Best credit card reward program in town

It's the time of the year to check out the vouchers that you can redeem using the credit card points earned for the year!

As I use the credit cards from Citibank (Citi), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC) more frequently than the rest, I check and compare the reward program for the respective bank and found something interesting...

To redeem the same voucher, SCB requires the fewest reward points compared to HSBC and Citi... For most of the same vouchers that these 3 banks include in their reward program, SCB requires the fewest points... followed by HSBC and lastly by Citibank!! (Note: I am calculating on reward points per $1 voucher value basis, so you can gauge which voucher is the most valued-for-points)

Comparison Chart for selected 15 items

Hmm, I think I will have to change my credit card usage to maximise my reward points... If there's any direct discount, I will use the card that offers the highest discount; if there isn't any discount, I will use SCB card to collect the reward points and redeem more vouchers =) hahaha

PS: I have compiled the required points for redemption into an Excel spreadsheet in order to ease my comparison. If anyone wants a copy, let me know and I can send to you =P

Vitamin ZzZ

Was looking through the photos from our recent chalet and i came across this photo...
I found this picture very very familiar... as if i've seen it a dozen times. Hmm, i wonder. So i briefly go through our chalet pictures and tadah!

Muthu about to sleep...

Muthu sleeping on a couch...

Muthu sleeping even though we are a noisy bunch playing mahjong...

Muthu sleeping though 'bleeding" from a stab wound...

Muthu sleeping under a bunch of guys...

haha, for someone i see only a couple of times a year, i think he sleeps A LOT. hahaha...

My latest buy... again

1 main compartment with zipper opening
1 large pocket on front in interior
Dimensions : 45x35x23 cm, 17¾x14x9 inch

I bought a red Longchamp Le Pliage travel bag last Friday at the duty free store in Melbourne City =)

Firstly, to reward myself for being such a hardworking gal for Year 2010... Secondly, becos I need another handbag for weekend in order to reduce the 'stress' on my current Coach handbag... and lastly, becos there was a storewide 30% discount at the duty free store!

Yesh, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the discount poster!! Usually, at the duty free store, the price is already discounted... so for that day, I would get a further 30% discount. I can't possibly give up such a good deal right??

Simple maths : AUD 108 (usual price) --> AUD 75.60 (after 30% discount) --> After conversion at AUD/SIN 1.2700 (the rate has gone up now!), it's about SGD 96.01. Very affordable right? haha

Out of curiosity, I checked out the Longchamp outlet at Ion Orchard over the weekend... and to my pleasant surprise, the retail price is SGD 222! Wow, I got the exact same bag for less than SGD 100!!

And even if I pay the usual price AUD 108 and after conversion at current forex rate (AUD/SIN 1.3100), it's about SGD 141.50... still affordable lor, when you compare to the price here...

Price Guide (if I'd remember correctly)
Small tote bag -- AUD 98
Medium tote bag with short handle -- AUD 108 (that's mine!)
Larger tote bag with the long handle -- AUD 137

The new collection of tote bag with embellishments is there as well... but I can't be sure about the prices... oops

KrisFlyer Membership

What is KrisFlyer?
It is a frequent flyer program offered by Singapore Airlines for travellers to earn miles based on the distance flown on its airline or on its partner airlines, and enjoy travel benefits based on the number of miles earned. Miles earned under KrisFlyer program can be redeemed for travel or flight upgrade on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir or certain Star Alliance airlines. Validity of earned miles is 3 years.

KrisFlyer offers three membership levels – the KrisFlyer membership, the KrisFlyer Elite Silver membership and the KrisFlyer Elite Gold membership. Each level of membership offers different categories of benefits with the most exclusive benefits being offered to Elite Gold members.

1) KrisFlyer member
Enrol online and make a qualifying transaction on an eligible flight on Singapore Airlines (on any booking class except V, Q, G, N or T) and SilkAir (on any booking class except V, Q, G, N, T, L or W), or any eligible transaction with other partners.

2) KrisFlyer Elite Silver member
A KrisFlyer member who has achieved 25,000 Elite miles within a 12-month period*.

3) KrisFlyer Elite Gold member
A KrisFlyer member who has achieved 50,000 Elite miles within a 12-month period*.

*12-month period is predefined according to when you initially applied for KrisFlyer membership, so travelling 25,000 miles (40,000 km) over a 12 month period may not qualify for Silver status unless it corresponds with the 12 month period assigned to you by Singapore Airlines.

Number of Miles You can Earn
Economy Class : 100% of actual miles flown
Business Class : 125% of actual miles flown
First Class : 150% of actual miles flown
Singapore Airlines Suites : 300% of actual miles flown

Elite miles can be earned by accumulating points when flying First Class, Business Class or Economy Class on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and some Star Alliance airlines. Miles can also be earned by exchanging membership rewards or services utilized with other Singapore Airlines’ partners as listed in its official website.

Singapore Airlines flights in booking classes V, Q, G, N and T (group and promotional fares) and SilkAir flights in booking classes W and L earn no miles.

What are the Benefits?
For KrisFlyer Elite Silver:
1) 25% bonus on actual miles flown
2) Priority Reservation Waitlist and Priority Airport Standby

For KrisFlyer Elite Gold:
1) 25% tier bonus on actual miles flown on Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Virgin Atlantic.
2) Increased Check-in Baggage Allowance (20kg, or one extra piece of baggage).
3) Priority Airport Check-in and boarding.
4) Priority Baggage Handling.
5) Access to Star Alliance Gold Lounges.

How Easy is it to Earn Miles and Redeem Free Air Ticket?...
Based on my personal experience, it's pretty hard if you are a leisure traveller (esp. since I only buy promotional fare ticket which does not earn miles... and I don't usual fly on SQ often as well...)

...and really easy if you are a business traveller (esp. if it's the company policy for employees to travel in business class when the flight duration is more than certain hours), hahaha...

Based on my estimate for a free Economy Class Saver air ticket, 2 Business Class round trips to Melbourne will earn me enough miles to Bali ; 3 trips to Bangkok ; 4 trips to Hong Kong; 5 trips to Tokyo... Hmm, don't think I'll get the chance to take Business Class flight in future lor, cos I overheard the bosses discussing about minimising travel expenses, etc... and there may be a change in company policy for employees to take Economy Class flights instead... =(

Ah, back to my old phrase... I hate business trip!

X'mas & new Year

Hey people, are we booking any plc for X'mas or New yr eve celebration?
*blink* x 3
bored...can't fly bk to HK due to change of job..sianz..
pls suggest sthg to do during e coming festival month...

Credit card promotions for movie tickets

Here's something useful for those who want to make use of credit card promotions to buy movie tickets at the respective cinema =)

Guess I should stick with Shaw Cinema for movies on weekdays (use RBS credit card) and Golden Village for movies on weekends (use HSBC prepaid card) ... Hahaha

HDD Crash

The cause of hard drive crash might vary in every case and the most common hard drive crash factors are:
- frequent power spikes
- operating system malfunction
- system data structure corruption
- read/write head crash
- disk mechanical failure, and
- natural disasters.

Damage to hard drive is divided into two major categories:

Logical Hard Drive Crash
In case of logical failure or crash, your hard drive physically remains intact. Only the data structures of the drive, such as file system, become faulty. Damage to computer file system does not let the operating system to mount the hard drive and access data from it. Other causes that may cause logical data loss include, accidental deletion, operating system corruption, MBR corruption, hard drive formatting, virus infection, and more.

Valuable data is recoverable after logical failure in a quick and easy way through third-party applications. These tools are known as Data Recovery Software. They are particularly designed to carry out in-depth scan of entire hard drive through, using advanced scanning techniques. Such utilities are completely easy to use with simple graphical user interface.

Physical Hard Drive Crash
Physical damage is the leading cause of premature hard drive failure. Such kind of damage occurs after failure of the mechanical/internal components of hard drive. The reasons may be read/write head crash, power spikes, short circuit, and natural disasters.

When a hard drive is powered off, most read-write heads park on a special area of the platter that protects the heads and platter from damage. When a hard drive is powered on, the heads are designed to float across the platter surface. If a hard drive suffers any physical damage during this time (such as bumping or jostling), it is likely to suffer a head crash. In such circumstances, you need to find a reliable and experienced Data Recovery Service provider company to repair or replace damaged hard drive components and get your precious data recovered.

Symptoms of hard disk crash
- Computer will not boot
- Error messages like "No Fixed Disk Present" or "DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"
- Blue or black screen after power up (commonly referred as Blue Screen of Death)
- Clicking/ticking/humming/grinding and crunching noises coming from the drive
- System often reboots, restarts, hangs or freezes
- "Drive not formatted" and “Operating system not found”, messages

The problem can only get worse!
1. Pressing the start button repeatedly to boot a computer is a fatal mistake that might kill a damaged drive. The drive might have suffered a head crash with the read-write head touching the rotating platter and causing damage to the magnetic media in the platter surface. Repeated attempts to start the disk result in increasing the damage to the platter surface.

2. Pulling out the hard drive or hitting the computer in a hope to jerk it to recovery can cause damage to the many minuscule magnetized pieces of the drive, making a damaged disk inoperative.

Computer users need to avoid these knee jerk reactions and take recourse to hard drive recovery tools and techniques.


Argh, it's too late for me!! Sadly, I pressed the start button repeatedly and hit the laptop to jerk it to recovery in my many attempts to boot up my stupid laptop...

Sent my hard disk to a data recovery company this morning for evaluation... The guy just advised that it is likely that the hard disk suffered a head crash and further analysis is to be done to determine if data is recoverable... Cost for data recovery for physical hard drive damage is pretty high man, from $600 - $2,000!! Gosh...

My whole year worth of photos for 2010 and work/personal documents for the past 5 years are gone!... forever!! **Whine, whine, whine

My advice to you: Go and back up your data into an external hard disk or burn into DVDs NOW

Public holz for 2011

It's time to start planning for your leave for next year!! I've highlighted the work days that you can take in blue to create a week off from boring work =P Looking forwards to many holz next year then.

Anyone want to go for a 2 to 3 week travel in month of May or August?? We can utilize the 2 public holz, hahaha

Harry Potter (HP7)

Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows


Release on :16th Nov 2010


Hey ppl,
Are we onz?!!! Love Harry Potter...so sad...he is no longer the cute little boy with broken glasses...I felt OLD.
Anyway...it's still my favorite...Can't remember when was the last time we watch movie together??..(perhaps i missed too many due to night classes n OT)

Our very own F4!

Hua, we envy you much!

Upcoming happenings in SG

i Light Marina Bay
Venue: MBS
Date/Time: From 15 October to 7 November 2010, 7.30pm to midnight
Entry: Free

Singapora-Flora by Warren Langley (Australia). This piece can be found between Fullerton Bay Hotel and One Fullerton.

26 light artworks of i Light Marina Bay are placed across 3.5km of Marina Bay to make up the Light Walk that spans The Helix Bridge, The Floating Platform, The Esplanade, One Fullerton, The Promontory @ Marina Bay to the City Gallery at the Waterfront Promenade. Each light artwork is accompanied by a signage explaining what the work is about, who the artist is & also what's smart about the work.

Check out the official website for more information

Utsav – Deepavali Street Parade
Venue: Race Course Road
Date/Time: From 7pm on 30 October
Entry: Free
Regarded as one of Little India’s most amazing events each year, Utsav brings together the best elements of Indian performing arts to form a collage of song and dance that makes for great entertainment.


Halloween Fright Night!
Venue: Asian Civilisations Museum
Date/Time: 30 Oct 2010, 5pm to 1am
Free admission to galleries from 5pm - 1am
Check out the event schedule here:

okay, that's all for now. I am quite keen to check out both events... Drop me a sms if you are keen to go too and we can make arrangement =P

SQ Business Class

I absolutely dislike overseas business trip! Cos your boss will make sure you are kept doubly busy, you are the first to report to office and the last to go... cos you will need to teleconference the colleagues in the evening (which is SG time) and Melbourne is 3hours ahead of Singapore. Haiz... Poor me!

Well... since I am flying business class on Singapore Airlines A380 from Singapore to Melbourne, I shouldn't complain that much... hahaha. Check out the photos for the business class lounge which I went before departure, super comfortable seat cum sleeping bed and the delicious meal.

Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge. Come here to rest, read your book, watch TV, browse free magazines, or have some snacks (pastries, local delights, hot food) and beverages (soft drinks, coffee, tea, tiger beer, alcoholic drinks) before you board your flight. Pretty nice and comfortable here =)

1-2-1 forward facing cabin layout in Business Class vs 2-4-2 in the Economy Class! ... So you can imagine how spacious the seat is and how much space I am getting yah =) The seat can be unfolded to reveal a large full-flat bed where I can stretch out my whole body (since my legs aren't really that long in the first place) and enjoy a good night's rest.

Top: See! I can stretch out my legs in full... Nice. Welcome drink is Golden Spy which tastes good and refreshing. Think it's similar to Singapore Sling but is mixed with pineapple juice.
Bottom: Lying down comfortably to watch in-flight movies using the given aviation headset which has noise canceling function. Wore the headset to sleep too so that the loud engine noise is minimised.

Food is served to you in proper plates and utensils! Starter: Mixed lettuces with prawn, cheese and mango, plus glass of champagne. Main: Corn fed chicken breast with ceps mushroom stuffing, buttered peas and potato mash. Finale: Ice cream, gourmet cheese, fresh fruit and tea.

Service is really good as well. The air stewardess will address you by your sure name (i.e. Miss XXX or Mr XXX) whenever they serve you your drink or food. Well, I guess if you are paying so much for a business class seat, the service has to be of a certain high standard! FYI, cost of buiness class return ticket for SIN to MEL is abt $5,000 lor...

Don't you love overseas business trips?? hahaha... I shouldn't complain so much in future...

Ugly Braces, Beautiful Smiles

As some of you may know already, I am wearing braces now!! The orthodontist was really quick in doing his job to fix me up with them, hahaha...

Summary of tasks till date
1. Mid-Aug -- Visit to the orthodontist (at Jurong Point) for consultation. He did a quick check on my teeth, said that my case is the non-complicated kind and the treatment would typically take abt 1 to 1.5 years, and arranged for me to take x-rays of my mouth, take photographs of my face, teeth, and mouth and take molds of my upper and lower teeth (gotta put a pinkish gum-like stuff into the mouth twice lor, disgusting taste!). Cost of package: $3,900 via installments

2. One week later -- I extracted 4 teeth (gotta make space to move and align the remaining teeth!) Not really painful per se cos the affected areas would be numb... I wish though that the orthodontist could talk to me while he was doing his work; at least I can know what he was doing and not second-guessing his actions. Pretty scary to lay down in the dental seat and not knowing what's happening!

The orthodontist also inserted rubber spacers between the molar teeth. It's uncomfortable and painful to chew food as the rubber spacers would be forced deeper into the teeth with each bite... Argh! Luckily, it's just for a week...

3. One week later -- Braces fitting time! Orthodontist removed the rubber spacers, placed giant metal brackets around the molar teeth and glued metal brackets on each tooth. A high intensity plasma light is then quickly applied to the surface of the bracket to set the bond. Arch wire is then placed through the brackets.

Viola! All done within 20mins, and I'm wearing braces. So efficient hor, hahaha...


What's next?
I would need to visit the orthodontist every 5 - 6 weeks for him to examine my teeth's progress, remove the arch wire and put in a new one to tighten or adjust the pressure. Pretty straightforward right? Per visit is expected to take less than 15mins.


My experience with braces...
...so far so good! Not as painful as I would imagine and the initial discomfort is pretty okay and manageable. Just gotta eat porridge for the first week (while the teeth get used to the pressure and extra weight), cut food into smaller pieces, chew food slower, brush teeth after each meal, etc... Ok lah, can one.

Snapshot of my teeth after wearing braces for a week. Still a very very very long way to nice straight teeth!! PS: Hope my not-so-straight-teeth photo didn't frighten you, hahaha...

UPDATE: Look at how much my front teeth have straightened after wearing braces for 6 weeks!! Wow wow wow!

Have you ever wondered how braces work?? I actually pretty amazed that the use of a simple arch wire to exert a constant and gentle force on each tooth can move teeth via bone remodeling process into the desired and idea position... For more information on how braces work, check out this website, click here

And anyone toying with the notion of wearing braces after reading my experience?? haha. My advice... Just go for it!!

Chalet 2010 is back

Do you find this place familiar??When was the last time you ate BBQ food??When was the last time you played Wii with a group of good frens??

For those of you, I'm sure the answer is... last year ! Hahaha =) Good news for you then!!

Our annual chalet cum BBQ cum gathering is back!!

Date: 11 Dec 2010 (Saturday)
Venue: Aloha Changi, Netheravon Terrace A
(Terrace A should be the one next to where we were last year)
Plan: BBQ, mahjong, Wii, chit chat

More details will be provided nearer to the event. Watch out this space for more updates yah. Seeya!


UPDATE! We will be catering the following food from KCK Food Catering. 10 dishes at $11.00 per pax =) No BBQ and we can have more time for games, mj, gossip, etc

Menu: Tropicana Swing
01. Baked Teriyaki Chicken Chop
02. Indonesian Mutton Curry
03. Fortune Sauce Fish Fillet
04. Oat Cereal Prawn
05. KCK Signature Golden Tofu
06. Broccoli Abalone Mushroom
07. Chicken Nugget
08. Salted Fish Fried Rice
09. Ice Cheng Tng
10. Fruit Punch

Day 10: Honganji Osaka Home

We had McDonald breakfast near Kyoto station. The breakfast menu in Japan is very different from here; no big breakfast nor pancake there; the egg muffin comes with bacon! yummy! Price: ¥390

We strolled through the grounds of Higashi Honganji (Eastern Temple of the Original Vow) - head temple of the Otani faction of Jodo-shin Buddhism. Its main hall, the Goeido, is Kyoto's largest wooden structure and dedicated to Shinran, the sect's founder.

Our last night in Japan and we decided to spend it in Osaka, Japan's third largest and second most important city. KYOTO ----- 29min JR Special Rapid Service -----> OSAKA, ¥540
where we transferred to another line to get to...

...our hotel - Hotel Sun Plaza 2. That's our bed in a small room, shared bathroom, and to our horror, there was no heater! Gotta close the window at night, else we would freeze, haha. Oh well, you get what you pay for; 1 night at ¥2,520 (SGD 40)

First stop in Osaka: Kuromon Ichiba Market (Black Gate Market) has a total length of close to 600 meters with 170 shops, where majority of the stores specialize in the freshest and best quality meat, vegetables, eggs and other ingredients from around the country and abroad. Subway Sakaisuji Line Nippombashi Station, exit No.5 and 10.
It's pretty fun to walk around here as we got to marvel at the gigantic live crabs/fish, huge organic fruits, delicious snacks, groceries, etc on display... Just look at the price tag for the watermelon!! Super expensive man, ~SGD40 for a normal size watermelon, gosh...

As we came a bit late (almost 1pm-ish), most of the stores have closed... I'm sure the place would be very buzzing in the morning, so if you intend to check out this place, do come earlier.

We were lost and were trying to find our way back to the train station when we chanced upon this teppanyaki restaurant which was packed with happy customers busy eating, drinking, laughing and talking. Packed restaurant = Good food! And so we decided to have our lunch here.

The menu was in Japanese, the chef doesn't speak English and thus we had to point randomly at some items and 'prayed' that good food would come! hahaha... Luckily for us, the random items we ordered were noodles (yakisoba) fried with cabbage and sliced beef (top left) and vegetable pancake (bottom left). It's very enjoyable to watch the chef cooked in front of us (though the area was kinda warm) =) Bill came up to ¥1080 for two. Place is highly recommended!

It's shopping time! We wondered into Takashimaya shopping centre (at Namba Station) and checked out the various brands (cos we were contemplating whether we should get Burberry Blue bag here), wondered into the underground shopping mall where I spent at least an hour hunting for a list of cosmetics items in the cosmetic store, and returned to the street.

We walked along the main street to look for Amerikamura, a well-known haunt of expatriate Westerners, and is identifiable by a small-scale reproduction of the Statue of Liberty that looks down on the streets.
There are many retail stores here and mostly punk fashion which isn't suitable for us... haha... It's interesting to walk around the area to see see, but if you are on a tight schedule, I'll recommend that you can give this area a miss.

Finally, we found ourselves at Shinsaibashi-suji, a very very long street arcade with many many shops all leading off one huge long roof (yesh, it's sheltered and pretty cooling here!). Crap! we should have come here much earlier to do all the shopping... Definitely a paradise for shoppers.
From the sidewalk stone bridge, you can see enormous neon advertisements and billboards which covered the entire buildings. Above is snack/candy manufacturer Glico's giant electronic display of a runner crossing the finish line, a very famous landmark... Ah, this is the Japan that we were expecting and looking for!! Surprisingly, we didn't see such scene in Tokyo...

Dotonbori is a single street running alongside the Dotonbori canal and is the main destination for food travel in Osaka. Ah, we should have looked for a restaurant here to try out okonomiyaki (pan-fried batter cake) or takoyaki (octopus dumplings) for dinner... There's alway a next time!

Next morning, we took a train to Kansai Airport (¥890). Airport is poorly designed (in our opinion) cos there is no sheltered linkway from the train station to the airport terminal and we gotta braved the strong chilly wind and light rain to reach the departure terminal. Really cold and freezing!
We had lunch at one of the few available restaurants (it's 11am already and most stores are still closed lor). AG was disappointed with his plain cold soba, cos he thought it'll come with seafood or meat since it costs so much... I had claypot rice with a tiny piece of crab meat for ¥1080.

The first Daiso that we saw for our Japan trip... and I cannot go in to shop around cos it's almost boarding time for us!

At last! We managed to find Hokkaido White Lovers chocolate (which is really delicious! A box of 12 pcs for ¥740) and Royce chocolate (slightly cheaper than what it'll cost in SG) at the airport... and we bought ~SGD100 worth of chocolate home! Just look at our luggage!

Home sweet home! Our short Japan trip was really fun and I'm sure we would be back for more. I want to see cherry blossoms during Spring!! Anyway, hope you folks have enjoyed the photos =)

Day 9: Kiyomizu Gion

We ordered egg muffin breakfast meal (similar to Mac's muffin meal) at Lotteria, a fast food chain, located in the underground mall of Kyoto station. Price: ¥390
First stop: Kiyomizudera (The Clear Water Temple) is the main temple of the Hosso sect of Buddhism. It was founded in 807 but its present buildings were rebuilt in 1633. Nearest bus stop: Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka. Open daily, 6am-6pm. Admission: ¥300.
We walked up a gentle sloping street (Ninnen-zaka and Sannen-zaka walk) lined with souvenir shops and restaurants and found ourselves at the entrance. From here, we walked under the Nio-mon or Gate of the Deva Kings. The Deva Kings, along with Korean lion-dogs (koma-inu) protect the temple from any evil that may enter.

View of the nearby town from the 2nd gate (the structure on the right of the previous photo)

This is Hondo or Main Hall of Kiyomizu Temple and is dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of compassion.

Butai (dancing stage) is held up by 139 wooden pillars (each 49 feet high) that extends the stage 10 meters over a 12 meter cliff and offers beautiful views of the city. Note: Due to the high popularity of the place, it is impossible to take pictures of you and the main temple's platform without an extra human body, arm or head appearing!

Nurete Kannon (Water-soaked Kannon) - to pour water over the image is considered an act of purification. Actually, we thought it's for good luck... hahaha... We collected water from the small spring fountain, walked about 3m and poured the water over the image of Kannon in a water basin. Did it three times lor (cos we followed the person in front of us, haha)

Beneath the main hall is the Otowa-no-taki (Sound of Feathers) waterfall, where three channels of water drop into a pond. Visitors to the temple collect the water from the falls in metal cups with long wooden poles (they are sterilized via UV ray, so no worries) and drink it to bring health and good fortune. Just look at the queue!! We queued to drink the water (erh, no special taste; it's just water...) and if you are lazy to queue, you can buy the bottled version from the vendor.

Jishu-jinja, dedicated to Okuninushino-Mikoto, a god of love and 'good matches', sells countless charms to help you snag the one you love. There are two 'love stones' positioned around 18m apart which the lovelorn must walk between with eyes closed to confirm their loved one's affection. PS: With so many people around, I don't think it's a good idea to try this!

We left temple and strolled around the area. Right photo: Bought a bun with green tea powdered paste (¥300) which tastes average. Top left: Japanese geisha figurines for ¥1050 each; i bought one as souvenir! Bottom left: Green tea-flavored Kit Kat is only found in Kyoto and is an excellent (and expensive) gift to bring home.

We bump into geisha! White make-up and elaborate kimono and hair of a maiko is the popular image held of them.

Strolled through Maruyama Park to enjoy the lovely autumn scenery

Top: Cute dog in samurai custom. Bottom: Street performance in the park

The entrance to Chionin Temple is through the two-story San-mon (main gate) and then up a steep flight of stairs. Standing 24 meters tall and 50 meters wide, it is the largest wooden gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s.

Chionin is the head temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism. Top: The massive Miedo Hall houses the temple's principle object of worship: a statue of the priest Honen, who founded the Jodo sect. Bottom: Gardens On the Chion-in grounds. Open daily, 9am -4pm. We didn't manage to explore the temple as we came too late and the place was closing...!! =( Gotta rush over to the next temple since everything closes at 5pm!

Admission to Heian Shrine is free. The torii before the main gate is one of the largest in Japan, and the main building, or shaden, is designed to imitate the Kyoto Imperial Palace on a three-fourth scale.

Yasaka (Gion) Shrine is open 24 hours. Top: Many lanterns decorate the shrine's stage and are lit after dark. Bottom: Honden (spirit hall), a single-story building with a wooden shingle roof. Here worshippers wake up the god with a rattle of the pan shaped bells at the front of the building, then pray before the altar.

We bought snacks from the street vendors in the park. Yummy takoyaki (aka octopus balls, 6 balls for ¥350) and tempura fishcake (¥250)

We walked through Gion, the most famous geisha district in Kyoto, and is filled with ochaya (tea houses where geisha entertain), theaters, shops and restaurants. The main attraction are its traditional wooden machiya style merchant houses, built in a design characteristic of Kyoto. Due to the fact that property taxes were based upon street frontage, the houses were built with narrow facades only five to six meters wide, but extend up to twenty meters in from the street. Food here is really expensive! and we had to settle dinner at one of the cheaper restaurants opposite. hahaha