Hello from Kota Kinabalu, Borneo! According to wiki languages, hello in Malay is "Hello". 1) how boring and 2) how useful! and 3) how awful that I had to look that up, even though I've been in the country for 4 days.
I should let you know from the get go that this blog update will be photo free, because I forgot to bring my photo uploader jobby. But I will be painting pictures with my words, so I hope that is sufficient.
I've now been a solo traveller for 16 days. The mathematicians amongst you will know that's more than 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS! My initial separation from the Hyndman youngers was rubbish. I'd had the most amazing time with them, and as I trundled (can you trundle on a 300mph bullet train?!) from Tokyo to Kyoto, I was feeling quite lost and lonesome. The appearance of Mount Fuji, sitting on the horizon like an iced bun, pushed me to the very verge of tears - it didn't seem quite right to see such a sight by myself. I had to quickly watch Battlestar Galactica to stop myself from blubbing on the Japanese businessman next to me.
Luckily, everything about Kyoto was hella awesome so, while there was still a Hyndman shaped hole in my ongoing travels, I could at least preoccupy myself with exploring this beautiful city and its history, drinking sake and doing origami with some wonderful people, and watching sea otters frolicking in aquariums (that last bit was technically Osaka, if you're going to be picky). Some of the highlights of the rest of my time in Japan were going to Gion, a district in Kyoto where you can still find real life Geishas, and seeing a Geisha show. Man, those women (if you can even class them in the same bracket as us mere mortals) are stunning - perfectly poised and graceful beyond belief. Further proof that Japan is not the country to go to for an ego boost. I also managed to miss my train to Hiroshima, but had a fantastic day as a result, hiking through the hills behind Kyoto and finding postcard-perfect scenes of waterfalls, sun-dappled forest floors and views over the city. Beautiful.
After 5 days in Kyoto, I headed back to Tokyo and flew to Bangkok. Getting off the plane and heading in to the city was quite a shock after Japan. Stuck in a super hot bus, with families whizzing past on mopeds, car horns ringing in my ears and the smell of open sewers singeing my nostrils, I philosophically pondered on the differences between two cultures which, at their core, have many similarities. But then I arrived at my hostel, saw that there was a food market at the end of my road selling mango and sticky rice, and pondered no more. It was really nice to be back in Bangkok, albeit briefly as I then flew out the next day to Malaysian Borneo.
After a couple of flights and lot of waiting around, I found myself in a pick up truck, being whizzed from Tawau (a port town on the border with Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo) through palm oil plantations to Semporna, a seaside town which is...on the sea. There is not much to be said of Semporna - it is a bit of a dive, from which you can dive. I should write their brochure! I stayed for one night there and, craving a bit of white sandy beach and crystal clear water, as tourists are want to do, I headed over to stay on an island called Mabul. It was verging on the resort-y, but that is the only negative I can say about it. The snorkelling was incredible - I followed a turtle around for ages as it grazed on sea grass, transfixed by its slightly clumsy swimming and barnacle covered face. It probably thought I was an absolute moron, as he was just eating his lunch. My turtle stalking did result in me having the worst sunburn in all my 24 years - I'd like to say it was worth it but it still hurts three days on. I also had the chance to do some diving with an amazing instructor. He asked what I'd like to see and, as it was just me and him, he gave me a guided tour of the ocean floor. We saw more turtles, squid, lionfish, sea horses, moray eels and a whole selection of sealife that I have no grouping for, but enthusiastically gave the "tip top" hand signal when he pointed it out to me. It was one of the greatest moments of my trip yet, nay, my LIFE! Let's not get over-excited. It was great though! Money and time allowing, I would've spent a lot longer there. But unfortunately, running a bit low on both of those, I found myself on an 8 hour night bus to Kota Kinabalu. Horrific. The driver, taking advantage of no one on the roads, drove like someone had put a firework up his posterior. Which is no mean feat, seeing as we were on winding mountain roads. He only stopped twice - once for snacks and once when someone threw a rock at the bus and cracked the windscreen. He got out of the bus, chased after the person, then came back and carried on regardless. I get the impression, based on his reaction and the state of some of the buses at the depot, that it was quite a regular occurrence.
So that pretty much takes me up to present day! I'm going on a 3 day jungle trek tomorrow, to try and find some orangutans and tiny elephants, and get chewed on by leeches, and then heading on to some enormous caves in the middle of nowhere that have bat displays! All very exciting and very nature-y.
I hope you are all well - send me your news and send me some money.
Lots of love xxxxx
p.s. I'll post some pictures soon!
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Monday 12 April 2010
Hakuba, part the second, and Tokyo
Konichiwa friends-san! Sorry for not updating this more regularly, but hostel internet and loads of travelling/awesome fun meant I have fallen behind. Su mi ma sen. (that means excuse me in Japanese).
The rest of Hakuba was super cool - we got into quite the routine of boarding all day, then eating all night. And playing some pool. We took a day trip to Kambayashi Ousen Guchi, just outside Nagano, to see monkeys what sit in hot springs.
Monkeys! They were brilliant, and very volumous in number - about 200 in this particular troop. And they just didn't give a monkeys (sorry) that there were loads of humans gawping at them. They just hung out, bathed, ate some fleas. Same old, same old.
After our monkey fest, we decided to have our lunch a fair distance away but not, I'm ashamed to say, in a designated picnic area. A couple of bites in to our sarnies and I hear "oh my god!" from Kez. Cue monkey bounding full speed towards us. Such was the shock and speed of the attack that I didn't have time to stuff said sandwich into my bag, nor into my mouth. Thus the monkey goes straight for me. Plus Alex and Kerry had legged it. Monkey-san grabs onto the dangly bits of my bag and will not let go, despite the fact that I'm shaking it around a lot. Luckily, Kez had the bright idea of chucking some of her sandwich into a nearby gorge. This disracts monkey momentraily, not killing it (don't worry), so I ran quick smart towards a designated picnic zone, where I was sure I would be safe. However, monkey started to pursue and a frantic chase over woodland and valley ensued. We finally lost him on a forest track, and when we found a picnic bench in a car park, we rewarded ourselves with some pocky (let me explain: this is a kind of Japanese chocolate.) All very exciting.
Here is me reasoning with a monkey, just in case he had a similar idea.
So, after a week of snow with a brief but thrilling monkey interlude, we headed to Tokyo. It is the most amazing city, but couldn't be more different to the quiet and mellow Hakuba. Neon, loud and packed, it is quite a shock to every sense. Highlights have been the Tsujiki fish market...
We had to get up at 4 to get there in time for the best fishy action, but it was worth it - absolutely crazy, with Kerry sized tunas, blood, guts, shouting and hundreds of Japanese men driving around on motorised trollies. Diving into pools of squid was sometimes the only way to escape hit and run.
Cat cafes! Another bizarre japanese invention, where lonely people can go and hang out with cats.
Onsen. These are Japanese baths, where you have to lose your inhibitions as it's a strictly no clothes event. Thus I don't actually have any pictures to show, but they are lovely - hot springs outside, surrounded by trees and high fences to keep out wandering eyes. You emerge looking like a cooked prawn, but who cares?!
Shibuya, Harajuku and Akihabura. These places are an assault on the eyes and ears, but the place to see the weird and wonderful of Tokyo
Teddy boys in Yoyogi park, in Harajuku. Foot high quiffs.
Stupid dogs, also in Yoyogi park.
People trying to cross roads in Shibuya.
Aracde games in Akihabura. So loud you think your brain might explode.
Final highlight has been all the food - sitting on the floor, cooking pancakes and drinking sake. Plum wine and flayed fish in a smoky restaurant surrounded by drunk businessmen. Mystery balls of stuff from a park stall. Raw things - fish, chicken (apparently OK in Japan) and various ofally bits, which could be cooked or not. Yum yummas.
Kerry is heading back tomorrow, which is rubbish, and Alex has to work for some reason, but I shall be heading on to Kyoto to hopefully gain some more things to write about! So will update again soon...ish.
Lots and lots of love xxxxx
p.s. a lot of these pictures are Kerry and Alex's, because I'm not very good at capturing moments photographically.
The rest of Hakuba was super cool - we got into quite the routine of boarding all day, then eating all night. And playing some pool. We took a day trip to Kambayashi Ousen Guchi, just outside Nagano, to see monkeys what sit in hot springs.
Monkeys! They were brilliant, and very volumous in number - about 200 in this particular troop. And they just didn't give a monkeys (sorry) that there were loads of humans gawping at them. They just hung out, bathed, ate some fleas. Same old, same old.
After our monkey fest, we decided to have our lunch a fair distance away but not, I'm ashamed to say, in a designated picnic area. A couple of bites in to our sarnies and I hear "oh my god!" from Kez. Cue monkey bounding full speed towards us. Such was the shock and speed of the attack that I didn't have time to stuff said sandwich into my bag, nor into my mouth. Thus the monkey goes straight for me. Plus Alex and Kerry had legged it. Monkey-san grabs onto the dangly bits of my bag and will not let go, despite the fact that I'm shaking it around a lot. Luckily, Kez had the bright idea of chucking some of her sandwich into a nearby gorge. This disracts monkey momentraily, not killing it (don't worry), so I ran quick smart towards a designated picnic zone, where I was sure I would be safe. However, monkey started to pursue and a frantic chase over woodland and valley ensued. We finally lost him on a forest track, and when we found a picnic bench in a car park, we rewarded ourselves with some pocky (let me explain: this is a kind of Japanese chocolate.) All very exciting.
Here is me reasoning with a monkey, just in case he had a similar idea.
So, after a week of snow with a brief but thrilling monkey interlude, we headed to Tokyo. It is the most amazing city, but couldn't be more different to the quiet and mellow Hakuba. Neon, loud and packed, it is quite a shock to every sense. Highlights have been the Tsujiki fish market...
We had to get up at 4 to get there in time for the best fishy action, but it was worth it - absolutely crazy, with Kerry sized tunas, blood, guts, shouting and hundreds of Japanese men driving around on motorised trollies. Diving into pools of squid was sometimes the only way to escape hit and run.
Cat cafes! Another bizarre japanese invention, where lonely people can go and hang out with cats.
Onsen. These are Japanese baths, where you have to lose your inhibitions as it's a strictly no clothes event. Thus I don't actually have any pictures to show, but they are lovely - hot springs outside, surrounded by trees and high fences to keep out wandering eyes. You emerge looking like a cooked prawn, but who cares?!
Shibuya, Harajuku and Akihabura. These places are an assault on the eyes and ears, but the place to see the weird and wonderful of Tokyo
Teddy boys in Yoyogi park, in Harajuku. Foot high quiffs.
Stupid dogs, also in Yoyogi park.
People trying to cross roads in Shibuya.
Aracde games in Akihabura. So loud you think your brain might explode.
Final highlight has been all the food - sitting on the floor, cooking pancakes and drinking sake. Plum wine and flayed fish in a smoky restaurant surrounded by drunk businessmen. Mystery balls of stuff from a park stall. Raw things - fish, chicken (apparently OK in Japan) and various ofally bits, which could be cooked or not. Yum yummas.
Kerry is heading back tomorrow, which is rubbish, and Alex has to work for some reason, but I shall be heading on to Kyoto to hopefully gain some more things to write about! So will update again soon...ish.
Lots and lots of love xxxxx
p.s. a lot of these pictures are Kerry and Alex's, because I'm not very good at capturing moments photographically.
Friday 2 April 2010
Hakuba!
We're here! We actually arrived a few days ago, but I'm a bit slow in getting this highly informative and exciting blog on line. This will hopefully be a way for me to let you all know that I'm alive, and doing some exciting things.
Kerry and I had a mammoth journey to Hakuba, which is in the mountainous middle/westy bit of Japan. We took two planes, on one of which we got slightly upgraded! To Economy EXTRA!
Here is Kerry enjoying the benefits of a little upgrade - a warm flannel. We also had a bit more leg room, a bag for our shoes and orange juice in actual glasses! We're did quite a lot of cheers-ing to our awesomeness and sneered at those traveling normal economy. Suckers.
We eventually arrived at Tokyo Narita, where Kerry's bro Alex met us, and we headed into central Tokyo to get our bullet train to Nagano (nearest city to Hakuba). Even from the train, Tokyo was overwhelming - massive and loud on the eyes. We escaped briefly to a little park by Ueno station, which is where we were getting our train, to see the first bloom of the cherry blossom season - beautiful, and hundreds of tiny Japanese people were out to share the loveliness. I felt like a big giant.
After our bullet to Nagano, we had to take a bus and a taxi before we finally arrived at our hostel in Hakuba. 26 hours after leaving home. Blurgh.
Hakuba is the base town to about 6 small ski resorts. Perhaps because it's the end of the season, or because it's been styled on a mid-west American town, but it's absolutely dead in a brilliantly eerie way. It's at the foot of mountains at the beginning of a big snowy plane, and has clapboard houses and lots of closed shops. And a 7 11. Our hostel is full of some very nice people though - I lent my suncream to a very tall Dutch man named Tommy, who had been horrifically sunburnt on a big hike. He didn't really seem to care that his eyes had almost swollen shut and he was tomato in hue - at home (Europe), he hikes for weeks at a time and sleeps in the wilderness in a sleeping bag, no tent. No biggie.
We've had three days of boarding, which has been sunny, rainy, patchy, painful and slushy. The best thing about the Japanese ski resorts are their lack of safety - usually no bars on chairlifts, or anything to tell you when or where to get on apart from a bell, or just a tiny marker stopping you from going off a cliff. But everyone waves and says arigato a lot, so they're a happy bunch despite major safety issues. We've been hitting the parks (by hitting I mean flying over things and falling off stuff) and having a lovely old time. We've also eaten lots of noodles and done a lot of sleeping.
We're here until next Wednesday, then heading off to Tokyo for a week to feel overwhelmed and drink saki and seat sushi. I'll hopefully write a little update from there.
Hope this hasn't been too boring! Lots of love to you, and send me your news too.
Sayonara, from Kez and Alex also
xxx
p.s. any questions about the name of this blog should be directed to Tone.
p.p.s. sorry for lack of pictures - will post more when I have more internet time.
Kerry and I had a mammoth journey to Hakuba, which is in the mountainous middle/westy bit of Japan. We took two planes, on one of which we got slightly upgraded! To Economy EXTRA!
Here is Kerry enjoying the benefits of a little upgrade - a warm flannel. We also had a bit more leg room, a bag for our shoes and orange juice in actual glasses! We're did quite a lot of cheers-ing to our awesomeness and sneered at those traveling normal economy. Suckers.
We eventually arrived at Tokyo Narita, where Kerry's bro Alex met us, and we headed into central Tokyo to get our bullet train to Nagano (nearest city to Hakuba). Even from the train, Tokyo was overwhelming - massive and loud on the eyes. We escaped briefly to a little park by Ueno station, which is where we were getting our train, to see the first bloom of the cherry blossom season - beautiful, and hundreds of tiny Japanese people were out to share the loveliness. I felt like a big giant.
After our bullet to Nagano, we had to take a bus and a taxi before we finally arrived at our hostel in Hakuba. 26 hours after leaving home. Blurgh.
Hakuba is the base town to about 6 small ski resorts. Perhaps because it's the end of the season, or because it's been styled on a mid-west American town, but it's absolutely dead in a brilliantly eerie way. It's at the foot of mountains at the beginning of a big snowy plane, and has clapboard houses and lots of closed shops. And a 7 11. Our hostel is full of some very nice people though - I lent my suncream to a very tall Dutch man named Tommy, who had been horrifically sunburnt on a big hike. He didn't really seem to care that his eyes had almost swollen shut and he was tomato in hue - at home (Europe), he hikes for weeks at a time and sleeps in the wilderness in a sleeping bag, no tent. No biggie.
We've had three days of boarding, which has been sunny, rainy, patchy, painful and slushy. The best thing about the Japanese ski resorts are their lack of safety - usually no bars on chairlifts, or anything to tell you when or where to get on apart from a bell, or just a tiny marker stopping you from going off a cliff. But everyone waves and says arigato a lot, so they're a happy bunch despite major safety issues. We've been hitting the parks (by hitting I mean flying over things and falling off stuff) and having a lovely old time. We've also eaten lots of noodles and done a lot of sleeping.
We're here until next Wednesday, then heading off to Tokyo for a week to feel overwhelmed and drink saki and seat sushi. I'll hopefully write a little update from there.
Hope this hasn't been too boring! Lots of love to you, and send me your news too.
Sayonara, from Kez and Alex also
xxx
p.s. any questions about the name of this blog should be directed to Tone.
p.p.s. sorry for lack of pictures - will post more when I have more internet time.
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