2011 March 14\u00a0\u00a0 (Monday)\u00a0\u00a0 08:49<\/p>\n
Getting ready…..<\/p>\n
All things have been packed.\u00a0 It\u2019 a matter of checking out.\u00a0 The plane is not leaving till 17:10, so there is some time to kill before the latest train of 12:47 to be on time 3 hours before departure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I made my round of calls to my family members.<\/p>\n
As usual, I fill my thermos mug with tea for the road.<\/p>\n
Will load up the phone card before I leave the hotel just in case…..despite it is almost impossible to get thru any LAN lines.<\/p>\n
Will pick up some seaweed from the convenience store on the way to the train station…and will arrive early\u00a0at the airport to stay indoors as much as possible. \u00a0I don\u2019t think the store sells iodine. This is not pressing the panic button.\u00a0 I simply don\u2019t want to end up as a burden to my family for whatever radiation I get.\u00a0\u00a0 (It’s good at least it is not raining now.)<\/p>\n
My daughter told me there is a saying in Canada that the Japanese authority is playing down on the seriousness of the nuclear plant matter.\u00a0 But I told her that this is management practice.\u00a0 You cannot panic yourself despite you know well it is dangerous.\u00a0 This is to calm the people around you.\u00a0 All you can do is to put your best forward to contain and control the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ueno Park is just right next to the Keisei Train Station where I will board the train to the airport.\u00a0 \u00a0Well, I will pull my luggage with me (good that I travel light…only a small suitcase and a duffle hand-carry bag) and check out the cherry blossom before I take the train.\u00a0 Yesterday, I saw a blossomed tree close by the garden of the Imperial Palace.<\/p>\n
I will miss the kind-hearted people I met here in Japan….my host in Nikko who offered me, when I turned up unexpectedly the second night in his guesthouse, a bowl of rice and a coleslaw (their salad and vegetable); his constant update of the disaster situation and his advice…..the hotel frontdesk staff here in Tokyo….the hotel\u2019s kind gesture of refunding me for nights I can\u2019t stay due to the disaster….Aeroplan which allowed me to change flights without charge on a ticket redeemed with travel points in this emergency situation…the girl from Chekiang, China whom I met and had a trip-long conversation (in Mandarin!) on the train from Nikko….the two French boys who left Nikko the morning of the disaster for Kyoto (I hope they arrived safely)….and to those who have to stay behind.<\/p>\n
Growing too sentimental?\u00a0 Yes and no…but just in case the energy in the nuclear plant has to be released!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
2011 March 14\u00a0\u00a0 (Monday)\u00a0\u00a0 08:49 Getting ready….. All things have been packed.\u00a0 It\u2019 a matter of checking out.\u00a0 The plane is not leaving till 17:10, so there is some time to kill before the latest train of 12:47 to be … Continue reading