Rainy Osaka

This morning I got back from a flight to Osaka, Japan. We arrived at our hotel early evening and arranged to go to dinner. We couldn’t decide between sushi and another Japanese speciality (which I have now forgotten the name of!) but on the first officer’s recommendation we chose the latter. Close to the hotel there is a whole area full of restaurants so we walked over, ready for some dinner.

ImageI’d forgotten that so many restaurants in Japan display all of their dishes in plastic versions in the window!

ImageImageLet’s be honest, it doesn’t look very appetising, at all. I don’t think I could tell you what’s inside either, but it’s always fun to try something new!

The next morning a big group of us had made plans to go to Kyoto, however when I got downstairs only 4 of us had made it. The others had obviously seen the pouring rain and decided to stay in bed! We walked to the train station and got on a train, hoping it would take us in the right direction! Once we arrived in Kyoto, we had all assumed we would just be able to have a nice little stroll around and see all the temples. It is actually a pretty big city and walking was definitely not an option, especially as the rain had not stopped. We got on a bus (luckily it had a TV screen in the front with the name of each stop in English!) and made our way to the Kinkaku-ji Temple, also called the Golden Temple.

ImageImageThe temple was beautiful, such a shame about the rain as I’m sure sunlight reflecting off it would look lovely!

ImageImageImageImageImageDespite the rain we had a lovely stroll around the grounds. We decided not to go and visit any other temples this time, so I’ll have to make sure I get another flight to Osaka!

I also got my roster for April while I was away, and this month I only have one new destination. I have leave at the beginning of the month (11 days, yay!) and then I’ll be going to:

  • Bangkok (going to try and go to the tiger temple if I have time)
  • Bangalore turnaround
  • Chennai turnaround
  • Kuala Lumpur
  • Bombay turnaround
  • Perth (again?!)
  • Durban (my one new destination!)

I don’t count turnarounds as new destinations, as we don’t actually get off the plane. I didn’t bid for anything as I’m at the bottom in bidding seniority this month, so I’ll have to try and see if I can swap some of my flights and go somewhere new. My leave starts in 2 days and I still haven’t decided where I’m going to go yet! I’m contemplating the idea of going to Alberquerque to visit Lizzie (my sister) which would mean trying to get on a flight to America, my best bets are probably Houston or Dallas, and then get a connecting flight. If I do that then I’ll try and stop off in Austria on the way home to see my friends and family. Got to get my lovely Lahore turnaround out of the way first and then I’ll officially be off for 11 days! I’ll keep you updated as to where I go on my leave 🙂

I’d also like to apologise about the dreadful quality of the pictures; even though I charged my camera overnight, when we arrived in Kyoto it refused to turn on, so I had to use my iPhone. I’m hoping it’s just a glitch and that it’s not broken 🙁

 

P.s. If you want more regular day to day updates of what is happening in my life, follow me on Twitter and Instagram @rachelwwilson!