Pre-trip jitters
I would not say I'm a nervous traveler or flyer; I'm not sure I could do the trips I do if I was. I think I have become a planner, however, and I woke up this morning (mere days away from departure) freaking out because I couldn't remember if I needed visas for Japan or S. Korea. Okay, "freaking out" is a bit dramatic, but I did have a bit of a heart flutter until I re-confirmed that I do NOT need visas for those countries. Now, in case you're thinking, um, hey dummy, shouldn't you have looked into that a little while ago? I did, and in fact, got my Chinese visa back in August, so I did do my homework, but it typifies the waves of panic I've had over the past few weeks. This panic has resulted in many online purchases.
I knew I was going to a cold place; Harbin is called "Ice City" and all the literature stressed the negative temperatures; I was fine with that, blasé, you might say, UNTIL I realized that I might be fine, but my camera might not be. Oh my gosh, my camera has to work. So, I bought a camera 'coozy', a little fleece sweater for my camera; I also bought a phone 'coozy' (actually called a phoozy) to keep my phone warm and save the battery; and of course, to push the buttons on said electronics, I bought a pair of phone gloves (all within two days). I have purchased two tripods, one for my camera and one for my phone - I will NOT be defeated by night time photography. I have my wind pants and orange colored winter jacket from my Iceland trip. Oh, thermal pantaloons and more socks. I justified all of these purchases by virtue of the fact that I live in Minnesota and when it's not global warming out, it can be frigid in the winter and I will use all of these purchases. I have my own set of traveling silverware, including chopsticks, but since I struggle with chopsticks, I am also bringing my training pair of chopsticks. I won't starve, don't worry, I also have lots of 'healthy' snacks and the word for 'vegetarian' written for my, thanks to my travel planner in China, Lily.
I've made other preparations: I like to pre-plan (yes, it's a thing) the tours I might take because I don't want to waste time wandering around or trying to figure out what to do. I do leave time for improvisation, also known as getting lost, so I don't totally overbook myself. I will hit the ground running on my first full day in Japan with a trip to Mt. Fuji (fingers crossed the weather cooperates); and a ticket, but no set time, to go up in the Tokyo Skytree, which is a tower; I recently received confirmation that I will be on a tour to the DMZ, I suppose that could be ruined by what's going on in the that region, but I'm optimistic; a trip to Mt. Seorak and Nami Island, which will give me time to experience some of S. Korea's nature outside of Seoul; a ticket to N. Seoul Tower; the Harbin itinerary is pretty set and I relied on Lily to help me with that.
Last minute jitters and purchase aside, I am super excited and cannot wait to go these new places and have some amazing adventures. Stay tuned for more stories and photos.
I knew I was going to a cold place; Harbin is called "Ice City" and all the literature stressed the negative temperatures; I was fine with that, blasé, you might say, UNTIL I realized that I might be fine, but my camera might not be. Oh my gosh, my camera has to work. So, I bought a camera 'coozy', a little fleece sweater for my camera; I also bought a phone 'coozy' (actually called a phoozy) to keep my phone warm and save the battery; and of course, to push the buttons on said electronics, I bought a pair of phone gloves (all within two days). I have purchased two tripods, one for my camera and one for my phone - I will NOT be defeated by night time photography. I have my wind pants and orange colored winter jacket from my Iceland trip. Oh, thermal pantaloons and more socks. I justified all of these purchases by virtue of the fact that I live in Minnesota and when it's not global warming out, it can be frigid in the winter and I will use all of these purchases. I have my own set of traveling silverware, including chopsticks, but since I struggle with chopsticks, I am also bringing my training pair of chopsticks. I won't starve, don't worry, I also have lots of 'healthy' snacks and the word for 'vegetarian' written for my, thanks to my travel planner in China, Lily.
I've made other preparations: I like to pre-plan (yes, it's a thing) the tours I might take because I don't want to waste time wandering around or trying to figure out what to do. I do leave time for improvisation, also known as getting lost, so I don't totally overbook myself. I will hit the ground running on my first full day in Japan with a trip to Mt. Fuji (fingers crossed the weather cooperates); and a ticket, but no set time, to go up in the Tokyo Skytree, which is a tower; I recently received confirmation that I will be on a tour to the DMZ, I suppose that could be ruined by what's going on in the that region, but I'm optimistic; a trip to Mt. Seorak and Nami Island, which will give me time to experience some of S. Korea's nature outside of Seoul; a ticket to N. Seoul Tower; the Harbin itinerary is pretty set and I relied on Lily to help me with that.
Last minute jitters and purchase aside, I am super excited and cannot wait to go these new places and have some amazing adventures. Stay tuned for more stories and photos.
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