Time flies! Seems like it was only a week ago I had to endure the winter season but already five months have passed. On the bright side, luckily I'm fully aware now that five months have passed, so that I can start thinking about the upcoming months. I'm guessing now that I'll be watching TV more (Olympics in three weeks time). At the same time, I better start planning some other things also..

Lessons learned from Rafael Nadal: 1) Never-ever give up (only on his third Wimbledon final he managed to capture the title). 2) Continue fighting and have confidence with ourselves (he said that during the interview even though he lost the 3rd and 4th set). For average people like us, this lessons are sometimes difficult to replicate but it's not impossible!

'Tanabata' is a Japanese star festival. Although it has a long history, at present people generally celebrate this festival by writing wishes (anything from health, wealth, studies, career, love etc.) on a piece of paper and hanging them as shown in the pic. Large-scale tanabata festival maybe still celebrated in some parts of Japan. I asked my Japanese male friend, "did u write your wish?", he told me that it's not cool for guys to do it..

Daimonji mountain, Kyoto. A climb up this mountain was surely a tiring one especially for amateurs like us. A rainy day made it even worst. However after reaching the desired check point, the feeling was unimaginable. I was surprised to know that the 'giant green square' (see pic, indicated with red arrows) is actually Kyoto Imperial Palace. The fact that Kyoto is surrounded by mountains, which made it very cold during winter and very hot during summer couldn't be more obvious. For those who are wondering what are these kids doing.. they are actually spelling out the word 'KYOTO', Cayalah!

Chinatown ('Nankin-machi'), Kobe. Before coming to this place, I had the impression that the situation in this Chinatown will be similar to the one we have in my country. Back at home, we could purchase food, clothes, imitation goods (hehe), souvenirs etc. However, I was rather disappointed to see only food, drinks and more food being sold here.. every country is unique after all!

Ueno Park, Tokyo. It's a popular tourist destination, not only for foreigners but also japanese. It's home to Ueno zoo, three museums and many other things that I'm not sure about. During spring, many people visit this area for 'hanami'. I observed there were also many school kids having a trip here. It's one of those places we could just hang around, enjoy the scenery or do nothing. One more thing that caught my attention.. this place is clean Man! Definitely, a perfect escape spot from the busy Tokyo Metropolitan

Sherlock Holmes in Kobe? According to Wikipedia (2008), Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective (London based) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. However, what was his connection with Kobe City, I'm totally unaware of it and I rather leave it as a mystery.. anyway for those of us who wish to relive the adventures of yesteryear, visit here