Koh Tao

One of my favourite places on our trip so far.

I got my Open Water diver training and cert here with Scuba Junction. Ko Tao is pretty much just diving and partying. There are some schools on the island that churn out students like a factory. Scuba J was a good wee school, with max of 4 students per instructor. We stayed at their accommodation for a discounted student price but I understand some schools will provide you with free accomm if you take a course with them.

'Class' started at 9am. The only place around open for breakfast was the Coffee boat. They must coat the tables in syrup because there is so many FLIES. Pretty gross and a wee shame because the food is ok.

Class (theory and videos), lunch, dive and practise skills, cold shower, dinner, homework.

Our 1st visit to Koh Tao was all about diving. Maybe because it was where I first got diving but its definitely one of my favourite places. The sites were all beautiful. Most memorable was my 4th dive. The waters were rough and before the 3rd dive I was already thinking I can't wait to get back to the mainland. My instructor Linzi asked if I wanted a sea sick pill. 'Will it not make me drowsy?' I ask. 'I dunno, probably not.' I went without. 'As soon as you get in the water its okay.' while she was briefing us I had to go be sick over the side of the boat !! Not nice.

Dive 3 was good. Still looking for a turtle though.

Dive 4 we moved to calmer waters. I was warying of eating anything on the break but also realised my lunch had gone so hopefully I'd be ok. I'm still not sure whether diving is a strenuous activity or not... The site was called 'white rock', really pretty. Near the end of the dive Linzi made the hand gesture for a turtle, and I put out my hands like where?!?! And flippered quickly over to her forgetting that turtles are slow creatures. He was just hanging out. It was ace. And the perfect end to the diving, after feeling so horrible earlier too. It seemed all the dive schools had groups surrounding him but he was just minding his own business.

Koh Tao means turtle island and I assumed that was because there was lots of turtles there but apparently its because the island is shaped like a turtle shell. Our video was shown at Hippo restaurant/bar and I guy said he had been on over 100 dives and still hadn't seen a turtle... I guess we were lucky!

Buy some for your mother!

The view from our balcony...

After spending the night in Phuket airport. (We actually planned this... !) We arrive in rainy B a l i.

I love going to the market here in Asia. Prices are rarely fixed so you get to barter and have some chat with the locals. I know people would rather not waste the 5 minutes but it's all part of the shopping experience! The Balinese all think I'm Japanese but I'm from Scotland... I like a bargain !

First impressions- the Balinese are really friendly people. They always stop for a chat, but not just because they want to make a sale. Quite a few of them have Australian accents too tehehe. Lots of Australian tourists here.

How much are these shorts?

How many you want? Cheaper for more.

I've only got 1 pair of legs, just one!

No, you buy more, I give it to you cheaper. Buy some for your mother!

Haha, no. One pair- how much?

Okay, Japanese price 120,000... Australian Price 180,000...

I got them for 40,000. He raised his hand a few times but I wasn't sure if he wanted to hit me, or slap me in the back for being cheeky. I kinda threw 40 out there to begin with and stuck with it.

C'mon you buy two, 100,000...

Ah, so one for 120,000; two for 100,000 !

It's all good, light hearted fun. It's important to support the locals. As we were leaving he tried to sell me a wooden penis bottle opener !

That's what you get for being cheeky.

Coffee?

Vietnamese coffee

We've been on quite a few over night sleeper buses here in Vietnam. The rides are bumpy, and well, you don't get that much sleep. The coffee is good though. This stuff would kick start a corpse.

You have to wait a few moments for the coffee to filter through.

The first one I had was black. Very strong. The next day I decided to try it with condensed milk and it taste like Kahlua or Baileys. Creamy but also sickly sweet. When you ask for sugar they load it with the stuff. Spoon, spoon, spoon. Tastes good.

I just bought a bag of weasel coffee. I'd heard of cat coffee before but I think its the same same. I'll have to wait til I get home to try it though unless I come across it again on my travels. I'll let you know.

Hanoi to Hue

We got back from Halong Bay with a few hours to wait before boarding the 13hr 'sleeper' bus to Hue. Apparently it would stop every 3,4 hours but of course it didn't- left at 7.30, didn't stop til 1am. There was a toilet onboard but you have to clamber over the locals who have set up camp in the aisles to get there!

My seat belt didn't tighten so I held on the whole time. I didn't really sleep on my side for fear of rolling off the top bunk. It was a bumpy ride- bouncing while you're horizontal is a strange feeling. I was also shot to the bottom of my bunk constantly because of the emergency stops- there are no real rules on the roads of Vietnam...

Arrive in Hue looking like zombies, and we're greeted by a bunch of locals- 'Hello, where are you from?'; 'Hello, you want hotel, where are you from?'; 'Hello, motorbike?'. The buses tend to drop you off outside a hotel they are associated with. Me and Pete had already made reservations at Hue Backpackers Hostel so off we trotted.

Hue was a welcome change to the busy fume park that was Hanoi. We did our usual and rented bikes to explore. The bikes have no gears. They are city bikes. I wish I could do the same back home. I love cycling on the roads here. Its totally chaotic but with a bit of cooperation everyone gets to their destination safe.

Across the river is the citadel going around the Palace and Forbidden Purple City. Its beautiful but still recovering from the War with constant restoration. We come out the South exit to try and find some lunch but walked all the way back to the front with no luck. We got our bikes back, 10, 000 dng for the attendant. We cycled out and spotted some Pho places so we parked up. A man was waving aggressively at us; pointing at a chair but we decide to chose the place next door. They both claim to be Lonely Planet approved (what does that even mean?) so still not sure if they were the same fam or not. The aggressive man was deaf and mute so I guess that explains his big actions. I know this because it says on their front banner- I thank you.

Afterwards we cycled the 3km to Thien Mu Pagoda. Nice wee ride along the Perfume River. We got there and de-mounted our iron horses in the car park but apparently the polis would come and take them away so this kind brother was offering to look after them for 10,000 dng. We politely declined and parked just round the corner from the pagoda. However the whole pagoda experience was tainted by the threat of the polis. So we looked around and left quick sharp for since it was starting to rain a wee bit. Also our bladders needed emptying but some locals decided to sit outside the public toilets and charge a further 10,000 dng to pee. Its only 30p but its the principle, and the zeros.

Anyways while the rest of our two wheeled companions had rain covers. They're like ponchos big enough for man and his bike. We whizzed back to our hostel and relaxed before the free beer between 5-6pm. Great. Then dinner, we walked around the block like 3 times looking for this Japanese restaurant which helps street kids by teaching them how to cook. We kept passing this place called Hot Tuna: 'Hello!... Hello again!' Hehe cheeky locals :-) we eventually asked them to help us out. We couldn't find it because it was closed. Sad face. So we ended up back on the street as our hostel eating the smallest sandwich I have ever encountered. I didn't even bother taking a photo to show you. Maybe I should of. Tiny.

Back to hostel, and sleep in a non moving bed. Huzzah. The dorm had singles and doubles. Sleep was ok. I was woken up by Pete shouting at this drunk guy who was trying to get in bed with us: 'What the hell are you doing?!?'; Drunk 'I don't know...' Heheh he was so drunk. Apparently he had been shuffling around the room for like 30mins trying to find a bed. I was dead to the world so had no idea.

Worse things happen I guess.

Wake up. Vietnamese coffee for the buzz then on the bus to Hoi an ...

Crossing the road

We're in Hanoi.

We booked a taxi through a private airport company because apparently there's lots of scams at Hanoi airport. Our flight was 1 hr delayed from Vientiane- I won't miss Laos time. I hoped the driver was still going to be waiting there with his sign. He was there. No worries. His taxi was unmarked which I thought was unusual because their website makes them out to be a big airport taxi company.

The roads in Hanoi are crazy. There is constant honking from all the traffic, and there is HUNNERDS of motorbikes and scooters. Weaving in and out. He was driving on the wrong side of the road at one point! Just cruising towards oncoming traffic. $16, fixed.

Our hostel had free bicycle hire so we decided to try them out the next day. The first street we came to was a crossroad with just one way of solid traffic so we were like oh. There was motorbikes in the same position as us but they would just nip to the middle and then edge their way to the other side. We got off our bikes and decided to walk them across the zebra crossing. The traffic didn't stop at first so we just waited. Meanwhile motorbikes are still edging their way across the road so we're like oh no we're just going to have to go for it and right enough you just cross slowly and the bikes weave round you. The cars you have to wait for, obviously. Crossing the road on foot is much the same. Just walk slow and watch out for the cars; the bikes will work around you...

Traffic in all directions but it works.

THAILAND

Bangkok was just as busy but not as many bikes. There is a 2 minute countdown for the green man (if you can find one) but locals just walk out, stick up their hand to stop the traffic. I saw it work a few times. I didn't try it or see any tourists brave enough to imitate this procedure!

Stick with a local and use them as a shield,ie with them between you and the traffic. Or wait for the green man.

HONG KONG

Its fine here.

BEIJING

There's green men but that doesn't mean anything. Cars drive through red lights. We found the best way was just to RUN.

JAPAN

Zebra crossings are everywhere. Its great. As soon as you walk up to one all the traffic will stop. The first place I've been where pedestrians seem to rule the road if that makes sense?? We were here before Beijing and nearly got killed the first time we tried to cross the road in Beijing.

That's all for now. Safe.

Vang Vieng

The minibus journey from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng...

A tuk tuk turns up at our hostel and we're like ah bums, what have we paid for. Turns out it was just taking us to the bus station which was just full of minibuses getting ready to go to different places. The tuk tuk driver pointed us vaguely towards the Vang Vieng stand. I thank you. We get in the queue then 11 of us tumble into this minibus while 4 local guys try to fit all our backpacks into the boot. Eventually the people in the back row were fed up of getting their heads knocked about so they held the bags while the guys piled on the bags and sure enough the boot closed. Let's go!! Or not. We sit there for 20 minutes until eventually a woman opens the door and tells us that this bus doesn't leave til 2pm (its 10am) so we should move to the next one. Same same, no? No. So we all pile in the car and the bags get strapped up top. The driver jumps in, and then we're driving up and down MOUNTAINS for 7 hours.

The driver beeps his horn to warn oncoming traffic and then swings into a blind turn. The roads were windy so that's just how it works. Our driver was even overtaking lorries on these bends, it was crazy. The scenery was amazing though, and every now and then we would pass little roadside villages with their bamboo mountainside huts. There's lots of naked children playing around, and school kids, cows, chickens, dogs lying idly at the side of the road. Great. Our driver swerved them all without braking. The roads are bumpy too so don't party too hard the night before because you won't get any sleep. I tried, and it just caused my head to bash off the window... There was a row of Laotians in front of us and they managed to sleep no problem, no flopping heads, how?!?!

Anyways, after a few hours we stopped for a food break. Pete was convinced the woman who sold us our sandwich was the same woman from the bus station. I don't remember what either woman looked like but it wouldn't surprise me if they stopped at their pals roadside shop and ripped off the tourists together? We were charged double the guy in front because we asked for some Laughing Cow triangle cheese in our sandwich, c'mon!

The view during lunch...

We get into Vang Vieng at about 5pm. None of us knew where the bus station was in relation to the town so we had to pay 10,000 kip each (x8, the guy must have been laughing) to drive us 5 minutes down the road. Its only about 80p but the 0's make it feel like more, and yeah, just walk it... He dropped us at the hostels by the river but me and Pete chose to go the main road where it would be quieter because we wanted some rest before tubing the next day. We stayed at Nazim's Guesthouse, (next to one of the 2 ATM machines in town) 60, 000 kip for a double with a fan.

We dropped off our bags, relaxed for a bit then went out to find dinner. There's only about 3 main roads in this wee town and you find yourself picking a restaurant depending on how busy it is, and what's on the tele. The food is rubbish where ever you go. The restaurants all have the same layout- low tables and cushions so you can spend all day slouching, watching Friends or Family Guy. There won't be any restaurant reviews in this post but the pancakes from the street vendors are good!

Day 2, time for tubing. Yeahhh!

I was told not to take anything with me unless I wanted to lose it, even flip flops (slight exaggeration) but anyways we went out to buy some cheap ones which also doubled up as great wee paddles. We then had to go hire the tubes- it was 55,000 kip and a 60, 000 kip deposit which you get back as long as you return the tube by 6pm. They will also write your deposit number on your arm with a permanent marker. This can be likened to when a farmer brands their cows, or marks their sheep with red paint or something, you know the deal. Then they drive you up to the 'start' point of the river. Great. A man will appear out of the bushes offering you free Laos whiskey. Take a shot, and then walk across the bridge to the first bar. Dump your tube in the pile of other ones.

I can't describe how surreal an experience it is. Its just past noon, you're in beautiful Laos, next to a glistening river... and the music is pounding and everyone around you is drunk, already. Drinks are only served in buckets and there's free shots of whiskey waiting at every bar. Free. Help yourself. There's people swinging from rope swings like 3 storeys high. Its crazy. And then soon they will grab a rubber ring and float down to the next bar. Crazzyyyyy.

At the first bar we ended up playing beer pong with 2 guys who were doing promo for one of the bars, Gibson and Jasper (you couldn't make this shit up). They beat us by one cup but we were winning the whole time, hustlers. By the time we had finished most people had moved onto the next bar across the river. They had taken all the tubes with them though so we're like, now what? Gibson said no worries as long as you have been branded like a farm animal you'll get a tube so we waited for the next peeps to arrive at the bar then took their tubes and we were away... The waters cold, and the currents quite strong. At every bar there's a guy waiting with a plastic bottle attached to a rope which he'll throw out to pull you into the bar. Just hold on tight and soon you'll be at the next bar. Note- There's no graceful way of getting out of a tube. Drunk or not.

The second bar is the one with all the rambo head bands, permanent markers, stencils, spray paint and biggest rope swing in the world. I think within about 10 minutes of us getting there, Pete had a silver tie spray painted on his chest. Pete and I also plucked up the courage to do the rope swing (it doesn't take much). We went seperate so someone was keeping an eye on our money. I went up with one of the Irish guys we met, Gavin. Its SO high up. I got up there and he was like, 'on you go.' I was like, 'no no, you go first!' I've done this like tree times, you go, go on'. We ended up going together, I think he left just a little bit before me or his weight seemed to make things go faster. I didn't want to let go. He was like, 'after 3 we let go'. Ok, fuck, well there's no other way I'm going to get down. For some reason, I decided to flop into the water on the back of my leg. Just slap on down. I thought I had ripped it open. The current immediately pulls you so you have to start swimming straight away towards the bar. Ouch that's going to hurt in the morning.

There's only a wee stretch of bars and then you tube the rest of the way. We lost a lot of people either in front of us, or behind. Who knows. A lot of people just go to a few bars then catch a tuk tuk back to the town. We didn't get to do an extended amount of tubing because we had to jump out at one of the bars to rush back for our deposit....

Sooo. The next day we hired bikes and cycled out to the Blue Lagoon. The surroundings are beautiful. I took a waterproof camera so still waiting to see what the pictures turn out like. I met a group of 4 boys, probably no more than 4 years old and I asked them if it was okay to take a photo. Then one of them made like a writing motion on his hand. I was like, oh you want to write something. And then he looked in the basket at the front of my bike and pointed to my water bottle, I pointed back at his, and said, 'same same'. Pete was like, 'what are you doing?? He was looking through your stuff.' I only had water and a disposable camera so no biggie but on reflection- the little guy was asking for money! He was only like 4 years old. I just didn't expect it at all. I thought since they were little kids they wanted me to write my name or something haha. How naïve of me. I don't think I'd want to give kids that young money, and how much?

The Blue Lagoon is about 7km out of town and its beautiful, really relaxing. Get a map, and ignore all the signs on the way there claiming to be the Lagoon. The locals will charge you 10, 000 kip to cross the bridge once you get there but whatever. The water is cool and filled with fish, just what you need after a long cycle.

Went for a curry at Nazim's Indian Restaurant (not sure if it was affiliated with our guesthouse) that night. This food here wasn't great either. Within a few hours I was out of bed and being sick. Repeat ,all night. The next day I couldn't even keep water down so I was just in bed all day, DYING. Dehydrated, no energy because it left me the night before, legs I could barely move from the fall, arms sore from the swing. Deathbed.

Just do the tubing.

Slowboat to Luang Prabang

Laos was our next stop. To get there we would have to get a 2 day slow boat from the Thai border.

We booked through our hostel so everything was sorted. In the morning we were picked up by a mini bus and from there we set off on the 6 or so hr journey to Chiang Khong. I slept a bit but soon I realised that the Thai countryside, and the fields with the farmers was too beautiful to sleep through. There were traditional house on stilts, bamboo huts. It definitely felt like I was in a foreign country- I guess a strange thing to say considering I had been in Thailand for 10 or so days before then.

The hotel was ok. At check in they took our passports away to make our Laos visas. It was our first experience sleeping with a mosquito net. We took half a room each and sprayed every hole we could see in the floorboards, walls (it was a cabin room) so the mossies had no chance! Cabin rooms also meant outdoor showers. There was at least two mosquitos waiting in each shower cubicle so I passed.

At 8.30am the next day we were driven down to the river to get on a longboat across the river to collect our passports. I thought since we had handed them in the night before it would be quite an easy process... When we got there there was a hoard of about 80 people all trying to get to the front. Some people still had to hand in their passports to make the visas but there was only one window so we were all just waiting together. Word got round that the immigration officer just flashes the photo page of the passport up to the window and if that's you, you have to run up to get it before she puts it down and picks up another one. And yeh, this actually happened. Some guys at the front started calling out the names to speed up the process so that was good because me and Pete would have never been able to see over all the heads! Meanwhile another traveler had been given about 15 passports and was told to hand them back to the owners... It was crazy.

I thought I was never getting my passport back because there was so many people there. Eventually my name was called and I pushed my way to the front. It cost 35 USD (with a British passport). While I was waiting for the others to get theirs back, a local man came up to me and asked me what I sell? I was like, um no, nothing. He was like, I saw your passport, you sell things. What do you sell? (I put sales assistant as my occupation). I had no idea who this guy was and why he got to see my passport. On reflection, I should have checked his ID badge- I don't think any of us did but he soon had a group of us, all with the yellow badges which were given out at the hotel. He popped us in a truck and told the driver to take us to a restaurant next to the boats.

It was like 9.45am by now. We asked what time the boat was. He started to explain to us about Laos time- 'the boat will probably leave at 11am, maybe 11.30. Its supposed to leave at 9.30 but it never does. We're in Laos. Its called Laos time.'

The boat takes two days. On the first day it stops for the night in a small village called Pak Beng. He asked us if we had booked accommodation and if not we should book through him because it was going to be really busy. At our last hostel, the owner, Pong said we just turn up and pay about 150 baht. He was asking for 500. I didn't trust him. He then said that they only accept kip in Pak Beng because its just a little village. I luckily exchanged enough for a nights stay back at the hotel. One of the other travelers was like why didn't you tell us this before where there was an ATM, and bureau de change. He said, its ok, we can change for you- the minimum is 1000 baht. There was a group of like 12 of us and about a 3/4 just handed him money, and his wee pal went off to exchange it. Out of curiousity, I asked him how much he would exchange British sterling for and he said 6,000 kip. Last time I checked it was about 12,500 ! Hahah. Half the value. Expensive commission! He must have been laughing inside- he just got handed all this money and no one asked him for an exchange rate. People started getting their iPhones out and using their exchange apps. He had just made up the exchange rates. People were raging: 'Call your friend and tell her the actual rate!' so he called her- oh moneys already exchanged, sorry...

Hustler.

He then got everyone to give his pal our passports so she could go get the boat tickets. I'm not sure why he needed our passports because there was no reference to our passports, or names on our tickets. Hopefully no one had their identity copied or anything... It was a strange couple of hours.

We walked down to the already packed boat. People had been waiting on the boat since 9.30am so they weren't too pleased when we showed up and made them squash up. Buy a cushion. The seats are just wooden, wobbly benches. Really thin too. Not comfy at all. About 6hrs to Pak Beng. You'll occasionally see people waving a white tshirt to flag down the boat so it pulls over a few times on the way.

Pak Beng is just hotels and restaurants. We paid 400 baht for a twin room which is probably still too much but we just wanted a room after the boat. The bars will all offer free Laos whisky. Its pretty sick, but free.

Next day, we got down to the pier for 8.30 since we were told the boats leave at 9. Ours left at about 9.50 but it was much smaller than the day before, and it was one of the last ones to leave so I wonder where everyone went? From here it was another 7 or so hours to Luang Prabang. There is speed boats as well that only take 1 day but there is a lot of accidents on them. When you are on the slow boat you will see them whizzing past- some passengers wear motorbike helmets.

Get to Luang Prabang, find a hostel.

Lanna Muay Thai training camp

Ok, so we've been in Thailand for about ten days now. Hadn't even thought about trying Muay Thai kickboxing until one of the girls I met in the hostel (Freja) mentioned it. When I asked Pong, the hostel owner he said you can only do 1 week courses... NOOO. 1 week would be amazing but we don't have the time!

We looked online and found a school which looked really good, and it was close to the hostel too. The info was good, although the pictures looked a bit outdated so that made us question whether everything was up to date. We took down the number to call the next day. Its quite a famous school, with a good rep. Pong told us it gets a lot of press because one of their champs has now become a lady boy! There's even a movie about him apparently. With all his winnings he managed to save up for all the procedures. She must have quite broad shoulders... Anyways, the point is more that the school has produced a champion, so it must be a good training camp. I was excited!

I have done so little exercise (apart from hiking) since we left for our trip about a month and half ago; I like martial arts; and we were going to learn Muay Thai in Thailand! I couldn't wait!

We had to decide whether we wanted to join the morning session, 6.30- 9.30am, or the afternoon sesh. The website recommends a decent meals about 2 hrs before you train. We didn't really fancy waking up at 4am so we decided to just spent the day relaxing, 'conserving our energy'... In this time, I found a magazine to flick through which had a review of the boxing camp, and the guy wrote about a 8km run... as a warm up! I was like aah shit. Freja who had spent the day doing a cooking course, and eating was still up for joining us, and Laura (who had just ate 2 bananas the whole day) was coming too. We were going to be the foreigners who can't handle the heat and throw up with exhaustion.

So we walked to the school. All 4 of us, breaking a sweat just walking in the afternoon 30 odd degrees heat. We got there and as instructed on the phone I asked for Pom, who let us get away with skipping as a warm up. Phoooo. Still so sweaty though.

We then got our hands wrapped and shown the basics. For a right handed person you have to adopt the orthodox stance (left foot in front) which I'm not used to because of my Jeet Kune Do background. Jab, punch, hook, elbow, knee.

Then onto the bags. We would have to stop and do push ups every 20 minutes or so. This gets harder as you get more tired and its quite awkward with big gloves on. Ok so you're skipping, or shadow boxing, or doing bag work, or sit ups, and the big chiefs will call people up to the ring to do pad work.

After more push ups

I was gutted because everyone I went with had been up and I hadn't. Train near the ring area, and pretend you're not very good?? Anyways, I think Pom noticed I hadn't been up yet so she told one of the guys and soon it was my turn. A wee shame because by this time one of the helper guys had been feeding pads for 3 hrs and he just couldn't be bothered anymore. Now and again he would unconvincingly try and push me over or swipe my legs. But watch out because Freja's trainer swiped her straight off her feet!

There was some sort of structure to it but everyone just seemed to do their training then leave. There was no real cool down or anything. I would have loved to have attended for 5 days or so just to get into it, and get a real feel for it. Maybe next time.

1 session = 400 baht. Definitely do it!

Then take a rehydration drink, take a shower and go for a Thai massage.

Ibusuki onsen

We decided to go on a wee road trip down to Ibusuki. It was only like an hours drive from Kagoshima. It was exciting. I'd never been buried in sand before. I don't have a picture from a holiday at the beach where its just my head poking out the sand. Just never really fancied it. I kinda knew Ibusuki would be different though.

Everyone gets given a yukata after paying the entrance fee. Go to changing rooms, get naked, and pop on your yukata. Look around you and see how the locals are folding theirs because one way is for funerals only so you don't want to make that mistake! I just checked- fold it left over right.

At the exit of the building there are special outdoor sandals for you to pop on, and make your way to the hatched roof area on the beach. There are people waiting with shovels and you pick your spot and they dig a a sand grave for you with a little headrest. You lie down and two of them bury you in. The sand is steaming from the heat. You look around and there's just heads, eyes closed, bliss.

After a few minutes, sweat coming out of all your pores phewww SO hot. The signage says max of 10 minutes. I was struggling after probs like 7 minutes. I waved my wee paw, and they dug me back out. It was like an underground sauna. Feels good. On our way back to the main building there was a girl lying at the side with lots of people around her, and juice boxes and ice packs. She must have fainted so just take it easy when you're buried and baking!!

There is also normal hot bath to soak in after you've cleaned up, and a sauna too. Definitely a relaxing day trip!

Volcano city!

Our hosts in Kyoto recommended Aso- san for a visit so we made the trip there after a day trip in Hiroshima. Aso is one of the largest calderas in the world. It`s like a wee town in a big basin surrounded by mountains and trees. We didn`t realise it was goin to take so long so we were goin up the mountains in the dark, the driver had to walk down the platform and change the direction he was driving twice in order to get up this mountain, and of course we couldn`t see what was goin on outside! It felt like we were goin back on ourselves but somehow when changing seats he must have changed the tracks too.

It was a torch job from the station but luckily the hostel wasn`t too far away. It felt like a cabin in the woods, probably the least Japanese of our accomodation so far. We still had to change into slippers though!

We didn`t realise til morning how great a location we were in. The bus up to the top of the mountain took 30 mins. Most people then opted for the cable car but we walked it and soon we were peering into the bubbling volcano crater. Each time there was a breeze we could smell the sulphur. Pretty horrible because I could taste it too, ummm.

Bubblin' crater of Mt. Nakadake

Our reading of the area didn`t really prepare us for the size of the place. It was huuuuge, and so many different terrains- orange rocks, ash soil, rocks, patches of grass. It was ace.

Volcano bomb...

We started scrambling up the hill. It was all rocks but there was arrows pointing us in the right direction. I felt pretty nervous actually, just because I`ve not really walked up near any volcanoes before!! Each time we turned round the view got better...

Even at this point it had been a tough climb, 1270m to go!

The view at the top was unreal. 360... smokin crater in one direction, mountains in the other, wee caldera town and then more rocks to climb. We reached the peak of Nakadake and we were unsure what to do because the descent was roped off. The tourist info said the path was closed because the cable cars had been abandoned; our hostel owner too said it was officially closed but that we could still walk it if we liked. We were wary, I didn't really want to double back on ourselves but being so close to a bubbling crater I was a bit on edge, and it did look like quite a long descent into unknown ground... humm... anyways we soaked up the view while debating what to do for a while then 5 Japanese guys came down from the highest peak, Taradake, and after exchanging some konnichiwa's they continued down the roped off hill. Should we just follow? Yeahh, let's go!

The otherside of the smoking crater!

The path was very crumbly, so we carefully stepped over the No Trespassing tape and started our descent. It was exciting and fun, and I figured if we were stopped by any officials the Japanese guys would be able to talk to them haha.

Top of the world!

Pete has been on field trips before albiet not right next to a bubbling volcano, but I dunno, this guy could explode any moment, I felt uneasy and walking down next to a rusty, abandoned cable car station it was eeerie for sure but exciting!! The path was fine, not sure why it was closed exactly. There was no cable cars hanging in the sky so there was no danger in that sense. One of the look out points did pretty much look into the crater so needless to say we didn't stay at that observation point for long. The Japanese guys did so we passed them at this point and continued down, I kept checking behind me because for some reason I felt safer knowing there was other hikers coming down this 'closed' path.

My legs hurt more coming down then they did going up!! I was at times holding on to Pete and going down walking backwards, as in heels first. I've not really used going down hill muscles for an extended period of time. This was like a 1.5hr descent. I don't even know what the muscles are called, but continuously having to catch yourself, ouch my wee legs.

We finally arrived at a car park which marked the end of the trek although the train station back to Aso was 2km from here. We bought some drinks and prepared ourselves for more down hill walking. The 5 guys had their own car otherwise I'm sure we would have asked to share a ride or a taxi with them. We were pretty gutted because there was no space for us in their car! We started walking with our thumb out.

I think only one van passed us, and he didn't stop!! We saw him snake his way all the way down the hill so he was going in that direction anyway. He was bowing as he drove past hehe so polite. I guess he was in a hurry or something. Anyways the 5 Japanese guys stopped for us! They pulled over and just laughed and then opened up the boot so we were getting ready to climb into the boot but he got two of his pals to sit back there so we could sit in the back seats. They spoke very little English but we managed to get some chat. They were firemen and paramedics so I guess helpful people :-) they dropped us right at our hostel, and then asked if they could take a photo with us. It was ace. I love Japan.

Hai, cheesu!

Public baths part 2.

Other spots in Japan.

Kinosaki- took us like half a day to get here but its an onsen town. If you stay at one of the hotels here you get a bathrobe, and wooden slippers so you can go from one onsen to another. It was okay. I thought it would be amazing since it was all this wee town had. I think we were a bit keen and had too many soaks. Save them for after a day's hike. Try the crab while you're in town too!

Osaka Spa World- This place had like 4 different floors, and themed baths. Male, and female were seperate as always and the themes get rotated each month. The pool on the top floor is mixed. Excellent way to spend an evening. You could easily spend hours here.

Ibusuki sand baths- a bit of a drive from Kagoshima. Worth the visit for sure. You get to the changing room, undress, and just wear the kimono which they give you. Then you head outside with the slippers provided, and head down to the beach, you will see a bunch of heads poking out of the sand. There's people waiting to do the same, and bury you in the sand. The sand is really hot so its like an underground sauna. Sweat out all the impurities! They recommend max time of 20 minutes, thats how hot it gets. I think a girl fainted while we were there, ice packs etc. So be careful!

There's also like private bath places for couples, and families.

There's public baths in most towns.

Kizakura Kappa Country sake brewery

Fushimi is an area in Kyoto which is known for sake breweries, and production. Noa recommended that we should check it out so we thought we would see what was happening after a visit to the Fushimi- Inari Taisha Shrine- also excellent, a 4 km walk up a mountain with thousands of tori gates. Amazing. At sunset, it can be quite eerie though.

We got out the train station and walked to where we thought it should be but couldn't find it so we asked a couple to point us in the right way. In typical Japanese fashion, they started walking us straight there. Such friendly, and helpful people. We got there and it looked like the place was shut so we were like oh, but then the couple were like no, its okay, and walked us all the way to the door and asked for a table for us.

It wasn't busy inside. Just a few business men drinking, and eating.

After re-reading the map we realised we were in the restaurant which we wanted to go to after the brewery. Worked out quite well for us.

The staff didn't speak English so a few of them walked past and some attempted to help us but eventually the supervisor came to try and help us. I used my phrase book to see if things would be easier-

Nani ga oishii desu ka? (What do you recommend?)

Pointing at the menu, we asked for some beer that was brewed in house, and recommendation of sake. The chief suggested a rack of sake. Cool.

Different stages/ strengths of sake

My first taste of sake, and it was from a brewery visit so happy with that. We then attempted to order food but that didn't really work, and the only food they had were kebabs so we continued drinking. Sake doesn't make you feel drunk but you can feel it in your head if that makes sense.

Good times.

The next day we had a sake party with Nao and Kaori. It kind of happened accidently. Kaori had just come back from the shop, and said that if we liked sake, there was one brand on offer at the shop so we were like cool, maybe we'll get some. Nao was debating whether to stock up on a few more bottles so when we went we picked up an extra one as well for him as a present, they were excellent hosts. Only condition was that they would have to drink with us!

Nao went out and bought some sashimi, and made it into a party. Even though we had already eating dinner he convinced us that you have to eat sashimi with sake.

Don't think they make a habit of partying with guests. Its not a party place at all. More like their own home.

I can't remember how to say 'cheers', only 'one more please!' haha okawari kurasaaaaai !

Public baths

We were staying in Kyoto, and our host, Nao, kept suggesting we visit a public bath to help relax. We put it off for a few days because all I knew about it was that you strip naked and sit in a bath with a bunch of other people. I was nervous.

Before we set off Nao warned us, 'watch out for the electric one!'. Electric, how does that work in water I wondered. 'Don't worry, its the best one.' he called as we left, hmm.

We followed his directions, and realised we had past it several times during the day. There's no huge signage or anything. There's a foyer area for shoes, and then a male and female door. The woman looking after the place, and collecting the money sits in the middle of these doors. I paid her and then went in and started getting undressed. She was watching telly but I was still felt very self conscious when I was getting undressed. Through the glass slide doors I could see steam rising, several wash stations with a bucket and tap, several bath tubs behind that. I had a long face cloth type thing which was good for keeping my privates, private.

I took a deep breathe, and thought f*ck it, let's just go. Pulled open the slide door, and the 3 woman that were in there didn't even look up. Nothing to worry about at all. I grabbed a stool, and bucket and picked a station which didn't intrude on anyones personal space too much but also so I could make sure I was doing things correctly. The main tubs aren't for cleaning yourself in, but rather for soaking in and relaxing so the purpose of these wash stations is to scrub yourself clean.

The locals really do scrub. Until they're like red raw some of them. The woman I was sat near was washing before I started, and was still at it when I got up to go to the baths. Its cute, the locals often have their own bucket which they take with their own toiletries, and toothbrush, hairbrush etc.

Ok, so I was ready. I think there was 5 baths altogether. I didn't pick the one closest to the washing stations but 3rd up. Popped my foot in, and got this tingling sensation. It was hot, hotter than I would normally have my bath but I just eased myself in. Then I felt like these kinda like vibrations which would make my muscles wobble. Of course, I jumped straight into the electric one!!! I didn't want to seem like the silly foreigner so I just sat there and soaked it up for like 5minutes before coming back out... It was actually ok when I was side on, ie when the zaps were on my side but when I turned and it was on my tummy, it was too much. It felt nice on my back, but the tummy was too much.

Next I tried just the hot bath, which was nice. Next to that was the very hot one. It took me a while to get into it because it was so hot. I couldn't really stay in it for too long because it was that hot. There was a bubbling one which I thought I would save for later, and a green one which a lady was already in so I choose the last one which was ICE cold. Dipped my toes in there, and then sat in slowly. Tried the green, herbal one, as soon as it was free. Nice, tingly but in a herbs kinda way not electric shocks way. Then I went back in the cold one- not sure if that's good for my body but it feels good to go from one extreme to the other. Then bubbles where another lady was but it was the biggest one so I joined her. She tried to chat to me but I can't speak Japanese so just smiled and told her 'Scottorando'. (Scottish) I really need to learn some Japanese, they are such friendly people.

After you've had enough of that you get out and wash yourself again. I don't take as long as the first time but still have a scrub because of the baths that other people have been in. When I went through the slide doors, I didn't care at all if the woman was watching tv or not. I was so relaxed, and felt kinda comfortable with my body. I'm never one for walking around a changing room naked but I felt good about myself.

We spent the next 3 weeks traveling West of Japan to Kagoshima and eventually back to Tokyo. I will write up about others we visited, including several onsen (natural hot springs), spa visit, and being buried into a sand bath...

STAY at Roujiya Guesthouse, Kyoto

Indochina

Planning a trip

Watch this space ...

David Bann, Edinburgh

In February I cut meat out of my diet for one month. As a result, I did a lot more cooking which I really enjoyed. I felt healthier too, and less 'full' after meals but in a good way. It made me think a lot more about what I was eating too whereas before I would eat meat just because it was normal to have some on my plate. I did still eat fish for nutritional reasons/ essential oils, but making sure I wasn't using it as a substitute i.e. I didn't eat it every day. Surprisingly, it was my gran who gave me the most beef (yesss!) for eating fish as part of my challenge, claiming that I was cheating. Haha come on!

For Valentine's Day, we booked to eat at David Bann's in Edinburgh. It's a nice wee vegetarian restaurant just off the Royal Mile. The place was packed, but the service was still excellent!

I chose the olives as a starter which I guess was quite safe but they were the best olives I've ever tasted. They were literally the same size as my thumb, and you could hold them and eat them like you would an apple! HUGE.

Olives, and homemade bread drizzled with herb olive oil

Everyone around me seemed to have ordered the Udon noodles as a main so I decided to try something different...

Roast aubergine chick pea cake with mash and gravy

And for dessert, they had a platter with a wee taste of everything for those who can't decide what they want. I wanted a wee taste of everything so it worked for me.

Let's see - plum and vanilla brulee, raspberry ice cream, raspberry and whiskey chocolates, pineapple sorbet, and hot pear and passion fruit tart.

It is a complete myth that you need meat to make you feel full. I didn't even know vegetarian restaurants existed! I would definitely recommend David Bann as a treat, or as something 'different'.

Curling

2010 started with headlines declaring our worst Winter in 30 years. People were snowed in, local councils ran out of resources to grit the roads, cars were flipped over on the sides of roads, and there was black ice for miles...

In other words, this was an excellent Winter for snow sports. The conditions were perfect. The Lockerbie Herald had a picture from the early 60s of people curling on the frozen Kirk Loch. This was one of the first times since then that people were able to play on the loch again, and an opportunity I could not miss really.

The sight was incredible. I tried to imagine the loch normally but my eyes were too busy absorbing the scene. The skies were a perfect blue, and the sun made the snow twinkle so that you had to squint your eyes at everything. And it went on forever. People were not afraid to walk deep into the loch- the middle was apparently 13' deep, they drilled a hole to measure it, and then apparently it started cracking... My shoes crunched as I walked on the snow which lay on top of the frozen loch. It was amazing.

Kirk Loch, Lochmaben.

There was kids, families, ice skates, kids in sledges, photographers, dog walkers, on lookers, farmers, and us curling.

Katie has curled professionally so she was showing us how it's done. It was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. We used old style stones which had been sat idle on door steps for years. The stones were heavy (18- 20kg), and it was hard trying to curl the stone gracefully, and without falling over! Big household brooms were used to sweep, and make the stone curl smoother or faster on the ice. I was curling for the first time, and in the traditional way too: outdoors, old stone, and a kitchen broom. It was unreal.

Our closest game.

The aim is to get as many of your stones in the house (circles) as possible.

It was a lot of fun, and I think I did OK for a first timer you know. I even had to tie my hair up half way through, I was playing serious. We got beaten, but Katie is a junior world champ so I guess that's what happens.

I love this photo.

In the 60s, all the offices were closed so the staff could go out and curl. This year the conditions were perfect for another Grand Match, although this was controversially canceled due to health and safety so I guess I was lucky... who knows when it'll be like this again.

BCN x NY'09

New Years Eve, there's always so much hype around this day. Ohmygodiwassodrunk. The party where everyone is so drunk that they miss the bells. Or you know just a quiet one dancing around the TV with Jackie Bird. No ta! All old news, let's escape to the continent and see how New Years is celebrated elsewhere.

Barcelona.
I guess planning a trip would put even more 'pressure' on having a good time but holidays are always care-free, spontaneous and a chance to absorb another culture and it's people. Lovely. Also it was a Christmas present (thanks Ian and Suzanne!) so let's go!

Our adventure started early in the sleepy, snowy city of Aberdeen. 3am. Time to get up, and get ready. The snow was falling sideways as we 4x4'd our way along the country roads to the airport- thanks to Mels for the lift- this was exciting, actually quite scary too because there was a lot of snowfall, and we didn't want any canceled flights.

ABD airport. Checked in, easy. Security. No frisks, happy. Bacon roll, at 4am? Yeah it's alright. On plane, only 30mins delayed. Bye Aberdeen.

AMS airport. Delay in ABD means we had to make our way straight to our connection. No time for a Grolsch, at 8am? Don't be ridiculous.

BCN airport. 15c. 1 Hour ahead, GMT (+1). Hola Barcelona.
Taxi to our hotel which is on Gran Via de les Cortis Catalanes, which is a huge street but the location is ideal. 5 mins from the Metro (Universtat), and about 10mins from La Rambla.
Anyways, checked into our hotel, and our rooms weren't ready yet so we went out to find some lunch. Now what you want is a busy restaurant because this means the food is good, and if there are locals eating there then you are onto a winner. I can't recall which street the restaurant was in but this isn't a restaurant review so we're okay. Oddly there was a lot of old people in this place so I'm trying to figure out what this says about a restaurant. It was just your standard tapas bar, with people sitting at the bar, and at tables. We made our way up a tiny staircase and found that there was plenty more seating upstairs. Good. And we weren't quite in the touristy bit yet so the food wasn't too overpriced. We stuck to what we knew, and the food turned up quick (i fear this is turning into a bit of a review). N.B. habas is not as exotic as it sounds, but Spanish for peas. So if you like peas, order habas. We ate quietly for a while, as you do when tummys are hungry, and then toasted to our first tapas dinner in Spain.

Afterwards, back to the hotel for a siesta, 3am start catching up on us. On the continent a double room is made up of two single beds pushed together so please respect the countryside code if you are planning on visiting pals.

In the evening we all dressed up nicely to go out for a meal. We stopped at the local cafe/bar for Coronitas, or a (wee) Corona. Even the tables here were fully booked. We waltzed onto La Rambla and ended up just going into a pizza place, which turns out to be the Spanish version of Pizza Express, but it was ok. We had to wait for ages, with the barman trying to subdue our impatience with kir royales.

This is 'we/ us' by the way- Ian, Suzanne, Pete and myself.

Now since we were on La Rambla, we asked the waiter which way was best to go for the bells- left towards the docks, or right towards Placa Catalunya. His answer was right, as in the opposite of left but I would argue maybe not all that correct. Anyways, La Rambla itself was all fenced up so I asked a policeman Que Pasa? and pointed at the crowd, I think I actually made the motion of popping some champagne too, he said 'no glass'. OK. We proceeded to Placa Catalunya where loads of people had already gathered. The place was buzzing. Everyone had their bottles of champagne ready (shhh) and bags of grapes. I asked a man with a video camera where to get the bags of grapes, and he pointed vaguely in the distance so I guess we missed one opportunity to do things the Spanish way- 12 grapes are traditionally eaten on the bells, and with each one you get to make a wish, you see.

We found a space right in front of a polis car, and we could see the big clock tower. I remember it was 11.50, and we popped our champagne, and a polis man swooped in to try and take it away from us but then his supervisor, or a man we decided was the Mayor, said it was okay and for him to divide it between the four of us before taking away. Even on the continent- party poopers! (shhh... haha I'm kidding). Meanwhile, 12o'clock came but you could say it sneaked up on us because there wasn't a huge countdown. Everyone did it in their own little groups so I guess this is different to Scotland too, or maybe we were just in the wrong place. No huge fireworks. Actually the clock must have chimed, I beg your pardon. Everyone was having a good time, singing and chanting and people were making their way back down La Ramblas we followed for a while but weren't really sure what was happening so decided to head back towards the hotel. I think discotheques were out of the question a little bit because we were with Pete's folks so we decided to find a party elsewhere.

I spotted a Guniness sign so we decided to go in there for a drink. 7sins it was called, and it was just round the corner from our hotel. This was a nice wee bar with a dancin downstairs. The DJ was great, and Ian got chatting to the owner so somehow we got free drinks for the night too. This bar was off a side street so I think people had to make the effort to come here, it was a good crowd. I think sometimes in Barcelona it can feel like you are surrounded by tourists so it's good when you find a place where you can just mingle with the locals. Most places don't close til 6am. We couldn't handle that pace. 5am bed.

Now the only thing with going anywhere for New Years is that most places are closed on the 1st so this restricts the day's activities. Afternoon wasted in the pub. Make of that statement what you will.

*OK day 2 and 3 to come, and photos.

Sue Tsang