Tokyo Marathon

"What faster way to see the world but by running a marathon"

Next year i am will be competing in the Tokyo marathon. Its decision that I didn't reach without weighing the cost of what it is i will be putting my myself through.

I have always loved sport and this will be a way of combining the two things I love the most, travel and extreme exercise.

It is not easy! In fact its painful! on most days I am far from being motivated to get up each morning between 3:30 and 5am to go running. I have to coax myself and remind thyself that this marathon will not run itself and im proud of myself when i do go the distance when everything in me is screaming no stop.

I have even taken on this rather insane habit of yelling quite loudly in the streets, "You Will Finish This!!!!!!!!!'


If there;s one comforting thing at least in Tokyo you can wear all sorts of fanny running gear!

So stay with me on my marathon journey. Encourage me too!

After Japan I would like to run sight-see marathons in Mexico, and Argentina too. 

Documenting Finland

Capital: Helsinki
Time Difference: +2hrs
Currency: Euro
Detail: February
Fact: Helsinki is the design capital!

So I'm back from Finland (And ALIVE too). At one point I was surely convinced i woundnt survive the cold. And thankful no symptoms of a cold too! It was so cold that when the wind blew you had headaches.

Here are some facts about Finland;
It has the highest suicide rate in the whole world!

Alcoholism is pretty normal amongst the people!
(this was proved when my friend and i went to a bar for some down time and the man sitting at the table adjacent to us started yelling about his new invention; Onion Martini. He even forced us to try his drink).

Trust me you don't know cold till you have been in minus 32 to 41 degrees whether.

View from the plane

I stepped out of the rather slow paced airport and make my way to the bus stop (the metro system has not been added to make city to airport journeys efficient). But the buses out there are pretty regular.

Its beautiful! The Finnish people are pretty big on forest land and space and light and thats is reflected in their architecture and personalities. 

Lutheran Cathedral

The weather though painfully cold was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky and the sun shinning in all its glory.

For warmth i got on the tram that circles the city, sat there and took in all the sights but it wasn't exactly the warmest place to be. 

It would have been too cruel to get people to take photographs of me because that required them taking off their gloves.

inside Lutheran Cathedral

Even after wearing everything i owned I was still cold so the only way to hop from store to store just to thaw. 

Kiasma - Contemporary Art Museum

I think the best thing about this gallery isn't the art itself but the building is more the main attraction. 

The beauty that is Kiasma

The Finnish love their forests (im surprised anything grows there)

Thats the sea! its Frozen! You can walk across it!

 The sea again its frozen. Thats a shit that leaves everyday travelling between Sweden and Finland!

They have snow man competitions so each store has to make one and a judging panel will make the decision on the winning snow man. 

Snow Bride

Ferry Ride

Took a Ferry ride to Suomenlinna an Island previously owned by Swedes. 

Visit Me in London

Meeting people whilst travelling is fantastic, but it is even more exciting when they come visit you in your country!

I met Kay when i was travelling in Copenhagen. We instantly hit it off and became great friends. Found out we had a lot of shared interests too. She inspires me! she travels more than one country at a time on her own (London - Iceland-London-Paris). She is organised, she carefully executes all that she has planned. She is one those people you want to align your life with.

And since she is on an exchanged programme from Japan to Austria so she is definitely making the most of her new territory in Europe. 

She got to meet some of my precious friends

I will be visiting Kay in Japan next year!!!

Finland February

Finland Flag

Under a week from now I will be border jumping to the land of the Finnish.

What awaits me is mountains of snow, minus 18 degrees and i haven't a clue about the culture.

Loh and behold i don't think i own any clothing that could be capable to insulate me for -20 degree weather.

This time round i will not be venturing the city (Helsinki - capital) alone but i will be staying with a friend, so this takes the pressure of having to be super prepared and careful planning.

My flight from heathrow is at a shockingly early hour. Heres hoping i might be able to wake up.

More updates on the trip coming soon!

Documenting Denmark

Danish Escapade Review

Country: Denmark
Capital: Copenhagen (Kopenhagen)
Language: Danish
Currency: Danish Kroener (DK)
Details: January 2011

Copenhagen is an interesting and bizarre city to visit. Great if you need an R & R weekend city break. Copenhagen has a lot to offer. The Danish are known for their amazing architecture and design, bakeries and cycling (especially in snow storms which totally amazes me.) Getting my head round the currency was a little bit of an issue since items cost 100s or 1000s. An average meal in a restaurant costs between 140 - 180DK

The entire time I was in Denmark it snowed heavily but it didn't put a damper on my enthusiasm to discover the hidden gems of this weird but wonderful culture.

The best time to travel to the land of the Danes' is between April and September when the Tivoli (Theme park) is open.

Tivoli

 It will be much easier to appreciate the cities beauty and scenery.
Unlike Vienna I would recommend using the metro whenever possible because the distance between tourists sites is vast. Most art galleries and museums offer free entry but special exhibitions require ticket purchase. I wouldn't recommend buying the Copenhagen Pass. Its too expensive and you will probably do two things out of the 60 listed options.

Thanks to my friend Rodelle who had travelled to Copenhagen a few months before I did I was able to eliminate and concentrate on specific things about the city which was a big help and did not require much planning on my part.

I also discovered that the Danish language does not have a word for "please", which is why at first they came across as rude.

Frozen Canals

Christianhavn

Christianhavn, Near Cafe Wilder

Somewhere near Parliament

Charlottenborg Palace (changing of the guards)

Aalborg Maritime Museum 

Behind me is Aalborg Maritime Museum

The famous little mermaid (I am standing on frozen sea)

The little mermaid has had her head severed many times 

Statens Museum for Kunst

Adam, Eve, dead Abel and Cherry

Kopenhagen Airport

I was astounded by the way transport worked like clockwork in spite of the heavy snowfall I endured on my trip. Involuntary skiing down the streets and excessive walking left me with a rather bruised and battered knee. In awe I was astounded by the relentless effort the locals had to continue cycling in the blizzard when I was suffering a great deal to trudge through the snow.

Lastly this time round I was able to make a lot more friends and they will be visiting me in London over the next couple of months, so i guess it does pay to smile and be friendly.