Tic Tac Tour

Sa tinagal tagal ng interval ng posts ko sa blog ko, sa palagay ko langaw na lang ang dumadalaw dito at mga di inaasahang blogger na napadpad lang basta (at nakikipaglink-ex), kaya heto gawa na lang tayo, este, ako pala ng bagong post. Tagalog naman, para maiba; nakakapagod at nakakatamad na magpunas ng ilong kapag nagbabasa maski ng ibang blogs eh. Para may alam kayo, ang post na to ay tungkol sa mga lugar pinagtapunan sa akin ng karumal-dumal kong boss noong high school pa ako - noong wala pa akong malay sa mundo (stir: 1st year pa lang, namulat na ako sa mundo, ng Maynila).

Singapore - Unang out of country experience ko ito, pero hindi naman unang beses sumakay ng eroplano, kaya ayos lang ang pakiramdam. Hindi kailangang magdala ng jacket at kung ano pang pampainit sa katawan dahil parehas lang naman ang range ng temperatura sa Pilipinas. Kailangan lang magdala ng Gameboy at cellphone na pwedeng paglaruan, kasi puro oldies na ang kasama ko dito. Kapag minamalas nga naman. Mas dekalidad ang mga kagamitan at kung ano ano pa kaysa Pilipinas, dahil halos lahat ng daan ay sementado at walang kalubak-lubak at wala ring open manholes na talaga namang nakakainis. Wala ring mga enforcer masyado, dahil disiplinado rin ang mga tao rito. Maski mga barricades na kulay pink, wala kang makikita. May mga puno sa bawat aisle sa gitna ng kalsada para naman maging maaliwalas pa rin ang paligid. Hindi ka makakakita ng itim na usok na bubuga sa mukha mo tuwing tatawid ka dahil dumaan ang lahat ng sasakyan sa smoke emmission testing, at panay Honda, Toyota, Mazda at kung ano pang brands ang makikita.

Malaysia - Malapit lang naman siya sa Singapore kaya pwedeng sumakay ng bus papunta dito. Dadaan ka nga lang sa Singapore-Malaysia Second Link at daranas ng halos isang oras na traffic bago makarating dito. Nakanood pa ako ng isang movie sa bus nung pumunta ako dito, kaya pwede na rin. Sulit naman ang biyahe dahil marami ring magandang makikita. Hindi nga lang tulad sa Singapore na marami nang nagtataasang buildings, mayroon pa ring mga puno at kagubatan sa Malaysia kumpara dito. Hindi ko nga lang nalubos ang oras ko dito dahil ilang araw lang kami namalagi, kung hindi magiging illegal ang stay namin. Sa pagkakatanda ko, two days lang ang validity ng passport stamp na makukuha mo galing Singapore kung pupunta ka dito. Kung gusto mo talagang magtagal sa Malaysia, dapat ang flight mo ay galing mismo sa Pilipinas.

Japan - Dito sa bansang ito ako namangha ng husto. Bukod sa dito ako pinakamatagal na nagbahay-bahayan, marami kasi talagang kapansin-pansin dito. Airport pa lang ang tapakan mo, para ka nang nasa novelty shop o di kaya eh mall. Hindi mo tuloy malaman kung nagsho-shopping o nadaan lang ang mga taong masasalubong mo tuwing maglalakad ka. Lumindol man nung araw na dumating kami, hindi namin nalaman yun hanggang pagdating namin sa hotel. Intensity 4 pa daw yun. Kung tutuusin malakas na lindol yun ah. At ayun na nga, dahil sa teknolohiya ay marami akong naranasang bago dito, tulad ng pag-aalaga ng latang naglalakad, este yung Aibo pala, salamat sa Sony Computer Entertainment. Bawat isla rin na puntahan mo ay may ipagmamalaki, tulad ng Odaiba, mini-New York. May Mini-statue of Liberty kasi na nakatirik sa gitna ng isla, at mga lumang kanyon sa mga watergates papasok doon, kaya mukhang astig kung titingnan sa malayo. Sikat din ang Rainbow Bridge sa napakahabang Sumida River, na madalas daanan para tumawid sa mga isla papuntang city proper at pabalik. Nasubukan ko rin ang Global Positioning System o GPS sa mga sasakyan ng host parents ko at talaga namang cool ang locator na to. Tiyak na di ka maliligaw. Samantalang sa Pilipinas, tanong tanong ang aasahan mo. Salamat din at napadpad kami sa Disneyland na talaga namang pagkalaki-laki at kinulang ang isang araw para masubukan ang lahat ng rides doon. Mayroon pa nga silang parang iMax pero mas astig manood dun dahil parang realistic lahat ng makikita mo pag suot mo yung special shades nila. Nakapunta rin ako sa Tokyo Tower na pagkataas-taas, para kang nagpuntang Baguio. Mababago pa ang air pressure, na medyo masakit sa tenga sa umpisa pero ayos lang. Nakasakay sa LRT, ay Shinkansen pala, na suuuper bilis, at umiikot ang mga upuan. Hindi na kailang mag-U-turn di gaya dito sa atin. Enjoy talaga magstay sa bansang ito, yun nga lang kailangan mo rin talagang mag-aral ng nihongo para makipag-usap ng maayos. Pero sulit pa rin ang lahat ng hirap mo. Magdala ka na rin pala ng pera.

Saan kaya ako susunod na liliparin ng hangin?

Labels: travel

flight scheduled at 10:00:00 PM
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Back

Good Abdernoon Mlogger [excuse me, Tabulas, MySpace, Xanga and others] Briends. Horry bor the lade upbade anb the mab micdion, I have a cold. I hope it wobn'd lasd long. Pray for my recovery please. :)

After sneezing for thirty-five times(!), at least I feel better now. Anyway, I've just been back from a 3-day semestral break in Japan. (naks, rich kunwari haha) There were three of us actually, but the other two are not yet in college. It shows that I am the oldest in the group, much like a guardian. One is still a senior high school student and the other was a Filipino-Japanese friend of ours who actually lives there. We're all boys, if you would like to know.

We had a good trip, by the way. (nang-iinggit lang ako sa post na 'to) If you've been reading my blog entries this past few days, you'll see one entitled 'Wanderlust.' right? That's where we went last November 3. Too bad, we weren't able to go to DisneyLand again (nang-iinggit ulit) because we had to do some business there for hopefully being able to pursue studies there. Hakone was just a sidetrip. Anyway, I was supposed to post something before we hopped in the plane but I forgot to do it because of laziness, perhaps. I'll post it later na lang (or not).

Okay, now I'm about to have my catnap. Haha. Maybe I'm just tired from yesterday's activities. Perhaps, I'm bored at home. Classes will start November 13 pa. Good, I still have one week to rest. But then, I just remembered the CAMP talent show. Our block has to meet up for that activity and prepare our presentation. So I guess I wouldn't be able to rest, after all. Too bad.

Hmm. Enrollment for next sem is this coming Tuesday. So see you then, blockmates. I hope you're actually reading this post. I don't have credits today. Maybe I'll load tomorrow.

*JAL, (you know who you are) I wouldn't be surprised if you were the first to comment on this post. Haha.
*other blogger friends, you're free to leave a comment anyway. :)

Labels: travel

flight scheduled at 4:00:00 PM
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Skyward

Since I was a child, I have always dreamed of being a pilot someday.

I had this habit of waving to airplanes flying by our house everyday, back then. I was always inside planes (yes, I was only able to take a ship ONCE in my entire life.) whenever I travel, and these planes never failed to fascinate me. I've always wanted to fly, an insatiable wanderlust that drove me on a journey around the world. But that was back then. I had to give it up.

To become a pilot, the candidates vision can be no worse than 20/70 in each eye. Too bad, wearing eyeglassess to correct them (even contact lenses) will not be considered. So much for my dreams of flying, eh? Well anyway, I was able to try flying without undergoing an actual flight training. Thanks to JASDF, I got the chance to know the feeling of a real pilot. But I just have to get over it. Or not. I'm 16 now and I've been thinking about this since I was 3. Aba, ang tagal din nun ah. Forget it.

Let's just get this straight. I have a new blog layout (thanks to the one who made it, by the way) and here it is.
Now it's time to eat lunch. Plane lunch. Anyway, thanks to the free WiFi access for allowing me to update my blog. ^^

*if you don't like this skin anyway, tag or comment and i'll revert to the old skin.

Labels: new layout, travel

flight scheduled at 12:00:00 PM
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Wanderlust

The festival shouts of 'Down! Down! The Lord comes!' echoing in the hot spring town under the autumn sky

Date: November 3rd
Place: Yumoto Hot Spring Town
City: Hakone-machi, Ashigara-Shimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture

An annual tourist event held on Culture Day (a national holiday), November 3rd, at Yumoto Onsen, Hakone. A procession of a total of 170 people dressed up as samurai warriors and princesses parades over a distance of some 6 km in the hot spring town.

The procession is reproduced in the style of the Daimyo Gyoretsu (feudal lord's procession)which was also known as sankin kotai during the Edo Period (1603-1867). The suite of retainers, each assigned with his role, and armed with spear, bow and arrow, or gun, march on as they carry their lord in the palanquin to the words, 'Down! Down! The Lord comes!' voiced aloud by those leading the procession.

The sankin kotai was a system established by the Tokugawa Shogunate reigning over Japan back then to prevent its subordinate feudal lords from rising in rebellion. By obliging the daimyo lords to go back and forth between their domains and Edo (present-day Tokyo) in alternate years, the Shogunate Government aimed at weakening their financial power.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu departs from Sounji Temple, and while carrying out diverse activities on the way, arrives at Yumoto Fujiya Hotel, the final destination, a little past 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The festival is made all the more merry by the performances of the marching bands accompanying the daimyo procession at the front and at the very end, and the dance performances by the geigi unique to hot spring resorts (geigi are women who entertain guests at sake parties with song and dance). Another of the delights of the Daimyo Gyoretsu in Hakone is that you can enjoy bathing in an onsen hot spring to relieve your fatigue once the festival is over.

*Hakone Yumoto Station is about 15 minutes from Odawara Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway.
*Odawara Station is about 35 minutes from JR Tokyo Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen or 1 hour 30 minutes on the Tokaido Line.
*Hakone Hotel, near Lake Ashi would be the best choice for the stay, its near the event and it offers an open-air hot spring bath, with rates of 5,001-10000 yen, and triple twin bedrooms.

So, who wants to go on a tour with me?

Labels: travel, wanderlust, write ups

flight scheduled at 2:28:00 PM
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See you soon, Nihon

I don't know why but I think that I'm not in the mood to do ANYTHING AT ALL. (except writing this blog entry.)

I'm not always like this. It's just so unusual. I wish I did not wake up this morning. Come to think of it, I woke up at 10:00 AM, and I don't know what I am supposed to do. I don't even know what to eat, because of these braces which were tightened last Friday. And dang, it still hurts. Really, it hurts. Thankfully, I'm still capable of eating ICE CREAM. I guess I'd accept that as a compensation.

I was thinking of what to write in this nonsensical blog entry. Then, I just remembered we have a new batch of scholars who'll go to Japan this October. Now that I mentioned it, its been almost a year since I last went there. I wonder what Tokyo looks like now. I miss everything Japan has to offer. I miss everything in Japan. The people, the places, and everything I saw there. I really miss Japan, and I really, really miss Disneyland.

I desperately want to go back to Japan, RIGHT NOW. But then I still have to wait two years (including this one) to be able to go back there again, and hopefully stay there to continue my studies. I still have at least two years to spend with my blockmates in UPM. How I wish I could finish BS-OT before I leave for Japan. I really do.

I have so many things running through my mind on what I want to do when I get back there (except for pursuing my studies there).

I want to experience the 'samui' air again.
I want to walk in the busy streets of Japan once more.
I want to ride the Shinkansen again. It's like riding an airplane, FIRST CLASS.
I want to try the Flight Simulator once more in JASDF, and fulfill my dream of becoming a pilot..in virtual reality, that is. (talk about my frustrations.)
I want to go kite-flying again. And their not the ordinary kites, they're HUGE!
I want to play baseball again!
I want to play bowling with my Japanese friends again.
I want to EAT Japanese food again. Really, the taste of original Japanese food is way much better (i can't find a decent adjective to describe it, so I came up with this one.) than the ones I have tasted here in the Philippines.
I want to speak Nihongo everyday again.
I want to go back to the arcades of AEON Mall.
I want to search the city for the best Hyaku-En shop out there.
I want to go back to Disneyland. Don't ask why.
I want to meet Ace again! (he's a FilJap studying in Japan. Fortunately, he became my classmate) I miss you buddy!
I want to buy myself a Robo-dog. I just wish it wasn't that expensive.
I want to take another Sumida River tour to Odaiba, and take another look at the Rainbow Bridge and the mini-Statue of Liberty.
I want to see snow...I wasn't able to, last time out.
I want to see Japan's beautiful sceneries, once more....

Ah, I just want to travel again... Wait for me Japan, wait for me...

Currently listening to: The New Theme Song of Tokyo Disneyland ( I wish I could get back there soon, and hopefully have the time to do it.)

Labels: travel, wanderlust

flight scheduled at 3:01:00 PM
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