Home Sweet Home!

We took off a little later than scheduled last night, but we only arrived about 10 minutes late in Adelaide.  John had told my daughter Hayley that I'd be flying over their house on Yorke Peninsula at about 7.00am so she went out with the kids to wave to me.  The sun was coming up as we flew over, so the plane and its trail were glowing orange.

Hi Granny!

The flight was awful - one of the bumpiest I've ever had, but I managed to doze for about an hour, greatly helped by the fact that I had two seats to myself.

When the plane stopped after landing we were all asked to remain in our seats as we had a quarantine issue.  Eeek!  Apparently someone became very ill during the flight and this had to be checked out.  We only had to wait for about 5 minutes and then I cleared through passport and customs and at last got to see John who was waiting for me.  I'll be watching out for signs of the plague.

It's lovely to be home and I had fun emptying out all the goodies from my bags.  I've certainly had an amazing three weeks and I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who encourages me to achieve my dreams.

Now, what's next???

A missed photo!

Just found this stray photo that I took this morning in the loo of the hotel - had to share!

Kawaii floral arrangement!

Taking it easy in KL

May 01

Nothing much to report today – but I made it to the airport on time and I’m sitting comfortably in the Plaza Lounge at Kuala Lumpur.

I had enough time to have breakfast before making my way to the station.  Happy to report that I took the right road and got on the right train!  I was pleased that I got on the train at the first station, as it was pretty crowded by the time it got to the airport.

My baggage was fine.  The carry-on baggage went a bit over, but as I only had the backpack besides that, I don’t think they were too fussed.  I got the backpack plastic wrapped, mostly to avoid the risk of the whole thing bursting at the seams and distributing all my kawaii items all over the airport.

I had a very smooth flight to Kuala Lumpur and was pleased that I booked into the Plaza Lounge.  I had a nice dinner and a coffee and then used the free Wi-fi to Skype John.  I’m feeling sad that I’ve left Japan but happy that I’ll be seeing my man in the morning.

I’m just about to go and have a shower and then take it easy till flight time.  I didn’t even take any photos today but here are a couple of pictures to express my feelings.



Thinking of leaving Japan

 

Thinking of seeing John
 

Kate's Last Stand

(For April 30) 

At last – a sleep in!  I took it really easy this morning as I’m S-O-O-O-O-O tired.  I didn’t leave the hotel until about 10.00am.  My first task was to walk from the hotel to the Nankai Railway Station to make sure I don’t stuff it up tomorrow.  There is an intersection near the hotel, with one road heading for the JR Railway Station, one to the subway station and one to the Nankai Station.  I’m now familiar with the road that goes to the subway station, so I was able to take the right road to the Nankai Station.  I went as far as the ticket gate and checked the whole procedure, and felt confident that my sense of direction won’t let me down in the morning.

I went browsing around the Namba City and Namba Parks shopping centres and bought a few cute things.  Next stop was Starbucks for a chai latte and a bit of decision making.  As the cinema was nearby, I decided to go to the movies.  I saw Arnie in ‘Rasuto Sutando’ (that’s Last Stand for those who aren’t familiar with translating Japanese ‘loan words’).  The film was in English but with Japanese subtitles.  I did my best to keep up with reading the subtitles, but wasn’t 100% successful.  I did learn how to say the word that literally means “crap” but can be used for “dammit” or any other expression of annoyance or anger.  It’s probably a bit hard to subtitle an Arnie movie in a country where manners are paramount.

Need undies for your horse or zebra - go to Osaka!

Lunch was a sandwich and cake sitting on a wall while everyone rushed past.

I then took the subway to Shinsaibashi to visit the Tokyu Hands shop.  This is a shop full of the cool and cute little things that are always popular in Japan.  I must have heard the word “kawaii” (cute) at least ten times during my visit.  Well justified too.  There are loads of really cute stationery items and I had to buy a few to tuck in the very few spaces left in my baggage.  One of my favourites is a staple-less stapler made by Harinacks.  I’m not sure what I liked most, the item or the brand name.  I did have a silly grin on my face for a while.

My last night in Osaka and what did I do for dinner?  I bought some stuff from the kombini and took it back to the hotel!  I just felt like I’d had enough of people and I wanted some quiet time.

After my delectable feast, I emptied everything out of all of my bags and started the process of sorting out – heavy or light, allowed in cabin or not allowed, needed during transit stop or not needed and what needed to be accessible to declare when going through customs.  Quite a task for a weary traveller!  I can’t believe how many Doraemon books I bought (I think it’s eleven!).

I broke up the task by having a Skype chat with John, but couldn’t put it off after that.  I helped it along with a beer - in a stylish bottle, I might add.  Here is the picture to prove it.

 

 

 

I have no idea how much my baggage weighs and don’t have any scales to check.  The check-in baggage won’t be a problem as I have a 30kg allowance and will only be checking in the backpack.  My carry-on bag could be an issue, but I’ll find that out at the airport.

My last task was to book a wake-up call just to be on the safe side.  I want to fit in my last Toyoko Inn breakfast (even though this hotel doesn’t do my favourite rice balls) and then I’m going to the airport earlier than I need to, as I’d rather stroll around the airport with no stress than worry about making it in time.