The Many Faces of Tokyo

       Sightseeing in Tokyo could be quite a job. Luckily, I am related to Tokyo natives who know all the must-see spots, although considering the size of Tokyo, there are enough must-see spots to fill a dozen mid-sized capitals. We had to cut down our itinerary a bit, and by a bit, I mean that we still managed to sight-see for twelves hours per day.
       The pictures below show one of the fish markets in town. It is a cramped, bustling sea of people, and it brings the word "sardines" to mind in more than one way. Since Japan is an island country, the seafood is top-notch. Miniature restaurants along the the edge of the market were selling dishes so fresh, that they were swimming only moments before.
       It was only a short stop in between seeing the imperial palace, the high-end shopping district, one of many malls, another famous fashion street, and beautiful cherry blossoms. If I had to navigate it by myself, I would have stepped outside my hotel, taken one look at the train map, and sat down for a day-long coffee break. And Tokyo, with its multitude of Starbucks, would have welcomed that too.

Photo Preview

       With a sister who is a professional photographer, I know very well to waste little time in transferring photos to a computer. I've heard too many stories of lost photographs to take this lightly, and yet, I forgot to do this after my three week vacation with my family. Today, I could not find an SD card, one which had almost 800 pictures on it. You can imagine my panic, but luckily, the third time I checked my side table drawer, it miraculously appeared. Apparently, I put items away in fairly logical places more often than I realize. 

       So, although I am feeling a little nauseated after ripping my room apart like a maniac and tearing around in the heat, I am still excited to tell you about the events of the last few weeks. I'm just going to do it while taking deep breaths and sitting under an air conditioner. 

       It's not feasible for me to explain the events since April 10th in one post. Instead, I will look back through my photos and post stories a little at a time. The pictures below are just a sample of the beautiful sites of Japan, Thailand, and Laos, but even they don't do these countries justice. 

Cherry Blossom Season in Japan

My entire family experiencing the elephants in Thailand!

The Nam Lik River in Laos

The morning market in Vientiane

Children from a small village school