.
And the sun is setting sooner due to light being block off earlier by mountain peaks.
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. -_-
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....
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
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
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 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
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 !
*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 !! -_- *
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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 |
