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Nagasaki’s Dejima Wharf
I looked forward to visiting Japan’s Nagaski for two main reasons:
#1. Back when Japan closed itself from the outside world, Nagasaki was the only place that remained open to foreigners. (Most likely for selective trading reasons, but still…)
#2. Ninja Shadow. I want to say enough said but I realize that some of you may not know what I’m talking about. It’s a game/app that takes place in NAGASAKI! Because I’ve played Ninja Shadow (I don’t care if you judge.), a big part of me wanted to see exactly how legit their history and imagery of Nagasaki was. I want to say it was on point but then again, I didn’t exactly have the opportunity to see every nook and cranny of Nagasaki.
The area around Nagasaki’s Dejima Wharf was a pleasant place to take a stroll. While it wasn’t much of a walk, I found much joy in the ambiance. The fresh air. The people, here and there. The hilly backdrop. And the ships.
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CHILLing at the Queen Mary in Long Beach
In early January, I had the opportunity to attend CHILL, a winter event housed on the grounds of Long Beach’s Queen Mary.The event was ok. I say ok for a variety of reasons.
- There were a lot of children around. (A good event to take your children to, but a subpar event to attend if you don’t have children and/or aren’t a child yourself. It’s almost safe to say that even those that are children at heart would rather be elsewhere than at this event.)
- Lines, lines and more lines. The lines were ridiculous.
- No ice sculptures. I heard ice sculptures were on display at previous events. What a bummer…
- A bit expensive. The admission ticket, even with the discount I managed to obtain was expensive. I obviously didn’t get my money’s worth from this event. Food was of course also on the expensive side.
Now that I’ve mentioned the negatives, allow me to share some positives of the event.The “actresses/models” were well picked. I loved Alice simply because she was so cute and had on a smile the whole time. (Not sure how anyone can wear a smile on their face for so long, but “Alice” was able to.) The white Queen was also great in that she was very Queen-like, if that makes any sense. lol
Minus the long line, I found the “Alice in Wonderland” maze at CHILL enjoyable. While I wasn’t thrilled with the “doors” area of the maze (fyi: it was a bit too childish for my taste), I appreciated the illuminations and decor.
CHILL offered two 4D movies inside the Queen Mary which I enjoyed greatly. One thing I didn’t like about the movies, however was how the seat would poke my back as a part of the 4D experience. (The poking effect was truly unnecessary and actually quite annoying.)
A nice touch to the CHILL event was Michael Jackson’s swing from Neverland Ranch.
It was nice seeing the famous swing in person. It wasn’t that nice riding it however. (This was a personal thing since I haven’t been on a swing in ages and felt a little awkward after riding it. Fortunately, I didn’t throw up or anything. lol Considering the fact that I used to be obsessed with the swings ride offered at Knott’s Berry Farm when I was a kid/tween, I found this part of me amusing. I suppose we change as we get older.)There were a few other attractions made available at the event such as snow at selected timeframes, gingerbread house making workshops, an ice skating rink, Mrs. Claus storytelling and ice tubing. I can’t say much about the above mentioned attractions simply because I missed out on all of them. The ice skating attraction as well as the gingerbread house making workshop weren’t included in the CHILL admission ticket and the ice tubing attraction was more of a slide(s) than a tube.
The CHILL admission ticket did include access to the Queen Mary and I found that to be nice. What wasn’t so nice was how the Queen Mary was holding some type of so-called VIP/reserved event which prevented visitors from exploring the ship as freely as they could have. Another annoying thing about the Queen Mary was how their Princess Diana exhibition was closed and the male employee manning the area wasn’t nice whatsoever when he said the area was off limits. Eh.
The highlight of my Queen Mary visit would probably have to be my visit to the ship’s isolation ward. I didn’t hang out there long and it wasn’t so much because I found it spooky, but more so because the person (fyi: I was with a girl; not some hot guy. lol) that was with me didn’t want to miss out on the snow that would be sprinkling down on CHILL’s grounds. Interestingly enough, we missed out on the snow sprinkles by the time we figured out how to get out of the ship.
We decided to pay the isolation ward a visit again only to find it inaccessible since the door to leading to the ward was locked up already. This was strange. Strange because it wasn’t even close to Queen Mary’s closing time yet. I admit that this was a bit spooky. And it got spookier when I had the nerve to google the isolation ward only to learn that the ward is supposedly haunted. (Eep!)
Honestly, all I remember seeing of the ward was the color green (and white). I didn’t even get a glimpse of the rooms showcased in the ward. Come to think of it, there was a doorway available for you to go into and I found this to be a bit strange, since the rest of the Queen Mary allowed you to view rooms solely through a window. I’m not sure if this was how the ward’s display area was supposed to be, but if the ward is indeed haunted, I’m glad I didn’t step through that doorway to “experience” the ward. I guess I should be grateful that the other person with me decided we should seek “snow” instead. Heh
Well, I suppose this sums my experience at Queen Mary’s CHILL. If you want my honest opinion on whether I’d attend such an event again in the future, I’ll have to say no as once was more than enough for me.