Sado Sado bo Bado

Last week I returned to the beautiful island of Sado. It was natsukashii!! (nostalgic and tingly goodness combined) I went with a couple friends, camped out next to the sea, went to free concerts and events all day and then saw amazing concerts by the host group, Kodo, at night. Also, every year Kodo invites a guest group to perform, this year being Urban Tap, a tap and African dance group from New York. They were off the charts and it was so fun to be back in the place where my adventures in Japan began a year ago. Check out the pics.



Sado Kitty at the concert venue. She's in the famous tub boats that fisherwomen push at the island.













The Kodo drummers giving us a private concert while we waited in line for tickets to the last concert.
















Visiting the Kodo forest where the drummers live and train year round. The group plants the trees they use for flutes and drums... a cool idea, huh?! We received a tour and mini concert from the flutist.

















The four of us at the concert. Heather, Yukiko, me, and Chris. The concerts were AMAZING! It was an unbelievable memory with lots of great music and me dancing my behind off. How could that NOT be great?!?!

Thailand and Laos

This post is going to be a whirlwind glimpse at all that Thailand and Laos were. And, although I cannot describe every adventure or every scene of a picture, do your best to imagine it all.

Here's a rough outline of the trip... I have never done SO much moving in SO little time.

July
26th: Arrive in Bangkok airport, directly fly out to the southern island of Phuket. Find a way too expensive hotel but take it because it's midnight and we're pooped.



The beach. Oh it was glorious!

27th: Go for a run early in the morning, get my first glimpse on the island. Jillian and Mark sleep in, meet up for a BIG brunch (taking advantage of the hotel's breakfast included). Head out for the beach. Spend the day lounging around, relaxing and exploring.



Beach side restaurants in Ko Phi Phi

28th: Find a new, cheaper hotel on a different beach. Again, more beach time hangout, good food, see the city, shopping area and clubs of Patong. Head for the REAL beautiful beach, the island of Ko Phi Phi. (Where The Beach was filmed). Again, hit the beach, make friends with stray dogs, enjoy the most beautiful day of the trip.



Longboats lined up along the beaches of Ko Phi Phi

29th: Contrary to yesterday's glorious sunshine, today it is pouring rain. We wake up to rain pounding on the tin roof of our hotel. Mark and I run outside to make sure the hotel isn't about to collapse like it sounds it is. Turns out it wasn't. Just some rain. Spend a relaxing day in outdoor covered restaurants, playing cards, reading, just hanging out. The rain stops at night and we wonder around.

30th: We all decide we HAVE to spend one more day at Ko Phi Phi, so we spend another night and then wake the next day to check out some of the neighboring islands by boat, including James Bond island where one of the older films was made. See some cool caves and canals, boat through the national park on the northern part of the island. Good times.



James Bond Island and Jillian on our boat tour.

31st: Head on the ferry to Krabi, where we bus to Suratani, where we catch a train to Bangkok. On our bus our backpacks are under the bus and we sit above... well little did we know someone was underneath rummaging through everyone's bags during the 3 hour ride. We get to our destination and a girl notices her shoe, which she packed in the middle of her bag, is lying in the street. It was then that we realized something was up, so everyone is frantically checking their bags to see what was stolen. Jillian had $30 worth of yen in her bag- she wouldn't be needing it in Thailand, right?! But alas, the money was gone. Coulda been worse, though.

1st: Spend the day in Bangkok, see the gliterracci Imperial Palace that is bling-blinged with sparkly metals everywhere, check out the awesome backpackers neighborhood, have lunch at an outdoor market in town, drink a smoothie in the afternoon, ride the city boats up the canals, and head back to the train station for the night train to Chiang Mai.



A temple garden in Chiang Mai.

2nd: Arrive Chiang Mai. Check into the lovely French-inspired guesthouse, have a croque madame for breakfast, head out to see all the many temples in Chiang Mai. We spend all day checking out the monks' living quarters next to the many temples and check out the night market.

3rd: Spend the morning at the Chiang Mai museum, then once again leave for a new city! Mark returns to Bangkok- he's had enough of the traveling while Jillian and plow on ahead to what turns out to be an awesome leg of the trip. We arrive at Chang Khong, on the border of Laos, 6 hours later in a mini-bus with 7 other foreigners. By the end of the trip we are all good pals and knew each other's life stories- they were actually really awesome people. We all stay at the same hotel and have breakfast together, anticipating crossing into Laos tomorrow.



Jilliand and I having breakfast next to the Mekong River in Pakbeng, Laos.

4th: Cross the border into Laos by small boat, head off to Pakbeng by slow boat down the Mekong River. The boat ride will be 6 hours today, but the scenery is lush and green and it gives Jillian and I time to read our books and make new friends on the long ride. Speaking of which, the girls in front of me turned out to be from Barcelona and were speaking Catalan! I got to chat with them and it was SO nice to hear my language again. Lovely.



The moon over the Mekong.

5th: After spending the night in Pakbeng and having a feast of a dinner for only $3 we get back on the boat to Luang Prabang. It is SE Asia's most historically preserved city and a UNESCO World Heritage city. The boat ride is long, but when we arrive at 4pm Jillian and I promptly grab a hotel, rent bikes for $1 and cruise around town. Jillian gets a Hello Kitty bike and I have to admit I am jealous. We stroll around like kids, racing up and down streets, admiring the two rivers that enclose the city and enjoying monks chanting during their afternoon prayers. Beautiful.



Staircase leading to a mountain-top temples in Luang Prabang.

6th: Spend the whole day in Luang Prabang, exploring mroe beautiful temples. I go get a full body, one-hour massage for $3 and enjoy a slice of heaven for mere pennies. Jillian and I have a nice afternoon lunch and enjoy the architecture and scenery. Then... it's another night bus to get to Vientianne, the capitol of Laos.



Lady heading to the market in Vientianne.

7th: After the most grueling bus ride ever we arrive to the uneventful, or "magical" city of Vientianne. We can't believe it's a capitol city by the mud streets and lack of things to see. After Luang Prabang, this place couldn't be more dull. We walk around a bit, go to a day market and try to block the city out of our memories. Hit the night train back to Bangkok... the party is just about over. :(



Flowers in the exquisite garden at the Jim Thompson house.

8th: After the great night train, (we slept like babies!) we arrive in Bangkok, send off some postcards and regroup over a cup of coffee. What's up for our last day? We first head to the Jim Thompson house. He is the most famous foreigner in Thailand, known for his contribution to the silk industry making Thai silk known worldwide. Most impressive is his home, though, located in Bangkok and was constructed using traditional Thai architecture. Next we're off for some final shopping and in the afternoon we catch a Thai flick which was a weird cultural experience in and of itself.

And then what? Back to the airport. Japan is calling our names. Now I'm back home in lil old Tokorozawa, but not for long. Tomorrow I am off to Sadogashima for a 3-day Taiko (Japanese traditional drum) festival. If you are an avid reader of my blog, (all 3 of you!) you might remember one of my first posts from last year... it was a post about my trip to Sado. So, this year, marking my one year anniversary in Japan I am heading back to the festival. I can't believe it's already been a year!

Mata ne,
Christina

Hanabi

Back home in Nihon- and I sure am glad. Don't get me wrong... Thailand and Laos were awesome, but there's no place like home. (How has THIS place become home?!?) I have lots and lots to show and tell about my most awesome vacation, but first things first- HANABI! The night before I left for Thailand I experienced my first display of fireworks (hanabi) in Japan. My friend Yoshi invited me to the Japanese Air Base where he lives and works to see the hanabi, have good food, and best of all, sport my new yukata. Yukata are summer kimono, much lighter to wear and pretty colorful. They are worn with wooden shoes called geta, and are the most casual kimono worn. A summertime MUST in Japan. So, just a few weeks ago I went shopping and picked out the perfect maroon and pink yukata with a deep green obi (the sash that ties at the waist). I got matching geta and purse too. Obviously the only thing left to work out was getting it all on...



The final product! Not too shabby, huh? I think I look pretty darn locally grown. ;) The obi is really the only tough part, and although I did learn how to tie the bow all by my self, I opted to have my ever-so-kind teachers at school help me. The bow they made was a trillion times better than my shoddy attempt. And I didn't want to be THAT gaijin who wore the kimono wrong and insulted Japanese tradition and honor. Not on my first time out of the gates, anyway.



A small uchiwa, or hand fan is tucked into my obi on my back. It's like a little carrying spot for the fans, although I did see a couple cell phones tucked in those obis too. Let me also add that under the obi I was tied up with silk strings around my waist to keep the yukata tight, then a towel tied to my back to help show off the shape of the bow, and then the obi. The Japanese version of the corset, I tell ya. How does every culture come to believe that beauty is pain?! Somebody look into that answer and please, for the love, get back to me.



A close-up of that complicated bow. Thank goodness for my helpers- how do you think I woulda tied that thing by myself?!?!



Me and Yoshi a couple beers into the night. Good times. My first yukata wearing was a big success. I loved wearing it and finally after a year here in Japan, I felt okay wearing it. When I first arrived it seemed silly to buy or wear a yukata, like it would be silly to be a foreigner rushing to become "cultured" in all things Japanese. But now... it's not silly at all to me. I love Japan. I love my new home. I love being a part of my community and learning about the traditions of Japan. And after a year, I've paid my dues and now I get to enjoy it all, not as a spectator but as a participant. Now that's real.