*bows head and says, "Konichiwa!"
What was going through my mind then was whether what had been planned will actually be carried out. It is always exciting to see your plans translate into reality, especially when these plans are made purely on the available resources, and about a totally unfamiliar theme. Then again, if they don't, it will be something that I can learn from. :)
This advertisement board at Changi Airport probably simplified mix of feelings inside me, apprehension of foreign land, missing my family, anticipation of an exciting week ahead.
Cathay Pacific!
We were killing some time at the transit Hong Kong International Airport. Hoho! But then we realised we had to literally run for our gate because it was like gazellion miles away.
This is one of Tokyo's subway lines called the Keisei Line, which runs between various small towns and the Narita Airport. The perplexing thing is, the train actually went past the station in one direction and a few minutes later, came back on the same track in the opposite direction!
An hour and a half train ride to where we were heading- Asakusa!
Den's expression aptly reflects the dampening of feeling and sense of disappointment he must be feeling due to the unforeseen overcast weather.
Cherry blossoms, where are youuuu?
It appeared that we were late for the Sakura cherry blossoms full blooming period, but there were still some very patient ones waiting for us. :)
In a foreign place like this, any signs of familiarity or universality will always bring a certain level of genuine happiness to me. Prior to the trip, research from many websites only yielded a handful number of mosques that we can visit while we are here, one of them being 'Masjid Asakusa', which is within the neighbourhood of Asakusa, where we are now staying. This afternoon, we set out in quest to find this mosque, with help from passers-by, numerous area maps and sporadic gut instincts, but with our resolve diminishing with every step we took as the rain seemed persistent in stopping us from reaching our destination. I lost count of how many times we took turns at corners and seemed like we're almost reaching it only to realise we're further away.
From what we gathered, Friday prayers start at around 11.40am today, but our search for almost two hours had us surrendering the belief that we could reach there in time. Then, our light came in the form of a non-Muslim Japanese man, whom we had approached randomly to ask for directions. I guess Singapore needs more people like him, someone who really wills himself to go the extra mile, and in this case, literally. He walked with us to the main road, where he seeked some directions from a police post, and walked further on with us for the next kilometre, until Den spotted a structure resembling that of a crescent and a moon. That feeling of sheer happiness in me was unprecedented. It only goes to show that if you put your heart into achieving a certain goal, chances are, there will be signs along the way assisting you.
By the time we reached the mosque, we all all drenched from thighs down, but instead of feeling dampened, I felt so revived and delighted that it was really worth the effort. Contrary to what we expected, the Friday prayers' were only attended by barely 10 people including us. The imam (leader) of the prayers' was a Malaysian, and then there were Saudi, Bangladeshi and a few others. The heart-warming thing is that after the prayers' had ended, we were all invited to a lunch together a floor above the prayers room. I suppose this is their normal practice, which promptly reminded me of those times when you sit together in two rows facing each other, awaiting the time of breaking fast.
Alhamdulilah, for everything.
to be continued...
(okay I was wearing 4 layers of clothings, in case you're wondering why I look fat haha)
This was one of the rides. Ok, I think my expression got a little exaggerated. Haha.
Presenting... Disney Parade!
HUG!!
The trademark castle!
