Travel to learn, Learn to travel

Sunday, 23 April 2017

Its been a while. Not travel related blog

Hi, so today I need to vent. I really need to vent and I am so sad to say I don't want to vent by calling someone up because I don't want to "bring someone down" by all my bitchy complaining so thank god for this medium. That way people who are interested can read and well those who don't want to hear about another persons problem, well you can click the X...

So lets start with why I can't even call a friend to vent to...because that to me is mind boggling and yes I am totally admitting that I have an issue with myself that I have an issue with calling a friend to complain. Back in high school which doesn't seem that long ago in the scheme of things, I would have no issues picking up a phone and calling a gf up and telling her the scoop as to why I am pissed. But now a days its like people don't have the time to listen or they don't want you to bring them down with all your negativity and or drama or they're simply just to fricken busy to chat on the phone. This drives me mad, am I like the only person on this earth who doesn't have every fricken second of my day scheduled with some non sense mindless activity? Seriously, where did everyone's time go? even my friends who are childless....they just never seem to be able to answer the bloody phone, and I will be waiting on eternity if I were to ever expect a call from them.

It drives me nuts that people don't call me anymore to chat...its like if I get a call its for a specific reason...ok scratch that, I have one friend who will randomly call me up when she has a spare moment and I absolutely love it...how do people find fulfilment with empty words? Isn't a real live voice so much better and more intimate?!

So there, I don't get called and this in turn makes me not want to call others. And on the rare occasions that I do call, no one ever picks up their bloody phone which makes me wonder what is the point of trying to bring back good old telephone chatting?

Moving on to my main point, I am just starting to feel myself getting super irritated and out right angry with everyone around me. Its terrible, I can absolutely admit that, its not a good feeling when you only see the worst in people or you see the flaws...I hate it but for some reason lately, its been just staring me down, taunting me. AH!

I'll give an example, I was having some issues with someone, lets call them Zena, due to clashing personalities, and I had the support of an individual lets call them Alex from the beginning. Alex knew Zena and though they weren't close, individually they were close to me for reasons beyond either of our controls. It was due to the circumstances that we had to continually see each other, like co workers if you will...

So what drove me mad and what I am having a hard time letting go with is the fact that when I would see Alex, they would be raw raw raw I support you girl 100%, you are such a big person, I'm super proud of you and the way you're behaving etc etc and basically try to feed into my "ego" and at first I was touched but as time went on, I started to wonder why they never discretely and objectively told Zena, "hey I've noticed that you two are behaving in XYZ manner, and I can tell you from what I have seen that it is affecting [me] in this way". Its not even like I am asking for Alex to attack Zena on a personal level, by calling them a crazy hooha or mentally unstable....
So its not that I am hurt they never could say anything to Zena directly, its the fact that they were so cheerleadery when it was just us alone that drove me mad....and its like I just ....I can't! I get it if you don't want to be involved, don't but please don't go kissing my ass and acting like my personal support cheerleader when in reality if it came down to me needing your help, you would cower away like a coward. And that is just my whole issue....I feel like I am surrounded by repressed people who cannot share their feelings or opinions, because they want to keep the f**** peace.
OMG how do you live in a world where everyone is muted and you are not and most likely will never be....its exhausting and I hate it, and I don't know if its my issue or society's because you know how they say if an individual has a problem with everyone, its most like that individual who has issues as opposed to the others... Is that whats happening here? I don't fricken even know but I know that I am feeling so not relate-able to anyone in my life and its a really isolating feeling. I just feel as though everyone is so repressed and fake, telling you what you wanna hear, making sure everything in their lives are conflict free, they don't want opposing views ....everything has to be dandy and smooth and just picture f**** perfect. I hate it, I absolutely hate it....and maybe its the people I am surrounding myself with...come to think of it, everyone is middle class and doing just fine financially. Everyone is University educated coming from relatively decent families. Who fricken knows...maybe I'm over generalising right now when if I were to hang out with a different sub population, I would be encountering different types of people.

And the worst thing is when you see someone growing happier and happier the more you bad mouth about someone else or talk about someone else's misfortunes. Its like if you are that insecure with your own life and marriage that the only way you start cracking jokes and smiling is at the thought of someone else's weirdo atypical marriage then maybe just maybe you shouldn't be trying to make your life look so picture perfect....maybe just maybe that will take some pressure off you and your life. big H A.....HAAAA *sigh of relief to have said that out loud even if it is just to the internet ;)

I don't know, maybe its me who has all the issues and I have to start seeing the good in people instead of the bad, but frick me it is hard sometimes. There are always good in people for sure, I honestly know that but I just cannot stand the fakeness of it all. The fact that we just can't fully express what we think or how we feel because we want everything to be smooth and vanilla. We don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers, we want everyone to LIKE us blah blah blah....even if its at the expense of someone's else unhappiness....The fact that we can't defend others or god forbid get involved with other peeople's conflict even if it is to diffuse a situation....because god forbid that person then turns on us and we become *disliked".

Anyway I think thats all I wanted to vent about for now. Gosh I feel like so much head space has formed in my head now...thank you for reading and please do share what you think..good or bad :-)

Friday, 2 December 2016

Day 9

DAY 9: SENDAI TO MATSUMOTO

Oh goodness I realise now that when I don't write about the day within 2 days, I forget a lot!!
So today was a rest/sleep in day and I didn't really know where I was going still. I wanted to do Kamikochi with Emma however when I looked at my calendar I realised I was quickly running out of time on my pass and there was still a lot I had to do...

So I decided that I was gonna go to Matsumoto myself and do the hike I wanted to do. So there we go!! I looked up the train schedule and saw there was a train for 3:15pm and would arrive in Matsumoto for 7:30pm from Sendai. I spent the morning wanting to buy something for Koodo before leaving and I ended up stumbling in the shopping district and found myself in a really cute and trendy grocery/coffee speciality shop. They played Spanish music while I was inside and the whole shop was just adorable. They had a lot of snack items and so I stocked up on my nuts and dried fruit, I bought some for Koodo as well and I decided to splurge and purchase a box of some instant fair trade organic coffee by Mount Hagen (Soooo good btw!!)

I got alot of comments about this while I was travelling...apparently backpackers aren't supposed to consume organic fair trade items!!! :P

Shortly after I returned back to the Sunshine house and packed my stuff. I was hoping to see Koodo and Emma before leaving but they were no where to be found sadly. I remember feeling so disappointed and just like why aren't they here to say goodbye to me???? :'(

Anyway I walked to the station and bought some rice balls along the way. Went to find the train tracks and just as I got off the escalator...there pops up Emma out of no where and is like "HEY!! I am so glad to have found you!!" I was in disbelief! SHOCKED!! like omg how did you even know which track I was on?! Anyway we exchanged our last goodbyes and I was left feeling bittersweet. Happy that she came to say bye but sad that we had to part ways.

So I took the train to Matsumoto and when I arrived I took the local bus to where Ken told me to go.
We were to meet at the hospital ...and I waited for a good hr until he finally showed up. A little annoyed, we started walking to an Indian restaurant to meet his friends.

Ugh talk about feeling super old... so his friends looked like they were in high school and I just felt really out of the loop. I sat there while they all ate their curry and felt super bored and kinda awkward at the same time. One girl was from China, a guy from Korea and the last from...Taiwan I believe?? They were all studying different subjects and just looked as juvenile as could be.

After that, we walked home and when I entered his place, I remember thinking to myself, where is the rest of it? lol I couldn't get over how small it was. First off it was a single room and by that I mean it had a tiny kitchen where the entrance was; a bathroom directly across that which had mould growing in the crevices. I asked "where is your bed?! "And he goes oh in the closet, and I was thinking ok it's like a pull out thing, nope, it literally was like a thick foam pad that he pulled out every single night to sleep on. Anyway I curiously asked where I was sleeping and he points to the sleeping bags. I just felt my face drop...seriously?! I may as well just set up a tent outside! But I reminded myself, no judgement Bonnie, be grateful that he is even sharing his space with you. You are here for experiences, and gurlll you are gettin it!!!
So he informed me that the next day which was Wednesday was his busiest days and he would be gone from morning till night. I wasn't bothered, as I always find stuff to do, so we wished each other a goodnight and that was that.

This is the single main room. From where I was standing, I was in the kitchen and to my left would have been the bathroom

The kitchen/entrance area

Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Day 8 Yamadera hike

This is the start of the trail area

Stairs near start of trail (if you see this
its a good sign :)

So this was a great day for several reasons.

First off, we caught our train with like 10 seconds to spare haha...not even kidding...
We trained towards Yamadera station but intended on getting off the one before which is called Omoshiro-Yamadera. From there is an excellent hike that takes around 2-3hrs and gets you to Yamadera (where the temples are located). The hike is a bit confusing to find at first, so basically you come off the train and walk up the stairs. Cross a small metal bridge and you see a small trail opening (pic on right -->) on the left and you walk down it.

Waterfall at the start of hike

Chestnut I found on the ground

You see a waterfall and some signs in Japanese that I didn't understand. It's not a super popular route so you may not have any other hikers there with you. When I went, there was another foreign couple from America I believe doing it as well. The hike itself is really beautiful, it's basically flat as you are in the valley and walking along the river side. The only difficulties would be that it can get quite slippery so be careful when the trail gets narrow. Also there are parts when you are just walking on stones and rocks. Really a nice trail for taking some beautiful pictures and nothing too physically strenuous. There are many man made bridges along the way that help guide you and if you continue seeing them you know you are in the right path.

Some cute little bridges

After sometime in the forest, we came out onto a road and walked down for what felt like a good 3-4km. And you see nice views of rolling hills, trees, and just greenery. Then you come into some residential area and you keep walking straight. I forget what happens after but you basically walk right into the base of the Yamadera temple section. We got a bit of help from a random guy who ended up hanging out with us the entire day and I kinda developed a teeny tiny crush on!

There are numerous temples in Yamadera and it is true that there are like 1000 steps to reach the very top. But don't think it's like one temple you climb to and visit...there are like several flights of stairs and at each flight there is like a stop point with a temple and shops to buy souvenirs and drinks. Then you head up again, and repeat. More temples, more shops, etc.

Small temple on the side of the hill/mountain area

So as I mentioned, I met this awesome person name Koki and he is a pharmacist. He was visiting this place alone and after we bumped into him again for the second time, he asked so politely if he could join us and when we said sure, he humbly bowed and I was like ahh what a cutie!!! seriously though, when was the last time you saw a guy bow to you?!! I was deeply humbled ^.^

Well, this fella turned out to be the sun shine of our day. He was funny, silly, not your typical Jap guy. He took us around the little village, bought us food just so we could taste some authentic foods, surprised us with souvenirs and at the end of the day he even offered to drive us almost back to Sendai! What a sweetheart <3 It always blows my mind how generous some people in this world are. And he expected NOTHING in return!!! How can you do that to complete strangers? Take time and energy to try to communicate with someone who doesn't speak your language; spend money on complete strangers just to make their travels that much more memorable?? I just am so fricken humbled by this culture, I have never witnessed this before in my travels, like ever. I feel like the Japanese I have been fortunate enough to meet so far are beyond generous, selfless, helpful and ego free. I don't get it, I honestly don't! How does a society come/get to this point? It's like in Japan, I am a complete stranger to you and you can still treat me like a friend, I am just in awe :))))

Anyway when he dropped us off at the train station, I'm not gonna lie I teared up a bit but didn't want him or my friend to see. I remember him looking at me with this innocent perplexed look when I went back for a second hug cause I didn't want him to go and he just said "She's just like a child.." and I just remember thinking, "yeah I really am!" I just hate saying goodbye to amazing people because you don't know if your paths will ever cross again.

Saturday, 5 November 2016

Day 6 Asahikawa to Sendai

So today was basically a write off as I was in transport for most of the day. I caught a train leaving Asahikawa at 10am to Sapporo to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and then from there I believe I went straight to Sendai. I arrived in Sendai for 9:30pm...oh god thats a long day of train riding!

No wait I did one thing today!! I did a short trip to Otaru (music box town) again on my own this time to see some more shops that I had missed because I basically had 3 hrs to chill in Sapporo before catching my train.
(BTW, its about a 45 min local train ride to Otaru from Sapporo)

My travel route from Asahikawa to Sendai (thank god for Bullet trains!)

So I arrived in Otaru and I had about 1.5 hrs to kill. This time I got off the station before the last as it was closer to the shops and restaurants and as soon as I got to the music box museum I felt a deep longing for my friends. It was so weird, cause the last time I was there was with my three friends and as soon as I stepped back inside the shop just by myself I felt really sad they weren't with me and nostalgic. Anyway that ended quickly as I realised that there was much to do with very limited time!

So there was a point where I had like 45 mins to grab some food and head to the train station for 2:00pm. I was walking in the direction that I knew the train station was in and I saw this sweet sea food stall and decided to grab some squid legs. After I got it, I walked outside and immediately was disoriented. I thought I knew which way to turn so off I went and then I saw a store that I had passed earlier and was like wait a minute I must be heading the wrong way. I then turn around and start walking in the opposite direction and again, I see stores that I knew I had passed from earlier. Omg I cannot describe how fricken confused I was and I was starting to stress out because I now had like 20 mins to head back to the train station and I knew I was still pretty far from it. Finally I just gave up and had to ask someone where the station was. He pulled out google maps and pointed me in the correct direction. I caught the train with like 2 mins to spare. Ahh I felt so lucky when i sat down to just have caught the train. Because otherwise I would have missed my connecting train to Sendai :(

This was my reward for catching my train back to Saporro (Matcha Mochi ^^)

I finally arrived in Sendai, the train station was huge and bustling ( I really didn't know how big of a city Sendai was...) I really didn't know what to expect for Sendai so when I came into this, I was quite excited. The energy was high, people were dressed in suits scrambling to get home etc. I messaged my Buddhist monk couch surfer and he immediately found me in the middle of no where. I was impressed and could already tell this was gonna be a good experience (and yes I continued SC even with that horrid initial experience)

I was greeted by two other lovely girls, one from the U.S. and the other from France. Once we got in the car, Koodo took us to eat some vegetarian sushi, and boy was it ever delicious. It was like a legit Sushi restaurant too where you have the chef making the sushi in front of you and directly placing it on your piece of bamboo leaf !!The other girls knew a bit of Japanese so I was super impressed hearing them communicate with the sushi chef.

After dinner it was late, maybe around 11 and we headed back to the guest house called Sunshine House, and was it ever a sunshine house. It was basically our own little apartment. There was a triple bunk bed, a small kitchen with a stove, microwave, kettle, oven, fridge and dishwasher. Omg Koodo had taken the liberty of writing with permanent marker how to use everything. It was so funny walking into the bathooom and seeing a spray canister similar to a room freshener that was labelled "use after poo" LOL...I literally died when I saw that. So just picture like white appliances in the kitchen with black ink written all over it!!!

So after chatting with the girls and hearing how amazing Koodo was, which I could already see we eventually said our good nights and fell asleep

19:37 Sendai!

selfie with the Shinkensen :P

Chef making our sushi

triple bunk maddness! I slept at the bottom

our cute kitchen

What an amazing host Koodo was...just wow <3

Friday, 4 November 2016

First time being a couch surfer in Japan

First time couch surfing in Japan with a British drunk...

So after what felt like hours of walking in Asahikawa, I finally made my way to my Couch Surfers (CS) bar (yes he owned a bar) with the assistance of Google maps. Thank god Steven showed me how to use that app during my trip cause otherwise I woulda been screwed!!!

I arrived shortly after 18:30 and was greeted nicely by Doug (won't use real names here)..
He shook my hand which felt like it lasted longer than needed.
Then he gave me a once over, as in looked me from head to toe right in front of me and immediately I felt uneasy. So whatever, I don't make much of it, I drop my bags, take a seat at his bar and start chatting to him about my travels plans, etc. He was honestly great to talk with in the beginning. He was eccentric to say the least, thought he could be gay, reminded me a lot of Alan Carr with the way he spoke.

(This is Alan Carr btw, not my Couch surfing host)URL: https://www.google.ca/search?q=alan+carr&biw=1366&bih=662&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiqv4vXkY7QAhUj7IMKHVRqA6wQ_AUICCgD#imgrc=1ncD4UFaSL7dcM%3A

Then as the night progressed, two Japanese men came in and I was informed by Doug that they were regulars. Very friendly and super humble they were. The one guy worked in the army doing some top secret stuff that even Doug didn't know much about. Doug informed me that all my drinks were taken care of thanks to the army gentleman. I never got any weird vibes from either of the guys, they just seemed super friendly and honestly so happy that there were foreigners in their town.

Anyways, I honestly can't even remember the exact moment when things between Doug and I went extremely downhill as the man drank many many beers to say he least but he started becoming aggressive, rude, condescending and all the traits that may be surfaced when one becomes intoxicated. He began calling me a dumb ass, saying I didn't know shit, telling me to fuck off and just all together rude. I honestly just sat there biting my tongue and he could tell I was pissed cause he would just start jabbing me and say things like "oh is someone getting angry with me? "Has anyone ever told you, you're super uptight? Am I allowed to even touch you?..." omg I wanted to walk out right there and looking back I don't know why I didn't.

Thank god there were two other couch surfers with me whom arrived around 9pm and told me they intentionally were trying to extend their time away from Doug before having to see him again. They were also just as annoyed and the one guy blatantly said "it's a good thing English isn't my first language because I would probably beat you if I understood everything you are saying" These 2 Israeli guys had spent the previous night with him and said it was much worse than what was happening now. I honestly couldn't believe it...I couldn't remember the last time someone had insulted me so much to my face and just wouldn't stop. I am actually getting annoyed and agitated just thinking about it.

What was even more astonishing was that the 2 Israeli guys thought Doug used CS to get travellers to come to his bar and spend money. They told me that the previous night they each spent 6000 yen ($78 CAD) on drinks (which they thought were covered as Doug kept insisting they keep drinking). Btw a nice hostel costs about $27/night, so when I found out about that, my jaw dropped.

It's quite a cute and cozy bar minus the barman

So at one point he was like "Bonnie did you even read my profile on CS?" and I responded, "uhh of course I did, I also read your reviews before requesting". And he was like did you read the part about being familiar with"bar culture"? And honestly it did not ring a bell.
So I tell him that and he starts like freaking the f*** OUT!!! So yeah fine that is totally my error for not having read the part about his home and "bar culture" but my god the man would not let it go. Again calling me typical Canadian, and how Canadians aren't smart, they don't read etc...How I had the audacity to even request to stay with someone without having read their whole profile?! I wanted to shoot him in the face. Oh yeah and he kept saying how I had an "American accent", and I wasn't speaking proper English etc etc...whatever insult you can come up with, he used on me. Anyway by the end of it, I just agreed with everything he was throwing at me and that irritated him to no other... I honestly just couldn't win with him. Seriously it shocks me what alcohol can do to a person. Cause like I said, before he drank, he was quite a lovely person.

This is the bar with blurred out Doug

Anyway the nice Japanese men were there just sitting quietly and paying for our drinks and food consumed (one actually left to buy us Haggen Daz icecream!!! I almost died when he came back with it- such a nice gesture and expecting absolutely nothing in return) Eventually they left the bar leaving me with Doug, the Israeli guys and Doug's wife. If only those Japanese men knew what bullshit Doug was saying, they would never step foot into his bar again, that I am sure of.

So at 1am, the night ended when a random man arrived at the bar who later took us home. It's interesting in Japan, you can actually pay people to drive you in your car if for whatever reason you cannot drive.
So I got back to Doug's place and he insisted I sleep in the living room away from the Israeli guys and I was like HELLLLZ NO BROTHA! I will sleep with these random men I just met tonight because I feel safer with them than in a room all by myself with you lurking god knows where in the vicinity...

In the morning, it was like angelic Doug was back. He was completely normal and polite and even offered to take me to the train station. We first dropped off the guys at the highway because they were going to hitch hike back to Sapporo. For a brief moment, my whole self became very aware that it was just going to be me and Doug in the car once the two guys were gone and I honestly didn't know what to do. Luckily, Doug just drove me back and we chatted like normal people, no insults no rudeness of any sort. We exchanged our goodbyes and he wished me safe travels before turning and going.

Weirdest and freakiest experience I have ever had in my life.

this shot was taken from the table I was sitting at

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

Day 5 Sapporo to Asahikawa

So after a shit nights rest I woke up at 5:15am to get packed and head out on foot to Sapporo train station to catch my train at 6:35am. Got to the station and decided to take the next train since I had two hours to wait in Asahikawa for the bus that would take me to the village/onsen area which is the entrance of the National Park Daisetsuzan.

When I arrived at the Asahikawa train station, I met this awesome Thai medical student who was travelling by himself and also wanted to check out the park so we decided to stick together for the day. After speaking to the tourist information person, we were informed that it would be a terrible idea to attempt to climb the mountain today because the winds were strong and the temperature was too cold. So last minute we decided to skip the whole national park and instead go to Biei. After arriving in Biei we went to see the famous blue pond which was so blue and eerie looking, I can't describe why it was eerie, but I think it's because the shade of blue was so chilly and icy looking, it wasn't a warm shade of blue.

blueeeee

ICY blue

My beautiful new Thai friend

After returning back to the main area we decided to rent some touring bikes and attempt to see some nice lookout points indicated in the map. I was feeling very optimistic and certain that we would be able to bike 9km to see the flower fields but was quickly wronged when in the direction we were riding in was covered with ominous grey dark clouds. Also the bikes were absolute shit, 3 mother effing gears!!! Like common!!! Not to mention they weighed like 50 pounds!

At the start of the ride, bright skies

Just stunning landscape

As the afternoon progressed so did the darkness

Small lonely farm in a stormy sky

Honestly though, riding along in the undulating farmland which had barely any cars, people, or houses, I fantasised how amazing it would be to bring my road bike here and ride this when it was summer and warmer. That is something I honestly have to do in my lifetime. It was so spectacular and my god just biking towards the alps in front of you, ugh that would be my absolute heaven. Anyone interested in joining? ;)

After terminating our journey prematurely we headed back to Asahikawa and there I said goodbye to my lovely Thai friend. I then started heading back towards my first couch surfer host's bar.

That experience was definitely interesting to say the least and I will explain in my next post.

Day 4 Goodbye friends

So today was a bittersweet day as I was parting with the friends I came on the trip with.

So after a quick and rushed goodbye, I stayed in the Air B&B until the checkout time and left my bags. I didn't know what to do so I just mindlessly walked around exploring the area. I knew I wanted to hit up the Sapporo beer museum and I had to buy some accessories for my hike the following day.

Sapporo was chilly and cloudy, I don't recall seeing much sunlight and the weather reflected my mood quite well. I was sad that my friends left but at the same time I was really looking forward to feeling that sense of freedom, being able to do what I want, when I want etc. There are definitely pros and cons to travelling with people. On the one hand, its nice to have that familiarity, and a sense of belonging, but I realised whilst travelling with 3 other people that I am not good at compromising at all. And with that realisation I was grateful for being on my own and decided that my deep longing for travelling with someone "special (aka a partner) may not be that glittery and enticing as I once thought it to be.

Grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it? :P

Anyway, I ended up going to the Sapporo beer museum and reading all these interesting facts about how the whole beer culture started in Japan. All I remember reading was that a young 17 year old Japanese went to Germany to study the whole brewing process as he had a great passion for beer and bringing it to Japan. Back then, it was advertised as a "healthy digestive drink" best served chilled. They originally wanted to build the first factory in Tokyo however they realised that it was too warm there and that the beer would ferment. As an interesting side note, beer back then was priced higher than the highest quality sake...!

I wish I had taken photos of the various advertisements displayed, but they were mostly of these upper class women holding these bottles of Sapporo looking elegant and posh. Most of them if not all were painted images. Oh I managed to Google some pics!