#170408 Japan_1st day @

Throughout the years, I've been hearing a lot of people raving about Japan as a very fun holiday destination. Finally, I have made it to Japan. Kansai area (Osaka, Kyoto & Nara) are the places that we have covered for our maiden trip to this Land of Rising Sun.

We flew with MAS to Osaka's Kansai International Airport (KIX) and took a 75-minute train ride to Kyoto on the JR Haruka Airport Express with the “ICOCA and Haruka discount ticket package”.

On the train where we bumped into a family from Cameron Highlands

my breakfast from 7-11/family mart (can't really remember)

These tasted okay (well, you know...I prefer Asian Char-Bee-Hoon type breakfast)

“Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, Kyoto is considered to be the centre of Japan’s cultural life. With more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and 270 Shinto shrines, the city is one of the world’s greatest cultural treasures, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite functioning as a modern city today, in many ways it stands in contrast to the metropolis of Tokyo. ”

#170429 - 30 Sasaran & Sekinchan

I first heard of Sasaran from my ex-colleague, Vivian. Apparently she has got friends who have visited Sasaran. 

Located 70km from Kuala Lumpur, Sasaran is known as Malaysia’s version of Salar de Uyuni, a popular salt flat in Bolivia. It awesomely offers a very nice background and mirrors the images which makes the photo a really picture-perfect one. However, you won’t be able to witness this phenomenon everyday, it only happens for four to five days every month (初一，十五）, depending on the tide.

From the jetty, we took a ferry ride of around 40 minutes to the "Sasaran Beach". We were really lucky to have witnessed some wild dolphins jumping out of the water during the ride and it was my first time. Not to mention that there were also many seagulls flying freely across the sky. The sun was scorching hot though.

After around 1.5 hours at Sasaran beach, we were ferried to Swan Island for our lunch and toilet break. We were given a small pack of Nasi lemak and a bottle of water by the tour agency. 

We then returned to the mainland and continued our journey north to Sekinchan which is around 40km from Sasaran.

Sekinchan is one of the major rice producer in Malaysia, at the same time a fishing village that supply fresh seafood. It used to be very quiet until a HK drama had some of their scenes taken at the beach at Sekinchan and since then it became one of the fastest developed tourist attractions in Malaysia.

We reached Sekinchan in the evening and directly we checked in our guesthouse for a good shower and some rest before heading out for our seafood feast.

It was actually my second time patronizing this home-style seafood restaurant. I remembered having the best clams in my life here and I would like to reminisce the taste. 

The seafood here was indeed very fresh. It's really a very satisfying meal for me. 

Paddy field at dawn

vast green paddy field

The iconic wishing tree at Pantai Redang Beach

Had this freshest squid in my life at Pantai Redang beach

It's really nice to have visited Sasaran and Sekinchan, at the same time catching up with the old friend.

Sekinchan, I will be back!