Welcome to the Jungle

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As the traffic going into Bangkok from the airport got too heavy for his liking, my taxi driving took a good look to his right and drove down the empty right lane. Thailand, in case you didn't know, is a country that drives on the left.

I've only been here a couple hours, and I feel like Japan was just like home compared to here. Thailand, as my taxi driver's reckless disregard for basic safety introduced me too, is a wild place. It's January and I'm sweating. Weird smells are everywhere. Middle-aged white men are walking hand-in-hand with Thai girls young enough to be their daughters. I haven't taken any pictures of it yet...I am just wandering to take it all in. It's like a foreign planet.

That said, let me update you on my last day in Japan. For my last day, I went to the island of Miyajima, a short ferry ride from Hiroshima and a popular weekend destination (as I found, mobs of Japanese tour groups swamped the place). Its main draw is natural beauty, mountains abound. I made the mistake of climbing one (a torturous 2.2 km hike, I took the cable car down rather than saving my yen with another agonizing hike). Despite nearly feeling dead after climbing this mountain (Mt. Misen), the views it offered of the surroundings were worth the pain. Miyajima also has wild animals. Like in Nara, deer wander around tourists looking for handouts. One poor guy was holding ice cream when 5 deer surrounded him. He tried to keep it away from them, until they started jumping in there. At that point, he made the wise decision of giving up his treat rather than risking a deer assault. The island also has monkeys, but alas, I did not see any during my day there.

The other big draw of Miyajima is one of Japan's most famous icons, the floating torii. The gate and temple around it were mired in sand and seaweed when I arrived in the morning, but when high tide came a few hours later they were submerged. Even during low tide, the torii is an impressive sight. Once the tide rolls in, the sight is unparalleled. My day then ended with about 7 hours of train rides to Narita, the town where Tokyo's main airport is located (I didn't want to stay in Tokyo and risk missing my flight, so I stayed in Narita itself).

My flight on Thai Airways today was great. The airline is very colourful; seats are purple, red and yellow. Maybe it was a misperception, but the coach seats seemed to have a little more leg room than other airlines. I slept for most of the flight (except for watching a great Bollywood film on my monitor, believe it was called Jhoom Baranga Jhoom or something like that). The taxi ride from the airport involved crazy driving, a lot of traffic, and the driver taking me to the wrong hotel (Majestic Grande when I'm staying at Majestic Suites...fortunately the right hotel was nearby). I only checked into my hotel (which is amazing, $50 a night but it feels like a $200 a night place in the West, Thailand is dirt cheap) 90 minutes ago, so I'm going to go back out and take it all in....after I give you guys my last photos of Japan, of course. Ciao for now!

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Photos

Miyajima's Floating Torii
No, this isn't Thailand, sillies: my last day in Japan was spent at Miyajima, an island off Hiroshima.

Floating Temple
A temple that "floats" during high tide at Miyajima.

View from Mt. Misen
Mt. Misen, about a mile high on Miyajima, offers great views of Hiroshima and surrounding mountains/islands.

Pagoda on Miyajima
A five-storied pagoda on Miyajima.