Wayfaring: Still

Kyoto and Its Rich Cultural Heritage

February 21, 2007July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

And Kyoto, the old Imperial Capital of Japan, was up next. Resources (from books to reviews from friends) reveal that Kyoto is one of the most, if not the most beautiful city in Japan because of its rich cultural heritage. They were not in any way speaking in jest. Kyoto, or what little I saw of it, is indeed an exceedingly beautiful city!

Starting the day off, the services of a maiko (geisha trainee) was sought in that she accompanied us to Heian Shrine (平安神宮), an Imperial Shinto Shrine for some unique photo-taking moments. I will readily admit that, like most other people, I know very little about the sui generis geisha culture beyond their glaringly obvious white makeup. Apparently this ‘escort service’ is a booming business for the geisha in Kyoto. Ensuring that the culture doesn’t die out completely, I guess. And it’s working. It’s just that I don’t envy them one single bit. There is no other way to put it across gently but they reminded me of… animals on exhibit in the zoo. Everyone jostled to take pictures with her, otherwise looked on curiously by the sidelines. I felt bad for her.

Looked beyond that and I started enjoying the beauty of Heian Shrine. Architecturally, it was an intricately alluring shrine with an expansive courtyard space. Couple that scene with a beautiful day and my favourite clear blue sky resulted in some of the most picturesque photographs taken on the trip.

Heian Shrine deifies both the founder and the last Emperor of the Heian Capital. Though not nearly half as famous or popular as Kiyomizu-dera (音羽山清水寺), this shrine too serves as a major tourist attraction for domestic and foreign visitors alike. And as typical of Shinto shrines, devotees could write their wishes or prayers on Ema (絵馬) and hang them at designated racks. They could also receive random fortune lots (御御籤) by contributing a small token amount. All is well if the prediction turned out good. What if it were bad? According to Wikipedia, ‘when the prediction is bad, it is a custom to fold up the strip of paper and attach it to a pine tree or a wall of metal wires alongside other bad fortunes in the temple or shrine grounds. A purported reason for this custom is a pun on the word for pine tree (松 matsu) and the verb ‘to wait’ (待つ matsu), the idea being that the bad luck will wait by the tree rather than attach itself to the bearer.‘ The poor tree…

A visit to Koyto is not complete unless one makes a trip to Kiyomizu-dera, arguably one of the most famous symbols of Kyoto. This historic Buddhist temple located halfway up the Otawa Mountain was established way back in 778. The temple was burned down several times in history, according to the temple’s website. Exactly which part and which building, I’m not sure. Even if we take into consideration the newest part of the temple (which was rebuilt latest in 1633), that still makes it over 300 years old. Based on the what I saw of the temple, I say they are doing an extremely good job out of maintaining this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

There are two famous places within the temple – the Main Hall and the Kiyomizu Stage. Personally I try not to take pictures of the interior at places of worship because I find it disrespectful on so many counts. I do break this rule once in a while when I find the interior so overwhelmingly beautiful I have to take a picture to remember it by but in general, yup… that’s a principle I live by. And so, I do not have pictures of the famous Eleven Headed and Thousand Armed Kannon Bodhisattva. Furthermore the picture I have of the Kiyomizu Stage is of an uncommon angle, I would say. Most photographers shoot it from above (you will have more than enough examples to peruse if you google) but for some strange reason, I shot it from below. Blame it on my fascination with buildings and structures – I have to say that the Kiyomizu Stage, which is the verandah of the main hall built over a precipice, was intriguing. I stared at it for a very long time trying to figure out the construction method. No nails at all, that bit I deduced. Fascinating. The mum had to drag me away after some time because we had other places to go to. 😆

And then it was time for shopping! Not quite the usual type of shopping that other women love. The women in my family like tidbits and knickknacks, and Higashiyama District has everything to offer in this respect. The district is in total just about two kilometres long but we sure took a long time to clear this short distance.

We shopped for Omiyage (お土産), stopped every few steps to look at the food offerings, and ended up eating a lot including waffles and ice-cream. A perfect wrap to our overview of beautiful Kyoto.

(In actuality, this post was written in Apr 2013, 6 years after the trip. In this duration, I have revisited Japan several times, on an average of once every year, but I never did once revisit Kyoto. It is in the pipeline but just not yet. Reliving the memories from this particular trip makes me want move the plan ahead to revist and explore Kyoto in further detail. This is a city that has so much to offer.)

In Search of The Elusive Fuji-San

February 20, 2007July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

After a quiet and peaceful night sleeping at an Onsen Ryokan in Hakone (箱根), we left early the next morning in search of the elusive Fuji-san (富士山), otherwise more commonly known as Mount Fuji. The plan was to have the coach bring us up to the Kawaguchiko (河口湖) 5th Station for a closer view of the active stratovolcano, also the highest mountain in Japan. And if luck would have it, we might even get to walk a bit of the Yoshida Trail. Our tour leader did however pre-empt us that the trail might be closed considering that winter just passed and it might still be unsafe for trekking up the mountain.

To get to the Kawaguchiko 5th Station, we passed by Lake Yamanaka (山中湖) and came across one of the legendary Swan-shaped pleasure boats. It was an overcast, otherwise good day with great weather. In other words, nightmarish conditions for me, the amateurish DSLR photographer.

Of the Fuji Five Lakes (富士五湖), Lake Yamanaka is the largest. And on a clear, cloudless day it offers a splendid view of magnificent Fuji-san. Except that it was a cloudful day when we visited. Not one to be daunted by a tiny, little failure I tried shooting Fuji-san again and again that day whenever I chanced upon her. Which was very often, of course, since we were after all in Hakone.

Take #1 was taken on the moving coach while we were in the vicinity of Lake Yamanaka. No chance of gazing upon the full beauty of Fuji-san because the summit was completely enveloped by clouds. Never mind though: the day was still young and I should have plentiful opportunities to shoot her again, hopefully in better weather conditions.

Take #2 was taken on the moving coach again, when we were nearing Kawaguchiko 5th Station. Risked getting lectured by walking to the front of the coach for this shot. But I think it was worth it. Probably the best shot I had of Fuji-san. The summit was still partially hidden. However there was just a tinge of it peeking through the clouds.

Take #3 was taken a few metres down from the previous shot. A closer shot but basically the conditions didn’t change. I was hopeful that we might see the summit as we ascended slowly to Kawaguchiko 5th Station.

But alas, Take #4 taken at Kawaguchiko 5th Station featured the same patch of clouds in the way of us and the summit. She was so near, yet so far. Well at least she lives up to her reputation of being elusive and out of reach. She is consistent in this way. 😆

There was no one else about, and absolutely nothing to do at Kawaguchiko 5th Station. We stopped and alighted the coach for some photo-taking but 1) it was cold being at higher altitude (2,300 m, to be precise) that had many of our tour mates went running to the coach in less than 10 minutes and 2) there were only so many photographs we could take. I reckon we were on our way again in less than 15 minutes. Which posed a real challenge to our tour leader since we were not supposed to leave till much later. Why, you may ask. Because our next destination was where we were supposed to have our lunch, and we were obviously way too early for that.

It helped that we were travelling with a group of very considerate and understanding tour mates. With her explanation, we were all agreeable to spending a little more time at Owakudani (大涌谷). It sure beat hanging around Kawaguchiko 5th Station doing nothing in particular. Apart from having a manageable trail to explore, Owakudani (which is essentially a volcanic valley with sulphur vents and hot springs) is also famous for its black eggs (黒卵) and scenic view of Fuji-san on clear days. As already established earlier, it was not a clear day so we had no luck of seeing the whole of Fuji-san.

We walked on the Owakudani Trail a little but I was hasty to leave the area because the pungent smell of sulphur did not sit well with me. Instead the mum and I went to hang around the visitor’s centre because the restaurant where we were supposed to have our lunch was just adjacent to the centre, leaving the little sis to explore more of the trail by herself.

It was a hearty lunch we had. Some Nabe (鍋) it was but I can’t tell exactly what it was, now. It was in fact one of the most delectable meals of the whole trip. But what we were really impressed with was not the lunch itself, but the packs of strawberries on sale just outside the restaurant. The strawberries we get to purchase at reasonable prices in Singapore (hence eliminating the Japanese strawberries sold at Japanese supermarkets) are hardly tasty, and rarely sweet. The strawberries we ate at Owakudani were anything but. Big, juicy and also unbelievably sweet. I thought I tasted some really great strawberries at the Keukenhof near Amsterdam in 2005, but these just beat them hands down. I was never quite a fan of strawberries but after that experience, I absolutely love strawberries. They were that life-changing.

While we were at Owakudani, we of course must embark on the Lake Ashi Sightseeing Boat a.k.a. the Pirate Boat. Having no hopes of getting a better view of Fuji-san, we concentrated on enjoying other beautiful scenery. And spotted this beautiful red Torii (鳥居) of Hakone Shrine (箱根神社) at the foot of Mount Hakone. While possibly not quite as spectacular as the ‘floating’ Torii of Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社), this Torii is magnificent and mysterious in its own way.

It was a long day, but was most certainly not over for us. Yet. Because it was time for us to experience for ourselves the real speed of Japan’s legendary Shinkansen (新幹線), or Bullet Trains that could operate at a maximum speed of 320 km/h. It was not completely necessary for us to board the Shinkansen to get to Osaka because our coach could traverse the same distance by road to meet up with us on the other side although it took much longer. It was a novel experience and really just for thrill of the speed. Except that we didn’t really feel the speed at all. The train was that stable on the move. I was duly impressed!

Of Ramen and Hello Kitty

February 19, 2007July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

It’s a wonder what one night of good rest could do to a person. From the grouch I was the day before I transformed into someone in considerably better spirits the next morning. That was until I saw the rain. What a mood dampener…

Still, the show must go on. The coach transported us to Yokohama (横浜) where we spent time for the better half of the day. First and foremost, the Yokohama Chinatown (横浜中華街) cannot be missed. Purported to be the largest Chinatown not only in Japan but in Asia, it started and grew exponentially in 1859 following opening of the sea port in Yokohama. Today not many Chinese are still living within Yokohama Chinatown itself but it remains a major sightseeing spot and a must visit for many overseas Chinese tourists. Us included.

Personally, I have always found chinatowns fascinating. For a start, I’m always amazed by the fact that Chinese have somehow found their way to all parts of the world: from Yokohama to San Francisco, London to Barcelona. This is also the very reason why I am a Singaporean – because my ancestors travelled all the way down from Canton to Singapore!

Because of the unrelenting rain, we didn’t stay very long shopping around Chinatown. Furthermore, most things that could be found in and around Yokohama Chinatown are easily available in Singapore so nothing much intrigued us. After visiting this iconic location in Yokohama, we headed for yet another iconic location – Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum (新横浜ラーメン博物館). And no, no spelling error there.

To be precise, Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum isn’t exactly a museum but more like a three-storey food amusement park where some of the biggest names in the Ramen circuit in Japan are gathered together to provide visitors (mostly overseas tourists) a convenient one-stop regional Ramen experience. At last count, 9 carefully selected Ramen branches occupy the stores at the basement level of the ‘museum’, which is very tastefully donned up like the yesteryear of Tokyo complete with billboards overhead and music blaring from the loudspeakers as if they were played on a gramophone.

It was a very tight space accommodating the many people who were either queueing at their favourite Ramen store, browsing around trying to decide on which Ramen to eat, or basically standing around to soak in the whole atmosphere. And in order to allow patrons to be able to taste more of the Ramen offered, half portions are available. Which is a very good strategy if one intends to eat to one’s fill, provided time is not a factor. The queues were outrageously long when we visited!

Our tour leader’s personal recommendation was the Sapporo-style Ramen. Clearly it was one of the most popular stalls because the queue was, in much correspondence with its status, equally impressive. After walking round and round aimlessly, the mum, the little sis and I decided on patronising the stall with one of the shortest queue – Harukiya Ramen (春木屋). We reckoned any of the stalls would serve delicious Ramen, so it didn’t really matter which choice we made. Our deduction was quite right.

We didn’t have to wait too long for our 3 bowls of Tokyo-style Ramen. On a cold and wet winter day as such, there couldn’t be a more inviting and welcoming sight than a bowl of noodles complete with piping hot soup. As with any other Ramen stall, the patrons quietly waited for their order to arrive, concentrated on their Ramen when it arrived, and then quickly vacated the seats after being done with their food. We did the same. In no time, we were done with our lunch and all ready to explore the rest of the ‘museum’ which includes an area showing Ramen exhibits and history (the true ‘museum’ part of this building) and a shopping area for the Ramen enthusiasts to bring vacuum-packed Ramen home with them, on top of other knickknacks. However I think nothing beats Ramen in fresh, thick broth prepared by chefs who obviously know what they are doing compared to us novices so as much as I love my Ramen, I will never be tempted to buy those vacuum packs.

The Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, repleted with symbols and memorabilia reminiscent of urban Tokyo in the 1960’s, was a truly fun place to visit as we relived how life was back then during the ‘Ramen boom’, so to speak. But it is also one of those places where you visit once, and once is enough to last you a lifetime. I revisited the food amusement park 18 months later, with the mister in tow. It was kind of a trip we specially made down to Yokohama from downtown Tokyo (where we bunked in with a good friend), and let’s just say my companions (the mister and good friend) were not amused with my making them travel all the way to Yokohama just so to visit this ‘museum’. So I guess it’s only worth a visit if you truly love your Ramen, or stay within striking distance. Otherwise, good Ramen alternatives are easily available everywhere in Tokyo.

Puroland Tics — *The entrance tickets are so pretty!*

Our next stop for the day – Sanrio Puroland, a rather small-scaled indoor theme park about 30 minutes away by train from Shinjuku Station. Unlike Tokyo Disneyland, Sanrio Puroland appeals much more to younger children. But the stationery shop selling all sorts of Sanrio character merchandise saw an endless stream of wide-eyed customers, adults included. While there also exist Sanrio stores in Singapore, none is at this scale with such a complete collection of merchandise. I’m not a huge fan of Sanrio (although the little sis loves My Melody) but even then, I was equally taken by the cute array of pinky merchandise. The little sis, needless to say, was elated to have found numerous authentic My Melody stationery.

Sanrio Puroland was truly an eye-opener. I’d never seen indoor amusement parks that elaborately adorned. I had initially thought that Lotte World Amusement Park in Seoul is one of its kind in the world and I was completely dazzled. But that was before I saw Sanrio Puroland. It might not be entirely fair to compare the two because they are obviously different in terms of scale, and appeal. Lotte World after all, still has to maintain outdoor thrill rides while Sanrio Puroland probably easily generates more than enough income to sustain the park from the sale of Sanrio merchandise alone.

Subsequent visits back to Tokyo always sees me wanting to return to Sanrio Puroland but the trip out never quite materialised over the numerous trips we made. One big reason is that this indoor amusement park really doesn’t appeal much to me. It is definitely worth visiting if you have young children, especially girls, in tow. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be missing anything much.

Tokyo Disneyland, Adults’ Paradise Too

February 18, 2007July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

After a rather long flight including a layover at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, the mum, the little sis and I stepped foot on Japan soil. And immediately, as typical of most guided tours, we were whisked off from Tokyo Narita International Airport to Tokyo Disneyland. It was not our first Disneyland visit (the honour goes to Disneyland in California, albeit 20 years ago) and we were most certainly not expecting to be wowed like children. We were after all over a century old, ages combined.

But anticipation and excitement lingering in the atmosphere does strange things to people, even sane and mature adults. While standing in line and waiting to enter the resort the minute it opened, we felt a magical aura about to descend upon us. In spite of ourselves, we were getting all excited about entering the magic land! 😆

It wasn’t fun at all just waiting around doing nothing, so we started taking pictures. Lots of them. Trust me when I say you will not find a lack of subject matter for photography at Tokyo Disneyland, or for that matter, any of the Disneyland resorts in the world. Everything was insanely brightly-coloured and incredibly cute, all rightly done so in an attempt to attract the attention of children and ‘eternal children’ alike. Like the young children, we too were squealing in excitement when the Disney characters strolled out to mingle with the crowd before the resort officially opened its doors for the day.

Tokyo Disneyland opened its doors to the first visitors on 15 Apr, 1983 and comprises 7 themed areas namely: Adventureland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Westernland (the 4 classic Disney lands), Critter Country, Mickey’s Toontown and the Grand Bazaar. We were not looking to doing any of the rides and actually spent the most of our time at the Grand Bazaar window-shopping or taking pictures at all corners of the resort. Even the mum, who is unusually camera-shy because of her tendency to blink whenever her pictures are taken, felt uplifted enough to have her portrait taken by me, and several times at that!

Mum with Flowers — *Mum amongst her favourite flowers. 🙂*

The weather was generally fine on the day we visited the Tokyo Disneyland, however the sky was unfortunately grey and overcast most of the time. Any photographer would have much preferred a clear blue sky instead, but this is the way with winter – the sky could go either way. Given that the turrets of the Cinderella Castle at Tokyo Disneyland are largely painted in tan colour, a snapshot of it taken on an overcast day is going to result in a castle that looks more muted than impressive. This was a major regret from our first visit to Tokyo Disneyland. And it didn’t help that I was dressed in a boringly understated, army green-coloured overcoat. My pictures with the castle just turned out looking colourless and dull.

While we didn’t queue for any of the rides (didn’t want to deprive the real children of their chances at getting on the rides – plus the queues were insanely long!), we made sure we didn’t miss the daytime parade. It was not necessary to take special note of the parade timings (we definitely didn’t!). Just take cue from the Japanese visitors at the resort if you didn’t come across any of the notice boards bearing the timings. As per the resort’s unique regulation, visitors could spread out their plastic sheets or ground coverings and sit by the road side one hour before the scheduled time of the parade. You would think one hour is hell of a long time to sit around doing nothing ay? Not to the majority of the Japanese at the resort. They came fully prepared with plastic mats, and took opportunity of the one-hour wait to have a picnic-lunch with their children. No hustling and no pushing: everything was executed orderly and quietly. To be quite honest, I was expecting nothing less from the civic-minded Japanese.

I have not been to the other Disney resorts around the world. Not since I was 11 anyway. So, is this orderly scene common at all? From what I remember of my visit to California’s Disneyland, hardly anyone was sitting down during the parade; most people were just standing around behind the first two rows of sitters. Have things change over the years?

On this trip we discovered something very intriguing about Tokyo Disneyland – popcorn buckets. While strolling about the park’s nooks and crannies we came across a stall selling the Chip ‘n’ Dale version and without even a second of hesitation, I started queueing for the popcorn. And bucket of course. Well yes, I am a huge long-time fan of Chip ‘n’ Dale. And then I saw a child carrying one with Winnie-the-Pooh. Make a guess what I wanted to do next? I went on a frantic search for the stall selling that particular version of popcorn bucket, with the mum and little sis in tow. Alas, we didn’t manage to locate the stall. Could have, if we had more time, or discovered it earlier. Reluctantly, we left the resort to meet up with our tour leader and tour-mates. Can’t say though, that I wasn’t looking forward to checking into our hotel. Badly wanted to shower. And dress warmer.

So was the day fun for us, given that we had no young children in tow when we visited? A resounding yes! And would I revisit? Absolutely!

Our First Encounter with Taipei

December 24, 2006August 5, 2021 GennLeave a comment

It was in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when Taiwan variety shows permeated our cable TV and captivated many Singaporeans’ hearts. Everyone I knew seemed to want to travel to Taiwan, most wanting particularly to experience their vibrant night markets.

The hubs and I would have loved to join the bandwagon and satiate our curiosity, except that we never did find time to do that. That opportunity arose at the end of the year in 2006 – we grabbed it and made an impromptu decision to make a short trip to Taipei over the Christmas holiday, with lil sis in tow. It ended up being a trip of several firsts: our first time flying with a budget airline, our first trip to Taipei, and the first time lil sis took charge of the itinerary.

In the day when the legendary night markets were still not in operation, we visited the major tourist spots in Taipei. Our first destination was National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國立國父紀念館). We managed to catch the change-of-guards ceremony and were quite enthralled, unlike the locals who were going about their own business in the park – either relaxing or exercising.

There was an art exhibition going on in the premise, but we didn’t enter to take a look. Unfortunately, none of us three were familiar with Chinese paintings or calligraphy and can’t quite appreciate the exhibits.

It was a cloudy day. and with the sun hidden, we were feeling the chills. We brisk walked quickly to our next destination, Taipei 101 (台北101) where we could take refuge indoors. Completed in 2003, Taipei 101 building stands at 508m and comprises 101 storeys (thereby the name) and 5 storeys of basement. And between 2004 and 2010, it was lauded as the tallest building in the world, only to be surpassed by Burj Khalifa in 2010. Not that I think that this superfluous title means anything, to be honest. The title won’t stick anyway; there is bound to be another tallest building being constructed elsewhere. Makes me kinda wonder by the time I die, what’s the height of the tallest building in the world.

We bought the entrance tickets and took the elevator to the observatory on the 89th storey. Apparently we could climb to 91st storey for the open-air observatory but it was closed on the day we visited, possibly due to strong winds. Really would have loved to experience how strong the winds could get at around 400m in height.

After Taipei 101, we walked around and came by this Van Gogh inspired mural of Cafe Terrace at Night. That wasn’t the only mural we came about as we ambled around the city. I loved how Taipei seems to exude this artistic aura everywhere we go. It took many years for Singapore to catch on and embrace our artistic talent.

Keeping up with the rhythm of lil sis’ hectic itinerary, we next made our way to The National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine (國民革命忠烈祠) located in Yuanshan (圓山), located very nearby the famous Grand Hotel (圓山大飯店).

*A perfect reflection captured on the knob of the heavy iron gates.*

On hindsight, I’m truly not so certain why we decided to go ahead to this shrine because it was quite a bitch to get to, not to mention we didn’t know how to proceed to our next location after our visit. Sure, the hourly change-of-guards ceremony was really impressive, and it’s a beautiful place. However, this shrine is actually dedicated to some 400k Kuomintang soldiers who fell during the civil war against Chinese communists in mainland China. So if you think about it, this shrine has very little to do with Taiwan.

Anyways, the history between People’s Republic of China and Republic of China is complicated and people take different sides. I’m not here to discuss anything remotely close to this issue. Just reflecting on how difficult it was to leave this shrine. We couldn’t flag any taxi (there were none!) and even contemplated hiking up to Grand Hotel so that we could leave the area.

Suffice it to say that we were extremely grateful when a taxi finally pulled over and stopped to pick us up. By then we were famished and so tired from the walking our first foray into Taipei’s night market scene was nothing short of amazing. No pictures because it was simply impossible to even lift my camera given how jam-packed the night markets were. I marvel bloggers who can do that. It’s a skill I will never be able to pick up!

The next morning we continued on to another yet another memorial site – National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂), erected in memory of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the former President of the Republic of China.

It was a beautiful winter morning, with not a shred of cloud cover in the sky. I’m not a huge fan of the sun, but it’s winter… so the heat was actually welcoming.

In comparison to National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, there were far less locals about at the CKS Memorial Hall. I’m guessing that’s because there is hardly any shady spot to be found at the latter location, leaving visitors very much at the mercy of the elements. Have to admit that we didn’t spend much time there before we left for shopping.

If there was anything really memorable from this short, first trip to Taipei, it was their bookstores. I love Eslite, especially their lovely 24-hr Dunnan store. We spent a lot of time browsing books there and I didn’t want to leave. [Update: Eslite Dunnan Store has ceased operations as of May 2020.] As e-books gain traction and online shopping making life more convenient, physical bookstores are feeling the heat. I hope Eslite keeps their physical stores – bookstore browsing is high on my list whenever i travel.

My Inexplicably Strange Encounter in Fátima

May 5, 2006April 27, 2025 GennLeave a comment

Our schedule started early in the day, as typical of most guided tours. It didn’t matter that I was sufficiently under the weather to have taken a slow day, or skipped some locations if we were vacationing on our own. A guided tour meant that we have to move with the group, no matter what.

We saw the more important places in Lisbon, ate the world-famous Portuguese egg tarts, but only went on our way towards the highlight of the day well after noon. Yes, we were going to Fátima, the town of the famed Marian apparition that appeared six times before three shepherd children back in 1917.

For the uninitiated, the Blessed Virgin Mary first appeared to three shepherd children Lucia (aged 10), Francisco (aged 8) and Jacinta (aged 7) as they were tending to their flock in a pasture not far away from Fátima, in May 1917. In subsequent months, the Lady appeared to the children five more times, and further entrusted them with three secrets, famously known as The Three Secrets of Fátima. The first two secrets were released in full in 1941. The third secret, though written in 1944, was only revealed in 2000 and is shrouded in mystery. Till today, many believe that the third secret has not been revealed in full, or is false.

The two younger children Francisco and Jacinta Marto, whom had several times predicted their deaths to their mother, died in 1919 and 1920 respectively, and were beatified on 13 May 2000, on the 83rd anniversary of the first Marian apparition they saw. Lúcia Santos, the eldest of the three children, lived the longest till the age of 97, in Feb 2005. A year later, her remains were laid to rest in the Shrine of Fátima. And we happened to have visited the Sanctuary of Fátima several months after this.

Fátima is used to serving large numbers of pilgrims, an average of 4 million every year, and that includes their no-frills cafeteria too. We had a simple lunch after arriving and had an interesting, lengthy discussion with our fellow tour mates about Catholicism, Christianity and the different denominations.

Having visited in May 2006, we happened upon the sanctuary when it was commemorating its 90th anniversary (since the first Marian apparition was recorded). And the good thing about travelling with a tour? It was fairly easy getting a fellow tour mate to take pictures of us, for us. I looked so pale. 😥

We cleansed ourselves at the Holy Water Font prior to entering the basilica, a little surprised at how cold the water was.

It took us quite a while to finally step foot in the Basilica and we were surprised by how cool it was inside, juxtaposed against the hot, humid weather we experienced at the plaza. And just as how quickly my cheeks sizzled to a bright red like tomatoes sitting on a barbecue grill when we were outside, my flushed face started cooling rapidly in the shade. It was almost reflective of my inner state of mind: in a turmoil versus a strange calm. At this point, it is probably important to mention that I had visited Fátima in a disturbed state of mind, having had a lot on my mind. And of course, I was also having a cold.

I took time for my eyes to adjust to the darkness (it was in fact much darker than what was shown in the photograph below). When I was ready, I genuflected at the end of the centre aisle before proceeding slowly towards the altar ahead, in awe of the calm and peace washing over me.

As I was approaching the altar, an elderly, stooping lady I assessed to be of Eastern European descent was headed towards me, in the opposite direction. Under normal circumstances, I would have moved to the right to allow her passage but I was arrested by the kindness I saw in her cloudy greyish-blue eyes. And understanding. She reminded me so much of my late grandmother (she was truly quite a figure to fathom with: very mean to her daughters-in-law but I was the apple of her eye) whom I missed so much.

Instead of walking on, I halted on the spot, with the mister standing right behind me. The elderly lady continued to approach, stopped in front of me, and then lifted her hand to caress my cheek adoringly. It took me completely by surprise and I couldn’t recover quickly enough to react to her motherly gesture. She gave me a smile, and then went on her way.

When we could finally find our voice again, the mister commented, ‘Maybe she has never seen an Asian before?’

I shook my head. That wouldn’t explain the elderly lady’s queer behaviour. Furthermore, this is Fátima, a world renown Catholic pilgrimage site where there are no lack of Asian faces amongst pilgrims hailing from all around the world. I won’t go as far to say that it was a spiritual encounter, and it wasn’t so amazing as to cure my cold instantaneously… but it was definitely strange. Very few cultures in the world actually sanction touching a stranger’s face, or am I wrong?

This encounter weighed heavily on my heart long after we left Fátima. Some years later, I signed up for RCIA to complete my spiritual journey. I once shared with the Brother in charge of our RCIA journey about my unique experience in Fátima and after some contemplation, he gave me a new perspective that was food for thought. He said, perhaps the elderly lady was an angel sent by my grandmother to comfort me in my time of need.

Whatever it was, this inexplicably strange encounter played a key role in my decision to return to the Church. And because of this, Fátima shall forever be a very special place for me, spiritually.

TRIVIA:
What exactly are The Three Secrets of Fátima that the three Portuguese children were entrusted with in 1917?

According to the Vatican’s website, the first secret directly referenced to the frightening vision of hell where ‘Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear…’.

In direct response to the fear incited by the first secret, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was necessary to save the souls of poor sinners otherwise destined for hell. There were also references to the end of WWI and how a worse war would occur (WWII) during the reign of Pope Pius XI should men continue not doing God’s Will and Russian not convert. That was the second secret.

The third secret was recorded, sealed and revealed amidst controversy. Sister Lucia, the last of the three children still alive, fell seriously ill in 1943. It was suggested that she recorded down the third secret (which she never revealed) in the event of her death but she was two-minded about it since she was told not to reveal the secret at the time it she received it. In Jan 1944, Sister Lucia was ordered to record it down and kept safe in a sealed envelope, and eventually sent to Rome for safekeeping in 1957. It was eventually revealed and read in Rome in Jun 2000, which sparked another heated argument (as to why it was revealed in Rome and not Fátima, where the event occurred). Although different interpretations of the secret exist, it summarily revealed the vision of the Pope, together with his priests and laypersons being attacked by soldiers. Some say it alluded to the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul I in 1981. Some fanatics claimed that the there was a fourth secret in the sealed envelope involving information on the end of the world that was withheld by the Vatican.

The Confusing Existence of Gibraltar

May 3, 2006August 4, 2021 GennLeave a comment

Onward to the rock fortress of Gibraltar! It’s really confusing, because while being located on the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, of Spain, it is under British control. What? Yes, that was my reaction too.

In essence, Gibraltar is one of the fourteen remaining British Overseas Territories, remnants of the British Empire. With an area of 6.7 sq kilometres and home to slightly over 32,000 persons, it is a mere 1% of the size of Madrid, the largest city of Spain.

*A parting shot in Torremolinos before moving south to Gibraltar.*

*The famed monolithic Rock of Gibraltar*.

As our coach made way into Gibraltar, we saw the imposing presence of the limestone monolith that, legend has it, marks one end of the limit to the known world (the other end being Jebel Musa, on the opposite side of the Strait of Gibraltar).

Gibraltar has only one main street, and it runs through the only runway the small airport has jurisdiction over. Yes, you read it right, it runs across the runway. Very strange and it made me very nervous, considering how runway incursion is a massive bane of any aerodrome controller’s life.

Turns out everyone who drives into and out of Gibraltar are very used to this arrangement, where vehicular traffic have to halt before barriers and red lights, to allow aircraft to take-off or land. It isn’t too much of a hassle, since the airport sees only about a total of 30 flights per week but that is expected to rise exponentially over the years. I hope they have a better arrangement by then.

*The ancient Moorish Castle purported to be built in the 8th century.*

Right away, we were all whisked to Europa Point, located at the most southerly point of Gibraltar, in hope of having a glimpse of Morocco. Alas, it was too hazy over the waters. We were sorely disappointed but it was alright, there were other sights to see at the viewpoint like the lighthouse, the Harding’s Battery, a mosque and a shrine.

*On a clear day, one can see as far as Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar.*

Europa Point is only this large; it didn’t take us all too long to explore the area thoroughly so our tour continued to Upper Rock Nature Reserve. (Update : the name has since been changed to Gibraltar Nature Reserve in 2013).

Barbary Macaques are native to Gibraltar, and are mostly seen on the Upper Rock. They appear to be tail-less, thanks to evolution, which has deemed tails to be useless to them over the centuries. The sightseeing bus stopped at a site at the Upper Rock so we could come up close and personal with the primates. I even attempted to pose near one to take a picture together, but I have to admit that I chickened out and daren’t go too near. The macaques are wild, after all.

You can see part of the runway in the background of the picture above. It continues to baffle me how Gibraltar operates with a main street running across their only runway. Fascinated, even.

After spending half a day exploring and understanding Gibraltar, we left for lunch before heading for Seville, capital of Andalusia.

The Pink Palace Alhambra

May 2, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

We spent the night away in a very large room. There were a total of 4 doubler-decker bunk beds for the both of us, and the huge space really unsettled me. I most likely didn’t sleep the whole night because it just felt… strange. The mister felt the same way but we both unilaterally but unanimously decided to keep it to ourselves until we left the hotel the next morning. Suffice it to say that we were both mighty glad when we got to leave the room for good.

After breakfast, we were hanging around outside waiting to board the coach and that was when we were rather surprised to learn that hotel in the outskirts of Granada is located just across from where Granada National Airport is! Not very certain here, but I’m guessing that this airport serves only domestic flights and probably doesn’t operate at night since we were not bothered by landing or departing aircraft the night before.

And the day has finally arrived! We are finally visiting La Alhambra, the location I consider to be my personal highlight of this trip. While this palace and fortress complex is perhaps not as well-known as Sagrada Familia the iconic landmark of Spain, it can most certainly hold its own with its colourful history, evident from being the second most visited tourist attraction of the country.

A cursory check on Alhambra’s official ticketing website gives one an idea of how massive the palace grounds are. Apart from the palace itself, there are massive gardens and museums for both day and evening admissions. And since queues for both ticket-buying and entering are equally long, an intended visit must be planned in advance. This is really something I want to put out there for everyone including ourselves (we do want to explore Andalusia on our own again, one day) to consider since it’s easy to think that this seemingly lesser known attraction will be less crowded.

Yup. Crowded. I think it wasn’t that difficult to conclude. And this was just at the entrance. We were hoping that the crowd dispersed in the sparse palace grounds. We were fortunate that it really did.

We walked quickly through the gardens to keep in pace with our guide through the grounds, to get to Charles V Palace. Came by beautiful buildings along the way but we were running on a schedule trying to beat the crowd so…

Charles V Palace (Spanish: Palacio de Carlos V), possibly one of the most unique structures within the compound of La Alhambra, was ordered to be constructed by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor from 1500-1558. While some of the rooms within the palace had been converted by Catholic Monarchs after the conquest of Granada in 1492, Charles V wished to have a permanent residence befitting his status to be built near the Alhambra palaces.

*Taking a picture within Charles V Palace.*

This building is of relative importance in Spain due to the Renaissance style although it met with multiple difficulties and construction was only completed in 1952, more than four centuries after works commenced in 1527. Standing within the unique circular two-storey patio almost made me feel like I was in a bullring. Totally unrelated to the structure itself but considering that I was in Spain after all, I didn’t feel too bad about this gross misunderstanding.

From Charles V Palace, we proceeded to the fortress of Alcazaba, one of the oldest part of Alhambra. Built in the 13th century, the Alcazaba had had a colourful history: when the palaces were completed, the Moors used this fortress for military purposes. Later on when the Christians took over, they transformed it into the state prison. Like many other parts of Alhambra, it was neglected, fell into disrepair and was forgotten until the late 19th century when restorative works commenced.

*Patio of the Gilded Room, between the Mexuar and the Gilded Room,*
*became a meeting place for everyone.*

Throughout history, Court of the Myrtles (Spanish: Patio de los Arrayanes) was given various names but the current name came about because of the myrtle bushes surrounding the central pool. At 31 metres long and slightly over 7 metres wide, this pond has somewhat become an iconic spot whereby every visitor to Alhambra tries to photograph (the queue to get into the vantage spot was long). It’s easy to see why – the green pool acted as a mirror, reflecting the surrounding buildings and structures.

*A precious group photo of the group of people we travelled with.*

*Generalife, the most beautiful part of the grounds, in my opinion.*

You could say that our guide saved the best for last. The Generalife (Spanish: Palacio de Generalife) we see today is nothing like what it looked like before, since it was altered and rebuilt multiples times throughout history since the 13th century. Composed of several beautiful, large gardens, the quarters became a retreat for Kings of Granada who wanted to get away from the mundane-ness of their duties. In contrast to the more opulent architecture of other buildings in the area, buildings of Generalife are plain and simple. Here, the floral and water take centrestage.

While walking in Generalife, I get it why this place was chosen as the place to get away from it all. With the greenery and sounds of water trickling, I felt calm and at peace despite the heat. Kinda makes me wonder how this place looks like at night. From pictures online, La Alhambra is breathtaking at night.

To Granada, the Moorish Jewel of Spain

May 1, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

It was a long drive westward to Granada and that necessitated an early morning departure from Valencia, with an intermediate stop at the cathedral town of Guadix along the way.

Legs of Spanish Iberian ham. Apparently very expensive but from memory, these weren’t.

Such run-of-the-mill pit stops are now a common occurrence each time we journey on to our next destination along the southern coast. What makes this one particularly interesting were these legs of ham we spotted hanging from a pole, the first of its kind we came across. I would go as far to admit that I did not particularly appreciate the smell (not really a fan of cured meat and pork) but hey it was a rather strange sight to us, and we all gravitated closer to have a look. Someone in our group actually contemplated bringing a leg home!

Before we arrived at Guadix, we made a lunch stop and had the most awesome and satisfying meal of the trip. I was totally blown away by the seafood paella. Indeed, no one else does seafood paella as well as the Spanish do. Not even Spanish restaurants in Singapore, unfortunately.

Now, Guadix is one curious town, being one of the oldest human settlements in Spain dating all the way back to the Stone Age. While it lies at an elevation of over 900 metres, most of its inhabitants live underground in cave houses. This is because in general, Andalusians are rather fond of living underground as a means to escape the summer heat, given the semi-arid climate of the region. They are also very proud of their unique dwellings, as we found out while walking round the town: we came across several signs inviting us to view their cave houses if we so wished to. We eventually did take up an offer, curious to experience how cooling these cave houses actually are.

In spite of the scorching heat outside, I was taken by surprise at how the ambient temperature dropped so significantly the moment we stepped into the cave house. There was no air-conditioning or fan whatsoever but wow, it felt like the temperature dropped by 10 degree Celsius instantly. The wisdom of our ancestors simply never fails to amaze me.

*Cathedral of the Incarnation in the background.*

We climbed to the top of the hill for a panoramic of the town ancient town and its surroundings. Beautiful day it was, and we were somehow shaded by some clouds overhead, making the short respite atop the hill more bearable as we enjoyed the view that went as far as the mountain ranges of Andalusia. And from where we stood, the Guadix Cathedral (also know as Cathedral of the Incarnation) was a striking presence and I would have loved for the opportunity to visit. Suffice it to say that we didn’t manage to on this particular trip.

*Rare pic of me in full concentration trying to take a panoramic shot.*
*Didn’t quite work out…*

Guadix started out with producing quality cutlery but over the years the focus had shifted to mostly handcrafted earthenware, which was evident everywhere at every corner we turned.

It’s quite clear earthenware wasn’t actually our cup of tea; we were really more of the fridge-magnet-and-postcards kind of tourists and were happy to stop by the store at the corner of the street where our coach was parked nearby. Seemed like we were definitely travelling with like-minded group mates, judging from the picture above. 🙂

And finally, we were on our way to Granada, which was definitely one of the highlights of our itinerary. After all, Granada isn’t known as the Moorish jewel of Spain for nothing, primarily for its strong Moorish influence in its buildings and streets culminating in the impressive Alhambra Palace. Our first place though, wasn’t the palace but the viewpoint Mirador de San Nicolas, located next to the Church of San Nicolas. Even since Bill Clinton the ex-US president visited this viewpoint in 1997, it has become the must-visit viewpoint for every visitor to Granada although that is not to say that the other viewpoints offer less superior views. For the record, Mirador de San Miguel also offers a splendid view of this beautiful city.

Spain’s 3rd Largest City, Valencia

April 30, 2006July 29, 2021 GennLeave a comment

We bade farewell to Barcelona early in the day and boarded the coach that was to be our main mode of transport for the whole duration of the trip. And since our group size wasn’t very large, everyone had ample space to take two seats each. Very helpful for stretching out when needed since we were spending a lot of time on the roads tracing the lower coast of Spain.

*Toll booths as we were leaving region of Barcelona.*

*One of the many typical pit stops we made along the way.*

After a pit stop to relieve our bladders, we headed for Peníscola, an ancient fortified seaport that is now part of the Valencian Community. Often called ‘Gibraltar of Valencia’, it is located along the Mediterranean Coast and a very popular tourist destination. If Peníscola sounds familiar to you as it did to me, it is likely because you’ve heard of the annual comedy film festival that the town hosts. Either that, or you might have mixed it up with yet another place with beautiful beaches – Pensacola in Florida, United States of America. I know this because well… I did. 😆

The old town of Peníscola comprises a confusing maze of narrow winding cobbled stone streets with the castle located at the highest point of the town, at 64 square metres above mean sea level. It was built by the Knights of the Templar in the late 13th century, and since then it had undergone several minor alterations.

*Beyond this gate and we would have officially entered the medieval town of Peníscola.*

It was a gorgeous, beautiful day with cloudless blue skies as we came into close contact with the Mediterranean Sea and finally understood its enigmatic draw. Long romaticised as the destination for lovers, the many islands and coastal cities with dramatic coastlines surrounding the Mediterranean Sea are often overrun by tourists during the popular summer months. It really doesn’t help that many of these coastal cities and bigger islands are also ports of call for cruise ships (I’ll admit I am not a fan of cruise ships – they destroy the environment at least three times more severely than aircraft). In this respect, we have chosen well, to visit Peníscola during the shoulder month of April. I felt immense relief at not having to jostle with crowds of cruise ship tourists while we explored the walled fortress.

The Mediterranean Sea is indeed blue in colour. Its lacking in certain nutrients promoting growth of sea algae resulted in the signature blue and clear waters. The lack of sea algae meant that the water remains close to pure water, hence reflecting the true colour of the sky. That doesn’t really explain all of the factors why seas and oceans appear blue, but for the most part, this does explain why the Mediterranean Sea appears bluer than the rest of them.

Sadly, it won’t stay this way for long given the pollution from increased sea activity supporting tourism. Sustainable tourism is a term coined only in recent years, but one that resonates with me as we travel more widely over the years. It’s a huge topic to cover on its own so for now, I shall just leave it here as food for thought.

The castle is now a popular tourist attraction and the beaches and surrounding area a popular family holiday resort. The surrounding shops, I have to say, are mostly tourist traps selling run-of-the-mill souvenirs. This is unfortunately the way it has become for most, if not all popular tourist spots. Nevertheless, that did not take away the charm of the ancient town one bit. And I’m all for it if these retail activities help support the livelihood of the locals.

Around noon when the sun was getting a little too hot for comfort, we returned to our coach to seek refuge and headed for Valencia, the third largest city of Spain after Madrid and Barcelona.

And one of the first things we did was to sight-see Valencia while in the coach. I was thoroughly impressed with the various architecture found all around the city, especially in the centre where Romanesque architecture dominated. We were driven across town to make a stop at the world famous City of Arts and Sciences.

*L’Umbracle at City of Arts and Sciences.*

Being the most important modern tourist attraction of Valencia, the cultural and architectural jewel that is City of Arts and Sciences feature several futuristic-looking structures including one that resembles the skeleton of a whale and an open-air structure made of numerous arches encompassing plant species indigenous to the region serving as the entrance to the ‘city’. In the ‘city’ there are several museums and other interesting spaces which we unfortunately did not have enough time to explore in further detail..

Valencia Cathedral, also known as Saint Mary’s Cathedral, was our next destination. As with most European cities, this church sits in the heart of the old town. It was consecrated in the 13th century as a Catholic Church that was built over the site of a Visigothic church, which was turned into a mosque when the Moors occupied Valencia. This church has a vastly interesting history this way, but hardly unique since we later learnt that the church in Córdoba has a similar history.

Because the construction of the church was built over two centuries from the 13th to the 15th century, the structure consisted of several different artistic styles, but predominantly Gothic. While the interior does look a little like a mishmash of several architectural styles, the vast majority of visitors to the church miss this as they pay the most attention to the chapel located at the back of the church, for a very important artefact housed within.

From the standpoint of Roman Catholicism, the Valencia Cathedral is exceptionally important because of the rather nondescript Chapel of the Holy Chalice within the church. Or rather, what the chapel keeps behind the protective glass – the Holy Chalice, also known as the Holy Grail, believed to the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper with his apostles. Religious historians cannot agree on how it travelled all the way to Valencia, and while no one can really prove that this is the authentic Holy Grail, it is probably the most famous of the several Holy Grails there are.

After the immensely interesting guided tour of the Valencia Cathedral, we explored the streets of the city and came across a mobile kiosk selling Orxata. Orxata, a drink made from nuts and apparently unique only to Valencia, originating as far back at the 13th century. Our group crowded around the mobile kiosk and inundated the poor Spanish lady with our orders, curious about the taste. The drink was very refreshing and to be honest, tasted just a tad like the soybean milk that I liked. A welcomed beverage given how scorching hot it was getting.

As we continued with our walking tour, we came by an impressive large building that was closed. We were told that this was the market. The Mercat Central of Valencia (Spanish: Mercat Central de València) is claimed to be one of the biggest and oldest markets in Europe. It started out as an open-air marketplace in the 19th century and did not have a roof until 1928 when construction was completed.

*Standing across from Valencia Cathedral.*

We finally rounded up our walking tour with a view of El Miguelete Bell tower attached to the Valencia Cathedral. Like the church itself, the bell tower looked like it was designed by an architect who couldn’t decide on the style he wanted the tower to be built in. This functioning bell tower is a curious sight, for it seems to be incomplete, exposing the large bells. Indeed, the bell tower never finished construction after it was halted for some reason in the 18th century. The final phase of construction never resumed since the locals decided that they liked how the bell tower looked. And this is how this unique-looking tower comes to existence.

*A newly-wed couple we met during our city tour around Valencia.*

If Plaza de Toros de Valencia (officially Plaça de bous de València) somewhat reminds you of the Colosseum in Rome, that’s because this bullring arena built in neoclassical style in the 1850’s did take inspiration from Rome architecture including the Colosseum and the likes. Situated almost right smack in the city centre, this arena sits over 10,000, making it one of the largest arena in Spain, making it really hard to miss.

Anyhow we passed by (several times) but a pity we didn’t get the opportunity to enter for a visit since we were on a tight schedule. In fact, that was the last landmark we saw of Valencia in daylight. We had to travel onwards to our accommodation for the night before travelling some 500km to our next destination – Granada.