Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Got my baby back!


Natsumi finally arrived back in Japan last week, and the reunion was a happy one. The stories and pictures from her 'Silk Road' trip through China are amazing. She had ridden camels, climbed mountains, travelled on amazingly old and crowded busses to some extremely remote places, and saw some of the most beautiful temples in the world. Because she is fluent in Mandarin, and because she had lived in Shanghai previously, she wanted to take a trip through more remote and out-of-the-way places. She went to the north-west of China, close to Pakistan, and travelled back through the country that way.

Her stories are incredible; from standing on top of enormous sand dunes near Tibet, to witnessing a gang-style beatdown of a man in a local restaurant in Shanghai. Craziness. I do hope that I get to experience China like that soume day. We are tossing around the idea of a trip at Xmas. So far, the top contenders are: the Philippines, Shanghai, or maybe Cambodia.

And as I write this (Wed, Sept 27/06) we are just finishing packing and are about to head to Haneda Airport to catch our flight to Okinawa! We're only going for 4 days, but for me this is going to be my 'summer vacation'. It will be so nice to just relax after the stress of moving to a new city, starting a new job, meeting new staff, and worrying about Natsumi in China. I can't wait just to chill out on the beach, do some scuba diving and snorkeling, and basically just unwind. Wait...why am I sitting here typing this? I should be going NOW! Yes! I'm gone. Details of the trip to come.

p.s. the pic above is Natsumi at Shinjuku Park in central Tokyo, taken on Sept 24/06.

To see a great photo album of Natsumi pics, click here.

No comments: