Back in Japan!
Well, I just got back from my first trip to Thailand. The journey back to Japan took a total of 14 hours, including stopovers in Hong Kong and Taipei. We had to take a cab to the airport at 5am, so we actually didn’t go to bed (fearing we wouldn't get up with the alarm, causing us to miss the flight again), so I am still running on energy after a 48 hour stretch. Probably no surprise I am tired then, also considering in the last day and a half we:
1) took a speedboat and bus back to Bangkok,
2) found a hotel in Bangkok at 1am (Banglamphu is so wonderful! - so easy),
3) got some (well-deserved) rest,
4) hit the markets for some hardcore bargaining and last minute gifts,
5) hit the spa for some last minute (or hours) of pampering in Thailand (wow, we have been spoiled) in the form of a mani/pedi, facial and massage,
6) got dinner (missing Thai food already),
7) checked out MBK (another famous shopping center with a million stores and stalls),
8) went to the movies,
9) took in a concert at the Bangkok Hard Rock (which was awesome until the guitarist took his hand off the cords and the music was still playing..hmm),
10) went back to the club we went to the first night (my new favorite club in the world!),
11) made new Thai friends at the club who we chatted with for a while and invited us out (but we couldn't go),
12) braved another crazy tuk tuk driver,
13) danced the night away to the sound of Thai MTV while enjoying the last decent padthai we may get in a while and packed in our hotel room,
14) went to the airport... AND finally... made the long trip home to Japan!
In short, I think I need to hit the hey. As one friend put it (nicely), being back is somewhat surreal. I have been in and left Japan before, but coming back to a place I call 'home' for the first time really changes your perspective on it, no matter what your previous experiences with that place. I feel comfortable here, but I have returned with a new set of goggles to see this world through. The cold weather was the first thing to hit me, but the lack of other foreigners around and the standard somewhat cold reactions of airport and big city crowds were also a surprise after Thailand. I feel like at least have some cultural and lingual building blocks in place here, which is good to realize.
More on that soon, though! To bed!
1) took a speedboat and bus back to Bangkok,
2) found a hotel in Bangkok at 1am (Banglamphu is so wonderful! - so easy),
3) got some (well-deserved) rest,
4) hit the markets for some hardcore bargaining and last minute gifts,
5) hit the spa for some last minute (or hours) of pampering in Thailand (wow, we have been spoiled) in the form of a mani/pedi, facial and massage,
6) got dinner (missing Thai food already),
7) checked out MBK (another famous shopping center with a million stores and stalls),
8) went to the movies,
9) took in a concert at the Bangkok Hard Rock (which was awesome until the guitarist took his hand off the cords and the music was still playing..hmm),
10) went back to the club we went to the first night (my new favorite club in the world!),
11) made new Thai friends at the club who we chatted with for a while and invited us out (but we couldn't go),
12) braved another crazy tuk tuk driver,
13) danced the night away to the sound of Thai MTV while enjoying the last decent padthai we may get in a while and packed in our hotel room,
14) went to the airport... AND finally... made the long trip home to Japan!
In short, I think I need to hit the hey. As one friend put it (nicely), being back is somewhat surreal. I have been in and left Japan before, but coming back to a place I call 'home' for the first time really changes your perspective on it, no matter what your previous experiences with that place. I feel comfortable here, but I have returned with a new set of goggles to see this world through. The cold weather was the first thing to hit me, but the lack of other foreigners around and the standard somewhat cold reactions of airport and big city crowds were also a surprise after Thailand. I feel like at least have some cultural and lingual building blocks in place here, which is good to realize.
More on that soon, though! To bed!
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 3:34 AM
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