Flipping long day

I must be doing something right/wrong. Yesterday went off without any hitches.

After collecting the SV6 wagon from Boondall on Wednesday afternoon, we had it loaded up and nearly everything packed that night. Just a few things like my laptop and various things we were charging, but nothing major. This meant that we could wake up in the morning without stressing, something very important when you're trying to relax.

I had the alarm set for 5am, but didn't need it. I was bolt upright at 4:15, and judging by the giggles coming from Mum's room, her and Whit were up as well. Whitney actually had been awake since 2:30, something that if you know her, is a virtual impossibility, as she is usually the last to get up.

Still, it gave us time to get showered and ready, and double check everything. This meant that come 5:20, we were all ready to leave. So a little ahead of schedule, but never a bad thing.

The drive down to the Gold Coast was uneventful. It showered around Yatala and closer to Nerang as well, but upon getting out at Kirra Surf, it was a downpour. The plan was to get breakfast at Beaches at Kirra, as airport food is notoriously overpriced, then get to the airport before the check-in counter opened. We knew it would be a long innings before our next meal, so Mum, Dean and Whit got eggs benedict, whilst I went for a burrito (really, just a wrap) with bacon, egg, lettuce, avocado and some other things in it. Tasted good and hit the spot, along with the pretty coffee that I posted up on instagram.

By the time we finished, it was getting on to 7.30, so we made the short trip to the airport via a servo and dropped the rental car off. Something that I disliked about the commodore was that the drivers seat was tilted towards the centre of the car. It's slightly off-putting and I don't think I could stand it over a long period of time, but it suited our purpose for the day.

We got to the check-in counter just as it opened, and after putting the stowed luggage, headed in through customs and quarantine. After the debacle that was Cairns Airport last year, Gold Coast Airport was really good. Straight through, no major hassles but it meant we had about 2 hours to kill til boarding started. No biggie, I'd rather kill time than not have any.

Even the flight was pleasant and uneventful. We had a decent pilot and crew, who made it smooth going and we landed about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Customs and quarantine was the usual efficiency, though the baggage was a little longer than usual.

We met Tim and Kerry in the baggage collection area, and after heading out, found that Paul and Zoe had come to meet us. So all 8 of us were assembled and ready to go. We sent Mum's, Whitney's  and my suitcase via Takkyubin. It's about 1600Y per bag, but money well spent as it means you don't have to carry your baggage on and off trains and up and down numerous stairs.

We then head down to the JR ticket office, as we needed to exchange our Rail Pass tokens for the passes. It must have been slightly confusing for the girls, because Tim and Kerry only had 4 day flexi-pass, whilst our family had 14-day passes. It was all sorted pretty quickly and we had our shinkansen tickets booked for the next day.

We next had the 70 or so minute train ride towards the city. Because of where we stay, neither the N'EX (Narita Express) or the Keisei-Skyliner goes near our hotel. So for us, the quickest (and cheapest) way is to get a express local train, then change to a metro line which goes about a block away from our hotel. Because I had done a step-by-step for Zoe, she could semi-lead the way, which was nice because by now my brain was starting to get sore. We got to the hotel about 9.30ish, and after quickly checking in, decided to head to the ramen place we spotted at the end of the street. Must be only new, because this is the third time we've stayed at Sakura Jimbocho, but the first time I've spotted it.

Whitney was too far gone though. The poor girl had been up since 2.30 and hadn't slept on the plane, so by now was wrecked. Not even the premise of ramen could excite her, so we left her to sleep while we ate. This presented the next challenge. Tim is gluten intolerant, and I wasn't sure what he could eat or not. The normal noodles are made out of wheat, so I knew that was a no-no, but I wasn't sure what else there was. We ended up ordering him a plate made of pork, cabbage, onions and other things which looked quite tasty, while we gave Paul and Zoe a quick introduction to the world of Ramen. Paul is not good with chili, so I ordered him just a plain ramen, while Zoe ordered negi-ramen which had been sprouts and stuff. We were all starving by this stage, so we couldn't care less, but it wasn't the best ramen we've ever had. Zoe was savouring every mouthful, while Paul thought his tasted like cream of chicken noodle soup. We split off to our respective rooms and crashed. It was now close to 11.30 Japan time, so we had been awake for 20hours. Any further adventuring would have to wait for another day.

But we were here...