Day 31 (August 15): In Kyoto (京都市）and Nara （奈良市） or "Richard freeks out over price of beer"

Day 31: Sunday, August 15, 2010. In Kyoto and Nara

Yes, that's right. I took the train to Nara. I happened to mention to Richard this morning at the YH that I had decided to go there. Last night I asked Amy while on the phone to home whether I should go to Nara or to Arashiyama in western Kyoto-shi. Nara was her choice. Having mentioned going to Nara, Richard came along with me covering the bus and train fares as well as buying the tickets for Todaiji and paying for lunch. He wrote all these expenses down in his notebook promising in the most sincere of voices that I would be at the top of his list of people to repay. That told me a lot. I don't think I'm a particularly cynical person, but I would be truly surprised if I saw any of the money again. If I couldn't have afforded the loss, I wouldn't have given it. I'm sure he operates on the same premise. Whenever a new potential source of money would appear I could see a slight change in his behavior, a rise in the charm level. Years of practice have made this automatic.
We arrive in a very sunny, hot Nara. It's almost a 2 km hike to Todaiji, home of the largest statue of Buddha in the country. Loads of tourists of many nations. Richard had a smoke while I was in the men's and struck up a conversation with a Chinese couple who had emigrated to LA. He asked if they had seen a particular Chinese film - he had recently spent several months in China - and gave the name. Not having heard of the movie the husband asked if it was an action movie. That might have defined some difference between them. I suppose Richard has had quite enough "action" in his life to forgo any action movies.
Buddha seen, omomori ("charms" for various purposes") bought we wandered around, Richard talking on and on and me admiring the very tame deer and what seemed to be the locals' real affection for them.
Lunch buffet with ¥500 beer which nearly gave my companion a heart attack - he's good all right - then back to Kyoto and a rest at the YH. Knowing what was happening and the probable reason why Richard wouldn't let me out of his sight, I said I'd help him out with the hostel expenses in the morning. By this time it was clear to me that there probably was no money arriving at Western Union on Monday. When I was an assistant manager - the money man - at the Washington, D.C. YH I heard the same story so many times. If people had just been straight and said they had no money, but would do a minimal amount of work for a bed, I'd have set them up. It was those who insisted on trying to con us I didn't care for. Do people lie to preserve their dignity or have they already lost that?

January 24, 2010. About the title... On the way back to Nara Station I thought we might stop and eat something. Richard spotted what seemed to be a cheap buffet. The place was a basement bar on the main drag to Todaiji decorated with amateur paintings of Nara's sights. The food was okay. As it was rather hot, I suggested beer. When Richard found out the price he found his topic for the rest of the afternoon: "If I had known it was 600 yen..." Pretty standard actually, but when you don't have money, very formidable. I told him to relax as I'd cover it.