PICTURES FROM JAPAN

These are some of the beautiful scenary of Autumn in Japan and I would like to share them with friends visiting my blog. Miura san who had his vacation in "Nikko" took the pictures. Nikko is a very popular destination for Japanese as well as foreigners. It is located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. approximately 140 km north of Tokyo.  

There are 48 waterfalls in Nikko, but this Kegon waterfall is the most popular with water coming down from about 97 meters..  

 Nikko has most of the country's spectacular waterfalls and scenic trails.

With the magnificent Autumn colours,  I am sure Miura san had a very good time relaxing in Nikko.

TOOWOOMBA

Our first trip to Toowoomba was in 2000 when our son entered the University of Southern Queensland. 

The new Ipswich motorway, completed in May this year has three lanes in each direction. We used this motorway to connect the Warrego highway to Toowoomba. 

It was a pleasant drive as most of the "old one lane" Warrego highway had been upgraded to double lanes since our last trip back in 2006. 

The Lockyer Valley is the most fertile valley of Queensland where some of the richest farmlands are found. 

Seeing this "Mac Donald's" signage reminded me of our many short breaks there in early 2000 while visiting our son.

Toowoomba is a "country side" city with an estimated population of 130,000.

It is known as a "Garden City" with many parks offering places for leisure and relaxation. 

We visited one the parks in the city to enjoy the beautiful landscape and flowers.

The best time to visit Toowoomba is actually in September when the yearly Carnival of Flowers is held. It's the premiere celebration of flowers, food, wine, culture, entertainment and all things of Spring. 

We headed for the University. The road was lined with "Jacaranda".

A picture for my photo collection.

We had an enjoyable day seeing most the familiar places and returned to Brisbane. We hope to come back for the Carnival of Flowers in a year or two.

IN FLIGHT MEAL VS HOME COOKING

We flew to Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines for a business trip and 2 days later, to Brisbane. I was surprised that the in flight meals for both the Domestic and International sectors were served with the same old menu (smaller portion) for the past several years!

The choice of sweet and sour fish with rice and the "Nasi Lemak" on the Kota kinabalu-Kuala Lumpur sector.

For the 8 hours + Kuala Lumpur-Brisbane flight, It was "breakfast" served at almost 11:00 AM with the choice of "Nasi Lemak" or Omelette. 

 Malaysian style omelette ?



Chicken or vegetarian pie was served an hour and half before scheduled landing at 07:55 PM.

In Brisbane, we were invited to my cousin's Riverhills home for a dinner. As expected, it was a feast!   

  A "Super first class" home cooked dinner

Deep fried "wanton".

Dorothy's "crispy roasted pork belly" (燒肉-siew yok).

 Hakka yong tau foo (客家釀豆腐)

Fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter and herbs.

        Buttered prawns.

I wish that the in flight meals could be something closer to Dorothy's cooking. Hopefully, the Catering manager and his team would wake up with new and better menu in the near future.