Lets go to the moives

Last night we found a theater in Saigon that was playing the new James Bond film in english.. it was awesome, I would highly recommend it.

- Ryan

Video from Vietnam on YouTube

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Vietnam pictures now on Flickr

Man bathing next to his boat in Vietnam, originally uploaded by fromthevillage.

Check out our pics from Vietnam so far @

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ourdreamlist/collections/72157609981749387/

Good morning Vietnam!!!

Vietnam is very different from all the other Asian countries we have visited on this and past trips.

This country has been ravaged by wars in its nearly continuous struggle for autonomy. First came an entire millennium of Chinese domination, then occupation by the French, followed by Japanese invasion in WWII, then the French Indochina War ensued, the communist divide of north and south, aka the Vietnam War, followed by War with Cambodia and finally with the collapse of the USSR in 1991, peace.

Why the history lesson, well it helps to explain what you see when you visit, its a country with clear Chinese influence in its temples, palaces and old towns, you see the French influence in the buildings in the cities (2 of our stays have been in historical french hotels) and we walked across a Japanese covered bridge yesterday. The new homes are Vietnamese style which is a kind of blend between all three (see pic). The infrastructure is still under development, given so much was destroyed in the most recent wars, it is much more underdeveloped than China, Thailand etc.

The people however make up for this lack of development, it was explained to me that they really don't have this concept of unemployment because everyone does something to make money, thus they are employed. In most countries you would see the poor in shanty towns etc.. in Vietnam many of these people live on their boats on the rivers, dredging sand to sell for construction, fishing or taking tourists for trips. Others take to the streets on there bicycles or motorcycles serving as make shift taxis to take people from A to B. When you drive along the roads you will notice that virtually every house serves as both a house and some sort of business, many of these folks are rice farmers and try to supplement their income with any other activity that is needed. You will see old women carrying trash in 2 baskets tied to a pole over their shoulder, these I was told are the recycling ladies, making something out of nothing. Other women carry fresh fruits and vegetables from one location to another, selling them to houses and businesses as they go. Everyone is working and this goes on from early morning until late at night.

The sense of community is alive and well, as you walk the cities both in the morning, afternoon and late at night you will see people out and about enjoying each other. From groups of old ladies playing a game of make shift badminton on pavements along the streets, or women doing aerobics at night in park along the lake and kids rollerblading with their parents on the flat area in front of a monument. People look happy and yet they don't have much, this should be a lesson to us all.

Now the traffic! Firstly if you want to cross the road don't expect cars and bikes to yield to you, or a nice crosswalk/ light. To cross you need to step out into the street and walk slow and deliberately, no hesitation, for the motorcycles will miss you even though it looks like they are going to hit you. However if you hesitate, then they cannot anticipate your movement and they may well hit you. How did we learn this, well the old saying watch and learn is how... Danielle and I also took a cyclo trip around the old quarter in Hanoi, you sit in the front while a 55 plus year old man peddles a bicycle behind maneuvering you through the crazy streets. We really enjoyed this but you need to let go of your fear and trust the old man because if not you will be terrified, as we came inches from being hit by buses, bikes etc. We have not got to Saigon yet, but I hear it is exponentially worse than anything we have seen just yet. Another aspect of the traffic is what these folks manage to transport via scooter, it is just amazing (see pics), the most incredible thing we saw (unfortunately not fast enough with the camera) was a live cow on the back of the scooter. Also just like Thailand the whole family, father, mother and 2 kids fits on a scooter and weaves in and out of some very scary traffic.

The highlight so far for me has been the 2 days sailing on a junk in Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was made famous in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, James and Wai Lin attempt to chase down Elliot Carver played by Jonathan Pryce in the Ha Long Bay area. It is just beautiful (very similar to the Adaman Sea off the coast of Thailand) with thousands of limestone islands jutting out of the ocean. We did some kayaking from one island to another and spent 2 days cruising aboard a traditional Junk with only 2 other couples, so we had the place to ourselves. The food prepared on board was awesome. We also got to explore one of the largest caves within the islands and see the floating villages.

Danielle wants to go explore the shops in town, so I have to go...

One last thing, because Vietnam is not fully developed as a tourist destination yet, the 5 star hotels are affordable (this is the holiday part of our Round the World Trip, got to take a break from the job of traveling) and the food is really cheep. You can take 2 to dinner with drinks (good food) for $10.

- Ryan

Who wore it best...

Hi All,

So, in an earlier post I gave my opinions on European women and which country I thought to be most fashionable.

1. Madrid, Spain.
2. London, England.
3. Moscow, Russia.
4. Paris, France.
5. Rome, Italy

But after Japan I think and some reflection, I am making a few revisions and additions.

1. Kyoto, Japan (boot and shoes and hosiery galore)
2. Madrid, Spain
3. London, England
4. Tokyo, Japan (a little too wacky sometimes to make my top place)
5. Rome, Italy (this moved up a little because my last ranking based it too much on what the tourists were wearing and not the locals.)
6. Moscow, Russia (still a little trashy)
7. Paris, France (dowdy and frumpy based on my expectations)

Well that is it for now I will try and post pictures of some boots I saw and loved in Japan.

We saw Mt. Fuji!!!

So in my last post I said my one regret is we did not see Mt. Fuji, we guess what, we did. On the Shinkansen journey to the airport we flew past it and got to see it in its full splendor for a good 5 mins. My camera did not take any good pics given the speed we were moving at, but here is a link to a video that was captured at the same spot we saw it, looks the same to me, so I thought I would share it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/antimega/2397432981/

- Ryan

The Onsen Adventure

Hi All,

After much pestering from Ryan I am back to writing blogs again. Seeing that he kept you updated on Tokyo and our adventures around Kyoto, I'll fill you in on our onsen adventure. Two hours north west of Tokyo in by Shinkansen (bullet train) and a local train, is a small town up in the mountians where our onsen was located. Our onsen (Takaragawa Onsen) was outside, in the natural hot springs along the banks of Takaragawa river. The setting was very beautiful with four rock pools gently shaded by the bright colors of the fall maple leaves and the sound of the rushing river just along the edge. However this was also a little unnerving, for an onsen is a traditionnal Japanease bath, and bathing is always done in the nude. Now before pictures start popping up in your mind, let me save all of us the embarisment and let you in on a little secret. They give women a large towel to wrap in while bathing and men, while it is optional, most opt for a towel a little bigger than a hand towel. So after learning this secret Ryan and I were comfortable enough to test the waters.



Right after checking in, we put aside our western clothes and put on the traditional yukata and sandles (way too small for Ryan). We then proceeded to scrub our selves silly in the shower rooms before we hit the baths. We did not want to be the rude westerners that jumped into the bath dirty, thus ruining the experience for every one else. (there was only one other western couple there so we wanted to make a good impression). The out side air was cold, but we knew the water was hot, so we hurried to the water . The fist bath was a painful shock at the start. After a few minuites with our bodies aclimated we started to walk towards a seperate pool inside this pool where the source of the spring originated. As we waded closer to the source the water got even hotter and we could go no further. Ryan then decided that bath was for the professional "ninja" like bathers. We moved back to the shallows, while we gathered courage to try the other pools. Lucky for us the other pools were quite comfortable and we tried them all before dinner.



Dinner was a traditional Japanease meal, with a whole raw fish that we were to cook our selves on the grill provided at our table, some veggies, sushi, and rice. I love seafood, but the fish eyes were staring at me as I grilled it, so while I picked at the fish I could not bring myself to finish or enjoy eating "him." Now the sushi I loved and scrafed it down in no time. Ryan who was truamatized by the meal ate only the rice and veggies, and hurried back to the room to eat peanut butter which we had left over from China. After Ryan completed his "real" meal back at the room, we went to the baths again, so we could enjoy them under the moon and the stars. It was a little eiry with the steam rising off of the baths under the night sky with very few other bathers around but it was actually so peacefull and a true luxury. We then retired for the night to our room where we slept as the theme of the evening dictated - "Japanese" style, on tatami mats, and futon mattresses on the floor with buckwheat pillows. This was one of the best nights sleep we had and I would love to find a Japanese pillow when I return home.



When we woke we enjoyed the baths one last time, before our western (thank God) breakfast. We had a great time and I would recommend this experience and place to all. It was nice to experience traditional Japan far outside the major cities.

Bye for now,
D

P.S. I am sure Ryan would like you all to know that he was able on the last day endure the "ninja" bath.

Success at the Tsukiji fish market!

We got up at 4:30am and managed to find the Tuna auction in the Tsukiji fish market at 5am... it was cool indeed.

The metropolis of Tokyo, Japan: 12 million residents + 2 world travelers

After our stay in the mountains at the Takaragawa Onsen we headed to Tokyo, Japan's largest city and have been here 5 nights now. To say this is a city is an understatement, it truly is a metropolis and spreads out in all directions as far as the eye can see. There does not seem to be any one center, but rather the city is characterized by 23 city wards, each with its own flavor. We spent the first 4 nights at the Sakura Hostel in the Asakusa area. The hostel was great, like all our other budget accommodation in Japan, spotlessly clean, modern and friendly. Asakusa is one of the most popular spots in Tokyo so a great place to be based. It is home to Tokyo's entertainment district, so always a buzz with people. Also Asakusa's main attraction is Sensoji, a very popular Buddhist temple, built in the 7th century. The temple is approached via the Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.

We spent our days traveling by train and metro from ward to ward seeing the sites and mostly just soaking up the atmosphere. This is a great city to visit as there is lots to see and everything is free (food and transport excluded of course). One stop was the offices of AT&T Japan, and lunch with a colleague Miho. The meal was fantastic and in a beautiful setting. We really enjoyed our short time with Miho and I hope I will get to work with her in the future.

We traveled to Shinjuku to travel to the top of some of the cities tallest sky scrapers (all free) for a view of Tokyo and hopefully to see Mt. Fuji, unfortunately the sky was not clear and the later was not realized.

Another cool area is Harajuku. Traditionally people come here to visit the Meiji Shrine, home to the worlds largest wooden Torri and located in a beautiful park. This was an added bonus for us, but we mainly visited to see the Coz-play-zoku, basically teenagers that descend on the weekend to this area dressed in costume. There are some crazy outfits :-). This is also one of the main fashion areas for young Tokyoites and made for a cool walk, we even saw a famous Japanese Celeb.

Ginza is a must, it is the shopping district that Tokyo is known for, somewhat like Chicago's Magnificent Mile, but is spread over a much larger area with every brand you can think of. We visited the Sony Building, Nikon Gallery and other showrooms... and of course the 5 floor Apple Store! We also took in a Movie, get this you can get a blanket if you like and as they do in South Africa, seats are assigned.

Akihabara was a must see for me given it is the electronics district. Let me just say, block after block of 10 story electronics stores that put everything we have in the US to shame... they have everything under the sun, and its all on sale...

If you have ever watched a movie with scenes of Tokyo you will see Shibuya Crossing, the large intersection in front of the station (Hachiko Exit), which is heavily decorated by neon advertisements and giant video screens and gets crossed by amazingly large crowds of pedestrians each time the traffic light turns green. The area around Shibuya Station is one of the most popular shopping and entertainment districts in the city. You must visit after dusk to get the full effect. Danielle managed to find the statue of a dog, residents errected it to remember the dog who used to walk to meet its owner at the station every day, and continued to do so even after he had passed.

Being a tourist we also headed to the Imperial Palace and the East Gardens. This was a great way to spend the morning, and although you cannot enter the Palace (it is the home of the royal family) you can see it peaking over its fortifications in spots. The east gardens (free to visitors) is a beautiful walk. We also got to watch the Tokyo Womens Marathon as it was being run alongside the park.

This morning we checked into the Tokyo Conrad Hotel. Thanks to D's Gold Status and points with Hilton, this 5 star stay is 100% free. We explored the area alongside Tokyo Bay, took in the views from our amazing room, and swam laps in the 29th floor 25m pool overlooking the city. We finished the night with dinner provided by the Gorden Ramsey Restaurant in the Hotel.

Tomorrow morning we are waking up at 5am to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market and hopefully witness the famed Tuna Auction taking place, then a bullet train to Osaka and a plane to Hanoi, Vietnam.

We have loved Japan, my only regret is we did not fit a trip to Mt. Fuji into our trip, but we will save that for our next visit.

A relaxing break at the Conrad Hotel, Tokyo

Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo, Japan

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Japan 1 week in, 1 to go....

This post is for "Mama van Wyk"....

I am drafting this post as we sit comfortably in airline seats with ample legroom (more than any plane I have flown on) zooming along on the Shinkansen Hikari 408 from Kyoto to Tokyo. This bullet train like all the trains in Japan pulls up to the platform exactly on time, the door opens next to the marked spot on the platform, you step on and off you go. So far my impression of Japan is it is a first world nation that should serve as the model for other 1st world western nations. It has everything we have, but it is just done better, cleaner and faster. Everything is incredibly easy to understand, navigating the incredible public transportation network is a breeze (high speed trains, local trains, subway, tram and bus), this place is spotless, I mean not a cigarette butt in sight (and they smoke a lot here). We have actually seen people walking a distance just to drop the ash into an ash tray. How do they do it, well they clean, and never stop cleaning, also the culture just seems to support not littering, it is fantastic. Both the hostel we stayed in in Osaka and the guest house in Kyoto were clean as a whistle (the 2 best places we have stayed so far, except for the 5 star Marriott in Hong Kong). Another thing is the people are incredibly friendly and always ready to help. If you are lost, and get out your map, next thing someone will stop and ask if they can help you. And if they don't know they run off and find someone who does know. We have had this happen a number of times and even people who speak virtually no English help you out.

Now how did we spend the first half of our visit to Japan? Well after a brief stay in Osaka (we did come back 2 evenings as it is just 25 mins on the train from Kyoto) we headed to our 1st base, Kyoto. This city has more history in it than you could possibly take in over a month or more, but we did our best and with the help of the guest house visited some truly lovely spots around the city. Also 2 of the nights at the guest house we watched DVDs, 1 was the Last Samurai and the other, Memoirs of a Geisha, both these movies where filmed in and around Kyoto and we saw many of the locations used. I will let the pictures of the gardens speak for themselves, but as you can see, fall is a beautiful time to visit Japan. All the temples had beautiful gardens, but our 3 favorites were; To Ji, Ginkaku-Ji (Silver Pavilion), and Eikan-do (which we visited at night since it was illuminated). Other favorites were; the Fushimi-Inari Taisha (Inari Strine) which is known for its 4km passage of hundreds of red Torii up the mountain, Kinkaku-Ji (golden pavilion) and Nazen-Ji for the Hojo with Leaping Tiger Zen Garden. Other cool spots worth a visit are; Higashi Hongan-Ji, Kyoto Station itself an awesome building and mall, Kiyomizu-Dera, Heian-Jingu (see the pic of the huge Torri that straddles the street) and Tofuku-Ji for its Zen Garden and Bridge to Heaven. We would skip the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park (Forest Park in St. Louis kicks its butt).

A really cool thing to do in the evening is visit the Gion area of Kyoto. If you get there between 6-8pm you will likely see one of the Geisha's walking to or coming from an appointment. We were lucky enough to have 3 walk by us while strolling around, unfortunately I only got 1 photo off and it was from behind because they walk very quickly and pop in and out of various tea houses along the streets. If you don't see any no worries, the area itself, with traditional tea houses and other houses/ restaurants makes for a really cool evening stroll.

Given Kyoto's location it is also very easy to visit both Nara and Himeji by train and we did. Nara was amazing, its like Kyoto but much smaller so you can walk most of the city in a day. We just visited the Tourist Information Center in the station and the women mapped out our day for us, which took us past some incredible temples, shrines and trough a forest of stone lanterns (I have decided, I love stone lanterns and want one in my garden some day). Another cool thing is the deer that are all throughout the park and temple areas and are very friendly (looking for snacks :-)). We visited; Todai-Ji, home to the worlds largest wooden building and two fierce looking Nio Guardians, the finest wooden statues in Japan, if not the world; Kofuku-Ji, famous for its 2 pagodas; Nigatsu-do and Sangatsu-do; Kasuga Tausha and the forest of lanterns and beautiful ponds. We also made the trip to Himeji for an afternoon to see Himeji-jo, which is the most magnificent Japanese Castle, still in its original (non-concrete) form. It is a beautiful structure and quite an interesting walk around if you have the time. Also it sits on top of the hill in the middle of the city, so once on the top floor of the main tower you can see all of the city below.

Ok, my fingers are getting tired, so I will wrap this up. We are on our way to Takargawa Onsen, 2 hours outside of Tokyo for some relaxation in what is considered the most beautiful Baths in Japan.

Kyoto

We are in Kyoto, Japan and are loving it. The Japanese people are very
friendly, helpful and clean. We can't get over how clean everything
is. Also the transportaion network is out of this world, it puts
Europe to shame, it is simple, fast, on time and you can go anywhere.

The YHI we stayed at in Osaka was amazing, spotless, modern and
comfortable. And the guest house in Kyoto is just perfect, great
location, beautifully appointed, and clean. I would highly recomend
both the shin-osaka yhi and Tour club to travelers to Japan. We got
our bullet train tickets last night, but we still have a few days in
and around Kyoto before that adventure begins.

Cheers

Ryan

Sent from my iPhone

Ryan on the Great Wall of China

Ryan on the Great Wall of China
Originally uploaded by fromthevillage

Lost of new video and pics have been posted... check them out.

Shanghai - A City of Towers

So I promised in a previous post that I would post on our visit to Shanghai when I got a chance to put the pics on flickr, so while some are on there way up, here is my summary.

Shanghai is certainly a city of biggest and fastest. The most interesting thing about the city is the new right on top of the old, you literally have old traditional neiborhoods that are well over 100 years old being torn down to make way to a skyscraper or high rise condos in the same space. You can walk through these old poor areas, and cross the street and strain your neck at a skyscraper. We asked there was so much building going on in the old areas (basically shacks building additional floors one on top of another) and the reason is that when the government designates a block for regeneration then they pay out the current land owner based on SQ Footage. So folks have people on the inside that know this is going to happen, give the owners the heads up, and the building begins, all just to be torn down again.

So some of the biggest. Shanghai is home to two of the worlds tallest skyscrapers, and they are both new. D and I made the trip to the sky deck of the Shanghai World Financial Center, which is no longer the worlds tallest building (Tai Pai 101 has beat it by adding a spire), but it is the worlds highest observation deck and the grand opening for the building was the day before our visit :-)... you are literally above all the other skyscrapers and above the clouds... plus the floor is glass (see the pic, we were walking across that top bridge above the hole in the building.

We also did a roundtrip journey on the Maglev Train, the fastest comercial train in the world, traveling at 341km per hour... I was very excited about this. Just to think we were literally floating on magnets.

Our visit included a walk through the French Concession, a walk along on the Bond (AKA British Concession) and your typical exploring.

I loved the pace of development, it was truly astounding. One other thing, when we drove to the Train Station (45mins in a bus) I kid you not, I must have seen 10 thousand 25+ floor apartment buildings as far as the eye can see in every direction.

Now I have to run, we are back in Beijing, about to catch our flight to Osaka, Japan.

- Ryan

We love Hong Kong

Hello all, we are in Hong Kong and unfortunately we are leaving too soon (aka tomorrow morning). Last night we took in the city light and sound show along the harbor front which was awesome, the view is just incredible. Then we traveled to the top of the Peninsular Hotel (the men's bathroom is truly unique, urinals along a glass wall looking over the city :-)). Then to Temple Street for some local eats and then a bar with our fellow backpackers to spend our last night together. We plan on meeting up with some of them later in our journeys. Today we changed hotels in the morning, and then rode the famous Hong Kong Tram through the city, took a star ferry cruise in the harbor to take in the views and then met up with a colleague (Kan) from AT&T who I was working with on a project before the trip. Kan hosted a fantastic lunch for us, the dim sum and tea were the best we have had yet. We are now sitting in the AT&T offices on the 31st floor overlooking the Hong Kong Harbor! "Wish my office had a view like this :-)"

We are off to take the tram up Victoria Peak. Then to Japan tomorrow....

We are high in the Longji Rice Terraces

So today we made the trek to the Longji Rice Terraces and are now staying in a all woodern guesthouse purched on the top of the Terraces. Its raining outside and we are literally above the clouds. We are hoping we will have clear skies tomorrow for the views as we hike 6 hours through the terraces to the next village and another questhouse. Ok so how am I typing this, well it is clear profit is not an issue for China Telecom because they have DSL everywhere...

This is just a beautiful part of the world, and the people are so friendly. I had an old lady tell me I need to have a baby that will grow even taller :-)