i'm using the hotel internet at the moment, and there are 2 things that strike me: the first is that there's no wireless here, but i'm actually using a lan cable to get hooked up. the second is that both IE and firefox both recognise your IP address as being a japanese one (or whatever reason this might be), and automatically convert direct your pages to the japanese versions. so i'm getting the log-in pages of facebook and blogger in japanese.
there's so much to talk about, but first off, thanks are in order to the wonderful people who sent me off yesterday! :) i think very sneaky send off from the hons class peeps was really cool, and frankly i think only you guys can think of pulling off such a stunt! hahaha.
the flight was uneventful - thankfully - and i have to say that SIA is overrated. the service isnt too bad, although my aisle was served by a stewardess who seemed like she's fresh from training as she looked rather stressed and overwhelmed by everything, but there isnt much that would make me choose SIA over any other airline. the food was so-so, and i didnt like the fact that they fed us only 1 meal with no snacks apart from the standard packet of nuts, or in this case, pretzels and crackers, as i was really really hungry by the time i reached the hotel. the entertainment was good though. i liked it that there were documentaries to watch, such as the underground city of london - a topic that i got interested in due to TB's essay on the underground city for the honours urban geog module - as documentaries are something different from movies. i think documentaries are a great idea especially if it's the season where movies arent all that interesting at all. but the movies on offer were good too, so that just meant more choice.
(that previous paragraph is soo badly written. but i dont care anymore as i'm really tired - imagine a full day of seminars and talks after a night of insomnia and a grand total of, say, 2.5 hours of sleep after several nights of poor sleep. go figure!)
it has actually been rather crazy since we touched down actually. the super, duper, uber long walk from the gate to immigration (trust me, it was really really long). the not-so-short queue to clear immigration. yet another long long walk from customs to the bus, kindly guided by the many JET helpers - mostly current ALTs too - along the way. the wait in the bus till everyone who's meant to be there is there. the 90min or so ride from narita to Keio Plaza Hotel. checking-in procedures and dumping our bags in the room. dinner, fitful sleep and the full flurry of activities today that as of now, have yet to end. gosh.
the Keio Plaza Hotel is really nice. it's 5-star apparently, and they fitted us in this huge room with 3 beds and a beautiful toilet.
plus a flat screen tv!
i like the way they encourage you to conserve the environment:
the hotel is in Shinjuku, and the little bit that i explored yesterday was full of bright lights and food establishments. and the streets are really clean, which is one thing i find fantastic about japan. singapore really doesnt compare, even if you overlook the fact that we employ an army of sweepers.
dinner was at the first shop that looked okay price-wise:
and it unlike your typical shop where you get beef bowls, here they sell a different thing altogether:
haha.
(the internet died on me - connection here isnt very stable, and i heard of another guy who couldnt connect at all. hmmmmmm. but basically it died on me and i dont know when i can post this next!)
4/8/08
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