Week 11 Japan, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket

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Tue 24
We have been to so many places over the last couple of days and I have not been writing up this blog or keeping very good notes, so I may get the order of places we visited wrong and I may also misname some of the photos, particularly the garden shots. Its confusing folks, we went to Nara and O’Hara and apparently its very rude when you get them muddled as onara means fart.

Joyce and I began the morning by attending a traditional tea ceremony that was conducted by a 13th generation Grand Master. It was only a few blocks from our hotel and the venue was a sweet little purpose-built room over the top of the tea shop that has stood on this site since 1872.. Shame you had to walk through their garage and cars to get to it though. The tea ceremony was always conducted by men in the past and its only recently (and mainly for tourists) that women do it.

Thankfully Russ had warned them that we were old biddies and they had provided a bench for us instead of having to sit on the floor, which was a relief. The Grand Master explained the history and the aesthetics of the room setting and equipment to us and his English was not bad. We were given small pads of beautifully embossed paper to use as a plate and for cleaning the little plastic knife we were also given, then we had the first of two “sweets” that were like mini fondants. We watched him make the tea, with lots of ritual cleaning of the implements, waving of silk squares, swishing water (drawn from the kettle over the coals) around the tea bowl and finally beating up a storm with the whisk that looked like a shaving brush to bring the tea to a proper froth and pale colour.

Unfortunately we the had to drink it. It was helped down by the second sweet that was quite chewy but really nice. This may have been OK but we had to also drink a second cup after we got to enact the ceremony ourselves. We obviously don’t have the same strong wrist action that men do (no comment) and he had to help us get to the correct frothy pale-colour by giving our efforts a final frantic whisking of his own. We then went down to the tea shop where Joyce stayed to buy stuff as she was doing her own thing for the rest of the day and I rushed off as I was late meeting the group. Having to dash the 10 minutes to the station with a very full bladder was horrid, then when I got there the queue for the ladies would have been visible from space, so I was almost wetting myself by the time I got to the front, only to find that I had to use the squatting type of loo.

Anyhow off we went on a bus for the one hour trip to O’Hara which is up in the hills on the outskirts of Kyoto. The journey was interesting as we went through the centre of the city along some of the main shopping streets, which were similar to Oxford Street in London and then through the suburbs and finally through the farming villages. We first went to see a lovely zen rock garden and then we climbed up a long hill to the Sanzen-In temple complex. The gardens were spectacular. We had tea in a pavilion that had wonderful views and it was lovely to just sit and take in the atmosphere.

Somewhere along the line (I think it was this day) we visited a temple with a pine tree that was 700 years old that had been trimmed and trained into the shape of Mount Fuji. Also here was a ceiling that had been made from the floorboards of the Fushimi castle in Kyoto where 370 samurai committed seppuku (suicide by disembowelment) after they lost a big battle, where they say you can see the bloody imprints of ears, noses and mouths from the dying samurai.

We picked up lots of the local snacks from the street vendors along the hill up to the temple, including a baby pickled cucumber on a stick (it looks huge in the photo but it was diddy in reality), lovely tasty savoury rice crackers in several flavours and sweet sticky pounded-rice balls on a stick, which I didn’t like very much.

The others got off the bus in the centre of Kyoto as they were going to the Gion Corner Theatre to see a show consisting of several different types of Japanese folk dance, music and opera. I didn’t fancy it so went back to a coffee shop near the station and loaded up the last edition of this blog and all the pictures. It started to pour with rain so I was very soggy and tired by the time I got back to my room about 10pm, but wired from the 5 cups of coffee I had while on the internet. The futon didn’t seem any softer or the temple bells any quieter the next morning.

Week 11
Wed 25
Today was always going to be tiring as we had a really full agenda, plus we were travelling back to Tokyo in the evening. We started by dumping all of our bags in lockers at the station and then caught a bus for another long ride out to Ryoanji where we visited a lovely garden that included a zen rock garden with 15 stones in it. You could only ever see 14 from one place, so Joyce, Fran and Isabel walked backwards and forwards counting and recounting them until they agreed that they had spotted all 15. Meanwhile the rest of us just chilled and enjoyed the peace. We got there quite early so the hoards had not yet arrived, but we caught up with the crowds at the next stop a short bus ride away.

The combination of zen gardens where you are meant to be at one with nature and spend time in silent contemplation and a couple of hundred thousand people don’t really mix, particularly when you are forced to follow a fixed route with fairly narrow paths. Therefore the visit to Kinkaku-ji had to be one dimensional, which was enjoying the feast for the eye that the Golden Pavilion (Rokuon-ji temple) and the beautiful gardens and lake provided, even if we had to share it with a very noisy crowd. The gardens are said to be some of the best in the country and the site deserved its World Heritage status. I got quite good at doing camera shots over the heads of people and waiting patiently for a fleeting gap between people to get some shots that were not full of bodies.

We stopped in a tiny place for another okonomiyaki lunch but this time without the piles of cabbage The lady owner just shouted out instructions and made us use egg timers to calculate the cooking time for each stage. It was delicious and went well with a beer. On another bus to our final stop of the escorted tour with Russ, to Nijo-jo where we enjoyed yet another World Heritage site of the Nijo Castle.

Nijo Castle has what is quaintly referred to as the nightingale floor, but its basically just very squeaky. Fran and I were convinced that the bird-like squeaks were piped in, but couldn’t prove it. Russ didn’t think so and took us outside to peer under the side of the building. He and Alistair actually climbed underneath but I just held my camera at arms length under the planks, so you can see the amazing old construction technique without me losing my dignity and having to do an 8-point reverse turn to get out of the buildings foundations.

The castle was used more as a regional base for the Shogun to hold audiences with his local war lords and dignitaries than as a fortress or palace. The gardens were gorgeous again, and the trees were particularly colourful here. It was a nice day with some great spells of sunshine too.

I was time for us all to split and go our separate ways. We said our farewells and Joyce and I caught our last bullet train to Tokyo. We were very tired by the time we got to the hotel so just had a salad and chicken in the hotel restaurant but it was so delicious that we ordered the same again - well the portions were tiny. It was wonderful to sleep on a proper bed, even if it was only for a few hours with a 5am departure.

So, some last thoughts about Japan. I hugely admired and wished we had the following in UK: A train system that runs on time, carriages that stop exactly where the signs say, proper seat reservation system and an organised queuing system. Clean streets without litter or graffiti. Respect and politeness. A positive work ethic with everyone pushing themselves to deliver the best possible standard and all roles and professions respected. Great vending machines that give change and sell everything including hot drinks in cans and a wide range of icecreams.

Things I didn’t like were: The constant cacophony of noise, beeps, buzzers, looped tapes of repeated commands, piped music and bird song. Lack of fruit and salads in my diet. Rigid and sometimes unusually daft rules. Overheated bus and train compartments. Plastic bathroom “capsules”. Sleeping on futons. Feeling like a giant.

Things I could get used to: Heated toilet seats. Slipper etiquette including toilet slippers. Trying the taste of things I cant recognise. Chopsticks.

It was a great trip, a wonderful experience and a lovely country.

Thurs 26
Total travel day and I was at the platform early for my one hour Narita Express train from Tokyo to the airport for my eight hour JAL flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL). Strange to think that Tokyo station was so overwhelming less than 2 weeks ago and today I found it a breeze. The plane was half empty so I had a whole row to myself. I chose to use the chopsticks for my dinner even though they had also given us knives and forks and actually found that it was a pleasure, so that’s another nice thing that I have got from this trip.

When I arrived at KL I was considering getting the bus or train to the city but opted for a fixed price taxi instead, which wasn’t cheap but I am so glad that I made that choice. I had inquired at the tourist information counter about the location of my hotel and they had marked it on a map It turned out that it was actually completely the other side of town and if I had been in anything other than a taxi it would have taken me forever to find and I would have been royally pissed off. As it was, the journey took nearly and hour by car, so lord knows how long it would have been otherwise. It was dark and I had been travelling since 5am.

The hotel was cheap which is about the only good thing I can say. It was full of about 75 children of around 8-12 years old who ran riot up and down the corridors and slammed doors all evening long They finally all fell asleep about 12.30, only to wake at just before 6am and start it all again. At least they had company in their noise, as the hotel is right next to one of the main mosques and the loudspeakers were being used for prayers, readings, singing and general shouting all evening and from dawn. The place is none too clean either.

Fri 27
Well it was dry for most of the day which was the only thing that went right. I was up really early and went for my included breakfast. When I saw the state of the dining room I stuck to fruit and cereal, which I thought would be safest. I picked up a map in reception and found my way to the nearest monorail station where I went the 8 stops to KL Sentral station (yep that’s the correct spelling). It was a great trip right across the city and gave me a good sense of the area and some really good views of the city’s impressive skyline. There are some wonderful buildings here, both old and new Sadly it was quite busy and crowded and I got groped a couple of times, which I hate. I eventually found where to get a hop on/off city tour bus, despite the best efforts of two separate tourist information girls who tried hard to be really unhelpful and uncommunicative.

I had to wait 45 minutes for the first bus of the day (which they didn’t tell me) and I was getting very hot and sticky as the humidity is a killer and the temperature was in the 30’s. I was glad there was aircon on the bus and to hear that there was a commentary in English. At least there was until the other people got off at one of the early stops, leaving me as the only passenger, which was the signal for the driver and the ticket lady to do their shopping (we stopped 4 times while one of them went into shops), took breakfast breaks (we stopped at the next 5 stops for either 5 or 10 minutes each time) and for them both to have peace and quite as they turned the commentary off except for brief snatches as they approached each new stop, only to turn it off as soon as they saw that nobody was waiting to get on. I did ask once for them to leave it on but was ignored.

I got off at the Petronas Twin Towers where I took a few pictures from the outside then wandered inside. This was the tallest building in the World until 2004. I had a brief look around the shopping centre then tried to find where to by tickets to go up the towers and onto the skywalk. Yep, my luck was not running and it was closed today. So I decided to walk to the main Central Tourist office and book a 3 night trip to the Cameron Highlands where they have lovely things to do such as visiting the amazing tea plantations, the strawberry farms, etc. This was the main thing I wanted to do in Malaysia and was going to be the highlight of this leg of the trip. Again the staff were less than helpful and basically said that almost everything was fully booked as its the school holidays and it was one of the most popular getaways at this time. All that was left were the VERY expensive 5 star hotel packages. Also I would probably have to hire a car and drive as the buses were all booked up. Bugger.

By this time I was very hot and looked like a wrung-out rag, so got on another bus and rode it to the nearest stop to my hotel which meant that I repeated some of the earlier route but this time I had the commentary which proved to be very interesting. I stopped at a local shop and bought a couple of large bottles of water, then stick on the “do not disturb” notice (some hope) and jumped in the shower while the room started to cool. The aircon is OK if you wait about an hour for it to get to slightly below oven temperature.

Maybe I was just tired but I was having such a run of bad things happening and had such a strong feeling that it wasn’t going to get any better here in KL, that I decided to cut and run. That is the nice thing about this travelling lark, as if things are not working out you can opt to change your plans, unlike your annual 2 week holiday where you have paid in advance and are stuck with it.

I jumped onto the internet and booked a flight to Phuket in Thailand for the next day and booked a decent 3 star hotel there with a pool near the beach for a few nights of downtime where I can chill and recharge my batteries and plan (and book) where I am gong to be for Xmas. The flight was a bargain 18 quid but with 45 pounds in taxes. Oh well, I just couldn’t face the overland alternative with what felt like a couple of days on a train and local buses and a million ferries. At least I have had time to get my blog up to date, so I am going to get an early night and have some chocolate.

Sat 28
So much for my early night, as yesterday was Friday the mosques were going at full belt and I was surprised that it carried on throughout the whole night. During the morning I mooched around a couple of shopping plazas close to the hotel but resisted the temptation to by anything. The weather was really oppressive and felt as if a storm was on its way - which it was.

It hit about 30 minutes before my flight was due to leave and so we were delayed. It was a pretty impressive with rain in sheets so heavy that you could not see the whacking great jumbo jet parked just outside the window at one point. The thunder was loud too which was great as I love storms and if you are having to sit and wait for it to pass it might as well be a good one.

The Malaysian Air flight was not full and it was just an hours hop to Phuket, but with an hour’s difference in timezone. A nice touch was the final announcement that said “If you are visiting then we hope you enjoy your stay and if you are a resident, welcome home”.

The sun was just going down when we arrived, my bag was waiting at baggage reclaim and my pre-booked transfer to the hotel was waiting for me at the gate. I knew my luck had changed and it got better as I was given an upgrade on arrival at the Peach Hill to their sister hotel further up the hill called the Peach Blossom. I was surprised how built up and modern Phuket appeared along the main highway. I was also amused to see a couple of Tesco superstores which had the same triangular shaped roof at their entrance that they have on most f their UK stores - it must be a world-wide design. The drive from the airport was longer than I figured and took just under an hour.

Sun 29
My room is lovely with a fabulous bathroom with a wetroom shower and a huge tub by a window overlooking banana palms. It has a separate toilet with half-height double swing doors which makes me feel as if I am entering a cowboys saloon every time I go for a pee. I also have a balcony with a couple of chairs but with a horrid view of an area where they keep equipment (which may explain why they offered the upgrade) but it doesn’t mater as there are four swimming pools to use on the complex and is nicely laid out. At lest I have somewhere to dry my washing.

The only downside is that the hotel is up a really steep hill from the town and beach. A serious hill that leaves grown men gasping in heaps at the side of the road, panting and dripping sweat. I saw this as I passed by in the free shuttle bus that runs every 30 minutes in the morning and every hour after lunch down to Kata Beach. Sadly the bus only runs until 4pm so if you stay on the beach for sunset or go out for a meal you need to have a couple of extra beers to take your mind off the climb home.

The hotel is situated on a lush hill between Kata and Karon beaches. I checked out Kata today and it was very nice, crescent shaped with good sand and lovely warm water with a few gentle waves. There are plenty of little bars along the whole stretch of beach selling drinks and food with a shopping street nearby. There are lots of sunloungers for hire and the longtail boats that take you to other parts of the island or off on tours seem to be congregated in a group at either end of the bay, so you don’t get pestered with them running you down or creating noise and fumes. It is very hot and humid and the sun is vicious, so I will be mainly in the shade as I do very little for the next few days.

While I was on skype phone to Mum during the afternoon (daylight) the fire alarm went off but when I checked nobody seemed to be taking much notice. Later in the middle of the night it went off and stayed ringing so I got up and threw on some shorts and t-shirt and joined the other guests heading down the stairways. Then it stopped so we eventually all went back to our rooms. Then 15 minutes later it went off again, then on and off for about 30 minutes. By this time it was 4.30am. However it makes you wonder what you would save if you had to rush out of a really burning building, if anything. I would have taken my purse, passport and netbook and tried to grab some underwear.

At the time we thought it was a malfunction but the next day there was a notice in the lifts saying a guest had been smoking in their room and set the alarms off. Bloody idiot must have kept doing it on purpose after the first time. I wish I knew who it was then I could pay them back by pushing them in the pool just after they had lit up, even better if they had a new pack in their pocket to get soggy.

Mon 30
The Club Med gardens are beautifully green, well kept and spread along a good portion of the road opposite Kata beach. They have their own area of sunloungers on the beach with topless sunbathers everywhere. Its a veritable knockerfest. Luckily for us girls there are some gorgeous looking men too but I think these are mainly the French guys who work there rather than the guests and sadly they don’t have their wares on display.

Spent the morning on the beach and stayed in the shade as its very hot and lots of people look very burned. The sand gets too hot to walk on without doing that embarrassing little hoppy-trot manoeuvre whilst saying “ooo ouch ooo” and rushing into the shade of other people’s umbrellas. The sea temperature is perfect and I spent a lot of time wallowing. I got well and truly wiped out by a massive wave that sent me flying in a very unladylike manner and left me coughing and spluttering with sea water in every orifice.

Tue 1 Dec
Stayed around the hotel today and successfully did very little apart from swim, read, have the odd cold beer and change pools and /or sun lounger occasionally. Nice.

Had Kao Pad Moo (pronounced cow pat moo, yes honestly) for dinner which is basically fried rice with pork and shrimp with extra pork and vegetables on a skewer. In other words almost everything except cow.

I have arranged a taxi for half a day tomorrow to take me around some of the sites, which was just as cheap as the organised tours and means I don’t have a couple of wasted hours while they trawl round the hotels picking people up.

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Comments

[JUNE BROADLEY]

HI FROM HESSLE
Hi Lainey, This is just to let you know that I'm really enjoying your tour and I find your comments funny and interesting. Your mum tells me you're having a break in Phuket at the moment so I have this vision of you lying back and taking a few sherbuts whilst sampling the local food. You seem to have done so much already out your time away. Looking forward to reading your future experiences - take care Love June xxx