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Test post #2

Test post number 2

We also visited a large Shinto shrine which is dedicated to Emperor Meiji, who ruled Japan in the late 1800's and early 1900's and who is credited for welcoming Western knowledge and influence into the country while still maintaing Japanese culture. Over the new year holiday, Japanese visit shrines all over the country to pray to ancestors and make wishes for the new year. We joined thousands of Japanese walking through the garden surrounding Meiji Shrine towards the central building. Along the way we saw large barrels of wine and sake (Japanese rice wine) that are donated to the shrine - thousands, if not millions, of dollars worth of expensive alcohol.

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After a full day in Macau, we hopped back on the plane for a flight to Bangkok, landing in the heat and humidity and actually being glad for it. I will never stop loving the thrill of new places, new sights and sounds, new food, but there was something about being back in a familiar place that let me relax in a way that I never do when traveling in new places. I know where to go, how to buy a train ticket, how much a taxi ride will cost, where to buy a bowl of pad thai. 

But traveling also introduces a willingness to try new things. We have a certain hostel we stay at nearly every month that is cheap, clean, and centrally located. While Andrew was walking to the 7-11 convenience store to buy water, he noticed music drifting from an alleyway and people walking into a restaurant. He came back and asked if I wanted to try it out. Sure, why not? And we found ourselves in a classic American-style dive bar: John Wayne posters hanging out the walls, a steer skull above the door, neon-lit beer signs flashing above a man with a massive Afro singing cover sings while strumming guitar. The tables were crowded with Thais happy to see the weekend. Servers were loading tables with dishes of steamed fish, fried shallots with red chili sauce, grilled chicken and limes. And needless to say, the food was like ambrosia for the soul. I fell in love with Japanese food over this trip, but I'm afraid that Thai food will always come first in my list of cuisines-you-must-not-live-without. 

"Sure, why not?" You have to be willing to say that while traveling. Egg tarts? Raw eel? Snowboarding in sub-zero temperatures with no visibility? A random restaurant down an alleyway that you've never tried before? If you're not willing to say that simple phrase, you might as well stay home, because travel is about embracing the new, the unexpected, the things that you would never do at home. Travel is not about being comfortable or 100% sure of anything. When you say that phrase, you will have the experiences of a lifetime.