Japan Details: Ema in Kyoto

At Kiyomizu-dera Temple, 

Ghetto Mr. Hunter checked out some more prayer tablets.

He especially liked this mouse ema.

Teresa, Ghetto Mr. Hunter, and the ema.

Kiyomizu-dera

Kyoto, Japan

September 2008

Ghetto Mr. Hunter in Kyoto

Teresa brought Ghetto Mr. Hunter to Kiyomizu-dera, 

a Buddhist temple in Kyoto.

Another Komainu!

Teresa and Kiyomizu-dera 

Chillin' at Kiyomizu-dera.

Kiyomizu-dera

Kyoto, Japan

September 2008

Travels with Teresa: Sensō-ji Temple

While visiting Sensō-ji Temple in Tokyo, Ghetto Mr. Hunter admired the koi, enjoyed a snack, and posed with another Komainu.

That's the Senso-ji pagoda on the left.

Another Komainu!

Senso-ji Temple

Tokyo, Japan

August 2008

Ghetto Mr. Hunter Visits Tōshō-gū Shrine

The second half of Ghetto Mr. Hunter's inaugural journey with Teresa took them to Japan.  While visiting the Tōshō-gū Shrine in Tokyo's Ueno Park, 

Ghetto Mr. H. encountered this friendly fellow.

Nice to meet you, sir!

Ema prayer and wish plaques hanging in the foreground.

Ghetto Mr. Hunter and the shrine.

Ghetto Mr. Hunter and a Komainu.
Komainu (aka "lion dogs") act as guardians at shrines.

Among the features at Tōshō-gū Shrine

 is the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a peace symbol 

which commemorates the atomic bomb attacks in Japan.

Those are colorful paper cranes
hanging alongside the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

About the Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Thanks again to Teresa for letting a flat Mr. Hunter accompany her to Japan!

Tōshō-gū Shrine, Ueno Park

Tokyo, Japan

August 2008

To Be Held By a Statue: A Great Emporium

Teresa and Ghetto Mr. Hunter hang out with bronze figures in the outdoor sculpture, A Great Emporium, designed by Malcolm Kow and located along the Singapore River, close to the Asian Civilisations Museum.  

You can also see the sculpture, From Chettiars to Financiers, in the background.  These outdoor installations are part of the People of the River series.

Singapore River

Singapore

August 2008

The Main Merlion

Ghetto Mr. Hunter had already posed with the mini-Merlion at Mount Faber Park, but of course he couldn't leave Singapore without visiting the real deal at Merlion Park.

That's the Esplanade lit up in the background.

Marina Bay

Singapore

August 2008

Singapore Meals: Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice

Next up on Ghetto Mr. Hunter's restaurant tour of Singapore: 

Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice

Singapore

August 2008

More Singapore Meals: Laksa

Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoys some laksa with his friends in Singapore.

Singapore

August 2008

Dessert at Brewerkz

Ghetto Mr. Hunter tasted some good food when he toured Singapore.  

Here he samples some carrot cake at Brewerkz.

Brewerkz

Singapore

August 2008

Durian

Ghetto Mr. Hunter samples another famous Singapore delicacy: the stinky durian fruit.

Mark Twain wrote about durian in Following the Equator:  

"There was a great abundance and variety of tropical fruits, but the dorian was never in evidence.  It was never the season for the dorian.  It was always going to arrive from Burma sometime or other, but it never did.  By all accounts it was a most strange fruit, and incomparably delicious to the taste, but not to the smell.  Its rind was said to exude a stench of so atrocious a nature that when a dorian was in the room even the presence of a polecat was a refreshment.  We found many who had eaten the dorian, and they all spoke of it with a sort of rapture.  They said that if you could hold your nose until the fruit was in your mouth a sacred joy would suffuse you from head to foot that would make you oblivious to the smell of the rind, but that if your grip slipped and you caught the smell of the rind before the fruit was in your mouth, you would faint.  There is a fortune in that rind.  Some day somebody will import it into Europe and sell it for cheese."

Singapore

August 2008

Jumbo Seafood

More moments from Ghetto Mr. Hunter's meal at Jumbo Seafood.

Crab

Jumbo Seafood

Singapore

August 2008

Geoduck Clams

Don't be too shocked.

Ghetto Mr. Hunter is just posing with some geoduck clams (prounounced "gooeyduck") while he visits the Jumbo Seafood Restaurant at The Riverwalk.

If Mr. Hunter could raise his eyebrows, he would.

Jumbo Seafood

Singapore

August 2008

Sir Stamford Raffles

Ghetto Mr. Hunter leans against the bust of Sir Stamford Raffles at the Raffles Hotel.

Raffles Hotel

Singapore

August 2008

Singapore Sling at the Long Bar

Teresa took Ghetto Mr. Hunter to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel, where he had a chance to sample the famous Singapore Sling.

Looks like he also went a little nuts at the Long Bar.

The Long Bar

Raffles Hotel

Singapore

August 2008

Sand, Surf, and Seaweed

Propped up on some seaweed at the seashore on Sentosa Island.

Sentosa Island

Singapore

August 2008

The Mini Merlion

Before he posed with the main Merlion, Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoyed hanging out with the mini Merlion at Mount Faber Park.  (The Merlion, which has the head of a lion and the body of a fish, is a mascot or symbol of Singapore.)

Faber Point
Mount Faber Park
Singapore
August 2008

Spider Lilies and Big Leaves

Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoyed some of the tropical Singapore vegetation when he was exploring Mount Faber Park.

these white flowers are called Spider Lilies, or Hymenocallis
photo by Teresa

photo by Sharon

Mount Faber Park
Singapore

August 2008

Mount Faber Views

Sharon, Teresa, and Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoy the views from Mount Faber Park.

looking toward Sentosa Island

looking toward Singapore City

Mount Faber Park

Singapore

August 2008

Friends in Singapore

Teresa and Ghetto Mr. Hunter were on a business trip, and while they were in Singapore, the elegant Sharon showed them around.  Here they are enjoying the views from Mount Faber Park.

Mount Faber Park

Singapore

August 2008

Introducing Ghetto Mr. Hunter

Teresa was getting ready to leave on a business trip to Singapore and Japan, and she asked me about taking a Flat Mr. Hunter along.  The only problem was that she was leaving the next day, and I wasn't in the office to provide her with an official Flat Mr. H.  

Our solution: I emailed Teresa the photo from which I made the original Flat Mr. Hunter, and she printed it out on a color printer, and then "laminated" him with some clear packing tape.  She dubbed this makeshift fellow "Ghetto Mr. Hunter."  Mr. Hunter was pleased about this new representative of the Hunter clan; he also appreciated how Ghetto Mr. Hunter's rectangular shape provided a slight variation on the usual Mr. Hunter look.

Here's Ghetto Mr. H's debut photograph.  

He's enjoying some refreshments at a cafe in Singapore's Arab Quarter while Teresa reads up on local tropical fruit.

Kampong Glam Cafe
Bussorah Street and Kandahar Street
Singapore
August 2008

Here's Teresa and Ghetto Mr. Hunter enjoying a view later in the trip.
That's a hint of the Keppel Bay Bridge in the background.

Mount Faber
Singapore
August 2008