Here in Hiroshima

It's late here on our first night in Hiroshima. We've had a busy day traveling from Hakone to here and then trying to explore the city before it was too late! We saw the Peace Museum, had a nice supper and spent some time in a tiny bar with a few fellow Canadians over some Hiroshima-brewed sake.

Well, off to bed! Tomorrow should be a fun-filled day so we'll let you know all about it very soon :)

Hakone and Hiroshima

We`re just about to check out of the hostel and head to the train station. We`re on our way to Hakone today and then on to Hiroshima tomorrow. Going to check out some hot springs and the Mt. Fuji view in Hakone and then onto all the history of Hiroshima. Can`t wait!!!

We may be offline for a few days but we`ll be sure to be in touch as soon as we`re back. Hope you`re all enjoying your holidays!

Cheers,
Meg & Sean

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you are all having a wonderful holiday!!! We are having a great time here in Tokyo, an amazing city! Our Christmas has certainly been different...but being here with Michael has been great! We're thinking of everyone back home and hoping that you're all having a very Merry Christmas. As soon as we get back to Bangkok on Jan. 1 we'll start posting all the pictures and stories we're accumulating while here :)

Merry Christmas!!!!

Love,
Sean and Meg

Tokyo bound!

Meg and I are franticly packing as we prepare for our flight to Tokyo in a few hours. We'll be hanging with my brother Michael, checking out the sights in Japan. We won't be back until New Year's day and will have limited internet/phone access so we'd like to wish all our friends and family Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post stories as soon as we get back.

Love Meg and Sean

Scary things: movies and haircuts

In the last 24 hours 2 very scary things have happened. First, Sean took me to yet another horror movie without telling me what it was about and second, I got a haircut.

The movie, I Am Legend, seemed innocent enough. Just another Will Smith saving the world kind of thing. But no. Instead, I sat through two hours of horrible shrieking monsters attacking Will and his doggie (that was the worst part, obviously). Sean's punishment will involve the upcoming Disney movie Enchanted...starring McDreamy ;)

Then today, I finally gave in and admitted that I desperately needed a haircut. I'd been avoiding this due to some lingering bitterness over a haircut-gone-wrong in Toronto that I blamed entirely on the language barrier between me and the stylist. But I figured that if I had it done here in the hotel my head may stand a fighting chance. Luckily, it didn't turn out terribly. The stylist still didn't speak English well (although she'd memorized all the important compliments)...and she styled it with just a round brush and blow dryer (Adam, you know that can't be good), but all in all, the cut isn't so bad.

Whew! After all this stress I'm gonna have to go relax by the pool ;)

Elevated dining

Last night, we met up with Angus, Oh, and Trevor (who was in town for meetings) for dinner at the Dome in State Tower (check out their website). State Tower is one of the tallest skyscrapers in Bangkok with an amazing outdoor bar and restaurant sitting right at the top - 64 stories high! It has arguably the best view of Bangkok. However, our night was slightly dampered due to an alcohol ban put in place this weekend to disuade corruption in the upcoming election - i.e. prevent buying votes with alcohol.

Despite this, we had a great evening. It is a breathtaking experience and an absolute must see for anyone visiting Bangkok. Here is a picture of us in front of the Dome.



Here is Angus and Oh with the view of Bangkok in the background.

Oh Christmas Tree

We finally got around to putting up our Christmas tree this week. Maybe it's not much but we like it...even if the lights don't work and the snow is fake. We've been enjoying Christmas tunes and making regular stops at Starbucks for the seasonal drinks and red cups. All of this is only partially making up for the fact that we have neither family nor snow...single tear. But, we're going to Japan in a week so it's not all that bad. :)

Here's our Charlie Brown Christmas tree (note our excitement over the majesty of its beauty):

Dragon Fruit

Mmmmm...this is one of my new favorite fruits! It's called Dragon Fruit...you can see why! It tastes kind of like a watermelon, but not as sweet. Yum!




 

BKK Jazz Festival

On Sunday night Sean and I decided to take in a little live music at the Bangkok Jazz Festival. We'd been excited about it all week! I was especially looking forward to the relaxing atmosphere of an outdoor festival - I figured it would be a nice change from the hectic chaos that is Bangkok. We had a bit of an issue actually getting there.

First of all, the Ascott staff informed us (luckily) at the very last minute that the organizers had decided to change the venue. The new place was on the exact opposite side of town from the place they had advertised! Then we had trouble with the taxi (of course). The driver dropped us off in front of a hospital! We were very confused...but could hear the music in the distance. It took us about 10 minutes of walking up the expressway, but we finally found the venue.


But once we'd actually made it to the festival we had a great time! We set up a blanket in front of the stage and just enjoyed the music and the yummy food. One interesting thing was the fact that they actually had waitresses walking around the field serving beer. No long line-ups in a beer tent here in Bangkok!

Snakes!?! I HATE snakes!!!

Meg and I had our first encounters with a snake today which turned out to be quite frightening. We'd just come from getting massages (the legit kinds - nothing sketchy) and we're walking back to our hotel. As we passed a bus stop, a couple of Thais started saying something to us but we didn't understand and politely continued on, thinking they were the usual pushy tuk-tuk drivers. Then, another few Thais, including a policeman, started calling about 20 feet ahead of us. They were pointing behind us so I turned around and the same men we'd just passed were also still calling after us and were now too pointing. We finally clued into what they were saying as a man grab our arms and started pulling us forward - "Snake! Snake!"

Coiled in the bushes, less than a foot away from where I was standing oblivious to the apparent danger, was a enormous snake (probably 3 inches in diameter at its thickest)! Unfortunately, it was in the shade so we couldn't see the colour very well (seemed grayish) and no one understood when I asked what kind of snake it was but based on their reaction I don't think it was friendly. Even when I was about 3 meters away and tried moving in a bit for a closer look, they hauled me back. Angus seems to think it might have been a cobra....

What a week!

Like Meg said in our last post, it has been a busy week. Last Wednesday was the King of Thailand's 80th birthday so the entire nation celebrated for most of the week. We partook by going to my co-worker Angus' apartment for supper and enjoying the fireworks shows. Angus and his girlfriend Oh have the funniest puppy, Emma, who is very excitable and cute!



I went to Kuala Lumpur for meetings on Thursday and Friday, meeting up with another co-worker (YewCheng) who flew in from Singapore. During my flight from Bangkok, I was seated next to an elderly Thai man who was quite comfortable turning the pages of my newspaper as I was reading it. YewCheng and I spent most of our time in meetings so we didn't get much of a chance to look around but our hotel was next to the famous Petronas Towers, so we had time to grab a couple of pics.

A lot goin' on

I know our blog updates have become less than timely. It's been a crazy kind of week :) Here's what's been going on.

- As most of you know, our little kitty Gahnomee has gone missing. She's been gone for 6 days now. Crystal, Mom and Catie are doing everything they can to track her down and everyone we know has been forwarding her picture and keeping an eye out. Thanks everyone!!! We're very optimistic that she'll come home soon...and when she does we'll be able to let out a big sigh of relief and stop all this worrying. In the meantime, in case you haven't received her picture, here it is. Please keep your eyes peeled.

- Sean had to go away for business this week - he's in Kuala Lumpur right now but should be getting on a plane any minute now to come home. I'm sure he'll update you all on his trip soon.

- I had my first job interview today. Yay! So far I've been exploring the English teaching thing...I haven't really formed a final opinion on it all yet but I have two more interviews coming up so I guess I'll continue to get more information. Still on the lookout for marketing/advertising jobs...

- This weekend is the Bangkok Jazz Festival. We're going to check it out on Sunday - I even bought a fancy bamboo blanket thingy for the occasion! Some sweet tunes and relaxing outdoors-ness sounds like a good way to spend the day to me :)

Koh Samet

Meg and I had our first out-of-Bangkok excursion this weekend past as we ventured to the island resort of Koh Samet (the spelling of which seems to vary).  It started with a 3 hour bus trip from Bangkok to the small town of Ban Phe, from which we took a 30 minute ferry to the island.  We'd made a reservation with one of the resorts but, after talking to some other tourists, learned it would be cheaper to just go to the island and walk around to the various resorts until we found accomodations.  Besides, at least then we'd be able to see what kind of conditions we'd be living in - Meg was not too fond of the idea of a bug-ridden room.

However, in our haste to find accomodations before they were all taken, we decided on the first place we saw.  It was directly across from the local bar where music was blaring through our paperthin walls until 2am. And even though there only seemed to be a couple of flies, Meg was determined not to risk letting any insect close to her. Check out our attire in the 20 degree weather....



Anyway, the next morning we found a much nicer place to stay.  It overlooked the beach and we setup immediately outside on the beach.  Meg spent the majority of her time soaking up the sun while catching up on some reading.  I spent hours snorkling - giving Meg a good scare when I decided to disappear for 30 minutes to explore another beach without thinking to inform her first (my bad, my bad).  Unfortunately, I ended up burning and suffered nasty sunstroke just in time for the long trip back to Bangkok - let's just say it wasn't a pleasent 4 hrs.

Ok, now that I've made it sounds like our trip was horrible, I'd like to assure everyone that is was a great time.  Once we got settled into our new place, we were able to enjoy the fantastic weather and beautiful scenery.  We dined at a number of amazing restaurants with traditional Thai seating that overlooked the ocean.  The pictures don't do it justice but you can find more here anyway.

Weekend getaway

Sean has his snorkelling gear and I've stocked up on SPF 45...it's time to hit the beach! We're heading out to Koh Samet this weekend for a little fun in the sun. We leave early tomorrow morning (Saturday) and are coming back on Monday. I'm being very typically me and am scouring the Internet for information about sunburns, Dengue fever, malaria, and the state of the accommodations we've booked. All signs point to us being just fine :) I keep reminding myself that we're going to a regular weekend hot spot and not densely forested and uncharted jungle territory ;) Still, our first hour on the beach may be spent in search of a mosquito net for our bungalow.

Crystal and Adam - I'm hoping Sean is better at handling the scary bugs than I am...as you both remember well from Dominican, I'm sure! LOL.

We'll report back in a few days with pictures and stories. Happy Friday everyone!!!!

M

"Loi Krathong" Festival

This weekend past, Meg and I had a chance to check out the "Loi Krathong" festival, where locals float a "Krathong" (a banana–leaf cup) down the Chao Phyaya River.  It is intended to represent a number of traditions and beliefs, such as floating away ill fortune.  We took the skytrain to the river and crossed on a ferry.  It was the first time we've explored the Western side of Bangkok.  Meg was a little wary as we ended up walking down a number of dark and dirty alleyways.  Eventually, we found a small restaurant beside the river.  There we watched a number of colourful floats make their way up the river as we ate.


 
Later that night there was a spectacular fireworks display!  There were even some people swimming in the river, tearing apart the Krathongs since some people put money or trinkets in them as offerings.  All in all, it was a great evening.

Latest food adventures

As most of you know, I love food. Food of all kinds, and usually in large amounts, makes me very, very happy. Sean and I share this addiction (although his can usually be satisfied by Subway and chocolate whereas mine needs spicy Indian curry and naan). Having said this, Bangkok is the perfect place for us.

First of all, the lives of the Thai people seems to revolve around food. At any given moment you can find food vendors lining the streets selling heaps of fresh fruits, BBQ'd meat and seafood, and plates of rice and noodles. This street food is still a mystery to us...my hyper-hygienic requirements have kept us from enjoying these delicacies. Unfortunately I've come to notice that even at most of the "restaurants" the food is cooked outdoors at the back of the building...I try to ignore this fact. Restaurants and food courts are also everywhere (and constantly busy)!

Second, the way the Thais (and most Asians, I think) eat at restaurants is amazing. I love the concept of ordering a big variety of dishes to be placed in the center of the table and shared by everyone. Even when it's just Sean and I we're able to get a good sample of food to taste-test.

On Friday we went to an incredible restuarant, The Mango Tree. This place is considered a higher-end establishment and seems to be popular among visiting tourists but we still managed an amazing meal plus beer for just over $30. Love. It. Of the dishes we ordered our two favorite were the spicy duck salad and red vegetable curry. Mmmmmm. And just yesterday we found out that the salad is actually a traditional Northern Thai dish called Larb. We ordered "Larb" at a different restaurant last night (trying to be adventurous) and a pork version of the salad appeared at our table! Very exciting ;)

This weekend we also had lunch at an International Food Court, which is one of my new favorite things. Basically the concept is similar to the Marche in Toronto (anyone who visited me while I was living there definitely ate at the Marche) except here the different stations of food represent different ethnicities. There's Indian and Korean and Japanese and Thai and Italian and Muslim and ... well basically everything possible! It is soooooo good.

Well that's the update from my stomach :) I'm sure you'll be hearing more about food in the coming months!

Cheers,
M

p.s. as a side note, the service here is amazingly fast...when the server hands you a menu he or she generally hovers near the table until you're ready to order (which, when you're not used to it, can be annoying...especially when you need some time to interpret the broken-English menu!). Then once you've ordered, your food is generally on the table within 5-10 minutes. Throughout the meal the servers will practically run to your table to pour you a drink if they notice your glass is empty; don't even think of pouring it yourself, because that will cause an onslaught of apologies from the embarrassed waiter or waitress. The only problem arises when you're ready to actually pay. For some reason they seem to disappear when you've finished eating, as if they just don't want you to leave. Although, we're starting to think that it may just be considered rude for them to appear with the bill without being asked - most of the locals we've seen will indicate that they are ready to pay with a wave of the hand or snap of the fingers. We'll have to get over our fear of being rude, I guess.

Newfie visitor!

Meg and I entertained our first guest from the Rock tonight as Jill Regular and a couple of her friends dropped into town.  We went to a restaurant to meet them for supper and were enthralled with Jill's stories from Nepal and India. I won't spoil anything here but she's got some unbelievable experiences under her belt - very cool! We had such a great time with Jill that we're very much looking forward to all the other visits promised by friends and family (nudge, nudge).

PS. Thanks Erin for reminding Jill we were here!

"I will kill your monster"

Always looking for more ways to immerse ourselves in the Thai culture, Meg and I debated over how best to accomplish just that. While Meg thought it'd be a good idea to check out some shrines so we could learn more about Buddhism and how it influences the day-to-day lives of the people, I convinced her that an even better way to do this was to take in Beowulf...in 3D...at the IMAX theatre. Perhaps I left out a few details on what the movie was about, she thoroughly enjoyed the concept of the 3D glasses...until about 5 minutes into the film, at which point she claimed she was going to have nightmares. So, now that it's all said and done - I'm referring to the movie, not our relationship - I apparently owe her 5 click-flicks.



PS. Jon & Sabrina, ask and thou shalt receive, I'll be sure to get a picture of me in a crowd...you're gonna love it.

PPS. Last night, it finally rained for the first time since we got here 2 weeks ago.

Travel, travel, travel

It's confirmed - Sean and I are going to be spending Christmas in Japan with Sean's brother Michael! We booked our tickets yesterday (surprise Michael!). We'll be in Tokyo from Dec. 23 - Jan. 1. Can't wait! I'm hoping to sneak a small tree past Sean and into my luggage ;)

We had been hoping to make a stop in Calcutta, India to visit a few of Sean's friends at the end of our Tokyo trip but unfortunately every possible flight is booked! Turns out Christmas is as bad a time to fly here as it is back home.

Also, we're planning to get out of Bangkok for a few days either next weekend or the one after that (Andrew, you were right...definitely need to get out of the city!). So, we'll be hitting one of the beaches/islands for a bit of relaxing and exploring...we'll let you know where/when once we decide!

Cheers everyone!
M

p.s. all this talk of Christmas is making me homesick! We miss you all!!! :)

Tourist time

After being confined to a bed for 2 days with a cold, I was finally feeling up to going outside this weekend past. Meg and I decided to check out the area near the Chao Phraya River. We took a river taxi from Sathorn Bridge to Tha Tien. It is quite the experience taking these river taxis as they pull up to the piers just long enough for you to jump on/off. I'm sure it's a regular occurrence for people to fall into the river in the process...which, due to the pollution, would probably be a death sentence.



Our first stop was Wat Po, a Buddhist temple that houses Thailand's largest Reclining Buddha. Prior to entering the shrine, you need to take off your shoes. The architecture of the shrine and Buddha itself is amazing - the picture below doesn't do it justice. It was well worth the visit.



Afterwards, we continued to explore the area, checking out the Giant Swing and then stumbling upon the tourist part of town where all the hostels are located (Khao San Road). There were hundreds of small shops/stands that were selling all kinds of trinkets, clothes, movies, etc. I quickly tired of browsing and dragged Meg back to the pier. :)

Apartment view

Here's a video looking out of our bedroom window. Not much to see besides concrete and traffic but you can get an idea of how the city looks.

Traffic concerns?

As we've mentioned before, traffic in Bangkok is ridiculous. Although, we've heard it's much worse in Beijing but I can't imagine how. The following video was taken at the intersection just down the street from our apartment. I love how the bikers wiz throughout the cars, breaking every rule of the road...including, quite often, any regarding driving on sidewalks.

We use the concrete skywalks, from which we shot the first portion of the video, to cross the streets...to do otherwise would be extremely hazardous.

Speaking of hazardous, I managed to catch some bug in the last 24 hours. Nothing too serious yet, besides a fever and sore throat, but forcing me to work from home nonetheless. I guess there wasn't much point injecting myself with every vaccination known to man....

Christmas at Starbucks

So anybody who is a Starbucks junkie like me will tell you that the arrival of the red holiday cups marks the official start of the Christmas season. I'm happy to report that here in Bangkok the 72 different Starbucks locations are full of red cups and Peppermint Holiday Drinks! There's Christmas music in the stores and snowflakes in the windows...the only difference is that instead of pictures of happy people in scarves and mittens enjoying a blustery winter day, the ads show happy people dressed in shorts and t-shirts biking along in the sunny weather. So much for mom's assurance that I won't even notice it's Christmas and therefore won't miss it ;)

On a similar note: the stores here are actually selling jackets and sweaters and scarves! I always thought it was just Newfoundland that received seasonal clothes completely inappropriate for the weather, but I guess it happens everywhere!

My new yoga studio

I went to my first yoga class at a studio here in Bangkok this morning. The class and the instructor were excellent, which I was very excited about :) There seemed to be lots of British/American/Australian people (i.e. people who speak English!) coming and going so maybe I'll meet some yogi friends!

The only downside was the HEAT! It was at least 30 degrees and the studio didn't have any air conditioning on! What's worse is that there was a fan right in the room but the instructor didn't turn it on...I guess everyone else is just used to the suffocating heat. I won't get into details here...but lets just say that I sweat more in that class today than I have in all my other yoga classes combined! And get this...the studio actually offers Hot Yoga! It's a form of yoga where the room is actually heated to a certain temperature....ON PURPOSE! The existing tropical heat is quite enough for me thank-you-very-much!

M

Whoa Spicy!

We thought we were doing SO well! Although we'd been warned that the spicy food really was spicy, Sean and I had both been tolerating it really well - and loving it! Unfortunately this streak of good luck ended last night when we ate at a very nice Thai restaurant close to our apartment. We ordered three dishes; one familiar, two that were new to us. Well, maybe the staff were just playing a joke on us Farang (a friendly Thai word for Caucasian tourists), but this food was HOT. We were sad and a little embarrassed that we couldn't finish the delicious-looking dishes but we were both sweating and basically breathing fire. I think the waiters had a good laugh at us! Check out my sad face and our leftovers in the photo.

The fruit juices, on the other hand, were perfect! Mine is pineapple and Sean had a strawberry-kiwi shake. Can't beat the fresh fruit around here :)

Unique Solution to Major Parking Problems

So, as I've mentioned, the traffic here is just crazy. Traffic laws seem to be more like suggestions, motorbikes rule the roads (and sometimes the sidewalks) and traffic jams are a constant problem. I guess that's what you get in a city of 8 million people with next to no "urban planning".

Although big cities around the world have these same traffic issues, the Thai people have come up with a very unique solution to the problem of parking. Some of you may have read Sean's Facebook note on this subject - but now we have photographic proof! Check out this pic of Sean and his co-worker Angus along with a restaurant parking attendant, pushing a car that was double-parked in front of Angus'. This is a regular practice; once the parking lot is full people start double parking but leave their cars in neutral so that they can be pushed out of the way should someone want to leave. Talk about trusting your fellow citizens!

Hello from Bangkok!

Whew! Our first week in Bangkok is over and we're finally starting to settle in. The jet-lag is slowly (and I mean VERY slowly) wearing off and we've moved into our apartment. So far Bangkok is proving itself as the big, crazy city people have told us about; there are people EVERYWHERE at all times of the day and night, traffic is insane, and the malls, restaurants, transit systems, etc. are generally jam-packed with people. However, the Thai people are very friendly and the city and transit system is suprisingly clean. In fact, unlike other big cities we've been to, the streets here are completely litter-free; people just seem to have more respect for their surroundings.

We're going to use this blog to keep our friends and family up-to-date on what we're up to, where we've been, and what we think of this whole experience. Although we're in regular contact with you all back home, we hope this blog will allow us to share stories and pictures on a more regular basis and enable you to take part in this experience with us...until you all come for a visit and can experience it for yourselves, that is ;)

Cheers,
Sean and Meg