Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Up the Kokoda memorial trail walk 
Zhiying and I go a long way back. We were best friends in our first year of high school.
She often invited me to her place after school to hang out, and I loved going over even though she lived on the other side of Singapore. I remember the time I stayed at a chalet with her family and we spent a lot of time at the beach, looking out for little holes in the sand to catch baby crabs. We also went on a Geography trip together to Hawaii- it was my first time on an airplane and I got sick and spewed all over myself.
But my favourite story is how her family was one of the first in Singapore to have internet access, and she came into class one day and told me excitedly that I could actually go on the computer and get information about the Backstreet Boys. Being a 12 year-old teenybopper, I was amazed and got very excited. Now this was the era of the 28.8k dial-up modem, and I just had to go to hers the very afternoon to log onto the website. I was disappointed because I didn't have enough time to finish viewing the whole website, but imagine my delight when Z came into school the next day and handed me a thick wad of printed paper. She had printed out the ENTIRE website for me so that I could read through it! Hehehe... Thank God for the advent of technology. ;)
We lost touch for more than 10 years in between, but were reconnected via Facebook. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she was coming to Melbourne for a visit, so we decided to meet up for dinner, which led to a later day trip to Mount Dandy and a hike up the Kokoda memorial trail walk. The four of us got on like a house on fire, and we found out all these crazy coincidences between E and her fiance D- they both grew up and studied in the same neighbourhood (D's mum literally lives down the road from where E lives now!), played the violin, studied and became fluent in Japanese, worked in Japan for a period of time and have fathers who are retired scientists!
I can't wait for their wedding here in August! :)
Labels: australia, friendship, love, memories, mountain, photo
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Thursday, December 4, 2008
Mount Takao
- Elizabeth Lawrence
Photos from Mount Takao uploaded here.
Labels: autumn, love, memories, mountain, photo, tokyo
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sleep all day, sleep all night
All sleep and no play makes T a dull girl.
I've spent the last two days mostly in bed, drifting in and out of sleep, mostly waking up to eat and take medicine, read a bit of my book, watch a bit of a movie. The blinds are down and the heater is on- having lost concept of day and night, time is marked by when E goes out for work and when he comes back.
I had woken up with a croak yesterday morning and realized that I had lost my voice, so I had to call in to school to tell them I couldn't make it to work. I can barely breath, constantly blowing blobs of green sticky mucus out of my nose, my ears are clogged and my eyes teary.
Everything tastes like cardboard and I have no appetite but I know it's time to eat when I hear my stomach growling out loud, like a petulant child demanding a new toy. The only thing that satiates me now is pudding, so E went to the store and bought all kinds of pudding to put in our fridge.
I only have myself to blame. Having taken last Saturday off for Mel's BBQ, I dressed only in a cardigan and light jacket, thinking it would be warm enough by the pit. Needless to say, I was way underdressed for the chilly weather and my hands and feet were frozen by sunset.
E and I right before sunset
I made it through a full day of work on Sunday, but my voice was changing and my nose running a marathon. I went home, took some flu tablets and went to bed.
The next day, determined not to waste a public holiday, E and I decided head to Mount Takao to admire the autumn foliage in full bloom. We took a two-hour train ride to the foot of the mountain, but as we walked up the route, it started to drizzle. We soldiered on, figuring that the rain would stop but it only got heavier. 15 minutes later, we decided that it was wiser to go back down and seek shelter.
So much for our nature hike.
My gorgeous boy who makes my heart flutter
We hopped on the train to Roppongi instead, stopping for coffee at Koot's before going to Mori Art museum to see their latest installation of contemporary Indian art. We loved it. I will definitely miss the art exhibits in Tokyo when I am gone, another thing to add to my "Do I really want to leave Japan?" list. We ended the evening with dinner at our favourite Chinese restaurant behind Roppongi Hills, feasting on Peking Duck and dumplings.
On the way home, I took a turn for the worse and could barely stand up straight. We took a taxi back from the station, even though it was just a 10 minute walk up the hill.
And so I've been sick ever since. And I just want to get well soon!
And so I've been sick ever since. And I just want to get well soon!
Labels: autumn, health, love, memories, mountain, park, tokyo
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
After the climb
If there is such a thing as delayed altitude sickness or post-mountain stress disorder, I have it. First it was the intense muscle aches, then the fatigue and headache, then the upset stomach and bloatedness. Something went wrong with my body on that mountain, and I need to recuperate this weekend.
Labels: health, memories, mountain, photo, tokyo, travel
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Saturday, August 16, 2008
Mount Fuji, don't pray pray!
There's a Japanese saying that wise is the man who climbs Mount Fuji once but he who climbs it twice is a fool. E and I decided to tackle Japan's highest mountain this climbing season, along with Jo and Jasmine- it was us girls' virgin experience and E's second time (now he has to do it a third time to become wise again, heh).
We had rented a car for Thursday and Friday and driven from Yokohama all the way to Yamanashi, but being obon week, traffic was bad the entire way and we were supposed to see the famous five lakes but ended up only seeing one.
We began our expedition by taking a bus from Kawaguchiko to the 5th station (mid-point) of Mount Fuji. After some light stretching, we started our hike at about 710pm. The initial part was tough because we were acclimatizing to the mountain air and terrain, but it got easier after we picked up the momentum.
My left thigh really started aching at the 7th station and I could barely lift it up. But I had promised E that I wouldn't whine or give up easily, so I kept pushing myself, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing because I couldn't imagine how long more I could go on.
Mind over body, mind over body, I chanted in my head as I pushed the pain aside. E gave me his stick so I could use my right leg and upper body strength to move up the rocky path, and he kept telling me how well I was doing and held my hands when I needed support.
It was about 26 degrees at the beginning of our hike, but the air got thinner and colder as we made our way up, and we put on more and more layers of clothings to keep warm.
The snaking line of climbers towards the summit
Somehow, by grit and sheer determination, we made it to the summit at 210am and it was already pretty crowded. It was another 2 hours before the sunrise, so we had to find a good location to rest. 3776m up, it was unbelievably cold, with nothing to block us against the strong winds that literally whipped us from all directions. Jo could barely walk in a straight line!
I had on 4 thin layers (me and my inability to understand dressing for cold weather) and was trembling like a Energizer bunny, and E sat behind me and hugged me and breathed heavily onto my neck to keep me warm. We huddled like homeless refugees, under a huge black poncho, and I have never been sooo cold for so long in my life. I thought I wouldn't make it through the night.
The first ray of morning light came slightly after 4, and by then the summit was filled with people eager to catch the sunrise. We were all separated as I went into the shop that had just opened to get warm while the rest rushed to get the best view for photography. I stayed with Mike, an English bloke who was climbing alone and had joined our little group somewhere along the 8th station.
The sunrise was magnificent, the sky in beautiful hues of orange and red and the clouds that worked themselves in a curious formation like a rainbow over the rising sun. But I was also dead tired, and my mind was preoccupied with the idea of losing E and having to make it down the mountain alone.
Thankfully, we managed to find everyone in front of the shop, and had the most delicious bowl of steaming hot miso ramen for breakfast.
At 630, without any proper rest or sleep, we began our descend, which was tougher than I thought. It was broad daylight and all I could see was an infinite stretch of winding road filled with loose volcanic rocks, with no shelter or toilets along the way. No matter how many turns we took, the journey ahead seemed like it would never end, and poor Jo kept falling on her butt because the soles on her trainers were wearing out.
How I wished I could put on a parachute and throw myself off the mountain, but luckily I maintained some semblance of sanity and kept my foot on the path. We took our minds off the present and kept ourselves entertained by playing stupid games with each other.
4 agonizing hours later, almost 15 hours since we began, we made it back to 5th station, and it was so surreal to be back. I had lost sense of reality by then, it felt like I had been on Fuji for forever.
Behind me was a longsuffering, patient and encouraging boyfriend who carried all my gear, lifted me through the steepest slopes when my legs wouldn't agree with me anymore. It was only much later that E confessed that his shoulders were killing him from the load he carried, which made me wished I could have helped more! I couldn't have completed the climb without my heroic mountain boy.
We said goodbye to the girls at Kawaguchiko and were on our way to a hot spring when we realized we were just too damn tired. We decided to drive back to E's apartment instead, and even though he asked me to keep him awake in the car, I kept passing out and couldn't do anything. Once home, we collapsed onto his bed, only waking up to return the rental car and order take-out pizza before going back to sleep till the next morning.
It was one of the things you have to do once in your life, and just another thing checked off my "To do while still in Japan" list.
Until the next mountain!
Photos from E's camera all here.
Labels: love, memories, mountain, photo, summer, tokyo, travel
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