Sui Generis

Excuse the melancholic title, I was trying to put together my feelings and what would sound like Japan (land of the rising sun, get it?) Anyway, just three weeks ago, my ultimate dream was realized - I finally went to Japan. It was strange (yet, not really) because when I was in the nearly empty plane heading for Narita, I didn't feel a sense of nervousness, or excitement for that matter. I just felt exhausted, having just returned from nearly two weeks of intense travelling around parts of Europe, then flying off again the next night really worn me out. That said, I tried my best to catch some sleep during the flight of seven hours (it was a night flight). I recall waking up when the sun came up and saw one of the passengers seated in the next row take some pictures of the stunning sunrise glaring through the tiny window. Being jakun , I also did the same thing. well what do you know, it really is land of the rising sun! Landing in Narita at 8 am still didn't tickle ...

It's interesting how we desperately try to cling on to anything that can remind us of the specific past; certain songs, secret notes that we do not want to show anyone, virtual pictures of sweet, memories made, gifts bought - everything seems to suddenly hold a greater significance than anything that we've owned, especially if that certain past event has impacted us in an extremely strong way, say, perhaps emotionally and mentally. We try to recall with as much precision as our faulty memory is able to. It's pathetic, really, how much we try to recreate the past in our head.

This marks the last day of our tour, officially. This would also be the last time we'll ever see Howard or Peter, or all the others on tour with us. I was feeling rather reluctant to leave Europe, but we've all got to come back to reality when we're done frolicking. We changed buses at the other hotel. Peter and Howard would be taking the guests to the airport in Paris, while the other coach would take us to Calais and then back to London. Breakfast was super early at 6.30am but we had gotten so accustomed to waking up at 5.30am for the past 11 days that we had no problem waking up for an early breakfast. After breakfast, we went down to the lobby with a heavy heart. We were already bidding each other farewell and exchanging contacts while Howard and Peter dealt with our luggage. It would be the last time they wheeled and carried our bags around. That kinda has a depressing ring to it, don't you think? Everyone who would be leaving Europe boarded the coach one last...

This is it. It's the last day of tour (second last, but we're leaving for London tomorrow) We visited a few tourist-iconic places today: Notre Dame, The Lourve, and the Eiffle tower. We went to pick up our local specialist first - her name was Elizabeth - by the Arc de Triumph and we took a nice city tour on the coach towards Notre Dame. Only seven of us did not sign up for the optional experiences today (Notre Dame tour and going up the Eiffle tower). I didn't feel that we needed to ascend the tower as it was just to see the whole of Paris from a vantage point. Least to say, we didn't need to see Paris from a vantage point. Anyway, we were dropped off near Notre Dame, and while the others went on the walking tour with commentary, I became tour guide for us seven and also took them to Notre Dame for pictures. As I've been here before (MUSSOC Paris Tour 2015) I was kinda familiar with getting to Notre Dame from where we were. It wasn't very far anyway. We sna...

The trip to Paris was 9 bloody hours. From Switzerland, we made our way out of the Swiss alps and into the flat plains of France. We made toilet breaks almost every three hours. It must've been arduous for Peter to be driving nine hours during the day. We watched 'My Life In Ruins', fitting for our group haha. I think Howard purposfully screened that film to show what being a travel guide is like. Nothing much happened during the day, as you've expected, there was a lot of sleeping, and a film. Fast forwarding to actually arriving in Paris, I felt like arriving back at some place familiar, even though I've only been to Paris once for 6 days, just over 3 months ago. It felt nostalgic coming back here as a tourist instead of as a performer/tourist. It was 4pm when we arrived the very swanky hotel. Like some say, you start big you end big. After checking in, we left for Champ Elysee where we were dropped off to have some dinner. After taking some pictures at the ...

This one is gonna be rather short because I was too tired to write as we went around. In the morning, we went to the base of Mount Pilatus to ascend the mountain by cogwheel train. It was a slow ascend, and a cold one. Of course it wasn't without reward. The view was incredible! Vast green lands, sparkling lakes, open skies, it was all so picturesque. There were even cows grazing! We called them mountain cows lol. They had cowbells tied around their necks that sounded whenever they moved. So every time we heard the sound of bells, we whipped out our cameras and searched for the cows. However, halfway to the top, the scenic view transformed into that of ghastly fog. We couldn't see anything outside our windows! Upon arriving at Mt. Pilatus, we were given free rein to roam around, take pictures and shop at the gift store. But because of the fog, there wasn't exactly much to see. We were also ill equipped for the weather in the mountain. Luckily I brought a cardigan and a h...

I left my charger and adapter in the hotel :'( we noticed when my mum wanted to charge her phone on the coach and couldn't find my charger, nor the adapter. I was asleep then, and instantly was awake, feeling a creeping dread in my gut. I recalled not unplugging it because my mum's phone was still charging. And that's probably where it still is. "Did you unplug it?" I asked, hoping that she did, but, by the look on her face, I found my answer. The dread fell over me like a heavy weight. I don't like losing my things because I'd have to replace them, and many a time I'd have grown attached to them. Yes, I'm a hoarder. Also the international adapter wasn't cheap, which deepened my guilt further. I wanted to divert the blame, but obviously that isn't going to help with the situation except for making myself feel better. I swallowed my guilt and wallowed in it until I fell asleep again. When I woke up, there was a documentary showing about...