essentials for kinabalu

hey, did you realise there are so many different forms of insect repellants in the market??

allow me to show you.. clock-wise from top left:-

1) All natural mosquito repellent patch : lately very popular - uses citronella oil to repel mozzies. stick on clothes, no direct contact with skin. buzzword : NATURAL
(the pack i bought is attached with a bottle of spray)

2) OFF! Insect Repellent Lotion : this one contains DEET, which is a chemical used to repel insects. used to be very popular before the natural stuff came out. i bought this due to recommendation by many climbing websites. Most if not all of them stressed "DEET"

3) Aquatabs : water purification tablets. on closer look it is actually chlorine! so i will be drinking chlorine water!!

4) Beyond Bodiheat : heat pad for 12 hours of pain relief. i am sure i will be aching ALL over... a little pad goes a long way... can even keep me warm.. *bliss*

and finally,
5) new anti-mosquito wristband : this one intruiged me cos it looks like one of those sports band... haha... whether it works or not never mind. it can be a fashion statement for my climb. i bought the yellow colour one.

i was fat last year?

i bumped into ole wolvie in a recent local meet-up where like-minded people got together for a common interest (well, at least thats what i went there for).

he said he could not recognize me as i had slimmed down a lot!!! hey, was i that fat then?

anyway, i was glad to meet him in person - it was like fate... so carefree... so un-pretentious...

お久しぶり、ole wolvie san...

me then...


me now...

hakone and mt fuji

we were lucky that it was a very clear day and mt fuji could be seen. can you see the iconic mt fuji in the picture?

more pictures of cateriam

tera could be in heat now, she kept rolling on the floor. btw, she's an ocicat and scottish fold mix

isnt this ponchi adorable? look at her innocent eyes!


this is dori - a ragdoll. she's rather inactive, prefer to pass her time in the basket


this is my favourite - airu, a calico maine coon. her fur is so soft, i kept molesting her! hehe..


cafe area


kaypoh cats checking out our jackets

xmas lighting at shiodome

cat cafe

more and more cat cafes are opening up in japan.

this time i went to one in 下北沢 called cateriam, opened in july 2008.

even though there were only 8 cats, i had lots of fun, and missed my babies at home.

sleeping black cat - can you see its pink tongue and white whiskers? this one is koko.

chincilla cat - even though i am not a fan of flat face, i find ponchi very cute!




and finally, tera sucking on my arm! on cateriam's website, it is written that tera likes humans wearing short sleeve tops - AHA!

long overdue!

paiseh paiseh... i had all the intention to blog on a daily basis in tokyo. alas! i had to be a babysitter cum tour guide, that the dual role drained my energy by the end of each day.

btw, i think this will be my last trip in a long time. flipping through my passport, i realised i set foot in japan 7 times in the last 5 years! also, i made 4 overseas trips in 2008, adding up to 1.5 months or 50 days! and thats not counting the short quickies like bangkok and penang

so, here comes the pictures... this time, i did not bring my trusty panasonic lumix, as the new 4gb sd card i bought could not be used in the old lumix. most pictures were taken with handphone or by travel partner.

this shinjuku shot was taken from my 31st floor room at hilton.


foreigners can no longer buy cigarettes from vending machines, as japan has implemented a control system whereby one has to tap an id card called taspo. buying from cigarette shops actually makes no difference, ie price is the same, and sometimes the pack comes with free lighter or portable ashtray, all at the same price!