nihon turipu apr 18: going dutch

at 5 am i was already out in the streets of hakata. i had a glimpse of how southern japan's metropolis feels like at the break of dawn in springtime. it felt cold but not indifferent. it felt serene despite the concrete structures that surrounded me. or maybe it just felt wonderful to be fully awake at 5am, solitary in streets that are bustling during daytime.

ang nasabi ko talaga: wow! ang aga ni emman! :)

when i got to hakata station, i also saw some disturbing scenes. the train station was littered with vagrants sleeping on boxes laid on cold floor. the exploratory nature in me actually had a crazy thought of trying it out myself in the coming night: sleeping on the floor at one of the nooks in the train station just to have a feel of it, to experience it; but seeing a police officer harass one of the homeless and the latter fighting back to get more sleep, i reprimanded myself for thinking of such silly thoughts. i should be feeling compassion for those people instead of feeling adventurous. well, that's contrast for you. japan, despite its affluence, cannot shelter everyone.

i stayed at mister donut for over an hour waiting for the train station to start operating. in 2 hours time, i was already aboard a rapid train going to huis ten bosch, the farthest i got to southward during my solo trip in japan.

since the south was the warmest part of japan at that time, i changed into something daring. hehehe. i wore a sleeveless shirt, my pajama-like trousers with leg warmers underneath, a pair of violet toe socks, and slippers. yeah, nabuang si emman for a while. when i got off a the huis ten bosch train station, ay naku, it was the coldest ever, as in EVER during my trip there. it was raining hard and i think huis ten bosch was on higher altitude. so emman changed again. this time full gear. i had layers of clothes! sleeveless shirt underneath a long sleeve shirt underneath a jacket underneath a trench coat! asa ka ana! :p


since it was raining, i bought an umbrella. when i set off towards the huis ten bosch park, ay naku, i knew that the rain and strong wind wouldn't deter me from exploring the whole place. the place was spectacular! it was a true dutch sight!

below is the huis ten bosch palace which is a replica of netherland's queen beatrix' palace. huis ten bosch, by the way, means house in the forest.

the goddess and her windmills.

gosh! the most expensive solo meal of my life! but it was all worth it: beef steak, strawberry white chocolate mousse, sparkling wine, and all!

an aerial view of huis ten bosch. how did i take it? i flew of course! :p nah, it was taken in the tallest building there which was a clock tower.

huis ten bosch wasn't just dutch structures and flowers. it was an amusement park at the same time. i went into a lot of museums including a teddy bear museum and a bell museum. there were also some virtual shows. the most unforgettable one was a galactic virtual show where the audience are participants themselves in the movie. before the show, we had our faces scanned. we were not allowed to smile or make any funny or weird faces. so emman, instead, made a maldita face by raising her left eyebrow.

movie time, i was looking what character i portrayed. and my ging gang gooly goodness gracious! my face appeared as one of the guardians/defenders/warriors of that galactic story! ang masakit ay lalaki ang role ko! waaaahhhh! at ang mas masakit pa, yung katabi kong hapon na lalaki ay babae sya sa movie! nakasaya sya! gosh! pero buti na lang leader kunyari ako nung tropa ng mga warriors! and in the end i saved the day! charing! :p yeah, being a guardian was better than those other roles na receiver or other ek-ek na puro chika lang ang ginawa during the entire movie, while my face was careening here and there in the screen aboard a motorcycle like vehicle that flies. i was pursuing the enemies and trying to save the entire galaxy! o diva! hehehe.

huis ten bosch is one place tourists shouldn't miss. you'll get a glimpse of europe. plus there are lots of fun things to do there. oh there was also an open zoo nearby where one could feed the animals roaming around. mga deers na naman! but there were other animals. i wasn't able to go because it was raining damn hard! at least i'll have reason to go back! teehee! :p

when i went back to hakata at night, i was dead tired that i slept right away in.... hmmm... wherever :p