✈ The travel chronicles ✈ - the people

Imens jeg prøver at komme over mit omvendte (og desværre stadigt eksisterende) kulturchok efter mit relativt korte USA-eventyr, har jeg tænkt meget over følgevirkningerne af turen og hvordan den har påvirket mig. Nej, faktisk over effekterne af alle mine ture. Mine eventyr, som jeg ynder at kalde dem i daglig tale. Godt nok har det ikke altid indebåret regnbuer og candyfloss-farvede græsmarker,  men det har været mindeværdigt. Selv alle de katastrofale og ulykkelige øjebikke. Up's and down's. Og det er vel det, det hele handler om, ikke sandt? Og nu, nu skal det handle om det at rejse. Jeg vil jo så gerne have en rejseblog og det nytter jo ikke noget, at jeg kun skriver, når jeg er on the road. Refleksionerne hører vel også med, og eftersom jeg er i Danmark, er der jo ikke mange eventyr at rapportere om i skrivende stund. Så jeg vil bruge tiden på at reflektere lidt over det at rejse.

Folk har ofte spurgt mig om, hvorfor jeg godt kan lide at rejse. Især mine gamle klassekammerater fra min gymnasieklasse, der blandt andet ikke kunne forstå at jeg gad tage en måned til Spanien for at lave noget "så kedeligt som at studere spansk". Og jeg har længe ikke vidst, hvad mit svar burde være. Jeg kan godt lide at se ting, jeg aldrig har set før. Den første gang, man ser et berømt vartegn, for at nævne et eksempel. Jeg glemmer i hvert fald aldrig det øjeblik, hvor jeg, totalt overgearet og lykkelig, så Big Ben for første gang i horisonten med mine nye venner på sprogrejsen til England. Jeg glemmer i hvert fald heller aldrig den ubeskrivelige følelse jeg fik, da jeg stod ud af bussen på Times Square omgivet af 120 andre ekstatiske piger fra alle afkroge af verden. Men det bedste ved at rejse? Mennesker. Forskellighed. Mangfoldighed. Det bedste ved at rejse er alle de mennesker, man møder på sin vej. Sådan er det i hvert fald for mig. Jeg fanger tit mig selv i at tænke 'hvordan har jeg været så heldig at få lov til at blive beriget med dette menneskes selskab?' Jeg har også tit tænkt 'åh gud, hvad skal jeg gøre for at slippe af med hende her?' Man må jo tage det sure med det søde.

Om det var den ekstremt stereotypiske russiske pige, hvis selvlærte engelsk klart overtrumfede mit og alle de andre studerendes, om det var den israelske fyr, hvis skriftsprog decideret lignede volapyk for os andre, om det var den pige, der, da jeg mødte hende i Skotland, ikke kunne svare på spørgsmålet om, hvor hun kom fra, da hun ikke vidste, hvad hun skulle kalde for hjem, eftersom hendes forældre ejede huse i Los Angeles, Christchurch og London, om det var den fremmede mand i Texas, jeg endte med at støde tilfældigt på to gange og som, på trods af ikke at kende mig, alligevel satte sig ned og tog sig tid til at snakke med mig om det at være væk hjemmefra.

Det er næsten underordnet. Det fascinerende ved at møde nye og anderledes mennesker er deres historie. Hvem de er, hvor de kommer fra, hvem de gerne vil være og hvor de skal hen. Og hvorfor de er her. Der er altid dem, der overrasker mig; dem der ikke passer ind i den kasse, man på forhånd har placeret dem i og man derfor er tvunget til at kasserere de fordomme, man havde om dem. Der er dem, der, når jeg har sagt farvel til dem, har efterladt mig med en tom og opgivende følelse - det værste ved at knytte sig til folk, som man har eventuelt kun har kendt i et par dage, det er tanken om at man ikke har en jordisk chance for at vide, om man nogensinde ser dem igen eller om man overhovedet kommer til at holde kontakten. Heldigvis træder den følelse for det meste i baggrunden og bliver erstattet af en anden; følelsen man får, når man opdager at man lige har fået en ven for livet - oftest på den allermest tilfældige måde. Venner, som du ved altid vil være der for dig, selvom afstanden mellem jer er enorm. Derfor er det min yndlingsting ved at rejse. Venskaberne, historierne og de lange samtaler til langt ud på natten med mennesker, du ikke kender.. men alligevel aldrig har lyst til at forlade igen.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

While I'm still trying to deal with my reverse culture shock, I've had a lot of time on my hands to think and reflect on the thoughts and the speculations that my stay in Texas has undoubtedly left me with. Which made me reflect on all of my adventures. Because that's what they've been. Adventures. Not exactly the kind of candy floss pink fairytales with unicorns at the end of the rainbow, but adventures. Journeys. They have all been memorable, even the many moments of sadness, giving up and just plain out irrationality. The up's and down's. It all counts. And really, that's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what this is gonna be about. Travelling. Afterall, I do claim this to be a travel blog, so why not use my travels as an inspiration, even when I'm not on the road? All the aftermath is just as much a part of it as the physical journey itself. The reflections are a part of it and since I'm currently back in Denmark, those delightful travel-related experiences are out of the picture. So for now I'll spend the time reflecting on the thing that is to travel. 

I've often had people asking me why I like travelling so much. Especially my old high school classmates. Some of them simply couldn't comprehend why I bothered living in Spain for a month for something as boring as that of studying Spanish. For a long time I didn't know the answer. I still don't. Sometimes I ask myself the same questions. Then I think back and remember all the feelings, the people, the adrenaline. Suddenly, I don't remember why I ever had any doubts. I like seeing things for the first time. The first time you see a famous landmark, for instance. One thing is for sure, I'll never ever forget the first time I saw Big Ben. I was with my new friends and my international class and we had anticipated the moment for what felt like years. It was breathtaking. I'm also positive I'll never forget the moment I stepped out of the bus at Times Square at nighttime. But my favorite part of it all? People. Diversity. Multiplicity. The best part of travelling is all the people you'll meet. Sometimes I catch myself thinking 'how on earth have I deserved to be blessed with the company of this person?' Other times, I catch myself thinking 'oh dear god, how am I gonna get rid of this person?' No light without darkness.

Whether it was the extremely stereotypical Russian girl, whose self-taught English without a doubt made the rest of us feel utterly inferior, the Israeli guy whose written language literally looked like nonsense to me, the girl, who, when I met her in Scotland, couldn't quite provide me with an answer to my question of where's she's from, as her parents own houses in Los Angeles, Christchurch and London or whether it was the stranger in Texas I accidentally ran into twice, who, despite not knowing me, still took the time to sit down with me to discuss the subject of being away from home.

It doesn't matter. The fascinating thing about meeting new people is their story. Everybody's got a story. As it turned out, the stranger in Texas was in fact not Texan; he was from Wisconsin and even though he hadn't even left American soil, he agreed that Texas does feel like a different planet. We all have a story. I did too. He felt drawn to ask me about mine because I was on Skype speaking a language he could make no sense of. Our story. Who we are. Where we're from. Who we want to be and where we're going. And most importantly of all, why we're here. There are always people who manages to surprise me: they're the ones that doesn't fit into the box you've already put them in even before they've opened their mouth and you therefore have to dispose of all your prejudice. There are the ones, who, right after I've said goodbye to them, have left me with an empty feeling - the worst thing about bonding with people you have possibly just known for a few days is not knowing when you'll see them again. Or if you'll ever see them again. Fortunately, that feeling tends to fade and turn into another; the feeling you have when you realize that you've possibly just gained a friend for life. Usually in the most random way possible. A friend you know will always be there for you even though the distance between you is four-digit number. That is why it's my favorite thing about travelling. The friendships, the stories and those hour long conversations in the middle of the night with people you're only just getting to know but somehow never feel like you want to leave.

Odaiba by night

Dette bliver nok det sidste indlæg omhandlende Tokyo, selvom der egentlig er så meget mere at skrive om, men så ville jeg kunne lave indlæg frem til jul.. Så dette bliver det sidste!
Disse billeder er også fra Odaiba, den kunstige ø - men denne gang om aftenen, hvilket gør det 10 gange smukkere. Det er det mest fortryllende og Odaiba er altså det mest imponerende sted i Tokyo, hvis jeg absolut skulle vælge. Billederne kan som sædvanligt slet ikke vise, hvor flot og stort det er. Jeg kunne sidde på stranden i flere timer og bare kigge på showet. Jeg savner virkelig Tokyo.

The view from Odaiba Beach by night is the most enchanting about Tokyo. The beauty cannot be put into words and I'm not even gonna try to explain how it feels, just standing there, admiring the Rainbow Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. I could sit at the beach for hours, just watching the show. It's breathtaking.

We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we takea little of each other everywhere

Vi kom hjem fra Tokyo i torsdags, d. 18. juli, efter at have rejst i godt 26 timer. Jeg har taget en helt masse ting med mig hjem; blandt andet en masse myggestik, en lille bitte japansk tatovering, en pose med alt godt (og mærkeligt) fra de japanske supermarkeder, 2000+ billeder, en god portion af det herlige jetlag og jeg har også lidt japanske sprogkundskaber med hjem; men vigtigst af alt, har jeg nu en helt masse fantastiske og helt vidunderlige minder at kigge tilbage på. Minder om en helt utrolig rar tur og utallige fantastiske mennesker, som vi har haft glæden af at møde, bruge tid sammen med og lytte til.
Vi har mødt mennesker fra i alt 26 forskellige lande og det har været så inspirerende at møde så mange forskellige, mærkelige, forunderlige og rejselystne mennesker, der hver især har haft en historie og en kultur at dele, der har ligget så langt væk fra det, vi er vant til. Men det er jo det gode ved at rejse; vi kan dele, lære nye ting, udforske, fare vild og til sidst tage hjem som helt nye mennesker.

Jeg har samlet en sjov lille liste over ting i Japan, som gang på gang forundrede os, morede os og nogle gange fik os til at græde af grin:

1) Folk cykler på fortovene. De har brede fortove, men med den ringe afmærkning og folkemængden er det decideret livsfarligt.
2) Man må ikke ryge, samtidigt med at man går. Man skal decideret stå stille. Det er det samme, hvis du f.eks. køber en is. Du skal stå og spise den.
3) Er pandaen nationaldyret i Japan? For de er alle freakin' vegne!
4) Der er psyko mange mennesker i Tokyo.
5) Michael Jackson er ikke død. Der er en asiatisk Michael Jackson på Green Land i Roppongi.
6) Der er klinisk rent overalt i Tokyo, hvilket er imponerende for enhver storby, men endnu mere imponerende taget i betragtning af, at Tokyo ikke bare er hvilken som helst storby, men faktisk en af verdens allerstørste byer.
7) Man skal være 20 for at drikke i Japan - og det er vi åbenbart, når vi er i Roppongi!
8) Japanerne må være verdens mest venlige folkefærd - du kan ikke nærme dig folk uden at de bukker, smiler, siger 'arigatou gozaimasu' og spørger du nogen om noget, vil de gå ud af deres gode skind for at hjælpe dig.
9) Der er ingen ende på Tokyo. Man kunne bogstavlig talt ikke se enden på byen på nogle af de observationstårne, vi var oppe i.

10) Alt er enten vanvittig dyrt eller vanvittig billigt i Tokyo. Var det noget med en vandmelon til 90 kroner? Eller en sodavand på TGI Friday's med gratis genopfyldning til 8,5 kroner?

11) Tokyo er mere eller mindre kendt for de såkaldte butler/hostess/maid-barer, hvor du betaler et bestemt beløb og/eller køber drinks til en japansk pige eller dreng hvorimod de tilgengæld beriger dig med deres selvskab. Dette prøvede vi dog ikke, da det virker lidt for kunstigt, men det er meget udbredt i Japan!
12) Japanske toiletter er et helt kapitel for sig. Der findes to slags: et 'almindeligt' et som vi kender det i Vesten og et ældre et, der bogstavlig talt består af et hul i jorden, hvor man skal sidde på hug. Det første er væsentligt nemmere at bruge. Det 'vestlige' toilet er dog også meget avanceret i Japan. De fleste har både varme i sædet, et udvalg af lyde til at overdøve de lyde, man selv kunne komme til at lave, en 'rumpe-skyl'-funktion og en lufttørringsfunktion. Dette er dog ikke bare lige til, da det hele selvfølgelig står på japansk. Suk.

På trods af nogle af disse mærkeligheder, så er Japan et helt fantastisk land og Tokyo er virkelig en fortryllende by. Needlessly to say, skal jeg tilbage dertil en dag! Tak for alt Tokyo!

The past Thursday, the 18th of July, we returned to Denmark after 26 hours of travelling. I've brought back a lot of things: way too many mosquito bites, a small Japanese tattoo, a bag of funny, but mostly odd stuff from the very colorful Japanese supermarkets, more than 2000 pictures, a bit of jetlag and I've also come to know a small part of the Japanese language; but the most important thing I brought back are the amazing treasures called memories. Memories of a trip I enjoyed to bits; memories of those incredible people we were so lucky to encounter on our adventure.

We've met people from a total of 26 different countries and I can't express how much I've loved it, it's been inspiring to meet so many different, crazy, unconventional and just amazing people from all over the world. We all have one thing in common - we've given in to the desire to travel, the wanderlust. Meeting people is the best thing about travel - we're able to share, to explore, to go on adventures together, to acquire new knowledge, get lost and in the end, return to our country as a completely different person.

Just for fun, I've put together a list of things very common in Japan that made us laugh, wonder and sometimes even think twice..

1) People are riding their bikes on the sidewalk - I mean, they have to and they're pretty wide, but it's still highly dangerous and the number of times we've been SO close to crashing with a cyclist..

2) You can't walk and smoke. Literally, you can't move your legs with a cigarette in your mouth. You have to stand still. It's the same if you've just bought an ice cream. You can't move while eating it.

3) The Giant Panda is the national animal in China, yet it's every-freaking-where in Japan.

4) The number of people in Tokyo is insane. Insane I tell you! People everywhere!

5) Michael Jackson's not dead. At the bar Green Land in Roppongi, his Asian ghost is very much alive, bartending and all.

6) There's so clean in Tokyo that you won't believe it until you see it. It's impressive for every big city, but it's even more impressive in this case considering the fact that Tokyo is actually the biggest city in the world.

7) In Japan, the legal drinking age is 20. Apparently, we're 20 in Roppongi!

8) The Japanese people must be the most polite in the whole world - you can't approach someone without them bowing, smiling like crazy, saying 'arigatou gozaimasu' and if you ask someone for help, they'll go through almost anything to ensure that you're provided with whatever you need.

9) There's no end to Tokyo. All we saw was endless city when we visited the skydecks and tower-observatories. It's incredible!

10) In Tokyo, everything's either ridiculously expensive or ridiculously cheap. I saw $15 watermelons and four days in a row we enjoyed $1,5 soft drinks at T.G.I Friday's.. With free refills! 

11) In Tokyo, there are these maid/hostess/butler-bars (people also just calls them 'Company-bars' where you pay a certain amount of money in exchange for the company of either a Japanese guy or a Japanese girl (a lof of them traditionally dressed or even cosplaying). We found this rather creepy and a bit sad to be honest, so we kept away, but no matter what, Tokyo's packed with them!
12) Toilets in Japan are a bit more advanced than what we're used to in the Western world and they can actually be a challenge for the traveller. Turns out, almost every toilet in Japan is equipped with a vareity of auxiliary functions. I won't even begin to describe how disturbing it can be, but let's just say that if your butt needs cleaning, you need sounds to drown the noise you might be making or you simply like to have your toilet seat heated, Japan can help you. And not to forget, they have two kinds of toilets: the Western style which I just described, and the 'Asian' style/natural position toilet also known as the squat toilet. Yes, you've guessed it - you have to squat in order to use it rather than sitting. Disturbing, I tell ya. It's literally a hole in the ground.

Despite some of the peculiarity, Japan is amazing and Tokyo is enchanting. I'm so glad we decided to go and needlessly to say, I'm defo going back there someday. You can't really help it: if you're going to Tokyo, you're going to fall in love.

The world's largest fish market

Tsukiji Fish Market er verdens største fiskemarked - og det er virkelig gigantisk! Når man læser om Japan i guidebøgerne, er Tsukiji noget af det, der bliver nævnt først - og det er med god grund. Der bliver solgt og distribueret ca. 1/3 af al verdens fisk, fisk bliver sejlet ind fra Afrika og sågar endda fra dele af Amerika (så vidt jeg husker) og hovedattraktionen er ret vild; koloenorme tunfisk og auktionen hvorpå disse bliver solgt, blandt andet til nogle af de 180.000 restauranter, som Tokyo huser (4 gange så mange som man finder i eksempelvis Paris - Tokyo er også den by i verden, der har flest Michelin-restauranter). Det er helt vildt at se auktionen, som er begrænset til 120 besøgende om dagen - vi var heldige og kom rigtig tidligt efter en nat i Roppongi - og det er helt klart værd at besøge, hvis man enten har jetlag eller er ude og feste til tidlig morgen. Det kan virkelig anbefales at feste hele natten i Roppongi og tage en taxi ved 3-4-tiden til Tsukiji. Det kostede os sølle 1700 yen! Auktionen er helt klart ambefalsesværdig; dog varer den kun omkring 5 minutter og det er egentlig bare en helt masse japanske mænd, der går og hakker i tunfiskene og derved bedømmer dem og så en bestyrer, der står og råber på japansk - det er dog meget underholdende!

We went to the Tsukiji fish market after a crazy night out in Roppongi on the 13th of July. It was quite impressive and the tuna auction was definitely something worth visiting, but it's limited to 120 visitors per day so you gotta be there at 3-4AM and be prepared to do a lot of waiting and be prepared that you'll wait for something that looks like 2 hours to witness approximately 5 minutes of the auction - but it's fun and you can't help being impressed by all that fish and all those people! Tsukiji is the world's largest and busiest fish market and has for long been a favorite destination for the jet-lagged tourists with predawn hours to fill or somewhere to go when Roppongi gets too trivial (as if that ever happens!)

Odaiba

Odaiba er en kunstig ø midt i storbyens paradis beliggende i Tokyo-bugten. Den er fyldt med underholdning, shopping, musik, museer, parker, strande, farver, centre og seværdigheder. Og udsigten fra stranden er noget af det smukkeste, især om aftenen. Øen er virkelig et pusterum fra storbyfølelsen, som man konstant har, når man er inde i centrum af Tokyo. Broen, Rainbow Bridge, forbinder øen med den sydlige del af Tokyo og den er virkelig betagende at sidde og se på. Odaiba er helt klart en af mine yndlingssteder i Tokyo!

Pictures from Odaiba, the artificial island located in the Tokyo bay with the Rainbow Bridge connecting the island to central Tokyo. The island is pretty impressive and the view from the beach is amazing. Odaiba is probably my favorite place in Tokyo but it feels so funny being there because you never feel close to the harbour when you're in the central Tokyo - feels like a completely different city!