Sydney Insider goes to Japan (Part 1)

Let me start by saying I was saving up money to get myself my very first DSLR. I would like to think I am loyal to Canon but had been advised to get the Nikon D3100 by at least four pro photographers whose opinions I trust. Then, my high school batchmate Riz Pulumbarit shared a  video that showed the new Nikon D3200 which was about to hit the market. So I waited.

Fast forward  two days later, Jetstar's print ad promo caught my attention.

Hmmm, couldn't resist an Aus$1,000.00 discount...who could? This is a good time to see my sister I haven't seen for five years now.  Fast forward, 24 hours later, I was booked for Narita for a 10 day holiday. Had to stop thinking about the DSLR for now.

I was excited for all the good reasons - see my sister and her family, have a long deserved break, see the sites and whatever Japan has to offer and yes, take a lot of photos! On May 25, I was all set to go with my Canon SX20is in my handcarry bag, of course. 

I had to leave the house at 3:30 a.m. Got to the station and waited for the first train for the day. It was cold (it's wintertime in Sydney) and it started to rain just before the train arrived at 4:15am. Had a chance for a few shots during the wait. Hubby was there to bring me to the airport. 

Got on the plane in time. Left Sydney at 6:00 a.m. and arrived at Cairns 9 a.m. Had to walk 400m from the domestic to the international airport.  It wasn't quite a busy day as you can see in the photo.

Waited for about 2 hours. I was first to come when the lights lit up for boarding but was told to wait. The ground stewardess had to talk to a guy. He seemed to have a special request they had to address to. Then we're off.  Another photo op - Jetstar's hot meal. nothing special, really.

After meals, an announcement: "We have a passenger here who has something he wants to say"... The guy stood up, (same guy who had a special request, I noticed)...came over to the front and lo and behold, he started proposing to his lady companion. He called her and when she did , he went down on his knee and offerred her a ring. Almost perfect. It's just that, I noticed, nobody was taking photos. Darn, that was a moment, theirs most especially. Then they walked down the aisle (pun intended). What a picture of a lovely couple. I couldn't let this moment just go by... so with my loyal Canon, I went up to them and offerred to take their photos (which I sent to their e-mail). Their drinks, compliments of the airline. Sweet.

Seven and a half hours later, I was at Narita airport. The travel doesn't end there.  It was about 7:30pm and I still had to take the YCAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal/ limousine bus service) for Y3,500.00. I will be met by my sister and her hubby at the station at around 9pm. Man, do they have a lot of tunnels. But in general, their highway is very much like the ones in Manila. I felt like I was at the South Super Hi-Way and was approachiing Makati and then there's a tunnel then another long hiway and the process repeats again and again. Woah! From Yokohama, another 50 minute ride to my sister's house. And finally, after some 18 hours spent on travelling, I finally hit the sack.