Almost Time
Hello people! So this is the first entry to the blog (and my first blog for that matter)…just to get the ball rolling…
I don’t actually leave for another 11 days (12th August) but over the last few weeks it’s been a bit of a mad dash to get things sorted (Flights, insurance, hotels, Japan Rail Pass etc etc!!). Even now I feel there is much to be done…even though there isn’t. It’s the all-too-familiar constant feeling that you have forgotten something when you go away. I dare say this will peak when I leave the house and make for the train station…
So as a basic outline of the trip (I know you are all desperate to know where I am going…) I will be visiting Japan, Thailand and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
In Japan, I will be based in Akashi which is near Kobe. At the minute the only thing I’ve really found out about Akashi is that it is home to the worlds longest suspension bridge and has a karaoke bar!
So I will be in Japan for 10 days or so, and then it’s off to Thailand for 10 days where we will be visiting Bangkok for a few days and then head off down to the Islands…Koh Samui and Koh Phangan are on the cards. Luckily for us there is a full moon party scheduled while we are there. These seem pretty famous and come highly recommended from my friends who have already been to Thailand so that should be great. Other than that I dare say there will be lots of chilling out by day and plenty of boozing by night. I believe we will be flying down to the islands on one of Thailand’s budget airlines. I’m told that you can indeed fly internally in Thailand without sharing the plane with caged hens…but we will wait and see.
After Thailand, it’s back to Japan for a few more weeks where I am going to take full advantage of the 2 week Japan Tourist Rail Pass (£200) that I have which allows unlimited use of the Japanese Shinkansen (Bullet Train). This is good for all services except the express services called Nozomi. Having said that, I don’t think that’s going to be too much of a problem since these trains travel at almost 200mph…which will be an experience in itself! So I will take myself to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Nagasaki (no particular order there…just off the top of my head!) staying in hostels along the way.
And then after that I begin my journey home via Dubai where I am going to stay for 3 nights and hopefully go on a Desert Safari and go Sand Boarding, and blow some cash (if I actually have any left!) in the Mall of the Emirates (in between drooling over the amazing display of cars).
Needless to say, I’m very excited about the whole affair but at the same time, a little nervous about the massive culture shock I will get when I get there. It’s nearly 6000 miles from home….that’s a hell of a long way (It’s a 19 hour trip – 7 hours to Dubai, a 2 hour wait, and then almost 10 hours to Osaka Kansai Airport in Japan!).
Well I think I will leave it at that for now…..what was supposed to be a brief introduction has turned into somewhat of an essay!!
Next entry will be from Japan!
Thanks,
Chris.
