Computer Problems

Note: This is the 3rd time for me to type this entry. If you see it, there may not be another until I get to the Philippines on Thursday. My hotel computer has a slow connection and won`t work. It is raining here, and I don`t want to walk so far in the rain again just to post to the computer.

Saturday, May 17, 2008--Beppu (Continued)

I walked back to the area where I was staying after posting onto the computer downtown. It is a steady uphill walk all the way. I tried to follow the map, but none of them give much detail. At some point, I took a wrong branch, and it caused me to go even further up the mountain than where I needed to be. After 1 1/2 hours, I figured I was too high and asked someone. Fortunately, I was directly above where I needed to be. I just had to walk straight downhill to get to my ryokan. That took another 30 minutes.

I meant to take a mud bath, but when I got to where I thought they were, it was only a garden with mud pools. The guidebook had not been clear about this. And I didn`t have my tourist information with me to find out where one of the true mud bath places was. I just gave up on the idea and went back to the bath house where I had been last night. It`s one of the best baths I have ever visited, so I enjoyed being there again.

I finished reading The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. I am pretty sure that I read it either in high school or college, but I enjoyed reading it again. I gave it 3 1/2 stars out of 4.

Sunday, May 18, 2008--Beppu to Fukuoka

The family staying in the room next to mine last night was noisy until late and then was noisy this morning. Therefore, I am tired. I got up earlier than expected because of them and just went down to the station early for my train. But the whole train trip is a blur to me, because I kept nodding off on the train. Too bad.

Well, as the day progressed, I remained totally exhausted from the long uphill hike yesterday and the lack of sleep. I didn`t really feel like doing anything. But my hotel here is like most places in Japan--check-in is not until sometime in the afternoon--usually 16:00, but fortunately today, it was 15:00. That gave me 3 hours to waste while being tired, however, before I could get into the room.

I looked for a place to eat and found a booming place. It was full and had a long line waiting. Every time someone entered to get in line, all the employees would yell loudly. I could see through the windows that it was a noodle soup place. I figured it must be the best with so many people, so I entered, got my yell, and got in line. Fortunately, they had a printed English menu. With the advice of the lady in line behind me, I ordered the buttered noodle soup with pork. I didn`t realize at the time that I would be ruining my diet. When it came to me, there was a huge slab of butter (at least 2 tablespoons worth) on top of the soup to melt and blend in with it! But it was delicious soup. I`ll probably go back there again for another meal.

From there I went to the end of the block where there is a very upscale shopping mall with the strange name of "eeny meeny miny mo." I explored it and found a whole floor of top-design modern furniture. I enjoyed looking and tried to find a dining table I would like. Unfortunately, all I found were ones that seat 4 or 6. I am looking for one that is bigger.

I tried to stay awake in the room, but I kept nodding off. Then I forced myself to go downstairs to use the computer around 19:30. Unfortunately, it is a horrible computer with a slow connection. I typed my entry for this blog twice and lost it twice before giving up. I couldn`t even get it to load my e-mail for me to read. What a waste of time.

I wandered through the nearby entertainment district. And I walked through the ultra-modern Canal City development that is near me. But I was still tired. I went back to the room and went to bed at 21:00.

Monday, May 19, 2008--Fukuoka

Well, rain has arrived to spoil my plans. One of the reasons I wanted to return to Japan was due to an article I had read about Fukuoka and its dynamic life and architecture. I had planned to go out exploring while here. But with rain, I don`t fell like going anywhere. I saw enough yesterday to have an idea of what the city is like. But I had planned so much while here, including a train trip outside of town today. I won`t do anything with the rain coming down as hard as it is, however.

Note: Don`t know if the weather will allow me to come back to here tomorrow or not. You can just check to see if there is a post. Otherwise, wait until Thursday.