Day 1: Karuizawa

 

We finally made it to Karuizawa around lunchtime. It felt like we'd been travelling for a long long time. I don't know how we managed to survive going to the States since we clocked the same number of hours trapped on an airplane!

The air was crisp and cool with a mist covering the top of the mountain. There was no snow this season on account of El Nino making it too warm for the snow to fall and even if it did it wouldn't hang around long enough to play in. We did have some man-made snow to muck around in and we were still hopeful for snow tomorrow.

  

We took the shuttle to the Karuizawa Prince Hotel East to put our bags at Concierge. Check-in time in Japan is at 3pm so we had quite a bit of time to kill. First, we hit the factory outlet, a stone's throw away from our hotel. There were lots of eating places and shops to blow our yen in, including Gap, Under Armor, Nike, adidas and LEGO.

We headed back to the hotel to check in for a much needed break but time was a ticking so we bundled the children in their snow gear and headed up to the slopes. the kids were SO excited but we all quickly realised how fast everything got sopping wet and that playing in snow is great but the clean up afterwards was just no fun.

Ski lessons tomorrow. Let's see how we fare after a good night's rest.

Japan Day 1: The Eagle has Landed!

Ready or not Japan, here we come!

After catching the 10pm flight and flying overnight to Tokyo's Haneda International airport, we're finally on Japanese soil at 530am local time. What a shock to the system since we all barely slept last night!

Once we made it through the snaking line at Customs and got our bags, the first order of business was to figure out how to take the train to Karuizawa. We also decided to use a luggage shipping service (we went through JAL's shipping service) to send one of our bags to Tokyo so we wouldn't have to lug so many through the train stations. After getting some information from the tourism counter right after you get out from Customs, we had to figure out how to buy monorail tickets to Tokyo Station. To get to our destination, we'd need to change trains on monorail then once more to Shinkansen. Though there was an English option available to the machines buying tickets required some intuition. Once we figured out what the symbols meant, it was easy!

We'd also gotten a pocket wifi from Changi Recommends before departure and arranged for a data SIM card by b-mobile to be sent to our first hotel. We were pleasantly surprised with free wifi on the monorail so we didn't have to dig around and figure out the pocket wifi just then.

I'd read about the awesome food selection in the train stations and we needed a bit so we stopped for a bit so the daddies could figure out where needed to go. There are bento box shops, juice bars, mini restaurants and stalls selling sweets and confectionaries you can give as gifts all over. The hardest thing to figure out was what to buy!

Another Birthday Cake

This kid is so loved. He gets another birthday cake from the Ngs at the airport while we wait to board the plane. Thank you Auntie Shirley, Uncle Lewis, Leroy and Leon!

Hello! Japan

After months of prepping, we are finally leaving for Japan tonight! The Pattiselannos are hitting Tokyo and Osaka for the next 10 days with our good friends the Ngs and the Norohnas!

The kids have been impatient to get started with our holiday and have been excited about playing in the snow, eating through Japan and going shopping!! The hallmarks of a great vacation. I've just been excited about having Lenard to ourselves for the next few days. 

It's our first time in Japan outside of Narita airport. I've always wanted to go but somehow the language barrier and the lack of travel company meant it would sit on the back burner for a long time. 

Well, now we're off and thrilled to be going with our friends.

Winter Is COMING!

We are super excited about our upcoming holiday to Japan in December. It's our first time and will be traveling with the Norohnas and the Ngs!

This trip is going to be a lot of firsts for our family. I haven't been to Tokyo or Osaka before and neither have the boys. It'll be their first time seeing snow when we go to Karuizawa and experiencing real cold. (Our trip to San Diego/LA 2 years back was mild compared to the weather in Japan!) The kids are loving the gear I've acquired through Carousell and can't wait!

I can't wait either!

We need a Vacation

The 2 of us in Greece many moons ago.

Been doing a lot of spring cleaning and purging our cabinets and desks have yielded a trip down memory lane. I found this photo of us at the Acropolis when we went on a Greece island-hopping adventure before the boys came. Len looks so relaxed and rested in the photo. That was a good holiday where we got to enjoy each other's company even though we were with a tour group. I loved that we didn't need to stress out about the details and we did whatever we chose to do.

"Holiday" takes on a different meaning now that we are parents. We plan like crazy trying to do as much as we can, eat as well as we can, shop as much as we can, bond as much as we can, have as much fun as possible, and RELAX... why can't we relax?? Why can't I relax?

I realise that everytime we are on holiday, there's this pressure to make the most of the money spent. I try to experience the places we go to to the fullest extent because I know I may never come by this way again. As much as I love being on holiday, I hate that unseen pressure to squeeze every last precious moment out of every single minute and capture it all on my iPhone.

As we plan out Melbourne holiday with the Ng family, I notice I'm a lot less stressed out. Having company and people to share our time with actually takes some of the heat off being "in charge" of everything (packing, planning, meals, laundry, entertainment, et al). while we are on vacation. I'm still contemplating what I would like to achieve this holiday and to sort my mind and heart out so I can enjoy this time with my family more.

To be continued....

June Holidays: Sentosa Staycation

We've just wrapped our June staycation at Resorts World Singapore. Four families, three fun-filled days just stone's throw from home.

Day 1:
Check in was at 3PM so we met the Ng family at Toast Box for breakfast before heading to Universal Studios Singapore (USS). We were all running behind schedule this morning but it was nice to be able to take our time and not feel pressured to rush.

Norohnas, Ngs and Pattiselannos

Pattiselannos ready!

 The first ride we went on was Madagascar: A Crate Adventure. Eli was not a willing participant (perhaps after having been overwhelmed by our adventure in Disneyland in December) and was quite fretful the whole time we were in line and just downright panicked once we got into the boat. The ride was akin to a more exciting It's A Small World-type of experience. Everyone else enjoyed it.

While we waited for the Lim family to join us in the park, we went on King Julien's Beach Party Go-Around before heading to The Lost World. We split up to do the dino rides because of varying degrees of daring. Robin and Jackie went with Lewis, Leroy and Isaac on Canopy Flyer, I went with Justin, Zac and Leon on Dino-Soarin' while the other mummies, Len and Eli looked on. Justin, Len and Zac later joined Chee Meng and Nicholas at Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure for a wet and wild ride.

Still feeling sensitive

You're LUNCH!

We headed back to Hard Rock Hotel to check into our rooms after a few more rides. The boys were more than happy to switch into swim gear to try out the pool. Dinner was at Malaysian Food Street and then Candylicious to browse and eat too much dessert.

 Day 2:
It's Adventure Cove Day! After a quick breakfast under the golden arches, we adjourned to the water theme park for some fun in the sun. The weather was nice and hot even though it rained the night before. The Norohnas and Pattiselannos had never been in the park before but the Ngs and Lims knew their way around to know where to park ourselves - the wave pool. It was fairly crowded but we thankfully managed to find 2 seats in a shaded area for Jackie and our things. Fifteen people on 2 chairs. Right.

Almost all of us in a tunnel along the lazy river.

We spent most of our time on the lazy river (you ride this on giant donut rings if you can get one, otherwise, a lifejacket is all you need) or in the wave pool as predicted. We ate lunch in the park but it wasn't long before Zac and Eli decided they'd had enough and wanted to head back to the hotel to rest up. The rest headed back to the hotel soon after that.

To kill time before dinner, we headed to Vivocity with our free pass on the monorail. Of course, we headed there to keep the kids from climbing the walls in boredom so we camped out at Toys R Us for the most part. Dinner was at Hard Rock Cafe but the monorail station is right where the restaurant was located so we didn't have to hurry too much.  I was grateful we were having an early dinner and even more grateful that Hard Rock Cafe had beef pho on the menu! Jackpot! Something that Eli would be happy to eat and since he was in an over-tired grumpy state, I was glad not to have to cajole, coax, and convince him to eat mac and cheese!

L to R: Justin, Leroy, Isaac and Zac

 Little mercies. Thank you God!

Day 3:
After watching Holland trash Spain in the World Cup game, the daddies managed to catch a few winks before breakfast at Slappy Cakes. They were in fairly good spirits but I'm certain they all felt like zombies inside.

We were supposed to check out by noon today so we headed back to the hotel to finish up packing and loading our stuff. We'd planned to go to the Marine Life Park after we'd settled our luggage.

The Norohnas babysitting while we packed.

 God is so good and gave us 2 lovely days of sunshine. This third day, it rained and we were thankfully doing an indoor activity! I'm not the biggest fan of snorkelling and being one with nature and all its cold, scaly wonders but I do love aquariums and looking at these beautiful living things. It's hard not to marvel at the creativity and innovation of our God when you get a glimpse of these things that would otherwise be hidden from our view.

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Trying to take a photo of this many children is no small task!

There is even a turtle!

Jellyfish!

It's nothing like looking at seafood to stir up an appetite. We lunched at RamenPlay, and hung out for a little while before saying our goodbyes. I'm always a little sad and unwilling to part with our friends after a holiday like this but I'm grateful that there is always a next time. I've been blessed with such great people in my life and am looking forward to many more adventures to go on together!