tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59910655921177712732024-02-20T15:51:11.567+00:00Yumi and ThomasYumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-60037154486645250702012-05-10T13:02:00.004+01:002012-05-10T13:02:54.827+01:00New Adventure<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://yumiandthomasandbaby.blogspot.com/">Click HERE to follow our new adventure!</a></span></div>
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<br /><br />Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-6515948921214577252011-11-13T17:04:00.002+00:002011-11-30T18:25:31.010+00:00South Korea - our 15th country<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After 3 fantastic months we say "sayonara" to Japan and "ahn young!" to South Korea</div>
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The first of many Korean BBQs eaten during our 10 day stay </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having fun with technology </span></div>
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Inside Shinsengae, the largest department store in the world</div>
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Korea's great wall, Geumjeongsanseong Fortress</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Thomas in training to become a temple guardian</span></div>
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Inside Beomeosa temple</div>
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Love hotels are nice, clean, cheap and FUN places to stay in Korea </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> We loved our room so much we didn't want to leave it. Huge flat screen tv, computer, jet stream bath, rain shower, fridge, tons of toiletries and best of all..free popcorn!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The astronomical observatory of Cheomseongdae in Gyeongju </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anapji Pond</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Monks at Bulguksa temple </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Three Royal Tombs in Bae-ri </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Warming up before the big hike </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It's no wonder why Koreans love to hike with views like these. We felt a little out of place with our dull black jackets. All the real hikers wore bright yellow, orange or pink jackets. And don't forget the tight trousers! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Luckily for Thomas we don't live in this house</span></div>
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Koreans take cycling seriously. They left their helmets on for the entire show.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The traditional Korean mask dance was dragging on a bit when suddenly... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Guess who was chosen out of the all Korean crowd? Here is Thomas receiving a box of treats for his dancing effort. The other dancer Eyal kindly offered to let us stay at his place in Seoul. </span></div>
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<br />Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-23083445351799450822011-10-28T12:50:00.000+01:002011-10-28T12:50:43.040+01:00Cycle in Japan - part 4, 4th island and 4,000km!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The final instalment of the cycling adventure...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6M3uO3ZHM65ZTL1KhJAkE4Dbdq9QW9kf5Z47xQBrbykh28-hNZ3cv-BRpo-T4dnBqwRoZEnnxEHKv4DoXwBnVVYZJ7_nDbgGVEc-qqdefPscMSufcaALU4ByleWTEdBx79gigoJE6LnQa/s1600/IMGP8753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6M3uO3ZHM65ZTL1KhJAkE4Dbdq9QW9kf5Z47xQBrbykh28-hNZ3cv-BRpo-T4dnBqwRoZEnnxEHKv4DoXwBnVVYZJ7_nDbgGVEc-qqdefPscMSufcaALU4ByleWTEdBx79gigoJE6LnQa/s640/IMGP8753.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The locals introduced us to some hidden treasures. Today we visited a tiny museum where we got to beat the heck out of some taiko drums and danced around wearing festival masks.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were so fortunate on this day. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exhausted after a day of hill climbs, we decided to stop at a michi no eki for the night. An older motorcyclist and his friend advised that we push a bit further (mostly downhill) to some nicer places to stay. They led the way and negotiated for us to stay at an animal park/campsite for free. Then a young father and 2 children arrived to play with the animals. The motorcyclist told the father about us and before we knew it, we were invited to his home for the night. Kazu is part of a cycling family. We were whisked away to dinner with the entire family - Kazu, his son, his parents, his grandmother and his brother and his family. After filling up on barbequed beef and beers, we all went to an onsen. We went to sleep that night clean, full and a bit tipsy.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLNXdb-NLd1UxQ-W6D_s4yPSdn3gg-Ru8kudkRtvG6kCmn9LL-MR5UNpO-1qhhv5b8q_eRKkRSCul68f_5Yh0yqdkg-ssN2_qMR3awvj4pzFzjD5GJIAPbuAeanRgNloe8RVLbn-5V5Id/s1600/IMGP8855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLNXdb-NLd1UxQ-W6D_s4yPSdn3gg-Ru8kudkRtvG6kCmn9LL-MR5UNpO-1qhhv5b8q_eRKkRSCul68f_5Yh0yqdkg-ssN2_qMR3awvj4pzFzjD5GJIAPbuAeanRgNloe8RVLbn-5V5Id/s640/IMGP8855.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 16km climb up Aso san a bit hungover and in the heat was worth it. We were rewarded with beautiful views, onigiris from some friendly locals and a fantastic downhill ride. Yumi had her first tiny accident while caught in traffic on a very narrow road at the bottom of the mountain. She attempted to hop a tiny curb and "crashed" into a stopped car. A couple of sumimasens directed at the shocked couple inside the car and she was back on the road. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A beautiful, blue day at the Peace Memorial in Nagasaki. Once again, it was difficult to be proud to be an American after the visit. There is absolutely no ill will towards the country that bombed them rather the city is focused on promoting peace.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After 2 months, it was time for Thomas to get a haircut.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check out our bikes on the tiniest ferry of our trip. 2 bikes and 4 passengers made the 45 minute journey from Nagasaki to Amakusa.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our last major climb of the trip was up Sakurajima, an active volcano overlooking Kagoshima. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It spewed huge clouds of ashes while we were next to it so we ended up eating ashes and had our glasses covered with grey snow. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was hard not to stop and watch Sakurajima show off her power.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We reached the 4000km mark while on Sakurajima and she helped us celebrate the accomplishment with an extra big eruption.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">80km to reach Cape Sata. There were lots of ups and downs on the way to the southern tip of Kyushu and we managed 91km (an extra 11km to go back North and find a great camping spot). </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the closest we could get to the southern most tip of mainland Japan. We felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. No place to buy postcards, stickers or even a drink. Fortunately, we brought our own brandy.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hmmm....Cape Soya is only 2700km away. Shall we head back up?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We made it to Cape Sata 59 days after leaving Cape Soya. We want to say a big thank you (or "Arigato Gosaimasu" as it is clearly written on the white pages) to everyone who offered us support and encouragement during our cycling adventure. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For our last meal on the road we stopped at a somen nagashi. You start by putting noodles in a swirling container of ultra cold water. You then catch them with your chopsticks and dip them in a tasty broth. Yummmmm…..</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wrGFLuGOcmsdXFUGFRXcwduuEAlJEhnoMDyEi1yK5BJtRJYWhsXSmaPAIluX9Qlp46kJCMY9hHnsbpayduL4YE8KbxVecGopF3nialFIsHucz0um8LFkUl0nQh3JMg31y03DEw2ANw3L/s1600/IMG_8924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wrGFLuGOcmsdXFUGFRXcwduuEAlJEhnoMDyEi1yK5BJtRJYWhsXSmaPAIluX9Qlp46kJCMY9hHnsbpayduL4YE8KbxVecGopF3nialFIsHucz0um8LFkUl0nQh3JMg31y03DEw2ANw3L/s640/IMG_8924.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Year 4 students at Ikeda Elementary school invited us to talk about our travels. Upon arrival, we were immediately surrounded by students wanting our autographs. We felt like celebraties! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2qZW7ajpCM2IIzzE19cpllBCM8XHQuqInWv7_oRmZoAJGeQaqxokvO3DCzW1TDOHAIdIw058WWxfmmd37_dO6p-CYGa88uQ44hxjJUAXWdJTivsnlR_zNYW920dL_fAPsy7Gaenbuvbb/s1600/IMGP9020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2qZW7ajpCM2IIzzE19cpllBCM8XHQuqInWv7_oRmZoAJGeQaqxokvO3DCzW1TDOHAIdIw058WWxfmmd37_dO6p-CYGa88uQ44hxjJUAXWdJTivsnlR_zNYW920dL_fAPsy7Gaenbuvbb/s640/IMGP9020.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After riding together for 4000km, we still like each other. Now that’s something to celebrate!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-19467405916483561112011-10-05T10:19:00.000+01:002011-10-05T10:19:26.730+01:00Cycle in Japan - part 3 Third island and 3,000km<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXEPhXsBdlslxsfbfDuacT-AZfbQc6Z0e0WB7wwfCG8L4Ml_rA9kxLb0NV9qf3WkP1dI3Al9BKmLj6u2rwnNZu1zRKvIL7ccc18-mJS85MzofIT1aWh7sMHx4JoUO-_KdGVXAUf3hGkr-/s1600/IMG_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXEPhXsBdlslxsfbfDuacT-AZfbQc6Z0e0WB7wwfCG8L4Ml_rA9kxLb0NV9qf3WkP1dI3Al9BKmLj6u2rwnNZu1zRKvIL7ccc18-mJS85MzofIT1aWh7sMHx4JoUO-_KdGVXAUf3hGkr-/s640/IMG_0337.JPG" width="474" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thomas made a friend on the ferry to Shikoku</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD10FD-adD-G-9HFWSsa2lCfHaQWzYb_6NPSuMFYzU0iMZxfmy9GjMTfQoWKZfoveESQ18Iojtho5cooQcnudRW7GZFjRKlJjpA2AoBhYnovs7wYtBlrG3xGK2ZhHlk3qlPVaRmrEREkY2/s1600/IMG_0354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD10FD-adD-G-9HFWSsa2lCfHaQWzYb_6NPSuMFYzU0iMZxfmy9GjMTfQoWKZfoveESQ18Iojtho5cooQcnudRW7GZFjRKlJjpA2AoBhYnovs7wYtBlrG3xGK2ZhHlk3qlPVaRmrEREkY2/s640/IMG_0354.JPG" width="474" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Baseball is huge in Japan. This game was in Tokushima, the biggest city in Shikoku (263,000 people) and our arrival port on this island </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are plenty of signs and statues on the road to keep us smiling.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Apparently this is a raccoon (on the left, of course). Thomas thinks it is a fat Ewok with a Vietnamese hat.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HSevRUPlacL84twMrfJDLVd9pY5xcL3iWk8Gu-E6Oiz1X7XnstsVB2VC6Q7pwvHDF4P_8x99qc9nrBSWfjZiDCFU5cEquIEv97e_TgEQM7cyVJLl2Sn4nA-VRe2s7rUtjgUs35i07rwT/s1600/IMG_0416_with+hisa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HSevRUPlacL84twMrfJDLVd9pY5xcL3iWk8Gu-E6Oiz1X7XnstsVB2VC6Q7pwvHDF4P_8x99qc9nrBSWfjZiDCFU5cEquIEv97e_TgEQM7cyVJLl2Sn4nA-VRe2s7rUtjgUs35i07rwT/s640/IMG_0416_with+hisa.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have met many ohenro-sans during our ride along the southern coast. These pilgrims walk 1,200km stopping at each of the 88 Sacred Temples around Shikoku. They are hardcore!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1.2 km ride up to Temple 24. Too busy cursing and sweating to enjoy the view on the way up and going way too fast to enjoy it on the way down.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWASy54-HTECgqwHHAM2ZsLoe7lwPNmj71TpKolu065KX7x7kE-Rca36vuVfiTs1tx47DzP6JzNEzVVZIcrTpVTeg2mgQzL88vAj48qkDEFG1WWfEGzXKNg2UHYtm3VDJz6RLzzt8IxLC/s1600/IMGP8334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWASy54-HTECgqwHHAM2ZsLoe7lwPNmj71TpKolu065KX7x7kE-Rca36vuVfiTs1tx47DzP6JzNEzVVZIcrTpVTeg2mgQzL88vAj48qkDEFG1WWfEGzXKNg2UHYtm3VDJz6RLzzt8IxLC/s640/IMGP8334.JPG" width="474" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Offerings left on the steps of the temple (5 yen coins).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JuWPsSLXoGP9yDNJdchOLg0IR8V8HdoBvutFKRTYM9dXa3lFuW_9TJ0GWnV5_efCDe96SVgIN1SogDLNEP-gRbwL58H9zZ6paGCCxB0T37n1rgMhu5x9NR8qacJNW43CKLwsJhsO__P4/s1600/IMG_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JuWPsSLXoGP9yDNJdchOLg0IR8V8HdoBvutFKRTYM9dXa3lFuW_9TJ0GWnV5_efCDe96SVgIN1SogDLNEP-gRbwL58H9zZ6paGCCxB0T37n1rgMhu5x9NR8qacJNW43CKLwsJhsO__P4/s640/IMG_0458.JPG" width="474" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Although the clouds often hung around the horizon, the sunsets were still beautiful.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sKhWRBDPw0tTdcT-k8JrSfeJyFRmq6Wokaud82VzeqkV3vbd_3Vi1MrQJfxIUdJ1GlXpz-YmSibIrOFh8rRLDvSk9viSHmsG80gs3YUqSjjAiFz7BSKB9DFm7aR2_Kjj4c06IZcKHy7W/s1600/IMGP8308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sKhWRBDPw0tTdcT-k8JrSfeJyFRmq6Wokaud82VzeqkV3vbd_3Vi1MrQJfxIUdJ1GlXpz-YmSibIrOFh8rRLDvSk9viSHmsG80gs3YUqSjjAiFz7BSKB9DFm7aR2_Kjj4c06IZcKHy7W/s400/IMGP8308.JPG" width="297" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes you find hidden treasures during pee breaks.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeqV9eOCd-oaqv8hJ-NM_vQD2meFR7HgDxa4dBvxS9L4rGXv4FIrzTALPbYf4k5SS4X6K4TQxVkmu8mfMy7uj4x942UnPTmBE-_zz1G2zE8FR0JrZwc0cDqdoU_qn3jOB6W1ZV5SMVUec/s1600/IMGP8353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeqV9eOCd-oaqv8hJ-NM_vQD2meFR7HgDxa4dBvxS9L4rGXv4FIrzTALPbYf4k5SS4X6K4TQxVkmu8mfMy7uj4x942UnPTmBE-_zz1G2zE8FR0JrZwc0cDqdoU_qn3jOB6W1ZV5SMVUec/s400/IMGP8353.JPG" width="297" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's not only people who stop and look at us. 3 of them decided to cross the road in front of us.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eP-wo7QkkZyKgRUKTpJdcipU3Ah06knP-8UxKmYcowMW6b-BHaByFrqoLQTnyTbnLCDIQ9Ljs1TUT00lYeHRLHwO0DlvS0TsMz2yoFHrTb-SB8hRFRl70saitcl0k482o7UQZB4wZswr/s1600/IMGP8359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eP-wo7QkkZyKgRUKTpJdcipU3Ah06knP-8UxKmYcowMW6b-BHaByFrqoLQTnyTbnLCDIQ9Ljs1TUT00lYeHRLHwO0DlvS0TsMz2yoFHrTb-SB8hRFRl70saitcl0k482o7UQZB4wZswr/s640/IMGP8359.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shikoku's coastline is absolutely gorgeous. We don't mind hill climbs with views like this.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_ljpLARvJc9d8yViY0dqe5qyoK4IaRTigIOt3LtMXPHR3Eh8HTXVnmpkSDiKVGdI438OlaJldxOBEE-zoT-KjA-bKg_edk3-zBdhEU3bSyiI10543dB7I1PfadokYW-YaVvDCU5AEKu7/s1600/IMGP8368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_ljpLARvJc9d8yViY0dqe5qyoK4IaRTigIOt3LtMXPHR3Eh8HTXVnmpkSDiKVGdI438OlaJldxOBEE-zoT-KjA-bKg_edk3-zBdhEU3bSyiI10543dB7I1PfadokYW-YaVvDCU5AEKu7/s640/IMGP8368.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Up until Shikoku, we had been averaging about 85km a day. With all its interesting people, fantastic food and amazing scenery, our average has dropped down to 60km.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwd8RtVZ4GtRWeMjTEhtRocqMi7fL8sJYJVPYFr46XDtaNelZaaPe1ChGwXKKhZJZCFx_2fImqdkiTR6iwQ7b103-QwxuZUA_PC6SE-iHInJlNfHiuHGe8joi6gAMjXj_tSLn89TZLHus/s1600/IMGP8413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwd8RtVZ4GtRWeMjTEhtRocqMi7fL8sJYJVPYFr46XDtaNelZaaPe1ChGwXKKhZJZCFx_2fImqdkiTR6iwQ7b103-QwxuZUA_PC6SE-iHInJlNfHiuHGe8joi6gAMjXj_tSLn89TZLHus/s400/IMGP8413.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyhEOy30tKyWQ3C11TSxkaM9RJ5T_ZDmA3XRJkms6j1sNLULeaNpS5wQPPeeYhqLhpn4SEOTp1Qt_vswI0bKFTieY7TTAurAVuH2L8Ty5T1k_BZ2SfJ58IOA0nzPPg2vMSDqD8GmSPpOl/s1600/IMGP8429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyhEOy30tKyWQ3C11TSxkaM9RJ5T_ZDmA3XRJkms6j1sNLULeaNpS5wQPPeeYhqLhpn4SEOTp1Qt_vswI0bKFTieY7TTAurAVuH2L8Ty5T1k_BZ2SfJ58IOA0nzPPg2vMSDqD8GmSPpOl/s400/IMGP8429.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweoF_53aD6WoK-EF_DNU9R9mdcz3P046QgklrKRqFfDNPdDI94V49rfJevxAr923LpeAnRKTEAksudMuag9K9rpJfqhVwtOciuEuPLVedeYp_RNdRUByM7z3oXW9-BKx0u7kgw4mnRIQx/s1600/IMG_0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweoF_53aD6WoK-EF_DNU9R9mdcz3P046QgklrKRqFfDNPdDI94V49rfJevxAr923LpeAnRKTEAksudMuag9K9rpJfqhVwtOciuEuPLVedeYp_RNdRUByM7z3oXW9-BKx0u7kgw4mnRIQx/s400/IMG_0481.JPG" width="297" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMC2O1Pd4apl-pNu6YAgwCEw0redFaFrFwfUNdOzx1qxSgKCM9UKooY8HfAtsxXpDyv1iZiXfKPPjM7wN6yd3cBEarzq0Qq38_Ls6JKmC913oM5UmmB4kQclwY7Jk6g4fCNDqyca1OZAcX/s1600/IMGP8479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMC2O1Pd4apl-pNu6YAgwCEw0redFaFrFwfUNdOzx1qxSgKCM9UKooY8HfAtsxXpDyv1iZiXfKPPjM7wN6yd3cBEarzq0Qq38_Ls6JKmC913oM5UmmB4kQclwY7Jk6g4fCNDqyca1OZAcX/s400/IMGP8479.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan. Shinto shrines can be found everywhere: in between houses, on a tiny island, in a park, on the road in the middle of nowhere. The main entrance to a Shinto shrine is a torii (gate), which is often painted a bright vermilion.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tQhe85aDWWxywLiSpPtNa7g9kpIMpc4HLA_Zbqc6z_V8nDEH1zdz2J2trYOy2e36RVveNu2nzrt72iFqLwnjgfrhVIgIdFkeH32ueEV5irSHzW8tbopEVvl3Ayd_kKUSE41GC7sWL_rO/s1600/IMGP8389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tQhe85aDWWxywLiSpPtNa7g9kpIMpc4HLA_Zbqc6z_V8nDEH1zdz2J2trYOy2e36RVveNu2nzrt72iFqLwnjgfrhVIgIdFkeH32ueEV5irSHzW8tbopEVvl3Ayd_kKUSE41GC7sWL_rO/s640/IMGP8389.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You also come across many natural shrines: waterfalls, trees and rocks decorated with Shimenawa (sacred rope). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3w0MF39DpEbHrQvMHxV85gLpFow7M8AvETjAuQ81PdUMF0NZgkqj0DaDDa_jRwP748zXx6I7GgariXXeVd9DUxPYK9L5myvRUa7Q5jiXLFzsJPSaclocuCFsqnpqeHMDvTvstYwypC89/s1600/IMGP8471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3w0MF39DpEbHrQvMHxV85gLpFow7M8AvETjAuQ81PdUMF0NZgkqj0DaDDa_jRwP748zXx6I7GgariXXeVd9DUxPYK9L5myvRUa7Q5jiXLFzsJPSaclocuCFsqnpqeHMDvTvstYwypC89/s640/IMGP8471.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are rest areas with clean, free toilets everywhere in Japan.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jjrxoneKh6I4R6rvD9N7taEpWJMVittp0uIAxmXJV5RQHvktBxYP3soGdjD46QID8vYMSYQEXDuJ7KDJMk5Q6Mekm3JfDhfXr5Zbup3kuYdY8L4lpcqVABpNJmMQsWUFAIBPB9FS117h/s1600/IMGP8489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5jjrxoneKh6I4R6rvD9N7taEpWJMVittp0uIAxmXJV5RQHvktBxYP3soGdjD46QID8vYMSYQEXDuJ7KDJMk5Q6Mekm3JfDhfXr5Zbup3kuYdY8L4lpcqVABpNJmMQsWUFAIBPB9FS117h/s640/IMGP8489.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having some fun at the beach. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seeing nobody on the beach for miles gave us a good clue. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The current was too strong to go for a swim and being taken offshore was not part of our plans. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdP0ER0jqBxLWsMdBZ9UxvF02FzlSXRhmz7hAN1n-mbiKqwU0N5bQIj_56-MzCZHK7W2w-lFVUZf0L2PB-KldwvQdwVotIk22FntfnMZotiDFoPnua2wDu_Ifn0mjptJhjzw5uYBxKFW8/s1600/IMGP8495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdP0ER0jqBxLWsMdBZ9UxvF02FzlSXRhmz7hAN1n-mbiKqwU0N5bQIj_56-MzCZHK7W2w-lFVUZf0L2PB-KldwvQdwVotIk22FntfnMZotiDFoPnua2wDu_Ifn0mjptJhjzw5uYBxKFW8/s640/IMGP8495.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A charming "gaijin" (foreign) couple on a deserted beach.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpRbk8_IJ1P8EMJn7_Z-INOjC5Wv-kihNA9PJmTOScMpzFAmTJN9FXdVTZZGWunTago5N2ME7VNdTflh_-wNilrEHfLkV_SGDVYkDNq_2dkuW2hcNeHD_Nf5af206fRnc3n1yK_BBcyDH/s1600/IMGP8502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpRbk8_IJ1P8EMJn7_Z-INOjC5Wv-kihNA9PJmTOScMpzFAmTJN9FXdVTZZGWunTago5N2ME7VNdTflh_-wNilrEHfLkV_SGDVYkDNq_2dkuW2hcNeHD_Nf5af206fRnc3n1yK_BBcyDH/s640/IMGP8502.JPG" width="474" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thomas's makeshift tripod/artwork.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA40x4_TDG5JwPsTocHXLrPGpWT66ea9stz7JxTJ-eCkFNKzZvRcDujtuJnJ-UzCxkjAR82_0d0H_fCe2mkC5aILSbuKbcYRKau8n5wynZaM0Jii8aipC8Q90y4nOt-tsYEimD3O0-aExu/s1600/IMGP8553_with+hagimorisan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA40x4_TDG5JwPsTocHXLrPGpWT66ea9stz7JxTJ-eCkFNKzZvRcDujtuJnJ-UzCxkjAR82_0d0H_fCe2mkC5aILSbuKbcYRKau8n5wynZaM0Jii8aipC8Q90y4nOt-tsYEimD3O0-aExu/s640/IMGP8553_with+hagimorisan.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After only 47km of riding, we ran into Hagimori san (aka serious monk) who invited us to stay in his purpose built pilgrim rest area (zenkon yado). We couldn't resist his charm and a free roof over our heads next to the beach. After commenting that his "rest room" sign could be misinterpreted by Americans, he quickly put us to work to make new signs. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">29th September, 3000km completed and we still have big smiles on our faces.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We stopped in the cute little town of Tosakure to try Kochi prefecture's famous Katsuo no tataki (lightly charcoal braised bonito) -the bottom right plate that is-. Delicious!</span></div>
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<br />Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-90811200728150388202011-09-21T09:58:00.001+01:002011-09-21T14:42:31.594+01:00Cycle in Japan - part 2<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ7l2xNpYDrAZNgY1iHIO1kYm9J9eyf1rkthgDToj3weMm1KKn4Qc2QkfqOeSsKCrcJSLuuCbwha1ZazKWBvN0owrzloQyPvWToVezDxfSP_XZEsZhFwAbOJqn6OjXR3R20WBzfg0hUPz/s1600/IMG_9201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ7l2xNpYDrAZNgY1iHIO1kYm9J9eyf1rkthgDToj3weMm1KKn4Qc2QkfqOeSsKCrcJSLuuCbwha1ZazKWBvN0owrzloQyPvWToVezDxfSP_XZEsZhFwAbOJqn6OjXR3R20WBzfg0hUPz/s640/IMG_9201.JPG" width="475" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yumi's transformation to a bear is nearly complete...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We braved cycling 25km across Sapporo city centre to see Asako at her family home. Our tummies were filled with good food and our bags with yummy chocolates. As you can see, Asako's grandmother was quite smitten with Thomas.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The river to Lake Shikotsuko was paved in gold</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everything in this small town was named Yamazaki including this bridge, a school, the train station and the bus stop.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Filling up on onigiris at "Seicomart" our favourite convenient store is a morning ritual. 2 onigiris each and a coffee (for Yumi) or a strawberry flavoured milk (for Thomas) will keep s going for at least 30 kms. Asako broke our hearts when she said they are only in Hokkaido.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PkXZxLaGQucqn8eU60K6vC4Wu6iKSLoQt8luCfzdOzgg-_NiqhtFTPYXrcHS2fTCLCkolizbAt45WlxvjsjsEr6F5kRhcfPoLIU6XVUXOM_HXbWeEKZE_7WVsssv6hIgFE8HNOSw_gZL/s1600/IMG_9306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PkXZxLaGQucqn8eU60K6vC4Wu6iKSLoQt8luCfzdOzgg-_NiqhtFTPYXrcHS2fTCLCkolizbAt45WlxvjsjsEr6F5kRhcfPoLIU6XVUXOM_HXbWeEKZE_7WVsssv6hIgFE8HNOSw_gZL/s640/IMG_9306.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our second ferry ride. This time a short ride from Hakodate (Hokkaido) to Aomori (Honshu). Typhoon is coming towards us so we decided to get to Honshu as quick as possible. We camped at the port that night.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>GOODBYE HOKKAIDO!</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>HELLO HONSHU!</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ASPAM building in Aomori.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgNEX5Hp9FuGyRhFBJzkiD4Sf7jv-J4JiEZ-ERxff0oZo6jSdHK7c2wBlE7R9TNr10l3_Z9V28HmP7h_umAl9uXDTnbIrpfGr5oukuHQTUMwrnTeu43NKhpSrR51z0VQfPmlm05hh15mr/s1600/IMG_9360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgNEX5Hp9FuGyRhFBJzkiD4Sf7jv-J4JiEZ-ERxff0oZo6jSdHK7c2wBlE7R9TNr10l3_Z9V28HmP7h_umAl9uXDTnbIrpfGr5oukuHQTUMwrnTeu43NKhpSrR51z0VQfPmlm05hh15mr/s640/IMG_9360.JPG" width="475" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why so sad, Yumi? Because we are going 12% up, not down. It was hot and the road was steep and long. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today was by far our hardest day. A lot more pushing than riding.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So happy to see finally the sign for Kasamatsu pass. What?! Now we have to watch out for bears (that's for those who can't read the sign on the left hand side)! They couldn't catch up with us on the way down though: we rode 16km in less than 25 minutes!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A beautiful 14km ride along the Oirase Mountain stream. Both of us could not wait to pitch the tent and chill after another long day on the bicycles.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYOULvOlYOpkvm8Xa3NV65zIb4SraOJpvFTImZUG9jeAOa9gOmtqVhKyBVuW2s2UAaiWPzSuoOKc_IXxiwWvqU4gf-3B9ZFeoeHdPr-YYQJM9re-QC1CH__C7pMdNb1AEBrpZphmPELmm/s1600/IMGP7933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYOULvOlYOpkvm8Xa3NV65zIb4SraOJpvFTImZUG9jeAOa9gOmtqVhKyBVuW2s2UAaiWPzSuoOKc_IXxiwWvqU4gf-3B9ZFeoeHdPr-YYQJM9re-QC1CH__C7pMdNb1AEBrpZphmPELmm/s640/IMGP7933.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thomas posing for a photo, Japanese style.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeI9-jgW3AlkZyVw-TzLrkh4Y8P8D1rFVrWWa2hc1jkjJek5VDJcCtzRiMujFQ-H0Hc3MF0AM8vE6U4TnMvS4oTk_a4HiyN08PMDt8AlLSQeU8WIyWWxdv8LcqxLn1Rw6XsBHqdHlk2hGo/s1600/IMG_9416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeI9-jgW3AlkZyVw-TzLrkh4Y8P8D1rFVrWWa2hc1jkjJek5VDJcCtzRiMujFQ-H0Hc3MF0AM8vE6U4TnMvS4oTk_a4HiyN08PMDt8AlLSQeU8WIyWWxdv8LcqxLn1Rw6XsBHqdHlk2hGo/s640/IMG_9416.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After our 2nd exhausting day of hill climbs and with rain approaching, we thought we had hit the jackpot when we found this bus shelter. We got permission from a local to spend the night in it. It was "royal" standard for us: benches, cushions, no need to pitch the tent, big and wide enough for us to spread out our stuff. While Yumi went to take a sink "bath" at the nearby petrol station, one of our neighbours brought Thomas onigiri and pickles.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On her way to the petrol station, Yumi made friends with a woman walking with her grandson. Atsuko was horrified that we were going to sleep in a bus shelter and bathe at the petrol station and very kindly invited us to stay in her minshuku (a family run B&B) for FREE! She invited her best friend Keiko to join us for a big feast. Keiko then offered us her beautiful "winter" home in Morioka for the next 2 days. We can't thank them enough for their generosity and kindness. Morioka was a perfect opportunity to rest, the first time since Sapporo... 700kms ago.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A local festival. We have no idea what it was for. We were just there when we saw these people pushing the big thing. It reminded us of our day near the lake Towada where we pushed our bicycles up 12% slopes. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0NWjk0nV7C6w_rnzGOA2pCVo2WE3hOEQHMmpWUES4jjpdhdtwf6-Ac8Ovd2-dBXkGo3w647E_gw1CXBYHpffPTpx9m6u6LP2ztvXBIGfOwfXfkmCIheLIrNlOCae0PoIJPbQ-yKE1ehu/s1600/IMG_9518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi0NWjk0nV7C6w_rnzGOA2pCVo2WE3hOEQHMmpWUES4jjpdhdtwf6-Ac8Ovd2-dBXkGo3w647E_gw1CXBYHpffPTpx9m6u6LP2ztvXBIGfOwfXfkmCIheLIrNlOCae0PoIJPbQ-yKE1ehu/s640/IMG_9518.JPG" width="475" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gates of Chuson temple in Hiraizumi. We decided to visit the temples the following morning before our daily ride. Still we cycled 90kms that day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiassCJh06G7vrucHpzYnTXUWxaeE34QBWqzUApn0YelnysVgBQbp-g1k0zb6ya-Q6IkvGo4B6fMd8BFwgR6SPUP_VIrO21MM2FyXGnTIwiOUy72z_csg14QspdAXzJEr5tQGVrZOwLRwCi/s1600/IMGP7971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiassCJh06G7vrucHpzYnTXUWxaeE34QBWqzUApn0YelnysVgBQbp-g1k0zb6ya-Q6IkvGo4B6fMd8BFwgR6SPUP_VIrO21MM2FyXGnTIwiOUy72z_csg14QspdAXzJEr5tQGVrZOwLRwCi/s640/IMGP7971.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We rode through the devastation caused by the March tsunami near Ichinomaki just North of Sendai, Miyagi prefecture. It looked like a war zone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the damage, the spirit of the people remains strong. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rain, hills, typhoons, blistering heat, 2600km in the legs yet... Thomas is having "the tan of his life" :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3hTC1sQmKo1wKgmHPxmcR41OSGOr3zLTIL5YeLD99lJDlgkTlr5f52adEncIxPEuhPvbf8fVGiQr8w526WT-Dvr16x2XmZcUcuDpNq0Lqs7iStaTjguprpj1ieRNZHhx2mSDZDm4CYV8/s1600/IMG_9859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP3hTC1sQmKo1wKgmHPxmcR41OSGOr3zLTIL5YeLD99lJDlgkTlr5f52adEncIxPEuhPvbf8fVGiQr8w526WT-Dvr16x2XmZcUcuDpNq0Lqs7iStaTjguprpj1ieRNZHhx2mSDZDm4CYV8/s640/IMG_9859.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> "Sweet home Sasagawa" such a small village it's not even on the map! Taka (holding the baby on this picture) met us at the campsite on the beach and -having cycled from Alaska to Las Vegas, Mexico to Tierra del Fuego and across Cambodia- invited us at a party he was organising that night. As usual, we went on a eating mission and ate amazing food. Taka apart from being a great host and guitar player is also a great cook! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMZsyWSN4UJNsXiodlg-NjSFrvGQMCSMhTEWcrGsnkWs2dNT-FZdQOvw7LKE5k_4gScTObWkjmpWsp2KiSeWip1mZL8FheTAnYDboJa_t51g-dwCg2KZVWGYhA9IGAcgj0ZOBLIljeTeL/s1600/IMGP8046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMZsyWSN4UJNsXiodlg-NjSFrvGQMCSMhTEWcrGsnkWs2dNT-FZdQOvw7LKE5k_4gScTObWkjmpWsp2KiSeWip1mZL8FheTAnYDboJa_t51g-dwCg2KZVWGYhA9IGAcgj0ZOBLIljeTeL/s640/IMGP8046.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> We hate tunnels, especially the really big dark ones with no hard shoulder or pavement to walk on however, we enjoyed the bicycle only tunnels on this flat cycling path along the edge of the Japan Sea.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaBkKD2ImDdK6HLGcx0Ffhnd-gYJ0dsSGouYjtDa62oWdX-cRbRAZfp9n1OGX8wFfENs70r4zgfgctrr6jpz98LBTaSnNastVRUkywe2pk7sRKFHTFRTezQOL3IilmLp_WfCVYyHZWl25/s1600/IMGP8079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaBkKD2ImDdK6HLGcx0Ffhnd-gYJ0dsSGouYjtDa62oWdX-cRbRAZfp9n1OGX8wFfENs70r4zgfgctrr6jpz98LBTaSnNastVRUkywe2pk7sRKFHTFRTezQOL3IilmLp_WfCVYyHZWl25/s640/IMGP8079.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pausing in front of the Nageiwa rock. The legend has it that once an ogre and Okuninushi had a strength contest right there. The ogre threw the rock you see in the background and Okuninushi threw his much further breaking in two the ogre's rock in the process which resulted in the ogre killing himself in the sea. Don't play games with Okuninushi (whoever that is) if you are a sore loooser. Swimming in the sea was fun and relaxing though. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> The typical evening routine: a) open a beer after a long and dehydrating day and b) check where we are going tomorrow.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Met a bus driver cyclist team at an "ashiyu": a sauna for your legs. They passed us on the hills, showing off with their 7kg bicycles, but none of them could lift Thomas's 40kg bicycle. They told us our route that day would be hard. We had 2200km of training behind us, but man, that was a tough day.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not sure where that was but it was nice.</span></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-20801415964313892522011-08-30T04:48:00.001+01:002011-08-30T06:53:18.486+01:00Cycle in Japan - part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After much deliberation about how to get to Cape Soya, we decided on the following route: </div>
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cycle 145km from Tokyo to Oarai 17th and 18th August</div>
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take a 19 hr ferry ride from Oarai to Tomakomai 18th to 19th August</div>
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train from Tomakomai to Wakkanai via Sapporo 19th August</div>
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cycle 40km to Cape Soya 20th August</div>
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Kilometer 0! Jewlz will join us for the first 2 weeks of our trip. Tokyo to Sapporo.</div>
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Energy/directions stop at a petrol station. It was 38 degrees and the attendants gave us some refreshments. Japanese people are very welcoming and generous. During our first 2 weeks, we have been given tomatoes, corn, watermelon, dried squid, hairy crab, dried clam, deer anteler keychains, flags, tuna cans, a bottle of Polish vodka, mini limes, giant onigiris (rice wrapped in a seaweed), several cans of coffee, a de-greasing spray...</div>
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In front of the Sun Flower Sapporo which took us from Oarai to Tomakomai in a mere 19h.</div>
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Corsican pride</div>
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Jewlz enjoying a cold one in the "economy" room on the ferry to Tomakomai, Hokkaido. A luxurious boat ride complete with a public bath overlooking the ocean.</div>
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After 170km cycling, a 20h ferry ride and a 7h train ride we finally arrive at Wakkanai, the Northernmost city in Japan. 11pm arrival so we slept in the train station. Another 40km to go and we'll reach Cape Soya, our official start point!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Last check on the Road to Cape Soya. Mapple Touring book is like our bible.</span><br />
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Somewhere just short of Cape Soya</div>
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Jewlz, Yumi and Thomas, standing proud at the northernmost point of Japan: Cape Soya</div>
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The endless road 238. Are we there yet?</div>
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Eastern coast line</div>
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Still smiling. It's only the beginning.</div>
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Meet the locals at a small restaurant on the East coast</div>
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Our friendly neighbours </div>
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After a long day's ride, even a bus stop shelter feels like paradise.</div>
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The observatory at Nichi no desaki campsite </div>
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Yumi and her neighbour Totoro </div>
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We should have gone for a tamden bikes!</div>
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Can we stay in your farm? it's cold outside, it's raining...and it's lunchtime!</div>
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Entering bear territory. The one riding the pink bicycle was the scariest!</div>
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One of our numerous stops along the way. This was near Akanko in the mountains. "Energy" was much needed. </div>
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When we said we set up camp in the disabled toilets of a "michi-no-eki" (a rest area), we were not kidding!</div>
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No comment... </div>
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26th August. Top of the pass. 13km of ascent in pouring rain and strong winds. Thomas swapped his Salomon (ex-) goretex trail shoes for Adda sandals. It worked!</div>
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A fantastic meal. Pasta bolognese. Free pizza from our neighbour. Polish vodka mixed with apple juice and mini limes. Great company. Beautiful views. What more can you ask for? </div>
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That's what you see when you wake up at 5am</div>
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Same place, 1h later</div>
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We had to stop to get Yumi's namesake melon. Super yummy!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bento box, a filling meal </span></span></div>
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The roads are fantastic and the drivers are very considerate.</div>
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Everything is "cute" in Japan, even the plastic bits that hold the road works security railings.</div>
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View from our campsite near Ashibetsu </div>
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Spiritual stop</div>
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Ohhhh a bridge</div>
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Sapporo is getting closer!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMB7HiEE-JkUzp0h44YBmwoc4hYSPMW-nlC4X3qi7R5GHQQ5QWq79NNO0YT4Vtul8TV4MzQpTXy64bXQUDvx1IaFvkqqOPKczCEAeRNpayBETGHFiyAjdvR4jwROo2UK7XXPN2gO9txKg1/s1600/IMG_9155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMB7HiEE-JkUzp0h44YBmwoc4hYSPMW-nlC4X3qi7R5GHQQ5QWq79NNO0YT4Vtul8TV4MzQpTXy64bXQUDvx1IaFvkqqOPKczCEAeRNpayBETGHFiyAjdvR4jwROo2UK7XXPN2gO9txKg1/s400/IMG_9155.JPG" width="297" /></a></div>
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The freedom of having no panniers.</div>
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We arrived at Kenichi's place in eastern Sapporo on the afternoon of 29th August having cycled almost 1000km (974.33km) since leaving Tokyo. We celebrated with a delicious homemade feast. A big thank you to the Ikeda family for welcoming us into their home.</div>
Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-81810742141884922792011-08-16T16:40:00.001+01:002011-08-30T04:28:44.439+01:00Thank you!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before we go:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BIG special Thank you to our new friends, people who didn't know us before we landed but gave us an incredible amount of information and advice. Most importantly they gave us their time. Without them it would have been very hard to get what we got in 5 days. Thank you all!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Scott who cycled across Japan himself last year, for the valuable information and dozens of emails he sent us over the pat 12 months as well as finding the time to meet us after work to give us an idea of the route we should take.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCDU8ydLqZf8XkBwX6rVeujRxI1Fra29L0SRpuXzQVg6ppNW4P6312teKqibxDLg9mvADrtvY5hRMVtXl-APH3KDT6ZSg7knPwDhQaLM_TKucIEiWFHjRjfmf0uUBQYG5rQYpQTrY1SO4/s1600/IMG_8566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCDU8ydLqZf8XkBwX6rVeujRxI1Fra29L0SRpuXzQVg6ppNW4P6312teKqibxDLg9mvADrtvY5hRMVtXl-APH3KDT6ZSg7knPwDhQaLM_TKucIEiWFHjRjfmf0uUBQYG5rQYpQTrY1SO4/s400/IMG_8566.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Scott, Thomas and Yumi</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Brodie for his emails and advice.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Matsui-san from the bicycle shop Psychrism for preparing the bikes in a very short amount of time.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Thomas, Yumi and Matsui-san</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Saito-san who helped us to ship our backpacks from Tokyo to Makurazaki and did a bunch of travel research for us.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Iwao-san -who cycled from Tokyo to the Atlantic ocean a few years ago- for opening his flat to us -for 7 days!- and even gave us his keys a few hours after meeting us as he was going away on business to Kyoto for 4 days! as well as giving us directions to leave Tokyo.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ciao for now. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PS: Thank you to Go and Asako for the delicious meals and your support. It was great to see you again! Take care and see you soon!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-34303666085499954092011-08-16T12:24:00.001+01:002011-08-16T13:09:47.044+01:00Cycling across Japan - From Soya to Sata<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear all,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is it! We leave Tokyo tomorrow to the Northermost tip of Japan.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been 7 months since we've left London and packed our lives in boxes. For the past 215 days (ish) we've been through some interesting moments such as being stuck with a broken bus in the middle of Patagonia, climbing a 6,000m volcano, swimming with penguins, getting to meet remote tribes in northern Lao and horse riding in central Mongolia (for more details, go to our <b>pics and vids section</b>).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/yumiandthomas">We have arrived in Tokyo and we are now facing another challenge: Cycling 4,000km (2,500 miles) across the four main islands of Japan.</a> It was fun to talk about it and we're afraid it is now time to do it. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are doing it for <a href="http://www.advanceadvocacyproject.org.uk/">Advance</a>, a London based domestic violence charity. We’d like to thank our friends who have already donated for this good cause and we’d also like thank in advance those who will shortly dig deep in their pocket and donate . To do so, go to www.justgiving.com/yumiandthomas and give whatever you feel like. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for following us and leaving comments on our blog from time to time. We are not sure how easy it will be to communicate and update you while on the road but we will do our best to keep you posted via the blog (no, not everybody is on Facebook).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take care!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yumi and Thomas</span></div>
Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-26639020198885585122011-08-14T15:53:00.000+01:002011-08-14T15:53:53.056+01:00Bicycles!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our journey across Japan is getting closer and closer. Only 72h before we depart to Oarai port to reach Hokkaido island...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We bought 2 new Trek 7.3 fx bicycles at a shop in the Shinjuku area -the world's busiest train station!- 48h after our arrival in Tokyo.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We'll pick them up tomorrow and ride them home. We'll tell you more then!</span></div>
Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-87431130563253810152011-08-07T12:05:00.001+01:002011-08-16T12:15:10.660+01:00Ulaanbaatar to Hong Kong - 05/08/2011 to 07/08/2011<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We landed on the 5th of August in Beijing. You feel a bit more welcomed when you arrive at Beijing international airport than when you cross the dodgy overland border at HeKou. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thomas is however worried about the official who stamped his passport. He smiled so he must still be questioned by his supervisor.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We knew we had to fly from Hong Kong to Tokyo on the 9th but in between Beijing and Hong Kong there were 2,500km and a question: "how the heck are we gonna get there?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So we went straight to Beijing west train station -2h away from the airport by bus- only to be treated like two flat, dry, tiny pieces of shit by the train station admin people. When we asked if there were a train available Beijing to Hong Kong, the answer was "no". not that they checked, it was just a direct "no" like "no, bugger off, you are dirtying my already dirty guichet, i don't want to speak to you". </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After this first failed attempt -which reminded us we were in China- we tried to locate the "english speaking guichet" where our salvation could be. We were optimist. As well as foolish. At the English speaking counter there were about 2,349,762 people already queuing and amongst them, one white guy trying to fight his way to the counter without having Chinese people jumping the queue, which is mission impossible. Not the one with Tom Cruise. The real one. The impossible one.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When reaching the counter, the admin girl's english was as bad as Thomas's mandarin and the discussion sounded like this:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "Hello, do you have two train tickets available for the day after tomorrow from Beijing to Hong Kong?"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "ticket. no ticket. ticket only on 23rd. come back tomorrow."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "is there another way to get to Hong Kong?" </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "come back tomorrow"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "well, i'd like an answer now if possible"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "no ticket. come back tomorrow"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "will there be tickets available tomorrow?"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- "no ticket. only 23rd"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then she waved with her hand as if to get rid of this annoying french fly that kept on asking questions about "wanting a train ticket". Thomas thought she was at the wrong counter, in the wrong job and left unhappy.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The plan was then to reach our comfortable hostel, the "happy Chopsticks" 2km North of the crowded Forbidden City. It is a nice place. the staff is great and there's a pool table. Perfect. Yumi spent the evening looking for ways to get to HK by train but nothing was available before the 11th. Too late for us. Once again we were reminded that when China is on holidays, it is impossible to get a train ticket. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the 6th we decided to buy a plane ticket to Shenzhen for the 7th. Shenzhen is 2h away North from HK by bus. Why not flying straight to HK? the plane tickets to Shenzhen are 50% cheaper than those to Hong Kong. A good enough reason for us.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We spent the afternoon of the 6th at Decathlon buying cycling gear we'll need for our Japan trip and came back late to pack our bags and get ready for a 5am start.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our journey to the airport and the flight went well. The closer we got from Hong Kong the better we felt. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is a shame but China was not our favourite destination: anybody who worked for train or bus stations, airports, we won't even talk about customs, basically working for the People's Republic of China government was not even trying to help us and was simply rude. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've met many people in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam who didn't speak a word of English but sign language worked well. When there's a will, there's a way. The will simply got lost along the way and never reached China. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It came as a surprise to Thomas that he was let out of China without his bag searched and his passport taken away for further inspection. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We reached Hong Kong 48 stressfull hours after landing in Beijing and it felt good.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We look forward to meeting our friends Naki and Cherry whom we've met in Dali, China a few weeks ago as well as Mel who moved there from London mid-July.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yayyyy.</span><br />
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Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-52854525398515240032011-08-04T18:39:00.002+01:002011-08-15T15:38:20.253+01:00MONGOLIA!<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">THE PLAN</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our Spanish friends waited for us at Ulaanbaatar train station and a few hours later we had our tailor made 13 days trek planned. One last thing to do though: change our plane tickets back to China to the 05th of August (originaly on 01st August but since we arrived later than we thought in Mongolia, we didn’t want to miss out on Mongolia to go back to…Beijing). </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We drove 1,800km: We aimed South West of UB, then North across the Khangai mountain range, West again towards the white lake and then East towards Karakorum, the Semi Gobi desert and back to UB.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>THE CREW</b> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the last minute Ingrid asked to join the 4 of us on the tour. An easy going art teacher from Belgium who travelled to remote regions of Burkina Faso, Oman and Algeria Ingrid passed the test -which consisted in eating Thomas’s pasta dish.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were accompanied by Boogii our guide and Imbish who drove the van. Without them we would probably still be somewhere in Mongolia, lost as </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nobody speaks English and there are NO roads outside of the cities.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>left to right: </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Top: Horse guide 1, Horse guide 2, our guide Boogii, Thomas.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Bottom: Yumi, Edurne, Ingrid, Alberto.</i></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MONGOLIA</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mongolia is huge: it is the 19th largest country in the world (I bet you didn't know it!): 12 times bigger than England, 2.5 times the size of France. 3million people live there (60% of the entire population living in the capital), leaving immense empty spaces. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mongolia could be compared to Europe 5,000 years ago, meaning that if a storm comes, it will erase any proof that men were even here: no roads, only a few people living here and there in “gers“, the traditional Mongol house. It is round, white and about 5 meters in diameter. The yaks or horse would carry the parts of the ger on their back until the ideal spot is located. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Out of 1,800km there were only 100km road and the rest were just tracks. The van although sturdy made us jump all over the place and the absence of seat belt made the bouncing on windows, doors…and ceiling hard to avoid. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>EQUIPMENT:</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had a Russian van in which 7 people, 4 tents, camping cooking stuff and everybody’s bags … and <u>enough snacks</u> for a few days could fit. The van was amazing, we crossed thigh high rivers -and only got stuck in one-, we drove once 9h a day where it felt like was inside an oven and the van took us wherever we wanted no matter how steep we were climbing. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">90% of the time it never let us down… </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">once the petrol pump decided to stop functioning and we got stuck for 7h in a rather quiet place. A couple of hours later no 1 or 2 but 3 identical vans came and had the piece we needed…but it didn’t so our driver hopped into one of them and disappeared to the nearest city to find the piece. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Break down area</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>3 identical vans in the middle of nowhere</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile we explored the area and went to a nearby ger. We thought it’d be the usual huge wrestlers living in there and that they’d love to throw Thomas on the ground as they usually do (we’ll come back to that) but found instead a family where girls knew how to play volleyball! In the middle of nowhere, in central Mongolia. Honestly…</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Mikasa in Mongolia</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SPORTS</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archery, horse riding and throwing Thomas away in wrestling bouts are the main sports in Mongolia. Thomas’s first lesson was in the 8 lakes regions when a local 19 years old horseman with thick leathery hands and not much fat but a lot of muscles around him showed the only Corsican in the area how Mongolian wrestling works. It's easy: Only the soles of your feet can touch the ground. If anything else does (like one of your limbs they have torn apart) you loose. Result: Mongolia 4 - France 0. The morning after another fight (and before breakfast!) ended up in an amazing draw 2 - 2. It felt life victory for Thomas. Note that it is not official to have 4 bouts, it’s about all Thomas can handle at 2,500m.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another day and another family later, “Dagii” was willing to show Thomas a few moves. “Dagii” must have been his nickname cause he looked more like Goliath to Thomas. He was 6.1ft (185cm) and 250 pounds (115kg) and nobody thought about telling the poor Frenchman that Dagii had been a professional wrestler for 6 years and wrestler for over 20 years. The fight was intense: Thomas was grabbed, lifted off the ground and pushed away like a rag doll. He landed ungraciously in the grass a bit less than 10 seconds after the beginning of the fight. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you know Thomas, he gave it another go. He lifted one of Goliath’s legs but there was still a lot to lift before the huge Mongol would be in a dangerous situation. The other Mongols that gathered around told Yumi that the second bout was not bad at all. So Thomas -picking up his body parts scattered across the grass and yaks’ shits- was happy about this comment. Happy enough to give the 3rd bout a miss. There are unfortunately no pictures of the bouts between Thomas and Dagii but here are Dagii and Alberto.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>THE MONGOLS</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They are very friendly and smiling. They always joke and leave the door of their ger opened in case somebody needs to come in. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>our 2 horse guides</i> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When our van broke down people tried to help us and got their hands dirty taking the engine apart. They would also invite you for horse milk or vodka anytime you stay with them. They know their neighbours, even if they are 50 miles away. Note that the 21st century Mongol does wear his traditional outfit but would sometimes ride a motorcycle rather than a horse. It is easier, faster and doesn’t consume as much grass as a horse.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nomadic Mongols live in the plains in the summer and move to the mountains with their herds in the winter to get away from the wind chill which can make temperate plummet to -30 degrees. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>the famous girls</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Semi nomadic people would go back to the nearest village in the winter. The last category is the City Mongolians: they stay in the city all year round.</span></span></div>
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<b>OUR ACTIVITIES</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We camped a lot and loved it. Sometimes it was hard to find wood but crossing rivers to get a log as all worth it. Fire and Vodka fuelled our nights. When we were not camping we stayed with some families in a ger. It’s much warmer and it is nice to sleep in a bed from time to time. Note that the mattress is in inch thick with wood underneath.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Camping. Vodka. Fire </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>view from our hostel room</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We visited the old capital Karakorum but the 5 of us preferred the steppes and mountain areas so we only visited the temple there and didn’t stay more than a few hours. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went horse riding for 2 days and many kilometers (many miles) in the 8 lakes region: our bums and legs were really sore but vodka helped to smoother the pain.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>a Yumi, a camel, a sandstorm</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We tried camel riding in the semi Gobi desert: Yumi's camel decided to go his own way waiting for the huge sand storm to catch up with us.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Thomas and K-mel</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We hiked across volcanic fields and climbed on top of craters in the white lake area. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Yumi looking at the 320m deep crater near the white lake</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It is all too beautiful to give Mongolia justice describe so here is a sample of what we’ve done and seen. For more pictures check our <a href="http://yumiandthomas.blogspot.com/p/sponsors.html">Pics and Vids section</a> with the <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/113819327265108841074/30BestOfMongolia?authkey=Gv1sRgCL36s_H554j27gE">best of Mongolia</a>.</b> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> witnessing the sun rise in the Gobi desert</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> fancy shot</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>practicing our tango moves</i></span></div>
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Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-52418136710380217272011-07-22T12:13:00.001+01:002011-07-22T17:21:14.535+01:00<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Border crossings are always an adventure. You never know what you are going to get.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We dropped off Thomas' passport on Monday morning (after waiting for 5 extra days for the Mongolian embassy to re-open) where we met a lovely Spanish couple. We exchanged details and hoped to meet again to do a tour together.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had to wait until 4pm on Tuesday to pick up the passport and visa so we decided to leave for Mongolia on Wednesday. Sleeper bus tickets are only sold on the day so we made the 1 hour bus journey to the bus station. No tickets. Try reception desk. A stern looking woman actually turns out to be helpful and makes several calls. 1.5 hours later, we leave the bus station with handwritten tickets unsure if we have been victims of another scam (we were taken by 2 young men through the carpark, boarded a bus, took photos of the bus and their badges just in case and paid half the fare). </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We returned at 4pm still unsure how we were going to get past the ticket collector. One of the young men from earlier spots us and leads us to the bus. Seems promising. The bus is not yet open so we sit down and play Speed. Soon, a crowd gathers around us.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Yumi waiting in front of our night bus in Beijing</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our handwritten tickets get us on board and it is a fairly smooth ride. 2 notable toilet breaks. First, Yumi hopped off the bus during a traffic jam and managed to get 5 mosquito bites on her butt. Second, a "proper" toilet: enter to find 4 holes in a line, no stalls, no doors, no running water, but surprisingly, it doesn't smell too bad.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We make friends with 2 men from Ulanbaatar Agi and Mogar. They kindly look after us for the rest of the journey. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We arrive in Erlian at 6am and buy bus tickets to cross the border at 13:30. So we all go out for a traditional Chinese Mongolian breakfast of mini churros dipped in sweet mayonnaise, a large dumpling, lamb shank complete with fat and a salty milk soup. All very tasty. We killed some time at the local market where Mongolians load up on goods before heading back home. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Mogar and Thomas playing "Speed" in Erlian, Inner Mongolia.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Out of nowhere, our Spanish friends appear! We agree to meet up in UB if we don't manage to get train tickets.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We cut the queue to get on the border bus a la Chinese style. The bus carried as much luggage as it did passengers. Vacuum cleaners, ironing boards, a kitchen sink (a small one, but still...), it was packed. We get through both borders quite quickly, but we had to wait for our bus to clear customs. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time is ticking. 16:00 and we still don't have tickets for the train at 17:35. Thomas and Morgar take off to try and get tickets. Avi and I are not long behind them on the bus. We see plenty of broken down jeeps along the 2km road to the train station, but there is no sign of them.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thankfully, they managed to grab a taxi and buy tickets for the 21:21 express train. Only $5 more than the regular train and we arrive 30 minutes after them.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our night train in Zumin Uud station. 13h to reach Ulaanbaatar.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The train is surprisingly nice and empty. We enjoy a clean, air conditioned, 4 bed berth. Maybe it was the lack of sleep on the sleeper bus and/or the long border crossing day, but we had the best train sleep of our entire trip so far. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon after we woke up, Ulaanbaatar appeared before our eyes. Only 41h after leaving Beijing...</span> </div>
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<br />Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-40397043409011202282011-07-18T09:23:00.001+01:002011-07-22T09:30:23.809+01:00Proxy-China<br />
Hi all!<br />
It's been a while since our last post and we apologise for that. In China, it is not easy to access the websites your want to: No Facebook, no YouTube and worse: No blogspot.<br />
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Cruel. As the saying goes "when there's a will, there's a way" and the way to do web stuff here is called "proxy". Basically, you need a URL which will redirect you to your desired webpage. For example to access Facebook the URL is: http://www.f3.proxymice.com/<br />
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Easy!<br />
As a result we've backdated some of the posts we've written so you'll know all about our adventures in Sapa, the Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yanshuo and Beijing very soon.<br />
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Ciao for now!Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-85572439237159741242011-07-14T21:33:00.001+01:002011-07-22T09:56:47.992+01:00Great wall Mis-adventures<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a surprise reunion with one of our Tiger Leaping Gorge companions Renaud, we decided to go to a less travelled part of the wall Jiankou. No public transportation goes there so Renauld's friend Melanie, a Beijing native, arranged for a black cab (not the London kind) to take us there. After finalising our plans over beers, Melanie attempted to catch a bus home, but they had stopped running at 7pm. No problem. Renaud has an extra bed in his room. Problem. The hostel reception informed him that by law a Chinese national is not allowed to share a room with a foreigner unless they are married (because she may be a prostitute). 2 police call outs and several conversations later, Melanie was finally left alone and allowed to stay the night (NB no one could actually provide evidence of existence of this law).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 bus rides and a change of clothes for Melanie later, we met with the cab driver. His quoted price had doubled from the night before, but we begrudgingly reached an agreement. Melanie had warned us that he often gets lost. Estimated journey time according to Google maps: 1 hour. With 2 GPS's, a laptop, several stops in the middle road of the road, expressway exits and ramps to figure out where we were and countless breaks to ask for directions, actual journey time: 2.5 hours.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon we found ourselves looking at the following sign, "This section of the Great Wall is not open to the public." What shall we do? Carry on, of course. We had come this far and none of the locals we had asked for directions from had told us we couldn't continue (no wonder this section is not listed in the newer edition of Lonely Planet) There were signs that the path had been used in the past: abandoned rest stops and plenty of rubbish. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1.5 hours of trekking uphill later and the wall appeared. We climbed on it and we were awestruck. The wall continued in either direction along mountain ridges for as far as the eye could see (this actually wasn't very far because of the thick layer of summer haze, but it was still impressive). </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This part of the wall has not been restored and there were sections that were crumbling and overgrown with vegetation. The best part was that we were completely alone. Silence fell upon us as we soaked up the scenery and the sheer magnitude of the construction.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As we climbed to one of the towers, we heard a "Hello!" Officials? Oh no...we turned around and saw 2 figures in the distance. They did not appear to have uniforms on. They turned out to be 2 students who had been trekking the wall for over 6 hours and had run out of food and water and had no idea how to get back to civilization. We shared our supplies and pointed them in the right direction. Crazy guys. we headed in the direction they had come from and soon realised that they were crazier than we origially thought. A section of the wall had completely crumbled away on a vertical slope. Somehow they had made their way down it. No wonder they kept saying it was SO dangerous...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although Melanie may disagree (we hadn't truly prepared her for the hike she was about to endure, but to her credit she was a real trooper), we could not have asked for a better way to see the Great Wall of China.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-40215835976118202732011-06-19T05:59:00.000+01:002011-06-27T06:11:57.541+01:00Easyriding from Hoi An to Hue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As we were researching motorcycle trips to Hue, 2 Easyriders pull up to the hotel. What luck! The customer they are dropping off recommends the trip so we decide to book a 2-day tour with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudSvKvOPH_zvCyRT57cptQ316o8UII2rxQZMoY1mdCBt6pdj7eBl6i8qI-x_6lZRCUBeyh1Lkr8Z03qYtMk5UjFr-Ph1on2eb5SJApF0QO8sBGIPnDBmhEPKoDOMp8vwgjbOR8vb5eudj/s1600/IMGP6453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudSvKvOPH_zvCyRT57cptQ316o8UII2rxQZMoY1mdCBt6pdj7eBl6i8qI-x_6lZRCUBeyh1Lkr8Z03qYtMk5UjFr-Ph1on2eb5SJApF0QO8sBGIPnDBmhEPKoDOMp8vwgjbOR8vb5eudj/s320/IMGP6453.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />
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First stop: Marble Mountains. Highlights include pagodas, temples in caves and for 3 Vietnamese tourists: us!<br />
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The visit confirms to us that people in Vietnam have more money than in Laos and Cambodia. Here and in Phu Quoc, we have seen many Vietnamese tourists whereas we saw no local tourists in the other two countries.<br />
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The roads in Vietnam are very good so the ride is smooth...once we are out of the city, that is. It is easier if you just close your eyes whenever you enter a roundabout and let the driver manoeuvre his way through the madness. Once in the countryside, we are on our own. We don't see any roadkill, but there are plenty of piles of cow dung to try and avoid. Kids smile and wave at us like in Laos and Cambodia. We just needed to get out of the city. The trip includes some botany/biology lessons. We stop to smell and taste cinnamon. We had no idea it came from the bark of a tree! We also learn how rice wine is made and that rice grown on the side of a hill (drier and harder) is better for making it. The wet stuff is better for eating.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBl19VYliK7kSq7aEDXSY__OWVUDvpbp96mD6WZs5ZzIx8HCun8pGr_S0aI7FOeWWKNL3gDUl_EgyqVc-tEMEQD99vsweTGXuO8GEyJ0a9wu2bZOjWIJSocp2xWqPRQeQ8sKqzf-ZiqW1V/s1600/IMGP6526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBl19VYliK7kSq7aEDXSY__OWVUDvpbp96mD6WZs5ZzIx8HCun8pGr_S0aI7FOeWWKNL3gDUl_EgyqVc-tEMEQD99vsweTGXuO8GEyJ0a9wu2bZOjWIJSocp2xWqPRQeQ8sKqzf-ZiqW1V/s320/IMGP6526.JPG" width="320" /></a>The trip also includes history lessons. We stop at a minority village and meet a 30 year old man who walks with crutches because his mother drank water contaminated by Agent Orange. His sister is healthy, but his niece also suffers from the effects of the defoiliant used by the Americans during the war. We also stop by the side of the road and find leftover fragments of bombs.<br />
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The ride along Ho Chi Minh Highway was fantastic. Quiet, windy roads through lush primary jungle. The views were worth the numb bums we had after 2 days of riding. Prep for Japan...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas becoming enlightened<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning how to play Vietnamese pool Bida with the locals</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudSvKvOPH_zvCyRT57cptQ316o8UII2rxQZMoY1mdCBt6pdj7eBl6i8qI-x_6lZRCUBeyh1Lkr8Z03qYtMk5UjFr-Ph1on2eb5SJApF0QO8sBGIPnDBmhEPKoDOMp8vwgjbOR8vb5eudj/s1600/IMGP6453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-580773535150823072011-06-12T19:06:00.002+01:002011-06-12T19:15:47.129+01:00Ho Chi Minh CityFunny enough we like this place. It is the biggest city in Vietnam with about 7.5 million souls and about 20 times more cyclos than people. The scooters or "cyclos" are on top of the food chain here, even when you think it is not humanly possible to see more coming your way, trying to scare the cr@p out of you well, you are wrong!<br />
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See below a little video of us, trying to make our way to our guesthouse.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our bus trip from Ha Tien to Ho Chi Minh was very special. Our 6h journey lasted 7.5. So far, so good. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fact that our bus driver drove at a speed usually experienced by astronauts was just mad though. The road was officially wide </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">enough for 2 cars but the reality was that if cars didn't want to collide, they had to put 2 wheels on the hard </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the shoulder, which is a dirt road full of potholes about 4 feet deep. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In these conditions it is better to fall asleep t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">han witness the drivers playing chicken avoiding impact at the last second. Ignorance is bliss.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Falling asleep however was just impossible this time as the vicious Vietnamese road builders strategically placed about 874 bridges </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on the way to Ho Chi Minh City. Every single one of them has a little "bump" just before and a little "drop"just after </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the bridge to ensure that all the passengers would stay fully awake. As we were passing the bridges at the speed of sound, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">our stomachs were tickling our achiles entering them and we felt like a bungee jumpers on a freefall exiting </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only way not to hit our heads on the ceiling was to fasten our seat belts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We made it safe and sound in Saigon, just in time for a massive downpour. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Woo hoo!</span></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-89347529052037832222011-06-08T01:50:00.001+01:002011-06-08T01:59:08.414+01:00Relaxing at the beach<br />
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On the way to Kampot from Phnom Penh, the bus stopped at Kep. Riverside or beach? So we jumped off early and soon found ourselves enjoying a fruitshake in an infinity pool overlooking the sea and nearby islands. It can't get much better than this....or can it?<br />
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After a yummy meal of fresh crab and beer with our new friends from Ipswich Kim and Paul, the next morning we were off to Rabbit Island. After a 30 minute boat ride, we were greeted with a clean, sandy beach, warm, clear water and the best part, very few tourists. We ended up spending the whole day in the water chatting with our boat mates David and Sanya, an American and Czech living in Okinawa. We hit it off so well that we were sad to have to say good bye to them at the end of the day, but we hoped to meet up with them again in Kampot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjv8JPl5lVvAnStv1ziYNTaucyRVgfwxiAvL-aS8fh2-tQb0buVte7PDxop5T2KmMNkgLnsvFpmOvxrJdUVu8WnsC7OeHKpCH1SobAFgQ-Wmi_aWeuQbVAMWnbsxBWIE7JAIGGSYYmT2K/s1600/IMGP6238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjv8JPl5lVvAnStv1ziYNTaucyRVgfwxiAvL-aS8fh2-tQb0buVte7PDxop5T2KmMNkgLnsvFpmOvxrJdUVu8WnsC7OeHKpCH1SobAFgQ-Wmi_aWeuQbVAMWnbsxBWIE7JAIGGSYYmT2K/s320/IMGP6238.JPG" width="320" /></a>In the evening, we shared an aperitif of rice vodka with our other boat mate Bartek from Poland. As we did our cheers, a table of locals followed suit and then invited us to join them. The custom: a shot of vodka followed by a spoonful of a tender fish in a very tasty sauce. But what's this? A big rib bone. It's not fish we are eating, but snake! And a rather big one at that. The bone was a good 5 cm long. One pitcher done. 2 of the locals went to bed. After the second pitcher, Thomas and Yumi stumbled to bed. We passed out at 9pm, which was perfect because that's when the generators are turned off and there is no more electricity for the night.<br />
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We only planned to stay one night, but soon after checking out of our bungalow, we decided to stay another night so checked right back in. We spent the day swimming, reading (Thomas has read more in 3 days than he has in the last 3 years!), playing volleyball, sleeping, drinking shakes and repeat. We realised this was the first time in 5 months that we were just chilling on a beach. It was a great way to re-charge our batteries. We didn't sleep very well at night due to a lack of through air in the bungalow (very basic: bed, mosquito net, squat toilet and shower head), but we caught up on our zzzz's during the day. A big thunder storm brought a much needed breeze through the bungalow in the middle of the second night.<br />
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We didn't want to leave the island and are wish almost came true. We had booked the trip with a tuk tuk driver Rath and he said to give him a ring whenever we wanted to leave. We are then sent on a 45 minute wild goose chase to find "our" boat. We tried approaching a couple of boats, but they wouldn't let us board without tickets (Rath said he had them). Finally, we were advised to ask a French group if we could join their privately rented boat. They kindly agreed. We learned that they are a group of audiologists and ENTs who donate 2 weeks of their time every 6 months to do hearing tests and hearing aid fittings for children in Cambodia. Upon arrival at Kep, we found ourselves stranded again because of course Rath was no where to be found. The doctors had 2 extra spaces in their mini van and were staying just across the road from us so offered us a ride. We met them later for a lovely seafood dinner at the Crab Market. It all worked out in the end and actually for the better.Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-61002688811210531972011-05-31T11:48:00.001+01:002011-06-07T10:08:10.320+01:00Cycling around Battambang...and a new visa to add on our passport!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today we rented some bicycles with Jack and Theo whom we’ve met at our guest house in Siem Reap. We happened to take the same bus to Battambang so we decided to stick together in this super hot and hectic town.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A tuktuk driver offered us a full tour for $2 but let’s face it, it’s much more fun to cycle when it’s 40 degrees and humid than being driven along.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Especially when you get overtaken by stuff like this!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We cycled about 35km in the countryside around Battambang. We started along the river until a dirt road and realised we may not going towards Aek Phnom Temple as thought We asked a local who pointed us the direction where we came from, on the other side of the bridge. Half an hour and a sugar cane bottle later we reached the giant Buddha next to the temple. After seeing temples like Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm we become a bit more picky when it comes to appreciating a temple, so we decided not to stop at the wat and carry on on a dirt road full of pot holes. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other reason why we didn’t stop is that it’s just too hot when you stop and loose that tiny breeze you get when you are on the move.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Cambodian countryside is really pretty with its shades of green, rice fields and muddy area. It is however scary to think that about 6 million mines are still somewhere around here! We’re drifting now so we’ll tell you more about this later. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once back in Battambang we found by pure luck (we got lost) the Vietnamese embassy and got our visas sorted for next week…in 20 minutes! That means we won’t have to stay too long in Phnom Penh! Yeaaaah! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It all happened very quickly. As soon we got our visas we bought our bus tickets from Battambang to PP for tomorrow morning. The plan is to stay one afternoon in PP -it’s a big city and you know us by now- and the next day we’ll travel to Kampot and stay on the coast for a few days. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We should enter Vietnam on the 5th of June.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-15202667728822320942011-05-29T22:41:00.001+01:002011-05-31T16:47:30.356+01:00Honour Village Cambodia<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 days ago Prhom, the chilled out owner of the guest house we stay at in Siem Reap told us about this English lady who set up an orphanage out of town. We felt like going there to find out a bit more and see if we could do something useful.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After randomly meeting Hailey a South African volunteer at the orphanage who also stays at the guest house we decided to cycle to Honour Village on Saturday. We ended up going back on Sunday too.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The village was built for kids from poor background but also children whom parents have remarried and do not accept them in the new family. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were not really sure about what to do or how to act once we got there. We were drenched in sweat after a gruelling 45mins of cycling in a very hot (about 35degrees) and humid weather but the kids didn't seem to care and came towards us to introduce themselves. They are a really well behaved smiling and kids and it was great to get the chance to share some time and plays with them.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is difficult to believe how much these kids have gone through, how little they have and how happy they seemed to be. Since their first day at the village, they've been told they were all brothers and sisters and they should care for each other. They also learn English which could give them a nicer job when they grow up as Cambodia's doors are now opened to welcome more foreign visitors every year to discover this amazing country.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;">In the meantime if you are looking to donate to a good cause donate for</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 13px;"><a avglsprocessed="1" href="http://honourvillagecambodia.org/index.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://honourvillagecambodia.o</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 12px;"><a avglsprocessed="1" href="http://honourvillagecambodia.org/index.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">rg/index.html</a></span></span></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-8099722346355228922011-05-28T18:16:00.001+01:002011-05-28T18:17:29.261+01:00Check out the local delicacies<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsM2sDazmKRRjQ4-mEo8pRYk6JLeknSIK_uU4wEXZRUvnoQT24VvXL6HSQXylUc6UoRHKfnpAZOFGqQL1LHBkCMk3ng6JlUTr3b4e4MRN8TNyT9NFcMP1uWIXWhNycReaHVjDj8n8RiZ3y/s320/IMG_3404_chiang+khong+morning+market.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catfish (worth $10 a kilo)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dried frogs</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_1676498410"></span><span id="goog_1676498411"></span>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-31208445653896516832011-05-25T22:07:00.007+01:002011-05-28T17:00:37.915+01:00Temples (or “Wats”)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are about 1000 Wats near Siem Reap, ranging from non descript piles of brick rubbles to Angkor Wat, the world's largest single religious monument.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We won’t see them all. Fact.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We bought a 3-day pass to allow us to see a tiny portion of the temples.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the first day we visited Angkor Wat - It really was on our way- as well as Angkor Phom and Ta Prohm.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Angkor Wat is impressive by its size. We visited it early and it was a cloudy so we were not waowed by it but Thomas came back later in the day and thought it was beautiful. The colours really make a huge difference.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bayon is the main temple within Angkor Phom. It is super steep to climb -literally- up the stairs and we enjoyed the Buddha faces built within the walls.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ta Prohm was our favourite. Not only because it is were Lara Croft kicked ass in “Tomb Raider” but also because unlike most Angkorian temples Ta Prohm has been left in much the same conditions in which it was found. Trees and roots are coming out of doors and roofs. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The best feeling of all is that it is low season here and it’s so hot very little tourists are around. We’ve visited temples alone! We were not expecting it and we loved it!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-63109183343154600402011-05-24T14:56:00.000+01:002011-05-28T03:06:25.563+01:00Arrival in Siem Reap<br />
We flew in a very nice little Foker 70 from Luang Prabang “international” airport in Lao to Siem Reap, Cambodia.<br />
Our flight was at 10.40am. We took off at 10.10am.<br />
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There were about 15 people in this plane and we had never been in and out of the plane, through customs and with a brand new visa so quickly.<br />
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We were taken from the airport to a guest house area in Siem Reap, not too far away from the river, about 7km south of Angkor Wat.<br />
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After a quick search, we found what would be our home for a few days: “Golden Takeo”, $8 a night with breakfast included and free use of bicycles. That’s a sign. We’ll probably visit the temples with bicycles as previously thought.<br />
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<br /></div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-16623496278477928502011-05-21T16:45:00.000+01:002011-05-28T16:48:13.200+01:00Kayaking to Luang Prabang<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We stopped in at the Green Discovery office in Nong Khiew just to see what there was to do in the area and before we knew it, we had booked a 3-day kayaking tour to Luang Prabang with a lovely English couple on their honeymoon. But before starting the long journey, we decided to do a short overnight trip to the small village of Muang Ngoi which is only accessible by boat. We were very happy to see the riverfront guest houses and restaurants after for an hour and a half in a crammed long boat with wooden seats. </div>
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After a short walk to see some caves where the locals hid from the American bombings during the war, we spent the rest of the hot afternoon in a bar sipping pina coladas with Helen and Rijan and another couple from New Zealand Craig and Karen. Near the end of our Indian dinner, we could tell that the staff were waiting to go home so we said our goodbyes around 9:30. In Lao, things close down early. That's because people are up working by 5:30am!<br />
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The next day, we took the boat back to Nong Khiaw. This time we had a bit more room and it only took an hour with the current going in our direction. After a bit of prep time, we were on the river again this time in 2 person plastic kayaks and our 21 year old guide Tha. Tha was alone in a 2 person kayak with all our camping gear and food and was able to keep up with us. It soon started pouring. Thankfully, we had a bit of shelter during our lunch break and soon after it stopped raining. <br />
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We found a place to camp on the bank of the river. There were only 2 tents so Tha made a shelter using the paddles, an umbrella, our life jackets and some bin bag liners. After dinner, the boys went fishing along the bank with a net and caught a plastic bag full of little fish. About an hour after we went to sleep, it started raining. We offered to share our tent with Tha, but he said he was okay. Once it stopped raining, the mosquitoes came out in swarms. Once again we offered for Tha to join us and he said, "maybe later." Instead he built a fire and slept next to it. The next morning he was covered in bites, but he never once complained. <br />
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With a good current and some muscle power, we ended up at our stopping point for Day 2 by 10:30am. We decided to carry on. The rapids were not very big, but both couples managed to capsize a couple times each. We continued to be impressed by our waterproof rucksacks. They have kept our belongings dry through torrential rains as well as dips in rivers.<br />
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The children in Lao are so friendly. Throughout our journey, we would hear kids shouting out "Sabai dee!!!!" and running to the bank to wave at us. They wouldn't just say it once or twice, but would continue to say it for a minute straight. <br />
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By 3pm we were all tired, but we needed to find a place to stay for the night. We stopped at a village and Tha spoke to the "Voice," the second in charge. He agreed to let us stay in his house. After a long day, you really appreciate the little things like being able to take a bath, a tiled toilet area, a bed and a mosquito net. Tha cooked us a delicious buffalo soup and we enjoyed it while watching a very dramatic Thai soap opera on tv. As we were making our way back from the market, Helen grabbed me and turned me around as a big truck drove by. It drove through a big puddle and a huge wave of muddy water came up over our heads. Sweaty, sunburnt and tired, we just had to laugh.<br />
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After a few more hours of paddling, we piled into the back of a pickup truck and driven an hour to Luang Prabang. This was by far the scariest part of our journey. We all tried not to look as we sped along narrow roads overtaking and being overtaken by motorbikes and trucks. Thankfully, we made it to LP safe and sound ready for a shower and a cold beer.<br />
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We could have done the same journey in 6 hours by slowboat, but the trip gave us a chance to really appreciate the beautiful landscape made up of karsts and interact with the locals.Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5991065592117771273.post-39357588390912533442011-05-15T12:55:00.005+01:002011-05-28T17:19:30.609+01:00"THE best tour"<div style="text-align: justify;">
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We were dropped off in the village of Chaluansouk and parted ways with Sang, the second guide, who would meet us with our inflatable kayaks at Ban Nalan Tai village, our home for the night. The village is not accessible by car. We walked for a couple hours before reaching the “restaurant” a hut in the middle of two villages. Our guide Pet and a local “support staff” Som presented us with a feast of sticky rice, pumpkin, aubergine and pickles all displayed on giant banana leaves. They made us chopsticks out of bamboo and we all sat down and enjoyed a fantastic meal. In Lao, people make small balls of rice and dip them in the other dishes. Pet said that 30-35 balls make up a meal. We tried to keep track of how many balls we ate during each meal, but always lost track.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljATR_2_xXSSWI1K_gkPyYuovj98qDUbsuqCK_G2AJm8I90zLXDLV6btd7948Q1m15d6mgdH_nrU8sa5RpTrdCB1_X5aH8l1ElJiNRUXUcu09gDbo8zgLpMEFuc214elRRJgqXfZBvV4H/s1600/IMG_3472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljATR_2_xXSSWI1K_gkPyYuovj98qDUbsuqCK_G2AJm8I90zLXDLV6btd7948Q1m15d6mgdH_nrU8sa5RpTrdCB1_X5aH8l1ElJiNRUXUcu09gDbo8zgLpMEFuc214elRRJgqXfZBvV4H/s320/IMG_3472.JPG" width="239" /></a>After lunch it started raining and didn’t stop until we reached our destination 2 hours later. It absolutely poured. Yumi managed to slip on her butt again leaving another mud stain on her shorts. We stopped at an abandoned village to hear Pet explain the government’s plans of bringing running water and schools to the area by combining villages when suddenly….ouch! Yumi feels something stinging her leg. It’s not a mosquito. It looks like a piece of straw, but it hurts. It’s a leech! Thomas tried to flick it off, but it was sucking on tight. Pet yanked it off. In its place was a bit of blood. As Yumi explained what it felt like the others soon experienced it for themselves. Sille wasn’t sure if she was imagining a stinging between her legs. She dropped her shorts and sure enough there was one stuck to her inner thigh. There is no better way to bond with a stranger than trying to remove a leech from her crotch using a tobacco leaf. Thomas also found one getting way too close to 3rd base and removed the sucker.</div>
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As soon as we arrived in the village some kids started to look at us and followed us to our hut for the night. Yumi was thinking about something to do to interact with the kids. Suddently hop scotch came up and she started drawing the game on the floor while the kids were wondering what the heck she was doing. A few minutes later they started to understand how it worked, so they started playing. Thomas drew a bigger hopscotch to challenge the older kids and the game took like a forest fire. The little ones were hilarious to watch. They were very technical about the game and were quick to call any line touches. </div>
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Thomas thought he’d have a bit of time to practice Tetsudo and went to a quiet spot near the river. Before he knew it 3 kids who were not older than 5 years old started to imitate him and use bamboo sticks. After teaching them basic stick work for about 3 minutes, it came to his mind that maybe it wasn’t the safest thing to do. So he starated showing them blocks and 5 other kids showed up. There was no longer enough room so they all moved to the main place of the village. </div>
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All the kids lined up and copied Thomas. They practiced until it was so dark they couldn’t see each other (and were ready by 7am the following day!)<br />
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After dinner, it was time to go frog hunting in the rice fields. Armed with torches, a few of the older boys absolutely amazed us with their frog catching skills. Before we could even spot one, they would have caught it, broken its legs and put it in our small woven basket. Within half an hour, the basket was full. The boys led us back to our "hotel" and left us with the basket of frogs. Thomas, Sille and Catherine felt bad for the frogs and let them go...What were we going to tell the boys in the morning?! </div>
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It was a great experience and Thomas really enjoyed teaching bits and pieces of what he’s learned in London over the past 2 years with at Tetsudo club. The kids have very little in terms of material things, but they were all so friendly and happy. Their constant laughter was priceless.</div>Yumi and Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609021795730274269noreply@blogger.com0