Osaka Aquarium

Ok so I better start trying to blog some more.

13/9/11

Mingaling and I had our usual free breakfast at the apartment, then headed off to Kaiyukan Aquarium. We successfully navigated the JR stops and took a few photos of the area around the museum which has a ferris wheel and a cool shopping complex.

We loved the aquarium! It has a great range of animals and the layout is really easy to navigate. It also had some good places to stop and rest while looking at the tanks, plus, unlike when I was in Atlanta, I didn’t feel too stink about sitting on the floor at times.

There are something’s that Atlanta has better, like bigger tanks and more whale sharks. But the layout makes it a lot easier in Osaka to happily wander around and take pictures. Mingaling and I both ran out of camera battery! Which was a real shame, but we still managed to get all the fish we wanted! We spent aaaages there after all.

We were luckily at the time because they had a special Kawaii Collection exhibition, where they selected their cutesy and small fishies to highlight. So Cute! Only in Japan! We also had a lot of fun photographing the crustacean exhibit too.

Afterwards, we checked out the shopping mall nearby and I loved the Ghibli store where I finally got some good Totoro souvenirs. We spent a bit more money on other cool things, laughed at the kids clothing store called ‘Starvation’ and ate curry for dinner. Yum!

Thailand Update

I’ve had it pointed out to me that I’m over a month behind on the blog, so I better say what I am up to at the moment as well.

I’m in the town of Pua, which is in Nan province. It is the town where my mother is from and I am staying with my Aunts, Uncles and Cousin. I have been staying in my Aunt, Ba Paap’s house, which is next-door to the house where my mother grew up, but I go next door for all my meals etc.

It’s a pretty good set up, except that my elderly aunt is very conscious of being alone in the house and usually double locks the door at night, which means that even though I have the key, I still can’t get in, and I have to go yell in her bedroom window (her hearing isn’t great). Kinda annoying, but for the large air conditioned room with en suite, it is worth it. Plus helping my Aunt feel secure is good.

Today I went along to the local high school where my mother used to teach, and where my aunt Na Aa teaches English. I helped out with one English class.

Yesterday I actually took 3 classes in a row by myself because Na Aa was going to the town of Nan that day. It was exhausting. Thai classes are not like NZ classes. I don’t think I want to be a teacher when I grow up.