GeorgeandKat

Nagoya A day we wished we could start again :( We're feeling emotionally exhausted after the stress of today. We set off for our Toyota factory tour only to discover when changing trains that George had left his JR Pass on the train. It was a horrible feeling as we had planned another 8 days using the railway passes. Unluckily, the two station workers spoke little English and it took a lot of gesturing and drawing to explain the problem. The guy really struggled with the orientation of where we had been sitting on the train when the pass was dropped. Eventually he aranged for the train to be checked and we dashed off to the Toyota factory hopeful that we might see the pass again. The Toyota Factory was fascinating, we visited the welding workshop ... read more

The day we left Fuji – clear blue sky and the volcano reveals herself entirely, typical! We enjoyed the view as we headed to the station. Matsumoto – the most lasting impact; the ridiculous jingle announcing the name of the town at the station. I wish I could sing it to you. Our reason for visiting the city was Matsumoto castle, one of the few originals remaining in Japan that has survived earthquakes, fire and war. We joined the retired Japanese daytrippers at the castle. A very enthusiastic 78 year old man hurried out of the volunteer gazebo to be our guide. He was very knowledgeable and clearly a castle enthusiast. We spotted a piano concerto in his folder and discovered he had begun learning the piano at 50 and had been practsing this piece for ... read more

We loved our time in Tokyo :) After recovering from an attempt to sleep at the airport we headed out onto the streets of Tokyo. Our aim: to experience Japanese culture. We were not too fussed about buildings and museums but hunted out pastime activites and food! Please take a look at our photos below. Highlights included: a sumo practice, Origami, Ikebana (flower arranging), Teiko drumming and Go. We also enjoyed some parks, a kite museum, a photography exhibition, the odd temple and the Edo-Tokyo museum. We have found the Japanese to be really friendly. People stop in the street and asked if we need help and shop workers are enthusiatic and polite. Generally, very few people speak English but they smile anyway! Another positive experience of the culture has been the kind gestures of gifts ... read more

Having been on the road for almost 7 months I feel contentment in just stopping. Whilst enjoying the cycling adventure it is nice not to have the pressure of needing to reach the next destination using pedal power! Sorry the blog has been neglected. We had written up daily until our arrival in Laos but just lacked internet access to post it as we went. I will post the entries but please don't feel any obligation to read the numerous back entries. We rose to the challenge of cycling through the hills and mountains in northern Vietnam and Laos and were glad we did. It turned out to be one of our favourite parts of the journey with stunning scenery and quiet roads. We made a last minute decision to fill an empty 10 days before ... read more

Hanoi After recovering our bikes and bags we set off in the Hanoi traffic to find our hotel. The traffic is the worst we've experienced on tour, even though not as busy as elsewhere, every motorbike is a maverick unlike Saigon's flowing traffic were the majority rules. We eventually found our hotel to be told it was double booked by highly concerned and helpful staff. We were bumped to their sister hotel which was slightly nicer and more accessible which was again staffed by very helpful people. On this first night it was the turn of inconsiderate Americans to wake us in the early morning, shouting across the hallway for ten minutes in their attempt to catch an early bus. We ventured out onto the Hanoi streets with little planned. Over our three days we; visited ... read more