Khao Sok National Park

Leaving Phuket by bus, we arrived in Khao Sok and checked into a nice tree house / stilted hut at Nung house. Looking through the tour brochures over lunch, we decided to book on a 2 day tour of Cheow Lan Lake including a nights stay in a bamboo raft house.
Setting off at 9am the next morning, we met our tour companions Caroline and her two sons Lee & Reece (hi to you all) and a Finnish girl (sorry forgotten your name). After an hours drive we arrived at Cheow Lan Lake ready to board a longtail boat that took us to the raft houses. Cheow Lan Lake was created when the Rajjaphapa dam was built in 1982 and covers an area of 165 sq. km. Due to the mainly limestone Karst topography of the area, the lake and surrounding area resemble Halong bay in Vietnam. Boarding the longtail boat, we sped off across the lake taking in the beautiful landscape where semi submerged trees rise out of the still waters and dense jungle covers every rocky outcrop.
After about an hour we arrived at the raft houses and went to investigate our homes for the next two days. The huts were, to say the least, basic and ours had definite lean (it didn’t appear to be sinking though!). The inside consisted of a mattress, some bedding and a mosquito net (while we understand that a net is supposed to be a series of holes, ours appeared to be more hole than net!). After dropping our stuff off, we quickly changed into our swimming gear and leapt off the hut’s balcony into the lake to cool down. Following a nice swim we had a very good lunch and were told that we would be heading off on a short jungle trek (the duration seemed to range from 1hr to 3hrs, possibly a translation problem). Caroline decided to forgo the trek, choosing instead to relax by the lake, so the rest of us boarded the boat for a short ride and headed into the jungle. The trek was most notable for the ridiculous leaf hats that were made for Lee and Reece by Pom, our guide. Somehow I managed to avoid this, perhaps because I was already wearing a hat, Debs however was fashioned a very nice vine tiara. By the end of the trek we were weighed down with hats, tiaras, a rattan ring, bamboo flute and a leech!
Trek completed we returned to the raft houses where we removed the aforementioned leech from Debs’ foot and then borrowed a canoe to explore the lake. It was really nice to take in the scenery at a more leisurely pace without the noise of an engine. Heading slowly back to the raft houses, we encountered Lee and Reece, who have to be the two worst paddlers we have ever encountered (being towed back to the raft house doesn’t count as getting there first lads!). Arriving back safely we just had time for a short swim before boarding the longtail boat to go wildlife spotting. We were fortunate enough to see an eagle at rest on a tree branch but all the other animals were clearly shy; the landscape reflected in the calm waters gave us some spectacular views though.
By the time we returned to the rafts it was time for dinner, which again turned out to be excellent with some very tasty fresh fish. After dinner we set off on the lake again for a night safari, where we saw a Slow Loris (a small nocturnal marsupial) and several Giant Hornbills sleeping in the trees. With the first day over, we headed off to our hut for the night thoroughly exhausted knowing that we had to be up at 6:30am for a morning safari. Deciding the mosquito net was a waste of time, we covered ourselves in insect repellent and tried to sleep in the sweltering heat (more than once it crossed my mind to run and jump in the lake).

One of the highlights of the trip had to be the ability to wake at 6am, step out of the hut and into the lake for a morning swim as the mist rolled over the surrounding hills. The morning safari gave us the opportunity to see lots of Macaques as they came down to the waters edge and lots of birds, including a beautiful Kingfisher, several eagles and some hornbills in flight. While we realise that to see animals in the wild requires a lot of time and patience, it is always nice to come away from a national park having seen a few. The main event for the day was a trek through the jungle to visit Namtaloo cave. From reading the tour brochure we knew that the cave would take one hour to travel through, including several sections where we would have to swim or wade through an underground river. Anyone with claustrophobia, a fear of bats, insects, spiders and the complete absence of light need not apply. After some initial uncertainty (especially from Debs) we really enjoyed the trip. The cave had some amazing stalactites/stalagmites, lots of freshwater crabs, large spiders and narrow river wading sections (some over 6ft deep where had to hold on to a rope). It was very nice to see daylight at the other end though. As we returned through the jungle, we encountered a lizard, lots of butterflies by the waters edge and Debs was made a rattan bracelet to go with her rattan ring.
When we arrived back it was time for lunch, a quick swim and then back on the boat for the return journey to our guesthouse. Somehow I managed to injure my foot while in the boat, which proved a bit of a problem when trying to get out the other end. I am still not really sure what I have done, but it seems to be getting better. On arrival back at Nung house we waved goodbye to the others and went to check back into our room only to find out it had been invaded by ants. One room change later we headed to the restaurant for some food; that is where we stayed as the heavens opened and we encountered the heaviest rain we have seen so far on the trip. Finally braving the downpour as it eased, we headed back to our room for the night.

The following day we decided to go and have a look at one of the many waterfalls that are housed within the national park. We had a really good trek of a few km, where we saw lots of different lizards and birds. Unfortunately the waterfall was not really more than a trickle and due to the large numbers of leeches in the area we weren’t too keen to swim. Having had a good walk but starting to suffer from the heat we headed back to the guesthouse. The rest of our time in Khao Sok was spent resting, visiting a nearby river where monkeys gather in large numbers on the bank and packing for our journey to Ao Nang in the morning. We had a really good time in Khao Sok and we would recommend it to anyone who is in Thailand, if only for the stunning scenery. The only unfortunate thing about our time there was that we missed the blooming of the Rafflesia (the world’s largest flower) by a day, so we will have to try and see it later in our travels.

Next Ao Nang, Ko Mook and leaving for Malaysia

Back to Bangkok, a visa-run to Cambodia and finally a week in Phuket.

Arriving back in Bangkok this time by minibus, we checked into the D&D Inn, took our big bags out of storage and sorted some stuff out to post home. The room in the D&D wasn’t quite as we expected as it had no window and an ant problem. Due to us being on a visa run the next day we were unable to change rooms for two days, so had to rather grin and bear it (they did at least get rid of the ants).
Setting off at 8am the next morning, we boarded the bus bound for the Cambodian border and then preceded to spend the next hour driving around Bangkok. Five hours later we finally arrived at the border (via the bus company’s own restaurant) and queued up to leave the country. Thirty minutes later we queued up to re-enter the country (if the Thai govt would just give you a decent extension it would save so much hassle). Five hours later we were back in Bangkok with a brand new 30 day visa. Thoroughly exhausted, we grabbed some food and had an early night.

As Sarah was due to arrive today we got up fairly early, changed rooms (this time we had a window) and headed to Wat Arun (temple of the dawn). The temple is fairly impressive but is definitely better seen from across the river. The guide book implies that you can climb up to a higher level, but that appears to have changed as metal gates bar your progress. Having had a look around we caught the ferry back to Khaosan road and set off to the post office to send a parcel home.
After a busy morning, Debs went to meet Sarah at the airport, while I went for a haircut and generally just hung around. After a few hours Debs arrived back at the hotel with Sarah; we quickly got her checked in and headed up to the roof to have a cooling swim in the pool. After travelling for so long just the two of us, it was quite strange having someone else with us.
With one day left in Bangkok before going to Phuket, the girls had a good time shopping, having facials, massages, etc. Later that afternoon we wandered down to Wat Po (home of a huge reclining Buddha), watching some Thai boxing and kite flying in the park en route. We then had dinner in a small local restaurant and watched the sun set on Wat Arun before catching the ferry back to Khaosan road.

Checking out in good time and with no rush to catch our flight, we had a last look around and headed off to the airport. The problems of flying budget airline ‘Air Asia’ then revealed themselves when we found out we only had a 15kg baggage allowance. What had started out as a cheap flight got slightly more expensive when we had to pay 22kg excess baggage! The rest of the journey went without hitch and we arrived in Phuket relatively unflustered. We had already booked a taxi to take us to the resort and looked forward to getting settled in. The hotel suite was not quite as grand as we had been lead to believe, but it did have a great view and a very nice Jacuzzi on the balcony. We enjoyed a nice meal on the beach that evening and had a few drinks at the very friendly Niki’s Handlebars (a Harley Davidson shop, tattoo studio and bar),

Aside from sunbathing, eating and drinking, we went snorkelling on a dive boat with ‘West Coast Divers’ (Hi Eric). This was really fun as we got to feed the fish bananas (how a fish discovers it likes bananas is surely one of life’s mysteries). The whole day was really good apart from the abundance of jellyfish at the first dive site, which ended up with Debs frightened and Sarah and I stung (they had vinegar on board so no one had to wee on us before you ask!).
The beachside became a glitzy paradise for one evening when the annual Phuket gay pride came to Patong beach. The night was alive with tiny shorts, angel wings, tiaras and kitsch dance music not to mention very cheap buckets of whisky, coke and redbull. When the beachside party ended, the girls carried on with the revellers to a nearby nightclub, where an apparently hilarious cabaret took place.
On another day we hired a jeep and explored a bit of the island. The girls fed an elephant at Bang Pae national park and we visited the Gibbon rehabilitation centre. We then stopped briefly at Wat Phra Thong where the head and shoulders of a half buried gold Buddha reside (supposedly bad luck will befall the people if it is ever dug up). Heading back out towards the coast we stopped at the very nice Nai Thon beach, where we swam and then had a pleasant lunch. Leaving Nai Thon beach behind, we stopped at Kamala beach as the sun was setting before heading back to Patong beach and our hotel.
That evening the girls went for a massage and I got involved in a farewell party for one of the ‘West Coast Divers’ crew. A very drunk Eric offered me an extremely strong whisky and soda with the instructions that all the alcohol had to be finished before we left. By the time the girls found me I was already very drunk. If only I had followed Scott’s (it was good to meet you mate, take care) lead and moved on to beer, I wouldn’t have spent most of the next day feeling like I was dying.
The week went really quickly and it was soon time to leave. Sarah decided to head down the coast rather than follow us to Khao Sok national park, so we arranged to meet up later on. Deciding that we could stand another few days in Phuket we booked into a nearby hotel and spent the time shopping, sending yet another parcel home and booking our bus to Khao Sok.

Next Khao Sok national park

Kanchanaburi

As we arrived back in Bangkok early in the morning from Chiang Mai, we decided to head off immediately to Kanchanaburi (home of the bridge over the river Kwai). This involved a trip on a local train which we just managed to catch, no thanks to a hopeless taxi driver (if you don’t even know where the train station is you might as well call it a day!). After the air conditioning and sleeper carriage of the previous train, the local ones wooden bench seats and open windows were a bit of a come down, but more fun!
Two very numb bums later, we arrived in Kanchanaburi and set off for ‘Sam’s house’ guesthouse; a nice collection of wooden huts on stilts surrounded by water and lotuses. After catching up on some sleep we headed to KTC travel and restaurant to get some food and book on a tour to the Tiger Temple. As is often the case when you plan an early night, it all goes wrong. Debs sensibly headed back to the guesthouse at a reasonable time, whereas I managed, thanks to the meeting of two Aussies Talbot & Emma, to have a bit of a late one. The evening became a search for an elusive bar that had promised free ‘Ping Pong’. As we started to doubt that Talbot had actually seen the sign, we stumbled across it but found the bar to be closed. Fortunately the very nice bar owner, a Frenchman called Jacque opened up especially for us, averting the disaster of a ping pong free evening. The night rather descended from there, until we were politely asked to leave by Jacque. Talbot then managed to get himself trapped under a concrete table and the rest of the night disappeared into a haze!

After a lazy morning it was time to go to the Tiger temple. From the name of the place we imagined that it would be a temple where monks live surrounded by tame-ish tigers. Tourists can then go and see the tigers and have their photos taken with them. The reality is unfortunately somewhat different. On arrival you are greeted by one monk, no temple and several sleepy/drugged tigers. You are then lead around by a helper who positions you near the tiger while another helper takes photos. After everyone has had their photos taken, the tigers are lead back to their cages for the night. Everyone gets the chance if they want, to take it in turns to lead the last tiger back while more photos are taken (this was made more entertaining by the male tiger spraying while walking along and hitting an Australian girl in the mouth!). The whole thing left us feeling rather cold; the sentiment behind the temple is admirable (all of the tigers have been rescued by the monks) but it just doesn’t really come across while you are there. The situation is likely to change later this year when a new tiger island is due for completion. From the plans it looks like the circus aspect will be thankfully lost.

Our second day in Kanchanaburi was spent on a full day tour. In the morning we headed to Erawan waterfall (a 7-tiered waterfall with numerous swimming areas) and spent a few hours swimming in the pools (if it wasn’t for the numerous fish and insects all trying to take a bite out of us, it would have been even more pleasant). We then headed to a Karen village (one of Thailand’s many tribal people) for an ‘elephant trek’. Having been on an elephant before we don’t really think that a short trip round the village really counts as a trek! We did ride the elephant through the river and Debs got to feed it some bananas, so it wasn’t a total wash out. From the elephant camp we headed out to the river for a short trip on a bamboo raft. This would have been ok if the captain of our raft hadn’t crashed it into another one causing us to nearly sink. Luckily we survived the trip intact and we arrived safely, although somewhat wetter, on the bank. The final part of the tour consisted of a trip along the death railway and a brief stop to see the famous/infamous bridge. The train journey was a pleasant end to the day, but the view of the railway from outside the train is definitely more impressive. The bridge is to be perfectly honest, just a bridge, but the setting and its history make it somewhat more impressive. After taking a few photos and walking across the bridge it was time for the tour to end and us to head back to our guesthouse.

Finding the tours to be not to our liking, we decided to forgo any more and instead just have a look around the area ourselves. We hired two pushbikes and cycled down to the JEATH war museum (an acronym of every countries name that was involved in the building of the railway: Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and Holland). The JEATH is an open air museum set up to recreate a realistic prisoner of war hut. Inside the hut are displayed many photos, POW testimonies (including newspaper cuttings from around the world), and some paintings and drawings done by inmates. The whole museum gives an interesting although somewhat unconventional account of the events that occurred during 1942-1943. Next door to the JEATH, we had a short look around Wat Chaichumphon Chanasongkhram and then headed back on our bikes to the ‘Thailand-Burma Railway Centre’. The railway centre is a very professional and interesting museum that gives an excellent portrayal of the hardships and horrors faced by the POW’s while building the Thailand-Burma railway. Leaving the museum we made a short stop at Donrak war cemetery and then headed back up towards the ‘Kwai Bridge’ for a final look around.
Kanchanaburi had been a pleasant enough place to stay, but it was time to head back to Bangkok, as we had a Visa run to Cambodia planned and Debs’ friend Sarah was due to arrive within the next few days.

Next Bangkok, Cambodia and Phuket.

Life as a mahout by Debs

Friday 16th – Sunday 18th March 2007

When I saw the three day mahout (elephant trainer) course advertised at Lampang Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, I just knew that I would love it and booked myself on the course. I was so excited that I barely slept the night before! Finally the big day had arrived and I was on my way to the conservation centre  I met Kat from Australia, a fellow mahout as we arrived at the centre; it turned out that we were sharing a room which was good. Also on our course were Marly and Chantal from Holland, as well as a Japanese family. We all put on our ‘mahout suits’ and headed to the showground to meet our elephants!

9.00am - My elephant was called Look-Khang; a 15 year old female Asian elephant. She was so beautiful and huge!! I was awe struck by her and couldn’t wait to start our training together. Soon enough, we were completely thrown in at the deep end! Having only just been given the elephant command words list, I hadn’t quite mastered them (!) so I didn’t really follow what my mahout, Kit was saying. Ho hum. Lots of getting on and off via Look-Khang’s right leg = a very long way up and down! We also practised sliding off the front of her head and jumping back on - I made the jump most times! It felt amazing to be a mahout; sitting behind her huge head  I was having an absolute blast!

9.45am - Next, we all plodded down to the river for elephant bathing. Had a hilarious time splashing about and spraying the others using Look-Khang’s trunk!!  It was a bit scary when she put her head right under and I nearly slipped off – my mahout saved me though.

10.00am - After bathing our elephants, we moved to the showground in a long line with the elephants holding the tail of the one in front – cute! We paraded into the showground and the Look-Khang stopped 2nd from the right – she did all this all by herself = a well trained elephant! In turn, the elephants bowed (!) when their name was introduced. Then, we had to show the crowd what we had learnt on our mahout course! Hang on a minute; we only got on our elephants for the first time an hour ago! We had to do various movements including: get off and on from the side; get off from the front; jump on again from the front; instruct our elephants to pick the training stick up, to sit down, to sit on belly and finally to lie down. We did all this with no problems and the crowd seemed impressed  With our part in the show over, we sat back and watched the elephants do their thing with their mahouts. They are amazingly agile animals considering how huge they are, as well as being immensely strong and intelligent. The show demonstrated these skills in various ways including: ‘tightrope’ walking on a narrow log; turning a tap on and off; painting (Look-Khang did an abstract painting!); and pulling large logs then pilling them up using their trunks. All very impressive stuff.

11.00am - We visited a teeny (100kg!) elephant bay that was only 9 days old!! It was very cute. Its mother had tried to attack it at birth so the centre separated them. It is now being nursed by a step mum elephant, as she still had milk. Also, because the King of Thailand is 80 years old this year, he will name the baby elephant! Next we went to the elephant hospital where lots of injured and sick elephants were being cared for. It was interesting to see, though what kind of life to they have? Very difficult to say.

12.00pm - Lunchtime! Great food. Getting on really well with the 3 girls –we make a good team  I am very glad to share this amazing experience with them; the mahout course that is, not lunch!

1.15pm - Back to the bathing area for more fun and frolics in the water. We learnt how to instruct our elephants to suck up water in their trunks and to then allow us to point their trunks wherever we wanted – such a good time and was totally soaked!

1.30pm - Showtime again. Identical to the first show, but as it was extremely hot and I was very tired, it was more difficult to jump on Look-Khang’s head – my mahout had to give me a push!

2.30pm - Time to take our elephants to the jungle for the night. It wasn’t very far to Look-Khang’s place, so she was soon munching on the sugarcane I had carried for her. Night night Look-Khang!

3pm – Checked into our home-stay accommodation – basic but clean. Had a much needed shower and then slept.

7pm – Dinner time; so hungry after an exhausting, but thoroughly enjoyable first day.

8pm – When I saw ‘8pm sleeping time’ on our course schedule, I thought it was ridiculously early. However, I was more tired than I have ever been and was asleep as my head hit the pillow at 8pm!!

Day 2:
6am!! Up and dressed in our mahout suits ready for the day. We went to the jungle to collect our elephants. Morning Look-Khang! She seemed pleased to see me or maybe that was because I had food? I would like to believe the former!! I got on by her right leg and we set off for the stables. I was a bit uncomfortable because all my muscles were screaming in protest! We ambled back to the camp, stopping at various succulent sugarcanes – yum!

7am – We gave Look-Khang a quick hose down; she loved it. She then held the hose in her mouth and drank thirstily – very cute  While this was happening, I was being interviewed for Poland Playboy – I kid you not!

7.30am – Breakfast. We then had free time until our training session.
The schedule on day 2 was the same as on day 1. However, our training sessions and shows were much more productive today, as I had memorised the ‘elephant command’ words, so I was much more involved. I loved it! Elephant bathing remained my favourite activity – got completely soaked but I didn’t care!

Day 3:
6am – Up and dressed ready for the day ahead, but OUCH do I ache?!!

6.30am – Sawadee ka Look-Khang! I gave her the sugarcane I had carried to the jungle – munch munch. I got up onto her neck, while she was eating her breakfast. All this time, a Korean TV crew were filming us! Then, they interviewed me whilst I was sitting up on Look-Khang! May I introduce ‘Debs the mahout’ and her elephant Look-Khang! ;) It is a shame that I will never see the documentary.
8.30am – Matt arrived at the elephant centre!

9am – My last training session and it went really well  Matt seemed impressed by what I was doing. I remembered and used all of the elephant command words!!

9.45am – Down to the bathing pool for the last time – had a blast 

10am – Our last show and we all did our best and really it showed how much we had progressed since day 1. I have definitely improved in confidence and ability since I joined the course.

10.45am – My mahout presented me with my course completion certificate and a tiny elephant controlling stick. I gave Look-Khang lots of hugs on her trunk. It was a very emotional goodbye.

WOW! What an amazing course and seriously one of the best experiences of my life! I felt totally alive and happy  I love elephants and this has only strengthened that love further. The course was wonderful; a life changing experience which I will never forget.
I would recommend the course to anyone – go for it; you will love it!!
Information on Lampang Thai Elephant Conservation Centre at http://www.changthai.com/

Sawadee ka from Thailand!

After a somewhat long journey from Japan, we finally arrived in Bangkok (via Singapore: don’t ask, flight routing baffles me) and set off from the airport to the ‘New Siam 2’ guesthouse. Fortunately the expressway from the new airport to the city centre is now finished, which certainly makes the journey quicker, not to mention cheaper! If the taxi driver had actually known where our hotel was, it would have been even better. Oh well, welcome back to Bangkok!
Still suffering from the excesses of Japan, we decided to use our time in Bangkok to organise where we were going next and to rest up (possibly the only time you will here someone say, they went to Bangkok for a rest!); not to mention acclimatise (we arrived in Thailand with the temperatures hitting the 40 degree mark). So aside from some shopping (I managed to buy the camera lens that I was after in Japan), some eating and a very little drinking, there isn’t much to tell. Ooops! Nearly forgot, we had new tattoos done (Stuart has won the hawk eye award, as he has already managed to spot mine in the photos).

Fully rested and recuperated, we headed to Khao Yai national park, 120kms east of Bangkok. Staying at the ‘Khao Yai Garden Lodge’ we booked on a one and a half day tour of the park, which included a 3 hour trek through the jungle (fortunately it is a bit cooler here). The tour turned out to be excellent; we had a brilliant guide by the name of Mister ‘A’ who proved to be an amazing wildlife spotter. How he managed to see some of the animals is quite beyond me, with the aid of his spotting scope we were all able to get a close up view of the wildlife (with a compact digital camera you can take a picture through the scope, which has given Debs some photos that she never would have been able to take). During the course of our first day we saw: White Handed Gibbons, several Great Hornbills (including one in flight), a monitor lizard, 15 wild elephants (apparently we were very lucky to see this many together), emerald doves, lots of macaques, a giant squirrel, a snake (can’t remember what kind) and the waterfall where ‘Sprout faced boy’ jumped off in the film ‘The Beach’.
On the second day, we visited a large cave full of wrinkle-lipped bats and then had the amazing experience of watching them all take to the skies in big swarms, while eagles circled overhead waiting to pick any stragglers off. Our guide estimated that at least a million of them leave the cave every evening in search of food and return by morning.

Having had a great time at the national park, we headed back to Bangkok for one day (this time to the old favourite D&D Inn), before leaving the next day by overnight train to Chiang Mai. From Chiang Mai, Debs was heading to Lampang and the ‘Thai Elephant Conservation Centre’ for three days to do her Mahout (elephant handler) course (more about this later in Debs’ life as a mahout blog), while I did the sightseeing bit around the city.
Chiang Mai, for Thailand’s second biggest city remains very laid back and village like. I had an enjoyable few days just wandering around the old city looking at wats (temples), museums and markets; while trying to avoid the many ‘tuk tuk’ drivers who were keen to take me on a sightseeing/shopping trip.

The three days went very quickly and it was soon time to go to the elephant centre, to watch Debs and her elephant take part in a show. On arrival at the camp, Debs was already waiting for me dressed in her mahout suit ready for the mornings’ elephant training. She seemed to have had a really good bunch of people on the course with her and had obviously had an amazing time (the huge grin that she was permanently wearing was a bit of a give away!). It was really good to watch her and the others putting their elephants through their paces, and the elephant bath that followed training was done to the accompaniment of much laughter as they set about getting each other as wet as possible. The show itself was very good and demonstrated the enormous strength, balance and agility of these huge animals (the elephants that is; not the mahouts, they were all tiny!). Debs and her elephant ‘Look-Khang’ even had a star part in the show, when Look-Khang carried and placed a hat on her head! After the show it was time to have a final look around the camp, say goodbye to the elephants and mahouts, buy a picture painted by Debs’ elephant and then board the bus heading back to Chiang Mai.
Later that evening we met Kat (one of Debs’ fellow mahout trainees) for a few beers and had a brief look round a nice outdoor craft market. Due to the trains being full, our planned stay in Chiang Mai, of another two days, got cut short. With only one day left, we used it to have a final look round the town and visit the excellent night market (an absolute must if you find yourself in Chiang Mai, if only for the food hall where we had the best and cheapest meal we have had in Thailand). After a lazy morning trying not to overheat, we boarded the sleeper train back to Bangkok and settled in for the journey. I would love to say that it was a restful journey, but the train was really noisy, slow and swayed a lot, (not helped by being in a carriage full of a loud French tour party, who all seemed to think that a ‘no smoking’ sign didn’t apply to them!) I arrived in Bangkok somewhat bleary eyed! Debs on the other hand, had taken a sleeping pill and had slept comparatively well.

Next: Debs’ life as a mahout blog

A final thanks and farewell

Just a quick note to all those who have made our time in Japan so memorable:

Pippa: thanks for putting us up and showing us around, you are a star! Good luck with the Masters, we will definately be seeing you back in the UK.
Amika: It was great to meet you. We will see you again sometime. Maybe in the UK?
Miwa & Gaku: It was good to see you again, stay in touch. Until next time take care.
Emma & Tomo: You made our trip to Hiroshima a lot of fun. Take care and see you again!
Asami: Thanks for all the organising and making our stay in Kokura memorable. Hopefully we will see you in America later this year.
Abi: Nice to meet you and good luck in Tokyo!
Neil: Shame we didnt get to see more of you. You are a top bloke! Hope the move back to the UK is not too painful!
Koji & Staff at OCM: Top sandwiches!
Noriko & Mother: Hopefully you get your dream to play at the winter olympics. Thanks for a lovely lunch and memorable day!
Rie, Keiko, Nao, Mayumi, Mie, Ryuichi (Oisan), Yuki and Hisako:You all made us feel very welcome, we will definately see you all again. Take care and stay in touch.

Until next time, to you all

Domo arigato gozaimasu!

Kokura, Beppu & back to Kokura.

After 26 very enjoyable days in Japan, we finally arrived back in Debs’ old home of Kokura at 11:30am. We were met at the train station by Debs’ friend Asami and immediately set off to drop our luggage at the ‘Toyoko Inn’ hotel. Unfortunately we encountered the slight hitch that we couldn’t check in until 4pm! Leaving our luggage at reception, we headed off for some lunch at Debs’ favourite food place OCM ‘Sandwich Factory’ (she frequented the place so much they gave her a T-shirt when she left Japan! Oops apparently it was 2 T-shirts). The staff were all very surprised to see her again, even remembering her old order! After some very nice sandwiches & salad and a brief chat with Koji (OCM’S owner), we continued our tour of Kokura. Sadly, the city’s main landmark Kokura castle was covered in scaffolding (what is it with us and scaffolding? Everywhere we go seems to be covered in the stuff! I had already renamed Beijing’s Forbidden City the ‘Scaffolding; sadly not forbidden, city’!)

From first impressions Kokura seems a very pleasant city with nice shops, (I got to see quite a lot of these bag shopping with Debs & Asami), pleasant parks and some interesting looking modern buildings. It also has an excellent book shop ‘Quest books’ that carries a number of western titles. Happily stocked up in books and bags, we headed back to the hotel to finally check in and rest up until the evening.
Asami had managed to get hold of a lot of Debs’ old friends and arrange a welcome back meal at the Maroon bar. We were joined by Asami, Keiko, Nao, Rie, Abi & Hiro; it was good to finally meet some of the people who I had heard about from Debs. After a pleasant meal Asami, Rie, Nao, Debs and I headed off to Print Club & Karaoke, the others having to go because of work the next day. Having decided that Print Club is really a girl’s thing, I left them to it and had a look around the arcade instead. I tried my hand at an arcade brain training game that looked simple enough; however it turned out that some form of Japanese language ability would be required to navigate the menu system, so I failed miserably. Perhaps that was all part of the brain training!
Rejoining the girls, who had finished doctoring their photos, we headed upstairs to the Karaoke rooms. Karaoke in Japan is a little different from the ‘guy set up in the corner of the pub’ back home. Basically you can hire a private room for a period of time at a fixed price. You can then drink as much as you like during that time. After 2 hours of singing our hearts out and getting steadily more drunk, we called it a night at 2am. Saying goodbye to the others, we headed back to our hotel for some much needed sleep.

Trying to get the most out of our trusty rail passes before they expired, we headed to Fukuoka ‘Hard Rock Café’ with Asami so Debs could have a Veggie burger! The trip was made more memorable by the fact that I spotted an entire car park full of yellow cars (email me & I will explain!). After a nice meal, Debs & Asami showed their talents for playing the drums (Debs claims that Asami practises!) at the nearby Game Centre (arcade), before we headed back to Kokura.

Leaving Kokura behind for a few days we headed to Beppu, where we had booked to stay at a lovely Ryokan (traditional guesthouse). Beppu is famous for its many Onsens (Japanese hot springs) and sand baths. I have to confess to not being certain about being buried in hot sand. The sign on the wall said that we would be filled with energy, ready to face the day ahead. Instead, after being buried, showering and relaxing in the Onsen we both just wanted to go to sleep! Heading back to the Ryokan, Debs arranged to try on a traditional wedding outfit and we booked to use the guesthouses Onsen privately. All in all we had a very relaxing time.

Arriving back in Kokura all rested, we checked back into the Toyoko Inn (this time we didn’t have to wait until 4pm) for the final leg of our stay. Later that evening we met Abi & Neil for drinks at the ‘Beer station’ followed by food at the ‘Baseball Yakatori’.

The next day we were invited to Noriko’s house, where her Mother prepared a lovely meal for us and the members of her Ikebana class (Japanese flower arranging). Noriko is a music teacher and very talented hand bells and piano player. We had a very entertaining afternoon meeting her 2 year old child prodigy student Maria, getting dressed up in Yukatas (summer Kimonos) by her mother for Hina-matsuri (Japanese doll festival or Girls’ day), seeing no flower arranging by her class but hearing a lot of chatter and finally watching a very impressive hand bells demonstration by Noriko.
Later that evening we met Asami & Mayumi for more drinks & food at the ‘Beer Station’ and then finally headed back to the hotel shattered.

With only 2 days left in Japan, we arranged to meet Rie for lunch on Saturday at OCM and Mie, Ryuichi (Oisan), Yuki, Hisako & Noriko for drinks and food at ‘Xelhas’. We had a great evening and again it was good to meet some more of Debs’ students and friends. Our whole time in Kokura has been great but also very tiring. Trying to arrange times to meet everyone and then realising that there is always someone who you manage to miss has given us mixed emotions about leaving. All in all though, it has been an amazing experience and we will definitely be returning.

Until next time from Japan “Ja ne” (See you!)