Hokkaido HIghlights

Hokkaido is a beautiful island in the Japanese archipelago. It is more rural than the larger island of Honshu where the big cities are.This is one of the temples in Asakusa.

This is another temple.

Here is Hakodate by night as seen from Mt Hakodate.

It is famous for its seafood.

This is the cable which carries cable cars up to Mt Uzusan.

Here we are at the top of Mt Uzusan.

This is Noboribetsu Jigokudani or Hell Valley, where steam rises from rock fissures and hot geysers spout from the ground.

This is Shouwa Shinzan, a volcano created from the Uzusan eruption in 1943. The lava dome was created from the viscous lava that had cooled down.

Lake Toya, a volcanic lake seen from Uzusan.

Singapore Once More

Am now in Singapore. Nothing much has changed except for the happenings and events that are organised for the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The legend of the Lady in the moon and her rabbit is beloved of many Chinese who are familiar with the story. Then there is the other story of how the Manchus were overthrown by the Hans who secreted messages inside the moon cakes rousing the people to rebel and oust the hated usurpers of the Kingdom. Thus moon cakes are always baked to commemorate this historical event.

This is the season of mooncakes and now there are so many types of moon cakes quite different from the traditional ones. I guess the bakers have to come up with new tastes each year, not only to show off their creativity but also to keep up with the changing trends in the consumers' tastebuds.

My grandmother wouldn't have imagined that there can be cheese and durian in a moon cake. THe traditional ones contain lotus paste with salted duck egg yolks embedded in the center. Fortunately the round shape of the cake is maintained for the Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is at its fullest and is a perfect silver orb hanging in the sky.

Lanterns are also associated with the festival and children will carry lanterns of all shapes and sizes at night while their parents partake of the moon cakes while admiring the beautiful moon. Outside the restaurants at the Esplanade there are many red lanterns. Not only are they pretty but red is also an auspicious color.

The Marina Bay Sands Resort and Casino still stand dominating the skyline with the palm trees sticking out high above in its sky garden.

Across the Marina Bay is the familiar landscape with the iconic Merlion and the bridge.

We also visited the World Food Fair at the Suntec City Exhibition Hall where food stalls sold a mind boggling array of food and junk food. There were also stalls selling gadgets for the kitchen and home. Huge crowds thronged the hall with long queues.