We travelled from Fukuoka, Japan to Busan in South Korea by boat. It was only a 3 hour trip.
Busan is a popular holiday destination for Koreans. This is a popular beach, just outside our hotel. It was misty most days we were there…
The mist moved quickly…. so one moment is different from the next.
This is the view from our room. Sometimes it was so misty that we could only see white…
It must be really difficult for the life guards…
On the other side of the hotel...
Murin-an is another lovely garden in Kyoto.
It is famous for its “borrowed scenery”. In the above photo, you can see the faraway hills. The garden is not big, but it seems big because of its design.
Stepping stones
Lots of trees…
and thick moss on the ground
There are several buildings.
A waterfall …
a pond, and …
... streams are part of this garden
It was a lovely summer’s day when we were there…. but my photos are all green. Click here to see Murin-an in lots of colours.
My husband and I had been walking around Fukuoka for a little while, and we were hungry. We saw this restaurant, and had a peek inside. We were checking if (a) there were pictures or food mock-ups, or (b) an English menu. Unfortunately, we could see neither (a) nor (b), so we were not sure how to place our orders.
We loved the atmosphere of people slurping their food and chatting, and enjoying second serves… But we had no idea what to do.
There was a machine at the front door that takes orders.
When a man approached the machine, I saw what he did. He pressed one of the red 400 yen button, and a 100 yen button. I guessed the 400 yen button (most expensive) must be a main meal, but I had no idea what the 100 yen button would buy us. But I chose the same options for each of us. So after we paid, the machine gave us 4 tickets.
We went into the restaurant and did what everyone did. We placed our 4 tickets on the table in front of us. A waiter came to have a look. A short while later, two bowls of hot steamy noodles were placed in front of us, in exchange for 2 of the 400 yen tickets.
There were slices of pork and scallions on top of the noodles, served in a delicious broth.
We helped ourselves to picked ginger (the red one) and tea, and enjoyed our noodles.
A little later, a waiter approached us to find out if all was well. He spoke a little English (yay!), so we enquired about the 2 remaining tickets. We had ordered 2 additional servings of noodles, each costing 100 yen. We did not want more noodles, so we exchanged our tickets for additional meat.
It was a memorable meal. We took a chance and got a delicious lunch here, plus a wonderful experience.
I cannot remember the last time I bought a card. I make cards with personalised designs and drawings when required. My family and friends seem to appreciate them :D.
I completed the above sketches of my friend’s home recently. She had invited us to her holiday home in the country, where I spent some time drawing. At home, I painted and combined the sketches. I printed a card with the above image as front cover, and it accompanied some lovely condiments we bought for her. She had not seen my sketches of her home, so it was a pleasant surprise for her. It was a simple card, but she loved it :).
Happy Creating : Creative Every Day.
These few photos were taken in Tasmania a few weeks ago.
On Saturday mornings, the Salamanca Market in Hobart occupies this space and this road is closed to traffic. It is a food and craft market. My husband and I bought some nice woollen stuff to keep warm. Up ahead, the peak of Mount Wellington is covered with snow – a pretty sight.
On the way to the airport, our friends organised lunch at a vineyard. It was a gorgeous lunch and the view was lovely.
I am not sure what these structures are, but they sure stand out in the landscape.
Have a happy weekend.
ps. I have my first private Japanese language lesson on Monday! It’s going to be a busy weekend revising what I have learnt previously, and getting organised for the class. It’s all very exciting!
When my husband and I arrived at our local cafe for breakfast a few days ago, I was disappointed that I forgot to bring my sketchbook. I had my pens with me, and I found a couple of old tram tickets in my wallet.
I started to doodle and when the waitress came, she gave her compliments and added “can I have it?” I was pleased with the positive feedback, but shocked at her request, simply because:
I said “no”, but then because she had a foreign accent, I thought that it could be a cultural misunderstanding. Maybe in her culture, it was ok to ask, even if it seems outright, and of strangers. So, after I said “no”, I said I would scan and bring her copy next time I visit. She seemed rather thrilled. I am glad to give her a copy – sometimes it doesn’t take much to make someone else happy.
But I wouldn’t want to make it a habit (not that there is a queue for my work).
What would you have done?
I felt like painting flowers yesterday so I went outside and cut some kangaroo paw. I found a bottle from the kitchen to use as a vase. I even pretty it up with a ribbon :)
Hope you are having a nice week.
Saw these little guys playing and getting wet in an indoor shopping mall. They sure look like they are having fun.
We took a walk in Ohori Park (Ohori Koen). There is lake in the middle where…
We met a few residents of the park
Hope you are having a nice week. Visit Watery Wednesday for more photos.
Rima was working for my brother in Malaysia as a domestic maid. She was from Indonesia and I met her when I visited my brother. She has left my brother’s employ a long time ago. Like all foreign maids, life was hard. She worked very long hours, and was separated from her family members, who were in Indonesia, while she went to Malaysia to work for 2 years.
When I asked her to be my model, she obliged. She was glad to have a break from her daily routine. I took a number of photos and when I came home to Australia, I printed them and sent her a set. I wonder if she still has them, and if her life is better now.
Covered shopping space. There are many shopping spaces which were below ground, but this one is at ground level. Since it rained a lot while were were there, we were glad to have covered shopping areas.
We also visited some covered markets.
Lots of interesting foodstuff… I am guessing that these are pickled vegetables.
There are all sorts of foodstuff. They are really nice to look at, but I felt a little lost. I am guessing more picked vegetables.
Dessert floating in water. We bought one of this little dessert, and it was immediately scooped out of the water and into a little plastic container (plus spoon) for us.
There was a temple along one of the covered shopping strip.
I enjoyed shopping in Kyoto. There were many well-designed local goods (as opposed to international brands found in most big cities around the world). We bought a few beautiful things which were not too expensive… This will be another post I think.
Hope you are having a nice weekend.
Remember that I posted the drawing on the left a few weeks ago?We went to Nacional for breakfast again this morning. They have another interesting vase today…
The vase on the left decorated the long table at Nacional last time we were there. It was standing upright with a bunch of tulips, and covered with a brown paper bag. I enjoyed that…
Today’s bunch of blooms is in a vase which is covered with packing tapes, with the word “fragile”. I enjoyed this design too – very unique and interesting.
Hope you are having a nice weekend. Happy Creating.
A cloudy day in Fukuoka
This photo is making my screen look warped (where the top left corner of the photo is).
Visit James at Weekend Reflections, and Louis at Sunday Bridges for more photos.
Are you familiar with Simpkins Travel Sweets?
I saw some at the shops the other day. They brought me down memory lane. When I was growing in Malaysia, my grandma bought and shared them with us. It was a novelty – we didn’t buy many imported goods. We didn’t have much money to spare so it was a real treat. I had a warm fuzzy feeling seeing the sweets and remembering grandma, and I ended up buying a tin of sweets for myself.
We had a weekend in Tasmania a few weeks ago, and had a few hours to look around before going to the airport. Some friends told us about Richmond, so we went to have a look.
This area around the river is very pretty. It was very cold, but there were a few people. If the weather was good, I could sit here for hours...
This is Richmond Bridge – Australia’s oldest bridge still in use, It dates back to 1823.
It also has Australia’s oldest Roman Catholic Church.
Unfortunately not many shops were opened since it was a Sunday. We visited a souvenir shop, a pub and a sweet shop, then left for the airport. It was nice to have seen Richmond. I only wish that the weather had been better. The sun came out a little bit, we felt extremely cold walking around.
I am early for Skywatch this week :), hope you are having a good week.
