Kyoto

Something that has really impressed us about Korea is how hard Koreans work. While in general their working hours are much longer than most working hours in North America, they are given far less vacation time. Being that we too are working in Korea, the same rules apply to us. For instance, I am given only ten vacation days this year. I was not told, however, that the ten days aren't actually together, they're spread throughout the year. I also soon realized that these so-called "vacation days" are actually just national holidays that everyone gets off anyway. Some advice: Ask a lot of questions before signing a contract in Korea. Since my only holidays are the same as every other Korean's, you can only imagine what a nightmare it is trying to book a trip out of the country during those times. We thought booking our trip to Japan three months before Cheusok (Korean Thanksgiving) would be plenty of time. We were wrong. Flights, trains and ferries were booked up at least six months in advance. We were not impressed. Eventually, Ian's boss was able to locate a couple open seats on a flight, through someone he knew, and although they were more expensive and our trip was cut from 5 days to 3, at least we were on our way.

We arrived an hour outside of Kyoto and quickly made our way to the train station. We had an open seat fare so had to line up nice and early to make sure we got good seats, or any seats at all. We were taking the Shinkansen Bullet train, which is the world's first highspeed train and reaches speeds up to 300km/h. Yeee Ha! As it pulled up to the platform, I felt like Judy Jetson, going to work. I doubt I would have been surprised if upon arrival, we'd actually been transported three hundred years into the future. Sleek white, and aerodynamically shaped like a bullet, this thing was made for the future. We quickly entered the car and grabbed two of the last seats. But as we sat there congratulating ourselves for scoring, things started to get a little hazy, then a little hazier. I looked around and noticed every single person on every side of us was smoking. Oh no! How could this be?! Surely they didn't allow smoking in this perfect modern art capsule on wheels. How could such a futuristic idea encase such antiquated socially unacceptable habits? More importantly, how were we going to sit in this carcinogenic pod for the next two hours? Just as fast as they appeared, all illusions of the future faded, leaving us feeling like we'd been transported back in time and were currently sitting in the engine room of a coal train. As time slowly passed, our skin was turning the colour of the air, which was so thick we could hardly see the seats in front of us. That's when Ian noticed the seating chart on the emergency exit map. With 16 cars to choose from, imagine our utter annoyance when we immediately discovered that we had picked the only smoking car on the entire train.

Once in Kyoto, we decided to stay in the Gion district, famous for it's geishas. So of course, we expected them to be everywhere. Not exactly. Like any nocturnal species on the verge of extinction, the rare geisha is only spotted by a very lucky passerby who just happens to be in the right place at the right time. Actually, the geisha in the Gion district don't really refer to themselves as geisha; instead they use the local term "geiko". I know what you're thinking, and the tiny lizards that live in tropical climates are "geckos". Different. While the term geisha means "artist", geiko means specifically "a woman of art." Again, different. There is a popular misconception that Gion was a red-light district. However, as geisha are technically "entertainers", I guess it would be considered the entertainment district. You don't really care, do you?

The next three days were like being in a movie. We felt like tiny figurines as we strolled through breathtaking giant bozi gardens, and were in awe over the endless little alley-like streets, lined with old teahouses and blazing paper lanterns. We participated in an official tea ceremony, and were surprised when we were were served a bitter, thick, green foam rather than the clear liquid tea we were expecting. We visited the Nijo palace with it's famous "nightingale floor" that is made with a special timber technique which makes it impossible to walk on the floor without it making chirping sounds. The floor surrounding the living and sleeping quarters of the palace was to work as an alarm system as no one could enter the space without being heard.

No matter where we looked, Kyoto was just overflowing with so much history and beauty, but nothing, and I mean nothing peaked Ian's fascination like the Japanese people. As I would be staring at a pretty painting or an unusual building, Ian would be wandering off with the camera, taking endless photos of Japanese people's shoes, backpacks, and especially hair. Rod Stuart has got a pretty strong following over there. Surprisingly, all under 25. Just hoards of flaming orange, spiky haired people in the craziest attire, roaming the streets. The highlight of the trip was on our last night in Kyoto, when I heard Ian gasp, and I turned around just in time to see a real live gecko scuttle across the sidewalk from a dark entrance to an awaiting vehicle. I felt like a full out celebrity stalker as we sprinted toward the poor woman, bombarding her with our flashes.... I'm not proud of it.

The trip home was slightly depressing. It felt like we were heading home from a really great party that was cut way too short? Japan is just so cool. Even their toilets! Sure it takes about 3 times longer in the bathroom because the toilets have about a thousand buttons for every event imaginable, but if it means not ever having to use the squat toilets we've still not grown accustomed to in Korea, I'm willing to put in the extra time! Our homecoming got even better when Ian was pulled aside at the Seoul airport and interrogated for not having his passport stamped the first time we entered Korea... because that is obviously his fault, not theirs. To add insult to injury, when we finally got home and walked into our apartment, we were greeted by a plague of the flying scorpion earwigs that had moved in while we were away. Sob! Can we go back now?!