18/07/09 - 23/07/09 Kyoto & Nara

At last.....we seem to have got the hang of the whole train system in Japan (like everything here it can be a little confusing to start with! - all the info is there to help you, you just need to interpret it using a Japanese thought process!!).　So waving our Japan Rail passes we left Tokyo for Kyoto on the super speedy "Bullet" - and it is super speedy! and really feels more like a plane than a train especially going threw tunnels with the tilting and engine noises thrown in!

So 230 miles and not much time later we arrived in Kyoto (and after reading Memoirs of a Geisha a few years ago I had this down as a must see). We were told that the best way to see Kyoto is on a bike - and they weren`t wrong! It is the easiest place on the planet to cycle. You don`t have to worry about hills (it is completely flat) so fancy gears are of no use and the best bit is you can cycle on the pavement - so for nervous nerris here, no need to worry about the crazy traffic! So basically we spent a couple of days cycling around like wee old ladies - very relaxing!

And we managed to see a few of the sights too:- "Jinjo-Jo" Castle (lovely floors but only empty rooms as the Japanese weren`t/aren`t big on furniture!), then on to a "cheesy" Kimono fashion show. The Kimono is still a big part of Japanese culture and for any special occasion (this includes the likes of fireworks displays) you dig out and dust down your best Kimono. We then visited a couple of the 2,000 temples in Kyoto - "Kinkaku-Ji" & "Ryoan-Ji" - with the most bizarre exhibit being a Zen garden which consists of 15 well placed rocks (and nothing much else!).

One other thing! - we have found out the hard way that you have to plan in advance when in Japan - especially when you pick the same month that 127 million Japanese go on their hols! So while we still hadn`t quite finished enjoying Kyoto we were off to Nara for a couple of days.

Now our time in Nara led to an unusual day! - firstly, I was bitten on the bum by a deer, then we got into the museum for half price as the 22nd happened to be "man & wife day!" (first perk to being married!, but shame it wasn`t November, as the 22nd then is "good man & wife day" - and you get in for free!) and finally, we decided to try out an "Onsen" and I had a bath with naked old ladies!! Slightly disturbing day overall! So to explain....

...... "the deer bite" - they like to tame deer and let them wander around parks so you can feed them biscuits, but the deer are quite prepared to bite you on the bum if you take too long at dishing them out!

....."the bath with naked old ladies" - the "Onsen" is another part of Japanese culture which is pretty popular and it is where you strip off and go for a bath in public - but for the british psyche this can take a little getting used to! But we have to say they are actually very relaxing - and we have been for a few now (but thankfully not to mixed baths - that would be testing the british reserve just a little too much!).

So then we were back to Kyoto for some straight forward (and fully clothed) Geisha spotting in Gion - this was a success and a photo of Graham "Geisha Pestering" will be on facebook shortly!

Ready for our next stop now so back on the "Bullet"to Hiroshima ........... and one last thing (promise!), which has come to our attention is how polite the Japanese are, for example - the ticket conductor always bows when entering and leaving the train carriage, not seen that on Scotrail!

Overall the Japanese language seems to be based around how you can be more polite than everyone else! There are at least 3 different ways of saying thank you:- "aragato" (thank you), "domo aragato" (thank you very much) and "domo aragato gouziemas" (thank you very much wth please on the end!)......I`m sure there`s even more as Japan has to be the politiest place on earth! On that note, domo aragato gouziemas for continuing to read this blog!.......

14/07/09 - 18/07/09, Tokyo

Tokyo is fantastic! It`s not like anywhere else on the planet - a metropolis of crazyness (and for those of you who have seen Graham`s latest facebook update I need say no more!) Our night out with 4ｘ Japanese businessmen was one of the highlights - not a lot of Japanese/English chat was understood by both parties but it`s amazing how a few beers, taking your shirt off (Graham & Co for those of you who haven`t seen the facebook photo!), a rendition of "Will Ye Go Lassie Go" and some arm wrestling can keep you out until 3.00 in the morning!!

We also met a 60 year old French ex-pat who spent 3 hours showing us around `Electric City` - Electric City being where all the gadgets are sold - needless to say Graham thought he had died and gone to nerdy heaven!!...... I believe we are going back.........there`s also another `nerdy` past time here - going to bars where girls are dressed up as animation characters.....weird!!

And, we went on to a Shrine Festival, which was basically a fairground with some folk dressed in kimonos but where the stalls were pretty unusual and the `Freak Show` (I kid you not!) was kind of different:- a guy with a pole through his face, one with a chain up his nose and out his mouth, a `vertically challenged person` with naff magic tricks and a lady who chewed a dead snake.......what else is there to say....

But don`t worry, we`ve also been doing loads of the usual touristy things:- eating sushi, climbing towers, wandering around the red light district, window shopping in the thousands of posh department stores and taking in the stunning view at Tokyo Bay and Rainbow Bridge - but to be honest it`s difficult to convey what Tokyo is like - except that it is like looking into the future as everything seems so advanced, hi-tech and utopian.

It`s also massive (I revise my previous assessment as apparently it`s 9 cities joined together), very very tiring as even the underground stations are enormous and you have to walk for ages,　spotlessly clean (no smoking & walking on the streets!) and pretty expensive (we have been staying at youth hostels and eating at the equivalent of Scotmid - thankfully their take out food is much better!!) - BUT if we win the lottery anytime in the future we are coming back here to live it up in style!

Tokyo has been one of the highlights so far and we have extended our stay so we can go back for a few more days.....is that "Flower of Scotland" I can hear?????....

5/7/09 - 13/7/09, Northern Thailand

Before we go prattling on about Japan we thought we had better give Northern Thailand a mention. It had not been part of the original plan but it was well worth a visit (particularly Pai), and we tried a few new things when we were here:-

* 2x nights clubbing with the locals in Chiang Mai;
(quote of the night - "my wife pulled a ladyboy!")

* watching Muay Thai boxing;
(bit gruesome especially when one guy broke his ankle!)

* a sleepover with the Lahu tribe;
(introduced to a 55 year old "hermit" playboy!)

* 'bamboo' jungle lunch;
(took a wee bit of time while our guide chopped down the forest and
whittled it into bowls, cups and spoons!)

* and, then we finished off with an Elephant Ride;
(but thankfully not all the way to Bangkok as it is not as comfy as you might think and very scratchy!)

We were glad we added in Northern Thailand as it has some of the best bits that Thailand has to offer (did we mention Pai, it was lovely!)........ So, Japan......

Wow and double Wow!

We eventually managed to venture out after a few hours kip and we weren't disappointed - Tokyo is amazing (like the opposite of India but both completely fascinating!). We took the Metro to Ginza - the most expensive part of the most expensive city on earth!! - so maybe not the cheapest place for dinner/a snack! So £20 lighter we found the 300 bar where everything is 300 yen - about £2, now you're talking. Then we decided to try....I said try...to get back to the hostel......mmmm......2 trains and a taxi later we are back but lets just say its confusing out there! But we did have a chat with some Tokyoites and I was pleased to learn that the japanese for right is "Migi e" or very close to "Michie".....I think I'll like Japan!

Wow!

Just arrived in Tokyo this morning - yippee! We successfully managed to take the very very busy rush hour train to our youth hostel in the centre of this massive sprawling city (apparently its actually 4 cities joined together!). So just need to catch up on 2 nights sleep now (one was on a bus and the other a plane so we're shattered) and then we will be venturing out! Very exciting.

We're also very very pleased to see western toilets again...and these have computers attached to them!! - but still need to work out exactly what they do!

James Bond look out.....

........we liked the speedboat!!! (once we got used to it that is).

There's a few things to learn before you can relax and enjoy - passing driftwood is no problem, waves are a wee bit bumpy and rocks must be avoided at all costs!!! (and you're going too fast for the monsoon rain to really soak you - or so we found out).

What a great way to travel up the Mekong - you can really take in the landscape and it was loads of fun (oh yeah and we were unharmed - Lonely Planet are very anti this mode of transport but we felt safe all the time, the local drivers seemed to know what they're doing).

So Suzi that was the thing for last week that we would not normally have done - I'm sure we'll find something in Tokyo for next week!!

20/06/09 - 04/07/09, Laos

Laos was a destination we included in our trip because we never made it this far when we went to Vietnam and Cambodia a couple of years ago - but it was when we were floating up the Mekong that we had the idea to go travelling and had wanted to continue on to Laos. Unfortunately we had to go back to work then, but we're here now. Other than hearing from loads of folk how lovely Laos was we hadn't done any research so it was a bit of a surprise.

We are pleased to say it was a nice, relaxing surprise. Apparently, Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world but we think it has some of the happiest people. They don't believe that you should work so hard that it causes you stress and they think you should enjoy your life (sentiments perhaps which we in the west could learn from!). It is also a very scenic and rural country with beautiful landscapes - some bits are a mix between the rolling hills of Scotland and the luminous green of "The Shire" (but we didn't see any Hobbits), and others are like Halong Bay in Vietnam, but without the water. However, getting around isn't always easy as the first tarmac roads were only built 10 years ago - and there's still not many, I think 7 in total - and travel sickness tablets are a must!

As it's such a poor country there isn't much to see in terms of history or architecture (and it's been bombed a bit too), so the scenery and the people are the main attractions. For example, one afternoon was spent drinking 'Lao Lao' Whisky with the locals - this was a really good laugh but while they have a lovely naive sense of humour their jokes are rubbish!

Laos also has to be the most laidback place in Asia (think this is perhaps due to their attitude to life), as their capital city Vientiane is pretty much deserted and more like a small town. Anyway, while in Laos 'do as they do' - so we decided to adopt their ways for a while and relaxed as we know how - we splashed out on a fancy hotel (12 pounds per night!), which had a bath and TV - what luxury! It was great to have a bath for the first time in 3 months and we stayed up until 4.30am watching Andy Murray at Wimbledon. But, don't get us wrong we weren't putting our feet up all the time - one day we hired bikes and cycled for 18 miles!

So we're heading back to northern Thailand now, via the Mekong again......the 1st 9 hours by 'slow' boat and the last 4 by 'speed' boat - like in James Bond but not quite so glam!

Tubing for 2012!

Now that would be an interesting sport. For those of you who are none the wiser as to what this is, there's not a lot to it - find yourself a tractor tyre, sit on it and float down a river. But....... make sure the river is lined with pubs and has folk waiting to throw a rope out to you so they can drag you in for a beer (or 2). Repeat several times and that's pretty much it! We have been in training and can recommend it. Forgot to mention, there are also rope swings, slides and mud baths too - but don't worry about the H&S, after a couple of beers no one's bothered. Maybe the "Water of Leith" will have this by the time we get back - otherwise Vang Vieng in Laos may be the nearest one!