this day reminds me of the challenging part of our journey.
the plan was to travel back to Matsumoto by bus, then cycle to Shiojiri
and into the Kiso valley roads. sounds pretty ok, right !?
Actually not really...... wahahaha
Ever heard of Murphy's law ? it states that if anything can go wrong, it will !!
He's just around the corner & i didn't see it coming.... >_<
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| Original Plan from my Tour Planner file. Learned that 54 km of mountain roads is bad idea. |
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| Bus Ride to Matsumoto. Tascha quietly writing on Japanese post cards to loved ones in Germany. |
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| Mountain road scenery |
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| Nice Mountain river. |
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| " i want to be doing another Japan Trip in 2014 " |
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| Reaching Matsumoto soon !! Yea ! |
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| Cheap Lunch at a Yoshinoya type restaurant. u choose & pay at this machine to get a ticket. |
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| Give ticket to the server to get ur food. 380 Yen only for basic Beef Bowl ! |
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| Hungry, Waiting for meal. |
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| Our Lunch. not very exciting hor .... wahaha.. all kinds of folks eat at this type of restaurant in Japan. from students to working adults. its like our hawker centre food equivalent. |
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| On our way to Shiojiri. i didn't expect it to be this far... -_- Jia You !!! |
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| Shiojiri Town. Most off city modern town look somewhat like this. |
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| Stopping for Navigation check. we are using Navico Japan installed in i-phone 4. |
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| Kris : Thumbs up for the pee break !! Me : Thumbs down for the strong head wind. i cannot believe we only manage an average of only 10-12 km / hr. Wa lao eh !!! :O |
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| Aright ! we are entering the mountains soon. but its 2pm now. i am getting worried..... |
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| Kris punk chek oredi.....at this point. its understandable cos he's got a Burley Trailer dragging behind his Brompton. |
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| Into the mountains ! Kris is in front. sometimes we had to take the narrow section of the road. most of the time there is a cycling path at the side. |
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| a dam we came across. at least got something to see in this long & boring stretch of road. |
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| Detour to take small road instead. more enjoyable to ride. more scenery to see. :D |
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| Team is glad !! .... at least there is hope... wahahaha |
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| Passing by local estates. |
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| Typical modern residence along the Kiso Valley. so nice ! being surrounded by mountains !! |
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| Our first sight of old buildings. Naisu ! |
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| Cannot make it !! LOL (us pushing Brompton with full tour gear) Some of the old roads have up slopes too. Craps...our progress is even slower now. |
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| Continuing on ... along side the road. Nice shot tho ! Dun u think so too ? :D |
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| its abt 430pm already i recall. this photo was taken just in front of a motel. |
i stopped cos i know that we are not going to make it to our next check point.
And the sun is setting sooner due to light being block off earlier by mountain peaks.
Seriously, i would rather stay . Worse case, we will have to night ride in unfamiliar
territory which is no good IMO. I learned that i should also have maps of area that
is not around our check points too.
Night has fallen, and we are still on the road in almost darkness. Hungry & munching on
some breads we bought before, we passed more buildings but they were all
we could stay over night here now & continue on tomoro. Problem is.. that it costs
more to stay at this point. if later (say..6-7pm) is cheaper, according to the Motel owner.
Its weird but i guess as the only Motel there, they can do things like this. -_-
more to stay at this point. if later (say..6-7pm) is cheaper, according to the Motel owner.
Its weird but i guess as the only Motel there, they can do things like this. -_-
She said there is a town abt 15 min away by car & that we could try our luck there as
an alternative. Consensus decision is to go ahead. and so we moved on....
an alternative. Consensus decision is to go ahead. and so we moved on....
Seriously, i would rather stay . Worse case, we will have to night ride in unfamiliar
territory which is no good IMO. I learned that i should also have maps of area that
is not around our check points too.
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| Moving on with a setting sun. we were quite tired already..... |
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| a Board of Hope ! |
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| We actually pass by 2 towns, but no Minshuku in them. :( |
Night has fallen, and we are still on the road in almost darkness. Hungry & munching on
some breads we bought before, we passed more buildings but they were all
wood workshops. No minshuku also.
It was around 830pm, we hit what we thought looked like a zombie town !
there was no one around the street, all the doors were closed, there are no lights
It was around 830pm, we hit what we thought looked like a zombie town !
there was no one around the street, all the doors were closed, there are no lights
at house front except street lanterns. I am not sure where we are as well !
i tot, "we just have to push on until something comes up." Then, a car passed us
and stopped about 6-7 houses in front. A lady came out & took some stuffs into
and stopped about 6-7 houses in front. A lady came out & took some stuffs into
her house. I seize the opportunity to ask her if there is any Accommodation
nearby when she came out to take more stuff from the car.
"Unfortunately, there is no lodging in this area. You gotto go to town Narai further on"
she said in Japanese. We were about to move on when she suddenly exclaimed,
" Ah !, chotto matte ! ". (means please wait in Japanese)
she said in Japanese. We were about to move on when she suddenly exclaimed,
" Ah !, chotto matte ! ". (means please wait in Japanese)
She hurriedly went next door to her neighbour. After chatting for a while, the other
lady started to make phone calls. I asked her what is happening? From my limited
Japanese, i figured the neighbour is calling a Minshuku lady owner who was her friend.
Then, she (neighbour lady) came to me & said, "Is 8500 yen per head ok ? " I Laughed !!
"No problem! Just get us the room !! " . I cannot tell you how relieved we were at that
point ! Being tired & Hungry & cycling in dark mountain roads is not funny.
The ladies even gave us a ride to the Minshuku !! 2 cars to take in 3 Bromptons &
lugguages. We had a nice chat along the 10min ride & i found out that they were
lugguages. We had a nice chat along the 10min ride & i found out that they were
both teachers at a local primary school. That explains the stuffs she was bringing
into her home. Kris said they were books & handicrafts.
After being introduced to Minshuku lady Owner, we were given some biscuits & sweets
& bird Origami (made by the school children) too by the 2 teachers. We thank them
profusely before parting our ways. I am so totally impress by the community spirit !
& bird Origami (made by the school children) too by the 2 teachers. We thank them
profusely before parting our ways. I am so totally impress by the community spirit !
*Unfortunately, i did not take any photos during our mis-adventure. i thought it was
not appropriate. But i took a picture of their gifts ! and later accidentally deleted it.
Wa lao eh !!! i SO REGRETTING IT NOW !! -_- *
Wa lao eh !!! i SO REGRETTING IT NOW !! -_- *
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| All is well !! at the only small family restaurant that is still open late night. |
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| A Toast to Japanese Hospitality !! we love it ! |
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| The friendly, chatty Locals we met there. they were quite intrigued with our presence. |
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| Back at the really old Narai Minshuku. Oh ! so lucky to receive heavenly intervention !! Nice room & futon & traditional Japanese bath awaits !! |
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| Another room view. there are Yukata for us to wear (infront of TV). Futon is kept in right side cabinet. time to rest.... ZZZZzzzzzz |
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