Tokyo - Skydiving & Disneysea

Arriving in Tokyo with only 1 aim in mind - sky diving ! Thanks to a bunch of spontaneous girl friends, I finally drummed up enough courage.

Taking some time to eat, shop and visit the Tsukiji Market. Once everyone has flown into Tokyo, we made our way to Honda Airport - just slightly outside of Tokyo city. We had signed up with the Tokyo Skydiving Club. The website was mainly in Japanese, the reviews online were old - honestly, i didn't know what to expect. The club had responded to our emails and questions politely - i suppose that was assurance enough to book our air tickets and hotel. 

Arriving to the jump site, we spotted this make shift tent in the distance.

Walking closer, this was indeed where the club was located in. Signing the indemnity forms, making payment, we sat there and looking at the sky divers preparing for their next jump. I will like to comment that this was coolness personified. :) 

We saw four people practicing on skateboards - trying to mimic their formation in the sky. Later they will join us in the plane for their practice jump. Preparing us for our jumps, our instructors explained the process step by step while they strap us into the gear. Those of us in shorts or sandals, they provided long pants and covered shoes to protect us during the landing.

Extracting these photos from the video, we took a van ride out to field and boarded the tiny plane. 

Before boarding the plane, the instructors started to attach us to them. We sat in the plane in the sequence of the jump and were packed like sardines.

The plane climbed upwards for something alone the lines of 20 mins, they opened the door in the middle for ventilation.

As the first batch of sky divers took off for their formation jump. It was soon our turn. Adrenaline was really pumping at this point in time. As i saw my friend take off, there was fear and exhilaration. My life was in the instructor's hands. 

Sitting on his lap, he quickly inched us towards the exit of the plane and reminded me to keep my body stretched in banana shape as we jumped out from the plane. Woooooooooooo


Once we stabilized in the free fall, he tapped my shoulder to let go of my hands outwards. This was the best feeling ever ! I could feel the coldness of the atmosphere as we jumped out from the plane. It slowly changed from cold to warm as we reached closer to the earth. The rush of wind against my body, the surroundings getting closer, i kept my eyes open the entire time. It was just too exhilarating to even feel afraid.

Before i knew it, he pull the chute which stopped the free fall and yanked us upwards.


I was admiring the view, as he expertly navigated us towards the landing site. On video, you can still hear how much i wanted to jump again. Even to this day, i would very much love to do another jump. It was that much fun !


12500 Ft and 40 secs later, this was definitely an experience of a life time. My instructor for the tandem jump was professional and took the time to explain each step of the way to ease my anxiety. He spoke perfect English and took fantastic videos. :) So thank you again ! I would definitely recommend Tokyo Skydiving Club to anyone interested.

The next day, we went to Disneysea. After the skydiving experience, all the rides felt like a walk in the park. :P










Life is short - too short for regrets and looking back. You will never get to the next great moment, if you don't keep going.

Turkey - Istanbul - Part 4

Day 11 - We took it easy and joined a day tour for a Bosporus Cruise. Turning our heads from left to right and right to left, trying to understand what the guide was explaining. In the end, i gave and just enjoyed the views.
 






Day 12 - We headed to the new Istanbul and visited Taksim Square




We then made our way down to İstiklal Avenue.






Ending the night on a roof top bar


Day 13 - I visited the Blue Mosque again to say my goodbyes. I was there - the first one in line - as it opened.



Coming back to our tiny hotel with a view for breakfast before making our way to the airport


Looking back at the photos, this would definitely rank as one of the most interesting trips that i had in a while. :) Also, the most valuable takeaway in the whole trip was this loving couple with me, they made me believe in soul mates - all over again.

Turkey - Istanbul - Part 3

Day 10 - This was the last day of our museum pass and we were determined to make the most of it. Embarking to the Great Palace Mosaic Museum first. This was a collection of the old Byzantine floors found around the Arasta Bazaar and most likely to be from the Roman Emperor Justinian era. Honestly, we were a little bit shocked by how run down this place was. There was a roof - but it was mainly open air - the sun light could come in at selected areas. There was no temperature control & the mosaics were fading.

Still, it was pretty amazing.





Our next stop was to the Chora Museum. This was very much out of the way. We had to leave the Sultanmahet area that we were in, head towards the Grand Bazaar then take a 30 min bus ride to the area. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, we made our way there in one piece.

The Chora Museum was seriously worth the trip. I wanted to see Byzantine art - my god, i did and this was clearly the most well preserved of what we had seen so far. Later on, i would find out that this was one of the most beautiful Byzantine churches that was left in the world.







Navigating the back streets, we made our way to another smaller church. Unfortunately, i cannot remember the name now. On our way back, we went past a local madrasah which gave me a glimpse of how religion had polarized Turkey. In the past, Turkey was always a mix of the East and the West. It was a cultural melting pot of Christian beliefs and Islamic religion. The Ottoman Empire was accepting of both and invited conversation between the faiths. In the tourist area that we were in, as this was the Ramadan, we saw local people camped out in the park and it was an even mix of conservative and western clothing.

Here in this area, women and children were clad from head to toe. Us in our tiny shorts and tops, were looked upon curiously. If this was how Istanbul was like in the residential areas, it was a sad turn of events as what our hosts were explaining to us and now we see first hand.




Leaving the area, we went to the Spice Bazaar for lunch. Now, this was the bazaar that we were waiting for. Local food and wares, we could see the local people shopping here as well. We loved this area.











We ended the evening sitting along the Galata Bridge - which linked Old and New Istanbul together. There were people fishing on top of the bridge and 2 lines of restaurants dotted under the bridge. We grabbed a cheap local fish sandwich and sat there people watching and seeing the boats go by.