Where to go next?
Arrived safely in Taiwan, sitting outside on the sidewalk waiting for Daniel to pick me up. He is a Scottish BJJ guy, staying in Taiwan for three months, who saw my blog and contacted me a few days ago. We agreed to meet up and go on a roadtrip to southern Taiwan for BJJ and surfing.
What fills my thoughts most right now, is where to go next. I have no plane tickets from here, and I should make a decision within the next few days.
I could go for a few days to Shanghai or Korea maybe? And then there is Japan. The big, scary, nuclear, earthquake threatened ghost. I am having a really hard time deciding wether I should go there or not. On one hand, it is a place I have wanted to visit for very long, that has a very big attraction to me. Training there is amazing and I want to visit my friend Ryan, who I haven’t seen for years now. On the other hand, there is the current situation of radiation, earthquakes and so on, which is a bit scary. Is it all mass media hysteria? Or is there a real danger of going there? Is it worth the risk, or will it be an amazing, completely safe experience that I would miss out on? Should I play safe, even though I had promised myself to take risks on this trip? I will have to think it through thoroughly before I make any decisions.
What to do?
Benjamin Liu
I hope you go to Taiwan BJJ and meet up my brother Makoto Ogasawara. Let them him that Ben San from Singapore sents his regards.
Apr 15, 2011 @ 07:54
Paul K
You should go to Korea I will be going there sometime this year and really want to know what the training is like!By the way great blog its awesome that you are sharing your trip.
Safe Travels,
Paul
Apr 15, 2011 @ 08:10
Ben
Hey man!
Enjoy reading about your travels.
You should def. go to Hong Kong and then to Shanghai (No way to fly directly from Taiwan to Shanghai, although that may have changed).
Shanghai has a really cool BJJ school (tell Stan I said hi) at shanghaibjj.com. Also Shanghai is like the Wild Wild East, no place is as vibrant now in the whole world probably. Crazy, amazing city!
And Hong Kong has awesome BJJ too, plus it is the greatest city in the world!
Enjoy the ride!
Apr 15, 2011 @ 08:22
Terrence
Hong Kong! We’ve got a tournament on the 24th and we’ve been training hard where I train (Grips BJJ). Very short flight from Taiwan and a great city.
Apr 15, 2011 @ 09:35
Terrence
We also have a pretty darn good make-your-own-burger place a 2-minute walk from the gym.
Apr 15, 2011 @ 09:35
Eric
Come to Japan, you will have a great time and will be perfectly safe, email me if you have any questions.
I live here and I must say that the international media has overblown this situation way out of proportion.
Apr 15, 2011 @ 13:10
Arthur
Tough dilemma ! It’s tough to tell right now if Japan is safe or not. I know a few acquaintances who are in the south, and not feeling entirely safe. There some risks that the Japanese officials are underestimating the threat, and I’d be concerned about the water in particular.
All in all, better be safe than sorry. Not to mention that you can always go back there, when the situation will improve a bit.
In the meantime, Korea and Hong kong sounds like good picks, or maybe… Australia?
Apr 15, 2011 @ 16:01
Soren
You probably don’t wanna surf in Japan since they have been pouring radioactive water into the sea.
Apr 15, 2011 @ 19:33
Tree Frog
My take on it: Talk to your friend Ryan. If he says it’s safe, then go see him.
Apr 15, 2011 @ 23:35
Bob
hey terrence can i know where’s this burger place you were talking about and the name? i’m going to hong kong next week and i’m looking for a place with good burgers. thanks!
Apr 16, 2011 @ 05:18
Terrence
Gourmet Burger Union, http://www.gbu.uk. Two locations. Advice: only get the burgers. The chili is often unavailable and the fries aren’t that exciting. Also at the Lyndhurst location they don’t keep the drinks cold enough. But the patty quality is good and the toppings are good as well, build your burger any way you like.
Apr 17, 2011 @ 15:39
Robert McMasters
Dude, you HAVE to go to Japan. I would say something like “you won’t regret it”, but I don’t want to feel bad if you grow a second, evil head so instead I will give you this quip:
One of the last shows I watched in the States before I left for Romania was on the History Channel. It asked the question, “what if a Viking warrior ever fought a Samurai? Who would win?”.
After an hour of lengthy debating and hypothesizing, the Viking was victorious. Be that Viking, Christian. Be that Viking.
Apr 17, 2011 @ 18:13