Pacific Rim Tour

Wednesday December 5, 1979 Vancouver, Canada

We departed Vancouver at 9:05AM on Western Airlines “…the only way to fly” as the commercial used to go back in the 60’s. At 12:00N, the smog cutter special arrived at LAX. We took the airport Greyhound to the scary Los Angeles bus station then transferred onto one to Oceanside. From there it was local bus to Leucadia, arriving at 5:00PM. Dave, Ariel, Nicholas (six months old) and Issla (black Lab) were glad to see us and they loved the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. Rather than sleep on the couch Ariel had arranged for us to stay at Joan’s (a friends) place four houses up. Mmm that California sun. It’s so nice to sit out on the deck at 10:00PM in 80 deg. warmth sipping on the Courvoisier VOSP (CA$24.00) we picked up at the Vancouver duty free.

Thursday December 6, 1979 Leucadia, California

• Beautiful morning, the Santa Anna’s wafting through the Avocado trees… 75 deg F.
• Late breakfast… shopping in La Jolla, Levi’s and praline ice cream.
• Dave’s at work till 7:00PM
• incredible crab quiche for dinner (1/2 C. cream – 1 package
  dry mushroom/onion soup mix – crab – 4 eggs – etc)

Friday December 7, 1979 Leucadia, California

• David took the day off from studying for his upcoming
  Architect exams next Monday and Tuesday.
• Late breakfast at Hungary Jack’s.
• Down to the beautiful beach… the waters way too cold to
  swim… David surfed and I took some good photos, I hope?
• Mexican food at Anita’s #2 in Oceanside… love those chili
  relleno… great Cal-Mex food.
• More Cognac and good smoke.
• Joan’s neighbour was B&E’d which scared the shit out of us as
  our travellers cheques and plane tickets were in her place while we were at
  D&A’s
• David (of Golden Lotus) a friend of Brian and Deb’s took us
  up to the Ashram gardens in Encanitas.

Saturday December 8, 1979 Leucadia, California

• Late breakfast again, hung out for awhile, then Jo & I went
  shopping for towels and another address book as I had washed ours earlier in the
  day… Oh my God what a fool.
• 5:00PM caught the Am-Trak to LA. US Border Guards caught 10
  illegal aliens on route.
• Bus & taxi to LAX just in time to find that flight 005 to
  Honolulu was cancelled… we had a choice… they would put us up in a hotel
  till 9:00AM Sunday and fly us out on a DC-10 (needless to say Joann freaked) or
  if we wanted to wait for 747 seats, we could find our own hotel.
• We decided on the former. (I should say, I decided)
• They shipped us off to the Airport Park hotel along with 300
  other very hot travellers. Some had already been waiting 2 days already because
  of some problem in Seoul. We heard there was a lot of snow.
• after much bullshit from the unorganized hotel staff we hit
  the sack at 11:30PM.

Sunday December 9, 1979 LA, California

• I woke to find LAX socked in with fog. The flight coming in
  from Seoul had been diverted to Las Vegas… Flight 005 delayed indefinitely,
  shit!
• 11:00AM, the fog burns off and our plane makes it’s way from

  Las Vegas

• Finally board the plane and get airborne at 12:30PM.
• Arrived in Honolulu at 4:00PM… raining, hot and humid.
  Swiss franc .589US
• Joined the “Aloha Club” to qualify for a cheap flight to
  Maui.
• met a fellow who drove us to Brian and Deb’s doorstep… he’s
  a cloud seeder in Rapid City South Dakota
• they aren’t home so we go across the street to the beach…
  they look as happy and brown as native… the condo is great

Monday December 10, 1979 Maui, Hawaii

• accommodation consisted of a mattress removed from a
  hide-a-bed and put on the floor… no A/C just a large Casablanca fan
• On the beach by 9:00AM only 100 yards from the condo… the
  water temp is about 75 the air 85… must be careful not to burn these lily
  white bodies… unaware of the force of the surf, Joann was beaten to the sea
  bed… face first… coming up with stars in her eyes and blood running down
  from her nose… sans glasses. Incredibly we found them on the bottom in the
  surf…??
• Brian had a Volkswagen Thing reserved for the rest of the
  week… went off to buy mask and snorkels… good price… then on to Lahaina…
  not impressed, just like any other tourist trap

Monday December 11, 1979 Maui, Hawaii

• Up at 9:00AM for poached eggs and fresh papaya… packed a
  beautiful lunch… tuna and egg sandwiches, Perrier and fruit, then off to La
  Perouse Bay… “The best spot on Maui” for diving… 30 miles of very rough
  road… dummy Bob forgot the lunch!?
• Snorkelling is great… 30-40-foot visibility.

Tuesday December 11, 1979 Maui, Hawaii

• today we drove along the north coast to Hanna… the entire
  52 miles is only 1 ? lanes… the 50-60 moss covered bridges were only 1 lane
  … the most exotically lush jungle road you could imagine… driving in the
  open car, the aroma of the ginger flowers drowned the senses… wild papaya
  which we picked and ate… mangoes and passion fruit all growing along the
  roadside
• Then to the seven sacred pools… skinny-dipping and sliding
  down the rocks.
• back at the ranch and a phone call later we discovered that
  we either had to catch a flight tomorrow at 7:15AM or stay till December 23rd

Wednesday December 12, 1979 Maui, Hawaii

• caught Korean flight 001 to Seoul via Tokyo, departing at
  12:30AM

Thursday December 13, 1979

• Presently at 37,000 feet in seats 12A and 12B of a 747… 6
  hours out of Honolulu.
• December 13th is lost in space for now.

Friday December 14, 1979 Seoul, Korea

• Touched down in Seoul exactly 12 hours after leaving
  Honolulu… seemed like a bitch of a long flight… local time 8:30PM.
• We soon discovered why there had been so many delays at
  LAX… there had been a military coup three days earlier… no pictures allowed
  at the airport or of the military everywhere.
• tourist office gave us bus info and made a reservation at the
  YMCA… $22.04 + 10% tax +10% service charge included, no tipping allowed by
  order of the government ($1USD=500wan)
• the room was the shits… broken down bed, drab colours on
  the walls, floors and furniture if you can call it that… our first impressions
  were less than favourable
• With the arrival of morning, our apprehensions became
  justified… 23 deg. F. with a cutting 25 mph. wind… colour it grey, the
  entire city of Seoul seemed to be one colour.
• We walked about a kilometre to find somewhere to have
  breakfast… from the looks and stares you’d have thought they’d never seen
  whites before.

Saturday December 15, 1979 Seoul, Korea

• French toast… 3 squares of bread de-crusted and coffee…
  $6USD
• Off we go shopping and sight seeing… yuk!… dingy little
  shops… high pressure merchants… while standing at a window, a young man in
  his twenties walks up and says “Good quality”, referring to some merchandise in
  the window, asks if we want a shoe shine then grabs Joann’s breast and walks
  away… we stood frozen, stunned… from then on it was arrogant people…
  remarks under their breath all day.
• The mood was lifted only when we sat in the Hilton lobby
  reading magazines… we spent the afternoon there.
• 6:00PM, back to slum-room to wait for our morning mercy
  flight to Osaka.

Sunday December 16, 1979 Seoul, Korea – Osaka, Japan

• The bus ride to airport didn’t change our minds… if we ever
  see Korea again it’ll be too soon.
• Flight to Osaka, 11:00AM – 12:00N… the airport was a trip
  into clean bright friendly affluence, Japan was going to be very comfortable.
  ($1USD=250Y)
• Caught the first bus to Kyoto… weird, my first experience
  at driving on the left… 30 Km.=$4.00USD
• Most of the cars and trucks seem to be kiddie-cars… small
  and toy-like.
• Info desk at the Kyoto train station gave us the name of an
  inexpensive Japanese style Inn… Ryokan Ichiume, Sagaru Gojo Higashikiyamachi,
  Shimokyoku Kyoto… (xx-075) 351-9385 $12.00USD/couple…(the place that was
  recommended to us was full, the G&S Tani (Tani House), 8 Daitokujicho
  Murasakino, Kitaku Kyoto. (xx-075) 492-5489)
• Joann saw the room… fantastic.
• the first evening we walked around the local neighbourhood,
  tiny three meter streets, small little houses with no yards at all and sliding
  screens instead of doors… sushi to go $1.12USD for eight pieces

Monday December 17, 1979 Kyoto, Japan

• it was a cold hard night in the tatami room… no central
  heating, lucky to have our down sleeping bags… woke up wide awake at 4:00AM…
  haven’t dealt with the jet lag yet
• Coffee and toast at a modern coffee-house, $2.40USD… hot
  towels and big smiles.
• Walked about 5 Km around town… shops are so modern…
  prices for clothes are equal or greater than at home… many of the restaurants
  have plastic models of the food in the fronts windows with price cards for each
  item… food can be very cheap if you shop and eat as a local… camera gear
  cheap, 28mm-2.8f Rokkor lens, $105.60USD… good calculators cheap, $8.00USD…
  Seiko digital watch, alarm, stop, timer, $76.00USD… we’re going to have to be
  careful or we’ll be shopping our faces off.
• On our way back to the Inn we found a sushi bar that had the
  sushi on a conveyor-belt… just take the plates of sushi you want, 2-3 pieces
  per plate, $0.40USD, unbelievable… also passed by a coffee house called the
  “Jam House – Rock Shop”… young people lounging around drinking coffee, reading
  Japanese comics and listening to all English LP’s played through big JBL’s… we
  requested Little Feat – Waiting for Columbus.

Tuesday December 18, 1979 Kyoto, Japan

• Sleeping better now… more coffee and toast… cultural site
  seeing and shopping.
• Back to the Inn at 5:00PM… Joann discovered the shower and
  is in the lobby talking to a girl from Switzerland.

Tuesday December 25, 1979 Kyoto, Japan – Merry Christmas

• It’s 8:10PM; Joann is reading the book that Dave Fultz just
  left for her. We met Dave at the Ichiume. He’s 27, 6’3″, 160 lb. from Chicago…
  university student, well spoken, martial arts expert.
• The three of us shared Christmas dinner… ? lb. of crab, 3
  chicken breasts, I tomato, ? lb. of potato salad, a large platter of sushi, a
  small Christmas cake (Japanese style) and 1.8 litre bottle of “Haku Shika” total
  price $21.60USD.
• Have moved to the Tani House… ah; love that heat…
  outside, raining 40 deg.
• Dave’s joke… “How many Californians does it take to screw
  in a light bulb?”… “Five”… “One to screw in the light bulb and 4 to share
  the experience.”
• Last night, Christmas Eve was incredible… Mrs. Tani invited
  us to a “Christmas party”. When we entered the ladies dorm, a long low table
  3×10 was completely covered with sushi, sandwiches, Christmas cake, fresh fruit,
  wine, coffee, tea, candies, etc. and around which sat an Argentinean (George had
  been travelling for six years… Joann was in awe), a French lady, an American
  (Sean), two girls whom I know nothing about, two Japanese gents from the travel
  info Centre, Bob from New York, teaching English in Osaka, a couple (he from
  Glasgow, her from Massachusetts), import-exporters sort of, a couple from Turkey
  (professor of architecture, and student exchange), a friend of Mrs. Tani’s who
  is taking English language and literature in Kyoto, Mrs. Tani and her two
  children… beautifully, magical evening.
• This last week we’ve been having breakfast at a different
  caf?.. cheaper coffee. The first day the waitress asked if we were American and
  if she could speak English with us (Joann, Dave and I)… we agreed. She was
  very sweet, learning most of her English from Sesame Street.
• The next week consisted of many breakfasts with them, giving
  of gifts back and forth. You can never get one up on them. We were given special
  tea, small gourd wine flask and others. They took us (3) out for lunch… bought
  us lunch at their restaurant. Boxing Day night we had drinks (Mrs. Inoue’s
  home-made plum wine… Japanese vodka and sake) and dim sum on the house. Shigeo
  was very sad that he couldn’t communicate well enough to tell us all the things
  he had to say. He was a great guy… long grey hair… Ex-karate… 53 years old
  and also a tap dancer.

Saturday December 29, 1979 Kyoto, Japan – Taipei, Taiwan.

• Left Osaka on the 2 ? hour flight to Taipei.
• Chiang Kai-Shek airport is beautiful… 4 ? years old… huge
  and stark… utilitarian. People at the airport are very friendly.
• Bus ride to town (40 Km) ok. We had phoned the Taipei Hostel
  for a room t $5USD per night. ($1USD=35.98NT)
• Transportation is cheap here. City buses 1.50NT… taxis 16NT
  for the first kilometre and 8NT every other. The first taxi we took, the meter
  read “15.00”… so I gave the driver 200NT… he quickly gave me 50NT change and
  I stood there for a second and thought, hmm… I guess it read 150NT… quickly
  did the math, came to about $4USD and thought, OK!… later I realized that fare
  had truly been 15NT and that he had got a quick 135NT tip… good night for him
  and really it had only cost me the $4USD. So, not the end of the world but it
  was the principle.
• The hostel looked a little hostile… the proprietor, Tony,
  was a young enterprising local… two co-ed dorms, three bunks in each and three
  private rooms… the dorms were $2.50USD and the private rooms $5USD… luckily
  we were able to snag a room, and I use the word very lousy… it was more of a
  tiny attic over a stairway with two metal cots, but the door locked and made us
  feel a little secure in this foreign land… culture shock anyone??
• in attendance we had two Australians, one Kiwi (Mary) and one
  Swiss (Vic)

New Years Eve – Monday December 31, 1979 Taipei, Taiwan.

• Yesterday we read about selling blood… so this morning we
  went to the Veterans Hospital to have our blood tested to see if we would be
  approved as donors… mid day we went to a mountain temple 20 Km out of town and
  climbed 2 Km of stairs to get to it… in the afternoon we went back to the
  hospital to give (pardon me, I mean sell) 500cc of blood… $67.57CDN.
• The Party… three Americans, Peace Corps workers on vacation
  from Korea and “AWOL”, about fifty years old, piercing eyes, loves guns… hates
  “Japs”… supposedly makes his living as a con-man in Japan… certified weirdo.
  We all drank beer, ate Taiwanese potato chips (good beer, bad chips) and
  listened to our tapes on Tony’s tape deck… was a good time considering it was
  Taipei.

Wednesday January 2, 1980 Taipei, Taiwan.

• This morning we set off on an all day trek to Hualien City
  down the East Coast.
• Gerry (American, living and working in Japan, studying the
  Japanese flute and teaching English) and Roger (Australian, been studying
  Chinese medicine and is leaving for home the long way via Rome) accompanied us
  on this incredible journey.
• We took the train to Suao east near the coast from Taipei…
  then a bus which travels 113Km and takes 5 hours