; a hand made card and a white leather Gucci wallet. Awwww..... that was so sweet. As annoying, moronic and idiotic as he is, he will always be my sweet elephant :-) Love you long time!!

The Wonderful World of Multimedia

The wonderful world of multimedia, what exactly does this mean? Lift your head, look around, ads and designs are everywhere in our society. People are naturally drawn to things that are nice to look at. Multimedia designs are everywhere we look. Some people even base their purchases on unique packaging and not so much the product itself. It is no joke that visual design and packaging definitely attracts consumers to simply look if not to buy products.

So why am I writing a post on multimedia design? I have just joined a multimedia design company with some friends and I so understand the need for this service. Every new product or brand in the market spends time and money trying to promote their name to break into the market by means of advertising. Multimedia covers the end to end design process from simple logo design to website design. Yes, we do it all. We even do photography and event management. Anything that you can think of that relates to promoting your product, we will have a solution. Check out our site to get a feel of the wonderful world of multimedia design. Visit Fyoozstudio (pronounced fuse studio).

Malaysian Mahjong

Dont we all love a game of mahjong? I certainly do, especially Malaysian mahjong :-) What is Malaysian mahjong, some of you may ask. Well, it's a version of mahjong derived from the original 4 player mahjong. Malaysian mahjong has only 3 players. It's a quick and aggresive game, just the way I like it :-)

I've done some research into the rules and with my best effort I'm noting this down here so next time I get a chance to play again, I will remember these rules! As BBs says, it's a stupid game with stupid rules. But you know what? Rules are rules, there need not be any logic behind them. And just a reminder too that rules may differ from household to household, player to player.

This is the full set used in Malaysian mahjong. There should be 4 sets of flowers and 4 "Feis".

Let's just explore some of the many rules and ways to earn points (or better known as fann) in order to win the game. With Malaysian mahjong, you must have a minimum of 5 fanns to win. The maximum is usually anything above 10 fann.

1. One face (flower) = 1 fann
2. Four faces (flower) = extra 1 fann
3. One animal = 1 fann
4. Four animals = extra 1 fann
5. 1 Flower (number corresponds to player number) = 1 fann
6. Four flowers (in the same set) = 1 extra fann
7. Pong of own wind (north is everybody's wind) = 1 fann
8. Pong of dragon cards (hong chong, fat choy, bak parn) = 1 fann
9. 2 pongs & a pair of dragons = 3 fann
10. Mix suits = 1 fann
11. Same suit only = 3 fann
12. All Pong/ Gong = 2 fann
13. Chee mor from replacing flower/ Gong = 1 fann
14. Stealing Gong = 1 fann
15. Dealer Pong East wind = 2 fann

To earn maximum fann, player must win with any of the following:

1. Pong of 4 winds
2. 3 Pong and pair of winds
3. No flowers
4. 4 Gongs (revealed or concealed)
5. 3 Pong of dragon cards
6. Win with replacement tile after 2 consecutive Gong
7. 4 concealed Pong/ Gong
8. 4 Feis
9. Winning with first tile
10. Winning with last tile
11. If you have 4 feis at the start of the game, you need not play on, this is maximum fann
12. If you manage to get 4 feis in the process of the game, then you can only win by playing on till you get a winning hand

Feis are worth money and depending on how huge the ante is, players can nominate this amount. At the end of each round, players without or with less feis than the other players will have to pay out the difference.

I cant really sum it all up here cos there is just to many bloody rules and regulations, but as I start to play, it all comes back to me :-) And as a result, this is as much as I can remember for now.

Anyone for a game of Malaysian mahjong?? Piggy, when will we hoi toi again?

Piggy Heads to Melbourne

Who ever said Piggy's dont fly. Well this Piggy is flying straight in to Melbourne on Sunday. It has been a long long time since she's graced our shores and it will be nothing short of being fun, fun, fun!

Piggy, I have it all planned. It is everything but scary as you so aptly put it :-) We will drink, then drink and then drink some more, no I'm just kidding! It is a shame you're not bringing the little Piggy with you. And yes, everyone is dying to see the Little Piggy more!! I'm so excited thinking of how much we get to catch up with our girlie talks and nonsensical chatter when you get here. You people that come from Malaysia are so lucky you can get such cheap tickets, I mean RM$1500 for a return flight is amazing on a decent airline and not a budget one. I can only wish it were the same here in Australia.

So, get your dancing shoes ready so we can paint the town red!