Backpacking

Hey guys. Its my last full day in Japan. The weather SUCKS and I have no idea what I did to it, but my foot really hurts. I was going to go to some park outside town. But it looks like its going to be a quiet day indoors. Yeah, that bites. I know. This morning, I have to pick up my visa from the Chinese embassy. I might see if I can get another bottle of dirt cheap perfume. They have pretty much all the brands that they do back home, but for half what you pay in Canada. If the weather clears up a bit and my foot doesn't give me anymore problems, I might head over to a park in the city and swing by a temple.

One of the greatest inventions, in my opinion, is the flush toilet. Some may say its the zip lock bag, but they're wrong on a consistant basis. Think about it. You can drink in excess of what your liver can handle, press a button, and it all goes away. I thought the toilet as it currently states, has reached its evolutionary peak. There just simply isn't anymore to be done to improve it. That was until I came to Japan. Its peak is merely a standstill. Japan has always been the forefront of technology. One of the modern day devices that they have managed to perfect even further is exactly that, the flush toilet. They have installed a beday spray, a musical device to mask any unwanted noises, water pressure control, AND the seat is heated.


However, one other invention that I cherish, that they don't see the importance of is the lock. Specifically, on shower doors. I recently had a situation with one of my room mates. I don't usually introduce a man to muffy and the twins until after he has bought me several drinks! And I realize that I post more pictures of toilets than what some people would consider 'normal'. But simply put, I am far from normal.

As I am reaching the end of my travels, I'm starting to find ways to fill my time when I return to my home and native land (lyrics from 'Oh Canada!'). So far, I will be seeing Cary Brothers, Billy Talent and Muse(who better be good, the venue is all the way out by the freakin' airport!) in concert this summer.

As for my next abroad journey; it will be New Zealand followed by a brief stopover in Australia (yes, OZ again!), Seychelles, and Tanzania. If anyone has any reccomendations for any of these areas, drop me a line at ashleychurchill@hotmail.com.

As I said, I'm off to Beijing tomorrow. So the next time you hear from me, it will be after I've scaled the great wall of China!

Peace out.

AC

Greetings from Japan everyone! I arrived the day before yesterday. Before I came here, I thought it would be a fish out of water scenario. I'd be drowning in gibberish and wouldn't be able to navigate around Tokyo at all. But its actually been pretty easy. All the signs are written in english as well as Japanese and alot of people here to speak atleast a little english. Although, food can be an issue. They don't put english on food packaging. When I first arrived here, it was really hot outside and I went into a 7/11. I bought what I thought from the look of it was a strawberry popsicle. After I started eating it, I realized it was a pomegranate popsicle! And Japan is really cheap as well. I just bought a bottle of perfume that would sell in Canada for about $60. I bought it for the equivalent of $30!

Anway, I'll post some pics later.

AC

Everyone mark June 19th on your calender. That is when I will be
making my arrival to the Great White North. I EXPECT PHONE CALLS PEOPLE! I'll be leaving from Beijing and I have a connection in Newwark, USA. When I came home from Europe, I had the absolute WORST jetlag. The second 7pm rolled around, I'd be out cold. I'm wondering what its going to be like this time since I'm 16 hours ahead of Toronto and not 6 hours. We'll see.

And if anyone that I crossed paths with in Australia finds themselves in the Toronto area, let me know and I'd be happy to show you around.

I'm having some drama with STA. Sometimes I wonder if people are bred to be especially incompetent as part of NASA experiment or something. WHY DO I HAVE TO REPEAT THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL NOT SEE RESULTS? I know my ex roomies in Sydney have seen my frustration with this type of temperament before. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

I'm in the last few weeks of my journey through the South Pacific. I know have my ticket to Japan. My ticket to Beijing will arrive soon, and I will be ordering my ticket back to Canada soon. Its always bittersweet at this point in the trip. In the spirit of things coming to and end, I found out what my epitaph will say:

See ya.

AC

I arrived in Mt. Cook this afternoon. Its a pretty small village in the middle of nowhere. One peice of advice I have for anyone heading here, bring lots of cash. There are absolutely no ATMs here. I'm so happy I paid my mastercard bill before coming. I had only had 10 bucks arriving. And one more thing, whereever you go in NZ, bundle up BIG TIME. Tuque, scarf, mittens, the whole deal. They're pretty stingy with the heat out here and it gets damn cold sometimes.
Weather permitting, I'm going to head off for some of the hiking trails out here before heading back to Chirstchurch.

Peace Out.

AC