TTT2019: The Grand Summary

The best part of a fabulous 42-day trip is the return home:

Then, to be greeted by my water lily and new anthurium and orchid blooms at 15 Craigside:

It was way back on March 22 that the Tribulations and Transcendence of Travel, or TTT2019, began.  Like all very long trips, this one had elements of both.  Thankfully, the tribulation portion was relatively minor, where the worst was catching a cold, with a cough that lingered for more than a month.  My knees also barked a little.

My Mac Air began to run out of memory, which forced me to be enterprising to the very end of the trip.  Otherwise, all went really well:  the people, cherry blossoms, cuisine and Mystery Lady, who might well be something similar to my Blue-Bar Pigeon, that keeps joining me everywhere.

Mount Fuji appeared our first morning in Tokyo:

Ueno Park was not quite ready for cherry blossoms, save for the entrance:

On the bullet train to Osaka, again, Mount Fuji:

At Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, two whale sharks:

Next, on to Hiroshima, where the Peace Park is always a must stop.  However, the most beautiful shot was of the Miyajima Torii with some cherry blossoms:

The train rides from Hiroshima to Miyazaki were highlighted by an extraordinary series of cherry blossom mountains:

In one two-hour period, I probably saw ten times more cherry blossoms than my entire life, with the above being a typical scene.  Why do I also show those wires?  Another tribulation.  My camera was on the wrong setting and this was one of the few that showed much.  No one catches the train to or from Hiroshima to Miyazaki passing along the Pacific coast of Kyushu, especially now since the bullet train goes down the western side of the island to Chuo-Kagoshima.  Had to also show my bento, which was half a chicken, a musubi, sake and beer.

With Miyazaki now the gustatorial center for fine cuisine, famous for their wagyu beef, cultured caviar and mango, I nevertheless show a photo of a plum tree with the Sheraton Ocean Resort in the background:

In Fukuoka, this was a Sakura tree, but it certainly looks like the one above:

In Nagasaki, their Peace Park is also a must stop, but the highlight was their pork cutlet, or tonkatsu, for their crispiness and taste.

The best and worst parts of my Orient trips are the breakfast buffets.  These are almost entirely responsible for the weight I gain.  This, from the Westin Sendai, is one of the more modest ones I consumed:

At this point, March became April in Nagoya, and I had to show at least one photo of my blue-bar pigeon and cherry blossoms:

Back to Tokyo on the bullet train, and a curious shot of Mount Fuji:

Shinjuku Park is always a delight during Sakura time:

Jindai Botanical Garden is where I regularly visit "Pearl's" statue:

At Sendai Station we accidentally stumbled into Iseya, which features Japanese Wagyu beef at the lowest possible restaurant price:

If you are ever here, it is open from 11AM to 10PM.

Then, I flew off to Bangkok, where I accomplished my mission, tailor-made vests, now in generation #10:

Close by the Marriott Marquis where I stayed is a most extraordinary gourmet market.  Here, beef around the world, where the best USDA American rib-eye is $80/pound, while the Japanese wagyu goes for $163/pound:

I bought a few items to have a room meal:

Next, Seoul, where I couldn't find a decent golf hat for under $25...until, on a street stall, I saw six for $5 each:

However, my best buy were these very comfortable, perfectly-fitting shorts for $2.50:

I went back and bought four more.

We found Busan to be surprisingly state-of-the-art and enterprising:

For some reason I can't comprehend, my posting on BTS and ASMR drew about the most viewers in my eleven years of blogging:

Then the next day, my best ever in Korea, with four mystery ladies, cherry blossoms, khalbi and Korean wagyu:

Back in Tokyo, Japan Mystery Man #1 took Hawaii Mystery Lady #1 and I to dinner and karaoke:

In Sapporo, we were met by a few blue-bars, and surprisingly, a lot of cherry blossoms in Odori Park:

One of my two primary roots is Utashinai, a complicated trip north of Sapporo, where we saw a lot snow, at the end of April:

In Morioka, one of Japan's most famous cherry trees:

In Sendai, we just had to return to our favorite wagyu restaurant:

Back in Tokyo, a final day of Mount Fuji, the Imperial Palace and Robuchon:

What a memorable trip.

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Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri, India, at the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least eight:

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