Wish I'm still in Japan

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Exactly one week ago, I boarded the flight for my maiden trip to Japan. I was really excited to see the place where a lot of my favorites come from, including sushi/sashimi, cute stationery, cool gadgets, and anime/manga. Of course, Japan is also a very beautiful country and the people are polite and nice. 

I spent the entire trip in Kyoto and went to Nara (an hour away) for a half-day trip. The cities are really beautiful even during the summer with different shades of green. I can imagine the beauty of these places during the spring cherry blossom and the colors of fall. I hope I'll be able to visit again during the spring or fall season. 

I think what really made me want to stay longer, or even considering to move there, is the people and their culture. People smile and greet each other, even strangers. You get excellent service at stores and restaurants. They give way when walking down a crowded street. They also tilt their umbrellas away to make way. On the subway, they don't push. Instead they make a line while waiting to board the train. And everywhere is just so neat and clean, even the streets.

Oh and the food....amazing! The plastic ones look so real that I sometimes double check to see if  they are indeed plastic. Hahaha.

I had a great time and it is even better than what I had thought it would be. :D I'm already adding Japan to my list of possible trips for next year. Hehe.

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My travel packing list

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

  1. Passport
  2. Air/train/ship tickets
  3. Cash in local currencies
  4. Credit card
  5. Insurance card
  6. Camera + Charger
  7. iPod + Charger
  8. Phone with local sim card (if I have) + Charger
  9. Book
  10. Umbrella/Water-proof shoes if weather forecast says it might rain
  11. Cap/Hat/Sunnies when I'm going to sunny places
  12. Travel card e.g. Oyster in London (if I have)
  13. Maps/Guidebook
  14. Clothes
  15. Toiletries
Hope I don't miss anything.

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What to write?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

It's been almost two weeks since my last post. I didn't feel like writing. I was too distracted reading conversations on Twitter. And I did find some interesting links and blogs. Following one link to another and another is really never ending!

Anyway, I was thinking that perhaps the real reason why I didn't feel like writing is I couldn't decide what to write. I need to find a topic or theme that I enjoy writing about. Maybe travel stories? I know it kinda sounds like I'm forcing myself to write but I really need to practice writing. Why? Because I realized that it has become something that I don't like to do. I don't know when it started but I want to be able to enjoy writing again. I want it to be something that I can do effortlessly again. And I'm currently in the stage where I'm trying to do things out of my comfort zone.

I do know what I'm NOT going to write about. Work. And I do find it quite hard to resist. 

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Phrasebooks

Wednesday, June 02, 2010


I now have three phrasebooks, the newest being Japanese. I bought the German and Italian ones a few years ago when I moved to Europe. I found them to be pretty useful. The book is divided into several chapters, e.g. on banking, buying food, seeing a doctor, and even dating! I especially like the culinary section that lists the words for food and drinks. It also contains notes on local culinary specialties as well as local customs and culture. All these books that I bought have the same content structure so I'm already familiar with the content and can retrieve specific information as fast, even on the new book.

I think these books are more suitable for people who are trying to live in the specific country because they contain extensive information that a visitor/traveler usually do not need. The presentation of the information is also not geared for easy retrieval.

I've carried my phrasebooks around with me for the first few months in Germany and Italy. I rarely needed to take them out but I wanted to be able to say or understand something when I need to. And I could when I had the books with me. For example, I had once forgoten how to say the color blue in Italian. I wanted to ask if the top comes in blue as well. Phrasebook to the rescue! As my grasp of the languages improves, I have kinda abandon them though. At least I still kept them.

My friend mentioned that I should get one of those electronic dictionaries that most of my Chinese and Japanese friends have. I think the device can also say the phrases. It is very handy to be able to just pick a phrase and have the device say it to the local person. But I still need to be able to understand the reply! Maybe the person can type the reply in the device and then it'll be translated into English? Anyway, I'll just stick with my phrasebooks. I enjoy learning languages. :) But I usually only learn them when I need to. I guess that makes me a lazy learner.

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