Product Review: Origin Superior Coolmax® Latex Pillow

Continued from Table for 2 or More......

  I was having neck aches for few weeks , and I haven’t had luck searching for a better latex pillow in the nearest city. My old latex pillow is getting crumbly... so I used the newly arrived pillows that night itself. 

A big thankyou to Origin for the Superior Coolmax® Latex Pillow

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Spring in Taiwan 2017 - Yang Ming Shan and lots of Calla Lilies

Yang Ming Shan was supposed to be the first destination of our trip. Supposed to be, but weather played with us, so we ended up coming here on the second day when the weather was a bit better than the first day

According to our itinerary, we will be going on the brown Metro line to MaoKong and then on proceed to Jiufen via Muzha. But since weather seemed good, so, we decided to go to Yang Ming Shan instead then proceed to take a train to Jiufen for the night. Twisting the Jiufen-Muzha route back to front.

We went to two locations on Yang Ming Shan
a) Qing Tian Gang 擎天崗
b) Zhu Zhi Hu 竹子湖

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Spring in Taiwan 2017 - All the Xiao Long Bao 小笼包 We Ate

One of the must eat food in Taiwan is Xiao Long Bao, which translates as small cage buns. The cage here is the steaming baskets, :-)
The most famous one, is the Michelin star studded Din Tai Fung, but it's not voted as the best in Taiwan. Read and watch a video about the rankings here.

Whenever we hear Xiao Long Bao, we think of soupy dumplings with a thin dough skin, but no........ there are two types of Xiao Long Bao in Taiwan. Some places sell Xiao Long Bao that is made with yeasted dough, and they look like mini steamed pork buns. The one with soupy fillings and thin dough skin is sometimes referred to as  汤包 (Tang Bao, soup buns).

My friend and I tried  Xiao Long Bao at 4 eateries.
1. Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 @ Sogo Fuxing Store
2. FuDing Soup Dumplings 福鼎湯包店
3. ZhengChang Fresh Meat Soup Dumplings (Luodong branch) 正常鮮肉小湯包(羅東店)
4. ZhouJia Steamed Dumplings 周家蒸餃

So I guess, I can write a stand alone post about all of them, hahaha!

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Spring in Taiwan 2017 - Breakfasts We Had in Taipei

Breakfast in Taiwan, is a thing! So many things to try!
Very affordable for Malaysians.
Extremely cheap for those whose currency is even higher.

Taiwanese breakfasts are a bit different from what we usually have in Malaysia. And there's quite a lot to try on our short trip.

With four mornings in Taipei, we had these for breakfast. I tried to eat something different each day.

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Spring in Taiwan 2017 - Itinerary and Public Transportation Navigation

Earlier this year in March, I went on a backpacking trip with my good friend, SWW. Two mothers leaving their families behind for 9 days for a break! LOL.

For this trip, it's going to be our first full public transport trip. Most travelers to Taiwan will arrange for day tour or get a private charter driver. But being just two of us, a private charter will be too expensive and day tours doesn't encompass exactly the things we wanted. So, it was all free and easy with trains and buses, and an occasional taxi if we missed the bus, of which we did, LOL.

I will be sharing how I arranged for my whole trip.

Taiwan is a country where public transportation is very affordable, and convenient. Most of the information is available online.

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Things to Eat and Drink in Hokkaido

Eating local food is always an integral part of all my travels. These are the things that I find, that I should try in Hokkaido, maybe you can try to tick off from this list too! I tried 10 out of 11 here.

1. Seafood of all sorts
2. Salmon and Ikuro
3. Soup Curry
4. Wagyu
5. Ramen
6. Soft Serve Ice cream /Sofuto
7. Melon
8. Fresh Milk and dairy products
9. Pastry
10. Special beers and beverages
11. Jingisukan

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 - Shopping And Souvenirs

Tax free shopping

Tourists love shopping in Hokkaido and GST rate is at 8%. But as tourists, we can get a refund and it's very convenient.
During my visit, to qualify for tax refund we need to purchase 5000yen for consumable goods and 5000yen for non consumable goods.
Read this website thoroughly to get an idea of how it works : http://tax-freeshop.jnto.go.jp/eng/index.php

Take note that:
1. The credit card owner must make the claim by him/herself if it's paid by credit card.
2. The package cannot be opened in the country.
3. The tax refund can be done on the same day, at the same location. For eg: If you shopped in Aeon Asahikawa, just head to Aeon's Tax Refund counter and get the refund in cash!
4. Not all consumables qualify for tax refund. Dairy products like cheese do not qualify for refunds.
5. Keep the receipts until you reach the airport. An officer will direct you to put the receipts into a box after going through the boarding gate.

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 - Hotels We Stayed

For this trip we stayed in a few hotels, mostly business hotels. In Japan, business hotels are fuss free hotels that offers a clean room at an affordable price.

We stayed in a few cities, Sapporo, Asahikawa, Abashiri, Kushiro and Obihiro. All the hotels we chose are right in the city center, within walking distance to dinner and breakfast locations. Our budget was around USD100/night for 2 persons. Generally, hotel rooms in Hokkaido are small, around 15m2. Older hotels could have bigger rooms. Twin rooms cost more than double rooms because twin rooms are bigger.

We didn't stay in ryokans or minsus, due to comfort, price (not cheap!) and convenience. We prefer beds over sleeping on the floor.

Basic bed information:

Semi Double bed : around 140cm wide, slightly smaller than a queen size bed in Malaysia 

Large double bed : 6ft, King size bed in Malaysia

Twin beds: 110cm each, Super Single size in Malaysia.

Hotels we stayed in Hokkaido accepted Malaysian credit card for payment. 

During check in, hotel staff will request for all staying guests' passports to photocopy.

Toiletries (some provide facial wash too), toothbrushes and pyjamas as provided.
Self service laundromats (coin laundry) are available at most business hotels.
If there are onsens in the hotels, even business hotels might have it, but guests with Tattoos could be prohibited from use.

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 9) - Sapporo again and Going Home

This post will be jumping a bit around the last 2 days.
We stayed in Sapporo on the last 2 nights of our road trip but made day trips to other places not too far away.

1.Kame Curry Udon 北海道咖喱饂飩 亀

Date: 15/9/2016

We came back from Ohibiro and hubby wasn't keen to have ramen. So I suggested curry udon of which he gladly said yes.

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 8) - Yoichi and Otaru

Date: 16/9/2016 (forgot to record today's weather)

We woke up, went over to Times Car Rental and collected our car for the day.
This time, we no longer got an upgrade. It was a subcompact, Mazda Demio. Car collection time was much shorter as the center knew we just returned a car the day before, and the briefing time was really brief, well, it's protocol, they still had to do it.

We went to Sapporo Curb Market to have breakfast. I will write about it in the next post.

After an unsatisfactory breakfast, we went on our way to Yoichi

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 7) - Obihiro and Tokachi Subprefecture

After the land of Seafood, here I come to the land of agriculture.

Tokachi is a subprefecture in Hokkaido and Obihiro is the city in this subprefecture. Tokachi has a large agriculture sector and the main crops produced are wheat, potatoes, beets, and beans, but there has also been progress in the production of nagaimo (Chinese yam), lily root and burdock. The amount of arable land in Tokachi is the highest in all of Hokkaido.

Animal husbandry is big business in Tokachi with a major dairy industry. Tokachi itself has 40% of beef and dairy cattle in all of Hokkaido. Tourists come to Tokachi to visit dairy farms and savour the dairy products. 十勝牛乳 is a common milk brand in Hokkaido and the name is translated as Tokachi Milk, produced by Yotsuba company.

Tokachi produces the largest amount of wheat in Japan. The headquarters of 3 nationally renowned pastry companies Rokkatei, Ryugetsu, and Cranberry are also located in Obihiro. There are many interesting pastry shops in Obihiro and I don't think it is possible to try all of them in one trip.

There are lots of restaurants in Obihiro. Really a lot! And I saw quite a number of them putting a sign infront of their shop that English Menu is available. The Tokachi Subprefectural Bureau is heavily promoting Tokachi as a tourist destination, but is often overlooked by foreign tourists. There are many websites providing up-to-date information for tourists, and they even have printable translating sheets (for pointing) for basic conversation needs. They do understand that tourists need to be understood and tourists hope to enjoy this area and not feeling lost.

Quiet streets at 8.30am

Obihiro's Shopping Street, but it was nothing interesting

Weather for the days when I was in Obihiro

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 6) - Kushiro

Kushiro is a port city, located on the east coast, facing the Pacific Ocean. It is also known as the fog city, with the summer being the foggiest and it even has a fog festival in late July each year. Here is an article about Kushiro's Fog Season

But I don't want to go there for fog. Luckily dense fog dissipated few days before I arrived and sadly, fog came back for a day during my coastal drive to Obihiro. Luckily it wasn't dense, just imagine days with some haze in Malaysia, not the serious type.

Kushiro is famous for seafood. This city is most famous for Pacific Saury (Sanma) and Hanasaki Crab. It's a huge fishing port with many fishing towns nearby.
So, I definitely came here for the seafood and I find it hard to find sufficient stomach space to eat within the 16 hours I was in the city.

Besides that, Kushiro is also the place to watch Japanese red crested cranes (The emblem of JAL), of which is on the endangered list. And if one loves nature a lot, and loves birdwatching, the Kushiro Marshland will be quite interesting.

The weather of Kushiro during our visit

We arrived in Kushiro at about 7pm. Checked in at Kushiro Castle Hotel and walked to the city centre for dinner.

Walking on Nusamai Bridge

This road seems quiet. On the right side is the bustling night area, with restaurants and entertainment centers.

We were hungry. When we arrived at the street I was looking for, I thought I found Aburiya. It was all in Japanese, and we couldn't read, but the menu looks same same. But this restaurant was not welcoming. Same thing happened like how it was in Kihachi Abashiri. We saw vacant counter seats, but they politely, apologetically showed us to the door after we said '2 persons'. Well... Ok ok.

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 5) - Teshikaga

Teshikaga 弟子屈町 is home to breathtaking landscapes of farm land, two crater lakes, and active volcanoes. Famous tourist attractions in the town include Lake Mashu, Lake Kussharo and Kawayu Onsen. The whole area is actually part of a huge caldera called Kussharo Caldera, and is one of the biggest in the world with 22 X 26km in diameter, slightly less than TWICE the size of Penang Island. About 65% of Teshikaga is part of Akan National Park.

This area has active volcanic activity, which explains the sulfur fumaroles and the highly acidic hot springs in Kawayu Onsen area. In Japan there are a few hell valleys, two on Hokkaido, and one of them is located here, at Mount Iou. I feel very excited visiting so many volcanoes today

Weather for this area today. And temperature is lower at higher elevations. 

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 4) Abashiri

From Lake Notoro to Cape Notoro

Abashiri is a port city that is famous for a few things.
1. Drift ice cruise
2. Prison Museum
3. Drift Ice Museum
4. Coral grass in Lake Notoro
5. Line caught Kinki
6. Red King Crab and Blue King Crab
7. Japan's largest Pink Moss park
8. Whale watching
9. Abashiri Okhotsk Blue Beer
10. Rare sushi - think Octopus Eggs, Crab Ovum

We arrived in Abashiri at around 7.15pm. The town was so quiet.

Parked our car, and went in to check in at Dormy Inn. Then, we walked over to Kihachi to have our planned sumptuous  dinner of blue king crab, kujira, and line caught kinki. We walked in to the restaurant, was greeted with a big smile. Then we said, 2 persons please. Straight away they spoke so much that we couldn't get it, until they said 'FULL'. We saw the counter seats were still very much available, and yet, they told us it is full. I don't know if it's because we are foreigners or what, but surely it wasn't nice to be turned away when we saw half the big counter area looking vacant.

It had been a long tiring day and all I wanted that night was a feast. A feast I had planned for and dreamed of eating. But for that moment, we had to find another restaurant quickly as we haven't been eating any proper food since morning, besides the chocolates, cheese, ice cream, chips and a glass of warm milk.

I didn't have a plan B, unlike the other cities of which I had a list of restaurants  to visit. I was just eager to go to Kihachi. Abashiri is a quiet town at night, unlike the other cities. Maybe not that quiet in the suburbs where people live, but in the city center, it's very quiet. I can't even notice another restaurant just by looking left and right.

Not wanting to waste time searching Tabelog, we quickly walked back to the hotel and get our car, thinking to drive to Kaitenzushi Kanigen for rare sushi. Actually, I planned for Kanigen to be visited at 6.00pm, but because we were far behind schedule, we just went straight to Kihachi. Then when we reached Kanigen, it was closed! Oh how careless I was that I didn't notice their off day that was written on Tabelog itself. Nothing to eat now. See, no back up plan!

I went on Abashiri's tourist site and found Hananoren. I remember the name of this restaurant, reading it from somewhere, and so, let's try this out.

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 3)- Asahikawa and Sounkyo

The view , around 85% up Mount Kurodake. Notice the stones....

Asahikawa

Asahikawa (旭川市) is the second most populous city in Hokkaido. Most people will visit Asahikawa for its zoo that has penguins and polar bears. Tour groups will mostly stay in neighbouring Sounkyo and bring the tourist to Asahikawa zoo. But we won't be going there, maybe next time with the kids.

Weather for the day we were there

Asahikawa Station

Asahikawa is a city of Ramen. Hokkaido has 3 man types of ramens and Asahikawa is famous for its soy sauce ramen, and the noodles are curly! There is a Ramen Village , quite far from the city center, but if one is in the city center, just drop by the actual stalls.

all the famous ramen near Asahikawa station

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 (Part 2) Furano & Biei

rolling hills in Furano

Day 2 : 11 September 2016

We woke up late to collect our car. We were supposed to collect the car at 8am, but we woke up at 9.10am. We were just too tired. We packed up and got to the Times Rental office at 10am. Luckily the car was still available.

We rented the car with 'Super Safety' Insurance package, so the inspection procedure was much faster as everything will be covered by Insurance. In less than half an hour, we hit the road!

Because we woke up late, we skipped breakfast at Kitakaro's headquarter's in Sunagawa and headed straight to Furano instead. Looks near? It's 113km away!

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Hokkaido Autumn Roadtrip 2016 (Part 1) Sapporo

On our way to Hokkaido from KL. Taken on the plane.

Date : 9 /9/2016
We took a bus from Paradigm mall to the KLIA2 4.5 hours ahead of departure time. Traffic was heavy from Petaling Jaya to USJ. We arrived at KLIA2 at about 9pm. Although we had already checked in online, the queue to drop baggage was really long with only a few counters opened. One hour before boarding, we walked past the gates. The terminal is really far, so, we tried to get in a bit earlier.

My first time going on a night flight and I can't sleep well. The flight duration was about 8 hours from Kuala Lumpur to Chitose , arriving at about 8.10am.

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 - Driving in Hokkaido

1. Why we decided to drive?
2. Getting International Driving Permit
3. Renting a Car
4. Driving on Expressway and National Highways
5. Road Safety and differences with Malaysia
6. Petrol
7. Daylight Hours and Weather Conditions
8. Parking
9. Navigation

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Hokkaido Autumn Road Trip 2016 - Planning

5 years ago, I never imagined myself going on a self-drive holiday in Japan. As we can't speak and read the language, it's virtually impossible. My husband and I agreed that if ever we will travel to Japan, we should follow a tour. But... of late, due to the advancement of technology, a free and easy holiday in Japan is possible. There's Google Map, Google Earth, Google Translate, Tabelog, Tripadvisor, Booking.Com, Agoda and so many other internet resources to aid non Japanese speaking tourist to plan for a trip.

A road trip needs proper planning. This is not my first road trip.
Before I had kids, my husband and I went on an East Coast Road trip, visiting Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Selangor and back to Perak. Driving for about 1200km as well in 6 days.

Japan is a country that doesn't speak my language, but there's so many things to see, experience and eat, and it's not a 'cheap' country to visit.
So, I must think a lot, consider a lot and make my plans, carefully.

I do not travel often, and going to Japan was not something I thought of until this March
I don't like to miss out on things, so I will try to have my cake and eat it too. LOL.
So, let's make this trip a good one.

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Xin Quan Fang Curry Mee @ Ipoh

This place is also known as "Mataliu Kalifun' , which meant police station curry noodles in local Cantonese.

Goodness me..... A simple breakfast needs an hour, if you plan to visit here.

The restaurant was full, and everybody was waiting and waiting. Customer turnover seemed slow. Somehow, it's hard to comprehend why it's so slow, until one peeks at how the 'chopper' cuts the pork. I just felt like taking over the chopping job, lol. Too slow, pinching here, pinching a bit there, then loosen up like playing masak masak... Aduiiiii

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