January 6, 2015
On the road, travelling pretty lightly loaded.
I usually try to bring plenty of stuff. Why not be comfortable on the road? Here is a more typical load from a notable past adventure. Note in the comparison the absence of many truly essential items such as wife, golf clubs, etc.
5AM departure from Bemidji, long layover in Minneapolis and then a 13 hour flight into Tokyo. Delayed into Taipei making it about 32 hours door to door. But that did include a stop on the way home from the airport for some wuntun and a beer.
The only notable story from the night is about the guitar. I am travelling with one and it works out interestingly well. From Bemidji they let me strap it into the open seat beside me. Out of Minneapolis they let me board early to find an open overhead bin, but it was an old plane and it did not fit, so they stored it for me in the crew’s luggage closet.
In Narita everything works like a swiss (Japanese?) watch. I gawked around upon arrival, cleaned up a bit and figured out that I needed to take a bus from one terminal to another. Which ran at posted intervals exactly on time.
Exiting the bus at the other Terminal I was surprised to find a representative of China Air holding a sign with my name on it. She took me to their counter to check that my connection would work smoothly and well and see that I got to the gate easily and without any concern. Issued me a new boarding pass with “a nicer seat”.
At the gate they took my guitar onto the plane and made sure the flight crew was OK with me bringing it into the cabin. Then they brought it all the way back out and asked me to preboard and told me it would fit into an overhead bin. They had checked. I love Asia.
Had a welcome shave and a washup in a sparkling clean rest room. Post this comment which is probably on the edge, but I was asked to tell what it’s like. One of the simple joys of passing through Narita is the use of a Japanese toilet, which in addition to the functions we are familiar with will also give you an upside down shower.
Could not load this in the bandwidth available on the road. I was experimenting.
So .. it is now morning and I am at Andrew’s place on Wild Dog Mountain. It is early morning (jet lag) and the mist from the river has obscured the city from view.
Anyway, life is good. My little coffee maker is out of storage. Andrew will be up in a few hours and we are going out for the best lunch I know anywhere. As Sandie and Lenore might agree.
