ONE more day...
12.45am on Monday early morning on 17 December 2012. I am still awake, chiding myself that I need to go and sleep soon so I can be alert and awake for work later on, but then I am just procrastinating. Like..... when do I ever NOT procrastinate??
I always take out my luggage more than one week in advance, open in up, and throw some things I think I will be bringing with me into it, and waiting for myself to eventually wee in my pants trying my best to suppress that bursting excitement. But this time?? I fly off tomorrow morning at 8.40am, meaning I have to leave the house at around 5.30am, my luggage is still not out, and I have planned absolutely nothing to bring with me. I have work in the morning, and then probably heading out into the city at night to maybe cut my hair (still contemplating if I should just go to my trusted hairdresser, or try out some random hairdresser in Korea.... I want to cut my hair cuz it's TOO messy!). I foresee an extremely busy Monday night trying to get everything sorted out. That's just the typical last minute me.
I roughly know my itinerary, though I am not really planning too much. I want to surprise myself with every corner I turn, instead of planning precisely where I want to go, where to eat, and what to do. I have rough guidelines on my activities, and with suggestions and recommendations from my Japanese friends, and non-Japanese friends who have been to Japan, I guess Japan wouldn't be too tough for me. I got a little boggle-minded over their so many variations of transportation system. I still haven't quite decided on how to travel inter-city. From Kyoto to Tokyo, I think I want to try the Shinkansen, but it is rather expensive. Perhaps try once for the experience? But there are also so many different options for the Shinkansen I felt quite confused after reading the website. Perhaps I will just seek advice from the locals and take their recommendations.
My only fear, and my biggest challenge, is to try to get by with next-to-nothing knowledge of Japanese. Yeah, I know a few words here and there, but these words are not sufficient enough to get by. But I believe the Japanese are a friendly lot of people who will try their best to help me if I need them to. And with simple, digestible English, plus sign language, I will be a OK.
Korea trip will be exciting I think. I've got my NYE and New Year's planned out. It looks like I am going to do some snowboarding!!! I have only snowboarded/skiied once in my entire life, and that was under heaps of guidance. I can't wait! Hopefully Korea will have plenty of snow then!
It was really cold in Korea last week, with temperatures as low as -10C. Snow fell continuously for days. But my unnie text me last night and told me that the snow has ceased, and it is now actually warmer than before. I guess if that is so I may not even need a thermal wear. Honestly, I am not afraid of the cold, but then the extremely cold 'blizzard'-like of errrr... -10C... seems a little 'scary', especially so when a couple of my friends asked me to bring some thermal wear. But then come to think of it, these friends are really afraid of the cold, and they even feel cold at 10 degrees, least to say -10C! Quoting my friend Jinbo, "it is still a lot warmer than Siberia" so I guess I will be a OK. :)
Surprisingly, I felt really calm. No excitement at all. I am excited to be travelling again, and exploring Japan since it's my first time there. But perhaps because of my really hectic schedule recently, and seriously lack of sleep, I feel more lethargic than usual. It is so hard to life my spirits these days.... I yawn a gazillion times a day, and I always feel dopey between 11-3pm every single day. So painful to keep my eyes open during those hours and still had to concentrate on my work. Sigh!!
Anyway, I am unsure if I will still get time to blog when I travel, but there is always a chance I would. Unfortunately I still have to carry on working even when I am overseas (just twice a week, for 1-2 hours actually, because what I manage is ongoing and the office is shut during Christmas hols so it makes more sense for me to do them) so I have to bring my laptop along. A bit of a bugger, especially so I need to use Excel with my work so iPad is a no-no for this, but luckily my laptop is quite light so it wouldn't be a lot of hassle. I will have three mobile phones with me I guess, though I am not sure if my Aussie number will work, my SG number will definitely do roaming. I will have to re-activate my Korean number once I get there though. Whatsapp with my Aussie number will definitely still work if I have wifi access. And then there is Facebook... So friends reading this, don't worry about not being able to find me. I am still very much contactable.
If I don't get to blog soon, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!
I always take out my luggage more than one week in advance, open in up, and throw some things I think I will be bringing with me into it, and waiting for myself to eventually wee in my pants trying my best to suppress that bursting excitement. But this time?? I fly off tomorrow morning at 8.40am, meaning I have to leave the house at around 5.30am, my luggage is still not out, and I have planned absolutely nothing to bring with me. I have work in the morning, and then probably heading out into the city at night to maybe cut my hair (still contemplating if I should just go to my trusted hairdresser, or try out some random hairdresser in Korea.... I want to cut my hair cuz it's TOO messy!). I foresee an extremely busy Monday night trying to get everything sorted out. That's just the typical last minute me.
I roughly know my itinerary, though I am not really planning too much. I want to surprise myself with every corner I turn, instead of planning precisely where I want to go, where to eat, and what to do. I have rough guidelines on my activities, and with suggestions and recommendations from my Japanese friends, and non-Japanese friends who have been to Japan, I guess Japan wouldn't be too tough for me. I got a little boggle-minded over their so many variations of transportation system. I still haven't quite decided on how to travel inter-city. From Kyoto to Tokyo, I think I want to try the Shinkansen, but it is rather expensive. Perhaps try once for the experience? But there are also so many different options for the Shinkansen I felt quite confused after reading the website. Perhaps I will just seek advice from the locals and take their recommendations.
My only fear, and my biggest challenge, is to try to get by with next-to-nothing knowledge of Japanese. Yeah, I know a few words here and there, but these words are not sufficient enough to get by. But I believe the Japanese are a friendly lot of people who will try their best to help me if I need them to. And with simple, digestible English, plus sign language, I will be a OK.
Korea trip will be exciting I think. I've got my NYE and New Year's planned out. It looks like I am going to do some snowboarding!!! I have only snowboarded/skiied once in my entire life, and that was under heaps of guidance. I can't wait! Hopefully Korea will have plenty of snow then!
It was really cold in Korea last week, with temperatures as low as -10C. Snow fell continuously for days. But my unnie text me last night and told me that the snow has ceased, and it is now actually warmer than before. I guess if that is so I may not even need a thermal wear. Honestly, I am not afraid of the cold, but then the extremely cold 'blizzard'-like of errrr... -10C... seems a little 'scary', especially so when a couple of my friends asked me to bring some thermal wear. But then come to think of it, these friends are really afraid of the cold, and they even feel cold at 10 degrees, least to say -10C! Quoting my friend Jinbo, "it is still a lot warmer than Siberia" so I guess I will be a OK. :)
Surprisingly, I felt really calm. No excitement at all. I am excited to be travelling again, and exploring Japan since it's my first time there. But perhaps because of my really hectic schedule recently, and seriously lack of sleep, I feel more lethargic than usual. It is so hard to life my spirits these days.... I yawn a gazillion times a day, and I always feel dopey between 11-3pm every single day. So painful to keep my eyes open during those hours and still had to concentrate on my work. Sigh!!
Anyway, I am unsure if I will still get time to blog when I travel, but there is always a chance I would. Unfortunately I still have to carry on working even when I am overseas (just twice a week, for 1-2 hours actually, because what I manage is ongoing and the office is shut during Christmas hols so it makes more sense for me to do them) so I have to bring my laptop along. A bit of a bugger, especially so I need to use Excel with my work so iPad is a no-no for this, but luckily my laptop is quite light so it wouldn't be a lot of hassle. I will have three mobile phones with me I guess, though I am not sure if my Aussie number will work, my SG number will definitely do roaming. I will have to re-activate my Korean number once I get there though. Whatsapp with my Aussie number will definitely still work if I have wifi access. And then there is Facebook... So friends reading this, don't worry about not being able to find me. I am still very much contactable.
If I don't get to blog soon, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!
Comments
Enjoy ur trip :)