my random thoughts
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| BLOGGGGG my random thoughts |
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Sunday, May 29, 2005 i got a tripod a few weeks back in china. I think I did a pretty good job of haggling and got it for about $13CDN. I finally got to put it to use, and I must say the results aren't bad at all. posted by Ben | | | 6:40 AM Friday, May 20, 2005 I witnessed a robbery last night, right in front of my eyes. It was horrible! I was never convinced safety was that shitty in guangzhou (that's where I'm staying) but i am now a convert. It was around 11pm, I just finished a few beers with my aunt and her husband. They were walking me back to the subway station and on our way there, we saw two women and a man arguing over something. Before I knew it, the man hopped onto a motorcycle (it was being driven by someone else) and sped off with the woman's purse. So the whole chain of events was that the thief got off the motorcycle and tried to grab the purse off the lady (hence the arguments) and he quickly went went back on to the motorcycle and sped off. The victim was so distraught! She tried to chace the bike but was wearing heels. Her friend was in shock and did nothing. We were just standing there like deers in front of a set of headlights watching. Damn, we could've helped....but what if they pulled out a gun? Freaky shit I tell ya. I'm glad I'm leaving this place soon. posted by Ben | | | 10:12 PM Saturday, May 14, 2005 Japan: most landmarks looked like what you'd see in the magazines and on TV. Of course we went to the 'well known' and popular districts like Shinjuku and Ginza etc. It kinda started to look the same the more we went. In fact we walked so damn much, I was pretty sick of it. hahaha Fruit and vegetables is so expensive in Japan, especially at department stores. Yes, in Japan department stores sell food. Typically the food is found in the basement floor. They literally sell EVERYTHIG -- from typically japanese items like maki sushi, sashimi, fresh fish to more western stuff like cakes, chocolates and ham. All the depaato's (That's what they call department stores in Japan) have a full service deli and restaurant. Fruit prices are rediculous. A bag of 3 oranges costs about 500 Yen, depending on where you shop. Melons (they seem like cantoloupes to me) can go as high as 80,000 Yen (that's almost $80 US!). Other interesting places I've gone to: ROppongi hill. Lots of foreigners there. Its really interesting to see someone of African decent speaking fluent (at least it seems perfect to me) Japanese with another Japanese person. Tokyo Tower which is in the vicinity is also very nice at night. I find that the gift shop on the first floor sells gifts at really reasonable prices. Shibuya: Just a whole lot of young people (teenagers to twenty-somethings) everywhere. It's great for people watching though, especially at the SHibuya 109 department store. The guide book recommended a conveyer-belt sushi place in Shibuya called Ganzo Sushi (or something along those lines). Everything is 100 Yen. But you must eat at least 7 items. It gets so busy there, that you're limited to 20 mins per sitting if you eat between 7 to 10 items, and a max of 30 mins if you eat 10 or more items. Talk about efficiency. Let me know if you want exact directions on how to get there. The Tokyo Metro building is the place to go to get an arial view of the city. It sure beats paying to go up the elevator at the Roppongi Hills tower. When I went there I couldn't see Mount Fuji at all since it was kinda overcast. But apparently you can, according to the photos on display. My friends and I also paid a visit to Yokohama to check out Japan's version of Chinatown. It's called Chukagai or something. Typically my impression of chinatowns are places that are dirty, smelly and but abundant in cheap eats. But Yokohama's Chinatown is like polar opposite. It's really clean, doesn't smell but the food is ultra expensive. Fried rice was 1300 yen or something. Ridiculous. I don't remember much, but i think I've mentioned the main things. I just got back from a whirlwind tour of eastern china (Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other random places in that area) and there's a LOT to talk about there. I'm still cringing over their "washrooms". posted by Ben | | | 8:23 PM |
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