Day 9: Nara

last day in osaka and the itinerary for the day is a day trip to nara! just slighly under an hour away by train or was it 1.5hr? i cant really remember. :P

we took the kintetsu line which station is right next to our airbnb so it was fairly straightforward. nara was definitely colder than osaka. the original plan was to walk to the todaiji, unesco site which houses the biggest Buddha statue in japan. but the cold and drizzling made me changed my mind in an instant to take the local bus. *brr*

approaching todaihi!

impressive structure

huge statue - YR thrown in for perspective purpose. :P

i like this temple because unlike the other temples that i visited back in kyoto, the presence of buddha statue made me feel very at home as i grew up accompanying my mum to buddhist temples for her praying. 

the drizzling, light as it was, was not helping with the cold weather

after leaving todaiji, i decided to try my luck feeding the wild deers that are so famous in nara. BIG MISTAKE. when i was buying the deer food from one of the many vendors outside the temple, unbeknownst to me, 6-7 deers have already started surrounding us! before i can pay, i was head-butted by one, prompting me to shout out in shock. and then the money was taken from me, deer food thrust to my hand by the vendor, hubbi running away with the younger boy and leaving me+YZ facing the deers which were approaching me for food. YIKES! HELP!

the next few moments happened in a flash, i was throwing the food on the floor frantically, trying to get out of the circle of deers..but to no avail. only after i have almost thrown all the biscuits away, then did the deers leave us alone... gosh.

with the last biscuit, i managed to feed a innocent bambi-looking young deer in peace...zzzz

top left: feeding the young deer. just moments before it was all mayhem and shouting

we walked back to the downtown nara (next to the train station) and had our late lunch there.

pretty manhole in nara

spent some time at a cafe and window-shopping at downtown area before making our way back to osaka. the rest of the day+evening was spent at shinsaibashi area before retreating back to airbnb to pack our luggages for our late morning flight back to SG tomorrow.

it has been a fun-filled though very tiring 9D9N trip for the ng family. and i cant wait to plan for our 2016 travel! but, that has to wait a bit now given that the husband has just started his new job...

im hoping he can confirm his leave plans for mar and jun holidays soon! :P then i can spring into action and do what im best at! booking tickets and planning itineraries! yeah!

oh, and what exactly did i buy in japan:

- SKII moisturiser and masks which i think the pricing is on-par with what DFS is selling. @_@

- onitsuka tiger sneakers - i got a pair that is made in japan and hopefully it's cheaper than those sold in SG. :P

- a hat + lightweight coat from local shops

- uniqlo basics

- a pair of chanel earrings that cost $10 more than what is sold in SG after TAX-FREE. this is so frustrating.

yes, thats all i bought for the trip...