Bright Lights, Big Cities – Tokyo & Osaka

The wind down, usually such a downer, was made into a 2 night extavaganza that shouldered 2 crazy cities. We decided to go out with a bang after our 126 days on the road. Like we needed to nurse another hangover!

Our first order of business once we arrived at our bland but clean hotel was to hook up with our friends Tom and Marie. We consumed many “nama biru” and peppery chicken wings followed up by a very drunken “nomihodai” karaoke set. Nomihodai is an all you drink for 2 hours fixed price deal, a glorious thing when you feel the need to drink and sing. Something that happens quite often with Me and Laine, I’ve noticed! Teehee! The point is, it is a great time.

The next day, in extreme hangover mode, we couldn’t bring ourselves to regret our excesses. It was too bloody fun. I recall ramen breakfast, starbucks coffee and Harajuku were the order of events. A blurry yet satisfying day.

Next was Osaka, a great city. It is rock and roll. It isn’t the biggest city like Tokyo and it isn’t steeped in tradition like Kyoto. Osaka is a wicked good time. We checked into our cute and funky U-en Guesthouse and jumped into the fray. We had our last okonomiyake, we bowled (abominally, I might add) and we sang all our fave hits until quarter to 4am. It was the celebration of a trip of a lifetime. We patted ourselves on the back for a job well done and crashed. Today we didn’t sit on our laurels, we got up early and hit the town searching for last minute must-haves.

Now we’re all packed up and ready to be back on native soil. I certainly can’t say home, cause where the hell is that anyways?

Thanks to all who’ve followed our adventures. We’ll talk again soon. In Italy, perhaps?

Keep on,
LAiNE & ERiN.

Naoshima – The Island of Art

Our skin was still prune-like as we hopped off the train and boarded the ferry to Naoshima. After 3 days of soaking in baths we were now ready to bathe our eyes in art on this tiny island between Honshu and Shikoku.

The sun was starting to set as we cast off from the Takamatsu ferry port and as we pushed away from land we knew that the next 36 hours would be a treat!

Arriving with such a beautiful sunset painted a picturesque view of the world’s longest train/auto bridge that was silouetted in the distance.

With the sun nearly down we jumped almost directly from the boat to the bus and onward to our guesthouse… which was almost like a homestay. We were greeted by our wonderful host Chizuru-san and she got us settled over some tea and Japanese conversation. Communication was a little difficult, but it was great for us to practice!

That night we had a fantastic dinner at a little place nearby that served excellent “roll-it-yourself” daikon rolls and pan-fried octopus… delicious. Fed and to bed!

Got up early the next morning to start the sight seeing without delay. We rented bikes and headed out to explore the island and is numerous artistic attractions. I’ll let the pictures fo the talking, but here is a list of some of the places we saw:

Art House Project
Benesse Art Park
Chichu Museum
“I Love Sento” – Naoshima Sento

Keep in mind that many of these places restricted photos so you might be best off looking up the synopsis and imagery yourself. Anyways, here is some of the cool stuff we saw…

We also saw some really beautiful vistas from in and around the island as we biked along on this beautiful autumn day.

Naturally the day was not complete without a proper bathing and feed. Only this time we did it Naoshima-style… ART SENTO! Again, I’ll let pictures be the words… definitely not a traditional sento by any means, but oooooh sooooo cooool!

The night capped with a return visit to the restaurant from the night before and an early to bed in prep for 2 nights in Tokyo!

Onsen Mania! Beppu and Dogo

Hey all,

Feeling all mellow here in Dogo, Matsuyama. We left Kyoto in high spirits and headed south to Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, Kyushu. Three super smooth trains got us there in under 4 hours. Laine has already been to Beppu and stayed at our very convenient hostel so the day was a breeze and map free! We dropped our bags and headed straight to a local onsen where you can get buried in hot volcanic sand for 10 to 15 minutes. Ahhh, ignore the feeling you are being buried alive and allow yourself to snooze in the hot sand bed. After you can use the sand to exfoliate as you wash off… Spa-rific!

All relaxed and rejuvenated we headed for the grocery store to pick up some dinner and came back with dinner + beer + shoes (for Laine, don’t ask). We ended up shooting the shit and drinking all night with a German couple and a Japanese man. I’m not entirely sure how this always seems to happen, but I think it isn’t my doing!

The next day we were feeling in dire need of an onsen, if ya know what I mean. So after a shoyu ramen and niniku chahan (ramen noodles with pork in soy broth and garlic egg-fried rice)breakfast we were rarin’ to go! To the hills!

Beppu’s rolling volcanic mountains puff billows of steam, giving away the location of natural hot springs. The problem is getting to them. The roads all start in one direction and wind and twist in another. But still the geysers beckon. We wandered and got lost and wandered some more. The high note is that we saw the REAL Beppu. We never did get to the source of the steam though.

We hopped on a bus and then tried to catch another one to the Suginoi Palace, home to the sexiest onsen I’ve ever seen. This place is five levels of cascading baths complete with a calcium pool cave, sauna and hot barrel baths. Bliss! Surely this makes up for the frustrating day and, ahem, hangover. Oh, and did I mention the view? No? How silly of me! The whole of Beppu was laid out in the light of the full moon and the city lights were shamed. The bay had a lone ship in the harbour and it was picture perfect. Too bad you can’t take photographs in onsens. Sorry! Just use your imagination. Check it out…

http://www.suginoi-hotel.com/english/facilities/spa.html

That perfect night had kink in it however and I left a bag on the bus and the bus driver took it home with him instead of leaving it at the station! It was only two damp onsen towels and my toileteries bag (Sorry Elise! I love that bag, alas, some Japanese housewife is now it’s owner!) We shook it off and went for dinner. Then sweet sweet slumber.

Early morning and we boarded a train to take us to Shikoku Island and the city of Matsuyama. Laine found an Octopus Jerky type snack and swears it was delicious. I just can’t have dried seafood in the morning, I don’t know about you. Smooth sailing ahead of us and soon we were crossing the big bridge that connects Honshu and Shikoku. It makes me want to cash in my chips and live on an island.

Anywho, the real reason most travellers come here is to visit Japan’s oldest onsen, over 3000 years old. Our main reason for coming was that Miyazaki fashioned his Onsen to the Gods in “Spirited Away” after the Dogo Onsen and we just had to see it. We did the cheapest option which is BYOT(owel) and BYOS(oap). The building is marvelously old and beautiful, the baths are small and not so awe-inspiring after the goliath in Beppu.

It might be worth going back and doing a more luxurious option, but I think we’ll pass. We’re too excited for Naoshima tomorrow and so we are here at the computers in our hostel and doing our laundry.

Hope you are all staying warm, each destination is getting a little cooler. We’ll be in touch soon with more pictures, we promise!

Keep on,
LAiNE & ERiN

Kyoto

Oh how we love this city!!!

For me this is my 6th visit to Kyoto, and for Erin it’s the 5th time around… and yet we are nowhere near exhausted with it.

The air is clean, the place is bustling yet feels small, and it is really the place where traditional Japan blends with modernization.

Kyoko has it’s own style of language. that is unique to the city,… people speak softer and slower. The same can be said about certain foods that are only found here. These are just a few things that keep pulling us back for more.

After having visited Kyoto so many times we have begun to assemble a number of haunts that we like to frequent in town. This time however was a bit of a short trip so we had to limit things just a bit. Renting bikes however was the best way to see lots and do it in the short time we had.

Naturally we had to stop by our favorite cafe for a morning set breakfast and to rekindle old memories. Funnily enough, even after 3 years the staff there remembered exactly who we were! Love this place.

The main reason for visiting this time was none other than the beautiful autumn colours that Kyoto is so famous for. We had a visit 3 years ago that was just a little too early for the fiery reds and vibrant yellows. This time we hit it on the mark! Check out Tofukuji Temple.

We enjoyed a great stone-grilled dinner one night and we ended up tipping a few glasses of Nihon-shu (sake) with a Japanese couple. Broken English and Japanese formed like voltron and we were able to communicate and have a good time. The chef was good fun too and had perfect English having spent the last 16 years in the states.

Of course, what trip to Kyoto would be complete without a visit to Nishiki market and the surrounding shopping arcades. Here small shops sell a pletora of delicious foods which will get any foody salivating! We couldn’t resist a couple fish-cake pops to nibble on as we roamed.

Days were ended in usual Japanese fashion with a bath. We were lucky because there was a sento (public bathing place) just around the corner from our guesthouse. Here there were about 5 different kinds of hot pools… 2 bubbling, medicinal, electo shock, and freezing cold. Sauna too! Just like the place I used to go to in Seki after those long days if teaching English. This time it was perfect for getting rid of traveller’s aches, pains, and grime.

We’ll continue this with two days in Beppu, where this city of onsens (hot springs) and sentos should have us fully sorted. See you there!

Seki & Mino

What a long journey it had been to get to this point, and finally after having travelled a FULL 24 hours of trains, planes, and automobiles we arrived in our home away from home… Seki!

I won’t go into too much detail about Seki itself as many of you have been bored to bits by us rambling about it for the past 3 years… I’ll tell you this however, it was wonderful to come back!

We had the great pleasure of getting to stay with our good friend Chisako who was kind enough to pick us up from Mino-ota station and organize a rental car for us to make use of during our time in the area. Getting behind the wheel and driving the roads that use to take me to and from our many adventures in Japan was totally a throw-back and we were both instantly transported to a different time. Had we really ever left this place?… it was like time had stopped in this little place and here we were right back in the thick of it.

First order of biz was of course to get our bellies full of food from our favorite Chinese restaurant… trust me it’s something that is more Japan for us than you would believe! The owners were shocked to meet our suprise arrival!

That first night it was even more food with a very special evening at one of our old student’s restaurant. Not only was it fantastic to see familar faces and catch up, but as always the food was outstanding! I’m happy to take flak for saying this, but truely you don’t know sushi until you’ve eaten at this place. It was a red-carpet experience the whole night.

The next day we had the whole morning and afternoon to visit with Chisako. Given the fact that she is an incredible paper doll maker we thought it would be fun to take a trip out to Mino… home of much of the washi paper production here in Japan. Of course I had no complaints with either, but had to use some serious restraint to not buy reams of exquisite papers for printing.

We enjoyed wandering the streets lined with udatsu homes and poking our heads into the paper and lantern shops.

At night we gussied up and headed out with a large group of former students for an enkai (party). We went to a great isakaya we ate and drank WAY TOO MUCH. The night ended with darts at small and really cool place that I’ve been to a number of times before. And yes, if you are wondering… that is “Pocky on ice”… its a new fav!

Erin and I parted ways the next morning for the first time in over 4 months. While she stayed close to home nursing a hangover and helping prepare a large thanksgiving dinner with Chisako I headed out to have lunch and a visit with my printmaking teacher Wani-san.

The visit to Seki wrapped with a huge thanksgiving party that night at Chisako’s place. The annual party saw about 40 guests this year with no shortage of delicious food and interesting people to chat with. A great time was had!!!

By late morning we were on the road. With a quick stop at our pottery sensai’s studio and another to drop off our car (a Vitz), we were on the train and bound for the beautiful autumn colours in Kyoto!

Matta ne (-_<)

Bangkok the Second

Alright, we’ve seen the sights, cooked the food and enjoyed the adventure. What’s a fresh young couple (*wink, wink*) to do? Go shopping, of course! Bangkok is a shopping playground. Mega malls, knock-off markets and loads of young talented designers selling wares on the cheap. Straight off the plane from Chiang Mai we drop off our bags and say hellos to our friends at PN and hop in a taxi for a 7 floor monstrosity called MBK Mall. The fourth floor is dedicated to cell phones and if Laine hadn’t been there with me I would
have turned tail and run at the sight of it. After some hard negotiating and comparing prices we picked up some very tech phones from Sony that aren’t out in Canada yet. You can bet your boots that we got the same damn phone again, but this time in his and hers (black and white). It was the only way to get the best deal. After that success we thought we’d replenish our closets on floors 1 through 5, but it was rather uninspiring. Next stop, Suan Lum Night Bazaar!

Since it was a little early to be considered night (4pm) we just HAD to get hour long Thai foot massages to while away our time. An hour later we were rarin’ to go! 4 hours after that and we had made a considerable dent in our shopping list (Laine much more so than me, that man can SHOP!) It was a very long day, all we could do after that was return to our wicked hotel and sleep.

The next day, we laid low for the morning and worked on the blog. After lunch at our favourite noodle soup joint down the street, we took the ferry down the canal then hopped on the BTS sky train to the Bangkok Arts & Culture Centre.

There was a great exhibition of Japanese artists called Twist & Shout. It was definitely an afternoon well spent and it got us even more stoked to revisit Japan. It has been almost three years since I’ve been there and a year and a half for Laine. Goodie!

With the rest of the afternoon/evening ahead of us we trekked to Pratunam to do some more shopping only to realize that we just needed some cold beverages and no amount of prodding could get me excited for the cramped chaos that is Platinum Plaza, Thailand’s Largest Fashion Mall. This gigantor of a mall requires a map to get around and a great amount of patience. No go.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed some beer and wrote postcards to our loved ones (yes you!) and chatted with the staff. We are fully aware that this must be a lame read, but it is honest! We are well rested and ready for our next two weeks in Japan. Hisashiburi, Nippon!

Chaing Mai… oh my!

Continuing our journey after a few excellent days in Bangkok, we decided that a little northern flavour was in order.

We opted for a couple cheap plane tickets to Thailand’s second largest city, Chiang Mai. By large, what I really mean is about 300 000 people. It’s a far cry from the busy streets of Bangkok, but it is definitely bustling enough to keep anybody occupied.

We arrive late in the afternoon to the airport where our lovely host Gade was waiting for us with a car. She took us back to our great 2-room guesthouse/cafe where we quickly dumped our bags and went for a mini tour of the town. We ended things with a fantastic chillout with Gade over a bottle of Argentine wine from one of the wineries we visited months ago. We shot around stories of travel. She also recommended us to check out a very well known and delicious restaurant to eat at after the wine was finished. We made good on this suggestion and checked it out this spectacularly decorated place. We ordered a great assortment of thai tapas which arrived just after a huge and very mangy rat ran under Erin’s foot at the table…… mmmmmm NICE! We took it as good luck.

Early on our first morning Gade took off for Bangkok and left us with the place pretty much to ourselves. We booked in for a day long thai cooking class that had us making a pletora of thai favorites as well as a few new tastes as well.

This awesome day of cooking was teamed with a great market tour that had us understand firsthand the kinds of ingredients involved in thai cusine. The most bizarre ingredient we encountered was the 100-day egg… it’s the pink one in this picture…

Stuffed from copious amounts of food, we took a small stroll through the night bazaar which was not too much to write home about, but decent for those hunting for bargains on knockoff chatchka.

Very early the next morning we set off for a jungle canopy adventure. Over 2km of zipline rocketed us high above the ground through the thick of the jungle fauna. We had a fantastic time as well as some pretty hairy rappels from big tree perches.

That night we linked up with the Scots from Bangkok once again and had a fantastic meal at a very local thai restaurant. We also went to a wicked jazz/funk show at a roadside bar… Smooth Jazzzzzz!

For our last day in Chiang Mai we decided that a relaxed walk with no sites was in order. We heard about a great and very funky art cafe so we pointed ourselves in that direction, but with no real purpose other than to wander and do whatever. We found it with ease and took some fun pictures of some of the crazy cool sculptures. We wandered some more and stopped for some really cheap noodle soup and a sit in the Think Park. Such a great day in the end because it was relaxed and took us through some of the typical neighbourhoods in Chiang Mai versus the bustling tourism of the inner areas of the old city.

We capped off our visit to this great destination with a visit to the weekly sunday night street market. literally a 1.5km stretch of the old city shuts down to vehicles and becomes a vibrant display of all things Food, Vendors, and Performers. It was fantastic!!! We filled our bellies amongst the masses and even picked up a couple goodies to bring back home.

And with that, our visit to Chiang Mai was over and done… what a great place to visit!!!

Bangkok the First

Feeling refreshed and substantially more tanned, Laine and I arrived in Bangkok. The city was looking much cleaner and sexier than our last brief visit. After several uturns and map consultations we stumbled upon our hotel Phranakorn Nornlen. Say it with me now, PRA NA KORN NORN LEN. This mouthful of a hotel is just about the sweetest spot ever. Once a stodgy no-fuss hotel, now it is a styly haven away from the bustle. we were welcomed with a cold drink, a free meal coupon and big smiles. I could wax poetic about this place until the cows come home. I love it! If you are ever here, check it out.

Our first order of business was to visit the Grand Palace, which is pretty much a must see while in the city. It was packed to the tits with tourists and was a magpie’s dream. Everything glittered like a new year’s eve party. But, man, was it hot. I was a slushy puddle trying to keep track of both our free guide and Laine. The emerald Buddha (actually made of jade) wasn’t as exciting as advertised, wearing his winter clothes (more gold). There is so much artistry though, that you can’t help but be in awe. Three hours later, and we were soggy and in need of food.

We headed back to our hotel and enjoyed a free walking tour that included some obscure neighbourhood foods and a great narrative by Tai, our guide. The coconut milk ice cream with all the toppings was a great end to the sweltering day.

The next day we signed up for the canal tour hosted by Zai and had some time to kill before hand. So, intent on wandering down to Khao San Rd to see some shops, art galleries and cafes we meandered down alleys and back routes until we were scooped up by a wily stranger who was SO HELPFUL. He recommended that we visit some temples because it was a LUCKY day, FREE for foreigners and the tuk-tuk driver will take you for ONLY 40 baht. Oh, and look here is a tuk-tuk driver right now! Ok, so you get in now, he will take you. Goodbye. Whisked away, we quickly discovered the caper. The temples are closed and next we are taken to a commission shop. Since we are VERY familiar with this schtick, we are both in good humour and go along with it. It was an entertaining way to pass the time!

The canal tour was a real treat. Laine and I along with Zai, Lindsey & Darryl (from Scotland) and a French couple sped off down the river in high spirits and animated chatter. First we went to see the Arun Wat, a very old temple with amazing views of the city. Then we got into some of the back canals and visited an artist’s studio/shop/cafe along the water. As a painter sat doing a girl’s portrait, we enjoyed some strange and not-so strange Thai desserts like coconut and black bean balls, steamed egg yolk and sugar noodles, sweet rice and pork balls and the more common coconut sticky rice with ripe mango. Delish! Of course, I had to contribute to the cause and bought some earrings made by one of the local artists. It was a great day, and we enjoyed ourselves so much chatting with the Scots and Zai that we continued the party well into the night with Chinese food and too much to drink at a Turkish bar complete with Fez hats and hookahs.

The next day was rough and we had to fly to Chiang Mai… One-Two-Go!

Koh Samui

Sawasdee-kap (hello in Thai)!

Quite a long journey from Kathmandu via Delhi and Bangkok landed us right where we needed to be… on an island on the beach! More specifically Koh Samui.

While we had originally planned to go to Phi Phi island, we opted for Samui because it was just easy to get to. Let’s be honest, we were burnt out and needed to shed a little crust so to speak!

Despite it being the rainy season in Samui we found ourselves with a flawless 8 days of sun. Because it was the off season meant that we were able to get a killer deal on a resort that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford… that and things were quiet. I’m all for some action, but after a month of masses and horns, peace and quiet was a welcome change. This was paradise to the max!

For those interested here is the link to the resort we were at:

http://www.samuiparadise.com/

We spent our days sipping drinks, getting massaged, and eating too much thai food. There was lots of sunning and ocean swimming also. Everything in slightlt more than moderation.

In the mix we also found the time to check out a cabaret show. I have to say that this was probably some of the best entertainment we’ve seen as of late! These ladyboys really know how to put on a great show… Tina & Beyonce definitely stole the night!

This may seem like such a lame post, but really I have to cap it at that because quite simply that was the week for us. And believe it or not, it flew by way too fast!

We are now juiced up and ready to take Bangkok full on!

Kathmandu Part Two

We returned to Kathmandu for 3 more nights of city after a seriously amazing couple days in Chitwan. Our lungs, throats, and minds were slightly clearer, and we were refreshed after having experienced such a bounty of nature. Of course this was all to change very quickly with our return to the scuzziness of Kathmandu.

Naturally, Kathmandu Guest House totally botched our reservation! We threw a few pointed words at them and ended up with a room that was next to the gift shops & salons. We probably should have learned our lesson the first time around, but we thought a second chance was due. I guess our optimism failed us this time. Wouldn’t recommend wasting your time with this place as we have. Here is the review we gave them on trip advisor:

”
I wish this review could actually make a dent in this hotel’s business, but chances are it probably won’t.

I’m sure lots of people enjoy their stay here, but be warned that you might not be one of the lucky ones. In a place with over a hundred rooms it’s a far cry from a “guesthouse”, and you can probably bet that your experience will be reflected more so as a number than a name!
”

Once settled we hit the pavement running in an effort to collect all of our stuff that was made during our time in Chitwan. The jeans turned out so well that we both put in an order for another pair. Excessive right!… but seriously, how could we not considering how good they worked out with the first run. If you are ever in Kathmandu, hunt down a little place called “Rainbow Jeans” in Indra Chowk… trust me you won’t be disappointed!

All other items turned out great too, but needed minor fitting tweaks to get them just right. Not bad Kathmandu tailors… not bad at all! We wandered for a bit after that.

After all the hustle to get our stuff we were starting to run low on energy, and the terrible air was already starting to grab hold of our lungs. We were already starting to hoark up crap like everybody else around us. This meant lunch time!… we were in serious need of soup and momos. Found a great little spot called “8848″ that was almost empty and served up some of the meanest plates of momo we could ask for! Mouthwatering deliciousness.




Bellies full, we went to cap the night off with a cover band. Things were just starting to sound good and then the band decided to take a break. They were quickly replaced by a cd of elevator versions of Bob Marley classics. It went from painful to torturous,… it had us running out the door within 3 songs.

At daybreak we thought it was about time to visit Swayambhu temple which overlooks Kathmandu city. This holy site is definitely worth checking out, but it’s full if hustlers trying to sell chatchke and street women pushing photo-ops of their sad children for a few rupees. This kind of clouds the notion of this place being a peaceful spot. That said, the view is great and the hundreds of monkeys are really entertaining!

On our last day we did a little more sight seeing and walked to Dubar Square. A funny thing happened here… We arrived in the square and went to the ticket booth to pay the “foriegner price” (3x the local price) for our entry tickets into the temples. We were handed our tickets and a map/brochure and headed for the main center temple. When we got there we were told that our tickets were not valid for this temple and needed to buy other tickets to enter. WHAT!!!??? At this point we realized that we had been scammed,… or at least sorely mislead. If these tickets were not good for the main temple, then just what the hell were they good for? We we walked back to the booth to ask a few questions. Apparently the tickets are valid for all of the other temples which can be visited simply by looking at them from the outside since the majority of them are small open-air monuments. The other few that required an actual “entrance” were included with these tickets however were not open for viewing while we were there. I’d just like to thank the assholes at the ticket booth for pointing this out before we actually bought the tickets! Can’t people just be straight-up anymore?

After this we cut our losses and decided that we were in fact done with Kathmandu and started looking to brighter horizons in Thailand!

On our last morning I blew up at the inept guy at the front desk of our hotel for one last time… he pulled out on our free airport transfer so I had to give him a piece of my mind. With that we hired a great taxi driver and began our long journey to paradise!!!