Trains for throwback Thursday...

The other night, I was daydreaming about Japan again so I thought I'd look at the photos of my Japan trip.

One thing I really enjoyed during the 11-day trip last October was the train rides. Getting to ride different kinds of trains made me feel like a little boy being rewarded with ice cream on a Sunday.

From the sleek shape of the shinkansen to the boxy lines of the JR trains in Nara, each train ride was just part of the whole trip experience.

Here's a confession. On my second day in Tokyo, I left my friend Dean's place early because I wanted to start exploring the city early. With my iPhone and the trusted rented pocket wifi in my bag, I was confident that I will be able to navigate the city just fine. I followed the instructions on Google maps about which train to take...

Or so I thought. What should have been a short trip from Oimachi to Shibuya turned into a two-hour trip. Haha! I made the mistake of getting off the train and transferring to another train. That brought me to another station and unfortunately, the station was not in a tourist area. Hence, there were very few people and very few spoke English. I tried to look for a passenger service center but I couldn't find one. So I went back to the platform and watched as train after train came and went. One thing I learned early on is that the rail track is shared by the different train companies. Taking the next train doesn't mean it'll go in the direction you want, which was what exactly happened to me.

I already lost two hours inside the train network of Tokyo(!!!) and I told myself, "Okay, you either sit here and wait for the entire day to go by and just waste the day. Or you take the next train and pray to God it takes you to Shibuya." That's what I did and thankfully, I found myself to Shibuya.

It definitely felt like a baptism of fire. Lol! After that, I felt like I was much more ready to tackle Tokyo's crazy train network. By the time I went to Kyoto, I was much more confident with taking the train. Also, it's mainly because the Kyoto network is not as confusing as Tokyo's. Haha! It was also helpful that I know how to read hiragan and katakana. That was definitely helpful when I was finding my way to Katsura and Shugaku-in stations in Kyoto.

The other thing I miss so much about Tokyo is the train announcement. Each station has its own jingle, according to my friend Dean. His explanation was that people would eventually recognise the train station by the jingle. And apparently, I'm not the only one who misses train announcements in Tokyo:



Hope to see you again soon, Japan.

Japan, see you soon...

So, the first of September started on a very good note.

I went to the Embassy of Japan earlier to get my passport. When I reached the embassy, there were no other visa applicants at the area for visa collection. I got a ticket for my transaction and in less than a minute, my number appeared flashing on the screen.

The whole transaction was over in less than five minutes. The lady behind the counter just showed me the visa and told me that I was given 15 days. That's it. Hehe.

Thankfully, the visa is gratis for Filipino citizens.

I like how the Japan visa looks like. Hmm, my photo looks like one that is used for display during funerals or the one used for tombmarkers. Lol! My friend Bernice put it in a better way though. She said it looks like an image of an ancestor placed on the home altar for ancestral worship. Haha! Touch wood!

In the past few years, I've had to apply for a visa to Nepal, Myanmar and last year, the Schengen visa. I have a US visa that's still waiting to be used! I have to use it soon as it is expiring in 2020! Most of the time, I wish the Philippine passport was mightier. By this, I mean visa on arrival option to most countries. But then, there's also a part of me that actually enjoys getting news that my visa was approved. It feels like some sort of exam and the visa on my passport is proof that I passed.

Still, I don't mind having another passport that makes traveling to countries I want to visit easier. Hehe! Just saying...

Angkor Wat 2009 and 2015...

Since it's throwback Thursday... haha!

I might as well post a photo from my 2009 visit to Angkor Wat and a photo from my visit to the majestic landmark two weeks ago.

Though this is my second time to visit Angkor Wat and all the other temples, I must admit that it still amazes me.

In 2009, I went to see the temples together with the best friend of my first ex. He's a cool, straight guy and a good travel buddy. He wasn't very fussy about things. He knew how to stick to the schedule, he knew how to take photos. Hehe! So it was a good trip - few days in Ho Chi Minh, few days in Siem Reap. What could've been better during that time was the weather. A week or two before our arrival, the typhoon that just hit the Philippines also passed by Cambodia. As a result, the weather was still a bit gloomy and rainy.

For the recent trip, we were indeed blessed with very good weather! I have sunburn. Tey has it worse. Hehe! It was very hot when we were there but I'm not complaining. I would rather the sun than the rain. Also, I think our trip was blessed with just the right weather. If I'm not mistaken, summer season is ending and the rainy season is about to begin. So, we felt the breeze in the air most of the time. It did rain heavily, but it was on the night before our flight out of Siem Reap. If that is not a blessing, I don't know what to call it. Hehe!

Hmm, there's still much to write about the trip. There are much more photos to post. For sure, it'll take some time before I get to put up all photos on Facebook as I have to sort them. Haha!

Anyway, thank you, Lordy, for the blessing of being able to visit Siem Reap again. Thank you for the blessing of enabling me to bring my Mom to the vacation of her dreams. Thank you for blessing our trip with the company of my best friend Tey. I loved the holiday with the two most important women in my life.

Away for the next few days...

It's that time of the year...

when I go on holiday with mommy dear...

Hehe!