I'm in Wellington. It's windy. The moniker "Windy Wellington" is well-deserved.
Based on the description in the tour book, I spent my first three days in Wellington in a charming hostel a half-hour's train ride outside of the main city, and a 1km walk from the train station. On the plus side, it was large, had a well-stocked library, and contained friendly people. Unfortunately, I was a half-hour train ride from the city, a 15-minute walk to the train station, and it was cold and windy.
It seems that the first three days that I experience in any new city city will be filled with discomfort, which is entirely understandable given the circumstances. It's also a very important self-discovery, as it brings with it the promise that Things Will Get Better.
So what did I actually do during my first three days in Wellington? Not much, actually. Which I think is the general mindset of the hostel. I spent time in the city exploring and hunting for Internet access, which I eventually found. I spent quite a bit of time either on the train, or waiting for it. I read Neverwhere, by Neal Gaimen, which happened to be on the hostel's bookshelf. And I talked with other hostel patrons, like one is supposed to do. In short, I spent a lot of time working very hard to do very little. And that is what I spent my first three days in Wellington doing.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Life in a new hostel
Have I mentioned there isn't a whole lot in New Zealand? I'm fairly sure I mentioned the fact that there is but a single cellular provider (though, to be fair, while it is relatively expensive, they also have 3G available.) There also seems to be only one supermarket serving all of downtown Auckland. Sure, there are plenty of convenience stores (which are), but they are all overpriced when it comes to basic goods, and they don't have a very large selection. There does seem to be an abundance of coffee shops, though.
Which brings me to a peculiarity that I have found nowhere else: Coffee in Auckland is usually served in bowls. Cups are used for take-away beverages, but shops seem to serve beverages in a dish that is wider than it is tall, and tapered somewhat. It's the sort of thing I'd usually eat cereal or noodles out of, not sip coffee. But it works, and it's how they do it, so who am I to argue? Plus, it's interesting.
My second hostel was much nicer than the first. It had more character, and seemed much friendlier. Sure, some people still used it as a stopoff point on their way to exotic places down south, but a one-week stay seemed to be the average, with some people having stayed for at least three months. When I go back through Auckland on my way up, I'll try to stay there again.
I do have a date-of-return now. I'll be in Auckland until November 21, and I'll be back in San Diego on December 4. In the interim, I'll be in Fiji, which turned out to make the flight cheaper. Plus, Fiji itself is fairly cheap compared to the places I've been so far. It's fairly exciting, especially since until I booked the flight, I didn't even know where Fiji was.
So I have one month in New Zealand, then two weeks in Fiji. I fly to Wellington on Thursday, and at some point might take a ferry to the South Island. I'll be meeting up with a friend in two weeks in Auckland, which I'm looking forward to. I'm still not sure what one does in Fiji though, but I'll find out when I get there.
Which brings me to a peculiarity that I have found nowhere else: Coffee in Auckland is usually served in bowls. Cups are used for take-away beverages, but shops seem to serve beverages in a dish that is wider than it is tall, and tapered somewhat. It's the sort of thing I'd usually eat cereal or noodles out of, not sip coffee. But it works, and it's how they do it, so who am I to argue? Plus, it's interesting.
My second hostel was much nicer than the first. It had more character, and seemed much friendlier. Sure, some people still used it as a stopoff point on their way to exotic places down south, but a one-week stay seemed to be the average, with some people having stayed for at least three months. When I go back through Auckland on my way up, I'll try to stay there again.
I do have a date-of-return now. I'll be in Auckland until November 21, and I'll be back in San Diego on December 4. In the interim, I'll be in Fiji, which turned out to make the flight cheaper. Plus, Fiji itself is fairly cheap compared to the places I've been so far. It's fairly exciting, especially since until I booked the flight, I didn't even know where Fiji was.
So I have one month in New Zealand, then two weeks in Fiji. I fly to Wellington on Thursday, and at some point might take a ferry to the South Island. I'll be meeting up with a friend in two weeks in Auckland, which I'm looking forward to. I'm still not sure what one does in Fiji though, but I'll find out when I get there.
Friday, October 26, 2007
First days in New Zealand
Here I am, nestled at the bottom of the world, living in the future. It's blustery, cold, and generally quaint. This, I gather, is New Zealand in a nutshell.
New Zealand observes daylight saving time, which gives me the curious pleasure of being in the future, relative to anyone I care to talk to online. Right now I'm at UTC+13, which means I'm 20 hours ahead of those back home in San Diego. Effectively, it's tomorrow.
The hostel in which I am currently staying is, by far, the most backpacker-centric locale I have yet witnessed: It is ten storeys, with an STA Travel agency for students located on the eighth storey. The third storey is home to two TV rooms, a vast number of washers and dryers, a massive kitchen, an array of perhaps fifteen couches, another travel agency, an Internet Cafe, and a job board. There's a pub on the fourth floor, but I have it on good authority that it's not very good.
The room would be alright, except for two things: First, my roommates are definitely night owls. It's after 1pm now, and the other three are still asleep. This may be in part due to the second problem, that being that the room is located in the middle of the building, and is thus cut off from natural light. I feel almost like I'm in one of the cave experiments from the 60s. Not an ideal way to overcome jetlag.
At the airport, I picked up a brochure on Auckland tourist attractions. Sunday I went to the Maritime Museum, which overall was very interesting. Unfortunately, due to the weather I was unable to go on the tiny steamboat that was supposed to be running.
There is a park here called, and I am not making this up, Sheep World. I think it's a farm, but at the moment they also have a scarecrow exhibit. I'm not sure if I will actually make it to this wonderfully-named site, as it's a ways' ride out of town, but know that it exists.
New Zealand observes daylight saving time, which gives me the curious pleasure of being in the future, relative to anyone I care to talk to online. Right now I'm at UTC+13, which means I'm 20 hours ahead of those back home in San Diego. Effectively, it's tomorrow.
The hostel in which I am currently staying is, by far, the most backpacker-centric locale I have yet witnessed: It is ten storeys, with an STA Travel agency for students located on the eighth storey. The third storey is home to two TV rooms, a vast number of washers and dryers, a massive kitchen, an array of perhaps fifteen couches, another travel agency, an Internet Cafe, and a job board. There's a pub on the fourth floor, but I have it on good authority that it's not very good.
The room would be alright, except for two things: First, my roommates are definitely night owls. It's after 1pm now, and the other three are still asleep. This may be in part due to the second problem, that being that the room is located in the middle of the building, and is thus cut off from natural light. I feel almost like I'm in one of the cave experiments from the 60s. Not an ideal way to overcome jetlag.
At the airport, I picked up a brochure on Auckland tourist attractions. Sunday I went to the Maritime Museum, which overall was very interesting. Unfortunately, due to the weather I was unable to go on the tiny steamboat that was supposed to be running.
There is a park here called, and I am not making this up, Sheep World. I think it's a farm, but at the moment they also have a scarecrow exhibit. I'm not sure if I will actually make it to this wonderfully-named site, as it's a ways' ride out of town, but know that it exists.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Onward to Melbourne!
I took the overnight train to Melbourne. It's an 11 hour train-ride that leaves at 9pm, and arrives at 8am. I took the economy student seats, that cost $65 one way. It wasn't comfortable at all, as I was sitting upright the entire time, but it was cheap, and I got to see Melbourne.
Overall, I think I like the city. My first day there I saw a pair of Scottish bagpipers in full regalia, standing on the side of the road, piping. I also saw a fake protest (something about using diesel fuel), a real protest (save the Burmese!), and a marathon.
There is a Pixar exhibit at the film museum, which basically chronicles 20 years of Pixar animations. Quite possibly the neatest thing at the exhibit is a Toy Story 2 zoetrope, "inspired by the one at the Ghibli Museum". While not quite as neat as the Totoro one (among other things, they don't bring the lights up and stop the spinning at the Pixar one,) it was still a very nifty display.
In a bit of local culture, I've seen people making hook turns. Because Melbourne generally has trams instead of buses, almost every street downtown has a light rail line running down the middle of the street. As streets are sometimes one lane in each direction, this makes turning right somewhat annoying for those behind you who want to go straight. So the solution is to pull into the four-way intersection and turn to the left first, to wait for a clearing. Once it's clear (i.e. there are no cars coming at you in the opposite direction, nor cars coming behind you and going straight, nor trams going in either direction), you're allowed to turn across all lanes of traffic. It's a maneuver so bizarre it has its own Wikipedia page.
On Sunday, I took advantage of the $2.50 "Sunday Saver" fare, that allows for riding on all trains and trams around Melbourne. Based on advice from someone at the hostel, I took a train to Belgrave, an hour and a half from the city center. Once there, I took a ride on Puffing Billy, the 1900-era narrow-gauge steam train. With lovely views of the Victoria countryside, along with energetic kids and crisp mountain air, the ride was certainly a pleasant one. I ended up at an appropriately-named stop called Lakeside, that I can imagine, during summers when the weather is warmer, would be a nice place to go for a picnic.
Overall, I think I like the city. My first day there I saw a pair of Scottish bagpipers in full regalia, standing on the side of the road, piping. I also saw a fake protest (something about using diesel fuel), a real protest (save the Burmese!), and a marathon.
There is a Pixar exhibit at the film museum, which basically chronicles 20 years of Pixar animations. Quite possibly the neatest thing at the exhibit is a Toy Story 2 zoetrope, "inspired by the one at the Ghibli Museum". While not quite as neat as the Totoro one (among other things, they don't bring the lights up and stop the spinning at the Pixar one,) it was still a very nifty display.
In a bit of local culture, I've seen people making hook turns. Because Melbourne generally has trams instead of buses, almost every street downtown has a light rail line running down the middle of the street. As streets are sometimes one lane in each direction, this makes turning right somewhat annoying for those behind you who want to go straight. So the solution is to pull into the four-way intersection and turn to the left first, to wait for a clearing. Once it's clear (i.e. there are no cars coming at you in the opposite direction, nor cars coming behind you and going straight, nor trams going in either direction), you're allowed to turn across all lanes of traffic. It's a maneuver so bizarre it has its own Wikipedia page.
On Sunday, I took advantage of the $2.50 "Sunday Saver" fare, that allows for riding on all trains and trams around Melbourne. Based on advice from someone at the hostel, I took a train to Belgrave, an hour and a half from the city center. Once there, I took a ride on Puffing Billy, the 1900-era narrow-gauge steam train. With lovely views of the Victoria countryside, along with energetic kids and crisp mountain air, the ride was certainly a pleasant one. I ended up at an appropriately-named stop called Lakeside, that I can imagine, during summers when the weather is warmer, would be a nice place to go for a picnic.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Last days in Sydney
After sydcon, I went back to doing largely what I was doing before Sydcon: walking around, reading, trying new things, and so on. At one point I had a kangaroo burger, which tasted rather like stewing meat, as it was both tough and heavily seasoned. I also discovered that what we call a milkshake they call a thickshake, as milk shakes are more liquidy.
I went to the Powerhouse Museum one day. It's basically a Miscellaneous Museum, as they have a rather wide range of exhibits, ranging from computers and the Internet, steam engines, and the environment, all the way to design and fashion, and now a temporary exhibit on Princess Dianna. Overall it was thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth the 10 bucks.
I also had the pleasure of eating at a ramen house. Ramen was one of the foods I grew to love in Japan, and it made me happy to be eating at one again. Most people in the restaurant were Japanese, and when I entered I was greeted with "ashemasen!" (sp?), and the tempura ramen was tasty, if much more expensive than in Japan. It made me happy.
I did experience a moment of panic. I managed to get a phone interview with a company back in the US, and decided to give them my mobile number here, rather than my US number. A half hour call could cost me eight bucks, and I thought I'd try to be cheap. Well, it turns out that, unlike other countries, you drop the leading digit when dialing a number from abroad. So, whereas normally I'd dial "0432" to reach my mobile number here, from abroad I'd tack on the country code of "+61", and chop off the first digit, so I'd call "+61-432". I didn't realize this (Skype will call anyway, whether the leading zero is added or not,) and ended up missing the call. Fortunately they agreed to reschedule the interview. Next time they're calling my US number.
I went to the Powerhouse Museum one day. It's basically a Miscellaneous Museum, as they have a rather wide range of exhibits, ranging from computers and the Internet, steam engines, and the environment, all the way to design and fashion, and now a temporary exhibit on Princess Dianna. Overall it was thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth the 10 bucks.
I also had the pleasure of eating at a ramen house. Ramen was one of the foods I grew to love in Japan, and it made me happy to be eating at one again. Most people in the restaurant were Japanese, and when I entered I was greeted with "ashemasen!" (sp?), and the tempura ramen was tasty, if much more expensive than in Japan. It made me happy.
I did experience a moment of panic. I managed to get a phone interview with a company back in the US, and decided to give them my mobile number here, rather than my US number. A half hour call could cost me eight bucks, and I thought I'd try to be cheap. Well, it turns out that, unlike other countries, you drop the leading digit when dialing a number from abroad. So, whereas normally I'd dial "0432" to reach my mobile number here, from abroad I'd tack on the country code of "+61", and chop off the first digit, so I'd call "+61-432". I didn't realize this (Skype will call anyway, whether the leading zero is added or not,) and ended up missing the call. Fortunately they agreed to reschedule the interview. Next time they're calling my US number.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Sydcon
My new hostel proved to be in a very convenient location. It was technically in an area of town known as Redfern, but the front door bordered on Prince Alfred Park, which borders on Central Station. By any measurement, it was very central.
I spent the next five days meandering about the city, shopping at Paddy's Market -- a sort of bazaar that sells many things -- and going on lengthy walking trips -- some as long as four hours a stretch. Weekly rail passes proved quite useful, and took most of the stress out of getting around. I spent time in a few libraries, reading books purchased from Galaxy. Occasionally I would surf the Internet, though I tried not to do that too often.
On Saturday, Sydcon began. This roleplaying-games convention proved a welcome respite from the realm of frat boys and cranky old Irish I had encountered while living in hostels. Here was a group of people who would understand my jokes, and who were generally nifty people. Plus they're natives, and know where to find the good cafes.
As it was a gaming convention, I played several games. I was cautious, and didn't sign up for too many of them. The convention planners had eight game slots: Three on Saturday and Sunday, and two on Monday, with a trivia contest Saturday night, a banquet Sunday night, and an afterparty Monday night. The way my schedule worked out, I always played games beginning on or after 1pm.
The first game I played in was a Star Wars game, entitled "Supertroopers 2: The Search for More Money". It was a silly game, as evidenced by the title. As an example, in order to explain a box of explosives, one of our players invented a new holiday called "World Day," and manged to get away with it. For this, the game master awarded him a "one of a kind" miniature, produced by "a friend who works in the special effects industry": A gelatinous cube. It was really well done, complete with a floaty sword and shield. And scaled to size, too.
The afternoon game was a Cage Match, which definitely could have been more fun, but is an interesting idea regardless. The basic concept is to roll up a level-twelve character and have them fight other players in a cage, to the death. Unfortunately, it seems that I'm not very good at creating those sorts of characters. In the end, I lost all five matches we played, sometimes on the first round. Not so much fun.
The next day began with my first ever freeform game. Invented in Sydney, they're sort of like Larps, in that it's live-action. However there is almost no system, just a sheet of paper with your goals, and interaction with lots of other characters. It's kind of like improv theater. The game was set in the year 2330, and was entitled "A Colder War". Basically, there was a standoff between the worlds' superpowers China, Brittan, Russia, the USA, Germany,and the Athuleans (offworlders). There was squabbling over a superweapon. My character happened to be a high-ranking salesguy for a defense contractor, trying to make a sale at every opportunity. I basically played Robert Preston. It was wonderful. And the Earth blew up, but that's okay, we were on a space station.
In any case, I decided to skip Day Two of the cage match, and instead opted to play in a game called Turf Wars. That could have gone better, but it could have gone worse. I played the Cowardly Rogue, who ended up hiding in a warehouse while our base was overrun. Bonus points for surviving, but penalty points for cowardice.
Monday was NSW Labour Day,so the con continued for a third day. The only game I played on Monday was "Djude, where's our wizard?", where I played Djude the Barbarian, as we tried to find our wizard. I really enjoyed the game, though Djude didn't do much more than look pretty and hit things a lot. Which, really, is what he's built for.
Other events I attended included the Trivia Challenge, where my team managed to get last place, the Banquet, which took place at a fancy pizza restaurant, and the After Party, which took place at a bar. I ended up meeting lots of people, and had a great time. It really enforced the idea that, as long as you have a good game master, the games can be really quite a lot of fun. I look forward to finding a good group wherever I end up.
I spent the next five days meandering about the city, shopping at Paddy's Market -- a sort of bazaar that sells many things -- and going on lengthy walking trips -- some as long as four hours a stretch. Weekly rail passes proved quite useful, and took most of the stress out of getting around. I spent time in a few libraries, reading books purchased from Galaxy. Occasionally I would surf the Internet, though I tried not to do that too often.
On Saturday, Sydcon began. This roleplaying-games convention proved a welcome respite from the realm of frat boys and cranky old Irish I had encountered while living in hostels. Here was a group of people who would understand my jokes, and who were generally nifty people. Plus they're natives, and know where to find the good cafes.
As it was a gaming convention, I played several games. I was cautious, and didn't sign up for too many of them. The convention planners had eight game slots: Three on Saturday and Sunday, and two on Monday, with a trivia contest Saturday night, a banquet Sunday night, and an afterparty Monday night. The way my schedule worked out, I always played games beginning on or after 1pm.
The first game I played in was a Star Wars game, entitled "Supertroopers 2: The Search for More Money". It was a silly game, as evidenced by the title. As an example, in order to explain a box of explosives, one of our players invented a new holiday called "World Day," and manged to get away with it. For this, the game master awarded him a "one of a kind" miniature, produced by "a friend who works in the special effects industry": A gelatinous cube. It was really well done, complete with a floaty sword and shield. And scaled to size, too.
The afternoon game was a Cage Match, which definitely could have been more fun, but is an interesting idea regardless. The basic concept is to roll up a level-twelve character and have them fight other players in a cage, to the death. Unfortunately, it seems that I'm not very good at creating those sorts of characters. In the end, I lost all five matches we played, sometimes on the first round. Not so much fun.
The next day began with my first ever freeform game. Invented in Sydney, they're sort of like Larps, in that it's live-action. However there is almost no system, just a sheet of paper with your goals, and interaction with lots of other characters. It's kind of like improv theater. The game was set in the year 2330, and was entitled "A Colder War". Basically, there was a standoff between the worlds' superpowers China, Brittan, Russia, the USA, Germany,and the Athuleans (offworlders). There was squabbling over a superweapon. My character happened to be a high-ranking salesguy for a defense contractor, trying to make a sale at every opportunity. I basically played Robert Preston. It was wonderful. And the Earth blew up, but that's okay, we were on a space station.
In any case, I decided to skip Day Two of the cage match, and instead opted to play in a game called Turf Wars. That could have gone better, but it could have gone worse. I played the Cowardly Rogue, who ended up hiding in a warehouse while our base was overrun. Bonus points for surviving, but penalty points for cowardice.
Monday was NSW Labour Day,so the con continued for a third day. The only game I played on Monday was "Djude, where's our wizard?", where I played Djude the Barbarian, as we tried to find our wizard. I really enjoyed the game, though Djude didn't do much more than look pretty and hit things a lot. Which, really, is what he's built for.
Other events I attended included the Trivia Challenge, where my team managed to get last place, the Banquet, which took place at a fancy pizza restaurant, and the After Party, which took place at a bar. I ended up meeting lots of people, and had a great time. It really enforced the idea that, as long as you have a good game master, the games can be really quite a lot of fun. I look forward to finding a good group wherever I end up.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Weekend in Sydney
On Thursday, I met up with an American friend, Brittany. She's living in Melbourne, and decided to take a short vacation and fly to Sydney for the weekend to meet up. The people with whom she was staying have a house in Sydney, that they were kind enough to let us borrow for the weekend. This change from having no privacy to speak of (after having slept in crowded dorms for over a week) to having my own room in suburban Sydney was a welcome change, and one for which I thank both her and her hosts.
The first day mostly included aimless wandering: We took a ferry across the Sydney Harbour, which offered very nice views of both the opera house and the harbour bridge. At dusk, we were in The Domain park, and got to see the bats swarm out of the Botanical Gardens for the night. Afterwards, we saw Stardust, which I still think is a wonderful movie.
Friday began with a walk along the harbour bridge, on a BridgeClimb tour. Ten years ago someone got the brilliant idea of letting people walk along the access routes on the harbour bridge, giving them a unique view of the city. It really is a spectacular view, though they don't let you bring anything dangly along, like cameras. Towards the end, as I happened to be climbing down the access ladder as it went below the bridge surface between the tracks, two trains rushed past me simultaneously, going in opposite directions. That was surprising, yet exciting!
Afterwards, we returned to the house, and I spent the afternoon submitting resumes. Within the previous few weeks, I had gotten it in my head that I could easily find a job in Australia, and that getting a job there was what I really wanted. The process of submitting resumes put me in a foul mood, having convinced me that I was both unemployable and without skill. This feeling would remain for several days, until introspection allowed me to formulate a new plan.
Sunday brought with it laundry day, which took entirely too long. Afterwards, Brittany and I parted ways, with her going to the airport (via bus -- apparently the train not running that day,) and I to my new hostel. As I was still new to the city, I ended up walking in exactly the wrong direction, and got very lost before calling for directions. Hooray for mobile phones. So it was that I had found my way to my new home for the next ten days.
The first day mostly included aimless wandering: We took a ferry across the Sydney Harbour, which offered very nice views of both the opera house and the harbour bridge. At dusk, we were in The Domain park, and got to see the bats swarm out of the Botanical Gardens for the night. Afterwards, we saw Stardust, which I still think is a wonderful movie.
Friday began with a walk along the harbour bridge, on a BridgeClimb tour. Ten years ago someone got the brilliant idea of letting people walk along the access routes on the harbour bridge, giving them a unique view of the city. It really is a spectacular view, though they don't let you bring anything dangly along, like cameras. Towards the end, as I happened to be climbing down the access ladder as it went below the bridge surface between the tracks, two trains rushed past me simultaneously, going in opposite directions. That was surprising, yet exciting!
Afterwards, we returned to the house, and I spent the afternoon submitting resumes. Within the previous few weeks, I had gotten it in my head that I could easily find a job in Australia, and that getting a job there was what I really wanted. The process of submitting resumes put me in a foul mood, having convinced me that I was both unemployable and without skill. This feeling would remain for several days, until introspection allowed me to formulate a new plan.
Sunday brought with it laundry day, which took entirely too long. Afterwards, Brittany and I parted ways, with her going to the airport (via bus -- apparently the train not running that day,) and I to my new hostel. As I was still new to the city, I ended up walking in exactly the wrong direction, and got very lost before calling for directions. Hooray for mobile phones. So it was that I had found my way to my new home for the next ten days.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Hello, Sydney.
The flight to Sydney was interesting, mostly because it was an overnight flight of about 11 hours, yet crossed only one timezone, making it more of a flying hotel than anything. It was pleasant flight, however: I saw Young Frankenstein, which I hadn't previously seen, then I had a Toohey's beer, then I slept. Which was nice.
My first few days in Sydney were an interesting experience, owing mostly to the locale in which my hostel was located. It seems as though Kings Cross is the party-district of Sydney, having a high concentration of hostels, pubs, nightclubs, and so on. As I'm not normally one for those sorts of places, during the course of my three days there I spent most of my time in other parts of the city. While my roommates were definitely partiers, I was fortunate I was only staying Monday through Thursday, as I missed the nights that tended to be loud well past 4am.
My very first night I decided to go see Ratatouille. Except for the part where I went into the wrong theater and didn't notice because my phone hadn't picked up the timezone change, I enjoyed it. Sometime, however, I'd like to see the first fifteen minutes of the movie. I also discovered that in Australia, movies are really expensive. I spent $15.50 to get in. Apparently the price gets cut in half on Tuesdays.
I also did quite a bit of walking. I enjoy exploring, and was delighted to find that, after purchasing a SIM card for my phone, it began to display the name of the community in which I currently was. That made it slightly easier to explore, as I could tell when I was getting near to a place I had previously been. I got lost at one point, but then I found myself again.
During the course of my walkings, I discovered a wonderful bookstore, where I have spent entirely too much money: Galaxy Books is a shop dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery novels. Worse still, the new Terry Pratchett book was released the week I arrived, and costs $55 in hardback. Thus far I have resisted the temptation, instead preferring many paperbacks to a single hardback.
My first few days in Sydney were an interesting experience, owing mostly to the locale in which my hostel was located. It seems as though Kings Cross is the party-district of Sydney, having a high concentration of hostels, pubs, nightclubs, and so on. As I'm not normally one for those sorts of places, during the course of my three days there I spent most of my time in other parts of the city. While my roommates were definitely partiers, I was fortunate I was only staying Monday through Thursday, as I missed the nights that tended to be loud well past 4am.
My very first night I decided to go see Ratatouille. Except for the part where I went into the wrong theater and didn't notice because my phone hadn't picked up the timezone change, I enjoyed it. Sometime, however, I'd like to see the first fifteen minutes of the movie. I also discovered that in Australia, movies are really expensive. I spent $15.50 to get in. Apparently the price gets cut in half on Tuesdays.
I also did quite a bit of walking. I enjoy exploring, and was delighted to find that, after purchasing a SIM card for my phone, it began to display the name of the community in which I currently was. That made it slightly easier to explore, as I could tell when I was getting near to a place I had previously been. I got lost at one point, but then I found myself again.
During the course of my walkings, I discovered a wonderful bookstore, where I have spent entirely too much money: Galaxy Books is a shop dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery novels. Worse still, the new Terry Pratchett book was released the week I arrived, and costs $55 in hardback. Thus far I have resisted the temptation, instead preferring many paperbacks to a single hardback.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Leaving Japan
Sometime between my stay in Kamoaosa and my return to Tokyo, I decided that I had experienced enough of Japan, and that it was time to leave. At the time, my desire was based on three things:
In retrospect, the second point is the biggest: I enjoy going to places to experience things new and different, and see how others live. I've discovered that it takes me roughly five days to feel comfortable in a city, to understand how to get around and get a basic grasp of how things work. During that time, things are new and exciting. After that, I need something to do.
So, once in Tokyo I set out to find the travel agency so I could reschedule my flights. In the process, and this is why I've come to love Tokyo so, I made a wrong turn and ended up in the biggest department store in the world, (which also includes its own rail line,) according to my Lonely Planet guide. Not necessarily where I wanted to go, but still interesting in any case.
Eventually I found the travel agency and changed my dates: Instead of leaving on a Wednesday evening, I'd leave Sunday evening. I also modified my departure times from Sydney, from where I will depart on the 11th of October. It cost me JPY 4400, and they gave me a really pretty receipt.
What does one do with no money and lots of time in Japan? Walk! I ended up taking the train to Akihabara and visiting Super Potato finally, which did prove to be a wonderful place after all. I poked around some other stores there, including one that sold SUN and SGI hardware, then decided to walk back to my hostel in Asakusa. I took the less-travelled streets, and generally enjoyed the walk.
I did manage to leave Japan with almost no money, and I suppose a trip to a pachinko parlor could have made it happen. As is, my last purchase in Japan -- a pizza naan, bottled water, and milk tea -- left me with exactly one yen left. So my last coin sits in my wallet, ready for use during my next trip to Japan, which I hope to take someday.
- I was all alone in a country that didn't speak my language, and didn't use Roman characters all the time
- I was running short of things to do, and
- I was running short on cash, in a very cash-oriented society.
In retrospect, the second point is the biggest: I enjoy going to places to experience things new and different, and see how others live. I've discovered that it takes me roughly five days to feel comfortable in a city, to understand how to get around and get a basic grasp of how things work. During that time, things are new and exciting. After that, I need something to do.
So, once in Tokyo I set out to find the travel agency so I could reschedule my flights. In the process, and this is why I've come to love Tokyo so, I made a wrong turn and ended up in the biggest department store in the world, (which also includes its own rail line,) according to my Lonely Planet guide. Not necessarily where I wanted to go, but still interesting in any case.
Eventually I found the travel agency and changed my dates: Instead of leaving on a Wednesday evening, I'd leave Sunday evening. I also modified my departure times from Sydney, from where I will depart on the 11th of October. It cost me JPY 4400, and they gave me a really pretty receipt.
What does one do with no money and lots of time in Japan? Walk! I ended up taking the train to Akihabara and visiting Super Potato finally, which did prove to be a wonderful place after all. I poked around some other stores there, including one that sold SUN and SGI hardware, then decided to walk back to my hostel in Asakusa. I took the less-travelled streets, and generally enjoyed the walk.
I did manage to leave Japan with almost no money, and I suppose a trip to a pachinko parlor could have made it happen. As is, my last purchase in Japan -- a pizza naan, bottled water, and milk tea -- left me with exactly one yen left. So my last coin sits in my wallet, ready for use during my next trip to Japan, which I hope to take someday.
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