Kyoto and Nara

We waited and waited to get this picture of the geisha in Kyoto's Gion area. The street was lined with tourists, all waiting to catch a glimpse of the her. It was like a Hollywood star sighting in Timbuktu. Everybody jostling to get a picture of her walking to her clients. Including us.

During the Obon Holidays, we decided to take a short trip up to Kyoto and Nara, two ancient and historic cities. Since we have a ton of Trisha gear, we thought driving would be more convenient, regardless of the kind advice given to us by the locals about the really bad traffic (almost the whole country goes on holiday during this week.....so all modes of transportation are jammed-packed with people). The traffic was worse than we could imagine. Driving to Nara (about 120 km) took us all of 4 hours. Insane. Anyhow, once we got to Nara, we stayed in a ryoukan, a traditional Japanese inn. It wasn't the most ritzy place but definitely worth the experience. We arrived at the best time because that night itself, the whole town was to be lighted up with candles to help the spirits return home. It was a beautiful sight. Another really unique thing about Nara is that it has about 1000 deers roaming around the town, especially around the parks and popular temple areas. They are considered sacred and not to be harmed, like the cows in India. Interesting but smelly.

We moved on to Kyoto the next day and were pleasantly surprised to discover the hotel that we had booked is rather posh. We didn't expect much from the price but it turned out great! Kyoto is an incredible place to visit but unfortunately, it was so hot during that period of time. Mid-August is probably the peak of Japan summer and Kyoto really gets the worse of it because it's surrounded by hills and mountains. I can't describe how hot it was. The pictures don't quite show the effects of the heat. Poor Trisha really sweated it out in her stroller. We will definitely return to Kyoto because there wasn't enough time to cover everything.

One last thing about travelling for us. Now that we have Trisha, it's an entirely different way of travelling. In the past, we would walk till we dropped to cover as much as possible. Now, it's stop and go. And a return trip to the hotel after lunch to let her nap. Aaaahhhhh...the sacrifices we make. :) We also take a lot more taxi rides than we use to. Well worth the money compared to being squished up in a train or bus holding onto Trisha and the stroller.

Anyway, we'll let the pictures do the talking.

Defining features

There are two defining features in our lives in Japan so far. One is the unbearable heat (which I have already described in sweaty details but I could always continue to rant on about the temperature) and the other is what we dearly call "The Hill of Death".

The picture doesn't really do THOD justice. Our apartment is located over the damn hill and let me tell you, it's a workout walking up that hill especially in this heat (get the theme yet?). It didn't seem that bad when I checked out the apartment during my pre-trip search. Perhaps the combination of jetlag and nice, comfy car had something to do with it. Or perhaps it's just a deathwish of some sort. Anyhow THOD never goes away and is always waiting for us when we get out of the subway station. Poor Joey has to push Trisha in the stroller and carry the groceries as well.....she could probably run a marathon after this summer is over.

Laziness and humidity

OK, so we gave in and joined the hordes of bloggers. Not because we feel a need to express all of our random, unappreciated thoughts, not because we want to design an impressive blog page but because we are just plain lazy. Period. That's what oppressive heat and humidity do to you in a foreign land. It's hard to look forward to writing emails especially when I'm soaked in sweat and my boxers feel like wet crumpled newspaper riding up the wrong trail. Picture that.

So, here we are. Land of the Rising Sun. Almost 2 months since we left good old US of A. Amazing how time flies. We are glad to say that we are getting into the mix of things now. It wasn't the smoothest of transitions but the worse is over, except for the killer heat.

I'm proud to say that Joey has been a model mom to Trisha despite her longings for corporate America. Her schedule is quickly filling up with all kinds of activities for Trisha and herself. In fact, she just took Trisha for her first swimming lesson today. Trish seemed to have liked it although she was a little hesitant at first.

We've met some very nice people who are here on assignments from various companies. Quite a lively community of expatriates. Hopefully this will eventually help us mix in with the locals. Language is still a huge barrier for the both of us. Classes should start next week. Apparently the teachers at this language school refuse to use English and will only converse and teach in Japanese, even though they know English perfectly. Sounds like good times, eh?

There you have it. Our blog's grand opening. We'll write more soon (scout's honor) about our recent 1 week summer holidays. Till then, take care and note the link to our Picasa photo page.