Tokyo Drift

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The 12 hour timezone shift from Halifax to Tokyo does a hard job on your body clock. From 2-4 PM each day, I want to lie down more than anything else. 12 hours later, in the middle of the night, I lie there awake. My body is forced to stand up/lie down to match the current timezone, but the brain has it's own clock...and it is pissed off.

Japan is a first-world country, but every society has it's people that fall thru the cracks. The city is the cleanest I have been in...yet no garbage cans anywhere...you are responsible for your own trash. Everyone waits patiently at crosswalks....unless someone like me crosses against the light...then a few others do as well. A very socially conforming society.

The picture above is taken by the Shibuya Station, a very rich shopping district. Just how did this guy end up here and why does he still have so much stuff. There are about 8 of these in the little section I was in. Japanese people are very polite and person to person theft is very rare.　In such a conformist, group-oriented society, it would be too embarassing to be caught stealing from someone. So buddy has all his junk, and everyone, even the other down-on-your-luck people...leave him and his stuff alone.

The sushi here is top-notch

The food in Tokyo is amazing and you can get really good food at street stalls and sidewalk restaurants, just like in any big city. I am in a small town now and the quality has dropped with the price going up for a very basic meal

Anne Hostel, NE of Tokyo Station

The hostel was pretty cool. Will stay there when I fly out in 2 weeks. I was in a 12 bed dorm that was 10' by 18'...basically bunk beds and a 2 foot walkway.The mix was global..2 Japanese girls, 2 American girls, guy from Spain, a few Aussies, a German, a Brit and me. The mix changed everyday and some of us ended hanging out together. There was a free, light breakfast in the common room and you got to meet the rest of the hostel 'croo then or for drinks in the evening.

Tokyo Subway and Above Ground System

The train/subway system is mind-boggling. It serves 33,000,000 people...yes that is the population of Canada! Very little English, but enough to let you know when you have messed up. Been lost a few times already. Really lost today, but not in Tokyo. If you are lucky, you can find one of these with English names to work with. The subway lines are owned by different companies, so you either by a bulk pass, or tickets at each switchover. That being said, the station masters and people you ask for help are very friendly tho their the English is limited. It is a learning process. I am now 100 kms or so outside Tokyo and the train trip held lots of little surprises.

Bicycle Parking Lot

The bike traffic in this city is astounding, bike parking lots everywhere, bikes on all the sidewalks (altho reading today about the amount of bike/pedestrian accidents) You have to be alert when walking, because the bikes weave in and out of foot traffic at quite a good clip. since theft is rare, the bikes lock to themselves but not to any post or fence. Of course, 90% of the bikes are the same commuter model...like a said...a very conformist society.

Love big cities...for awhile...then your head gets too full and you have to leave. In a small town now, decompressing, getting in some hiking.

On The Road, Again...

SAYONARA

Once again, I find the stars aligning and I am ready to head out into the world for a new set of backpacking adventures. The last year was spent doing a house down-size, and it took quite a bit of work to bring the old house up to snuff.

When I did the big 10 month HoboTrack trip around the planet in 2009/10, I skipped SouthEast Asia...and for a good reason. I was worried that I would get in there and really not care to leave. The internal drive to get around the world was pretty high.

When I say that the stars are aligning...it basically takes a lot of luck to be able to do a backpacking trip like this. At a minimum, you need these 5 things to be true:

TIME MONEY HEALTH MOBILITY DESIRE

Everyone who travels long-term has some sort of mix of these variables. Most backpackers fall apart a bit on money, but the flip side of the coin, is that if you have a lot of money, you would probably not want to be a backpacker...walking everywhere, hitch-hiking, sleeping in hostel dorms, making a lot of your meals.

MOBILITY is separate from HEALTH. You can be basically healthy, but not be able to walk 5 kms, or hike over a mountain.

So, I am off for a few months, hopefully until February or so and hope to end up in a few countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar). I will be doing some Wwoofing (organic farm volunteer) in likely 2 countries, and hope to get in lots of walking, swimming, surfing and maybe even some climbing.

I have a few friends to visit along the way and will likely make some more. That is why I like travelling by myself and staying in hostels. I do what I want most days and spend evenings in hostels, sharing the days experiences with fellow travellers from all over the world.

I'll be posting to this blog 3-4 times a month and posting pics to Facebook as I get a chance.

So it goes...

Bruce

Gear List

CARRYING
46 liter knapsack Osprey Hornet
Small waist pouch for camera

KNAPSACK
Sleeping bag Primaloft .5 kg MEC overbag 
Sleepmat Thermarest .25 kg  Shoulders-to-Hips, self-inflating 
Drybag (15 liter silnylon) for knapsack contents
Drybag (10 liter good quality) for clothes and electronics
Drybag (1 liter plastic) for travel books and documents
Daybag (15 liter shapeless nylon)

KITCHEN / FOOD
Spoon, plastic breadknife, can opener, chopsticks 
Water bottle .5 liter / Expanding 1 liter or .3 litter bottle
1 day of light food (apple, cheese, chocolate, nuts, bread)

CLOTHES
Rain shell / nylon Pants / umbrella
Black jacket / light fleece
Poly skull cap / Poly gloves / Poly hats (2)
Bathing suit / Mini-towel
Wool socks (1) / Poly socks (2)
Techie tops (4) / Nylon shorts (2)
Silk Sleep top/shorts Cotton underwear (3)
Sandals / Water Shoes

MEDICAL 
2nd skin, Band-aids, alcohol gel, compression wrap, gauze, tape, Murine, Allergy pills, Ibuprofen, Poly-Sporin, Gravol, Anti-Itch, Chlorine tablets, tweezers, scissors, pumice foam, Multi-vitamins, Lomotil, MalariaI

TOILETRIES
Toothbrush/paste, floss, vaseline, sun lotion, chapstick, toilet paper, hair soap, deodorant, mouthwash, razor, Q-tips, clippers, hair soap, laundry soap

MISC
Watch, wrist Compass, LED flashlight(2), whistle, plastic mirror, SteriPen (water),Camera, battery/charger, Camera chips (3), USB memory stick(3), 1-cell radio, spare batteries (2 AAA), Digital clock, Maps (2), Lonely Planet books, glasses/spare, pen (2), diary, family photos, travel documents/visas, Passport, MSI card, Blue Cross, NS driver licence, Vaccine record, needle/thread, safety-pins, cable-ties, Biners(2), Confirmations, Book, Music/Docs chip, Logbook, Moneybelt

ELECTRONIC
Passport, Drv Lic, Spare passport photos, Family pics, Calling cards, Immunize