Travel Diary 2006

Sumo do Sumo dont

2006-09-20T23:39:00.000+09:00

It was worth the 2100 yen to go and see the Sumo tourament on at the moment. Went with Susanne from the hostel, as the others all went yesterday and have now left the country or area. The stadium is a square with shaved corners. Even in the nose bleed seats there was a good view. Admitedly we spent a while sitting in lower seats, until a very polite gentlemen pointed out that we should move higher up. The cheap seat area was only about half full and the seats were standard (but comfortable) western style seats. The stalls area was all mats and was well over three quarters full. In a land that is so much into its technology there was no replay screen to view and the advertising that occurred was a line up of men who carried banners around the ring every now and then. Mainly in the middle of the later bouts. The sport is a lot about ritual. Some of the bouts were very interesting, but others were over in a blink. Well a blink that occurred after 4 minutes of psychological
mind games between the opponents. A very appropriate way to finish off my time in Japan.

I followed that up with a wander around Shibuya and Shinkuju. Now it is time to go and get my free drink at the bar owned by the people who own the hostel. So I missed my crushing train journey, but I have enjoyed my trip and the people I have met and catching up with those I already knew. I must thank all those who have put me up, shown me around and generally made this trip a great one. Until my next trip, or your next visit have a wonderful time. Goodbye Japan and holiday, hello soon to Melbourne and ...

More about this trip is to be found at www.davethetraveller2006.blogspot.com.

Ciao
David :)

Mission was a failure

2006-09-19T10:44:00.000+09:00

I tried, but to no avail. It got a crowded for a little while, but no crush. I will try again tomorrow, but earlier. Oh I am talking about my search for a very (!!!!) crowded peak hour train. Some others at the hostel are going to the big Sumo tourament today, but I will not be going, if they have a good report I may head there tomorrow. Off to try and get some more sleep, bye

To Tokyo after all

2006-09-18T19:49:00.000+09:00

Due to problems emailing, not everyone got my last email, so please check the blog for that entry. Also this place will not recognise my camera so it will be a while longer before I put more photos on the blog.

Just for a change I did not change my mind and go to somewhere other than Tokyo. Staying at a rather sterile hostel. I suppose the place in Nikko has spoiled me as the feel of the place was so good. I hope to catch a peak hour train tomorrow morning. Not for the claustrophobic. Otherwise it has been a bit of a wander around Nikko and goodbyes to the group of english teachers (and one hair model) I meet in Nikko. Had some great chats and games of cards with them. Good thing I was not playing for money as I did not do well.

So my next entry will probably be from the squashed version of me. Take care and remember that train/tram/bus is not really that crowded.

Kobe to Nikko

2006-09-18T08:09:00.000+09:00

So the plan was a stop in Nikko to break up the journey to Sapporo, you guessed it things changed. I did make it to Nikko, but I will not be making it any further north. So here is the only place north of Tokyo I will make it. Nikko is a very (!!) touristy town. As it is only 2 hours from Tokyo and there are 8 World Heritage sites in the area. Most of them temple including the carving of the 3 wise monkeys (this is apparently the carving that made them famous, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys). I have basically been over seeing temples, but felt it was worth visiting them to see the 3 wise monkeys. Saturday was a day of walking around town checking out statues, temples, shrines and water falls. Then it was cards and drinking before at 1am heading out to an onsen (bathhouse) for a soak.

Sunday it was off to Nikko National Park for lots of walking with Todd from Germany. Lots of tourists around as this is not only a weekend, but a long weekend. Stopped at one of the falls and had fish on a stick. That is a whole fish BBQ on a stick, watch out for the intestines they taste aweful. It was ok, but I enjoyed the ice cream I had after more.

So I will most likely be heading to Tokyo today to finish off my time in Japan. Should be some more pictures on the blog soon.

On to Kobe, well here already and thinking about moving on

2006-09-14T22:03:00.000+09:00

After a wander around Kagoshima yesterday I hit the road again. Well the rail. Decided to skip Nagasaki and go through to Kobe, not to see the town but use it as a base to see Hiroshima, which I did today.

While in Kagoshima I popped into the municipal museum where they have a small bitsa collection. That is bits of that and a bits of that with no theme to the work. The best piece was by the artist Seiji Togo and there was also a very good piece by Hiroki Horiwaki. The works of Picasso, Warhol, Monet, Matisse, Pissaro and other famous European artists were all pretty ordinary.

It was a wet arrival in Kobe at night, and the hostel was tucked away, not fun looking around in the rain. Caught the Shinkansen back to Hiroshima to visit the A-Bomb dome and Otorii. It is amazing how little appears to be affected by the blast. Of course the over 120,000 people who died in that crime against humanity are not there to be seen. It was odd to be visiting the site only 3 days after the 5th anniversary of the twin towers horror. At the remains of the Hiroshima castle there is a tree that survived the blast, just 770 meters (about .5 mile) from ground zero. On the banks of the river just meters from the dome are willows, planted since the attack. To see that life can grow on such a site is hard to fathom.

On a happier note was my visit to Miyajima to see the torii Gate at Itsukushima Shine. This is a torii that spectacularly sits out in the water off the island of Itsukushima (or Miyajima). Arrived at the ferry terminal and there were deer wandering around begging for food or just foraging in the bins. As they were very used to people around, I managed to get a few nice photos. The light was terrible to photograph the torii so you will just have to check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine.

I will possibly be heading to Sapporo on Hokkaido tomorrow, but I will work that out later.

Some photos Yakushima and Kagoshima

2006-09-13T23:03:00.000+09:00

Ohkonotaki waterfall on Yakushima island, 88 meters high and a great place to have a dip.

My room in Kagoshima, Japanese style, it was bigger than it looks in this photo.

The inside of one of the Shinkansen (there I go with the trainspotting again)

A lunch of samples, most of it was quite nice, sorry but I had eaten part of the lunch before I took this photo.

Still in Yakushima

2006-09-12T08:46:00.000+09:00

Ok, the change in plans was unchanged. As I had come all the way out here it was time to buy some new rain gear. So now I could go for the walk. Before that a little bit about Yakushima island. It is an island south of the main Japanese islands. Over half the island is national park and most of that is World Heritage listed. Much of the tree cover is cedar, including its most famous resident, Jomon-sugi Cedar. This tree is around 7200 years old and big. It is an 11 hour round trip walk to the tree and I just am not prepared for that walk, so I will be missing it. The island is expensive, but if you go overnight hiking it is a lot cheaper as the huts provided are free, but this is a volcanic island so do not expect any flat land. It rises out of the water and just keeps rising until it peaks, in several places. The only flat land seems to be where is has been made flat by people. Towns dot the outer edge of the island and a road rings the island with just a few roads snaking inland. The rest of the island is covered in forest and moss. Fantastic visuals standing on a rock, on my main walk, looking out at the forest that looked like patches of grass at time with some trees on it, but of course it was just a clump of similar trees with some taller ones near by. Saturday went on a hike to Shiratani Unsuikyo ravine, the area that inspired the film Princess Mononoke. The forest was foggy and very mystical. You could very easily imagine this as a magical land. Unfortunately it is a little humid, so take a change of clothes. As it turned out I did not need the rain gear for the walk, oh well I would not have gone if I did not have the gear. Yes I do like this little island.

Yesterday I had my most expensive ever visit to a watefall. The bus trip there and back cost about 4000 yen and as there are only a few buses going to the waterfall (Ohko-no-taki waterfall) and my bus was running 15 minutes late, ended up with less than 10 minutes (after the walk to it and stopping to help a group take their photo) looking at the waterfall. I had gone to see it and have a swim, lots of people there when I arrived, but no one swimming. Ah what the hell. I only got to dive in and pretty much get straight out, but it was worth it. Yes I was wearing a bathing suit. Back to Kagoshima on Kyushu today, then heading north.

Yakushima island photos

2006-09-10T17:55:00.000+09:00

A lovely day at Nagata beach on the island

Just don`t remind this guy

This is the forest that inspired Princess Mononoke. Walking through the fog in this mystical forest was incredible I am so pleased I stayed for this. The above photo was also taken within the forest.

Once again plans change

2006-09-10T07:47:00.000+09:00

Well I was going to go for a bush walk today, but it is bucketing down at the moment. Even if I had proper rain gear I would not be going in this weather, and I only have an umbrella (forgot to bring my rain stuff, but figured it being summer it would not matter). So I think I will head back to Kagoshima for walking in the rain over there, well hopefully not. I have just checked the weather (at www.weathercity.com) for southern Japan and it looks like showers and rain all over the place for the next few days, bugger.

Had a nice time at Nagata beach on this island yesterday. The water was warm and with no surf, but I had a lovely time floating in the water. Had a problem getting back. It cost 810 yen on the bus each way and I had enough change for the outbound trip, but not for the return, only a 10,000 yen note. I had not expected such a high cost for the bus. The bus driver was very good and stopped at a shop on the way back to let me get change, the shop keeper was not happy giving me change from such a large note for a 150 yen drink. He `punished` me by giving over 5000 of the change in coins. Most of those coins were the 500 yen coin, so it was not too bad.

Speaking of drink, the drink I purchased was Pocari Sweat, which I also found in Korea. Great idea including sweat in a drink name, but as it is a sports type drink it makes sense, it is just a little off putting.

Anyway the rain looks here to stay so back onto the ferry to Kagoshima, it leaves around 1pm so I still have time to change my mind (just for something different).

Kyoto to Beppu

2006-09-09T21:21:00.000+09:00

Well I am now on the island of Yakushima, a small island south of the main Japanese islands, but I need to wind the clock back to Kyoto, which is where I was up to.

Tues 5 Sept 2006
Well my one night in the hostel was over. Yesterday the first hostel I tried was fully booked for 3 night, this one had 1 bed for 1 night. I can not be bothered to find another place in Kyoto so I will hit the road after visiting a few places. Jean, a German woman I was talking to last night, has generously let me join her visiting some sites. So it was a train ride to an area west of central Kyoto after stuffing my pack into a locker at the train station. My pack is getting over weight. It seems to have gained 5 kilos (11 pounds) since the beginning of the trip. Just wish I could work out from what. I need to clean it out and see if I can toss anything. I have got side tracked. Caught the train to Saga Arashiyama and headed for the Horinji Temple. It looked like most of the other temples I have seen in Japan. It would be nice if there was more variety in them. It is like they have all be made from exactly the same plans. I think I am going to have to have a break from looking at temples.

Our next stop was a lot more interesting - Iwatayama Monkey Park. After a walk up a hill there they were, lots of monkeys cavorting around. From inside a cage (we were on the inside) you can feed the monkeys apple slices or peanuts. I had to and spent 100 yen on some apple slices, but I must admit I ate some of the slices. They really snatch the pieces out of your hand, which is why you are in a cage, for your own protection. Out of the cage you can walk around surrounded by them, just no taking out food or staring them in the eye. That last one had me worried each time I pointed a camera at them. It was fun and interesting watching them groom, young mischief, and mothers curbing the mischief.

I have been distracted by a chat, you will all have to wait.

Some more photos from Japan

2006-09-07T14:16:00.000+09:00

Pogoda in the Asakusa area of Tokyo

Take the apple not my hand please, a monkey park near Kyoto

Part of the moat around the palace within Kyoto castle

Tokyo to Kyoto

2006-09-05T09:18:00.000+09:00

Sunday
My first full day in Japan and I ended up wandering around Asakusa with Erich swapping barbed comments. As each comment failed to truly get a rise the comments got more and more base.

Monday
Caught a Shinkansen (Bullet) train to Kyoto, my first time on one.
My second Shinkansen train
Inside it was ok, and outside did move along at an excellent pace. I had not booked a place and arrived at K`s House to find it fully booked for the next 3 days, shame as the place looked good. Ended up at J-Hoppers on the 5th floor. The place seems ok, but is fully booked for Tuesday night, so I will be hitting the road again. Kyoto is more humid than Tokyo. Hit the streets to have a look around and ended up on the outskirts of Kyoto in a bamboo forest. A small section of garden plots ran along part of the edge of the forest. I was looking for the Fushimi Inari shine (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fushimi_Inari for more). I did find a graveyard and after passing through it I found the shine. As night fell I walked up through the corridors of torii (gates).
Torii, torii, torii and still more torii
There are thousands of them lining this corridor up the hill. It was cooler doing the walk at night and there were only a few other people on the path, which was great.

Tokyo photos

2006-09-04T08:07:00.000+09:00

Erich the Mexican bandit.

Market near Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa area

Dress ups near Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa area

Space age cruise boat at sunset

Welcome to Tokyo

2006-09-02T19:28:00.000+09:00

Well here I am in Tokyo and the backpackers is cool. Outside the air is not as humid, ah. This is noticeably different to Korea. The streets are more crowded, the people look different and the subway is not as goof friendly. Oh and the prices are higher. No motorbikes on the footpaths, but lots of push bikes, keeps you on your toes. The streets are narrow, it has been interesting walking down them trying to avoid cars, bikes and people. Which reminds me one other difference (well so far) is there are lots of cats around, although several I have seen have part or all of their tails missing. The Japanese seem to like vending machines, why worry about id when you can just buy alcohol or cigarettes from a vending machine.

After wandering around trying to find a Citibank to change money at I decided to have some dinner, so it was back to restaurant roulette. Entered a corner bar restaurant and the guy behind the counter said `noddles`, but I shook my head and pointed to a random thing on the menu. Picked well, peppered beef with cabbage and bean shoots. While waiting saw a pile of magazines and thought I would have a flick through and look at the pictures. At first it was like a gossip magazine, then there were the pictures of naked women, and I could not even say I was only looking at the magazine for the articles.

So after a few hours I have seen only a tiny tiny bit of Tokyo. Bumped into Erich who I met in Seoul and we are off for a few drinks. I am staying at ASAKUSA RYOKAN TOUKAISOU (see http://www.toukaisou.com/ for more).

Final Korea photos

2006-09-01T21:42:00.000+09:00

Me and Sabine

Me, Hana, Soho, ? and Sabine at the Ho Bar II

A parting shot :)

Goodbye Korea

2006-09-01T21:37:00.000+09:00

Well I bid farewell to Korea tomorrow morning, early. I have enjoyed my drifting around both Seoul and Gyeongju. So what are my impressions of Korea. Even in Seoul it is quiet, yes there is the noise of the traffic, but the people are quiet. Which makes for a much more relaxed environment. Of course I am pretty relaxed at the moment, so I could well just be reflecting my mood onto the city. I will not miss having people riding motor scooters or motorbikes on the footpath. Nor will I miss the humidity (I had to complain about that one more time). I am leaving places that are old, but mostly new, nothing quite like invaders to come and trash your stuff. Seoul is the only big city I have been to that seems very similar all over the city, yes there is the large city center with its tall office buildings, but everything seems so similar around the city. It reduces the joy of wandering around, but that is still fun. Oddities amongst the people: a lot (by my standards) of people wear white gloves; Older women can be seen wearing golf sun visors, see I am not the only one with poor dress sense. There seems to be a high level of trust in others and I have seen very little graffiti, well almost none. The fact that train stations have fire extinguishers and torches readily accessible, to me shows that trust, oh and I have never seen an empty spot for a torch or fire extinguisher.

Went out last night with Sabine for a night of music and drinking. Caught the last train to the Hong Ik Uni for the bars around that area. Finally got back at about 9am. Not too drunk had a great night, dancing, drinking and talking. Meet some Koreans and had a very stilted conversion with them and their little pekingese.

Well annyonghi kyeseyo Korea, konnichiwa Japan.

Another day in Seoul

2006-08-31T01:12:00.000+09:00

Well for something different went to a Picasso exhibit with Sabine, one of the people from the guesthouse. It only confirmed when opinion of Picasso, his work just does not grab me that much. It was still interesting to see a large number of his works. Just wandered around after that until we decided to check out some night life, with a little help from a stanger we discovered a niffty area near one of the universities. Great day, but was soured a little when we got back at midnight to find an overcrowded hostel. The owner refused to come around and sort it out, but after some huffing it was sorted out with 3 people on the floor. I fortunately ended up with a bed.

Off to see... ah you can wait to find out what I see tomorrow.

DMZ and Suwon photos

2006-08-30T00:22:00.000+09:00

This is the second attempt. This bloody computer has a power button just below the delete button, and I hit it, aaargh.
The freedom bridge

The Korean's love their big bells, I must have seen at least 6 of these in my time here so far.

Taking a big risk here, a photo right on the line. One person here had their camera taken from them for taking a photo from the other side of this line. I am not sure if they got their camera back.

One of several funny warning signs at construction sites I have seen.

The imposing entrance to Hwaseong Fortress

The Sawleaf Zelkova tree is over 600 years old, found at Hwanseong Haenggung (the palace within the fortress), it is the tree in the background with the pray notes around the base.

DMZ and Suwon

2006-08-29T23:40:00.000+09:00

Ok I will try and stay away from talking about trains for the next few blogs. Maybe I am a latent trainspotter.

Today was a tour to the DMZ, the world's most heavily defended border. It was an interesting tour as much for where you could and could not take photos. The tour did not take you do the border, where the blue buildings are, but went to the edge of the DMZ and into one of the incursion tunnels dug by the North Koreans. There is a different tour to go to the Joint Security Area. Part of me felt some of the write-ups, combined, to be like propaganda, maybe I am just being suspicious. Went to Dorasan Station which gets 3 passenger trains a day from the south and none from the north, it has been built with the hope the border may one day be open. Trains do now cross the border, but only goods trains. It is right near the Freedom Bridge, named because of its use in prisoner exchange after the Korean war. It was very foggy, so I could not see much of North Korean from the Dora observation point.

It was only a half day tour and on return to Seoul I caught a local train to Suwon to visit another World Heritage site: Hwaseong Fortress. My feet are definitely getting used to walking, but boy do I get drippy walking up hill in this weather. Ok I am going on about the humidity again well I get it every day, so deal with it. The fortress has a palace within it and it was very quiet, a nice change from recent visits to tourist sites where there has been lots of people wandering around. The film 'The King and the Clown' was filmed at this site.

Still trying to work out where I will head tomorrow, decisions are overrated. I am looking forward to Saturday with the early flight, I am going to have to leave for the airport at about 6am.

I lied I will mention the trains again. 2 other things about the subway trains here in Seoul, usually every train journey someone selling something (mosturisers, pump torches, whatever) walks through and women when talking on the phone will often put their hand over their mouth.

Gyeongju and other stuff

2006-08-28T23:32:00.000+09:00

Well lots of rain, tombs and temples in Gyeongju. Also lots of walking. Ah I am bored of talking about temples and old stuff. Trains will be today's topic. Seoul subway, clean except some chewing gum stuck on the stairs. There are 8 lines networked through Seoul and it costs between \900 and \1300 ($Aus1.20 - 1.75) for a one way trip between stations, there are no day or time based passes. The trains are clean and quite wide, they pull into stations with the doors lining up with markings on the platform telling you where the doors will be. Like on the streets above the are tactile tiles guiding the vision impaired throughout the station. After sweating on the streets it can be quite chilly on the air-conditioned carriages as your damp or wet shirt over-cools you. The ride is generally very smooth, which is a good thing as when the carriage is crowded there are not enough hand-holds for all those standing. There is very little noise from the people on the train and they generally have a blank expression on their faces (which I think I have already mentioned in a previous entry). Ok enough of the trains.

I still have not played the full version of restaurant roulette, where I just pick a random thing on the unintelligible menu and have that. I will get around to that before I leave. Why is it that countries in hot climates like spicey food, maybe the sweating is not such a problem as you are already sweating from the environment. I keep trying the Kimchi that comes with most meals, but it is just too spicey for me. Here you order 1 dish and 4 to 9 plates arrive at your table. The main thing you ordered and lots of small side dishes and possibly some with sauce in them. Had an unusual selection last night with dinner: pickled radish (like you find in sushi); a light sauce and washabi; and popcorn. The popcorn definitely surprised me. Unlike in Portugal you do not find these uninvited items added to your bill. Better yet you do not tip in Korea, yeah no emotional blackmail over the waiting staffs cr*p, sorry poor, wages.

Anyway my heading has turned out to be completely inaccurate, but tough luck. I am now going to finish my glass of soju. Soju is the local grupa, I brought a stubby sized (oh sorry for those not from Australia a small beer bottle) bottle for \900. Of course it is 20%, so about the equivalent of 4 bottles.

Hic bye

Site photos, around and near Gyeongju

2006-08-27T20:02:00.000+09:00

Stairs to the main entrance of the Bulguksa Temple

Bom-yeong-ru (Brahma Bell Pavilion), part of the Bulguksa Temple

Is this a staircase or a ladder?

In the foreground are the foundations of buildings, the mounds in the background are tombs from the Silla era

Ah peace and tanquility (Imhaejeon site in Gyeongju, the part of the palace with a man-made lake)

Now thats just rude (look carefully)

Some sillyness

2006-08-27T19:31:00.000+09:00

And the rain came, and came and came.

US influence in Korea. What US influence?

Who ever said bright green was not a natural food colour

One fish, two fish, orange fish, yellow fish, no I did not throw food into the water to get this shot

Seoul to Gyeongju

2006-08-26T21:21:00.000+09:00

Sleep, blessed sleep. Finally started catching up on it this afternoon. For my 2 nights in Seoul my bed was in the loungeroom, so not much sleep, especially combined with the humidity, then last night was the train from Seoul to Gyeongju. My arrival at 3:36 in the morning had me sitting around waiting until daylight. It was good though as the market opened up across the road from the train station, so stuffed the pack into a locker and headed for a wander and some breakfast.
This market and the one I wandered around in Seoul reminded me of the markets in Peru, although the ones in Peru were a little more choatic and the pathways are cleaner in Korea. I even came across a similar eating area. The foods are different. As I meandered through the narrow aisles of the covered area or walked on the streets where people had spread out their goods some, to me, unusual items appeared. Mainly in the food category. The riggling bowls of tiny fish are fun to watch. It looks like the water is gently boiling as the black mass of fish move around. Lots of variety of seafood, chilis, mushrooms and beanshoots. Then there are the colourful cakes/biscuits (I will put a photo on the blog in the next couple of days) which do not look natural, I am too used to shades of brown for biscuits, not the vivid greens, yellows and other colours.

I continue to be a little adventurous with my eating. At the train station in Seoul I purchased a bag of shreded something, the fish looking thing on the bag, made me suspect it was seafood. On closer inspection it turned out to be an octopus, preserved and cut into thin strips. It was ok, but the serve was too large for me. Like at the market measurement tends to be by the scoop or other such measurement rather than by weight.

Gyeongju is the former capital of the Sillan empire and there are a large number of historical sites around town. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju for some more about Gyeongju. The days have continued to be cloudy, it just seems to be a constant, along with the humidity (yes the humidity is getting to me). Ah more about what I have seen here later. Hope you are all well.

Gyeongbokgung - photos

2006-08-24T21:46:00.000+09:00

A rather grand enterance good timing my arrival

Ah why have lions or dragons for stair-ends, chickens are so much more frightening.

The doorway to ... doorways

Hey monkey boy. Me and my chinese zodiac symbol.

Found this at train stations, now it is an emergency kit, whether for safety or suicide I am not sure.

Seoul - Thursday 24 August

2006-08-24T21:43:00.000+09:00

Well my first full day in Korea and what a humid one it has been. I keep feeling tired at odd times, but to be expected. Seoul is a big modern city, so I will be leaving tomorrow, not sure where I am going yet. Just checked and I will be flying out of Seoul at 10am (next week not tomorrow), it is going to be an early morning that one as it is nearly 2 hours by bus to the airport.

Once I finally got going on some sight-seeing it was good, mainly because the subway trains are air conditioned. Headed to Gyeongbokgung, the primary Palace of Joseon Dynasty (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongbokgung for more) and the National Folk Museum of Korea. Finished in the museum just as it was closing, my feet were sore, still not used to beening on my feet for 4+ hours. The palace is lots of buildings spread over a large area, but most of the buildings are not that old as the Japanese have come over several times in the last 500 years or so and trashed the place.

The subway here is very clean and regular, actually all of the city I have seen has been clean. Like the people in London, blank stares are the most popular expression for people on the train. The guesthouse I am staying in is a small 3 bedroom flat (apartment) and it is not too bad. There are some nice other people staying here.

Hopefully it will not be so humid tomorrow, I am not holding my breath.

Arrival in Seoul

2006-08-23T21:03:00.000+09:00

Well I have managed to make it to some accommodation in Seoul. An uneventful flight and a long bus ride (over 1.5 hours) and I was dropped off near the place I am staying at. Trouble, I have no map, can not read most of the street signs, maybe I should have been better prepared. Oh well live and learn (ok I probably will not learn). After a bit of wandering up and down a bloke stopped me and asked where I was going. I showed him the address I had written down (while at Heathrow airport) and he said to follow him, so I did. Off to his car, with intermitent broken English conversion as we walked. Into the car and we were off. I did have doubts about doing it, but sometimes you just hope for the best. Well it turns out the bloke was the manager at the guesthouse (see the place at http://www.twizi.com/hostels/seoulheyguesthouse.htm) I was planning to stay at, so all was good.
My search for dinner was an adventure. Lots of places to eat near the guesthouse, but what was I going to order. Time to find somewhere I could point at what I wanted, now I just had to work out how much. So what did I end up having, no idea, it was something on a skewer. It had a bit of a seafood flavour. It was cheap, as much because the portion was snack sized, only 1000 won (about $AUS1.40 or $US1.05).
As soon as I got off the plane I found Seoul to be a lot (!!) more humid than London. So as I blissfully sit in front of the fan I wonder how pleasant the main part of the day will be (I arrived around 4pm).

London - Capital Ring wallk

2006-08-21T21:53:00.000+09:00

Highgate Woods, peace amid the choas of London.

Not all parts are well groomed, this was along the New River, which is actually a 400 year old canal. I was fortunate I had good boots as I ended up with a lot of mud on my shoes along this part.

Some parts are a little rough

The sun breaks through onto the Thames at low tide.

Under the Thames

London

2006-08-21T21:18:00.000+09:00

Staying with Laila in Highgate, a nice suburb of London. Getting lots of stair climbing in as my room is on the second floor (third floor for the Americans) and looks out onto the rather large backyard, well large for London. On arrival I was not sure if I was going to pop out of London to visit somewhere like Stonehenge. Then I bumped into the Capital Ring walk, a 78 mile walk around London. It starts and finishes in Woolwich and I suspose it would not be a Ring walk if it did not finish where it started. The full walk has only been open since September last year, although most of the parts already existed as walks. On Thursday I started in Highgate Woods and headed along a disused rail line through to Finsbury Park, Clissold Park, Abney Cemetery (where Willian Booth, founder of the Salvation Army is buried)and finally through part of the Walthamstow Marshes to Clapton. A lovely afternoon walk that showed me I need to do more walking to avoid having sore feet at the end.

While Melbourne has great parks, but the woods I visited are so lovely, it would be nice if inner Melbourne had something similar, maybe turn Royal Park into a wood. Many of these places are only available to us because of people from over 100 years ago who had forethought. Such a shame that modern politicans think the distant future is the next election.

Friday had me back at Clapton to walk through to Woolwich and under the Thames. A big part of this afternoons walk was along the Greenway Walk which follows an old Victorian sewer line. If I had a little longer in London I would have walked the whole route, but too much fun on Friday and Saturday nights left me not completing any more of the Capital Ring.

Both Thursday and Friday nights Laila and I headed down to the Boogaloo to catch dj's who are friends. Thursday night was lots of big band style music, lots of fun dancing and a crowd that had dressed up for the night. Friday night was a little quieter, although the drinking was greater.Went to the Spaniads Inn for lunch on Saturday. This inn may have been the birth place of Dick Turpin, a highwayman fom the early 1700's, but Wikipedia has his birth place in Hempstead, Essex. This inn is also mentioned in 2 books: Charles Dickens Pickwick Papers and Bram Strokers Dracula. On the way back from the inn visited Kenwood House with its superb views of London.

Saturday night was clubbing time at the Egg with Bec and a few of her friends. At the moment the club has a bit of a reputation as a 19 year old man was gunned down on the dance floor last weekend, he was at a private party. Good music, hours on the dance floor, walking up the stairs to bed at 9am made me realise how sore my legs were.Sunday I went to a show, Fuerzabruta at the Roundhouse. Absolutely brillant, best show I have ever seen, much better than Cirque Du Soleil. Did get wet, a little. It is a dance show, but much of the action takes place overhead, so my neck was a little sore at the end.Oh well time to find out what hassles I will have at the airport tomorrow.

Leamington Spa or I should say Royal Leamington Spa

2006-08-16T19:39:00.000+09:00

A lovely catch up with Graham and Jo, ah so many excellent hosts I know. My day time walk around Leamington Spa found a different town to that of Newcastle. This town is smaller and while it has a river flowing through it, it is nothing like the Tyne running through Newcastle. There is also a canal in Leamington Spa and in my walk along the banks of the canal I bumped my head on a low bridge. Teach me for not being careful. I also saw several of the long narrow canal boats that still ply these waters. They are like colourful cigars putting along. In my walk along the historical trail of Leamington Spa, I found a sign mentioning a famous son of the town, Frank Whittle one of the 2 people recognised as the inventors of the jet engine. Well I must thank them for providing me a fast means to get around the world. Another person of note has passed through this town (apart from me) Jane Austen's brother was the vicar of St Mary's church which is within sight of where I am staying in Cubbington (a village now effectively a suburb of Leamington Spa). Well once again I must depart and head towards London, so farewell to the many Georgian buildings and quiet centre streets and hello the smog and bustle of London.

Photos Milan to Newcastle

2006-08-15T18:26:00.000+09:00

My plan from Munich to Frankfurt, ah what sport madness can do to people

London Piccadilly Circus early Saturday morning

Newcastle, by the river front, I liked the look of this building and the grey skys behind it

Alvin and Jay

London to Newcastle

2006-08-15T18:14:00.000+09:00

Sat 12 Aug

After talking to Alvin on the phone I am off to Newcastle for the weekend. 91.40 pounds for the return ticket on British Rail, nobody would ever accuse BR of being cheap. Well I have now met Alvin's wife and baby son. Jay, the baby, is a crier, but being only 1 month and a day old is very cute. I had a lovely afternoon wander around Newcastle the river front was particularly love with the variety of bridges crossing it. Caught up with Alvin later on and as it was early in the evening on Saturday I got to witness the pub migration of the locals. Large herds of females, sometimes dressed in identical garb and large herds of males, at least they were dressed, are drawn to the various watering holes. Many of the watering holes are clustered in the one complex (perhaps hoping for security in numbers). It seems that during the night the different herds mingle, sometimes mating occurs, often regurgitation occurs (probably on sighting members of the opposite sex). Perhaps I have been spoiled having just left Italy, but these members of my species are not as desirable.

Sun 13 Aug
We were going to go down to Tynemouth, but the constant rain/drizzle kept us indoors all day.

Mon 14 Aug
I depart from the fair shores of Newcastle to Leamington Spa, where Queen Victoria once repast within the spa waters.

The rest of Italy

2006-08-12T15:32:00.000+09:00

Well I just lost my last attempt at this email, I hope it does not cut out again. Looking at trains to get to Newcastle and Cardiff, well nobody ever said British Rail is cheap. Then again is anything cheap in this place. Paid 23 pounds ($Aus55) for a dorm bed last night. It seems one change
since I was last paying for hostel rooms here is a loading for Friday and Saturday nights. Wait I was going to finish off Italy. Time for the quick version.

Padova
Every night was a drink or many at the Portello a new summertime feature in the town. Tired of late night drinkers in the centre of town the council has set up a series of bar shacks next to part of the university and along part of the main river. There are about 12 bar shacks along the stretch with places to sit. One of the bars set up the area around it with topical beach theme. Spritz is one of the popular drinks and you get 2 for 2 euro during the happy hour at most (if not all) of the bars. Spritz is a white wine based mixed drink made with Campari or another mixer and lemonade. Well I think that is what it is made from, don't quote me. The area closes at 2am as do all bars. Ah wait there is a loophole in the planning regulations. If you are a membership club you can keep serving alcohol passed 2am. I used one of the membership clubs to get the internet while I was there. The good thing is as a traveler they did not require me to get a membership, but they took my details in case the cops showed up. The main town square in Padova gorgeous. The centre of the square is an island with 4 bridges linking it to the rest. The bridge paths meet in the middle of the oval island at a fountain with lush green lawn between the paths. About 80 statues line both sides of the moat, all facing away from the water. Further paving and a road fill out the rest of the square which is surrounded by buildings. As you would expect in Italy small cafes and bars are littered around town and are perfect places to while away 10 minutes or several hours.

Verona
A quick afternoon visit to Verona. This is a tourist town. It was another beautiful sunny day and the crowds were out. The main area in town around the arena is well polished up. Of course this town is famous for Romeo and Juliet and Juliet's balcony is somewhere near the arena. So being single what was I doing in this town most noted for 2 lovers, good question. In the end I missed the balcony, just failed to find it, but it was interesting watching the people in town and generally having a wander.

Fratta
A small town about 1 hours drive from Padova. Went there one night for dinner at Giovanni's place. This house was a large 2 storey home with a huge brick barn (over 150'/40m in length) with large arches at the front. Dinner was a lovely seafood meal for the 18 of us. Set up on a long table outside. It looked like a classic meal from Tuscany or somewhere in France.

My stay in Italy has been fantastic, Francesca has been an excellent host.

Ciao

Stuck again

2006-08-11T02:04:00.000+09:00

I am going a little out of sequence here, but thats life. I have been caught once again by (aaarrggh bloody keyboard has the z and y swapped, very irritating) where was I oh thats right... caught again by a transport problem, this time the closing of Heathrow airport. Decided to take my plane through to Munich anyway (hoping the problem would clear up before I arrived). No good. Took ages to find anyone who would tell me why Heathrow had been closed. I am now booked on a flight via Frankfurt to Heathrow for tomorrow, well I hope it will be going tomorrow. Unfortunately for the woman who re-booked my ticket she had to re-enter the entire ticket details to make the change. Think about all those codes that get printed onto a paper ticket, then multiply it because I have lots of flights. It took about 20 minutes as somewhere she had made a typing mistake.

So here I am in Munich again and I am surprised who easy I am finding my German coming back to me. I still could not hold a conversation with a 3 year old, but it is a lot better than my much improved Italian. Writing of which I learnt an interesting difference between the Italian words pecorino and pecorina; one is a cheese and the other is doggy style, so please be care when asking for that cheese. Enough rudeness.

So as this place is the home of the beerfest and I did not drink the last time I was here I am off to have a few drinks, but none of them beer (yuck). I will endevour to fill in the rest about Italy in a few days time.

Ciao

Photos from Italy

2006-08-07T23:02:00.000+09:00

Parking in Milan, note one line of cars parked on each side of the street, one line of cars parked on each footpath.

Arrival in Padova, me and Francesca

Near where I am staying, Padova used to have lots of canals, but most have been covered up.

Padova, Also near where I am staying

The university observation tower, Galileo spent quite a bit of time in this tower (Padova has had at least one very famous resident)

Francesca, me and Francesca, all of us rather drunk, but happy (remebered to take my camera on a night out for a change)

Milan to Padova

2006-08-07T23:01:00.000+09:00

Departure from Milan to Padova. Walked to the station one again across many grates in the footpath (I think for ventilating the basements, but really no idea) and it had me wondering how many collapse with people on them. Probably not a good thought to have while walking across so many. Got my ticket and waited for the train, on to the train and here is the ticket inspector, 25 euro fine for not validating the ticket, what validating? Here was I thinking that the multi-language ticket vending machine was great as I did not have to expect a person to speak english or have to use battered communication to get a ticket and I was dudded, bah humbug, well that one will not get me again. The funny thing with the fine was I was only worried that I would unintentionally sit in 1st class (when I had bought a 2nd class ticket an would get fined for that. Fortunately I had sat in 2nd class.
Another thing I have noticed about Italy is the scarceness of security cameras. It is nice not being constantly watched from afar (for those monitoring this email bite me). While there is not many cameras I keep needing ID (not for drinking) for hotels and internet cafes. It is strange after the USA where I only occasionally had to provide ID for motels and once only had to sign in, The libraries in the USA (where I did a bit of my internet time) are determined to take or retain as little information as possible when you use the net. Anyway I have drifted, where was I, ah thats right on the train to Padova.
Arrived in Padova and there was Francesca's smiling face on the platform. Francesca has provided me with a friends place to stay, nice place of a friend who is away for the moment.
Padova is a lot bigger than I was expecting, then again I was expect a small town, not a town of over 200,000 people. This is not a big tourist town, but people do come to see and pray at the relics of St Antonio. People get into some grizzly worship, they have the jawbone, tongue and other body parts on display within some of the relics. There are 2 basillicas (spelling?) in town, St Antonio's and San .. something. Padova also has the second largest town square in Europe (Red Square is the largest). I have been seeing lots and sociallising heaps, much drinking and eating. Having someone to show you around a place makes a big difference. Speaking (well writing) of which I must go and do some more of both.

Ciao

USA to Italy

2006-08-04T06:13:00.000+09:00

I have left the fair shores of the USA and Canada and I am now sitting in an internet cafe in Milan. Thinking back to the USA and Canada I can say I am missing the wide open spaces, I am not missing prices that are just the start of what you pay. What is wrong with just putting down the amount that will come out of your pocket, I do not give a #%** what taxes, surcharges etc are added on. I just want to know how much it will cost me, aaaaaarrrrggh.

From rock canyons with nature on display I have moved to concrete canyons with people on display. In the inner city of Milan there are no mega-marts everything is on a smaller scale, the people, the cars, the shops. Actually there is one thing that is not on a smaller scale: the buildings. Most are 4 to 6 storeys high and while most of the people are smaller (around) I do not remember ever seeing a 15 foot high door in the USA or Canada.

As usual when I visit a country where I do not speak the language I choke (figuratively) a lot in stores and when in contact with anybody. I also keep mixing up Italian and Spanish, I am having to be very careful how I answer.

On the flight to Copenhagen sat next to a mother and her 2 young daughters. Managed to sleep a little, but was woken by the sound of a fizzy can being opened and spraying around. Nope not a fizzy can, fizzy girl throwing up. Fortunately not too much on me. Vomit seems to have been a bit of a theme in the last few days.

I have wandered around town a little, mostly in the more inner suburban areas. Only ended up around the Duomo and other touristy buildings about 8pm so the light was lousy for taking photos, but I have some lovely images in my head and not just of the women on the street. I am leaving Milan tomorrow morning for Padova to catch up with Francesca, looking forward to seeing her.

Late night Italian TV is different. I was woken around 4am by a car alarm that just kept going. A thunderstorm and rain had set it off. I could not get back to sleep so I turned on the TV (I am in a 2 star hotel as the hostels were full) and nearly half the channels had women stripping on
them (with phone numbers for you to call). Finally no car alarm so some more sleep.

This entry is a bit all over the place, too bad it just happens that they sometimes.

Vancouver Island

2006-08-04T05:37:00.000+09:00

Brad, Julianne, Bridgid and me at the Sooke Potholes

Leslie, Sunny, Melena and Chelsea at the Lucky Bar (no I did not get lucky) in Victoria

Gold Stream, north of Victoria

And so I depart Canada. Bye Bye

Wed 26 July to Tues 1 Aug 2006

2006-08-03T23:35:00.000+09:00

Falling behind with this time for a very quick catch up.
Wed 26 July to Tues 1 Aug
Highlights: Catching up with Becky and meeting her family. Swimming at Sooke Potholes (west of Victoria) where I got the chance to do some cliff diving again. Meeting Leslie, Sunny, Bridgid and Julianne while in Victoria.

Lowlight: Big time over indulgence on Sunday night while in Victoria and waking up at 2am sitting on the toilet covered in my dinner, what a stinky mess. You would think age would make you wiser, well not this black duck.

Journey: Gold Bar to Issquah to Port Angeles to Victoria (via Ferry) to Nanaimo and Cathedral Grove park (to see some very old Douglas Firs) to Sooke Potholes and Victoria back onto the Ferry to Port Angeles to Seattle and the flight on to Milan.

24-25 July Leavenworth to Goldbar

2006-07-30T13:19:00.000+09:00

24 July 2006 (cont.)
My swim in the river was a lessen in the strength of flowing water. The river was not very deep so I had to walk on rocks (a little painful). As I got further out into the flow of the river I tried to swim, but the water was too shallow, now I had a problem. I was sitting on the bottom of the river (only up to my chest) and was being pushed along the bottom by the force of the water. Standing up to avoid this was a struggle, man against water, eventually man overcame. After a few more skermishes I finally staggered ashore much refreshed. Ended up talking to a local high school teacher for a while. I am not meeting many Americans who have good things to say about Bush, maybe that is just a reflection of the type of people I talk to.

25 July 2006
I miss my good camera. Mainly, well entirely, I miss the larger range of f-stops 2.3 to 8 is just not enough, I bigger zoom would be nice also, I am sure having a bigger zoom is not just a guy thing. After leaving Leavenworth I stopped several times along the way. One of the best ones was to watch salmon trying to leap over a dam. As the water flows so fast through the mountains and the dam was originally built for power generation the dam is more like a wier than a dam. Stopped to way the Bygone Byways trail (thought of you Simon on this one). A stop at Deception Falls had me wondering about the people who named the various places in Washington, Deception Falls, Deception Pass, Possession, Thornwood, if it was not for places like Pleaant Valley you would think they did not like the place. Saw a house being moved in Skykomish and finally stopped in Goldbar where the teacher had recommended the Wallace Falls. An excellent suggestion had a lovely walk and then a swim at the base of the lower falls. Ah hot weather clean rivers and swimming what a combination.

Some tree stuff

2006-07-30T12:40:00.000+09:00

This is what happens when trees lose their bark in summer:

Sunburn

This tree tried to swallow me

but after much effort I defeated it

Me as a child

Still more photos

2006-07-29T00:47:00.000+09:00

Its a good thing I have not been drinking

Ooops yes I have (Victoria BC, last night)

Being artsy, South Whidbey State Park

Big riffle, Fort Casey State Park

Some more photos

2006-07-29T00:27:00.000+09:00

My rental car on Chuckanut Dr

4th floor main library in Seattle (spooky)

On the road again driving from LA to San Diego

Banana slug at Squak Mt track

Leavenworth

Coupeville (the photo showed the correct way before I loaded it)

Hey look its the old road

2006-07-29T00:19:00.000+09:00

I found a small track dedicated to 'Bygone Byways', this one is for Simon :)

23-24 July bellingham to somewhere after Diablo to Leavenworth

2006-07-29T00:13:00.000+09:00

23 July 2006Went to Clerks II, very good see the review (I need more practice with writing them) on my review site. Time to hit the road again. It was a little late and I stopped at a few places along the way then I goofed. I looked at the map and thought I would stop in Diablo for the night (on highway 20 though the North Cascades) and arrived late-ish only to discover that it was a workers town for the nearby dam. Bah-humbug. Onward and it was getting late and I was getting tired, no more towns to stay at, so I pulled over where the car could not be seen and slept in the drivers seat. Its been a while since I have done that, but the night was warm enough (good thing as I had not blanket) and I got a pretty good nights sleep.
24 July 2006Up with the sun and on with the driving. This area of Washington is definitely hotter than Seattle. It reached over 100 (around 40 in celcius) during my drive. I headed south down the middle of the state to highway 2 then west. I ended up in Leavenworth. The name of this town should have rung bells and once I arrived they did. Leavenworth in the 60's decided if they were to survive as a town needed to do something. The decision ended up being to make themself into a 'Bavairian' (sp?) village. After 40 odd years the town does look like a Bavairian village and the town is a big hit with domestic tourist (and to a lesser degree overseas tourist). The town is on the Wenatchee river and during a wander along the river bank decided that the water looked cold but inviting.
More later, there should be some more photos on the blog in the next hour

21-22 July - Coupeville to Bellingham

2006-07-26T11:30:00.000+09:00

21 July 2006Drove along Chuckanut Drive into Bellingham after checking out Fort Eby State Park and Deception Pass State Park. After breakfast I tried to find Eby Landing, but overshot the turn off, then picked up a hitch-hiker and decided to just go to Fort Eby. Fort Eby was a smaller version of Fort Casey, although much more recent given it was built during WWII. Again I wish I had had a torch to search the bunkers. North to Deception Pass with the bridge connectin Whidbey Island with the mainland (it connects to what appears to be an island, but it has no name). On through Bay View and Edison to Chuckanut Dr. What a great name for a very scenic drive. Finally I am in Bellingham to catch up with Bree. Nice apartment and straight into a tour of downtown. Later in the evening met some of Bree's friends and did a sample of the bars of Bellingham (hic, I'm not drunk officer).
22 July 2006After a trip to Walmart and Best Buy (I shop at quality stores) it was off to Jen and Chuck's wedding. Being an idiot I forgot to bring my camera. It seems that when I catch up with people the camera goes away to return with a vengence once I am wandering again, I must try and correct that. Then again, enjoying the moment is more fun than trying to capture the moment. Anyway back to the wedding. It was an Indian (bindi, not feather) themed wedding and very enjoyable. Beautiful day and location, I really enjoyed chatting with various people, even got to met Bree's parents (also nice people).
I am at Sultan (it is east of Everet on the 2 if you want to find it on a map) library and my first session time is about to run out. Ciao

20 July - part 2

2006-07-25T05:49:00.000+09:00

Anyway it was next stop Fort Casey. Fort Casey has been there since 1900, lots of concrete bunkers to wander around in the dark. It is so good that these sections had not been locked away, just wish I had a torch. Used the camera flash to find out what was in the dark. The large guns were/are called riffles, although with a barrel you can stick your head in I would not want to try and fire it from the shoulder. Fort Casey is a large coastal kgun battery, that was used with 2 other forts to cover the entrance to Puget Sound. There was a lovely lighthouse on the site as well. Ended up in Coupeville (named after a pioneer ? Coupe), which has managed to stop the development of the surrounding farm land and hence is a lovely town. When I left Coupeville and went through Oak Harbor I saw just what a difference development makes, it was not pleasant. Stayed in a nice B&B. Went to a tavern in town to have a drink and sit at the bar and bumped into an interesting liquor law, the tavern only sells beer and wine, I would have to go next door for a full service bar. So I went next door and sat at the bar chatting with the barman and one of the customers. A cool night and no construction next door made for an excellent night's sleep.

20 July - Seattle to Coupeville

2006-07-24T08:37:00.000+09:00

Left Meadow's around 12 noon drove up the I5 to Everet and realised I still had the parking permit, so back to Meadow's, drop it off and back up the I5 to Mukilteo for the ferry across to Clinton on Whidbey island. I did not stop in Clinton, but continued on to South Whidbey State Park. A down to the beach was very enjoyable. Down the wooden stairs after a walk through the pine forest. I arrived at a narrow beach that stretched more to my right than left. The sand was a mix of sand colour and grey, with a lot of small pebbles scattered on the beach. The water lapped gently with a thin moving line of translucent green seaweed floating like it is waiting to be added to a salad. Only a few people on the beach as I left my sandles by the steps and headed right along the beach towards some houses. The water was cold and at first I could only keep my feet in for a few minutes at a time. With an occasional hi to those I passed on the beach and a little bit of riggling passed fallen trees (the beach backed up onto a very steep slope covered with trees). The slope leveled out a little as I approached the houses and a large number of long dead trees littered the beach. I spotted a weathered stone that was nearly a perfect circle, it looked just like a button without the holes. On the way back I bumped into a mother giving her daughter photography lessons and a guy with a springer spaniel that just loved the water. Later as I sat on the beach and he was preparing to go the dog delayed getting out as long as possible. Missed being able to photograph a chipmunk as the camera battery ran out on the beach and I did not have the spare with me. Perhaps I should not have taken so many shots on the beach. Next stop was Fort Casey State Park, but more on that later.

19 July 2006 - Seattle

2006-07-23T16:31:00.000+09:00

Woken in the morning by the construction work on the hospital next door. Fell asleep again for about an hour. After breakfast of 'Apple Dutch Babies' (apple pancakes) at 'Crave' ended up at the main library, what a building, what a collection. The red halls on the 4th floor were sort of creepy, like waling through a vein. Walked up to supermarket. It was fajitas and margaritas for dinner.

LA to Seattle

2006-07-22T10:10:00.000+09:00

Seattle

I am sitting in the main Seattle library which is called the glass house because it is one (the windows are all UV blockers to protect the books).
If you wish to see what it looks like check out this web page:

http://www.archinfo.com.tw/building/TXT/archi/2005/05022701.htm

I am having a lovely time here in Seattle and the weather is much more pleasant. Picked up the rental car after an very short seeming flight and drove to Meadow's place. Ah, inner city parking, round and round you go and where can you park I do not know. Found one, oops handicap spot, found another one right outside the front door, damn it is only a 30 minute spot, will do for now.

Went out to dinner at Peter's (Meadow's husband) restuarant and caught up with Chrissy as well. Great food, rich with a Peruvian influence, plate licking good. The restuarant is called Mixtura and is in Kirkland which is
very near Microsoft's headquarters. It is good to see Meadow and Chrissy again (I met them in Peru last year).

I forgot to bring my written diary to update this with, so you will have to wait on news from earlier. It is strange writing both in the diary and this blog, they end up being similar, but definitely not the same.

Extra photos

2006-07-17T13:25:00.000+09:00

David, Mary, Jess and Dad at a San Diego beach

I just liked this shot San Diego beach scene.

Some time in LA and San Diego

2006-07-17T03:49:00.000+09:00

July 11 to July 15 LA and San Diego

Its hot, damn hot, but thats the price you pay for leaving winter to catch another summer. The heat is the reason I have been slow to send this email, I would rather just melt in the corner than try and summon up a little brain function to write this. Apologies. At least it shows me I
made the correct chioce in coming to LA first rather than Japan.

The adjustment to LA time has been very quick it was really only 2 days, so much better than last year where it took over a week. I thought about organising to go down to Costa Rica, but in the end time did not permit it. Bummer really as it would have been nice to see a little of Central
America.

Dad, Holly and I headed down to San Diego a few days ago to see Mary and family and do some sight seeing. Caught up with Mary and Jess, unfortunately Glen and Ryan could not make it. It is funny to think that Jess is now roughly the age I was when Simon and I were travelling around the USA (15 years ago).

Went to the San Diego Aerospace museum and saw lots of planes and the Apollo 9 capsule. The most unexpected thing was the presence of the Red Barron's (I can not spell his real name) medals. I would have expected them to be somewhere in Germany. There are a couple of photos on the blog of this museum. As we were on a muesum kick we also went to the Maritime
museum. Some lovely ships including a 3 mast-er the 'Star of India', the 'Surprise' (used in the filming of Master and Commander) and a Russian sub. There are photos from the Maritime museum on the blog as well. The sub was definitely not for the claustrophobic. Had fun grabbing the rim of the bulk head holes and swing my feet through, just like in the movies (well I have not seen it in real life).

Saw 'The Devil Wears Prada' yesterday, well worth watching. See my review by following the link to my review web site. It will be there in the next couple of days. Have fun.

San Diego photos

2006-07-15T12:39:00.000+09:00

San Diego Aerospace Museum
Yes it is an aerospace museum, but they had lots of planes as well.

San Diego Maritime Museum
The Star of India.
A lovely 3 mast ship

Although the loo was a little cramped in the old days.

but hey I can still relax on deck :)

Its on again Melbourne to LA

2006-07-12T13:03:00.000+09:00

Well here I am back in LA, smoggy as always. LA seems to have put on an extra serve of smog just for my return. How very generous. The flight was pretty much as you would expect for 15 hours on a UA plane, I will leave it to your imagination. Sat next to a mother and daughter and had a bit of a chat. As expected I spent a lot of the flight watching the movies. Trouble was it was old style, big screens, urg. The small screen is just less likely to be blocked by some body.
I am thinking of heading to Costa Rica, but it would have to be in about 3 days and after todays flight I am not sure I feel like catching another so soon. A decision for tomorrow. It is good to see dad and Holly again, they have not changed.

I will not be sending photos through these emails, but I will periodically be adding them to the blog (see below for the address).

10 July 2006 - Melbourne

2006-07-10T09:28:00.000+09:00

Well just about to take off. This trip I am spending a lot more time catching up with people, so it will not be as interesting for readers, oh well I hope to entertain you all anyway. I should be fixing my starter motor and packing at the moment, but here I am writing this. So I shall stop procastinating and log off I will email you all soon.

3 July 2006

2006-07-07T10:35:00.000+09:00

The trip is all paid for and the chaos of getting ready for the trip now is on at earnest. Bills to clean up, the lounge room to prepare for renovation, a hep b shot (looking forward to that one) and lots of money to be moved around. I have ended up getting the 21 day Japan Rail pass, it will make getting around Japan a lot easier. I must remember to visit Hiroshima. I have started to organise meeting various people on the trip. Catching up with Graham and Jo may be a bit of a problem as I have no contact details for them, so time for a little detective work. At least this time I did not have a problem finding my passports (well only a 4 minute search for them). Off to pay some more bills and see a film now ("10 Canoes" by Rolf Der Heer).

Another year another trip

2006-07-02T16:13:00.000+09:00

1 July 2006

Booked flight going from Melbourne to Tokyo to Seoul to London to Milan to Seattle to LA and home. All sorted just need to pay for it. Ooops realised that Japan in summer is very hot and sticky so back to the travel agent and apologies as I was reversing the direction of travel. I will now be leaving on the 11 July to LA, then Seattle, etc. I have paid for about half the flights, taxes and insurance. I will need to get a Japan rail pass, but I need to determine for how many days to get the pass for (7, 14 or 21 days). Been in contact with those I hope to catch up with while I travel, now I just have to hope I can catch up with all of them.