My new travel rules and other random thoughts.

1. It shall not rain in Sydney. If I wanted an arched bridge in the rain I’d go to Newcastle.

2. Backpackers hostels are not suitable accommodation for more than two nights max, particularly when random Europeans insist on talking really loudly outside the door in the middle of the night. (It’s ok, no limbs were parted from their owners but only because Alex restrained me in his sleep. Clever man.)

3. Colds definitely not allowed.

But we did have a lot of beer with our lovely friend Chris on Monday  night and we walked past Natalie Imbruglia in the Botanical Gardens this morning, so all is not lost 🙂

The whether-to-buy-some-Ugg-boots debate is still raging – they are all on sale, so about half price from ridiculous UK prices, but I’m still dithering. I’ll get back to you.

Finally, it’s the second episode of the new series of Glee tonight hurray – you didn’t think being on the other side of the world would interfere with my weekly catch up with MacInley High did you?

Pics as requested to be posted in NZ (ie Friday)…

Crocodiles and stubbies

Well, today was a day of new experiences. We actually tore ourselves away from the delicious palm edged pool that our apartment looks over to head to the beach to swim, bravely joining the dozens of people already in the water and ignoring the big stinger and crocodile warnings that are plastered up along the beach. A debate raged about how safe it actually was to get into the clear warm (25 degree c) water of the Coral Sea, and Alex had me finally convinced that no, it wasn’t stinger season, and seriously, crocodiles??

So the siren that started wailing, in proper Jaws stylee about 30 seconds after we arrived at the beach was a bit of a worry, and the Aussie life guards shouting at people to get out of the water didn’t help to ease my concerns, especially as the beach was subsequently closed for 24hrs as, you guessed it, a saltwater croc was swimming up and down the shore.

It must be the great flying spaghetti monster being all Alanis Morrisette on us – one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen, and you can’t even put a toe in the water…

So back to the pool and a chilled beer – Jenni, I’ll have one for you xx

I’m melting…

Been here over a week now and still haven’t got used to the roughly 29 degree heat and pretty high humidity. Fortunately there is a lot of a/c and cold Asahi beer to help chill things down a little.

We’ve moved now to our second ryokan (Japanese style hotel), and my very favourite thing about our new place has to be the Japanese baths. You get washed under the shower (or by pouring buckets of luke warm water over your head – fabulous when you get in from a hectic day`s sightseeing), and then get into your very own infinity bath overlooking the zen garden – not kidding.

The bath is lovely and hot, soothes away all your aches and pains from walking everywhere (curse of hanging out with Alex, this walking everywhere thing, even in London), and then you cool down again by pouring cooler water over yourself once you`re out.

Not sure the Japanese go for that last bit, all a little Finnish, but hey let`s call it fusion bathing. Am going to go now and have a cold one, and maybe start doing some origami.

Seriously.

🙂

Tokyo baby!!

Well we arrived a couple of days ago now, and I’m happy to report Tokyo is amaaaazing 🙂 currently updating this from the Apple store opposite all the very posh department stores in Ginza. Jet lag is sadly still with me, though I did manage to sleep until ooh 4.30 this morning – for those with small children, I feel your pain.

We’ve not been sat around you’ll be pleased to hear, so for me, for now, this is my top things I’ve learned in Toky0 – in no particular order (all written down in your book Rae 🙂 )

1. That I appear to be travelling with Tom Cruise according to a very nice but clearly visually challenged lady sat next to us at dinner last night.

2. That lamposts play music to you – it was an orchestral version of ‘Memories’ from Cats on our first night.

3. If you ask the fortune telling sticks at Senso-ji temple what the fates hold in store for you, don’t expect a jolly answer (!!). I’m comforted by the fact that Alex’s was just as bad as mine.

4. People are wonderfully friendly and the TOTAL language barrier just isn’t even an issue.

5. That dodgy looking restaurants serve fabulous noodles.

6. That there’s a statue of Edward Jenner in the grounds of the Tokyo National Museum (that one’s for you James, they’re pretty happy here with the whole smallpox vaccine thing).

7. That it is possible to sleep well on a 5cm thick futon on tatami mats with a rice filled pillow, and that the futons are long enough, hurray!!

Love it love it love it…

Cxx

That John Denver song makes no sense…

So, the flat is packed up (thank you Rae), and its contents are now at Mum’s in Kent. I’m not sure she quite realised how taken over the garage and the small spare room would be, we just have to hope she doesn’t e-bay it all before we get back. 

So we drove down from Battersea yesterday and at some point on the A21 south towards Tunbridge Wells, the words and sadly the tune (I blame your poor musical choices Dad) to ‘Leaving on a jet plane’ kept running through my head (an ear worm I think the Germans call it). Now the words really don’t make that much sense – ‘don’t know when I’ll be back again’ – well why not? Where on earth was he going? And if he hated to go that much he should just have cancelled the sodding ticket as far as I’m concerned.

Funnily enough, Alex got fairly sick of my external monologue pretty soon, so I kept the rest of the analysis of the song to myself  – as it is we haven’t actually left yet, and I’d like him to still be talking to me at least till our second country.

So here’s to sumo, Hello Kitty and sleeping on futons that are bound to be too small for us, and to blog posts that will probably be quite thoughtful and considered from Alex, and just rambling nonsense from me. Feel free, dear reader, to skip to the interesting stuff, I’ll never know…