Sunday, March 20, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Gotta get out to get down!
Hey everyone, here is a little update about our recently hectic lives. On Tuesday night (monday where YOU are) The four of us had an ongoing chat through out our work day about the escalating situation in Japan. We came to the conclusion that it would be better to be saddened by the Japanese devastation from elsewhere than to be "possibly" endangering our health. So on tuesday night after work we booked tickets, packed up our lives, tied up loose ends and said our goodbyes. We were on the JR (japanese rail) train headed for Sapporo Chitose airport by 5:45 the next morning. We caught an air china flight to Beijing, had an 8 hour stopover then flew to Singapore through the night. We arrived at around 6 am and spent nearly 8 hours in the airport figuring out how to ship our snowboard gear home! We ended up sending three packages (two through singapore post and one through unaccompanied baggage) costing nearly a grand. The burden of hauling around 67 Kg of snowboard gear was finally lifted off our shoulders thanks to a handful of AMAZINGLY nice people at the Singapore airport and a favor asked of some awesome family!
After "escaping the clutches" of the Singapore airport, We searched out hostels and hotels for most of the day trying to find the most affordable nights sleep we could. In the process of searching we came across an incredible food court of street vendors where we enjoyed a large "Tiger beer" and some delicious...unidentified stuff. We found a hostel called "Summer Tavern" near China town, took a cold shower and unpacked a bit.
We promptly went out to explore this humid, busy, amazing city. We wandered through St.Patricks day celebrations near the river and into Chinatown where we found more delicious vendor food. We all fell asleep instantly when we returned to the hostel and had much needed coma.
Today we woke up to a sunny sky and a world of possibilities. Today marks the first day in quite some time that we have no pressing issues to deal with or no real obligations... *sigh* time to eat some fresh fruit , relax, and explore this sweaty wonderland.
After "escaping the clutches" of the Singapore airport, We searched out hostels and hotels for most of the day trying to find the most affordable nights sleep we could. In the process of searching we came across an incredible food court of street vendors where we enjoyed a large "Tiger beer" and some delicious...unidentified stuff. We found a hostel called "Summer Tavern" near China town, took a cold shower and unpacked a bit.
We promptly went out to explore this humid, busy, amazing city. We wandered through St.Patricks day celebrations near the river and into Chinatown where we found more delicious vendor food. We all fell asleep instantly when we returned to the hostel and had much needed coma.
Today we woke up to a sunny sky and a world of possibilities. Today marks the first day in quite some time that we have no pressing issues to deal with or no real obligations... *sigh* time to eat some fresh fruit , relax, and explore this sweaty wonderland.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Travel Plans
I realize it has been awhile since we've posted anything, so I figured we could fill everyone in on how our plans have shaped up. We have finally booked some tickets and set a few dates. We are planning on working at Proski until April 5th when the shop officially closes, then hanging around Hirafu for a few days to get some last days on the slopes. Our friend Jared will be arriving on the 6th of April to spend a few days here with us before he joins us for a week around Hokkaido. We fly out of Sapporo on the 13th to Tokyo. We plan on dropping our passports off at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo right away because we only have 2 weeks before we fly out. We plan on traveling through lots of southern Japan while our passports are being processed. We hope to hit Osaka, Kobe, Koyto, Hiroshima and all of the small towns in between.
Once we've seen our fair share of Japan we will be heading back to Tokyo to pick up our passports and hop on our next flight. We fly out of Tokyo on May 5th and will end up in Bali after a few stops along the way. We decided to head down to Bali for 2 weeks before we go to India for some time in the sun and surf. I'm so excited to just laze on the beach and soak in some sun for a few days.
The only other flight we have booked is our flight out of Bali to Delhi. It will take us a couple days with an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, but eventually we will land in Delhi to be met by Andy's friend Rahana. Rahana worked with Andy in Kelowna, but his family still lives in India. He will be in the country while we are there and has kindly offered to show us around for a few days!! We are all so excited to have a local to help us out in possibly the hardest part of our trip. We fully expect India to be the most challenging bit of traveling we will have to do. It will not only be hard on the stomach but a huge culture shock for all of us.
Other then the upcoming travel plans nothing else is really new here in Hirafu. We both miss all of our family and friends so much, but haven't become homesick yet. :)
Once we've seen our fair share of Japan we will be heading back to Tokyo to pick up our passports and hop on our next flight. We fly out of Tokyo on May 5th and will end up in Bali after a few stops along the way. We decided to head down to Bali for 2 weeks before we go to India for some time in the sun and surf. I'm so excited to just laze on the beach and soak in some sun for a few days.
The only other flight we have booked is our flight out of Bali to Delhi. It will take us a couple days with an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, but eventually we will land in Delhi to be met by Andy's friend Rahana. Rahana worked with Andy in Kelowna, but his family still lives in India. He will be in the country while we are there and has kindly offered to show us around for a few days!! We are all so excited to have a local to help us out in possibly the hardest part of our trip. We fully expect India to be the most challenging bit of traveling we will have to do. It will not only be hard on the stomach but a huge culture shock for all of us.
Other then the upcoming travel plans nothing else is really new here in Hirafu. We both miss all of our family and friends so much, but haven't become homesick yet. :)
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