Minirolls Musings

Ubud Exploration

We woke up in paradise. There is no other way to describe it.

We look out of bed thru the mozi nets into the villa at the huge vaulted ceiling and exposed thatch and wood beams. There is some white chiffon netting over the windows around 3 sides leading out to the leafy garden. Over the stone garden wall topped with a lichen coated chubby monkey, is the lush green valley dropping off steeply.

Airport Levels

Wonderfully, Changi airport has an “Early Check In” desk where you can drop your bags. It’s free, presumably to free you up for more shopping!

So I’ve no idea what we are going to do…

Botanic Gardens

Reflected in the pool is the landscape we have seen for almost a month. Infact, there is very little land in this scape, we are in a city. The towering blocks loom over this small patch of sunlight I’m enjoying while writing. But soon it will pass behind another tower, and there will only be concrete and glass to look at.

Trees and Flowers and Clouds

All cities underground trains are better than the UK… Literally all of them. We invented the underground train, why do we suck at it?! Once again we board a beautifully clean train, in a huge open and light station, where the platform edge is protected by barriers that open for the train doors. Even better this time, the trains are driven by computer, so there is no one to go on strike and you can see out the front.

Jewel

Turns out I’m a side sleeper. Even on cold, hard, brightly lit, noisy places with people and baggage walking past. I can still sleep. I made a pillow out of my shoes, with a jumper on top and lay the arm of it over my face to block out some light. Aimi had the moderately softer upholstered bench thing above me, and we had enough sleep to get us through the day.

Farewell Japan

Another 5 this morning…

Our flight wasn’t till 10am, we could have had at least another hour in bed!

Whooooosaaaaaahhh….

Newly married and on honeymoon….

I’m looking forward to the 5 refering to the stars on the hotel and not the time….

Miyajima & Mt Misen

The morning started with a 5 so I was not happy. But when Major General Aimi San says “GTFO of bed”, that’s what you do. Soon I was dozing off on the train and a right grumpy bastard. Then I had a mediocre vending machine latte and I was ready to end the Japan leg of our trip on a high. Literally.

Hiroshima and the Atomic Bomb

I’m not sure how to write about this experience, what I saw or what I read here today. I feel lucky that I don’t understand how people can inflict such suffering and devastation on others. It goes against what I assume, perhaps wrongly, every person has inside them, a natural morality to do what is good. Seeing the photos of burnt bodies, the clothes with brown blood stains and black radio-active rain drops over them is sobering in the extreme.

Hiroshima Ho!

Finally, a sofa! My back! My butt! Oh the comfort!

Rain outside, big TV, kitchen that’s somehow smaller than before, but big enough to cook a meal (we actually had about an A4 sized bit of work surface this time!) so we stayed in, cooked spaghetti and watched Top Gun Maverick. And I have to say…

Frantic Relaxing

This is our last day in Kyoto and we have seen all we want to. There have been plenty of Temples and Shrines to satisfy our interest for a good long while. So we just went into town ato an air conditioned shopping centre ( not the one attached to the station ) and to walk around, see what was there and get some lunch. We needed a break from our frantic researching anyway…