Well after several delays and 3 flights and a long bus ride, over 24 hours from leaving home we are FINALLY at our first accommodation in Japan and I am ready to eat 50 convenience store meals and then sleep for 50 hours. Trying to bust out the Japanese after so long is breaking my brain. Next few days will be full on soaking up the atmoshere so I might be incognito over here. Thank you all for the wonderful messages this morning.
I still have some question marks for the second part of my trip but Iโve got plenty of flexible options and Iโm not feeling quite so stressed out about it nowโฆ
Seagoon had it. Got to MEL early, flight delayed, transited through HKG, second flights was delayed, then some snafus at immigration for one of my friends, then a 1.5 hr domestic flight + 50 min bus to tonightโs destination. Couldโve gotten here faster with a direct flight to Fukuoka or something but we had a really cheap deal earlier in the year with Cathay.
And the exchange rate certainly helps. Feels like Iโm living it up compared to spending the same amount on holiday in Australia.
Holy shit, the place I contacted to arrange a car booking as a hail mary came through and got us a vehicle at short notice, on a Sunday, less than 24 hrs from my email, for ALL 5 days of our stay - on an island (= few cars). And for a very typical price (~70 AUD/day including insurance and tax). With pickup and dropoff directly at our port of arrival!!!
Iโd tried the car rental agencies directly and found nothing, so these guys must have some cars specially kept up their sleeves. Now the fact that my friendsโ accom and mine is spread apart is less of a problem, and we can be way more flexible about timings, especially with inclement weather and with not needing to rush hikes to meet bus timings. And itโs cost effective too compared to daily bus trips for 3 people. What a huge, massive reliefโฆ I feel genuinely blessed. Much more enthusiastic about this part of the trip now.
Feels like I frittered around a lot today, at least I managed to work out which days Iโll be in a certain area and booked another car reservation (area requires a car to traverse). That felt like a lot of work. Plus going to a friendโs place to pick up a backpack kindly loaned for this trip.
Buuuuuuuut I HAVENโT EVEN REMOTELY STARTED TO PACK and I leave in less than 48 hours and I have work on both Mon and Tue that I have to go into the office for. And I still havenโt organised my SIM card or travel insuranceโฆ and I still have some food to cook and freeze before I goโฆ god Iโm so last minute with this trip.
Okay, deep breath because I know I can control this and I pack very efficiently at the last minute.
Late reply, but Iโm going to go for one of the airport pickup SIMsโฆ they should hopefully be fine. I certainly needed an assistant the past three weeks - so much life stuff still undone that will need to be resumed when I get home. I shouldโve known itโll take me a while to build up my stamina for full time work hours and that this would happen! ๐ฉ
Today calls for a treat, Iโm getting a coffee at a cafe. Knuckling down on all the shit I need to get done, which, looking at the weather over the next few days, appears to include ALL the washing done and dry by the end of today.
Iโm making some progress, after weeks of procrastination - first 6 nights of my trip are sorted, as well as the ferry booking!
Of course, there have been consequences, as accom and car booking for the shared part of my trip with my friends is basically sold out, so Iโve had to book somewhere a 30 minute drive from where theyโre staying (and gotta rely on the public bus to get to and fro - itโs Japan, weโll survive). Crossing our fingers something will come through with a car booking in that period even for just one day.
Now to do the next 9 days. And travel insurance and a damn travel SIM. I got thisโฆ
Meanwhile at least Iโve done all my laundry and itโs drying nicely in the sun. Iโm afraid my plants are at the bottom of the list atm.
Need to still make dinner tonight. Tomorow, packing and more cooking.
Yes, in a few days. Iโve been a bit worried about the heat and humidity given thereโll be quite a bit of hiking and maybe a bit of cycling - weโll be around the southern parts of the island - but it looks quite manageable!
If you have comprehensive insurance then youโll be right. These things happen. Itโs much more painful to your heart and wallet when itโs you causing the damage to your own carโฆ
Mate, and I believe most people here would back me on this, but based on your writing over the years, youโd be a better candidate for heading into uni than most kids your age. Your capacity for research, ability to write, and emotional maturity is way beyond that of many adults I knowโฆ
But yeah, I get that in your situation you might be happier by getting out of the school system asap.
Then itโs all pretty easy from there. Hopefully your policy also provides for a replacement car while yours is in for repair - itโs very handy to have.
I had someoneโs towbar back into my rear driver side door while I was out on a job still using my own car. They thankfully left details and all, but it was in the shop for 10 days. (after driving around with a badly dented car for weeks as the incident happened two weeks before Xmas - I was very lucky; 2cm more and it wouldโve hit the B pillar and been a write off). The replacement car was a godsend
Alright Iโve mostly got the frame of my travel down pat - still need to work out accom for the latter half of my trip, but at least I know how long to spend in each general area. Still yet to organise travel sim and travel insurance, although my friend is very generously lending me their rather primo backpacking rucksack that I can use for this trip, otherwise I was looking at having to possibly fork out for that too (my own daypack is on its last legs and a suitcase would be a bitch)
Iโve spent the last 3 hours whipping up some curries to tide me over till I leave. Tidied the kitchen, had a shower, ate dinner, and am just wiped out now. Brain overloaded from all the research. Will look through it tomorrow morning with fresh eyes. Over the last couple weeks Iโve noticed that I find it easier to put a natural stop to things rather than fixating/hyperfocusing well into the night.
Maybe at long last Iโm getting better at pacing myselfโฆ that or Iโm getting old and tired more easily. Am definitely taking a cue to have plenty of โdo nothingโ periods slotted into my travel schedule.
Feeling a bit like that except itโs my travel plans thatโs a siren-blaring mess lol. Iโm letting myself park it till tomorrow, canโt fix the mess if I donโt recharge right now and let my brain heal from all the load itโs been placed under. Lean into the grey I say, get cozy and warm for one night at least.
I was pleasantly surprised (ecstatic) when IT installed QGIS for me just by asking. Would probably stab my eyeballs if I was forced to use arcmap (or worse, intramaps as a desktop application).
Oh man, that really sucks - of all days!! Please donโt beat yourself up though, as hard as it feels to think right now that thereโs always other jobs, you only have one body. You did the right thing to look after yourself, who knows it couldโve been a worse outcome if you tried doing the interview while in great pain. I hope these guys understand and give you a chance or that something else comes up.
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