A long but appropriate subject. I have now completed four "hikes" in Japan and two were walking up concrete steps. Now I didn't know at the time that I would have been walking up steps but others sure did! Some girls were still in their high heels, no problems! Some Japanese folk were dressed for the occasion, hiking boots, hiking pants, hiking hat, hiking shirt, hiking sweat cloth, hiking stick... the list goes on!
So, I went with Dwayne and Erik, two of my mates from the uni and we had a good time. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say the view on the top was postcard perfect. I reckon the photo i took with the cherry blossom tree in the foreground are spectacular! I am becoming more humble as I age...


Check out more of the photos here.

So it is that time of year again when the Japanese Marketing department at the university where I teach likes to take a photo of all the foreign teachers. I liken it to being a mannequin in a shopping window. Anyways, I took this photo and thought about it and came up with the following question.

How many Japanese people does it take to take a photo?

Since I was leaving, Nick and I decided to go all out at no expense and do something that we have really never done! That is...until now. Yes we did in fact do the splurge and order PIZZA!

Now pizza in Japan is like fine Italian cuisine at an expensive Italian eatery in New York. Ok, not exactly, but you're going to pay the same. It's crazy how expensive pizza is from Dominos, Pizza Hut or where we ordered from Pizza La.

We got two medium pizzas and a measly box of popcorn shrimp for the a whopping $50! Yes that's right 16 pieces of pie and 5 shrimps for $50! Was it worth it? Well, the pizza was pretty delicous and we got to sit back watch a movie and celebrate our 2 years here in Japan with a bottle of Champagne the Nick's dad gave us...so yes it was worth the splurge.

Here are some pics of our gourmet delivery. Oh and you should've seen the face of the delivery guy when Nick told him to keep the change (about $3). Usually this is not customary to tip anyone in Japan and actually from what I heard they find it rude if you try to. Usually they won't except it and will try to give it back. Nick tried to explain in Australia, we tip, here..take it....it's just $3!

Our favorite sushi restaurant in Japan has been a place called Kappa Kappa Sushi. It's a sushi train where you can pick off the conveyer belt the sushi you want until you stuff yourself silly. The best part, while it might not be the top notch sushi being served in Tokyo, is that it's cheap! About a dollar a plate. This is something I will miss back in the US, where sushi costs much more than just a $1 :) We visited one last time with fellow Kanda teachers Al, Tara and Julie. Farewell Kappa Kappa Sushi

On Saturday Nick and I headed in to Akihabara to check out some skype phones, but all we found was the following picture of men taking pictures of girls dressed up in their maid costumes, pretty typical for this area of Tokyo. But this one was different as it was a group of Gaijin! Otherwise known as foreigners and we swear they were like 12 years olds. Nonetheless, they were creating quite a crowd taking pictures of them




After Akihabara we headed to Ueno which was packed! This was the big weekend for cherry blossom viewing and hanami parties. Plenty of Japanese people pack Ueno Park, bring a picnic and what appeared to be plenty of alcohol! Now contrary to popular belief that Japanese are quiet and polite people....they sure can let loose when the Sakura trees are blooming. here's some pics and a movie for our last trip into Tokyo for me (Jen)

Bangkok should only be a stopover point and should never exceed a day. Unfortunately, we stayed there for two nights before we headed off for Cambodia, two nights when we came back from Cambodia, and two nights at the end of our trip after Malaysia.
We did the obligatory walk around the Royal Palace, the walk down Sukumvit Road - the diplomat area - and of course down at Pat Pong with all the Ping Pong clubs.
To us, Bangkok dragged on a little long, there wasn't that much to see and do. It's also a dirty place, lots of pollution in the air, land and waterways. If you haven't been to Bangkok, they use taxis and small tricycle vehicle called a tuk tuk with two seats in the back for passengers. I honestly would never want to jump in one of them cause you have no protection from the elements nor in the event of an accident. They just increase the intensity of Bangkok and add on noise pollution as they are constantly honking. I am pretty sure it is just a honk to indicate "I'm here, don't change lanes", but coming from a society where a honk is a sign of aggression, it is hard to tell.
Now, coming from Jen...there's a lot to do in Bangkok, okay maybe not a lot of variety, but one thing in particular, there is a lot...a ton of shopping! Almost every street has a night market, every corner is a shopping mall and almost every three shops is a jeweler or tailor. While, we will return for two final nights and most likely hang out at one of the cafes catching up with our journal and reading, I at least am looking forward to doing some last minute shopping with or without Nick :) Although to be honest, I have had my fair share and going to a night market in Malaysia reconfirmed both of our notions that perhaps the excitements of the markets have worn off more than a little bit. But we do agree out of all of them in Asia, Beijing has by far been the best for shopping...Bangkok comes in 2nd.

Yep...uh huh...the excitement has worn off -Nick

Oh yeah, here's the view out of one of our rooms. Classy!


And the mandatory Tuk Tuk photo + Pad Thai photo.


You can buy fake student cards, journalist cards, press cards, drivers licence, just about everything! There was a sign "No Photos" so Jen slyly stole this pic.


Finally, a cultural photo of these Thai ladies who walk around trying to sell these items. We didn't see anyone buy anything...

Our good friends from Japan, Angel and Clive, recently had their first baby son, Asher. We travelled from Krabi, Thailand to Penang, Malaysia and stayed with them for four days. We did absolutely nothing of interest to write here on our blog so we'll just say that both mother and son are doing well, Clive on the other hand is suffering from an anxiety disorder and needs a couple of serious chill out pills three times a day after a meal.



Above are a few photos, the one with Angel and Clive was taken on Asher's first time to the shopping center. Check more out here.

We traveled to Phi Phi Island for three nights for some more fun in the sun. The main village on Phi Phi Island sits in the middle of two headlands. If the village wasn't a maze of shops, you could walk from one beach to the other in less than 5 minutes. In 2004, the Tsunami came from one side and swept anything in it's path out the other side. The ocean and marine life are both slowing healing, there's now some coral coming back to life. People are rebuilding, mid priced hotels were rennovated to become high end hotels and more budget accommodation was built. This was done quickly to ensure the survival of pretty much the only industry on Phi Phi; tourism. There doesn't seem to be too much tsunami damage lfet but both Jen and I felt that neglect and laziness to properly dispose of rubbish is setting in. There is so much waste lying around, household garbage, food scraps from restaurants and construction materials. All just lying around. It's a shame.

We also saw the other side, the beautiful beaches, the great snorkeling, the colorful fish... It was just amazing.


the culture seems to be a lot more hippie-ish with lots of bob marley styled restaurants and even some fire twirling. We got into it by purchasing ourselves a paddle ball set. Groovy!


Check out more photos here.

We were having some fun with our underwater camera. We took this sequence of photos.






And these...

We eventually made it to Krabi where we lived it up like Royalty in a mediterranean styled hotel for three nights. Some pictures are below. It was the best hotel we've stayed at in my opinion. Tiled, elegant, a rustic feel.


Krabi was one of the better places on our trip. We went to the white sandy beaches of Railay by a longtail boat. It was the bluest water of all, the sun felt the strongest and it was the darn prettiest place we've seen.



We also went rock climbing on the limestone cliffs. It was a fun day but honestly, indoor rock climbing doesn't prepare your body for the strain, nor your hands for the course and sharp edges that you need to grip. There are no and I repeat NO smooth large hand grips to use here. The Thai organizer of the rock climbing adventure wasn't the most attentive; at times he would be talking on the phone or changing his music whilst he was meant to be watching us and belaying us. (Apparently that is the term to be at the bottom supporting and holding the rope just in case there's a fall.) I was watching Jen and she was half way up. I looked at the ant that was biting my foot and when I looked back up, Jen was upside down trying to get the right way up again. She had fallen, the guy wasn't paying attention, she had fallen a little too far and when he stopped the rope from feeding through, she twisted and bounced upside down. She was alright ten seconds later.

More photos to come...

Check out more photos here.

Hi all,
We were trying to catch up with our blogs but we posted them in the wrong order. So here is our brief itinerary:

Feb 20 @ 13.47 - Catch the train to Narita Airport.
Feb 20 @ 14.53 - Arrive Narita Airport.

... just kidding

Bangkok
Cambodia - Phnom Penh and Siem Reap
Bangkok
Koh Samui
Krabi
Phi Phi Islands
Malaysia - Penang
Bangkok

so... right now (March 5) we are in Koh Samui and it's raining...