Sunday, November 7, 2010

lake suwa : 諏訪湖

gave the grandparents some peace and quiet while we zipped off to lake suwa (諏訪湖) for a night away.
we usually go to lake suwa in summer for the huge fireworks display (one of the top 5 in japan), but this time of year was just as beautiful time to visit.
the drive through the mountains to lake suwa was breath-taking as the autumn leaves were in full color and raining down on us all the way.

our close friend s-chan; whose wedding we attended in thailand was back home with her 8-month old baby boy. we met s-chan and baby tak-kun at our ryokan (japanese inn) purchased on the hillside looking down on lake suwa.



the day started off great; lots of catching up; eating, drinking, and playing with the kids. after a yummy meal at the inn the two mums took the two babies off for a hot spring while i chilled out in the room. the babies came back in lala-land so the mums went back for a soak while i looked after the sleeping babies.
all was going well until little tak-kun stirred in his sleep and realized that his mum was not there. oh shit...
tak-kun started crying which soon set off little kou-chan too and it wasn't long before both of them were screaming their little lungs out! oh double shit...
as tak-kun can crawl i had to hold him while kou-chan was looking at me with the most heart-wrenched eyes as if to say; "daddy, why aren't you holding me?".
talk about tough...
in the end i thought the walls were gonna crumble down around me so i called the front desk and explained my situation in which the lady said she would go running to the hot spring and get the mum's to come back.
man, i'm never gonna look after TWO babies alone again (unless i can produce milk!)


the following day we strolled around the grounds of suwa taisha (諏訪大社); a temple which is over 1200 years old.
close by were stores selling japanese confectionery which we bought to take back to the grandparents.









oh, if you are wondering what those guys are doing riding that big log; it's a famous once in 6-year event held here in suwa where stupid brave men ride this log down a steep hill; often resulting in death...

so yeah, apart from the screaming-baby experience, all in all it was a nice mini-trip away.
and thanks s-chan for the delicious macarons!
hope to catch up with you again; maybe next time back in thailand?!







11 comments:

Kenny Mah said...

Trust the babies to know when their mummies are gone. It's almost instinctual, I think. :)

Those traditional Japanese confectionery looks good, by the way. We can easily (Western/French) get macarons here in Malaysia (the latest craze, actually) but it's harder to get authentic Japanese treats like the ones in your photo.

Oh dear on the silly, er, sacred log race though.

Lavender Playground said...

I think you deserve a medal for being alone with two crying babies.

pascale said...

that must have been tough! haha
You just triggered a memory of mine.

I remember Leigh's grandpa saying he probably will never be able to look after crying baby Leigh if both grandma nor I was around :p (and he said that after spending 30 mins with wailing baby Leigh for half and hour alone... I could almost see him sweat)

Luuworld said...

haha! i can picture the situation with the kids! it's a full time job! i'm so glad my nephews are older now. it's nice to be able to have proper conversations with them.

anyway. seems like a nice trip! no shortage of snacks!

love the picture with the rays of sun through the clouds. beautiful :)

world of sekimachihato said...

* life for beginners
macorons seem to be the craze everywhere. so what are traditional Malay sweets like?
like your new photo by the way!

world of sekimachihato said...

* lavender playground
i think you're right! hehehe

world of sekimachihato said...

* Pascale
what a brave grandpa!! ojiisan would never do that.
to tell the truth, I broke out in a sweat. it was not a nice experience...

world of sekimachihato said...

* luuworld
babies are fun too but I think your right, it will be much more fun when we can communicate in more "depth".

Kenny Mah said...

Macarons are a hit in Kuala Lumpur, but that is about it. It's more of a higher-end confectionery so the smaller towns in Malaysia isn't really picking up on this.

Malay kuih (sweets) can be quite sweet using ingredients like natural "pandan" (screwpine leaves) flavouring, fresh coconut shavings, "gula Melaka" (a dark brown, caramelised palm sugar native to my hometown, Melaka/Malacca), etc.

I ought to do a post on Malaysian kuih one day, but till then, you may have already read my post on the Chinese angkoo kueh (or "red tortoise sweet/dumpling")?

Kenny Mah said...

P.S. Phew! That was one long comment. Sorry! :P

P.P.S. New profile pic's from my recent trip to a rose farm. Thanks! :)

world of sekimachihato said...

* Life for Beginners
mmm, malay kuih sound divine.
i've only been to malaysia once when i was a kid but i don't remember trying any such sweets. next time i get the chance to visit your country i'm gonna give those kuih a go.

thanks for the explanation too!

Related Posts with Thumbnails