Home Sweet Home
I am finally back from my trip to Asia (a total of 5 countries and 2 special administrative regions). It looks like autopilot mode didn’t work so well because I didn’t have enough time to write anything before I left. While my trip was fun and enjoyable, there are two things that I have come to appreciate about my part of the world: clean air and no smoking laws.
In some of the cities I went to, it felt like I was suffocating, and going indoors didn’t help because everyone smokes. The air back home is fresh and clean, so I’ve gotten used to it and thought most of the world was like this except for factory cities. While watching a sunrise in Macau, I was dismayed at how uninspiring it looked. The sunrises I’m used to usually start with the sky looking like its been set ablaze with red, pink, and orange colours before a brilliant light appears over the Earth and turns the sky blue. In Macau, there was not a single cloud in the sky, but I did not see the sun “rise”. Instead, a faint red circle appeared within a thick line of blackness over the horizon and the sky turned grey. It took a relatively long time for the sun to become a blinding light and not just a red circle in the sky.
I was also shocked to see people of all backgrounds smoking. Although there are laws here that make it illegal to smoke in public spaces or within 5 metres of an entranceway, I don’t think it would be a major problem if those laws were not in place. From my experience, smoking is largely contained to the older generations and people in the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder.
Now that I’m home, I can breathe easy. I have about 4 weeks of anime to catch up on since I didn’t watch anything the week before I left. Since I don’t want any spoilers, I won’t be reading any episodic reviews until I’ve caught up with everything. If anyone has recommendations on what to watch this season, I’d be happy to hear them.
5 countries, thats a lot!
im going to be doing something similar soon, looking forward to it.
btw im not so sure you mentioned the countries you went?
1Fabrice recently posted..Going on a Trip
welcome back!
I hope to see new interesting posts from you soon!
2Ningen recently posted..It’s showtime!
5 countries! I’m so jealous. Anyway, welcome back!
3Hoshiko recently posted..UN-GO Episode 3: Masked Mansion
welcome home ^^
I also dislike bad air.
In terms of anime you can start with Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Tamayura: Hitotose and the best anime on earth Fate/Zero :D
4Shana III is quite dissapointing so far, will put this on hold until more eps have piled up, on a weekly pace it is not enjoyable for me.
Wieselhead recently posted..New Preorders New Preorders Part 9
Welcome back Onii-chan! :P
Now gogogo, you have to recover your backlog of posts! :D
5feal87 recently posted..Carnival Phantasm – Lion Saber + Saber in maid outfit! So cute!
Welcome back! Hopefully there is many pictures and things to share about your travels.
Funny that you mention the smoking, during my stay in Canada everybody smoked all the time, or at the very least more than I see in my neck of the woods.
6Miette-chan recently posted..Mikuru’s close ecounter!
Welcome home, hope you had fun!
Five countries are a lot, since you weren’t gone for long :o I would never survive it, I prefer to stay long ^^’
7Marow recently posted..Fall 2011 Impressions
Wow! 5 countries! I would love to hear more about your travels. And it was interesting reading about the contrasts of something as simple as a sunrise, and how different regions behaviors can cause such a drastic difference.
Seems I can’t wake up early enough to witness a beautiful sunrise, though I admit at least the sunrises in Singapore are beautiful. :D
8Radiant recently posted..Radiantdreamer at London MCM Expo
Welcome back. I had thought you were going to show up at afa 11 in Singapore maybe then We could have met up. But a last it seems it was not going to happen.
9Dreaming artemis recently posted..Happy Halloween~~~~! 2011!
Welcome back! 5 countries in a month sounds like a lot!
Poor air quality can really hamper travel experience; we suffer a bit of that here in Hong Kong too sometimes, and sometimes we can’t do much about it when factory smoke from mainland China flows seaward and pass through Hong Kong. Indoor smoking is something that should be banned in Hong Kong now, but it sounds like you had a bit of a tough time in other places too. That reminds me how when I have done a week of exchange in Germany back in secondary school my German partner and his friend smoked inside a taxi with windows closed; they must have gone so used to it!
10Q recently posted..Boxes
@Fabrice:
5 countries was a lot, especially when you have to go to the airport each time. I went to Brunei, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
@Ningen:
I have a few things planned, but I’ll need to get organized first.
@Hoshiko:
It’s good to be back.
@Wieselhead:
I watched Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai and Fate/Zero and they look good so far. I haven’t gotten around to Tamayura yet.
@feal87:
Don’t even remind me about that T.T
@Miette-chan:
Really? I would’ve thought that eastern Canada would be the same as western Canada.
@Marow:
Looking back, spending more time in one place might’ve been better.
@Radiant:
Well, you only have to wait a couple more months before the sun starts to rise in the middle of the morning instead of the beginning.
@Dreaming artemis:
I really want to go to AFA 11, but it just doesn’t fit into my schedule. Perhaps I’ll be able to find some time for the next one.
@Q:
11There was this one restaurant I went to in Hong Kong that had people smoking even though there was a no smoking sign on the wall. I glared at them and they glared back at me, but it wasn’t as bad as other places.
Welcome back! Wow, five countries visited… That’s 1 more than all the countries I’ve visited so far! ^_^
12Ephemeral Dreamer recently posted..Happy Halloween!
Well, if you like travelling, then I hope you’ll get to see a lot more soon.
13Good to have you back, and it sounds like you had quite an experience (good and bad). Well, you had fun, right? ^ ^
14Yi recently posted..Gosick Review
Yep, definitely had fun over there. Next time though, I’ll have to make sure to look up some non-smoking establishments.
15