Day 4 – Unplanned Adventures are the Best Kind.
20,393 steps taken, 15.15 km travelled, 14 floors climbed – much less than yesterday, but a big day nonetheless!
Another early day for the crew today, so we were up and at it by 8, and after a quick pit stop at that little bakery at the station, we were off, on our way to the Golden Pavilion. And after a 40-minute ride we were there! This was something Tim was looking forward to most, and quickly came to see why. The gardens (like at any temple) were beautifully kept, and the walk to the ticket booth was marvellous. As soon as you got your ticket, which looked more like a Japanese Scroll than an admittance paper, and walked through the gates you were greeted with the image of the – what I can only describe as – a Golden temple in the middle of a lake. Now that doesn’t sound like a very impressive sight, but that only means that I can’t think of words to describe it properly! It was an awesome sight. Something so massive and gorgeous almost looks like it doesn’t belong where it was placed.
After viewing the Pavilion we were lead down a path to a little vendor selling charms that were meant to have different benefits. I bought one that I thought was well being for your family, but turned out it was for good health (the thought was there guys). As we moved through we came across another temple where you could take part in a smoke ceremony and ring the bell in the tower We were also distracted by a little machine giving out fortunes – I managed to grab an ‘excellent’ (not a competition I know, regardless, suck it guys). This is the moment we lost the American. Turn around for a second and Lobada is gone. Oh great. We figured we’d just keep going and he would catch up. But by the time we got to the food area and he still wasn’t found, we thought we were a party member down. It wasn’t until I was being a girl and heading to the ladies, I came across the lost one. Crisis averted.
So after counting, 6 people – we were off towards Nishiki Market. Now this was a humongous shock to the system. Millions of people trying to move up and down a 2 meter wide pathway, people stopping to purchase food or just to look at the weird shit people were selling – NIGHTMARE. Luckily once you were through the food section, it opened up a bit and you were able to breathe again. Once you got over the crowd, it was a really interesting experience. The variety of things they were selling and the amount of things I couldn’t recognise as food let alone name was eye opening. In our wanderings, Lobada and Tim noticed an owl poster, and followed some arrows that pointed us to an owl zoo. An owl zoo! In the middle of the chaos that is Nishiki Market! And for roughly $6 AUD, we were able to touch and take photos with owls! All different types. My heaven!
The group headed back after grabbing some food at a burger joint. We dropped off the backpacks and shopping and Drew and I headed out to explore the shopping complex nearby. Being the first time we’ve been separate from the group, it was a nice little time together. We discovered a couple shops that could be money eaters – and would have been if we weren’t so tired and focusing so much on putting one foot in front of the other. Although I did buy a couple things, one of which will probably feature in tomorrow’s photos. Tomorrow we are off to Nara, where we will be able to explore a few temples, and feed deer’s! It should be a great day. Very much looking forward to it! But for now, we’re eating snacks we’ve found along the way, like Kit Kats and Pocky’s of various flavours, and watching movies. What a perfect way to spend NYE?
