and 28 hours later...

I'm in Kyoto! Sitting at Dad and Akiko's kitchen table, it's breakfast time. On my way over here for the room they got for me in Y.'s house I walked by a bakery and bought a cari-bun, yummy! You simply cannot find one in Vancouver, believe me, I've tried!

Getting here was no piece of cake, I used every mode of transportation, except of a boat (sadly):

Car to the airport in Montreal, courtesy of my Mom (thanks again!)

Plane to Chicago (1 hr 30 mins).

Train in Chicago to transfer terminals.

Plane to Tokyo Narita airport (12 hrs +). UGH...

Bus from the gate to the next plane on Narita tarmac.

Plane to Osaka Itami airport (1 hr).

MK taxi to my Dad's apartment in Kyoto (1 hr 30 mins).

This all started at 4:30am Montreal time on December 28th and ended at 8:30pm Japan time on December 29th (which is about 8:30 am Montreal time, I think, hence the 28 hrs).

All connections went smoothly despite the fact that all planes left late.

Slight glitch: one of my suitcases was forgotten in Chicago. Luckily it was the suitcase that consisted mostly of presents, so I have clean clothes to wear. Even luckier for my family here, the two dozen bagels that I brought over were in the suitcase that made it. Even luckier for me was that I didn't have to lug it around Narita and Itami airports, or pay for an extra bag on the MK taxi.

Slightly more worrisome: I seem to have already misplaced my jeans. This means that the only pair of pants I have is a bleach-stained pair of brown Thai fishermen pants...

Montreal

Ah Montreal.... "ma ville natale" as R. so aptly put it. I had been away for almost a year and a half... It holds lots of memories and is the home of many of my most cherished friends, not to mention family! Spending a few days here is a whirlwind of food, friends, more food, favorite restaurants, family, favorite hang outs, croissants, bagels, and really good cheese. Oh and did I mention food?

The friendships that I have left in Montreal as very special to me. They are the most long-term-long-distance relationships that I have, and such friendships that have withstood the test of time and space are incredible. Seeing M., for the first time since Hawaii, made my heart swell. Then seeing K. for the first time since California made it swell bigger. Then seeing my brother and mother for the first time since they visited me in Vancouver just made it burst. And then of course there was E., Am. and An. who I hadn't seen for a year and a half, and more and more and more people. It's like my heart was on sensory overload.

Last time I visited Montreal I didn't feel very connected to the city. This time, I felt like a tourist, marveling at all the things that I recognized, surprised at all the changes. Now, for the first time ever in my life, I am actually completely free. I can, if I feel so moved, just pack up my Vancouver home and move it back East (though just thinking of moving all my furniture gives me shivers of disgust)... so I was looking at the city with new eyes, thinking "Can I really see myself living here?" Now, before you get too excited, no I'm not planning on moving back to Montreal. I was just thinking of it, as a possibility, and it was interesting for me to realize that I actually do have that possibility.

Aston-Jonction : Family time and Logging

Happy Holidays!

I'm now in Aston-Jonction, at R.'s house. Today it was a nice sunny day, though a little chilly for my newly acquired Vancouverite thermometer. My mom, brother, R. and I decided to go logging in R.'s woods by ski-doo. The wind was cold, but the scenery was beautiful. Once in the forest, I watched as R. cut down his own trees, from his very own forest, to heat his house next winter. Warmth, we usually take it for granted. I felt very lucky to be able to participate in getting the wood that will keep my family warm next year.

Speaking of family, I got to meet my niece a couple days ago! She's 14 months old now, and walking and blabbing all the time! She loves animals, and knows how to make the sound of many of them. It was great to have a little one around the house.

I am glad that I decided to stop in Quebec before going off to Asia. I hadn't been back since August 2009. There's a special attachment between a person and their childhood city.

Jungles!

Today Mathilde and I decided to head back into the Jungle. And yes, I capitalize Jungle here. We had previously ventured out to hike up the Manoa Falls (the waterfall itself was somewhat disappointing, but the trek there was simply amazing... I have a new found obsession with Banyan trees! They are perfect to climb, draw, stare and marvel at). Our new destination was the Makiki Valley Trail, which was a short 20 minute bus ride from Waikiki.

After a little difficulty in finding the actual trail head (we ended up in the Contemporary Museum and can now claim that we've been in a museum on our trip!), we started our ascent. The first part was an uphill hike on what seemed to be a mountain ridge. The vegetation was really different than it was on the Manoa trail, mostly it was drier... but most impressive to me was the ground, a crazy maze of tree roots atop what seemed like dried lava rock! Quite fun to climb actually. Then it was snack time (we learned from our previous trip out that food is a must for both of us!), and time to go back down.

We were about a quarter of the way down when the rain stared, at the halfway mark it started coming down stronger, and a few minutes after that we seemed to be in the middle of a torrential downpour! A real jungle experience! (I think it's called an afternoon shower?) It was surprisingly enjoyable, probably because we both kept our spirits high! The bus ride back was slightly uncomfortable, but still I had a great day! Made better with the addition of a mochi-icecream snack this evening. That's ice cream covered in a thin layer of mochi. Yum yummy! We tried lychee, strawberry dark chocolate chip, and vanilla chocolate. Can't wait to try the other flavours!

Welcome to Honolulu!

It's been 24 hours, and I must confess Waikiki does not disappoint!

The trip had a rocky beginning: I woke up from a fitful to a snow-covered Vancouver. The cherry blossom trees, already in full bloom, were weighted down and quite forlorn looking. I was nervous that planes would be delayed, but all was well on that front. I did however get another scare, after talking to the customs agent I was asked to go into a room labelled "secondary screening"... yikes! Luckily it was just for a random baggage check (though my overly stuffed backpack did cause embarrassment with underwear stuffed into all available corners)!

6 hours later, reunited with Aunt Eva and Uncle Bill, I got my first view of Waikiki Beach, from their 14th storey balcony. Gorgeous, simply gorgeous. A quick dip later, my hair curly from the sea water, I had my first taste of local fish, yum yummy! Oh and also a shaved ice bowl...

Today was pampering day: pedicure time! I'm happy to report that my toes have never looked fancier, red with pretty little yellow flowers. I'm almost embarrassed to walk around with them looking so dressy. How will I ever go back in the water? (quite easily I'm sure... I must still try out the boogie boards found in the closet earlier!) Earlier I tried out my newly purchased snorkel and mask, I saw a huge needle fish with its possy and was quite intimidated. There were also Dory-like fish, sea urchins, Angel fish, and little hermit crabs about.

Quite an amazing first 24 hours to say the least! Tonight Mathilde is arriving, more exploring to do tomorrow...

Quick Video!

I just remembered that Animoto makes free 30 second videos... and so I decided to make one with a few of my favorite pictures from the California trip!

To view:

http://animoto.com/play/16j33B6pZD0q0X4zdRDZ2Q?autostart=true