5 days til New York!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
China & Hong Kong - Photo Update
So we're in Guilin now and China is redeeming itself with stunning scenery and better behaved people. Must be the warmer climate. Here's some pics from the last 3 weeks.
5 days til New York!
5 days til New York!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Big Trouble In Little Hong Kong
I'm in Hong Kong right now, we were due to fly to Guilin a couple of days ago but we had a bit of an "adventure".
There I was, walking through the Zoological park, looking at Lemurs here, Flamingoes there, minding my own business when my leg started feeling itchy. It continued to feel itchy, then my other leg started to itch, then my feet and when I checked to see what it was, my leg had all these red blotches on it.
By 10pm that night, after having antihistamines which didn't work, I was sitting in the emergency department in the hospital, big red blistery welts on my legs and feet, thinking "Oh great, I've caught bird-flu-meningitis-meningacocyl-leprosy-itis or something"
The lovely, helpful people of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital shrugged their shoulders, gave me some cream and pain killers (it sort of hurt too) and referred me to a Dermotologist.
The next day I went to said dermotologist. They wouldn't see me before I had made an appointment, despite me trying to make an appointment over the phone, to which they responded "Just come in". So I said "Ok, I need to make an appointment". The girl took out her diary and said "We can see you in September 2009". I kindly informed her that I didn't plan on being here in September 2009, so she gave me a list of other dermatologists I could try.
By this time, we were supposed to be leaving to catch a flight so Blake cancelled our flights and relocated us to (expensive) rooms next door at the Holiday Inn until something was sorted out. I was upstairs making phonecalls to the people on the list at that time. By the third unsuccessful phonecall, I lost it and started crying. Then I got over it and decided to call MY VERY OWN doctor Dr Janjic at the North Eltham Medical Clinic. This incredible, saintly woman listened to my tear-veilled description over the phone, told me it sounded like an allergic reaction that was possibly infected and told me to keep using the cream the hospital had given me, the antihistamines and to start on antibiotics that she had given me to take away just in case such a situation arose. She then strongly suggested I call the Australian embassy because the help I was getting was nowhere near good enough. After wishing I could hug over the phone, I thanked her and hung up.
After further to-ing and fro-ing with the Australian Embassy, call-backs and faxes, I finally got an appointment with a really good, english-speaking, London-trained, highly awarded Dermotologist who saw me that very same day (within about 2 hours, actually), gave me ($300 worth of) more medication and reassured me it was just a really bad reaction to what he thought was most likely flea bites and suggested I just stay put and ride it out.
So far, it all looks good. I think the antibiotics and creams and antihistamines are doing the trick and I feel better. Really, just having someone say "No, it's not bird-flu-meningitis-meningacocyl-leprosy-itis" was enough. It wasn't so much the condition but not knowing what the condition was precluding that freaked me out. Knowing it's just as simple as perhaps having a cat walk past me and rub against my shins thus leaving me flea-bitten" is great.
Onward and upward!!!
There I was, walking through the Zoological park, looking at Lemurs here, Flamingoes there, minding my own business when my leg started feeling itchy. It continued to feel itchy, then my other leg started to itch, then my feet and when I checked to see what it was, my leg had all these red blotches on it.
By 10pm that night, after having antihistamines which didn't work, I was sitting in the emergency department in the hospital, big red blistery welts on my legs and feet, thinking "Oh great, I've caught bird-flu-meningitis-meningacocyl-leprosy-itis or something"
The lovely, helpful people of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital shrugged their shoulders, gave me some cream and pain killers (it sort of hurt too) and referred me to a Dermotologist.
The next day I went to said dermotologist. They wouldn't see me before I had made an appointment, despite me trying to make an appointment over the phone, to which they responded "Just come in". So I said "Ok, I need to make an appointment". The girl took out her diary and said "We can see you in September 2009". I kindly informed her that I didn't plan on being here in September 2009, so she gave me a list of other dermatologists I could try.
By this time, we were supposed to be leaving to catch a flight so Blake cancelled our flights and relocated us to (expensive) rooms next door at the Holiday Inn until something was sorted out. I was upstairs making phonecalls to the people on the list at that time. By the third unsuccessful phonecall, I lost it and started crying. Then I got over it and decided to call MY VERY OWN doctor Dr Janjic at the North Eltham Medical Clinic. This incredible, saintly woman listened to my tear-veilled description over the phone, told me it sounded like an allergic reaction that was possibly infected and told me to keep using the cream the hospital had given me, the antihistamines and to start on antibiotics that she had given me to take away just in case such a situation arose. She then strongly suggested I call the Australian embassy because the help I was getting was nowhere near good enough. After wishing I could hug over the phone, I thanked her and hung up.
After further to-ing and fro-ing with the Australian Embassy, call-backs and faxes, I finally got an appointment with a really good, english-speaking, London-trained, highly awarded Dermotologist who saw me that very same day (within about 2 hours, actually), gave me ($300 worth of) more medication and reassured me it was just a really bad reaction to what he thought was most likely flea bites and suggested I just stay put and ride it out.
So far, it all looks good. I think the antibiotics and creams and antihistamines are doing the trick and I feel better. Really, just having someone say "No, it's not bird-flu-meningitis-meningacocyl-leprosy-itis" was enough. It wasn't so much the condition but not knowing what the condition was precluding that freaked me out. Knowing it's just as simple as perhaps having a cat walk past me and rub against my shins thus leaving me flea-bitten" is great.
Onward and upward!!!
Friday, December 12, 2008
China - The People
Be prepared. This entry is a bit of a rant and not all nice.
We've been in China 10 days now and it's been good. We've seen some cool things and ate some nice food. The one thing that really stands out here though... and is making it a little hard to put our time here into the 'great' category is the people.
We were warned to expect certain levels of behaviour from the people here, but not to such a full on degree. Especially not in the cities. I guess coming from the land of sweet and polite (Japan) has made it even more of a shock, but I struggle to believe that there is anywhere else on earth quite like this.
Let me start with the staring.
We receive the stare from pretty much every second person on the (busy) streets. It's not a "oh hey, it's a white person" kind of glance. It's a long hard stare. What makes it worse is that it's impossible to look into their eyes and know what they're thinking either. Do they think you're attractive? Are they curious? Are they sizing you up to rob you? It oten feels like the latter. You can't make them stop either. Staring back has no effect, it's like they're in some kind of trance. I'm often tempted to stick my fingers in my eyes and up my nose and make a super ugly face... save for the fact that I still don't know what to think of it all. If you're just walking by, they'll stare until you've managed to get by them. If you're unlucky enough to be standing still, it goes like this. First, they'll stare at your face for a good 5 to 10 seconds. Then they'll look you up and down.... slowly... inspecting your attire and what you're carrying with you. Then they'll return to looking at your face for as long as time permits or until something better comes along. Obviously there are different degrees of staring and that example is the worst of it. The staring itself doesn't bother me so much. The thing that gets to me is WHY?? This isn't a remote town in Western China where they get one whitey a year. This is central Beijing and Shanghai. We see another white person for every block we walk here. They must too! They can't not be used to having people with different skin colours in their city. I would be incredibly ashamed if this sort of thing occured in Melbourne.
Driving.
In some countries, the driving is endearingly chaotic. Like there are no rules and people just make them up as they go along. China feels the opposite. There are obviously road rules in place and they are very blatantly disobeyed at each and every intersection (often in front of police) due to an incredible level of impatience. It's not endearing, it's irritating.... and dangerous! Red lights mean nothing. Whatever can do the most damage has right of way. Obviously this leaves pedestrians in a bit of a spot. The honk of a horn is vehicular for "Open Sesame!" when there is an obstacle made of human beings in the way. If you don't move.... well I don't know. I move. I don't really want to know what happens if you don't.
Queuing.
We were told that people in China had only recently learnt the importance of a queue. This was obvious..... and I don't think everyone has had the lesson yet either. It's an odd feeling being the first person lined up to get onto a train and then somehow becoming the last person to go through the doors.
Spitting.
People here spit. All the time. You can't walk 20m without hearing that sound. It doesn't bother me at all really. Again, it's just a question of why? it's so puzling. Do Chinese people have different glands to the rest of the human population? Ones that produce phlegm at a rate 100 times faster than anyone else? Is it the pollution? I can't remember the last time I felt the need to spit anything from my mouth that wasn't toothpaste. Let alone the need to do it constantly!
There are other things which I could mention, but they're not particularly unique to China, so there isn't really much point.
You might be thinking "You're in China!! Just deal with it!" and I think we are dealing with it. We're still having a good time, despite these things. It only tends to get to you at the end of the day, when you're getting a little tired of walking and have no time for someone on a Vespa pushing their way through a crowd of people. When you get back from a day of activity and think "thank god we're back at the hostel". I don't think that's the ideal way to finish a day.
I feel the need to mention that we have come across some friendly and polite people here, at the hostels in particular, but unfortunately these sort of people seem to be the minority.
As for the other aspects of China, it's been pretty OK so far. Hiking along the Great Wall was superb! Beijing was cold and boring. Xi'An was lively and interesting. Shanghai is a fairly decent big city. The food has also been great!
I'm looking forward to our final Chinese destination, Guilin, as I feel like it might be a little different... being smaller and in a completely different kind of setting. But deep down, I think i'm thinking "BRING ON MEXICO!!!"
Blake
We've been in China 10 days now and it's been good. We've seen some cool things and ate some nice food. The one thing that really stands out here though... and is making it a little hard to put our time here into the 'great' category is the people.
We were warned to expect certain levels of behaviour from the people here, but not to such a full on degree. Especially not in the cities. I guess coming from the land of sweet and polite (Japan) has made it even more of a shock, but I struggle to believe that there is anywhere else on earth quite like this.
Let me start with the staring.
We receive the stare from pretty much every second person on the (busy) streets. It's not a "oh hey, it's a white person" kind of glance. It's a long hard stare. What makes it worse is that it's impossible to look into their eyes and know what they're thinking either. Do they think you're attractive? Are they curious? Are they sizing you up to rob you? It oten feels like the latter. You can't make them stop either. Staring back has no effect, it's like they're in some kind of trance. I'm often tempted to stick my fingers in my eyes and up my nose and make a super ugly face... save for the fact that I still don't know what to think of it all. If you're just walking by, they'll stare until you've managed to get by them. If you're unlucky enough to be standing still, it goes like this. First, they'll stare at your face for a good 5 to 10 seconds. Then they'll look you up and down.... slowly... inspecting your attire and what you're carrying with you. Then they'll return to looking at your face for as long as time permits or until something better comes along. Obviously there are different degrees of staring and that example is the worst of it. The staring itself doesn't bother me so much. The thing that gets to me is WHY?? This isn't a remote town in Western China where they get one whitey a year. This is central Beijing and Shanghai. We see another white person for every block we walk here. They must too! They can't not be used to having people with different skin colours in their city. I would be incredibly ashamed if this sort of thing occured in Melbourne.
Driving.
In some countries, the driving is endearingly chaotic. Like there are no rules and people just make them up as they go along. China feels the opposite. There are obviously road rules in place and they are very blatantly disobeyed at each and every intersection (often in front of police) due to an incredible level of impatience. It's not endearing, it's irritating.... and dangerous! Red lights mean nothing. Whatever can do the most damage has right of way. Obviously this leaves pedestrians in a bit of a spot. The honk of a horn is vehicular for "Open Sesame!" when there is an obstacle made of human beings in the way. If you don't move.... well I don't know. I move. I don't really want to know what happens if you don't.
Queuing.
We were told that people in China had only recently learnt the importance of a queue. This was obvious..... and I don't think everyone has had the lesson yet either. It's an odd feeling being the first person lined up to get onto a train and then somehow becoming the last person to go through the doors.
Spitting.
People here spit. All the time. You can't walk 20m without hearing that sound. It doesn't bother me at all really. Again, it's just a question of why? it's so puzling. Do Chinese people have different glands to the rest of the human population? Ones that produce phlegm at a rate 100 times faster than anyone else? Is it the pollution? I can't remember the last time I felt the need to spit anything from my mouth that wasn't toothpaste. Let alone the need to do it constantly!
There are other things which I could mention, but they're not particularly unique to China, so there isn't really much point.
You might be thinking "You're in China!! Just deal with it!" and I think we are dealing with it. We're still having a good time, despite these things. It only tends to get to you at the end of the day, when you're getting a little tired of walking and have no time for someone on a Vespa pushing their way through a crowd of people. When you get back from a day of activity and think "thank god we're back at the hostel". I don't think that's the ideal way to finish a day.
I feel the need to mention that we have come across some friendly and polite people here, at the hostels in particular, but unfortunately these sort of people seem to be the minority.
As for the other aspects of China, it's been pretty OK so far. Hiking along the Great Wall was superb! Beijing was cold and boring. Xi'An was lively and interesting. Shanghai is a fairly decent big city. The food has also been great!
I'm looking forward to our final Chinese destination, Guilin, as I feel like it might be a little different... being smaller and in a completely different kind of setting. But deep down, I think i'm thinking "BRING ON MEXICO!!!"
Blake
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Goodbye Japan - Hello China
We arrive in Beijing yesterday. The first thing that hit me was the smog. The aeroplane flew at an altitude that allowed a very interesting view from just slightly above the smog cloud. It was like having one eye under water and one eye above water.
Still, my asthma has behaved itself so far. Feeling ever-so-slightly sore in the chest but I'm willing to bet that's more to do with the cold air.
So far China seems pretty full-on. I think it's worth noting that coming from a place of politeness and order like Japan probably compounds the feeling of being a fish out of water in a place where road rules are ignored, people hack and spit on the ground, little children go to the bathroom on newspaper in the street and everywhere you go, people either shove you or shout at you. It's nothing personal, of course, people are just gruff and don't have the time for sensitivity.
In Japan, making a simple purchase was a ceremony of pleases, thank yous and over-the-top wrapping and packing and presentation.
In China, it's more about finding what you want, giving them the money and getting the hell out of their way, whitey!
I don't mean to paint it as a negative thing, it's just a different world. Utterly.
I'm also getting used to the fact that we're somewhat of a novelty here. We're stared at wherever we go, people point and giggle and say "Hello!" like you say "Asphinctersayswhat?" and, as we discovered today, want to have their photo taken with you in front of monuments like we're Posh and Becks. People also like shouting at you, they seem to think it's an encouraging thing, one to get you in the shop and spending up big. They seem to be surprised that when they go "HEY YOU!!!! HEY PRETTY LADDDYYYY!!!!" I go "FUCK!" and run, thinking I'm about to be mugged.
But yeah, different world. Like Narnia.
We checked out Tian'anmen square and the forbidden city today. We'll be heading to the Great Wall tomorrow. It's all happening.
Anyway, I have a warm beer waiting for me, and it's only going to get warmer.
Fly lice.
Still, my asthma has behaved itself so far. Feeling ever-so-slightly sore in the chest but I'm willing to bet that's more to do with the cold air.
So far China seems pretty full-on. I think it's worth noting that coming from a place of politeness and order like Japan probably compounds the feeling of being a fish out of water in a place where road rules are ignored, people hack and spit on the ground, little children go to the bathroom on newspaper in the street and everywhere you go, people either shove you or shout at you. It's nothing personal, of course, people are just gruff and don't have the time for sensitivity.
In Japan, making a simple purchase was a ceremony of pleases, thank yous and over-the-top wrapping and packing and presentation.
In China, it's more about finding what you want, giving them the money and getting the hell out of their way, whitey!
I don't mean to paint it as a negative thing, it's just a different world. Utterly.
I'm also getting used to the fact that we're somewhat of a novelty here. We're stared at wherever we go, people point and giggle and say "Hello!" like you say "Asphinctersayswhat?" and, as we discovered today, want to have their photo taken with you in front of monuments like we're Posh and Becks. People also like shouting at you, they seem to think it's an encouraging thing, one to get you in the shop and spending up big. They seem to be surprised that when they go "HEY YOU!!!! HEY PRETTY LADDDYYYY!!!!" I go "FUCK!" and run, thinking I'm about to be mugged.
But yeah, different world. Like Narnia.
We checked out Tian'anmen square and the forbidden city today. We'll be heading to the Great Wall tomorrow. It's all happening.
Anyway, I have a warm beer waiting for me, and it's only going to get warmer.
Fly lice.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Weeks 3 and 4 - Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima and Osaka
Following on from my last post.... our next few days in Kyoto were spent quietly checking out the many sights on offer. Well, quiet until I managed to accidentally set off an alarm at the imperial palace!!
Trust me though, its not as dramatic as it sounds. There were no gun toting guards running in my direction. In fact, I refused to believe that the loud siren and me stepping on to the other side of a gutter which surrounded the palace wall were related until we noticed the laser sensors and hi-tech security cameras mounted on the wall a bit further up. Pretty stupid though.
We then skipped town and headed to Nara, just 30 minutes away by train. The little guesthouse we were staying in was directly across the road from the first large-ish sized supermarket we had come across, so we felt compelled to explore it for products with hilarious names and the like. What really impressed upon me though was what a large part fish plays in the diets of the Japanese people. Their fish sections was twice as large as our meat sections and their meat sections were half the size of our fish sections. That being the case, this supermarker turned out to be a good source of reasonably priced sushi. Its a bit pricey everywhere else.
Being one of Japans oldest cities, Nara is full of important historical sites, but having had our fill of temples and shrines, we were more interested in the 1200 Deer which inhabit the park in which these sites are located. We quickly discovered that although cute, the Deer are also very spoilt and demanding. Maddie experienced a firm head-butt in the thigh and one unlucky man received a two-pronged attack in the rear from one of the few Deer whose antlers had not been removed. I was very amused.
We saved ourselves a six hour wait the next day by making the last morning bus to Hiroshima with only 3 minutes to spare. Would have been a very boring birthday had we missed it.
Hiroshima was a pretty and quiet city. The main reason to be there was to see the Peace Memorial Park Museum which explained in graphic details, the events surrounding the Nuclear Bombing in the 40s. It was well worth the visit. Being in that spot and imagining everything around you for 2 kms completely levelled by such a blast was a weird feeling.
So now we are in Osaka. The final destination in Japan before hitting China. Its just another big city, but a fun one. Lots of funny signs and neon lights. Good food too! Probably the best Ramen we have eaten... in my opinion anyway.
I think the only negative thing about Japan is that it gets a little bit samey after a while. I think we could have done with maybe a little less time here. 3 weeks probably would have been the perfect length of time. From Tokyo to Hiroshima, everything looks pretty much the same. Both cities and country-side. Its definitely not a land of constantly changing landscapes. Not like I expect the US and Mexico to be anyway. Thats not a critiscism though. I mean, you cant criticise a country for what they naturally cant help, but it has contributed to that samey feeling ive been getting towards the end. Thats not to say japan isnt awesome though!! I dont want to end on a sour note. Its been a really cool place to see and I would recommend it for sure.
Highlights -
Ramen noodles
Kyoto
Transport system
Bad english translations
Red, orange and yellow trees
Traditonal Accomodation
Lowlights -
Lack of rubbish bins. One per city?
The aussie dollar
PS - Any bad grammar can be attributed to this crappy keyboard!
Trust me though, its not as dramatic as it sounds. There were no gun toting guards running in my direction. In fact, I refused to believe that the loud siren and me stepping on to the other side of a gutter which surrounded the palace wall were related until we noticed the laser sensors and hi-tech security cameras mounted on the wall a bit further up. Pretty stupid though.
We then skipped town and headed to Nara, just 30 minutes away by train. The little guesthouse we were staying in was directly across the road from the first large-ish sized supermarket we had come across, so we felt compelled to explore it for products with hilarious names and the like. What really impressed upon me though was what a large part fish plays in the diets of the Japanese people. Their fish sections was twice as large as our meat sections and their meat sections were half the size of our fish sections. That being the case, this supermarker turned out to be a good source of reasonably priced sushi. Its a bit pricey everywhere else.
Being one of Japans oldest cities, Nara is full of important historical sites, but having had our fill of temples and shrines, we were more interested in the 1200 Deer which inhabit the park in which these sites are located. We quickly discovered that although cute, the Deer are also very spoilt and demanding. Maddie experienced a firm head-butt in the thigh and one unlucky man received a two-pronged attack in the rear from one of the few Deer whose antlers had not been removed. I was very amused.
We saved ourselves a six hour wait the next day by making the last morning bus to Hiroshima with only 3 minutes to spare. Would have been a very boring birthday had we missed it.
Hiroshima was a pretty and quiet city. The main reason to be there was to see the Peace Memorial Park Museum which explained in graphic details, the events surrounding the Nuclear Bombing in the 40s. It was well worth the visit. Being in that spot and imagining everything around you for 2 kms completely levelled by such a blast was a weird feeling.
So now we are in Osaka. The final destination in Japan before hitting China. Its just another big city, but a fun one. Lots of funny signs and neon lights. Good food too! Probably the best Ramen we have eaten... in my opinion anyway.
I think the only negative thing about Japan is that it gets a little bit samey after a while. I think we could have done with maybe a little less time here. 3 weeks probably would have been the perfect length of time. From Tokyo to Hiroshima, everything looks pretty much the same. Both cities and country-side. Its definitely not a land of constantly changing landscapes. Not like I expect the US and Mexico to be anyway. Thats not a critiscism though. I mean, you cant criticise a country for what they naturally cant help, but it has contributed to that samey feeling ive been getting towards the end. Thats not to say japan isnt awesome though!! I dont want to end on a sour note. Its been a really cool place to see and I would recommend it for sure.
Highlights -
Ramen noodles
Kyoto
Transport system
Bad english translations
Red, orange and yellow trees
Traditonal Accomodation
Lowlights -
Lack of rubbish bins. One per city?
The aussie dollar
PS - Any bad grammar can be attributed to this crappy keyboard!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Photos
So I finally got my pictures onto the internets.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32860510@N04/
Check it.
Word.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32860510@N04/
Check it.
Word.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Blake - Takayama and Kyoto (Week 2)
I'm probably going to echo some of the sentiments of Maddie here, but oh well.
Takayama was a quiet, but enjoyable, 3 days. It felt like the kind of place that would often be busy with tourists, but wasn't... for some reason. Kind of felt like we had it to ourselves.
There we saw some of the best examples of the Japanese autumn colours so far and some really nice old buildings and stuff. As Maddie said, we even stayed in a 200 year old Gassho style house... which was very cool.
Now we're in Kyoto. One of my most anticipated cities of the whole trip and so far it hasn't disappointed. I feel much more relaxed here than I did in Tokyo and subsequently, I think i'm enjoying it more.
We've been to numerous historical sites around the place. The kind of place that would get boring if you went to too many of them.... if they weren't situated in such a visually satisfying way. It's hard to get sick of these colours. Highlights so far would be the bamboo forest and the moss covered grounds of one of the temples we visited today. One of our failures would have been spending 45 minutes searching for a waterfall which turned out to be nothing more than a glorified outdoor shower.
So yeah, we're having a fun time. A steady diet of various simple rice and noodle dishes is keeping us on our feet for the 3-6km we seem to be walking each day and the 2nd lot of books we just bought will keep us going at night for a few more weeks. haven't really got into the social side of hostel living just yet, but that's probably because this is our first actual hostel and a quiet one at that.
Hope everyone is well! Goodnight.
Currently listening to -
Benoit Pioulard - Temper
The Modern Lovers - s/t
Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
Grouper - Dragging a dead deer up a hill
Books read so far -
The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Marukami
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre (currently reading)
Takayama was a quiet, but enjoyable, 3 days. It felt like the kind of place that would often be busy with tourists, but wasn't... for some reason. Kind of felt like we had it to ourselves.
There we saw some of the best examples of the Japanese autumn colours so far and some really nice old buildings and stuff. As Maddie said, we even stayed in a 200 year old Gassho style house... which was very cool.
Now we're in Kyoto. One of my most anticipated cities of the whole trip and so far it hasn't disappointed. I feel much more relaxed here than I did in Tokyo and subsequently, I think i'm enjoying it more.
We've been to numerous historical sites around the place. The kind of place that would get boring if you went to too many of them.... if they weren't situated in such a visually satisfying way. It's hard to get sick of these colours. Highlights so far would be the bamboo forest and the moss covered grounds of one of the temples we visited today. One of our failures would have been spending 45 minutes searching for a waterfall which turned out to be nothing more than a glorified outdoor shower.
So yeah, we're having a fun time. A steady diet of various simple rice and noodle dishes is keeping us on our feet for the 3-6km we seem to be walking each day and the 2nd lot of books we just bought will keep us going at night for a few more weeks. haven't really got into the social side of hostel living just yet, but that's probably because this is our first actual hostel and a quiet one at that.
Hope everyone is well! Goodnight.
Currently listening to -
Benoit Pioulard - Temper
The Modern Lovers - s/t
Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
Grouper - Dragging a dead deer up a hill
Books read so far -
The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Marukami
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre (currently reading)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Mads' First Post
Yeah, I've been a bit lazy. I thought I'd be right into this whole blogging thing, but I find that when I get back to my room after a day of touristying, I can barely form a sentence let alone wax lyrical about my experiences in a remotely interesting and articulate manner.
We built this city. We built this city on rock and roll.
So, I'm in Kyoto. I think I like it here better than Tokyo. I did like Tokyo but it was sort of like living in a nightclub. It seems cool to begin with but after a while the bright lights and cigarette smoke and squealing girls get a bit too much, you realise you haven't slept for 72 hours because they keep playing A Flock of Seagulls and you keep dancing.
Kyoto is more like living in a dingy little cafe. There's still music, there's still smoke but there's also a corner you can crawl into and relax and only be stepped on my the guy delivering the milk every now and then.
Takayama was interesting. It reminded me a little of Olinda in the Dandenongs. A pretty spot for people to come for a while, look at the pretty trees, have some coffee and buy a tea cup. The place we stayed in was awesome. I think Blake may have already mentioned it. A 200 year old mountain village home with a thatched roof. It was brilliant. I did get a little tired of having to take my shoes off and put my shoes on and take my shoes off and then put on other shoes for walking around the house and then take those off to put another pair on when I enter the bathroom etc. but it was worth it. The autumn here is fantastic.
I had a little issue with my camera (i.e. I forgot to take the cable with me) so I bought another... only to find that it doesn't work. So forgive me, this isn't a picture book. My photos are AWESOME though. Trust me.
We've seen plenty of temples and shrines and surrounding gardens, many laneways, alleys, arcades, department stores, markets and convenience stores. We've eaten noodles, rice, more noodles and rice, some tempura, some pizza, some curry, some sushi and Blake had a yam pancake with dancing fish skin on it. Serious, I hadn't been drinking absinthe. It DANCED.
Today I saw a real Geisha, we went to some book shops and some shrines and I bought some in-soles for my shoes because I've had some bad feet/ankle/knee aches from all the walking in non-walking shoes.
Highlights:
Gardens
The transport system
Poifull
Department Stores
Ships, Oi & Uni Qlo
Crepes
Neon Lights
H&M
The Beatles are played EVERYWHERE
The drive from Tokyo to Takayama - Mountains!
Shibuya
Sushi trains
Ice-cream dumplings
Lowlights:
Horse meat
Crowds
Exchange rate
Smokers
Incense
Fishy smells
Red bean (the fruit of broken promises. "IS IT CHOCOLATE?? No... red bean." "Is it JAM??? No... red bean". "Oh".)
Neon lights
H&M Queue
Taking off shoes
Camera problems
Sleeping on the floor.
Books read: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman.
Reading: The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton
Will read: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Echo Park by Michael Connelly and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Listening to: Deerhoof, The Clean, Damien Jurado, Jenny Lewis, Air France, Jay Reatard, the Monkees, Jonathan Richman.
Ok, I think thats all. I 'll try and post less sporadically in future. It'd be good if I could fix this photo problem too.
Much love,
Mads.
We built this city. We built this city on rock and roll.
So, I'm in Kyoto. I think I like it here better than Tokyo. I did like Tokyo but it was sort of like living in a nightclub. It seems cool to begin with but after a while the bright lights and cigarette smoke and squealing girls get a bit too much, you realise you haven't slept for 72 hours because they keep playing A Flock of Seagulls and you keep dancing.
Kyoto is more like living in a dingy little cafe. There's still music, there's still smoke but there's also a corner you can crawl into and relax and only be stepped on my the guy delivering the milk every now and then.
Takayama was interesting. It reminded me a little of Olinda in the Dandenongs. A pretty spot for people to come for a while, look at the pretty trees, have some coffee and buy a tea cup. The place we stayed in was awesome. I think Blake may have already mentioned it. A 200 year old mountain village home with a thatched roof. It was brilliant. I did get a little tired of having to take my shoes off and put my shoes on and take my shoes off and then put on other shoes for walking around the house and then take those off to put another pair on when I enter the bathroom etc. but it was worth it. The autumn here is fantastic.
I had a little issue with my camera (i.e. I forgot to take the cable with me) so I bought another... only to find that it doesn't work. So forgive me, this isn't a picture book. My photos are AWESOME though. Trust me.
We've seen plenty of temples and shrines and surrounding gardens, many laneways, alleys, arcades, department stores, markets and convenience stores. We've eaten noodles, rice, more noodles and rice, some tempura, some pizza, some curry, some sushi and Blake had a yam pancake with dancing fish skin on it. Serious, I hadn't been drinking absinthe. It DANCED.
Today I saw a real Geisha, we went to some book shops and some shrines and I bought some in-soles for my shoes because I've had some bad feet/ankle/knee aches from all the walking in non-walking shoes.
Highlights:
Gardens
The transport system
Poifull
Department Stores
Ships, Oi & Uni Qlo
Crepes
Neon Lights
H&M
The Beatles are played EVERYWHERE
The drive from Tokyo to Takayama - Mountains!
Shibuya
Sushi trains
Ice-cream dumplings
Lowlights:
Horse meat
Crowds
Exchange rate
Smokers
Incense
Fishy smells
Red bean (the fruit of broken promises. "IS IT CHOCOLATE?? No... red bean." "Is it JAM??? No... red bean". "Oh".)
Neon lights
H&M Queue
Taking off shoes
Camera problems
Sleeping on the floor.
Books read: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman.
Reading: The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain De Botton
Will read: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Echo Park by Michael Connelly and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Listening to: Deerhoof, The Clean, Damien Jurado, Jenny Lewis, Air France, Jay Reatard, the Monkees, Jonathan Richman.
Ok, I think thats all. I 'll try and post less sporadically in future. It'd be good if I could fix this photo problem too.
Much love,
Mads.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Blake's First Post - Week 1
I think the excitement of travelling only really hit me for the first time on this trip today, one week into our trip, while on a bus going through the Japanese highland (although mountains in general do tend to excite me at any time). I'm not sure if it sunk in during our time in Tokyo that we were actually IN Tokyo (!!!).
Tokyo was a fun time though. We visited 9-10 different neighbourhoods, some multiple times, and found that everywhere we went felt super fast paced. It didn't seem like there was much time to relax in Tokyo. For anyone.
We quickly discovered that it was somewhat of a shopping mecca and felt the need to restrain ourselves (looking at the aussie dollar now, I wish I had restrained myself even more). We had decided to allocate ourselves each a shopping budget for Tokyo and New York, being the two cities we thought we might go a bit shopping nuts in, so we had the whole week to decide what we wanted to buy.
Despite keeping ourselves busy, balancing out the neon lights and shopping centres with time spent in quiet parks and Japanese gardens, I managed to get through 3 books and am onto a fourth. I may however have jumped into the reading a bit quickly though as it looks like I won't have anything left to read on some of the longer, more boring journeys ahead.
The journey from Tokyo to Takayama was extremely pretty and somewhat unexpected. I had this image in my head of Japan being a mostly flat land with scattered mountain ranges throughout. I think this stemmed from seeing those pictures of Mount Fuji looking like it's Japan's one and only big hill. Turned out that 95% of the 6 hour trip was through mountain terrain. These made all the more spectacular by the bright red, orange and yellows autumn colours of the trees which covered them. It was a very nice surprise.
Tokyo was a fun time though. We visited 9-10 different neighbourhoods, some multiple times, and found that everywhere we went felt super fast paced. It didn't seem like there was much time to relax in Tokyo. For anyone.
We quickly discovered that it was somewhat of a shopping mecca and felt the need to restrain ourselves (looking at the aussie dollar now, I wish I had restrained myself even more). We had decided to allocate ourselves each a shopping budget for Tokyo and New York, being the two cities we thought we might go a bit shopping nuts in, so we had the whole week to decide what we wanted to buy.
Despite keeping ourselves busy, balancing out the neon lights and shopping centres with time spent in quiet parks and Japanese gardens, I managed to get through 3 books and am onto a fourth. I may however have jumped into the reading a bit quickly though as it looks like I won't have anything left to read on some of the longer, more boring journeys ahead.
The journey from Tokyo to Takayama was extremely pretty and somewhat unexpected. I had this image in my head of Japan being a mostly flat land with scattered mountain ranges throughout. I think this stemmed from seeing those pictures of Mount Fuji looking like it's Japan's one and only big hill. Turned out that 95% of the 6 hour trip was through mountain terrain. These made all the more spectacular by the bright red, orange and yellows autumn colours of the trees which covered them. It was a very nice surprise.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Quality Time
With time running out, a select few members of the A-Team (Melbourne Branch) gathered at the Fairfield Boathouse. It all started out innocently enough...
Until, of course, someone brought out the soccer ball...
Once the ball was recovered, we decided to relocate to the grassy expanses above.
... and then Annika's soccer balled was run over by a 4WD.
Until, of course, someone brought out the soccer ball...
Once the ball was recovered, we decided to relocate to the grassy expanses above.
... and then Annika's soccer balled was run over by a 4WD.
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