Category: Uncategorized

or more appropriately, “How I Pack”.
Plane leaves on Tues AM. Got a new, 26″ roller expandable suitcase (because a 22″ roller carry on dun hold everything on an overseas trip) and now need to fill it.
Remember how I had the 22″ roller AND the red monster with a duffle inside? I looked like the glam traveller (not), lugging both bags down from the hotel, down the street, up and down the overpass, around the construction zone and up into the JR Station. Yeah right.
So this is how packing begins.

And this is how it continues. Notice how much the pile has grown?

It’s especially difficult because this is one of those “am on the other side of the planet, let’s see how many places I can visit”. Note to self: This method of travel is fine; just make sure all destinations are similar in climate!!
And we’re STILL not done…
Why so much stuff? Tokyo is having San Francisco weather right now. It’s a bit chilly. 15/3 degrees c. But HKG and SIN are in the high 20s. HIGH 20s?? That’s frakking hot!!! That means shorts and what not. But Tokyo calls for jeans and jackets and long sleeves. Gotta carry that stuff wherever I wind up.
One of the reasons why I have this big case now is so there’s room inside. To stash a pea coat. And long pants. Cuz I dun like being coooold!

There is one ironclad rule that all international travellers should abide by (maybe through a blood oath or something goth like dat):
You respect the local laws, customs and traditions of wherever you visit.
Examples: you can learn how to bow properly in Japan or catch up with happenings in Hong Kong and by extension, the PRC. Or even the food scene in Singapore.
But most importantly, you need to observe what laws are important wherever you are. Especially when it’s printed in big red type on your arrival card. Like this.

Think of visiting other countries like visiting people’s houses. You in their house, you follow their rules. And don’t expect special “rights” simply because of the color of your passport (or the “rationale” for breaking this kind of law).
The freedom to make your own decisions is the most precious of freedoms. The responsibilty for the aftermath is, again, borne by the individual.
Pretty deep for THIS blog, eh?

Yet another entry in the “emergency motorbike” series.

This is a 750. The police here use these. Most of the civilian bikes are little 125cc buzz bombs that look like sport bikes…

Hmmm.
There’s a new airport in Nagoya. Just completed and positioning itself as a hub for central Japan (with Tokyo Narita/Haneda to the north and Osaka Kansai to the south).
Best of all, UA is offering double miles and r/t for US$388! Cheap lah!
It costs more to fly to New York than it does to go to Japan!

In Hakata, there are lots of small places to eat called “yatai”. They’re usually small ramen, soba or yakitori joints that seat 4 to 7 people inside. Small.
There are other yatai, such as this bar yatai. You know this is a bar because of the sign on the roof (!).
heh.

Just like the National Champion SC Trojans!
Ha ha.

You Are the Reformer

1 You’re a responsible person – with a clear sense of right and wrong. High standards are important to you, and you do everything to meet them. You are your own worst critic, feeling ashamed if you’re not perfect. You have the highest integrity, and people expect you to be fair.

And it’s soooo true! =P

Nothing much in the travel front recently.
It’s Xmas season which = high season for airfares and the like.
But I did upload pix for November’s last trip in the Gallery. That’s for all of you who want to see pix and not read commentary…
Just go back to the splash page and select “Gallery”, then Int’l Travel, then “Beeg Asia Trip 2004”.
I’ll add pithy comments in the next few days. So you WILL have to read!
muuuuhuuuhaaahaaa!

We had a big blustery storm blow through here last night.
Gusts up to 50 MPH. It blew the trash cans over. Lots of loud rain too. Fierce.
Then, as is with all storms, as it left, it left sunshine and fresh air in its wake.
But I half expected to see this morning:
Fuji-San in the distance and lots of Y300 umbrellas left at the JR station near the entry wickets…
People walking through Wan Chai in the morning and being able to see TST clearly in the brisk and clean air…
Being able to walk three blocks down Orchard Road before breaking out in a sweat because the humidity isn’t quite THAT bad yet! =P
Yeah, I got it bad. I NEED to get out there somehow…just need to get outta here.

It took waaay too long to get here.
Flying to IAD was uneventful enough.
Getting to Manchester was all about delays and itsy-bitsy planes.
Even did some work tonight.
Time to sleep. Going to be up at 0630 later this AM!
Bleagh.

After touring 2/3 of Japan, I’m going to be in Beijing for a weekend.
It’s going to be my third time there, BJ being part of my first Asia Trip in 1999 and again in post SARS 2002.
I’ve seen much of the touristy/historic attractions but not all of them. Like the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and many bars in the Chaoyang district.
Since BJ got the Olympic Games, they’ve been building. A lot. In fact, they’ve been building with such zeal that the IOC has asked them to slow down.
One of my peeves about BJ during past visits was that the Beijing Metro (北京地铁) only had two lines and they didn’t expand much beyond Chang’an Lu or the 2nd Ring Road. The Olympics have given the BJ authorities the justification to embark on some long delayed capital projects. Like new subway/rail lines for one.
The traffic in BJ is almost as bad as Seoul’s traffic jams. Really baaaad! Hopefully the new trains will alleviate some of it.
Pretty serious post, eh? =)