Monday, July 25, 2011

I'm Going to Japan! And the Philippines!

It has been a crazy week!  Apparently buying a bank repo is not as smooth a process as a straight up home purchase.  We were scheduled to close on August 9th or September 22nd (?!) according to the realtor (who is now on vacation in the Philippines for a month (!?).  I am assuming the sale will close...sometime.
And then there is our trip to Japan which has been craziness of a whole different manner.  First we were going to take a Space A military hop but there is a very real possibility of getting bumped (repeatedly) and possibly getting stuck in Japan for a month or more which would not only mess up our signing of the condo sale paperwork but would probably bankrupt us as Japan is an expensive place to stay.
So then I was going to just pay retail and go by myself to Japan but I was kind of heartbroken over this because I would be away from the hubby for three weeks AND we wouldn't get to travel together AND the cheapest ticket price I could find was $1300 AND then we would still need to come back to Asia later in the year to go to the Philippines which would cost another huge amount for both of our airline tickets.
Finally I was poking around the internet looking for any other option--cruise ships aren't even going to Japan these days and freighter travel is iffy at best.  Just for amusement I did a search for Seattle to Manila tickets because the cousins we are staying with are going to the Philippines in September and were asking about side trips they could take out of Manila (they will go to Hong Kong and Singapore).  To my surprise, round trip tickets from Seattle to Manila were $900 each--for $500 more both of us can go! 
This way hubby will be able to visit his family in the Philippines, I will get to spend a week or so in the Philippines (this takes care of the trip later in the year to the Philippines) AND I will be able to hop over to Japan to meet up with my friends for a week.
I think this will work out after all...

6 comments:

  1. Yayyyyy! Congrats :) It sounds like things are falling into line nicely for you. I really hope it all works out. It sounds like a fun trip.

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  2. Lucky! Where in Japan are you staying? I lived there for several years and loved it.

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  3. I was an exchange student to Japan 25+ years ago so I will be staying with my host family from way back then in Shikoku Island and my host sister who now lives in Tokyo. Needless to say this will save A LOT of money! Plus it is nice to stay with a family because then youreally get to see what ordinary life is like for people in the country!

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  4. That's so awesome that it's all working out for you!! :)

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  5. What fun! I loved Shikoku Island and I always had fun in Tokyo. Loved the food, the people, and the hot springs. I lived in Osaka, and picked up the dialect, which cracked up my friends in Tokyo and Yokohama.

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  6. Pamela, That is soooo cool! I always admire people that can speak a foreign language. Unfortunately I stumble over every sentence so an no where near fluent!

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