The Golden Palace was the last place on our Kyoto itinerary and what a place it was. Built as a retirement home for an ex-daimyo (head samurai) the palaces top two levels are clad in gold leaf, giving it an otherworldly shine on a good day. It was a cloudy on the day we were there so it was a little more like the Very Yellow Palace, but we got the general idea. The Palace is a very popular attraction for Japanese and Gaijin (foreigners) alike and we were there on a weekend so it was pretty packed. As we walked around the grounds we were approached by three separate groups of school kids (in uniform on a Saturday too) all eager for a chance to practice their english. By the end of the third groups rigourous interview we were tiring of the attention (it's sort of like being a rock star - except without the sex and drugs...... and rock and roll), and slipped away - briefly stopping to pose for photos and punch the paparazzi. Our next task (after packing up our gear in Kyoto) was to cofirm our flights to Hong Kong. Sound easy enough doesn't it? It took about half an hour on the phone, half an hour at information booths, almost $15 of phone calls and three cigarettes before everything was sorted and we could get on with the task of lugging our backpacks back to Tokyo ready for our flight in the morning, and the quest for the elusive Cedric.