The Tiny PhangNga Pineapple from Big C Extra in Jungceylon Shopping Centre @ Phuket Island [Thailand]

In my five days at Phuket, i kept seeing packs of really tiny unskinned pineapples for sale on the roadside stalls; being cursed with a sensitive stomach means i don't dare to try even though i was dying to have a taste of it! 

The chance came when i found a branch of the popular Big C supermarket at Phuket's biggest shopping centre; Jungceylon! Like a normal hypermarket, there's a fruit section and psychologically, i feel that hygiene would be better than those standalone stores. 

Each pack of mini pineapples (known as sweet phangnga) didn't come cheap and cost 83.25 baht (about S$3.50) for three! My assumption is that the effort to remove the skin of such small pineapples must have contributed to the high price tag. 

I am seldom adventurous when it comes to new stuff and i guess i am excited to know what it really tastes like! Holding it like a flower; i was contemplating if i should chew it off slowly or just pop the entire thing in my mouth. Given the price (and that it's one for each of us), i decided on the former.

Good things come in small packages and the statement couldn't have been truer when i took a bite of the tiny pineapple; there was a refreshingly light sweetness to the 'meat' (including the core) and it didn't come with any sourness and siapness to dampen the experience. The only issue; its diminutive size means my tummy was hardly satisfied with just one.

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Where To Buy Them

From roadside fruit stalls / stores in Phuket. 

I got mine from  Big C Extra @ Jungceylon

Click here for my 5 days itinerary to Phuket.

Going Crazy with Outlet Shopping at Mitsui Outlet Park in Sapporo Kitahiroshima @ Hokkaido [Japan]

I experienced both happiness and sadness after my very first outlet shopping (the visit to Johor Premium Outlets was actually four months later); former because i had a great time and bought quite a number of things at a good deal.

Sad because we only allocated two hours and couldn't extend any further as we needed to return the rented car in central Sapporo on the same day at a designated time!

Anyway, ample parking for us as it was a lull Tuesday afternoon. Honestly, i thought the planned two-hour stay was too long a time as i am not into branded stuff and only put this into the itinerary as i had never known what outlet shopping was all about.

To me, it should be similar to what we have in Singapore (for example, IMM, Changi City Point); albeit of a much larger scale for which the entire shopping mall would be catered entirely for discounted and / or off-season products.

Rather empty mall - the general atmosphere is as expected; quite the same as IMM or Changi City Point and i was, in fact, getting a bit bored as i am pretty quick when it comes to window shopping and dislike having to loiter insanely long at one shop.

Those who visited during Hokkaido's cold winter would welcome the everything-is-indoor setting; it will be warm and definitely a nice respite from all the snow and finger-biting cold.

A few of the 180 brands that's spread out over two buildings with a square area of 30,000 m²! Unfortunately, the lack of time means i didn't venture beyond the first building!

Thank god i am only into Southeast Asian coffee!

CROCS - i absolutely love the brand as shoes are usually light and relatively durable given my rough handling! I didn't purchase any as i still have two spanking new pairs at home.

Pricing of the New Balance shoes; as foreigners, we are entitled to tax rebates (8%) upon attainment of a minimal 'spent' amount which i think is 5,000 yen (about S$62). Hence, please remember to bring along your passport!

Kipling bags; i was tasked by my mom to get a purple one for her! As i don't have a good eye for designs, i had to send a whatsapp to my family's group chat for a confirmation! At the very least, my mom is super pleased with the bag and frequently brings it out.

An aviation / aeronautic exhibition on the ground floor.

While i was busy in the Kipling store, Alex ventured alone to the Nike store and before i knew it, he got two pairs of the same design as it was one for one and he didn't like the other colours.

You know what's the best thing? He had the actual same pair at home which means he now has three of the same kind in the shoe cabinet!

I was looking forward to checking out the Onitsuka Tiger outlet!

Having heard so much about it from the Great Kon for like more than ten years, i finally got a pair which i absolutely didn't regret buying! Maybe i should have gotten another pair of the same design; just like Alex.

Onitsuka Tiger is available at Changi City Point but the average price (confirmed as of last Sunday) was about S$150; the pair i got cost less than S$100!

Temptation mode activated when i spotted this pair at the counter; at 6,000 yen (S$80), it's still within my budget. In my mind, to pay over S$100 for a pair of shoes is ridiculous! Sadly, it didn't have my size. :(

My craziest overseas purchase so far - i got two tempur pillows at a huge discount compared to what i would be paying in Singapore from their official store and hauled them back home! The original price in Singapore is S$319 and i paid less than that amount for two pillows!

I wish i would be back soon!

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Location

3-7-6, Omagari Saiwai-cho,

Kitahiroshima City, Hokkaido,

Japan (in between New Chitose Airport & Sapporo)

Location Map

Check out under the label for "Mitsui-Outlet Park" under header "Sapporo (08-11 Aug)".

Website

https://mitsui-shopping-park.com/mop/sapporo/english/

For my 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.

Yuzawa Shrine (湯沢神社) @ Noboribetsu [Hokkaido, Japan]

Most people would have noticed the light red torii on the side of the road leading to Hell Valley but would prefer to spend their time at Noboribetsu's signature attraction instead, especially given the lack of time.

The same goes for me and i only got to explore the Japanese shrine, known as Yuzawa, early next morning when the weather was cool and no one seemed to be up.

Halfway up the flight of stairs was a branch off for another staircase.

Interestingly, the stone lanterns in front were bigger in comparison to the petite wooden shrine right behind. Other than that, i thought the grave for Tan Tock Seng in Singapore is more fascinating.

Sitting on a bed of rocks, the label on top indicated 三吉神社 which translates into the name of the shrine whereas the bottom characters seem to refer to a donation box. Hm........ Since i don't understand the language, i am not going to second-guess what it's supposed to be.

Time to continue our climb up the stairs and check out the main shrine we came for!

Aesthetically, i feel that the modern building on the left had somewhat blocked the facing of the main shrine. It's like hiking up to the top of a mountain only to see the beautiful view blocked by a man-made structure.

Before praying at a Shinto shrine, devotees are required to wash up but without any instruction, i was at a loss and chose to just concentrate on photo taking instead.

Stickers on the roof of the washing area; not vandalism i feel as you don't see outrageous designs / messages. Don't think they were talismans too.

Memorial plaques?

Side view of Yuzawa Shrine; said to be built by Kinzo Takimoto. Does the name ring a bell? It's the same man who established Dai-ichi Takimotokan as a small inn back in 1858!

Most Shinto shrines appear to look more like a typical wooden home, with its doors closed. Not hospitable in my opinion as i always like to see what's behind closed doors!

昭和61年 refers to the 61th year of the Showa reign under Emperor Hirohito - in the gregorian calendar that we are better comfortable with; the year refers to 1986.

I believe there's some customary ritual i am supposed to undertake before i ring the bell but since i am not aware of any and there's no one around, i shook the rope for fun!

Aside from Alex, this crow was the only living creature i chanced upon.

Votive tablets with words of blessings written on them. At this point, i wasn't aware of the purpose for the pieces of paper that were knotted up. I only know what they are when i checked out the Hokkaido Shrine the next day.

The same kind of knotted papers on tree branches. To me then, i thought its purpose would be similar to the yellow strings tied to trees near the Datok Kong shrine at Kusu Island.

Alex was getting bored. According to some reviews, this shrine was extremely beautiful in winter and in autumn when the leaves of the surrounding trees turned red!

Pillars with the words "may peace prevail on earth" inscribed in different languages like English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish etc.

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Location

106 Noboribetsu Onsencho,

Noboribetsu 059-0551, Hokkaido

(Opposite Takimoto Inn)

Map

Check out under the label for "Yuzawa Shrine" under header "Noboribetsu (07-08 Aug)".

For our 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.