The day before departure

Today I’m at my parents’ house in California awaiting my departure to Asia. Tomorrow I will board an 11-hour flight that will take me straight to Tokyo. Then the whirlwind adventure begins. I will publish writing pieces to this website whenever possible while I’m overseas, but I ask for your patience as there will likely be many times when a several days go by without anything going up. When I get back from Asia I’ll hopefully have a full plate of stories to write about and share with you.

Fully Loaded

We’re less than two weeks from my departure, so I’ve been running some final tests. One of the most important of these tests I completed this past weekend when I fully loaded up my backpack to see how well it could hold what I intend to bring with me. Below is a photo of what my backpack looks like with everything in it.

Coming in at 17 pounds and just barely meeting the size requirements for carry-on luggage of every airline that I’ll be using in Asia, this backpack is what I’ll be living out of for six weeks. It’s been with me since my first trip to Europe back in 2012, and it’s comparatively small size (compared to what I see most other backpackers using) forces me to made hard decisions about what I bring with me and be as efficient as possible, but its lack of storage space means I never have to check it at the airport and can always keep it directly on me, which is an unbeatable feature when traveling overseas.

Jeju Island Car Rental

I’ve rented cars a couple of times here in America, but my upcoming trip to Asia will see my first time renting a car in a foreign country. While in Korea I’ll be visiting Jeju Island, and a friend of mine who has been there in the past strongly recommended getting a rental car since public transportation on the island isn’t extensive or frequent enough to get to reliably the various places worth visiting on the island. Last night I made a reservation for the three and a half days that I’ll be on Jeju, so I’ve scratched another thing off the list of items I want to accomplish before departure. No doubt my time driving on Jeju will make for at least one good side story to publish on this blog. Hopefully that story won’t involve any sort of bodily harm or damage to the car.

International Driving Permit

I’m planning on renting a car while I’m in Korea this year. To do this I’ll need an International Driving Permit, but luckily there’s a AAA office right near where I work, so recently I paid them a visit and got one. I am now officially ready to rent a car while overseas. A friend of mine cautioned me that Koreans tend to drive aggressively, but I grew up driving in Southern California amongst a large population of Asian drivers, so I say bring it.

Asia 2017: One thing at a time

In my preparations for traveling to Asia I’m relearning an old lesson that I learned before each of my trips to Europe, and somehow forgot after both of them. There are tons of things I need to think over and make decisions on, to the point that I’ve had nights where it feels like I’m trying to run in a hundred different directions at once. Working like this is extremely taxing on the mind and gets very little accomplished. What I’ve relearned is that it is far better to dedicate each planning session to resolving a single issue and concentrating my mental efforts on that issue. For example, one night I focused only on purchasing my Japan Rail Pass and a pocket wifi. Another night was spent solely on deciding my flight from Japan to Korea. While it might seem that I’m not getting much done on any single night, I’m actually making steady progress and accomplishing a lot more than when I was pulling myself every which direction and staring at a dozen different tabs on my Internet browser. As it turns out, it’s more effective to walk one step at a time towards your goal than to run in circles.

Buy a PlayStation Vita?

Yesterday I shared the possibility of me purchasing a nicer camera before leaving on my trip to Asia. Another thing that has come to mind as a possible purchase is a PlayStation Vita. I’ve never owned a hand-held gaming system before (unless you count my smartphone) and with a long plane flight and many hours of travel on trains ahead of me, I’m wondering if maybe I should finally invest in a hand-held like the PlayStation Vita. It certainly would help pass the time, however, as I’ve been thinking it over the purchase of a Vita doesn’t seem nearly as likely as the purchase of a new camera. Previous travel experiences have taught me that I posses the inner fortitude to endure long plane flights, and when I’m on a train overseas I normally either read a book I’ve brought along with me or just stare out the window and take in the foreign scenery. Also, when I get back from Asia I don’t see myself using the Vita much, if at all. On the whole, buying a Vita doesn’t seem like a wise move right now. If I traveled a lot by plane then maybe I could justify it, but right now it doesn’t make much sense.

Asia 2017: Planning the Route

With each passing day I gain a little more knowledge about where I’ll be traveling in Japan and Korea, and at this point I think I have a rough idea of the route I’ll be taking. Of course, it’s still very early, so a lot can change between now and my departure in September, but I thought I’d share where my mind is at currently.

After landing in Tokyo, I’ll spend about five or six days there and then start moving westwards through Japan. Kyoto and Nara will definitely be on the path, and Osaka seems very likely. Kanazawa might also make the cut, though I’d have to detour north to get to it. After finishing the area in central Honshu, I’ll keep moving west to around Hiroshima, and then I’m thinking I’ll do a short loop around Shikoku before going back into Honshu and continuing west. I’ll definitely get to Kyushu, but I don’t know which places I’ll be in before I fly to South Korea. If I’m doing ok on time I could go all the way down to around Kagoshima, but if time is short I might just do Fukuoka and then fly from there.

My time in South Korea is still hazy right now because I haven’t done as much research on it as I have on Japan, but I’m hoping to dedicate at least a week to it. At minimum I’ll spend a few days in Seoul. With more time I’d like to hit some other cities, maybe even going down to Busan. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe it would make more sense to fly into Busan and then go north to Seoul. Or maybe going to Seoul first makes more sense since I could by flying to Okinawa after my time in Korea, and I could maybe start in Seoul and then work south to Busan and fly out of there.

Okinawa is a part of the trip that’s currently up in the air and I really don’t know yet if it will happen. The whole reason I’d like to go there is that a friend of mine is stationed on Okinawa with the Marines and his birthday will be around the time of my visit, so I’d like to pay him a birthday visit. If I’m not able to get to him then I could add another two or three days to Korea. In either case, I’ll be flying back to Tokyo at the end of the trip to spend a few final days there before flying back to the USA.

To help visualize the journey as it potentially might look, below is a map of the region with some poorly drawn arrows I edited onto it so you can see a possible route as it stands now. You might need to enlarge the image to see it clearly.

One thing you might notice is that I’m currently not planning on getting to northern Japan. As much as I’d like to do all four of Japan’s main islands, I suspect I may not have time to route myself north. That said, it’s still early and maybe after some more research I can plan a path that lets me go north, even if only for a few days. Maybe I could do a quick visit to Sapporo and then fly to somewhere else in the country. Whatever the case, later this summer I’ll probably give another update with a revised travel plan.

Thankful for Barnes & Noble

I don’t know how the Barnes & Noble in Boulder has managed to stay in business, but I’m very thankful that it has. It is one of the few places where I can go in and read the most up to date travel books for free and then just walk out. I feel kind of guilty for using Barnes & Noble more like a library than a bookstore, but the utility of doing so outweighs any qualms in my mind. In the coming weeks and months you’ll find me in the Boulder Barnes & Noble regularly, sitting over in the travel section and gorging myself on books about Japan and Korea. Then you’ll see me put those books back on the shelf and walk out.

The trigger has been pulled

It’s official. I’m going to Asia. #Asia2017

New York City Food

While I was in New York City I had a chance to sample some of the various food offerings the city is known for. A lot of it was very good, but I’m not ready to agree with the locals and say that New York City has the best food in the world. In fact, I have a theory about New York City food. I suspect that New Yorkers treat their food similar to the way Californians treat In-N-Out. Growing up in California, I, like most others from that state, was intensely loyal of In-N-Out. It had the best burgers in the whole world, and to even think otherwise was heresy of the highest order. I think New Yorkers suffer from a similar form of food fanaticism and simply can’t get it in their heads that there might be better food somewhere outside their city. New York food is great, just like In-N-Out is great, but to say it’s the best in the world might be a stretch.

Related to this, I didn’t have the opportunity to visit a New York City grocery story, but from what I hear they’re not as good as what we have out here in the West. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’m inclined to believe it. Especially after living in Boulder for over a decade, I’d pit our best grocery stores against their best grocery stores and be very confident wagering money on our superiority.

May 31, 2017: The Deadline

I’ve been mulling over my possible trip to Japan and South Korea for months now, and the time to make a decision is fast approaching. At the end of May there’s a line in the sand that I’ve drawn for myself as a deadline to decide whether or not this is happening. By May 31st I either have to commit to the journey, or call the whole thing off. The clock is ticking.

The Ultimate Travel Goal

I was bitten by the travel bug long ago, and since then I’ve been able to accomplish a number of travel-related goals, but there’s one goal that stands above all others. If possible, I’d like to take my parents on a tour of Western Europe. They love the photos and stories that I’ve brought back from my two trips to Europe, and I think I’d be a fairly good tour guide from my previous experience on the continent. In my mind I refer to this trip as the “Best of the West.” The itinerary I’m thinking of would start with a few days in London. Then we’d take the Chunnel train to Paris for a few more days. From there we’d go south, perhaps stopping in one more place in France as we moved towards Italy. In Italy we’d journey from Venice to Florence to Rome. From Rome we’d fly to Barcelona, stop by San Sebastian for a day, (my mom really loves the photos of that place) and then go to Madrid. We’d then circle south, visiting Seville, Granada, and maybe one more place before returning to Madrid for the flight back to America (or, alternatively, a flight back to London for a day or two there, and then fly back to America).

This trip would be expensive, and I don’t know how much money my parents would be able to contribute to it, but if at all possible I’d like to make it a reality. Ideally it would be done within the next few years, seeing as how they’re getting older and don’t have the strength of their youth anymore. This year is a no-go, and next year looks iffy, but maybe if I work hard and save enough money then maybe the year after that it could happen. Hopefully the EU won’t collapse before I’m able to do this.

So close to buying

I came within inches of buying tickets to Japan last week. One night I decided to take a look at plane tickets and to my surprise there were a few roundtrip flights on Delta Airlines from Denver to Tokyo that were prices at about $860. That’s insane. My airfare to and from London in 2012 was about $950 and my flight to and from Paris in 2015 was about $1,000. I clicked on the flight, convinced that there was some sort of catch or important detail that I was missing. No, it was exactly what was being advertised—an economy class ticket that flew from Denver to LA, and then from LA to Tokyo, with the return flight following the same path. The hours were even reasonable, with the flight having a midday departure from Denver, following by a two hour layover in LA before the overnight flight to Tokyo. I wanted so badly to just buy the tickets right at that moment, but with my future job situation still in flux I couldn’t do it without taking on more risk than I’m comfortable with. A few days later I looked again the same flight was still there, but at a much higher price. The opportunity had come and gone. I was close, so very close.

New Passport

Well, that was faster than expected. My new passport showed up in the mail this past weekend, so I am now officially ready for international travel (to any country that doesn’t require a visa for Americans). Like my previous passport, this one is good for ten years, and hopefully I’ll get a nice collection of stamps in it.

New York City, Here I Come

My trip to New York City has finally been arranged. I’ll be flying out there on the night of May 17 and will be flying back in the late afternoon on May 21. Now that the dates are set, I’ve got to do more work on planning what I’ll be up to while I’m there. A four-day weekend isn’t nearly enough time for a place like New York City, so I’ll have to be careful with my time management, but at the same time maybe that will make a good incentive for a second visit at some point in the future. Hopefully I’ll return from New York City with some good stories to write about.

Passport Renewal

I’m making a little progress towards the potential Japan and South Korea trip. My passport expired last year and this week I’m finally getting around to mailing it in for renewal. With the old passport I’ll have to include the obligatory paperwork, a check for the fees, and a new photo replace the one of the spry young fellow whose face graces the old passport. At some point in the coming weeks the new passport should show up in the mail, and I’m looking forward to holding it in my hand and being another step closer to Japan and South Korea. There’s no guarantee I’ll actually be traveling overseas this year, but it will be good to have the passport ready in case the opportunity arises.

The Next Adventure

I’ve been looking for mental anchors to hold me in place in the midst of the storm that has engulfed my existence since returning to the workforce. Lately the dominant anchor has been the thought of where my next extended overseas journey could take me, assuming I’m able to go. I could easily do a third trip to Europe, seeing as how there’s always new things to find and there are lots of places over there I’d like to return to, but I think it’s now time that turn around and move in the other direction. Instead of flying east to reach the West, I will fly west to reach the East. Japan and South Korea have long been places I’ve been curious to visit, so it’s as good a time as any to commit myself to reaching them. I even have two contacts that I could meet up with while I’m out there: an old roommate of mine is on Okinawa and one of my cousins lives in the Tokyo area. Like my journeys across Europe, I would need to do an extensive amount of research and planning before going. Rick Steves unfortunately won’t be able to help me on this one, so new sources of travel advice will need to be procured. The moonshot goal at this point would be to make the journey some time around September of next year. It probably wouldn’t be as long of a journey as either of the trips to Europe, but I’d like to try to get two to four weeks out of it. Anything less than two weeks would be hard to justify, given the amount of money I’m gong to have to spend just on the airfare to get there. Good thing I’m skilled at living frugally and saving up money.

To be sure, whether or not this journey actually happens is all up in the air at this point. It simply might not be practicable to do this or maybe an unexpected personal or world event will make travel impossible. Even if it never happens, however, the thought of it has been helping me get through the days of wage slavery. Every now and then I stop whatever soul-crushing tedium I’m working on and I think to myself a single word: Asia. And yes, I do it in the voice from that time on SNL’s Celebrity Jeopardy where John Travolta is asked to name the continent of Asia. It’s a silly thought, and sometimes it cracks a faint smile on my face, which I suppose is a good thing considering the circumstances.

#Asia2017

An Enviable Problem

As the day of departure gets closer for my trip to Europe, I’ve been busy trying to tie up various loose ends and make sure everything is taken care of before I leave. On the whiteboard in my room there’s a list of things that I need to get done. I’ve been working away at the list since I created it a week ago and each day I remove a few items from the list. Granted, it seems each day I remember one or two more things that I need to get done, so the list hasn’t been shrinking as fast as I would like. There is one item, however, that’s been on the whiteboard since I created the list and it has proven to be a harder nut to crack than anticipated. It is the question of Spain; specifically what days I’m spending in what cities. Spain comes near the end of my trip and I know I’ll be flying into Madrid from Istanbul but I haven’t yet been able to come up with a schedule that gets me to the places I want to go to while also making sure that I don’t show up on bad days when lots of things are closed. As I’ve been studying this problem and seeking its resolution, I am well aware that this is a great problem to have; I’m trying to figure out how to spend three weeks in Spain. Many would love to have this problem. Many more will never have it because overseas travel is beyond their resources, and I’m trying not to lose sight of this fact while I ponder this issue. Thankfully this problem doesn’t actually need to be solved prior to departure, but I’m still going to keep working at it.
 

Return to Form

With my trip to Europe almost here, it occurred to me that this blog will be reverting back to its original purpose. I created this blog in 2012 as a way of chronicling parts of my Europe trip that year and allowing others to keep up with what I had seen and done. Although I knew that I would be doing some additional writing on the trip after my return, I didn’t think the blog would continue much beyond that. Well, here we are three years later and this train wreck of an author is still writing drivel for whoever is willing to read it. Maybe it’s tenacity or maybe it’s foolishness that’s kept this blog going, but whatever the case, this blog will soon be coming full circle.
 

First Accommodations

I don’t know why, but for some reason the first accommodations to be booked on extended overseas travel are always the hardest for me to decide on. After that it’s usually a straightforward process of selecting future places to stay, but the first one has a habit of paralyzing me with indecision. A few days ago I spent several hours looking over listings for Paris, the city that I will be landing in. Granted, Paris has a lot of options, but the last time I went to Paris I only needed a fraction of that time to figure out where I was going to stay. On my previous trip the starting city was London, and on that occasion I also spent an unnecessarily long amount of time picking out where I was going to stay. After the first city the process gets easier, for whatever reason I don’t know. I look online, I narrow the choices down to just a few and then I make a decision, all in a single session and in about 15 to 20 minutes. It doesn’t make sense to me why the first one is the hardest, especially since this isn’t my first time traveling to Europe, but it’s finally done and now I have moved on to booking other accommodations.