A New Adventure is Beginning

I'm starting a new adventure, and a new blog to go with it. Join me at lozguistics.blogspot.com for all the fun!

Trip Statistics

All the importantly pointless information, at your fingertips:

Number of Countries visited: 16
Largest: Russia (17,075,400 km²)
Smallest: Andorra (468 km²)

Longest Train Trip: 78 hours (Irkutsk to Moscow, 5153km)

Weight of pack on departure: 12.5 kg
Weight of pack on return: 14.5 kg
Weight gain by Lauren on holiday: 4kg
% of weight gain attributable to cheese: 35 - 50%

Number of books read: 26

Fastest Land speed: 346 km/h (bullet train Tianjin to Beijing)
Highest Land Altitude: approx. 2000 m (Andorra)

Number of Languages in which I learnt to say 'thank you': 10
Number of Languages in which I learnt to say more than just 'thank you': 2

Home

And so, like all adventures, this one has come to an end.

I am back home, about to start the same job, as though nothing has happened in the last four months and I somehow just slept through spring. I certainly don't begrudge coming home, nor does my bank balance. One of the most important things you can have while travelling is a home worth coming back to, otherwise it's just too depressing passing through the arrivals gate.

It's been a great trip, catching up with many awesome people I don't keep in touch with nearly enough. I also got to do many things I would never do at home; I spent three days straight on a train, rode a bike without a helmet, got around to reading Dickens and got myself into a gallery, or two. I drank Bordeaux red in Bordeaux, ate Cheddar Cheese in Cheddar and Danced to Architecture in Helsinki amid the Architecture of Helsinki.

So now it's time to roll the credits. Hair and makeup done by no one, film and camera work done by team Gawne, catering by the many along the way. Thank you to all of you who lent me your spare beds, couches, floors, who showed us your fabulous cities, who helped me get found when I was lost, who fed and watered me, who put up with me and who were foolish enough to read this blog.

Now that I've unpacked I can start planning the next trip.

Kyoto - not just Tokyo for the dyslexic

The third and final city that we visited in Japan was the charming former capital of Japan; Kyoto. There are many things about this city I like, it's gridded street layout, the way it's nestled into mountains on all sides so that every long straight street you look down terminates in a wall of green, the way the traffic crossings near the station play little melodies as you cross - but as I've decided to limit highlights to three, I've selected these:

1. Temples
Kyoto is full of Budhist temples and Shinto shrines, many are in the city centre, but they are also liberally scattered around the hillside fringe of the city, set in beautiful gardens. One day Dave and I hired bikes and made it to about a dozen temples at five or six different sites. The ones in this hills have great views over the city.

2. Shopping
Kyoto is also packed full of shopping, souviniers and fashion are equally represented. In the center of the city there are long straight covered streets like Shinkyogoku-dori that are very popular. But some of the best shopping for travel trinkets can be done on the streets leading up to the temples. Coming from a christian background it seems a very strage combination of retail and religion, but it works quite well.

3. Trees
For those of you that have read this blog often (yes, all two of you) you would have probably noticed I generally don't wax poetical about nature very often. But it must be said that the bright reds of the Maple trees in Autumn in Japan is breath taking. I feel that this is possibly not really of the category of 'nature' as Japanese gardens tend to be quite well manicured and groomed. Still, the gardens in the temple grounds were beautiful and very soothing... if it wasn't for the crushing hords of fellow tourists.

Gotemba

After a few jet lagged days in Tokyo we traded the bright lights and crowds for some time in Gotemba.

Where?

Gotemba. It's the small city somewhere between Tokyo and Kyoto that Dave calls home. It could be said that it doesn't have a lot going for it as a tourist town, except for the fact that it's situated on the side of a giant inactive volcano. So, three cool things about Gotemba:

1. Fuji

Step out at the station, there's fuji. Look outside Dave's door, oh, it's Fuji. Driving to the supermarket, it's there. Wonder why there's a slight slope uphill? Oh, you're actually on Mt Fuju. This is endlessly amusing.

2. School

We went to visit the school where Dave works as an English Aid. The children were highly amused to see a giant blonde woman. One girl was so embarassed to meet me she fell over. Another asked if I was Dave's mum... hmmmm. We played Dodgeball at luchtime, as which I did very bad. I just couldn't bring myself to throw a ball as hard as possible at a pack of small children. But they seemed more relaxed about school safety - they had 3 meter high monkey bars, and kids were playing on unicycles and stilts.

3. Onsen

Athough it was sunny while we were in Gotemba, it was also rather chilly. And what better way to warm up than a trip to a traditional Japanese hot bath.

Possibly the most relaxing hour I've spent on the whole trip, sitting in the 40 degree water, thinking of nothing. Especially nice was the outdoor pool, where you could just kick back and admire the view. Of what? Fuji, of course.

Tokyo

To prevent excessive rambling I'm just going to give my top three favourite things about each city that I visited in Japan. City number one, that sprawling metropolis, the capital of Japan; Tokyo.

1. The Weather

It was t-shirt weather for the two days that we were there. Compared to the relentless rain that struck on the day I was passing though to go home, we were very very lucky. There was sunshine and, most unusual for Tokyo, clear skies. It was so clear in fact, that you could see Fuji from the top of panoramic buildings. Even from 100 km away it looked huge.

2. Sukiji Fish Markets

If you told me that waking up at four thirty in the morning to watch people haul fish around would be one of the most fascinating things to do in Tokyo I would never have believed you. I'm a vegetarian for goodness sake, and even when I wasn't I didn't really eat fish.

But there I was on a crisp, clear morning, at a market the size of Vic Markets (ie BIG) dedicated to supplying the fishy needs of over 8 million people. It was a life and death experience walking through the mini carts used to haul the fish around, but we somehow made it to the auction hall alive. Unlike the fish.

We watched the buyers examine the fish, poking and prodding and chatting. The auction itself was all over very quickly - most fish sold for around 1000 AUD and above. Then they were lugged off to be cut up and sold on to retailers and restaurants.

3. Jet Lag

I always find jet lag amusing - it's like being drunk without all the bother of drinking! Walking around Tokyo in a daze just added to the ambience. It was almost like being in Lost in Translation - but the hotel wasn't as flash and Dave makes a really unconvincing Scarlet Johansson.

Jetlag in Japan

So it's been a whole week packed full of adventure and I haven't writen. Now I'm in an internet cafe at Tokyo airport and really can't put seven days of fun into one pithy post. Instead over the next week or so I'll post about my adventures, which will have the added benefit of delaying the inevidable self absorbed meta ramblings of the recently returned traveller.

but now, to the duty free store!!