Oooooops, I did it again....

So this morning I literally fell onto the train at exactly 5:27 AM, having run from a taxi just in time to catch it as the bell rang announcing its departure... I travelled on slow local trains for a long long time, eating only plain riceballs that I had forgotten in my rush to add salt to, and wearing only one sock... (no, seriously!)

and then about 9 hours later, I arrived in Kyoto only to find that the place I was supposed to stay, in a Buddhist temple, was in fact housing someone else. I wasn't that surprised--last night I realized that I had failed to SEND the email confirming my stay. But I had a hard time finding out. I sent an email when I realized--no reply. I showed up to check-in time and rang the bell--no reply. Finally I phoned. I heard the phone ring, and someone picked up. They really must have heard me ring. I guess not answering the bell means "no vacancy"? In any case, oops. I brought one backup hostel phone number and a sketched map.

And now here I am, having found the BEST HOSTEL I HAVE EVER BEEN IN, probably much better off. (Hence the unexpected intarweb access.) I did get lost on the way and end up in another taxi, but even counting the travel it's still cheaper here, and they also cook breakfast AND I have a four-person dorm to myself AND the girl at the check-in desk has a cute smile! (This is the first time for me to use my Hostelling International membership [thanks Aunt!] and I must say, I don't know if all HI hostels are like this, but I will certainly endeavor to use it more in future, and if you are ever in Kyoto, Utano Youth Hostel is rad.)

Today I dropped by the Emperor's palace for a quick visit, wandered around in downtown Kyoto for a while trying to find Gion (I think I got almost there, but I was hungry and it was getting late so I turned around and gave up), and had an interesting conversation with a sushi chef. Now that I'm not in Tosa-ben land, suddenly　ｍｙlanguage skills have skyrocketed!

Certainly this is my favourite disaster so far, considering that I have actually saved money because of it!