http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/teecha_nikky/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from teecha_nikky en-us Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:34:38 +0000 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:34:38 +0000 So...after my rant about how tourism ruins a country....i'm now going to blog to you about the tour we went on...It's unavoidable really. Unless you want to walk around to see everything or pay 412 dollars for a tuktuk ride you have to do a tour. We became 'package tourists' for the day.We chose the elephant trek white water rafting which in an email to dad was described as 'cruising down the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-386275.html Well Siam.I love the sound of that name. The two simple round syllables...Saiam. I don't know when or why the name change came into effect but Siam has a historical beuty to the name. Thailand does have a sense of independence though and people will probably look at me funny if i tell them I went to Siam.It's not hard to see why people like the place. The people are friendly and smiley alway http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-386274.html Well my addiction won out again. Instead of saving my 65509en and being responsible I signed up for another snowboarding tour this time to Nagano. A lot of people from the Niigata tour would be there and this time there were 2 buses going and 6080 people. The pattern was much the same as the last trip. Meet up get on the bus this time our seats had been allocated make sure you stock http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Nagano/blog-375016.html Scarcely had I arrived back from my own snow adventure when I had to go and collect two bodies from the train station after theirs. I had offered my place up to Mr and Mrs Merritt parents of one of my closest friends and one of them an ex sensei of my own. Linda and Peter Merritt have to be two of the most fun and happy people you could hang around with. It has been almost 10 years since I left http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shiga/Koka/blog-381320.html I am hoping that in publishing those past blogs i'll feel compelled to put pictures up now so please have faith Nothing like weighty expectations to get you working right Well that's what I'm hoping anyways.If you don't have time to read them now that's actually great Maybe by the end of the weekend there will be lovely pictures to look at too. WhoopeexxxSnickersEdit It looks like it's work http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/blog-381317.html Snowboarding.This means a lot of different things to different people. Reactions vary from 'snow what's that' to 'so you want to strap yourself to a bit of plastic and throw yourself down a mountain WHY' or 'fully sick mate Last year in Whistler I.....'To me it meant that I could finally throw off the mantle of depression and Japanloathing brought on by being cold ALL THE TIME and enjoy a p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Niigata/blog-375015.html Leaving Australia again was harder this time than it was the first time. It seems illogical I know seeing as this would be a much shorter visit a clear deadline set for my return. Then again for those of you who know me well when have I ever listened to reason and logicIt didn't help that I was leaving summer behind. Australian summer. With family and friends and fun in the sun. I think m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shiga/Koka/blog-375014.html Do you have a favourite placeSomewhere that is serene and calm and makes you want to just go there and hang out with nothing but the view and your thoughts I do. It's Sugarloaf rock in Dunsborough. Named after it's counterpart in Brazil perhaps it just sits alone in the water with no path but swimming a current to reach it. I'm happy to sit back and gaze at it this tooth of Neptune that just http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Dunsborough/blog-375013.html This entry has been a particular hurdle for me. I haven't updated photos here or on facebook though it was 2 months ago now...I've been doing by darndest not a word i usually use but whatever to get this whole blog updated but I suffer from a very common illness called procrastinationitis. It's ok I'm receiving treatment but sometimes I suffer a relapse. I'll get through it thanks for the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Margaret-River/blog-375012.html Lifting off from Osaka airport was the nicest feeling...Not only did it mean that I was officially on winter break I could hardly have taken off had I not been but it meant that finally after around 8 months I was heading home. Singapore airlines was lovely they even had Christmas decorations up in the cabin and for both legs of the trip to Singapore and to Perth there was a space besid http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Perth/blog-375011.html Having my trip booked is a nice feeling.I've been content to just go to work do my thing go out on the weekend sometimes and generally enjoy every day life. Now it seems my thoughts turn to home with more frequency.Some of the people i'll see I haven't seen for eight months. I was lucky enough to have a few visitors from home like Danilo and my parents but I haven't seen my brother or my fri http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shiga/Koka/blog-375010.html So I ate some vegemite yesterday...I'm not sure if that means I am homesick or that I was just hungry for something salty but it was nice. That in itself is scary as I was never a great fan of the spread. For those of you who don't know vegemite is a concentrated yeast extract that Aussies eat on toast and was probably dreamed up during a massive beer bender. It's strong and salty and not n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shiga/Koka/blog-375017.html So Tokyo...Japan's mecca of technology. The Party zone. The place where it all happens. Is what they say really true about this fabled city I couldn't tell you.You see I didn't actually get to see Tokyo.In hindsight I can laugh and appreciate the things I saw but at the time it was just one annoyance after another and sometimes it was hard to see the enjoyable bits. Forgive me if the recap http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shizuoka/Mt-Fuji/blog-348622.html I joined a dancing group here in June called Bounce Back. I'm not sure if i've already mentioned it or not but there is news here if I have. We had a PERFORMANCE Scary stuff. I'm not new to dancing by any means...I have danced for most of my life and have experience in ballet contemporary jazz tap ballroom salsa merengue cha cha tango...the list goes on. None of that really prepared me http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shiga/Koka/blog-348618.html Ok so maybe karaoke doesn't count as gospel singing but it sure does lighten my heart. I always liked karaoke but now I honestly LOVE it. The Japanese really do know how to get your guard down. Instead of singing in front of a room full of strangers most of whom know you little enough to make caustic comments the private room scenario ensures you have at least one friend who instead of heckli http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-349190.html I'm not sure what I expected when I went to the Otsu matsuri but I was impressed and surprised at varying moments. Head Teacher invited me out with his mother to wander around the city but first I was treated to a sumptuous lunch of sushi train by his mother where i ate raw wasabi...Have you ever felt like your brain was crying I have The name of the sushi actually includes the word cry in it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shiga/blog-348617.html I had prepared myself to receive on parent thinking of places to go things to do but I was completely thrown to see both of them walk through the arrivals gateI would have to say it was the best surprise ever....even though I spoiled it see One Door Closes and Another Door Opens for full details. The only challenge was thinking of how to fit all of us in my house and organize bedding http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/blog-328518.html Kick starting my NoMoreSelfImposedExile with a Bang... ...Or at the very least some smooth beats and a bit of a boogie.Chafing at the bit I gladly accepted an invitation to see some Djs I had never heard of in Osaka. After all it couldn't be worse than what my weekend was going to hold namely nothing of note and a lot of lazing around which I have done plenty of over the last month a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Osaka/Osaka/blog-337818.html Having 6 weeks of holidays is all well and good but getting back into the daily grind can be a bit of a challenge.I've been back at work for just over a month now and have only recently felt the resentment begin to fade. Once you get into the habit settle into the rhythm it's not so bad but until you reach that point there are those Monday mornings when you wake up thinking it's still holida http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Shiga/Koka/blog-329242.html Well it's that time of year....when Japanese students get to show what they're made of on their school Sports Day. Expecting to have some frantic planning to do I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at school and discovered there were no lessons...at ANY of my schools. Instead the students were doing their club activities and training for Sports Day. I remember our Sports Carnivals in Aus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-328519.html