Kiyomizu-dera Part 2

From part 1 ....

From the fountain, you could either took a hike up a small hill where more shrines were located. Halfway up there was a pagoda. We ventured there but unfortunately, the pagoda was closed for repairs. We then took an alternative route to the main exit, taking us round the base of the verandah of the main building around lakes and shops. I then realised how old the buildings were. The base of the verandah was made purely of wood, and these were huge and sturdy.

Say what? No photographs? But .... but ... but ....The base of the verandah. All wood!Fancy some tea?

There were tea shops along the route to the exit if you fancy some drink …. or even some meal. Since we were on a schedule, we gave these a miss and continue on towards the lakes. A small one but the reflections of the sakura tree made taking photographs just irresistible. And since the crowd were still light, it was an opportunity not to be missed.

Through the exit, it was time to shop. The small shops here sold cute little souvenirs, and I soon found myself spending equivalent to RM500 on these cute little stuffs alone! Not cheap.

I must say that it was a great idea to get here first and enjoy less of the hassle. The place really looked crowded but he time we flagged off out cab for the next destination ….

The first part of the entry here. More photos from this visit on my SmugMug site of Flickr site. Alternatively, click here for a slideshow within this blog. More write-up on the Kyoto trip here.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Heading abroad to attend a conference sounded more relaxing that it actually ever was. Not only that the traveling could be a haul, trying to stick to the schedule once you arrived at the destination was another thing. For the Kyoto trip, I actually traveled in late - the lectures were already starting on the morning I touched down in Japan, and I actually missed the last day since my flight was early morning on the Sunday. It couldn't get any tighter than that!

So, I decided to make my escape on one of the morning when the schedule was a bit lax, and I was lucky that the weather was gorgeous that morning. Only one morning, that was the only time I could afford to do the sightseeing, and the rest was all business. And I hooked up with my current and previous bosses for the quick trip. According to the plan, there would be three shrines that we would be dropping by - at least according to my "Top 10" book on Kyoto which I bought before going to Japan.

The first spot - it was well before the place was crowded was the Kiyomizu-dera temple. A big complex housing dozens of shrines, and should you only have only one place to visit here in Kyoto, you could not go wrong with this one!

The main entrance complex "deva" gateMessages for good luckMy two bosses by the entranceWe set off from my boss' hotel near Kyoto Station, and the taxi ride took about 15 minutes. Alighting, we had to walk up a small hill lined by cute little gift shops - they were yet to open on the way into the temple. We quickly shuffled in and snaps some photos by the entrance. And the place was huge.

The entrance took us to the main complex where there was a huge verandah overlooking the city centre, and on this sakura season, the scenery was heavenly ….

Looking down on the fountainOne have to realise that this was a Buddhist temple after all

The main complex also housed a temple with a big Buddha statue. From here, one could just exit or venture further in. This would take you down the valley where the otowa-no-taki was located. This was a fountain with soothing water coming down the hill. Legend has it that it would give calmness to whoever who took a sip and true to the Japanese etiquette, there was a queue to get to the fountain.

More on part 2. You can see the slideshow of this trip here. Alternatively, you could also enjoy the photos on my SmugMug or Flickr sites. The blog entries for the whole Kyoto trip is hosted here.

Lumut Trip Cancelled

Nope! It wasn't my fault. I did not plan it. The MPV was in the garage for the weekend for some major work. Cost us a bomb and we were glad to get the van back on Monday in time for the planned trip to Lumut on Tuesday. I would be left behind since I would be on call a couple of days this week. So, everything was fine at the beginning of the day, apart from Anita suffering from a slight sniffles. Even the boys went to bed early in order to get an early start for the drive.

At around noon, as I was finishing my morning clinic and waiting for admission at the Doctor's Lounge before lunch, I got a call from Anita. An hour out, and Tanjung Malim,smoke started coming from the engine and the temperature gauge went up. The stopped the car at a lay by and called in the mechanics and tow. But they would only be able to tow to the nearest highway exit. We would have to pay extra to get the van back to KL and the tow truck was too small to fit everyone in. Plus, there were no taxis at the lay by.

I got one of my colleagues to cover - thanks Nor Liza - and drove from Subang to Tanjung Malim and drove everybody back to KL. Our driver decided to drive the van slowly back to KL, and he everybody, including the van made it back to Gombak in one piece.

The van went straight back to the garage, and guess what? Everything checked out fine! Strange. The van did not give any problem on the drive back to KL not when the mechanic stressed the engine later.

Sadly, the trip was already cancelled, and I was on call, so the boys had to spend the time in KL. Not sure what the plan was for today. My mother-in-law might take a drive down to the apartment in Port Dickson instead. Anita was not feeling too excited to go as she was still carrying a cold. Idlan especially was disappointed. Had to make plans for tonight I think …..

The Boys were Packing

So, the boys would be going to Lumut and Pangkor with Puan Anita and their Grand Ma tomorrow. Dad had to work - in fact I had a couple of on calls this week. They are on school holidays this week but I couldn't get time off as I was traveling a couple of weeks back and also next weekend to Penang. It looked like I would be traveling to Penang either alone or with my parents as Anita was a bit concerned that we would not be able to get a proper room for the family in Penang with the election campaigning which sure to be hitting up by next week.

The boys were helping their Mum do the packing earlier but Idlan got a bit distracted when he couldn't find his Nintendo handheld. He left it at the back of the car when Anita and I went out to fetch something from the shops. When we got back, we saw this notice at the entrance. Obviously he took this from his brother although he didn't use the new board I bought for Irfan from Kyoto to write on.

And another thing, he wanted to be a bit clever. But ended with a notice none of us could understand. Come again Idlan?

Hectic LCCT

An early start this morning. Sending my Mum and Aunt to LCCT. They had to catch the 7am AirAsia flight to Vietnam. That meant that they had to check-in by 5.30, and setting off from Bukit Antarabangsa by 4 in the morning.

Even though the drive in was smooth, the traffic got a lot heavier by the time we reached KLIA. And it was still about 4.30am.

The place got unbelievably crowded by the time I reached LCCT to drop my Mum. Next order of business would be to find a parking slot. Long queue and unhelpful signage made the simple task complicated.

Sunday morning and the terminal was super crowded. Checking in also took rather long. Luckily my Mum was traveling in a group. She didn't have to queue up for the group check-in and everything was sorted out in time.

Wishing her a safe journey, I was just about to leave for an early start for my ward round. On second thought, maybe I just have a breakfast first.