Started out a bit gloomy but it warmed up to be a perfect sunny summer's day. Lovely.
The blood tests went well this morning.
Before the tests Mum dropped me off at a guitar shop nearby and I had a bit of a daydream. Ran into a friend there too. The (welcome) curse of Adelaide struck again. It's nice to meet random people that you know.
After they syphoned some of my blood (the nurse said it was the right colour, so that was a good start!) I wandered into town to another guitar shop and ended up buying an acoustic guitar there. No electronics - just a basic acoustic - but it has a lovely deep tone and is a blue sunburst on black. Looks very nice. With a case too and very good value. Happy! The Mullet gig is shaping up to be even more fun!
After that I wandered into town to the Central Markets. I had a prawn and wanton laksa in the Asian Food Hall there, which was simply lovely. The soup was hot but not overwhelmingly spicy. The noodles were the thicker egg-based kind you never see in Japan, so that was refreshingly different and the prawns were big and sweet. Just as I finished up Adam called. He and Jodi were on their way into town so they arranged to meet me at the markets, which left me enough time to buy a souvenir for Keiko and have a drool as I wandered around the place. I picked up some olives and roast capsicum for to have with lunch tomorrow, which was remarkably restrained of me. EVERYTHING looked so good and it was hard to fight the urge to take pictures every five metres.
After the markets we all went to Rundle Mall to finish off Adam's Christmas shopping. I picked up a couple of things for mum and Stuart but it was fun to follow those two around and enjoy the sights and sounds of the city. We ran into Grigor and Liz and had a good catchup - another instance of the curse of Adelaide rising. If you know the Lord of the Rings movies, Grigor is the splitting image of the dwarf character - just more jolly!
After all that shopping and lunch at Billy Baxters (I had a mandarin muffin and a coffee) it was time to come home for a lie-down!
Next is the basketball...
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Friday 22nd December
In the morning I managed to have two cards snipped up - but actually I wanted that to happen! I closed one bank account and cancelled one of my credit cards. A very satisfying experience watching the cards go the way of so many others. In one bank there was a fellow getting very steamed up at the teller over somethingor other. I bet she was grateful there was a large screen between her and him!
Gourmet Extravaganza
Not bad for my internal check-off list yesterday.
Lunch was a proper steak and mushroom pie and a sausage roll covered with Berenberg Tomoto Sauce. Ooooh yeah!
Dinner was stretched out over 4 hours. A job well done if I do say so myself! A few Coopers at a tavern filled with pre-Christmas revellers. The tavern was a true old Aussie Hotel which was decked out in the traditional way – lots of red brick, brass and wood. The Coopers was, of course, delicious! My dinner-buddies for tonight were Matt (with his new girlfriend Amanda – she had to wiz off after drinks to another function), Adam and Jodi, Marc and his girlfriend, and a couple other of Adam’s workmates.
From there we wound our way to ‘Ciao’ in Pirie Street. I had a vegetarian lasagna filled with spinach, cheese and coated with neopolitan sauce. Oh, and real garlic bread! I managed to wash that down with a glass of McClaren Vale red. Our musical accompaniment was courtesy of the Metropolitan Fire Service who rocketed down the street as we were about to leave with all lights blazing. We passed them on the way to our next stop but it looked like it was a false alarm. Fire engines are shiny.
We made a pitstop at the ‘Bull and Bear’ (which was playing some gloriously funky music!) on our way to ‘The Pancake Kitchen’! I’m going to need another section entitled ‘Making Keiko Jealous’ since that was one of her favourite places on our last visit two years ago. I had a hot chocolate along with the ‘Bavarian Apple’ dessert which really finished me off entirely.
We wandered up Rundle Mall and met Amanda on our way. A lot of the shops were still open for the pre-Christmas trade. It was surprising to see so many places having large sales – some with signs saying "50% OFF" in their large street-front windows. These are the same places that will be advertising their ‘huge’ Christmas sales in the papers on Christmas Day.
Plans for today are to get blood tests done in the morning, followed by a wander around town and perhaps do some shopping. Tonight involves dinner followed by watching the Adelaide 36ers game live. Hope they win.
Gourmet Extravaganza
Not bad for my internal check-off list yesterday.
Lunch was a proper steak and mushroom pie and a sausage roll covered with Berenberg Tomoto Sauce. Ooooh yeah!
Dinner was stretched out over 4 hours. A job well done if I do say so myself! A few Coopers at a tavern filled with pre-Christmas revellers. The tavern was a true old Aussie Hotel which was decked out in the traditional way – lots of red brick, brass and wood. The Coopers was, of course, delicious! My dinner-buddies for tonight were Matt (with his new girlfriend Amanda – she had to wiz off after drinks to another function), Adam and Jodi, Marc and his girlfriend, and a couple other of Adam’s workmates.
From there we wound our way to ‘Ciao’ in Pirie Street. I had a vegetarian lasagna filled with spinach, cheese and coated with neopolitan sauce. Oh, and real garlic bread! I managed to wash that down with a glass of McClaren Vale red. Our musical accompaniment was courtesy of the Metropolitan Fire Service who rocketed down the street as we were about to leave with all lights blazing. We passed them on the way to our next stop but it looked like it was a false alarm. Fire engines are shiny.
We made a pitstop at the ‘Bull and Bear’ (which was playing some gloriously funky music!) on our way to ‘The Pancake Kitchen’! I’m going to need another section entitled ‘Making Keiko Jealous’ since that was one of her favourite places on our last visit two years ago. I had a hot chocolate along with the ‘Bavarian Apple’ dessert which really finished me off entirely.
We wandered up Rundle Mall and met Amanda on our way. A lot of the shops were still open for the pre-Christmas trade. It was surprising to see so many places having large sales – some with signs saying "50% OFF" in their large street-front windows. These are the same places that will be advertising their ‘huge’ Christmas sales in the papers on Christmas Day.
Plans for today are to get blood tests done in the morning, followed by a wander around town and perhaps do some shopping. Tonight involves dinner followed by watching the Adelaide 36ers game live. Hope they win.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Making Cait Jealous
Cait works with me and has told me to make her jealous.
OK, here goes. Today has been in the low 30s. The evenings have been in the low 20s.
I notice Himeji will have MAXIMUMS of 11 - 13 for the next few days and LOWS of about 1-3 degrees.
Stick THAT in your little pipe of jealousy and smoke it!
(I might be killed when I get back to work.... I think I'll chance it!)
OK, here goes. Today has been in the low 30s. The evenings have been in the low 20s.
I notice Himeji will have MAXIMUMS of 11 - 13 for the next few days and LOWS of about 1-3 degrees.
Stick THAT in your little pipe of jealousy and smoke it!
(I might be killed when I get back to work.... I think I'll chance it!)
Differences #1
Things that are more expensive in Japan than Adelaide: pizza, beer, petrol.
Things that are more expensive in Adelaide than Japan; dentists (oh my god!), glasses (oh my god!!!), public transport, flat whites...
To be continued....
The Aussie dollar is worth 93 yen right now! Boo! Hiss! (FYI - when I first came to Japan it was 66yen to the dollar!!)
Things that are more expensive in Adelaide than Japan; dentists (oh my god!), glasses (oh my god!!!), public transport, flat whites...
To be continued....
The Aussie dollar is worth 93 yen right now! Boo! Hiss! (FYI - when I first came to Japan it was 66yen to the dollar!!)
Made it!
Touchdown in Adelaide!
Actually, I must say that both flights went pretty well, all things considered.
The flight to Singapore was delayed. It was supposed to leave at 4:35pm but at 4 pm the flight arrived. What happened next was the chance to watch the crews get to work in a frenzy of activity.
The passengers started coming off at 4:01. The caterering vans and freight crews were already hooked up and starting to do their stuff. At 4:10 the cleaners went on board. At 4:15 the flight crew for our flight were milling at the check-in gate - chomping at the bit. Soon afterwards the flight crew from the previous flight came off. What followed was all sorts of hand gesture communication and lip reading. I can only guess what they were saying, but if you've read Air Babylon then you could probably guess what was going on...
The flight staff were let on board at about 4:30. The cleaners got off at 4:40pm. We were let on at 4:50 and the plane finally got off the ground at about 5:10. Not bad turn around eh!
The flight was a little bumpy but dinner was satisfying (I had the fish) and I had a row to myself. Watched both Pirates of the Carribean movies back to back which was interesting... (young Orlando, old Orlando. young Keira, old Keira) Johnny Depp was better in the first one if you ask me.
We had a good tail wind on the way to Singapore so we were able to make up some time. I had enough time to take my brisk walk over to the other side of the terminal without any hassles. I even allowed myself to get distracted by the shops along the way, but didn't buy anything.
The Adelaide flight was already boarding and I was not the last straggler to get on - pleased to say! The flight was chokas though - not a spare seat in the house. Had a couple of drinks and was able to get some sleep. The flight was smooth and the landing a little bumpy but no problems for my flighty stomach.
Had no troubles getting through Immigration, my bag was waiting on the carousel as I came down the stairs, I had nothing to declare so they waved me through and I was one of the first out of the place!
Met Mum (nice haircut - VERY short! She had neglected to tell me about that....) followed by my brother, Stuart and my best mate, Matt - who's sporting a very fetching beard ladies, if you're into that sort of thing!
So there's the first part fo the saga successfully negotiated!
Actually, I must say that both flights went pretty well, all things considered.
The flight to Singapore was delayed. It was supposed to leave at 4:35pm but at 4 pm the flight arrived. What happened next was the chance to watch the crews get to work in a frenzy of activity.
The passengers started coming off at 4:01. The caterering vans and freight crews were already hooked up and starting to do their stuff. At 4:10 the cleaners went on board. At 4:15 the flight crew for our flight were milling at the check-in gate - chomping at the bit. Soon afterwards the flight crew from the previous flight came off. What followed was all sorts of hand gesture communication and lip reading. I can only guess what they were saying, but if you've read Air Babylon then you could probably guess what was going on...
The flight staff were let on board at about 4:30. The cleaners got off at 4:40pm. We were let on at 4:50 and the plane finally got off the ground at about 5:10. Not bad turn around eh!
The flight was a little bumpy but dinner was satisfying (I had the fish) and I had a row to myself. Watched both Pirates of the Carribean movies back to back which was interesting... (young Orlando, old Orlando. young Keira, old Keira) Johnny Depp was better in the first one if you ask me.
We had a good tail wind on the way to Singapore so we were able to make up some time. I had enough time to take my brisk walk over to the other side of the terminal without any hassles. I even allowed myself to get distracted by the shops along the way, but didn't buy anything.
The Adelaide flight was already boarding and I was not the last straggler to get on - pleased to say! The flight was chokas though - not a spare seat in the house. Had a couple of drinks and was able to get some sleep. The flight was smooth and the landing a little bumpy but no problems for my flighty stomach.
Had no troubles getting through Immigration, my bag was waiting on the carousel as I came down the stairs, I had nothing to declare so they waved me through and I was one of the first out of the place!
Met Mum (nice haircut - VERY short! She had neglected to tell me about that....) followed by my brother, Stuart and my best mate, Matt - who's sporting a very fetching beard ladies, if you're into that sort of thing!
So there's the first part fo the saga successfully negotiated!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Kansai!
Made it through customs OK. Aside from the road being busy near Kobe, there have been no troubles at all to speak of... my wife is going to hate me. Something always happens whenever we travel together so the fact that there have been no delays, no stopped transport, no hassles, crowds or technical issues at all so far will really annoy her!!
Sorry Sweetheart...
But my flight out of Kansai to Singapore has been delayed 30 minutes. That'll mean my brisk walk between flights will now be more of a jog. Ah well - it'll get the blood moving - just the ticket to stop any notion of DVT occurring - hopefully!
Bought a couple of books to tide me over too. Give the brain something to do during the flights. I doubt I'll be sleeping much.
Time to go to the gate and get started on the first one.
Sorry Sweetheart...
But my flight out of Kansai to Singapore has been delayed 30 minutes. That'll mean my brisk walk between flights will now be more of a jog. Ah well - it'll get the blood moving - just the ticket to stop any notion of DVT occurring - hopefully!
Bought a couple of books to tide me over too. Give the brain something to do during the flights. I doubt I'll be sleeping much.
Time to go to the gate and get started on the first one.
And there it is - what I'll be living out of for the next three-and-a-half weeks.Got:
clothes (socks, jocks, shorts, shirts, t-shirts, boardies, sandals, PJs)
electronics (PC, mp3 player, chargers, cables, adapters, batteries, etc.)
travel docs and money
Chrissie pressies
travel literature (Lonely Planet Thailand)
toiletries
Carry on is good!
One sleep to go!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Two sleeps to go!
Bag half packed on floor? - check!
Washing needs doing? - check!
Tickets? - check!
Panic attacks about forgetting things? - check!
I think I'm almost ready!
Washing needs doing? - check!
Tickets? - check!
Panic attacks about forgetting things? - check!
I think I'm almost ready!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Stages
Well, things are progressing.
Got the insurance forms and they're filled out. Getting money changed tomorrow. The way the yen is descending against the world's currencies this could turn out to be a good thing to do now rather than later...
Paid for the accomodation in Thailand and I've been busy reading websites for advice and views about Thailand. I can't believe I'm only going for six nights. The amount I've reading you'd swear I was going for six months instead!
Reports range from the alarmist (don't eat, drink, touch anything that isn't packaged inside plastic and don't talk to anyone!) to the libertarian (Thailand is paradise on earth - fruit ripe for the picking), as well as sites by everyone from the hippies to the whoremongers. Why play Russian Roulette on a daily basis in the bedroom? Do people really hate themselves that much?
The weather in Thailand looks on track to be typical for the new year period. Australia looks like it's going to be a long hot dry summer. Not good for farmers but good for travellers.
I'm REALLY looking forward to escaping the Japanese winter for nearly a month though. Things are starting to get really cold here. Even the Canadians are complaining about the cold!
Got the insurance forms and they're filled out. Getting money changed tomorrow. The way the yen is descending against the world's currencies this could turn out to be a good thing to do now rather than later...
Paid for the accomodation in Thailand and I've been busy reading websites for advice and views about Thailand. I can't believe I'm only going for six nights. The amount I've reading you'd swear I was going for six months instead!
Reports range from the alarmist (don't eat, drink, touch anything that isn't packaged inside plastic and don't talk to anyone!) to the libertarian (Thailand is paradise on earth - fruit ripe for the picking), as well as sites by everyone from the hippies to the whoremongers. Why play Russian Roulette on a daily basis in the bedroom? Do people really hate themselves that much?
The weather in Thailand looks on track to be typical for the new year period. Australia looks like it's going to be a long hot dry summer. Not good for farmers but good for travellers.
I'm REALLY looking forward to escaping the Japanese winter for nearly a month though. Things are starting to get really cold here. Even the Canadians are complaining about the cold!
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