Despite the early bedtime Kuniko didn’t sleep well, and woke up with what looked like bug bites on her arm and leg. I slept in the same bed and was unbitten, so she was really getting the worst of it. It felt like our roles were reversed – usually if someone gets sick or bit it’s me.
But we still went out for some coffee – there was a cool place called “Father” around the corner from our hotel. It looked like a cafe but evidently they changed to a wine bar in the evening, and the wines looked really interesting – too bad it was so early. Our cappuccinos were served in stylish mugs without handles – I liked the design!
Since we had a late flight out we arranged for a slightly later check out, with the plan to have lunch and then stay as long as possible in our room in a horizontal position. We did some shopping for souvenirs nearby, checking various shops and trying to balance between authenticity, resistance to high temperatures and weight. Getting good souvenirs is tough!
Our early lunch was at Proud Mary, a stylish place that was listed online as having South African food. I’m not sure about that, but they did have a beautiful bar and excellent wine list. We had arrived 15 minutes before lunch service began so we sipped drinks – a Semillon for me and a mimosa for Kuniko. That was her idea of staying healthy.
When lunch came it was really good – we focused on small plates and had eggplant fries, sea bass teradito, and chicken kabobs. The flavors here were intense but much better integrated than our last meal in Stellenbosch. It was a leisurely lunch – we sat by the window and watched people walking by – both inside and out. There were a lot of people walking with food delivery bags. Pretty much everyone in our restaurant was black except for us – and they had great music playing in the background. I enjoyed this place.
Finally we went back to the hotel for final packing and then we checked out. We did the reverse route of yesterday, taking the train back the way we came. At the airport we had lots of time so we played games on a bench, sent some messages and did some journaling. Kuniko was still coughing so she went to buy some cough drops to help with the long flights back.
Finally we could check in, and so we waited in a short line to drop off our bag. The staff was surprised that we were going all the way to Japan with just one suitcase. She didn’t know that it was half full of souvenirs.
Again there was a very long line at security, but once we waited through that the immigration line was short. We had a snack at a restaurant that was located in a big window wing that overlooked the planes at the gate. We watched Rwanda Air and Turkish Airlines pull from the gate and take off – they seemed like they were going way too slow to get off the ground but as usual they did. We had a couple of wraps – one chili chicken and the other beef and onion – some fries, and glasses of wine. Our last chance for South African wine for a while!
On our flight to Singapore we had seats at the very back of the plane (guilt-free reclining) and in the window seat next to us a Korean guy talked to us a little. He seemed nice and I encouraged him to just wake us up if he had to run to the toilet. Later he ordered two quick beers with his dinner and then did indeed wake us up to escape. Despite that brief interlude we were sleeping a lot – I think I slept about 8 hours which is pretty impressive for economy class.
While landing at Singapore the Korean guy suddenly jumped up and asked us to let him use the toilet. We were on approach for landing and the cabin attendants yelled at him to sit down from their seats but he ducked into the toilet anyway. They were knocking on the door and giving him deadlines, but he was on his own schedule. He made it back just in time before landing – I thought he came close to getting arrested.
With a couple of hours in Singapore airport we had time for two proseccos at a Heineken sports bar (we later found out the two glasses cost more than 8000 yen!) and then we were boarding our longer flight to Japan. That was an easy flight and I spent most of my time playing games and listening to music. Kuniko got even more sleep in – which showed how tired she was.
Upon arrival at Kansai Airport we had a smooth entry – I got through immigration faster than Kuniko and our suitcase came out early as well. But then we had a run of bad luck. Our online customs form didn’t load correctly causing a delay while the officer decided what to do (he let us through eventually) and then as we left the customs area the two people in front of us decided to stop in the middle of the walkway to consult their phones and caused a temporary road block. We rushed around them but when we went outside our bus to Kobe had just closed its door. The staff outside turned and saw us, but then instead of stopping the bus he turned around and left, leaving us with 45 minutes to kill until the next (and last) bus.
So we went inside and did the old beer/highball/Jagarico combo and killed time drinking and laughing while we recalled our trip. Eventually we made it to the bus and then on to Kobe. Kuniko ran into a former student who works for Peach Airlines, and we learned a new way to get from the bus stop to the train station. We just missed the fast train so had to wait another 20 minutes on the platform, and then just missed the last taxi at Nishi Akashi station. We arrived at home at 2 am – but luckily we had the next 24 hours all to ourselves to recover.
As usual the summer trip was a success! This was a little different – shorter, more intense, more dangerous? But we made some great memories on this one and as usual we spent time during the trip thinking about next summer’s destination. We’ve got plans to head back to Europe – but before that we’ve got a trip to Australia and the USA planned – and possibly even an area that we’ve never been before.
