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October 24, 2006
Settled in!. Hiroko and Hannah and I have now settled in to our new home on Topaz Avenue in Victoria, B.C. I moved back on August 15th, a month before the girls, in order to get things set up. After an exhausting search for a place to live, I finally found a great place, in fact it is the best place I have lived in Victoria on my own! It is a condo that we are renting and it is in a lovely building across from a huge park. Plus, it is easy for Hiroko to walk to either Hillside Mall, Mayfair Mall, or downtown. She has supermarket choices of Save-On Foods, Thrifty Foods, or Fairways Market. I am only 10 mins from work and we are very happy here. Hiroko's mom came with the girls on September 14th and stayed for 10 days. We took a nice trip to the Okanagan and were able to see my Grandfather, Nick Werbowy, just two days before he passed away on September 24th, 2006. We will all sure miss him. He had a health scare back in July and that was the family emergency noted below. He went peacefully and accompanied by his loving family in his own home. I am glad that he was able to go the way he wanted. Very few of us have been that lucky. Anyway, things are going good for us all and Hannah is growing fast. She went in for her first set of shots two weeks ago and that was not fun. I dread the next ones in two weeks! Ouch!! But it has to be done. She is able to flip over on to her belly with ease now and she wants to crawl. Soon. She started laughing now and that is something wonderful to hear. Hiroko takes her to the Japanese playgroup every week where they can get together with other Japanese moms and their tots in town. I usually take off for the hour and go and buy Hannah a new bedtime book to read. Lots of fun. Well, that's all for now! July 24, 2006Family Emergency. Hiroko and Hannah and I are flying out of Japan on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 for a week in Penticton, B.C. Then we will be back here on August 2nd and I will fly back again to Canada on August 15th. Recent turn of events have now changed what the next three weeks' expected plans would have been. I don't know if I will be able to answer any emails sent to my regular, or this homepage's, email address until the dust settles in late August. However, you can always email me at my webmail at jeremygriese@hotmail.com July 19, 20061 month old and growing strong! Baby Hannah Maria has passed her first little milestone of a month and she goes in for her first big check up today. We are wondering what her weight is now and her length. She certainly feels like she is getting heavier! And she has been eating well. Still only on breast milk but we'll see what the doctor recommends after the check up. There are some new pics here on Hannah's page. These ones were taken just over a week ago when she was three and a half weeks old. As soon as some new ones are taken, I will try to get them up as soon as I can! Last week was also kind of important since we submitted Hannah's Canadian Passport application at the Embassy in Tokyo. Thank you to our family dentist, Junko Hikosaka, for signing as the guarantor. That made things a lot easier! The hardest thing was to get her to sit still for a good photo! Check back later for more news as things progress! June 20, 2006Busted Bandwidth!! To everyone who tried to access this homepage over the past 2 days and found an error message that stated the bandwidth had been over exceded, sorry! And a big thanks to Shawn, my host for increasing my monthly bandwidth to get us by for this month. You see, when people access the homepage and click on pictures and such, it takes up bandwidth on the server. The more people who visit and click, the more usage. Well it seems that little Hannah Maria has become quite popular and the site got over-worked and had to shut down! So what I did to compensate for the heavy traffic lately was to take a whole lotta stuff off the homepage that used to be there. All of my Japanese pictures and the personality quiz and the new pics page with stuff from last summer, our trip to Singapore, the Hallowe'en Party, the Samurai Parade and a few others. I slimmed the whole site down to mostly all Hannah stuff for now. This might help with access speed too! I have categorized the pics now and I hope you like the new look. Thanks! June 16, 2006HANNAH MARIA GRIESE is born! Check out the info here! More to come later! December 6, 2005Interviewed Again!! This time my friend, Shawn Gray, interviewed me on his podcast for Kutaki.org. This interview goes into the background story on how I got into martial arts, and more importantly, how martial arts brought me to Japan. If you are using a Mac, then you probably already have iTunes software and are most likely quite familiar with iPods, iTunes, and podcasts! If you are a PC user and have no idea what I am talking about, then you can download iTunes for your PC for free from apple. Then, you can go to Podcast Alley and search for the most recent of my friend's podcast which is called, "Kutaki no Ha Episode 15" and you can easily find it by typing, 'kutaki' into the podcast search field. Or, if you don't want to do that and just want to listen to the interview, the you can just click here and download it! When your browser opens up and it starts to load/play, I suggest you hit the pause button until it has completely downloaded. Then play. It is kind of a long interview so it is better to do it this way. Then your player won't pause while it tries to get the rest of the info when you are listening to it. Now, once you have listened to the interview, please, please send my friend, Shawn a vote for his podcast! All you have to do is go to Podcast Alley and type in "kutaki" into the search field at the top left of the screen. His name will come up and you can click on VOTE. From here, you just have to type in your email address and a comment, if you like. Then, an email will be immediately sent to you with a link you click to complete the vote. It takes a total of a minute and it would really help him out. Thanks and enjoy!
December 4, 2005
Samurai! So I got this email about a month back from a friend of mine, Bruce Nakadai. He said
that this town called Chikusai, near Mt. Tsukuba in Ibaraki-ken was
going to hold a festival and parade on the 4th. He said that they would provide everything, including samurai
armour and if I was interested in taking part, to let him know. So I immediately wrote him back and said,
"rockNrode!" As the date drew near, Bruce asked me if I would like to stay at his friend's house, who lives near by, since the
festival would start early in the morning, and I had a long way to go. He was going to stay there too, as well as our
friend, Liz. I felt privileged because it is quite a treat to stay with a family in Japan. This way you really get to
experience Japanese culture much closer. And this family, the Tokitas, live out in the country! Bruce, Liz, and I planned to meet up at Umesato Station on the Tobu Noda Line at 2:30 on Saturday, the 3rd. We then
drove out to Mt. Tsukuba and stopped at this little weapons shop half way up the mountain. Bruce knows this master wood
worker/wooden sword smith and has bought many weapons before. In fact, last year, he made an order for about half a dozen
sets of short and long wooden swords that have a groove in the blades so that they make this cool whistle when you cut. I
was lucky enough to get a set of those at that time and they are very nice! So we went inside and checked out what there
was on display. Since next year we will be studying Shinden Fudo Ryu and concentrating on the tachi, or
long sword, Liz and I both picked up a beautiful white oak one each. They are simply beautiful! We tried to beat the sundown and make it to the shrine near the top of the mountain but didn't make it in time. Too bad,
maybe next time. So then we decided to head to Bruce's friends, the Tokita's house. What a kind and hospitable family!
They served up a wonderful dinner with boar nabe stew and sashimi konnyaku. I have never tried either of these delicacies
so it was quite a treat! After dinner, we all drove to the local hot spring and soaked in the outdoor pool. It was
totally relaxing. I hadn't been to an onsen (hot spring) since February so I was long over due for a soak. 7:00am was the wake up call and we were all summoned to the kitchen table for a traditional Japanese breakfast. That
morning's menu was rice, miso soup, and poached aji fish along with some tea. Totally satisfying! I usually have good
old fashioned cereal or oatmeal for breakky here at home so it is always a welcomed treat to eat like most Japanese people
in the morning. We left the house at about 8:30 and got to the Chikusai Elementary School at a little after 9. We were
given each a number and instructed to find our pile of clothes and armour on the tarp laid out. Number 20 was mine and it didn't
take me long to find my "Flagger's gear." What is a Flagger? It is a samurai who carries the official flags of the general
and lord. Four of us were flaggers, Duke was a General, Hosoda-san was a fully armoured samurai, and Liz was a beautiful
princess. We assembled outside and were given the low down on what to do and when, then we were off. We took part in a
little formation presentation and then we marched through the streets for a while. And then finally came back to the school
and were part of the final show and presentation. It was cut off a little short due to the rain starting to fall down at
about half past 2 but I was ready to call it a day. The sun never got out of the clouds and the temperature never really
climbed above 5 or so all day so, needless to say, it was a little chilly. After we undressed and left the scene, we headed to the nearest family restaurant, "Wafu," or the "Harmoneous Wind,"
and had some din dins. I don't remember much of the ride home in the back seat of Bruce's car since I think I passed out
the whole way back to Kashiwa. I was beat! But it was totally a great time and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Any
chance to wear Japanese Samurai Armour should never be turned down. It is a total treat! Please check out all the pics
here. Interviewed! A friend of mine named Mike who has been living in Japan for quite a few years
now is regularly doing a podcast. What's a podcast, you ask? Well it is like a radio show, only on the internet. There
are many people out there doing podcasts and you can find a lot of them (and search for them too) at
Podcast Alley. My friend's podcast is called, "Podgy's Tokyo Talk" and you
can easily find it by typing, 'podgy' in the podcast search field.
If you are using a Mac, then you probably already have iTunes software and are most likely quite familiar with iPods, iTunes,
and podcasts! If you are a PC user and have no idea what I am talking about, then you can download iTunes for your PC for
free from apple. Or, if you don't want to do that and just want
to listen to the interview, the you can just click here
and download it! When your browser opens up and it starts to load/play, I suggest you hit the pause button until it has
completely downloaded. Then play. It is kind of a long interview so it is better to do it this way. Then your player won't
pause while it tries to get the rest of the info when you are listening to it.
Now, once you have listened to the interview, please, please send my friend, podgy a vote for his podcast!
All you have to do is go to Podcast Alley and type in "podgy" into the
search field at the top left of the screen. His name will come up and you can click on VOTE. From here, you just have
to type in your email address and a comment, if you like. Then, an email will be immediately sent to you with a link you
click to complete the vote. It takes a total of a minute and it would really help him out.
October 28th, 2005
HALLOWE'EN! A couple of friends of mine here are ALTs (Assistant Language Teacher) up in
Gunma-ken. They invited me to this Hallowe'en party that was being held at a restaurant called, "Grow Up." There is a
strong little Enlish speaking community up there and they had this little party for many teachers and friends and it was
a lot of fun! It was like all you can drink and eat for some small fee and there was also a huge birthday cake to
celebrate two people's special days, Benny and Veronica. Oh my god, did that just sound like
Betty and Veronica!?! I didn't realize that 'til now!
The party lasted about three hours and then we were let out into the streets of Gunma in search of more fun! We decided
to all get to the nearest karaoke place as soon as our wobbly legs and bicycle tires could take us. Shidax was the scene,
and what a scene it was. Lots more food and beer was the fuel for pure rock and roll mayhem. We ended up at Derrick's
place some time early in the morning and finished off the night by putting on one of the best movies ever made;
Shogun Assassin.
You can check out my Hallowe'en pics
here. Summer Vacation!! Well not exactly two whole weeks but almost. I was let out of work at 6:00pm
on Friday the 5th and had to go back to work at 2:00pm on the 17th. For the first six days I did nothing but relax, clean
the house, watch movies, go to training, do some swimming, and play on the computer. It was truly luxurious! In the afternoon on Friday the 12th, my dear friend, Ngaio flew in to Japan from New Zealand. Just to bring you up to
speed, I met Ngaio at UVic in the fall of 1995 and we have been good friends ever since. She has been living in NZ working
on her Ph.D in Animal Behaviour Science for the past five years so I hadn't seen her until now. We had lots of catching up
to do and I couldn't wait to see pictures and hear all about her fiancee, Brad. Congratulations Ngaio and Brad!!! Ngaio stayed with me for a solid week and I got to impress her with my tour guide skills! On the first day I took her on
a tour of three prefectures: Chiba, Ibaraki, and Saitama to see some martial arts training in Japan. After the afternoon
session, a bunch of us went out for some dinner at a Japanese family restaurant. Then, those up for some karaoke and beer
went on to the "nijikai," a second party at a local pub. We had a great time and practically had to pry the mic from Ngaio's
grip when the staff informed us it was time to go. What a great time! The Duke performed his patented, "Brown Cherry" from
the Southern All Stars! The next day we headed in to Tokyo. I was informed by my local florist that her home town of Monzen Nakacho in Tokyo
holds a HUGE summer Obon festival once every three years; and today was the day! Check out all the pics
HERE. Ngaio and I met up with
Joelski at the station around 1:30 and descended into the excitement! They have these things called Omikoshi that look like
a mini shrine and are mounted to a wooden frame. There were about 50 of them from all over and they were carried by a team
of parade goers in uniforms. It is hard to explain so you need to watch the
video. We were standing
next to the watering truck that drenches all the people who carry these heavy looking 'floats,' what a great spot to watch
from! After a while of being kept incredibly hot from the blazing sun, we decided to go searching for refreshments. One
quick turn down a side street led us to the ultimate market of summer junk food stands! They had all the favorites from
BBQ'd fish to chocolate covered bananas. After filling our bellies and curiosities, we headed to the temple where they were
hosting a kendo tournament. We watched for a while and then did a loop back to the station. Ngaio had her heart set on seeing the freaks of Tokyo. Apparently there is a photo book published in New Zealand that
features the strange people who make it a habit to dress up in shocking costumes and hang around to be seen. I knew right
away that she wanted to go to Harajuku. Unfortunately, it was the biggest holiday time in Japan and probably most of the
outrageous ones were away spending time with their families. We did see a few here and there but nothing too shocking.
Still, we had a great time window shopping, touring around, and capping off the day with some cold beers at happy hour in
Omotesando. After sleeping in a bit and enjoying some coffee and breakie, we headed off to Electric Town (Akihabara) in search of a new
digital camera for Ngaio. We made a quick pit stop at a mall near my house and never went any further. They had everything
she was looking for in one spot! She got a top of the line new Nikon digital camera here for hundreds of dollars cheaper
than back home. Sweet!! Early Tuesday morning with roller coasters on the mind, we headed to the busiest train station in the world, Shinjuku!
We met Joelski, t2, and GW at 8:30, grabbed some coffee and treats and then boarded the bus to
FUJI-Q HIGHLAND! I have been on some
scary rides before, but nothing as scary as this roller coaster was! Up until 1997 it held the Guinness World Record for
the largest and scariest roller coaster in the world! To add even more salt to the wound, after waiting an hour in line,
we had an earthquake. Everything in the park shut down for 30 minutes while the staff performed a visual check and some
test rides of the attractions. Was this beast safe to ride? Well I guess it was 'cause I lived to write about it. Back to work on Wednesday and Ngaio adventured to Kamakura on her own. Arriving at the office to find two packages
waiting for me from Mom and Dad made going back to work all worth while. Thanks Mom for the Canadian toiletries! And thanks
Dad for the Simpsons Season 6 box and the advanced copy of Sin City. What
an awesome flic! Saturday morning was another early one but well worth it! Hiroko and I met Ngaio, who came from her hotel in Hachioji
where the conference which brought her to Japan is being held, at Disneyland at 8:00am! We got in and had our plan of
attack all routed out. Hiroko was in charge of getting tickets to the show and fast passes to Space Mountain while Ngaio
ran off to obtain fast passes to Big Thunder Mountain and I headed off to get fast passes to Splash Mountain. I had a stock
of nine old tickets on hand because we heard that there is a glitch and you can use them to get fast passes, along with the
current ones. Unfortunately they must have fixed the glitch. But we didn't let that little speed bump slow us down. We were
totally organized and had eight rides under our belt before be stopped for lunch at the buffet. It was a totally awesome
day and we got to do so much. It was just too bad that there was a bit of wind at night which prevented the daily fireworks
show from happening. After 13 hours in the park, we decided to call it a day. We made our good byes on the train platform
since Ngaio will be busy with her conference for the remainder of her time here. What a great summer vacation!
Thanks Ngaio!
Funeral. I got an urgent phone call at work on Thursday, July 28th at around 2:30 in the
afternoon. I was preparing my classes and chatting with my co-workers when my cell phone started vibrating. Hiroko informed
me that her grandfather, her father's father, went unconscious and was passing away. We needed to go to Konkou, Okayama
right away. I made one phone call to the main office and right away, Dana was there ready to take over for me. I am really
grateful that I work for such a good company at times like this. I met Hiroko at home and we packed a bag each and headed to her Mom's. After some final preparations we were on our way
to Tokyo Station to take the next bullet train to Okayama. Grandfather Igi passed away sometime while we were in transit.
He had been in and out of the hospital for the past year so it was not a big surprise for the family. I think there was some
feeling of relief that he could now finally rest and be at peace. So how do funerals differ in Japan? Very. The very next day, he was clothed in a white kimono (worn reverse, right over
left) and placed in a modest white box with a glass closable window over his face and delivered to his home. That evening,
everyone, and I mean everyone in the family, gathered at the home dressed in black to take part in a small ceremony
with the Buddhist Priest. We all packed in to one room and sat in seiza (kneeling position) with Grandfather Igi pointing
North. Incense was never let to burn out while beautiful bouquets of flowers were placed on both sides of the room. A bowl of
rice with chopsticks standing straight up were placed next to his portrait. The Priest led us in a series of chants which I
had a lot of trouble keeping up with. We were all given a book of Buddha (in Japanese, of course) but I had to keep looking
over at my brother-in-law, Masao's, book to make sure I was on the same page (which were not numbered) as everyone else. This
ceremony went on for over an hour and proved to be quite tranquil and soothing. It was very interesting how everyone took
part in creating a unison of voices that reverberated throughout the whole house. Early the next morning everyone gathered again dressed in their best black. Gift envelopes of cash were prepared and
received by the widow. At 10:30am we all went to the funeral centre in the next town over, Tamashima. The ceremony hall was
really quite impressive with the largest Butsudan (carved wooden Buddhist alter) I have ever seen, encompassed by two facing
dragons. Everyone was seated in chairs and led in more chanting by the same Buddhist Priest. Just as the night before, a
special ceremonial incense box was passed around with everyone taking turns placing three pinches of special incense on a
burner, preceded and followed by a prayer. After a while, everyone stood and proceeded to pay their final respects to
Grandfather Igi. Everyone moistened his mouth with a wet cotton swab and then filled the box with all the flowers that were
cut from all of the bouquets. I find it extraordinary that all the flowers were used and placed around him so beautifully
before the lid was replaced. Everyone present then took turns hammering down six nails to finally seal the coffin. Myself
and five others then carried the coffin to the hearse and we all followed it to the crematorium. In Japan, everyone is
cremated. We all stood and prayed and watched as the white box was placed into the incinerator. Some people went back to the
funeral centre to wait while close members of the family waited there for this part of the process to be completed. One
hour and a half later, nine of us went into a special room where the remains were laid out. We then all took turns placing
some selected softened bone parts into an urn. Quite an unusual experience to say the least. The urn, along with his
portrait accompanied us back to the funeral centre for the final ceremony. Everyone gathered again for some final chanting and burning of the incense. We then thanked the Priest and adjourned to
the dining room for dinner. The meal was quite a wonderful selection of sushi and other Japanese delicacies however,
the conversation was very quiet. Finally, everyone received some thank you gifts and went home. Hiroko and I stayed at her mother's parents' house and were able to visit a lot of family and enjoy some nice meals and
conversation together. On our last night we were able to enjoy an amazing one hour long fireworks display only a 15 minute
walk away. We could also see Hiroko's cousin, Ritsuko, in her final days before giving birth to her awaiting son, Shota.
Surprisingly, she has not gained that much weight. I mean, she is big and her belly button sticks out, but she is
in great shape and we actually had a hard time keeping up with her on the walk to the fireworks! All in all it was quite an amazing experience and I was honoured to be a part of it. But I am not in any hurry to go to
another one anytime soon. Peace and good health to all! Well I finally got around to updating this page with some actual NEWS! My apologies to
everyone who kept checking back here hoping to see something new in the past year or so. So without any further ado, here
is the recent news EARTHQUAKE! At 16:35 on Saturday, July 23, 2005, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck 73 KMs
underground in North western Chiba - right where I live! This was the biggest one to hit this area in 13 years.
Over 23 people were injured and many train lines in Chiba and Tokyo were delayed for up to hours. Hiroko was home and
fortunately she was just fine. A few pictures fell down from their perches and my old broken hard drive fell out from the
top of the closet (good thing she wasn't getting changed then 'cause those things are heavy!). I was in the dojo in
Kasukabe up in Saitama (47 Kilometers away) and things were shaky! I didn't think much of it at first because quakes are
so common here but Shiraishi-sensei got us all to get against the walls or under the doorways. Good thing because it was
pretty big and the lights were doin' the twist above us! One visiting guy grabbed his bag and headed for the door until,
he was stopped by the laughter of the others! But you can't blame him for it was probably his first earthquake experience
in Japan. There have been several other small aftershocks in the past few days since Saturday. But I am happy to feel a
bunch of frequent small ones than big huge destructive one! Just got back from the annual Gurei Dojo Togakushi trip. Togaku-what? Togakushi is a village just
north-east of Nagano. Togakushiyama is a wondrous mountain in the village that has a very special connection to the
martial art that I study. As history tells us, Daisuke Togakure lived and trained in this area and created the art of
Togakure Ryu Ninpo, which is the oldest school in Ninjutsu; about 900 years old. So every year, my friend, Shawn organizes
this trip up there with his training group. I have been lucky enough to be a part of the past three years' trips. This was
my second time to get to climb the mountain though, which is 1904 meters high.
Click here if you want to see the pics.
Joel wrote a great AAR (After Action Report) that is on
Shawn's homepage. Just click the News link and enjoy! We made it a whole year!! Hiroko and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in the very
place we got married; Disneyland! We stayed at the Maihama Sheraton Hotel this time and it was superb. On Saturday morning,
we got up early and headed out. First stop was early check in to drop off our bags. Once we fought through the crowds of
out-of-towners at the multi-hotel check in area, we made a dash for the gates to the happiest place on earth. Lucky for us, our anniversary date falls on the one and only two and a half week discount period of the year for Chiba
residents. You see, Disneyland is actually in Chiba, no matter what they try and tell you. So every middle of June, they
offer Chiba residents an appreciation fare ticket. It's only 1000 yen cheaper but hey, it's something! Anyway, we already
had our tickets ahead of time so we could rush in and get a head start on the lines. It was very crowded, as one could expect for a Saturday during a discount period. But we did manage to get on Space
Mountain twice, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Canoe Adventure, and Big Thunder Mountain. We pulled great seats at the
lottery for the show, "Rock Around the Mouse," which was a 50's style tribute to Mickey. It was great with lots of cool
music, costumes, and the whole motorcycle gang versus supped up hot rod greaser thing going on. At the end of the night,
we found ourselves looking at a bleak chance of getting on Splash Mountain when the announcement came on about the start
of the fireworks display. They set them off in the middle of the two parks, Disneysea and Disneyland, and we were right
underneath them. I have never been so close to a professional display of fireworks before and it was awesome! After the show of fire, Hiroko and I sprinted for the last show of the premier of "Batman Begins." What a great movie!
Hiroko thought Christian Bale was really cool and I was just totally impressed that in this Batman movie, he is schooled
in the art of Ninjutsu! A quick perusal of the convenience store offerings and then we were chauffeured to our suite by way of taxi since the
movie got out after the last monorail ride. Hiro-chan passed out right away but since there was an English channel on
the tv (CNN, I know, but hey, it was in English!) I stayed up and drank a couple of pops and enjoyed the news. In the
morning we descended upon the all you can eat breakfast buffet overlooking multiple weddings taking place in the afar
chapel. Sad to see the end of our anniversary weekend, we rode the Orange Keiyo Line back to Nishi-Funabashi and then hopped
on to the Blue Toyo Line all the way to Kita-Narashino. Ahh, what will next year have in store? Disneyland again, I hope!
Click here if you want to see the wedding pics from
2004. Hiroko and I just spent six seven days in Singapore. Well, we left in the evening on April 30th
and arrived at about 1:00am so the first day doesn't really count. Hiroko's Dad was kind enough to meet us at the airport
and take us to our hotel, which was totally luxurious! His company has a relationship with the posh
Furama Riverfront Hotel so we got an awesome rate. The service was
absolutely marvellous and we totally dug the free breakfast buffet every morning. The first day we spent exploring the main drag and doing some window shopping. We met Toshiyuki in the evening and he
took us to the New Town Circus for dinner. What an experience to say the least! This circus is not really a circus in the
traditional sense but more like an outdoor food court. But unlike malls in North America, these Asian food stands are run
by Asian people from their respective countries. It's like a melting pot of every kind of Asian cuisine all together. You
can just run around and order dishes from many different stands and have a total feast. That is exactly what we did! Check
out the photos here. After a couple of days, the shopping got a little dull since there was an endless supply of shopping malls, with all
the same stores in each, and an ending supply of shopping energy. So this ultra friendly and helpful gent in the lobby
of our hotel hooked us up with a couple of tours. The first tour was a bus tour of the city and that was great! No matter
how touristy you feel, you just can't get a better source of info about the city from one person in any town, a tour bus
tour conductor. Ours fed me up full of facts and figures about this totally successful little city in the middle of Asia.
We got taken all around to Little India, China Town, and of course, downtown. The other tour we did was a combination of the Botanical Garden and Night Safari tours. We had never seen so many
orchids in bloom nor so many Asian wild animals before! After the safari, we had time to see this little animal show that
the zoo puts on and it was a lot of fun! They asked for a big, strong, macho type guy to volunteer and I waved both my
hands as high as I could. Little did I know what was in store for me! They wrapped me up in a nice four meter long,
60 centimeter round python!! It crawled around me for a bit and tried to give me the tongue and then wanted to go so
they finally took it off of me. I had never held a big snake like this before and let me tell you, I don't think I want to
do it again. But it was an experience! On the last day, Hiroko and I did some more shopping with her dad and I found some great deals on some polo shirts and
some nice brown leather shoes. He took us for dinner again at an outdoor food court near his place. It seemed that local
people tend to eat out at these food court style places if they don't feel like cooking. Very convenient and very
delicious! Our flight left at 6:00am so that meant getting there at 4 and that meant getting up at 3! I guess I now know why we
got a good deal on these tickets in the heart of Golden Week travel! At least the airport was totally dead and we didn't
have to wait in any lines. To my pleasant surprise, we flew on a new model Northwest airplane and everyone was equipped
with their own mini tv screen with timeless choice of movies and games! I love air travel like this! In total, I saw
"National Treasure,"
"The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,"
"House of Flying Daggers," and
"Meet the Fockers." All in all it was a great vacation! Singapore is a beautiful city, clean, efficient, safe, up beat, and relaxing! It
was totally cool to see Hiroko's father and spend some time with him. It was cool to get a chance to see some lions,
tigers, elephants, leopards, pink dolphins, and a python up close and personal! We had a lot of fun and were able to
totally relax and take it easy. |
