Caught this beautiful sight while driving to Okinawa World
Shafts of beams streaming through the clouds
Probably like a scene out of the Christian movie “The Passion of Christ”
The immense blue sky with voluminous clouds and the quaint hamlet of Okinawa
Went to the limestone cave greatly raved about by Er Yi
Breathtaking stalactites and stalagmites in these chilly cavernous chambers
Learnt something new today - flowstones as shown in this picture, a feature formed by having water flow over the cave wall over a long period of time
Chanced upon this signboard and Mama noticed many coins in the water so the 4 kids each tossed a coin and made a wish. Wonder what they asked for…
This cave was way more impressive than the man-made one we have at Wildlife Reserves in Singapore
One could not help marveling at God’s handiwork when one is immersed in such beauty of nature
You you spotted a shrimp when he came last year. We saw some fishes..
Sorry, jumping to the visit to Shuri Castle as Mama got confused by the sequence of events,
Went to two different vantage points and caught a glimpse of the scenic landscape
Jie wanted to ask for a lot at the temple and the kids did it together. Tong wanted to compare his lot with Jie to see if he got better luck. Heh all 4 got ok luck, hence no need to tie the paper to the rack.
There were ancient houses showcasing how life was like in the past. One of the houses was the original one, having been moved from a faraway place and planted here. Cheeky Papa joked that it could not be that old since he spotted the air conditioning unit and Wi-fi router.
One could enter the house and fiddle with the items
There were various things to do - like making glass
Pottery, tea house, weaving, renting the kimono for photo shoots
The castle was under construction as it was destroyed in a huge fire a few years ago. The previous castle wasn’t the original one too, as the original one had been destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa. Hence the million dollar philosophical question similar to the one Jie asked before - if an ancient ship had an original part being replaced bit by bit till the entire ship was made out of entirely new parts, was it the new or old ship? Similarly, if the castle had been reconstructed, was it a new or old one, or that the site was imbued with the essence or spirit of something supernatural, hence the structure was merely a material representation and it did not matter if it was reconstructed? Well, Papa said UNESCO obviously thought a reconstructed castle was fine as it was designated as a world heritage site.
Papa read an interesting book about the head of civil service recently and was explaining to the children the difference between liking or loving something. Against this bucolic background of radiant hibiscus bushes, he said liking the flower meant plucking it back to out in a vase because one liked it for being pretty and wanted to possess it. Loving it meant letting it grow in its natural environment and doing one’s best to nurture it for it to thrive. The author was talking about his way of leadership and grooming people. Mama thought it was a biblical principle, that God loved us despite our sins, that He called husbands to love their wives because it was the godly thing to; wives to honour their husbands not because they deserved it but it was simply the godly thing to do.
The rascal Tong said he liked Jun very much so he was going to pluck off his head and bring him home.
They were really full of nonsense, these munchkins.
The big ones came up with some treaty stipulating conditions that required the small ones not to fight, not to whine, if not, they would be given a wallop.
Mama joined in the fun and said the small ones could look out for bad behaviour in the big ones - Tong for talking to Mummy in a disrespectful manner or not doing things that he should; Jie for not coming back at the agreed time (10pm - way later than what strict Waipo set for me then), for lazing around and not getting to work, for oversleeping…that tickled the small ones pink and the big ones said they were ‘cooked’
Imitating the lucky animal of the island - the Shisa, (from Google) iconic lion-dog statues, derived from Chinese guardian lions, that serve as protective talismans against evil spirits.
Back to Okinawa World. It was hard to rearrange the photos since Mama was using the iPad. Oh well. Saw this grisly sight…gosh revolting sight
I said oh dear we could not buy these bottles of snake wine back as it was against Singapore’s laws and sassy Mei quipped that we did not even drink wine to begin with.
Real live ones
They had this cool exhibit…really up close and personal with the snakes
This exhibit had some green lizards and turtles and a sign that said that the lizards might jump onto you! Horror of horrors!
Funny photo taking spots
They m=had a stand with a niche for the phone so that people could take nice photos without outsiders’ help. How thoughtful!
Papa bought a Samsonite suitcase, two pairs of Boss jeans, two Puma golf tees…and some medical items…heh he was one happy man.
Boring time for the kids but they got to play games on their phones
Thought this was really cute but it was missing Tong :(
Went to Rycom to buy yet more Pokémon items! Jie and her fav comic character. Mama and zjie bought matching sneakers from Gu, they were amazingly comfortable and affordable! Some S$20 odd dollars, they were even better than Onitsuka shoes in my opinion!
Spent the time packing…while the kids had cup noodles supper. Jun asked for instant noodles yesterday and Papa said we could have it at the chalet over the weekend. But you know Papa, he had a heart for his kids and he wanted to make them happy. So…he bought cup noodles at the supermarket in Rycom and prepared this supper party!
Ok…mostly packed. Kids and Papa were asleep. It was almost 2am. What a very long and exciting holiday…Papa said we made full use of every day, shopping till the mall closed. Tong and Mama declared that we preferred this place more… I liked the balmy weather and rustic countryside vibes… Okinawa was like a scene out of Japan Hour - very comely and quaint
Papa and Mama were all ready to go back to Singapore…I missed the food, weather, routines, familiarity, my bed… Papa had been really pleasant to the kids, tolerating their nonsense and noise and spoiling them with good food and souvenirs…
Heh now that the kids were bigger, ya Mei didn’t need the pram and diapers anymore, it was easier to travel around. We would be having so many more adventures together as a family. I was looking forward to the next one - China 2026! We thanked God for his favour, wisdom and protection. In all things, we gave thanks, amen.
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