Sapporo

Last minute packing, minimal to no sleep (because it always seemed like a good idea at the time) and airport food is the proper way to begin any travel out of the country. This time, I'm somehow wedged between seven other friends, sitting on a bus at 3am, wondering why on earth am I ever allowed to go anywhere without parental supervision, especially if the places I'm going to does not consider English as their national language.

And yet somehow, about 18 hours later, there I was running up and down the corridors of a hotel in Tokyo ringing doorbells then running off to hide behind a vending machine while struggling to breathe and laugh at the same time with Desiree. And another number of hours, plane flight and bus ride later, there we were in Sapporo. And it was snowing a ridiculous amount. Trudging through the snow with our luggages must've looked miserable to the locals.

I spent the next day exploring Sapporo with Jenna. Reading maps with a bunch of Japanese characters was difficult so we decided to just go wherever. Our first stop was the Sapporo Snow Festival. How can a bunch of frozen water be sculpted so perfectly and precisely in such a grand scale?! We also could not help but ogle at all the little kids bundled in clothes like little penguins wobbling around in groups waiting to go on the ice slides. SO. CUTE.

Then we went shopping and the shopping centres felt so endless. Everything was so bright and colourful and the workers there kept greeting us and saying something we didn't understand every few seconds to the point where we didn't know whether they were talking to us so I kept awkwardly side eyeing them, not knowing whether to acknowledge them over and over or not. Everyone here is so nice and friendly though.

Evenings in Sapporo looks so magical. Nights in Sapporo during winter aren't as magical (to me) because of the amount of the bloody snow that fell and coated us. Wearing a parka with a hoodie that literally covers half my face was only slightly advantageous in this weather. I've never wanted to be indoors more than I did in that moment. And yet I still wanted to buy a small tub of ice cream from the convenience store. How could I say no to trying sakura flavoured ice cream?! (And I also could not say no when Jellee demanded me to get out of the shower so I could try her rose flavoured ice cream...)

Even though we technically only had one full day to get ourselves acquainted with Sapporo, I think it was enough for me because snow is so bloody cold to the point where my body temperature dropped so low that when snow fell on me, it actually stuck to my skin and did not melt. I do love winter, but I guess I found my limit of what's considered a pleasant kind of cold.

PS. I know this is a very delayed post and I haven't posted anything in a while. New uni and course happened so I've been super busy. I have a lot of travelling posts to catch up with and books I've been reading so stay tuned, I suppose?

Knapsack

One of the things I've always wanted to do is to live near the typical American woods with woodland creatures bouncing around and hearing the slow current of a nearby creek and a woodpecker hidden in the trees while I stroll down a worn path. Like just imagine all the animals you'd come across - Squirrels, bunnies, raccoons, deers, foxes, hedgehogs, owls and beavers... I AM EXCITED JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. I don't know if these kind of places exists, but it seems to in kids' cartoon shows. I will even become an animated character if I have to just to experience this.

We woke up still undecided of whether to Orange or Blue Mountains. In the car, we still had no idea where to go. Then finally at the last turn, we decided to head off to Blue Mountains. I guess the Australian bush is the closest thing to the American woods.

We stopped by Knapsack Bridge because we've never been and was curious of what's there. The area is now an abandoned railway station with a bushwalking track. The first thing you'd notice when you get out of the car is the cacophony of birds and insects constantly screaming. At one point it got so loud that it reminded me of mockingjays from The Hunger Games trilogy.

My fitness level is shamefully nonexistent so I was panting and crawling up the stairs after less than a minute of walking. Apart from the constant fear of getting an asthma attack, which I don't have asthma in the first place, I had to also worry about my camera, my bag and the uneven steps with no handrails with the constant unsettling thought of falling over the edge and deep into the forest floor. I kept telling myself I would start going to the gym, but I think my need to sit in front of my laptop, watching British YouTubers all day, overpowers every other need.

Wentworth Falls was our next stop. Another walking track meant another lot of unfulfilled goals made to myself. "I can't breathe. I think I need to go to the gym. But wait, how much does the gym cost? What? I'm not paying for that. Why would I go pay to sit and touch and run on other people's sweat? Isn't that unhygienic? Will people judge me if I lie on the floor after thirty seconds on the treadmill?"

Last stop was The Three Sisters at Blue Mountains. We didn't do much because by the time we got there, the tourist activities were closing. It was still a really fun family road trip though and worth the long drive!

Hunter Valley

A two day road trip with my family to Hunter Valley to end the s#!ttest (synonym: poopiest) year of my life by far, 2013. Even though there's not much to do there because the area mostly attracts avid wine drinkers with its extensive vineyards and wineries, we all had heaps of fun just knowing that we were 3 hours away from Sydney, and a change in scenery is always exciting.

We didn't do any wine tasting, but did a whole lot of fast food eating. Actually, we kind of spent our time there doing elderly things like strolling through gardens and playing putt putt by the lake. I made dad stop driving every few metres because the view here is so picturesque. The good thing is that there are hardly any cars around so we could stop in the middle of the road and I'd stick my head out the window like a dog then take photos.

An attraction there are the Hunter Valley Gardens during Christmas. Each garden had a theme and at night, there would be Christmas lights and a whole lot of festive music. The whole area felt like there were singing gnomes hidden in the hedges. (Also got told off because there was this blocked off entrance to one of the gardens and there were elephant lights basically greeting me at the gates and I really wanted to see what was in there and a worker caught me after taking two steps. At least we know somebody's not sleeping on the job.)

Stayed at a motel for the night and watched weird things on TV (like how this guy was addicted to eating glass...), had instant noodles and fought for the single beds - The typical stuff. On our second day, we did a bit of chocolate and confectionary browsing at a few stores that looked like little barns and cottages.

We stopped by The Entrance on our way home and went to the beach. The water is really shallow so it looks like there are small islands where people can also go fishing. There is also a fair nearby where I painted a ceramic dragon and ate a lot of cinnamon doughnuts.

Look at the amount of power that lady has. Look at how hypnotised the pelicans are. If you have one fish in your hand, you can control an entire population of pelicans. It's almost abnormal to see how behaved they look, until the fish is thrown into the air and they all become chaotic animals again.

In summary, a successful road trip because no one got sunburnt in 30°C+ weather! *raises glass full of sunscreen*

Surf City

One of the most effective ways to ignite the cussing side of me? Fucking amusement parks. I lost my voice from all the swearing and screaming I've done. I am the worst at dealing with heart dropping rides, but when in Rome America, do as the Romans Americans do.

We headed south from San Francisco on a road trip to Santa Cruz, where California's oldest amusement part, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, is located. It was interesting to see the architecture of houses change during the 1 hour and 40 minutes car ride. Even the trees looked different. There is no other way to describe it, but I couldn't get over how American everything looked.

I've never been to a seaside amusement park before. It made me think of American teen films. From the design of the rides down to the food they sold, it was just so American. For one of the rides, the lap bars were too wide for me so for 5 minutes of the ride, I felt like I was being thrown off from 10 metres above the ground every time it violently jerked. The whole time I was yelling, "I WANT TO BE FAT," till my voice was hoarse. Obesity in America affects the average sized too.

I couldn't believe how laid back and casual my uncle was on every single ride. After every extreme ride, he would comment on how it felt like nothing and shrug while Vivian and I would yell and blame each other for forcing ourselves on those rides. Garland was cheering after every ride and my aunty laughed hysterically till it looked like she was getting teary after her first mini roller coaster.

On the car ride home:
Vivian: Ow, I got my hair caught in the seat belt.
Garland: Oh no, poor Vivern.
Rebecca: At least it didn't get caught in an engine of a ride and get black greasy oil on it.

Garland: I can't wait to go home and have a soda then watch anime.
Vivian: I can't wait to nap.
Rebecca: I can't wait to shower my hair.

[Neville Longbottom's voice] Why is it always me?

I can't believe I'm going home so soon. I don't wish to have photographic memory to have an advantage in exams, I want it to remember these moments, places and people in front of my eyes, frozen in this moment.

Fog City

I cannot express how much I love San Francisco in words. Only in feelings. And some feelings you can't put into words. Or maybe you can, but I'm not good at writing or talking about *~love~* or showing any sort of affection.

We hit all the tourist attractions and landmarks in the first few days by various means of transport - Cable cars, BARTs, buses, taxis, rail transits and squeezing an illegal amount of people in a five seater car. Their transport system is so clean, convenient and arrive so frequently here, unlike Sydney's Shitty Rail.

The architecture of the Golden Gate Bridge is so aesthetically pleasing to look at with the contrast of the royal red against clear blue skies. I want to bike along the whole bridge one day rather than walk a few metres in because I didn't want to stray too far from my family. Also the Palace of Fine Arts was under reconstruction two years ago so I finally got to see the inside with statues of people facing in and butts out. Grander things out of the way, I love the houses here. They're like small paper towns built on steep, sloping hills. I would want to live here one day.

The main reason why I love San Francisco so much is because of my family. My aunty and uncle are way too kind and generous while my cousins are people who I can call friends too. By "friend" I mean be bad influences (we taught our cuzzies/habibs how to speak like western Sydney siders, eshays brah) and slack to each other. E.g. when Garland gave me a book on how to make friends and Vivian offered to buy heart chocolates for Valentine's for me because I'll "probably never get one." THANKS, GUYS.

They also gave me a place to settle down and call home. I carried out an ordinary lifestyle here on most days - Get up, go downtown, come home to snack on American junk food, go to the gym (I'll revert back to my potato life when I get back though), eat a tub of Ben & Jerry's straight after, shower, watch YouTube videos and TV series and go to sleep with Tiger waking me up through growls or obsessive licking. A laid back routine with no expectations from real life things.

Pier 39 is another tourist attraction full of unique, colourful shops and performers. There were shops full of barrels of taffy, chocolates that can only be found in San Francisco, the best donuts I've ever had, a shop just for lefties, another shop just for pets, accessories, games and barking sea lions being plank potatoes. There was also a vicious seagull that knocked my sister's ice cream out of her hands and it was the saddest thing I've ever witnessed.

We went on a ferry for a tour around and had a little bit of a history lesson on Alcatraz, the now abandoned prison. We kept running and jumping around the ferry till I got seasick. It was so nice to watch the sunset from the sea and see twinkling lights on buildings in the skyline in the distance.

San Francisco Zoo had so many animals that Australian zoos don't have. (But I think Taronga Zoo is more impressive.) I SAW MY VERY FIRST SQUIRREL AND CHASED IT AROUND THE GRASS. If I had nuts, I would've thrown them at it to lure it so I could maybe pat (or get bitten) by it.

Prairie dogs are the cutest things, ever. Can I sneak one in through customs? Please? Or can I at least hold one the way my uncle chased a chicken around the zoo to carry and hug it?

Japantown was full of [taiko drum rolls] Japanese stuff. There were Japanese food, bookstores, supermarkets, hairdressers and even a shop full of Hello Kitty things. We spent most of our time there taking embarrassing sticker photos that will probably never see daylight. I'm beginning to get used to how friendly and social the workers are.

Before my family departed for their flight (I stayed back an extra fortnight because I have no priorities to go back to at Sydney yet), we celebrated my sister's birthday with food from San Jose and a Ben & Jerry's cake. Tiger was the party animal. We played clip the tail on the dog.

The next fortnight felt much quieter. I got told by a couple of gypsy looking ladies that I have "nice ears" and that one of them dyed their hair jet black and announced, "LOOK I'M ASIAN LIKE YOU." I got woken up by Tiger at least three times a night with a panic attack. I spent a whole bus ride wondering whether this man/woman was a man/woman. I ran straight into a mirror after taking literally one step into this infinite mirror maze. I witnessed the famous Bushman at Fisherman's Wharf scaring unsuspecting passersby. I awkwardly sat in the lounge rooms of distant relatives during Chinese New Year and guiltily accepted red envelopes from them while they kept feeding us with Asian sweets. I forced some down my throat to the point where I started tearing from laughing at how bad they were, but pretended to love it.

I'm leaving in a few days. I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE. LET ME STAY. Maybe I should arrive at the airport late to hold everyone up and extend my time here, even if it's for a few minutes. Or I should arrive so late that they leave without me. Then I'd be too broke to afford a ticket home. Then I'll have to start going college here with my cousins. I just don't want to go home yet.