http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Willie-J/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Willie J en-us Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:08:38 +0000 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:08:38 +0000 Sorry for the long delay in entries..... I am back in Atlanta but I am currently in the process of writing about the last few months abroad in Japan.So after hanging out with my friend Yeecha and her family in Penang I headed back south to Kuala Lumpur KL which is the capital city of Malaysia. I guess my first thoughts about this city date back to when I saw Entrapment with Catherine Zeta Jones http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-434204.html 3162009 MondaySo after nearly a week in Siem Reap Cambodia I headed to Malaysia where I would first visit my friend Yee Chea and her family in Pulau Penang which is an island just off the Northeast coast of Malaysia. I booked my ticket on AirAsia.com as it was the cheapest airline to fly out of Cambodia. If you ever fly out of Cambodia beware though Every entry and exit requires visitors to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/Butterworth/blog-415441.html Ok so it has been quite some time since my last entry. I still have Malaysia Singapore and Hong Kong to write about so stay tuned in the coming weeks for many updates on my travels in Asia Sorry for the delay...I haven't been stuck in Thailand for the past 3 months just a little busy here in Japan Tuesday March 10 Monday March 16So after a weekend at the beach and a night back in Bangkok http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-392405.html Saturday March 7So after a bustling week in Thailand me and my friend Dan New Jersey headed for the beach. My friend Tisha's aunt owns a place on one of the beaches on the island but we couldn't get a room for our first night there so we had to just hope that we would get a place. Our bus would leave at 830 so we had to get up at around 700. Apparently my friend had too many drinks from the n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Samet/blog-390210.html March 22009Thailand what more do I need to say...... So my break from school started back in February and pretty much over the past year I have been planning a trip to mainland Asia and it was quite surreal that I was actually going to do it I booked my ticket through a Japanese student travel agency called Skygate.com and paid only about 631.00 for a roundtrip ticket to Bangkok and back to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-387588.html I apologize for the delay in this blog entry 0 262009So me and my friends Ukyun Korean Jennie American and Katsutoshi Japanese headed to Kobe in search of a new pillow for my bed...haha...well that was the primary reason I wanted to go to Ikea in Kobe and I also wanted to remind my self of the Ikea in Atlanta in which I use to frequent. We ended up taking the Hankyu line instead of the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hyogo/Kobe/blog-377493.html After then end of the tests essays group meetings and everything that is routine...... Japanese students do what any other students some parts of the world would do...they go on vacation So as I mentioned in one of my previous blogs I joined a volleyball club here at Ritsumeikan that meets once a week just to play volleyball and hang out. When I heard that there was going to be a group snowbo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Nagano/blog-372300.html So I know it has been quite some time since my last entry but I have been quite isogashi BUSY with tests papers and parties of course In Japan the university school year works a little bit different than America. The Fall semester begins in September and ends at the end of January and Spring semester begins in April and ends at the end of July. So I know you are thinking....wow...alot of time http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-370680.html 7000 miles away from any familiar American New Year's traditions....I began my Japanese New Year celebration with friends here at my dormitory. We all ate dinner together and huddled around the television to watch the New Year's special live from Tokyo which featured Japan's most famous music film and sports stars. This is pretty similar to the American TV show Rockin New Year's Eve with Dick C http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-359328.html To those of you who are wondering.....Christmas is a little different in Japan Christmas week began for me with the usual routine of school.....YES I had class the week of Christmas and even on Christmas day. I was a little upset by this but relieved at the same time because most of my professors canceled class anyway because the majority of foreigners probably would not have shown up anyway. I h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-358243.html I thought I would do something a little different from my traditional blog entries and just write about an ordinary week in Kyoto Japan Here is what my week was like Monday December 8th through Sunday December 14th.MondayMonday's are quite relaxed for me because class does not start until later....here is what it looks like.12100PM Wake up and eat late lunch220 Ride my bike to school. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-355669.html 12371123951238512399 Konichiwa from Japan. First let me start by describing one of the most fun collegiate events that I have ever been to in my life. Rits Festival 08 was an event put on by my university here in Kyoto for the student body. It is composed of musical acts concerts a wrestling match a haunted house and lots and lots of great Japanese food. The Rits festival 1116 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-349387.html 1237112395123851243165281 KonichiwaFall has arrived in Kyoto and the weather has already changed. Kyoto's weather patterns are actually similar to those of Atlanta but I have been warned by my Japanese friends that winter in Kyoto can be extremely cold since it is in a valley. I have been doing the usual routine of going to school eating exercising...so things are pretty simila http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-345068.html Thus far life in Japan couldn't be better. I have made many new friends memorized my bike ride to school and celebrated my 22nd birthday. The past month since school started have been great The past couple of weeks have been even better. Two weeks ago I visited one of Japan's most famous temples. Kinkakuji Temple Golden Pavillion is a picturesque site that is quite stunning to anyone who sees http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-340299.html Ok so it has really been a good couple of weeks since I have taken the time to write in my blog. I apologize for the late delay but a few weekends ago I traveled about 400km not sure about the distance Northeast of Kyoto to visit Tokyo for the first time. Of course looking at a map of Japan you wouldn't think it would take that long to get there. The fastest and maybe most efficient way to get t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blog-333509.html Last week was pretty much a blur since I did not really do much at all but I am becoming familiar with Kyoto itself. The week started with me bonding with my housemates from Asia. The full moon has great significance in Asian culture so we celebrated by making a sweet Asian treat and relaxing by a nearby lake while eating the treats we made while drinking juices and talking with each other. It wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-327795.html So my first week in Kyoto has been fun filled and overwhelming with Japanese Mandarin French bad English and any other language you can think of. Its still hard to believe that I am actually here in Nippon I have met lots of people and seen some of the sights of Kyoto but not all of them because I don't want to overwhelm myself and see everything at once. Lets see....I've been lost three time http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-324532.html So I decided to goto Osaka just to do a little shopping and meet up with some friends that I know there. It was pretty easy getting there from Honazono Station near my dormitory but I did not know that it would take nearly two hours to get there. Apparently there are a couple of lines for mass transit out of Kyoto. The JR Japan Rail serves the majority of Japan and is the most efficient way to t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Osaka/Osaka/blog-323810.html So all the months of anticipation planning and stress have finally paid off I left Atlanta around 4 in the morning for my 7 AM fliight as described in my previous entry. I arrived in Detroit around 9AM for a 6 hour layover before my flight to Osaka. During my flight I was lucky not to be sitting directly next to someone and I was able to stretch out for the good majoirty of the flight. I watcht http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-322038.html Hello again everyone I know I have not updated my blog in awhile but I just found some time while waiting for my 340PM flight to Osaka at the Detroit MI airport. So over the past couple of weeks my various friends of mine threw me a party and took me out on the town to celebrate my cultural transition into Japan. Some of the pictures are from last week and this past weekend. On this past Friday http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Georgia/Atlanta/blog-321315.html