Anyway, I am dedicating this blog entry to my dearest friends: Desmond and Ashley.
I have known Desmond in RJC, and since then, we have been the 'best of best' (To bean and beer, this is not a grammar mistake or anything: Japanese like to use this term a lot, not my english lousy okay) friends. We used to be in this circle of friends called the Purple Family, and we did all the stupid things like purple family dance and other things. I was the Purple Bodyguard and Des was the purple third sister. And then we have Joan as the Purple Big Sister, Jen Vern the Purple Second Sister, Marina the Purple Cousin and Lip Yoong the unwilling Purple Hamster. I know these sound real gay, but this was all so cool and fun when we were in our JC days. Now, I miss the sexy SO6C:(Anyway, after JC, Des, I and other SO6C pple went on our graduation trip to South Korea. It was really fun then! And after army, Des and I went on an community service project to Cambodia. And it was there when Des met Ash.
I still clearly remembered when Des first met Ash at the NUSS hall, he was telling me how gorgeous Ash was. And throughout the whole Cambodia trip, he was sneakily trying to create a good impression on Ash. Very very sneaky.
And during the Cambodia trip, I got to know Ash pretty well. Well, you got to be careful when Ash was around. She is really acidic and mean(that's why I used to call her the Witch wheile we were in Cambodia); I always shiver when I recall the tormenting 21 days in Camobodia when I was forced to see her everyday.
Sighz, those were the good old days when we spent our time laughing and giggling away. I really really miss those happy days.
Okay, back to the main story plot: Des and Ash in Beppu!!!
Des would be in Tokyo for a month to study Japanese, and before that, he and Ash are doing a little trip around Japan. And they are so nice that they travelled all the way down from Tokyo to Beppu to pay me a visit. Tokyo to Beppu is like from Orchard Road to Pasir Ris, and given that the land size of Japan is so much bigger than that of Singapore, the Shinkansen ride took them around 6-8 hours to get here. It's really not easy for them, as Beppu is just a small town with ONLY ONE shopping centre. It really isn't the kind of place a tourist would visit if they come to Japan. So they have been really really nice to make the trip down! Arigatou yo!
And on the first day that they arrived, we checked into the Beppu Youth Hostel, and then we went down to the 地獄温泉 (which means Hell ponds in English). There are 8 地獄温泉, but given the time constraints, we only managed to visit the 血の池温泉 and 竜巻温泉。
血の池温泉(also known as the blood pond) is famous because the onsen water is red in colour, just like that of the blood. (From left to right: Me, Kai and David)
On the other hand, 竜巻温泉is this underground water which would spurt out every 30 to 40 minutes. Pretty cool.
A photo of all of us in the 竜巻温泉:
And after the 地獄温泉, we went to try out the mud onsen in Kannawa. The mud onsen is really quite a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The setting was like the old Meiji Era, when the onsen area is partially surrounded by wooden fence and stuff. It was so natural that u can actually feel the grass, mud, sands and rocks as u waddle your way into the mud onsen. Furthermore, it's a mixed bath, and both girls and guys go into the same mud onsen. For the girls, they have this special entrance, so that they can actually undress and waddle and hide in the mud water before coming out to the common area. But for the guys, there isn't any such special entrance, so we actually gotta walk out to the common area in the full glory of our naked bodies. It was really quite a cultural shock for me. Really, mud onsen, one time is enough. I wouldn't want to go for a second time.
After the mud bath, we went back to my school APU and there Des and Ash met my Singaporean and Canadian friends. We had a cooking party, and that was like the best cooking party I've ever had in APU. There were so much good food, that it was like a buffet dinner at a 5 star hotel. Really thank you to my dear Singaporean and Canadian friends for cooking up such a feast. And later, we had a small drinking party at my room. Thanks to Kai, who brought his XO Henessy, we mixed it with the Hynoptiq and we got Incredible Hulk! Haha, a pretty cool drink. Pic of us getting a little high:(clockwise from the most left) David, Shima, Toto (yah, the toilet bowl brand), Kai, me and Kane.
On the second day, we went to try the sand bath at the Takegawara, which is one of the oldest onsens in Beppu. This was a really unique experience. My whole body was buried in the sand, with only my head sticking out. It was really comfortable and unlike the mud onsen, I would love to go back for the second time.
In the evening, Des and Ash treated me to a sumptious dinner at the Ryokan that they were staying in. It was like a repeat of what I had with Weili, Kane and Mic in Toba. But I think the variety is lesser over here in Beppu, but the plate of the crabs and the prawns more than made up for it: 
Itadakimasu:
And after the dinner at the Ryokan, we went down to another onsen: Hyoutan Land. This is a really good onsen, as they have a wide variety of onsens for the visiters. We tried the Rock bath, the foot bath, the waterfall bath, the suana and the best of all is the outdoor bath. The experience was sooooo good that I felt as if I was filming another episode of Japan Hour. Wonderful!So that was the itinerary for Des and Ash's short stay in Beppu. 3 different kinds of onsen in less than 48 hours. Our skins were like glowing in the dark after the third one. Really shiok! Right now, Des and Ash are in Tokyo.
Have fun over there! I will see you again in August!
P.S. Study study study!
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