March 31, 2004
Manila, Philippines - Day 1
Breakfast at 20 floors above the rest of the world. I am staying at the Pan Pacific Hotel, here in the Malate District of Manila. Hospitality is like no other place I've been to, but the area around it is a whole other world, too. Danger? Not this month, but elections are next month, and during last years election, I thnk the President was arrested by the army in a power struggle I think.. It is the poverty that is pretty prevailing here. Little shirtless kids know to hang off visiting American-looking tourists for money. Luckily I look like a real cheapskate, so I do not get the hangers on, like the English-looking man who followed me out of the hotel last night.
Interestingly, things are so cheap here, i've hired a driver for the week I am here. It sounds luxurious, but it is actually just some guy in a beat up camry/corrolla taxi. Until the next time I log on! Cheers
March 30, 2004
Stopover in Incheon, Korea
Stopover in Incheon, Korea, right outside of Seoul, at 6AM! There is no justice in this world. I didn't sleep very well on the flight, but I did watch a funny Korean movie on the plane about two North Korean sailors who get lost at sea and end up on a South Korean resort beach. Thinking they must not succumb to the bad temptations that has over come the south, they must "fight on" back to the motherland. It's a crappy movie, but the girl they end up running into , adn subsequently helping them "liberate" themselves, is extremely cute. .....le 'sigh....
March 28, 2004
March 26, 2004
San Francisco, after Vail
How funny, no sooner that I got off the plane coming back from Vail, I was in San Francisco, trying to buy a plane ticket for my next destination, Manila Philippines. Whoa! I got my plane tickets, and ended up just hanging out and walking around SF. Also up in this trip, I will be heading off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Actually, I was suposed to go to Malaysia last month, but I cancelled at the last minute, and decided to go on vacation instead. Crazy...
March 25, 2004
March 24, 2004
March 23, 2004
March 22, 2004
March 21, 2004
Vail Ski Trip 2004 - Day 2
Have you had dinner with this guy? On the menu: Pan fried rosemary porkchops, with stir fried vegetables and rice. Nice hearty meal
March 20, 2004
Vail Ski Trip 2004 - Day 1
GREG's Pictures
My day started at 4 in the morning, but it doesn't seem to matter as I didn't even sleep. Loaded up the car and then picked up Mike, by 5:15, then Greg and Diana, by 6. It sucks to be the person with the car to be up this early, but we were at the Airport by 6:30AM and we were on our way to our ski vacation in Vail, Colorado.
We arrived in Denver, and promptly headed for the mountains. It seemed like we were going into the middle of nowhere, but it should be that way for a vacation, right?
We arrived in our condo with no problems, did some grocery shopping, and what else would you do on vacation? Build your own ski jump, of course! Here's to spring 'boarding!
March 07, 2004
March 05, 2004
Japan Travels II
So after missing my train in Nagoya, I also missed my subsequent connection in Shinosaka, to Tokuyama. Thus, I had some time to take a few pictures in the Shinosaka Station. Not much time for taking pictures anyother time, so I made the best of the situation.
Travels in Japan
What a day. To get to Tokuyama from Matsumoto, I had to take the Shinkansen train from Matsumoto to Nagoya, Nagoya to Shinosaka, and then Shinosaka to Tokuyama. And what do you know, I missed my train from Nagoya. The picture above is me waiting for the next train, or me looking at where my original train should have been, depending on how you look at it.
Japan Day 5 - Matsumoto
Morning In Matsumoto, view of the city-sky and the street below, at five in the morning. Five in the morning! At five in the morning, anyone in their right mind should be asleep, but I had so much on my mind, I woke up even before I fell asleep. It was another hectic day, in which my colleague and I visited yet another customer to discuss some urgent issues.
One interesting custom in Japanese business culture, you always change your shoes before entering any building. It was fine for me, but the only thing I did not like was changing into "community" slippers, three sizes too small. I did, however, have a very good meeting, and before I knew, it I was already on another train to my next destination, for Tokuyama.
March 04, 2004
Japan Day 4 - Travel Day
I spent the last two days in beautiful Yamagata, yet I spent most of it indoors, with colleagues and business associates. I do have to admit, eating in the factory cafeteria is actually pretty good, unlike American cafeterias where I always get cravings to go out for lunch. Today was a simple day to wrap up loose ends and to finish up the applications I was working with.
However, it is also part of a travel day, in which I must take the Shinkansen again to my next destination, Matsumoto. It is a city right outside of Nagano, but with the way that the train routes are planned, many of the routes originate from Tokyo. It was a 2.5 hour train ride back towards Tokyo, where we changed trains from the Yamagata Shinkansen, to the Nagano Shinkansen, which was another 3 hour ride. Funny enough, we passed by a real trendy outlet mall along the route, anchored by, of all brand names in clothes, Nike. When we arrived in Nagano, it was another rush to the next train, a local transit route, which we rode for another 1.5 hours. Crazy!
However, this ride was proabably the most rickety passenger car, i've been in, in all of Japan, so rickety, the doors do not close all the way and to open, you have to pull them open. Nagano, if you remember, is a Ski town from the 1998 Winter Olympics, which just makes it another very cold Japanese town. You can only imagine what the draft was like, everytime the doors opened for passengers, for an hour and a half, and the draft when the train got up to speed.
We made it to Matsumoto, around 9PM, and I have to admit I liked this city the most on this trip. It was a little more civilized and seemed like more of a hip place to be, than in Yamagata where people were surprised sushi resturants existed in the United States. Granted I didn't get much time to spend in Tokyo much.
March 03, 2004
Japan Day 3 - Sakurambo Higashishine
Tendo, Yamagata - It is COLD. If it doesn't appear so in the pictures i took in the morning, it is still very cold. I think the high temperature yesterday was about 2 degrees Celsius. Today's forcast? -1 degree Celsius!
My colleague and I arrived in town yesterday, and promptly visited our local business associates. It was a very busy day and when we got out, it was already dark. We made our way to to our hotel in a near-by town called Tendo. It was cold in the evening, and when it came time to look for an inviting restuarant for dinner, it began to snow. We cut our losses, and ducked into the first place we could find, a little tonkatsu diner. It was operated by one person, the chef, but most interestingly, transactions were handled by a machine! You simply walk in, decide what you want from a menu, deposit money, and it gives you a ticket and your change. Simply give the ticket to the chef, and he'll cook up your order. I'll have to see if that turns up in American diners somewhere, someday!
March 02, 2004
Japan Day 2 - Yamagata
So on the second day, I met with my Japanese counterpart for breakfast in my hotel. Afterwards, we made our way to the subway bound for Tokyo, where the main railway terminal was located. This was my first experience on a Tokyo subway and all the horror stories I've heard were true. The subway was so crowded during the commute hour, I actually got shut out of two trains.
On the third try, I did get better luck, but all I remember was it was being packed so tightly, it really was like a large can of sardines. I was carrying my luggage with me, as well, so it was not the most convienient, but at one point, being so confined, people were pushing and shoving, I simply leaned back on the crowd, and was surprisingly comfortable for the rest of the train ride into Tokyo. I was actually sitting on someone!
In Tokyo, we transferred to the Yamagata Shinkansen, which is the just one of the many Japanese bullet train routes, and much more comfortable than the subway. It was an approximate 3 hours on the high speed train to get to our destination, but it was so beautiful. I fell asleep, a part of the way, but when I woke up, we we in the middle of a snow covered plain, with mountains that seemed to punch into the sky. I was so amazing, my pictures can not do it justice.
March 01, 2004
Japan Day 1 - Shinegawa
Playing with camera settings probably takes the most time when I take pictures, but this is after 12 hours on a plane, with one stop over in Seattle, and another hour on a bus to my hotel in Shinagawa, just south of Tokyo. Still working on settings that work best at night time, but I seem to like all the different settings above. Learning Japanese, though, will be a new task. =p