well hello from sunny new zealand, as seems to be the norm these days i have had to find a computer with internet as no where seems to want to provide wifi, it would seem the laptop we brought might have proved redundant had it not been for the fact we are using it as a dvd player to keep ourselves amused at night. we are in the middle of the first series of 24 - i soo cant believe we have never watched it before - we are quickly becoming very addicted and are straining ourselves not to have to watch too many episodes a night so we can stretch it out further.
since i last blogged we have had a change in scenery again and arrived in new zealand on saturday afternoon to lovely sunshine. makes a change from the rain that almost seemed to follow us around in sydney however we did have a beautiful day on friday for our bridge climb, it was an amazing thing to do although our legs felt a bit weary afterwards and the views from the top were breath taking - i am only glad that the photos they provided were complimentary as i wouldnt have paid to recieve an image of us both in the extremely attractive grey jumpsuits you have to wear although i think ricky was quite taken with his, he looked less so of a michelin man in his than i did.
auckland was a completely different kettle of fish to sydney and a lot more hilly - very hilly actually, but it did lend itself for some lovely views across the bay to the islands in the distance. we went to the auckland museum where we spent a very educational afternoon learning about maori culture and history and it made us really excited about getting to explore new zealand and learn more about its people.
the fun started when we picked up our van on monday - i wouldnt exactly call it modern and ricky still hasnt got the hang of putting it into reverse without using two hands. to say it is a bit of a beast is an understatement but its quite cool in a mini bus kinda way. we had a lovely (if a tad stressful) drive through the kiwi orchards and vineyards heading towards rotorua where we stayed at a campsite last night. its basically a thermal area with lots of natural thermal springs and boiling mud pools which is pretty cool although the air does resemble picnics when you were a kid as there is something of the egg sandwich about it. obviously this is coming from the sulphur in the air and not ricky (well at least i hope it is)
the van decided not to provide us with any power last night and after a lot of swearing and screaming (it dawned on ricky we wouldnt be able to catch up on the latest episode of 24) we phoned for help and got the owner of the site to come and see what was wrong however everything seemed to be fine, que a trip to the garage this morning (all is now resolved but it was pretty annoying way to start our trip)
however we didnt let it bother us too much and we visited wai o tapu which is a kinda volcanic thermal wonderland, there were geysers and lakes coloured the most amazing blues and greens through minerals coming through the surface. tonight we are off to maori performance and traditional feast and tomorrow we will make our way south to lake taupo before heading for wellington on thursday. as usual time is running out so will speak to you soon - fiona will give you a buzz soon to make plans for next week - so excited about seeing you
speak soon xxx
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Thursday, 26 March 2009
whitsundays or the wetsundays???
apologies for the lack of communication over the last few days, finding an internet connection has been a tad difficult but i am at the airport killing time in cairns before we hop on a flight to sydney so i have plenty of time to fill you in on what the chat is.
we moved on from trinity beach last sunday after enjoying our last few days chilling on various beaches and visiting cape tribulation on friday. this trip was spent cruising down a river trying to find crocodiles and we did see a baby but we saw more snakes and spiders than i would have liked - the spiders were mammoth and you didnt even spot them till you were underneath uuurgh. my heart nearly gave out a few times but at least they werent poisonous. (seems to be the only thing not life threatening in this country after the bloomin sharks, jelly fish and crocs). we then went on to emmagen creek (very aptly named) for a swim (no crocs i was assured would be there, i thought i was very brave) and then on to cape tribulation to the most amazing beach you have ever seen. unfortunately we couldnt swim in the sea because its stinger season but we did take some lovely photos and i did see a bush turkey - that didnt really make up for the lack of swimming but i suppose it was rather amusing.
on sunday we had a 7.5 hour drive down to airlie beach - it was kinda a boring drive but we had made a grand playlist for occasion and we laughed at the very amusing creek names such as humdinger creek!!!! you could see some of the damage which had been done by the cyclones and floods which had ripped through the area a few weeks back but it didnt seem too bad.
when we reached airlie we went straight to the pub as we needed a drink and some food after being in the car that long - airlie was a really cool place - full of young folk partying so it had a nice laid back vibe and the beer and food were cheap. it was great being in amongst it again as we had been in quite a quiet area in cairns so it was a nice contrast. after quite a session on sunday night we managed to get up very early on monday to board the Alexander Stewart for 3 days cruising round the whitsunday isles.
now whenever i see folks pictures of being in the whitsundays its always amazing white beaches, azure blue waters and lush green tropical plants - on the first day the only thing i saw which was lush green was ricky's face - poor soul was a bit icky on the crossing over to the islands - mind you it was a bit rough. we also saw no bright yellow sunshine that other people claim to see however we were bright yellow through our wearing of yellow raincoats as the heavens opened and we got pelted. however lucky for us it wasnt to last and we enjoyed some good snorkelling - didnt see anything particularly nasty which was nice - i half expected to come face to face with bruce from finding nemo rather than nemo himself (unfortunately he was hiding so we didnt see him either). we did see some sea turtles and cute wee coloured fish in the water as well as sea eagles, cockatoos, lizards and more humungous spiders out of the water.; we also fitted in time for some bushwalks to see some aborigine drawings and a visit to the beautiful whitehaven beach where the sun finally came out and shone for us making it the best day ever. we met some lovely folk and ate some great food as well as seeing the clearest skies i have ever seen - you could see the milky way and some planets without the need for a telescope it was so immense.
sadly the cruise had to come to an end and we had to endure the drive back up to cairns so we could catch our flight back to sydney which is where we are now. ricky is spending his time trying to work out where we will be for the scotland match on sat - i think we will be in auckland already however i have no idea what the time difference is between there and the uk yet. we arrive back in sydney tonight and we have a full day there tomorrow when we will climb the harbour bridge and then meet up with goggs and his missus in the evening for a wee farewell session. we head to auckland on sat morning - cant believe we are leaving australia already, have absolutely loved it here however i am sure new zealand will be equally as amazing. will try and get some of the many pics we have up soon but for now will catch you soon xx
we moved on from trinity beach last sunday after enjoying our last few days chilling on various beaches and visiting cape tribulation on friday. this trip was spent cruising down a river trying to find crocodiles and we did see a baby but we saw more snakes and spiders than i would have liked - the spiders were mammoth and you didnt even spot them till you were underneath uuurgh. my heart nearly gave out a few times but at least they werent poisonous. (seems to be the only thing not life threatening in this country after the bloomin sharks, jelly fish and crocs). we then went on to emmagen creek (very aptly named) for a swim (no crocs i was assured would be there, i thought i was very brave) and then on to cape tribulation to the most amazing beach you have ever seen. unfortunately we couldnt swim in the sea because its stinger season but we did take some lovely photos and i did see a bush turkey - that didnt really make up for the lack of swimming but i suppose it was rather amusing.
on sunday we had a 7.5 hour drive down to airlie beach - it was kinda a boring drive but we had made a grand playlist for occasion and we laughed at the very amusing creek names such as humdinger creek!!!! you could see some of the damage which had been done by the cyclones and floods which had ripped through the area a few weeks back but it didnt seem too bad.
when we reached airlie we went straight to the pub as we needed a drink and some food after being in the car that long - airlie was a really cool place - full of young folk partying so it had a nice laid back vibe and the beer and food were cheap. it was great being in amongst it again as we had been in quite a quiet area in cairns so it was a nice contrast. after quite a session on sunday night we managed to get up very early on monday to board the Alexander Stewart for 3 days cruising round the whitsunday isles.
now whenever i see folks pictures of being in the whitsundays its always amazing white beaches, azure blue waters and lush green tropical plants - on the first day the only thing i saw which was lush green was ricky's face - poor soul was a bit icky on the crossing over to the islands - mind you it was a bit rough. we also saw no bright yellow sunshine that other people claim to see however we were bright yellow through our wearing of yellow raincoats as the heavens opened and we got pelted. however lucky for us it wasnt to last and we enjoyed some good snorkelling - didnt see anything particularly nasty which was nice - i half expected to come face to face with bruce from finding nemo rather than nemo himself (unfortunately he was hiding so we didnt see him either). we did see some sea turtles and cute wee coloured fish in the water as well as sea eagles, cockatoos, lizards and more humungous spiders out of the water.; we also fitted in time for some bushwalks to see some aborigine drawings and a visit to the beautiful whitehaven beach where the sun finally came out and shone for us making it the best day ever. we met some lovely folk and ate some great food as well as seeing the clearest skies i have ever seen - you could see the milky way and some planets without the need for a telescope it was so immense.
sadly the cruise had to come to an end and we had to endure the drive back up to cairns so we could catch our flight back to sydney which is where we are now. ricky is spending his time trying to work out where we will be for the scotland match on sat - i think we will be in auckland already however i have no idea what the time difference is between there and the uk yet. we arrive back in sydney tonight and we have a full day there tomorrow when we will climb the harbour bridge and then meet up with goggs and his missus in the evening for a wee farewell session. we head to auckland on sat morning - cant believe we are leaving australia already, have absolutely loved it here however i am sure new zealand will be equally as amazing. will try and get some of the many pics we have up soon but for now will catch you soon xx
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
humid schumid
well its been a few days since i blogged and man it feels as though we have seen and done 101 amazing things since then. the pace has slowed quite a lot and its brilliant to be in our own apartment overlooking the coral sea. its run by a man named bruce who says stoked a lot - honestly you couldnt make it up, he is a real character. the weather has changed quite a lot and its really humid and we are expecting storms tonight and rain which will hopefully clear the air a wee bit.
we are staying in a beachfront apartment in the town of trinity beach which is just a long the road from cairns. we arrived after a very quick flight and picked up the car no probs - think ricky is just getting to grips with working a manual car, its a rather rubbish car, we have nicknamed it frumpy flo but its getting us from a to b. the first day was spent just catching up with ourselves and lazing by the pool and yesterday we took a trip to port douglas and 4 mile beach. what a stretch of road that is to drive by the way - beautiful white beaches around every corner -we are hoping to explore more of them tomorrow.
today we took a cable car up to kuranda over the roof of the rainforests for about 7.5 km, it was amazing and the views were spectacular. seeing into the rainforest was just brilliant, some of the trees grow to 50m can you believe that. we managed not to get eaten by beasties on the board walk around part of the rainforest by putting on industrial strength bug spray - i think it would even keep the midges at bay its so bloomin strong. when we got to kuranda we had a stroll through the shops and then went to a koala sanctuary where we were able to cuddle a koala - it was an immense experience, she was so cute and actually awake and we got some good photos. i will remember that forever.
after lunch we got the scenic railroad back down and were hit by some more amazing views - of a different kind this time as we were going over bridges which i have no idea how they built and had sheer drops on either side - those with a disposition for heights may not have enjoyed it quite so much. anyway i have uploaded some more photies for you to see and you can find them here http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84211&id=732850985&l=9afaf650db
hope you enjoy - loving hearing all your news from back home - congrats to kelda on the date setting - cant wait ma dear and to joe who has become and uncle to Luke, looking forward to seeing the photos - also a big mention to my mum you make me laugh every time - love you lots
till next time
x
we are staying in a beachfront apartment in the town of trinity beach which is just a long the road from cairns. we arrived after a very quick flight and picked up the car no probs - think ricky is just getting to grips with working a manual car, its a rather rubbish car, we have nicknamed it frumpy flo but its getting us from a to b. the first day was spent just catching up with ourselves and lazing by the pool and yesterday we took a trip to port douglas and 4 mile beach. what a stretch of road that is to drive by the way - beautiful white beaches around every corner -we are hoping to explore more of them tomorrow.
today we took a cable car up to kuranda over the roof of the rainforests for about 7.5 km, it was amazing and the views were spectacular. seeing into the rainforest was just brilliant, some of the trees grow to 50m can you believe that. we managed not to get eaten by beasties on the board walk around part of the rainforest by putting on industrial strength bug spray - i think it would even keep the midges at bay its so bloomin strong. when we got to kuranda we had a stroll through the shops and then went to a koala sanctuary where we were able to cuddle a koala - it was an immense experience, she was so cute and actually awake and we got some good photos. i will remember that forever.
after lunch we got the scenic railroad back down and were hit by some more amazing views - of a different kind this time as we were going over bridges which i have no idea how they built and had sheer drops on either side - those with a disposition for heights may not have enjoyed it quite so much. anyway i have uploaded some more photies for you to see and you can find them here http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=84211&id=732850985&l=9afaf650db
hope you enjoy - loving hearing all your news from back home - congrats to kelda on the date setting - cant wait ma dear and to joe who has become and uncle to Luke, looking forward to seeing the photos - also a big mention to my mum you make me laugh every time - love you lots
till next time
x
Sunday, 15 March 2009
another glass? oh well i dont mind if i do
sitting in an airport hotel before we jet off to cairns tomorrow and i thought i would write a quick blog to update you on the last few days. its going to be quick mind as the internet here is bloomin expensive and i think we have free wifi in the apartment we will be staying in for the week so will write in more detail then. its also taking an age to upload photies so will need to post them later in the week.the last couple of days have been spend in a kind of drunken haze as we have been touring the vineyards of the hunter valley. the sun finally shone for us and we found ourselves ala sideways touring the various winereies and drinking as much free beverages as possible (you can take the girl out of cumnock and all that) and boy was there a lot of free wine, not to mention olives, olive oil, cheese and chocolate, talk about food heaven. we didnt disgrace ourselves though even though we met a nice man from edinburgh who worked at one of the wineries and insisted on giving us large measures (he also gave us proper glass glasses and not plastic ones since we were from edinburgh and not glasgow, i didnt let on about my west coast roots.) our accomodation in the hunter valley was just immense, such an idyllic setting and with great food and more free wine and cheese, they also had a pet kangaroo called chloe who was and still is the first kangaroo we have seen.
the couple of days before that was spent in the blue mountains just north of sydney which were just amazing. i have some really good photies which i will hopefully post during the week. we saw so many wild cockatoos which was pretty amazing.
so anyway i had better go - we fly to cairns tomorrow so are up early, we have an apartment for 6 nights at trinity beach so it will be nice to catch our breath, eat some home cooked food and just generally chill at the beach.
Just want to say Big Happy birthday to Zoe who is 2 today - hope you have a brilliant day, we love you and miss you lots xx
anyway, i am off to sample some of the wine we bought yesterday - it helps me sleep, honest governor xxx
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
closer each day
whats the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of australia - sun? beaches? sharks and spiders perhaps? beer? bbq? or would it be.............. Home & Away - well guess where we got to go today - yup you guessed it Summer Bay - how cool is that, i couldnt stop myself from singing the theme tune and even tried to get ricky to duet with me but he claimed he didnt know the words. unfortunatelty for us there was no filming going on as it was pouring rain or Alf to shout Flamin Kids at but it was nice to be there nevertheless.
speaking of home and away, did you know young sam (bobby's adoptive kid for all you's not in the know) was a lifeguard on bondi now (shows child acting never pays off). we were at bondi yesterday but didnt get to see him, or take any pics as the camera had run out of battery ooops
Bondi was lovely and roasting, we had a beautiful day yesterday, think i managed to crispen myself up a wee bit but not too bad. today was very overcast and rainy but we still managed to get out and about to manly -you are right dave, it is an amazing place- russell i nearly bought you a pair of speedo's with manly written across the bum but didnt think sands would approve.
we are off out tonight since it is our last night in sydney (well for a couple of weeks anyway) so we are hitting the town, hopefully going to the harbour so we can see it all lit up at night since we havent got a chance to do this yet. we cant thank Andrew and Christine enough for having us and for showing us around. we have had such a brilliant time and have loved spending time with you guys.
the good news is after using a coin, a pair of tweezers and some cellotape (a bit blue peter i know) we managed to get the memory card out of the laptop and i have now uploaded some photies so you can check them out.
tokyo here http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83118&id=732850985&l=ea187
and sydney here http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83119&id=732850985&l=3b16c
we are off to the blue mountains tomorrow which i cant wait for - will keep you posted, mwah xx
speaking of home and away, did you know young sam (bobby's adoptive kid for all you's not in the know) was a lifeguard on bondi now (shows child acting never pays off). we were at bondi yesterday but didnt get to see him, or take any pics as the camera had run out of battery ooops
Bondi was lovely and roasting, we had a beautiful day yesterday, think i managed to crispen myself up a wee bit but not too bad. today was very overcast and rainy but we still managed to get out and about to manly -you are right dave, it is an amazing place- russell i nearly bought you a pair of speedo's with manly written across the bum but didnt think sands would approve.
we are off out tonight since it is our last night in sydney (well for a couple of weeks anyway) so we are hitting the town, hopefully going to the harbour so we can see it all lit up at night since we havent got a chance to do this yet. we cant thank Andrew and Christine enough for having us and for showing us around. we have had such a brilliant time and have loved spending time with you guys.
the good news is after using a coin, a pair of tweezers and some cellotape (a bit blue peter i know) we managed to get the memory card out of the laptop and i have now uploaded some photies so you can check them out.
tokyo here http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83118&id=732850985&l=ea187
and sydney here http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=83119&id=732850985&l=3b16c
we are off to the blue mountains tomorrow which i cant wait for - will keep you posted, mwah xx
Monday, 9 March 2009
keepin sharks at bay
hey guys -hope you are all well - thanks for all the lovely emails we have been getting, its so nice to hear how you all are back home. keep em coming!!
things are good here - as you will have read from ricks blog we are loving sydney, its a stunning city although i cant believe we have had rain - it seems to be following us about so hoping thats not going to last, although as we speak there is a hurricane battering queensland which is where we are off to next week so hoping it clears a bit otherwise we might be the only folk to come to australia and get worse weather than you are having in the uk - well maybe not - at least its warm here - just thinking of snow makes me cold
this is just a quick one to apologise for the lack of photies at the moment - the memory stick is stuck in the laptop at the moment and i cant get it out or access it so we have operation tweezer planned for when i get off tinternet so hopefully we can get it out and bring you up to date visually on where we are.
hoping to get to the beach later - i can walk no more, my feet are in shreds and need a bit of a rest as well as a clean - they are mocket - a nice wee dip in the sea will do them good as long as no fat deformed foot munching shark gets in the way - i am sure the smell will keep them at bay anyway- and thats just ricky i am talking about :)
ricky is just back in from his jog with goggs - pair of weirdos, its only 9.15am, still apparently they are feeling good for it, i feel good for the fact i have got an extra 40 mins kip. apparently though its a beautiful day outside so i will shift myself into the shower and slap the factor 30 on - enjoy the snow, hopefully there will be photies up later xx
things are good here - as you will have read from ricks blog we are loving sydney, its a stunning city although i cant believe we have had rain - it seems to be following us about so hoping thats not going to last, although as we speak there is a hurricane battering queensland which is where we are off to next week so hoping it clears a bit otherwise we might be the only folk to come to australia and get worse weather than you are having in the uk - well maybe not - at least its warm here - just thinking of snow makes me cold
this is just a quick one to apologise for the lack of photies at the moment - the memory stick is stuck in the laptop at the moment and i cant get it out or access it so we have operation tweezer planned for when i get off tinternet so hopefully we can get it out and bring you up to date visually on where we are.
hoping to get to the beach later - i can walk no more, my feet are in shreds and need a bit of a rest as well as a clean - they are mocket - a nice wee dip in the sea will do them good as long as no fat deformed foot munching shark gets in the way - i am sure the smell will keep them at bay anyway- and thats just ricky i am talking about :)
ricky is just back in from his jog with goggs - pair of weirdos, its only 9.15am, still apparently they are feeling good for it, i feel good for the fact i have got an extra 40 mins kip. apparently though its a beautiful day outside so i will shift myself into the shower and slap the factor 30 on - enjoy the snow, hopefully there will be photies up later xx
G'day Mate
Hi Folks,
Well we've recovered from the crazy city that was Tokyo and have fallen in love with Sydney. What an amazing city - no wonder so many ex pats find themselves here. Despite the weather being a bit dodgy so far, we've had a great time with Andrew and Christine being fantastic hosts (and tour guides!).
Today we went on a tour of the Sydney Opera House, the Botanical Gardens, Sydney Tower, the Rocks, and rounded off with a great meal at Meat & Wine restaurant. After a few glasses of wine, i somehow agreed to go for a jog with Andrew at 8am tomorrow. That should hopefully work off some of the cow i devoured!
Planning to go off to Manly tomorrow (weather permitting) with the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley later in the week. If they are anything like what we've seen so far in Sydney, we're in for a cracking time.
Anyway, that's all from me for now. Hope you're all doing well. Ricky.
P.S. I've started to put on some weight after toiling to use chop-sticks these past few days in Tokyo....
Well we've recovered from the crazy city that was Tokyo and have fallen in love with Sydney. What an amazing city - no wonder so many ex pats find themselves here. Despite the weather being a bit dodgy so far, we've had a great time with Andrew and Christine being fantastic hosts (and tour guides!).
Today we went on a tour of the Sydney Opera House, the Botanical Gardens, Sydney Tower, the Rocks, and rounded off with a great meal at Meat & Wine restaurant. After a few glasses of wine, i somehow agreed to go for a jog with Andrew at 8am tomorrow. That should hopefully work off some of the cow i devoured!
Planning to go off to Manly tomorrow (weather permitting) with the Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley later in the week. If they are anything like what we've seen so far in Sydney, we're in for a cracking time.
Anyway, that's all from me for now. Hope you're all doing well. Ricky.
P.S. I've started to put on some weight after toiling to use chop-sticks these past few days in Tokyo....
Saturday, 7 March 2009
i hate japanese keyboards
hey guys - quick one before we jump on the plane to sydney. i am typing this at the airport and the keyboard is not getting any easier, i have no idea what i am doing.
i am gutted to be leaving tokyo - we have had a fab time here despite mixed weather, got absolutely soaked yesterday again but it has been lovely and sunny today - we went to shinjinku and shubiya districts yesterday basically to hide in the shops as the weather was so mingin - girls what a place for shopping however mucho pricey - they do shopping malls in style though - 14 floors and underground streets of shops as well - i have never drooled at clothes so much in my life . ohoh keyboard is doing something weird again, hopefully this will come out ok - it maybe underlined though. think its fine - sorry about that, where was i fine - sorry about that, where was i - when it finally did dry up we got to see the most neon i have ever seen in my puff in shubiya-seriously you could see this place from space it was so illuminated - like times square but 20 times bigger and with 20 times squares going off it in each direction and with about 1 million people running around. i have never seen so many people or so many brollies. tokyo obviously gets a lot of rain though as everyshop has an umbrealla stand for you to put your damp brolly in when you go into the shop, how mental. shubiya was very cool though and what i had envisaged tokyo to look like.
today we got a taste of something completely different - the old tokyo by going to seinso -ji a very old shrine quite near to where we were staying - quite awe inspiring to be honest and very humbling when you see everyone running to pray at it. after this we took a boat trip doon the water and got some perspective on how big a place tokyo actually is - fecking massive i think is the official statistic.
we also had our first taste of noodle slurping yesterday, ricky:s scoop and shovel technique may work for rice but it came up kinda short when dealing with slippery soba - did you like my illiteration there - i thought it was very impressive. food was ace but think we ended up wearing most of it, although it was good to be able to slurp away and not feel too embarassed as everyone else was doing it.
really should go - just wanted to say thanks so much to everyone who has written, soz dont have enough time to reply individually today but hopefully in oz will get wifi and can be on for longer - send me all your news. will post some pics soon promise - there are loads of them - you might actually be sick of the sight of tokyo by the time i am finished. sayonara for a final time from japan sob sob speak soon x
i am gutted to be leaving tokyo - we have had a fab time here despite mixed weather, got absolutely soaked yesterday again but it has been lovely and sunny today - we went to shinjinku and shubiya districts yesterday basically to hide in the shops as the weather was so mingin - girls what a place for shopping however mucho pricey - they do shopping malls in style though - 14 floors and underground streets of shops as well - i have never drooled at clothes so much in my life . ohoh keyboard is doing something weird again, hopefully this will come out ok - it maybe underlined though. think its fine - sorry about that, where was i fine - sorry about that, where was i - when it finally did dry up we got to see the most neon i have ever seen in my puff in shubiya-seriously you could see this place from space it was so illuminated - like times square but 20 times bigger and with 20 times squares going off it in each direction and with about 1 million people running around. i have never seen so many people or so many brollies. tokyo obviously gets a lot of rain though as everyshop has an umbrealla stand for you to put your damp brolly in when you go into the shop, how mental. shubiya was very cool though and what i had envisaged tokyo to look like.
today we got a taste of something completely different - the old tokyo by going to seinso -ji a very old shrine quite near to where we were staying - quite awe inspiring to be honest and very humbling when you see everyone running to pray at it. after this we took a boat trip doon the water and got some perspective on how big a place tokyo actually is - fecking massive i think is the official statistic.
we also had our first taste of noodle slurping yesterday, ricky:s scoop and shovel technique may work for rice but it came up kinda short when dealing with slippery soba - did you like my illiteration there - i thought it was very impressive. food was ace but think we ended up wearing most of it, although it was good to be able to slurp away and not feel too embarassed as everyone else was doing it.
really should go - just wanted to say thanks so much to everyone who has written, soz dont have enough time to reply individually today but hopefully in oz will get wifi and can be on for longer - send me all your news. will post some pics soon promise - there are loads of them - you might actually be sick of the sight of tokyo by the time i am finished. sayonara for a final time from japan sob sob speak soon x
Thursday, 5 March 2009
konnichiwa
well hello there and greetings from tokyo - please forgive any spelling mistakes, i am typing this on a japanese keyboard and its rather strange. we cant get wifi here at the hotel so i am using the pc in the hotel lobby.
its been a mad few days, i am still not on actual japanese time yet, its supposed to be 5.10 here but i think its a lot later as i have been awake for hours. we arrived here safely after a really good flight-terminal 5 is ace by the way, far too much temptation to spend the holiday pennies even before you leave the country. we managed to get to the hotel really easy after getting the direct train from Narita Airport to Nippori station which is just a five minute walk away. we then used directions i had got from trip advisor to decipher our way through crowded wee market streets with very heavy bags and arrived at the hotel maybe about 2 hours after landing which i thought was pretty good, considering it was 1hr to get in from the airport. The hotel itself is lovely, so spotless and in a beautiful quiet location. the owner speaks english which has made it a lot easier.
we have done our best so far to look like the local village idiots by not understanding anything but its been great fun and the japanese are so friendly and trying to help us in any way possible-we are still not sure whether they are laughing with us or at us-but hey we are having fun. we ate at the most hilarious bar last night-there were only 4 seats and the other 2 were occupied by locals-we just pointed at things and they sent them our way - we have no idea what we were eating however it tasted delicious. i think they used us as guinea pigs as the owner kept sending more stuff out for us to try but we were so stuffedand couldnt eat any more. they also tried to get us drunk -and succeeded- by plying us with sake. it was such a good night made all the better for being able to interact with some locals who laughed at ricky's attempts to seperate his chopsticks and pulling open the door even though you had to slide it-a minor faux pax i am sure.
tokyo is a land of opposites, there are the most amazing ancient sites sitting next to skyscrapers and super modern technology. yesterday was absolutely pouring so we did what sensible people often do in torrential rain and went for a walk. we got absolutely soaked but we had been sitting down for so long on the flight we needed to stretch our legs. we went to Ueno park which was lovely although i didnt get to the zoo to see the pandas. today we went into central tokyo and to the gardens at the imperial palace which were absolutely stunning and then we went to the electronics district. i have never seen anything so mad in all my life, just block upon block of shops selling various electronics, cabling, phones and games.
the toilets here also deserve special mention-rather confusing at first but they have obviously been set up with the sensitive consumer in mind, they play music, heat up, have different flush sounds, have different water scooshes for your various needs and also light up if its dark-what more could a person want. this is a serious piece of technology which could keep men entertained for hours-books no longer required.
tonight we will take it easy and tomorrow hopefully go and see some ancient temples as well as some karaoke bars-ricky better have his singing voice ready. we fly to sydney on sat night so hopefully will update you again before then-if i can get wifi then i will upload some photies.
loving this place though will be very sad to leave although my feet i am sure will enjoy the rest, blisters ahoy already
sayonara for now chaps xxxx
its been a mad few days, i am still not on actual japanese time yet, its supposed to be 5.10 here but i think its a lot later as i have been awake for hours. we arrived here safely after a really good flight-terminal 5 is ace by the way, far too much temptation to spend the holiday pennies even before you leave the country. we managed to get to the hotel really easy after getting the direct train from Narita Airport to Nippori station which is just a five minute walk away. we then used directions i had got from trip advisor to decipher our way through crowded wee market streets with very heavy bags and arrived at the hotel maybe about 2 hours after landing which i thought was pretty good, considering it was 1hr to get in from the airport. The hotel itself is lovely, so spotless and in a beautiful quiet location. the owner speaks english which has made it a lot easier.
we have done our best so far to look like the local village idiots by not understanding anything but its been great fun and the japanese are so friendly and trying to help us in any way possible-we are still not sure whether they are laughing with us or at us-but hey we are having fun. we ate at the most hilarious bar last night-there were only 4 seats and the other 2 were occupied by locals-we just pointed at things and they sent them our way - we have no idea what we were eating however it tasted delicious. i think they used us as guinea pigs as the owner kept sending more stuff out for us to try but we were so stuffedand couldnt eat any more. they also tried to get us drunk -and succeeded- by plying us with sake. it was such a good night made all the better for being able to interact with some locals who laughed at ricky's attempts to seperate his chopsticks and pulling open the door even though you had to slide it-a minor faux pax i am sure.
tokyo is a land of opposites, there are the most amazing ancient sites sitting next to skyscrapers and super modern technology. yesterday was absolutely pouring so we did what sensible people often do in torrential rain and went for a walk. we got absolutely soaked but we had been sitting down for so long on the flight we needed to stretch our legs. we went to Ueno park which was lovely although i didnt get to the zoo to see the pandas. today we went into central tokyo and to the gardens at the imperial palace which were absolutely stunning and then we went to the electronics district. i have never seen anything so mad in all my life, just block upon block of shops selling various electronics, cabling, phones and games.
the toilets here also deserve special mention-rather confusing at first but they have obviously been set up with the sensitive consumer in mind, they play music, heat up, have different flush sounds, have different water scooshes for your various needs and also light up if its dark-what more could a person want. this is a serious piece of technology which could keep men entertained for hours-books no longer required.
tonight we will take it easy and tomorrow hopefully go and see some ancient temples as well as some karaoke bars-ricky better have his singing voice ready. we fly to sydney on sat night so hopefully will update you again before then-if i can get wifi then i will upload some photies.
loving this place though will be very sad to leave although my feet i am sure will enjoy the rest, blisters ahoy already
sayonara for now chaps xxxx
Monday, 2 March 2009
spaced
well i am feeling pretty out of it at the moment - today has been a blur trying to get everything ready, i still have loads more to do and i am knackered. Aside from trying to actually pack there are so many fiddly things to do such as sort out banking stuff, check flight details, make sure we have everything printed out and of course tidy the flat which at the moment looks as though a bomb has hit it (a mighty big bomb at that)
i have no idea how i managed to fit everything in my case- well thats a lie - i fitted everything in and then i had to take stuff back out as it was too heavy -ooops, so i just transferred stuff into ricky's bag -
"whats that mr murray, you said you packed this bag yourself?" the customs officer booms as he pulls out a set of straighteners.
now it looks as though ricky's case is the heavier of the two but that is due to him having all of my toiletries (as you can imagine there are a few as i dont think you can buy shampoo in australia can you????) and i used to think of myself as a light packer - still at least i think we have everything we need. maybe i should try and sneak in a few more books!!
we said goodbye to little ron yesterday and he was dropped off at his new adopted parents - we had a fairly traumatic morning getting him through to glasgow - he doesnt like the car or getting his toenails clipped - but rikke assures me he is doing great- i have a feeling he wont want to come back home.
so we are off tomorrow - getting picked up by the taxi at 5.45 before our flight to heathrow at 7.30 - must admit am looking forward to seeing terminal 5 and doing a bit of shopping. Our flight to Tokyo is at midday and we land on wed morning at 9am (midnight our time) so we will be knacked but its so mad to think that this time tomorrow we will have only 5 hours until we touch down in japan - i am still finding it hard to believe but i am certainly getting more and more excited - no idea if i will sleep tonight - i hope so as i am shattered.
but anyway just wanted to write a last post before we set off - the next time will be from some far off land, am hoping it wont be too long before i can let you know what we have been up to
be good children, speak soon xx
i have no idea how i managed to fit everything in my case- well thats a lie - i fitted everything in and then i had to take stuff back out as it was too heavy -ooops, so i just transferred stuff into ricky's bag -
"whats that mr murray, you said you packed this bag yourself?" the customs officer booms as he pulls out a set of straighteners.
now it looks as though ricky's case is the heavier of the two but that is due to him having all of my toiletries (as you can imagine there are a few as i dont think you can buy shampoo in australia can you????) and i used to think of myself as a light packer - still at least i think we have everything we need. maybe i should try and sneak in a few more books!!
we said goodbye to little ron yesterday and he was dropped off at his new adopted parents - we had a fairly traumatic morning getting him through to glasgow - he doesnt like the car or getting his toenails clipped - but rikke assures me he is doing great- i have a feeling he wont want to come back home.
so we are off tomorrow - getting picked up by the taxi at 5.45 before our flight to heathrow at 7.30 - must admit am looking forward to seeing terminal 5 and doing a bit of shopping. Our flight to Tokyo is at midday and we land on wed morning at 9am (midnight our time) so we will be knacked but its so mad to think that this time tomorrow we will have only 5 hours until we touch down in japan - i am still finding it hard to believe but i am certainly getting more and more excited - no idea if i will sleep tonight - i hope so as i am shattered.
but anyway just wanted to write a last post before we set off - the next time will be from some far off land, am hoping it wont be too long before i can let you know what we have been up to
be good children, speak soon xx
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