Brisbane - Hong Kong - Sapporo
Well hello Sapporo!
Here we are in April 2024 - celebrating three score and ten for me! No idea what happened to all of those years but think that the investment has been fabulous - don't mind clocking up the big numbers.
And of course, absolutely necessary to do something very special to mark the occasion. Funny enough, I remember being on #The Great Wall of China for my 60th and @Mac asking me what I might like to do for my 70th and I instantly proclaimed "Taj Mahal, India."
Have to confess that a woman (with this much experience) is entitled to change her mind. I am living proof of allowing an idea to "evolve" over time. It is sort of like the recent shoe hunt I was on - went looking for that little gold, bronze and silver perfect "flattie" that would be my go-to for evening wear - after many hours of hunting came out with a little black suede number with diamantes. You just never know which way a whim will take you or how it will evolve.
So the whim has materialised and we ARE heading to the northern hemisphere - but have opted 70 celebrations in JAPAN. We've combined a number of elements - a few weeks of land exploration starting in the north at #Sapporo, followed by a #trans-Pacific cruise crossing heading for #Alaska before heading south for a meet up with @M&I for a couple of weeks in #Whistler. What a combination.
Countdown birthday magic
The celebrations have been ongoing - as soon as we had a sniff of April it was all systems go. No better way to start the party rolling that to jump on the "Quantum of the Seas" for a getaway with the #Fab5. Five nights in adjoining staterooms, complete with an interconnecting door and balcony and it seemed as if we had our very own floating penthouse. We tried to do it all! We definitely ate, drank and were merry and somehow managed to squeeze in all the nighttime shows, visited the bars and music halls, tried the trivia, made our own waves in the pools and hot tubs, watched the sunrises and sunsets, even had the boaties @Von and @Carolyn spotting the lighthouses and ocean markers. We co-ordinated each day in colours and themes, laughed our way through mishaps, clocked up kilometres on the decks and stairs, cheered on our Pickleball Champion (@Denise - gold medallist - what a star), made new friends at the belly flop comp, christened the Five Crowns game and relished the extra attention we got because @Julie was able to speak in fluent Indonesian with so many of the staff.
No greater gift than time: forever grateful that the #Fab5 Celebrated 70@Sea with me.
Day 1 we're alright in white
That really set the scene for the next two weeks. Thanks to the @JPC ladies, @LoRi, @TheNeighbours and @TheSiblings for keeping the momentum going and building the acceptance of that big number. Loved it all.
Rounded out the celebrations at home with a very convenient birthday catchup with the family at the #Breakfast Creek Hotel. Thought it would be a great chance to finish off time in Australia with a steak before taking those last few kms to the airport. Still laughing cause i opted for chicken and prawns at the "steakhouse."
Finally the countdown hit zero - enjoyed a drive by dinner at the Brekkie Creek
The day has been a real novelty actually. Haven't had this experience of leaving on a 1 am morning flight before. Had all of Friday to tick off the last essentials on the checklist and true to form @Mac didn't really get serious about packing until LATE Thursday evening and after a weigh in on Friday morning found himself discarding stuff because he was over the limit. Good job in the end because we just nudged in on the wrong side of the 23 kg but the smiling team at #Cathay Pacific just waved us through.
Get us to the airport on time - a few swings and roundabouts with @Aunty Gail
The Flight
How long can you hold your breath? I think we set a new world record this morning.
Everything about checking in and customs was a piece of cake - well, we both set off the alarms and had the pat down and were pulled aside for the residue tests. But no complaints - even scored Gate 80 which was the first gate right beside coffee and the loos. Definitely on a win.
@Mac loves an orderly boarding call and #Cathay were sticklers for the rules. We were seated right at the back of the plane so we were called first and that meant first dibs at the overhead lockers. Our posse was in the middle aisle of seats in a nest of three and we literally squeezed unto our seats. No joke, my upper thigh was spilling onto my neighbour's seat. We held our breathe and eyed of all the passengers as they headed towards us - large, small, thin and tall. As the announcements heralded door closure and advised the crew to prepare for take-off, we were still not game to breath for fear of attracting the attention of later boarder ... the seat next to us was still empty. As soon as the plane started moving, I was unclipping that sucker of a seatbelt and letting it all hang out across the two seats. Happy birthday to me. 8 hours and10 minutes of sprawling luxury in row 70. First time that I can remember that we have had that luxury. It made such a difference to the comfort level of the flight.
Feeling very special with room to spare
A dinner was served in the first hour but we showed little interest, opting instead to descend into the cone of silence provided by the headsets. @Mac followed #Napoleon's battles and I turned on #Season 2 of #Jack Reacher only to see the credits rolling for the conclusion of episode 5 .... I just slept through all the action, only to stir for the breakfast call some 4 hours later with the same lack of enthusiasm for food. Did try the milky Hong Kong Tea on offer - very very sweet and very nice.
After a bumpy descent, there was no time to dawdle in #Hong Kong. It was a dash to disembark. Our luxury sojourn in Row 70 meant we were almost last to disembark and then for the mystery and mayhem of navigating the maze of the airport.
Could even stretch out across four seats if you wanted
What a surprise though - #Hong Kong was a breeze. Up one level, minimal queues through customs and #Gate 50 was right there. Only had time for a toilet stop and we were being called aboard. No breath holding this time- it was obvious that we could indulge with as many seats as our hearts desired. Hardly anyone on this flight - could have stretched across four seats each if we had wanted to. Opted instead to stay in our threesome. Truly, with a pick at the meal service (and a second Hong Kong milky tea), a trip to the toilet, a podcast, an excellent documentary with David Attenborough and a short rest of the eyelids, we were informed by the Captain that we were preparing for landing ... a full 45 minutes ahead of schedule. I think @Mac was the co-pilot - between his live view out the window (including regular sightings of snow), his under carriage camera view (on the screen on the spare seat) and his moving map tracker (on his screen) he was in passenger heaven.
@Mac in co-[ilot heaven
We've arrived in #Sapporo
Blue skies for miles was the first impression and spotlessly clean with staff EVERYWHERE willing and eager to help you. First stop off the plan was to the toilet. Oh my, @Mac came searching for me because I was so long. I couldn't help myself; I really did need to try all the buttons: heating, front wash, backwash and deodoriser. Wow, I might spend the next 8 weeks in the loo!
Entering the country was a multistage process and I am not sure we passed any with flying colours (but it was good to know that I was operating from a point of heightened personal hygiene :) ):
A. Passport check with QR code: Failed on the QR code pre preparation for quick entry at the border. The QR code I had generated was just for me - somehow I had missed the final registration check and @Mac's was not completed. But with plenty of help we were able to do it on the fly. Unfortunately, even the QR code I had printed at home was a failure - it was so big - the scanner couldn't read it. Oh well, as I said loads of help and eventually, we were moved on to the second stage.
B. Collect baggage: The advantage of my toilet intro was that there were no lines for baggage pick-up. We were the only ones who still had luggage circling on the carousel and @Mac's bag had a huge poster attached to it with a diminutive Japanese official not far behind. He needed to reassure the official that he didn't have any food items in the bag! It would have been pretty easy to give the right answers if only he could hear (his ears were blocked from the flight) or understand (he is not good with accents.) After a few nods and headshakes and repeats, we were able to confirm that we did not have any meat in our luggage!
C: Customs check: another form needed to be completed that asked the same l questions about food, narcotics, forearms etc so once we understood which form had to be completed, we were fine.
D. As an aside, after the DAYS and HOURS that @Mac spent filling in his application to bring in 2 months supply of his medication (and being rejected on his first attempt), that form was not asked for ant any stage.
Onto the bus
Am probably going to say it a dozen more times, so again, lots of staff ready to give you time and help. All very orderly and calm and willing. Not a staff member anywhere with their head in a mobile phone. We followed the signs to level 1 to the "limousine bus" and fronted up to the help desk. The staff member confirmed all @Mac's research, added notes to his instructions and assisted at the ticket terminal to purchase the tickets. It was an hour into the city from the airport - $26 for two on the bus or an $250 in a cab.
There was a staff member to take your luggage and line you up for boarding and a driver to welcome you on board. The screen and announcements were in Japanese and English and after about 10 minutes @Mac had successfully worked out the secret to tracking our progress on #Google Maps, had a list of bus stations for the countdown to our stop and all was under control.
Toilet was fascinating - lucky I left it for the bus
Travelled in what seemed like peak hour traffic conditions through wooded areas and suburbia- all intermingled with a covering of piled up snow. Temperature on landing was 16 degrees so just "crisp" rather than cold in the afternoon.
Welcome to our room
Found the lobby on the fifth floor and after a team of people assisted wit hour checkin, we made our way to our 13th floor room and were pleasantly surprised by the size of the room. Yes, small by western standards but a little bigger than we had expected here. Bathroom was super tiny, but, really, how much time are you going to spend in there! Got a great view of the ferris wheel from our single bedroom window, we have a power adaptor that works and the beds - although hard - are very roomy.
Welcome to the Route-Inn
Were not too keen to wander very far tonight. Rugged up because the temperature had dropped to 8 degrees as sunset approached. First impressions again - no-one rushing, all very orderly and calm, lots of lights, signage and billboards everywhere and of course 95% in script we can't read. Just followed the crowd and were attracted by a restaurant choice that had "English menu" as part of their signage. Walked down the stairs to the basement only to be refused entry at the door because they were full.
Found an arcade that was very popular and peeked in windows for spare seating and found ourselves in a small establishment with seating set up around an open view of the kitchen.
Not sure we would have picked this one if we knew what it served - but it turned out okay. We were in a speciality "pork" kitchen. Everything was cooked right in front of our seats by the single chef on a single open fire and grate. Staff were amazingly attentive and helpful and managed to produce a picture supported menu in English. After a generous serving over over filled and intentionally spilled sake the choices of pork tongue, ear, intestines and womb didn't seem quite as confronting. We pointed and ordered and munched our way through something. Without knowing "exactly" what the neat cuts were, ignorance was bliss! All tasted fabulous.
Snug as a bug as the temperatures fell and the heat of the sake dimmed the challenge of the menu options
Picked up some ice creams on the way home and called it quits for our first foray into Japanese night-life.
Showers complete (interesting that this tiny little space could provide such a powerful head of water - absolutely perfect), we tried on the PJs and inside slippers supplied by the #Route-Inn. Not sure they were expecting @Mac's size 11 feet or my oversized derriere but we gave them a whirl none the less.
The bed was hard but expansive, the pillow small and seemed to contain rocks but at 10 pm I was done and fondly bid fair well to 69 great years. No doubt, @Mac burnt the midnight oil and has hatched some grand plans for tomorrow's big day.
PS For the last two months I have been adding a knee desensitising the knee and doing 6 little crawls on the ground and finishing of off by standing up unassisted. My thinking was if I fell over in Japan I didn't want half a dozen people to have to life me up. Good thing I did because on the entry to the restaurant last night there was a little step up. I took my eye off the ground to look to where the waitress was directing us and stumbled! @Mac grabbed me from behind and the dear waitress caught me in the front - phew so crisis averted! But I was prepared and sure I could have risen to the occasion.
PPS Julie gave me a little book "Keep Calm: You're only 70.' Definitely some wise words in this one.
KEEP CALM THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Being 70 is no different from being 69. It's a round number and there is something about roundness that has always appealed to me. Elizabeth Taylor
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