Elephants, Tigers, and Manta Rays! Part 2

Well we are back from diving the Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea 200 miles off the west coast of Thailand.  The islands consist of 9 islands that are part of a National Park that has been protected for over 30 years.  The Islands are incredible, unlike any other we've ever seen.  Giant boulders dotting pristine beaches where turtles lay thousands of eggs every year:)  I surmise that the boulders were thrust up through the magma a few thousand years ago.  Then sand, water and wind did their job making them smooth and beautiful just for us to take these nice pics....

The reason we went through all the trouble to get out to these remote islands was to dive with Manta Rays.  This is one of the the best places in the world to see them.  For divers there is the holy trinity: Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, or a "real shark" (Great White, Tiger, or Mako). Hopefully we would scratch #2 and maybe #3 off the list.  The first dive was off an island called Koh Ban.  Have mercy! The water was warm and beautiful at first; but as we started our decent I felt the current slap me in the face!  As we were struggling to grip the mooring line, waiting for other divers to go down, we were getting thrashed against the side of the boat!  The current was so strong that we were flung to the other side of the boat and got thrashed against the other side for good measure.  After finally getting down to about 60 feet we let go of the line and began kicking for dear life!  There were billions of plankton and tiny white creatures, single celled jelly fish stinging, and thermaclimbs (cold water coming up from the depths) mixing together to create this surreal vision of life that is probably the closest way to get an LSD trip without taking it!  The fish were everywhere!  More schooling fish than anywhere we've ever dove, even more than the Great Barrier Reef!  The colors were absolutely brilliant.  Trigger fish, giant snapper, sea turtles, moray eels, file fish, barracuda, grouper, parrot fish, sea snakes were all partaking in the feast. But the guest of honor never showed for lunch! We didn't last too long in that current, Carmen ran out of air at 25 minutes (half usual time) cause I later learned she sucked her air dry after she was stung in the face by a killer single celled jellyfish:)! No one in the group lasted long and the whole boat was huffing and puffing like chain smokers at the top of Mt. Everest!  Divergence: What is it with 300 lb Europeans in Speedos?  Damn that can ruin a perfectly good afternoon on a boat!

We did three more dives which were much easier than the first. The reefs got even more brilliant, the day even more sunny, and the fish more abundant.  The numbers were spectacular!  And they came so close!  A turtle almost ran right into me!  He was looking the other way and when he turned around we were eye to eye!  He jumped and changed direction as quick as he could..  The group got a kick out of that one:)  No really big fish (except one very fat 6 foot barracuda with a shrimp in its mouth cleaning its teeth), and disappointingly no Manta Rays nor Whalesharks.  It goes that way sometimes;(  Oh well, we had two great days of diving in one of the remote places of the world.  Met some great people who regaled us with their travel stories and even better dive stories.  Like the guy who says oceanic whitetip sharks in the Indian Ocean bumped him twice while he was trying to get a picture of him! Wait a minute... where's my knife?  Shout out to Neal and Giles.  Great times:)

Seemed Like A Good Idea at the Time....

Ok, this should be the "phrase of the day" for our trip. I don't think that we are that adventerous (not as spontaneous and fun like Rich and Ana!) but we have done our fair share of "interesting" things..
So far our dining has been the most spontaneous thing we can muster. Honestly, in this hot Thai sun, eating and sleeping is the only thing we can do! We were totally boring our first couple of days here, only eating at the hotel restauraunts. I cannot tell you how good the food is here! Of course, if you have indigenous people in the kitchen, even if it is at a hotel, its gonna be GOOD. So we had no complaints, just the cost. We are on a budget for this trip and we can't spluge all of the time. Thailand is cheap. Really cheap. Like 30 cents for a big 20 ounce cold beer cheap! Our hotel dinners were running us like $40! That is too much! So after meeting a great German couple from Munich, we got directions to a great, local beach restaurant. I shoulda known that any directions that include "go over the bridge in the mangrove swamp" I should have stopped listening! But the lure of $4 shrimp dinners and 50cent beer was too much. So, like idiots, at night, we set out for our Thai dinner. Walking down the beach in pitch blackness to the restaraunt. After some scary moments with larger crabs skittering out of our way, we started to see light up ahead. It was the bridge over the swamp....Now bridge I think is a loosely used term. It was more like pieces of driftwood, lashed together with floss, seaweed, rope or anything else that would tie. I thought it was hilarious. I was hungry...here we are on the "bridge"

We move on to the restauraunt. Now, once again, i think we over used the word "restauraunt". It was more like a couple of open air shacks with some bootleg electricity. There was no bathroom, just a bunch of chairs on the sand and picnic tables.  Now, anyone that knows me, knows that I will eat ANYTHING! The only requisites: 1) Must be dead 2) Must not be slimy. Other than that, bottoms up!!! So we come it, grab some "chairs" and are immediately ushered over to their equivalent of the viewing tank at a fancy restaurant to pick our fish.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!!!??? After I saw the fresh catch that was about to be my dinner, I didn't even notice the fly paper hanging over our table, the staff walking around with bug zappers or the complimentary bug spray that was given to us with our drinks....
Bruce had a newly killed, deep fried red snapper and i had some banging shrimp something.  Our entire meal, with beer and drinks came to $20.  Did I mention that I love Thailand?

After our wonderful meal we decided that little beach side spot would be our "hang out". We went for lunch and dinner every day! Today, they came in with fresh prawns that were the size of small dogs!!!! Keep in mind, the prawns were about 1/2lb each!!! And a lunch of bbq prawns would run you about $6!!!! Did I mention that I LOVE Thailand?

Around this time, we also decided that we needed to do laundry. You can't be gone for 5 months and not expect to do laundry. We assumed it would be easy but who knew that no one in the Khao Lak area had a washer machine? In fact, the hotels were pretty much the only ones that had washing machines, let alone a dryer. What they did have was a multitude of family run laundry spots where you are charged either per kilo of clothing or per piece. Per piece of clothing ran us about 10 cents! Now, remember, no one in the area has a washing machine...so after we dropped our clothes off and start to wander back over the "bridge" over the mangrove swamp I start to wonder "How are they going to wash our clothes?"...All of a sudden, Bruce and I looked upstream into the mangroves...We saw little plastic buckets and stuff on one of the banks...So, our clothes got washed, old school style in a stream!  Did I mention that I LOVE Thailand!!!!
Tomorrow we are leaving my new favorite spot.  I won't forget the beautiful beaches, the kind people and the awesome diving. I'm sure there will be other places in the future, but I can truly say, Thailand will always have a place in my heart! Ko khawp khun! (Thank you!!!)

Elephants, Tigers, and Manta Rays! Part 1

I usually don't read Carmen's blog on a place until I write mine, so we can give objective individual accounts.  But I couldn't help myself when it came to the elephant ride!  I had to know what she wrote... She almost fainted out there in that jungle yall! LMAO!

We are outside of a village name Khao Lak, Thailand, which is 2 hours north of Phuket through rubber tree plantations and jungle. It's a wonderful place.  There is a flawless beach with absolutley no people in sight.  Beautiful Thai people who love Americans in general, and they seemed to be enamored by Americans of African descent! When we arrived to the edge of the jungle (only a 45 minute ride) the elephant crew was outside in the sweltering heat in basically a thatch hut.  There were a folks from Northern Europe milling around waiting on transport back to their lodging.  The workers smiled and bowed and said "sawadee" which means welcome or hello. I could see the polite stares and looks of bewildermint begin.  You see Carmen and I have been a few places where they haven't seen "brown" people.  We can now recognize when people have never seen us, no matter how they try to hide it.  It comes with the territory when you go places that our folks don't go:) You have to remember, some of these people do not read and don't have television or go to movies (in cities like Bangok and Phuket they do).  They don't know about Lebron or Beyonce or about President Obama!  We find  it incredibilly humbling because it's like we are ambassadors for our country and ethnicity.  In China we couldn't go anywhere without a crowd forming, even on the Great Wall of China!  Here in Thailand, they are more subdued about it, but their curiosity finally gets the best of them:) They know about the USA as this far away power that basically influences peoples lives in the city and as a great military power with the world's best technology (they are a military ally).  But most Thai people where we are haven't met an American, let alone AOAD (Americans of African Descent).  The elephant driver finally asked after 5 minutes on the elephant, "Where from?".  Everyone at the hotel had already asked so we we're prepared.  "Where do you think we're from?" Reply with utter confusion followed by a blank look then, "South Africa????" We giggle to ourselves because its obvious the only dark skinned people they've seen are probably African fisherman who frequent the Indian ocean or African government officials in the newspaper.  We tell him America and at first he shows disbelief.  I think he is convinced because because of the full jungle gear we have on and how different our english is compared to the northern Europeans he is used to hearing.  We just look and sound very different, period.  Now he is smiling and pushing branches away for Carmen as we rumble through the jungle in style on top of a 12 foot elephant!  I feel invincible. I can see why Hannibel preferred to use elephants instead of horses!  After we let our guide ask us a few questions, we started in on him.  We hit him with a barrage.  Carmen first, then me, then Carment again.  I could see he was getting dizzy because of the quickness and fierceness of the questioning. His english was failing him, but we didn't care, we need to know everything now and its as simple as that!  He was saved when he saw a small tree snake napping in a branch about 2 feet to my immediate left.  I judged the snake, no bad colors (poison snakes have certain colors or markers), so I felt no need to move.  But I heard Carmen's breathing speed up and her grip on my arm tighten.  The guide sees her reaction and giggles.  She start saying ok, ok, it's a snake let's keep moving in a nervous voice.  I began my pep talk, " You swim with sharks! You've petted cheetahs! It's a small snake get it together! We are too high in the air for any foolishness.  Their is a cliff to your right dammitt! Get it together. Plus it's too hot for you to be draped all over me!"  I nod to the guide to keep going.  Unfortunately, it just got worse as we moved forward.  He points to Carmen's side on the right.  "You see spider?"  Oh hell, here we go.  I would rather have seen a tiger than a spider, Camen's nemesis! The serious breathing and whimpering begin.  She is backing into me coiling up readying for launch! I am panicking now cause I can't get between her and the spider.  Her wiimpering and shaking and adrenaline stench will frighten and maybe panick the elephant!  I pull her towards me and wrap my arms aroung her in a light hug so I can quickly restrain her if I have to.  I speak softly in her ear, " It's ok. It's not that big (a damn lie, that thing was huge!), and it's more scared of you than you are of it (another lie, she looked pale like she was about to go down yall! Just pass out on this elephant!) I told her to take a picture of it. Because as we got closer, I couldn't help but be impressed by the size of the web, at least 12 feet in diameter! It could've caught a sparrow in that net!!!!!  The spider was juicy and huge, bigger by far than any spider I've seen. At least a foot long!  She bravely got out the camera, and got a quick shot in as she tried to fight her hands from shaking from the fear.  She clicked then grabbed me and turned away quickly as we went by.  He laughingly joined in, "It's ok, no bite, no jump, It's ok, no jump".  My sphincter loosened as we went further cause I knew the elephant was affected by Camen's histrionics!  We left our elephant to rest and we had a short hike to paradise.  A clearing with a lagoon and waterfall... It looked like heavan.  I said I wasn't getting into any damn river in the middle of the jungle!  I don't want dysentary or some strange parasite; but it was sooo beautiful, I just couldn't help myself.  It was so hot that day, at leat 105 degrees F with incredible humidity.  I just had to get in that waterfall.  I'll deal with the consequences later!

After a quick dip and a few moments of reflection in the middle of all of nature's beauty.  We hike back to the elephant and start the ride back.  Our guide, who I'm getting to know pretty well by now, let's me drive the elephant back to camp!  What a rush! He grabs the camera from Carmen and walks in front of us, calling out commands to the elephant in Thai.  He tells me to use my legs behind his ears to steer him.  It's similar to a hores's reins.  A gentle nudge foward will make him speed up.  It was awesome.  I was petting her and whispering to this beautiful creature, praying she didn't smash me against a tree!  We made it back in one piece and spent some quality time with our elephant, "Gay".  We petted and talked and fed her bananas. She was so smart and you could see the thoughts and soul in her eyes.  I saw a tear come out of her eye, and I couldn't help but kiss her........

I could Thai here

Ok, I know. I say I love everywhere. In fact, those of you following our blog can probably keep a count on how many times I say "I LOVE this place". I will at least try not to be redundant with the same reasons: 1) nice beach 2) nice people, blah, blah. I will try to be specific. So this is why Thailand is an awesome place to be...

We arrrived here after yet another long day of travel from Japan. The flight was hellish not for the distance/time (it was 6-1/2 hours) but because I was seated next to a guy who was convinced that nose picking is an Olympic sport and Bruce sat next to a guy who not only snored loud but snorted and grunted. (God knows what he was dreaming about!) Needless to say, we arrived in Bangkok and ended up having to do some minor dashing to catch our next flight. It could have been an fiasco if it were not for the excellent service that Asian airlines give you. Because our flight from Tokyo was a tad late, we were met at the gate by  uniformed agent for our next airlines who HAND DELIVERED us to the service desk to get our boarding passes and to get ushered thru immigration! I mean seriously?! Can you imgaine one of the pissed off gate agents in the US doing that for anyone? I"m really going to miss the service in Asia....ah well....
We arrived at our gate for our Phuket flight and noted that of course, it was delayed by 40min. Perfect!
A smooth 1 hr flight later, we arrived in Phuket. But this is not our final destination. We were headed to Khao Lak, a small Thai town 1-1/2 hours north of the party city of Phuket. We drove thru rubber plantations and tiny towns to get the beautiful area of Khao Lak. Pristine beaches, people few and far between and of course, excellent service. We were greeted by smiles and "Sawadee" (that means Hello/Welcome in Thai), cold washcloths and iced green tea! 

We chose to stay in such a remote place because Khao Lak is the closest area to get to our dream dive site, the Similan Islands. The Similan Islands are also the best sights in Thailand for seeing the gigantic manta rays and even larger, whale shark! 

Our first day in Khao Lak, Bruce wanted to do a elephant safari in the jungles near Khao Lak-Lam Ru  National Park. Like an idiot, I agreed. How often do you get to ride an elephant thru a jungle? We arrived to the park, met our guide who spoke little to no English and got on top of an elephant to ride off into the jungle.  My gut started telling me that it was a bad idea. It was hot as hell, Bruce was sweating so hard i'm sure he lost a gallon of water from his body. Then, our perch on top of the elephant was a bootleg, home made contraption made up of some kind of wood and rope. Our "safety belt" was a piece of rope covered with garden hose (for comfort)...Now i'm feeling more nervous.

We head out into the jungle and for whatever reason, i didnt realize how thick and scary jungle could be. Our guide, who sat on the elephants neck, would pull branches out of the way while we passed (so we would get smacked off the back). The trail was so narrow...i couldn't believe how close the branches were. It was starting to freak me out becuase I have only one major phobia...bug/spiders, etc. Yep, this from a chick who went on a little boat in South Africa to see great white sharks, went diving in the famed "Stingray City" so I could touch stingrays and let them swim over me, and even more dangerous, went to high school in Southwest Atlanta!!!  (I gotta death wish::)) Needless to say, i'm not scared of much but anything that has more eyes and legs than me. So here I am, on the back of an elephant, riding thru a jungle in Thailand with trees and branches surrounding me. I'm freaking out slowly because I'm imagining thousands of spiders and bugs watching me and waiting for their chance to get me...So our guide, in his best broken English sees a snake, curled up in a tree directly next to us about 8 feet off of the ground...

For me, the only reason why i'm concerned because i'm thinking "if the snake jumps, spooks the elephant, its going to veer into bushes and i'll be covered in spiders"...Honestly, i don't care about snakes...not really scared of them at all. Poor Bruce was less than a foot away. He's not that scared either but it was a crappy place to be!  We continued on top of our elephant and wouldn't you friggin know it...The guide stops the elephant and in his cute, broken English i hear the most hated of all words "See, spider?"...WTF!!!!????
For my medicine friends, my heart rate was thru the roof, i started breathing 30 times/minute and seriously considered dying...The crappy thing about it is I COULDN'T LOOK AWAY. On a gigantic 3-4 foot web, not more than 12 inches from us was the biggest damn spider I have ever seen!!! Can you find it in the picture??? Just to give you an idea, we cropped most of the web in the picture so you can see the spider in the middle of the picture! It was a huge web and a bigger frickin spider!!!

  So what do you think a college educated, mid aged, physician would do? I started whimpering like a friggin stupid baby... I dont know why i'm so freaked by spiders? I couldn't keep it together. Bruce was giggling his ass off (like it was funny) and the guide, even thought he could bearly speak English, laughed at me to. The whole time these idiots are laughing, WE ARE NOT MOVING!!! The damn spider is sitting there, chilling, probably looking at me...Right before I started a full on panic attack complete with a Indiana Jones style jump from the back of a elephant, we started moving. Oh now, its too late. I'm feeling that creepy crawly feeling like something is on me and I can't relax...Thank God we were almost to our destination which was a deserted waterfall/pool in the middle of the jungle. Unfortunately, the last portion of the journey was too steep for the elephant and we had to walk about a half a mile to the  waterfall. Wouldn't you know it? ANOTHER FRIGGIN SPIDER ON THE WAY! I seriously thought that that was the day i was going to die. But you know what? I talked my way thru the extrodinary fear and walked by the damn thing. Bruce estimted that the spider was probably 1 foot across! (and insisted on telling me every little thing about the stupid thing.Like how huge the web was, how juicy the body of the spider is, oh and my favorite..how big the fangs were...he was killing me!)
All the trauma of the day culminated in the beauty of a cool deserted waterfall and pool. It was so cool and refreshing! I couldn't believe how nice this place was! I enjoyed sitting there, relaxing and reflecting on how I almost died....:)

After all of the fear of the day, we made it back to camp safe and sound. I had to reward our elephant with her favorite treat! Bananas! Overall, it was a great fun day in Thailand. I didn't die, I faced a huge phobia and got the opportunity to do something i'll remember for the rest of my life...

Tomorrow, we head off to the Similan Islands to do some diving and hopefully see the famed manta rays!!!

Check out our pics from our trip in Thailand

Tokyo on My Mind

I had been to Tokyo when I was 14.  I snuck off with the Air Force basketball team when my dad was stationed in Hawaii.  A different story for a different day...:)

A lot about Tokyo was the same, but much has changed!  Or maybe I changed (matured)? I remember a lot of staring and people not really being that friendly.  This time people were polite, smiled a lot, were very helpful.  I think we both regret not staying in Tokyo longer than 3 days:(

We arrived after that hellish flight from San Francisco.  We immediately notice how people move briskly, but politely.  Not like us, no pushing, elbowing to get off the plane. Just brisk purposeful movement.  The airport was clean, bright, and freaking efficient.  The luggage came out in 5 minutes!  I couldn't believe it, the plane was huge with hundreds of people, they must've have had robots unloading or something.  We get our luggage and walk outside into the crisp, cold Japanese air.  I hate cold, but this seemed different.  It was crisp and clean, like a nice glass of iced Patron (tequila) on a 110 degree day in Phoenix!  We got on the transport bus to the hotel (taxis are way too expensive), which was comfortable, clean and quiet.  I fell asleep immediately and woke up two hours later in Tokyo's city center.  The driver unloaded our luggage and I went to tip him, but he refused.  Lesson #1: It was explained to me that Japanese dont believe in tips, because you should take pride in your job and the service you provide to your fellow man; and not be motivated by something as trivial as a "tip".  What a concept....

Upon entering the Sheraton we were greeted with the "bowing" and the smiles and the service.  It was great!  I felt like a movie star or something.  The hotel was beautiful, clean and comfortable.  We chose to eat in the hotel restaraunt.  We were both disappointed about the taste and the cost of the meal.  I think it may have been "dumbed down" for westerners.  I could see it in her eyes, Carmen eat reflex kicking in. I knew tommorow I would be eating raw fish, pork stewed noodles, sea cucumbers, seaweed and god knows what else she had read about.  I unpacked the pepto for tommorow to prophylax myself!

The tour bus was scheduled to arrive at 0745 and that's damn sure when it arrived.  More bowing and more smiling.  Rode around picking up other people and switch to a motorcoach.  The day was sunny and bright with clean snow everwhere.  We watched the quick moving Tokyoins going to work after getting off the train.  Reminded me of home (Washington DC), but just in a parallel universe.  They are so different, but yet so similar.  Everyone in their conservative work clothes, umbrellas, ipods, and cofee in hand.

We did the Mt. Fuji tour and it was beautiful, clear day.  A good omen for the rest of the trip!  Tadashi our tour guide taught us alot about Japanese history, as well as its present.  He spoke of the complicated relationship between the U.S. and Japan.  It was my favorite part of our stay.  He answered so many questions in my mind.  I wont go into details because a lot of his discusion was very political and this is not the forum.  I will tell you this...the Japanese are reevaluating their embracement of our culture and whether it really works for them.

Mt Fuji is a volcano and the area around it still has many active volcanos.  We visited some quaint towns up in the volcanic region where there was a lake within a caldera (volcano crater) and ate a traditional Japanese lunch.  I ate about 15 different small things that were beautifully arranged, and could only recognize the tuna!  I went to the gift shop and bought some chocolate for the ride back.  I knew that stuff I ate wouldnt hold me over.  No wonder they are so damn thin!

We caught the bullet train back to Tokyo. Damn that was neat.  200mph and it was smoother than anything Ive ever rode in!  We changed trains two more times to get back to hotel.  It was pretty easy.  Most signs were in English and Japanese.  And when we got a bit confused, a subway employee noticed then helped us.  Then again we were helped by a businessman get to the correct side of the platform.  No pushing and shoving like the old days.  People smiled and bowed and kept about their way.  It was great people watching on the train.  The japanese are very stylish people.  Their appearance seems very important to them.  The young people really have a flair for combining traditional Japanese style and contemporary american styles such as hip hop styles or urban country stuff like ed hardy.  It was really cool.  I wish we could've gone to a club to do more watching. 

As we ate dinner and I reflected on the last day and a half, and wondered how in the world did we defeat these people in WW2?  Their culture is based on honor, pride, discipline, sacarafice for the group, and precision.  Being a left brained person, I really admire their society and how they just want to do things with perfection.  When you say you'll be somewhere at 10am, be there dammitt.  This is a whole society of people like me! Type A, perfectionists who pursue that perfection irregardless if someone else is watching and they do it with consistency and not at the expense of someone else.  If you are science or math inclined, make sure you put Japan on your list!  With that said, they probably need to loosen up a bit.  The pressure of perfection can be great evidenced by my high blood pressure!  They should think about going Shark diving with us!:)

Let's Get this Party Started!

Alright, Alright I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and this journey is something most people will not be able to do; but I was getting hesitant. No.. let me not lie, I was getting scared! That's right, I know it's hard to believe that I would fear anything, all the dumb stuff I've done over the years, but this is different.  I was scared first of all that I didn't have the stamina to make the trip.  It's a lot to inflict on oneself: away from the comforts of home  for 5 months!  My beloved bed, my bar with all my favorite remedies, my backyard where I lay on the fake turf with my dogs to try to solve the worlds problems, and my one splurge in life - my hottub!  For those of you who don't know, I have some physical ailments that I've accumulated over the years from sports, pledging (getting hazed), and general abuse of my body over the years.  I know, I know, I look chiseled, but trust me I'm like a 1956 Corvette....looks good on the outside but you really don't want to ride in it cause the ac doesnt work and the seat springs are constantly digging into your ass! Well that's my body. When it is prepared and it's time to push it, the adrenaline kicks in to numb the pain and this body will do anything I tell it in world class fashion.  However, I pay for it later. Thus the hot tub, cognac, and celebrex (my favorite anti inflammatory:)!  Well you can't prepare your body for a 12 hour plane flight in economy! On top of that I'm hyper and hate to be closed in with other people that long.  You start hearing the sneezing, coughing, snoring, and it gets louder and louder and louder! I usually start losing it around hour six, Thats when Carmen starts the pep talks,"Baby, you ok? You want a drink? How about some food? Please don't strangle that dude next to you who's been grunting and snorting the whole trip." To which I reply,"Dammitt don't ask me if I'm ok, you know I'm not ok. My inferior iliac bone has eroded through my gluteus maximus (my ass bones are poking through my ass cheeks). My knees feel like they've been hit by a sledge hammer because this damn chair in front of me is pressed up against them. My neck feels like there is a samuri sword sticking right through it, and my lower back has been in spasm for the last three hours! Dont pep talk me, just give me one last kiss.  Cause after I strangle this guy next to me, I'm sure the air marshalls are going to taze me to death! They better, because if they don't I'm going to open the plane door and take everyone with me; cause baby, Im not gonna make it another hour on this plane and I'm too pissed off to go by myself dammitt!" Can the airlines just charge us the extra $15 and make the economy seats a little bigger? By hour 12, I'm usually wishing I was on a slave ship in the middle of the Atlantic, at least they got to lay down!  So now you see my mindset the day we were leaving. Carmen is buzzing around the house like a bumblebee. Checking her packing list (30 times over), yip yapping about this tour and that tour, giving my mom instructions about the dogs and showing her where everything is in the house.  Meanwhile I'm in the bathroom throwing up and chain smoking the last of my cuban cigars.  I can't believe I paid $4k to subject myself to 25 flights in 5 months! Thats just the flights yall, I didnt mention airport security. The proposition of having to submit to a cavity search is a real possibilty for a brother these days since this Christmas day bombing attempt.  Now yall know I am not submitting.  Can you imagine? "Dr. Brown we are gonna have to check your colon for bombs sir. " Did yall see Indiana Jones Temple of Doom when the Indian priest reached straight through his enemy's chest bone to pull his beating heart out in his hand?  Well I feel for the TSA officer who tells me he has to do a cavity search on me! I've been to 6 continents in the last 2 years and still get scared.  I have dove with Great White sharks and still get scared. I grew up in Washington, DC in the 1980s and still get scared.  I have hiked through the densest jungles and I still get scared.  Ain't that what its all about yall? Overcoming your fears and your comforts to become something better than you ever thought you could be? Self actualization period......

Needless to say, I got myself together, loaded the bags and kissed my home and my momma goodbye! Popped Willie Nelson on the Ipod, "On the Road Again"...

Turning Japanese

I love Japan...I didnt expect to, not with the crowds and the "big city" atmosphere but I think we fell in love with the place. It honestly comes down to my simple principles of life...the people are amazingly polite and kind, the food was good (big ol plus) and it was really clean.  Anyone that knows me knows that I have a mild OCD when it comes to cleaning. I don't walk barefoot, sheets must be clean, etc. Well, I must have found heaven in Tokyo! Our room was so clean, it was like being at home!! The staff was so nice and I really got used to the bowing...The piece de la resistance was the awesome automated toilet in our room...There is NOTHING better in life than a heated toilet seat!!!! It was wonderfully cold in Tokyo, complete with snow on the ground. We arrived in Tokyo after a long, painful 12 hour flight from San Francisco. Although we were exhausted, we were excited to start our journey. The first thing we noted was the efficency of the airport. The customs and immigration line was non-existant and it was complete with nice policemen to usher you to the shortest line. Our luggage came out within minutes of us hitting the baggage claim and we actually easily found transportation to our hotel! Simple! The only hitch was the ride to the hotel. I had no idea that the Tokyo-Narita airport is actaully no where near Tokyo...Seems like the airport name is a misnomer. I think the airport was actually closer to Hawaii than to central Tokyo. We got on a nice, heated motorcoach and proceeded to drive 2 hours into central Tokyo...oh well, it was still a smooth trip thus far.
The next thing I noticed was the bowing and the extreme politeness of everyone. Anyone that you made eye contact with immediately folllowed with a nice bow. From the time we exited the bus at the front of the hotel to the time we made it to the reservations deck I bowed no less than 10 times to random people.  I think the thing in Japan is service above all else. There were people, standing around at the hotel who's sole purpose was to look out for any log-jams, lines or anything that could annoy you and immediately make it better. We never stood in a line. We kept getting ushered from one place to the next. It was awesome. (Bow, bow)
We also got a shocking dose of reality on our first meal in Japan. That place is expensive!!! Whew! We decided that after a $100 noodle dinner we would walk around more and price compare!

On our second day, we decided to do a day trip to Mt Fuji and a small village, Hokone. We had an cute little tour guide, Tadashi, who entertained us on the way up about Japanese Shogun history and information about the mountain. Mt. Fuji is the tallest point in Japan and also a huge volcano.  The special thing about the mountain is that it is usally very hard to see because of the beautiful cloud cover but winter time is the best opportunity to see the peak. We had a dose of amazing luck that day. Not only did we see the peak without clouds but it was such a clear, cold day!! It had just snowed and it looked like the set of a Japanese movie.  It was a memorable day. We actually dressed right for the weather!!!! Here is our pic with the beautiful Mt. Fuji in the background.

 On the long trip back into Tokyo, our guide, Tadashi kept us entertained with oragami paper tricks. We both tried our hand at the art of paper folding...see:

The most fun of the day was riding the famed Japanese "Bullet Train" back into the city of Tokyo from Hokone. Normally it is a 3 hour drive by car but the Bullet Train turned that into a quick 30min ride. We were armed with directions on how to ride the train and did just fine by ourselves, even though we had to make 3 connections. Once again, the Japanese were horribly nice and helped us several times navagate the station when we looked lost. One business man actually walked us to our train and almost missed his!

My only gripe about Japan? The toilets. I cannot tell you how happy i was to see "Western style Toilets". The alternative?

Overall, I wasn't ready to leave Tokyo. I really thought that it would be fun to explore a little more...I really thought the people were nice, the city was big and clean and I really loved the super punctuality of everyone!!! No sitting around waiting for no reason here! I'm sure one day, we may come back, but only if I can find Western Toilets!

Check out our pictures of Japan: Bruce and Carmen in Japan