"TRAVEL Dress smarti WE’RE JUST back from a new destination, and a whole lot of new experiences, and all I can be totally objective about is obscured by fou: suitcases full of laundry. Everyone raves about the joys of travel, but no one mentions the sharp taste of reality that meets you when you return. There’s a two-foot pyramid of newspapers that I fee! obligated to read, The mail has a whole new set of bills fortunately I paid everything to date before I left, but utilities don't go on “hold’’ for the duration. Grocery shopping! ! ran everything down to zilch before I left — forgetting one of my own basic rules: always leave some treats stored in your freezer for your return. But we were lucky. When the oldest daughter met us at the dock she explained that she and her sisters had prepared a pot-luck for the whole clan that night so we didn’t have tc face the super- market before we'd even unpack- ed. Unpacked? Who doesn’t dread the job and leave it for a couple of days? Brian is better than lam — I haven’t even opened one of the suitcases | brought home. Normally, one small suitcase each is our maximum. This time, we looked like a pair of refugees, toting everything we owned. Reason? Our itinerary should explain: Destination: Tokyo. Wardrobe: Dressy. If you want to feel a total fool, look casual in Tokyo. It’s a city of elegance. J’d be a billionaire if I had the monopoly on men’s white shirts for Japan. A friend of ours who lives in Tokyo said, ‘‘White shirts? Hell, give me the dark suit concession!"’ Destination #2: The Sea Princess from Tokyo to Vancouver, stop- ping in Honolulu and Lahaina. Wardrobe: Everything else in our combined closets! We took formal wear, informal wear and everything in between. And needed all of it! Added to the wardrobe problem was the weather. Tokyo was about like here, only warmer and cooler. And as changeable! We wore wool blazers — and needed them inost of the time. But when the sun came out, off came the blazers and I was grateful for a sleeveless silk blouse underneath. Shoes! Ordinarily, ! pack three pair — walking, sandals and heels. This time I needed six, including my heavy Reeboks. tae I should tet Brian write the next part of the column. He hates flying but hasn't stopped raving about our flight from Seattle to Tokyo. We were upgraded to first class on Continental Airlines and I’ve never seen anything like it. Every airline does a good job for first class passengers and I've travelwise Barbara McCreadie flown many times in the luxury seats. This beat all of them. To begin, the meal service lasted three hours. Only once in my life have I ever asked an airline for a recipe, but when I get Continen- tal’s recipe for their Oriental salad dressing we’ll probably never eat anything else on greens. The menu ran to nine courses, all beautifully prepared and serv- ed. To give you some idea, when we pot to the caviar, it was ac- companicd by a small crystal glass of frosted Stolichnaya vodka, After dinner, I reclined my seat to the horizontal position and an- nounced that it was nap time. I was just drifting away when I felt someone gently tucking a blanket over me, whispering to Brian, ‘‘We mustn’t wake her.’’ Heaven. I also overheard our flight at- tendants discussing the passengers — they thought I was still asieep. “Aren’t Canadians wonderful? I think they’re our best passengers.’’ “Me too.”’ keer Tokyo Airport (Narita) is huge. It's filled with people of all na- tionalities, multi-cultural travellers in every sort of native dress, and everyone is more or less lost. I learned one thing fast. Do not get into a check-out line at pass- port control if anyone in front of you speaks anything other than English or Japanese. You can’t always be sure but I saw one group of Indian people in the line next to us hold up that line for over half an hour. There was no method of com- munication and Japanese officials are nothing short of thorough. It also pays to snoop a bit before attempting to clear your bags through. Take a minute and get yourself into a line where the of- ficer speaks good English. I know it sounds a bit pompous, but when you’re wrestling with an overflow of bags and are just emerging from a long flight, anything that gets you moving helps. Again, I was so grateful to be on Continental! As we _ cleared customs, a uniformed guide led us to the complimentary limo-bus which took us directly to the front door of our hotel an hour and a half away. Ours was hardly a normal bus — it had crystal chandeliers, a spotless washroom and a com- plimentary soft drink and beer service. The countryside around the air- port resembles England. It has neat little farms, rolling hills and small groves of trees. Take down the signs and you'd have litsle idea that you were anywhere but Bri- tain. But that doesn't prepare you for Tokyo. It’s a claustrophobic city and the network of overhead and underhead roads is baffling. From the window of our bus, [ could look down on top of skyscrapers — with no visible means of sup- port. I don’t know how J’d have fared in Tokyo without a gentle start. There are hundreds of luxury hotels in the city but we were lucky. Our choice, the New Otani, was marvellous. There, we were some- what removed from the busy city and had a chance to slide gently into a new culture without the multitude of small communication gaps that can get you off to a bad start. featuring Scandinavia & Russia Sailing Aug. 1, 1991 from London, retuming 13 days later on the magnificent “Crown Odyssey”. This cruise sells out a year ahead of time, EVERY YEAR. Join us on THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 7:30 p.m. in the lower activity room of St. David's Church, Upper Levels & Taylor Way, West Vancouver Door Prizes Refreshments Admission $3.00 (refundable on booking) Cruisé bs RSVP. It’s a huge hotel — 28 restau- rants and bars — but it features a lovely garden, 400 years old, and ten acres that included walking paths, traditional little red bridges and a waterfall. All through the garden are pools of rainbow-hued carp. They're big, fat, lazy and tame. They ring the dinner bell at anyone passing by — feed us! We watched one of the employees sprinkling a bag of fish food from the bridge and hundreds of pampered fish gobbled and grabbed. A tiny boy stood on the bank below with a dinner ro} that his mother had given him to feed the fish. He ate it himself, totally overwhelmed by the carpet of fish. ake NORTH SHORE North Vancouver f We've been there. | 405 Granulie Street a . Royal Ctr. 1055 W Georgia St - Arbutus Shopping Centre ,. 5700 Universi “North Shore. Boulevard” - Park Royak Norih 2224-4351 ~- 278-3006 41 - Sunday, June 10, 1990 - North Shore News VENTURE TRAVEL ARE YOU TIRED OF HAWAII? WORRIED ABOUT MEXICO? LOOKING FOR A NEW, UNSPOILED AND WORRY-FREE VACATION SPOT? I7’S BETTER IN THE BAHAMAS! 7 nights from CAD $790 pe.0a. PRICE INCLUDES— Return air from Seattle 7 Nights accommodation at the British Colonial Beach Resort on the beach in Nassau $100 Bar Credit, airport transfers. 110 East 14th St. (at Lonsdale) _® P.LAWSON TRAVEL DAWN PRINCESS STAR PRINCESS PACIFIC PRINCESS Sept 19-23 | Sept22-25 | Sept 25-30 from from from 3 day cruise 1 night 2 day cruise 3 day cruise accommodation near | 1 night 2 nights Disneyland accommodation at accommodation at 1 day Disneyland pass| Union Square Newport Beach Transfers & airfareto | Transfers & airfareto | Transfers & airfare to Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver Prices are per person in Canadian dollars, based on two people sharing a cabin and are subject to availability. 68. 688-566. ; ~ 7 796-1261 rf en » + 334-3262 ° : Surrey -Guitdfacd Towa 922-4131 ©. y for Japanese holiday That’s one of the serene sides of Tokyo. We found out about the other side the next day — the sub- way in rush hour. More, next week, Get to know the “real” AUSTRIA Sept. 21 - Oct. 13 $299G00 incl. air fare, meals, concerts, folkloristic evenings. special events. Tour visits also Venice and Northern Yugostavial Por free brochure call or write: SPECIAL TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 3499 Cambie Street Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 2W7 ph: 872-3368 2 ‘New Wesimunsler .. 640. Gth Street Port C3quittam The. Coquitlam Ce Abbatstord:Sevenodks _ ‘Shopping Centre Kelowna... Coe + 108 591 Bernard Averiue 7 THRGUGROUT.CANADA