Weathering the Storm

Wednesday night we went to bed

with the weather at the rating of T3.

T stands for Typhoon and 3 is the ranking

of the size and strength of the storm,

10 is the highest.

Thursday morning we woke to wind and 

diagonally slanted rain - typhoon rain.  

Fred got ready for work, as usual, and went

out the catch the bus.  

A few minutes later he returned.

The office was closed for the day because

of a T8 warning.  EVERYTHING shuts

down when the warning gets that high.

So we enjoyed the day INSIDE.

This is the way the storm looked for most 

of the day for us.  Not at all what you would

expect while a Typhoon is raging.

The clouds looked ominous and it rained, 

but, all in all, we did not see any ill effects

from the storm.

Though school was cancelled for all of Hong Kong.

Our kid's school day went on as normal.

It was GREAT to have DAD home to help!

Later on in the day the boys ventured out and

discovered some parts of Discovery Bay

had been hit hard by the storm.

We realized the location of our house 

protected us from the effects of the high winds

and harsh rain.

IT'S NICE to have been 

SHELTERED from the STORM.

Bathing Beauties on the Beach

We met some friends for dinner 

at a Thai restaurant on 

Cheung Sha Beach.

When we arrived we were shocked to

find these BEAUTIES bathing on the beach.

They were quite docile and we were

able to get VERY close to them.

It did get a little scary when the bulls

began to fight each other for their territory.

A pair of them even ended up locking

horns and one, literally, got

thrown into the water.

While we were eating dinner the cows

came and laid down just below our table.

(It was too dark for me to get a good picture.)

It brought new meaning to the phrase

"Having BEEF for dinner :)"

JAPAN, Mishima

On our last day in Japan we took

a trip to Mishima to see FUJISAN,

or Mt. Fuji.

Our plan was to take the train to Mishima

and then take a bus or taxi to the base of the mountain.

When we arrived in Mishima we discovered

the trip was going to cost us $300US.

So we voted to stay in Mishima.

FUJISAN can usually be seen from Mishima

but on that day the cloud cover was too heavy

and it blocked the top of the mountain.

Fujisan is BEHIND the BIG, white, fluffy clouds.

We ate lunch at a DELIGHTFUL local restaurant

that had a nice PICTURE of Mt. Fuji :).

I really enjoyed this restaurant because

it reminded me of homes I ate in during

my mission to Hokkaido, Japan.

It felt more like a home than a restaurant.

In fact, I believe it WAS the owner's home.

YUMMY!!! - Katsudon

"Gochisosama deshita"

Which means - Thank you for the delicious meal!

Back to Tokyo.

Another BEAUTIFUL ride!

At the airport

we enjoyed us some SUMO wrestling.

What an AMAZING time we had in 

the BEAUTIFUL land of 

THE RISING SUN!!

NIHON ni HONTO ni arigato gozaimashita!!

(To Japan - Thank you so very much)

JAPAN, Kyoto - Nijo Castle

The EAST gate.

-- OPEN --

-- CLOSED --

See my TINY kids?

Nijo Castle was built in 1626 to house the

Shogun's, or generals, of Japan.  

The castle is unlike those we had visited 

up to that point.  

(Excuse me while I use my Interior Design terms)

It was a rambling RANCH style

rather than a multi-level dwelling.

We were unable to 

take photos inside because of the

 hand-painted papered walls.

The halls were wide with wood 'nightingale'

floors that squeaked, or chirped,  

each time you stepped on them.

They were created this way, as a security device,

to detect anyone who may be sneaking 

through the castle.

The rooms were large and well laid out

for the purpose of  

 receiving guests and storing weaponry.

The gardens were absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

The ride home was BEAUTIFUL as well.

JAPAN, Kyoto - Imperial Palace

Kyoto's Imperial Palace was home to

the Imperial Family up until the year 1868

when their residence was moved to Tokyo.

We arrived at the entrance around 4p.m.

only to find it had closed at 2.

We were disappointed to have missed 

seeing inside the gates.

However, looking back, if we would

have spent the afternoon there,

we would have missed seeing the Nijo Castle.

A real TREASURE in Japanese history and culture.

JAPAN, Kyoto - Kinkaku-ji Temple

The BEAUTIFUL grounds leading up to the Temple.

KIN in Japanese means GOLD.

Kinkaku-ji dates back to 1397.

In 1950 it was burned down by a novice monk.

BEAUTIFUL Kinkaku-ji was rebuilt in 1955.

Koi in the lake surrounding Kinkaku-ji.

I was impressed by the old thatched roofs 

on the smaller buildings surrounding the temple.

Even the temple's BACK GATE was beautiful.