Aloha.

One busy month. Two stressful visa applications for two exciting countries. Eight harrowing flights. Twelve work-free days. And in all possibility, dozens of unread emails when I am back in the office tomorrow.

(Not to mention the amount of air sickness bags used that could probably power a house in some small underdeveloped nation.)

But in all honesty, really: there is no other place better than home. Tokyo may have left me in awe, and Hawaii may have stamped its mark as a lovely paradise, but Malaysia is where the heart is, and always it will be.

1. Hey! Despite really strong reservations, you went ahead and had that Very Long Vacation! And flown so much, seen so many things … what does it feel like, to have done it all and finally ne very sure of what you really like and want? To be at home.

   ShomT | 25/04/10 11:30 PM
   
   
   
   

2. ShomT – Actually, the “vacation” wouldn’t have happened if it were not for The Company. ;)

   While in Japan, I often thought about you (“Hmm, if I turned this way, would I bump into Shom?”). You are based in Kyoto now, is that right? But judging from some messages I’ve seen on Facebook, I think you weren’t in Japan while I was in the country. :|

   But ironically, yes – flew all those thousands of miles, and all I wanted was to be back at home again.

   I’d love to travel again when teleportation has been successfully invented.

   Strizzt | 26/04/10 07:45 PM
   
   
   
   

3. It’s a pity I couldn’t meet up with you in Japan. Yes, I’m based in Kyoto and it’s rather far from Tokyo actually (unfortunately that’s where most visitors tend to go). I was actually out of Kyoto from February till early April .. when did you come to Tokyo? Which other country did you go to?

   So what impressed you most during your stay in Japan?

   What I hate most about travelling is packing and unpacking, everything else in between is great! I also hate long journeys to reach the destination … by the time I get back I feel exhausted instead of reinvigorated. But I’m definitely not the type who’d go backpacking at my own expense, energy and time (all that planning, argh) ! Well maybe if we were 1000 years later we might have time-travelling machines …

   ShomT | 27/04/10 09:05 PM
   
   
   
   

4. ShomT – Kyoto doesn’t seem toooo far by shinkansen. ;) I was in Tokyo from 8-14 April – and it was also just the right time for hanami. My original flight itinerary included a transit at Narita, so I opted to extend a few days in Tokyo before continuing on to the US.

   Japan was very, very impressive – I’ll touch on this in a future entry. :)

   (Pictures from my travels are now up on Flickr!)

   Strizzt | 27/04/10 09:41 PM