So...Project Hello Kitty-Land

aIt's where it all started. 'I'll turn 30 in hellokittyland.' And I did.(almost)

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But let's go back a bit. Tokyo and Sanrio Puroland(aka hellokittyland) started out a few years ago as a joke,then turned into a dream and later into a plan.

(quick recap: I liked Hello Kitty when it was still an underground statement. When suddenly merchandise started to show up, I was excited as heck. But,it turned into a pink nightmare but people where getting me Kitty-stuff all the time. I became the Kitty-fan. at some point someone sent me the link about hellokittyland, and as a joke I said I'll go there when I turn 30. That stuck, and pride got involved. 'I have to go now or I'll look stupid - and it's Tokyo after all.' On another note: Everytime I move, I give away most of my HK-stuff (trust me,I've had them all from toilet paper to frying pan) except my big noodle mug. Right now I only have stuffed toy,make up bag, photo frame....)

At some point when Project 7 continents and this blog started,I dreamt of a proper Asia-tour. China,North Korea, South Korea, different parts of Japan, etc etc etc. As another month ended,I again realized that I hadn't saved any money for travel plans. I applied for tax back from Ireland - still waiting for a reply. I read up about costs and everything said that Japan is expensive. Malta is a 'poor' country. I have a pretty good salary here, I can live in a nice flat pretty comfortably and buy my team members drinks when I know they are skinned, but only if I stay in Malta. Anywhere else I'd be considered as 'barely making it'. I pay 2,5 euros for my glas of wine because I live in the rich snob area.

So as months went by, I started to drop of pit stops. No more flying with hk-planes from Taiwan. I got a wedding invitation I could't say no to which made me budget a trip to Finland. No more Soth Korea. Another wedding invitation to Sweden. No more Shanghai. 

'I won't give in on North Korea'.

To get into North Korea, you need to go on a group trip from China. Being a bit worried, I sent an email to a organizer that seemed ok. Next day I had a reply - they can't promise I'll ever get in to North Korea and they specially can't promise that I'll get out.

I'm still considered to be a freelance journalist in Finland. No more North Korea for me.

(if you aren't a journalist,look up koryotours or explorenorthkorea)

At this point I lost a lot of faith, everything was going wrong and my birthday was closing in. 

But, then it hit me. I might have an account in Finland with some money on it. Not sure if it still existed, or if it did have that one tax return I never received, I knew I couldn't find out before I walk into the bank. Since I was going home, I made sure to make it to the bank. 6 weeks before my 30th birthday,I walked into the bank.

-Hi,I have a strange question. Did I ever manage to close my account here?

-No, you didn't. 

-Ok. In that case, any chance there's still any money on it?

-There's a bit over 2000 euros.

-Sorry,what did you say?

-There's a bit over 2000 euros on your account.

-I'M GOING TO HELLOKITTYLAND!!!!

And that was the answer to everything. A week later I went on a Saturday to the office to book and sort out everything.And trust me, that wasn't an easy task.

My birthday was august 30th. Wedding in Sweden September 13th. This will sort out....somehow.

I dreamed of doing a week in Tokyo,days somewhere in Europe for cheap and continue to Sweden. Since my friends and old colleagues are quite shattered around the continent I figured I have choices. But....

Return flight Malta-Tokyo-Malta: 700 euros.

One-way ticket Malta-Tokyo: 800 euros.

So...maybe I'll take a return flight. Oh look,my 'brother' in Spain left to Finland. My girl moving to Berlin changed her mind and stayed in Malta. Flight home to Dublin *you kidding me right?* much. 

Decision time: No more Nara dreamland or Skyfall villain island. And just a week in Tokyo because it's expensive. 

Best price for flight was with Alitalia through Rome, only issue a 16h transfer on the way home. Oh look, a night a hotel nearby costs as much as booking an earlier flight home from Rome. Last night in Italy could be fun. Biggest travel mistake ever.

Sweden. I need to fly there on Friday the 12th and hopefully be back by Monday. Sundayflights? At 7 am for 200 euros. Since my wedding was a 4 hour drive away from the airport it just wasn't worth it. 'Boooosssss....can I have one day more vacation pleeeeease?'

Back to studying Ryan Airs flights. Btw, whoever puts up an app that let's you see Ryan's connecting flights will be my new hero. Forever.

Now,my choice to fly to Gothenburg for cheap, rent a car for the 6h drive up to Falun,only to then drive 4h down to Skavsta and fly home through Milan might seem complicated.But the flights where a third of what flying to Arlanda,Stockholm would have been. We still needed either a car or train tickets.Trains would have cost almost the same,except we would have had transfers, timetables, taxis to and from the station and a lot of different hassle added. 

(And yes, 'we'. A friend of mine wanted along to Sweden, and after furiously explaining why it's a bad idea, I caved in.And ended up going alone anyway.)

Aaaaaanyway. It took me at this point 5 hours to doublecheck, book, reserve, count, trippelcheck, compare, pay. But I'd done it. Of course I had already earlier as well spent endless hours on Skyscanner, Hotels.com and Lonely Planet. And google maps. 

3 countries, 7 flights, 10 nights in 5 different hotels, car rental. I was finally going.