A couple of weeks ago, Chassa, my younger girl, came home from school and told me that a nurse checked her eyes. She said she put on glasses and everything looked blur. I thought that was a good sign, assuming that without glasses things were clear, meaning she had perfect eye-sight. I didn't give it much thought after that.
Just a few days ago on Monday, I checked her school communication book and found a letter inside. It was an appointment letter to visit the Student Health Center next Tuesday for an eye check-up. Attached to it was a health assessment form indicating that her right eye was 6/19 and left eye was 6/7.5. We had no idea what these numbers meant. We assumed she's short-sighted. We tested her right eye and found that she couldn't read the letters.
It was very upsetting. I thought back to all those times I allowed her to play computer games and watch TV so that I could have some free time to do my own things. I felt guilty. I shouldn't have taken the easy way out and in doing so ruin her eye-sight.
Then a more frightening thought came. What if it's not her eyes but her brain? Could this be related to her staring blankly onboard the plane to New Zealand? Maybe there's a tumor or blood clot in her brain that's affecting her vision. That night, Daren and I couldn't sleep. We cried out to God and prayed. I was reminded of how helpless we felt 8 years ago when Charis had very high jaundice level and almost needed a blood transfusion. Daren reminded me to trust in God and commit Chassa into His hands.
The next morning, I quickly called up the Refraction Center to get an earlier appointment. They had a morning slot on Wednesday and I took it. The check-up was fast. We didn't wait long for our turn and it was done in a jiffy. We weren't allowed into the room so that Chassa won't be distracted by our presence. The optician explained to us that Chassa wasn't short-sighted but has high astig in her right eye. This is due to her irregular cornea, which is oval instead of round, and most likely present since birth. She would have to wear glasses at all times.
It was a relief to hear all that although it's still sad that she would have to wear glasses at such a young age. Back home, we tried to google for good optical shops. There were barely any talk about this issue on online forums. I would think that with such high myopia rates in Singapore, this topic would be popular but apparently not. In the end, we sought out friends and relatives advice. One common name that popped out was Pearl's Optical at People's Park Center.
We went to the shop today. We did the usual eye health tests and then proceeded to choose the frames. Finally settled for one. A pink, rectangular frame by Swissflex. We thought that was it when the ophthalmologist, Dr Koh, approached us and asked more about the eye check-up we did at the Refraction Center. On hearing our account, he decided to do a thorough check on Chassa. He went through several tests with her, alphabets, pictures etc. He confirmed it's astig and also a slight lazy eye. He recommended that she put on an eye patch 2-3 hrs a day and while the patch is on, allow her to play computer games or watch TV to stimulate her right eye and strengthen it. This will reduce her reliance on her left eye and also help her right brain to develop also. The total cost came up to $260 (with discount as we were recommended by Kah Can) which we felt was reasonable. The frame alone already cost $200. We'll have to return in 3 months time to assess her eye condition.
As I penned all these down, I want to acknowledge that God is good. Chassa's condition was detected early. The eye screening was done on the day she was in school. We got an earlier appointment. We had friends who recommended us a good ophthalmologist. It turned out that his daughter is also Primary 2 and studying in MGS, although different class from Charis. And he knows another of our friend.
Another amazing thing is that one of the library books we have now entitled,"My Traveling Eye", talks about a girl with lazy eye and having to wear glasses and an eye patch. Chassa liked the book before all these happened and now, she likes it even more as she can relate to it. I would like to believe that God knows what's going to happen and through this book, helps prepare Chassa for it. She's apprehensive about wearing glasses, especially to school as her friends may laugh at her. I'll have to speak to her teacher and perhaps address her classmates myself so that they can understand her situation.
I also want to thank God that it's astig and not myopia or something to do with her brain. In a sense, He has freed me from my guilt. I now have another chance to take good care of my daughter's eyes.
P.S. Chassa was elated when Dr Koh said she can play computer and watch TV for 2-3 hrs a day. At first, when we thought it's myopia, we explained to her that she would have to cut down her screen time and she was very sad.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Amazing God. Amazing New Zealand. (The Scare)
It was supposed to be a straight forward flight. We were to take off at 7.45pm, Thursday, land at Sydney at 5.15am, Friday, leave for Christchurch at 7.15am and arrive at 12.20pm. This would give us half a day to walk around the city centre, rent or buy snow gear and have a good rest.
Initial Scare
Little incidents began that cause some jitters - Wendy arrived home late from work, Daddy also came back late from church, we left 1st and 4got about Chassa's car seat, parents and siblings couldn't get a cab and at the check-in counter, we discovered that we have not checked in for our flight from Sydney to Christchurch. The counter staff couldn't do it for us but assured us that our 2 hrs transit was sufficient to get our boarding passes.
The plane took off an hr late. The pilot explained that there's landing restrictions in Sydney. We can only land after 6am (our plane was supposed to touch down at 5.15am) but if wind conditions were good, we could land at another runway that has no restrictions. The journey was super bumpy. The turbulence was so bad that I felt like puking. Thank God the girls slept thru it and the plane stabilised before I felt real sick.
The wind conditions weren't good to land so we had to hover over Sydney until 6am. By the time we left the plane, we only had an hr left before our next flight leaves. An airport staff was waiting for us at the gate. We waited for the rest of the passengers that were also going to Christchurch then headed to the transfer desk to get our boading passes. We had to clear security check and by the time we arrived at the desk, the counter lady told us we were too late for our flight. Apparently, the gate closes 45mins before take-off. It was a long wait for someone to handle our situation. Finally after almost 3 hrs, we got our booking for an Air New Zealand flight leaving at 12.45pm and breakfast vouchers compliment of Qantas. We chose an Italian cafe over Macs which turned out to be a wrong choice. The hot chocolate was diluted and the bacon was ultra salty. Check-in at another transfer desk for the Air New Zealand flight was smooth. We waited around the departure lounge. By this time, everyone was tired. Chassa fell asleep and I had to carry her onboard.
Horrible Scare
Chassa woke up for a while then fell asleep again on my lap. Just when drinks were served, she suddenly sat up and stared blankly upwards. I talked to her but no response. I tried giving her some apple juice but it trickled down her chin. I started to panic. I shook Daren sitting infront of me. He tried calling her but also no response. Mummy who was sitting across the aisle, got up and tried shaking her but still no response. By this time, we have created a commotion. The air stewardess came and quickly took us to the back of the plane and announced for any doctor onboard. A lady neurologist came forward and took over the situation. They tried putting oxygen mask over her but Chassa struggled. Then she vomitted. I could see the macademia nuts and mushrooms that she ate. I asked the doctor if she could be allergic to nuts but she said it was unlikely. She explained that Chassa had probably undergone a seizure. She was worried that it might be menigitis and asked to inject her with pennicilin. Chassa was still not responding, just very drowsy and fell asleep on Daren's shoulders. She cried when the needle went into her butt but fell back to sleep again. It was a long one hour waiting for the plane to land. The doctor, Dr Lisa Dark, sat beside us throughout to monitor Chassa. As the plane was descending, Chassa woke and complained of headache and ear pain. She finally fully awoke and started talking when the plane landed.
After the passengers disembarked, a medical team came onboard to assess the situation. They decided that Chassa should be sent to Christchurch Hospital. While the rest went through normal immigration and customs, Daren, the girls and myself were led to the first aid room in the airport then through back doors and staircases to the baggage claim area. Daddy and I accompanied Chassa to the hospital on an ambulance, while the rest collected the minibus and checked in.
At the A&E, we were led to a room. A young, Taiwanese doctor came to check on her. Before that, a public health service officer took down our particulars and Chassa's medical history. Everything seemed ok after the check-up and we thought Chassa would be discharged. Instead, the doctor told us that she needed to be warded for further observation by the pediatrician. It was a very long wait for Chassa to be transferred to the children's ward. Everyone was tired. Daren came with Matt. He sent Matt and Daddy back after a while then returned. We finally got a room in the ward. After waiting for half an hr and still no sign of the pediatrician, Daren walked up to the nurse station and asked to leave. She advised us not to but we were just so tired of waiting. It was already 11pm. We left without having to sign or pay for anything. Chassa was so happy to go to the motel. We were happy she was back to normal.
Earthquake
We finally got to sleep around midnight. Suddenly, the bed started to shake violently. The table lamp beside me fell to the ground. It was an earthquake! Unbelievable! After all that we've been through in a day, we had to experience a 7.1 scale earthquake that has not happened for the past 20 years. After checking that everything was ok, we went back to bed. The girls didn't even stir in their sleep. Maybe we have not experienced an earthquake before and don't know the dangers of it or we were simply too exhausted to bother. It never occur to me to evacuate or find something to hide under. All I wanted was to sleep. And I did. I didn't even feel the after shocks.
On hindsight, the whole ordeal of the missed flight and the scare we had over Chassa perhaps have made us so tired that we had no energy left to worry about the earthquake. They say ignorance is bliss. I say having God is bliss. He took care of the turbulence, provided for an alternative flight, sent a doctor to help us when Chassa underwent a seizure, gave Daren the courage to walk out of the hospital (if we stayed, we would have been stuck there with the influx of patients due to the quake) and protected us during the earthquake.
Initial Scare
Little incidents began that cause some jitters - Wendy arrived home late from work, Daddy also came back late from church, we left 1st and 4got about Chassa's car seat, parents and siblings couldn't get a cab and at the check-in counter, we discovered that we have not checked in for our flight from Sydney to Christchurch. The counter staff couldn't do it for us but assured us that our 2 hrs transit was sufficient to get our boarding passes.
The plane took off an hr late. The pilot explained that there's landing restrictions in Sydney. We can only land after 6am (our plane was supposed to touch down at 5.15am) but if wind conditions were good, we could land at another runway that has no restrictions. The journey was super bumpy. The turbulence was so bad that I felt like puking. Thank God the girls slept thru it and the plane stabilised before I felt real sick.
The wind conditions weren't good to land so we had to hover over Sydney until 6am. By the time we left the plane, we only had an hr left before our next flight leaves. An airport staff was waiting for us at the gate. We waited for the rest of the passengers that were also going to Christchurch then headed to the transfer desk to get our boading passes. We had to clear security check and by the time we arrived at the desk, the counter lady told us we were too late for our flight. Apparently, the gate closes 45mins before take-off. It was a long wait for someone to handle our situation. Finally after almost 3 hrs, we got our booking for an Air New Zealand flight leaving at 12.45pm and breakfast vouchers compliment of Qantas. We chose an Italian cafe over Macs which turned out to be a wrong choice. The hot chocolate was diluted and the bacon was ultra salty. Check-in at another transfer desk for the Air New Zealand flight was smooth. We waited around the departure lounge. By this time, everyone was tired. Chassa fell asleep and I had to carry her onboard.
Horrible Scare
Chassa woke up for a while then fell asleep again on my lap. Just when drinks were served, she suddenly sat up and stared blankly upwards. I talked to her but no response. I tried giving her some apple juice but it trickled down her chin. I started to panic. I shook Daren sitting infront of me. He tried calling her but also no response. Mummy who was sitting across the aisle, got up and tried shaking her but still no response. By this time, we have created a commotion. The air stewardess came and quickly took us to the back of the plane and announced for any doctor onboard. A lady neurologist came forward and took over the situation. They tried putting oxygen mask over her but Chassa struggled. Then she vomitted. I could see the macademia nuts and mushrooms that she ate. I asked the doctor if she could be allergic to nuts but she said it was unlikely. She explained that Chassa had probably undergone a seizure. She was worried that it might be menigitis and asked to inject her with pennicilin. Chassa was still not responding, just very drowsy and fell asleep on Daren's shoulders. She cried when the needle went into her butt but fell back to sleep again. It was a long one hour waiting for the plane to land. The doctor, Dr Lisa Dark, sat beside us throughout to monitor Chassa. As the plane was descending, Chassa woke and complained of headache and ear pain. She finally fully awoke and started talking when the plane landed.
After the passengers disembarked, a medical team came onboard to assess the situation. They decided that Chassa should be sent to Christchurch Hospital. While the rest went through normal immigration and customs, Daren, the girls and myself were led to the first aid room in the airport then through back doors and staircases to the baggage claim area. Daddy and I accompanied Chassa to the hospital on an ambulance, while the rest collected the minibus and checked in.
At the A&E, we were led to a room. A young, Taiwanese doctor came to check on her. Before that, a public health service officer took down our particulars and Chassa's medical history. Everything seemed ok after the check-up and we thought Chassa would be discharged. Instead, the doctor told us that she needed to be warded for further observation by the pediatrician. It was a very long wait for Chassa to be transferred to the children's ward. Everyone was tired. Daren came with Matt. He sent Matt and Daddy back after a while then returned. We finally got a room in the ward. After waiting for half an hr and still no sign of the pediatrician, Daren walked up to the nurse station and asked to leave. She advised us not to but we were just so tired of waiting. It was already 11pm. We left without having to sign or pay for anything. Chassa was so happy to go to the motel. We were happy she was back to normal.
Earthquake
We finally got to sleep around midnight. Suddenly, the bed started to shake violently. The table lamp beside me fell to the ground. It was an earthquake! Unbelievable! After all that we've been through in a day, we had to experience a 7.1 scale earthquake that has not happened for the past 20 years. After checking that everything was ok, we went back to bed. The girls didn't even stir in their sleep. Maybe we have not experienced an earthquake before and don't know the dangers of it or we were simply too exhausted to bother. It never occur to me to evacuate or find something to hide under. All I wanted was to sleep. And I did. I didn't even feel the after shocks.
On hindsight, the whole ordeal of the missed flight and the scare we had over Chassa perhaps have made us so tired that we had no energy left to worry about the earthquake. They say ignorance is bliss. I say having God is bliss. He took care of the turbulence, provided for an alternative flight, sent a doctor to help us when Chassa underwent a seizure, gave Daren the courage to walk out of the hospital (if we stayed, we would have been stuck there with the influx of patients due to the quake) and protected us during the earthquake.
Amazing God. Amazing New Zealand. (The Planning)
It was a rather spontaneous trip. My parents wanted to bring Chassa to Melbourne to play snow and tot it was a good idea for the whole family to go, including Wendy & Matt. Wendy would rather go New Zealand so the planning began...
Air Tickets
Not many options to choose from as we only have time to tour south island, so we had to land in Christchurch. It was between SIA that flies direct but more expensive or Qantas that has a stop-over in Sydney. We decided on Qantas as SIA only had 4 tickets left. We considered splitting the group but decided to travel together.
Car Rental
This took the longest to confirm. After deciding on one vehicle instead of 2 cars, we scouted around for one that can take 8 of us plus all the luggage. We finally settled for a Toyota Hiace minibus. The search began for a good rental company that has the vehicle in automatic gear. The reliable ones had all their vehicles rented out and it was only until a week before the trip that we got confirmation from Rhodes that they have a 12-seater, automatic, diesel with luggage cage. We could pick it up at the airport and drop it off there.
Accommodation
This was fun to google. The choices were so wide and varied. The difficulty was coordinating accommodation with the itinerary. It took a while to plan out what we want to do. Finally we decided to spend the 1st night in Christchurch to rest before driving off, 2nd night at Mt Cook so we could have the buffet dinner, 4 nights in Queenstown and last 2 nights back in Christchurch.
We wanted to get some snow gear in Christchurch so we decided to put up near town centre. Roma on Riccarton is a very nice motel. We took 3 units which were very snug and clean. Just opposite the motel is a very nice cafe and a decent sushi place.
The Mt Cook Hermitage motel unit was much nicer than I remembered. We took 2 units. Each has a queen bed in the living room and another 2 single beds in a bedroom. The bathroom comes with dispensing bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser. Very environmentally friendly. The hot cocoa and biscuits they provide were rather yummy :)
Our 4 nights at Queenstown were spent in a 2-storey house that sits on a hill. Called 45 South, it's located on Kerry Drive which is about a 10 min walk to town and a 20 min walk back becos it's real steep. It's the most expensive accommodation of the trip but we decided on it after they gave us a 4 nights for the price of 3 special. It's a beautiful house with 3 bedrooms (2 queen, 1 single with roll out bed), a bathroom and toilet on level 1 and on level 2, a master ensuite, kitchen, TV room, dining, living with fire-place, laundry, toilet and bathroom. The house has a garage but our vehicle was too high to fit in so we parked along the road. There's a patio out of the living room where you can have bbq but it was too cold when we were there. The view overlooking the mountains, lake and town centre was great.
Our last place was Chardonnay Motor Lodge near the Christchurch airport. We took the double storey townhouse which was basic and clean. The main drawback was that the place only has a bathroom, so 8 of us had to take turns to shower. There are 2 toilets, one upstairs and the other downstairs. Matt took the single bed in the living room. The rest of us took the 3 bedrooms upstairs (1 with 2 single beds, 1 with 1 queen and 1 with 1 queen and 1 single).
It was good that all our accommodation had heaters in the bathroom and rooms. Even the beds have heating but it tend to get too warm after a while.
Air Tickets
Not many options to choose from as we only have time to tour south island, so we had to land in Christchurch. It was between SIA that flies direct but more expensive or Qantas that has a stop-over in Sydney. We decided on Qantas as SIA only had 4 tickets left. We considered splitting the group but decided to travel together.
Car Rental
This took the longest to confirm. After deciding on one vehicle instead of 2 cars, we scouted around for one that can take 8 of us plus all the luggage. We finally settled for a Toyota Hiace minibus. The search began for a good rental company that has the vehicle in automatic gear. The reliable ones had all their vehicles rented out and it was only until a week before the trip that we got confirmation from Rhodes that they have a 12-seater, automatic, diesel with luggage cage. We could pick it up at the airport and drop it off there.
Accommodation
This was fun to google. The choices were so wide and varied. The difficulty was coordinating accommodation with the itinerary. It took a while to plan out what we want to do. Finally we decided to spend the 1st night in Christchurch to rest before driving off, 2nd night at Mt Cook so we could have the buffet dinner, 4 nights in Queenstown and last 2 nights back in Christchurch.
We wanted to get some snow gear in Christchurch so we decided to put up near town centre. Roma on Riccarton is a very nice motel. We took 3 units which were very snug and clean. Just opposite the motel is a very nice cafe and a decent sushi place.
The Mt Cook Hermitage motel unit was much nicer than I remembered. We took 2 units. Each has a queen bed in the living room and another 2 single beds in a bedroom. The bathroom comes with dispensing bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser. Very environmentally friendly. The hot cocoa and biscuits they provide were rather yummy :)
Our 4 nights at Queenstown were spent in a 2-storey house that sits on a hill. Called 45 South, it's located on Kerry Drive which is about a 10 min walk to town and a 20 min walk back becos it's real steep. It's the most expensive accommodation of the trip but we decided on it after they gave us a 4 nights for the price of 3 special. It's a beautiful house with 3 bedrooms (2 queen, 1 single with roll out bed), a bathroom and toilet on level 1 and on level 2, a master ensuite, kitchen, TV room, dining, living with fire-place, laundry, toilet and bathroom. The house has a garage but our vehicle was too high to fit in so we parked along the road. There's a patio out of the living room where you can have bbq but it was too cold when we were there. The view overlooking the mountains, lake and town centre was great.
Our last place was Chardonnay Motor Lodge near the Christchurch airport. We took the double storey townhouse which was basic and clean. The main drawback was that the place only has a bathroom, so 8 of us had to take turns to shower. There are 2 toilets, one upstairs and the other downstairs. Matt took the single bed in the living room. The rest of us took the 3 bedrooms upstairs (1 with 2 single beds, 1 with 1 queen and 1 with 1 queen and 1 single).
It was good that all our accommodation had heaters in the bathroom and rooms. Even the beds have heating but it tend to get too warm after a while.
Friday, June 25, 2010
God's Faithfulness in Tokyo
I've written in an earlier post how God made it possible for us to go for a holiday in Tokyo. This account is on His faithfulness prior and during the trip.
My younger girl came down with fever and cough just a few days before we were due to fly off. God healed her fever and miraculously none of us caught her germs, especially my older girl. Her cough was also better and by the middle of the trip, she stopped coughing.
Because we took the promotion deal by Cathay Pacific, the flight timing wasn't great. We had to stop over in Hong Kong so the whole journey took about 3 hours longer than if we were to fly direct. Charis doesn't take well to plane rides. She feels like vomiting once she enters the plane. Thank God she slept through most of the journey.
Our flight was to arrive at 9.25pm and the last bus to Shinjuku station was 10.40pm. We were concerned about delays in flight and immigration, and having to spend a bomb on taxi fare if we were to miss the bus. We spent quite a bit of time going through all kinds of alternatives - spending one night in Narita, booking a meet-and-greet i.e. a driver to send us to Shinjuku which cost about 10k yen more than taking the bus. We decided to trust God. Our plane landed early and we even caught the earlier bus at 10pm :)
Another concern was the choice of hotel. We decided on Shinjuku because we were to meet up with my husband's family on the 4th day of our holiday and take the train to Hakone. The train station was at Shinjuku so it's easier to stay around there. After consulting friends and reading reviews on Trip Advisor, we booked Keio Plaza. It seemed like a good choice because it's near the train station, the airport bus goes there and the hotel has free shuttle bus to and fro Disneyland. The only drawback was that it's pricey, about $800 plus for 3 nights. Even though we've booked, we researched more. We found Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, a 3 year old hotel, with very good reviews on cleanliness and location. Cleanliness is very important as Daren and the girls are allergy prone. When I researched more about Keio and found that it was built in 1979, we decided to switch. We cancelled our booking with Zuji and booked with Hotels.com who was having a joint promotion with Visa. We were supposed to incur a $50 cancellation fee but Daren managed to get Zuji to waive it off due to misrepresetation on their part. Nowhere in their booking process did they mention that there's a cancellation fee. In fact, they kept stressing that there's no cancellation charges. We found out later that the $50 is an administration fee and it's stated only in their FAQ. The day after we confirmed our Sunroute booking, Hotels.com sent Daren an e-coupon that gives further discount on the hotel rate. We quickly called to see if we could use it immediately. We could so we ended up paying $649 for 3 nights.
God is good. Sunroute was excellent. We took a twin room that came with 2 double beds. We joined them together and could sleep four of us. They didn't charge us extra for the kids. The hotel was within short walking distance from the train station, had good amenities like 24 hr convenience stores, ramen shops, bakeries, free internet access at the guest lounge, and a latest addition - coin operated laundry at the basement car park. I was researching for laundry around the hotel but there wasn't any nearby. The latest reviews on the hotel didn't mention about the laundry facility. So it was a pleasant surprise. It was needed as the weather was rather cold and I didn't bring enough thick clothing for the girls, so what they wore needed to be washed and dried before they could wear again.
God is amazing. I was monitoring the weather. The week before we were due to go, it was raining with thunderstorm! The forecast showed sunny days for the week that we would be there and it was. We had clear skies everyday and even got a tan! The day that we left, it rained. It's really amazing how the dark clouds just disappeared for that week and then came back just when we were to leave.
God provides. Our trip was made up of 3 parts - Tokyo, Hakone, Tokyo. During our last leg of the trip, my sis-in-law booked us in Hotel Nikko in Odaiba. It was a beautiful hotel. However, the one thing that we needed which they didn't have was free internet access to do our online check-in. Our flight was 9.45am. The earliest airport limousine bus that would pick us from the hotel was 7.05am. It takes about 75 mins to travel to the airport. With morning traffic, possible immigration queue, we really needed to check-in in advance to buy more time. More time for what? More time to buy snacks and chocolates from the airport. There's nothing much to buy in Japan. What's good is really the food and we were told the airport has a wide variety and it's cheaper. Well, God provided in several ways. Our dear friend, Kang, did the check-in for us back in S'pore, which was really a life-saver. When we arrived at the airport, the queue for the normal check-in was super long. Ours was much shorter and those in front were all lone travellers so they cleared very fast. There was barely any morning traffic and no queue at the immigration. All these gave us about 45 mins, enough time to take a shuttle train to the biggest Royce store where we bought almost $150 worth of chocolates, buy snacks for the girls who had not eaten breakfast and other food stuff.
We may not have experienced God through natural wonders of creation in this trip (unlike my friend who went to Nikoi Island and marveled at God's creation of the sea, or another who went on an Alaska cruise and saw glaciers, whales and bears) but He guided our planning and provided all that were beyond our control. For this, I give thanks and declare He is a faithful God.
My younger girl came down with fever and cough just a few days before we were due to fly off. God healed her fever and miraculously none of us caught her germs, especially my older girl. Her cough was also better and by the middle of the trip, she stopped coughing.
Because we took the promotion deal by Cathay Pacific, the flight timing wasn't great. We had to stop over in Hong Kong so the whole journey took about 3 hours longer than if we were to fly direct. Charis doesn't take well to plane rides. She feels like vomiting once she enters the plane. Thank God she slept through most of the journey.
Our flight was to arrive at 9.25pm and the last bus to Shinjuku station was 10.40pm. We were concerned about delays in flight and immigration, and having to spend a bomb on taxi fare if we were to miss the bus. We spent quite a bit of time going through all kinds of alternatives - spending one night in Narita, booking a meet-and-greet i.e. a driver to send us to Shinjuku which cost about 10k yen more than taking the bus. We decided to trust God. Our plane landed early and we even caught the earlier bus at 10pm :)
Another concern was the choice of hotel. We decided on Shinjuku because we were to meet up with my husband's family on the 4th day of our holiday and take the train to Hakone. The train station was at Shinjuku so it's easier to stay around there. After consulting friends and reading reviews on Trip Advisor, we booked Keio Plaza. It seemed like a good choice because it's near the train station, the airport bus goes there and the hotel has free shuttle bus to and fro Disneyland. The only drawback was that it's pricey, about $800 plus for 3 nights. Even though we've booked, we researched more. We found Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, a 3 year old hotel, with very good reviews on cleanliness and location. Cleanliness is very important as Daren and the girls are allergy prone. When I researched more about Keio and found that it was built in 1979, we decided to switch. We cancelled our booking with Zuji and booked with Hotels.com who was having a joint promotion with Visa. We were supposed to incur a $50 cancellation fee but Daren managed to get Zuji to waive it off due to misrepresetation on their part. Nowhere in their booking process did they mention that there's a cancellation fee. In fact, they kept stressing that there's no cancellation charges. We found out later that the $50 is an administration fee and it's stated only in their FAQ. The day after we confirmed our Sunroute booking, Hotels.com sent Daren an e-coupon that gives further discount on the hotel rate. We quickly called to see if we could use it immediately. We could so we ended up paying $649 for 3 nights.
God is good. Sunroute was excellent. We took a twin room that came with 2 double beds. We joined them together and could sleep four of us. They didn't charge us extra for the kids. The hotel was within short walking distance from the train station, had good amenities like 24 hr convenience stores, ramen shops, bakeries, free internet access at the guest lounge, and a latest addition - coin operated laundry at the basement car park. I was researching for laundry around the hotel but there wasn't any nearby. The latest reviews on the hotel didn't mention about the laundry facility. So it was a pleasant surprise. It was needed as the weather was rather cold and I didn't bring enough thick clothing for the girls, so what they wore needed to be washed and dried before they could wear again.
God is amazing. I was monitoring the weather. The week before we were due to go, it was raining with thunderstorm! The forecast showed sunny days for the week that we would be there and it was. We had clear skies everyday and even got a tan! The day that we left, it rained. It's really amazing how the dark clouds just disappeared for that week and then came back just when we were to leave.
God provides. Our trip was made up of 3 parts - Tokyo, Hakone, Tokyo. During our last leg of the trip, my sis-in-law booked us in Hotel Nikko in Odaiba. It was a beautiful hotel. However, the one thing that we needed which they didn't have was free internet access to do our online check-in. Our flight was 9.45am. The earliest airport limousine bus that would pick us from the hotel was 7.05am. It takes about 75 mins to travel to the airport. With morning traffic, possible immigration queue, we really needed to check-in in advance to buy more time. More time for what? More time to buy snacks and chocolates from the airport. There's nothing much to buy in Japan. What's good is really the food and we were told the airport has a wide variety and it's cheaper. Well, God provided in several ways. Our dear friend, Kang, did the check-in for us back in S'pore, which was really a life-saver. When we arrived at the airport, the queue for the normal check-in was super long. Ours was much shorter and those in front were all lone travellers so they cleared very fast. There was barely any morning traffic and no queue at the immigration. All these gave us about 45 mins, enough time to take a shuttle train to the biggest Royce store where we bought almost $150 worth of chocolates, buy snacks for the girls who had not eaten breakfast and other food stuff.
We may not have experienced God through natural wonders of creation in this trip (unlike my friend who went to Nikoi Island and marveled at God's creation of the sea, or another who went on an Alaska cruise and saw glaciers, whales and bears) but He guided our planning and provided all that were beyond our control. For this, I give thanks and declare He is a faithful God.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tokyo Disneysea
The moment I stepped into Tokyo Disneysea, I felt I was in Europe. The architecture surrounding the Mediterranean Harbour was very impresessive. The American Waterfront was also very well-built, especially the Tower of Terror. Gazing at it sent shivers down my spine.
Attractions
All thanks to my brother-in-law who ran round to get fastpasses, we managed to sit 2 of the most popular rides - Indiana Jones and StormRider. They were really good. It was a pity Journey to the Center of the Earth was closed for the day.
We spent most of our time in Mermaid Lagoon. The kids sat all the rides and we watched the Ariel musical. Although the cast spoke in Japanese, all the songs were in English. We had to keep our heads up most of the time as the cast were suspended in mid-air.
Our final 2 rides were in the Arabian Coast - Sindbad's Voyage and the Caravan Carousel. Nothing fantastic.
The final show at night was BraviSEAmo! We could not understand all the dialogue but the fire and water display over the waters at the Mediterranean Harbour was quite spectacular.
Food
Did not have much time to explore the food options. We tried the famous gyoza sausage buns from Mysterious Island. It's just a steam bun in the shape of a gyoza. The filling was not great. The sausage rolls at Expedition Eats (Lost River Delta) was normal.
What was yummy was the ukiwah buns at Seaside Snacks (Port Discovery). We bought it by mistake thinking it was the famous gyoza buns. It's also a steam bun but the filling is some prawn paste which was really good. It comes in a shape of a life buoy. Very cute.
At both Disneyland and Sea, you can order pop-corn in a cardbox or pay more to get it in a variety of buckets.
I fell in love with a Duffy bear basket and went all the way to Cape Cod and queued for it. The pop-corn flavour that came with it was milk tea. It's sweet and that's the kind of pop-corn I like. Only after I bought the basket that I did my conversion calculations. I've just spent about $30 (2,100 yen) on a plastic basket!!! Daren says I'm his crazy wife. The basket is now sitting in my room. I think when we move to our new place, I'll fill it with artificial flowers and display it. My father-in-law said it's an egg basket. Don't think I want to dirty it with eggs. Besides milk tea pop-corn, Daren bought the curry one. It tasted like twisties. Nothing special.
Ice-cream was pretty interesting in Disneysea. The full variety can be found at Mermaid Lagoon. There's the sea salt ice-cream that sits beautifully in a seashell container with a picture of Ariel on the lid, a pack of 4 choco-banana ice-cream balls, the usual mickey-shaped popsticle and tiramisu ice-cream sandwiched between 2 mickey-shaped biscuits. If you are not an Ariel fan, you can get the sea salt ice-cream in a heart-shaped container with a picture of Minnie Mouse on the lid from the other ports.
We had dinner at one of the restaurants along the Mediterranean Harbour - Cafe Portofino. Their set meals consisting a main, soup, salad and drink were very filling. The pasta and salad were pretty good.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tokyo Disneyland
Our original plan was to go Disneyland for 1 full day. We ended up going 3 times. 1st was from 4-10pm then the next day from 11am-6pm. Our last time was on our last day from 6-10pm. We covered almost all the attractions except for the Mark Twain riverboat, Beavers paddle canoe, Splash Mountain which we didn't want to sit, Swiss Family tree house and Mickey's and Minnie's house.
Ice-cream was everywhere. We had the Mickey-shaped popsticle, ice-cream sandwiched between 2 Mickey-shaped biscuits and ice-cream cone from Soft Landing (Tomorrowland). The favourite was the mango and milk twirl from Soft Landing. The green tea flavour is supposedly good but it was not available.
Attractions
Top of the list are Big Thunder Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted House and Peter Pan. Bottom of the list are Snow White and Pinnochio. The rest like Pirates, Space Mountain, Monsters Inc, Buzzlightyear, Star Tour, Daytona and Gadgets Coaster are ok.
To beat the long queues, either go early and get as many fastpasses as possible or go after 6pm. Average queue time in the day was 90 mins. After 8pm, it ranged from 5-15 mins.
Food
We tried quite a lot of stuff mainly from food wagons because it was cheaper. Almost everything was oiishi. The smoked turkey legs from Chuck Wagon (Westernland) was a winner. My girls loved it so much that we ate it twice.
Another good eat for lunch was the fried chicken from Lucky Nugget Cafe (Westernland). The set consisting 2 chicken pieces, potato wedges and coleslaw was very satisfying.
These 2 were our main meals, the rest of the time we just snacked. The Mickey-shaped steam pork bun from the Boiler Room Wagon (Adventureland) was ok but the miso pork tortilla sandwich was wicked. The meat was very tasty and they sprinkled noodle bits that tasted like Mamee all over the sandwich. We also tried the hot-dog from World Bazaar. Besides being huge, it was pretty normal.
Ice-cream was everywhere. We had the Mickey-shaped popsticle, ice-cream sandwiched between 2 Mickey-shaped biscuits and ice-cream cone from Soft Landing (Tomorrowland). The favourite was the mango and milk twirl from Soft Landing. The green tea flavour is supposedly good but it was not available.
There was a wide variety of pop-corn flavours. We only tried shoyu which Daren and the girls loved. I prefer sweet pop-corn. Our final snack was this fried pastry filled with sweet potato paste that was excellent. We were the last customers at this Village Pastry wagon (Fantasyland).
Shopping
Compared with Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo has more of everything (food, stationery, toys) except apparel. The choice of T-shirts especially for kids was very limited. For momento, the kids got a pen, notebook and a torchlight from Monsters Inc.
Tokyo - Food
Everyone says that eating in Japan is expensive. I guess it's true if you eat in the restaurants. We explored the restaurant levels at Isetan and Takashimaya in Shinjuku and they were expensive, which explains why there wasn't anybody around. The buzz was at the basement food halls where rows and rows of different food stalls offering all kinds of Jap food can be found. Here's a list of places where we settled our meals:
Breakfast
There are bakeries everywhere offering all kinds of bread and sandwiches. Even the 24 hr convenience stores carry a wide variety of bread that are rather tasty. My favourite is Hokuo found at the South Exit of Shinjuku Station. You can get their pre-packed bundle of 3 different kinds of bread for only 300 yen. Their drinks section also carries Meiji fresh milk which my girls love.
Ramen
We had ramen for lunch in an eatery in the middle of the streets of Asakusa, ramen for supper in one of the back alleys of Shinjuku and ramen in a ramen specialised food court in Aqua City, Odaiba. Daren's favourite was the one in Shinjuku called Santouka, which I think is the same one in Singapore at Central. Ramen just tasted better in Japan. Daren thinks it's the water they use and the pork. I liked the one in Asakusa. It was the least salty of the lot. We didn't manage to try a popular one that has wooden plaques, engraved with the noodle name and the price, hanging on its doors. We saw it in Asakusa and another in Shinjuku. Both have super long queues. Moreover, everything was written in Jap and there wasn't any pictures so we weren't sure how to order.
Our second food hall experience was at Takashimaya. We were there in the late morning and had plenty of time to explore and savour the many samplings offered. Besides the usual cooked food, there was cold cuts, desserts like fruit puddings, and an array of Jap tidbits like rice crackers and muah chee. We chanced upon Fuchon, the famous bakery that uses French butter. We tried their famous crossiant and it really melts in your mouth. We also bought a packet of baguette pieces smeared with raspberry jam. They were fantastic. They have a stall that sells the famous Castella cake that I used to eat when I was young. We saw it earlier at Isetan but didn't buy cos it expires in a few days. While I took Chassa to the toilet, Daren secretly bought a box to surprise me. We polished off the cake within the next few days. It's a very sweet and dense cake. My mum used to make English truffle with it as the base. We decided to take away lunch from the food court. We bought 3 bento sets that cost only 500 yen each. One was fried chicken, another was some meat balls covered with sauce and the third was a meat patty. The portions were huge.
Breakfast
There are bakeries everywhere offering all kinds of bread and sandwiches. Even the 24 hr convenience stores carry a wide variety of bread that are rather tasty. My favourite is Hokuo found at the South Exit of Shinjuku Station. You can get their pre-packed bundle of 3 different kinds of bread for only 300 yen. Their drinks section also carries Meiji fresh milk which my girls love.
Ramen
We had ramen for lunch in an eatery in the middle of the streets of Asakusa, ramen for supper in one of the back alleys of Shinjuku and ramen in a ramen specialised food court in Aqua City, Odaiba. Daren's favourite was the one in Shinjuku called Santouka, which I think is the same one in Singapore at Central. Ramen just tasted better in Japan. Daren thinks it's the water they use and the pork. I liked the one in Asakusa. It was the least salty of the lot. We didn't manage to try a popular one that has wooden plaques, engraved with the noodle name and the price, hanging on its doors. We saw it in Asakusa and another in Shinjuku. Both have super long queues. Moreover, everything was written in Jap and there wasn't any pictures so we weren't sure how to order.
Santouka at Shinjuku
Aqua City, Odaiba
Food Halls
Our first food hall encounter was at Isetan. It was mind boggling. We were there near closing time, which is 8pm, and people were grabbing all the food to take away. Stalls were giving discounts and we were at a lost what to get. We finally settled for some futomaki, a fried pork bento set, a set of 3 triangular sushi and 8-10 yakitori. The yakitori was sticks of meat pieces, meat balls. We couldn't figure out whether it's chicken or pork. One was supposedly beef but turned out to be some beef innards which Daren found yummy. I forced myself to swallow it. One of the triangular sushi had a whole larva egg inside. It was the best I have eaten. The yolk literally burst out and the sauce used to marinate the egg was very good.
Our first food hall encounter was at Isetan. It was mind boggling. We were there near closing time, which is 8pm, and people were grabbing all the food to take away. Stalls were giving discounts and we were at a lost what to get. We finally settled for some futomaki, a fried pork bento set, a set of 3 triangular sushi and 8-10 yakitori. The yakitori was sticks of meat pieces, meat balls. We couldn't figure out whether it's chicken or pork. One was supposedly beef but turned out to be some beef innards which Daren found yummy. I forced myself to swallow it. One of the triangular sushi had a whole larva egg inside. It was the best I have eaten. The yolk literally burst out and the sauce used to marinate the egg was very good.
Our second food hall experience was at Takashimaya. We were there in the late morning and had plenty of time to explore and savour the many samplings offered. Besides the usual cooked food, there was cold cuts, desserts like fruit puddings, and an array of Jap tidbits like rice crackers and muah chee. We chanced upon Fuchon, the famous bakery that uses French butter. We tried their famous crossiant and it really melts in your mouth. We also bought a packet of baguette pieces smeared with raspberry jam. They were fantastic. They have a stall that sells the famous Castella cake that I used to eat when I was young. We saw it earlier at Isetan but didn't buy cos it expires in a few days. While I took Chassa to the toilet, Daren secretly bought a box to surprise me. We polished off the cake within the next few days. It's a very sweet and dense cake. My mum used to make English truffle with it as the base. We decided to take away lunch from the food court. We bought 3 bento sets that cost only 500 yen each. One was fried chicken, another was some meat balls covered with sauce and the third was a meat patty. The portions were huge.
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