For the past 3 or 4 years, my brother and I have enjoyed reading a daily NBA column on the Slam Magazine web-site. It is written by an Atlanta Hawks fan, Lang Whitaker. They always have some great stuff on there. Inspired by The Links, I want to post a wrap up of last night's SLU Billikens game at Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO.
-We head down to the front row because Joey was able to score some tickets through his gig as wedding DJ. JF remarks that the last time SLU played Chicago State in '95-'96, we sat at the courtside table for the last few minutes of the game. At one point, a player told him to "Shut up!" in response to some good-natured heckling.
-The National Anthem is sung by Mr. Matt Stewart, fellow SLU High class of '98 alum, good job, Matt.
-Slow start, Bills center and best player, Ian Vouyoukas tosses in the first 2 points with a sweet hook shot.
-At 15:47, it's Vouyoukas 5, Chicago State 2.
-Being Christmas break, the student section is a little sparse. I count 9 of em.
-Vas'Shun Newborne hits a nice jumper then grabs a tough rebound and gets fouled.
-JF notes that Chicago States' #3 David Holston is violating the NBA's uniform policy by rockin' shorts that extend to his calves. He's also got some yellow Nikes that go very well with their black and green unis.
-The leading scorer for the Cougars at 21.2 a game is Royce Parran. And yes, he is in fact, 5'9". Is he really Royce Da 5'9"?
-7:50 Vouyoukas gets a 10 for a dunk and a 2.5 for the landing, right on his a**.
-6:26 V smacks his 3rd block of the game and nearly puts it in our laps. Awesome.
-V continues to have his way inside on both ends, racking up blocks and 13 first half points. He is unstoppable and is well on his way to his goal of playing for the 2008 Greek Olympic team.
-Bills bench guard Luke Meyer has his fan club seated behind us. Every time Royce Da 5'9" takes a shot, they exclaim, "Who is this guy?" Check his site, kids.
-It's 33-21 SLU at the half. Pretty sloppy other than V dominating everywhere. SLU goes 15-16 from the line so far.
-As the teams gear up for the 2nd half, SLU guard Andrew Drejaj, rockin' a cast on his right foot drops a 3 from the bench. Get back soon, dogg.
-16:28 Marin Mulic of Split, Croatia, fouls out of the game with 2 points. Nice game, Larry Joe.
-14:20 Royce Da 5'9" gets up and nearly dunks on 2 guys, that would have been incredible.
-The sloppiness continues as SLU forgets about V inside. The Cougars within 5 with 8:00 left.
-During a timeout, the cheerleaders throw Spoonballs. One bounces off my hand and under JF's seat. A little kid dives underneath to get it, but JF calmly knocks it out of his hands and takes it from him. Poor kid.
-At 4:13, the Cougars are within 1 point and Soderberg is steaming. He reminds the team to get the ball to V inside but for some reason, they ignore him.
-1:49 Royce Da 5'9" earns his 5th foul on a questionable blocking call. Don't worry kid, good game.
-SLU hits a few free throws down the stretch and win the game 58-52.
-The official scorer has V at 5 blocks, but I counted 8. Haters.
A pretty poor game all around. Considering the Cougars came in with a 1-8 record, the game was closer than it should have been. V had 13 in the first half and finished the game with 17, second half points coming on free throws. SLU coach Brad Soderberg has got to keep getting the ball inside. The 4 tallest guys on Chicago state had 4 fouls early in the second half and only two of them ended up fouling out. That's pretty ridiculous. JF and I agreed that V should have had 30 at least. GET HIM THE BALL!
SLU faces a tough home challenge against Iowa on Friday.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Up to not much in STL
I apologize for my lack of updates on the Champon Adventures here. Lately, I haven't been doing much. Besides blanketing area companies with my resume, I've been learning some basic carpentry at a house that my friend Ben bought and is in the process of rehabbing.
I think my lack of posting is a result of me being back in ordinary, everyday life rather than travelling to exotic locales. Maybe, just maybe, some things I see and do here in St. Louis are also somewhat interesting to those who have never been here. See for yourself in my new photo set, STL Autumn, 2005
I think my lack of posting is a result of me being back in ordinary, everyday life rather than travelling to exotic locales. Maybe, just maybe, some things I see and do here in St. Louis are also somewhat interesting to those who have never been here. See for yourself in my new photo set, STL Autumn, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
On On! St. Louis style
Yesterday, I joined my first hash in the US of. I joined my friend Jon and sister Katie and about a dozen older folks for a nice jaunt through some suburban wastelands. The hare was a 40 year old gentleman who went by the name of "Duzzy Cum".
It was quite a different course from what we have done in Japan. Even though we had city hashes in Kumamoto, a lot of those went through a lot of parks and wooded areas. The hash yesterday involved a lot of street running and crossing over busy six lane roads. I have been involved in over thirty hashed in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, but yesterday's hash involved two new experiences that I assume are common elements to American hashes.
1) For a stretch of the course, we ran down active railroad tracks. Oh, there are lots of railroad tracks in Japan but for one reason, we tended to avoid them in most hashes. The reason is that while train tracks in America my have some traffic from time to time, it is still less than the train-every-5-minutes you get in most areas in Japan. Train tracks are simply not a smart place to hang out, also considering there is often few places to get out of the way when a train approaches. I also might think that the instances of suicide by train blocking would make some train officials quick to react seeing a group of foreigners jaunting down the line.
2) The course also took us through a large cemetary. The fact that bodies are cremated and the shortage of usable land makes the traditional western cemetary exceedingly rare in Japan. Many of our hash courses passes by shrines and family memorials no doubt, but a course winding through the headstones and memorial statues was not often experienced. (We even had to take a detour because a lady was praying beside a headstone on the course. Luckily we saw her in time and refrained from yelling "ON ON" or some other hash gab.
Because Katie lost her keys on the course and I drove her back to look for them, we missed the circle and religion, but my friend Jon, as a hash virgin, was given a plunger with which to drink Milwaukee's Best Light and donned a toilet seat as he was serenaded by the Big Hump St. Louis Hashers. At a nearby pub, Katie was recruited to be a hare at next Sunday's hash, almost assuring her immortalization. I plan on being there for it. On On!
It was quite a different course from what we have done in Japan. Even though we had city hashes in Kumamoto, a lot of those went through a lot of parks and wooded areas. The hash yesterday involved a lot of street running and crossing over busy six lane roads. I have been involved in over thirty hashed in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, but yesterday's hash involved two new experiences that I assume are common elements to American hashes.
1) For a stretch of the course, we ran down active railroad tracks. Oh, there are lots of railroad tracks in Japan but for one reason, we tended to avoid them in most hashes. The reason is that while train tracks in America my have some traffic from time to time, it is still less than the train-every-5-minutes you get in most areas in Japan. Train tracks are simply not a smart place to hang out, also considering there is often few places to get out of the way when a train approaches. I also might think that the instances of suicide by train blocking would make some train officials quick to react seeing a group of foreigners jaunting down the line.
2) The course also took us through a large cemetary. The fact that bodies are cremated and the shortage of usable land makes the traditional western cemetary exceedingly rare in Japan. Many of our hash courses passes by shrines and family memorials no doubt, but a course winding through the headstones and memorial statues was not often experienced. (We even had to take a detour because a lady was praying beside a headstone on the course. Luckily we saw her in time and refrained from yelling "ON ON" or some other hash gab.
Because Katie lost her keys on the course and I drove her back to look for them, we missed the circle and religion, but my friend Jon, as a hash virgin, was given a plunger with which to drink Milwaukee's Best Light and donned a toilet seat as he was serenaded by the Big Hump St. Louis Hashers. At a nearby pub, Katie was recruited to be a hare at next Sunday's hash, almost assuring her immortalization. I plan on being there for it. On On!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
More Photos
I swear my Myanmar summary is coming, I promise to post it soon. In the mean time, you can check out a few more photos I posted from Cambodia and Laos. They correspond to my travel stories posted previously, so if you read those, these are the photos that go with them. Sorry for the inconvenience.
For the past three years while I've been away, two of my friends, Jon Biscan and Ben Klein have taken up a unique hobby. They've been blowing glass at a local Glory Hole and have made some pretty good stuff. Here is a picture of an amazing lamp that has been purchased by a private gallery in Kansas City. Check out some of their work at FUOCO.ORG I've been photgraphing some of their work and hopefully soon those photos will be posted on the site. Support starving artists!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Photos, Finally
Hey peoples, sorry its taken me so long to post any pictures, but at long last, here's a taste. I posted a few from the first leg of my trip, Cambodia. All the ones I posted so far are from Siem Reap, Cambodia, home of the phenomenal Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. Click here for all of my photos or here for the photos I just added, from Cambodia.
I promise to get more posted when I get back to the states. (That's October 9th!)
To Myanmar - Part 1
This story begins in an unlikely place: an outdoor bath buffeted by strong winds off the Ariake Sea in the Amakusa Islands, Southern Japan. We must go back to early 2003, a spring day still fresh in my mind, the day itself full of accomplishments and the source of rich ideas and plans. That morning, I had run in the annual Amakusa Pearl Line Marathon, a 20km run across the five Pearls--the bridges of Amakusa. I ran the race and was whipped by Austin, another English teacher from Yamaga. My brother Joe was exempt from participation because of a recent basketabll-induced ankle sprain (even though sister Katie, visiting for 2 weeks, ran the 5km race). After the race, Joe, Austin and I relaxed our tattered bodies in the healing waters of the onsen and discussed the upcoming Golden Week vacation. We had about 12 days off and had the whole of Asia virtually at our fingertips. I don't claim to know the evolution of the idea, but we bagan to talk about going to Myanmar. Not many people we had known, in fact no one, had ever ventured to the country formerly known as Burma.
We chatted about it that day, our eyes glowing the the prospect of visiting a place so far away, both literally and figuratively. We knew very little at that point, only that it has had its problems with human rights, was not really on the tourist trail and was run by a military junta government. This was all the more appealing to young adventurers. Over the next few weeks, we talked about it more, but things just didn't work out. I don't really remember why, I think the flight was pretty expensive and the enthusiasm we had that day simply faded a bit. Regardless, Joe and I went on the have a legendary trip through the (allegedly) SARS-ravaged Vietnam that Golden Week.
Two years passed, Austin and Joe returned to their lives in America and I left Japan for more adventures in Southeast Asia. There were three countries I was certianly going to visit--Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Other than that, I had my dreams if things worked out better than perfectly. Perhaps I would go to India or Nepal, maybe Indonesia or the Philipines. Then there was Myanmar. I kept a Myanmar Lonely PLanet travel book I had picked up somewhere in Japan and had it in my luggage the whole time. But I never really thought about opening it until I reached Southern Thailand. At every place I went to in the South, I was accompanied by thousands of other westerners. Scuba sites in Ko Tao, beaches and Full Mooning in Ko Phangan, the rainy Krabi, the breathtaking Ko Phi Phi and the farang filth and tourist purgatory of Patong Beach in Phuket. The day I walked around the foreigner haven of Patong, I decided. I walked into a tour agency and checked the prices for a plane ticket to Yangon, Myanmar. Hordes of people go to Thailand because it is easy, caters to foreigners and their dollar, and is a great place to party and do things you couldn't get away with normally. For these reasons among others, I was ready to leave. I felt I had to find something real, a culture unspoiled by western ideas and still plagued by problems of developing (or stagant, some might argue) nations.
To many people during my travels, I mentioned the prospect of Myanmar and recieved many inquisitive looks. "Myanamar?" they asked. "Burma...?" I replied. Does that ring a bell? I delighted in the prospect of going to a place most people didn't know the name of, let alone be able to find it on a map. (Can you?)
So after my trip to Kanchanaburi to wait for my visa, I was more than ready to go. What happened in Myanmar far exceeded my expectations. I hope I can accuratley convey my feelings about what I experienced in my regrettably short trip (one week)to Myanmar. I think it's gonna take a little more time to be able to do that.
Check back for part 2.
We chatted about it that day, our eyes glowing the the prospect of visiting a place so far away, both literally and figuratively. We knew very little at that point, only that it has had its problems with human rights, was not really on the tourist trail and was run by a military junta government. This was all the more appealing to young adventurers. Over the next few weeks, we talked about it more, but things just didn't work out. I don't really remember why, I think the flight was pretty expensive and the enthusiasm we had that day simply faded a bit. Regardless, Joe and I went on the have a legendary trip through the (allegedly) SARS-ravaged Vietnam that Golden Week.
Two years passed, Austin and Joe returned to their lives in America and I left Japan for more adventures in Southeast Asia. There were three countries I was certianly going to visit--Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Other than that, I had my dreams if things worked out better than perfectly. Perhaps I would go to India or Nepal, maybe Indonesia or the Philipines. Then there was Myanmar. I kept a Myanmar Lonely PLanet travel book I had picked up somewhere in Japan and had it in my luggage the whole time. But I never really thought about opening it until I reached Southern Thailand. At every place I went to in the South, I was accompanied by thousands of other westerners. Scuba sites in Ko Tao, beaches and Full Mooning in Ko Phangan, the rainy Krabi, the breathtaking Ko Phi Phi and the farang filth and tourist purgatory of Patong Beach in Phuket. The day I walked around the foreigner haven of Patong, I decided. I walked into a tour agency and checked the prices for a plane ticket to Yangon, Myanmar. Hordes of people go to Thailand because it is easy, caters to foreigners and their dollar, and is a great place to party and do things you couldn't get away with normally. For these reasons among others, I was ready to leave. I felt I had to find something real, a culture unspoiled by western ideas and still plagued by problems of developing (or stagant, some might argue) nations.
To many people during my travels, I mentioned the prospect of Myanmar and recieved many inquisitive looks. "Myanamar?" they asked. "Burma...?" I replied. Does that ring a bell? I delighted in the prospect of going to a place most people didn't know the name of, let alone be able to find it on a map. (Can you?)
So after my trip to Kanchanaburi to wait for my visa, I was more than ready to go. What happened in Myanmar far exceeded my expectations. I hope I can accuratley convey my feelings about what I experienced in my regrettably short trip (one week)to Myanmar. I think it's gonna take a little more time to be able to do that.
Check back for part 2.
Through the Hellfire
Last week, while awaiting my Myanmar visa, I took a three day trip to Kanchanaburi Province, a two hour ride west of Bangkok. It is a beautiful area, with many tropical forests and amazing National Parks. Also, it is the origin of the infamous "Death Railway". For a year and a half in WWII, Japanese forced POWs captured from Malaysia and Singapore to construct a railway from Thailand to Burma (Myanmar) amid unfathomable conditions. The dense jungle harbored all manners of dangers and hazards, including but not limited to Malaria, lack of food and water, deadly heat and lethal monsoon rains, allied air attacks, not to mention the treatment from Japanese and Korean captors.
I fist visited the War Cemetary, where the remains of thousands of victims are buried. All of the victims buring here are English, Australian or Dutch (the few American victims' remains were sent back to America). I stayed in a riverside guesthouse just a few hundred yards from the "Bridge Over the Kwai", made famous in the movie. On the second day, we had a chance to visit the museum at Hellfire Pass. At this remote site, the POWs were forced to make a massive cutting into sheer rock using no more than primitve picks and metal tools. Many died from exhaustion, sickness and malnutrition. The nearby museum was created by the Australian Veterans' Association. There was an amazing audio tour that you could listen to as you walked along the former railway, through the massive rock cutting created so horrifically. It was done as tastefully as any other memorial I have been to.
On the final day, our small group visited Erawan National Park and the breathtaking seven step waterfall. For those of you familiar with Kumamoto, imagine Kikuchi gorge stretched over 2km, with towering waterfall at almost each step only these falls cascade over limestone, which has been smoothed over a lot more easily than the jagged volcanic rocks. We went swimming at every step and located a possible jumping point from a 12m fall. There were two Dutch gentlemen who were strongly opposed to a jump, but a Brit John and I would not be denied. We tested the depth and finding a deep pool, we plunged from the top and were delighted.
Another interesting expeience happened on my first night in Kanchanaburi. I was put in a room with an Irish guy Damien, and his two Irish friends Jim and Sinead. I have traveled in New Zealand and Australia and have been around English speakers from nearly every English-speaking country, but never have I been more dumbfounded by someone's language. As I shared a beer with the three on the banks of the Kwai River, I just listened. The three went on talking for five minutes, and honestly, I could not tell you one thing they were talking about. They were from Belfast and Dublin, but talked so fast in with such different inflection and vocabulary, I just sat back and smiled. It was quite a humbling experience for an amateur linguist such as myself.
With the end of my three days in Kanchanaburi, I (and luckily my visa) was ready to go to Myanmar.
I fist visited the War Cemetary, where the remains of thousands of victims are buried. All of the victims buring here are English, Australian or Dutch (the few American victims' remains were sent back to America). I stayed in a riverside guesthouse just a few hundred yards from the "Bridge Over the Kwai", made famous in the movie. On the second day, we had a chance to visit the museum at Hellfire Pass. At this remote site, the POWs were forced to make a massive cutting into sheer rock using no more than primitve picks and metal tools. Many died from exhaustion, sickness and malnutrition. The nearby museum was created by the Australian Veterans' Association. There was an amazing audio tour that you could listen to as you walked along the former railway, through the massive rock cutting created so horrifically. It was done as tastefully as any other memorial I have been to.
On the final day, our small group visited Erawan National Park and the breathtaking seven step waterfall. For those of you familiar with Kumamoto, imagine Kikuchi gorge stretched over 2km, with towering waterfall at almost each step only these falls cascade over limestone, which has been smoothed over a lot more easily than the jagged volcanic rocks. We went swimming at every step and located a possible jumping point from a 12m fall. There were two Dutch gentlemen who were strongly opposed to a jump, but a Brit John and I would not be denied. We tested the depth and finding a deep pool, we plunged from the top and were delighted.
Another interesting expeience happened on my first night in Kanchanaburi. I was put in a room with an Irish guy Damien, and his two Irish friends Jim and Sinead. I have traveled in New Zealand and Australia and have been around English speakers from nearly every English-speaking country, but never have I been more dumbfounded by someone's language. As I shared a beer with the three on the banks of the Kwai River, I just listened. The three went on talking for five minutes, and honestly, I could not tell you one thing they were talking about. They were from Belfast and Dublin, but talked so fast in with such different inflection and vocabulary, I just sat back and smiled. It was quite a humbling experience for an amateur linguist such as myself.
With the end of my three days in Kanchanaburi, I (and luckily my visa) was ready to go to Myanmar.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Waterwheel on my Mind
As I am blanketed with e-mails regarding the upcoming Waterwheel party in Amakusa, Kumamoto, I think back on all the great jumps I made from the bridge at the hallowed site. Whether it was an early morning plunge or a late night/mid-thunderstorm suicide jump, I always enjoyed it. So when I arrived yesterday on Ko Phi Phi island in Southern Thailand and saw a sign for cliff jumping, well, I was delighted to say the least.
I met my guide Roy at about 10:30 am and was happy to learn no one else would be joining us. No one else to get in the way of Roy's cliff jumping expertise and my willingness to absorb his tutelage. We headed out on a small boat in the intense sunshine to some cliffs overlooking the center strip of the I shaped island. Roy gave me some substantial rubber shoes and rubber gloves and I was quite happy he did as we climbed up razor-sharp limestome formations. Over the next hour and a half, I attempted six jumps.
#1 - 8 meters (Hey Americans, 1 meter ~ 3 ft [Got Metric?])
#2 - 12 meters from a tree branch
#3 - 20 meters and 2 lungs full or water
#4 - 12 meters from the rocks
#5 - 20 meters on video and significantly less water in the lungs
#6 - A dive from 8 meters and a sore scalp
Standing on the ledge looking down at the ocean 20 meters below, I felt pretty nervous as you could imagine. However, I have been trained well and honed my skills over the cornucopia of waterfalls of Southern Japan.
It was an intense experience no doubt, but I had a nice chat with my man Roy between jumps and he told me all about his experience and the terrible tsunami of last year. I don't know the death toll form this small island, but it was significant. All over the island are signs of damage, abandoned hotels, eerily green hotel pools, random bricks everywhere; a sense of devastation nearly overcome. Roy's family all survived, but he lost many friends. I have been very lucky to avoid the plethora of natural disasters that have seem to have become very common recently and hopefully will continue to miss them.
As I took a walk this morning, I saw a group of foreigners who looked as if they should have been fast asleep recovering from a night of buckets, but they weren't. They were working on a massive garden just behind the beach, others picking up trash and junk that has become pretty much an endless job here. I think I may join them tomorrow.
I met my guide Roy at about 10:30 am and was happy to learn no one else would be joining us. No one else to get in the way of Roy's cliff jumping expertise and my willingness to absorb his tutelage. We headed out on a small boat in the intense sunshine to some cliffs overlooking the center strip of the I shaped island. Roy gave me some substantial rubber shoes and rubber gloves and I was quite happy he did as we climbed up razor-sharp limestome formations. Over the next hour and a half, I attempted six jumps.
#1 - 8 meters (Hey Americans, 1 meter ~ 3 ft [Got Metric?])
#2 - 12 meters from a tree branch
#3 - 20 meters and 2 lungs full or water
#4 - 12 meters from the rocks
#5 - 20 meters on video and significantly less water in the lungs
#6 - A dive from 8 meters and a sore scalp
Standing on the ledge looking down at the ocean 20 meters below, I felt pretty nervous as you could imagine. However, I have been trained well and honed my skills over the cornucopia of waterfalls of Southern Japan.
It was an intense experience no doubt, but I had a nice chat with my man Roy between jumps and he told me all about his experience and the terrible tsunami of last year. I don't know the death toll form this small island, but it was significant. All over the island are signs of damage, abandoned hotels, eerily green hotel pools, random bricks everywhere; a sense of devastation nearly overcome. Roy's family all survived, but he lost many friends. I have been very lucky to avoid the plethora of natural disasters that have seem to have become very common recently and hopefully will continue to miss them.
As I took a walk this morning, I saw a group of foreigners who looked as if they should have been fast asleep recovering from a night of buckets, but they weren't. They were working on a massive garden just behind the beach, others picking up trash and junk that has become pretty much an endless job here. I think I may join them tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Full Moon to Krabi
First of all, I must apologize. I have yet to post any photos of any of my travels in SE Asia. I have my adapter right here in my bag and I was just ready to upload some photos when I looked down and there is no USB port on my computer. The one next to me in this cafe has two, but is out of order. Such is Thailand.
After finishing diving on Ko Tao, I got on a ferry to Ko Phangan in very rough seas. I made the mistake of pounding a 7-11 hot dog as I got on the ferry, but luckily it didn't make a reappearance. As we docked at the town of Thong Sala, the ropes holding the boat to the dock quickly snapped and a deck hand lost part of his and was seen hurriedly seeking medical attention. Finally, we were able to get off the boat when they tied it to another and we climbed over both onto dry land.
I spent three nights at the family-oriented Nai Pan Noi beach where I did some serious relaxing and reading. One afternoon, I set out to explore a nearby waterfall (barely a trickle) and ended up climbing some hills more inland and ended up at this amazing view point. It was a thin granite rock jutting out almost 1000 feet above the ocean and a sheer 200 ft drop to the forest below.
The next day, I decided to try out the scuba diving on Ko Phangan. We went to the nearby Ang Thong Marine Park and made two dives. The first dive was great, saw a few Sting Rays and some nice coral even though the water was pretty cloudy. The second dive was with a Master in training, and this young lady had some problems. We got separated from two other gentlemen in our group so we surfaced to find them. They were very far away. So we went back under and our guide apparently set a course for us to swim and get nearer to the others. However, she bagan to swim in circles and my buddy and I looked at eachother and shook our heads but had no choice but to follow her. Finally, we surfaced again and found that we had been swimming exactly the opposite direction we needed to go and we were now a good 1000 ft from the boat. It was an exhausting 20 minute swim back and our guide felt pretty bad.
On Saturday, the day before the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin Beach, I boarded a ferry and made my way to party central. I located a nice bungalow that was surprisingly available on a quiter beach away from the action. For two days, the wind off the ocean barely dipped below 30 mph. When I layed on my hammock on the porch of my dwelling, the mosquitos didn't stand a chance in the wind so I was naturally protected.
The next day, the town was noticeably more packed. I knew a few people staying in town from scuba diving and random travels, and I tried to meet up with them as the party got in full swing. I strolled over to the beach around 10 pm. All along the beach, there was massive speaker systems blaring terrible techno crap and all the glitter and neon paint that go along with it. I walked around a bit more, slightly surprised by how many Thai police were on the beat. I briefly talked to my man E.T., an Israeli guy I had hiked with in Chiang Mai. After taking it all in, I was ready to retire to my windy bungalow and was happily asleep by 1 am.
The next day, I crowded onto a ferry with 300 hungover party-goers for the four hour ride to Surat Thani, from where I caught a bus to rainy Krabi. On the ferry was one of the scuba instructors I had dove with and he busted out a portable cd player. I traded him my ipod for a bit and was able to finally listen to the brand new Kanye West that Katie had bought me in Ko Tao. Tight beats, cop that.
So I am now in Krabi, land of amazing rock-climbing, gorgeous beaches and breathtaking kayaking...when the weather is good. It's been mostly raining. I rented a motorbike and put an enjoyable 100km on it today and will try to do the same tomorrow.
I am still having an amazing time, but I seem to be ready to go back home. Perhaps its "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson that has got me itching to get back to the states. There is so much to see here, and yet I have seen relatively little of America. I don't have a plan yet for the rest of my time in Thailand(nor a plane ticket home), but I think I will go to Myanmar before I get out.
After finishing diving on Ko Tao, I got on a ferry to Ko Phangan in very rough seas. I made the mistake of pounding a 7-11 hot dog as I got on the ferry, but luckily it didn't make a reappearance. As we docked at the town of Thong Sala, the ropes holding the boat to the dock quickly snapped and a deck hand lost part of his and was seen hurriedly seeking medical attention. Finally, we were able to get off the boat when they tied it to another and we climbed over both onto dry land.
I spent three nights at the family-oriented Nai Pan Noi beach where I did some serious relaxing and reading. One afternoon, I set out to explore a nearby waterfall (barely a trickle) and ended up climbing some hills more inland and ended up at this amazing view point. It was a thin granite rock jutting out almost 1000 feet above the ocean and a sheer 200 ft drop to the forest below.
The next day, I decided to try out the scuba diving on Ko Phangan. We went to the nearby Ang Thong Marine Park and made two dives. The first dive was great, saw a few Sting Rays and some nice coral even though the water was pretty cloudy. The second dive was with a Master in training, and this young lady had some problems. We got separated from two other gentlemen in our group so we surfaced to find them. They were very far away. So we went back under and our guide apparently set a course for us to swim and get nearer to the others. However, she bagan to swim in circles and my buddy and I looked at eachother and shook our heads but had no choice but to follow her. Finally, we surfaced again and found that we had been swimming exactly the opposite direction we needed to go and we were now a good 1000 ft from the boat. It was an exhausting 20 minute swim back and our guide felt pretty bad.
On Saturday, the day before the Full Moon Party at Haad Rin Beach, I boarded a ferry and made my way to party central. I located a nice bungalow that was surprisingly available on a quiter beach away from the action. For two days, the wind off the ocean barely dipped below 30 mph. When I layed on my hammock on the porch of my dwelling, the mosquitos didn't stand a chance in the wind so I was naturally protected.
The next day, the town was noticeably more packed. I knew a few people staying in town from scuba diving and random travels, and I tried to meet up with them as the party got in full swing. I strolled over to the beach around 10 pm. All along the beach, there was massive speaker systems blaring terrible techno crap and all the glitter and neon paint that go along with it. I walked around a bit more, slightly surprised by how many Thai police were on the beat. I briefly talked to my man E.T., an Israeli guy I had hiked with in Chiang Mai. After taking it all in, I was ready to retire to my windy bungalow and was happily asleep by 1 am.
The next day, I crowded onto a ferry with 300 hungover party-goers for the four hour ride to Surat Thani, from where I caught a bus to rainy Krabi. On the ferry was one of the scuba instructors I had dove with and he busted out a portable cd player. I traded him my ipod for a bit and was able to finally listen to the brand new Kanye West that Katie had bought me in Ko Tao. Tight beats, cop that.
So I am now in Krabi, land of amazing rock-climbing, gorgeous beaches and breathtaking kayaking...when the weather is good. It's been mostly raining. I rented a motorbike and put an enjoyable 100km on it today and will try to do the same tomorrow.
I am still having an amazing time, but I seem to be ready to go back home. Perhaps its "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson that has got me itching to get back to the states. There is so much to see here, and yet I have seen relatively little of America. I don't have a plan yet for the rest of my time in Thailand(nor a plane ticket home), but I think I will go to Myanmar before I get out.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Anatomy of a Perfect Day
Once in a while, a day is extraordinary. Not just one amazing experience, but three or four, or even a whole series of events work out perfectly. On days like these, acquaintances become friends. You have little time to stop and think about these fun things as you are experiencing them, but the slow pace of Ko Tao Island has allowed me to spend a little time thinking about it, so I share this day with you.
7:00 am - Wake up and get ready to go out diving. Today I am doing two of my five Advanced Level dives. In the morning, I do my Multi-level dive. In this dive, I go with my Danish instructor, Henrik. We spend the first part of the dive at 18 meters then move to 12 meters for the rest of the dive. The point of the dive in to use charts to track the amount of residual nitrogen in the blood and maximize dive time while minimizing time spent on the surface between dives. The dive goes very well, the water was a bit cloudy, but I am able to enjoy some stellar views of some coral-covered boulders and exotic fish.
10:00 am - Upon sufacing from my first dive and getting back on the boat, Henrik tells me it would be alright if I go ahead and join him and three beginner students on the next dive at no extra charge. On this dive, I am able to basically go on my own and practice some buoyancy tricks like floating upside down at a constant depth. While Henrik is occupied with another diver, one of the beginners begin to approach a pretty large fish. I don't know what it was, but see some pretty large teeth in its mouth. The next thing I know, Henrik is swimming towards this young Dane and grabbing him and pulling him away. It is a Triggerfish, known to attack and severely bite some humans if disturbed.
12:00 pm - Our boat returns to our dive shop and resort. I enjoy some delicious Pad Thai for lunch. I relax for a bit, enjoying the amazing setting of our resort. I am staying at the Big Fish Resort. It is a haven for German and Danish scuba divers, all the instructors are multi-lingual and very skilled. The operation in run by an older American guy named Bryan who has been on the Island for 20 years. He was one of the first foreigners here to exploit the scuba opportunities and immense growth potential of the Island. His small resort now sits nestled among countless others on a secluded and calm bay on the South of Ko Tao. This time of year, the weather can change from day to day. These two days, it has been sunny and perfectly clear until late afternoon when the clouds move in.
3:00 pm - Enough with relaxing, time to do something. I have a night dive leaving at six o'clock, so I have about three hours to do some exploring. I grab a snorkel and a mask and make up my mind that I will get to Buddha Point. It is a large crop of rocks that marks the left tip on the cove we are in. The entire side of the cove consists of massive granite boulders. Buddha Point is the tallest formation, with a smaller boulder perched precariously on top on a very large round one, roughly resembling a sitting Buddha. A Billiken, perhaps. If you are familiar with the unique and exotic places of Southern Missouri, it's like Elephant Rocks with the ocean surf splashing against them. As I looked out at the rocks, I notice something that makes my heart jump. A newly constructed basketball court belonging to a neighboring resort calls me. There was a flat soccer ball nearby, so I take the opportunity to polish my skills that I sadly haven't used in months. The rims are a bit lower than usual, nine feet perhaps. As I rise to dunk the soccer ball, I fall woefully short, barely skimming the net. An old Thai man watching nearby cracks a knowing smile. I try it a couple more times, getting higher each time. At last, I rise, tuck the ball against my wrist, then release, slamming it home with authority. As the ball rolls to a stop, I walked off the court, satisfied I could still do something so important as dunk a basetball on a lowered rim. Really, it's been a lifelong love of mine.
So I head out into our cove. It is impossible to climb across the rocks at first, so I swim and snorkell out into the bay. Finally, I am able to scramble up onto the rocks and follow a seaside path along the coast. Again, I am forced into the water. The boulders begin to get larger as I get further out. I climb back onto the rocks painfully close to the sitting Buddha. The rocks are balanced in such a way that at some points, I have to split my legs and climb using pressure, as one might do in a thin hallway. A couple places, I have to use a well-placed rope to get up. As I climb higher, I crawl through a small crevice with a stiff wind coming from it. When I get through, I look up and see nothing but open ocean. I am about 30 meters above the lapping waters and can clearly see the entire bay and tiny bungalows on the beach. But I am not at Buddha yet. I climb higher, grabbing the odd tree branch for support. All of a sudden, a severe pain directly on my buttocks, then another on my hand. Bees! Before I had time to see how many I had stumbled into, or how big the nest was, I was sliding back down the hill, falling over the same tree branches and glancing for bees in pursuit. I am only stung twice and I am safe. Now for the Buddha. I wisely choose another route up the hill and am soon staring at the boulder that is Buddha's head. I made it. I jumped across the last few boulders and sit on Buddha's shoulder. I took in the view of the ocean, back at the Island and at the ever-clouding but still clear sky. It's a feeling like dunking that dusty soccer ball, but a perhaps a little sweeter.
5:00 pm - I get back and join my sister Katie and her freshly stitched up friend Gwen at the restaurant. They were ordering fruit shakes and inconspicuously adding the secret ingredient named after the fine city of Malibu. I was too hyped about my approaching night dive to eat anything more than my own non-alcoholic Tomato shake.
6:00 pm - We head out on the very rough seas to our night dive site. Among the divers was a 20 year old German named Moritz who proudly professes a fondness for women with ancestral origin in the continent under Europe. Another diver Patti, from California, had been working in Australia and took a vacation to Bali, from where she took a vacation to Thailand. Christian is another Dane doing his Advanced Certification as I am. When we get to the dive site, there are several other boats and lights coming from swimming divers under the surface. We get the dive plan from Henrik, then plunge into blackness. We take our powerful torches to the depths and quickly encounter a dryer-sized jellyfish floating effortlessly above us. I glance over and see something rather unnatural. There is an abandoned pair of goggles resting on the sand of the bottom. I snatch them up and with Moritz's help, stow them in my pocket. For nearly 50 minutes, we swim through the dark, encountering three Sting Rays, two Squid, two Crustaceans tucked away in massive conches and countless other startled fish. When we surface and get on the boat, I whip out my new prize and am told by Henrik they're a nice set of 50-dollar goggles and are mine to keep. Bonus.
9:00 pm - When we get back to Big Fish, I join Patti and Christian for a well needed dinner of fried Squid (my mouth was watering when I encounted them in the deep). Following dinner we go to the nearby bar and order two "Buckets". A massive container filled with a delicious blend of Saengsom Rum/Whiskey, Coke and Red Bull. After some good conversation and entertainment from several fire-swingers, it is getting a bit late.
1:00 am - We leave the bar and head to the only late night destination at our disposal on this tiny Island adrift in the Gulf of Thailand, 7-11. One of us three indulges in a foot-long hot dog and a liter bottle of coke. Unbelievably, it is not an American. As we stroll back down the street, I see it. One of the diving resorts trains its divers in a pool before unleashing them into the ocean. We quickly disrobe and jump into the darkened pool. We were a bit worried about getting caught and ejected from the premesis, but all we got were the odd group of drunken tourists asking us how to find So and So Bar.
2:00 am - Another moment of inspiration seeps into my brain. I scale the wall next to the pool then hop on the overhanging roof of the nearby resort. For the next 20 minutes, we proceeded to make several noisy jumps from the roof into the deep end, drawing the attention of exactly no one.
3:00 am - We wind down with another covert swim in the resort next to ours, with Patti commandeering several table cloths for use as towels. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day.
In two hours, I will leave the Island of Ko Tao and take a ferry to another Island called Ko Phanang. More adventures await, including one known as the "Full Moon Party".
7:00 am - Wake up and get ready to go out diving. Today I am doing two of my five Advanced Level dives. In the morning, I do my Multi-level dive. In this dive, I go with my Danish instructor, Henrik. We spend the first part of the dive at 18 meters then move to 12 meters for the rest of the dive. The point of the dive in to use charts to track the amount of residual nitrogen in the blood and maximize dive time while minimizing time spent on the surface between dives. The dive goes very well, the water was a bit cloudy, but I am able to enjoy some stellar views of some coral-covered boulders and exotic fish.
10:00 am - Upon sufacing from my first dive and getting back on the boat, Henrik tells me it would be alright if I go ahead and join him and three beginner students on the next dive at no extra charge. On this dive, I am able to basically go on my own and practice some buoyancy tricks like floating upside down at a constant depth. While Henrik is occupied with another diver, one of the beginners begin to approach a pretty large fish. I don't know what it was, but see some pretty large teeth in its mouth. The next thing I know, Henrik is swimming towards this young Dane and grabbing him and pulling him away. It is a Triggerfish, known to attack and severely bite some humans if disturbed.
12:00 pm - Our boat returns to our dive shop and resort. I enjoy some delicious Pad Thai for lunch. I relax for a bit, enjoying the amazing setting of our resort. I am staying at the Big Fish Resort. It is a haven for German and Danish scuba divers, all the instructors are multi-lingual and very skilled. The operation in run by an older American guy named Bryan who has been on the Island for 20 years. He was one of the first foreigners here to exploit the scuba opportunities and immense growth potential of the Island. His small resort now sits nestled among countless others on a secluded and calm bay on the South of Ko Tao. This time of year, the weather can change from day to day. These two days, it has been sunny and perfectly clear until late afternoon when the clouds move in.
3:00 pm - Enough with relaxing, time to do something. I have a night dive leaving at six o'clock, so I have about three hours to do some exploring. I grab a snorkel and a mask and make up my mind that I will get to Buddha Point. It is a large crop of rocks that marks the left tip on the cove we are in. The entire side of the cove consists of massive granite boulders. Buddha Point is the tallest formation, with a smaller boulder perched precariously on top on a very large round one, roughly resembling a sitting Buddha. A Billiken, perhaps. If you are familiar with the unique and exotic places of Southern Missouri, it's like Elephant Rocks with the ocean surf splashing against them. As I looked out at the rocks, I notice something that makes my heart jump. A newly constructed basketball court belonging to a neighboring resort calls me. There was a flat soccer ball nearby, so I take the opportunity to polish my skills that I sadly haven't used in months. The rims are a bit lower than usual, nine feet perhaps. As I rise to dunk the soccer ball, I fall woefully short, barely skimming the net. An old Thai man watching nearby cracks a knowing smile. I try it a couple more times, getting higher each time. At last, I rise, tuck the ball against my wrist, then release, slamming it home with authority. As the ball rolls to a stop, I walked off the court, satisfied I could still do something so important as dunk a basetball on a lowered rim. Really, it's been a lifelong love of mine.
So I head out into our cove. It is impossible to climb across the rocks at first, so I swim and snorkell out into the bay. Finally, I am able to scramble up onto the rocks and follow a seaside path along the coast. Again, I am forced into the water. The boulders begin to get larger as I get further out. I climb back onto the rocks painfully close to the sitting Buddha. The rocks are balanced in such a way that at some points, I have to split my legs and climb using pressure, as one might do in a thin hallway. A couple places, I have to use a well-placed rope to get up. As I climb higher, I crawl through a small crevice with a stiff wind coming from it. When I get through, I look up and see nothing but open ocean. I am about 30 meters above the lapping waters and can clearly see the entire bay and tiny bungalows on the beach. But I am not at Buddha yet. I climb higher, grabbing the odd tree branch for support. All of a sudden, a severe pain directly on my buttocks, then another on my hand. Bees! Before I had time to see how many I had stumbled into, or how big the nest was, I was sliding back down the hill, falling over the same tree branches and glancing for bees in pursuit. I am only stung twice and I am safe. Now for the Buddha. I wisely choose another route up the hill and am soon staring at the boulder that is Buddha's head. I made it. I jumped across the last few boulders and sit on Buddha's shoulder. I took in the view of the ocean, back at the Island and at the ever-clouding but still clear sky. It's a feeling like dunking that dusty soccer ball, but a perhaps a little sweeter.
5:00 pm - I get back and join my sister Katie and her freshly stitched up friend Gwen at the restaurant. They were ordering fruit shakes and inconspicuously adding the secret ingredient named after the fine city of Malibu. I was too hyped about my approaching night dive to eat anything more than my own non-alcoholic Tomato shake.
6:00 pm - We head out on the very rough seas to our night dive site. Among the divers was a 20 year old German named Moritz who proudly professes a fondness for women with ancestral origin in the continent under Europe. Another diver Patti, from California, had been working in Australia and took a vacation to Bali, from where she took a vacation to Thailand. Christian is another Dane doing his Advanced Certification as I am. When we get to the dive site, there are several other boats and lights coming from swimming divers under the surface. We get the dive plan from Henrik, then plunge into blackness. We take our powerful torches to the depths and quickly encounter a dryer-sized jellyfish floating effortlessly above us. I glance over and see something rather unnatural. There is an abandoned pair of goggles resting on the sand of the bottom. I snatch them up and with Moritz's help, stow them in my pocket. For nearly 50 minutes, we swim through the dark, encountering three Sting Rays, two Squid, two Crustaceans tucked away in massive conches and countless other startled fish. When we surface and get on the boat, I whip out my new prize and am told by Henrik they're a nice set of 50-dollar goggles and are mine to keep. Bonus.
9:00 pm - When we get back to Big Fish, I join Patti and Christian for a well needed dinner of fried Squid (my mouth was watering when I encounted them in the deep). Following dinner we go to the nearby bar and order two "Buckets". A massive container filled with a delicious blend of Saengsom Rum/Whiskey, Coke and Red Bull. After some good conversation and entertainment from several fire-swingers, it is getting a bit late.
1:00 am - We leave the bar and head to the only late night destination at our disposal on this tiny Island adrift in the Gulf of Thailand, 7-11. One of us three indulges in a foot-long hot dog and a liter bottle of coke. Unbelievably, it is not an American. As we stroll back down the street, I see it. One of the diving resorts trains its divers in a pool before unleashing them into the ocean. We quickly disrobe and jump into the darkened pool. We were a bit worried about getting caught and ejected from the premesis, but all we got were the odd group of drunken tourists asking us how to find So and So Bar.
2:00 am - Another moment of inspiration seeps into my brain. I scale the wall next to the pool then hop on the overhanging roof of the nearby resort. For the next 20 minutes, we proceeded to make several noisy jumps from the roof into the deep end, drawing the attention of exactly no one.
3:00 am - We wind down with another covert swim in the resort next to ours, with Patti commandeering several table cloths for use as towels. A beautiful ending to a beautiful day.
In two hours, I will leave the Island of Ko Tao and take a ferry to another Island called Ko Phanang. More adventures await, including one known as the "Full Moon Party".
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Fingerhuts Underwater in Ko Tao
My older sister Lynn and I have been scuba diving every day for the past 5 days. We got to Ko Tao Island and found a nice little row of bungalows called Big Fish. The guy who runs the place in an old American dude who has been here for 20 years. For some odd reason, most of this resort's customers are Danish or German. The scuba instructors speak English so that's all that mattered. We signed up for the PADI Certification course. We watched the videos and read the textbook, flashback to half-ass homework assignments in high school.
After practicing some basic skills, we were ready for the open water. Our first few days we spent in water up to 18 meters (about 54 feet) just getting comfortable adjusting our ears and monitoring our breathing air. Yesterday, we finished the beginner's course. Lynn got a ticket for the ferry to the neighboring island of Ko Samui, and I chatted with our instructor Henrik about the advanced diving course. When Lynny heard that I would be going to 30m (100ft) today, she had to do it too. With one swipe of the pen from Mr. Boat Ticket Man, she got it changed. This morning, we descended to the deep and tested ourselves for nitrogen narcosis. It is a condition some people get when diving at deeper depths. Some people can get almost delirious from excess nitrogen in the blood. (It is said that some narcosified individuals offer their breathing apparatus to fish swimming nearby. Luckily, we kept it in our mouths.) We had to perform a simple number test. On the surface, I did it in 15 seconds. Down below, I took a sluggish 18.
I spent the day today keeping a 150cc motorbike from slipping, sliding and crashing down the unsealed roads of the island with 3 Danes and a German. Lynn finally got on the ferry this afternoon, off to explore more of Southern Thailand before flying back next week. I got an e-mail from younger sister Katie who said she is coming here Sunday or Monday with her friend. As I undergo the Great Southern Thailand Sister-Swap, I will continue with my advanced course, tomorrow diving during the night. We will take torches (flashlights) to see what kind of shenanigans go on under the water after dark. (I heard at one point, we all turn them off at once. Can't wait!) I am thinking of continuing here until I get a Diver Rescue Certificate, still a few steps away.
On a different note, I want to call attention to the Kyushu Hash House Harriers. They are once again going strong. After a very solid Hash in Miyazaki to open the year, there will be a huge City-Hash this Saturday. I cannot wait to hear all about it. If you are checking the Champon Adventures from Japan, I suggest you get out and Hash! Good job to everyone involved and keep up the good work. Brother Disco Ass is watching from afar(even when I am underwater).
After practicing some basic skills, we were ready for the open water. Our first few days we spent in water up to 18 meters (about 54 feet) just getting comfortable adjusting our ears and monitoring our breathing air. Yesterday, we finished the beginner's course. Lynn got a ticket for the ferry to the neighboring island of Ko Samui, and I chatted with our instructor Henrik about the advanced diving course. When Lynny heard that I would be going to 30m (100ft) today, she had to do it too. With one swipe of the pen from Mr. Boat Ticket Man, she got it changed. This morning, we descended to the deep and tested ourselves for nitrogen narcosis. It is a condition some people get when diving at deeper depths. Some people can get almost delirious from excess nitrogen in the blood. (It is said that some narcosified individuals offer their breathing apparatus to fish swimming nearby. Luckily, we kept it in our mouths.) We had to perform a simple number test. On the surface, I did it in 15 seconds. Down below, I took a sluggish 18.
I spent the day today keeping a 150cc motorbike from slipping, sliding and crashing down the unsealed roads of the island with 3 Danes and a German. Lynn finally got on the ferry this afternoon, off to explore more of Southern Thailand before flying back next week. I got an e-mail from younger sister Katie who said she is coming here Sunday or Monday with her friend. As I undergo the Great Southern Thailand Sister-Swap, I will continue with my advanced course, tomorrow diving during the night. We will take torches (flashlights) to see what kind of shenanigans go on under the water after dark. (I heard at one point, we all turn them off at once. Can't wait!) I am thinking of continuing here until I get a Diver Rescue Certificate, still a few steps away.
On a different note, I want to call attention to the Kyushu Hash House Harriers. They are once again going strong. After a very solid Hash in Miyazaki to open the year, there will be a huge City-Hash this Saturday. I cannot wait to hear all about it. If you are checking the Champon Adventures from Japan, I suggest you get out and Hash! Good job to everyone involved and keep up the good work. Brother Disco Ass is watching from afar(even when I am underwater).
Friday, September 02, 2005
An Irishman's Close Call
I recently went on a three day/two night trek up into the mountains outside Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. The first day we hiked up a mountain and stayed the night in a small hut among a hill tribe. We had a group of about twelve people and I think we just about put the village children through college with the purchase of some choice beverages. It was a beautiful place to watch the sunset and the approaching rain.
The next day we set out in the downpour slipping and sliding down the other side of the mountain before spending some time at a massive gushing waterfall in the jungle. This being the rainy season here, the rivers are all swollen although fortunately, the leeches stayed away.
We made our way to our lodging for the second night, anohter hut on the banks of a massive raging river. Wanting to cool off and remove layers upon layers of mud, we ventured a few feet into the river just enough to get wet and clean up a bit. As I was standing there, I glanced over and saw Dez, one of five Irish university students, out further than he should be. He was quickly swept into the massive rapids and he was down river and out of sight before the rest of us could believe what was happening. The other 7 people I was with had their shoes off in the midst of bathing, but I luckily had my shoes on. I sprinted as fast as I could along the banks, falling over rocks and onto the sandbars. I really didn't grasp the gravity of the situation until I paused running, looked down the river and didn't see his head above the water. I continued to run and scramble over the rocks on the side until I finally saw that he had managed to grab onto a bunch of bamboo poles in the middle of the river. I told him to hold on as he screamed for help. I grabbed another bamboo pole and stuck it out to reach him. By this time, our Thai guide Sing was there and he also had a pole. Using both, we managed to pull him to the side. He collapsed on the bank but he was conscious and alive.
There are certain situations in life that happen in fast motion. Something as simple as washing off in a river can escalate into something so far out of our control in a matter of seconds. I can't imagine how things may have turned out and I am certainly not going to spend time thinking about it. Just seeing his body cascade down the muddy water among the jagged rocks of the river and his head barely bobbing above the water was surreal. True, Dez was a lucky Irishman this day and the beer tasted a little better that evening.
The next day we set out in the downpour slipping and sliding down the other side of the mountain before spending some time at a massive gushing waterfall in the jungle. This being the rainy season here, the rivers are all swollen although fortunately, the leeches stayed away.
We made our way to our lodging for the second night, anohter hut on the banks of a massive raging river. Wanting to cool off and remove layers upon layers of mud, we ventured a few feet into the river just enough to get wet and clean up a bit. As I was standing there, I glanced over and saw Dez, one of five Irish university students, out further than he should be. He was quickly swept into the massive rapids and he was down river and out of sight before the rest of us could believe what was happening. The other 7 people I was with had their shoes off in the midst of bathing, but I luckily had my shoes on. I sprinted as fast as I could along the banks, falling over rocks and onto the sandbars. I really didn't grasp the gravity of the situation until I paused running, looked down the river and didn't see his head above the water. I continued to run and scramble over the rocks on the side until I finally saw that he had managed to grab onto a bunch of bamboo poles in the middle of the river. I told him to hold on as he screamed for help. I grabbed another bamboo pole and stuck it out to reach him. By this time, our Thai guide Sing was there and he also had a pole. Using both, we managed to pull him to the side. He collapsed on the bank but he was conscious and alive.
There are certain situations in life that happen in fast motion. Something as simple as washing off in a river can escalate into something so far out of our control in a matter of seconds. I can't imagine how things may have turned out and I am certainly not going to spend time thinking about it. Just seeing his body cascade down the muddy water among the jagged rocks of the river and his head barely bobbing above the water was surreal. True, Dez was a lucky Irishman this day and the beer tasted a little better that evening.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
On to Chiang Mai
I have made it back to Thailand. I am writing from the beautiful town of Chiang Mai.
From the capital of Laos, Vientiane, I took a short bus ride north into the mountains and stayed in a small backpacker's town called Vang Vieng. There are some amazing limestone cliffs overlooking the town and the lazy Nam Cha river winds through. The main bus center of town is on the massive airstrip, built by the American Military "to perpetuate countless crimes." Taking a page from the Southern Missouri's Beer-Drinker's Handbook, tubing has become a popular pasttime. My first day there, I was shuttled about 3km north of town, given a tube and hopped in the Meremac of Northern Laos. Along the way, people have set up little bars serving the excellent BeerLao and other enticements such as rope swings, tree jumps, caves to explore and so on. The next day, I joined a kayaking trip. This time, we were shuttled 20km north of town and stopped at several caves and jumping spots as well as facing the occasional class 2 rapids. My evenings I spent at several establishments in town, drinking cold BeerLao with some Canadian lawyers, sampling the "happy" garlic bread and avoiding the restaurants with episodes of "Friends" playing 24 hours a day, no joke.
From Vang Vieng, I took the breathtaking 7 hour bus ride way up into the mountains of Northern Laos. It was amazing to see how people live along the thin mountain roads. They build their houses on stilts hanging over the side of sheer drop-offs and even carry on some kind of agriculture even though the mountainsides are all over 45 degree angles. The views from the winding road was incredible. Finally we came back down and entered the World Heritage former capital city of Luang Prabang. It is renowned for its French architecture and beautiful temples. The night market was one of the best I have been to--a long street filled with high quality fabrics, scarves, lamps, clothes and the highly sought after BeerLao T-shirts. Most importantly, the sellers did very little hassling, you were free to browse without any pressure, and the crowds were minimal. I spent the day there bicycling around, locating a waterfall not too far from town and having a nice swim, then coming back to relax a bit before climbing the large hill located in the center of town and watching the sunset from a Buddhist temple with views of the town and the majestic mountains in the distance. It was at this point that I realized I had asked myself the question upon arrival in Luang Prabang, "why is this a World Heritage city?" Looking at the town and all the surrounding temples among the pristine mountains, I got the picture.
I made the decision to make it all the way from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Huay Xi, Laos. To do this in one day would require use of the suicidal, unsafe at any speedboat previously seen crossing from Cambodia into Laos. It was going to be a 6 hour trip up the Mekong river. This time, we were provided with life vests and crash helmets. Despite the deafening engine, I somehow managed to doze off a few times, only to quickly awaken paranoid that I would somehow slump over into the Mekong which was flying by us at about 70 km/h, most likely decapitation to ensue. Arriving in Huay Xi, I was told I could cross the border before it closes and have enough time to catch a 5 hour bus to Chiang Mai in Thailand arriving at about 11pm. With a healthy supply of sleep-aids legal in these countries, I happily agreed and was whisked across the Mekong one last time. I must have slept through a rather powerful thunderstorm in the car, but was delivered safe and sound the the jewel of Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. I will attempt a 3 day trek/raft/climb/meethillpeople/barbeque/waterfall/elephantride/feedthemonkey/cowtipping adventure in the mountains here before heading back to Bangkok for a mini-Fingerhut reunion of sorts.
My trip count so far: 5 days in Bangkok, 11 days in Cambodia, 9 days in Laos, Chiang Mai - 1 day and counting.
From the capital of Laos, Vientiane, I took a short bus ride north into the mountains and stayed in a small backpacker's town called Vang Vieng. There are some amazing limestone cliffs overlooking the town and the lazy Nam Cha river winds through. The main bus center of town is on the massive airstrip, built by the American Military "to perpetuate countless crimes." Taking a page from the Southern Missouri's Beer-Drinker's Handbook, tubing has become a popular pasttime. My first day there, I was shuttled about 3km north of town, given a tube and hopped in the Meremac of Northern Laos. Along the way, people have set up little bars serving the excellent BeerLao and other enticements such as rope swings, tree jumps, caves to explore and so on. The next day, I joined a kayaking trip. This time, we were shuttled 20km north of town and stopped at several caves and jumping spots as well as facing the occasional class 2 rapids. My evenings I spent at several establishments in town, drinking cold BeerLao with some Canadian lawyers, sampling the "happy" garlic bread and avoiding the restaurants with episodes of "Friends" playing 24 hours a day, no joke.
From Vang Vieng, I took the breathtaking 7 hour bus ride way up into the mountains of Northern Laos. It was amazing to see how people live along the thin mountain roads. They build their houses on stilts hanging over the side of sheer drop-offs and even carry on some kind of agriculture even though the mountainsides are all over 45 degree angles. The views from the winding road was incredible. Finally we came back down and entered the World Heritage former capital city of Luang Prabang. It is renowned for its French architecture and beautiful temples. The night market was one of the best I have been to--a long street filled with high quality fabrics, scarves, lamps, clothes and the highly sought after BeerLao T-shirts. Most importantly, the sellers did very little hassling, you were free to browse without any pressure, and the crowds were minimal. I spent the day there bicycling around, locating a waterfall not too far from town and having a nice swim, then coming back to relax a bit before climbing the large hill located in the center of town and watching the sunset from a Buddhist temple with views of the town and the majestic mountains in the distance. It was at this point that I realized I had asked myself the question upon arrival in Luang Prabang, "why is this a World Heritage city?" Looking at the town and all the surrounding temples among the pristine mountains, I got the picture.
I made the decision to make it all the way from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Huay Xi, Laos. To do this in one day would require use of the suicidal, unsafe at any speedboat previously seen crossing from Cambodia into Laos. It was going to be a 6 hour trip up the Mekong river. This time, we were provided with life vests and crash helmets. Despite the deafening engine, I somehow managed to doze off a few times, only to quickly awaken paranoid that I would somehow slump over into the Mekong which was flying by us at about 70 km/h, most likely decapitation to ensue. Arriving in Huay Xi, I was told I could cross the border before it closes and have enough time to catch a 5 hour bus to Chiang Mai in Thailand arriving at about 11pm. With a healthy supply of sleep-aids legal in these countries, I happily agreed and was whisked across the Mekong one last time. I must have slept through a rather powerful thunderstorm in the car, but was delivered safe and sound the the jewel of Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. I will attempt a 3 day trek/raft/climb/meethillpeople/barbeque/waterfall/elephantride/feedthemonkey/cowtipping adventure in the mountains here before heading back to Bangkok for a mini-Fingerhut reunion of sorts.
My trip count so far: 5 days in Bangkok, 11 days in Cambodia, 9 days in Laos, Chiang Mai - 1 day and counting.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
The long road from Phnom Penh to Vientiane
For about the last 5 days, I have been making my way north from the capital of Cambodia to the capital of Loas. It's been an arduous, but surely interesting journey on the backroads and the Mekong.
The first step was a 5 hour short-bus ride north to the small city of Kratie. There was no leg room and my left arm got terribly sunburnt because there wasn't room for it in the bus. In Kratie, me and this geologist Brit John took a short boat ride to see the endangered freshwater Iyerwaddy dolphins in the Mekong river. The next day after falling victim to conniving Kratie driver/transportation system, we set off for Stung Treng. We were guaranteed only 3 people in the back of a taxi for the 4 hour ride because we paid an extra 6 bucks. But sure enough, as soon as we rounded the corner, another guy jumped in. Fleeced again!
In Stung Treng, we boarded a small canoe-type raft with a Toyota car engine attached to it. Needless to say, we flew from Stung Treng to the Cambodia/Lao border crossing. When we left Stung Treng, it was a very sunny day. As we made our way further up the Mekong, it became apparent it was gonna rain. Our tiny boat was unsheltered. As the wind kicked up and our boat driver kept the speed up, we were battered with rain, although it might have been glass shards. Finally, it let up and as we approached the stilted shack known as Cambodia immigration, the super-duper immigration officer got out of his hammock and put on his shirt. He stamped us on our way and collected his "official" $2 overtime fee. Although we thought we paid for transport all the way to Laos, we were then charged another dollar to get to the Laos immigration office across the river. Happy to be out of Cambodia for the time being, we got stamped in Laos, paid the overtime fee there and headed for town as it began to get dark.
We were set on getting to the bungalow/backpacker town of Don Det, located in Si Phan Don, or 4,000 islands area. Here, the mighty Mekong diverges into countless channels creating many islands and picturesque waterfalls. We were able to stay in a nice riverside bungalow for a dollar a night. We spent the next day strolling a couple islands, checking out mile-wide rapids and falls, wading through flooded paths, enjoying the extra-happy menu of the local restaurants and like the Lonely Planet suggests, recovering from Cambodia. On Don Det, I believe I have recovered evidence of the fist ever Ducken--the ducks and chickens of the island have a very good relationship. Recovery complete, we reserved a seat for the next leg of our journey.
Pick it up from my journal entry:
The journey from Don Det to Pakse was an interesting one. John and I got on a Lao truck/bus thingy at 8:40am and told we'd leave at 9am. People were loading bags of all sizes onto the truck. One guy got on, opened one of the bags, pulled out a few frogs and ripped off one of the legs of the still-living thing. Sure enough, we felt the other bags and there were animals of some kind in there. Six Spaniards got on and objected as more and more bags and baskets were loaded on. It got to be 10am, we were still there and the Spaniards weren't happy. One guy displayed his expertise in Spanish cussing. "Joder! Tu puta madre!" Me too. They got off and got there money back, setting off on foot. Finally we set off. On our truck, there were about 20 people, several bags of rice, several bags of animals: species unknown and in various stages of near-death, 2 large pots of fish swimming in Mekong River water (one of whcih fell off onto the road spilling the water and depositing the fish onto the hot pavement), baskets of unknown groaning animals and finally a large wicker cage containing about 40 chickens all crammed together and shitting onto aforementioned bags/baskets/passengers. We happily got off the Farmyard Connection in Pakse, Laos.
John and I recovered with a few of southeast asia's best beers, BeerLao. He was off on an overnight bus to Vientiane, while I was getting a morning bus (the VIP, no farm animals) to the town of Savannakhet. Savannakhet is a town on the Thai border which was heavily bombarded by American troops around the time of Vietnam. I checked out an amazing Buddhist temple then checked out the local Museum. Most of it was an homage to national communist heroes and pictures of farming and Laos' burgeoning "industry" as evidence of its place in world communist powers! Yeah, I was the only one at the museum. Upstairs they had a few old bombs left by America and a few pictures with captions like: "U.S. imperialists and puppet soldiers use Savannakhet Airfield for perpetrating countless crimes." Good stuff. Outside there was an old US fighter plane and some cannons on display. There were a group of teenagers sitting and talking on the fighter plane. One guy was laying on one of the wing flaps. As he got up, the flap turned and he tumbled to the ground. Ah, sweet victory! Vindication! Go USA!
I opted for an overnight bus to Vientiane("local" = no animals, just bags of rice piled 2 deep in the aisles and from floor to cieling in the rear). I managed some good sleep on the bus despite the Loatian karaoke hits blasting all night and rain blowing in the windows in the middle of the night.
So now I am here in Vientiane, not much going on here. I think I will go to Vang Vieng tomorrow, where I here they have some good tubing. Can't wait...
The first step was a 5 hour short-bus ride north to the small city of Kratie. There was no leg room and my left arm got terribly sunburnt because there wasn't room for it in the bus. In Kratie, me and this geologist Brit John took a short boat ride to see the endangered freshwater Iyerwaddy dolphins in the Mekong river. The next day after falling victim to conniving Kratie driver/transportation system, we set off for Stung Treng. We were guaranteed only 3 people in the back of a taxi for the 4 hour ride because we paid an extra 6 bucks. But sure enough, as soon as we rounded the corner, another guy jumped in. Fleeced again!
In Stung Treng, we boarded a small canoe-type raft with a Toyota car engine attached to it. Needless to say, we flew from Stung Treng to the Cambodia/Lao border crossing. When we left Stung Treng, it was a very sunny day. As we made our way further up the Mekong, it became apparent it was gonna rain. Our tiny boat was unsheltered. As the wind kicked up and our boat driver kept the speed up, we were battered with rain, although it might have been glass shards. Finally, it let up and as we approached the stilted shack known as Cambodia immigration, the super-duper immigration officer got out of his hammock and put on his shirt. He stamped us on our way and collected his "official" $2 overtime fee. Although we thought we paid for transport all the way to Laos, we were then charged another dollar to get to the Laos immigration office across the river. Happy to be out of Cambodia for the time being, we got stamped in Laos, paid the overtime fee there and headed for town as it began to get dark.
We were set on getting to the bungalow/backpacker town of Don Det, located in Si Phan Don, or 4,000 islands area. Here, the mighty Mekong diverges into countless channels creating many islands and picturesque waterfalls. We were able to stay in a nice riverside bungalow for a dollar a night. We spent the next day strolling a couple islands, checking out mile-wide rapids and falls, wading through flooded paths, enjoying the extra-happy menu of the local restaurants and like the Lonely Planet suggests, recovering from Cambodia. On Don Det, I believe I have recovered evidence of the fist ever Ducken--the ducks and chickens of the island have a very good relationship. Recovery complete, we reserved a seat for the next leg of our journey.
Pick it up from my journal entry:
The journey from Don Det to Pakse was an interesting one. John and I got on a Lao truck/bus thingy at 8:40am and told we'd leave at 9am. People were loading bags of all sizes onto the truck. One guy got on, opened one of the bags, pulled out a few frogs and ripped off one of the legs of the still-living thing. Sure enough, we felt the other bags and there were animals of some kind in there. Six Spaniards got on and objected as more and more bags and baskets were loaded on. It got to be 10am, we were still there and the Spaniards weren't happy. One guy displayed his expertise in Spanish cussing. "Joder! Tu puta madre!" Me too. They got off and got there money back, setting off on foot. Finally we set off. On our truck, there were about 20 people, several bags of rice, several bags of animals: species unknown and in various stages of near-death, 2 large pots of fish swimming in Mekong River water (one of whcih fell off onto the road spilling the water and depositing the fish onto the hot pavement), baskets of unknown groaning animals and finally a large wicker cage containing about 40 chickens all crammed together and shitting onto aforementioned bags/baskets/passengers. We happily got off the Farmyard Connection in Pakse, Laos.
John and I recovered with a few of southeast asia's best beers, BeerLao. He was off on an overnight bus to Vientiane, while I was getting a morning bus (the VIP, no farm animals) to the town of Savannakhet. Savannakhet is a town on the Thai border which was heavily bombarded by American troops around the time of Vietnam. I checked out an amazing Buddhist temple then checked out the local Museum. Most of it was an homage to national communist heroes and pictures of farming and Laos' burgeoning "industry" as evidence of its place in world communist powers! Yeah, I was the only one at the museum. Upstairs they had a few old bombs left by America and a few pictures with captions like: "U.S. imperialists and puppet soldiers use Savannakhet Airfield for perpetrating countless crimes." Good stuff. Outside there was an old US fighter plane and some cannons on display. There were a group of teenagers sitting and talking on the fighter plane. One guy was laying on one of the wing flaps. As he got up, the flap turned and he tumbled to the ground. Ah, sweet victory! Vindication! Go USA!
I opted for an overnight bus to Vientiane("local" = no animals, just bags of rice piled 2 deep in the aisles and from floor to cieling in the rear). I managed some good sleep on the bus despite the Loatian karaoke hits blasting all night and rain blowing in the windows in the middle of the night.
So now I am here in Vientiane, not much going on here. I think I will go to Vang Vieng tomorrow, where I here they have some good tubing. Can't wait...
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh
Yesterday, I returned to Phnom Penh from Sihanoukville. This is a little beachside town on the southern coast of Cambodia. I relaxed for 2 days on some excellent beaches and hopped on a scooter to explore a nice waterfall.
After returning to the capital yesterday, I decided to check out 2 places that most tourists visit when in Cambodia. First, I went to the Tuol Sleng Museum. In 1975, the genocidal Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge forces took over this high school and made it a detention compound and interrogation center. The aim of the Khmer Rouge was to rapidly create a communist state, to undergo its own "Great Leap Forward". Many intellectuals, people who knew foreigners and sometime people who simply wore glasses were rounded up form all over Cambodia and sent to prisons like this. Here they were interrogated, tortured, beaten senseless until they gave name of friends, family members and anyone else they knew to be traitors of the state.
After thorough torture, the prisoners were loaded into trucks and taken about 20km outside the city to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. I made the very same trip on the back of a scooter after visiting the museum. Here the remains of 8985 people have been unearthed. There is a memorial pillar with many of the skulls and bones stacked inside. As I walked around the fields, there were many holes, some with signs saying things like: the remains of 420 people were found here or 166 bodies of women and children were buried here - without heads. As I walked, I looked down and was amazed to see bones still protruding from the dirt. I brushed my hands across them in disbelief and was further amazed to see clothing, worn by the victims on the day of their execution, sticking out from the dirt.
On a lighter note, I continue to meet very interesting people: A former Canadian Football player who now works on oil pipelines in western Canada, on vacation until the roads freeze again and he can drive on the ice; A young Japanese kid who has been bicycling through Japan, China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "I love to bike," he says; A former English teacher in Japan who has opened his own shop in Phnom Penh. His business: loading up peoples' ipods with albums for $.75 per. I got 10 bucks worth.
Keep checking back here, I will head to Northern Cambodia tomorrow then into Laos soon after.
After returning to the capital yesterday, I decided to check out 2 places that most tourists visit when in Cambodia. First, I went to the Tuol Sleng Museum. In 1975, the genocidal Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge forces took over this high school and made it a detention compound and interrogation center. The aim of the Khmer Rouge was to rapidly create a communist state, to undergo its own "Great Leap Forward". Many intellectuals, people who knew foreigners and sometime people who simply wore glasses were rounded up form all over Cambodia and sent to prisons like this. Here they were interrogated, tortured, beaten senseless until they gave name of friends, family members and anyone else they knew to be traitors of the state.
After thorough torture, the prisoners were loaded into trucks and taken about 20km outside the city to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. I made the very same trip on the back of a scooter after visiting the museum. Here the remains of 8985 people have been unearthed. There is a memorial pillar with many of the skulls and bones stacked inside. As I walked around the fields, there were many holes, some with signs saying things like: the remains of 420 people were found here or 166 bodies of women and children were buried here - without heads. As I walked, I looked down and was amazed to see bones still protruding from the dirt. I brushed my hands across them in disbelief and was further amazed to see clothing, worn by the victims on the day of their execution, sticking out from the dirt.
On a lighter note, I continue to meet very interesting people: A former Canadian Football player who now works on oil pipelines in western Canada, on vacation until the roads freeze again and he can drive on the ice; A young Japanese kid who has been bicycling through Japan, China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "I love to bike," he says; A former English teacher in Japan who has opened his own shop in Phnom Penh. His business: loading up peoples' ipods with albums for $.75 per. I got 10 bucks worth.
Keep checking back here, I will head to Northern Cambodia tomorrow then into Laos soon after.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Holiday in Cambodia
I just finished up 3 days in Siem Reap and I am now in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. The first 2 days I spent checking out Angkor's countless ancient temples and crumbling structures. I opted to get shuttled around to them by a guy working at the guest house I stayed at on the back of a scooter. His name was Phech Sopaul, or just Paul. I also met 2 lawyers from CO who met in the courtroom (facing eachother)and have been engaged for over a year.
By the third day, I was pretty much tired of seeing the temples, so we did something a little different. There is a huge lake in the middle of Cambodia and of course many people who live on the lake fishing and raising alligators. I shared a boat with a Brit banker who was on his way back from working in Bogota, Colombia. We checked out the floating villages and I was the only foreigner to jump into the muddy, flooded canal with the Cambodians.
Then Paul took me to what he called the killing fields. It was a site at which many people were massacred during the Khmer Rouge's regime and institution of communism. Today, it is a Buddhist monastary complex. There was still a pile of bones as a memorial along with pictures and diagrams of different ways in which people were killed. As I began to feel pretty emotional thinking about this, I strolled over to a classroom where there was a foreigner teaching english to a classful of young adults. I stepped outside and there was a Buddhist funural service going on. There was the body in a concrete pyre and men began to put burning wood inside to cremate the body. I saw some women and kids crying for the deceased. It was an amazing place with so many real things happening.
I then asked Paul if I could go to his house. He lives in this tiny, one room shack with a hammock for a bed and a dirt floor. He cooked me a little food he usually eats and his mom brought over a special dish too. We strolled around the neighborhood and talked to a few people, one guy who makes genuine engravings like the ones at Angkor Wat and sells them to hotels and rich tourists. Last night, I paid Paul more than what he asked for for the 3 days. He was pretty happy and invited me to drink with him, some other co-workers, the guest house owner and the owner's family. It was great fun an we raised our glasses every 2 minutes to drink Anchor Beer poured over ice. I did the usual foreigner thing of repeating funny Cambodian phrases to everyone's amusement. I was sad to leave Siem Reap this morning, giving Paul my e-mail and a recieving a promise that he will ask me to invest in a new guest house he wants to open.
Land mines are a part of everyday life all over the country. Millions of mines were laid in the decades of war in the 60s to the 80s and they are still a huge problem today. I visited the Siem Reap mine museum. This small one room building has tons of old mines and bombs gathered by the museum's creator, Aki Ra. He was a child soldier for the Khmer regime and he actually placed many of the mines when he was a child. Today, he works on locating and disarming the old, but still active mines. Several children live at the museum. They are all amputees or are blind. Being in Cambodia, I have seem so many people walking or crawling around missing legs, arms, or everything. There is really no reason for these terrible devices to exist in the first place. Most mines are created by the huge powers: Russia, China or the good old USA, and end up in extremely poor places like here and Laos. About 90 Cambodians are victims of land mines every month.
More to come from Cambodia...
By the third day, I was pretty much tired of seeing the temples, so we did something a little different. There is a huge lake in the middle of Cambodia and of course many people who live on the lake fishing and raising alligators. I shared a boat with a Brit banker who was on his way back from working in Bogota, Colombia. We checked out the floating villages and I was the only foreigner to jump into the muddy, flooded canal with the Cambodians.
Then Paul took me to what he called the killing fields. It was a site at which many people were massacred during the Khmer Rouge's regime and institution of communism. Today, it is a Buddhist monastary complex. There was still a pile of bones as a memorial along with pictures and diagrams of different ways in which people were killed. As I began to feel pretty emotional thinking about this, I strolled over to a classroom where there was a foreigner teaching english to a classful of young adults. I stepped outside and there was a Buddhist funural service going on. There was the body in a concrete pyre and men began to put burning wood inside to cremate the body. I saw some women and kids crying for the deceased. It was an amazing place with so many real things happening.
I then asked Paul if I could go to his house. He lives in this tiny, one room shack with a hammock for a bed and a dirt floor. He cooked me a little food he usually eats and his mom brought over a special dish too. We strolled around the neighborhood and talked to a few people, one guy who makes genuine engravings like the ones at Angkor Wat and sells them to hotels and rich tourists. Last night, I paid Paul more than what he asked for for the 3 days. He was pretty happy and invited me to drink with him, some other co-workers, the guest house owner and the owner's family. It was great fun an we raised our glasses every 2 minutes to drink Anchor Beer poured over ice. I did the usual foreigner thing of repeating funny Cambodian phrases to everyone's amusement. I was sad to leave Siem Reap this morning, giving Paul my e-mail and a recieving a promise that he will ask me to invest in a new guest house he wants to open.
Land mines are a part of everyday life all over the country. Millions of mines were laid in the decades of war in the 60s to the 80s and they are still a huge problem today. I visited the Siem Reap mine museum. This small one room building has tons of old mines and bombs gathered by the museum's creator, Aki Ra. He was a child soldier for the Khmer regime and he actually placed many of the mines when he was a child. Today, he works on locating and disarming the old, but still active mines. Several children live at the museum. They are all amputees or are blind. Being in Cambodia, I have seem so many people walking or crawling around missing legs, arms, or everything. There is really no reason for these terrible devices to exist in the first place. Most mines are created by the huge powers: Russia, China or the good old USA, and end up in extremely poor places like here and Laos. About 90 Cambodians are victims of land mines every month.
More to come from Cambodia...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Greeting from monsoony Cambodia.
Yesterday morning, I boarded a bus in Bangkok and set out for the Thailand's Eastern border with Cambodia. This was a smooth 4 hour drive. Despite arriving at the border and already possessing a Cambodia visa, I waited in a line for a good 2 hours for 2 stamps in my passport. After the nice a/c bus and the paved roads in Thailand, Cambodia was not quite there. The road from the border to the nearest big town of Siem Reap was about 130km of muddy, potholed, washed out slop. We set out from the border at about 4pm and arrived at about 12:30am. Plus, I was in one of those temporary pull down seats in the aisle on our short bus.
This morning I woke up and hopped on the back of a motor-bike with my new friend Paul as my guide. This nice young Cambodian man proceeded to drive me 80km East to the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple. There was no one around there, I had the chance to explore the crumbling stones in the middle of the jungle for several hours. We repeated the same incredible journey back to the city, speeding down the muddy red roads thourgh rice paddies, dogs laying on the road, naked kids waving as a white man passed by, women bathing near the well in mid-afternoon and dump trucks trying to avoid us.
Every time I open my eyes, there is another photograph I am sure I have seen as I paged through our monthly National Geographic as a kid. The culture here is just so amazing. Cambodia is a very poor country and people do what the can to make some money. Cattle are the means to bring crops to the market, sharing the busy roads with scooters and 3 year olds on full sized bikes. Need some gas? Pull over and buy it by the liter from soda bottles recylced as gas containers.
This evening, I walked the grounds of Angkor Wat. This is perhaps the most expansive structure I have ever been in. Oh, and it's 800 years old. I have taken so many pictures the past 2 days and I can't wait to share them. I will spend the next 2 days exploring Angkor Wat and countless other ancient Khmer temples in the area. Stay tuned.
Yesterday morning, I boarded a bus in Bangkok and set out for the Thailand's Eastern border with Cambodia. This was a smooth 4 hour drive. Despite arriving at the border and already possessing a Cambodia visa, I waited in a line for a good 2 hours for 2 stamps in my passport. After the nice a/c bus and the paved roads in Thailand, Cambodia was not quite there. The road from the border to the nearest big town of Siem Reap was about 130km of muddy, potholed, washed out slop. We set out from the border at about 4pm and arrived at about 12:30am. Plus, I was in one of those temporary pull down seats in the aisle on our short bus.
This morning I woke up and hopped on the back of a motor-bike with my new friend Paul as my guide. This nice young Cambodian man proceeded to drive me 80km East to the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple. There was no one around there, I had the chance to explore the crumbling stones in the middle of the jungle for several hours. We repeated the same incredible journey back to the city, speeding down the muddy red roads thourgh rice paddies, dogs laying on the road, naked kids waving as a white man passed by, women bathing near the well in mid-afternoon and dump trucks trying to avoid us.
Every time I open my eyes, there is another photograph I am sure I have seen as I paged through our monthly National Geographic as a kid. The culture here is just so amazing. Cambodia is a very poor country and people do what the can to make some money. Cattle are the means to bring crops to the market, sharing the busy roads with scooters and 3 year olds on full sized bikes. Need some gas? Pull over and buy it by the liter from soda bottles recylced as gas containers.
This evening, I walked the grounds of Angkor Wat. This is perhaps the most expansive structure I have ever been in. Oh, and it's 800 years old. I have taken so many pictures the past 2 days and I can't wait to share them. I will spend the next 2 days exploring Angkor Wat and countless other ancient Khmer temples in the area. Stay tuned.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Banned in Bangkok
Greetings everyone. For the first time, I am blogging from the road. I am currently sitting in an internet cafe just off Kao San Road in Bangkok. Today was my third day here. I arrived Thursday night late and was lucky to find a room. I made sure the room had a fan--more of a jet propellar. I was defintely cool but mostly slept in the fetal position in case it worked its way loose off the cieling.
These 3 days I have mostly spent walking, strolling and working my way around the little free city map I picked up at the airport. I must say, I've covered a good portion of it already. I made a few purchases--a medium sized backpack for shorter excursions, a pair of sandals to avoid doing sock laundry and a pair of pants in order to properly enter the buddhist temples(all fakes, of course). Yesterday, after a long day of walking in the heat, I rewarded myself with a movie in a cavernous, frigid theater. I watched "The Island". It was classic Michael Bay/Armageddon type stuff (Joey, you love it) but the action was pretty good and it served its purpose for about $3.75. After that, my adrenaline was pumping, so I hopped on a TukTuk, a 3 wheel taxi vehicle. The driver was whipping in and out of traffic and I couldn't help but laugh as I held on for my life.
I also moved to a different guest house yesterday, slightly cheaper and a cool place to relax and watch some pirated movies on the first floor. I've arranged for a bus ride to Siem Reap in Cambodia--I will leave Tuesday morning. I plan on working my way through Cambodia, then north to Laos, the back to northern Thailand. Bangkok is most defenitely interesting, but I'm ready to get out. As far as food goes, mostly been eating Thai or Indian, but tonight I had to have some pizza at this one place. I kept walking by and the smell brought me in. I had some amazing Dragonfruit today. Just a few interesting things I've noticed the past few days: tattoo parlors in the back of vans, an abundance of white people but a noticeable lack of American accents, a family of 4 on a scooter on a busy street--no helmets, standing for the Thai national anthem before a movie, old dogs laying and chilling anywhere even in traffic.
This is just a start, but hopefully the next time you hear from me will be in the heart of Cambodia. I'll see if I can't get to a beach while I'm there. Out.
PS - I was in a scavenger hunt in Tokyo a while back. My friend Brooke just sent me the link for some of our pictures. Check 'em out. You'll notice, I'm the guy whose feet are off the ground in each of our team's 3 pictures. Classic.
These 3 days I have mostly spent walking, strolling and working my way around the little free city map I picked up at the airport. I must say, I've covered a good portion of it already. I made a few purchases--a medium sized backpack for shorter excursions, a pair of sandals to avoid doing sock laundry and a pair of pants in order to properly enter the buddhist temples(all fakes, of course). Yesterday, after a long day of walking in the heat, I rewarded myself with a movie in a cavernous, frigid theater. I watched "The Island". It was classic Michael Bay/Armageddon type stuff (Joey, you love it) but the action was pretty good and it served its purpose for about $3.75. After that, my adrenaline was pumping, so I hopped on a TukTuk, a 3 wheel taxi vehicle. The driver was whipping in and out of traffic and I couldn't help but laugh as I held on for my life.
I also moved to a different guest house yesterday, slightly cheaper and a cool place to relax and watch some pirated movies on the first floor. I've arranged for a bus ride to Siem Reap in Cambodia--I will leave Tuesday morning. I plan on working my way through Cambodia, then north to Laos, the back to northern Thailand. Bangkok is most defenitely interesting, but I'm ready to get out. As far as food goes, mostly been eating Thai or Indian, but tonight I had to have some pizza at this one place. I kept walking by and the smell brought me in. I had some amazing Dragonfruit today. Just a few interesting things I've noticed the past few days: tattoo parlors in the back of vans, an abundance of white people but a noticeable lack of American accents, a family of 4 on a scooter on a busy street--no helmets, standing for the Thai national anthem before a movie, old dogs laying and chilling anywhere even in traffic.
This is just a start, but hopefully the next time you hear from me will be in the heart of Cambodia. I'll see if I can't get to a beach while I'm there. Out.
PS - I was in a scavenger hunt in Tokyo a while back. My friend Brooke just sent me the link for some of our pictures. Check 'em out. You'll notice, I'm the guy whose feet are off the ground in each of our team's 3 pictures. Classic.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Sayonara, Japan
In about 48 hours, I will get on a 1-way flight to Bangkok. I will leave Japan after spending 3 years here on the JET Program. There's so much I want to say about Japan and my experiences here. Perhaps I should only say this: To everyone I have met, worked with, jumped off waterfalls with and to Japan as a country, Thank You.
I'll be in SE Asia for about 2 months before heading back to the states. I can't wait to get to Thailand, a country I have heard so much about but never been to. I'll try to keep updating this when I am travelling, but it could be spotty. Feel free to e-mail me to sey hay. Stay tuned for more Champon Adventures...
I'll be in SE Asia for about 2 months before heading back to the states. I can't wait to get to Thailand, a country I have heard so much about but never been to. I'll try to keep updating this when I am travelling, but it could be spotty. Feel free to e-mail me to sey hay. Stay tuned for more Champon Adventures...
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
A good-bye barbeque
On Saturday, I joined the Ishizuka and Yoshida Families (minus Michiyo and Taiji, repectively) for a great barbeque at Minoru's favorite spot in Kikuchi. The weather was a good 35 degrees. But the river was high which allowed some fun in the water with the kids. It was a great time until my sandal fell off and floated away. On the way back, we paused to pick a few of the blooming sunflowers in Shisui.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
City Hash, July 17, 2005
The blazing 35c afternoon of July 17 witnessed the 32nd running of the Kyushu Hash House Harriers (The Professor’s Return). With Disco A** set on organizing a successful day after a minor fiasco in Miyazaki last month, the group gathered in front of Kumamoto Station among sleeping ojiisans and yelping school girls. The group set out and was quickly confused by the diverging trails and maze of ancient shrines and monuments of the Kitaoka Nature Park. Then it was on through the noodle-thin streets of Yokote Machi. The trails meandered through forgotten toriis and emerged at the newly gutted Shimasaki Quarry (as seen before on Champon Adventures). With an option to bask in the ectoplasmic green waters of the ancient quarry, the hashers made their way east back towards the city. On Home was reached after the trail wound through the raked rock gardens of the Hosokawa Mansion, a bum residence and the massive parking lot for the high school baseball tournament. Everyone found relief in the cool breeze and ample shadiness of Ninomaru Park. As the clouds rolled in and the lightning began, a rousing religion was held. The gods rumbled their approval, for Disco A** had made these hashers smile.
The dirty details:
-25 heads turned out. There were 7 immortals and about 7 virgins along with 4 Miyazakians, a long way from home.
- A more-red-than-usual Alastair finished the course about 10 minutes after Disco A** and caused DA’s heart to jump when he earlier cried in anguish happening upon the YBF.
- No one was overcome by the heat to the point of medical attention. Thanks for doin’ it safe everyone.
- 2 hashers merit special attention for their (before the jump) loins of steel. James and Mark took up my offer of an 8m jump into the quarry lake. Its
- There were 3 immortalizations on the day:
(1) – Alastair was coined “Red Raja” after many stellar hash performances. His blazing red speed and hair to match along with his genealogy of Indian oppression were brought to light.
(2) – Nancy, always bringing her legendary genkiness to each hash was made into Sister “Poo Ticket” —the Japanese toilet paper brand bearing her name(Hello! Nancy!) and its Aussie slang term.
(3) – Miyazaki hare Emily was baptized as “Jacko Flash”. She has previously introduced the hash (and alcohol: one in the same) to young high school boys in MiyaBama. Also quoted was her great hash performances and propensity to shed her inhibitions at various times.
- After about a year hiatus, Professor Quintana marked a successful return to the hash thanks to its Sunday placement.
- A big thanks to everyone who made it out. It’s great to have such numbers and especially a good number of first-timers. Keep spreading the word.
----------------------------------------------------------
On the occasion of personally completing 3 happy years on the Kumamoto/Kyushu HHH, I want to share some facts and personal shout outs. Most of this information can be found in the ever-expanding Official Kyushu Hash Excel Spreadsheet. You can see a small sample here or download it from the Kumamoto AJET Yahoo!Groups page. Make it yours today!
This was the 32nd running of the hash. I have been a hare or a co-hare for 10 hashes. I have not missed a hash in the last 3 years here, that’s 24 of them. I’ve also hashed in Hong Kong, Singapore and I will hash soon in Thailand. We have had some excellent hashes this year. 4 out of 9 hashes brought crowds of over 20. The hash is alive and well. Big shouts to Kumamoto Hash founders Austin, aka Sakuraba, and James Ringworm. Also, hash legends Muppet, Fracas, Lettuce, Sonic-san—you’d be proud. I am happy to have continued the tradition during my time in Japan. This has been my livelihood while I have been here and I will miss it. I am confident this strong tradition will continue for many years. Sh*tf*ck, Sliced Bush, Nuck-a-Nuts, Jacko Flash, Bitchiro and all you other immortals that will be sticking around: You have been chosen from many to show others the way. Keep it up here and in Miyazaki and bring it elsewhere. Be proud of who you are, don’t forget your roots and most of all, ON ON!
If you happen to have the picture from the starting box, could you mail it to me or post it in comments? Thanks.
Last Lesson
Today, I had my last English classes in Japan. I decided to play a game of maru/batsu. It is the Japanese version of true/false, where I read a statement and the students walk to the true or false side of the room and rack up points if they're right. I made all the statements about myself and Japan. Here were the questions, how many could you get right?
1 Mark is 26 years old.
2 Mark eats onigiri for breakfast. (rice ball wrapped in seaweed)
3 In Korea, Mark ate dog. (actually it was China)
4 Mark went surfing for the first time in Miyazaki.
5 Mark studies Kanji by watching Japanese Comedy TV Programs.
6 Mark will travel to Africa when he leaves Japan.
7 Mark’s brother Joe lived in Fukuoka.
8 Mark thinks the most delicious takoyaki is in Osaka. (octopus dough ball)
9 Mark went snowboarding in Hokkaido and Nagano.
10 Mark passed 2kyu Japanese test. (3kyu)
11 Mark know the kanji for ”へ” 屁 (fart).
12 Mark had a bicycle, motorbike and a car in Japan.
13 Mark always likes to eat school lunch.
14 Mark has been to the Kumamoto Fish Auction.
15 Mark went scuba diving in Thailand.
16 Mark lives on a farm in America.
17 Mark say Aya Ueto at a shopping mall in Tokyo. (popular Japanese pop star)
18 Mark watched the sumo championship in Fukuoka.
19 Mark has been to Australia and New Zealand.
20 Mark can write his first and last name in katakana in less than 5 seconds. (マークフィンガーハット）
1 Mark is 26 years old.
2 Mark eats onigiri for breakfast. (rice ball wrapped in seaweed)
3 In Korea, Mark ate dog. (actually it was China)
4 Mark went surfing for the first time in Miyazaki.
5 Mark studies Kanji by watching Japanese Comedy TV Programs.
6 Mark will travel to Africa when he leaves Japan.
7 Mark’s brother Joe lived in Fukuoka.
8 Mark thinks the most delicious takoyaki is in Osaka. (octopus dough ball)
9 Mark went snowboarding in Hokkaido and Nagano.
10 Mark passed 2kyu Japanese test. (3kyu)
11 Mark know the kanji for ”へ” 屁 (fart).
12 Mark had a bicycle, motorbike and a car in Japan.
13 Mark always likes to eat school lunch.
14 Mark has been to the Kumamoto Fish Auction.
15 Mark went scuba diving in Thailand.
16 Mark lives on a farm in America.
17 Mark say Aya Ueto at a shopping mall in Tokyo. (popular Japanese pop star)
18 Mark watched the sumo championship in Fukuoka.
19 Mark has been to Australia and New Zealand.
20 Mark can write his first and last name in katakana in less than 5 seconds. (マークフィンガーハット）
Thursday, July 14, 2005
words to leave by
I recently had the going away party at my Board of Education. We are asked to get in front and say a few words. Some people don't think much of it, but to me, it's pretty important. Especially because I have been in Japan for 3 years, it's more than "thanks, good-bye." It's chance to show the people who work so hard to make out jobs here much easier, make our jobs possible. The speech to them should be in Japanese, for obvious reasons, and to show them you have cared enough the last few years to take some time to study a bit. I wrote it myself with helpful corrections and suggestions by Manami. So here was my speech, good luck, jf:
If you can't read the Japanese characters, mess with your encoding in your browser.
こんばんは
私はマーク フィンガーハットです。
これまでの３年間、早かったです。私は江南、江原そして花陵の３つの中学校に勤務（きんむ）していました。３中学校とも、とても楽しかったです。まず、江南中学校の生徒たちの英語のレベルはとても高いと感（かん）じました。そして江原中学校と花陵中学校の生徒たちは、英語を使うことを躊躇（ちゅうちょ）せず、私とcommunicationをとってくれ、たくさんの面白い日本語を教えてくれました。その中で、私が一番、気に入（い）っているのが、帰る時に使う“さよ おなら”です。しつれいしました。
この３年間、私は本当にたくさんの助けが必要（ひつよう）でした。以前（いぜん）、教職員課に勤務（きんむ）されていた長田さん、退職（たいしょく）された横田さん、そして教職員課の吉住さん、清藤さん、樋口さん。
本当にありがとうございました。とても感謝（かんしゃ）しています。
最後に、私はこれから少しの間、東南アジアを旅行して、そのあとアメリカでの生活を始めたいと思っています。日本、そして熊本のことは絶対（ぜったい）に忘れません。将来（しょうらい）は日本語を使った仕事をしてみたいです。
現在、熊本にたくさんの友達ができましたが、親戚（しんせき）もできました。兄ジョーの おくさんのご家族のみなさんです。
熊本でたくさんの思い出ができました。本当にお世話になりました。ありがとうございました。
If you can't read the Japanese characters, mess with your encoding in your browser.
こんばんは
私はマーク フィンガーハットです。
これまでの３年間、早かったです。私は江南、江原そして花陵の３つの中学校に勤務（きんむ）していました。３中学校とも、とても楽しかったです。まず、江南中学校の生徒たちの英語のレベルはとても高いと感（かん）じました。そして江原中学校と花陵中学校の生徒たちは、英語を使うことを躊躇（ちゅうちょ）せず、私とcommunicationをとってくれ、たくさんの面白い日本語を教えてくれました。その中で、私が一番、気に入（い）っているのが、帰る時に使う“さよ おなら”です。しつれいしました。
この３年間、私は本当にたくさんの助けが必要（ひつよう）でした。以前（いぜん）、教職員課に勤務（きんむ）されていた長田さん、退職（たいしょく）された横田さん、そして教職員課の吉住さん、清藤さん、樋口さん。
本当にありがとうございました。とても感謝（かんしゃ）しています。
最後に、私はこれから少しの間、東南アジアを旅行して、そのあとアメリカでの生活を始めたいと思っています。日本、そして熊本のことは絶対（ぜったい）に忘れません。将来（しょうらい）は日本語を使った仕事をしてみたいです。
現在、熊本にたくさんの友達ができましたが、親戚（しんせき）もできました。兄ジョーの おくさんのご家族のみなさんです。
熊本でたくさんの思い出ができました。本当にお世話になりました。ありがとうございました。
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Tasaki Market, Kumamoto 田崎市場
I e-mailed my friend Jamie the other day and told him I was about to go to the fish auction. He replied: "whoa, I didn't know you were in Tokyo, when are you coming back?"
Hard to believe, but there is a fairly huge fish market/auction right here in Kumamoto. It's located about 2km west of Kumamoto Station in Tasaki Machi. This past Thursday, Joe D and I joined two of my Karyo JH teachers for an early-morning tour. We met the teachers at about 5:30am then headed over to the market. I was manning the video camera so Joe snapped all these photos.
Mr. Fukushima, Joe and I pose with our official market tourist hats. Too fly.
All these guys gather every morning among rows and rows of styrofoam boxes filled with all kinds of sea animals. The guy standing above everyone runs the auction.
Squid, bloody Tuna tails and my current desktop photo. Gorgeous shot, Joe.
A large Tuna is cut into more managable pieces before being sliced into the classic sushi shape.
After getting our fill of fish guts, we headed over to the fruits and vegetable market. These watermelon line up for shipment. There is also an auction for fruits and veggies, this was more organized and formal than the fish auction.
At about 7am, we ducked into a tiny shop for a delicious breakfast of Maguro-don. It was a heaping bowl of raw tuna with and egg on top with seaweed slices and mountain potato. We poured soy sauce and wasabi on top. One of the freshest and most delicious breakfasts i've ever had. Finally, it was time to go back home and freshen up for a long day at school. On the way, we spotted this hip hop fan. I think she was just coming home from a long night of clubbin'. SEXY!
Hard to believe, but there is a fairly huge fish market/auction right here in Kumamoto. It's located about 2km west of Kumamoto Station in Tasaki Machi. This past Thursday, Joe D and I joined two of my Karyo JH teachers for an early-morning tour. We met the teachers at about 5:30am then headed over to the market. I was manning the video camera so Joe snapped all these photos.
Mr. Fukushima, Joe and I pose with our official market tourist hats. Too fly.
All these guys gather every morning among rows and rows of styrofoam boxes filled with all kinds of sea animals. The guy standing above everyone runs the auction.
Squid, bloody Tuna tails and my current desktop photo. Gorgeous shot, Joe.
A large Tuna is cut into more managable pieces before being sliced into the classic sushi shape.
After getting our fill of fish guts, we headed over to the fruits and vegetable market. These watermelon line up for shipment. There is also an auction for fruits and veggies, this was more organized and formal than the fish auction.
At about 7am, we ducked into a tiny shop for a delicious breakfast of Maguro-don. It was a heaping bowl of raw tuna with and egg on top with seaweed slices and mountain potato. We poured soy sauce and wasabi on top. One of the freshest and most delicious breakfasts i've ever had. Finally, it was time to go back home and freshen up for a long day at school. On the way, we spotted this hip hop fan. I think she was just coming home from a long night of clubbin'. SEXY!
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Takahashi Inari Shrine, Kumamoto City
I recently visited an amazing shrine not too far from my house in the city. In 3 years, I had not been there and no one had recommended it to me. Just looking at the pictures again, I'm glad I went. It's quite a beautiful place.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Farewell Speech Censorship
I was asked to give a speech for the farewell ceremony by Kumamoto Prefecture to departing ALTs this Friday. I wasn't told to whom or how long I would have to give the speech. I assumed it was only to other (foreigner) English teachers. So here is what I wrote:
Good afternoon. My name is Mark Fingerhut. I am a 3rd year chugakko ALT from Kumamoto City. I have been involved in many of the JET conferences, several workshops, English camps and Kumamoto AJET. I have had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with many of you. I congratulate you on completing your tenure on the JET program.
Today, I won’t talk a lot about my own personal experiences in Kumamoto. I won’t tell you about my numerous waterfall jumps from Amakusa to Yakushima. I am not going to talk about eating snake, dog or kangaroo on my JET vacations. I certainly will not discuss the too often than usual all night benders in the City. Also, I won’t spend time talking about my passion during my time in Japan, the Kumamoto Hash House Harriers.
Instead, I want to talk about how each of us can use our own experiences in Kumamoto, how we can learn from these experiences and put them to use in the future. Please allow me to hopefully be the last person to give you these immortal words: “Every situation is different.” Each of us comes from a different background, have lived very different lives here in Japan, and no doubt will pursue varying paths in the future. However, we will now be linked together with our time in Kumamoto.
I want to suggest that a large part of living in Japan has yet to take place for us. When we reflect on our time in Japan, we should have the proper time and space to do so. No matter where, when or how long we spend in this reflection will obviously vary, but when you do, try to keep a couple things in mind.
First, although some may disagree, we have all gained valuable teaching experience here. I imagine most of us have faced the familiar situation of a teacher asking us to make a fun and interesting activity specifically suited to today’s grammar point 5 minutes before class. At this point you know that the success of your English classes was dictated by the amount of work and energy you put into it. You could see the results of your efforts in the excited looks on the students faces, or more realistically for me, the puddles of saliva forming on sleeping students’ desks. Some of us have been lucky enough to work at multiple schools and have had the chance to work with many different teachers. We have had to adjust to each teacher’s teaching style and adopt a role in the framework of each teacher’s lesson plans, whether it was Mark, the university educated tape recorder or a leader in the classroom. In a word, the art of Flexibility.
My second point is similar, in that simply living in Japan and learning the culture has required a sense of flexibility in many situations. It takes a strong person to live in a foreign culture as we have done. I think that we are all better suited to handle situations of adversity and challenge because of our experiences here in Japan. One should not take lightly the fact that we have lived in a culture as unique as Japan’s. We have faced many challenges and have come out on top. As America’s omnipotent leader George W. Bush says: “It’s incredibly hard work.”
Thirdly, we can all take with us some kind of unique talent or skill that we have learned or developed in Japan. It may be mastery of the language or a martial art. Sure, it was only against shogakksei, but I’ve really become quite a terrific sumo wrestler. Perhaps it’s a skill such as photography, flower arranging or dodging buses on your bike. It always amazes me how people enjoy such varied activities in Japan such as salsa dancing, surfing, capioera, kimono contests, drum lessons, manga or ultimate frisbee. Maybe you take pride in your creation of dynamic and engaging lesson plans. Perhaps like myself, you enjoy exploring the unique landscape and amazing mountains and waterfalls in the countryside. However you have spent your leisure time in Japan will hopefully lead to increased cultural awareness and personal development.
Lastly, I could not think of reflecting on the JET program without mentioning friends. Although I was lucky enough to join my brother in Japan for my first 2 years, many of us came to Japan not knowing anyone else. We have formed countless friendships and relationships with our co-workers and fellow JETs. The amazing people we have befriended will forever populate our memories of Japan. We only hope that the kindness we have received can some day be repaid in some respect. Although we may not present future visitors to our house with a plate of raw horse swimming in wasabi-tinged soy sauce, we can offer hospitality nonetheless. Whether it is inviting a teacher to visit your hometown or providing a home stay for a student of yours in the future, we can continue our relationships with those we have met from Japan.
We have indeed formed unique bonds with other ALTs. Perhaps more often when we first came to Japan than recently, we may have felt as though we were placed on this small island with people speaking a strange language with strange culture and manners. Most of us have formed very strong bonds with other foreigners cast into the same situation. We have been comforted and entertained by each other. We’ve been travel partners, drinking buddies, givers of advice, mentors, sources of inspiration, teammates and most of all, friends. While many of us will remain friends and in contact after our time in Japan, we will see others only in our memories. Let us say thank you to these friends and wish them the best of luck in the future.
I would like to end my ramblings today with a couple quotes from others who have said it better than I or George W. Bush can ever hope to. The first is from author T.S. Eliot.
"We shall not cease from exploring and at the end of our exploration, we will return to where we started and know the place for the first time."
The next is a very special quotation commonly invoked in various situations throughout the English speaking community in Japan. Its use peaked during the tenure of my brother, one Joe Fingerhut. It has many meanings, but today I offer it as advice to you, something to remember above all things as you continue on your respective journeys from this day forward:
“Let’s enjoy.”
Good Luck to you all. Thank you.
I thought it was decent. It was an honest view of a lot of aspects of our job. I tried to keep it light and add a few jokes in there. So I faxed it to the Prefecture for review. My supervisor called me this morning and said I had to change it. (1) It was too long. (2) I wasn't to mention George Bush. I was told the speech would be for the governer of the Prefecture. Fine, point taken. Here is thecompromised, watered down, censored other version:
Good afternoon. My name is Mark Fingerhut. I am a 3rd year junior high ALT from Kumamoto City. I have been involved in many of the JET conferences, several workshops, English camps and Kumamoto AJET. I have had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with many of you. I’d like to thank the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education for this opportunity to speak. I congratulate you on completing your tenure on the JET program.
Even though many of us will soon leave Japan, I believe a large part of living in Japan has yet to take place for us. The way we remember our experience here and how we use those positive experiences in the future is a large part of our internationalization. When we reflect on our time in Japan, we should have the proper time and space to do so. No matter where, when or how long we spend in this reflection will obviously vary, but when you do, try to keep a couple things in mind.
Many of us have received overwhelming kindness from host families, neighbors, co-workers and friends. When we first arrived in Japan, our transition was very smooth thanks to the energies of our supervisors and English teachers. Any difficulties or questions we had at the beginning were quickly taken care of with kindness and general efficiency. From whatever part of Kumamoto Prefecture you lived in, I am positive you received endless help and hospitality from those around you. We should never forget this.
There are many positive aspects of Japanese culture that we can take with us. I am sure we have all witnessed how much time our fellow teachers devote to their jobs and to the students. I hope our co-workers long hours and strong work ethic inspire us to devote all of our energy to whatever path we pursue.
Also, we should think about Japan’s commitment to internationalization. We should be grateful that we have been able to teach within the public school system and have contact with so many students. Although every student will not choose to pursue the study of English, I am positive we have increased interest in international cultures and awareness of a world outside Japan.
On behalf of all JETs present here today, I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us during our time in Kumamoto. I want to thank Kumamoto Prefecture for honoring us with these certificates. We may not realize how much the Prefectural Board of Education and the International Affairs section has done for us, but let us take this time to say thank you once again. I would also like to express my appreciation for our supervisors, who have worked tirelessly to make our lives as smooth as possible.
I urge everyone to enjoy your last few weeks on the JET program. Instead of thinking about leaving, think about all the amazing experiences you have had in Kumamoto and put that much more energy into everything you do your last few weeks. Good Luck to you all. Thank you.
If this one doesn't work, I give up.
Which do you like better?
Good afternoon. My name is Mark Fingerhut. I am a 3rd year chugakko ALT from Kumamoto City. I have been involved in many of the JET conferences, several workshops, English camps and Kumamoto AJET. I have had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with many of you. I congratulate you on completing your tenure on the JET program.
Today, I won’t talk a lot about my own personal experiences in Kumamoto. I won’t tell you about my numerous waterfall jumps from Amakusa to Yakushima. I am not going to talk about eating snake, dog or kangaroo on my JET vacations. I certainly will not discuss the too often than usual all night benders in the City. Also, I won’t spend time talking about my passion during my time in Japan, the Kumamoto Hash House Harriers.
Instead, I want to talk about how each of us can use our own experiences in Kumamoto, how we can learn from these experiences and put them to use in the future. Please allow me to hopefully be the last person to give you these immortal words: “Every situation is different.” Each of us comes from a different background, have lived very different lives here in Japan, and no doubt will pursue varying paths in the future. However, we will now be linked together with our time in Kumamoto.
I want to suggest that a large part of living in Japan has yet to take place for us. When we reflect on our time in Japan, we should have the proper time and space to do so. No matter where, when or how long we spend in this reflection will obviously vary, but when you do, try to keep a couple things in mind.
First, although some may disagree, we have all gained valuable teaching experience here. I imagine most of us have faced the familiar situation of a teacher asking us to make a fun and interesting activity specifically suited to today’s grammar point 5 minutes before class. At this point you know that the success of your English classes was dictated by the amount of work and energy you put into it. You could see the results of your efforts in the excited looks on the students faces, or more realistically for me, the puddles of saliva forming on sleeping students’ desks. Some of us have been lucky enough to work at multiple schools and have had the chance to work with many different teachers. We have had to adjust to each teacher’s teaching style and adopt a role in the framework of each teacher’s lesson plans, whether it was Mark, the university educated tape recorder or a leader in the classroom. In a word, the art of Flexibility.
My second point is similar, in that simply living in Japan and learning the culture has required a sense of flexibility in many situations. It takes a strong person to live in a foreign culture as we have done. I think that we are all better suited to handle situations of adversity and challenge because of our experiences here in Japan. One should not take lightly the fact that we have lived in a culture as unique as Japan’s. We have faced many challenges and have come out on top. As America’s omnipotent leader George W. Bush says: “It’s incredibly hard work.”
Thirdly, we can all take with us some kind of unique talent or skill that we have learned or developed in Japan. It may be mastery of the language or a martial art. Sure, it was only against shogakksei, but I’ve really become quite a terrific sumo wrestler. Perhaps it’s a skill such as photography, flower arranging or dodging buses on your bike. It always amazes me how people enjoy such varied activities in Japan such as salsa dancing, surfing, capioera, kimono contests, drum lessons, manga or ultimate frisbee. Maybe you take pride in your creation of dynamic and engaging lesson plans. Perhaps like myself, you enjoy exploring the unique landscape and amazing mountains and waterfalls in the countryside. However you have spent your leisure time in Japan will hopefully lead to increased cultural awareness and personal development.
Lastly, I could not think of reflecting on the JET program without mentioning friends. Although I was lucky enough to join my brother in Japan for my first 2 years, many of us came to Japan not knowing anyone else. We have formed countless friendships and relationships with our co-workers and fellow JETs. The amazing people we have befriended will forever populate our memories of Japan. We only hope that the kindness we have received can some day be repaid in some respect. Although we may not present future visitors to our house with a plate of raw horse swimming in wasabi-tinged soy sauce, we can offer hospitality nonetheless. Whether it is inviting a teacher to visit your hometown or providing a home stay for a student of yours in the future, we can continue our relationships with those we have met from Japan.
We have indeed formed unique bonds with other ALTs. Perhaps more often when we first came to Japan than recently, we may have felt as though we were placed on this small island with people speaking a strange language with strange culture and manners. Most of us have formed very strong bonds with other foreigners cast into the same situation. We have been comforted and entertained by each other. We’ve been travel partners, drinking buddies, givers of advice, mentors, sources of inspiration, teammates and most of all, friends. While many of us will remain friends and in contact after our time in Japan, we will see others only in our memories. Let us say thank you to these friends and wish them the best of luck in the future.
I would like to end my ramblings today with a couple quotes from others who have said it better than I or George W. Bush can ever hope to. The first is from author T.S. Eliot.
"We shall not cease from exploring and at the end of our exploration, we will return to where we started and know the place for the first time."
The next is a very special quotation commonly invoked in various situations throughout the English speaking community in Japan. Its use peaked during the tenure of my brother, one Joe Fingerhut. It has many meanings, but today I offer it as advice to you, something to remember above all things as you continue on your respective journeys from this day forward:
“Let’s enjoy.”
Good Luck to you all. Thank you.
I thought it was decent. It was an honest view of a lot of aspects of our job. I tried to keep it light and add a few jokes in there. So I faxed it to the Prefecture for review. My supervisor called me this morning and said I had to change it. (1) It was too long. (2) I wasn't to mention George Bush. I was told the speech would be for the governer of the Prefecture. Fine, point taken. Here is the
Good afternoon. My name is Mark Fingerhut. I am a 3rd year junior high ALT from Kumamoto City. I have been involved in many of the JET conferences, several workshops, English camps and Kumamoto AJET. I have had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with many of you. I’d like to thank the Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education for this opportunity to speak. I congratulate you on completing your tenure on the JET program.
Even though many of us will soon leave Japan, I believe a large part of living in Japan has yet to take place for us. The way we remember our experience here and how we use those positive experiences in the future is a large part of our internationalization. When we reflect on our time in Japan, we should have the proper time and space to do so. No matter where, when or how long we spend in this reflection will obviously vary, but when you do, try to keep a couple things in mind.
Many of us have received overwhelming kindness from host families, neighbors, co-workers and friends. When we first arrived in Japan, our transition was very smooth thanks to the energies of our supervisors and English teachers. Any difficulties or questions we had at the beginning were quickly taken care of with kindness and general efficiency. From whatever part of Kumamoto Prefecture you lived in, I am positive you received endless help and hospitality from those around you. We should never forget this.
There are many positive aspects of Japanese culture that we can take with us. I am sure we have all witnessed how much time our fellow teachers devote to their jobs and to the students. I hope our co-workers long hours and strong work ethic inspire us to devote all of our energy to whatever path we pursue.
Also, we should think about Japan’s commitment to internationalization. We should be grateful that we have been able to teach within the public school system and have contact with so many students. Although every student will not choose to pursue the study of English, I am positive we have increased interest in international cultures and awareness of a world outside Japan.
On behalf of all JETs present here today, I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us during our time in Kumamoto. I want to thank Kumamoto Prefecture for honoring us with these certificates. We may not realize how much the Prefectural Board of Education and the International Affairs section has done for us, but let us take this time to say thank you once again. I would also like to express my appreciation for our supervisors, who have worked tirelessly to make our lives as smooth as possible.
I urge everyone to enjoy your last few weeks on the JET program. Instead of thinking about leaving, think about all the amazing experiences you have had in Kumamoto and put that much more energy into everything you do your last few weeks. Good Luck to you all. Thank you.
If this one doesn't work, I give up.
Which do you like better?
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
A decidedly sub-par Hash
I apologize for not posting so much recently. Adam has got some good stuff lately, check him out.
If you click on the picture, I added several notes to tell you who the immortals are.
On Saturday June 18th, the Miyazaki HHH contingent put on their 2nd Miyazaki City Hash. The day had potential for greatness as 25 hashers gathered in a vending machine graveyard for the start. Among the 25 were 7 immortals, an astounding 13 hash virgins and an unprecedented 7 nihon-jin. Hash vet Emily and Stiffulis Hige were the hares.
After the virgins were thoroughly soaked with beer, the pack set out to follow the sparsely marked trail through several rice fields and snake-ridden backwoods before being spit out in the suburbs. After several dead stops and hard-core checking, they finally followed the path through the breathtaking Heiwadai Peace Park. Finally, the first beer near. 3 beers and 2 bottles of sports drink had to appease 23. By then the group was well-spaced out and winding through the labyrinth of city streets. Here is where things got hairy. As the hash approached its 3rd hour, the lead group, about 5-6 of us, followed the trail through Miyazaki Shrine and the surrounding park and struck out towards downtown. The second wave of people reached the shrine as darkness bagan to fall and could not pick up the trail from the Shrine. Myself, Andy and Hi and Squeaky stumbled on for another hour and eventually found the abandoned Home. Several others were lost on the trail between the Shrine and Home. As Stiff Hige and Emily took calls of distraught hashers and proceeded to pick them up, another 2 hours pas
sed. When everyone was retrieved and deposited back at the Shrine, it was about 9pm. We had started the Hash at 3.
I am not one to dwell on the negative aspects of a hash. It was just a rather ambitious trail for weekend warriors and especially for the large number of hash virgins. I think the hares underestimated the number of people coming out and overestimated their abilities. The hash should be a mildly challenging course with an emphasis on fun, drinking and the partying afterwards. Like Stiff Hige said later, it's a steep learning curve indeed. Here's to a successful Miyazaki City Hash in the near future. The highlights:
-Great turnout and lots of virgins, great job promoting it everyone.
-More Japan natives than have run a hash before. 4 local high school boys joined the run as well.
-The Heiwadai Peace Park and the Miyazaki Shrine were incredible settings to run through. Great scouting.
-For the first time ever, there was no religion; therefore no immortalizations.
-10 of the 25 hashers were from Kumamoto. Way to represent and get your rat out!
On a personal note, I refuse to leave Japan and have this be my last hash. Therefore, I will gladly come out of retirement to set a course. It's gonna be held on Sunday, July 17th, 2005. (It's a 3 day weekend) It shall be known simply as "The Professor's Return". The starting box will be in front of Kumamoto Station at 1:30 pm. Plan on an exciting course with some crazy twists and stunts like you've never seen before. If you are in town, come on out for it. Let's show them Miyazakians how to hash!
If you click on the picture, I added several notes to tell you who the immortals are.
On Saturday June 18th, the Miyazaki HHH contingent put on their 2nd Miyazaki City Hash. The day had potential for greatness as 25 hashers gathered in a vending machine graveyard for the start. Among the 25 were 7 immortals, an astounding 13 hash virgins and an unprecedented 7 nihon-jin. Hash vet Emily and Stiffulis Hige were the hares.
After the virgins were thoroughly soaked with beer, the pack set out to follow the sparsely marked trail through several rice fields and snake-ridden backwoods before being spit out in the suburbs. After several dead stops and hard-core checking, they finally followed the path through the breathtaking Heiwadai Peace Park. Finally, the first beer near. 3 beers and 2 bottles of sports drink had to appease 23. By then the group was well-spaced out and winding through the labyrinth of city streets. Here is where things got hairy. As the hash approached its 3rd hour, the lead group, about 5-6 of us, followed the trail through Miyazaki Shrine and the surrounding park and struck out towards downtown. The second wave of people reached the shrine as darkness bagan to fall and could not pick up the trail from the Shrine. Myself, Andy and Hi and Squeaky stumbled on for another hour and eventually found the abandoned Home. Several others were lost on the trail between the Shrine and Home. As Stiff Hige and Emily took calls of distraught hashers and proceeded to pick them up, another 2 hours pas
sed. When everyone was retrieved and deposited back at the Shrine, it was about 9pm. We had started the Hash at 3.
I am not one to dwell on the negative aspects of a hash. It was just a rather ambitious trail for weekend warriors and especially for the large number of hash virgins. I think the hares underestimated the number of people coming out and overestimated their abilities. The hash should be a mildly challenging course with an emphasis on fun, drinking and the partying afterwards. Like Stiff Hige said later, it's a steep learning curve indeed. Here's to a successful Miyazaki City Hash in the near future. The highlights:
-Great turnout and lots of virgins, great job promoting it everyone.
-More Japan natives than have run a hash before. 4 local high school boys joined the run as well.
-The Heiwadai Peace Park and the Miyazaki Shrine were incredible settings to run through. Great scouting.
-For the first time ever, there was no religion; therefore no immortalizations.
-10 of the 25 hashers were from Kumamoto. Way to represent and get your rat out!
On a personal note, I refuse to leave Japan and have this be my last hash. Therefore, I will gladly come out of retirement to set a course. It's gonna be held on Sunday, July 17th, 2005. (It's a 3 day weekend) It shall be known simply as "The Professor's Return". The starting box will be in front of Kumamoto Station at 1:30 pm. Plan on an exciting course with some crazy twists and stunts like you've never seen before. If you are in town, come on out for it. Let's show them Miyazakians how to hash!
Thursday, June 09, 2005
the great Kumamoto quarry jump
My pursuit of waterfalls to jump off has taken me all around Kyushu Island. However, one of the best jumps is so close to my home. Here you see me demonstrating a not-so-fundamentally sound jump into an old quarry, which is conveniently located near downtown Kumamoto (you can see downtown in the top right).
My brother and I first discovered this place on a tip from a local man who is famous for going down the stairs to the local bar on his hands. Trust me, it's awesome. We had only heard of people jumping it, never saw it. So naturally, unintelligently, we jumped right in. I can only guess how deep it is. The water seems to be clean enough... In addition to jumping here on several occasions, we ended a hash here and with drunken teamwork, we managed to push a couple thousand pound boulder over the edge and into the abyss. Still one of the coolest moments in Japan.
I post this because since last fall, the powers that be have decided to make this into a park. In the past, we had to access the quarry by walking through some dense bamboo forests, a very inaccessible, well-kept secret. The secret is apparently out. They have tore out the forests and foliage and built a road up to the quarry. They built a huge drain in the water to regulate the level. The even built a staircase down to the water so people could take a proper swim. (We all know how much Japanese people love swimming in cloudy water--not much). I hope to get another jump in here sometime, but it's a little hard when they are working on the place all the time. Another spot down.
My brother and I first discovered this place on a tip from a local man who is famous for going down the stairs to the local bar on his hands. Trust me, it's awesome. We had only heard of people jumping it, never saw it. So naturally, unintelligently, we jumped right in. I can only guess how deep it is. The water seems to be clean enough... In addition to jumping here on several occasions, we ended a hash here and with drunken teamwork, we managed to push a couple thousand pound boulder over the edge and into the abyss. Still one of the coolest moments in Japan.
I post this because since last fall, the powers that be have decided to make this into a park. In the past, we had to access the quarry by walking through some dense bamboo forests, a very inaccessible, well-kept secret. The secret is apparently out. They have tore out the forests and foliage and built a road up to the quarry. They built a huge drain in the water to regulate the level. The even built a staircase down to the water so people could take a proper swim. (We all know how much Japanese people love swimming in cloudy water--not much). I hope to get another jump in here sometime, but it's a little hard when they are working on the place all the time. Another spot down.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Bund Tunnel, Shanghai
Recently, I've had a little time (and extra space on Flickr) to upload some old photos. I've wanted to put more pictures up from my past 3 years in Japan and my vacations around Asia. So stay tuned for more.
Here is the Bund Tourist Tunnel that runs under the river in Shanghai. My brother Joe, sister Lynn and I enjoyed Beijing, Nanking and Shanghai over Golden Week about a year ago. The first year or 2 I used my camera, I sometimes inadvertantly took photos in the night photo setting. Usually they would just turn out blurry, but sometimes it's a pretty cool effect. This was a slow tram ride on a futuristic rail car with an insane soundtrack. Although we were in China, there was a voice that spoke in very scientific language very softly over some very trippy music/sound effects. If I can remember, some of the terms offered by the pleasant voice were things such as "infinite time", "endoplasm reticulum", "photosynthesis", "synergistic elements", etc. The 3 Fingerhut sibblings proceeded to add our own narration: "premature ejaculation", "bloated intestine", "viscous secretions", etc. We are intercultural lotharios.
Here is the Bund Tourist Tunnel that runs under the river in Shanghai. My brother Joe, sister Lynn and I enjoyed Beijing, Nanking and Shanghai over Golden Week about a year ago. The first year or 2 I used my camera, I sometimes inadvertantly took photos in the night photo setting. Usually they would just turn out blurry, but sometimes it's a pretty cool effect. This was a slow tram ride on a futuristic rail car with an insane soundtrack. Although we were in China, there was a voice that spoke in very scientific language very softly over some very trippy music/sound effects. If I can remember, some of the terms offered by the pleasant voice were things such as "infinite time", "endoplasm reticulum", "photosynthesis", "synergistic elements", etc. The 3 Fingerhut sibblings proceeded to add our own narration: "premature ejaculation", "bloated intestine", "viscous secretions", etc. We are intercultural lotharios.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Adam's Sumo Prowess
In April of 2003, a large group gathered under the beautiful cherry blossoms of Kumamoto Caslte to celebrate Adam's birthday. As the beers were emptied and the shochu was busted out, Adam accepted the invitation of two drunken, scantily clad salarymen to sumo on the nearby gravel. Though he refused to break out his leopard skin boxers like the fine gentleman above, he partially disrobed for the big event. He proceeded to get tossed onto his back several times before retiring in shame. Adam, mad respect for swallowing your pride on your birthday.
And everyone else, check out Adam's Higo Blog here. Recently he's written some real interesting stuff on the state of Japanese education and his experience in a slightly furyo situation.
Friday, June 03, 2005
A stroll down the Hakuzan Dori
There is a street near my house named the Hakuzan Dori. It is certainly not a historical street. Quite the contrary, it's a suburban nightmare of a (thoroughfare?). I often speed (sped) down this street in my car (R.I.P.) or scooter and take the sights for granted. However, recently, I have reached the point of my career in Japan where I know I should take notice of normal things here and realize they are not so normal in the states, or anywhere else for that matter.
First stop:
There is a very busy intersection, in which the middle of said intersection is placed this rather odd sign. My first year in Japan, I simply thought it was a sign for a restaurant specializing in food from the far north of Japan, islands off Hokkaido. Having studied a bit of history while I have been here, I noticed that there are a few islands in the area that have long been disputed territories with Russia. (See Tsushima War) Upon further review, I noticed this sign was something more political, a patriotic message perhaps. I may be (correct me if I am wrong) off base here, but the sign translated means: "The Northern Islands (Japan's), the day they are returned to Japan, the day of peace." Pretty interesting for a peaceful nation...
Continuing down the street. A newly built attraction, full parking lot 24/7. Huge revenue into the neighborhood. What else? A pachinko parlor.
Noisy machines are the attration here. Slots and pin-ball style games dominate the average man's time and yen. I recently partook in the grand scheme with Manami and one of her friends. This guy knew what he was doing. He helped me out and the three of us ended up winning 5,000 yen in an hour. Not too shabby. I didn't mind it altogether, just a little loud and a bunch of low-lifes hanging around, I mean look at his award winner...
From there, it's about a 5 minute walk to the local used goods store. Here, you can find anything from delicious dishes, to dilligent drum sets. Check the name of the store:
I mean I have to say it. If this store sells used things, what's the name of the store that sells new stuff. Soft Off..? or, eh...
First stop:
There is a very busy intersection, in which the middle of said intersection is placed this rather odd sign. My first year in Japan, I simply thought it was a sign for a restaurant specializing in food from the far north of Japan, islands off Hokkaido. Having studied a bit of history while I have been here, I noticed that there are a few islands in the area that have long been disputed territories with Russia. (See Tsushima War) Upon further review, I noticed this sign was something more political, a patriotic message perhaps. I may be (correct me if I am wrong) off base here, but the sign translated means: "The Northern Islands (Japan's), the day they are returned to Japan, the day of peace." Pretty interesting for a peaceful nation...
Continuing down the street. A newly built attraction, full parking lot 24/7. Huge revenue into the neighborhood. What else? A pachinko parlor.
Noisy machines are the attration here. Slots and pin-ball style games dominate the average man's time and yen. I recently partook in the grand scheme with Manami and one of her friends. This guy knew what he was doing. He helped me out and the three of us ended up winning 5,000 yen in an hour. Not too shabby. I didn't mind it altogether, just a little loud and a bunch of low-lifes hanging around, I mean look at his award winner...
From there, it's about a 5 minute walk to the local used goods store. Here, you can find anything from delicious dishes, to dilligent drum sets. Check the name of the store:
I mean I have to say it. If this store sells used things, what's the name of the store that sells new stuff. Soft Off..? or, eh...
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Aso City Hash, 5/21/05
If you want to see a photo of the participants, I posted it in the files section of the Kumamoto AJET Yahoo! Groups page. Requires login, sorry.
On May 21st, the 31st running of the Kyushu HHH convened in the newly formed Aso City. Brother Sliced Bush promised a day to remember under the watchful eye of a smoking crater. 14 hash veterans joined 3 virgins as we started a labyrinthian course through Aso and Ichinomiya town. We located the first beer near meters away from highway 57, then continued to farms and ground golf facilities in the foothills. As we rounded a corner, we were confronted by a massive Clydesdale horse, who nearly hopped the fence to join the pursuit. From the second beer near, we headed up the side of Aso itself, a terribly exhausting climb, sidestepping cow-pats, outrunning raging bulls, avoiding tourist buses and getting lung fulls of sulphur tinged air. Finally, after reaching Sensuikyo Shrine, we located on home and finished halfway up the side of the ancient fire mountain. Hash Lowdown:
-Sh*tf*ck snuck up on Sliced Bush placing a mark very near the finish. He proceeded to nab him and enforce the no-pants rule during religion.
-Another Hash first: Sliced Bush claims the first "moving on-ons"; chalk spots placed strategically on nearby cows. Well done.
-A beautiful YBF: run up a path, climb a ladder on one of those irrigation/drainage thingies then being greeted by a huge YBF on the opposite wall.
-Chad was immortalized as Golden Girl - a homage to his beginnings in the TV show's oft referenced "back in St. Olaf..." and his fine gold locks.
-Mark Frey, joining his 5th hash in his 3 year Japan career, was immortalized as Drag Queen Racer. We are talking about a man who can wear a kimono 2nd best in all of Japan. We were also treated to a few stories of his unreal driving adventures on and off the roads of his beloved Aso.
-Due to a beer underestimation on the part of Sliced Bush, Chu Hi was used for several down downs. DJ Chu Hi was unavailable for comment.
-Due to a approaching rainstorm, a rousing religion was held under a roof at the entrance of a male Toire.
Thanks to Sliced Bush for a well-executed day and the safety drivers for running the drunk shuttles later on. The next Hash will
On May 21st, the 31st running of the Kyushu HHH convened in the newly formed Aso City. Brother Sliced Bush promised a day to remember under the watchful eye of a smoking crater. 14 hash veterans joined 3 virgins as we started a labyrinthian course through Aso and Ichinomiya town. We located the first beer near meters away from highway 57, then continued to farms and ground golf facilities in the foothills. As we rounded a corner, we were confronted by a massive Clydesdale horse, who nearly hopped the fence to join the pursuit. From the second beer near, we headed up the side of Aso itself, a terribly exhausting climb, sidestepping cow-pats, outrunning raging bulls, avoiding tourist buses and getting lung fulls of sulphur tinged air. Finally, after reaching Sensuikyo Shrine, we located on home and finished halfway up the side of the ancient fire mountain. Hash Lowdown:
-Sh*tf*ck snuck up on Sliced Bush placing a mark very near the finish. He proceeded to nab him and enforce the no-pants rule during religion.
-Another Hash first: Sliced Bush claims the first "moving on-ons"; chalk spots placed strategically on nearby cows. Well done.
-A beautiful YBF: run up a path, climb a ladder on one of those irrigation/drainage thingies then being greeted by a huge YBF on the opposite wall.
-Chad was immortalized as Golden Girl - a homage to his beginnings in the TV show's oft referenced "back in St. Olaf..." and his fine gold locks.
-Mark Frey, joining his 5th hash in his 3 year Japan career, was immortalized as Drag Queen Racer. We are talking about a man who can wear a kimono 2nd best in all of Japan. We were also treated to a few stories of his unreal driving adventures on and off the roads of his beloved Aso.
-Due to a beer underestimation on the part of Sliced Bush, Chu Hi was used for several down downs. DJ Chu Hi was unavailable for comment.
-Due to a approaching rainstorm, a rousing religion was held under a roof at the entrance of a male Toire.
Thanks to Sliced Bush for a well-executed day and the safety drivers for running the drunk shuttles later on. The next Hash will
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Flying Koi and Shochu Dreams
This past weekend, Manami and I hit completely opposite ends of Kumamoto Prefecture on consecutive days. Saturday, we headed for the small hamlet of Tsuetate, north of Mt. Aso on the border of Oita Prefecture. It is here that they have a special festival every year. Over 3,500 Koi flags/wind socks are strung up over the river and flown for a few weeks. Manami and I picked up Jamie and we headed for the town to check out the Koi. This is what we saw:
Sunday, we picked up Joe early and headed for the town of Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto's 3rd or 4th biggest city, near the border of Kagoshima Prefecture. There was a Shochu (Rice-brewed Liquor of Southern Japan) Festival. We walked around and only found two booths providing free samples. Slightly disappointed, we headed for the source: the Shochu brewery. We walked to the nearby Sengetsu (a popular local brand) factory for a short tour. At the end of the tour, we sat down at a table with about 10 different branded bottles sitting on the table and another 10 on shelves on the wall. Over the next 2 hours, Joe and I proceeded to try nearly all 20 brands and ranked them accordingly. Finally, we had our fill and selected the winner. We stumbled out and searched for discount yaki tori, yaki ika and okonomiyaki on a stick as the festival was shutting down. Thanks to Manami, our safety driver, we arrived back in Kumamoto where we gorged on a pot of Somen noodles. It was a delicious Sunday.
Sunday, we picked up Joe early and headed for the town of Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto's 3rd or 4th biggest city, near the border of Kagoshima Prefecture. There was a Shochu (Rice-brewed Liquor of Southern Japan) Festival. We walked around and only found two booths providing free samples. Slightly disappointed, we headed for the source: the Shochu brewery. We walked to the nearby Sengetsu (a popular local brand) factory for a short tour. At the end of the tour, we sat down at a table with about 10 different branded bottles sitting on the table and another 10 on shelves on the wall. Over the next 2 hours, Joe and I proceeded to try nearly all 20 brands and ranked them accordingly. Finally, we had our fill and selected the winner. We stumbled out and searched for discount yaki tori, yaki ika and okonomiyaki on a stick as the festival was shutting down. Thanks to Manami, our safety driver, we arrived back in Kumamoto where we gorged on a pot of Somen noodles. It was a delicious Sunday.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Travels in Singapore and Malaysia
To view the pictures from the trip, just click on the linked text below for the corresponding picture. Or to view them all, click here. Enjoy.
A string of consecutive holidays here in Japan allowed me to take a 9-day vacation from April 28th to May 6th. As this was my last extended vacation to take during my time in Japan, I wanted to visit a teacher I used to work with at one of my schools in Kumamoto. He and his family now live in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he is an English teacher at the school for Japanese. So I decided to combine my visit to Malaysia with a short stop in Singapore to experience more sprawling cities of SE Asia.
SINGAPORE: Japan’s Shame
I arrived in Singapore for the second time in my life only this time I was actually going to leave the airport. I arrived on Thursday afternoon and planned on staying until Saturday night. The first day I spent with an acquaintance, Emily, from nearby Miyazaki. (She had a 15-hour layover in Singapore.) We decided to take a long walk and check out the sights. As we were walking along a main strip of bars and restaurants, we happened upon a pub overflowing with people out onto the sidewalk imbibing the fine brew. The interesting thing about these people was that they were all wearing bright orange shirts or hats. I hadn’t even realized I happened to be wearing the only bright orange shirt I own at the time. I was told by and woman with a beer in her hand and a baby strapped to her that anyone wearing orange would be awarded with free beer. Delighted, I went forward and heard a bell ring, meaning no more beer. Sadly, I left the orange throng and continued to walk. We found several famous landmarks of Singapore including the Mer-Lion, the Durian Opera House, Fullerton Hotel, Raffles Hotel and a memorial to civilians killed by Japan’s WW2 invasion. Finally we headed back to one of the best hostels in Singapore, The Inn Crowd, located right in bustling Little India.
The next day, I was again on my own and on a mission to find out about Singapore’s history. The city itself is only about 200 years old and was founded by this British fellow named Raffles. Since then it has existed as a huge melting pot for many cultures, the majority of the population of whom are Chinese, Indian, Malay and various Westerners. Due to my recent interest in WW2 and more specifically, Japan’s role in it, I knew Singapore had played a large part in the Pacific Theater of the War. In the morning, I headed for a small museum called Battle Box located in an urban park, Fort Canning. The Battle Box was the command center for British and allied forces during Japan’s invasion of Singapore in early 1942. This small bunker has been made into a replica of the command center complete with animatronic officers who performed the parts of the men who were there. It was very interesting to see how the generals and staff had to take into account so many factors regarding the rapidly approaching Japanese forces before realizing they had to surrender. I picked up a few interesting anti-Japanese propaganda post cards. I spent the rest of the day strolling Chinatown and securing a train ticket into Malaysia for the following evening.
That evening, I took a long train ride out of central city and headed for the starting box of The Lion City Hash. This was my second opportunity to join a hash outside of Japan. Along with about 60 other people, we started and followed the trail marked by chalk and biodegradable TP. Most of the people were middle age expats in Singapore for work. We ran through a forest that seemed like it wasn’t there just 40 years ago. There were overgrown buildings and abandoned factories through which the course winded. The highlight of the hash was when the trail went right through a small shelter with about 7 people just sitting and staring at us. There was one man and the rest were pretty good looking young women (one of whom was just emerging toweled from bathing in a little pond). I found out later these were probably Thai prostitutes living and working illegally in Singapore. I am sure they appreciated 60 people running straight through their living quarters—well, I appreciated it. After a funny religion and a down-down for myself as one of 3 guest hashers, we had dinner. I sat near a young Japanese woman and her middle-aged German husband. He was retired and she worked in Singapore. I am intrigued by the German accent and laughed for hours as I talked about Japan and Singapore life with them.
The next morning, I bid farewell to Nadia, Brooke and Chad, three Kumamoto JETs who had been in the same hostel as I. I headed for the small village of Changi near the airport. It was here that the Japanese imprisoned thousands of Singaporeans and allied troops. Today it is a very thorough museum and memorial to the prisoners and the victims of the Japanese atrocities. The conditions of the prison were appalling and the things the Japanese resorted to are just unimaginable. I saw that as many as 50,000 Chinese Singaporeans may have been massacred by troops. One of the prisoners painted massive religious murals at the prison’s hospital and they were restored in the museum. I then went into Changi Village and took a short nap on the beach as the planes came in for landings right over my head. That night I hopped in a sleeper car for the overnight train ride to Kuala Lumpur.
(Be sure to check out some photos of some pretty interesting and bizarre signs in Singapore.)
MALAYSIA: Concrete Jungle, Ancient Rain Forest
I arrived early on Sunday morning and was greeted by Mr. Motomura, my former co-worker in Kumamoto. After a delicious breakfast served on banana leaves at a local Indian restaurant, we hit a morning market to get some exotic fruits. Mr. M pointed out that the butcher was located below the market and away from all the other food stalls due to the religious customs of Islam and Hinduism. These two religions were easily the most prevalent in Malaysia and I was amazed to see huge Hindu temples standing next to elaborate mosques. It was quite a contrast just in architectural style. I was then brought to the Motomura residence located in a huge condominium, up on the 10th floor overlooking a beautiful park and mountainside. I had met his wife and cute 10-year-old twin daughters again after just a brief meeting in Kumamoto. During my time there, I was treated like a king in their house. Not only was my laundry taken care of, I had a room to myself, was cooked delicious meals and served more exotic fruits such as massive Papaya, Mango, Dragon fruit, Star fruit, Rambutan and countless others whose name I don’t know. For the day we went sight seeing around the city. We went up into the Kuala Lumpur Tower, the 4th highest radio tower in the world and got great views of the surrounding city and the magnificent Petronas Towers. I was really amazed at how so many buildings were based on Islamic concepts and designs, from the obvious to subtle. In the afternoon we went to a Malay dance performance and got to pose with the dancers afterward. We ended the evening at a delicious restaurant in the shadow of the Petronas Towers that was cook your own food in a large boiling vat called a steamboat. I at the largest crab claw I have ever seen.
The next day was a vacation day for Mr. Motomura, so after stocking up at a food store for my camping trip the next day, he and I headed for the suburbs. Not too far from the city is a massive cave called Batu Caves that has been turned into a Hindu shrine. There were many colorful statues all around the place and even an audio tour to explain the significance of all of the Hindu gods. After a brief afternoon rainstorm, we headed back home for a relaxing evening.
The next day I boarded a bus at a downtown hotel and took the 4-hour journey to the ferry terminal at tiny Kuala Tembeling. From there it was a 3-hour, 60 km boat ride in a thin but long wooden craft to Malaysia’s largest National Park, Taman Negara. The park boasts one of the oldest rain forests in the world, over 130 million years old. It has gone untouched by ice ages and volcanic activity, which have affected other rainforests in the past. The park is also home to thousands of different species including Malay Tigers, elephants, rhinoceros and my personal favorite the barking deer. The boat ride was a little hot and my posterior was most certainly numb from sitting on hard wood, but I saw quite a few animals. A huge snake swam near the shore and a herd of water buffaloes cooled off nearby. I spotted a few interesting birds fishing. I got to the small town of Kuala Tahan near the park’s HQ and quickly set up camp. Just as I arrived, two 3 feet long monitor lizards scrambled past my feet into the woods. This was gonna be fun. My goal was to avoid the dank hostels in such a beautiful setting so I had brought my handy tent and gear for hiking and camping. The weather worked out great considering in was a rain forest but the biggest problem was the insects. I coated myself in mosquito repellant continuously, but I was still feasted upon for the 2 days I was there. Also, if I ventured near any river, I was immediately swarmed by bees. I didn’t get stung the entire time I was there but it was pretty uncomfortable slapping at the bees buzzing around me. The morning after I arrived at the park, I rose early and broke camp and set off for the riverside campsite of Kuala Trenggan, about 13 km away. I left around 8 a.m. and barely stopped walking until I made it to the camp at about 1:30. I came across amazingly tall trees and very interesting vegetation. When I arrived at Kuala Trenggan, I was out of water and needed a refill if I was to stay the night there. There was one man there working on something and he told me that this camp had been closed. No shower, fine; no facilities, no problem; bees, bring ‘em on; but potable water was a problem. I made the decision to hitch a ride with the man in his boat and head back to my original campsite, only about 10 km down the river. I rewarded myself with a delicious dinner at a local floating restaurant that night before retiring to my tent and the amazing orchestra of a rain forest at night. The next day I went to a special Canopy Walk constructed in the treetops of the nearby forest. A few planks were held up by ropes with nets on the side, but it was still a thrill walking as high as 150 ft above the forest floor. I did a similar treetop walk in Australia, but those were actually built from the ground, whereas these were suspended from the trees themselves. The planks actually swing and sway as you walk along. After that I climbed a nearby hill for great views of the endless forest in the distance. I had some lunch then set out down another path for a cave about 3 km away. As I walked, I came upon a family of Orang Asli, the group of native people that are legally allowed to inhabit and live off the forests of Taman Negara. There were 3 kids, one of whom was buck naked, and a mother with a baby hanging on her in a small wrap. She was topless other than the baby holder, but she was chopping some wood and ignored me as I passed by. I snapped a photo of some of the kids on my way back from the cave. I arrived at the cave with my headlamp and was ready to explore its depths. As I entered however, I saw that wasn’t going to happen. Not only were there many bats hanging from the low ceiling of the cave, a few were awakened by my presence and started flying around. I thought the better of it and decided to not go in. That night I laid down to sleep at about 10 and heard the unwelcome sound of thunder in the distance. I had full confidence my tent could withstand any caliber thunderstorm, but for some reason I felt uncomfortable set up under towering trees during a violent storm. I awoke again at 2 a.m. when the rain started to zip up my tent. I expected to be kept awake by the storm, but again fell asleep until I wake around 7 to a torrent on the walls of my tent. I would have waited it out, but I had to get a boat out of the park in the morning. I quickly packed up in the rain and headed out. The rain had stopped by the time I got on the boat and it was another long pleasant ride down the river. I arrived back in KL in time to join the Motomura daughters for some late afternoon swimming and then joined Mr. M for a night of fine foods and drinking with his co-workers at his school.
The final day I spent on my own going to various sites and shopping areas around the city. I finally got an up-close view of the beautiful Petronas Towers and the scarily massive shopping mall beneath them. I experienced another afternoon downpour, delighted to be in a place with fast changing weather much like St. Louis. At last, I met up with the Motomuras to say a million thanks and good-bye at the train station. I took the KL Int’l Airport Express and hopped on a flight back to good ole Fukuoka X.
The more I think about the trip, the better it gets. I was able to explore Singapore and get to know its interesting history and its unfortunate relationship with Japan. It was my first long trip completely on my own and now I can see how that’s almost preferable unless we are talking about family. I met many interesting people but was able to be independent and pursue my own interests. I met an old friend and was treated royally by him and his family. I experienced two huge cities and was able to retreat to one of the most remote parks in SE Asia for some well-needed quiet and nature injection.
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