Yokohama

I was in Yokohama last year for my annual conference. It was a vibrant city, I felt like a country bumpkin going to the city for the first time and seeing tall buildings! I shouldn't be that awestruck. After all, I come from a country with one of the tallest building in the world! The above picture was taken in the building where we had our conference - Yokohama Kaikou Memorial Museum.



Yokohama Kaikou Memorial Museum. Nice place, with beautiful stained glass works.





Some of the stained glass works. We were in Yokohama for the duration of the conference, I didn't extend my stay there. Too bad, so close to Tokyo, which I have yet to see!



HRC Yokohama. Went there to celebrate my birthday. The conference is always on my birthday, since 2004, I had never celebrated my birthday in Kyoto! One cool thing about HRC here is tht they give you a HRC classic birthday pin, a sundae, a BIG round keychain with your pic inside and a 25% discount card for merchandise for your birthday! Of course, they require an ID check first! eheh



The Harbour - happening place. HRC is situated there, plus many shopping malls etc. I saw TGI Fridays there!! I love their mudpie and Kyoto does not have Fridays. Or Burger King!



An a very wet Chinatown. It was pouring on our last day here and we were carrying our bags walking round in the rain. Much much bigger than the Kobe Chinatown. And so much food!!



A cool restaurant where we had our lunch during the conference days.



I had chocolate cake!!

And that is all about Yokohama...wished I had more to write but we were there only for the conference.

Dance of Fire

I was at Kamogawa that day and saw this fire performance by two guys. Definately a photo op.












Mesmerising the audience


I thought this picture is kinda cool!


Final picture which was actually one of the first few pictures I took with slower shutter speed.

The Jellybean Trail......

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Botaira Beach Resort, Yasawa Islands, Fiji

On our way there.



We finally reached Botaira beach resort, which is a small resort, with huts situated along the beach. The staff were very friendly and there were a couple of tourists staying there when we arrived.



We were greeted with hibiscus flowers and songs. Inclusive with our day tour package was lunch, which was served by the resort. So we ate first before leaping into the sea!



Kokoda, raw fish marinated in lime juice and served in coconut cream. Delicious.



After lunch we explored the beach a bit. My senseis decided to walk around and just relax, taking in the beautiful atmosphere, while Shiori san and I rented snorkelling equipments. It was fun. Too bad I had no waterproof equipment for my camera.



Sadly, after a mere 90 minutes or so, we had to leave and get ready to catch the boat back to Denarau. This is one part of the island where Botaira Beach Resort is situated. Look at that turqoise hue....



It was in the late afternoon when we were leaving, and so the sun was setting, giving us lovely lovely views. This was one of the boat crews from one of the many resorts we passed along the way; they were either dropping off passengers or picking them up.



I liked that I can see the sun rays streaming through the clouds..



Contrast...



Another boat crew. And lastly a few of my favourite pictures of the day



Love the rays



You know, this picture reminds me of one of those poems about loneliness or something...all alone, out in the sea...



I love this one.



And finally we reached Denarau port. We went back to the hotel, had dinner and rested before taking the flight back home the next morning. Funny story, which wasn't so funny when it happened: When we reached Narita Airport, we were told that the luggage compartment door was frozen and could not be opened, therefore, our bags were stuck inside. We were told to wait for a while, but minutes passed, and they decided they cannot solve the problem in time, so we were told to leave our addresses and they will ship the bags to us. Now, being the smart fella I was, I left my cellphone in my check in bag! Haih! And we went back to Kyoto, patiently waiting for our bags to arrive the next day or so. But guess what happened next? The plane left Narita airport and flew back to Fiji because they did not book a place in Narita for the next day so they had to leave, taking our bags with us! SO yeah, our bags had a second holiday. And by the end of 5 days I think, we finally got our bags back!

And that's it. End of the Fiji Story. Next up: I don't know!