Shiraishi Jima

Shiraishi Island is a wonderful secluded haven tucked into the sparkling Seto Inland Sea, a sea that is identified as one of the most spectacular in Japan. Traditional, charming villages are dotted along the countryside, reminiscent of a quieter, simpler time. We stayed in a wonderful International Villa on the island. It was a great place to talk to people from around the world, dine and read on the porch, hike through the mountains and just plain relax. It was a wonderful escape and a great trip – what a way to spend a November weekend!
Here's a picture of the Villa!

Okayama

Here are a few more pictures of the famous gardens - along with a picture of Jeff just to prove we were there!

Korakuen Garden, Okayama

Okayama Korakuen Garden, located on an island across from Okayama Castle, is considered to be one of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. The garden is gorgeous…whatever time of year it might be. Fall is gorgeous, the colors spectacular, muted and yet still brilliant. I loved the smells, each time we rounded a corner, another scene, another smell, another color confronted us. It was a wondrous way to spend an afternoon.

At the top!!!

And now...the intrepid hikers...Andres, Jeff, Karen, Marjon, Karen and Craig.

More on Mt. Ena

Here's another gorgeous view of the fall colors.

Mt. Ena, Gifu preficture, Japan

We just went on a hike yesterday...today I'm trying to see if my legs will talk to me or not....It was actually probably the toughest hike I've ever done...the summit is at 2190m (7185 feet)and from where we started, we climbed 2296 feet...it was a grueling trip. We were told it was generally a 'walk-up' with a couple of difficult sections. HAH! It was an unblieveably difficult trip, almost from the start.
We entered the trail and immediately began a vertical assent. Marjon assured us that the first part was the worst...about 15 minutes up. Well, it was early in the day (about 8:30) so we were fresh and foolish and on we went. Now you must know...Japanese trail blazers don't believe in zig-zag approaches to an uphill stretch. You go STRAIGHT up. Makes the trails shorter but the gain in altitude is unbelievable and so is the gasping breath and the cramping muscles. Once we finished that ascent, it did seem to do the rolling hike for a while...up quite a bit, down a bit...very little flat but up and down isn't too bad. Then it turned into more up than down but that's not too bad since, after all, we were climbing a mountain. It was pretty strenuous and I stopped more than one time to catch my breath (I was definately the LAST one in the party).
Then we hit the 'bit more difficult' stretch. Oh my gosh. We, quite literally, crawled up a rock strewn section of hillside - the path sparsely marked by the periodic scrap of colored fabric. The tumble of boulders and scree was insane. Once through that, the trail turned into a network of fallen trees and exposed tree roots with wonderful thorny bushes woven into every handhold. To add to the delightful experience, the gorgeous, colored leaves were falling at an astonishing rate, making the trail slick and treacherous. Still crawling, we pretty well just endured this last hellish climb. Once we hit the top of that section, there was still more to go. We headed up again, though most of the remaining stretch to the summit was back to the rolling hill routine. We hit a "false summit" where a couple of dozen Japanese were sprawled out resting, eating talking and drinking (yes, they carry EVERYTHING up the hill). We continued on to the 'REAL' summit...complete with another complement of resting people.
The scenery was beautiful! The fall colors were really great - especially the leaves that were still clinging to the trees rather than the ones that were underfoot. We did have to pose for our 'we made it pose' under the summit sign.

Island Village

A few shots of the Muslim stilt village and people in the area. There were lots of opportunities to hike around!!!

Bahtra Cruise

The cruise itself was great – a nice, relaxing voyage around the island, very picturesque, on a genuine junk-rigged-schooner (with, of course the addition of an engine because the sails are no longer strong enough to survive any kind of wind, let alone move the junk), allowing you to glide gracefully past spectacular islands that tower above the sea – a display of mottled limestone draped with multi-hued green vines. Ok…should sound like that came off of a brochure (it did). They did give us a photo-op when we went off to see the island – they put up the sails and then the smaller motor boat went around the whole thing so we could snap pictures.

James Bond Island

We took a really cool trip on an old chinese junk out to, of all places, James Bond Island. Hmmm…you might ask what is so significant about that. Well…one of the James Bond movies (Man with the Golden Gun) was shot out on one of the smaller islands just off Phuket Island. (We checked out the movie – it really is the same with place quite a bit of Hollywood editing to add houses and the required bedrooms.)

North of Patong

On to the beach. Patong was unfortunately hit in the tsunami and the whole coastline was heavily damaged. Patong Beach has received massive reconstruction and, despite the rain, was open for business. We drove up the coast further (fortunately it did quit raining) and we found other tourist areas that were not so fortunate. Here we saw homes and business still ravaged and little rebuilt. It’s a precarious existence there and the tsunami just destroyed so much.
The picture is just north of Patong, one of the small streams that feed into the ocean.

Patong Beach

I seem to have a thing about driving in all of these places and once more I have the drive story. We decided to rent a jeep type vehicle and drive around the island. Now remember, this is the place with motorcycles that go wherever they want, honk their horns if they do anything at all, make up their own rules as they go and have tuk tusk stopping all over the place. Add quite a few pedestrians who don’t know where the sidewalk is and, well, you get the picture.
With this ambiance, we took the jeep out to head over to Patong Beach. Now, you must add to the aforementioned mix, rain. Not PNW rain, this is tropical storm rain that comes down by the buckets – BIG buckets. This jeep…it is watertight, I’ll give it that. It has windshield wipers too…with 2 speeds; slow and slower. The road to Patong includes a hill. Not your little hill with a nice road going up. It’s a steep, windy road, with motorcycles wandering about – yes, even in the rain – with tuk tusk rushing by and the rain pouring down and the windshield wipers w..i..p..i..n..g the window. All in all, it was quite an adventure.

Tourist Traps

The man drove us around a bit more…a beach that was hit by the tsunami, a Chinese Buddhist temple, a few more scenic areas, then he just mentioned there was a great little store he could take us to. Before we knew it, we were at a very large, jewelry store. He had been so nice we went in and looked around (whew – Very Expensive) and left. He just happened to know where there was another little shop…just around the corner (WOW – VERY Expensive). Well…we thought it was a little odd but ok…we went in. I must admit, some of it is gorgeous and I now know how pearls are grown and harvested. Well…down the street there just happened to be….this one was VERY EXPENSIVE. I was worried about even walking on their carpet.
We finally discovered that there’s a method to their madness. The taxi and tuk tuk drivers are paid to bring tourists to these jewelry markets. All we have to do is stay a certain length of time and then they get paid for bringing us – whether we buy anything or not. Knowing that we continued letting them take us to one place, but we said no after that. I don’t mind helping the local economy but after a while…..

Treetop Restaurants

The next stop on our mini tour was a gorgeous hilltop with a pretty spectacular view of the city and the bay. There was a delightful restaurant that was nestled in the middle of the jungle and perched right at a beautiful viewpoint. Well…we, of course…had to have lunch there. I ordered a cashew salad…expecting to have lettuce and such with cashews sprinkled on it. Jeff had said that cashews were exported from Thailand but that really didn’t sink in….until the salad arrived. It was ALL cashews with a touch of a scallion type vegetable sprinkled delicately on it. Had a wonderful, spicy sauce dribbled on it. Very nice but I believe it might have been a wee bit high in fat….

Phuket

On to Phuket and back to our holiday pursuit of seeing everything possible. We thought we’d start out the day with a casual walk about the city. A tuk tuk driver stopped and started telling us about things we could see and places to go and one thing led to another and we found ourselves in the back of the little truck style tuk tuk and off we went. Our first stop was the butterfly garden – and what a garden it was. We must have spent well over an hour there watching the butterflies – it was absolutely filled with spectacular butterflies everywhere!

Ronald

I just couldn't resist this picture. This is the traditional Thai greeting - and obviously EVERYONE uses it!!!

Koh Samui

On to Samui. Here is where we really took the opportunity to RELAX. The place had a great beach for early morning walks and they offered meditation and yoga classes daily. We spent a blissful ten days or so just veggin’ in the sun, walking on the beach, watching the sunrise (and sunsets), drinking tea and reading books. Since we spend the majority of our vacation time running around trying to see everything possible about a place, it was nice to be somewhere where there wasn’t a lot to do besides veg. I did have to include the coconut tree picture – it's a view from our window. The juices here were spectacular. The cooks generally just walked out on the beach or behind the place on the mountain to pick whatever fresh fruit they wanted to create the drinks. Reminded me of Ecuador with the wonderful fruit drinks!!!
The restaurant here is a vegetarian’s dream come true!! The food was completely unsurpassed! It was a very modest place, the restaurant was not elegant at all but the food. They had the best Thai food I’ve ever had - I seriously wanted to bring the chef home (though then I’d gain weight – hmmm…maybe it’s just as well they stayed back there).

More on Sukhothai

Now, most of the chedis and wats are in pretty sad shape, however, we found one with some exquisite elephants that are still in fabulous condition. We have no idea how they have survived the effects of time, but survive they have. Here are a few more pictures of this wonderful area.

Sukhothai

At one time, Sukhothai was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam (I think it was back in the 13th century or thereabouts). Apparently there was a pretty ambitious king at the time, King Ramkhamhaeng, (no one seems to agree on the English spelling of the name so I picked one). This man is credited with ruling the country for a long time(at one time it was larger than Thailand is today), creating the Thai alphabet, opening relations with other cultures, particularly China, bringing Buddhism to the land and generally ruling a pretty happy country…a major accomplishment under the best of times. To support all of this wonderful work for his people, he also had a fabulous capital built.

The area is absolutely stunning. The old royal palace must have been an unbelievable place with extensive carvings and statues. It included the palace itself as well as a temple, all surrounded with a moat. There are literally hundreds of smaller temples and shrines also built within and outside the city walls (yes, walls…there were two of them with a moat in between. They were serious about keeping people out.) Archaeologists have found evidence that some of the temples in the area were actually originally built to honor Vishna and other Hindu gods and then were later changed to Buddhist temples.
The buildings themselves were built with laterite bricks (can you imagine the labor to create millions of bricks????) and then all of the bricks were completely covered with a mortar type substance that was finally intricately carved. Talk about a long term project!!!

Airport Pictures

OK...here are the airport pictures!!!

Tropical Airports

Quick…what do you think of? Security, scanners, concrete buildings, large buildings, long lines, endless waiting…never open, stylish, pretty, comfortable. Well…enter the world of tropical airports. When we flew into Sukhothai we landed a bit away from the terminal and were met by some open-air buses (same plastic to roll down on the sides). They shuttled us to what is probably one of the most gorgeous airports I have ever seen. They have the same security, scanners, lines (though not so long) and certainly waiting but the ambiance is like something I’ve never experienced. They pay attention to the details, the beautiful floral baskets, the orchids hanging down, the lilies in the pots, the pond with a small chedi in the middle of it with lily pads all around. Even a lounging elephant spraying water!!
Even Hawaii with it’s larger airport and many more concrete buildings had a delightful outdoor pond with koi in it and small paths to wander on. The center section was completely open, allowing the breezes to play through the halls. Welcome to the tropics.

Driving and Tuk Tuks

I’ve changed my mind…driving in Japan is a piece of cake and the drivers are courteous and polite and predictable. Drivers here in Thailand are crazy. Not only that, the vehicles are crazy…they drive anything they can connect a motor to and move. The greatest majority of vehicles are motorcycles. Now, they might have a side car for people, or they might have a side care where they prepare food or sell drinks. They also have motorcycles with a side car attached in front…a small kind of tuk tuk. The guy sits in the back, on the bike, and holds onto the cart in front.... like a handlebar and steers the thing by moving it back and forth. The people all climb in and sit on the sides...and in front sometimes, and the guy proceeds to see how quickly he can move down the street with the wind or the rain blasting at you. They go all over the place and every time they want to pass, change lanes, say hi to someone or they're just bored, they honk the horn - and it's not quiet.
They also have tuk tuks that are big like buses. These are old, very old trucks in the front with a covered flatbed that they've added benches to down the sides along with one bench running down the middle. They also go along, honking the horn, probably for a mixture of the same reasons. Anyone who wants a ride just raises their hand a bit and the guy stops. He does stop completely...it's a CLIMB into the back. People were continuously hopping on and off. He's also the delivery guy. One trip we took newspapers, cans of unidentified stuff, fruits, vegetables as well as one fish - very much alive- that got away from the pot and flopped about on the floor. THAT one caused some flurry in the back.

Rain in Thainland

OK… I know that it rains a lot in the good old PNW, but we have NOTHING on the rain here in Thailand. We arrived during the rainy season… the luck of the draw with summer vacation. Now…the rain here is intense and, predictably, it arrives daily. It usually is ushered in with a driving wind. The trick is to watch the people… if they start moving toward shelter, closing windows and such, you know it's coming. All of the restaurants will move the people inside or pull down plastic sheets to keep the rain out. Even the open air buses, called tuk tuks, are ready with tarps on the side.(The tuk tuk was a little disconcerting because he was shifting, holding the tarp open and wiping down the fog on the window at the same time. Made for an interesting ride.)


And then… when the rain comes down it is an absolute cloudburst. Having failed to pay attention to the actions of the locals (it was our first day after all), we found ourselves standing underneath a very small, inadequate, shelter, waiting out the storm. Fortunately, the rains are generally short as well as intense so after a time we were able to put our Japanese skills to use and take off, riding our bikes with umbrellas in hand.

Now, I would think that a city with extreme rain during part of the year would have developed its drainage system, however, I am wrong. They all seem to have a similar problem with flooding. We sloshed our way through the streets, winding between the available cover, stepping into many hidden, deep, puddles. The street leading up to Lotus Village, our hotel, was the worst. There, we were met with a surprise...the rain was still pouring down and the water was up to our knees. We waded through the mucky, brown, fast running water, attempting not to think of the lack of dog scoop laws in Thailand. We did discover that the water is drained off fairly quickly, thanks to some huge machines that apparently pull the water off the streets – though maybe it's connected to the system underground, I'm not sure. The water, however, complete with all of the aforementioned debris, is poured into the river. If this is happening all over Thailand….

On To Bangkok

Oh my gosh!!! What an experience this place is. Bangkok is BIG, BUSY and HECTIC. We were in an area of town that was pretty far from the airport but close to one of the early king's palace (not sure how many there are). Guess the current king, who is well loved by his people, decided to build his own palace and open this one up to the public so they could enjoy it. Jeff had a chance to visit it while he waited for me to come in. The architecture is absolutely fabulous – the gardens and buildings are just exquisite.
We were in a pretty simple place that definitely catered to the backpackers. Enjoyed wandering the streets and ate at a fabulous restaurant with a number of vegetarian options

Night Life in Lisbon

The Tagus River is the main river that flows through Portugal and it includes some large shipping areas but, in general, the river seems to cater to the boating enthusiast rather than the commercial fishing industry. We had a delightful cruise up the river from close to the mouth at Belem, up to the site of the 1998 worlds' fair at Oriente. It was a picture perfect evening with clear skies and warm weather, perfect for a 3 hour cruise.
Now…a cruise would be enough for most people, arriving home at about 10:00 at night, however, we had yet to see a Fado singer so we headed off for the subway and a late dinner and drink in one of the Fado clubs downtown.
Now, you might as what is Fado???? Well, Fado happens to be the Portuguese version of the blues and it's found almost exclusively in Lisbon. The songs tend to follow strict rules, dealing with love (unsatisfactory to say the least) and yearning, longing, nostalgia, homesickness... kinda all rolled up together. Now, the singer (always a woman) is the central figure and the audience is expected to pay due attention - no chattering. That’s great if you can understand all of the above…but at least interesting even if you can’t.
This restaurant wasn't just expensive, it was unbelievably expensive. A dish of shrimp fixed in some special way (my Portuguese is lacking) was 139 euros (like in the vicinity of $180). The appetizers were 22 to 27 euros and the breadbasket was 7 euros EACH.
Fortunately, the subway runs late...we were on the last run and made it back to the hotel somewhere around 1:00 in the morning!!!

Lisbon Oceanarium

Portugal is very much a sea-going country with boats of various sizes located all along the coastal area in any sheltered harbor available. It is truly no wonder that when they hosted the World Expo in 1998, their theme was…”The Oceans: A Heritage for the Future”. Although the Portuguese made many historical discoveries, the expo was actually focused on encouraging individuals as well as international societies to do what we could to preserve the oceans.
Of course the expo itself is closed, but they have many of the permanent buildings still there, including a fabulous oceanarium. The huge aquarium includes journeys through the Atlantic, Antarctica, Indian and Pacific Oceans with fish and other sea life populating well over 30 tanks. It’s definitely one of the best!!!
I couldn't resist the "mermaid's purse"...I've never seen them before. They're the egg case for sharks!!!

Portuguese Tiles

It’s really hard to find any old buildings in Portugal (famous ones at least) that isn’t adorned in some way with the blue-toned ceramic tiles (they’re called azulejos in Portuguese). Even newer buildings have the tile added to it (there’s been some new interest in reviving the art). They seem to have it everywhere, at the zoo, in parks, on houses and apartments, mansions, churches, stores and shops. Many are predominately blue but many other colors can be found. It was influenced by the Moorish occupation but none of the actual tile work from that period of time is to be found in Portugal. Sintra has some beautiful examples of various stages of tile work, cut tiles, stained tiles as well as the traditional blues. Unfortunately, the best examples were in the Palace Real and they wouldn’t let you take photos.

Lisbon

Lisbon is also an enchanting city, filled with wonderful architecture and spectacular views. There are still remains and buildings left from many periods of Portugal's history, but the earthquake of 1755 flattened much of the city center along the riverside. From the ruins, the city's grandest square, the Paca do Comercio, emerged. At one time, people arriving or leaving by sea landed in this area. (Now,of course, the waterfront area itself has a number of obras in progress – you can see them along the river edge.)

Cathedral

The Palacio Real is a splendid looking "Italian baroque palace" that is spectacular! Unfortunately, due to many more obras, they temporarily had it closed to tours. Fortunately, having walked all the way over, I discovered the palatial church Caderal de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena and it was open without any obras. The carvings on the door were spectacular and the interior was unsurpassed! The statues were ornate and detailed and the gold work inside was outstanding.

Arboretum and Park

Spain is fairly hot and dry. I was surprised to find such a cool pitcher plant hiding out in the "tropical" area of the arboretum. They also had some unusually shaped trees throughout the park.

Parque del Buen Retiro

Nearby is a small but very well done arboretum as well as the serene Parque del Buen Retiro (though I doubt it is so serene immediately after a big football (soccer) game. The park was originally the palatial grounds with an artificial lake adjacent to the massive Alfonso some number mausoleum, complete with many more partially dressed (or undressed) statues of marble, plaster and bronze. Obviously the Spanish do not share the American view of appropriate statues.

Museo del Prado

The Museo del Prado is probably the most spectacular art museum I have ever seen. It is located in a spectacular park area with numerous fountains and statues, complete with the required number of obras. The one I thought most fanciful, fountain, not obra, was the Plaza de Neptuno, also the site of celebration for athletic fans when their team has won. Since they played their last world cup game the night I was there, I'm sure that it was the scene of many tears, not revelry. The Museo itself is filled with absolutely stunning artwork El Greco to Goya and many others. It was delightful!

Plaza Mayor

The Plaza Mayor was originally an area outside the city walls and the place where traders conducted most of their trading. Tarps had to be erected over the stalls to protect the traders and their wares from the refuse that was dumped from the windows above. Sounds like a very aromatic place to live and work. Fortunately, things have improved now so only the center of the plaza has the umbrellas and they're up to protect the diners from the relentless sun. The trade is now conducted in the building itself, filled with the prerequisite souvenir shops and numerous cafes using those umbrellas in the middle. The walls of the buildings are adorned with some interesting paintings of people in various states of undress.

Plaza de la Puerta del Sol

The Plaza de la Puerta del Sol is Madrid's most central point, in fact, there is a marker that indicates the point "0 km". The distances along the highways all across Spain are all measured from that particular point.
There is also an interesting statue of a bronze bear nuzzling a madrono tree. It's the symbol of the city and one of those "must see" landmarks. At night they have various bands playing in the plaza – one was a group playing music very similar to the Andes music from Ecuador. Everyone stood around listening to them for a good hour at least. This little bear is so well known it's used as a meeting place for people...course then you can't find your friends because EVERYONE is waiting there.

There's no such thing as an early dinner in Madrid. In fact, most restaurants don't even open until 8:30 and 9:00 is far more common.
My most interesting meal was in an Argentinian restaurant where I ate Italian pasta while listening to Chinese music. Quite an international experience. They also had a very nice vegetarian restaurant with natural foods native to Spain.

Obras...

I stayed in a hotel near the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol, in, I believe, the Los Austrias barrio, with somewhat of a Moorish influence(so I read) in the building styles and streets. The Plaza, unfortunately, is undergoing 'obras', or construction. It seems that the Spanish have obras going on during the majority of the year so despite the influx of summer tourists and the hundreds of people who
pack the streets at night, they just continue working, everywhere on everything, statues, fountains, plazas, subways, buildings, roads, sidewalks, you name it, it is torn up somewhere.

Madrid

Madrid is a city that I think would take years to discover. Each barrio seems to have its own flavor and sights from stuccoed buildings to charming narrow, winding streets, perfect for getting lost in. There are also hundreds of traditional restaurants, most including inviting outside dining to take in the ambiance (and the smoke) and enjoy the cooling evenings.
The days start late and they still indulge in the afternoon siestas. While stores were open for the tourists, there seemed to be a slackening of pace at least on the part of the locals during the early evening. However, Madrid is the city of night-life and by 9:00 pm it is starting to gather steam.

Lawn Mower

Quick! Think of associations for this word……Lawn Mower….ok…grass, hot weather, fresh cut grass smell, summer, tall ice teas, beer, sweat, weeds. Hmmm…I didn’t hear the word cute in that collection. Here in Japan the lawn mowers are a little different. Small, narrow, tiny, in a word…..cute. Please note in the picture that my sandal is in front of it just for comparison. It took me well over an hour to “mow” the lawn and I had to dump that bag probably 8 times! In comparison, I probably could have used a regular lawn mower, finished the job in 15 min. and dumped the bag once. The problem ….real lawn mowers cost approximately 7 times as much…..