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Thick Black Line. An odyssey
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Thick Black Line. An odyssey

108-päiväinen seikkaillu — SpringWanderer Lue lisää
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  • SpringWandererThick Black Line. An odysseyMatkaaja
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    Heading Bush Day 8 - Watarrka

    17. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Amazing walk (6.4km) at Watarrka (King's Canyon).

    Heading along the Larapita Drive (most beautiful red road) Corbin spotted a thorny devil at the side of the road, slammed the brakes on and ran back to pick it up to show us. They eat ants, several hundred a day. Good! Also saw our first camel. These days they are caught and exported back to the Middle East.

    On the same road I experienced a moment of utter beauty when we first caught site of Tnorala meteor crater. We visited the next day 😎

    Had a great campsite in woods, very soft ground so tricky to get the long drop toilet stable. Then the ants arrived. One person gave up in the night and slept in the van.    Lue lisää

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    Heading Bush Day 9 - Finke National Park

    18. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Had camped at Finke National Park campsite (showers) overnight. We all got a lie-in to 6:45 and delicious fried eggs for breccie. We left the trailer and took a 4WD trip up to Palm Valley.

    Then a personal highlight: Tnorala (Gosses Bluff) meteor crater. An utterly magnificent sight. Apparently this is just the remnants of an original crater 22km across. All a bit mind-boggling.

    Called in at Glen Helen for a swim in the Finke River which is supposedly the oldest river in the world. Surprisingly chilly after a few minutes.

    Headed off into the bush to camp. All set up, carbonara cooked and being eaten round the campfire when the lightning started, so we abandoned camp asap and bumped back (no idea how Corbin knew how to retrace our route in the dark!) to the dry creek bed and onto bitumen. After a couple of beers back at Glen Helen we headed off to Ormiston Pound campsite and set up swags around the covered picnic benches. Sing song followed. Cool day 😎    Lue lisää

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    Heading Bush Day 10 - Alice Springs

    19. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Final day of the most amazing adventure 😔

    Kinda odd to wake up and see where you are for the first time. There was a great short walk straight from the campsite up the hill with views over the Finke River again.

    En route to Alice Springs we stopped off at ochre pits and at Ellery Creek Big Hole for anyone who wanted a final swim.

    Then drop-offs in Alice and a final group meetup at Marco's for our farewell dinner, singing thank you to Heading Bush and Corbin. Thanks mate.    Lue lisää

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    Alice Springs

    20. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    I stayed at Alice Lodge - small backpacker place. Really friendly with great art in the shared spaces, including work by Tommy Crow who we met in Coober Pedy.

    Nice relaxed day getting my laundry done, posting obsolete stuff home and meeting up with a few of the Rock Wallabies heading bush gang for food 😎Lue lisää

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    Resting in Darwin

    22. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Arrived here from Alice Springs yesterday. Got a haircut this morning, so I'm less of the wild woman of the outback.

    I'm amazed by how antiseptic and soulless my accommodation feels. It's clean and modern, vaguely 'swish' and utterly wrong for me. When I was planning I thought it would be just perfect, but I'd rather be in a backpacker hostel. Tokyo on Wednesday, so all is changing anyway ...

    Now I know it's obvious, but 33-34 C and humid is quite challenging! It's a long time since I've been in the tropics. Too hot to explore much.

    One of my Rock Wallabies gang arrived during the day and we had dinner together. Nice to feel that some connections will persist as folk head to all points of the compass.    Lue lisää

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    Darwin

    23. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    I'm having a fabulous time, but one thing that's been with me right from my arrival in Australia and is much more obvious in the centre and NT is that it's not a country completely at ease with itself. I am in danger of over simplifying, but there is a huge schism between white Australia of the last (only)150 years or so and the ancient Aboriginal cultures. These days there is more work being done to help reconcile these cultures with very different values and relationships with the land but for one reason or another a lot of people seem to be struggling and it shows in some of the town centres. I said this to an Aboriginal woman on the plane to Darwin and she agreed. She works for a Catholic organisation trying to improve cultural understanding (both ways I think).

    I'll talk about this when I get back, that's enough here, but it feels really important to me to say Australia is a complex place rather than only recording all the exciting things I've done.    Lue lisää

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    Darwin crocs

    24. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    I thought I'd missed my chance to see wild crocs because I hadn't made any plans and tomorrow is ANZAC Day with a big parade that starts at 6am (!) with an extra bus at 5:15.

    But I passed a 'croc tours today' sign so decided to go for it. Worked out really well ... a small trip through Wallaroo Tours to a guy, Pat, who's a real enthusiast. I wish I could post videos on here, their power and speed is stunning.

    The bus guide was great too, very informative. I hadn't realised how much this area (Australians call it the Top End) was bombed in WWII. There's still a big military presence, Australian and US.
    This is also a big mango growing area. One farm was passed apparently has 4 million trees ...    Lue lisää

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    Darwin to Tokyo!

    26. huhtikuuta 2017, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Ok so today's a big travelling day, both in miles and culturally.

    The nerdy part of me wants to share some statistics...
    Northern Territory, area 548,000 sq mi, pop 244,000 (half that of Sheffield! 150,000 are in Darwin

    Tokyo, area 844 sq mi, pop 13.6 million

    Population density (per sq mi)
    NT 0.5
    Tokyo 16,121

    Having said that, Sheffield's population density (depending on which areas are counted in) is over 10,000 per sq mi.

    I've had a fabulous time in Australia over the last 6 weeks (2/5 of my trip done 🙁). I'm really glad I'll be back on the east coast at the start of June. That's just an accident of planning and air fares but I have a strong feeling that it will give a better sense of completion (close the gestalt 😆)    Lue lisää

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    Changi Airport

    26. huhtikuuta 2017, Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Well I never expected to do a footprint here, but the last 90 mins have been quite remarkable.

    Get this! Changi has a Butterfly Garden at T3! It's late evening so not much flying around, but it's still ace. Pitcher plants and everything!

    Then I got a tea with milk ... cultural differences start here. Two gloops of condensed milk, a glug of evaporated milk, some thick tea and a top up with hot water. Actually pretty nice since I like condensed milk 😃 I sat at a table with a young Philipino woman who it turns out works here in one of the lounges. 12 hour days with Saturdays off. We chatted for nearly an hour, travel, politics, suicide ... A much more interesting transfer than I expected. Off to find my Tokyo plane now, and hopefully a good sleep 😃    Lue lisää

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    Tokyo arrival

    27. huhtikuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Made it. If I have one useful piece of information about the Tokyo subway to pass on it's this. It's not like London where trains are tied to lines, so unless you actively change train you will stay on, say, the Northern line. Nope. That confused me and I haven't seen it written anywhere. Luckily a station guard (literally) pushed me onto a train and it went where I needed, through a number of Keikyu Main Line stations to Asakusa Line stations.

    Then it's a short and very pleasant walk from Asukasa station to my hostel. It hadn't looked much on the Google live view thing, but the area has a really nice feel. I'm gonna be ok here 😥

    Just by way of contrast with last week's thunderbox, I now have a heated toilet seat! Which reminds me of the toilets at Hanida airport. They play the sound of running water; to encourage or to mask I know not!

    I'm not exaggerating when I say there must be 300 small restaurants and cafes within 5 minutes walk of where I'm staying. All rather bewildering, but I've found a shop that sells milk and got a hot pork dumpling at the same time, so immediate problems solved!    Lue lisää

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    Asakusa - local area

    28. huhtikuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Just a few bits and bobs in my local area.

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    Tsukiji Market and Skytree

    28. huhtikuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    I had a packed day yesterday. My hostel put on a free walking trip to Tsukiji (fish) Market and surrounding outer markets and local shines and temples in the morning, which was really interesting.
    I found my own way back and stumbled across a little square with a statue to Chirori who became the first certified therapy dog in Japan, and a reflexology installation (pic!).

    In the afternoon I wandered over to Skytree. You get a ticket to the lower viewing deck at 350m, then another to go to 445m if you wish, and from there there's a curved ramp that takes you up to 451.2m. It was only when I got to 445m that I realised there was some sort of anime story going on about a Skytree attack. I'd missed getting stamps at lower levels so couldn't see the film (as far as I could tell!) but the AV displays were fun anyway.

    I noticed I felt just a little queasy much of the time. My couldn't see any movement but my ears must have been able to sense a very slight sway.

    Then the loveliest thing happened. I'd noticed a girl (maybe 14?) casting sideways glances at me. As I sat waiting for sunset she was sitting near me with a man ( her dad?). Suddenly she leaned over and offered me a little bag of fishy snacks - a child's squid snack according to reception at my hostel. Then another, then some crackers and finally some sort of mild sherberty sweets. We couldn't understand a word each other was saying, but it didn't matter. When they left she wished me a hearty goodbye then ran back a couple of minutes later to pat me on the shoulder and hold my hand. Very sweet. I guess she was intrigued by my appearance ( I mean facial features and hair rather than my bedraggled backpacker look!) and encouraged because I was friendly.    Lue lisää

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    Shibuya

    29. huhtikuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Well Shibuya Crossing is spectacular in a way - supposedly the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world, but the mural Myth of Tomorrow in Shibuya Station is something else entirely. By Japanese artist Okamoto Taro it depicts the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. The more I looked the sicker I felt.Lue lisää

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    Tokyo Food

    30. huhtikuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    An ongoing 'Tokyo food' footprint ... erm, foodprint?

    I need to work on fruit and veg, I'm probably managing 1.5 per day thanks to lunchtime bananas.

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    Natural History Museum and an encounter

    1. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Went to the National Museum of Nature and Science today to see a special exhibition put on by the Natural History Museum. Amongst the exhibits on tour is the fossil of archaeopteryx, which I've heard won't be on show in the UK on its return. I'm really pleased to have seem it, though a little odd to be in Tokyo rather than London!

    It was a good exhibition, covering the history of the Natural History Museum in London as well as the exhibits that have travelled to Tokyo. Seing it here really got me thinking about what it was culturally that supported that era of (mostly) European (many British) gentleman collectors and explorers and the consequent shifts in scientific understanding. Surprising to me was the inclusion of Marie Stopes who was a recognised paleobotanist before her work on birth control. For the first time I wondered how Darwin's explorations were funded. Wikipedia tells me he was a grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, and he married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. I never knew that!

    After lunch and a wander around some of the rest of the museum I decided to look round more of Ueno Park. I'll go back, probably tomorrow, to the Peony Garden, but while I was pondering what to do next I was acosted by a well dressed young woman with pretty good English who asked if she could pray with me. Her energy was friendly, so I asked what religion but couldn't quite understand her answer, but she said it was an energy thing, a bit like yoga and she seemed to indicate the highest 2 chakkras. Up for new experiences I said yes, so she asked me to step off the path ... she said she was a bit embarrassed in public ... then hold my hands a certain way and close my eyes. Well I confess I kept one eye partly open just in case I was about to be jumped by an accomplice. But no, it was all above board. She asked hopefully if I'd felt anything. I wish I could have said yes, and I did try to relax as well as be on alert! Her intention was to purify my spirit, and in a way I think she did 😊 I've since found out, since she recommended visiting the Miho Museum, that she was practicing Shinji Shumeikai. Another interesting Tokyo encounter!    Lue lisää

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    More of the local area

    1. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
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    More peonies ...

    2. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Some more peonie pics ☺

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    Tokyo National Museum and Peonies

    2. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Looked around the Highlights of Japanese Art exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum with the aid of the very good audio guide (¥500 ~ £3.50). It covers national treasures of the last 12,000 years. Very good, but also quite overwhelming!

    I think I may have made an etiquette faux pas as I left the museum. After getting the photo I bought a mango cornetto from a vending machine in the basement (great!) and strolled out into the warm sunshine in the park enjoying it. I'd nearly finished when I had a moment of realisation that couldn't see anyone else eating icecream and that I'd read that it's impolite to eat while walking. Oops. Although there's lots of street food sold I think folk normally sit nearby to eat. Gobble, gone.
    Perhaps related I've seen several signs on the pavement saying 'Don't smoke and walk'

    Now I may have missed the cherry blossom, but really I'm a peony type of girl, so my timing in Tokyo is perfect, with the flowers in the Peony Garden in Ueno Park in full bloom. It's a lovely snaking walk, with gentle music wafting over the garden. Very peaceful and gently reinvigorating; just what I needed.

    The Peony Garden ends at Toshogu Shrine and in its grounds is 'the flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki' which burns with the hope of ending nuclear weapons. The Hiroshima element of this flame was collected from a burning house after the Hiroshima bomb and kept alight since. The Nagasaki element was symbolically created, and added to the Hiroshima flame, by sparking 2 Nagasaki roof tiles together. It's a very, very powerful link to the past.

    I have to say it's extremely sobering to be here when the potential use of nuclear weapons in this region is talked of as a possibility. I really can't imagine what that would mean.    Lue lisää

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    Moomin House Cafe

    3. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Laughed at myself being drawn to a beautiful sushi display advertising a local restaurant as I was on my way to find hattifattener doughnuts at the Skytree Mall Moomin House Cafe!

    After a false start when I tried to get out of the station using my hostel pass I did the very Japanese thing of queueing to get into a popular restaurant/cafe. For 80 minutes!

    Well I got to sit with Sniff and then Moominpapa and had the Groke on my plate and a Moomin waffle, so all ended up well 😉

    Themed cafes are a big thing here. There's an owl and parrot cafe across the road from my hostel. Not so keen on that. No Moomins were hurt in the making of refreshments.

    This afternoon I went to Roppongi Hills which is a giant fancy mall with housing (I'm sure the architects would hate that description). Really the last place on earth I'd normally go to, but there's the Tokyo City View on 54th floor, and also a roof view which is about 4 floors up. Both fabulous. Actually better than Skytree. Plus a Marvel exhibition (so many people!!!), with film costumes. Plus the Mori Art Gallery. Tomorrow I'll have a day off.    Lue lisää

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    Greenery Day

    4. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    I just about managed a quieter day today; not racing around Tokyo like I'm on a mission, but ambling around my local area discovering little things. That felt better, though following every thought that 'that looks interesting over there' or 'while I'm here I could just ...' does end up tiring too!

    Anyhoo I had a great start as the only person at the Taiko Drum Museum. They have a really interesting collection of drums and other percussion from all over the world, and most you can play. Super cool fun.

    Yesterday I got a tip-off about a local supermarket with a much better range, so I grabbed some bits for a picnic lunch and headed towards Sakurabashi (great x-shaped bridge over the Sumida River) and the parks on both banks. Really that sums it up, but I found some interesting bits and pieces along the way.

    And I had my first drink of coffee in over 20 years (eugh!) all down to walking past a Buddhist temple and ending up in conversation (being a BH they were out on the street greeting people). One lady nipped to buy me a coffee, which was very kind of her, but utterly undrinkable for me, so we watered a bit down - happy all round!    Lue lisää

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    Samurai & Ninja Safari

    5. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Yes, really!

    I was offered a free trip this morning by 2 guys drumming up custom for their ... erm... theatrical sightseeing trip around Asakusa. It started off in a normal way, picking out the local sights...then it all went panto!

    There's a wicked ninja warrior creeping round the streets, a brave but slightly dim Samurai, a moon-walking Geisha and other incidental characters played by innocent bystanders. All wrapped up with plenty of slapstick on and off the bus. A complete hoot, and free because they had TV cameras on board and wanted a larger crowd. As it was there were only 7. Brilliant fun 😂    Lue lisää

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    Ramen

    5. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Done it! I've finally eaten out (Mister Donut doesn't count). I'd noticed this place before, the pictures of the pork ramen looked enticing, so went in on the spur of the moment. Perhaps I shouldn't have just eaten a bag of pea snap crisps ...

    It went relatively smoothly. The waitress (with face mask😷, not uncommon in Tokyo) pointed at the machine by the door. So having inserted my ¥1000 note (about £7) I selected Set Meal A. Out popped a ticket which I gave to her. All good so far. She sat me at the bar along the window, next to 2 young Japanese guys. There was a nice big jug of iced water just in front of one of them, handy because I hadn't ordered a drink, so I filled a glass and sat down. Then the waitress brought me my jug of iced water. Thus I blunder my way around Tokyo!    Lue lisää

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    Gachapon +

    6. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Ok, now I've been properly culturally challenged. I went to Akihabara (shortened to Akiba) which is the home in Tokyo of manga and anime, as well as tech like PC parts, TVs, vintage computer games. Oh and maid cafes - lots of those.

    Filtered through my cultural lens I felt uncomfortable with some of what I saw, other things were just bewildering or fun, like the gachapon machines which deliver 2" capsules with a toy inside. Each machine has a theme, then you randomly get one of about 6 options. 'Gacha' as you turn the mechanism, 'pon' as the toy drops. The concept is familiar but dedicated shops not! The child in me would happily have bought a few - cute hamster to balance on the side of a glass? Yes please! Cool looking anime character? Oh go on! Realistic looking lizard? Maybe. I settled on just one to bring home (unopened).

    Bottom line, this is a very simplified snapshot of my day and I've been left with a lot I really don't understand.    Lue lisää

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    Tokyo Pride

    7. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    It's Tokyo Pride week, with the main parade (which seems to be spread out over a few hours rather than a concentrated 'thing') today, so I'm just looking round the stalls and popping to the big stage when something catches my attention; Taiko drumming just now ☺ It's friendly and busy without being overwhelming 😎 and a few people speak some/good English which helps me!

    From what I understand, culturally it's difficult to come out so this is still a relatively small event. Last year I think 70,000 took part, so not all that small!    Lue lisää

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    Hama-rikyu Gardens (an oasis of calm)

    9. toukokuuta 2017, Japani ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Today's my last full day in Tokyo. I wanted to do something relaxing and found I could take a 35 min river boat cruise from Asukasa (my part of town) to Hama-rikyu Gardens, which date back to 1654. As the leaflet says 'Hama Palace where sea breeze blows as a reminder of the Edo era'. Shape-wise the garden is a moated square, with 3 ponds. One is tidal, controlled with sluices, and the other 2 were kamoba - duck-hunting grounds.

    The trip down this stretch of the river isn't the prettiest (I was looking at the west bank): lots of concrete homes and offices along raised banks with flood gates wherever a tributary joins the Sumida.

    As the boat slowed I could see the tops of the trees in Hama-rikyu showing and thought we were going to pull up, but instead the boat manoeuvred through a flood barrier into the 'moat' (as on the map). Honestly I gasped: little hillocks covered in Japanese black pine, curving paths. Such a surprise!

    I was too late for the cherry blossom, the wisteria and the peonies, but it was still a lovely spot to while away a few hours exploring. There's a tea house which the leaflet said served tea and Japanese sweets. What I didn't realise was that they do it seriously, not with the tea ceremony, but on tatami mats, and with instructions about how to eat the sweet first, and how to drink the matcha tea. An unexpected extra 😊

    Finally the duck ponds. Very clever ... deep, narrow channels run off them, each ending in a hide with peep holes. The ducks were attracted with decoys then caught one way or another. In a very Japanese way, a memorial has been built to honour the ducks that lost their lives.

    So today was not only enjoyable but it reconnected me with how I felt when I first arrived, which I'd lost a little over the last few days - just tired I think. I'm glad.    Lue lisää

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