| our last few days alas! |
[Feb. 17th, 2007|10:10 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | tokyo | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
Well everyone, this is probably going to be our last posting. We have two days left in tokyo and then its the big ass flight home which kinda sucks. We are staying in london for a few days and then coming up to the burgh by train (5.35pm 22/02/07) which will probably be the saddest travelling trip of the entire journey. Booooo HOOOOOOOOOOOO!
So last few days we have been in kyoto, very nice and saw some cool temples and shrines. Drank life giving water from a underground well which is very special aparantly. Walked between two stones with our eyes shut to see if we have/will find our true love (which mostly worked when we did it so not sure if we have yet :)) wrote our wishes on a peice of rice paper and when it disintegrates in a bucket of water then they will come true. Became instant on the street english tutors by being stopped by groups of school kids doing english practising and getting our photo taken by them to go back to school and go look at the weird looking gaijin (white tourist) we talked to. Walked everywhere and got tired legs, feet. though we probably are a lot fitter and slightly slimmer as we put on the weight in new zealand we lost from SE asia.
Got some fabby news that Cath had a baby girl (not sure what date though) called Phoebe!!!!! Yippe!
So thanks for reading, and typical my time is running out so see ya later everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rachel and STeve xxxxx |
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| Kyoto |
[Feb. 13th, 2007|07:59 pm] |
Hey there,
Well we had a fantastic time with our pal topher (on yakushima island :)) we got to see lots of cool trees, waterfalls and best of all his cool monkeys. We saw about 35 in total some sleeping and being groomed and then searching for food in the trees. Steve was ill for the first part of it and now that we have just arrived in kyoto i am now ill with a bad head/throat cold. Pretty crap really! Staying in a nice wee hostel that is run by a friendly family. After here back to tokyo and then the impending dreaded flight home-wards!
We got some great news from our good friend Meli in New Zealand, the van has finally been sold!!!! After our first deal fell through we spent the last week running around christchurch desperatley tyring to get adverts for our van up. We had to leave with the van unsold but fortunatley Meli was able to do all of the sales for us, and we got our full asking price!!! horray so now some cash can finally come back into our beleagured bank accounts.
Well gotta go do some washing now so we do not stink everyone on the train out
hugs
steve and rachel |
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| Kumomoto |
[Feb. 7th, 2007|09:01 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | kumomoto | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  peaceful | ] |
We had a very weirdly sad and yet memorable trip to Hiroshima. It very was pretty amazing to see the A-bomb dome which was practically the only thing that was left standing after the bomb went off. The rememberance sights were very stark and yet very simple in their messgage that this should never happen again. Apart from that hiroshima was a cool place to visit with nice shops and a cool old castle/temple surrounded by a moat.
After a few more hours on the fast fast trains we are now in a place called komomoto, which steve wanted to come to cause of a castle he about. Now we both had much higher expectations than what it turned out to be. SInce most of the old historic buildings got flattened during the WW2 and previous ones the ones left stadning are all modern reproductions. THere was not much to see inside and the smog (being a big city)kinda spoiled the view from the top. At the end of the day we nipped into a japanese craft centre where we picked up a really cool but bloody sharp knife for the kitchen back home. It was made locally and is made from iron and steel, not to folded kind as they were a bit more expensive!
(mum: before you nag me, yes we will make sure we put it into our hold baggage!)
So off to the naples of japan aparantly tommorow, where we catch the ferry to topher island the next morning.
Hear UK is getting `braced` for snow so good luck everyone with your snowman building!
Lots of love
Rachel and Steve xx |
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| Steves Birthday!!!!! |
[Feb. 4th, 2007|09:26 pm] |
Hello everyone,
Tokyo has been great so far, lots of crazy madness and good (well, cold but atleast sunny) weather.
It is (was) steve`s birthday today, now 26! So young, what a toy boy i have, since i`m 28 now (incase you were all wondering!) We had a really nice day and had sushi, sake and tempura prawns. I bought him some little presents though we can`t afford much these days or have the space in our bags! We also got ice-cream from baskins and robbins and i got some candles and me and two random japanese ladies who helped light the candles sang him happy birthday.
We are off to Hiroshima for the obvious stop. Am sure it will be very sad to see some of the sights etc.
Then we go to see our friend Toph who is on a cool wee island off the bottom. THen on the way back kyoto, Nara and a few cool wee places along the way we hope.
At the end we finish off in tokyo to spend the last of our cash and probably sell a few bodily wears so we can buy a PSP or new cool ipod! (they are soooooo tiny!)
THen we spend 2 days in london before getting the train back up to the burgh. Get in around 5.30 Waverly on the 22nd incase anyone was wanting to come and pick us up (hint hint)or hey even come to the train station and give us a hug and another ticket so we can go traveling straight away. Hey we will even forgo washing our knickers!!
Though by then i will be an Auntie so will need to go see cath and leos new baby. EEKKKK!
Well gotta dash in true tokyo style. (the lights here are crazy and make you mad!!)
Rachel and Steve xx |
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| Crazy ASS Japan.....ARGH!!!!! |
[Jan. 31st, 2007|08:08 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | TOKYO!!! | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
Well we have arrived safely in japan. IT IS VERY WEIRD! TOKYO is very crazy! We have spent a day some how managing to navigate our way through the very crazy tube/train/skline travel system. We only got lost once or twice or perhaps 5 times! But we did manage to see some very cool ass stuff.
We are very sad to have left New Zealand, our last few days were at last sunny! How Bloody typical! Meli our host was fabulous too! OUr leaving present for her was a stainless steel watering can to go with her sunflower taht we bought her and a little plant.
So far we have visited around 4 arcade buildings, nothing else like it in the world! Kids playing drum/guitar/keyboard games where they must spend most of their time cause they are amazing. Got tons of videos to prove it.
OUr accomodation here is very cool, pretty tiny room but the cheapest we found. Also a bonus is free internet.
Will keep in contact more since it's freeeeeeeeeeeee!
Sayounara Ittekimasu
Rachel and Steve xx |
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| Busking or trying to in Christchurch |
[Jan. 20th, 2007|10:35 am] |
Hello all,
To folk (ie. my mum!) who ask if we check out our comments people post is most def. yes. It's really nice to hear, if briefly, what's been happening at home. So keep saying hello, even though we are on the homeward bound stretch.
We have just arrived in CC and already have 3 people interested in buying Bella. Very cool for our stress levels and bank balances. Not so cool for us as we don't want to part with her and even looked into shipping her back home - pipe dreams but hey you gotta have em!
So the CC world buskers festival has just started, we don't know if we'll just get moved on a lot or able to set up with our balls and henna. I hope for us we can make some extra cash for japan!
My birthday was pretty cool, did not get to go to the cadburys world as they were still on reduced xmas tours, so waited till monday to do that. Did go to the lovely B&B and cooked a roast, baked a choco cake and watched some films in our room set with popcorn. Very nice! Also went to teh famous Speiets brewery tour full with free tastings at the end. Then went to the Casino, and lost $20 but was fun anyway. Felt a bit of a fool having never been to one apart from as a teen in vegas baby! Where i was too young anyway to gamble.
Did a nice wee fire show for a cool wee community south of dunedin. After the campsite woman asked us to do 'some' juggling for the local kids it turned out to be the biggest thing since that chicken laid that egg! After she had put it out on the radio(!) and put posters up everywhere, around 90 poeple turned up. She then put a hat around and we totalled $60. Not bad as it was such good fun anyway.
Not wanting to come home, and dreading coming back to the crap weather you all seem to be having. The weather here is not meant to be getting hot till ....guess......start of feb!!!!! SO we miss it all!! How typical! Then in japan is will be pretty damn cold too.
Well gotta go earn some cash!
Hope all is well.
love Rachel and Steve xx |
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| bungy photos link |
[Jan. 10th, 2007|05:02 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Dunedin | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
Here it is for you avid photo fans:
http://www.rapidimage.net/media/mediaBrowse.php
We are in Dunedin now, raining just like Edinburgh!! Surprise surprise. Did manage to get a can of IRN BRU which is soooooo cool! Just posted home a 2nd box which was a stagering $110 (35 pounds) 6.06 kilos. BUt lots of pressies and cool stuff from our trip which theres now way we could take in our backpacks. Going to the steepest street in the world tommorow but no way in hell taking bella either up or down it! Aparantly a car could not stop when it went down it last week and crashed into a church.
Going to go to cadbury's world for my birthday if i have not already said 20 thousand times! So excited.
Getting lots of interest for bella so all looking good on selling her.
See ya
Rachel and Steve xx |
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| 5,4,3,2,1 ........BUNGY!!!! |
[Jan. 2nd, 2007|03:55 pm] |
Yes i did it everyone, one of my lifelong ambitions was to do a bungy jump. Not only did i do one i also choose to do the 3rd highest in the world. 134m down down i went. Steve unfortunatly could not do it because of his back and the like. He paid to watch me jump and filmed it too. It was very different to what i was expecting, not quite as scary as i thought it would be, but then again i am a bit o' crazy that way. You will be able to go to the bungy website in a few days time and see the photos.
Oh yeah....Happy New Year everyone! We did have a nice one, but very subdued one,we went to the pictures and saw night at the museum, then for a nice meal. Steve ended up busking for an hour and made $90 which aint half bad. We both have been working the last three days and my henna has gone really well....at last! so we totalled about $400. Never the less we can really do with the cash as we have nearly topped our Credit card!!!! eek! Ah well we may never be back here so what the heck!
We are off (more money!) to go white water river sledging tomorrow. Rather than you all being in a dingy, you have your own float raft thingy. So you get swallowed up whole by the river as you swim through. Sounds very very cool.
Well we decided to extend our japan to 3 whole weeks, so we arrive back in edinburgh on the 23rd ish. We spend a day in london before we get the train back up. By then i think we shall be ready to collapse after scary traveling through japan and a 14 hour flight.
Bella is up on the market, though we don't at all wish to sell her. We contemplated shipping her back to uk, however a)it would be more money and b)we need the money we spent on her back in our bank accounts!!
Well hear the weather was bad over uk for hogmanay, sorry guys! Our weather is steadily getting better.....thank god! My birthday is coming up on the 12th of jan so steve is treating me to a night in a hotel though it might be spaghetti on toast for dinner!
Hope all is well with everyone and the world.
Happy new year and forget those resolutions just do them always.
Love Rachel and Steve xx |
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| Happy Christmas!!!!! |
[Dec. 24th, 2006|10:45 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | happy | ] |
We're currently in a town called Wanaka near queenstown, we managed to leave nelson after a week and a half and a bunch of van repairs. We made our way down south and stoped in gremouth where we got a train across the alps which was absolutley beautiful lots of gorges and blue blue rivers. We came back across and went down to Frazn joseph glacier where we spent a whole day climbing across glacier formations which was truly amazing, it was really like being on another planet. We picked up some nice hitchhikers and are now in the town where we are going to spend chirstmas, we're checking into our luxury campsite this afternoon. It has two jacuzzis and a sauana where we'll be spending chrismtas. It'll be nice to be still for a few days to celebrate the joy of presents.
Rachel bought a wee chirstmas tree and a little bit of tinsel so the van looks all happy.
HAPPY CHIRSTMAS TO ALL our hearts are with you
steve and rachel |
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