Time zone musings
Trip Start
Nov 03, 2008
1
2
19
Trip End
Nov 16, 2008
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Montreal,
Quebec,
Canada
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Japan doesn't observe daylight savings time, so it was 13 hours ahead of Montreal yesterday, but now it's 14 hours ahead. So I'll depart Montreal on Monday morning and arrive in Japan on Tuesday afternoon. On the way home, of course, I'll actually manage to spend 14 hours on a plane and arrive two hours before I departed.
Gotta love that international dateline.
Anyway, with my departure more or less imminent, I guess it's time to take a quick run through the pre-departure checklist. Passport? Check. Money? Check. Packing? I'll finish it tomorrow. Plans for the trip? Loose. Expectations? Refreshingly few.
Next update will be from Japan. At whatever day and time that is.
Comments
Ahhh Japan.
LOL... I love how you're going to arrive back in MTL two hours before you left Japan... it seems like it makes no sense. I think I arrived back to Toronto at the same time as I left Japan. Felt weird to re-live the same day (Don't we all have moments where you wish you could go back and do a particular day all over again? This is one instance where you can.)
I hope you have an amazing time in Japan! People there are so nice, the food is incredible (great Indian food!!) and I'm really looking forward to reading your blog, seeing your pictures and hearing your stories :). Be safe!
Carolyn
time zone
I only wish that that extra day could be spent doing stuff instead of sitting on a plane or in an airport!
Map system
Heya! It's great you were able to post so quicly! Japanese maps can be very confusing and it's very easy to get lost, but it's part of the cultural shock fun! :) Thankfully, I found the Japanese very helpful, and often when I got lost - which happened at least once or twice a week - a total stranger would kindly walk me to a place I reckognized. Just remember to thank them with an 'arigatou'. They will be so happy you took the trouble to learn a few Japanese words. :)
As a side note, the main boulevards and highways actually have names, but not the little streets. The block numbers and house numbers don't help much because they are not placed in a logical numerical order for Westerners... I think the order has to do with the order in which the houses or blocks were built or something...
Osaka has a really cool covered market if you can find it. I'm glad to read you like the train system. If only my Dorval bus was half as punctual as their trains! I miss Japan!!
I can't wait to read your next post!
Mata ne!*
Marie
*= (rough approximation) Until next time!