i'm in calgary now. the flight from singapore was... well, alright.
i think i am the harbinger of bad luck when it comes to airports/flights. if you recall the number of times in the past 3 years that i almost missed my flights, got weathered on, got bumped off multiple flights due to overbooking, had overweight baggage, had security pat-downs (especially in the states), had to open and repack my luggage, had people around me go through security checks too - that number would put seasame street's count dracula's skills to the test.
anyhoo, i did a manual hand-written log of my transit in Japan.
1021hrs, 28 May 2009 (Japan time)apparently there are seating assignments on the Keisei Line (speedy train, limited stops. 1920yen). i discovered that AFTER the ticket guy came around in talked to me in japanese, and then after realising that i don't speak japanese, told me to move one seat back.
i'm suppose to be in cart train #2, seat 7D (window). i'm now seated (i think) in #2, seat 2A. i see someone seated in 7D. maybe that's why he just told me to move that one seat back instead of moving me and having to move him (the white guy who also probably doesn't understand japanese).
the plan is to go to UENO then take the Ginza Line to Asakusa (the cultural spot of Japan). this speed train is suppose to get me to UENO in 56 mins. i'll see if it really does or doesn't. the trains run pretty punctually, so no skipping in the park for me! (:
everyone keeps talking to me in Japanese! at least i look local enough.
i treated myself to a braided necklace (twice wrapped as a bracelet) at the Singapore T3 airport. it reminds me of Rah. i miss everyone already.
the closer i get into "the city", the less subsistence farming i see. and people's houses are barely 10 metres from the train tracks! that's close!
1300hrs, 28May 2009 (Japan time)just walked around Asakusa and definitely got lost for a good half hour. i walked (lost for most of it) all the way to Nitenmon, which i will have to google when i get back. Asakusa was great, barring the rainy weather. everyone's carrying huge umbrellas and surely hitting me (unintentionally i hope) and everyone else. marred and with my feet a little soaked, i made a wish at the temple, played fate a little turn and of course, snapped pictures. gtg! this is my stop!
1400hrs, 28May 2009 (Japan time)i'm tired of walking.
so i've decided to hop the train back to the NRT (narita) airport, 40 mins earlier than i originally planned. another 1920yen one way.
this time i've the got seat assignment right. cart #7, seat 7A.
UENO's huge! tons of shopping, casinos, slots and food. Japan is bustling! this place deserves a full few days to explore. i caught myself smiling at all the store sellers yelling with what looks like the bright orange hazard road cones about the great products they're selling. no pictures though, camera batt's dying. :(
how exciting! i wanted to grab something to eat, but wasn't craving the pricey sushi or he mass made cakes or the wide range of ramen noodles, soba or udon. some shops sells their noodles at 380yen, and some even at 850yen! honestly they all look the same, but i'm sure the locals know the difference.
cam batt's really dead now. wanted to catch the huge junction of at least 5-6 directions/traffic lights. they all turned red at the same time, and then the tar roads where covered in hoards of moving bodies (no shoving involved). like a well-oiled machine.
noticed that most guys here do not wear wedding bands and tend to hang/chill with the guys only. girls aren't as pretty as on tv, but really, who looks like the people on tv right? i think the anime and japanese comic books have managed to capture the real jap culture. afternoons spent in casinos and slot machines, lots of video game stores and arcades.
train is passing through Nippori station. Nippori reminds me of Flinders St. in Melbourne.
p.s. felt like a rat in a very huge maze, yes i did.
1737hrs, 28May 2009 (Japan time)Japan has been wonderful. i started with 11,000yen. and now left with 3,500++yen. bought a few souvenirs for myself. wanted to get this 7 or 12 step box. it just means to open the box, it'll take 7 - 12 steps (like a puzzle!) very cool. it involves a lot of sliding pieces back and forth. didn't want to spend the 2,000 - 3,000yen that i didn't have. :P
i'm very happy with the amount of time i got to spend in Japan. i managed 5 hours in the city, 2 of which involved travelling by train, and the rest of my transit was left to checking out NRT airport. i recommend when transiting in Narita, to leave the transit area - the airport has a shopping mall inside it and more food options too. it's more of a mall than an airport really. but note that security is tight and that the gates may be very far away.
travelling to japan is in my future for sure. next time though, i am gonna get more sleep before i travel (:
gotta read my Asakusa Sensoji and Kannon Temple fortune again. after watching a couple of people do it, i "donated" 100yen to shake a box with chopsticks. whilst shaking the metal tin box, a chopstick with a number printed on the side comes out. with that number (1-100), you find the box with the same number, open it and take out the piece of paper holding your fortune.
my flights in 1840hrs, soon.
- end -
and as promised, i will try to blog more, and less about cars. (: adal thinks that i could prolly start a blog "tuner's page" - about my car and favourites to look out for. hahaa.
i made friends on my flight from japan to LAX/Calgary - an art prof in the Pasadena's College of Art and Design, and a Calgarian girl who worked on a cruise liner in Brisbane. people are too cool.
calgary's weather's awesome. it's 22C out now, and i'm walking about in shorts and a tee. no need for jackets! love.
when i find my camera battery charger, the pictures will follow.
valerie anne
in my 20s and wonderful.
dressed to dress you.
. i would do you, but i can't. it's just the wrong season right now.
I've been in canada for days.
. in need of a recommendation
. tattoo
. rolex
. prada bag
. hermes birkin/kelly
. hermes scarf
. prada penguin coin purse
. suped up VW jetta mk3 '97
. 911 Turbo
. WRX
. smoked e-codes/fogs
. porsche deep dish rims
.
my driver's license
.
a shaven head for my 18th
. be a somebody
. make {gravi.tee}
.
snowboard
.
own my first car
. travel: NYC, all over europe,
japan,
mexico, chile, argentina, spain, greece, laos, vietnam, bali, dubai, amsterdam
. publish a book entitled "you better quote val, or else" -
recommended by derek goh
.
fashion school
. travel: roadtrip canada
. travel: roadtrip USA
.
move out
. own a house
. ride the dragon in tokyo
. go fish/camping for a weekend
. open a cafe/boutique
. horse-riding
. speak korean/japanese/spanish/french
. skydive over mauritius waters
. white-water raft above level 3
. bungee jump from a suspension bridge
. break the world record for the longest time on a loop-the-loop roller coaster ride
. save an endangered species
. AND prove to my mum that i'll be married before 35.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 License.