Matsumoto

One of the benefits of working in an International School is the fact that we get quite a few three day weekends. Another benefit is that we actually GO somewhere on those three day weekends. On the down side…when it coincides with a Japanese Holiday…so does everyone else. However, unlike in America, we can travel almost anywhere on public transportation, meaning that when you wait in the inevitable lines and traffic jams, someone else is driving and you can all talk, visit, sleep or read while you're getting there – all of which were used during the trip.

We actually spent the first night in a moderate sized town called Matsumoto, located at the foot of the mountain leading to Kamikochi. Coincidentally, it is also the train stop closest to the bus to KamiKochi. It is a wonderful mix of the old nestled between the new...this book shop is a wonderful example.

Matsumoto Castle is one of the most complete "original" castles left in Japan – castles have a very short life expectancy here. It's called a hirijiro castle, one that is built out on a plain rather than up on the top of a hill or mountain – they like climbing hills here – all of the shrines are on top hills also. The castle has a wonderful open room for moon viewing – a very pleasurable place with wide opening windows overlooking both the garden and the moat. Now moats in Japan, at least these days, aren't the dank, murky things pictured in European picture books. These are wonderful, open, clean and full of koi (well….sometimes). This one even sports a floating garden!

Kamikochi

On to Kamikochi. After a delightful Japanese style breakfast – complete with breakfast fish, interesting vegetables (I love some of the pickled choices they have) , rice and tea, we took indulge in a Starbucks – yes, they've even made it to the train station in Matsumoto (McDonalds, not to be outdone, is across the street- and open 24hours - unheard of in Japan). A short train ride took us to the bus station for our trip up the mountain. It was at this point I was truly happy we were NOT driving our own car. First, the road is very windy and VERY narrow and EVERYONE is in a big hurry to get up the mountain. As we snaked around the severely meandering road we met hundreds of cars, all navigating the same path. There were also a large number of buses and trucks on the road, requiring very tight maneuvering every time they passed each other. To add to this, the Japanese realized much sooner than we ever did that certain places should be closed to cars because there are just too many of the required to get all the people up into the valley (it's similar to Yosemite – a smallish, closed area). So…roughly 20 minutes from where we started on the bus, all of these cars are sitting in lines on the road, attempting to enter the rather packed parking lots – also necessitating some more creative passing on the part of the buses (remember, this is the land of the tire wide, foot deep drainage ditches). At this point I was VERY happy to be merrily watching the scenery go by….

We took off for a hike around the lower area, hoping to spot changing leaves – they were indeed elusive but there were plenty of great things to see along the way. My favorite place was Myojin Pond – a relatively small pond with a meandering path that took you to scenic lookouts around the water. The paths were so convoluted you could even have moments when you were the only person in sight (though not many). We found our best shots of fall colors there – it would be wonderful to go up again in a few weeks…..

Kamikochi Ryokan

Our ryokan in Kamikochi was very modern and quite nice. Since it was a holiday for everyone, we were quite lucky to get this pretty expensive place up here in the valley – this is one of the first places in Japan that really had raised the prices. The 2 rooms were SO different – one western style, one Japanese. It really was interesting how the space was so totally different…the western style one was just the 2 beds with a small sitting area and no view to speak of out the window – you had to stand on the bed to see it. Right next door, it was Japanese style with the seating area right in the window - a delightful place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea and read a book!!!!

It included dinner in its rather steep price. It was, of course, completely Japanese surprise. We had NO idea of what we were eating and the young girl who was waiting on us spoke some English and tried to help us out. They have a bowl, filled with broth, vegetables and meat (which I quickly donated to Jeff). They light a sterno type thing under it and then you let it cook. I think we were supposed to stir it a bit more frequently than we did but, oh well…. They also had fish (of course), some sushi, and then bowls of various kinds of veggies – we tried guessing and identified, others are still in the surprise category. Breakfast in the morning was much the same – and still fun to explore (glad I had so many tasters to let me know what wasn't meat).

That night as we slept on our futons, we noticed a regular pitter patter coming from outside…very pleasant as you're snuggled up in bed, warm, cozy, comfy. Running water is just so pleasant…until you have to go out in it. Oh my gosh…it rained and rained and rained and rained. I had my rain jacket and my umbrella and I was soaked before we got to the plaza. It poured and poured while we tried to change our bus time. It poured while we went back to get our suitcases, it poured while we waited for the bus. We were drenched!!! Fortunately, the bus was warm and once again we could let someone else worry about the traffic, the weather, the rain, the passing etc.

Stay tuned…next week we're heading for another adventure -and if I knew where it was, I'd give you a preview but….it'll just have to be Japanese Surprise!!!

Rafting on the Nagara River

White Water Rafting!!! YEAH!!! I had a great trip on the Nagara Gawa! There were a dozen of us who took off from school to head out to the Nagara River for the day. All would have gone well EXCEPT – the lead car was FAST! We arrived just fine at the toll booth to get on the toll-way. Well, the driver hadn’t ever used it so I had to tell her what to do. When we got through – he was GONE!! And to make it worse, we had NO idea which way, north or south. Naturally, we chose the wrong way! Now, in the states it’s no big deal, go to the next exit, turn around and head back. Well….not so easy here. The next exit was like 10 miles down the road. Plus, just getting off and back on again going the opposite direction is NOT so easy. We navigated our way BACK to where we started and tried again, this time heading south.
The Nagara Gaway has many uses – not just river-rafting. We were quite surprised at how many fishermen were lined up along its banks. Now these men take their fishing quite seriously. They have bamboo poles that are roughly 10 feet long – and cost thousands of dollars. They frequently have woven, conical hats though we noted quite a few in more modern attire. I don’t they truly appreciated the antics of the rafters, though we did work at being a bit more quiet as we passed the.
The rafting was a lot of fun. It’s actually more difficult earlier in the season when the run-off is at its height. Right now the water was lower (late September) – they actually stop running late October/early November. There were actually 4 boats in our group – 2 with all Japanese and 2 for our group. You’d never have believed these were all “serious” teachers in these boats….absolutely crazy people. Our guide was from Costa Rica so we had a great mixture of Spanish, English and Japanese as we headed down the river. Check-out the pictures – we had a terrific time!

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is one of the most incredible places I’ve ever visited. Believe it or not, it started out as a wilderness where the family with friends went to “rough it”. Believe me…it was nothing like we would call “roughing it”. They had elaborate plans, tents, pavilions, cooks…He finally decided he was tired of camping out in the open so he thought he’d “build a little something”. That “little something” became an unparalleled exotic showcase.
We only completed one tour – there are quite a few you can choose from. The “Casa Grande” is the main house – a spectacular Spanish inspired cathedral. It is spectacular – from it’s elaborate entrance through the extensive front room, exotic dining room (complete with a balcony for the nightly music) and the men’s pool room where they could retire after dinner.
I would absolutely have loved to have stayed in one of the guesthouses. The one we went through was a “Mediterranean revival” style – the plush furnishings and most spectacularly – the views!!! Everything was designed to take advantage of the breathtaking views that are available.
The gardens were exotic. You could move from one to the other and encounter an entirely different style with different flowers and ambiance. The sculptures were representative of styles and periods of history throughout the world. Glad I don’t have to keep it up!!!! There were any number of pools available, though the Greek inspired outdoor one was my favorite.

Taos

While I was in New Mexico for training, the college arranged a visit to local sites – shopping for the most part but fortunately, there were some other options. I took the trip out the Indian village of Taos. It is another World Heritage site (we seem to find these all over the place). It’s completely built out of adobe and has been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years! I didn’t think there was anything that old in the states.
The buildings are completely made of adobe (earth mixed with straw and water and made in sun-dried bricks). The walls are really thick – 3 or 4 feet!! They did use some wood in the construction, particularly for the support of and the building of the roof. Originally there were no doors or windows so you had to climb in from the roof. The homes now have doors and windows installed and people still live in them, many with the inevitable collection of tourist wares to sell. The silver jewelry made by the people was very nice.

Montezuma Castle

First stop this summer was a week-long training in Montezuma, New Mexico. Why Montezuma???? It is the home of a World College (International Baccalaureate), housed in the picturesque Montezuma Castle.
The Castle is a majestic structure, perched on top of the hill, overlooking a valley, currently home to the World College. It was once a hotel with a claim that a number of presidents and dignitaries slept there. It has been remodeled but they kept it basically true to the original structure. Well, let me clarify…the Hotel burned down a couple of times so it’s true to the last rendition of the famous hotel. They have wonderful spiral staircases, an ancient vault (so heavy it actually started sinking into the floor) and a fabulous veranda for attempting to catch the cooling breezes. The stained glass work is spectacular throughout the building.
You can hike up in the hills behind the castle, in fact you can stand on one of the original verandas…or what’s left of it. The weather was warm and pleasant – hiking was a great way to spend the afternoon especially after sitting all day long. The valley was a gorgeous green blanket of trees and grasses, though I imagine it dries out quite a bit once summer is around for a while.

Takayama

The kanji for Takayama means “tall mountain”, which is crazy because it’s not all that tall for mountains here (only 1420 m compared to Fuji’s 3800 m). Nevertheless, it is a cool mountain “village” with many hikes and some beautiful scenery.

One of the things that draws a lot of tourists is the fabulously preserved “old town”. They have entire streets that have been gorgeously preserved with buildings, shops and homes dating from the Edo Period (like around 1600-1868 - we have NO history in comparison). The buildings are wonderful to view and, of course, most are filled with handicrafts and other goods for the happy travelers to purchase. Rain or sun, this place can be packed. Last time we were here it POURED. This time we had fabulous weather!

Takayama Old Town

I think it’s time I described what an “old building” might look like. There were lots of examples here. These buildings are all wood construction and so close together they actually share the wall with the building next-door. You can tell the shop is open because they hang one of the fabric banners across it – if it’s not hanging outside, the shop is probably closed (of course an open door is also a good sign). (The banner is really common for restaurants even now). The door-way is almost always a shoji screen – the traditional Japanese sliding door with the small squares and rice paper on it. You come into what was once the genkan – the entrance-way where you would have removed your shoes before entering. Some places still have you remove your shoes. The genkan is generally some kind of decorative rock or stone, though it might have been wood or packed dirt at one time. There is generally a 2nd door into the actual shop itself.
The inside of the building is generally very dark wood. The original homes or shops would have had a fire pit inside, with the resulting smoke staining everything dark. Of course it also served the purpose of keeping the bugs out of stuff, thus preserving the wood, though I’m sure the lungs didn’t care for it too much. Generally, you can look up and see the rafters above, though some do have ceilings. Windows and internal doors in the buildings were also covered with the shoji screens. Some buildings include a small, internal garden, complete with the shoji around them. They would have been a place to relax and bring “nature” into the house. Some are quite wonderful to see.
Outside the buildings, some creative signage was included. Our favorite was a rather large ball of pine needles hanging outside that meant it was a brewery – generally sake. What the connection was is beyond me. Some had small shrines nestled just above the door – though it would have been quite a climb to have gotten it up there.
Since we’re already part way up to the roof, I might as well go there next. Most of these shops have ceramic tile roofs. Shingles were commonly used prior to the tile. In extreme cold, the tiles would crack, but the addition of zinc (I believe it was) solved the problem. Obviously, tile was a big improvement over the fire difficulties with wooden shingles. Fire was a constant threat to these old homes.

Sakurayama Hachimangu Gate

The gate to the entrance of the Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine is a very unusual color. Most of these gates are a Bright Red color – and I do mean Bright. They’re typically lacquered and stand out. This one is quite unusual with the muted sand color. The shrine is actually down a long street and up the hill from the gate sitting on the river.

Hida no Sato

Hida no Sato is a “traditional house reservation”, located a bit south of Takayama itself. It is a village that has been constructed from various old (and I do mean old) homes in Japan. Some of the homes were built in the 1700’s and the floors were packed dirt. Most were constructed without any nails at all and they all had hand made shingles on the roofs. In fact, they still do. While fire is the bane of all wood homes, it also was a source of preservation for these old homes, keeping bugs and rot from ruining the roof. Some of the straw gassho style houses have roofs that last 60 years!!!
Suppose I should remind you what the gassho style house is. It is the same as the ones in Shirakawa (Nov. 04). They are made from thatch that is hand tied onto huge frames. In the very high attics, people often dried things or raised silkworms. The area was very poor and most farmers worked hard to make ends meet. Silkworms was a source of income though, according to the notes, no one remembers the task of caring for them fondly.

Children's Day

We may have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, in the states as well as in Japan, but the Japanese also celebrate “Children’s Day”. (I know, we say that it’s always children’s day but….) It’s a day to “respect the character of children” as well as to promote both their health and happiness. It’s also a very Japanese day for it is the day that children express their gratitude for the “tender love and care” from their parents.

May 5th is also the day for “Boys’ Festival” - celebrating, of course, the growth and development of the young boys. The coolest thing about this festival is the beautiful “Koi-Nobori” (carp) streamers that are made from paper or cloth (often nylon type stuff now). These things are hung on TALL poles (complete with wind (usually golden) pinwheels on the top). Now, at one time, traditional ones were bamboo poles, mounted on the house. Now they’re in the yards, on sides of apartments, ropes like clotheslines and more likely to be on a metal pole than bamboo. They always have one carp for each son…with the largest one for the eldest (sorry, if you’re the youngest, you get the small one). It’s always a carp because it symbolized strength and determination to overcome all obstacles.
There seems to be some disagreement as to where this holiday came from so they don’t settle on just the carp for strength. They also display warrior decorations, miniature helmets, suits of armor (Japanese, of course), a sword, silk banners with the family crest, and warrior dolls representing Momotaro (the Japanese “David”) or other important warriors from old Japan.

Bangkok

Bangkok is truly a city of contrasts, juggling the old and the new: fabulous old, golden temples sit amidst the towering skyscrapers and cars speed (well, perhaps crawl) past the three-wheeled tuk-tuks. It is aptly called “The city where anything goes but the traffic”. Outside modern malls you’ll find street sellers parked out front, selling everything from flowers to clothing to jewelry. You weave through the stalls to move to the next building, battling the heat, the noise and the traffic. (The traffic doesn’t move UNTIL you’re ready to cross the street.)

More on Hotels

We stayed at the Metropolitan Hotel the first few days. It’s tucked back off the main street, nice for making it a bit quieter. It is just so elegant. The entrance is wide, spacious, simple but elegant. The room we had was actually huge (even bigger than the one at the Shangri-la). We had a sitting area, fresh fruit daily, and a bathroom that is honestly as large as our front room/kitchen here in Japan – simply enormous. They also had a wonderful gym, yoga and pilates classes and ORGANIC VEGETARIAN restaurants!!! I felt like I didn’t need to go anywhere else.

We had an elegant dinner, seated at the edge of the pool, watching the lights play upon the water, the gentle, tropical breeze just cooling you off the tiniest bit. The dinner was fresh and exotic and delicious, though I must admit the 7 grain bread was absolutely the best. (Japan sells a lot of wonder bread and I really miss good bread.) Fortunately, they had the same bread at breakfast.

Wat Phra Chetuphon

This truly is “The city where anything goes but the traffic”. There were a number of times that, had we known where we were going, walking would have been MUCH faster. Fortunately, the metro/subway is pretty easy to figure out so we used it whenever it was possible – even took it to the end of the various lines and THEN caught a taxi. That way we didn’t have as long to sit in the things – though the air conditioning was kinda nice.
We spent one day out visiting some famous temples. At Wat Phra Chetuphon or “Wat Pho” as the gaijin tend to say, we saw the famous "Reclining Buddha" a 150 foot long, gold-leafed Buddha who has just reached nirvana. I have seen pictures of it but never realized how truly HUGE it is. The feet of the Buddha (15 feet tall) are covered with mother-of-pearl designs, portraying “108 auspicious scenes”. Please, don't ask me what "auspicious scenes" are. I can't figure it out.

Wat Pho

Our guide was delightful. He was truly a walking encyclopedia of Thai and Buddhist history. The number 9 is considered to be very good luck here (so is the number 13) and signifies many positive benefits. Without his guidance, we would have never counted the 99 ornate chedis (of every size, shape, color and motif). We would also have walked right by the “9” of most things (the layers in the umbrella, the lotus flowers going up the stuppa, the demons or men or Buddhas in a row and who knows what else). We also learned that though the primary disciples of Buddha were men, there were also some women.

Chao Praya River

After our tour of Wat Pho, we headed for the river for a cruise up the Chao Praya River. The river taxis are long boats with an extremely long shaft to the propeller. They really have a lot of maneuverability with the boats and they cruise around some pretty tight corners. I’m amazed at how much traffic there is on the river – big taxis, small ones, shuttle boats, barges, cruise ships (usually dining) and some I have no idea what they were for. They did a constant dance, weaving in and out in a never, ending song. The trip took us past the King’s Palace, many golden temples (and they are golden) and small hovels clinging to the banks.

The Grand Palace

Next stop, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) are two of the holiest sites in all of Thailand. They are fabulous examples of artistically superb architecture. Everywhere you look there are golden winged eaves and birds, terracotta roofs, guardian spirits in porcelain mosaics or ringed with gold.

The Emerald Buddha

The lavish ornamentation of the main hall (Wat Phra Kaew) where the Emerald Buddha is housed, defies description (and, photos are simply not allowed). All are invited in to silently contemplate this tiny (roughly 2 feet tall) jade statue (yes, I know, it’s called the Emerald Buddha although it’s truly made of jade. The first monk who found it didn’t realize what it was because it was encased in plaster and he only saw a small tip of it that showed through a hole), situated on the top of a mythical altar. There was something very calming, very humbling about sitting in the room, amidst people of every religion, all paying their respect to this tiny shrine.

Grand Palace Ramakian story mural

The story of the Ramakian is an epic Indian story about Rama and his bride Sita. Here’s the very short version.The couple has all the bad luck possible; they’re banished to the forest, Sita is kidnapped, the white monkey king rescues her, great demons attack the good guys, Sita appears to die (but doesn’t), there’s a fire test, magic bow and arrow and finally they all live happily every after. Fortunately, the story wall does a much better job with the story and the details that go into it. They have been restoring it, mending the cracks and loss of plaster and have teams of artists repainting (with gold leaf in the appropriate places) the varied scenes. They are spectacular. You've got to imagine this...the story is portrayed on numerous walls around the entire temple grounds.

Vimanmek Teak Palace

They have some tourist taxi services too. For one extremely cheap price, you can buy an all day pass on a slightly larger version of the river boat taxi. While we had theorized that we’d go to the end and work our way back, it didn’t work that way…temples and grounds close and 4:00 and we plain ran out of time. We did make it to Dusit Park, home of the Dusit Throne Hall, Dusit Zoo and the Vimanmek Teak Palace, the world’s largest golden teak mansion. We took the tour through the palace/mansion. The whole palace was built without nails (we’re talking 4 stories in places. The king had a three-storey octagonal apartment just for himself. The women had their own wing where the only males allowed were the king himself, the doctor and the young boys. It has become a museum displaying many of Rama V’s antiques and gifts given to the many kings; grand pianos, Ching dynasty pieces, crystal, silver, bronze pieces, jewels and many other gorgeous gifts.

Dusit Zoo

Took in the zoo too (naturally). Actually, we went because it used to be the royal botanical gardens and the landscaping was supposed to be spectacular (and it was). The huge water feature dominated the gardens and animals were interspersed between various features, flowers and landscapes. The giraffe/African area was really cool. These extremely tall 'huts' not only provided shade for the various animals in the enclosure, they also provided a place to put browse up high for the giraffes.

Living High

I truly could become addicted to staying in 5 star hotels. The service, the space the views, the added benefits...truly is nice to be pampered once in a while. The nice thing about Asia is that, right now, they're cheap enough we can even afford to enjoy them. Check out the pictures I've posted that show even more views of the hotels. The picture here is a view of the pool at the Metropolitan in Bangkok. Just to the left are dining tables - we had a poolside meal one night, basking in the wondrous, warm, tropical evening.

Bonsai Tree

This tree was enthroned at the flower show. It is 150 years old (no, it's not a typo). The interplay of dead wood and living wood was remarkable. There was a reverence paid to this little tree - everyone stopped and silently beheld it. It truly has an awesome presence.

Nagoya Dome Flower Show

Every year Nagoya hosts a spectacular flower show at Nagoya Dome. Exhibitors, decorators, individuals, organizations all work to present the most spectacular displays of floral arrangement - some quite elaborate - with every kind of flower imaginable. This year there were a number of spectacular orchid displays - they were HUGE - both the individual orchids as well as the displays. I never knew there was such an array available.

Cell phone and Coke machines

What, you might wonder, do cell phones and coke machines have in common???? Here, in Japan, and maybe only in Japan, you can use your cell phone to purchase coke products from specially marked machines. They're actually so easy that even a monkey can do it. To let you know that this is possible, the video screen you see prominently placed in the center of the machine (eye level of course and bright red to catch your attention)runs a clip showing you how easy it is to make the purchase. This picture has a girl but they also feature cutsie things bouncing around, as well as a chimp coming up with his (or her) cell phone and using it to buy a soda. What will they think of next???!!!

Ueno Park

If you’re looking for a place with lots of variety, Ueno Park is the place to go. It’s located in Tokyo and is the home for hundreds of sakura trees (cherry trees) as well as the homeless. You can find roaming entertainers there, just waiting to delight the crowds. Clowns with balloons entertained the children while a violin playing puppet serenaded visitors with classical music. It’s definitely one of the busiest places in Japan on the weekends – despite the cold, windy, wet weather.

Ueno Zoo

It is also the home of the Ueno Zoo – the first zoo in Japan. It is located in the midst of Ueno Park and houses hundreds of different animals. Like most zoos, it has some wonderful displays, some that are rather old and some under construction. It also includes some unique things… a totem pole, a tea house and a pagoda.

Maruzen in Tokyo

Later I had a chance to visit with Kaz and Kazumi – and we took off to visit the largest Maruzen store in Japan. For the uninitiated, that’s the largest BOOKstore – complete with a full floor of English books. It was great fun!

Yokohama

Yokohama was the next stop. The hotel I stayed in was absolutely fantastic - and the view for them 17th story was fantastic. We took a walk along the beachfront - gorgeous but cold. Landmark Tower is one of the sites to take in...the tallest "habitable" building in Japan. It's another qualified "tallest". Tokyo Tower is actually taller but since it's a radio tower....

Surabaya, Indonesia

Surabaya is Indonesia’s second largest city – and it is huge! In some ways it’s very much like other large cities – lots of traffic, large roads, and huge shopping malls. The traffic is so bad that there are times that people will hire a cab – to go across the street! There’s also a huge contrast between the poor and the rich – and it really doesn’t seem to take much to be counted on the rich side. Every place we visited had guards at the parking entrance as well as at the doors – even the school gave us visitor badges at the gated entrance. The picture is the entrance area to the Somerset Hotel. The hotel entrance is fabulously rich! Do wish there had been more time to explore more of the area!

Surabaya School

Here are a few pictures of the school.

Surabaya International School

The school is huge – a result of all of the industry that is located in the city. You realize how fragile it is because the population is half of what it could be; the result of 10 years of financial and political strife in the country. Nevertheless, the school is an extremely busy place with many programs (including an Olympic size pool and a swim team). The library is humongous! It’s easily three times the size of Chinook. The 2nd picture is the entrance "hall".

MerLion of Surabaya

The school is located in an area of the town called “Singapore of Surabaya”. It’s a very posh section of town with many “mansion” areas (gated, of course) leading up to it. It even sports a replica of the “MerLion” of Singapore in a pond as you arrive.

Surabaya School Housing

The housing connected to the school is HUGE – the front room of the house we saw was almost as big as the footpad of the house we have in Japan. They have white marble floors and balconies that are large enough to sit in – and LOTS of flowers, green plants and tiny gardens. There are also lots of opportunities for employment here - all of the people have maids, drivers and nannies - some even have more than one nanny if they have more children!!!

Pictures on line

I now have a website where I can post lots of pictures. Right now I have a 3 different albums up - use the link to check them out. Clicking on any of the pictures will open up the album for you to view.

Link

New Zealand trip

You know, you never realize how BIG the world is until you’ve sat in a plane for 17 hours to get somewhere! We left Nagoya, landed in Singapore, twiddled our thumbs for a few hours, and then finally flew on to New Zealand. What an ordeal!!! It’s hard to be cramped inside the plane, unable to cross your legs easily, sitting squeezed between 2 people – doesn’t help that one of them was Jeff – and watching mind-numbing movies. Yuck!
Now, the airport in Singapore is really interesting. First of all, they don’t leave you to just twiddle your thumbs; they work on involving you in the place. First, there’s the landscaping, yes, landscaping inside an airport. (It seems that other countries do much more with their airports than we do.) They have koi ponds with pathways around and oh, such exotic flowers! The variety is unbelievable and they have them everywhere. They’ve also included bookstores – not too surprising really but a delightful treat after living in Japan (spent a lot of time in bookstores!) They also have numerous eateries, very international so if you want something, you can probably find it. They are also the only airport where I have seen free computers all over the place. You can walk up and use them almost anywhere in the place. They have numerous quiet areas that include massage chairs - all for free. If you're going to have to sit around for hours, it's at least a pleasant place to do it.

Otanui Bed and Breakfast

We landed in Auckland and took off to visit our friends, Joe and Mary. They worked at our school in Japan and have just retired to a spectacular 144 acre cattle ranch perched on the top of a hill in the Coromandel Peninsula, the site of the future Otanui Bed and Breakfast. OK…here comes the shameless ad. The views are spectacular and the bed! Oh my gosh! It’s got to be the best bed I’ve ever slept on! (I didn’t want to fall asleep; I just wanted to relish the comfort). There’s a wonderful little garden area that is nestled between the house and the view from the room is outstanding. We had a delightful time hiking through the area, visiting with Joe and Mary, driving around the peninsula and just plain relaxing. If you’re looking for a great little place to go…we’ll fill you in. Jeff has taken some spectacular pictures. I hope to put some of the up soon.

Coromandel Peninsula

The Coromandel Peninsula is a breathtakingly beautiful area with a spectacularly rugged coastline views, nestled between stretches of fabulous coastal forests. Really was a stunning drive. We were plagued with rain, so while the scenery was still gorgeous, the clouds lending some interesting play in the sky, the pictures we took were rather dim and fuzzy.

Joe directed us to some great areas for hiking along the coast and we managed to fit one of the beach walks in. It was a wonderful trip up over a small hill to another secluded beach tucked away from the throngs playing in the waves. It may have been overcast and drizzling but hey, if you’re in the water, you’re all wet anyway!

Rotorua

We made our way down to the town of Rotorua - an extremely geothermal active area, that is, coincidentally, sister city to Klamath Falls!!! The city is also home of many spa resorts, featuring, of course, naturally heated water – complete with a distinct scent of sulphur to assault your senses. The lake there is the oldest lake in New Zealand, formed in the crater of a huge caldera left from a volcanic eruption. (hmmm, sounds familiar) It’s still a pretty active area, the last eruption occurring only a little over 100 years ago

At one time, there was a rather large, Tudor-styled “Bath House” that was the famed center for numerous health treatments that utilized the readily available thermal water and mud for a variety of bathing, mud and massage “cures”. People came from all over the world to 'take the waters' at the Bath House. Some of the treatments were absolutely bizarre, including the introduction of electricity into the ‘bath’ to stimulate healing. Looking at the equipment they had and pictures of what they I had to wonder what future generations will think of our “modern” medical care. It really looked quite barbaric.

Whakarewarewa Village

We had a great tour through the Whakarewarewa Village area of the city. This “living” Maori Village is set in a vast sea of erupting geysers, hot thermal springs and bubbling mud pools. The hot pools are an integral part of their lives, used for cooking, cleaning and ceremonies – and are still used today. While we were given tours of the area, after 5 pm, the gates were closed and the Maori people used their village. Pools were reserved for different things, one to scald feathers off, one for cooking only veggies, ones for bathing people, ones for steaming the food. Every pool was selected on the basis of where it sat in the chain and what the use in the next pool would be. The picture shows one of the steaming boxes on the ground – it is used communally, you just return and pick your stuff up when it’s done.

Te Puia

Te Puia is another thermal area, immediately next to the Whakarewarewa Village. They’ve taken a different approach, featuring lots of things to see – far more park like. We attempted to see the largest geyser go off…standing in the pouring rain, watching the small one go on and on and on, waiting for Pohutu to do its thing….and waited…and waited…and waited…. Finally, after probably an hour, we left. (Actually, they were closing so we really had no choice). We took lots of pictures but it was raining and steamy and really foggy – great shots of steam anyway.

Lake Taupo afternoon

From Rotorua, we continued down the north island until we came to Taupo, another city sitting on the edge of a lake. We had a wonderful walk along the edge of it; in fact our hotel looked out right across the lake! Spent a wonderful afternoon sitting out on the ‘deck’, watching the rain play on the water and the wind stir it up. It did let up in the evening for our walk around.

Talk about hotels…we had some fabulous place with views that were spectacular!!! The top picture shows our view from our room on the lake in Taupo. The second picture was taken on our walk on the same lake.

Hamilton Park

We were in Taupo on Christmas Eve, and spent Christmas Day driving back up to Auckland to catch a late plane to Christchurch. We stopped for a while in the town of Hamilton because they had a rather large park, appropriately named Hamilton Park that was open. Now, you’ve got to picture that this is summer. Christmas traditions in New Zealand include barbecues on the beach or in the park and the rain wasn’t going to stop any of them from their plans so…the place was packed with picnickers hiding out in small areas that afforded some shielding from the insistent rain. The park is a honeycomb of gardens created in numerous different styles. We wandered through the themed section; old English, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and others. It was wonderful to meander through the paths to encounter a total change in presentation and vegetation. We didn’t even remotely get a chance to stroll through the entire garden (it’s huge).