Well, the day Chelle and Crumps left Tokyo, I jumped on a plane bound for Thailand. I met Trevor there and after arriving at about 9pm, checked into this fantastic beach bungalow. It was over 35 deg, and rocking up in jeans really sucked, so the next day we rented a motorbike, stopped to buy shorts, and headed straight for the beach woo hoo!! After the spending the winter in -10 to -20 deg cold, with my only tan being a goggle tan, I was so excited to be at the beach…it was SO HOT that in one day I had reclaimed my Aussie summer tan back, and after day two at the beach, was when thoughts of how getting cancer would really suck started entering my mind, so we opted for the harsh alternatives ... read more

Well after three and a half years of talking and planning it took one random phone call and 10 billion consecutive e-mails last year and Crumps and Chelle had their ticket booked to Japan!! FINALLY! So first stop Osaka. I flew down to Osaka to meet the two an had great plans of hiding at the airport and watching them panic when no one was there, seeing how they would communicate to find their way around, but Crumps conveniently foiled this plan by spotting me and looking directly at me as soon as she walked through the arrivals gate… so we headed into Osaka city and chilled at out our Ryokan (traditional Japanese style hotel) that nite. After a long flight, I introduced them to the art of Japanese bathing - which is communual. Chelle ... read more

Well, things have been pretty crazy lately so I have not really had a chance to update the stuff thats been going on.... but in saying that, not too much exciting stuff has been going on anyways, so I guess its ok... Dad just came over for a couple of days last week which was great to see a face from home again, we stayed @ Lake Toya for a nite which was good, and then just cruised around shikotsuko and Niseko for the remainder of the time. ummm.... still waiting for summer to come, it seems lately we have had 5 days of rain to every 1-2 days of sun which has not been fun, especially since it is going to start snowing again here in about 4 and a bit months!! Its looking like ... read more

Well, yet again, in a flash the official 'winter' season is over here... although in saying that nature seems to be totally obilivious to the fact is well into Spring and is still sending us plenty of snow. I officially hung my snowboarding boots up about 6 days ago, satisfied with my season, then I made a HUGE mistake - I let myself get talked into going snowboarding yesterday (Hiroshi's last day)...we hit the new park, and its CRAZY!! Massive kickers, rails, boxes, tables, walls, its a freestylers paradise!! needless to say, I think I have been re-infected for the season as all I can think about is getting out there and hitting the park.... its an crazy addiction this snowboarding thing... Not much has been happening lately, just a few big parties - guests leaving ... read more

Well in following the epic powder dump, Max, Cheech and I decided to check out Mowia - the next resort which is infamous for its back bowls, knee deep powder and serious lack of ppl.. we got our gear on and dragged our asses and onto the bus, excited like school kids going on an excursion.... I left my inner on the bus and had to wait at the bottom while Max and Cheech took the first lifts up..after waiting and waiting they made their way down, Cheech with an ear to ear smile which said it all! The snow was a bit heavy and sticky which made riding a bit unpredictable, and ended up with me flying down a gully and doing a elegant knee-to-chin smash and chipping a tooth... but no complaints with that ... read more