"What's the capital of Thailand?...BANGKOK!"

Hello, hello!

Remember that childhood joke from way back in your elementary school days?

We’re already missing Thailand’s lush, tropical landscape and perfect climate but are kind of happy to be back in Osaka at the same time. It seems like spring is in the air here—yesterday was the first day we didn’t need to turn on the heater (yay!) and this morning was the first time since September that I heard birds singing. I think the cold stretch of weather is finally coming to an end (or maybe I’m just hopeful).

We stumbled off the plane around 6:30 a.m. last Saturday morning and had to struggle to stay out of bed when we got home. Of course, we would have slept if we didn’t have to work that same day. Haha....let’s just say, Saturday was a very painful day at work. We spent most of Sunday catching up on missed z’s.

Scott and I both had an excellent time in Thailand. We left last Sunday from the Kansai International Airport in Osaka and arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport around 10:30 p.m. Our initial impression of Thailand was pretty funny because the first person we had an extended conversation with was our cab driver (who understood little English) and thus, resulted in pure hilarity. Since the airport is located on an industrial strip of the highway (located about 40 minutes from the Bangkok city centre, where our hotel was), we had ample time to chat with our cabbie. He seemed pretty interested in getting to know us and asked us some typical questions that he’d probably memorized: “Where are you from?” “What do you do?” “How long are you staying in Thailand?” etc. Scott told him we were staying in Bangkok for a couple days then heading down south to Ko Chang island. I guess to him, “Ko Chang” sounded more like “cocaine” and he seemed pretty confused. Scott tried to explain the “ch” sound to him, but he still didn’t get it. I guess he thought we wanted to do drugs or drink because he kept saying, “Whiskey, no cocaine” and kept chuckling.

After paying about 300 Baht (about $9) for the whole cab ride, we arrived at our hotel, The Prince Palace, located in the heart of Bangkok. We were surprised at how lavish the hotel was considering we only paid about $50 per night and they even upgraded our room to a suite. We spent the night exploring our new surroundings and also grabbed a drink at the poolside bar .

Bangkok looked so much different in daylight and we spent the whole next day exploring. Our hotel was connected to a market and shopping centre, so after breakfast, we browsed around for an hour, bought some stuff for next to nothing, and then ventured around the city in a tuk tuk (a Thai taxi that’s more like a motorbike with a seat in the back). Our driver took us around to see some city attractions such as the Golden Mountain, the Marble Temple, and endless Buddahs. Later in the day, we also stopped in at a tailor (that a Thai native recommended to us) and got fitted for some suits.

We made our way by tuk tuk to Bangkok’s Chinatown, where we ate our first delicious Thai meal by the water before heading back to the hotel. We had to be back by 8 p.m. because the tailors had to come to the hotel to do a fitting. After the tailors left, we ventured off to explore Bangkok’s nightlife, which included watching an interesting show and walking down Khao San Road. This road is probably one of the most well-known venues for foreigners/tourists in Bangkok and is absolutely overflowing with backpackers and drunken people from all over the world. We made some more purchases here, ate some authentic street Pad Thai, and just wandered around and chatted with people.

The next day, we had to wake up early to catch our bus to Ko Chang. Originally, we had thought we could hire a taxi to take us there (about 350 km) for $50, but when we got to Bangkok, we discovered that Bangkok taxis couldn’t go that far because they weren’t able to pick up passengers in another province. Ko Chang is Thailand’s second largest island and is located in the province of Trat, which is well known for heavenly beaches and surreal landscapes. Anyway, our tuk tuk driver from the previous day had taken us to a tourist agency, where we bought bus tickets for a pretty reasonable price. Although the bus ride to Ko Chang was rather long, we got to see a large portion of the country and some more rural landscapes we wouldn’t have seen if we flew to Ko Chang or stayed in Bangkok for the whole vacation. After we got off the bus, we boarded the ferry to Ko Chang and when we arrived on the island, the long bus ride made everything seem worthwhile. Everything was absolutely breathtaking.

We hopped on a taxi and were a little surprised when we arrived at our hotel, The Grand Orchid Resort and Spa. It looked nothing like the pictures we had seen on the Internet and was nowhere near the beach. On top of all that, the whole resort seemed like a ghost town—there were no vacationers whatsoever. Shortly after checking in, we left the hotel for White Sands Beach, a very popular beach town on Ko Chang about ten minutes from the hotel. We knew the instant we saw the beach that we wanted to stay there, so we scoured the area for a nice, cheap accommodation and luckily found one at a nice bungalow community called San Arun. We went back to the other hotel, checked out, got a refund (minus a small cancellation fee), and our happiness came rushing back. Our new bungalow was literally a two-second walk to the beach and offered everything we needed for a pleasant stay. The owner was also super friendly (unlike the people at Grand Orchid) and gave us a discount for our three-night stay.

Night life on White Sands Beach was very vibrant, especially at Sabay Bar. They had fire shows, live music, and great people to socialize with. We met so many nice people and had a great time!

The next day, Scott and I rented a motorbike for only 200 Baht ($6) for 24 hours. It was funny coming from a country where everyone uses bicycles to a country where everyone has a motorbike. The bad thing about this was the air was so much more polluted and we could both really tell the difference. Thailand isn't exactly the cleanest country and Bangkok has dumps and garbage piles in the middle of the city. What's even crazier is that the people take their babies on the motorbikes. I thought it was crazy to see babies on bicycles in Japan, but Thailand was absolutely ludacris...especially with the risque driving style. Anyway, We biked almost the entire length of the island (30 km) and stopped at a famous waterfall, which we hiked to see. We were simply amazed when we arrived at the waterfall because there was a swimming hole as well and we spent a lot of time just relaxing and admiring the natural beauty of the landscape. This was definitely my favourite part of the trip!

On the way back from the waterfall, we stopped to do a little shopping on the southern part of the island and also ate Pad Thai and drank banana shakes at a local restaurant—which were so tasty (and cheap too)! We finished off the day with a traditional Thai massage and then ate dinner on the beach.

When in Thailand, you must ride an elephant, so the next day, we did just that. We thought it was one of those things you just have to do before you leave and we didn’t regret it!

The next day, we left Ko Chang and headed back to Bangkok, which meant another ferry ride and bus trip. The people of Thailand really respect their king and one thing I noticed on the bus trip was that the highways and urban areas have large pictures of him and the royal family everywhere. One of our cab drivers also told us that the king’s sister recently passed away, so it was going to be an unlucky year for them (which also might explain why all the temples were packed with people—they were probably praying for the king’s sister).

When we arrived in the city, we went to the tailor’s to pick up our suits and then spent some time on Sukhumviht Road (a touristy road with great shopping and lots of hotels). We ate dinner at a lovely Indian restaurant (because we were kind of Thai-ed out) and then headed to the airport.

Although our vacation wasn’t so long, we had an amazing adventure and got to see so much in such a short time and we both agree that we want to visit Thailand again and explore other areas of the country. There are definitely some things we won’t miss though, including the bugs and the overly-relaxed attitude of most Thai people we encountered. I’m surprised we made our flight (after waiting for a cab for one hour and waiting in the customs line for nearly an hour too). Although it was a pain waiting for so long, it was even more hilarious to see how antsy the Japanese people were getting. The look on their faces said it all! I guess it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing because we wouldn’t have had to go to work the same day. Ah well!

Hope all is well back home!

Jo & Scott

xoxo

For more Thailand pics see Facebook...I'll upload them soon! :)

Thailand Hot/Not List

Hot

1. The climate
2. The banana shakes and best Pad Thai ever
3. How inexpensive everything is (quality meals for about $1)
4. Tuk Tuks
5. White Sands Beach, Ko Chang
6. Getting quality, custom-made suits for half the price
7. K.C. Bar and Sabay Bar on White Sands Beach
8. Elephant rides
9. Beach-side massages
10. Khao San Road

Not

1. The overly aggressive people ("Give me more money!")
2. The bugs
3. Taxi drivers who don't know where they're going
4. The Bangkok airport
5. How long it takes for everything (or maybe that's just my opinion coming from Japan, where everything is super efficient)
6. Grand Orchid Resort and Spa
7. Too many fake goods for sale (Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, Coach, Rolex, etc.)

We had a wonderful time in Thailand and arrived back in Osaka early Saturday morning. We'll post more about our adventures as soon as we can! :)

xo

Jo & Scott

Student Profile No. 1

Name: His nickname is "Taka" after his favourite bird, the hawk. He only likes to be called by this name.

Age: 42

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: He is the owner of not one, but four companies. He's a professional fisher and owns a large tackle and fishing company, a publishing company, a website design company, and has also taken over his late wife's four nail salons (which, according to him, he knows nothing about and has hired people to manage).

Interesting Facts: According to Taka, he is "slightly famous in Osaka" and can only meet for lessons at fancy venues that aren't crowded. These locations include exquisite restaurants and hotel cafes where soft drinks cost about 1,000 yen or more. Contrary to my set lesson fee, he insists on paying me more (much, much more). At the end of our last lesson, he whipped out "ichiman en" (otherwise known as $100) (!). Although I hesitated and said I couldn't accept that much money for a lesson, he insisted. He also drives a Hummer, a Lexus, and a Mercedes. Maybe I should ask him if I can borrow one. Haha.

Dog Lover Gone Too Far

Having a dog is considered one of the most prized possessions in Japan—absolutely everyone wants one. Unlike in Canada, where dogs are treated like a member of the family, they’re more like toys in Japan. Owners go crazy dressing up their small, furry friends in the latest gear from companies that sell purely dog apparel. I’ve seen countless girls (and guys) toting their dogs around in designer doggie bags (think Paris Hilton multiplied by a thousand) and some are even dressed better than their owners.

Seeing these fashionable dogs doesn’t bother me as much as what I saw today. As I was walking to work, I saw a man with a dog and of course, the dog was dressed in some pink sparkly getup. I guess the dog had just finished doing a number two because the man bent down, lifted up the dog’s skirt, pulled out a packet of tissue from his coat pocket and yep, you guessed it—proceeded to wipe the dog’s behind. Talk about spoiled rotten! Loving your dog is one thing, but wiping its behind is crossing the line (in my books, anyway). Just another reason why I love Japan!

Craziest Japanese Building Award Goes to...

Hey All!

I hope you’ve been impressed with Scott’s genki-ness for blogging—I sure have!

I just thought I’d write a quick little post about the crazy kindergarten I work at every Friday because I’ve wanted to do so for a very long time. This past Friday, I actually had the opportunity to snap a few pictures at work and figured I’d include them in the blog (since our posts have been pretty text-heavy lately).

Normally, teachers do their whole shift at the company’s various schools but sometimes they have shifts available outside the schools. Our company sells classes to elementary schools, secondary schools, universities, and large companies, and that’s basically how I got the shift at the kindergarten.

So way back in October, I began working at this insane kindergarten. The teacher I was replacing had a few simple words of advice for me before I started working: “you have to see it to believe it”—and she was right. I normally walk to the kindergarten to teach my 40-minute class with another teacher and staff member. We stay at the kindergarten for about an hour then walk back to the school to finish our shift. Anyway, as I approached the kindergarten on my first day, I was pretty blown away. Right in the middle of the city and before my eyes was a tacky and excessively colourful building with giant dinosaurs, a hot-air balloon, and a huge pirate ship on the playground. The building itself looked like a gingerbread house. To summarize: it was (and still is) a sight for sore eyes every time I see it.

What goes on inside the building is probably equally crazy, if not crazier than the outside. I was also warned that the kids run all over the place and there are never any adults around. This was also true. It seems like they are under-staffed or something for the amount of kids they have. Apparently, many wealthy kids attend this private kindergarten, so in an attempt to make them super-involved children from an early age, they introduced an after-school program with various activities such as soccer, English lessons, arts and crafts, and even baton lessons. It’s hilarious to watch the little girls (and yes, boys too...I don’t know how damaging that will be later in life!) do their little baton routine to a hyped-up Japanese version of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." It's actually a pretty scary song!

Speaking of parents who want their kids to be good at everything, I just got a new student, Yuma, who is only three years old and his parents have him doing a 40-minute private lesson! Craziness! One of the staff members took this picture and put it on the school’s website. He’s a cute kid and although I enjoy teaching him, the lesson wouldn’t be so bad if his Dad didn’t tell him what to say every five seconds! That’s one thing I’ve noticed about many parents here—they don’t give their kids a lot of breathing room.

I have three kids in my English class at the kindergarten (from left to right: Seibin, Chika, and Rin) who are extremely smart and so fun to teach—especially on the days that Seibin doesn’t try to lift up my skirt. Haha. Don't let the picture give you the wrong impression. He didn't know he was holding his colouring upside down! Apparently, the other teacher has had numerous problems with the kids in her class because they like to pull down their pants—I’m thankful I don’t have to deal with that! So basically, Friday is a pretty fun day for me because I never know what will be going on at the crazy kindergarten!

In more exciting news, we’re getting so pumped for Thailand. It’s hard to believe we’ll be there in exactly one week. I’ve been checking the weather almost daily and it ranges from 25-30 degrees—are you jealous? Haha. Today, we decided to chill out and go to Shinsaibashi. I finally bought Scott his belated Christmas present (a Nintendo DS), which he’s been playing for several hours now and seems to enjoy it. During our outing, we also discovered this amazing Mexican restaurant called El Pancho in the heart of Shinsaibashi and the food was the most phenomenal Mexican we’ve ever tasted. Who knew Japan was so skilled in preparing authentic Mexican cuisine? I almost couldn’t finish my margarita because it was so strong—I swear it was three-quarters alcoholic. We’re already planning to go again when we return from Thailand—hopefully with friends!

Hope all is well back home. We’ll be back in two-and-a-half months! The countdown is on!

Jo & Scott

Oh, the Food We Eat

Hey!

This must be a record for me, blogging twice in one week!

I just wanted to tell everyone about the super-adventurous and amazing meal I had last night. I went out with Kuni, Tatsu and his wife, Yuka (you may remember Kuni from Jo's little bike adventure in December). Jo was supposed to come, but she had to tutor, so she met up with us later on... she didn't get to experience the food, which was probably a good thing for her. haha

We went to a really nice looking restaurant in Shinsaibashi where all the tables were enclosed and at floor level (but thankfully there was a hollow place for your feet so you could sit normally) and Tatsu told me that it was a place that served chicken, so I thought it was going to be a normal Yakiniku-type dinner... boy was I wrong.

I told Tatsu and Yuka to order whatever they thought I should try and I trusted them, so they went to work and ordered about ten different plates. The first one that arrived was sashimi (which, when they asked me if I liked, I thought it was just fish sashimi) and they asked me if it was okay that I ate raw chicken, which I replied "Sure, after all Tatsu's a doctor." Tatsu and Yuka then described what each piece was as I ate it: chicken heart, liver, breast, thigh and kidney... all raw.

After this dish, everything else seemed pretty harmless. I ate some cooked chicken heart, fried chicken, a type of miso/ginger/sesame soup (which tasted a bit like curry and was quite good), vegetables wrapped in pork, some other dishes that I (sadly) forget what they were, but knew it was messed up that I was eating it, and of course, beer to wash it all down.

Unfortunately, this restaurant had a time-limit so off we went to look for another place. Luckily, this was around the time Joanna was finishing her tutoring so she met up with us at the new restaurant. This was more of a fish restaurant, so when they asked if I wanted some sashimi this time, I knew what I was getting and happily obliged. The first thing I noticed when it came was how beautifully it was presented. I wish I'd taken a picture, but of course didn't. The second thing I noticed was the octopus... yummmm? There was also yellowtail and tuna so it wasn't a total loss. Of course, I tried the octopus after eating some delicious yellowtail and it was actually really really good--chewy but good. Jo didn't try the octopus though, just the other two... boo Jo.

Jo did however try a bit of our next dish: beef. It smelled SO good while it was cooking on a little grill that she wanted a little nibble, so I happily obliged. She said it was tasty... but still won't eat a steak... maybe someday she will.

Alright, it's getting close to noon here and we're still lazin' around in bed, so I guess we should get up and start our day off.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Cheers,
Scott & Jo

P.S. So happy with Montreal right now. But even happier that Toronto helped us get even closer to Ottawa and 1st place!
P.P.S. Congrats to Joel with your plans for next year!

A Night Out in Osaka

Hey Everybody!

I've come to the conclusion that I don't blog enough... and well, this is an attempt to stop that. Last night I went out with Marcus. What started as a solid two-man crew turned into an all-night awesome-fest.

We started out by going to a great little bar in Amera-mura called Scorpion. It can fit about 20 people max, so it's not the best place to go to meet a whole bunch of people. Regardless, it's a great place to start out a night. The drinks are overpriced, but they have a computer set up so you can choose your own music. So after some debate over what song we should listen to first (which turned out to be a classic tune from the Beatles), we tossed back some Gin & Tonics, made a great playlist for our time there and had a great two-and-a-half hour "otaku" (Japanese nerd) conversation. Naturally, it revolved around vinyl records, great headphones, Gundam, anime and other quality topics that we can only talk about with each other (he's my nerd fix and it sadly keeps me from going insane).

After a few drinks and some card tricks by the bartender, we decided to hit up Kanon, a great little rock club that has indie nights on Thursdays. Marcus knew a J-Girl there and he wanted to meet up with her. After getting in and witnessing some mild (yet hilarious) harassment by a Japanese guy, we hit up the bar, grabbed our poison of choice, and let the good times roll. There were a bunch of teachers there (some we knew and some we had no idea who they were) so we mingled and Marcus found his J-Girl.

As you guys probably know, my dancing skills are pretty bloody disastrous. However, I didn't let this stop me--I was out on the dance floor shakin' my tush, pumpin' my fists, and bobbin' my head like I always do after a few sodas. Now, I must say my favourite thing about Japan is that bars don't close, which means there's no last call and it's never too late to go out and have a good time. Marcus, J-Girl, her friends, teacher friends, everyone (except for the Crunk harasser, who just watched), and I had a mad dance-sesh until about 4 a.m., when we realized that we were pretty tired of dancing. And as they say, "we don't wanna go home, but we don't wanna stay here," so we made the best decision of the night: early morning karaoke!

Luckily, an Eggman Karaoke was right next door, so in we went, grabbed a room big enough for the eight of us, got some drinks and sang like there was no tomorrow (or today?). I'm not gonna lie to you, Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " may be a great karaoke song to start the night out, but there's no better way to finish a night! Of course some lovely Dolly Parton, Beatles, and the Ghostbusters theme song doesn't hinder it either!

Before I knew it, it was 7 a.m. and the sun was peakin' out of the horizon so, we decided to call it a night. I biked back to my warm bed and thus ended a great night out in Osaka.

I hope that everything is going great back home and we miss you all!

Cheers,
Scott & Jo