Cue slow-motion and dramatic music a la Amazing Race

Alright this blog is starting to look very disjointed Memento-style with posts from the past and present being posted in turn, but I guess I'm going to forge on.


The day we were supposed to ferry over to Fukuoka, you all know that our boat had to turn around back to Busan. Here's why:




We get back to Busan around 11 a.m., and the situation is grim. The next high-speed ferry won't leave until 2 days later. The regular speed ferry is already booked. We don't want to ride an over-nite cruiser. So we taxi over to the airport to catch the 4 p.m. flight to Osaka.

We get to Osaka and realize that we are not going to make it down to Nagasaki unless we take a 2-hour taxi ride from Fukuoka. We are forced to cancel our hotel (but thankfully did not have to pay a cancellation fee owing to the graciously understanding hotel staff), and come up with an alternative plan to stay in Beppu, entirely skipping Fukuoka, Kumamoto, and Nagasaki. I guess they will have to wait until the next trip...

We got to Beppu past midnight... a whole day of traveling.

Seriously. Sucked.

Phil: "At least we got to go on the Green car (executive class) of the bullet train."
Steven: "Oh, shut your trap."

Salty, Spicy, and Raw Busan... Still

Travel updates are to come, but for now, know this:

Phil, Steven, and Julie are stuck in Busan, after their high-speed ferry did a U-turn back to the salty, spicy, and raw city that is Busan. (description provided by Lonely Planet.)

After considering all options like staying in Busan until the ferry is available on the 21st, going on an over-nite ferry, and taking a plane, we are going to try getting a plane to Osaka.

Wish us luck, y'all...

Proj Chopstix Mtg Decisions

1. We will cancel the 1 p.m. ferry (300 yen cancellation fee) and buy the 8:45 a.m. ferry.

2. Tentative plans in Kyushu are to leave luggage at a hotel in Fukuoka (19th), go to Nagasaki for museum and dinner, then go back to Fukuoka and stay night. Next day (20th), we go down to Kumamoto for the castle and cherry blossoms. If we can't see the blossoms, Tokyo should have blossoms too. Afterwards, come back up to Beppu for the hot springs and stay the night. Next day (21st), maybe do a little more hot springs, and then head to Hiroshima.