May 21, Monday & May 22, Tuesday

May 21, Monday   &  May 22, Tuesday

Monday
Did not get to sleep until about 1:30 am and the wake up call came at 7 am, so not such a good night’s sleep.  I wanted to be up by 7:30 to see the eclipse of the sun however, when I opened up the curtains it was raining and dark clouds covered the skies.  Won’t see the eclipse after all.

I checked out of the hotel and head to the international airport by taxi. 
Taxis are extremely clean in Japan; all of them.  They even have white lace seat covers.  Yes, WHITE !  and the drivers wear white gloves as well, and these are regular taxis.  This country never ceases to amaze me. I really am sorry to be leaving.  This is one country where I would not hesitate to come back to and spend lots more time.

I’m flying Thai Air today and as usual get dinged for excess baggage, but this time it is an absolutely ridiculous amount, almost the price of an airline ticket !  I’m definitely going to one of their offices to try to get a partial refund.

The flight to Bangkok was uneventful.  I watched “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” which I read a few years ago as well as the two following books, but never had a chance to see the movies.  Definitely want to get the chance to see this one again, as well as seeing the sequels.  Since it was a 5 hour flight, I also watched Glen Close in “Albert Nobbs".  I didn’t get to see the ending however because we were landing. ...What else is new!  She is impersonating a man, as a male butler in a hotel.  Amazingly well played as usual when Glen Close is involved, but I thought the story line was a bit weak.

The last 10 minutes of flight as we were descending to land provided me with a great look at this region of Thailand.  Agricultural fields as far as they eye could see; long and narrow lots.  As we get nearer to Bangkok, some of the lots have been converted to housing.  Very strange to see these vast fields and then all of a sudden a long stretch of houses in the middle of it. 

After going through Immigration, I grab a taxi into the city of Bangkok.  IT IS HUGE !  The Viengtai Hotel where I am staying is in an older quarter of Bangkok and there appear to be a lot of little shops and restaurants on the street.  I meet the rest of the group on Wednesday, when the official "tour" begins.  The hotel is quite ordinary but very clean.  I’ll have to go check out the outdoor pool and see what condition it’s in.  They are nickel and diming for everything however; I’ll even have to pay to leave my big suitcase here while I travel with the “Intrepid” group.  That has never happened before.
OH, and there is English TV !  So nice to understand what is being said again.

Tuesday
Up early today to get ready for my visit to the Canadian Embassy and get addresses to get passport photos taken.  

 My ride in a Thai tuk-tuk, on my way to the Canadian Embassy

 Views of Bangkok.  No idea where I am, but sites look interesting

 A beautiful gateway in front of some impressive buildings

 Wow... impressive statue on some wide boulevards

 Downtown area on Rama I Road



I may not have access to the internet during my travels through Indo-China, so don’t worry if you don’t get many blog postings for the next month.  I may have to play “catch-up” again later.

Here is the travel plan with the group from Intrepid:
May 23 & 24:  Bangkok, Thailand
May 25: Chiang Mai
May 26:  Huay Hai
May 27, 28, 29, 30:  Mekong River Cruise, Thailand & Laos
May 31 & June 1:  Vang Vieng
June 2: Vientiane
June 3: Hanoi, Vietnam
June 4: Halong Bay
June 5 & 6: Hanoi
June 7: Hue
June 8 9, 10: Hoi An
June 11 & 12: Ho Chi Minh City
June 13 & 14: Phom Penh, Cambodia
June 15:  Homestay
June 16, 17, 18:  Siem Reap, Angkor Wat
June 19 & 20: Back to Bangkok

 I think I’ll need a long rest on a beach somewhere after that.   

May 19, Saturday & May 20, Sunday

May 19, Saturday    &   May 20,  Sunday

Saturday

I wake up to a gloomy day and have already decided that this is going to be a “stay in and rest” day.  I manage to publish a few days on my blog.  The internet connection keeps cutting out on me however and uploading the photos takes forever.

Sunday

Another gloomy day.  I spend most of the day indoors but at around 2 pm decide to go out anyway and check out the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.  Turns out that it is located in the “Eeny Meeny Miny Mo” building, and that’s where the Pizzeria is located where I had lunch here on the day I arrived.  

The museum is a bit of a bust.  Some artwork by locals as well as pottery and there is a huge children’s section which is full since it is Sunday afternoon.  I walk a few blocks further taking in the sights, such as they are, and then return to the hotel.   About 2 hours later I realize I need to print some documents before I arrive in Bangkok, and go down to the lobby to see if they can assist.  No business centre ! but they do have conference rooms ! ! !  I am directed to a nearby Kinko store.  Turns out it is 2 blocks further than where I walked this afternoon, and it is spitting rain.   A quick trip there and back with my copies all done for less than $5.

Tonight I watched “Sister Act” in Japanese.  It was even funnier this time !  Whoopie Goldberg speaking in Japanese.  You gotto love it !

May 18, Friday

May 18, Friday

Another lazy morning;  I just love those.   At noon I walk to City Hall again to purchase a ticket for the Open Top Bus, Blue line this time, but it is only available at 4 pm.  I decide to make one last attempt at purchasing a spare battery for my new camera and head for the BIC Camera shop on the other side of Fukuoka Tenjin Station.  Eureka !  The guy who works there figures out the conversion code for the battery I bought in Hong Kong, with one that is made in China (What ??? Not Japan !!!) and I finally have a spare battery.  

 Beautiful statue in front of City Hall.  This would not be allowed in Canada or most cities in the USA. We are such prudes.   Look at how lovely this is; you can almost feel the breeze.

 Kego Park, behind the Tenjin Bus Centre

I decide to walk to Ohori Park, more than ½ hour away. I opt to take some of the smaller side streets rather than staying on the large avenues, since you see more of the “real” thing.  I’m stopped on a street corner with a map in my hand trying to locate a street sign to confirm how many blocks I still have to walk when a guy on the bike stops to ask if I need help.  How nice is that !   He confirms that I’m going in the right direction and that there are lots of entrances to the park; they are just about where the trees are up ahead.   NOT !   I’m in a residential area now and can see the park up on the hill to the right, but no way to get to it. I finally find the entrance after stopping to ask for directions at a small fruit and vegetable stand:  “Turn right, KFC” the little lady tells me.  Yes that was Kentucky Fried Chicken and although the street looked like it dead ended into a parking lot, I turned right anyway and finally spotted a tiny little sign with an arrow that led into the park.

 Map of Ohari Park .  It is quite large.  I enetered where you can see a tiny brown semi-circle

 The hill is on quite a slope as I go up the path, but also a slope up to the left.  Check out the huge tree growing at an angle out of the slope.

And I reach the castle's protective surrounding walls

I walk up following a series of paths until I reach the ruins.  “Fukuoka Castle (built in 1601) was one of the largest castles in Japan with four floors, 47 turrets and samurai quarters spanning over 2.46 million square meters.  The East gate provided access between the second and third baileys, and it was part of the main route to the second bailey, the castle keep and the castle tower.  The third bailey contained the residences of the chief retainers to the feudal lord.”  All that is left now are the stone  walls which surrounded the castle grounds.  It is very peaceful and quite a large area. Apart from three other people, I spot in quiet areas, there is no one here.

 There are tiny little purple flowers growing in the cracks of the castle walls.  The leaves look like clover.  The flowers no bigger than my finger nail.  So delicate, and yet so strong.

 The wide paths in parts of Ohori are gracefully done.  Fukuoka skyline visible in the background

 Old stone staircase going up into the wall to what used to be the castle keep.

 This is an image of what they think the castle looked like on top of the walls.

A different perspective from the other side.
I make my way through what used to be the castle grounds, down to the area where the Fukuoka City Art Museum is located. I go in for a quick peak since it is very small and contains only 3 rooms where no pictures are allowed: pottery, Buddhist icons and statues.

 Statue outside the museum.  Very whimsical
I come out of the museum and make my way to the lake, which is the main attraction in Ohori Park. It is quite large and I’m sorry I don’t have a bicycle to ride around it, or have the time to do it. 

 The lake in Ohori Park

 very large, and this is only half of it.

 There is a small causeway that crosses the lake (go back to the map at the top of todays' post)

I still have time to take a peek at the Japanese gardens at the south end of the lake.

There is a lovely little stream going through the park, over some rocks, creating small waterfalls.  All is quiet here except for the sound of the birds and the water.

 An oasis of peace within the city

 Black butterfly on an azalea bush

 Everything is done in miniature, a kind of "trompe l'oeil" garden design

 Helene,  you would love the rocks here !  I think they are selected even more carefully than the plants.

And in the far corner, nearest to the lake, a zen garden

I decide that I don’t really want to walk all the way back to City Hall and noticed that there were taxis waiting outside the Museum, so I head back there.  Thankfully the map I carry has both English and Japanese because the taxi driver does not appear to be able to tell where I want to go by just looking at the street map.  I make it back in plenty of time before my bus is scheduled to leave.

 Riding through the streets of Fukuoka this time, on the Blue Line Open Top Bus

 We reach the waterfront and the harbour, on the opposite side to the Hakata Port Tower that we see in the distance

 Fukuoka / Hakata is located in Hakata Bay, not quite in the East China Sea

Some of my photos are taken through the window, so we have ghost images of the passengers showing, but this one shows a small island in the bay, with what appears to be a causeway, or possibly a boom.  It also looks like there is a nice sandy beach on the left side.  Who knew !

On to the Blue bus this time and again the guide talks the entire time of the over 1 hour drive, while I listen to the 10 small recorded descriptions on the I-pod.   I don’t have a window seat this time, and it is fairly cold today so the entire ride is a bit of a disappointment.  It does however confirm that I don’t need to make a special trip back out to the Fukuoka area:  Fukuoka Tower, Yahoo Japan Dome (baseball), and the shopping areas.  This entire area is new and was all built on reclaimed land.  I do get a glimpse of Hakata Bay however and there appears to be a nice sandy beach out there as well. 

 Fukuoka Yahoo Japan Dome where they play baseball !  Japan's national game.

 Again, some imaginative architecture

 Crossing the Hii River.  There is another bridge next to this one, with a covered pedestrian walkway.

 The Fukuoka Tower.  There is an observation deck on one of the top floors.   Too bad this isn't a "hop-on, hop-off" type of bus.

Marjory:  This ones for you; the buildings here also have outside stairwells, but they appear to be slightly nicer than the one you showed us in Moscow.

We drive through a small part of Ohori Park near the castle ruins, not even seeing the lake !  Now really is a shame !
I’m glad to be back at City Hall and this drive to be over.  It may be fine for the Japanese tourists who can understand what the guide is saying, but for anyone else, the tour is a bust !   I’ve done a lot of walking today, and now I’m freezing from the bus ride, so I walk quickly back to the hotel for the evening.

Japanese TV isn’t that great.  Yes, I watch it even if I can’t understand what they are saying.  A lot of talk shows, game shows, shopping networks, a few serials that run every day at the same time.  No English  channel (BBC, CNN) and when they do run a segment, there is a Japanese over-voice.   I’ve managed to catch a few movies that were broadcast in French and a few American movies broadcast in Japanese where I can “kind of” follow the story line.  But it is some form of company, even just voices in the background while I work on my computer.

At one point during the evening I hear raised voices outside.  Considering I’m on the 10^th floor and the windows and walls are almost sound proof, it attracts my attention.   Some type of demonstration going on.

It is very orderly however ! ! !

May 17, Thursday

May 17, Thursday

I woke up just before 9 am and peaked out the curtains.  It’s a grey day, just my luck.  I spent the morning reading in bed, sipping my instant coffee and sending an email to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok where I am hoping to obtain my new passport.  {To my RCMP friends, I may be asking to use you as references.}  Mine expires in January 2013, but since it has to be valid for at least 6 months when you travel, I need to get a new one in June or July.  

By noon I decide to get dressed and go out to visit other sections of Hakata.  By the time I’m dressed and out on the street, the sun has come out to greet me !     AWWWW   Isn’t that nice !

 A stone lantern dating back to the late 1890s along the river walk

 I arrive at Canal City, a huge shopping complex finished in 2011

 As it names indicates, there are canals (of sorts) in the complex

 and a beautiful large fountain in the central area
I need a few items from the stores, so I head south again making for Canal City. It is a recent mall, opened in 2011 according to my tourist map. The walk there along the river was very pleasant and after finishing my shopping, I’m just in time for one of the “fountain shows”.  

 Beautiful graceful water sprays to the classical music

Too bad I didn’t bring my camcorder; I’ll have to come back to film this… maybe later this week in the evening.
I walk around for about 1 ½ hours and decide to have a bite to eat at about 2pm.  Today I opt for some noodles;  the Japanese love their noodles !  
After leaving the mall I opt to walk east past the Kawabata covered street shopping area

It looks nicer from this end of the street than the other side

I continue on my way to find Kushida Shrine. 

 A series of torii gates all in a row

 Nice little pond with trickling water providing a serene quiet setting

They have portable gold leaf shrines in a closed in area
It is a little gem.

 The well to wash your hands is adorned with cranes

The stone lanterns are everywhere

 The shrine is filled with carved wooden figures, amomg the hanging lanterns

Not sure if this little guy is giving us a fierce look or is laughing !

 The shrine contains masks with "long nosed" faces.  Not sure what that is all about.

 This horse statue looks alot like the one I saw in Hiroshima, on the grounds of the Castle

 Leaving the Shrine by the main gate; I appear to have entered by the side gate.

 Fish wind socks are a sign for good luck
And it contains one of the floats they use during the Hakata Gion Yamakasa, a fold festival of Fukuoka. The floats are over 10 meters tall and are flamboyantly decorated. The floats are “carried” one after the other along a five km stretch of the city on July 15.

 Here is the top of the float

and this is the bottom portion.   These are full size dummies, just to give you an idea of how big this is

And the entire float in one shot.
I’m walking down the street towards Reizen Park when I notice another float stored in a neighboring building

Not as many figures on this one, but just as tall.
I make my way back to the hotel by a circuitous route, only to drop off my few packages (sockets that have built-in insoles for my sore feet & baked goods for tomorrow’s breakfast in bed !)  and set out again west of the hotel toward Fukuoka City Hall.

There is a Tourist Information Office here, as well as the bus stops for 2 tourist buses:   Open Top Bus,  and the Fukuoka City Loop Green Bus.   I had been told at the hotel that both of these only ran during the weekends, but when I got to the City Hall Info desk I found out that the Open Top Bus was running today.  It was 4:10 and they had a bus leaving at 4:30 for the “red” loop; it was too late for the longer “blue” route.  When I tried to reserve the blue route for tomorrow, the young lady gestured “No”.   She spoke no English so I wasn’t able to find out why.  No matter, I went on the more than one hour “historic” ride.  

 I walked around the park while I waited.  Other people were also out enjoying the day

The Open-Top-Bus waiting for passengers to embark

 Just beside where I'm waiting is the building with the gardens on it.
I went back inside the building and noticed a miniature display in the huge lobby area of City Hall. It was a historical re-enactment of one of the parades where they carried the tall floats. Unfortunately, many of my photos did not turn out because of the glare from the glass cases, but here are a few of them.

 They are carrying one of those floats; so the tradition goes back for centuries

The figurines are quite revealing with regard to the costumes

 And their is a lord or other important figure on top of the float

The costumes of the onlookers are very nice as well

It is finally time to board the bus.  The lady guide gave information only in Japanese.  I, as the only English speaking person on board, was given an audio-guide on an I-Pod.   She spoke the entire time the bus went around the city and the Japanese passengers were laughing, so she must have been funny.  My audio-guide on the other hand only provided about 10 very limited descriptions along the route;  kind of disappointing.

 Riding on top of the open bus, through Hakata streets

 One of the only "historic" buildings I saw; designed by a famous Japanese architect

 Major streets of Hakata

 Hakata Port Tower


 Hakata JR Train Station, where I arrived earlier this week

 This modern building has something that looks like an old camera lens in front of it. They were all bank buildings, so I'm not sure what the connection is.  Could just be "art work".

 And we drove by the back of Canal City.  Notice the greenery growing on the walls !

 And we drove by the hotel where I am staying (silver with long blue banner)

 And the branches of the river.  It is a beautiful modern city.

This was the street with all the BIG name shops on it.

When the loop ended at 5:45 I tried one more electronics store “Best Denkei” in the hope of finding a spare battery for my new camera.  No luck anywhere !   I should have bought one in Hong Kong when I purchased the camera, but the guy who sold it to me said the battery was long lasting.  He obviously did not know who he was speaking to;  I can easily take between 200-300 photos each day; more if I’m on an interesting tour. 

At 6 pm I head back to my hotel, just a short walk away over two pedestrian bridges.
Well I finally treated myself to my birthday dinner tonight.  The hotel has a great restaurant that was advertising STEAK !   OH MY GOD …actual steak.  It was the smallest $40 steak I ever ate, but it was D E L I C I O U S with its Bourguignon sauce !  Add a side of steamed vegetables and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and finish it off with a Banana flavoured Crème brulé….  Absolutely delicious.  Still, a $70 meal isn’t usually in my budget !

 The steak was less than 4 inches across and not even 1/2 an inch thick

I savoured every single bite of this lecadent dessert.