Woman At Mile 0

Posted by Woman at Mile 0 on January 10th, 2010 in Travel SE Asia/Australia

I believe I have mentioned my 19-year- old daughter has gone off on a year long back pack trip to SE Asia and Australia.  She is an environmental studies student at the University of Victoria and has taken a hiatus from studies to complete this trip.  Before she left, we considered opening a blog for her but somehow it just didn’t get organized in the rush of things as she left and I think she felt it might be too much to commit to right now.  As such, I will be posting updates from her on the other side of the world periodically.  This week she has been in Tokyo for a short stay.  She will leave soon for Bangkok, Thailand and will join up with friends for the duration of her trip.   I understand from this article in the Straight that backpacking SE Asia is wildly popular among young people because it is so cheap.  She has given me permission to repost her messages to me.  I know she hopes to learn more about sustainability issues in the countries she visits and I believe she intends to focus on this area when she can.   Post  Update January 12th: pictures added to this post.

Day One:

Hello mumsy, how are you?? I know your probably going crazy so I thought I would let you know how my day was. I went to two areas in Tokyo called Asakusa and Ueno, I probably don’t even have to tell you that I got crazy lost again ( the subway system here is actually the most complicated pain in my ass ever) but the people here are sooo ridiculously nice, I had like 10 people come up to me and ask if I needed help.  Some of them went so far out of their ways too to show me where stuff was.  Anywho so I went to this really cool area with a bunch of temples and a lake where people were paddling around in duck boats (so cute) then to this lame museum in ueno and then to the senso-ji temple in asakusa (seriously look it up it was ridiculous)- the whole area was surrounded by crazy bright Asian market with like everything and people in kimonos walking around.

After I went to what I thought would be a hot spring but was actually a massive public bath (I was naked in front of 7 elder Asian people lol)- god damn lonely planet book led me in the wrong direction for sure on that one.   Then on the way home I tried to use a phone booth, couldn’t figure out how to use the phone and actually got completely stuck inside it to the point where I had to bang on the door for a random to let me out (most embarrassing moment of my life).

random facts:  -they sell cigarettes in vending machines and they allow smoking absolutely everywhere- there are sooo many homeless people here but they dont beg- I fully saw a store that sold sandwiches in ice cream cones – every single restaurant has ridiculously detailed plastic models of all the food they make displayed outside.- just so you know.
Anywho I love you so much mom and I miss you like crazy already.

Day Two:

Hello mumsy, I am reporting with my daily update cuz I love you so much and am missing you like crazy

Sooo today I went to that fish market, it sounds lame but it was amazing!!! Pretty much its like all the fisherman go to this market with everything that they caught that night and they put it all in these stands that are jam packed together and they sell it to all the restaurant owners there.   I have never seen so much blood tho, there was fish heads everywhere and people hacking away at carcasses.
My next stop was the  the emperors castle which was actually sooo gorgeous, there were guards and flags everywhere, there was a moat surrounding the whole thing so I couldn’t get in but it was so pretty, it even had swans in it.  Finally, I went to this all-female cast Japanese play called Casablanca; holy crap even though I didn’t understand a word they were saying it was frickan incredible!! Expensive but incredible lol.  k and in the bathrooms at the theatre… get ready… they had computerized toilets!!! you don’t even understand they had heated seats, 4 flushing settings and they played running water sounds!!!! dude I was so stoked lol

Afterwards I had some time to kill so I went to this rest place called a manga house, you pay 7 dollars and you get a private cubicle thing for a couple hours with a beanbag chair, comic books, a TV and video games and you just chill there and kill time; they are everywhere downtown here, it’s genius don’t you think?  Then I saw a random crossdresser in a kimono! and ate like the best Asian food of my life.

Day Three:

Hello mommy, I am here with my daily update

So today I went to this area called harajuku which was soo ridiculous, it was the most typically Asian place I have ever seen, there was people everywhere in kimonos and ridiculous harajuku girl outfits… I have never seen so many chicks in high heels, everyone was sooo dressed up in either high fashion or a ridiculous anime costume of some sort lol.  I stumbled onto an ice sculpture competition which was pretty cool all around a massive shrine where there was hundreds of people praying- its actually so cool; theres a bunch of rituals like wafting smoke on yourself, rinsing your mouth, and clapping your hands twice before you can pray and I just found it cool that every single person knew these things… its like one universal religion here that every person is a part of.   Anywho then I went to this store called kiddy corner and it was the coolest store ever! They fully had a USB drive that looked like a piece of sushi and one with a toy dog humping the end!!! Sooo entertaining, I was so close to buying it lol.

K and I know I said that I had the best Asian food of my life yesterday but today was wayy better- it was actually sooo funny the girl who worked there was fully playing charades with me trying to figure out what I wanted to eat, she got SO into it lol I couldn’t stop laughing. When I got my food every employee in the store clapped when they saw me take my first bite with chopsticks ( it was like a tiny hole-in the wall restaurant).  But yeah, as I was eating, I was just writing things in my notepad and I think they thought I was a reporter or something cuz the girl kept asking how it was and was like staring over my shoulder for a long time trying to read what I wrote.

I think you would hate it here tho cuz they smoke everywhere, every restaurant I’ve been in, subways, even the theatre I went to people were all smoking.  It made me think of you lol.

Anywho then I went to a sweet little museum and came home, and I didnt get lost once!!! I think I have this subway thing down to a science officially! I feel smart lol

ps- you are getting pampered right now as far as how often you are getting messages from me, dont freak out once I get to southeast Asia cuz it’s gonna be alot more difficult.

End…

hello mommy, i am here with my daily update

I also found this video from Reuters on this New Years ice water bathing event held in Tokyo to celebrate the transition to adulthood in Japan at age 20.

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