2010 Movie #2: Tooth Fairy

Although 小花 and I had just watched a movie last night, we decided to watch another today as there were quite a number of new movies. We chose Tooth Fairy as there were a number of positive reviews and we wanted to see Dwayne Johnson aka "The Rock" in a comedy.

We were not disappointed and had a rather good time watching the show. There were quite a number of funny scenes, like Dwayne Johnson wearing a pink tutu and the parts where he had to work as a tooth fairy as punishment. There were also heart-warming scenes where he encouraged the boy to play the guitar, as well as finally rediscovering his own dreams as an ice hockey player. The plot may be quite predictable but overall we still enjoyed it.

2010 Movie #1: 20th Century Boys III

It has been quite a long time since 小花 and I watched a movie, and we decided on 20th Century Boys III which started screening today. We had actually wanted to watch it tomorrow, but the timing was really bad as we are unable to make it for the 6pm show and the next screening is only at 11.45pm which will end at almost 3am! There was a 9pm show tonight so we decided to watch it today instead.

We only bought the tickets at around 8pm but we still managed to get seats at the last row! Think not many people are interested in this show if they did not watch the first 2 installments. 小花 and I had also forgotten some parts but we were curious to know who "Friend" actually is. I thought the ending was quite reasonable and was a good conclusion for the trilogy. I also found the "Gu ta la la Soo da la la" song very soothing.

Back to work

First day back to work... Luckily I have cleared most emails yesterday or I would be in a mess today. During lunch time I distributed some tidbits that I bought at Hokkaido to my colleagues. It was then that I realized that I made the mistake of giving one box of 白色恋人 to my sister for her friend as it was meant for my colleagues. No choice but to give them only the corn chocolates.

It would be month end in the next few days... can't believe that the first month of 2010 would be ending so soon. Hope this year would go by smoothly and looking forward to more holidays :)

Resorts World Sentosa

As there was a promotion on room rates at the newly opened Festive Hotel at Resorts World Sentosa, my 大妹 had booked a room for one night for our family. The check-in time was at 3pm but we decided to go earlier to have a look at the new IR.

There was still quite a bit of construction going on as many parts of the IR were not ready yet. However, many people were already walking around and taking photos, seemingly excited of what to expect in the coming months. We liked the part where the escalators linked the Casino to the main lobby, as the coordination of sounds and lighting were pretty good and made you feel like you were in a different place.

Only 4 hotels were opened at this stage so we walked around to see each of the hotels' lobby and dining areas. Many of the shops were also under renovation so there wasn't much to see. We decided to go for a late lunch but probably due to the late timing, the restaurant at Hotel Michael had already closed and will only open during dinner. We also didn't want to have a buffet lunch at the restaurant at Hard Rock Hotel so decided to just have some pastries/sandwiches at Boulangerie at Festive Hotel.

The waiters/waitresses did not seem to notice us so we just walked in to look for a table. Finally a waitress came over to show us to a table and handed us the menus. We quickly decided on some sandwiches and called for a waitress to take down our orders. We were rather surprised when the waitress informed us that all the sandwiches had been sold out, as the menu mainly consisted of only sandwiches and pastries. We had no choice but to select a few mini muffins and danish pastries. When we asked for the bill, a waiter nodded and went over to the cashier. However, after some time, we noticed that the waiter had gone to serve other customers but our bill had not arrive. We repeatedly asked for the bill from different waiters/waitresses but the bill never came. We noticed a couple from another table also looking frustrated and waiting for their bill as well. We actually contemplated just walking out to see if anyone would actually notice us, but in the end, my father just went directly to the cashier and paid the bill there. I thought their service was really poor and there was nothing to rave about their food. It left a really bad first impression of Boulangerie.

We then checked in and went to our room. It was a deluxe family king room consisting of a king-sized bed, a loft bed and a sofa bed which folded out to a double bed. The decor was not bad and had a comfy feeling. I slept on the king-sized bed with my parents but I found the bed too soft and I woke up with an aching body.

Overall, I didn't really enjoy my stay at Resorts World Sentosa yesterday, and can only hope that things will improve dramatically when the IR is fully opened.

さようなら 北海道

- Kind person who helped carry our luggage down the stairs
- Sapporo to New Chitose Airport
- More shopping for tidbits
- New Chitose Airport to Narita Airport
- Continue with shopping...
- Narita Airport to Changi Airport
- Home sweet home

Hokkaido - Day 7 - Sapporo

- Takino Park
- Nijo market
- Crab dinner at Susukino

Hokkaido - Day 6 - Sapporo

- Kushiro to Sapporo
- Train ticket mistake
- Otaru
- Raining
- McDonalds dinner

Hokkaido - Day 5 - Kushiro

- Marshland
- AEON shopping centre
- KFC lunch
- Free curry rice dinner at hotel

Hokkaido - Day 4 - Kushiro

- Sapporo to Kushiro
- Washo Fish Market
- Hello Kitty 福袋
- MOO
- Free curry dinner at hotel

Hokkaido - Day 3 - Asahikawa

- Asahikawa Zoo
- Asahikawa to Sapporo
- Cup noodles for dinner

Hokkaido - Day 2 - Asahikawa

- Sapporo to Asahikawa
- Lunch
- Miss bus to Higashikawa by seconds
- Ice Festival @ Higashikawa
- Miss bus back to Asahikawa
- Free curry dinner @ hotel

Hokkaido - Day 1 - Sapporo

Finally arrived in Narita Airport at about 7am. Didn't sleep very well on the plane as the man sitting beside me kept fidgeting throughout the flight. After checking in for the domestic flight to Hokkaido, we walked around the airport but felt tired after a while due to our lack of sleep. We then proceeded to the waiting area near the departure lobby and took a nap while waiting for the domestic flight at 10.50am. Was so tired that I fell asleep again during most of the journey to Hokkaido.

We were excited when we finally reached New Chitose Airport and quickly went to the JR center to exchange our Hokkaido Rail Pass and also reserve some tickets. We were very excited to see snow falling on our way to Sapporo station. However, it was rather cold when we reached the station and had to put on additional clothings to protect ourselves from the coldness. We had a little difficulty locating the hotel as everything looked so snowy white, but finally managed to find it.

After checking in and leaving our luggages at the hotel, we went to the nearby shopping mall ESTA for a late lunch. We ordered a bowl of Cha Siew Ramen and a 3-in-1 special set of Yaki Soba, Tako Ball, and Cabbage Pancake to share. All were delicious :) After that, we went to Odori Park to look at the "White Illumination" but sadly it was closed due to the snow festival that would be held in end Jan/early Feb. We also did not have a chance to eat the delicious sweet corn that we had when we were here 4 years ago... hope to be able to eat it again during the rest of our trip.

We were getting a bit cold from the walk so we went to the nearby underground shopping mall instead. There were lots of winter wear on sale. We also proceeded to Li Xiao Lu, where I bought a packet of heat pads for the hands at a drugstore. The stated price was actually 245yen but I only paid 197yen due to a discount... so cheap.... We also stopped by a few souvenir shops selling local goodies to compare the prices as we intend to buy some back for our family and colleagues. Seems like the prices are quite standard so would probably just buy from the one with the widest range of products.

As we didn't want to walk back to our hotel in the cold, we decided to take the subway although it was only 1 stop. We then went to the supermarket to buy chicken karage & a bento set for dinner. We passed by Mister Donut and bought 2 donuts as well.

Tomorrow we will be going to Asahikawa so shall sleep now...　お休みなさい

Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of 2010! However, it didn't feel like a special day, besides it being a holiday :P Just want to have a good rest this long weekend before going back to work again...

Happy New Year to all! Hope this year will be a wonderful one :)