Oh yea, and sorry about no pictures... I have been using PC's at hostels and whatnot and haven't been able to upload the Nam, Lao and China pictures. I will though. Goodbye.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Life's good.
Well, I am in Kobe now. I made a last minute decision change and figured I would do Kobe, then Hiroshima then hit Osaka on the way back north. I would love to make it down to Okinawa but I am going to save that for next time. You have to fly there and it would cost a bit. They have an amazing aquarium there though that I really want to see. They have the most successful breeding of Bull sharks in captivity. And they have a massive tank where they have real Whale sharks. Google it and look at the aquarium lay out, it got me super excited. But yea, Kobe is pretty wild. I am staying in a capsule hotel in Sannomiya. The place is as wild as Tokyo. There are so many great places to eat here, choosing what is for dinner almost gives me brain bubbles. I did complete a life long dream though.. I had a Kobe beef steak in Kobe in an amazing restaurant. You choose the meet and they sear it up right in front of you and serve it to you with some fresh veggies on a sizzling stone plate deal. I was in heaven. They pair it with wine as well, and the prices are unlisted so you have no idea how much you are being hit for. I went for the economic choice on the menu at about 7900 Yen... or about $85. Meat only. It was so worth it though. I love Japan. I had an unreal lunch today in this bazaar today. There was this tucked away little sushi spot and I went in there. I ordered some magura (tuna) sushi and ended up getting this amazing platter of all different kinda of tuna sushi and some amazing noodle dish. It was really cheap too, I was surprised. It was a sweet little set up and I was the only one there. Today I also went to the world longest suspension bridge, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. I promised Ted's dad I would go there and get him a book on it, which I am glad he wanted it because I may have never have gone to see it if he hadn't asked me to get him the book. I wanted to walk the whole thing, just to claim it, but once I got up top this security guy kind of laughed and said no, you cannot walk the bridge, its a highway. And I later found out how long the whole thing is, it would have taken me like days to walk the thing. It is so enormous. Google it. Everyday I am here I learn more about myself and really fall in love with Japan more and more. I love how they keep so well tied to their roots, and how their entire society is pretty much based on honor and respect. Something that I feel is very much lost in most other places around the world.. cough vietnam cough. Truthfully though, I feel like it is even rare in California. There is so much I want to learn and take from this culture. I have always been interested in it, but not it has gone beyond that. I will let you know when I figure out what I mean exactly, but I just feel like there's something very special here. It feels like something that I really want to be apart of. It doesn't help that I watched "The Last Samurai" today as well, that just fuels the fire. But aside from that, the whole feel of Japan and the cleanliness and respect level, even as you are walking around the streets, is incredible. I love just watching people here, by fare my favorite place to just watch the humans. Its not like other places where you feel uneasy at some things they do because its "rude" or "gross" in your culture, but you find yourself smiling and becoming more interested on what is happening. I ease drop a lot, trying to pick apart what people are saying, but a lot of times they speak too fast. But I feel like since I have gotten here I have gotten better. I want to learn so much. One thing I love is how most people that smoke carry these little bags with them. And when they are done with their cigarette, they just pop the butt in the little bag and seal up the bag and put it back in their pocket. The first time I saw that I was amazed. In China there's just cigarette butts flying in the street left and right, same with spit. You rarely see anyone spit here, but if they do, they do it very discretely in a bush or something. I catch myself doing the same now. Anyway, thanks for reading my blabbering, goodbye.