Another Memorable Journey From Sapa :D

Oh oo.... (Pic source: Google.com)

I felt like that day was really not my day, like lots of things were just wrong. It started as early as 2.30am when I woke up for my toilet break. The room was dark and I found out that there was not electricity inside our room. I used the torch apps from my mobile to go to toilet and back to my bed right after.

I finally woke up again at 6.30am and the electricity was still not there. I wanted to take bath and wash my hair but suddenly I was worrying that the heater might not there since the electricity was not available. I sent message to Jacky and informed him about my situation. He checked with the hotel and soon he got back to me, saying that the staff was trying to resolve the issue and I still could use the water heater since the hotel had the generator back-up. I thanked him for checking it out and immediately went to bathroom. And just nice when I finished bathing, the electricity returned, so I could blow my hair dry right after.

My body had gotten better comparing with the night before. The fever had gone and I was strong and well to face another new day in Sapa. 

Handmade sling bag by Dinh - Sapa, Vietnam

We had our breakfast in the hotel and later on Dinh came bringing her handcraft souvenirs like bags, wallets, hanging decoration, and showed those to us, as per promised the day before. It was not all handmade though. She brought the machine made stuffs as well. I bought sling bag, wallet, and hanging decoration thing and bargained reasonable price from her (not too low as I thought of 4 young children that she had to feed back home).

The car that picked us up was coming late due to the marathon event that was going on in the area. We were brought to the Sun World Fansipan cable car station as we wanted to reach the Mount Fansipan. The mountain's height was 3147 meter's height, the highest mountain in the Indochinese Peninsula, hence called "The Rooftop of Indochina."

Sun World Fansipan Cable Car - Vietnam

Dinh did not follow us, so it was only two of us. She only handed us the online ticket to enter the cable car for return trip and waited us there at the station until we came back. When weather was good, the view from the cable car supposed to be beautiful. But as I said earlier, it seemed like it was not really my day. It rained a little on our way up and when we reached the temple on top, we were surrounded mostly by fogs. 

Sun World Fansipan Cable Car

One cable car could fit up to 35 people inside. Ours was quite full, mostly filled by Vietnamese visitors. They came as a big group and were talking loudly with each other, as if only them occupied the cable car. Aileen and I were just sitting down, trying to enjoy the scenery and hoping that they could lower down their voice or just stop talking, but to no avail :D So we endured lo until reached the station.

Kim Sơn Bảo Thắng Tự Buddhist Temple - Fansipan, Vietnam

Good thing that the rain did not last long. It stopped after a while. I went inside the Kim Sơn Bảo Thắng Tự temple and offered my prayer there before continuing our journey up. There were so many succulent plants around there, decorating the temple and area beautifully. 

f

Fogs everywhere - not our day :D

From there, we could choose to go up either by staircases or by funicular. Aileen's ankles were not well, and I was not in my tip top condition as well, so we both chose taking funicular. The cable car ticket was included in our tour package, but not the funicular, so we had to pay on our own. Ticket for going up was VND99,000 and for return trip would be VND178,000 per pax.

How the view should like on a clear day (Expectation) Pic source: Google map

Hahahahaha... If you saw the photos I posted earlier (the reality), was really different from the expectation right? Nevertheless, I still felt grateful for being able to be there and enjoyed my stay as much as I could.

Our funicular ride to the peak of Mount Fansipan, Vietnam

We purchased the hot cinnamon apple drink once we reached the top. It was sweet, so we asked the seller to add hot water into it. I really loved it!!! We brought it and had it later at the summit.

Posed with Vietnam flag at the Mount Fansipan Summit :)

We took a rest there. Just nice a group of people came and one of them brought a guitar. They sang Vietnam songs which I did not understand. But I enjoyed the melody and the joy they brought for us. It made our trip special. Despite the foggy weather, we were given something extra, that made us happy :)

Made the trip enjoyable to the fullest :)

I thought they might be some famous Vietnamese singers, so I took photo with them. Hahahahaha.... But when I showed it to Jacky, he had no clue of who they were :D

Sapa view from the cable car - Fansipan, Vietnam

After some time we went down by funicular and the walked towards the cable car station. We took the cable car back and took more photos as the rain had stopped and weather had somehow become clearer.

Sapa rice terraces

And as we got nearer to the station, we could see the beautiful rice terraces from the above. Overall, we had a good time there and enjoyed as much as we could.

Chợ Sapa Market - Lao Cai, Vietnam

Dinh came to pick us and we went to Le Gecko Cafe for lunch. After that we went to the Chợ Sapa Market, located not very far from the restaurant. We walked there.

Inside the Chợ Sapa Market

We browsed around the market throughout the whole places. They were selling local produces there, such as: nuts, flower tea, herbal medicines, dried fruits, grains, spices, and so on.

Wet market at the building behind - Chợ Sapa market, Vietnam

At the building behind, there were food stalls selling cooked food. Behind that, they were selling meat, vegetables, snacks, drinks, and so on.

Chợ Sapa Market - Vietnam

We had a chance for last minute shopping before going back to Hanoi. You could purchase the macadamia nut and cashew nut (still with its shell) there as gifts back home. Their herbal tea was special too. You could try before buying them. At some shop, the seller gave sample for people to try. They were also selling fake brand trekking clothes. Local handicrafts and souvenirs could also be found.

Passing by Sapa town

Dinh sent us back to our hotel at 2pm. On the way there, we passed by the beautiful Sapa lake (which was beautiful at night time too - as they put lighting decorations), and view of Sapa town. I did not know that Sapa town could be quite big. Many hotels, shops, and restaurants there. I felt like I only browsed less than 50% of it (due to limited time and not a very healthy body). But it was fine lah.

Passing by the beautiful Sapa Lake

We had a final packing and took some rest at the hotel lobby before continuing our journey back to Hanoi. The van came at 3.30pm, much later than expected. We were the first passengers he picked, and the driver lost ways while picking up the rest of the passengers. Perhaps he was new and was not familiar with hotels and places in the area. It took more than half an hour until we left Sapa town.

Beautiful Sapa rice terrace on our way back to Hanoi

The rice terrace view was beautiful. But too bad we could not stop and take good photos. So I could only took photos from inside the van, and many wires could be shown, some resulted in blurry pictures. Hehehe.. better than nothing. We had three break stops before reaching Hanoi. The driver sent us the last, that too, to the wrong hotel.

Hahahaha... what a day, really!!! I think we reached hotel around 10.40pm. I was very tired and hungry too. Jacky was in the hotel waiting for us. The hotel staffs who knew our condition, welcomed us back with friendly smile. We checked in and put our luggage and went out for supper with Jacky.

Vietnamese chicken noodle - Hanoi, Vietnam

I wanted to eat something soupy and he brought us to the stall above by Grab. It was not very far from where we stayed but it was quite late already (around 11pm) and he knew we both were tired and hungry from our journey, that was why we took Grab there.

Aileen and I had chicken noodle soup while Jacky had the dried one (he said dried one nicer). While eating, Jacky asked us how our trip was. He asked all kind of feedback from both of us so that he could improve what not and take note what had already good.

After finished, we walked back to our hotel. Before saying goodbye, he handed each of us souvenir from Hanoi (now hung on my house's wall). He also passed a bottle of water for each of us and gave me herbal candy when he knew my throat was unwell.

I was very lucky being able to know him not only as our tour guide and emergency contact, but we had also become friend now. At any time, I could message him asking something about Vietnam and he always replied it as soon as he could. He was reliable, helpful, and friendly. Based on our feedback, he made the follow up the day after with the company that he engaged with, to ensure he could offer better service for the next following customers.

That was why I would not hesitant to give his contact to anyone who had interest to visit Hanoi, and if you too wanted to use his travel service, please do not hesitate to contact him here or you could message me for his contact number too :)

Thank you Jacky for your service, help, guide, hospitality, and friendship that you offered for both of us. Stay in touch and wish you all the best for your travel business :)

Local souvenirs - Hanoi Airport

We flew back home the day after and was provided with transfer service from our hotel to the Hanoi Airport. You could have last minute shopping inside the airport too, as there were so many shops selling souvenirs, as well as snacks and Vietnam liquor. You could pay both in Vietnamese Dong and USD.

Guess what I bought??? Hahahahha....

The night before you left

Treasure what you have before it is gone

It is half an hour past two in the morning. My eyes are still wide opened. My mind is still active thinking.

Today, I mean yesterday, I was overwhelmed with so many things. About life, life cycle. You know, born, getting old, sick, and die. Those four are part of human's life (if you are lucky enough to grow old before die though).

Before this, I actually tried to do meditation before sleeping. But instead, I was talking to myself and went into deep contemplation, of all the things happening in my life. Confessions too, of what I actually felt.

And before the attempt of doing meditation, I continued watching the Chinese movie that I watched halfway in the afternoon as I was not sleepy yet. It was made based on true story. The title was "Only Yun Knows." (I watch a movie a day lately as I have to stay at home more during Covid time, and every time I just anyhow pick any movie that is available on the website without any idea what the movie story is about).

It is a nice but sad movie about fate and love, sickness and death, hope and dreams that happened in foreign land. Somehow, the main character lady was suffering from cancer. She did operation to remove the tumor, slept for 8 days after the operation - effect of anesthesia, and never got up again. I had a mixture feeling. A sign? Coincidental story?

I just could not sleep. I had feeling that something was going to happen but I tried brushing my feeling off. And whole day, I was not feeling well too actually. That was why I felt a bit emotional about everything.

Tashi and I - Lake Toba, Indonesia (Feb 2019)

In my contemplation, I realized that what seemed real, it was more like a series of illusion now. Especially the things that had happened in the past. All the happiness feeling and wonderful things that happened were just memories today. And what felt so real last time, it felt only like a dream now. We could not keep it the same for the current and present time. As time went by, things changed, people changed. Many things happened. No matter how beautiful the story was, it soon had turned into the past. You could never keep it the same.

And also, no matter how bad the things happened in the past, time could and would heal the pain. You would not as angry as before, or disappointed, or anything else. Slowly, you would forgive. Because despite all the wrongdoing, there were still plenty of good things that happened beforehand and worth forgiveness.

I always remind myself that nothing is permanent. Every thing in this world is all impermanent. So, take it easy. Do not take it too hard. Because nothing will ever last. Not a thing, not people, not happiness, not health, it is nothing will last, really!!!

I was talking with myself too, as if I was talking with my friend, who was currently battling her life over her sickness. She was sleeping unconsciously, but I believed that she could see and hear what was going on around her. I just had a feeling that her time to go was there, but not knowing when. I talked to her as if she could listen to me, about everything I wanted her to know and listen. I wished her to be away from the pain and suffering, and to know what was going on inside her body. No one was able to say it directly to her and we all deceived ourselves hoping for miracle to come and save her. But it never came.

I turned my phone on again to check if there was any news before going to bed. No news was always good news. I turned it off and slept.

Rest well my friend.... See you again next time...

This morning I woke up very late. And when I turned my phone on again, I received messages, missed call. They said she had gone peacefully in her sleep, 4 am Bhutan time. I could only cry despite knowing that this day would come sooner or later. I could only pray for her, to be born in better world, have fate with Buddha Dhamma Sangha. Hope you can be happier out there... Rest in peace Tashi... Hope to see you again next time...

Looking back at 2019

Myself being myself - Virginia Woolf

Wow!!! Another year had gone by!!! It passed like a lightning and yet, it added not only number to the age. 

Year 2019 was different from many other years I had been through. It was a year of realization, a maturity process (perhaps age and experience had also played a part in it), and it had brought many changes for the thinking and behaviours from inside me. 

There were not always changes for the better or worse, and right or wrong, but changes for what I deemed important to attain the empty space and inner peace.

It was no longer the more the merrier or the more the better. I had become more selective on who could be, what should be, and where to be - to be inside the part of my life journey, and to treasure those who chose to stay and treasure me back.

Needless to say, the circle had automatically gotten smaller and me too, became much quieter. Despite those, I never lost any piece of me. I still lived my life to the fullest, one day at a time, with people whom I loved and loved me; still being my own self, doing things I loved doing, ignoring the voices that judging me of what I should do or not do from their eyes. Who cares?

Thank you for another wonderful year 2019 (IG: rimareyka.writes)

2019 was another most travelling year for me too. At least once a month, and many times to many different places at one time and visited many new places I had never been before.

It was my first time arranging cruise plus free and easy trip for the family to faraway places (different countries with different languages, first time visit, etc.) It was challenging but rewarding when everything went as per planned (and we were all blessed with good health, safety, and smooth journey). Thanks to so many reviews from Google maps, websites, blogs, and so on! :)

I visited many new places in China too and made me wanting to travel there even more in the future. Even Indonesia! Many beautiful nature could be found there. There would be no longer repetitive places with no specific reasons to go. Life was too short not to travel to many of my dream places :D

And of course, health! Thank you for the good health we had in 2019 and yes I knew well, nothing stayed permanent. And thing had already changed with so much weight I had gained from all the good food I took and received from those travelling. Weather and my time spent on reading forced me to stay more inside house, resulting in lack of exercise. 

I was blessed with makan kaki too where I could have almost weekly Mala and Tsing Dao session from Chinatown!! Lol!! Blessing or just excuse for enjoying life? In any case, I love the food, the feeling, and the accompanies!!!

Get ready everyone!! No one says it will be easy, but it will be worth it!!! (IG: Rimareyka.writes)

Well, 2020 is like a blank paper in front of me now. Only one dash point I could see for now, while the rest I leave it still blank and let nature takes its course. But I predict that I would stay more on the ground, spend more time on readings, practise meditation (I hope), and be more aware of my doing. 

So, with the end of 2019, another chapter had closed and a new page is there, ready for us to fill up.  I have gotten my diary ready, and wish everything goes well to everyone, as well as to the world where we live in. 

Same world, same time, but many different things are happening. Wish for the best to come and wish everyone a wonderful year ahead!!! :)

Sunset Catcher

Treasure our precious - (Instagram: Rimareyka.writes)

These few days the weather was beautiful and it allowed me to go for cycling around the Waterway Park. If I was lucky enough (which I did), I could catch the sunset towards 7 pm in the evening. As I was still proudly calling myself as the 'sunset catcher', let me share some beautiful shots into this blog post. Hope you like it! :)

Sunset from Waterway Park, Singapore

Lush greenery and the beautiful sunset at Waterway Park, Singapore

The sunset from Waterway Point - Punggol, Singapore

With my loyal bike :) - Waterway Park, Singapore

Hidden among the bushes and trees - Sunset at Waterway Park, Singapore

Lucky people who always passed through this road!!! - Sunset at Waterway Park, Singapore

Tried hiding away??? I knew you would not!! - Sunset at Waterway Park, Singapore

Beautiful sunset allured me to catch its view non-stop!!! - Waterway Park, Singapore

Finally last view before saying good bye and see you again next time!!! Sunset at Waterway Park, Singapore

Books read for the second half of the year 2018

Books quote (Pic source: Google.com)

As usual, let me update the list of the book I read for the second half of the year 2018. I started it with August since I had no time to read in the month of July :)

August 2018

August 2018:
1. The Perfect Nanny - Leila Slimani
2. Sadness Love Openness - Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche
3. The Sound of the Mountain - Yasunari Kawabata
4. She Regrets Nothing - Andrea Dunlop
5. Do This For Me - Eliza Kennedy

September 2018

September 2018:
1. The Woman in the Window - A. J. Finn
2. Those Other Woman - Nicola Moriarty
3. Beautiful Liars - Isabel Ashdown
4. When Life Gives You Lululemons - Lauren Weisberger
5. The Light Between Us - Kathie Khan
6. My Book of Life by Angel - Martine Leavitt
7. Sea Prayers - Khaled Hosseini
8. See All the Stars - Kit Frick

October 2018

October 2018:
1. Chronicles of Love and Death - Norma Levine

November 2018

November 2018:
1. Hot Tea Across India - Rishad Saam Mehta

December 2018

December 2018:
1. Three Little Lies - Laura Marshall
2. The Wild Woman's Guide to Travelling the World - Kristin Rockaway
3. The Next Person You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
4. Killing Commendatore - Haruki Murakami
5. The Sadness of Beautiful Things - Simon Van Booy
6. All the Lives We Never Lived - Anuradha Roy

I love books quote (Pic source: Google.com)

With it, I managed to read total of 40 books, as per my goal I set earlier this year. Yayyy!!! But this time I read mostly novels instead of Buddhism related books. Hehehe.... Perhaps I just wanted to get away for real life and sunk myself into other people's world, to see how others could generate such idea into writings, and so on.

My wish for you for the upcoming New Year 2019 :)

Just one more day, it will be the end of year 2018. Hope all of you are doing great in this year, have filled your life with so much beautiful memories (be it good and/or bad), lived your life to the fullest, realized so many dreams that once it looked so hard and far to reach, and welcoming 2019 with open arms, full of positive energy, good feelings that everything that you do will be good and great, realize more and more dreams of yours, and most importantly, be happy!!! :)

Day 7 - Last sightseeing day in Osaka, Japan :)

D7 - 25 September 2018

Third visit to Osaka Castle - Japan

It was our last sightseeing day in Japan and the place to visit today was Osaka!!! It was convenient to travel there from Kyoto. There were few types of train you could take. One was by Shinkansen (bullet train). You could reach there in 15 minutes time but it cost 1,420 yen (almost S$18) for single trip fare, that also for unreserved seat (reserved seat cost double). Second, by Special Rapid Train. It took 29 mins to reach and the ticket cost 560 yen (S$7) per trip (3 stops away). And the slower ones would take from 40 mins and more as it stopped in more places and cost less - 410 yen (S$5). I found that the Special Rapid Train was the best choice to take.

Huge stones made to build the surrounding gates that protected the Osaka Castle - Japan

Once reached the Osaka station, we took cab directly to reach the famous landmark of Japan and historical building - the Osaka Castle. It was my third time visiting it. It was still looking the same :) Find out their history here and visitor information in this link.

View of Osaka-Jo Hall (multi purpose arena) in Osaka from Osaka Castle observation deck, Japan

Visitor could go up to the Observation Deck where they could see a panoramic view of Osaka from the above. Lift was available up to level 5 then continued with staircases to 8th floor. Once done, they could go down slowly by staircase and see the various exhibitions related to the buildings in each floor.

My dream Cafe - Cafe Lau Lau - Osaka, Japan

We had lunch at one local cafe - Cafe Lau Lau - not too far from Osaka Castle. The place was small consisting of one counter table that could fit 5 guests plus 2 tables for 4 pax and 1 table for 2 pax in another side. The menu was fixed daily. Like for lunch, there were only 2 set lunch menu offered. Set A - Chicken katsu with rice, salad, seaweed pickles and miso soup and Set B - Spaghetti Bolognaise (beef) with toast bread and salad. Both set cost 900 yen (S$11.50) and included coffee/tea or orange juice.

The opening time was from 7 to 9 am, then 11 to 6 pm. Therefore they did not cater for dinner, only breakfast and lunch set. It was kind of my dream cafe. Small place that offered simple menu (daily menu based on the owner's choice), reasonable price with delicious food and decent portion. Although the location was a little bit inside, many guests came and went while I was there. Only 2 staffs were there preparing and doing everything. Hmm... nice na??? :)

The famous landmark of Osaka's Minami area - Glico running man near Ebisu bridge - Finally I saw it!!! :)

We visited supermarket nearby before taking cab and heading to the other main tourist place in Osaka - Dotonbori canal and street :) Although I went to Osaka three times, this was my first time visiting the Dotonbori street. I was very happy when finally could see the above landmark - Glico running man signage near the Ebisu bridge (been looking at it  at other people's photo, but could not see it myself from previous visits).

Dotonbori canal and street - Osaka, Japan

There were various shops and restaurants along the Dotonbori canal, including the huge Don Quijute shop with a rotating ferris wheel overseeing the nearby area . There was tourist boat as well. And if you still not having enough Ichiran Ramen, they had a joint over there :)

Japanese snacks - Takoyaki balls, Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza), Yakisoba (fried noddles), etc. - Osaka, Japan

If you were hungry, you could buy the takoyaki balls (Japanese wheat-flour based balls filled with octopus and topped with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, and dried bonito). It was very famous in Osaka. There were Okonomiyaki (savory pancake or also called Japanese style pizza) and Yakisoba (Japanese stir-fried noodles) too. I did not try it all though as I was saving my stomach for the dinner feast :D

One of shopping heaven area - Shinsaibashi Osaka, Japan

We had free time there until dinner time and just spent it walking around the area from the Ebisu bridge all the way to Shinsaibashi shopping arcade and return. The place was full of people but still manageable. And finally, the most awaiting time - dinner time!!! :D

We wanted to have the Kobe beef at Steak House Juju at the first place, but it was closed for private guest. Therefore, we went to other alternative place and headed to Steakhouse Gekkokamen. The place requested each of us to order beverage to accompany our meal. I had local beer - Coedo Ruri Pils followed by Asahi dry beer, while some tried the warm and cold sake (Japanese liquor).

Japanese Kobe beef, other origin sirloin, and scallop dinner from Steakhouse Gekkokamen - Osaka, Japan

It was my first proper teppanyaki dinner in Japan tasting the delicious sirloin steak from other area in Japan complete with the other side dishes. Some ordered the scallops, abalone, tenderloin and sirloin Kobe beef, which I could have tasted as well. Wow!!! The Kobe beef was tasting differently!!! It really melted in the mouth!!! Yummy!!!! I was very fortunate being able to experience such expensive meal and thank you to you know who you were for the treat!!!

Fyi, the 120g tenderloin Kobe beef cost 16,800 yen (S$210), and 160g sirloin Kobe beef cost 14,600 yen (S$182), while my sirloin beef portion from other area cost 9,900 yen (S$124), and all course set need to add 2,500 yen (S$32) per pax. Now you understand why I felt very fortunate for the meal hehehehe........ :D

The round and bright full moon above the hotel where we stayed - Kyoto, Japan

After dinner we went back to Kyoto by train. That was our last dinner there. Time to pack our luggage as we went back the next day.

Arigato gozaimasu - Thank you very much!!! Feeling grateful for everything!!! :) (Pic source: Google.com)

It was such a wonderful journey and thanks to someone who had planned and arranged it all. I had such a wonderful time with everyone and felt very grateful for everything, and to everyone. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!! With this, I end my post on Japan trip and let's see what comes next!! ;) Wish you all enjoyed reading it!! Have a good time wherever you are!!! Cya!!! :)