koh pha ngan v1.0

welcome to the pleasure reich. 600km south of bangkok, or an hour by ferry north of koh samui. here too paradise has followed what happened with samui. it is only a few years behind the bigger island. but the house music has not yet grown so great as to drown out the sound of the lapping waves.

lyds and i, like patton in ww2 sicily, landed via boat at the southeastern peninsula of haad rin - the site of the now world famous monthly full moon parties. while i waited in the shade reading and looking after our backpacks, much like the national guard keeping the viet cong out of denver, lyds went out by herself to secure our accommodations. she ended up getting us a bungalow right on the beach.

at night i look southwards and can see the lights of koh samui 20km away from our beach. by day i swing in our hammock reading. the best days are the days when a tropical storm blows in drenching the island. everything becomes soaked, but the heat remains. the water is carried in wave after wave by the blowing wind. you can see it like sheets. but i remain snug and dry under our porch, swaying gently in the hammock. can you see me there? i often see you.

when it has not been raining we have ventured out to explore haad rin and its beaches. at night we eat at one of the many open air restaurants as they show bootleg dvds of current movies. by day these places are packed with tanned adventurers in sandals gorging themselves on cheap food and cheap alcohol, all to the simpons and family guy marathons.

right now the power may go out from another storm. the full moon party is tomorrow, and it is the 20th anniversary of it. i feel like a fuse is slowly burning. the numbers of bandaged and tattooed touristas are rising. the heat is getting oppressive. the house music gets louder each night.

koh samui

84 km off the east coast in the gulf of thailand. their business is coconuts and cotton. coconuts and cotton. lyds and i are in the business of sleeping late and going to bed later. once known as an idyllic and secret hippie haven, koh samui has gone commercial with 20 daily flights to their thatch, open air international airport.

after the craziness of tokyo we've wonderfully wasted a week in the sun here, doing little except exploring the beaches, restaurants and markets of the island. it is 233 square km of dodging monkeys, trannys, drug dealers and indian restauranters to the cry of "taxi? taxi?"

we've had fun. the other night we went to see a thai boxing match (muay thai) at the stadium in chewang where we are situated. i drank beer while wagering baht with lyds on which 65 lbs seven year old would win the bout. mine got knocked out. today we went to a shooting sport locale in the interior of the island. you can only appreciate the power of a soviet made ak-47 after you have fired it in a tropical country. it just seems right, and makes it easier to imagine sgt. barnes being the target. the magnum was just glutonous. don't worry about the gun use, though, as it is practical. we are on mango alert here on the island.

koh pha ngan tomorrow for the full moon party. the second tour of duty has begun.

tokyo v1.3

departure day. like any other departure day we still had lots to see. more espresso. and you guessed it - red bull chasers.

we rushed to roppongi - our failed destination of the other night. unfortuantely, it was too early to see the clubs in action. but we did get a chance to visit the giant spider statue of maman. i think he fought godzilla. in related godzilla news, hideki matusi hit a home run for the yankees the other night. it was on the front page of the newspapers here.

from roppongi we did a quick tour of the tokyo tower. note on the tower: it was built in 1958, and with a height of 333m, it is 13m taller than its eiffel tower. they both look a lot alike.

then we rushed back north to shinjuku to visit "tokyo techo," the great grey complex of the tokyo metropolitan government offices. picture a completely sterile future working environment, made more alien by the fact that due to being a weekend it was completely devoid of other people. the view from the 45th floor of the twin towers of building 1 was free and gave us a view of the entire city including mt. fuji and the rainbow bridge. still in shinjuku, we hurried to find the park hyatt hotel - known as being bill murray's hotel in lost in translation. quick walkthrough and pics before the security guards set in. i don't think they cared that we know a bill.

back at ikebukuro and our hotel we frantically made a train to narita airport. i don't think we could have seen more in our stay, and our arrival at the airport only an hour and a quarter before our international flight seems to justify this. as lydia wandered around shops near the gate i enjoyed a cold kirin beer and thought back over our visit. our stay, like the timeline we planned it in, was quick. but it left a strong and favourable impression on both of us.

we flew west out of the centre of the world. i thought about how to fill these pages, to express everything we had experienced in such a short time. as i sipped on an asahi we levelled off, flying into a blood red sun.

tokyo v1.2

up early with the sun. more espresso. more red bull. a little shaky.

to asakusa, what is known as "old edo." at the station we went a little out of our way to see the sumida river wit its barges and water buses. then back on track to finding part of the city that has been lost in time.

the nakamise-dori shopping market is enfringed with little red paper laterns. at night they are all lit up. to get to the market we had to pass through the kaminarimon (thunder gate). at the rear of the market we found the senso-ji temple complete with its 53m high, 5 storey pagoda. you could say it was an easy find. at the back of this giant temple we found the smaller, hidden gem of asakusa-jinja. luckily, a couple was engaged in a traditional wedding that lyds and i watched. the bride's face was painted white, a stark contrast to her ornate balck hair. the groom carried a fan. at the temple we also discovered a statue of a lion/panther meant to guard the temple from evil spirits. a cat was curled up asleep from the sun under is legs. we left the temple area through the niten-man - the togugawa shogun's private enterance.

as we wandered away from the temples and market down traditional, narrow streets. a musical parade passed us by playing traditional instruments, a kind of asian christmas carol scene. at another corner we were treated to a free taiko drum concert. for lunch we found a little sushi restaurant out of the way and half-hidden through a hobbit door. the sushi that came had so much wasabi on it. lyds gave up after being a champ and eating several pieces. i finished both plates, but not without crying from the effort. the wasabi seemed to climb up my nose and try and force its way back out through my eyes. the elderly japanese ladies sitting across from us were entertained by my pain. after lunch i could feel the wasabi burning a hole in my stomach. lydia bought me a sundae in the hopes that the ice cream would put out the flames.

this part of the city, asakusa, has remained untouched from the lights and glitter of the rest of the metropolis. you can still see obasans in kimonos doing the daily shopping for their house.

after spending the morning in "old edo" we left the eastern part of the city to travel west to meiji-jingu, tokyo's oldest shinto shrine. it lies within 70 forested hectares (175 acres) amongst 100,000 trees. it is an amazingly quiet retreat just steps from the chaos of harajuku. it was a nice reprieve. once we reached the shrine lyds and i purified ourselves at the chozuya (water trough) by washing our hands. at the haidon (hall of worship) we tossed coins, bowed twice, prayed, clapped twice, and bowed again before retreating. pros. then we purchased wooden tablets from the monks, and spent time constructing in ink our own prayers on them. then we were allowed to hang them from a tree in the shrine's courtyard to be part of the monk's morning prayers.

after visiting the shrine we visited takeshita-dori, an alley in harajuku that features the girls that gwen stefani sings about. the fashion is a cross between lingerie, goth, lolita and little bo peep. they call it cos play. i don't know what to call it. we then ate dinner in a sushi restaurant where the dishes come past you on a conveyor belt. in a city of 33.4 million plus two - the guy sitting beside us recognized us from the tokyo dome the other day!

after dinner we went back to the hotel to change into our finery for experiencing the ginza at night. i called my dad from there as it was the same place he had told me about time and time again. we then tried to make it to the roppongi club district, but unfortunatey, and confusingly, the subway system doesn't run as late on weekends. lyds and i had to abandon our plan at ebisu and caught the very last train home a very long way from our hotel. it was only thanks to a guy in the us navy that we weren't stranded. the subway ride on the way home was as crowded as i had heard about. on the walk home from the station we saw a businessman passed out on the street in full suit, with his labtop beside him. i knew this to be commonplace, but it was still a striking sight.

work hard. play hard.

tokyo v1.1

it is good to see that avril lavigne reads my blog. i'll call soon, baby.

up early in the morning for what would become our diet in tokyo: espresso; red bull; neon.

first stop was akihabara, japan's denki gai (electric town) and the centre for all electronics. storefront after storefront of cell phones, robots, appliances, computers, dvds, games, gizmos and widgets. even the sidewalk had patterns featuring electronics.

then we travelled on the subway to tokyo station and yurakucho for a recommended lunch under the tracks. again refuelled, we hit up the imperial palace or kokyo - the home of the emperor of japan and the imperial family. note on the imperial palace: it was completed in 1968 and is a reconstruction of the meiji imperial palace destroyed in wwii by allied bombing. it was also the site of edo castle, one the world's largest. unfortunately, you cannot get too close to the palace and it is only open twice a year. lyds and i decided not to chance the system of guards, moats, walls and bridges. you could, however, just make it out, and were allowed to wander through the surrounding gardens and statues. after seeing the grounds we walked passed the tokyo international forum to the ginza. it is the ginza crossing, encircled by the shuto expressway, that my dad had always told me about. we can now share stories.

then we visited ueno, famous for its being the last ditch defence of the tokugawa shogunate by samurai loyalists in 1868. now it is home to the ameya yokocho, a black market alley. we hardly stopped to shop, but instead took in what we could and moved on to korakuen - the site of the tokyo dome and home to the yomiuri giants. they are the yankees of nippon professional baseball. what was orginally a "neil stop," turned out to be just as much fun for lyds as we got infected with the excitement of japanese baseball. the grounds of the stadium were packed - and there wasn't even a game. it is a religion here. unfortunately, like the sumo there were no games for us to see. i would gladly be of its denomination if i lived here.

that night was a rainout for lydia and me. we had a quick dinner in shibuya, but had to cancel our plans to tour roppongi. back to the hotel at 2am again.

watching the hordes of people with their umbrellas move past each other was like seeing a game of tetris.

game over.

tokyo v1.0

the greater metropolitan area of tokyo has a population of 33.4 million people. plus 2 - for our visit. getting to tokyo was worthy of an indiana jones map graphic - auckland to sydney to hong kong to tokyo. it was a blow in and blow out visit, planned on the fly with multiple agents not in our original trip plans. i had wanted to see tokyo ever since i was a pup hanging on my dad's stories about his journey there as a young man. i have come a long way baby from a kid looking at places on a map.

we bunked the night in hong kong before our late afternoon flight to narita airport. we didn't have a reservation, but figured it was worth a try for a hotel. sometimes we sleep in airports, and sometimes we don't. this was one of the latter times. we did however get a great last minute deal on an airport close to the city - the novotel. it was the perfect decompression capsle from our flights. in the morning we ate at a buffet for father's day. sorry the guest of honour couldn't be there.

once we had landed in japan we turned our attention to getting a place to stay. as always - no reservations. after spending sometime online trying to secure a room, and going to the point of having a japanese woman make a phone call on our behalf for a ryokan, we again rolled the dice with the airport hotel deal counter. again we rolled lucky sevens.

our hotel was located in ikebukuro, a 2 hour train ride from narita and on the main jr line. geographically it was perfect, just north of shinjuku and shibuya. once we exited the ikebukuro station we were assulted with sensory overload: masses of people; upbeat music; copious advertising. to our surprise we foud our hotel with great ease. to our greater surprise, once past the chandeliers we were led to our room on the 37th floor - their top floor. we had a view of the entire city, and at night you could sit there and watch the flashing red lights forever.

after we had checked in it was already getting on to early evening. dusk had settled in, and the lights had begun to glow. i knew what i wanted our first tokyo experience to be - shibuya at night. we took the train to shibuya station and followed the crowds to the hachiko's (the dog) exit. then it was before me. the tokyo of my dreams. the tokyo of film. nearly a million people in its bounds. neon, crowds, music and conversations. a buzzing in the air. we had reached the most electric crossing in the world. to experience this is to feel that you have reached the very centre of the world. jules verne had the direction wrong. we kept walking across the square time and time again, marvelling at everything. our heads cocked upwards towards the neon glow, our eyes dodging back to check our course through the masses. later, we made our way to the very starbucks overlooking the crossing from which sofia coppola stole some shots for lost in translation. needing some fuel we stopped at a small restaurant up the street. a sapporo beer tickled down my throat.

after dinner we made our way back to the transit system and to shinjuku - where bill murray got his first jet lagged sight of tokyo in lost in translation. highrise after highrise. countless neon ads that blink and form and change colours. 2 million people pass through shinjuku station a day. plus two. we wandered again round and up different streets and alleys searching for a citibank (note: atms do not work in japan for plus cards. you need citibank atms). somehow we wandered into kabukicho - the sleezy of yakuza, red lights, and shows of an adult nature. businessmen were out on the town, as were police making us feel completely safe. as lyds went into a store a gay businessman came onto me (it apparently is one of the most active homosexual neighbourhoods in asia). but any ugliness was masked in the glory of the neon light. and we found our citibank.

we made it back to our hotel around 2am. slipping into our kimonos we fell fast asleep with the curtains open to the red flashing lights of tokyo's skyline. acutally being in tokyo was a wierd feeling. achieving a dream always is. all that was missing was having my dad at my side.

mav wins.

"our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. we live in the civilization they created, but within us the wilderness still lingers. what they dreamed, we live, and they lived, we dream."
- t.k. whipple

auckland

this city deserves so much more than a quick entry hours before our departure. it is new zealand's largest and most cosmopolitan city, with a population greater than that of the entire south island. for the "city of sails" lydia and i certainly breezed through. one thing that has struck us during our visit and is worth noting is the great relationship between kiwis and the maori - the latter's culture is celebrated, and they play an active role in the community. you have to look no farther than auckland as the largest polynesian city in the world to see this. the aussies could learn from new zealand. at least we are leaving new zealand in style - a hotel room in the new presidential hotel for a good nights sleep before our three flights. as always we have no reservations, so the no reservations tour continues.

final notes on new zealand:
geodemograporn - there are more adult stores, flight centres, mountains, lakes and rainbows here than anywhere else on the planet.
middle earth - there are no hobbits, orcs, dragons, dwarves or elves in new zealand anymore. they are now extinct, like unicorns.
religion - mostly of the all blacks denomination.
recreation - if you can jump off something high or roll down something steep these kiwis are developing and selling it to us. adrenaline is soon to be their major export.

off to the secret location. being a secret agent is such fun. i could tell you stories, but then i would have to kill you.

kia ora.

rotorua v1.2

we got stuck in rotorua for an extra day due to the bus not running north on saturday. however, we spent the time to finalize our plans for the rest of our trip. this included waking up at 3am and 7am trying to get a hold of our travel agent in toronto. it is amazing how complicated and difficult it can be to to co-ordinate with 2 different travel agents, one bangkok airways representative, 3 time zones and 2 connecting flights. everything should be done.

whomever can guess our next "surprise" destination after hong kong will earn a prize (chance for those of you who read this but do not comment to get involved). rules are simple - one guess per person and lyd's family cannot guess as they know already. i'll be checking the comments like usual.

the other night we went to the polynesian spa in town and sat in the outdoor thermal pools overlooking lake rotorua. the lights, steam and heat were capital. it also helped, i hope, my shoulder which has hurt since my run in at the fox glacier.

all blacks game tonight. auckland tomorrow. hong kong on the 13th. like arsenal we're flying emirates.

waitomo

lyds and i left rotorua the next day to visit waitomo, located in kings country. an old maori stronghold from the new zealand wars, it has since been known to tourists for its honeycomb of limestone caves. along the way we passed by the area that was re-created to be hobbitton. 10km south of ortorohangs, and about 2 hours sw of rotorua, we made the town.

the name waitomo means "water entering shaft." we followed the water in wetsuits, boots, helmets with flashlights and inner tubes to raft the black water. the enterance to the cave came out of nowhere - just a slash in the ground that we slid down. once at the bottom, we hiked a little hunched over following the water and trying to avoid the stalactites. when we met the underground river we all climbed into our tubes and floated in its current through the cave system. picture the seven dwarfs crossed with indiana jones. at times you would have to climb out of your tube and progress on foot, or jump backwards over a little waterfall. the water was shockingly cold - so cold in fact that i think lyds and i are spent for new zealand's water activities. when told we would all switch off our headlamps and stare out at the millions of glow-worms on the ceiling. during these times it was like being outside at night. the walls gave off the appearance that you were inside a great canyon. the glow-worms as stars.

rotorua v1.0

welcome to "sulphur city," where geothermic areas are as prevailant as the smell of rotten eggs. mud boils, gysers shoot out, pools steam. george bernard shaw quipped while visiting that "it reminds me too vividly of the fate theologians have promised me." interesting fact: the ground is so warm that birds do not need to nest; all graves have to be above ground for fear of digging down and unearthing a hot spring.

the night of our arrival lyds and i spent the evening at a maori concert and hangi dinner. it is in rotorua that the maori are the most visible, composing 1/3 of the regions population. as such there is greater tribal integrity and connection to their traditions. before the concert we were able to walk through a re-created traditional village, but not before an elaborate welcoming ceremony. once inside the walls you could wander about the different stations that showcased different aspects of traditional maori life including cooking, crafts, and tats. then came the concert of traditional song and dance, finishing with the famous hakka. after the concert was a huge all you could eat buffet hangi dinner that had been cooked in the ground with hot stones.

speaking of music - new matt good albumn, hospital music, is due out at my return.

taupo

up early in a crazy morning that saw lydia lose her ring and me manage to lock my clothes in the laundry room. pretty slick spies. result was lydia having to run ahead to catch the bus while i put up posters for her lost ring and flagged behind with her gear. apparently, the driver told her i had 30 secs to show when i got onboard.

the big drive northwards to taupo, 80km south of rotorua, took us right through the centre of the north island. we passed through new terrian. lost was the mountains and lakes of the south island for rolling hills and agriculture. many a sheep, but more cows. as we neared taupo we entered the tundra of mordor, and drove right past mount doom. note on taupo: it is the site of new zealand's largest lake of the same name. the landscape surrounding the town is rugged, and "mordor-esque" with geothermic badlands to the north. it is new zealand's resort town for resident kiwi vacationers, famous for its spa treatments and world renowned trout fishing.

(cue fatboy slim's sunset if you have the track)
lydia and i came to taupo to skydive, to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. again like with the nevis we went big to the tune of a 15,000 ft jump. that height is the max you are allowed to do in the world, and needs to be oxygen assisted. i wasn't even nervous. i told my jump master that i had wanted to sky dive since seeing the movie point break. he said he started skydiving because of the movie too. lyds and i got suited up and fitted with a harness and helmet, gloves and goggles and got into the little plane. after takeoff it took some time for the little plane to make it to 15,000ft. apparently it is basically the ceiling for the make of plane. as we climbed i told my dive master that i wanted the ride of my life. we planned a little and decided for the "elevator shaft." when we reached the desired height the lights went green and the door slid open. one by one people got into position and with a jump disappeared into the cold. as we shuffled over to the door so many thoughts were going through my head: you are about to jump out of a perfectly good airplane; snippets of band of brothers; death from above (and assorted other credos). when i reached the door and stuck my legs out i was surprised by the force of the wind. i leaned back on my dive master and then ..... the drop.

the elevator shaft is acheived by jumping and following you legs under the plane into a head first dive. 200km/hr. terminal velocity. biggest grin ever on my face as we cut a hole in the clouds for 10,000 feet. near the bottom of our run we levelled out to do spins and just lay out with the wind rushing past your ears and face, you clothes flapping widly about you. in the distance mordor and mount doom were partially covered with clouds. when we deployed the canopy i was surprised at the forceful jerk upwards. when i looked up i could see lyds doing the same. the instructors, knowing we were dating, had our canopies circle each other while we descended so we could watch each other and call out. the landing was smooth baby. but already i wanted another fix of this wonderful drug. falling never felt so good as when you dive out of a plane and arc your arms behind with no fear. the ground doesn't even seem to get bigger. you do. i used to be an atheist but now i realize that i am god.

unfortunately, after the jump a storm blew in and cancelled our proposed trek through the tongariro crossing. we waited for three days but no let up forced us to move on without taking part. two parts of the point break reality tour complete. a bank robbery is next.

safe and fun travels to mom and dad in ireland. slainte.

5 neil - death 0

all lion and no fox.

wellington

i crossed over to the north island from picton, opting to take the 4 hour ferry over flying. it reminded me very much of the trip i took with my dad to victoria from vancouver and back. unfortunately, a storm came up that ruined the passage's view with fog. remaining nautical i read the second book in the master and commander series and napped in the reclining seats. once we docked i caught the bus to my hostel where lyds surprised me! to celebrate i put on my best and only sweater and took her out to eat at a nice restaurant. note: no fries were consumed at this meal. wine was. we went back to the room to play scrabble with our irish roomies. the night's rest i needed however, had to be put off by a scuffle with some swine. i do not take guff.

as i only had one day in wellington we were very active. first we got up early and had to secure a new hostel. i lucked in to getting a place with a movie theme as it was a long weekend and pink floyd is in town for a show. note on the city: wellington is the capital of new zealand and the second biggest city (pop. of 400k). it is a giant wind tunnel of a city with wind being funnelled through through the cook straight right into downtown. it is so windy that even captain cook himself could not enter the harbour due to the wind when he sailed through. wellington was also the departure point for us marines in the second world war into the pacific theatre. in order to see the city lyds and i started with the harbour and lagoon and walked down the waterfront. beautiful day. highlight of the walk was seeing the esmeralda docked in the harbour out of chile. it was a massive sailing ship who's crew allowed lyds to pose with them for some pics. then we ambled around the city seeing the parliament house that is shaped like a beehive. the construction of the house was started in 1969 and finished in 1982 by sir basil spence, an englishman. apparently, it is hell to work in, but the interesting design came from him sketching a pattern he found on a matchbox on a napkin at a party. after luch we hit up the museum of new zealand (te papa tongarewa) which had a price tag of $350 million when opened in1998. we basically spent all our time in the museum's one exhibit where you have to solve a murder by examining several suspect's houses. the sets were very interactive - so you could lift objects to look under them, etc. for clues and word puzzles. being a little too overzealous i pulled down a picture that i thought might have something hidden behind it. oops. more clouseau than holmes i guess.

that night we went out to a bar to watch the all blacks play a test game against france. france got a good kicking.

taupo next.

kaikoura

we stopped in kaikoura on our way to the north island for a remarkable experience - a swim like no other. do to the lower sea temp (around 14 degrees) we needed 7mm wetsuits complete with hoods, boots, gloves and snorkle. then we caught a 25 minute boat ride out to sea to slip of the back like seals. the water was shockingly cold to your unprotected face. i saw a jellyfish and my first thought was that it was a piece of ice.

once in the water we all started diving down. at the surface we would all begin singing and calling out into the water through our snorkles. then we would dive again. i am sure it would have been a comic sight to any observer. but then they were all around us, appearing from the deeper waters without warning. quick, elusive, missles. dolphins! we had been taught how to attract their attention and play with them. sometimes there would be so many around you that you could not believe it to be real. ducking, circling you, coming between your legs. i circled with one for so long i became dizzy at the surface. what a feeling to dive down and be among them. sometimes they would disappear for a moment into the deep, and just when you thought they had all gone, one would brush past your face from behind and all of a sudden you would be surrounded again. twice i managed to reach out and stroke a dolphine that came near my face. we played with them for over 45 minutes. who knows which animal was more entertained with the encounter? again remarkable. back to the hostel for a hot shower for my blue body, and dinner with the brit boys - big bill, amos and oliver.

then on the bus the next morning. the road, again pointing north, reflecting in my hunter s. thompson aviators.

christchurch v1.1

on the road north to christchurch. the solo tour again. at the base of a giant lake with mountains all around us we stopped at one of new zealand's most photographed churches. all stone. small, maybe 45 ft x 18 ft. inside there are no stained glass windows as the congregation (of all christian faiths) believed the natural view to be more beautiful. inside the church i prayed for my grandfather. it seemed to be right. on god's doorstep. sometimes a view can inspire faith.

back at the hostel in christchurch where my roomies were the silent type. so i went to see bobby by myself. my dad would be proud - not only did i sneak a drink in to the movie, but two bags of microwave popcorn i popped before i left the hostel. the movie was fine, kind of like one long cameo for stars.

on the way home i thought about how much i will miss christchurch. outside my hostel were palm trees. i could see my breath.