Week 9 Chiang Mai to Tokyo

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Tue 10
I was chilled already, but the treat this afternoon took me down several more gears until I was almost flatlining. Although its more expensive than the street salons, I went to the hotel spa for an hour-long aromatic oil massage. The place is beautifully decorated and is a true tranquil oasis, with a very calm atmosphere. You are really pampered from the moment you walk in and there is no rush to leave either, as they have really comfortable day beds to lounge on while you build up enough energy to stumble back to your room.

The first thing they do is sit you down with a cold fruit tea while they wash your feet and use some kind of seeds as an exfoliant then rinse and dry and place your feet in soft sippers. This is nice but the slippers were hard to walk in as they were too loose, so I resorted to a kind of noisy shuffle - it was even worse after the massage as your feet were then slippery too. You are taken to the locker area and given a robe and left to undress. Your locker is full of fluffy towels and little pots of stuff (don’t know what as I didn’t use any) and there is a large shower. You are collected and taken to the massage room with a bed that is wider than western ones as the girl includes some Thai massage moves, so needs to get up on the bed to move you around or to be able to use her weight. It was very good and after you have changed you get to lounge around with a cup of ginger tea and a cold towel that smells of lemons. Blissful.

I found a really good bar and restaurant within 10 minutes of my hotel called the Gecko Garden that serves cheap food, both western and local, and fairly cheap booze. I had lunch there and over-ordered as I could only finish about half before I was full because the “appetiser” portion of breaded and fried tiger prawns was massive and would have been enough on its own as it came with salad, but I had also ordered a chicken pad thai. The whole lot came to just over three quid - see the photo which was taken after I had already tucked well into both dishes. The setting was nice with lots of greenery and flowers around the perimeter and wide, heavy teak-wood tables and chairs. I will be back, particularly as their happy hour lasts from 5.30 to 9.30pm and I haven’t had any booze since I arrived in Thailand.

My cold has cleared up and I am feeling much better at last. After the massage I was only fit for vegging out in front of the TV, watching a below-average movie and a couple of programmes on the Discovery channel.

Wed 11
Today I took a tuk tuk to town (try saying that quickly a couple of times) as I decided to do something cultural. I went to the far side of the old city to the Wat Phra Sing that is a complex of several Buddhist temples. I had a good look around the outside of all of them, but I didn’t think to bring a cover for my bare shoulders and as I didn’t want to offend anyone, I decided it was best not to go inside. Its very quiet around the back of the site beside the smaller temples and there were seats in the shade where I sat for a while, listening to the monks chanting, the prayer bells and windchimes which was really peaceful.

I then walked to the Wat Chedi Luang complex that is almost in the centre of the old city. I visited 3 more wats as I walked all the way back to the hotel. It was very sticky today and I felt soggy and hot by the time I returned, so treated myself to a foot massage in one of the tiny, cheap places on a side street. I also found the lovely Pop’s Cafe right on the main road next to the raging traffic of the busiest junction in town by the main city entrance, the Tha Phae Gate. It had huge banana plants all around it providing shade and a barrier to the noise and was a little oasis. The owner brought out an electric fan for me which was thoughtful, but also a bit worrying as the electric socket was right next to a big puddle of dripping water.

Actually in my hotel I get big blue flashing sparks every time I plug anything in, both when its a local item such as the kettle and also stuff I have brought via the adaptor, which makes me jump every time. So folks, electrocution appears to be the only real danger here. Ooops no, I forgot about being run over by a tuk tuk or motorbike, as there doesn’t appear to be any road rules either and pedestrians are definitely at the bottom of the pecking order.

In the evening I went to the night bazaar up the road but I was only looking and not buying. There are thousands of stalls on the pavements and in a few dedicated buildings and down all the side streets, plus all the shops along the market route stay open until 11pm Its all very colourful and fun and I know a couple of market fans back at home who would just love this, even though the weather was a bit sticky and close.

I had dinner of pork, vegetables, lots of mushrooms and rice at a little place up a side street in the middle of the bazaar. I also went to a German bar on the same street and had a blond beer while watching the world go by and listening to the bargaining techniques of people at the nearby stalls.

I am sorry but there are a lot of temple photos in this blog as they are all quite different and there is so much detail to capture. I promise you are only seeing a fraction of the shots I took.

Thurs 12
I keep stubbing my bleeding (literal, not swearing) toe on the stupid step between my bedroom and vanity area. I have no idea what the designer was on when he decided to put a sodding (OK, now I’m swearing) great step in the middle of an open space. Its miles away from the bath and shower, that are in another room, with a floor drain, behind a door. Perhaps he was expecting some kind of tsunami ? Anyway its annoying and painful and I have included a photo to show you what I mean - of the stupid step, not my damaged toe. Its not even a proper step going from one level to another, its just a dirty great wall in the middle of the floor. Enough ranting - sorry.

With all the amazing things for sale in this city, I went shopping this morning for practical stuff, as I cant carry much with me for the next 12 months and I haven’t seen anything that I need so desperately that I am willing to get it shipped home - yet. First stop was a book shop that sells second hand books for low prices, plus if you return them within a month they refund half of the price. They also buy, so I went back later in the day and sold them all of the ones I had brought from England and perhaps I will have time to read and return a couple of the ones I bought today. I hope I can find this kind of service elsewhere on my travels - they had them in South Africa too.

I went round several shopping streets in the area looking at daypacks, as the one I brought from UK does not suit me which is a shame as it wasn’t cheap. I managed to get what I wanted and had fun bargaining. I think everyone was satisfied with the price and it was all done in good humour, particularly mid-way through the exchange when the lady dropped her offer by a particularly tiny amount, so I also dropped mine, which made her burst out laughing. Its slightly larger and heavier than my original pack but its way more comfortable, both on my back and when carrying it by hand, as it has a large rubber handle and very well padded straps.

Fri 13
Nothing nasty happened despite the date - phew.

I found a really nice garden cafe 5 minutes from my hotel with free wifi, so took my netbook down for an hour, uploaded all of my photos for this blog and booked a hotel at Bangkok airport for tomorrow night. See the 2 “appearances” photos, as from the outside this place is not terribly attractive or welcoming to look at and is mainly a motorbike rental shop with a small indoor cafe with 3 tables, but like so many of the places here if you bother to explore a little further, you find hidden gems. The picture of the back of the cafe only shows about a tenth of the garden area, which stretched back and sideways and it was very green with lots of fishponds and flowers but could only be glimpsed from the street through the little alley on the far right side of the photo. Coffee was really good here too.

I collected my laundry at a little place over the road where I got all of the clothes I had worn for the last week washed and ironed for a pound sterling - I wish we had this service at home and for this price. They charge by weight and everything has been done perfectly.

A friend recommended that I include more of my thoughts on this blog, even if they are controversial, So what do I think about the sex industry that is so obviously a large part of this city ? Well I must admit that it can be really in your face at times and that its not pleasant seeing old ugly western men getting jiggy with young, pretty local girls and constantly mauling them right in front of you. But the bit I object to is not not that it is happening, but having to watch it. Its a bit like that ugghhh feeling you get when you see an ugly couple kiss on TV and it goes on for too long. I’m cool as long as we are talking about adults here, not kids, and that its a mutually beneficial situation (or commercial transaction), but I just wish you didn’t have to virtually step over them to get to the bar. At the other end of the scale you get a lot of young inexperienced looking blokes, normally in pairs or groups, who giggle, snigger and snort a lot with their eyes out on stalks - its like being caught in a Beavis and Butthead convention. They get teased a lot and are made to blush by the girls and the ladyboys.

The ladyboys are fabulous fun though and most of them have a great sense of humour, a very quick and spiky wit and want to dance all of the time. Some of them are truly beautiful but some don’t quite pull it off. I met a lovely ladyboy in the night bazaar who insisted on taking me into a shop to look for a new outfit for me, but his taste was a bit too shiney/sparkly/hooker style for me. The encounter was over the top, very amusing and I loved being called Daaahhhhling Girl.

Sat 14
Travel day today. Got a morning flight to Bangkok and checked into a newly opened Best Western Amaranth near Suvarnabhumi airport that has a lovely modern interior, but is a bit empty which is probably why got such a good deal. Its in a fairly ugly industrial part of town so the views suck and the balconies are a waste of time, but the grounds are nice if you don’t look over the fence. Unfortunately it was either overcast or smoggy so there was not much point in sitting by the pool, but I am sure on a sunny day it would have been lovely. The spa looked gorgeous but was really expensive considering its an airport hotel, and was consequently empty. The rooms were great - large with huge walk-in showers, big flat screen tv and FREE wifi.

It was not worth going into the city as I didn’t arrive until early afternoon and I had a very early check in time for my Tokyo flight in the morning, so I had a late buffet lunch which was good value and had lots of choice of western and eastern dishes. I took advantage of the 2 for 1 happy hour in the bar but after my 2 drinks I returned to my room and chilled with a book.

Sun 15
Another travel day with a 5am wakeup and the dawn hardly lightened the grey clound/smog cover at all. I was looking forward to flying Japan Airlines for the first time but found that it was nothing special and the seat was cramped, but they did announce everything in English as well as Japanese which was a pleasant surprise. They also had a nose-camera showing the cockpit view during take off and landing which was cool and I got my first taste of Japanese food for a while, which was very nice. I just watched and copied the lady next to me as I was not sure what was in some of the little packets and I didn’t want to start eating a refresher towel or something equally stupid. I avoided the chopsticks and used the fork - I would have arrived wearing my dinner otherwise. I will be trying plenty of local food over the next few days and I will try to get to grips with chopsticks too. You guessed it, almost everyone seemed to be sniffing, sneezing and/or coughing on the plane. Oh well.

The flight to Tokyo was just under 6 hours and I arrived at 4pm local time (currently 9 hours ahead of UK). Russ, our tour guide for the next 10 days, was in the arrivals hall as arranged and was wearing the bush-hat he had described in his email so was easy to spot, but it wouldn’t have been that hard as he was virtually the only western face standing at the meet rail. He has a soft Scottish accent as he grew up there but was born in Hull, which is a small world as that is where my Mum’s family live.

We had to catch the train from Narita to Tokyo, which was not leaving for 40 minutes, so sat and chatted. The train was wonderfully comfortable and took about an hour, which gave us time to have a beer. When we arrived at the huge and confusing Tokyo station, I was glad that Russ was there to show me the route to our exit Yaesu North and I was glad that it was only a short walk to our hotel as I was knackered from carrying a heavy pack and dragging my suitcase for miles, on and off trains and up and down escalators. While we were at the main station, I bought a charge card (similar to the London Oyster card) to use during the trip and got it loaded with yen., which will save me having to queue and try to ask for tickets. I was shocked at how many people were at the station as I didn’t think it would be so busy on a Sunday. I will definitely try to avoid the rush hour when I go exploring on my own tomorrow as the crowds will be many times worse.

My room at the Yaesu Terminal hotel is fairly small as you would expect in the centre of Tokyo, but I have been in similar sized ones in London that did not have as many gadgets and such good fittings. The bathroom looks as if it belongs on a spaceship with one of those electronic toilets that had some serious looking controls. I figured out how to do a normal flush and will probably leave it at that until I have been on the course or got a licence. The seat-warmer appears to be stuck on and I cant figure how to turn it off, oh well I can live with a warm bum.

Russ has suggested that I take advantage of a facility to send luggage on ahead between each hotel and that I leave my main suitcase here and decant enough stuff into my 2 daypacks to last for this 10 day trip, which would save lugging the case everywhere. We are back at this hotel at the end of the trip for the last night so this sounds like a really good idea, as we are doing quite a bit of travel on the trains and other local transport. So part of tomorrow is rearranging my luggage, which is fine as I now have my PHD in packing.

Mon 16
Had a quiet day mooching around the area close to the hotel as its easy to get lost here and the place is crowded There seemed to be people everywhere, all rushing intently ahead. The fashion with the young people seems to be the more outrageous the better and there are lots of neon colours, short rara skirts and over the knee socks or boots and weird haircuts

The group all met in the lobby at 5pm and Russ introduced us - we are all middle-aged and well travelled which is nice. There is a married couple called Isabel and Alistair from UK, they had their wedding reception in the small town I live in which is another example of a small world, and their daughter will join us in a few days time. Next is a lady from Australia (south of Sydney) called Joyce, so I will pick her brains on that area for when I visit next Spring. Finally there are two ladies from UK called Liz and Sue All very nice.

We got the train from Tokyo central station out to Shinjuku which is the area you see featured most often on TV when they speak about Tokyo and is full of skyscraper buildings, electronic shops, neon lights, flashing signs and people. People everywhere, which is a bit of a theme with this city. Russ led us to quite a few amazing sights, including the bridge where the BBC always pitch themselves for any reports from Tokyo. We visited the Kabukichi area which is a bit like Soho in London and is a fairly lightweight red-light area. We went down Piss Alley which is a narrow winding street full of little eating places that serve BBQ meat - cant remember the Japanese name for it, but it smelled wonderful. Don’t know where the street name came from but perhaps its best not to ask.

We went to a small restaurant for dinner where you cooked your own dinner on a hotplate. We started with a kind of mixed stir-fry with noodles, meat etc, to which you add a sauce called “sauce” (which is an exact translation). We spread the group between 2 tables over over two hotplates as there were 7 of us. Because we have one vegetarian, we ordered extra non-meat dishes that we all got to try during the evening. Russ insisted on ordering for us as he wanted us to try new things, which worked out to be an excellent move as it was all absolutely delicious. I am going to have to start taking notes about the names of things, as the dinner dish names sounded like metro station names.

I had a couple of beers with my dinner which went well with the food. but did’t help with the chopsticks. I am useless with them but had improved by the end of the evening, so I will continue to try to use them over the next 10 days. Next course was Okonomiyaki, a big mix of sloppy, lumpy stuff in a bowl that you had to stir up and the throw on the grill in a neat pile. It looked like a spanish omelette but was far better and tasted divine. It has cabbage in it and the binding agent is grated yam and it all tasted very savoury and was filling. After turning half way through cooking, you had to paint on thick brown sauce that looked a bit like creosote and the paintbrush was chunky enough to have made short work of your fencing too . Then you had to dollop mayonnaise in top and then chop it into bite-sized pieces. Sounds horrid and weird, but boy did it taste good. We had 4 different mixes - pork, beef, vegetable and mixed seafood and they were all good. This was easier to pick up with the chopsticks than the previous course and although I was wearing white trousers, I didn’t spill any.

We ended the night with several jugs of hot sake, served in tiny pottery tumblers. You are not allowed to pour your own drink, so its a very sociable thing to partake in as everyone is pouring for each other, whether you want more or not. Before going back to the train station we detoured and stopped at a huge Government office tower block that has a viewing platform on the 45th floor. The nightscape of the whole of Tokyo was laid out beneath us and was spectacular. Russ showed me how to do a timed shot on my camera which turned out to take good shots of the lighted scene - I wish I had read the camera manual now, as he reckons I could do all sorts of other things if I took it off the “auto” setting. I will try to experiment over the coming months.

We were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the hotel and needed to sort out all of our stuff as we are all sending bags ahead to Hakone. Its an early start with an alarm at 5am - yuk.

Tue 17
The horribly early start was to get to the Tsukiji fish market which involved a couple of different tube trains. It was weird to see the stations almost empty but it was before 6am. Unfortunately when we got outside it started to rain quite heavily which was not very nice. The fish market was smelly, fascinating, exotic and dangerous, with the workers running around and driving on tall electric tugs that looked a bit like the circular floor-polishing tools you see in hospitals. These guys had right of way and you had to really watch yourself. You got yelled at or growled at if you got in their way, which was fair enough as they were doing their job of loading and moving the fish around. Some of the fish were huge too, with giant tuna being sliced up on massive band saws and quite of lot of the fish were alive in tanks of running water.

After we had had a good look round we went to a little sashimi restaurant for a raw fish and rice breakfast. To be honest none of us was really looking forward to this and it felt way too early for eating raw fish, but once we had started to tuck in to the delicious choices, our heads caught up with our tastebuds and it was good. We had green tea with it. The staff were fun and there were quite a few westerners in the place who were enjoying the freshest possible fish you can get.

We made our way back to the metro and were in for a shock as the rush hour was in full swing. We got to experience being pushed into already packed trains by the station guards and then not being able to move or really breath properly as you were wedged upright among several hundred other people on your carriage. It was not pleasant and if you are at all claustrophobic you must avoid this. It was an experience though and we were grateful that both of our train journeys were fairy short.

We went back to the hotel and I left my main case there, forwarded one daysack to Hakone and took one daysack with me with enough stuff for 2 days. I am really glad that Russ had encouraged us to do this, as trying to manoeuvre large and heavy luggage through the stations and on the packed trains would have been a nightmare. Anyhow we went to a different station and caught the train for the hour-long journey to Kamakura.

It was still raining hard when we walked to the hotel and dumped our bags and then split into two groups. One lot went on another train ride and a bus to see a large Buddha statue and then to treck up a hill to a shrine in a cave. Those of us who didn’t want to get even wetter than we already where and didn’t fancy sliding about on a muddy hill, went to check out the town with its cute little boutiques and restaurants. Joyce and I went to a noodle bar and tried to get lunch but the staff didn’t speak any English and everything was written in Japanese of course so we trusted to luck when we ordered. We had to watch other people as lots of our meal came raw in little pots that you had to stir into the hot noodles and there were loads pots of dried up stuff that you were meant to add as flavourings. Mine was OK but Joyce’s was not very nice at all judging by the faces she was pulling.

The hotel is a bit tired and basic but the rooms are large and bright. There is no internet at the hotel so I have come to an internet cafe. I will post this while I can, so will update the rest of today’s activities on the next edition.

I have created a new map on my profile page which shows the whole of my trip todate and I will update this each week and put a link to it in each future blog. This means that it will match the text if you are reading the latest blog, but you will have to pan back if you are reading old blogs - hope this makes sense but email me if you want clarification. I am doing this as it takes too long to do a separate map each week and also I wanted a cumulative count of the miles I have travelled on this trip.

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Photos

"Appearances" - outside of cafe
Appearances can be deceptive. This is the outside of a lovely garden cafe - see next photo