Two weeks under the rising sun

Nugget · 06-22-2003, 04:59 PM

The travel was mostly uneventful. I slept the entire flight from Austin to Houston. Seriously. We could have taxiid the whole way and I'd be none the wiser. Got a peek at the new Terminal E at IAH, barely had enough of a layover for a coffee and muffin at the P-Club and then I was herded onto the 777 for the long leg to Tokyo.

What is there to say about 14 hours where I never left my seat? I ended up with a father and small child next to me, so I lost access to the middle seat I'm accustomed to spreading out into. Funny how I have such a sense of entitlement for something which I should expect at all. It's just so rare for there to be enough middle seat pax that they make it up to row 17.

I watched Hudsucker Proxy, slept, studied, slept, ate noodles with chopsticks, flipped through the skymall, wondered who the people are who get excited at being able to buy perfume without tax from the dutyfree catalaog, and drank an asahi. The flight went fast and was without event.

They had the little body heat scanning cameras up at customs to find people who had fevers (first symptom of SARS) which was interesting. I've now got my third NRT stamp in my passport. By the time I made it to the luggage conveyor my bag was waiting for me.

Next came the bus ride into Tokyo proper. I was amazingly untired at this point and watched the other cars and scenery zoom past the window. I arrived at TCAT shortly after 3:00p.

The plan at this point was to hit the ATM at TCAT, grab ¥10000 and then take the subway (hanzomon line) to the hotel booked by the client. But the ATMs refused to cooperate. (this happened last time, I recall). Both sets of machines steadfastly refused to give me any currency. I dragged my luggage downstairs and had a good ten minutes of "stupid american" while I deduced that there was no way to buy a subway pass on a credit card. Grumble.

I was starting to feel a bit bleary-headed by this point, and mainly just wanted to stop moving. So I just checked in to the Royal Park hotel which is across the street from TCAT and requires no subway ride. They were able to front me some cash, too.

It will be delicate explaining this to the client, however, since they had recommended the other hotel. Should be a fun conversation to have. I don't want them to think I dishonoured them by selecting a different hotel.

I tried my best to stay awake but finally succumbed to the bed at 8p or so. Got eleven hours of sleep and now I'm up and ready to attack the day.

It's 6:55a in tokyo, 4:55p in austin. I meet the client at 9:00a.

Nugget · 06-22-2003, 05:03 PM

OK, Freaky. I just got my 07:00 wake up call and the TV automatically came on to show "the wake up call channel" which is (quite counter-productively) relaxing photographs and soft music. This is new.

NWgoldelite · 06-23-2003, 08:46 AM

Nugget /anyone else- We are planning a trip to Tokyo this summer. Do you have any suggestions for hotels. Were on a pretty tight budget, so not something too over priced. Any other suggestions would be great, thanks.

frenrique · 08-25-2007, 10:19 AM

Hello NWgoldelite,

I’m getting you very well, and also I understood that what’s your planning.. You have a limited budget..I will suggest for turkey. It's very good place, we can get all this things there...

Hope This Help..!!
Thanks..

frenrique,
Icmeler Holidays

06-22-2003, 04:59 PM	#1
Nugget Senior Member Business Class Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: AUS [Austin, TX, USA] Posts: 611	Two weeks under the rising sun The travel was mostly uneventful. I slept the entire flight from Austin to Houston. Seriously. We could have taxiid the whole way and I'd be none the wiser. Got a peek at the new Terminal E at IAH, barely had enough of a layover for a coffee and muffin at the P-Club and then I was herded onto the 777 for the long leg to Tokyo. What is there to say about 14 hours where I never left my seat? I ended up with a father and small child next to me, so I lost access to the middle seat I'm accustomed to spreading out into. Funny how I have such a sense of entitlement for something which I should expect at all. It's just so rare for there to be enough middle seat pax that they make it up to row 17. I watched Hudsucker Proxy, slept, studied, slept, ate noodles with chopsticks, flipped through the skymall, wondered who the people are who get excited at being able to buy perfume without tax from the dutyfree catalaog, and drank an asahi. The flight went fast and was without event. They had the little body heat scanning cameras up at customs to find people who had fevers (first symptom of SARS) which was interesting. I've now got my third NRT stamp in my passport. By the time I made it to the luggage conveyor my bag was waiting for me. Next came the bus ride into Tokyo proper. I was amazingly untired at this point and watched the other cars and scenery zoom past the window. I arrived at TCAT shortly after 3:00p. The plan at this point was to hit the ATM at TCAT, grab ¥10000 and then take the subway (hanzomon line) to the hotel booked by the client. But the ATMs refused to cooperate. (this happened last time, I recall). Both sets of machines steadfastly refused to give me any currency. I dragged my luggage downstairs and had a good ten minutes of "stupid american" while I deduced that there was no way to buy a subway pass on a credit card. Grumble. I was starting to feel a bit bleary-headed by this point, and mainly just wanted to stop moving. So I just checked in to the Royal Park hotel which is across the street from TCAT and requires no subway ride. They were able to front me some cash, too. It will be delicate explaining this to the client, however, since they had recommended the other hotel. Should be a fun conversation to have. I don't want them to think I dishonoured them by selecting a different hotel. I tried my best to stay awake but finally succumbed to the bed at 8p or so. Got eleven hours of sleep and now I'm up and ready to attack the day. It's 6:55a in tokyo, 4:55p in austin. I meet the client at 9:00a.

06-22-2003, 05:03 PM	#2
Nugget Senior Member Business Class Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: AUS [Austin, TX, USA] Posts: 611	ha! OK, Freaky. I just got my 07:00 wake up call and the TV automatically came on to show "the wake up call channel" which is (quite counter-productively) relaxing photographs and soft music. This is new.

08-25-2007, 10:19 AM	#4
frenrique Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 21	Two weeks under the rising sun Hello NWgoldelite, I’m getting you very well, and also I understood that what’s your planning.. You have a limited budget..I will suggest for turkey. It's very good place, we can get all this things there... Hope This Help..!! Thanks.. frenrique, Icmeler Holidays

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06-23-2003, 08:46 AM	#3
NWgoldelite Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Seattle,WA (SEA) Terminal S, and CO B gates. Posts: 238	Nugget /anyone else- We are planning a trip to Tokyo this summer. Do you have any suggestions for hotels. Were on a pretty tight budget, so not something too over priced. Any other suggestions would be great, thanks.