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July 1st 2012
***** Exciting news! In anticipation of my imminent move to Hong Kong, I am also moving blogs to a different provider, so from now on you can find me at my new blog! To follow me there, there is a button to press on the right hand side where you can add your email address to get updates just like on here. To celebrate the move, along with all the tales from Central America, there are also TWO bonus Japanese blogs for you, from Hanami (the cherry blossom viewing) and my trip to Hiroshima, and lots of photos to accompany the following blog. I look forward to seeing you on the other side! ***** chrisneedos.wordpress.com The family have come to Tokyo! This week has been a busy blur of travelling and sightseeing around Japan, so lots ... read more
April 16th 2012
At the end of February I had a few days off and wanted to escape the cold drabness of the Tokyo winter and escape to somewhere a bit warmer. Being only 4 hours away, hot and cheap to get to, Taipei beckoned! The primary objective of getting away was for some warmer weather - January was too cold for me, and my house here is pretty thin and flimsy. Checking the week before, the temperature in Taiwan was almost double that of Tokyo, until of course when I was due to arrive, when it started raining constantly. Whilst a pleasant reminder of British weather, it was a bit disappointing that it had to choose the 3 days I was there to start raining all the time! I stayed at the lovely Homey Hostel, which was within ... read more
August 14th 2011
Hello again! I've arrived in Tokyo, and have been here for just gone three weeks now. Finally getting used to the Japanese way of life, struggling with the immense heat (it's 30+ every day), and have found my way around a bit. Have had a very busy few weeks - after being taken to my apartment straight from Narita airport on the Saturday, I had some initial training in one of the schools on the Sunday, continuing through to the following Sunday. After generously being allowed a day off on the Monday, I was thrown in the following day for my first day of work and absolute blag session. I told myself that my first week would be mainly getting to know my students (and as it turns out, the textbooks). Everyone is very nice and ... read more
April 27th 2010
So, I've made it all the way to Colombia! I'm now in Barranquilla, right on the northern coast, where I've met up with my uncle P who lives out here. Spending a few days up here while I plan my next moves - my flight leaves from Bogota 2 weeks on Friday, and that's if I want to actually take it. As you can imagine, I've not planned this far (I don't even have a book for South America!), so am plotting and planning. While I'm this far south I'm also quite keen on popping over the Equator to tick off the Southern Hemisphere, so a trip to Quito, Ecuador or Leticia, Colombia could be on the cards. And then I have to decide if I actually want to come back at all! (oooooh exciting) Back ... read more
Venturing further south
Published: April 14th 2010Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panamá » Panama CityApril 15th 2010
On Tuesday the heavens opened. It was the first rain I've had in three months and by George did it more than make up for it. It's like the rain in England when it really pours it down, and then some. It was unexpected, but still quite nice. It's rained every day since, but only for an hour or two max, but when it's not raining it's still very hot and humid. I've whizzed through Costa Rica and also most of Panama, and am now down in Panama City waiting for a boat to Colombia. San Jose I really liked - the Lonely Planet (awful book) gives it a bad rep and I think undeservedly. Admittedly there's not much to do there (the best thing we found was a cool science museum for kids that we ... read more
First there was a volcano, then there was no volcano, then there was
Published: April 1st 2010Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua
April 1st 2010
Leaving San Salvador afforded me the earliest rise I think i've probably ever had. Bamba quite nicely organised a 3.30am departure from Salvador, meaning I got up and 2.45 and promptly fell asleep again at 3.31. An uneventful trip led us back through Honduras (still no stamp) and into Nicaragua (no stamp here either). Having heard lots of bad things about Managua, I left straight away and headed north to the nice little town of Leon. There are two little colonial towns in Nicaragua, Leon and Granada, both founded in 1524 and both vying with other ever since: the capital passed between them before moving to Managua, and apparently there was always a split along political ideals as well. However, the first and most obvious thing to notice about Nicaragua is that it is HOT. Forget ... read more
A week in El Salvador
Published: March 16th 2010Central America Caribbean » El Salvador » Western » Santa Ana
March 16th 2010
Well, this is some country. I'm in an internet cafe in Santa Ana that seems to be in the process of being knocked down (literally as I type they're knocking down a wall), while the Venga Boys is playing loudly out in the street. It's cracking cheese Gromit. And also the backspace (and most other keys too) on this keyboard seem to somehow be inexplicably connected to the space bar, so hopefully this won't come out full of spaces. Salvador really is quite something. It came out of civil war only in 1992, and it only seems to be recently embracing tourists again, after many government warnings from afar suggesting avoiding travel here. There are several museums around that really show the gruesome brutality of the war, and there were no holds barred. However, everyone now ... read more
Plunging New Depths
Published: March 7th 2010Central America Caribbean » Honduras » Bay Islands » Utila
March 7th 2010
Wow. Add to the list of fantastic things I've done on this trip learning to Scuba dive. I'm currently on the Honduran island of Utila (googlemap it, it's fantastic) where this morning I've just become a certified open water scuba diver, which means I can dive anywhere I want in the world up to a depth of 18m! Which is pretty cool. Have been out in the water for the last four days; the first two learning key skills that you need all the time (what to do if your regulator (mouthpiece) comes out, if your goggles come off etc) and the last two have been out on the boats and over the reef, swimming right through schools (shoals?) of tropical fish, seeing the marine life in the reefs and generally having an absolutely awesome time. ... read more
Semuc, Flores and into Belize
Published: March 1st 2010Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Petén Region » Flores
March 1st 2010
Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with a French couple with halitosis. Well, it was actually last Tuesday, but since I've added to this I didn't want to change that fabulous first line. It was interesting for two reason: firstly, I believe I have answered the great open problem of our time, why the French so spectacularly pause in the middle of every sentence, as brilliantly portrayed by everyone's favourite Frenchman Arsene Wenger; and secondly, uncovered for myself in the same conversation, every linguist's nightmare. And indeed, the two are fabulously linked. The French only pause because they're trying not to speak Spanish. And with this same French couple, I can classify a first for me (and possibly ever) in knowing more languages than a fellow European. In Antigua mixing with other students, the language spoken ... read more
February 21st 2010
I've spent the last two weeks picking up a bit of Spanish in Antigua, and living with a lovely Guatemalan family. I went into the lessons with the minimum expectation of coming out fluent, but have sadly come out merely brilliant. Well, I've picked up enough to get by, and have indeed had many (three) conversations with locals since and held my own in them. Living with the family was brilliant; they'd been taking students for 18 years, so were well practised with living with complete no-hopers in their language. Indeed, there were 6 of us at one time there, all with varying levels of competence. During my time there, it was of course the start of lent (se llama 'cuaresma' aqui), and it was then that I think I realised why Guatemala is not the ... read more
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