I'm off!

Here goes nothing! I just finished the last of 34 rounds of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with my last class of the year. I bade everyone good-bye and took my leave of the school. I promised Kawaoka Sensei a panda. ;o) Everyone else just wanted some good stories when I get back. So all travel arrangements are in place save my train ticket from Shanghai to Beijing that I'll procure when I reach Shanghai tomorrow at noon. It's supposed to be overcast and rainy while hovering somewhere between a balmy 12 and 2 degrees. I was only able to find the temp in Farenheit, so my conversion may be a little wonky. Anyhoo. I'm planning on packing (yes, I told you I'd be packing last minute) three days worth of clothing and buying a bunch while there. I've been told the shopping is superb there. Who'd have thought you'd ever hear me say or write anything remotely like that except in jest!?! I'm thinking silk long underwear, not fashion. Either way, I'm not going to need that much stuff. I can go on three or four days of stuff in alternating shifts. Realistically, I should be able to do this kind of a trip with my 40L bag. I removed the CBC patch as I thought if China blocks the BBC site, they're sure to take an interest in such an unbiased source as the CBC, which would be troublesome. Oddly enough, I'm also leaving my knife at home. I'm going to have my pack as a carry on so I don't have to muck about in the airports. I've just confirmed that I'll be able to recharge my camera whilst I'm there, so that's coming along too.
So, I'll be taking a camera, my ipod, my LP guide one pair of rugged pants, my boots (obviously), my MEC shell and fleece, four pairs of socks, the usual compliment of underwear, a couple pairs of long underwear, four undershirts a longsleeve jobbie, of course my touque, my gloves and a collared oxford shirt that can't help but look good even 5 years post purchase. The whole lot of it that I'll be carrying will be only twice as heavy as the two litre water bottle I'm planning on having on hand. (can't drink the tap water in China). It's possibly the lightest I've ever packed. It's less than I took to Kyoto for four days.

I really can't believe I'm leaving! It's almost as surreal as leaving Canada for Japan loe those many months ago. Of course I'm planning on coming back to Japan within two weeks, so it's realistically not a big deal. I mean, people go to Mexico for two weeks on sun-seeking holidays. The difference here I guess, is that I'm basically going alone and I'm going for the unexpected and alien. I'm not going for comfort. I'm going for the challenge of managing to travel 1500km from one major communistish, alien metropolis to another in a country where I know how to say two things and some city names. That and to watch people doing Tai Chi in the square in the snow. I'm sure all the museums and such will be pretty interesting, but it's mostly about the old people doing Tai Chi in the snow and the explode fried sea bass with garlic flavour. In Beijing, of course, it will be Beijing Duck, but I'll cross that road when I come to it... ;o)

I think the most uncomfortable part of the ride will be the bus to Osaka overnight tonight. I'm really not looking forward to it. As much as I think busses are the responsible choice, barring rail, I don't like the current set-ups. I've done many an overnight trip on a bus and I can honestly say that it's tolerable. Not comfy, but it beats driving and environmentally, it beats flying. Of course I'll be flying to China... I could have taken a ship, but that would have taken two and a half days to get to Shanghai. The next time I go to China, assuming of course that I want to go back, I'll arrange to take the ship. Anyway, it's bus, jet, train. I hope I get to see Planes, Trains and Automobiles at some point on this trip. Not really, the movie just popped into my head as a laterally connected tidbit I recall from when the movie came out and was showing at the movie theatre in Kincardine some 15 or 18 years ago... Weird. Anyway. I should pack, as I need to be on the bus in under four hours now and I'm sure something will pop up that will distract me just enough to create crisis.

I'll be writing from the People's Republic if I'm able...