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Temple hopping

From Western Japan, Summer 2005 in Kyoto, Japan on Aug 23 '05

Swiftlet has visited no places in Kyoto
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I'm trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the people in the room. I'm writing this (and typing in retrospectively) while lying on a futon in a room at UNO house, a guesthouse at Kyoto.

It's been a tiring day. I didn't cover all the places I wanted to go to, but I managed most of the major attractions.

Kyoto is amazing. The people here are amazing. I mean for a place with so many visitors and foreigners, I expect the people to be a bit, you know, sian to see tourists. But not so. Last night, when I got lost trying to find this place (what else is new, I'm not good with directions), this oji-san came to offer his help even before I'd asked for help. When he realised that he had no idea where the place was, he was very apologetic. He stopped this woman passing by to ask for help. Luck would have it that the woman knew.

"Sumimasen, shashin wo totte moratte iidesuka?"
One for the album - I was here!
"Sumimasen, shashin wo totte moratte iidesuka?" One for the album - I was here!
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After explaining to me in Japanese, she realised that I might not fully understand her directions (she had guessed correctly that I'm not nihonjin, smart girl). So she decided to take me there, even though it was not the direction which she was headed. The original oji-san also wanted to come along, probably to make sure I get there safely. What can I say? Yasashii!


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