My six weeks of work finished on September 24th, and I immediately caught a flight from Norway to Hong Kong. Friday morning I turned my passport into an agency to obtain a Chinese visa, but because the visa wouldn’t be ready until Monday, I had a weekend to kill in Hong Kong. The Chinese ensured I had less money for those two days, as the visa cost for Americans was an outlandish US$200 at the time. Ouch! Continue reading…
 Dates Traveled: July-August 2008
After my two weeks of traveling around Norway I hopped flights for Tokyo, arriving there on the morning of July 16th. Rhona was able to finagle a couple weeks off work while I was in Japan, so we decided to take advantage of that and head out of the city. We hopped trains the following morning, headed for Tsuruoka. Early on the 18th we set out in less-than-ideal weather for a day hike - it was raining quite heavily. Still, it was a nice 7-hour hike, and the rain did ease up a bit, so it was a good way to get out and stretch the legs. And at least it was cool - much of our time away was characterized by extremely hot and humid weather. In defense we attempted to spend as much time as possible at higher elevations, but invariably had to descend into the furnace from time to time. No fun.
We next made our way, via several trains, to Fuji Yoshida, a town at the base of Mt. Fuji. We found a great little place to stay which was right at the trailhead. Ideal location, beautiful room, laundry facilities, and the food was excellent. Perfect. The following morning we started the trudge. Continue reading…
Now that I’ve gotten the bombshell out of the way in the previous entry, it’s time to go back in time and talk a bit about my quick trip in Norway.
Our boat docked in Kristiansund on the west coast of Norway on July 2, and I immediately caught a 4-hour bus to Alesund. Even from that first taste of the country I knew I was going to enjoy my two weeks of wandering - the weather was beautiful and there were many mountains, lakes, and fjords to see. There were also numerous quaint villages with red wooden houses perched on bright green hillsides. Idyllic. Continue reading…
I arrived in Tokyo on July 16th after having spent just under 2 weeks wandering around Norway. Once I get some spare time I’ll upload those photos and write the travelogue, as this one is just a quick update, though I will say that I loved Norway - my kind of place.
On the morning of the 17th Rhona and I caught a train to Tsuruoka, where we spent the following day doing a day hike. We next proceeded to the base of Mt. Fuji, and set out hiking from the base on the morning of the 20th. After climbing for 8 1/2 hours, and 2600 meters, we spent that night at about 3400 meters. We opted to bypass being on the summit for sunrise the following morning, as it was a 3-day weekend here in Japan and there were waaaaaaay too many people on the mountain. Instead, we set out at about 5:30, and reached the summit at 6:30. In keeping with history I once again picked up something on the summit, though it was infinitely more enjoyable this time around. I strayed from tradition and the pulmonary edema, and instead opted for….a future wife! I knelt down, popped the question, and she - possibly not thinking as clearly at 3800 meters as she would be at sea level, said, “Yes”. I love it when a plan comes together…
I figured I’d better get moving since we essentially have our honeymoon already in mind - a mad gallivant around the world, performed in 6-week chunks. We’ll start next year in Japan, and then move on to Central Asia, eastern Europe, Middle East, possibly some of Africa, Baltic States, trans-Siberian train across Russia, and wherever else the wind blows us. Stay tuned…
Since Fuji we’ve hit a few smaller towns, and have been fortunate enough to see a couple of festivals. The one last night in the old post town of Tsumago was the best, as it was very intimate, with only a few non-villagers in attendance. It was great! We’re currently killing a few hours before the sumo tournament starts here in Nagoya, so I’m looking forward to that as well.
Anyway, just thought I’d actually post some news shortly after it happened - a novel concept I know.
Hope all is going well in your part of the world, and I’ll update when I can.
Dates Traveled: April-May 2008
Once again it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but this entry should be comparatively short - famous last words. I did just return from a long break of almost two months, but there were no penis gourds, there was no coughing up of blood, and there were no major events which require verbose descriptions.
As the vessel where I work was going to be doing a transit to the Canary Islands for a bit of work, and then heading over to the North Sea for the next project, I ended up jumping ship on March 24th and flying back to the States. I spent just over 2 weeks there - writing a final report, doing a bit of organizing, and catching up with family. From there I hopped a flight over to Japan to spend a month with Rhona. Continue reading…
