Thursday, January 02, 2003

*... tadaima!...*
9 days: 3 meals a day. Taxis and subways and modes of transport other than the Heel-Toe Express. Entrance admissions. Snackys. 3 tshirts and a skirt. Random incidentals (like a Cosmo for the plane ride home. Crucial.).... all for under $300. Under three hundred for nine days of traveling... Pretty good, huh? (course, that doesn't include air/hotel)

And now I am back in this cold (in more than one sense of the word) country of Japan. Taipei was a great time to just relax. There's really not much to it. In fact, my overall impression was it reminded me of Lodi without the rednecks. (sorry if I dost offend, but it was the most descriptive I could think of). I spent a little time seeing the sights and the rest of the time in my hotel room where they had a surprising amount of TV channels in English, including HBO, Cinemax, and free porn! Hahaha. I watched a lot of movies (regular, not porn, for those of you who might need the clarification) and just relaxed after running around so much. In the night, I went out to check out any sort of New Year festivities, but found myself about a month early (they're WAY more into Chinese New Year, which will be Jan 31). I did get to be friends with a street vendor named Xiang who had the best dumplings EVER and got so excited when I came up to her little booth 3 days in a row.

So now I am back in Niigata after a harrowing ride home. I will not go into details because frankly I would rather not relive the details and would also prefer not to bust out crying in the middle of the Media Bar cafe where I am currently. But it was bad. And this whole trip has been quite generous with the perspective it has granted me. Enough to determine undoubtedly that I will NOT be re-contracting and spending another year in Japan. That may be good news for some of you... maybe not so good for others ; ) There are a plethora of reasons for this decision, but ultimately it came down to the realization that as soon as I left the country I started to feel like my old self again, and as soon as I came back I was replaced again by the floating shell of me that feels so off and out of place. And that is no way to spend a life worth living.

And with that, happiest of new beginnings to you, and I will see y'all in August (or thereabouts)!

2:29 PM

Monday, December 30, 2002

*... what goes up ...*
I have watched the Cathay Pacific Air instructional video so many times now, that I think I may be able to recite it by heart. And lucky me, i still have 2 more go 'rounds of it. The disconcerting part is when they say "the emergency exits are being pointed out now" and all the flight attendants do is stand in the middle of the aisle with their arms held out. Yeah, really descriptive, folks.
I am in Hong Kong again, waiting for my Taipei flight, although no one seems to know where it is, since it is not on the transfer or departure board, and I am supposed to board in 20 minutes. Hmm... might be stuck in HK for a while.
Last night I met some Canadian girls as we were all hanging out at the world's biggest fountain, waiting for the laser show to start. Actually, i was just tired freom walking around everywhere, and wanted to sit down. The laser show was just a bonus, and so was the company, until one of the girls started to get sick in the corner... err... I'm sure that was probably quite illegal and fine-able in Singapore. I told them to run away ; )
And let me tell you one little piece learn'd info... a smile does NOT mean the same thing in any language! In japan I think it means something along the lines of "I'm going to kill you", in Hong Kong it means "Sure, I would love to buy that 'Rolex', come on over!" and in Singapore it is an actual expression of affection, gladly received. I am not saying I have a dazzling smile, but it is nice to know that it can be an effective tool for the weary, wayward traveler. Let's hope that it works in Taipei... if I ever get there!

1:03 PM

Sunday, December 29, 2002

*... "sing... sing - a - pore... ...*
sing out loud.... sing out strong...." hehehe, sorry, I'll bet they get that all the time. Just flew into Singapore, and boy am I tired! (sorry again). Actually, I got here 2 days ago, although the 27th didn't count b/c I didn't actually get in and thru customs till midnight. Yesterday I had a morning tour to Malaysia, which I gather as a very boring country since the tourguide was pointing out things like "oh, and look! THERE's a Malaysian made car! And there's another one!!" I also got well informed of the reproductive processes of the palm oil tree. Yeehaw.
After I was dropped off in the middle of the city, I proceeded to walk around half seeing the sights, and half looking for the Mexican restaurant that was recommended to me by the counselors crew in Hong Kong. 7 hours and 25 miles later, I found it. And it was well worth it, that's fo' sho'. One thing I can say about Singapore is that the waitstaff at restaurants are REALLY friendly. My waitress last night got off same time I was finished, and stayed to have a drink with me and ask me all about Japan and America. Today I had the entire staff of HardRock gawking at me since my waitress had called them over after I showed her exactly where I have walked in the past 2 days. They even gave me free desert and kept saying things like "you must be tired!" (uhh, yeah!) I do still wish that I had someone here to travel with me, but when I think about it, there is not a single person I know that would put up with all the walking around I insist on doing (taxi-schmaxi!). To tell you the truth, I wouldn't be walking around so much if their public transportation didn't suck so much. Where's my motorcycle when I need it?!
Singapore itself is a pleasant place, with seriously a whole heck of a lot of shopping to be done. Every hotel has some sort of shopping center attached to it. It's also nice to be in a diverse mix of people, mostly Indian and Malay, but also a lot of Japanese and Brits (tourists, of course). It amazes me how much people switch between languages, (like the fool next to me at the moment who keeps switching from English to Japanese to something that sounds French, as he yells out insults to the other people in the room playing the same LAN game as he... weirdo). The land here is so incredibly lush and green (afterall, it is a rain forest technically) and the buildings are so mixed between Arab, Chinese, Indian, and Victorian, that it feels like I am in a city-size Balboa park... with all the comforts of home (like Swensen's and CPK) but also 3 times the humidity. Ugh, hot!!

I am off early in the morning back to the airport and Hong Kong, headed to Taipei, where I heard there's not much to do and the lingua franca is definitely NOT English... maybe that will give my feet a rest if I don't go anywhere (how would I ask for directions??). Happy New Year!
7:18 PM