Who would've thought that getting on a boat to go explore Phang Nga, Thailand a year ago would help me score tickets to a sellout baseball game in Japan? Well, it did. On that trip I befriended a Japanese family, one of whom went to fair lengths to get hold of a couple of tickets to a Hanshin Tigers v Yomiuri Giants game at Koshien Stadium (the Tigers home ground) during the Golden Week holidays. (A side note: the origin of many of the larger department stores in Japan lies with the railway companies. Department stores were built alongside major stations, [View Full Entry]

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The blog backlog is still on the backburner - in the meanwhile, here's some cherry blossom photos :-) まだ書いていないブログが多いですが、当分この島根県で撮った桜の写真をご覧下さい。 日本語でコメントしたい方、「Private Message」をクリッ&# [View Full Entry]

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Time was running out. To be more precise, the snow was melting - a month earlier than usual. As it turned out, the three weeks I was enjoying summer back home turned out to be ideal snowboarding time, thanks to heavy snowfalls. The problem was, there was still something I wanted to try doing - I still hadn’t been snowboarding at night. So that’s how we came to be travelling down highway 9 in Shimane, heading for Mizuho Highland skifield. Even so, because it was the tailend of the season, it wasn’t confirmed until about 3pm on the day whether or [View Full Entry]

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This wasn't the way it was supposed to start. Actually, I could have done without the cold at any stage. But jumping from winter to summer seemed to do it, and the first few days of my visit back home were spent swallowing pills and trying to sleep it off - in between getting the Christmas shopping done that is. I'd been too busy to get it done before the trip over. Actually, that's not entirely true. Scrabblers On The Roof I had gone to Matsue (about an hour from where I live, and with a whole lot more in the [View Full Entry]

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Last time I came to France I ran away. Literally. At least from the luggage dropoff point to the departure gate at Charles de Gaulle Airport, not even stopping to retie the shoelaces flapping in all directions. Two days earlier I had arrived back at the hotel to find my passports and wallet hadn't. The next day was spent doing the rounds of embassy/police/lost and found (or as in my case, lost and not found). True to their word the staff at the New Zealand embassy had my emergency passport waiting for me the next morning, which I signed for before [View Full Entry]

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"Was bus that just pulled out" quick gasp for air "going to Shichirui?" and another, I asked the group of 3 that were waiting at the Sakaiminato bus station. "No (in English)" one of them says , "That one leaves from over there (in Japanese)". I had pulled up in the carpark on the wharf side, and thinking the bus was due to leave at 8am I ran, only to see a blue and white bus ("the bus you need to get will probably be a blue and white one") pull out of the depot. After taking a few minutes to [View Full Entry]

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A darkening sky and regular rain showers was not the start to the long weekend that I was hoping for. Never mind, hopefully it will keep a few people at home I thought. The plan was to meet my friend in Matsue and head up the coast to check out beaches and the Tottori Sand Dunes. When pouring rain began to give way to small patches of pale blue we knew we'd made the right decision by pushing on. After stopping to watch the sunset from a rocky bay, which I'm sure does have an actual name, we headed further up [View Full Entry]

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10 short days, lots of sun, new friends, great food, lots of traffic, only-in-Thailand experiences, some rain, did I mention the traffic? The traffic is probably the first thing to hit your senses in Thailand (if not the heat). I think 4 people + groceries was the most I saw on one bike, kids welcome. The traffic safety campaign award would definitely go to the poster in Patong asking people to "Drive Fast Be Careful" :-) Yes they did, but ummm, don't know that they always were... Usually in the battle between going somewhere new and revisiting a place which created [View Full Entry]

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"If you see one temple in Chiang Mai, make it Doi Suthep" I was told. So I took the chance to head up to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep (about 15 km outside Chiang Mai city) with some other Spicythai'ers on the morning of my last full day in Chiang Mai. In 1368 a monk brought a sacred relic he had discovered as the result of a dream to Northern Thailand. The King of the time placed it on the back of a white elephant and said that he would build a temple wherever the elephant stopped. After wandering through the jungle [View Full Entry]

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One thing I wanted to do in Thailand was ride an elephant. Most of the options for that also included hiking, orchids, butterflies and some form of rafting. The butterflies were, well, disappointing I thought. Not many around, and not a lot of colour. But out the door, turn left and things picked up. More colours and varieties of orchids than I knew existed (note - I'm no 'green thumb'). Back into the van and a drive of about I'm not sure how long because I dozed a bit, then it was out and onto Shanks's pony. The intended elephant ride [View Full Entry]

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