Hello! Here I am.
I have been in bed for the last 7 days - pneumonia! Well, if that doesn’t knock it out of you, nothing does. So very sadly we had to cancel our trip to Japan. We were supposed to fly out yesterday but there was no way. I am trying to be positive about the whole thing and am looking at the rest of 2008 as a blank page ready for all sorts of action - or recuperation anyway. Gentle times are planned.
Crumpets with vegemite, little fingers and a travel brochure for Japan.
Why is it that Mum’s breakfast holds infinite appeal while the small child’s actual breakfast is left untouched?
And I have found a fabulous use for the seemingly spooky Google Maps Street View. I have been wandering around the streets of Tokyo and Kyoto - having a little preview of some of the places we have marked to visit. So much fun! It’s like a computer game. Do I turn left here? Why not! That street looks nice!
Back streets of Kyoto…
An archway leading up to the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine (statues of foxes lie within!
And of course - a trip to Junie Moon will be essential - especially if traveling with Christina.
Shibuya Night (HDR), originally uploaded by Guwashi999
The funny thing about travel is that as soon as you do a little bit, the more you want to do and the more you want to see. Originally we fully intended to come home, buckle down and save for a new bathroom refit in the next few years but suddenly we are booking unaffordable trips to Japan (in OCTOBER! 2008!!) and, as I mentioned on the weekend, a Trans-Canadian holiday in the semi-foreseeable future. (Frequent Flyer points really do rock).
I haven’t seen a lot of the world. I know a lot of my peers managed it in their 20s but I was busy doing other things. In the last decade we have been to Canada a few times to visit Phil’s family, and once that included a 4 day stop over in San Francisco, but suddenly I am feeling an urgency to see a lot more. I know this is not terribly well timed with the rising fuel prices and small children in tow, but life is just way too short to not at least try.
Our bathroom, which was once (apparently) featured in a magazine, is now looking tired and dated. But as I said to Phil the other night - “I can close my eyes in the shower! A new bathroom is never going to be as exciting as a holiday to some amazing destination! Life is just way too short!”.
I quite often think of Jeff Bezos’s philosophy which guided him to start Amazon.com - what will I truly regret not having done when I am at the end of my life?
Will I regret not having a new bathroom in 2010? I don’t think so. Would I regret not traveling to see my friends get married in Japan? Undoubtedly. Really, it seems kind of obvious. I know I regret not traveling to the UK 10 years ago to see another friend get married because I felt too cash-strapped at the time.
So we have booked flights, some accommodation and are exchanging excited emails with our travel mates about our next great adventure. Fabric shops! Studio Ghibli! Shrines in Kyoto! Limitless sushi! I am off to catch up on my simple savings emails in preparation for a frugal few months in preparation.