Kyoto catch up and US politics!

Kyoto was interesting. I wish we had more time there – 3 days was definitely not enough. But, at least we got a taste. The regular city itself is nothing special, but once you get into any of the old streets and areas – you finally see the architecture that you picture in your head when you think “Japan.” It’s beautiful. My favorite street was Poncho-cho dori. It is a teeny old street right along the water – with just restaurant after restaurant. Really pretty. We took a lot of photos and you can see them through the Kyoto link on the right!

Tucker and I split up on Wed. and did our own city tours. He went to see monkeys! I went to the Silver Temple (Ginka ku) and walked around the beautiful gardens. See pic. They had maybe 15 different types/colors of moss. The grounds were SO beautiful and well kept. I walked around…and I had my music on…I was almost moved to tears. It was amazing. After that, I did a little shopping in GION ( got myself a pretty purse and belt!) and then headed to an Onsen to soak in a natural hot spring.

We went out both nights in Kyoto with our friend, Eva, from Germany – who we had originally met at our hostel in Fuji – then met up with again in Kyoto! One of the bars we went to was a super funky cave-like place with a live DJ, and a woman painting a huge canvas while the music played. It was very indie.. Very cool. :)

We are currently in Osaka – which is nothing to write home about. Unless you like to write home about a city like Springfield. We actually had booked a place online for Osaka – which looked ok on the internet. We got there, checked into our room , – and 20 minutes later, we had checked out! Although we would have only been staying there for the night – it was disgusting and the more we sat there, the more we realized we wouldn’t be able to handle it. It was a Japanese style hotel – tatami floors, no beds…but it was DIRTY and gross. We didn’t want to touch the floor – much less the blankets or pillows.
Now, we are at a swank place downtown. Seriously – it’s the nicest hotel ever! We decided we just couldn’t live in filth the night before we were going to live on a boat for 2 days! We figured we’d splurge.

I am starting to get excited for the next leg of the trip: China! My fears are 1. The people not being as nice and helpful as they are here and 2. The language is tough! As I write this, Tucker is sitting next to me trying to talk in the “tonal” language of Mandarin. It is hi-larious! Apparently, 1 word can have 20 different meanings depending on the TONE! We have been spoiled by Japanese – its way easy compared to other Asian languages!

As always, rachel’s random thoughts…
- (Thanks to Ayako), we learned that you never pour your own sake – you always must have a friend pour it for you.

- As much as we are far away from home, we have been reading the paper and catching up on the political and economic situation regularly. In fact, being here – where the economy is also affected…and being surrounded by people from all over the world – I feel almost MORE informed than I would at home. We watched most of the debate last week on the internet. We want to watch the Palin/Biden debate but we don’t know if we will get it on the boat or not. We shall see.

- Palin REALLY got schooled in that Couric interview, EH!? She looked terribly unprepared. I thought it was hysterical.

- Tucker and I often ask other travelers their thoughts on America and – more so – on Americans. ( I didn't want to get spotted eating McDonalds for fear that people would think, that is "what all Americans do!") One girl we spoke to (from Germany) was surprised to hear that many of us (MOST of us - sorry Dad!) don’t support Bush. Granted, she was young and perhaps not up to date on all things political, but she said that she always assumed USA and Bush go hand in hand. We had to explain Blue states and Red states…and that we didn’t um…technically vote for him.

Hey Asgard crew! We did Karaoke in Japan! It was very different from our usual Wed. nights – but we went out with 9 people from all over the world, sang our hearts out, and had so much fun! So, even though I wasn’t there on Wed. in Cambridge, I was representing in Fuji! In this picture, Tuck and I show Japan JUST how to rock out the Justin Timberlake. Can you say, bring sexy back? Yea, that's right. We did just that.

Quick note: Please be careful about what you write in the “comments” area while we are in China! I don’t know how regulated things get…so I figure,better safe than sorry! I don’t want us to lose internet access… or have to trade in Tucker to the authorities. I mean, I don’t want to travel alone while he takes the heat for YOUR comments thank-you-very-much. ;)

Shana Tova and Happy New year everyone!
Love Raero