Phil – Page 2 – Brave or Foolhardy

July 18, 2023July 21, 2023

Day 2 – Empirical

We chose perhaps the hottest day to find out a bit more about what Tokyo has to offer. Also to learn a few lessons about booking things. We started off grabbing some breakfast out before heading to Sunshine City where we had hoped to fix the shopping bug and visit the aquarium. Sadly the heat set light to our shopping as we just didn’t have the energy and when we enquired about the aquarium after queuing we established that all tickets for today were sold out. So much for plan A. So we reverted to visiting the imperial palace and gardens where the heat was turned up to 11! We basically had to hide in shade and take some photos as it was simply unbearable in the business district.

The afternoon was more successful. We ventured to a pre-booked all senses immersive experience called TeamLABS. It was fab and a real break from the norm and the heat. Part of it was the sharing of a flame above that has been transported by guests to over 400k destinations around the world. We will bring ours back to Hampshire. Following that was a lovely traditional “Japanese” meal where we were only accompanied by tourists 🙂

What we did do eventually was book the aquarium for tomorrow and once that was done Susie and I dashed out in the slightly milder evening air to hit the Anime capital for Otaku. We geeked out in front of the myriad shops and signs and people congregating at this late hour.

July 16, 2023July 18, 2023

Day 1 – First proper day – Sunday 16th – Tokyo

For me quite an inauspicious start as I managed to get dehydrated and then sick in the hours up to the 9am scheduled bike ride. Jenni took over with the 10% contribution I would have made and had to sort the directions, a train journey, topping up contactless travel cards and keep up the spirits of three jet lagged children. I slept.

The bike ride was fab though and while it was in the mid 30s temperature wise, the team put in a sterling effort. Tokyo was made for cyclists. You can cycle on pavements, roads, up one way roads the wrong way etc. Overall people are just more geared up for it. We have seen so few cars. It is like the whole of the city is how London now is with the ULEZ zone.

Below we have the entrance to the Atago shrine, Zojoji temple garden with figurines representing children lost through miscarriage and more recently prayers for healthy children.

This afternoon, we then grabbed a bite at a restaurant where commonly you enter the dish you want on a ticket machine in the lobby and then pay. You hand the ticket to the chef and then they bring it to you when it is ready. We have so many etiquette pieces to learn that sometimes they overlap themselves and you find yourself simultaneously in the way, not doing the right thing, bringing the restaurant to shut down status with 5 people. It is amazing we got any food at all but everyone was trying so hard to help and we were so grateful to finally eat something.

After lunch we went on a cruise up the river. A company that the cycling team spotted on the way back. It was another “guess the script” occasion but we did eventually get on the right boat. The sky tree was a popular photo subject from the river.

The temptation to go back to the hotel was strong with the people who didn’t sleep off their sickness but we managed to cajole everyone into a visit to the sky tree tower. Some waiting and shopping and waiting later we got in the cramped lifts and were treated to a spectacular sunset overlooking Mount Fuji. We were so expecting not to see it at all, so to see it on our first day suggested the holiday has gotten off to a fabulous start. We grabbed some food in the food court on the way out and mulled over the day. Some real tired and sore folk now so a train back to the hotel completed the festivities.

July 14, 2023

Airport at the crack of dawn

The sunrise on the morning of our flight to the land of the rising sun was spectacular. The advantage of getting up earlier to reduce jet lag resulted in a very prompt departure. We are checked in and having a nibble of breakfast in the lounge. So far so good.

A quick update on some of the things we have coming up on the trip….

Cycle tour of Tokyo – tomorrow morning!
Cooking lesson in Kyoto
Team lab in Tokyo
Spa in Hakone

We will be taking in the Kyoto skyline, visiting the memorial in Hiroshima, seeing the Osaka fireworks festival and getting to almost everywhere by Shinkansen.

It feels like we have less than half the luggage of everyone else here today. I don’t think the lounge was expecting a whole family. The army of single road warriors had an air of disapproval wafting across. No speaking is the norm isn’t it, but is it because that is respectful or because people don’t want to talk to other people before they fly. Maybe it was because it was 07:00.

We were undeterred however and as the crescendo of work life is deadened by elevator Muzak in the lounge and a glass of bubbly is duelling with a handsome breakfast brains appear to be repairing themselves. Children who have hardly said a word are remembering the art of communication and quality time together as a family. We need this!

Next stop Abu Dhabi for a plane changeover.

July 8, 2023July 21, 2023

We are off to Japan!

It feels almost unreal that we are in the final stages of getting ready to go to Japan. It seems to have taken ages and then, all at once it is upon us. We have planned a packed agenda for the couple of weeks and over the course of the trip we will be posting updates here to let you know what is going on.

August 31, 2012

Chiang Mai – Centre

Jumping onto the local sorng tao buses yesterday we were dropped off at the impressive South Gate to the city wall of Chiang Mai. It was to be the start of a full on tour of the city centre which which had thus far failed to achieve despite staying nearby for over a week.

We approximated the lonely planet walking tour but focused on some key objectives.

1) a shop selling items made by street children to begin our souvenir hunt.
2) lunch at the blue diamond cafe
3) escaping the heat at the air conditioned cultural museum
4) visiting the Wat for monk chatting
5) finishing souvenir buying in the night market

Ihave to sau that given we have a young family, they have really come along during our trip. If we had asked them to walk this much in one day back in June it would have caused a cacophony of wailing before we were even half way round.

Lunch was delightful, I had a handsome tuna and avocado salad washed down with hill tribe coffee.

Walking to the cultural centre we were acutely aware that Chiang Mai is a traveller haven and on those streets the backpackers are in the majority.

Following a top up on the history of Chiang Mai and the Lanna Kingdom we felt that we were going to expire before the day was done

We therefore made a stop at Central Plaza Mall because we all thought the afternoon/evening activities would go more smoothly with a rest and an ice cream.

Chatting to the monks was neat and we spent nearly an hour discussing the teaching of meditation, objectives and moralities.

By the time we got oto the night market we were hungry and my nemesis awaited. There is a food court procedure here that I will never understand the benefit of. You cannot buy food with cash. You have to convert cash to coupons and then spend the coupons. It is utterly pointless in this age and I spent 30 mins dancing between stalls, cashier booths and the separate place to purchase drinks. I will not miss that element of Asia at all.

The night market was fairly predictable so I will close to say we had a full and fulfilling day.

[geolocation]

August 27, 2012August 27, 2012

Visit to Plan International – Chiang Rai

We made a visit today with Plan International to a school in the hills of Northern Thailand. It was one of the things we had planned to do before we left the UK.

On the way we stopped at a supermarket to pick up some gifts to offer the school. We chose with the help of the charity representative stationery, sports equipment and games. Things that they have difficulty buying with the school budget. We got a bit carried away, but it’s all for a good cause!

We headed up into the hills and the scenery was breathtaking. It was about 10:30 when we arrived and we discovered that it was coincidentally the day when the school inspectors were in. Amazingly they managed to accommodate us in addition to the inspectors, I’m not sure a UK school would have managed so well had OFSTED been in on the same day,

The children at the school had prepared first a demonstration of the Akaq hill tribe dance and music. Our kids then got a chance to join in and I am proud to say they had a go. Emma proved quite talented at the dancing and bamboo stick tapping despite her bad foot and Luke enjoyed joining the boys on the cymbals. It was interesting to see the school children move from detached performing for visitors to engaged and entertained by our children being prepared to join in.

Next there was a presentation about what the school does with the charity and the money it receives. They focus in school on developing agricultural skills in addition to formal education, and use the crops and livestock to ensure that everyone in school receives a nutritious lunch free of charge. They also work in the village with teenage mothers, basic hygiene and ensuring that births are registered to enable access to education, healthcare and jobs.

We were then taken on a tour of the school grounds and saw the chickens, pigs and crops before we had lunch. The fresh eggs and fried rice were delicious. We were escorted throughout by a very excited group of children, very keen to show us everything from how to clean an egg to how to feed the pigs. It was lovely to see their relaxed relationship with the teacher showing us round. The younger ones hugging him and all of them talking freely. We might have expected a more authoritarian approach but that wasn’t the case.

Our children made friends with some of the pupils of the school and there was a real sense of understanding I think about how the children live in the remote community. The children were shy to talk to us directly although some of them had quite good English.

The children at the school were very excited and loved the gifts that we took. They wanted to take photos of us with the gifts, all a bit embarrassing! Our guys were a little disappointed that the football pitch was too waterlogged for them to help test out the new footballs.

In the afternoon we continued our tour but also went on a trip to one of the pupils houses. Her dream is to run her own business based around her family’s coffee plantation.

They showed us round their house, which we think was one of the largest in the village – they had three bedrooms which was very unusual in a place where often the living, cooking and sleeping happen in one room. Despite that, the floor felt very unsteady – reed matting laid over bamboo poles. They also showed the children how to make the pig food from the trunk of a banana tree and then their coffee plantation. The views were stunning!

We were made to feel so welcome and the local kids wanted to be with us all the time. We had an amazing day and were sad to leave, but we were also exhausted.

This next picture will render better if you click on it so it has a page to itself.

August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

Pictures updates

We have been busy taking photos around Thailand so thought the site could do with a spruce up too. A new theme and a new header. What do you think? Keep, revert back to fruit shake or search for a new one?

[geolocation]

The train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Peace

Feeding the elephants

Erawan Falls

Right, which is the bin?

Um… The pink tandem 🙂

Crossing the bridge over the River Kwai – pronounced like “square” without the “s”

A crowded tuk-tuk!

One of thousands of graves from the death railway in Kanchanaburi

Erawan Falls

August 22, 2012

A snippet of our Bangkok cycle tour

Cycle Tour In Bangkok Suburb from phildavies on Vimeo.

August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

Erawan falls Thailand near Kanchanaburi

Erawan Falls Thailand from phildavies on Vimeo.

August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

Cycling tour in Bangkok

We have just finished a great cycle ride with “On” our guide for the day. It all started this morning getting a cab to a different hotel to meet up. We thought it was odd that one taxi driver refused to take us but thought it was the time of day, or not far enough. We then took a trip round a wet market at Makkasan station. Most of the sellers were from the same village where we were on our way to and they , true to form, all fell in love with Susie. We saw loads of fruit, the insides of chickens with the eggs still growing inside. Did you know that they start off as yolks before the shell is made? It might settle the age old argument about which came first!

We then waited nearly an hour for a train and the train ride itself took nearly another 30 minutes.

By the time we got there everyone was very hot and so we were quite worried that tears would flow if the bikes were not right. We had given the tour company a list of heights for the children in advance but you never know. It was only the second time they had catered for young children.

We got the bikes adjusted and set off and I have to say I was very proud of our three for getting on with it.

We cycled through rice fields and learned about how it grows, is planted and harvested and examined some that was nearly ready to be picked.

We also got a close up of the banana plant to see what else is used in cooking other than the banana fruit itself. Quite a bit more than I thought.

We also passed many shrimp and catfish farms. The shrimp farms are distinguished by the paddle wheels across them used to aereate the water as the shrimp need a lot of Oxygen.

We eventually came to the village and we had lunch in a lovely cabin built over the shrimp farms with giant doors and a cooking class layout inside. The food was delicious and all local from the greens beans to the chicken, rice and bamboo. We washed it down with coca cola and water. It was important to eat everything because the ingredients take a long time to grow!

The return journey was great with our kids teaching On the and games that have become quite common on our trip – “a sailor went to sea, sea, sea” etc.

We passed another train that had caught fire and paused for a look. Nothing different to the UK there then.

I took some pictures of the level crossing just before our station where in an ordinary world the traffic waits for the train. Here of course possession is nine tenths of the law so you park across the level crossing and stay firm in your traffic jam until you can move again. The train shoudl stop. We waited for 10 mins on the train!

Overall we had a really good time and the kids did us proud in the main.

Getting back to our hotel was more tricky. Remember I said a taxi driver turned us down on the outbound route? Well this time there was definitely something wrong with our destination as no fewer than 6 taxis said thanks but no thanks! It seems they don’t like traffic jams. Bummer if you are a taxi driver in Bangkok then because that is pretty much all there is!

I did a time lapse of Bangkok at night from our hotel the other night through to sunrise. I have put two pictures to give you a feel for it at the bottom of the photo stream. It could be quote cool as there are 3800 pictures to make it but I need a computer at home to combine them.