Where is Derek?

Day 2 in Athens was really relaxed. I visited the Plaka again and took pictures. Later in the afternoon, I met up with an old friend from my study abroad trip to China, Sevi in Athens and had something to eat and drink. Sevi was near her final trimester and it was nice to see her again. Time was short but it was nice seeing Sevi again.

Later in the evening, I met up with an ex co worker named Chavis and we walked around Monastiraki and the surrounding area, waiting for Chavis’ cousin to arrive. Once Chavis’ cousin, Lauren arrived we went to the Acropolis and did touristy things until having drinking in Psiri. Sorry this post is short but I am waiting for a ferry to Mykonos. I will update these posts with pictures and more stories of the day as I have more time.

Next up Mykonos.

Well after 25 hrs of travel, I finally made it to Pella House in Athens, Greece. This hostel is really conveniently located in Monastiraki which is in the heart of the city. I arrived at 1pm, really weary but I still ventured out to the surrounding areas, first going to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Parliament building to see if any riots were happening. Nothing was happening but I did see a lot of police walking about.

After that I walked around the Plaka towards the Acropolis and back to the hostel. I will update this page with photos as I get back.

The Plaka was very touristy near Ermou Street but as you walk up the hill towards the Acropolis, you find little streets and alleys, just like you see in the movies.

The Acropolis, quintessential Greece, was amazing but due to reconstruction efforts, there was scaffolding everywhere, ruining any photo op. But impressive none the less.

For my first meal in Greece, I just hit up a Greek fastfood place called Goody’s which sold me a gyro with a big portion of fries and mustard with a drink for less than 5 euros. For dinner, I went to my hostel’s bbq party on the roof over looking the acropolis. Not a bad first day.

Tomorrow, I will meet one of my friends from my China study abroad trip, Sevi and later in the evening, a friend from Japan, Chavis.

A brief overview of my summer 2011 trip to Greece and Turkey:

Part I: Greece

July

19   Tokyo to Istanbul ( flight, leave 12:00pm arrive 1:05am +1day)
20   Istanbul to Athens ( flight, leave 10:35am arrive 11:55am )
21   Athens
22   Athens to Mykonos via Piraeus ( ferry, leave 7:25am arrive 11:10am )
23   Mykonos
24   Mykonos – day trip to Delos
26   Mykonos to Santorini/Thira ( ferry, leave 14:55pm arrive 17:35pm )
27   Santorini
28   Santorini to Crete/Heraklio ( ferry, leave 17:55pm arrive 19:30pm )
29   Crete
30   Crete
31   Crete to Rhodes ( flight, leave 20:20pm arrive 21:15pm )

August

1   Rhodes
2   Rhodes
3   Rhodes to Istanbul ( ferry to Marmaris, 12hr bus to Istanbul )

Part II: Turkey

August

4    Istanbul
5    Istanbul
6    Istanbul to Canakkale
7    Canakkale – day trip to Gallipoli
8    Canakkale – day trip to Troy
9    Canakkale to Bergana
10   Bergana
11   Bergana to Selcuk
12   Selcuk – day trip to Ephesus
13   Selcuk to Patara
14   Patara
15   Patara to Olympos
16   Olympos
17   Olympos to Antalya
18   Antalya
19   Antalya to Konya
20  Konya
21   Konya to Gureme
22   Gureme – day trip to Cappadocia
23   Gureme to Istanbul
24   Istanbul
25   Istanbul to Tokyo ( flight, leave 12:20pm arrive 10:30am )

Accommodation:

Greece

Athens          Pella Inn ( http://www.pellainn.gr/ )
Mykonos      Paraga Beach Hostel ( http://bit.ly/rc5loa )
Mykonos      Paradise Beach Resort ( http://www.paradise-greece.com/ )
Santorini      Santorini Hostel Kykladonisia ( http://www.santorinihostel.com/ )
Crete              Mirabello Hotel ( http://www.mirabello-hotel.gr/English/english.htm )
Rhodes         Hotel Parthenon ( http://www.parthenon-hotel.eu/html/ )

Turkey

Istanbul
Canakkale
Bergana
Selcuk
Patara
Olympos
Antalya
Konya
Gureme
Istanbul

Note: To book ferries within Greece I used this website Paleologos
( http://paleologos.forth-crs.gr/english/npgres.exe?PM=BB )

To book the ferry from Rhodes to Marmaris
( http://www.feribot.net/feribot/?partnerid=Mzg=&lang=en )
Here is a listing of the ferries between Greece and Turkey
( http://www.ferrylines.com/en/ferries/arrival///0/routes///4%2C5////TR/ )

and then the bus form Marmaris to Istanbul
( http://www.ulusoy.com.tr/ )

To book trains and buses in Turkey

Bus ( http://www.ulusoy.com.tr/ )

Hello everyone, it has been a long time. I have decided to use this blog only for documenting my travels. My next destination will be Greece and Turkey and I will document my initial travel plan and then update with actual field information.

Hello everyone;

Things are getting better in Tokyo. Everything is almost at 80% capacity. My neighborhood has not been hit with the rolling blackouts and the supermarkets are stocked with everything except instant noodles, natto, sliced bread and milk. Today there is some radiation found in the ground water in the area, but the level of radiation is not harmful for human health. Despite what the authorities say, I am sticking to bottled water, pretending it’s Vietnam. They restored electricity to the reactors but were scared for a bit when black smoke was emitting from the reactor but that subsided and repairs have resumed. They are monitoring the situation constantly and as long as the temperature doesn’t increase, I am confident the Japanese can handle the situation.

On another note: my new business cards came in last week and I have been networking a lot but since Tokyo’s foreign community basically deserted the area, my networking opportunities have been slim but despite this, I received two requests for spec work in less than a week! Also since I have a month off until I resume work, I have been concentrating on creating more new work for my website. I am a long way from where I want to be but if I don’t start, I will never get there.

Last note: if you have an iPad, I have added a plugin to optimize this blog for the iPad, I want to see how the design works so I can migrate design elements to my portfolio site.

All is well. Carpe Diem.

Current Status of Tokyo:

The sky isn’t falling and zombies have not overrun the city. It’s pretty much business as usual with some exceptions: Reduced train service, rolling blackouts and people unnecessarily hoarding food and other durable goods, every morning trucks pull in to fill the stores to 80% and then in the evening the whole stock is gone. Besides all of that, you still see people shopping, drinking, running in the park, though there are a lot less people in town, it is eerily refreshing.

My evacuation plans:

As for the national emergency, I have been monitoring the British and US embassy reports, japanese media as well as foreign media outlets. The differing accounts are incredible. The Japanese media makes it seem like the situation is under control and the foreign press makes it seem like a doomsday scenario. The major information sources that I am relying on are the British and US embassies assessment. There is a voluntary evacuation advisement being circulated where US citizens can evacuate on US government chartered flights from Narita and Haneda to Taiwan and Korea but I believe this is unnecessary. I believe in Japan’s ability to control the situation and I also believe the US embassy will make a mandatory evacuation order if a disaster is imminent. My backup plans are to travel south as far as fukuoka if need be, which is the farthest south you can get via ground transport. If I cannot make it there I will head to Yokosuka navy base and seek emergency evacuation there.

Nuclear situation:

The nuclear situation is as follows: the nuclear plant has a danger zone of 30 km according to Japanese experts and the US embassy assessed a 80 km danger zone. The center of Tokyo from the nuclear power plant is about 220 kms away. The radiation emitted into the atmosphere has been going down but worst case scenario, several days of exposure to such levels of radiation will equal to an x-ray and is well below any acceptable level before adverse health effects would occur. There are US nuclear experts on standby if Japan needs the help. As of this morning, the temperature of the reactors are not near meltdown levels.

Earthquakes:

There have been numerous earthquakes in rapid succession and varying intensities but nothing ridiculous. The people up north are facing gas, kerosine, food and clothing shortages and what makes it worse is the weather has been very cold as late. I really worry about Mina’s family up there because there is no way out of Fukushima. Resources are being pooled to help with the reactor problems so there is no gasoline for her family to drive down to her to Tokyo. I am really worried about Mina’s grandmother who as of late, fell ill and went to the hospital, probably because of the cold and minimal food provisions. What makes it more scary is Mina’s family is 60 km away from the danger and if it gets worse, they have no way of escaping. a 30 km buffer in case of a nuclear explosion is freaking Mina and I out. But we have a plan, I made reservations for a van and I guess if we have to, we are going to hoard all the gas we can and head up to Fukushima and getting Mina’s family out of danger. Hopefully it doesn’t come to this because the news said fuel trucks are on their way to the area.

Conclusion:

I think it’s a bit too soon to get crazy and leave. Mina can’t go and I can’t leave her so it’s simple for me but others who are truly scared, they should go. I just wanted to post that I am constantly being informed and I do have backup plans but I believe waiting a bit longer to see how things pan out would be beneficial.

Keep yall posted,

D