Welcome Back

Ok a little late again. I'm into the last few months of my short stay here, and I'm sure the next few months will fly by. Can't believe I've been here almost a year. And what a year! And presuming there're no hiccups I'll be heading back to Ireland in May. Madness. So Christmas...flew to Singapore on the 22nd and stayed in the Betel Box Inn, a very nice and new hostel with internet and breakfast. It was weird to feel the heat walking out of the airport but nice. Walked around Singapore the next day and saw most of the sites, except for Orchard Road which seems to be just a huge shopping street. Singapore is nice and clean but a little sterile. On the 24th went to Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. It was even hotter there. Saw the Petronas towers and got my first taste of being in a largely Muslim country. But, for better or worse I've been spoiled by Japanese manners and politeless, to the extent that shop staff and station clerks just came across as really rude. Went to Melaka on the 26th (catching a glimpse of Tsunami headlines at the bus station but not thinking much of it). Between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, on the coast it's an old colonial town and would have been a perfect stopover to visiting other places if we'd had more time. On the 27th we visited the Batu Caves in northern Kuala Lumpur which were pretty impressive. Pity it took us a few hours to figure out the bus system from the raggedy signs and waited ages for a bus to get there. But it was worth it. Got back to Japan on the evening of the 30th and went to Kyoto and Kiyomizu temple on the 31st. The years last snow had fallen and the temple roofs were blanketed which was a nice affect with the mountains behind and the Kyoto skyline in the distance. Stayed in Kyoto for the countdown and watched the k1 boxing in a bar and Bob Sap get his arse kicked. Much better than the "Red and White Show". Stayed in Kobe on the 1st and 2nd but on the 3rd went to Nagahama, north of Kyoto and the last stop on the JR suburban train. On the shore of lake Biwa, (the biggest in Japan) thought it might be a scenic place to spend a day or two. Unfortuantly I got really sick during the night and ended up in the feckin' hospital the next day with a drip in my arm. Its horrible to be sick on holiday, but if Keiko hadn't been there to translate for me at the hospital I don't know what I'd have done. Anyway, the lads went on to Tokyo the next day and I was back in work on the 6th. And the apartment is absolutely freezing and my landlord has basically told us to feck off and buy our own gas heater. Anyway pictures are up of Christmas, without captions for the mo'..