Life Digest. March 2024.
Time "takes its time" when we travel.
A belated self-guilty attempt to start journalling of my life whilst trying to avoid genre specific egotism and making it a practical guide for the readers.
JAPAN. LIFE.
I have enjoyed only a few nice sunny days in Japan in March, as I spent most of the month in Korea and Singapore. Unfortunately, I had to cancel trip to Vientiane for personal reasons. There will be another day…
By the way, I have noticed that when I’m travelling time does not fly as fast as when I am at home doing routine tasks. E.g. when I was in Singapore only a week, it felt much longer. I believe because every day I had experienced something new: place, food, view, impression. So, one of the solutions to an interesting and exciting life is probably … travel. ??
What do you think?
Back to Japan. This month Yuko and I visited Haneda Innovation Center near the airport. It houses jet fighter simulator, many offices and restaurants. There is even a foot spa on the veranda of one of the buildings.
Also, there is a great food court here featuring cuisines of different parts of Japan. It uses robots for food delivery, you request your food via smart phone. I still prefer old style greasy menu pages and a chat with a shop keeper, but … we are at the Innovation Center. Sorry, the videos below are the same. Don’t know how to remove one (Substack moved writer’s support to AI which is truly artificial = false intelligence). I will be looking for another platform.
And last date of March which is today I’m wandering streets of Yokosuka. Sun and fun. Post to follow.
SINGAPORE
Delicious, hot and versatile as usual. My affair with this country continues. Always something new. Good sense of humour in the air.
And wildlife chatting you up near MRT station.
I visited couple of interesting suburbs, one of them Seletar from where you can see Malaysia just across Johor Strait.
I will review those walks in a separate post.
KOREA
Seoul was still chilly in March with temperatures nearing zero in the morning, but most days were warm enough given my three layers of clothing. And sunny. I ate my ways through this weather. Telling myself “To keep warm”.
I squeezed some time in to explore new areas also. This time I visited Mapo-gu (brief account is here).
GOOD READS
I admire James Clear (the American writer and speaker). He IS clear and full of ideas.
"Some people get addicted to chain-smoking their problems. They spend all day going from sorrow to sorrow. It doesn't have to be that way. You can live each day going from joy to joy—like a sunflower that turns to face the sun as it moves across the sky. It's not about having a problem-free life, but about focusing on the light. Sunflowers still have shadows, but they are always behind them."
One of my favourite authors Lee Child is back with a new novel. I missed the release in October, but enjoying it now. The Secret. Savoury…
GOOD WATCH
Is it that because most good actors choose nicely crafted plot or is it vice versa? Seasoned directors invite equally good talent to play? But within mostly grey mass of the modern cinema relatively new The Allied with Brad Pitt and A Man called Otto with Tom Hanks did stand out for me.
Who does not like Liam Neeson? The Commuter will certainly draw your attention.
I like to escape and wander in the wild for days. Not sure if I could live rough for a long time though. The story is still interesting. Live No Trace.
GOOD BITES
1/ A very delicious fusion ramen chain Tokyo Tarako Spaghetti. I tried one near Yokohama station. Delight!
Fast food in Japan. There are three large truly Japanese fast-food chains in Japan. I don’t mention MOs Burger here as a piece of (may be?) meat patty shoved into a split bun, in my opinion, does not belong to traditional Japanese food. Many Japanese may argue. Anyway, those three big budget savers are Sukiya, Yoshinoya and Matsuya. Main dishes are mostly variations of gyudon (beef with rice), but grilled fish, salads, pickles and natto are also available. The cheapest will be Matsuya, but I prefer Sukiya or Yoshinoya. Sukiya alone has around 2300 outlets in Japan. You can find them easily near train stations, inside business districts and living suburbs. Below is Maguro (tuna) mince on rice topped with raw egg, grated radish, pickles and soup. Yes, pickled ginger in Sukiya is free and unlimited, same as chilled mugicha (barley tea).
Sukiya brunch. 1030 JPY. If you are in Singapore and thirsty, newly opened Gulp on Robertson Quay is offering outdoor seats facing Singapore River.
5 pm at Gulp, still early… 
IPA people watching at Gulp. EXERCISE
Apart from focusing on leg muscles to increase my knee longevity I keep discovering new compound workouts. Compound approach will allow you to work out different muscle groups in one exercise. For example, biceps curl with two dumbbells, followed by a squat (or just do a clean), back to standing position, push dumbbells up. This is one exercise. Example of a workout is below.
All the best and talk next month!
Another great one. I never made notes, either. Starting now!