Giant Gundam protecting Tokyo...

Mysteriously appearing on Odaiba island a couple of months ago, a giant Gundam on a mission to protect Tokyo and all Tokyorites from an unseen and unknown foe... as he stands guard, people from all walks of life mill around him like little ants, posing and taking photos, oblivious to any impending danger.

Scanning the skies and the horizon, prepared to protect Tokyo with his life, the giant metallic guardian waits, ready to do his duty.

A policeman stands guard, incase some poor Tokyorite gets stepped on by accident...

Click on the photo for a bigger view...

Silently watching, waiting ready to strike... an imposing, giant, mechanical sentinel.

Oh, yes, 3 monkeys and a Gundam.

Dim Sum without the parking fees...

Recently we had lunch at the Chinaroom in the Grand Hyatt. An adequate à la carte dim sum buffet lunch for about ¥3000 a head...

While the dim sum was decent, the serving portions were tiny (even by Japanese standards) and the meal was served by supercilious waiters who can't seem to comprehend how anyone would have the audacity to order more then one serving, even if it is a buffet.

Thankfully the restaurant validates parking... because, for the mathematically challenged, that's S$3.00 for every 10 minutes you park at their hotel.

T'was a good break in Singapore and Bangkok...

...but alas all good things have to come to an end.

We're back in Tokyo and right in the middle of summer, the mosquitoes are out in full force and the heat is blazing, though the humidity is much more bearable then that of Singapore.

Two weeks in Singapore is just enough to see everyone and satiate one's Singapore food cravings, but it leaves little time for relaxing as the days and nights are pretty packed. Happily we managed to eat our way through the holiday and had an additional 4 days in Bangkok to recover before coming back to Tokyo and the grind of summer.

I am desperately missing my fishball noodles, especially a bowl from the ABC market off Alexandria road... damn you Lyndsey for introducing us to this stall.

Best damn handmade fishballs in the land...

Awesome 'Zher Char' dinner at Dickson Road, off Jalan Besar, it's a bit of a dive, but the food is delicious.

Hot, humid, no parking, long wait, but the food is worth it.

Singapore was fun, but hectic, we had a more relaxing time chilling out in Bangkok. Mei and Nicole clearly enjoying the free canapés and drinks at club lounge of the Intercontinental hotel...

...and dinner at the Hotel's empty Chinese restaurant. We had a rather generous voucher we had to use, incase you're wondering why we would be eating in the hotel.

And finally someone enjoying her brand new Nintendo DSi, skillfully extorted from her grandparents.