Part 2

My brother needed another visa for Thailand, to get this he had to leave the country. He wanted to head to Cambodia, I had a little trepidation owing to the dangers listed in the ´Lonely Planet´ guidebook. At first we were going to go by train and bus but that would´ve been to arduous, the roads are very crappy and the trains very slow, instead we opted to fly ´AirAsia´, the first time we went to the airport I forgot my passport so we had to leave the next day. AirAsia felt pretty dodgy, I wasn´t sure of the captain´s abilities, when we hit some rough turbulence I got a little worried, I don´t really like flying.
We weren´t off to a good start in Phnom Penh, the customs official was a bit of a weasel, he actually asked me to hurry up and then wanted money for a visa. As we left the airport we were hit by Cambodia-50 tuk tuk drivers yelling at us, we had no idea what was going on, finally we chose one. The driver was the biggest legend and he knew a lot about Cambodian history, either that or he was making it all up. The travel on the tuk tuk was relaxing and fun but also very polluted, we also had to hold our bags close, otherwise some scallywag might grab it off you (thanks Lonely Planet)
The hotel was OK but I think it was located in the ghetto of Phnom Penh, there were huge piles of rubbish lying around and a market with some dodgy looking food. We strolled down to the main bar area along the river, without the hassling it would be nice, children selling books, tuk tuk drivers, theres just too much hassling, it wears you out. Even in bars and restaurants.
We saw the lovely temple at the heart of Phnom Penh.
Two other things that made the trip woth while were the S21 prison, where the Khmer Rouge took their prisoners and the Killing Fields, where the prisoners and many more were taken for execution. Our tuk tuk driver took us to both and then to the Russian Market, I smaller, dirtier, meaner version of the one in Bangkok. They were a little hostile if you didn´t buy from them. They were also many unidentified meats just hanging around, not very appertising. We had to leave Phnom Penh, so after 3 days we boarded a surprisingly nice bus for Siem Reap, it played some pretty sweet Cambodian karaoke. The trip went quickly. Siem Reap is so much nicer, beautiful old French colonial and less hassling, the hotel was beaut and cheap, and we ate the nicest bbq beef with pickled vegetables in a baguette. We set off EARLY for the temples, our tuk tuk driver made us swear an oath to go with him and then his brother turned up late! So we just missed the sunset. Angkor Wat was so beautiful, amazing and calm, a really lovely place and in suprisingly good condition. I was very impressed, the other temples were also good ( there are heaps of temples on a massive area),just don´t get your hopes up for the Lara Croft temple, it looks good in the movie but it´s not so good in reality.
There was a really cool temple with many faces carved into it, Cambodian achitecture is very impressive and unique. Hassling reached a zenith at this place, everywhere you went, it was exhausting and they are so desperate, they never give up. Whilst I understand it, I really wasn´t expecting it. My tuk tuk driver taught me a trick-give a lolly to the kids, then they go run away happy, this backfired a bit, I gave one of the kids a lolly and then from nowhere about 20 kids and 10 tuk tuk drivers had me surrounded in a frenzy, I´ve never seen anything like it, that was the end of that bag!
I was very happy that I saw those things in Cambodia, but it really wasn´t as I expected it to be. Still, a good experience. We flew back to Thailand the next day, a bit of a relief.












Bottom 2 pictures are at Ayutthaya




We went to Ayutthaya on the second last day. I bit city near Bangkok with many old temples scattered about, It was enjoyable. A little like Siem Reap.
I returned a week early because I run out of money after those 2 and a half weeks.
I´ve enjoyed it in Melbourne more than I expected, however I have had a cold for most of the time, therefore I haven´t done too much.

LIFE AFTER JAPAN Thailand and Cambodia Part 1

I equally apprehensive and excited about leaving Japan as I packed my things on the night before I left. I had organised for my friend to pick me up and take me to the airport. Unfortunately things got mixed up and he didn´t come. That was when I started stressing. I had to run with all of my luggage to Shin Imamiya station. I got to the platform with 3 minutes to spare! As I boarded the ´AirChina´ flight I was already missing the service of Japan. The service onboard AirChina is horrendous, plain and simple. I would say they were downright rude. I could tell the flight attendant didn´t want to be there. Beijing airport is depressing- modern, huge and empty.
The guy in the toilet directed me to the sink and then wanted a tip-I only had yen. The look on his face was heartbreaking, but what could I do? I had to wait there for 3 boring hours before proceeding to Bangkok. My brother met me at the airport. Talk about culture shock! Loud, noisy, dirty, smelly and poor, however the people were nice. The food was pretty good but my belly didn´t like it at all. The first day we went to the former royal palace but didn´t enter, instead we headed for a traditional massage at the training college. I thought I would feel better afterwards since it felt like absolute torture, her hands were like cold steel, but I felt the same, she had a great time though, whenever I cried out in pain she let out a little cackle.
The next day we went to the main shopping centre by taxi, they´re so cheap over there-you feel like a real rich boy. The other great thing about Thailand are the dogs just roaming around, no matter where you go there will be a loveable, friendly scruffy dog to pat.
Bangkok got a little boring and way too hectic, so we took a 3 hour bus and then a ferry to Ko Samet island. It was a bit of a letdown, I thought it would be nicer, it was a little dirty. There weren´t that many people there but there were heaps of bars. We did a little swimming and quite a lot of drinking-south east Asian beer is good.
I missed Japan a lot on Koh Samet.
On the last night we ate a beautiful barbeque. After those four days we left and got back to Bangkok, it was nice to be back in a proper hotel. The one on Samet was a little dodgy to say the least, certainly not the same one from the brochure.
Back in Bangkok we went to the craziest market I´ve ever seen, it left me dizzy. It was like a 40 degree maze with 100 shops and 50, 000 people. Interesting

Last lessons

On Wednesday I had my last lesson in Yao, we cooked up yaki soba and drank ice cold Kirin beer. Not a bad way to finish off. Then I had my last day in Korien, I also got my final tako yaki from my favourite shop, it tasted good, I´m going to miss it. After that I went to Kyoto, we went to a sushi train restaurant. There are two disgusting thingss you should never eat in Japan, sea urchin is horrid, it´s texture alone will give you nightmares, the second thing is nato, I didn´t think nato was so bad, last night shattered that conception, the smell is disgusting and the taste is like toilet, it also has a sticky texture. I don´t think man was supposed to eat fermented soy bean. Many Japanese don´t like it, my advice- don´t eat it.
Today I had my last private lesson then I picked up my ticket, AirChina back flipped on me so now I have to leave on Sunday instead of Monday.












Final tako yaki

Golf

Today I had my final lesson with one of my private students in Hirakata, halfway between Osaka and Kyoto. Afterwards we went for ´shabu shabu´-thinly sliced pork and vegetables cooked in boiling water and ten dipped in sesame or sour sauce. I ate way too much, I wasn´t really hungry to begin with. After that ordeal we drove to the driving range. It wasn´t fenced off- a bit of a worry considering there were cars and people nearby. I think 3 of my shots managed to land in the putting area, about 30 metres to the right. By the time we left I was just happy that I hadn´t killed anyone and was still able to leave Japan un-arrested.

Umeda Skybuilding

My computer has been having some problems recently-a bit of a hassle. Last Wednesday I had my second teaching day in Korien. We had a going away party. I had a bit of a fever and felt a cold coming on so I drank about 10 bottles of lemon juice. On Saturday I felt a little tired so I missed footy training. I headed to Kyoto. We went to karaoke at 7. I´m really going to miss karaoke, great times. On Sunday night we had a few drinks and watched possibly the best movie of all time-Police Academy! Today me and Natsuko went to the Umeda skybuilding, two buildings connected at the top. It´s like a weird ´transformer´ or something out of a manga comic book. We went to the top where you can stroll around the rooftop, 360 degree views at 173 metres, pretty impressive-imagine the empire state building-thats 450 metres! After that we saw ´Angels and Demons´. Wasn´t as good as the book, but not bad.

No internet

I haven't written in a while because my internet was out of action for a week. I don't have too long left in Japan so I've been preparing for my departure. I bought a ticket for Bangkok which is very exciting, I also have to get the visa.
On Friday we went to Kyoto for the Aoi festival where they dress up in very old style costumes and parade through the streets. Friday night I went to see my friend Giordan, we ate dinner at his house, his mum is such a good cook. I stayed with them when I first came to Osaka so it was great seeing them. After dinner we went to Giordan's friends izakaya/club hybrid, with sharks, lobsters and fish swimming around. I was so tired after that and I returned at about 1.
Yesterday we had footy training at Mayashima island, near Universal studios. We did some drills then played a practice game. Afterwards I headed for Stew's Working Holiday party for my farewell. The food was so good. Many people were there, including a French Canadian, a Pommy and a Kiwi.
Some of my fiends signed me a card and gave me a few gifts which was nice. I got 2 Osaka nike tshirts from Daisuke and a caritature potrait from Mizuha.
Today I slept until 2 then went for a run, and studied. I feeling a bit strange about leaving Japan, I'm sure I'll get reverse culture shock when I leave. One things for sure- I'll miss the service in Japan, it's so great, over here the customer is king. I'll also miss the tv ads, they're so entertaining and quirky.

Golden Week

This week is the public holiday week. Friday night wasn't the most exciting. We got some sake. The cup, cheap sake really doesn't taste good.
I worked on Saturday, Saturday night I went with my flatmate to a party at 'Hub' pub in Namba, didn't drink too much because early Sunday I had to rise for a work BBQ.
We drove out into the mountains around Yao, my workplace, located 10 km east of the centre of Osaka. It's so nice to get out into nature, such a big change from the grey sprawl of Osaka, of which we got a good view of.
We set up our bbq on the side of the road, Japanese usually bbq thinly sliced meat and vegetables and then dip it in a special sauce-fantastic! After the barbie we went down to a small lake and went fishing. My bait kept falling off the hook so I really didn't believe I had a chance of catching anything, and in fishing, if you don't have any faith that you'll catch something there's no point. So I just read a book and relaxed.
To my suprise 5 little fish were caught.
Today we went to the Osaka museum of history, it was OK but a little small-there weren't so many artifacts. There was good info about the Naniwa period of ancient Osaka. Unfortunately pretty much all the info was in Japanese. Still, I had fun. After that we went to Umeda. There was also a festival in Nakonoshima, I had the best soy sauce ramen(Chinese noodle soup) and it was only 300 yen.

Footy in Tokyo

We set off Saturday night, we had a private bus with two drivers. The trip was very arduous, however, after 2 am I slept pretty well. We got to the ground at about 10 after getting lost a few times. I was a bit flat because I didn't eat any breakfast-the first quarter of the game was tough, luckily Genki brought some chocolate so I ate that and played much better.
As for the game- it was close in the first two quarters, due more to us not playing very well. In the second half we put the foot down, using the ball nicely, doing some nice plays, with good running and teamwork we blew the margin out to 49 points at the final siren- 99 to 50.
The opposition organised beer and onigiri afterwards.
Unfortunately the beers were two of the worst in the world- VB and Fosters. We were able to watch the first quarter of the game that came after us but then we had to get back on the bus for the return journey. At least that time we had beer.Outside Tokyo there are some really beautiful mountain ranges which were nice to see, we also drove past Mt. Fuji, the top was clouded over but we got a beautiful view of the bottom. In the end the return trip turned out to be worse, we left at 3 pm so I couldn't even sleep and i thought I was going to die a few times, I'm pretty sure the driver was going a tad over the speed limit, and a few of us got airbourne as he tried to make it back in time. Geez I was sore when we got back at 10.30 and glad to be home.

Koya san

Pictures-top Kongobuji Temple, second from top Mausoleum of the Tokugawas.


Yesterday at 1 o'clock we set off for Mount Koya in Wakayama prefecture, about 2 hours south of Osaka. We got on the train with only seconds to spare. It was lucky because that train only comes once an hour. You take the train to the last stop then take a weird tram/cable car(second from bottom) that goes up the mountain at an incredibly steep angle.
We got to the top then took a bus to the restaurant area. We were fairly hungry, having not eaten all day. In fact I had a headache and was about to collapse. After a nice curry udon we had a look at the mausoleum of the Tokugawas (Japanese Shoguns about 400 years ago).
We tried to make it inside the main building of Koya san-Kongobuji Temple, it's the headquarters of the Buddhist sect who settled the mountain, it's also the place where Toyotomi Hidetsugi was ordered to commit suicide, but it was closed.
So we walked through a huge graveyard (bottom) Many famous people had tombstones here as well as many big companies such as Panasonic and Yakult as well as people who have died in different occupations. There was also a giant rocket, though I'm not sure why. The area had a very strange atmosphere, and as we walked back toward the station, along the main road we were getting a bit creeped out. Then a car came past and slowed to a stop. Luckily the lady was just offering us a lift, or perhaps she was planning on eating us but changed her mind, either way we got back to Osaka in one piece at 10 o'clock.

Maiko and Wedding

We headed for Kyoto on Friday. We had free tickets to a maiko or 'apprentice geisha' performance. It was performed in a very old looking temple/ theatre in the old geisha/entertainment distrit of Kyoto-Gion. Before the show we got to eat traditional Japanese green tea and sweets in front of a maiko. (see picture)

I didn't know what to expect but it was great. Really fascinatiing, there were shamisen players and strange singers. The maiko were incredibly graceful, like nothing I've ever seen before. There was one older lady in the performance and she was downright scary.



Today was my friend Genki's wedding. We took him drinking last night. Good times. We had some pre drinks then went to a club in Umeda. It ended up with the groom climbing power poles, putting cones on his head and running into walls and 8 of us on top of a building for a good photo op. I don't know how we got up there.
Today was the wedding, my alarm didn't work but I miraculously woke up at 11, I missed the wedding, but it wasn't too late for the party. Japanese wedding parties are great, good food, speeches, tears, drinks and entertainment. After that was finished we headed for another party at an izakaya. All you can eat/drink. I was relieved to get home at 10.30. I was pretty buggered.

Big Weekend

The Okinawan band at the work hanami in Yao City.











Had to fill in at work on Saturday, fortunately that mostly entailed having a picnic under the cherry blossoms. They had an Okinawan band which was nice. They even made me play the drums. That type of music is great. Afterwards I came home, I was absolutely stuffed. I needed to sleep but I somehow convinced myself to go on a pub crawl with the others. The first 4 bars around Umeda were great but after that things went downhill. Busted noses, bloody elbows etc, not mine luckily. On the upside-there was bingo. Anyway, by the end of it I was ready for sleep-big time. The next day we struggled out of bed to Stew's hanami at Osaka Castle. I've been getting headaches, from hayfever I believe. The hanami was great, the flowers are falling at this time, they should be gone in a few days. There was tons of food and drink, badminton, frisbee and Aussie rules football. At one stage some 'idol' girl came to promote her blog, she was on fire, she came out of nowhere, doing some futuristic robot song and dancing around the place.
Probably the highlight of the day.

Hanami

We ambled over to Osaka castle on Sunday morning. The other guys had come at 8 am to reserve our spot. its not unusual for young recruits to wait all week, reserving a prime spot for their boss-stuff that!
Hanami is cherry blossom viewing. We had a lovely picnic. The day was long however and I really struggled, I was drinking at a pace to make me tired. We had some good food and drinks.
I went to Den Den Town afterwards, it's the electronic goods district, there were some interesting shops to say the least. I got home and felt so tired and sick, but I recovered fairly quickly.

On Tuesday I rode my bike down to the 'Sumioshi Taisha' shinto shrine. Its the most beautiful shrine/temple I've been to.


It also has one of the steepest bridges known to man. This thing should have an escalator. Imagine if someone fell!

Samurai land

Today I finished my lesson at 12 and headed for 'Samurai Land' in Kyoto, a large complex that has many Edo era show/movie sets. Much filming takes place at the site. Basically it's like you've stepped back into the Japan of 200 years ago. They had everything, from old police stations to toilets. They even had power rangers! As you can see from the photos, those wonderful cherry blossoms are back, everyone loves cherry blossoms. Especially when mixed with alcohol. Such a scenario is called 'hanami' or 'flower viewing'. I'll be going to a hanami for the Osaka Dingoes on Sunday. Luckily my knee isn't hurting too badly. Its much better than I was expecting, I don't even have a limp. Still, I can't train tomorrow. After the samurai fun, we headed into Kyoto City for a look around.




This photo is from the set of my favourite samurai show 'Abarenbo Shogun', the set was from the fire station that features in the show, however I'm not so sure what I'm holding.

We had a house party on Saturday night, not too many people showed up. It wasn't the best situation considering I had to wake at 7am the next day.















I managed to to it in the end though it wasn't easy. We went on a footy trip to Gifu City, about 2 hours drive from Osaka. We took a couple of cars. The ground looked great. Very big and flat, though we found out later that the grass was a bit rough. The game kicked off at 2.10pm. The first quarter was quite even, we had a 2 goal lead, helped by a fairly strong wind. In the second we played very smoothly with good run and great tackling, we managed to push the lead further. However we were absolutely stuffed by that stage. We didn't have any spare players so we weren't able to rest, the ground was big and the game went for longer than usual. The Redbacks came out in the second half and although we keep trying hard they ended up winning 79 to 52. A fair effort and a good, hard game. I was bumped in the last ten minutes and twisted my knee, doing a patalar sublaxation-so painful, I had to leave the game. We went to an after game izakaya. That food and drink was much appreciated. I was falling asleep by 7.30, it had been a challenging day and I badly needed a bath and sleep. We got back at 11pm.

I had my first experience of 'sakura cha(tea)' on Wednesday. It consists of cherry blossom leaves that are pickeled in vinegar. It's very pretty but tastes like seawater.

Last week I went to the Kiomizu temple illumination, it was a little eerie.










On Saturday I headed to footy training at the Yodogawa, thankfully the playing area wasn''t a stinking bog like last week, but that didn't stop the injuries, with one of our players ending up with his finger on a 45 degree angle, I'm glad I didn't see that! After training a few of us went to a Kogoshima izakaya(Kagoshima is located near the bottom of Japan's southern island) , they had the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. The Blarneystone was next, an Irish pub nearby in Umeda.


















I was pretty buggerred after training so I went home a little early. On Sunday I saw 'Valkyrie' in Kyoto, so exciting, nearly gave me a heart attack.

Muddy

On Saturday we had training down by the Yodogawa river, it was so cold! The ground was quite boggy so it was great fun. I trained hard until I missed a handball and the ball hit me in the nether regions. After training we went to a sento-neighborhood bathhouse. The hot water was much needed. At 6 pm it was time for a bar, so we went to Captain Kangaroo in Umeda
Because it was St Paricks day or 'Irish day', we went to proceeded by train to Shinsaibashi. The green beer was good but bloody hell it was packed and hot! Walked home after about 2 hours.
SUNDAY
On Sunday I did some study then we got a pizza, about 3 slices the grease felt like it was congealing in my veins, however it did give me an super energy hit. I decided to ride in the general direction of Kobe. Riding's good, it allows you to see things you would never usually. There's many interesting places in Osaka. Met up with my flatmate and we went to Murphy's, they had a comedy/open mic night. Rode my bike home and I was stuffed.

Footy and Reggae

Yesterday we had footy training near Umeda, I was so hungry afterwards so I got some maccas-bad move, I felt very sick! Went to Stew's party, good times. At 11 I met up with some friends and we went to a strange club-izakaya hybrid, which played reggae and had incense everywhere not to mention those Middle Eastern smoking devices.. It was a special night offer-2000yen for all you could eat/all you could drink, not too shabby. I got beer spilt all over my crotch at 3 so I thought it was a good time to call it a night.

Return to training

I haven't been doing anything too exciting recently. Last Saturday I went to my first football training in about 6 weeks, the broken rib has just healed. We went to a very muddy field on the banks of the Yodogawa river just north of Umeda. I struggled through it, I'm a little unfit. Also the field was very muddy, I was surprised that no one broke any bones. Afterwards a few of us went to Tsuruhashii for some 'yaki nicku' or'Korien bbq'. We had some good pork and beef. We also drank some pretty suspicous alcohol, including a yukult-like drink. Afterwards we headed to a British pub. They had a beer from a small brewery Mino, in Osaka prefecture. It was so good! The footy team is going there next month for some 'all you can drink/all you can eat' It's going to be good!
The next day I had a pretty bad hangover. I saw 'changeling' in Kyoto, good movie but sad.

Fukuoka City

On Friday we took the night bus to Fukuoka, our trip got off to a dramatic start as we had to sprint and scramble around Umeda to find the well hidden bus stop. We got there with 3 minutes to spare. I was bloody relieved!
The trip was a little tough. When we got there I was pretty tired, as I had only about 4 hours sleep, still, it wasn't as bad as I expected. It was 7 am when we arrived so there wasn't too much to do, we just walked around the city. We went to the 'canal city' shopping centre and BIC camera, where I bought a digital camera.
I like Fukuoka, it's a big city but still has a country, relaxed feel to it.
When hit the 'Hakata Asahi brewery', quite close to the main railway station. We were a little late, but they let us catch up. I love breweries, they remind me of 'Willy Wonka', except with beer and no umpa lumpas. After the tour we got snacks and free beer for 25 minutes. The 'Asahi Black' beer was really good. The tour ended at 2.30, we were pretty buggered so we went back to the hotel for a nap. We got the hotel bus to the entertainment district -Tenjin. There are many small portable restaurants selling ramen and other food. After that we walked around Tenjin before going back to the hotel for some hard earned brews.
The next day we checked out of the hotel and walked to the nearby 'Marine World' aquarium. They had it all-from spooky specimens to dolphin/whale/porpoise/seal shows. The badgers were pretty good too. By the time that was over we went again to Tenjin, at 4. We ate ramen again. We did some recon and found the bus stop (we didn't want a repeat of Friday night) before heading to the 'International Bar', which had some nice drinks, ensuring we slept like babies on the return to Osaka. All and all it was a great trip.