Revisiting My 2nd Home - Japan! (Part 1: Preparations and taking off!)

*Ok this is waaaaay overdue. But better late than never right? This entry of my trip to Japan will the beginning of many other delayed updates  :-)

Why Japan?
The end of 2012 - Bad time at work, pretty much the whole year. It went flat and then down since maybe around March.
Lets just say I survived through, and looking back at that time, I can only smile that its over. But thats another story to tell.
By the end of 2012, I just needed a little getaway to a place that can lift my spirits up. Some place that not only would give me the overdue vacation I needed, but also a place that would remind me that I am a strong person, and I can be happy If i chose to.
So instead of some place I have never been, one day the end of December after yet another devastating occasion at work, I just booked that flight - to TOKYO!!
yehuu~
I didnt even notice at that point that I was making the trip during the CNY break, so I actually only had to take 3 days leave for the 1-week trip, departing kl on Feb.6th and returning back on the 12th of 2013.

And then I started making my plans..the where, when and whats continued for a while.
Lucky me I still have a couple of friends there, so my plan is based on these people location as well, as long as got to include Tokyo and Fuji mountain. Ironic enough, I never got close to the japan iconic mountain when I was there for 4 years as a student. Maybe because I had no close friends near that area.

Talking about Japan, the entry visa was a big headache. Going to the embassy twice to apply and pick up, the minimum amount of $$ to show in the bank account, getting the invitation letter, forms etc...
I got all the information from the internet and downloaded all necessary forms via the embassy website, and one day drove to the embassy in KL to apply for the visa.
Lucky me, I managed to get our dept. GM secretary to pick up the approved visa for me, I was really running out of annual leaves!

So here goes my visa on my passport..hihi..

I'd say people who are going to Japan now are lucky for not having to apply for a visa anymore - but it was a worthy experience  :-)

Few weeks before the date of departure was pretty exciting. Got busy confirming my 'dates' with a few people, finalizing the itineraries. Got myself everything I needed for the trip and luckily I had saved one favourite jacket so I didnt need to buy any winter clothing except for a couple pairs of socks! owh and a cheap pair of gloves which proved to be useful!

Day 1(Feb.6th, 2013)
On the day itself, my sister and brother in law dropped me off at the LCCT on their way to work - yep early morning! My flight was actually noon 2.30. So after dropping off my BIG luggage, i just killed time at the airport, reading newspapers and watching people. Had lunch at the coffee bean and spent time there until it was time to board.

why LABU??

Boarding time yey!

The flight took off in time Alhamdulillah. No drama at all.
I got a window seat, and entertained myself watching and listening to these 3 guys talking about their 3 weeks to Malaysia. How they love Bukit Bintang and couldnt remember much about Kelantan! errr...
Managed to sleep for a few hours after I got tired of listening to these guys and when I woke up it was less than an hour to touch down, actually 45mins earlier than estimated. Speeding pilot!

I couldnt help by smiling when the captain mentioned in his announcement that the temperature outside was a little below 10 deg. Winter, here I am!

A bit of a drama once I got to the arrival hall as I couldnt find my checked in luggage. owh no panic! Consulted a ground officer and she said 'Finished". I started speaking in japanese, telling her that I didnt even waste any time, but it was a long immigration line I had to go through. The lady frantically talked on her walkie talkie and a few minuted later a guy showed up pushing a trolley with a few bags on it, one was mine! phewwwwww...for a moment I was trying to sort what I was going to do if my luggage is lost. that was close!

Ok so I got my luggage, and went to the main hall. It was almost midnight by the time I got to the main hall. Other people were trying to catch the last bus to tokyo...One thing about flying to tokyo via Air Asia is that the flight arrives midnight and its impossible to catch the last train to tokyo, if lucky maybe the bus.
Luckier me, I had people coming to pick me up :-)

One of my best friends from Uni, Rosa was still in Gunma, Japan doing her Phd. Her husband, Fakri - one of the seniors who picked us up on our very first day in Gunma, was coming with another senior, Bujin to fetch me all the way from Kiryu, Gunma.
Pheww, sungguh terhutang budi!

I called Rosa, and she said the guys were on their way. Luckily for the trip a friend was kind enough to lend me his new Iphone to use in Japan. He lives in Tokyo but was in KL during my trip so he actually offered me to stay in his apartment while I was in Tokyo for two days, and also loaned me the phone. how much luckier can I get? Saved quite a bit from not having to pay for accommodation in Tokyo and also any internet plan throughout the trip.

Went into the 'konbini'(=convenience store) to get something to drink and eat. So there goes, my first japanese food of many - tarako onigiri & hot green tea!

delicious onigiri! not the usual 100yen stuff but premium tarako onigiri, loved it! the hot tea, not my fav. brand but at that moment, anything will do!

Tea in bottles in Japan are sold according to season. And one thing I love about winter is its hot green tea  :-)

after about 45minutes, Fakri and Bujin arrived and we immediately took of for Gunma! I could see Tokyo Sky Tree so proud in the Tokyo skyline while we were passing by Tokyo..of course its on my To GO list!

About 2 hours later, we got to Kiryu, arrived at the International Student House where I used to stay on my 2nd year.

Ya Allah! How I missed this place! It was FREEZING cold, really classic kampung Kiryu!

Rosa welcomed me and since it was already late, we decided to call it a night and go to sleep.

An exciting day waiting for us tomorrow!

Preview Day 2: A day trip to Kusatsu, the onsen town of Gunma!

Expense in day 1:

Return Flights: Rm1100 incl. taxes and luggage. No food or entertainment.

Lunch at LCCT: Rm25

Onigiri & Tea: 280yen.

Perhentian Island, getting that diving license - the trip!

I think it must have been a few years that I started taking interest in diving. Probably that time when I went snorkeling in TAR marine park in KK, cant even remember if it was 2010 or 2009..

It was so mesmerizing that i thought it must be even more interesting if I can dive into the deep.

But as always, all talk and no action does not bring one anywhere!

untill in january this year i came across this group on facebook - Muslimah divers. I clicked join, and soon after signed up for a scuba discovery course.

it was just a few hours intro course with in pool session. cost was RM100.

its good that i managed to drag a friend along for this activity, although I probably would have done it anyway if i was alone.

And thennnnn... during ramadhan this year i came across this post on fb, an opportunity to do PADI open water diving course at a slightly cheaper rate. I immediately gathered up a few friends, and immediately confirmed our dates for the course to be held in Perhentian.

YEY!

I was actually really craving some island vacation and perhentian was one of the options. I was thinking to plan a trip there when i came across the post...so talking about perfect timing lah.

everything just fell into pieces. chewah!

So finally last month, we took the night bus from KL, the 3 of us plus the dude who organized this thing. Another friend was joining us from K.T

Day-1.

Arrived in Kuala Besut around 5.30am. The bus station was just by the jetty..it was very early but we could see quite a number of people - mostly guys, and backpacking mat sallehs sleeping there, probably waiting for the shops to open to get their boat tickets.

Soon later, it was time for Subuh so we did our prayers at the nearby surau and waited for the day to...errr happen?

The dude, ok his name is Syafik heh..already got us tickets for the boat to perhentian island, so we sat down at one of the gerai makan. we were supposed to actually wait for another one of our friend from KT plus 2 other girls who will be taking the course with us.

But after much discussion...we took off on the first boat and the other 3 will follow suit once they arrive from KT.

Boat ticket is RM70 return, plus RM5 for marine conservation.

So the boat took off at around 9am, taking us and a group of French backpackers. friendly people!

our new friends!!

It was a speed boat. so 30 mins later, we were dropped off on Perhentian Besar. The exact location is on Pantai Teluk Dalam where we were staying and taking the diving course.

I felt like jumping into the water straight away..the water was clear and blue! owh so nice.

BUT, I cant really swim pon oii!

Berangan jek!

So we walked to our chalet, Fauna Beach Chalet...given a key to a room - as it was still early only one room was available. so decided to just take it, at least we can use the bathroom to freshen up etc.

Our room was a basic fan room. a bit hot!

so soon later we decided to take it to the beach and stroll along...by which time the sun was right up above our heads! it was nice and clean on our side...but as we stroll along towards the end of the beach, towards arwana resort, it was a bit dirty with litters and debris from the sea...

owh around noon the other 3 arrived and joined us for lunch.

Our meal for lunch and for the rest of the stay was at the in-house gerai makan,  

pretty white sand.

little jetty of teluk dalam

most boats were not in used during noon...mostly used in the morning and later in the evening.

fauna beach chalet and the rustic dive shop - the house D.M is abang mie, considered a pioneer among local dive masters in perhentian.

ok..after lunch we got back too our chalet...did zuhur prayers at the surau as the room was too packed for the four of us, still waiting for the other room.

At around 2.30, we were ready with our swimming suits to have our very first session. we had a briefing and a demo on how to handle the equipments and then off we go for our confined water session.

the boat took us to teluk kekek, just a few minutes away. there we learned for the first time how to breathe with the regulator through the mouthpiece and also learned some basic skills.

our instructor, abang rab was strict but errr...still ok hakhak. i think he's been very patient la throughout the session with us :p

by the end of it...i got confident breathing under water, learned how to clear mask fogging and how to adjust, take off and then put on the mask while under water.

suprise2!i managed to keep my eyes opened even when i didnt have my mask on - sthg i used to think impossible! jakun!

teluk kekek. this is a nice spot for swimming, snorkeling and ofted used as a base to train new divers. the beach has no chalet but is famous as a campsite.

our nice but a bit strict boss..eh, sifu.

we were pretty knocked out after our water session...the long bus ride plus the water session were really tiring us out.

Rest a bit...and then after maghrib it was dinner time.

Abang Rab and one other diver, abang O.J who were there taking two guys also taking the course with us, joined us for dinner. Talks around the the table were basicly like icebreaking...which later continued to a more 'in deep knowledge review session - talked about what we did during the day, and some basic knowledge sharing.

It went on untill we were all too sleepy...perhentian besar especially around the area is quite quiet at night. no night activities, so by around 10,30 it was already time for us to go back and sleeppppp...

side note, for people coming to perhentian, those who want relaxing environment would normally pick Besar. while those who want a more havoc, backpacky and some nightlife would go to Kecil.

we dont see many locals in Besar, mostly are foreigners or locals who are taking diving lessons like us.

Day-2.

We started the day off with breakfast, and then a little knowledge review right there too. mostly on breathing techniques - and review on what we did wrong yesterday.

haha. had fun laughing at our own foolish acts! blurghhh luckily no video!

Later on around 11, we moved to the dive shop..this time we got to assemble the equipments ourselves.

Around noon we took of to the same spot as yesterday for water session.

I personally put a target to learn more and master all the basic skills today. Volunteered to be the first 3 to go under water and had a good time.

So after i was done, it was relaxing and photo time!

We got back to our beach around 3pm...and decided to sit by the beach studying the materials..we were already given homeworks of chapters to read before tonight's review session.
well..after maybe 30mins it was more like a photography than a study session. hak!

my pretty yellow companions~

Dinner that night was followed by a study and review session by our main instructor, abang mie. better known as mie fauna.
He used to be quite famous doing sthg entirely different - he was in the band Medicine, in his younger years.

No wonder la his dive shop is quite famous esp. among artists and rock stars. yeyeh!

..we were probably laughing at one of abg mie's jokes. very funny and kind guy!

..a bit serious looking. more like a respected 'bapak' existence to many divers in perhentian, he is said to have produced the most divers in perhentian.

Day-3

Day-4

We started the day early, after breakfast at the usual place, went straight to the dive shop to set up for our 2nd last dive.
The morning dive took place right off the beach, of the house reef.   Went probably 12~15 mtrs deep.
I just tried my best to remember what I've learned the past few days including safety procedures like safety stop, controlled ascending and so on while trying my best to relax and enjoy - getting ready for the finale, our fun dive that noon!

after the morning dive, we had to pack our stuff and check out. they were kind enough to let us keep one room to keep our stuffs. though.
got ready soon after lunch and off we go!

THE FUN DIVE!
To be honest, i was quite NERVOUS!
not because of the dive..i've gotten pretty comfy underwater so no problem.
I was worried about hte 'backroll'~
backroll = sitting on the edge of the boat with your back facing the water and roll on our back to enter the water.
once you enter you're supposed to roll back up to the surface but of course for the novice like us - it's scary!
I have a history of NOT jumping when i was suppposed to jump on a cadet drill haha. so this time, i decided to just not think about anything and roll!
Beside we always have abg arman loyally and patiently watching our backs in case anything happen..the mind is a powerful thing, knowing someone is there to help you out in case anything is a big thing.
So...i rolled and survived and it was fun! felt like clapping hands except could really do it in the water hah~~

once everyone were in the water, we took turns going down following a rope this time - right into the deep water.
as always went two-by-two and followed abang mie streaming around...i wished we'd see more big stuffs..errr maybe some rays of a SMALL shark or a turtle, but no luck. lots of pretty fish and sea urchins!
i dont think we've seen the best of the place anyway...i'm sure they brought us only to the 'safe' places for this course...maybe on our next dive we could challenge other places that have more supprises!

END OF THE COURSE!!
The end of that final dive marks the end of our course!
Well unofficially anyway..since we didnt get our licenses straight away.
rushed back, took a quick shower as the boat leaves very soon, around 4pm.

The best souvenier that i took with me from the island were the new found friendships found on the island - with the instructors, the other students..even the 'abe kedai makan'! I definetely knew it is going to be darn TEMPTING to not return to this little cosy chalet on my next visit. And the fact that this new journey as a certified diver started here, made it even more so :-)

and so the boat arrived around 4pm...and we left the island together with abang mie. He had some errands to run on the mainland and beside, we havent finished filling up our forms and logging our dives. once on the mainland we found a place to settle for the next few hours before our bus departs for shah alam, and settled the stuffs with abang mie.
He helped us logging in our dives, signed our log books and said good bye!
BYE abng mie, definetely seeing you again!

By then..the heat and the exhaustion of the last few days hit us.
I myself became so grumpy haha! Felt like being mad at anyone around me...must be teh empty stomach we took with us from the island or was i high on nitrogen?

Kuala besut was a dead place in the evening...only tourist and backpackers like us waiting to take off leaving this gateway to the islands.
So i was just glad that it was finally time to go home.
At 8pm sharp, we got on the bus.
Didnt even get off the bus on the pit stop, i just practically sleep, sleep and sleep!
We arreived in shah alam around before subuh...and soon were on our way home.

Its a long way from shah alam to perhentian and back.
But suprisingly the bus ride wasnt so bad. maybe would have been different if it was a day bus.
I definetely will be taking this route again!
Too bad teh monsoon is coming and so i cant make monthly trips there heh...thinking of going again before it closes next month, but with the stuff going on at work its a bit difficult to get a saturday off and so unless someone doesnt mind taking monday/tuesday off to tag along, it will be a bit difficult.

But i so missed diving already!
i'll figure sthg out!
   

our 'sifu' and lifeguards!

gang comel??!

a diver's keepsake; logbook, planner and manual~

beginner's log  :p

Open water dive cert - CHECKED!

Past & future.

A couple of posts from previous travelling pending - tanah aina, cameron, perlis/langkawi/kedah!
and a couple already planned ahead.

Soon will be next week unknown yet destination with besties - a random idea we got just over the weekend, to hv another weekend sleep over somewhere. The last time was the thistle pd, when amal (and i think yam too?) Were preggers. And ayra was still quite a little girl ( now dah big sis!).
where will it be ehh this time? Cannot be too far though..with the kids, and just us lady drivers.

Also penang trip is being planned for the final weekend of the month. Also vr random.

Uhuh..supposed to be going singapore next week, but i cancelled after the heartbreaking news last week..lost the mood plus a little concern on budget. Since uss isnt really my priority anyway.
But err...suddenly planning 2 trips for the month?
i guess i'm back up!

The cny trip back to Japan is the highlight though. Super excited planning the trip esp. When i will be on my own for tokyo-yokohama-kawaguchiko.
Cant wait for the onsen overnight trip with rosa too. Will be staying in a ryokan complete with open roof hot bath@露天風呂.
i miss everything back in that little town of kiryu. And also maebashi. It was sad when i cant quite recall my first campus, 1st year campus. I barely remember the look of the campus except the gate and the outer ground. Waaaa..sadis.
But the engineering campus in kiryu is still quite vivid and really cant wait!
wud be nice to meet a few sensei i was close with.

Got the invitation letter and supporting docs from a friend back in Japan to aid with my visa apps.
Will take a day off next week to go to the Jap. embassy!

random suprise of pantai leka

Randomly came acrossed the word 'pantai leka' recently..turned out to be the 'beach' of the fishing village, parit jawa in muar. the place is in my balik kampung route, that is if i chose to use the Tangkak interchange, but i have never heard of it before.

This time around, i happened to be around the area around maghrib, so i thought, maybe a little peek.

And suprise-suprise, breathtaking views of dusk just a few minutes before it breaks into the night.

Didnt even have my tripod along, so i made do with empty tanks on the jetty to keep my camera still.

From the silhouette of things around, i'm pretty sure it could be interesting to shoot if i came a little earlier.

Homework for next time.

From what i read on the internet, pantai leka used to be the place for the locals to spend the evening soaking into the setting sun. It also is a place known for birds to stop by in their migration route. 

Unfortunately the shore has now been swept away so far and it no longer is a 'beach' for the kids to play sands in the evening, but mud and contaminated water.

I'm glad it's beautiful view of dusk remains though.

2013, refreshed & renewed!

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for my travelling and gourmet experiences, and all other adventures!  :p