One Last Post from the Über-Genki Travellers

Hafa Adai! (“Greetings” in Chamorro, the native language of Guam). We’ve been living out of our suitcases ever since we finished work with a trip to South Korea followed by a purely relaxing vacation to Guam. We arrived back in Osaka early Saturday morning with the intention of cleaning our apartment and packing before the big move home on the 14^th, but figured sleeping would be a better alternative.

Yesterday, we celebrated one of our last nights in Osaka with Kuni and Tatsu, our Japanese friends. We went to an okonomiyaki (traditional Osakan omelette) restaurant and sampled a schmorgasboard of delicacies and got our last fix of Japanese cuisine. I’m still not sure if I’ll miss the food that much. Contrary to popular belief, the food here isn’t that healthy and the generally bland diet makes the food somewhat unsatisfying. The evening was a great finish to our time in Japan and we will miss them a lot. They are already planning to visit Canada sometime in the near future and of course, we will be just as good to them as they’ve been to us in Japan.

Our time in Guam was absolutely amazing. We departed on the 7^th and were welcomed by 30 degree weather and utopian surroundings when we woke up the next morning—azure water, blue skies, and palms for miles—what could be better? I had never really heard of Guam before coming to Japan but later found out it is a very popular tourist destination for both Japanese and Koreans. The best comparison I can think of is visiting Cuba or the Dominican for Canadians—it’s a short flight (only three-and-a-half hours), reasonably priced, and simply blissful. It’s a Micronesian island, which is a U.S. territory and is situated right in the middle of the Pacific (in between Hawaii and Japan) and also has a huge American military base. While we were there, we heard some news that Guam will be receiving about 8,000 more military families from Okinawa within the next few months. One of our cab drivers informed us that Okinawa has actually paid to move the military there.

We stayed at the Fiesta Resort Guam, which was located right on a private beach on Tumon Bay. The hotel was situated right along the main strip of tourist attractions (appropriately named Paradise Island Drive). There wasn’t much to do on the island, other than shop. I am convinced that Guam was made for Japanese and Korean tourists, especially the women, who adore shopping. Scott and I couldn’t get over the countless high-end designer boutiques, including three Coach shops—all within a one minute walk from each other. Kind of crazy! Regardless, all the boutiques got their fair share of business because we saw many tourists toting three or four shopping bags from Prada, Coach, Gucci, and Chloe. As Scott would say, “How many purses does a woman need?!”

We didn’t do too much shopping because the weather was so gorgeous and decided to just bask in the sun all day and read. On the last day, however, we did fit in some shopping because it was a tad rainy. Overall, we had a wonderful time and could easily relax because it wasn’t crowded at all. Golden Week, which is a national holiday in Japan, happens at the end of April and most Japanese will flock to Guam during this time. We’re sort of glad we’ll be out of Japan during this time because from what we’ve heard, the prices to travel are absolutely ridiculous.

Before Guam, we made a short visit to South Korea. We departed the morning after we finished work (on April 1^st) and returned on April 5^th. Our adventure to Korea was chocked full of sightseeing and shortly after we arrived, we were fortunate enough to be shown around Seoul by our friend, Paul, who is now teaching English there. On our first night there, we met Paul at Hongik University, which is basically like the Queen’s University vicinity of Kingston. It’s where all the young people go at night to hang out, shop, and eat Korea’s delicious kimchi (a spicy side dish consisting of fermented vegetables—usually cabbage).

Our days were action-packed and consisted of pure sightseeing. Naturally, we were both pretty wiped out at the end of the day, but that didn’t stop us from shopping! Our hotel was located right beside the Dongdaemun Market, which is Seoul’s most famous market for 24-hour shopping. You wouldn’t believe the cheap and stylish clothes and shoes you can buy there—I was pretty much in heaven (Scott, not so much). Haha. I had trouble zipping up my small tote bag before we left to go back to Osaka. Scott and I were both pretty impressed at how much ground we covered over the four days we were there. We went to Gyeongbokgung Palace, Myeongdong Cathedral, Deoksugung Palace, and the Namdaemun Market (home of the Namdaemun Gate, the oldest wooden structure in Seoul that burnt down earlier this year). We enjoyed dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant in Itaewon one night (a hub area that’s heavily populated with foreigners) and saw other major areas of the city including Shinchon and Insadong (an artsy and antique district).

One of the highlights of the trip for both of us was our visit to Panmunjom, a village which straddles the border between North Korea and South Korea. It’s actually located in the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) which has split the two countries since the end of the Korean War in 1953. As we made our way up to the North Korean border, we were asked to show out passports twice, sign a release that said Panmunjom “will entail entry into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action,” and wear a United Nations guest badge on our jackets. We were also strictly advised not to look at the North Korean soldiers or point at them.

As we were approaching North Korea, we found the difference between North and South really startling— especially the landscape—which was littered with coiled barbed wire fences and had barely any vegetation. Our tour guide informed us that the North Koreas chop down trees to use for fuel. As we were standing in the middle of the DMZ, we could observe both the North and South from a distance and noticed the North’s flag post was much higher. Our tour guide explained that after the war, North Korea reconstructed their flag post so that it was intentionally 60 meters higher than South Korea’s. The tour was such an educational and awakening experience and I am really considering a visit to North Korea sometime in the future. Our tour concluded with galbi (traditional Korean barbeque) for lunch and a concert by a North Korean defector.

Shortly after we returned from Korea, a bunch of teachers got together at a bar in Shinsaibashi for a sayonara party and we all had a fabulous time sharing our memories, making new ones, and saying our goodbyes. It’s hard to believe how many fantastic memories and people you can meet in such a short time. We’ll miss everyone a lot.

The month of April is famous for sakura-viewing parties. Luckily, Scott and I were in Osaka just in the nick of time to see them in full bloom. We biked to Osaka-jo (Osaka Castle) last Saturday and then went to Arashiyama (which is near Kyoto) last Sunday for some last-minute sightseeing before we departed for Guam. Besides Arashiyama’s pure beauty, it is also home to a monkey park! The park itself is located on top of Arashiyama Mountain and is about a 20-minute hike on foot. From the top, you can not only see hundreds of monkeys roaming around, but also an entire view of Kyoto. It was a perfect way to capture our final days in Japan.

So, I guess this is our last official blog post. Tomorrow is our final adventure—the dreadfully long plane ride home, but in the end it’s all worth it. We both have mixed feelings about leaving Japan but are excited for what lies ahead and to see all of our friends and family who we’ve missed so much in the past seven months. In the meantime, we have to finish cleaning our apartment and do some last-minute packing. Canada, here we come!

Sayonara!

Jo & Scott
xoxo

P.S. Happy Early Birthday, Jess! Have a good one and see you soon!

Ori, Hakone, the Fuj, and a Japanese Haircut

On Sunday morning I woke up early and took the shinkansen to meet Ori in Mishima, which is a little south of Tokyo. She’s been in Japan for about a week now, completing her last teaching practicum while living with her brother (who is also an English teacher). Anyway, we thought it would be cool to meet up in Japan and have a girls’ day, so we ventured off to see Fuji-san and the serene area that surrounds it—Hakone. Hakone is a very popular destination for relaxing and especially going to onsens (hot springs). It’s a peaceful little area nestled in the valley of a very mountainous area and picture-perfect views of Mount Fuji can be seen from nearly every angle. We both figured experiencing an onsen was a must before leaving Japan and let me tell you, it was a very interesting and somewhat strange ritual. I still haven’t wrapped my head around the whole tradition yet, and probably never will. It’s just another case of cultural contradiction that exists in Japan.

Ori and I also went to the POLA Museum of Art. The museum itself is an architectural wonder and is tucked away in the forest, which seems a little strange, but it was bustling with crowds. We figured they were probably there for the same reason we were—to see the Monet exhibit (Sunday was the last day). Ori and I were pretty blown away by the whole thing, especially because the seemingly ordinary art gallery had two floors of Monet originals including “Waterlillies” (1908)—perhaps his most well-known work. The permanent collection was equally impressive and included many works by Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Picasso, and Dahli, to name a few.

In other news...I got my first Japanese haircut. Last week while I was tutoring my rich student over an elaborate Japanese-style dinner, I attempted to make conversation with his somewhat low-level English girlfriend and asked, “So...where do you get your hair cut?” Right after I asked the question, I heard a bunch of mumbling in Japanese and then my student said that his girlfriend wanted to take me to her hair salon the following week. Haha. I didn’t know what to think at first—disaster? opportunity? Anyway, I willingly accepted the invitation to be polite and adventurous. I guess there was nothing to be worried about after all because today, I received the best haircut of my entire life. The hair salon owner was so meticulous that it took him two hours from start to finish and he even curled my hair at the bottoms (which is a popular look in Japan right now). It was a little silent while he was snipping away because we couldn’t really communicate, but I enjoyed flipping through Japanese magazines and getting a better glimpse at female culture. From the newest dieting fads to the hottest “It” bags—I learned it all.

Anyway, one more week of work and then we’re off to Korea!

Hope all is well back home and see you sooner than ever!

xoxo

Jo & Scott

Hot. Not. Hilarious.

For your entertainment, or perhaps to cure your boredom, we collaborated to create a Hot, Not, and Hilarious list from some of our recent experiences in Japan. Enjoy!

Hot

1. Stare-offs on the train

2. Making nabe and eating it after...yum!

3. Getting free twelve course dinners from rich private students (and eating abalone, a shellfish delicacy that costs about $100 a plate!)

4. Festivals dedicated entirely to “otakus” (Japanese nerds or anime lovers)

5. Mama charis or charinkos

6. Ume blossoms and picnicking in the park

7. UniQlo and never-ending sales

8. Saying sayonara to not-so-nice students

Yes, these students may look really cute, but I assure you, they were my most challenging class. One student can, unfortunately, transform the whole dynamic of the class.
Believe it or not, the baby was my best student and actually listened the best even though she couldn’t even speak.

Not

1. Missing your train by a split second

2. How intolerable the Japanese are to precipitation. Even if it’s a light drizzle, they have their umbrellas up in a split second.

3. Being laughed at for biking in the rain even though you can handle it

4. Being called “kawaii”

5. Working until age 80. Yes, one of my students takes English lessons for fun and is still working at this crazy age. Why, why, why?!

6. Japanese mullets

7. Suffocating from the smoke in bars, restaurants, and pretty much every public place.

8. Holes in the ground that they call toilets.

Hilarious

1. Old Japanese ladies who bow to you and smile because you’re white

2. The look on my male students’ faces when I tell them my dad is an amazing cook. Haha...it’s PRICELESS!

3. Engrish (name for Japanese English) apparel

4. Parents who dress their eight-year-old child in a hoodie with a marijuana leaf on it and the phrase “Good Life Be High.”

5. Drunken salarymen

6. Drunken salarymen singing karaoke

7. Drunken salarymen singing karaoke and not knowing why you’re laughing at them because they’re too plastered.

8. The man purse

9. Married students telling you about their “secret friends” and trying to justify their actions.

10. Male students who rock out to Fergie’s song “Big Girls Don’t Cry” while keeping a straight face and just don’t see anything funny about it.

11. The Japanese name for a “hoodie” or hooded sweatshirt is “parker.” HAHAHA!

Today was a national holiday to celebrate the beginning of spring. Ironically, it was one of the rainiest and coldest days we’ve had in awhile and we were worried we wouldn’t be able to go to the otaku festival in Den-Den Town. The rain stopped just in time and we biked over to Nipponbashi area where we met Marcus and another friend to watch a hilarious parade. At this festival, many otakus dress up in costumes or dress as their favourite anime characters and everyone just embraces their inner nerd. It was pretty fun! Here are some pictures from today’s festivities! Check out the sign one of the maids is carrying...it's hilarious.

P.S. Yes, that is Cloud, Sephiroth and Reno from FFVII!

Ume Blossoms and Too Many Pictures

One look at the ume (EW-MAY) blossoms at Osaka Castle’s lavish gardens is a sure sign it’s spring. Ume blossoms, also known as plum blossoms, originally came from China and are usually the first flowers to open in Japan. They’ve been a traditional part of Japanese history for as long as anyone can remember.
After hearing about the ume experience from Laura and Colin, Scott and I finally decided to view the blossoms for ourselves. We biked to Osaka Castle’s grounds for an ume matsuri (plum blossom viewing “party”) had a picnic, and absorbed the beauty of everything that surrounded us. It’s funny, because for the short time that the blossoms are out, almost the whole Japanese population flocks to a shrine, temple, or public park for a “party” which means drinking an Asahi Super Dry, Chu-Hi, snapping far too many pictures, or simply admiring the beauty. Before we saw the blossoms, I really didn’t understand the hype about these “parties” that involved looking at blossoms for hours on end, but now I fully understand why—it truly is a remarkable sight and Scott and I spent several hours enjoying them.

The weather here has been about 16 degrees lately and hopefully it doesn’t get cold again. Weather in Japan usually has a pattern of three days cold/rainy/gross weather followed by four days of enjoyable weather. The start of the warm weather kind of caught us off guard too since it was about 3 degrees last week and suddenly seemed to warm up overnight. The cherry blossoms (sakura) will be out by early April so hopefully we’ll catch a glimpse of them in Kyoto before we leave to come home!

Osaka Castle is absolutely gorgeous. It reminded me of Himeji Castle (from the exterior) and although we didn’t take a castle tour, we were still able to admire it from afar. Apparently, it’s one of Japan’s most famous castles and was built in the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Unlike Himeji Castle, it was badly damaged in bombing raids during World War II and has been restored since then. While the outside of the castle appears as it would have when it was first constructed, the interior doesn’t resemble a traditional Japanese castle in any way. The castle grounds sprawl over one square kilometre of land—quite a large area for a country where space is at a prime. Although the castle is unarguably a beautiful sight, it’s also strange to see such a historic landmark right in the middle of one of the busiest parts of the city.

I’m off to Mount Fuji next Sunday with my friend, Ori, who is coming to visit her brother and do her teaching practicum. We haven’t really sorted out all the details yet, but we’re going to visit an area called Hakone, which is around the base of the mountain and is famous for its many onsens (hot springs). We’re only going for a day, but I’m sure I’ll have lots more to blog about next week (including pictures of Fuji and my experience of bathing in a public place)!

Work is going well for both of us, but we’re excited to be finished on March 31^st. We depart for Korea the very next day and we’re even more thrilled for our adventures ahead!

Well, see ya later!

Jo & Scott

My Natto Experience Turned Experiment

Yesterday night, Scott and I did our routine grocery shop at the Super Tamade supermarket. Although we've become very accustomed to grocery shopping in Japan, it is still a much crazier/trippy experience than in Canada. I should have made of video of the first time we walked into one. The combination weird food, no English, bright lights/colours and tacky displays, and crazy store clerks yelling "Suuuuuuuppppper Tamade, Suuuuuuuuuuper Tammmmmade" were all just a little too much to handle for fresh-off-the-plane gaijin. Located only a five minute bike ride away, the shop's neon lights and loudspeakers are sure to draw in any passer-by. While frantically running around the supermarket, I passed by a display of natto. For those of you who have never heard of natto (and you should be thankful you haven't), it's considered one of the most healthy foods in Japan, if not the world.

If I could compare natto's appearance to anything, it would be animal turds but it's actually fermented soybean paste and is not only gross to look at, but is also sticky and emits a strong cheese-like odour. It's unfortunate that I can't share the smell of natto over the internet because you really haven't experienced natto until you've smelled it! People often say natto is an acquired taste and many of my students warned me that foreigners steer clear of it. I figured, I’m leaving Japan in a month and I’m probably never going to have the opportunity to taste it again—even if it is gross, so I picked up a pack and dropped it into my basket. Natto is typically sold in boxes which contain two small polystyrene containers. Each individual container also includes a small packet of tsuyu sauce (similar to soy sauce) and karashi (strong, flavourful mustard) that you’re supposed to mix in with the beans. I bought one box for only 48 yen!

The natto was sitting in the fridge all day today. Every time I opened the fridge, I looked at it, picked it up, smelled it, then chickened out before placing it back in the fridge. Tonight for dinner, I finally opened it, almost puked from the putrid smell, took a bite, then put it back in the fridge. Then, I decided eating it plain was rather gutsy for a natto-newbie, so I cooked some rice and mixed it with that. It was just barely bearable, but I’m proud to say I did it! It may be healthy, but wow, there is nothing tasty or enjoyable about it (for now, at least). Maybe I’ll develop an odd liking for it just before I leave...

My motivation for eating natto is not only because I consider it one of those things that must be done before leaving, but also because there are numerous health benefits. It contains a compound called pyrazine, which can reduce the likelihood of blood clotting, heart attacks, and strokes. Natto is also extremely rich in Vitamin K, which has been shown to prevent osteoporosis and Vitamin PPQ, which promotes the development of healthy skin tissues. It also has a plethora of other benefits: it’s rich in protein, prevents obesity, ageing, and baldness, and even lowers cholesterol.

Although natto is still a part of the traditional Japanese diet, it doesn’t mean it’s consumed by everyone (especially the younger generations). Whenever I see people purchasing it at the grocery store, it’s never someone from my generation—it’s always a mother or grandmother. I guess that’s why Japan has one of the highest life expectancy rates. I guess it’s true what they say, “You are what you eat.” I’ve decided I’m going to eat one serving of natto for the remaining month here and see how it goes.

Wish me luck—I sure will need it!

xoxo
Jo

A Sumo Good Time

Hey everyone!

It’s been an eventful day here. Today marked the beginning of Osaka’s annual Grand Sumo Tournament, which is held at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Namba and we were there to watch it! Our friends Tatsu and Yuka (eight months pregnant!), who helped us with the very hard task of getting tickets, came with us.
We were surprised at how many people were roaming around the streets of Namba as we approached on our charinkos (bicycles). The tournament will continue for fifteen days and is apparently one of the annual must-see events in Osaka—I guess the most appropriate comparison would be the Stanley Cup Playoffs in North America. When we entered the gymnasium, a cute little lady escorted us to our seats and even gave us a little pamphlet (in English) explaining the sumo tradition, rules, and all that good stuff. Scott and I were immediately surprised at the low spectator turnout around the gymnasium and asked Tatsu why there were so many empty seats. He explained that there has been some questionable news circulating about some famous sumo wrestlers, including a death that was inflicted during training. He also said that’s sumo wrestling just isn’t as popular as it used to be. It’s been around 1,500 years or so—it’s impressive that it’s still a celebrated tradition in Japan today.

The four of us had a fantastic time and it was great because Tatsu and Yuka could actually explain the rules of sumo in a language we could understand (the pamphlet did a pretty good job too). Sumo’s origins are actually religious and some of the first sumo matches were a form of ritual that involved praying to gods for bountiful harvests. As for the rules of sumo—they’re pretty straightforward. The sumo ring is called the dohyo and the two opponents (referred to as “rikishi”) wrestle with two objectives: 1. Thrusting the other rikishi out of the ring or 2. Pushing him on the ground. We had a good view of the dohyo from our seats and witnessed some pretty intense matches (see videos)! I was totally unaware of this before our sumo experience, but there are actually five different sumo rankings (“banzuke”). In professional sumo, the lowly trainees are called the “maegashira” and the highest class of wrestlers are in the “yokozuna” rank. The yokozuna always wrestle at the end of the day because they’re the most exciting to watch (we watched this part of the tournament and the tail end of the rank before the yokozuna). Each rikishi only wrestles once per day for fifteen days. After the outcome of each tournament is determined, wrestlers are either promoted or demoted to another rank. They rarely stay in the same rank (except for the yokozuna).

Sumo is a sport that’s deeply rooted in ritual and religion and is very formal, especially concerning etiquette and ceremonial aspects. Most of the tournament consists of ceremonies, while the actual matches are fairly short—one minute at most. At the end of the day, there is always a dance (“yumotori-shiki”) where the winner climbs on the dohyo and performs a twirling routine with a very long bow. Many Japanese consider this rite brilliant, but Scott and I agreed that we could probably do the same thing but twice as fast. Haha.

The “shikiri” is probably one of the most exciting parts of the match, especially for the yokozuna. This portion actually occurs before the match and is more like a staring contest and helps get the crowd all riled up. Unlike the lower ranks, the yokozuna have about three minutes to perform shikiri before the “gyoji” or referee, signals the beginning of the match. The gyoji is probably one of the most important figures at a sumo match and is always dressed in a traditional and colourful kimono which is similar to the style worn by samurai of the Kamakura Period about 800 years ago. The gyoji enters the dohyo before each match and calls out the name of each rikishi in a very high-pitched voice and then proceeds to signal the start of the bout with his fan. He is not only responsible for watching the wrestlers, but also shouting words of encouragement. Talk about multi-tasking!

We recorded several matches on our camera and have posted some so we can share our sumo experience with everyone back home. Some are absolutely hilarious—in one match, a rikishi was thrusted outside the dohyo and pretty much landed on top of an old woman! Unfortunately, we didn’t get that one on tape. Oh well!

After the sumo tournament, Scott, Tatsu, Yuka, and I went to a nice little Italian restaurant in Namba before heading home. It was so cute because Yuka and Tatsu gave me a present for Doll’s Festival (Hina-Matsuri). This festival is celebrated every year on March 3 and it is traditional for all Japanese girls and women to display dolls decked out in ornate kimonos and wish for such things as health, growth, marriage, and well-being. So Yuka and Tatsu thought it would be appropriate to give me my own set of dolls that I can display when I get back to Canada. They’re so kawaii!

Speaking of what’s kawaii these days...my students at the crazy kindergarten are! Last Friday, I was informed that it was going to be my last day teaching them, so luckily, I was able to snap some photos to remember their cute little faces! I’m going to miss them so much.

Two of my adult ECC students also took me out for sushi after work on Saturday and we all had a really great time together. The owner of the restaurant liked us so much that we even got some free sashimi (raw fish with no rice)! These are the times I’m going to miss the most.

As things are winding down in Japan, I’ve had some time to reflect on our time here—some things I’ll miss and some I won’t so much. Regardless, everything’s been an experience—one that has caused me to grow, mature, and discover things I never knew were possible. I’ll stop typing before I get all teary-eyed and blotchy-faced. We still have a month left—a jam-packed month at that—full of travelling, farewells in Japan, and new beginnings in Canada.

Ja mata ne!

Jo & Scott

xoxo

Homeward Bound and a Little Taste of Canada

Hello from Osaka!

Wow, it’s been awhile!

We’ve been enjoying the past few weeks here (mostly relaxing), but also counting down to the day when we’re finished work and can come home! Don't get me wrong, we've had an absolute blast in Japan, but really miss Canada lately. We officially booked our flight to Toronto a few days ago and will arrive on April 14—less than two months! We were considering the idea of visiting California for a few days, but apparently people can’t book extended stopovers here—weird—so we opted for something better! While I’m on the topic of trips, we booked our final two adventures for early April. We’ll be visiting South Korea from April 1-5 and then coming back to Osaka for the weekend before departing for Guam (from April 7-12). We’re also hoping to visit Mount Fuji in late March. One of our friends, Ori, is coming to visit Japan to do her teaching practicum (and her brother also lives here and teaches English). Anyway, we’re all planning on visiting the famous cultural landmark before we leave. After all, what’s a trip to Japan without seeing Fuji-san!?

Last weekend, Scott and I took it easy and just relaxed around Osaka. We ventured off to Koshien, an area of the city that’s home to the Hanshin Tigers and got to see the outside of the stadium where they play. They’re actually in the middle of renovating it (trust me...it needs it!). We also decided to go shopping at a new mall in the area, but were less than impressed and left empty-handed.

I’ve been working ten-hour days lately and have really come to enjoy the perks of private tutoring (especially when the students are loaded). The one student, Taka, who I wrote about in a previous entry, decided his girlfriend (who is 18 years younger than him) also needs an English teacher. Our lessons involve going to eat at lavish restaurants around the city for ten or more course meals and sampling such things as foie gras, Peking duck, and other delicacies only the rich and “famous” can afford. His girlfriend is really sweet and although she hardly speaks English, I really enjoy teaching them together. I’m really going to miss my private students.

Yesterday, Scott and I celebrated our third anniversary and had a wonderful time painting the town red with friends after a long day of work. It was great to have a few drinks and catch up with people we haven’t seen in awhile. We also discovered a great cafe/bar, “Slices,” owned by two Canadians and its specialty was poutine and custom pizza slices. Let’s just say the real taste of Canada was well worth the hefty price!

Next weekend, we’re going to a sumo wrestling match with Tatsu and his wife and we have seats right around the dohyo (ring) which literally translates to “clay and rice bales” and describes what it’s made of. We’re both pretty stoked and are happy we’ll get to witness such a once-in-a-lifetime event before we leave.

Hope all is well in Canada. Is the weather warming up at all?!

Talk to you later!

Jo & Scott

xoxo

P.S. Happy Birthday, Grandma! I miss you and will see you soon!

"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! :)