Blogs from Gion, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, Asia - page 10

yes, one MORE time! third time in Kyoto was the charm. I think I have finally gotten enough of my real life adventures in Japanese Art History. I took off Thursday and Friday to have more time to travel with Mike. Hopped on a 5 hour bus from Matsuyama Thursday morning after some quick Dunkin Donuts and arrived in Kyoto that afternoon to a warm sunshine. Dropped our bags at Tour Club hostel (great place!) and checked out Nishi Hongan ji. There was a service in session so we sat for a while with the monks chanting, admiring the gold work inside the huge wooden structure. A long-ish walk to Nijo Castle to check out the nightengale flooring. Lots of other white people there just at the same time for some reason, but it was interesting ... read more

Seoul (Nov. 17-22), Japan: Tokyo (Nov. 22-26), Kyoto (Nov. 26- Dec. 2), Bangkok and Cambodia (Dec. 2-10) It begins with things like the toilets- the differences in Asia, that is. Coming from Laos and Vietnam and heading straight for Korea and Japan is a stark contrast possibly humorously described by toilet experiences. Even in pretty decent Vietnamese restaurants, there is a hole in the ground with 2 places for your feet (thank god I am a guy!). The bathroom in the lobby in Seoul had about 8 buttons and a seat warmer (no wonder Scott hung out there for 30 minutes at a time). I have to admit, I really missed the warmth of Vietnam but fall was in full session in eastern Asia, it was beautiful to see the various colors of leaves and to ... read more

Well, my Japan leg of the asian tour has come and gone, and i have to say, its the best country that i have ever been to! Maybe I enjoyed it so much because it is so westernised and i am starting to long for home, but the people here are the friendliest nation i have met, not even a townie in sight, the trains are extremely fast, they have embraced the world of technology without forgetting their traditional routes. its just a great place. Its like a much much better england and it has nice weather. It was one big hole in the pocket though. We caught a two day boat crossing from shanghai, if your looking to get there from china it is the cheapest way. I will leave the boat stories for another ... read more

****************************************** But, regretfully, not a good one. It's seems I'm quite unable to write this time, so I'm just gonna shove these posts out into the internet mostly unedited and let the pictures tell the story of what I've been up to - lest they become so stale I don't even remember them. Allow me to provide but a thin drapery of narrative for some images... ****************************************** Well, the last few days at the center passed fairly uneventfully. I headed back to the center and hung out with people, but priorities had definitely changed by then. People were focused on moving out, packing up, and rocking their new locations. Selling bikes, paying up center debts, returning things, and wrapping up Kyoto dominated thoughts. So, it turned out to be fairly uneventful for those of us staying ... read more