Turning Japanese, I Think I'm Turning Japanese...

...I really think so! (Apologies to The Vapors.)

Oh man, Japan is like a breath of fresh air.

Quite literally.  It's amazing how much fresher the air is in such a huge metropolis as Tokyo, compared with the smog and smoke that pervades every inch of southeast Asia.  I suppose the 25 C temperature drop and the lower humidity doesn't hurt either.

Japan is everything we expected and more - even the first hour was a wondrous experience, especially when contrasted with our two immediately preceding months in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Burma.

At the airport, we were politely shown to a specific line at Japanese customs, where the officers wiped down the fingerprinting machines with sanitizing wipes before every use.  Our baggage came out on the carousel upright, evenly spaced and perfectly perpendicular to the conveyor belt.  The 66km train ride to downtown Tokyo was perfectly smooth, on-time, and cost only $10 each - much less than half the price of an equivalent train in Sydney, Australia (for twice the distance).  And everything, everywhere, from the airport terminal to the towns we passed through to the picturesque grids of rice paddies to the busy streets of Tokyo proper was absolutely, perfectly clean and in tip-top condition.

I mean clean like I would quite literally be happy to eat a meal served on the surface of the paved lane behind our hotel.  It's stunning.

Plus it's springtime, and the flowers and trees are starting to bloom (cherry blossom time is just beginning).  The sun is shining and it's 20 C outside.  Most everyone is polite and helpful, and you're always within about 10 feet of a source of reasonably-priced yet oh-so-tasty food.  (Even if that source might be a high-tech vending machine serving soup.)  And to top it all off, there is a ton to see and do in Tokyo, and we're not even going to scratch the surface in the 6 days we're here.

I love this place already!

More language barriers than in SE Asia - we had a little trouble with the menu for our first meal

But it's nothing a dry Japanese light lager can't fix! Even mass-produced Japanese beers are a huge step up from their SE Asian brethren

Vancouverites are no strangers to sushi, but it's a treat to finally have some in Japan

And if you're not into sushi, there are plenty of other Japanese (and international) options

Back in Bangkok... Again

After a couple days in the jungle, it was time to go back to Bangkok for just a couple more nights before Barb would fly home and Chad and I would head off to Tokyo.  This was the fifth time Chad and I had been to Bangkok this spring, and it felt almost like coming home.  On the itinerary for this visit was showing Barb some temples and eating as much street food as possible before leaving SE Asia for what is likely to be a long while.

Kicking the day off with a Thai coffee.

In the 'feels like' 47 degree Celsius heat (about 37 with very high humidity) we took a ferry up the Chao Pharaya river.

You don't want to get splashed with this water!

Our first stop was a new temple for Chad and I as well - Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn).  From the river it looks pretty spectacular.

It didn't disappoint up close, either!  You can climb about 2/3 of the way up and admire the detailed ceramic work covering the entire temple.

The mosaics are made of broken bits of porcelain dishes

Next up was an oldie but goodie, Wat Pho, home to a huge golden reclining Buddha.

Damn you, non-Thai pickpocket gangs!  Aka - your fellow tourists may not be as innocent as they look.

Barb verifies that the Buddha is, in fact, very large

The Thai New Year (Songkran) was coming up in a few days, and lovely paper umbrellas decorated the city.  Crews were setting up celebration sights all over.

And then there was the street food... Barb and Chad sampled lots of delights and made the best of our last couple days.

Chinese noodle bowls.

Oh yes, I am perfectly happy with just this Sprite :)

Coconut ice cream with frozen raw egg yolk.

And last of all, a shot of the pool at our hotel where we wiled away the hot, hot, hot afternoons.  All in all, a lovely final couple days!

Barb survived the super-intense hot season equatorial temperatures, and had a relaxing time with us while experiencing a new culture, new continent and new food.  It wonderful to have her join us for a while.  As we departed for Tokyo, she bravely faced her 24-hour day of flights back to the BC interior.  Bon voyage!

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle...

After seven sunny days on Koh Lanta, we were ready for our next adventure.  Wanting to show Barb a side of Thailand besides city and beach, I had scoured the internet and found Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort, a somewhat rustic jungle retreat close to Krabi (the town from where we would fly back to Bangkok).  Bright and early Sunday morning we packed our suitcases and boarded the ferry to Krabi.

Boarding the ferry in the town of Saladan, where stilted houses and shops perch over the sea.

Bye for now, Koh Lanta, happy land of lazy days, yoga, and beach meals!

Stopping to pick up and drop off passengers bound for islands without ferry docks.

The fancy pier at Krabi Town.

From the pier, it was only a half hour drive up to our jungle resort.  We got there to find it a bit more rustic than I had expected - think fan cooled, airy bungalows with slatted floors and ceilings so that bugs, lizards, and other creatures can roam freely in and out of your room.  My first instinct was to run screaming back to an air conditioned guest house in Krabi Town, but the feeling passed shortly as we checked out our bungalow and the lovely landscaped grounds.

Home sweet home in the "jungle".

Mosquito nets to keep out all manner of pests.  When I saw geckos climbing up the curtains I wondered if they would be able to infiltrate these nets!

The view from our balcony was pretty stunning.

Unfortunately the pool was a five minute uphill walk from our house. [Note from Chad: first world problems...]

But a pretty nice pool once you finally got up there - spring fed!

The only downside of jungle life is that it was hot there - like 38 degrees with intense humidity hot - which didn't exactly motivate us to go out trekking, one of the main activities at the resort.  On the full day we spent there we did manage to get off the balcony and go for a little walk.

Flowering banana palm.

Dorky matching white hats!

Jungle conqueror!

Much of the property is covered by rubber trees plantations - the bark is cut and the latex seeps out into these black buckets.

We were stopped in our tracks by a local who warned us to turn around instead of trekking on (we were so hot by that point we were happy to oblige).  It turns out that the guy and his friends were up in the woods collecting wild honey - with guns!  Five or six guys carefully shoot the bottom off a hive (where the honey is kept) by creating a line of bullet holes; the honey-laden hive section falls to a waiting tarp.

On our trek we were happy not to see any king cobras (which apparently live in the area), but disappointed not to see any monkeys (which live in the area, but prefer to avoid the populated areas).  That night at dinner, though, we met the resort's local frog - Daniel - when Chad almost stepped on him after he snuck under Chad's chair!  Luckily the feelers in Chad's feet were working and Daniel wasn't turned into a frog pancake.

These type of songbirds occupy cages all over Thailand - including many at the resort

One of the best parts about the resort was its owners, Son and Joop.  They made us feel very welcome, cooked us all our meals, joked with us and gave us tips about life in the jungle.  A great place to spend a lazy, hot couple days before heading back to Bangkok!

Saying goodbye to Joop on our last day.