Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Day 1 and 2
So finally catching up....
An older man from San Jose who resembled that one guy from Mythbusters -- beret, mustache and all-- helped me find my way to SFO in the morning from San Jose. This was after taking the highway 17 express from Santa Cruz at 6:20 am. A lot of travel before even embarking on the overseas trip.
The plane ride was uneventful though painfully long. A few movies... the new Indiana Jones movie, Speed Racer (not sure why I watched this, but I couldn't look away...) and one called 10 Items or Less, which I liked. I'm not as phased by long durations of travel much anymore, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep at all. Singapore Airlines is nice, though I didn't go poking through first class. We had lunch and then another light meal, plus all the wine we wanted and random other little things. Prettiest flight attendants too.
I have a theory that white people are seated next to each other on these flights. At least that's been my experience. This time, I sat next to a guy named Mac on the plane, who's a lawyer living in Tokyo. He gave me some pointers on stuff to do in Japan as well as got me hooked up with a Japanese cell phone. I don't know if I'll use it the whole time, but it seemed like a good idea. I may get together with him sometime later this week for lunch or dinner, coffee or drinks.
But I am back in Japan, specifically Tokyo where apartment buildings with small or no windows lie on both sides of the tracks, creeping closer to the trains the further I get into the city until they all but touch the tracks, closer closer and then we pass over them. It would be an odd way to live. But from the trains, it's close enough to look into kitchens illuminated by florescent bulbs, which give a sterile but somewhat uninviting feel. My hotel room at Hotel Parklane Nishi-kasai was the usual closet size, but very nice. The toilet makes the sound of water running when I sit on it.
I found my hotel with little incident. In typical Emily fashion, I make only the bear minimum of preparations. I didn't get directions from the station to the hotel. I simply looked at where it was relative to the station and figured if I headed south west a little, I'd find it. I basically did.
Yesterday was spent mostly running around Tokyo and familiarizing myself with the Tokyo metro. I was also in need of internet access to book a hostel room for the night. I headed into Ginza and was unable to find any wifi to steal. I roamed a little, trying not to get wet and seeming to get lost at every turn. I'd been there before in highschool, but I recognized none of it. I poked around in a bookstore, looking at Tokyo guides trying to find even one internet cafe and ended up heading to Takadanobaba where one guide book said there was a place. Unable to find it, but lucky enough to stumble onto another internet cafe, I braved the world of private booths, leather chairs and tons of manga. But I secured myself a hostel, "close" by at least by my standards. The hostel, Ace Inn Shinjuku, was actually harder to get to than I expected and I ended up needing to go through Shinjuku station, which claims 2 million passersby a day. Crazy busy. I've never seen anything like it, but thankfully I seemed to get through without much problem.
The hostel is nice. The room I'm in is a mixed 28-bed one, but instead of bunk beds, it's much like the capsule hotels that Japan boasts. Clean, nice people, and quiet. My shoulders hurt like crazy after carrying around my 30lb pack all day, so I decided to take a nap around 7 pm.
I didn't get up back up.
Current Music: None
Current Mood: Relaxed
Current Location : Akebonobashi, Tokyo
An older man from San Jose who resembled that one guy from Mythbusters -- beret, mustache and all-- helped me find my way to SFO in the morning from San Jose. This was after taking the highway 17 express from Santa Cruz at 6:20 am. A lot of travel before even embarking on the overseas trip.
The plane ride was uneventful though painfully long. A few movies... the new Indiana Jones movie, Speed Racer (not sure why I watched this, but I couldn't look away...) and one called 10 Items or Less, which I liked. I'm not as phased by long durations of travel much anymore, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep at all. Singapore Airlines is nice, though I didn't go poking through first class. We had lunch and then another light meal, plus all the wine we wanted and random other little things. Prettiest flight attendants too.
I have a theory that white people are seated next to each other on these flights. At least that's been my experience. This time, I sat next to a guy named Mac on the plane, who's a lawyer living in Tokyo. He gave me some pointers on stuff to do in Japan as well as got me hooked up with a Japanese cell phone. I don't know if I'll use it the whole time, but it seemed like a good idea. I may get together with him sometime later this week for lunch or dinner, coffee or drinks.
But I am back in Japan, specifically Tokyo where apartment buildings with small or no windows lie on both sides of the tracks, creeping closer to the trains the further I get into the city until they all but touch the tracks, closer closer and then we pass over them. It would be an odd way to live. But from the trains, it's close enough to look into kitchens illuminated by florescent bulbs, which give a sterile but somewhat uninviting feel. My hotel room at Hotel Parklane Nishi-kasai was the usual closet size, but very nice. The toilet makes the sound of water running when I sit on it.
I found my hotel with little incident. In typical Emily fashion, I make only the bear minimum of preparations. I didn't get directions from the station to the hotel. I simply looked at where it was relative to the station and figured if I headed south west a little, I'd find it. I basically did.
Yesterday was spent mostly running around Tokyo and familiarizing myself with the Tokyo metro. I was also in need of internet access to book a hostel room for the night. I headed into Ginza and was unable to find any wifi to steal. I roamed a little, trying not to get wet and seeming to get lost at every turn. I'd been there before in highschool, but I recognized none of it. I poked around in a bookstore, looking at Tokyo guides trying to find even one internet cafe and ended up heading to Takadanobaba where one guide book said there was a place. Unable to find it, but lucky enough to stumble onto another internet cafe, I braved the world of private booths, leather chairs and tons of manga. But I secured myself a hostel, "close" by at least by my standards. The hostel, Ace Inn Shinjuku, was actually harder to get to than I expected and I ended up needing to go through Shinjuku station, which claims 2 million passersby a day. Crazy busy. I've never seen anything like it, but thankfully I seemed to get through without much problem.
The hostel is nice. The room I'm in is a mixed 28-bed one, but instead of bunk beds, it's much like the capsule hotels that Japan boasts. Clean, nice people, and quiet. My shoulders hurt like crazy after carrying around my 30lb pack all day, so I decided to take a nap around 7 pm.
I didn't get up back up.
Current Music: None
Current Mood: Relaxed
Current Location : Akebonobashi, Tokyo
Friday, August 29, 2008
The Gear
I finally started to pack last night. I've been working on a list for a while (using todoist.com), but it was different actually seeing all my stuff laid out on my bed. I suppose it's not so much a collection of the most important things I own, rather it's close to the bare essentials of what I need to live and enjoy myself. I documented my gear here. It needs some strategic planning to be packed correctly, but it's a start.
The reality of this crazy plan is starting to set in. One carefully selected clothing item at a time.
The reality of this crazy plan is starting to set in. One carefully selected clothing item at a time.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Plans on a Napkin!
As many of you know, I'm embarking on a 5-month or so romp around the Pacific Rim this fall. I will be staying on organic farms, hostels, with friends and maybe on a few semi-random couches. My itinerary (so far) is as follows:
- First, back to Santa Cruz August 31st.
- Then off to Japan Sept 9th. I'll be heading north to Hokkaido and follow the fall south, somehow getting to Okinawa and leaving October 17th.
- From October 17th - October 28th, I'm in Taipei Taiwan.
- Then I'm off to Melbourne Australia, with a stop-over in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(I've got tickets for the above, the rest is tentative).
- From Melbourne (Oct 29th), I head up the Eastern coast to Cairns, with a quick jump into Uluru/Ayers Rock/Alice Springs at some point.
- Late December, I fly from Cairns to Auckland. I'll spend the next month and a half exploring both the North and South Island until late January.
- Lastly, I take a week or so in Fiji and head back to Santa Cruz until mid February.
-And then back to Philly.
Keep an eye out for more updates as I continue to make and modify plans.
- First, back to Santa Cruz August 31st.
- Then off to Japan Sept 9th. I'll be heading north to Hokkaido and follow the fall south, somehow getting to Okinawa and leaving October 17th.
- From October 17th - October 28th, I'm in Taipei Taiwan.
- Then I'm off to Melbourne Australia, with a stop-over in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(I've got tickets for the above, the rest is tentative).
- From Melbourne (Oct 29th), I head up the Eastern coast to Cairns, with a quick jump into Uluru/Ayers Rock/Alice Springs at some point.
- Late December, I fly from Cairns to Auckland. I'll spend the next month and a half exploring both the North and South Island until late January.
- Lastly, I take a week or so in Fiji and head back to Santa Cruz until mid February.
-And then back to Philly.
Keep an eye out for more updates as I continue to make and modify plans.
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