TravelStream™ news feed for member xerius on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/xerius en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:17:21 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/japanliving/1114707300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/japanliving/1114707300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/japanliving/1114707300/tpod.html Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:17:21 -0400 Living, working and traveling in Japan - life as an English teacher in Nagoya

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Seoul, Korea Rep.

When you live in a country where practically the entire nation takes their vacation at the exact same time that you do, you come to learn that things won't always go according to plan. This Golden Week, Mayu and I had it in mind to get out of Nagoya and go someplace exotic for a spell. Given the last experience, China was right out, and much of mainland Southeast Asia at this time of year is too roasting hot to consider. So, after some careful thought, I had the Philippines and Bali dog-eared as the best options. For some reason, neither Mayu nor I had tremendous enthusiasm about going to the former, so we put all our eggs in the latter's basket. Yet when we went to the travel agent (about a month and a half in advance), we were immediately wait-listed for the discount tickets to Denpasar.I figured it'd be a wise idea to have a back-up plan in case we couldn't get on the flight. Manila and Cebu were looking pricey for the end of April, Mayu had just gone to Hawaii in December, and a week's just too damn short to go to Europe or the continental U.S. Somehow Korea ended up fitting the bill. Unlike with Denpasar, the Seoul-bound flights had plenty of vacancies, so in the very least, we'd be going <i>somewhere. Well, despite having planned ahead to a fair degree, nothing budged on the Bali flight, so by mid-April we basically had to bite the bullet. For the third time in as many years, I was off to the Land of the Morning Calm.Thus, here we are in Seoul, a city that I know better than most others in Asia. Since I didn't actually do a whole lot of poking around South Korea when I lived here, I thought I'd take the opportunity to visit its more celebrated quarters. On top of that, since our original plan was to hit an island, I thought I'd try to kill two birds with one stone. So, after we spend a couple days here, we're going to mosey on down to Gyeongju, the country's most famous historical and cultural center, and then catch a flight out of nearby Busan airport for Jeju - "Korea's Hawaii" (at least, according to the local tourist lore). It may be a pale substitute for <i>nasi goreng, wide stretches of white sand, and Balinese dance, but at least we'll get some variety.The weather isn't especially lovely here at the moment. Although the rain has mostly held off, it went from hints of blue sky to gloomy overcast conditions. We spent most of the day just wandering about - first dropping by Seoul's gleaming central train station to pick up our Gyeongju tickets, then heading over to the chaotic confines of Namdaemun market. Stopping for a delightful bibimbap lunch, we nosed around the various shops and stalls before strolling back towards downtown. Swinging past City Hall, the Statue of Yi Sun-Shin, and the Bigak and Bosingak pavilions for the obligatory photos, we then made our way to Insadong and its charming boutiques.We took a quick break at our <i>yeogwan before going out for dinner proper. For that though, we indulged in the standard affair: a feast of <i>galbi accompanied with a couple bottles of Korean beer. Apart from a little walk along the neon-lit lanes of downtown Seoul's nightlife district, that was basically it for the day. Tomorrow we're planning on visiting the vast Gyeongbokgung palace complex and then taking the funicular up to the top of Namsan - a good overview of the sprawling South Korean capital before we move on to historic Gyeongju.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1181941020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1181941020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1181941020/tpod.html Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:49:19 -0500 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina

I woke up this morning at an uncomfortable 6:20am, bleary-eyed and fatigued. As I discovered last night, there aren't a whole lot of buses between Banja Luka and nearby Jajce. Unless I wanted to leave in the afternoon, the only better option than a 7:45 bus was one around 6:30! So much for a good night's sleep. It was nice knowing that the breakfast included with my night's stay in Banja Luka began at 6am though. It was even better to discover that it was a rather substantial spread they had available, so I made sure to stuff myself. Sure beats the usual bread and juice.The ride to Jajce was pretty short and anyhow I slept for most of it. With a modicum of luck I'm sure, I managed to awaken just as we pulled in. The bus station was predictably run-down and barebones, but unexpectedly there was a left luggage office available. Well, rather there was left luggage there at the ticket office itself that you just paid the attendant 1KM for. Funnily enough, stowing my bag there for the day worked out cheaper than putting it under the bus in - they charged me 1.50KM for the privilege of something I didn't really have any choice but to do! What happened to luggage storage coming with the ticket price?Jajce's a puny little place. It's quite striking from the get-go though, with an old town set clinging to a large hill, the top of which features a crumbling medieval castle. All around the town are thickly forested mountains rolling into the distance. A tiny tourist kiosk sits just off from the main pedestrian bridge into the old town, which I made my first stop after peeking at the famous waterfalls on the way up. The woman at the kiosk only spoke (heavily-accented)&nbsp;German, so I decided to stick to simple questions like "can I get a map?" and "is there another [better supplied] tourist office in town?" From there I made my way up into the historic core of the town.The place&nbsp;got a real pounding in the war and it shows. Everywhere you look there are pockmarked facades, burned out buildings and houses with newly assembled, still-to-be-plastered brickwork. Not surprisingly, the Serb militia hiding in the hills made a concerted effort to destroy as much of the town's heritage as possible, so a number of its historically-listed structures are fragmented shells or just plain rubble. A few have been reconstructed, but it's obvious that the town still needs years of work to get itself back to how it once was. With most Western attention going to Sarajevo and Mostar alone, it's perhaps understandable why Jajce's further behind.This does mean that foreign tourists are few and far between. I got to meet and chat with a Hungarian guy that arrived on the same bus with me, but other than that the only other guy I&nbsp;saw was an American that was living there on an anthropology field study. There were a few tour buses that seemed to be all from within&nbsp;the country, but I never noticed any tour groups wandering about. Perhaps they come for the waterfalls and then leave? Who knows. In any case, I got to wander the winding paths of the old town and have it basically all to myself.The waterfalls themselves are quite spectacular. I found a couple pictures around in the tourist literature showing a magnificent view across to them with the old town looming overhead, but couldn't figure out where it could have been taken from. The only possibility was from the forested&nbsp;slope&nbsp;across the way from the falls, which didn't seem to have any marking on either of the maps I'd seen. So, I decided to have a look up along the road out of town. Eventually I came to a clearing that gave a marvelous panorama of the town itself, but left the falls obscured. Then I saw a small dirt path leading into the forest. Now most people know that hiking through the mountains and forests is risky business in Bosnia thanks to all the mines. I figured that this close to town everything was probably cleared though, and in any case the fairly recent litter discarded along the path reassured me a bit. Litter does have its positives on occasion, I guess. Sure enough, the path led to a small clearing in the forest, where the falls were perfectly framed with the old town and castle up above. Best of all, it seemed like only a few locals knew about it (the woman at the tourist office sure didn't), so I could claim a little explorer's pride over the keen photo op.I tried some of local specialities for lunch today: a little meat-stuffed <i>burek and some Travnik-style <i>æevapèiæi - spiced minced lamb (or beef) in a pita-like bread. That just about filled my meat quotient for the week and I realized about halfway through that I'd overdone it a little by ordering both. The puny Fanta I had with it barely got me through the burek alone, so I made sure to head straight for the store and grab a big bottle of water afterwards. I was needing it anyways - today has been a roaster! Climbing all up and down the slopes and steps of the old town left me a sweaty, sticky mess, so I'm quite eager for a shower. Somehow it's puzzling how hot Bosnia is proving so far . . . I thought temperatures were supposed to decrease at higher altitudes!The trick ahead of me now is getting accommodation lined up for Sarajevo. Well, really it won't be happening until I arrive there, as I have a three and a half hour bus ride ahead of me. With my bus leaving at 5:15pm (or later), I won't be getting there until around 9 at best. Fortunately there's an accommodation agency in town that stays open until 11, so I'm placing my bets on that. Here's hoping it all works out well.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1181674020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1181674020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1181674020/tpod.html Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:34:48 -0500 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Bled, Slovenia

I may not have picked the best day to do it, but I've spent the better part of today in the little town/scenic resort of Bled. Practically anyone and everyone that spends more than a fleeting visit in Slovenia comes here, drawn by its jaw-dropping setting and picture perfect island church. The town itself has little to detain you apart from a moderately interesting church, but just down the way is one of the prettiest little lakes in this part of Europe. Clinging to the top of a cliff just beside it is a 14th-century castle, providing a predictably fine view over the area. The most memorable sight though is the wee Church of the Assumption, centered almost right smack in the middle on a tiny island, visible from just about any corner of the lake.It probably goes without saying that this is a marvelous place to while away a day in fine weather. Unfortunately, that good ol' friend of mine, the rain front, decided to pay yet another visit today. It was looking shaky, but possibly decent enough from when I left Ljubljana this morning, but it soon got pretty wet and foggy the closer the bus got to Bled. Thus I had to take in the postcard-perfect setting, umbrella in hand, in not-so-perfect conditions. Like in San Marino a number of days back though, it did have certain moody benefits though; the low clouds and fog on the far side of the lake and up in the hills helped add a little extra ambience. But it pretty much ruined any hopes of hiking around much in the area.That said, I did hoof it up to the castle, which turned out to be more of an ordeal than I anticipated! I decided to do the full 6km circuit around the lake as my main activity, and about three-quarters of the way around signs saying <i>za gradom (to the castle) started popping up. Even though the form of the castle was still concealed on the back of a hill ahead, I decided to walk up what looked like a main path towards it. It turned out though to just be a road past numerous rural homes, strangely with occasional, other signs labeled za gradom. I began to wonder how so many paths could all lead the same way. Finally I asked a young local girl how to get up, and she led me to a largely hidden dirt path leading straight up through the forest. Time to get dirty and sweaty, I guessed (correctly), and in the rain no less.After numerous "ah, I've got to be getting close," I came to realize that 1) it was further up than I expected, and 2) I had gotten myself quite out of the way by strolling past the nearby farmhouses and such. Once I finally got up there, I was a hot and sticky mess . . . not a whole lot of fun when it's already sticky and wet all around. Somewhat annoyingly (though perhaps not unpredictably) the castle's entrance fee wound up twice the price of Ljubljana's, and it was all for the sake of a small museum full of old coins, a few medieval armor and weapons, and some furniture. Yawn. The views though were worthwhile, even if I couldn't get an idea of how it would look with the Julian Alps fully visible. There were actually a few patches of blue sky showing up at this point though, so at least it wasn't all gloom and haze.Other than the slog up the hill in the rain, it was quite enjoyable strolling around the lakeside and taking in the scenery. Along the way were countless ducks, many accompanied by tiny little ducklings that pecked at every other small piece of grass. I even got to see a couple mute swans up close and personal, one of which had two (rather large) cygnets with her that peeped when they felt I was getting too close. The water of the lake all the way round was stunningly blue - even under grey skies and drizzle it shone a rich aquamarine. So good weather or no, it was a nice day.Then of course typically it started clearing up and getting sunny ten minutes before my bus was to leave. Gee, thanks weather.I'm off to Zagreb, Croatia early tomorrow, and then quickly onwards to Bosnia the next day. Moving time once again!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176059760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176059760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176059760/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:22:35 -0500 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Frankfurt am Main, Germany

A little worn and disoriented, with more than a little jet lag dragging on us, Mayu and I have arrived in Germany. I neglected to check the weather before departure, so I was quite pleased to find it a balmy 16° and clear. Not bad for early April in central Europe! Here's when we cross our fingers on it continuing. . .The flight was pretty much uneventful, save for the odd addition of Korean <i>bulgogi as one of the in-flight meals. I've never had an airplane dish be so complicated to eat! It was amusing watching how the passenger base divided along culinary lines based on ethnicity (the Germans and other Westerners opting for the safer bet of a steak). Overall, Asiana isn't the best airline I've flown on, but it certainly isn't the worst either. In any case, I now have membership in all three major airline alliances, so I should be able to earn miles pretty much anytime I fly.Our hotel in Frankfurt has turned to be a cool, funky little joint very close to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). Considering the amount of traffic in the area, it's a surprisingly quiet place. The heavy doors and thick insulation probably help, but overall it's an ace pick for a "budget" hotel. We even got free drink tickets for the bar, allowing me to indulge in a much anticipated <i>weißbier.Since our flight arrived in the late afternoon - and we're now a far chunk further north than Nagoya in latitude - we had a good couple hours of daylight left by the time we had checked in. That allowed us to have leisurely stroll around town, so we could scout out places to hit in the morrow. We're planning to catch an ICE onwards to Munich around noon or after; given the usual jet-lag effect, we should be up early enough to see some more of the place before it's time to flee.I'm on a system that doesn't allow me a way to plug into a USB port, so pics will have to wait. I have to say though: it's nice to be back in Europe!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1180823400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1180823400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1180823400/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:55:11 -0500 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Naples, Italy

There's a reason why Naples has the reputation it does. I've never seen so many moped speeding by me every time I walk down the sidewalk. They don't stick to the streets either - every few blocks a see one go zooming down the sidewalk past unperturbed pedestrians. I've gotten into the rhythm though. It's not all that different from Vietnam, really. If you sit on the curb and wait for the traffic to slow down, stop or just be polite and let you cross, you'll be there all night. The trick is to just walk straight into the road and watch the oncoming cars, motorbikes and whatever else. With a little maneuvering here and there, plus a few determined glares, you get across quite unscathed and quickly. Intersections suddenly turn a lot less intimidating.This is a beautiful city, but one that certainly needs more than a few licks of paint. Strangely enough, there's construction and ongoing restorations going on everywhere, but you can't help but wonder when they started and - more importantly - when, or if, they'll finish. From above though, it looks so peaceful and scenic. I took the funicular railway up to the Vomero district&nbsp;and walked to the hilltop Castel Sant'Elmo, which offers fabulous panoramas of the city, its long waterfront and the ominous shape of Vesuvius. Even in the dull grey haze of today's depressing weather, it's a stirring scene and makes you understand why anyone dared to settle here in the first place. Personally, I wouldn't trust my life to living next to one of the world's most active volcanoes, but I guess much of humanity doesn't bother with focusing on the possible future.Speaking of Vesuvius, I spent the afternoon yesterday wandering around the ruins of Pompeii. After&nbsp;the disappointing experience of doing the same in Rome, this was like a vindication. The site is enormous, with an incredible amount of everyday Roman life on display, offering a far greater idea of what society back then was like. Moreover, they actually had proper information available! As soon as I walked through the gates into the park, there was an information window offering free maps and information pamphlets that detailed every single building of significance in the ruins. By contrast with Rome, it was borderline overwhelming, and even in three hours I barely took in half (and that was even with a fair bit of rushing). Granted, tourists hardly ignore the place - I was dodging tour groups for the first hour or two - but the site is so large that groups of visitors are soon exhausted from so much walking. I have to admit that I was too, thanks to the long stretches of uneven, rocky roads. A great way to spend the day though.I didn't manage to hit the famed Blue Grotto of Capri during my few days here. Part of it was the expense of getting there and back, but I know also that Mayu is wanting to go there as well. This way we both have a good excuse to come back, and it'll be fresh and new for each of us. Anyhow, with only two full days to use, Pompeii and Naples had more than enough to keep me busy. I made sure to sample the celebrated local pizza while here, which was both delectable and cheap - an ideal combination in my book.I leave the south of Italy for the north tonight. In about three hours I have a train for Turin, where I'll spend the next couple nights. I hope to fit in a daytrip to Genoa while I'm there; if at all possible, it'd be nice if the weather cooperated with me better there than it did here. Anyhow, after that I'll have about four more days in Italy, then it's on to the Balkans via Slovenia and Croatia. Ought to be interesting. . .
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1180141620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1180141620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1180141620/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:40:37 -0500 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Santorini, Greece

With Athens full of Champions League revelers (more like thrilled Italians and bummed English at this point) we've been taking it easy on the beautiful Cycladian island of Santorini. I came here on my first visit to Greece nine years ago, and it's just as amazing as ever. We had the option of either coming straight in on an overnight ferry or taking one first thing in the morning. Since we'd already gone through the hell of one overnighter, we chose the latter which allowed us to relax and watch the sequence of islands one by one until our destination. Good choice, really, as it allowed us to see the differences between each and - best of all - watch the dramatic geography of Santorini itself roll into view.Mayu's been just as impressed with the place as I imagined she would be. It's turned out to be a brilliant decision to reorder our itinerary, and I know she's very happy now that we did so. We really lucked out with our hotel as well, which is easily the nicest place we've stayed in so far. After a bit of negotiating at the port, we ended up in a place just at the edge of town with TV, AC, private toilet and shower, fridge, a view out to the Aegean and a pool just below. All for the price of &euro;40 a night! For a little perspective, our shitty room in Rome was supposed to cost &euro;70 a night. What a difference it makes hitting the Greek islands midweek in May! On a bizarrely coincidental note, we've been staying on the exact same street I stayed on last time. How odd the way things work out sometimes.We didn't exactly have wonderful weather today, but yesterday and the day before were quite warm and sunny. Strangely enough though, it was hotter when I was here in April nine years ago. The ocean is still a tad nippy, but not to the extent where it's painful to swim. With a late arrival on Wednesday and overcast weather today, however, we were only able to hit the beach yesterday. We made a day of it though, starting at Perissa around one and then catching a <i>caique (small boat) on around the bend to more built-up Kamari beach. Perissa turned out to be more enjoyable in terms of atmosphere - nice and mellow - but Kamari had more sun and warmer water.The first day, or rather evening since we arrived about 4pm, was spent mostly looking around Thira town and seeing the sunset. For the night then we retired to our room and watched the Champions League final on television over a few glasses of <i>ouzo. Well, I drank the ouzo -&nbsp; Mayu won't touch the stuff. That was enough to do me in after two exhausting days of travel; I didn't even catch a single one of the three goals!Today then we had to settle for sightseeing, with intermittent rain spoiling any chance of bumming around the beach. Too bad since we had wanted to check out the red sand beach on the south side of the island (all other beaches being black volcanic sand). We had a good time all the same, starting out the day with a donkey ride up from the old port below Thira. Mayu's donkey took off at full throttle once she hopped on, which just about scared the wits out of her. Mine was a little speedy too, but I just hung on and enjoyed the ride. Not the most fragrant of rides though: the whole pathway was lined with donkey manure. Good fun in any case. Then as soon as we dismounted at the top, Mayu's donkey let out the loudest, longest fart I've ever heard any creature make, to the amusement of all in close vicinity.This evening we took a bus out to Oia, a gorgeous little town on the northern tip of the island. If anyone's seen a postcard from Santorini, nine times out of ten the shot came from there. Like Thira, the town clings precariously to the edge of the caldera's rim, but with a much greater concentration of whitewashed, blue-domed churches popping up into the scene. Even under thick, grey skies the setting is magical, so it made for a pleasure to explore. Naturally it's incredibly popular with the tourists, but even the busy streets and endless souvenir shops don't detract from the overall experience. The place is famous particularly for its sunsets, as the sun dips below the horizon perfectly unobstructed on the sea. Unfortunately, with the heavy cloud cover, we didn't think we'd get much of a sunset and I opted for an earlier bus back to beat the crowds. Well, it just turned out then that the clouds began to thin just as the sunset began, so we made a quick decision to jump off at hilltop Imerovigli on the way back. We made it just in time to take in the stunning pinks and oranges amongst the clouds, with evening the sun's disk poking out for a few minutes just before the end.Tomorrow morning we go to our next island, the pricier, ritzier Mykonos to the north. This time it's a new destination for both of us, so it's yet another destination to look forward to.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176403080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176403080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176403080/tpod.html Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:52:01 -0500 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Füssen, Germany

I succeeded in getting together with ol' Jim yesterday, so we put our heads together some on the notion of a couple day trips. He's had it in mind to get me down to the town of Andechs on the Ammersee for a long time now. We were supposed to go back when I was here for Oktoberfest, but the time was just too short. This time though, he basically let me know that I wouldn't get out of Munich without going there first. In the meantime though, Mayu had been hoping to see the famous Schloß Neuschwanstein for ages, and that's where we decided to go today.Jumping the S-Bahn out to Buchenau early this morning, we met up with Jim again and then started the drive onwards. It's a beautiful trip and once again the weather is more than cooperating with us: blue skies and plenty of sun. Except for the odd truck, the ride down was relatively smooth and quick. The rising temperature over the past few days has meant a bit more haze and humidity, so it took some time for the Alps to appear. Within about a half hour of Füssen though, they were clear and prominent on the coming horizon.The less-visited Schloß Hohenschwangau was a mess of ongoing restoration work when we arrived, but fortunately Neuschwanstein was clean and beautiful. After having a bite of wurst beforehand, we began the steep hike up. Since we didn't have to hurry to a tour right away, we managed to fit in a stop at the overlook towards Hohenschwangau and the Alpsee, as well as the fabulous view of the castle from Marienbrücke. Even still, we had to hustle a little to get to the front gate in time. The guide was more informative than last time I visited, but Mayu had to struggle some to understand her thick accent in the echoey chambers. The gabbing amongst the other tourists in the group didn't help much either.Since we were a little short on time to spend at Marienbrücke, Mayu wanted to stop by one more time before descending. After that, we took the longer main route downwards for a different view of the castle. It's been one of the busiest days for us tourist-wise, but with the smooth organisation of things here, it never got swamped (apart from the noisy tour). Our ride back took a little longer than normal thanks to rush hour traffic as well, but it wasn't terrible. We finished off the evening with a delicious Greek dinner at Taverna Paros in Haidhausen - an old classic that I used to go to with my brother back in the day. My brother had us join him for a drink with some of his basketball friends afterwards, but it wasn't long 'til we were cashed.Tomorrow: Andechs.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176212400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176212400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1176212400/tpod.html Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:01:49 -0500 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Munich, Germany

We're getting mighty lucky with the weather so far here. For a third day straight, it's been clear, blue skies and nice, warm sun. Munich is ideal for this kind of thing, so we're making the most of it while we can.We came down from Frankfurt yesterday afternoon on the ICE. The trip was less enjoyable than it would otherwise have been thanks to us having to disconcertingly sit facing the wrong direction for the whole trek. It's ok to look at everything going by the opposite way, but it gets a little upsetting to the internal motion detectors after an hour or two. Mayu got a little sick from it, so she wound up trying to sleep for the last hour or so to avoid dealing with it.After we got to my brother's place, we dropped off our stuff, had a little tour of the new flat and then made for the Englisch Garten. The outside conditions being as they were, we got to spend the late afternoon and early evening in a beer garden - something that's far from guaranteed so early in the spring here. My brother Steve and I each had a <i>maß of <i>helles, and Mayu tried her first <i>Radler. For dinner we swung on back to Schwabing to a classic Bavarian eatery, which proved delicious, even if the portions were frighteningly large. Even Mayu, who had ordered a <i>kleinespeise (small dish), was totally overwhelmed.Mayu and have spent today mostly strolling around the Altstadt. We made the standard stop at Marienplatz, with its famous Neus Rathaus, and then wandered around the backstreets. We hiked up the narrow steps of the neighboring Peterskirche bell tower as well, getting a gorgeous view over the whole town. The steps up were unsettlingly narrow, but with a little squeezing we managed to make our way up without too many pauses. Afterwards, we visited the outlandishly elaborate Asamkirche, with its borderline disgustingly-embellished Rococo interior. Popping by a discount bakery for some mid-afternoon snack food, we then moved on past through Marienplatz once more and then up towards Karlsplatz, visiting the imposing Frauenkirche en route.I'm still trying to work out photo file storage across the trip. We stopped into an electronics store and had a look at portable hard drives, but I still haven't made up my mind. Really though, with the size of the pictures I take, it's the only realistic option, so we'll probably go back. For the rest of the day though, I'm hoping to get a hold of my buddy Jim and line something up for the evening. That's the status for now, here at an internet cafe off Marienplatz in Munich.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1191295560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1191295560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1191295560/tpod.html Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:27:01 -0400 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Kariya, Japan

It's now official: my journey has come to an end. After just short of a full six months, I'm back where I started it all off - in Aichi prefecture, Japan. Beginning the day at a hotel overlooking the Amursky Gulf and then ending it here at Mayu's parents' house in Kariya is one strange, abrupt transition. For all their geographic closeness, the Russian Far East and Japan couldn't be any more dissimilar. While waiting for the flight this morning at Vladivostok's airport, I got to talking with a man from Kagoshima that was relating the very same thought. Here he'd shelled out for the surprisingly costly airfare to what he assumed was just another city in Asia, only to be completely befuddled by how un-Asian it was. Sleek, modern, clean, efficient Japan is worlds apart from grubby, gruff, bumpy Russia.Vladivostok's airport is certainly among the strangest I've been in. Despite its growing reputation as Russian hub for Asia, it feels like a forgotten, socialist-style construction in some banana republic. It was odd enough having to shell out a ridiculous R1200 (almost US$50) to get there in a taxi arranged by my hotel that ended up just being some dude driving a beat-up Lada (gee, I wonder if they're on the take in the arrangement?). Then I walk into the "international terminal" to find the departures hall is a long, barren (and peculiarly clinical) hall with no check-in counter. There was one window for Vladivostok Air that only served for information and ticket sales and then a screen showing three departing flights above a door into the security check. After asking at the window about check-in, I was directed to wait outside that door with what was now a growing mass of (mostly Japanese) people, most of whom seemed just as uncertain what they were supposed to be doing.There was no luggage check to be seen, but a scale for weighing your bags was set up just beside the door. Unusually, signs indicated that it was the responsibility of the passengers to check their bags' weight and determine whether they needed to pay extra; if so, they had to pay at the window on their own initiative before entering the security area. The honor system? In Russia?? Unheard of! Once about 20 minutes of uncertainty had passed, the door opened and people filed into the adjacent room. All bags had to pass through the standard conveyor belt screening machines and then the passengers did the routine walk through the metal detector. Once that was done, I had to go through the customs desk and at last check in for my flight. Upon getting my tickets and handing my bag over to be checked (which I conveniently unloaded of heavy books to be redistributed into my carry-on), I proceeded to the immigration desk. Contrary to expectations, "leaving the country" officially was completely seamless and they didn't mention a single thing about registration!After the procession through security, customs, check-in and immigration was complete, I was directed upstairs to a small waiting area, despite the actual "gate" being downstairs by immigration. Eh? The upstairs lobby had the usual duty-free shop and overpriced "cafe", but was otherwise non-descript. Figuring it'd be difficult to offload my rubles once in Japan, I decided to blow the remainder on a can of beer and an absurdly dear bottle of water. With the passing of around 45 minutes, the boarding announcement finally came over the loudspeakers and we marched back down the stairs to the door leading outside. Waiting for everyone there was a familiar shuttlebus, all ready to take us to our appropriate aircraft. Once everyone had hopped on board, it promptly turned around 180 degrees to a plane waiting no more than 20 meters away. What the hell? Then as we all lined up to board at the front entrance ramp, the flight crew suddenly changed their minds and direct everyone to board at the rear entrance one - a short walk practically equivalent to the distance we were "driven" to our plane. How surreal.Fortunately the flight itself was of the same standard as any other modern airline (not bad for an old Tupolev). The only inconvenience was having to suffer through a drawn-out take-off process with a full bladder - the beer finally caught up with me just about the time we were taxiing to the runway. Once I was over that discomfort (about 15 minutes after take-off), it was a pretty smooth, two-hour ride. The only major adjustments I had to make upon arriving in Kansai were to the suddenly sticky weather and to thinking in Japanese, instead of Russian. The knee-jerk <i>spasibas almost slipped out over the <i>arigatos a couple times in there. Once I'd gotten my bag and cleared immigration, it was just a matter of hunting down a UFJ ATM so I could buy tickets for the three trains onward: Kansai to Shin-Osaka to Nagoya to Kariya.It's hard now trying to put into perspective that I've been gone for almost six months. When you're traveling around for so long, you lose track of the passing of time. Days of the week alone tend to blur (save for the days when everything's closed - hey, it must be Sunday again!), let alone the actual numbers on the calendar. To some degree, the sort of "goal-oriented" arrangement of the trip accentuated that feeling: there were so many places I had dog-eared to visit that at times all I could focus on was how to arrange all the destinations together so I could eventually make it across the Trans-Siberian. Strangely enough, for all the places I've visited, I don't feel like the sights and experiences themselves have begun to blur, though that impression might change once I start going through all my pictures. That ordeal alone should keep me busy for weeks, if not months.Overall, it's been an amazing trek around with loads of very memorable, highly enjoyable experiences. At the same time, I've been regularly and repeatedly shocked by how pricey most places have become. Traveling on a weak dollar (and, at a couple points, an equally deflated yen) has probably contributed to that conception. Still, considering that I now live and work in what is widely viewed as one of the world's most expensive destinations, it's surprising how much the cost of living in <i>other places has outstripped it. I don't know if that's because Japan has gotten cheaper (or maybe just stayed the same) or if Europe has just gotten prohibitively more costly since the Euro took over. Whatever the case, aside from the Balkans and Moldova, this trip has been an exercise in restraint and/or careful financial weighing throughout, with an awful lot of days when I just figured another splurge wouldn't be such a big deal. So when I examine the state of my Stateside bank account (now almost certainly nearing empty), I'll make sure to thank Russia, Belarus, Italy and the Netherlands.I'm preparing myself for the inevitable questions I'll be facing from friends, acquaintances, co-workers and students. At the same time, I don't much feel like going into excruciating detail about the past few months with most people. Arguably the only thing worse than people who never travel are the people that do and spend all their time bragging about it (or talking down to people that prefer to stay home). I'm past the stage where travel becomes some sort of all-enlightening, save-the-world cure-all that everybody's missing out on. Really, I'm just a guy who's satisfying his own curiosity - if people really want to know about it, then I'll tell them. But to punctuate every other conversation with some anecdote starting "yeah, that reminds me of when I was in [fill-in-the-blank-country-or-city-name] and . . . "? Boring.That said, there have been some definite highlights. Bosnia was easily among the most fascinating countries I visited this trip, and the warm, sunny week or so that I spent there was truly fantastic. But while Sarajevo, Mostar, Jajce and the like were such a joy on a cultural, historical and visual level, Albania was a tremendous surprise on a local, social level. In Bosnia I was most attracted to the sights, sounds and smells. In Albania it was the locals and the general pace of life that bowled me over. I haven't met such open, friendly, welcoming people since being in the South Caucasus or Uzbekistan. It's easy to forget that at one point many places across Central and Eastern Europe - the same places swarming with tour groups now - were excited by the very prospect of foreigners at last visiting their countries. It's refreshing to see and, while I'm sure it won't stay that way forever, I'm glad I was able to be there when the country was still relatively "off the beaten path."Romania's always been a favorite country of mine to travel in, but this visit left me with some pretty mixed emotions. While it was really interesting to steer off the standard tourist trail and stop off in less visited, workaday places like Craiova and Drobeta-Turnu Severin, it really cemented the impression that so many Romanian cities have been utterly ruined by the combination of horrific Communist town-planning and the decay of the capitalist transition. It was also disconcerting to see that while prices have risen dramatically (often to the level of most other Central European countries) service standards remain abysmal and the quality of life has yet to rise for much of the populace. There are still loads of wonderfully hospitable, generous people across the country (case in point: the father and daughter I met while hitchhiking back from Poienari), but it often seems like on a societal level, many Romanians believe capitalism is all about doing whatever you can to make a quick buck. That, and the bulk of the service sector seems to only target the nouveau riche and expats, with the average worker left in the cold. "If hotels or restaurants charge this much in Western Europe, well, we better bloody well do the same, because we're EU now!" Add to that the endemic corruption on the political level and the pervasive mob activity and it's a pretty frustrating situation.The Ms kind of left me unimpressed on this tour around the continent. Moldova, Macedonia, Monaco . . . . all places that I'm in no hurry to get back to anytime soon. In all honesty, they each had their highlights. Orheiul Vechi was a lovely site with an interesting history and Ohrid was stunningly located and pleasingly relaxing to pass some time in (with one hell of a cozy hostel). Monaco's good points? Ok, well, not much to add there. The exception to the M rule was, of course, Montenegro, which was another Balkan highlight - with all the makings of a mini-Croatia, minus the cruise ships and the inflated tourist prices. Well, for now, that is. . . .For all its negative press and unflattering reports from travelers in terms of general hassles and unfriendly locals, Ukraine was another pleasant surprise. Other than the aggravating four-hour queue for a train ticket on my first day in Odessa, it was a smooth ride for me, with nary a trollish government worker to deal with even once. Kyiv easily ranks among the most vibrant, cosmopolitan metropolises in the former Eastern Bloc. The only negative was that I didn't have more time to take in the Crimea and some of Eastern Ukraine - a good way to contrast the somewhat split identity of the nation. Likewise to Ukraine, Belarus was a far more enjoyable place than I anticipated, with the Stalinist, but ever-green veneer of Minsk making for a great couple days of exploration. Finally the Baltics were a revelation, both in their very separate, near-Scandinavian atmosphere and the dramatic difference between each of their unique capitals. Again, a few more days would have been nice - Latvia and Estonia were kind of done at warp speed, but by that stage of the trip, time was working against me.But now I have to focus on more mundane affairs for a while. Tomorrow I go back to the old company for a interview/chat with my former supervisor, and I'm supposed to be starting work again there within a matter of days. Apartment shopping is also big on the agenda, as I can't fathom the thought of staying out in Kariya for an extended period. Along with that then, there will be the necessary moving day and whatever additional furniture shopping and set-up costs that go on top (especially internet access, which I may be deprived of for a while!). So I won't exactly have much in the way of downtime, but I suppose I got at least a few days of it while on the last Trans-Siberian leg. The trick then is all the work it's going to take to sort through, clean up and upload the countless photos I took. No rest for the wicked, indeed.Next big trip? No clue when that's going to be, but I feel like I'm done on Europe for a while. Hopefully the next time I've got money and a lot of time to spare I can head to a new corner of the world. Southeast Asia is high on my list and the most likely option, but South America and Africa are also pretty enticing. And, while I'm in the neighborhood for a while still yet, it'd be silly not to head down to Australia and New Zealand sometime. But for now, I've got work to do and a degree to start planning for. The travel bug should be satiated for the time being.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1191252600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1191252600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/xerius/eurasiatrip2007/1191252600/tpod.html Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:25:16 -0400 Surrendering to the travel bug for a grand tour across Europe and into Asia.

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Osaka, Japan

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