The Tan Tans' Life Begins

As most of you would have guessed, Mr Tan Tan cooked up a feast for Mrs Tan Tan in celebration of her birthday. Probably the best present one can ever ask for :) A flawless 3-course set meal comprising of prawn bisque, vogole in white wine and wagyu beef steak. Complete with a bottle of Hokkaido red wine and a mean chocolate cake. Breakfast - yummy, crispy, apple pancakes topped with maple syrup! Taste of Singapore - traditional longevity noodles.

After the Whale Museum and Onsen, we proceeded on to the World Heritage Sites on Mt Nachi - 熊野那智大社 (Kumano Nachi Grand Shrine)and the nearby 那智大滝 (Nachi Great Waterfall). The Tan Tans actually counted the number of steps they had to climb after happily hopping down. Their count: 132! Awesome sight which greeted the Tan Tans together with all the negative ions that made us feel really good. (Especially after the onsen). Oh well, Mr Tan Tan was afraid of getting drenched .... haha Mr Tan Tan also took the opportunity to pray for good health and happiness and the offering (in the form of a wooden stick) burned brightly. After the waterfall, the Tan Tans proceeded to the Nachi Grand Shrine with their friends. The Shrine was built in approximately 1590 and is the oldest in the region. Mr Tan Tan also found many similiarities between this shrine and a Chinese temple. There are 2 lion statues guarding the gates and one of the shrines also had dragon and kirin cravings on its roof (but i forg...

The second stop of our trip was actually our main purpose of the trip. The ONSEN!! For this, we went to one of the hotel with Nanki Katsuura hot springs. Hotel Nakanoshima. It is the only hot spring on an island in Japan! Well, we definitely needed a ferry to reach the island and look at the cute ferries below: And a satisfied Mrs Tan Tan after the nice onsen. Oh well, what do you expect? Of cos it was impossible for me to take photographs in the onsen right. And I was enjoying every minute of it with no camera on hand. Just to be clear, it wasn't a mixed onsen (disappointed...) and there were just me with 2 other ojisans in the open-air onsen (rotenburo). But it felt great! The onsen directly faced the sea and one could enjoy the panoramic sea views while soaking. Definitely very very therapeutic and outstanding!! For more information, you can visit their website at http://www.hotel-nakanoshima.jp/english/index.html

The Taiji Whale Museum in Wakayama is a mystery in itself. It was the Tan Tans' first visit to a whale museum and it was insightful, educational but yet strange and confusing. Why? hmm... read on. The place comprises a museum, an aquarium, a underwater world etc. There, the Tan Tans and their friends were treated to Dolphin and Whale shows. The same stuff one would get at Dolphin Lagoon in Sentosa. This performance showcases a combination of short-finned pilot whales, risso dolphins and false killer whales. And have you ever wondered how whales sound?? And yes, this are the standard bottlenose dolphins that everyone loves. Oh. I believe everyone knows "Willy". Don't worry the sea lion on the left is taking a nap and not dead. Next was the exhibition area where the Tan Tans learnt about the giant mammals of the sea. It was educational as the Tan Tans walked through the exhibition halls where different parts of the whales are being displayed. That's the tongue of th...