Developments

1) Vietnam and Cambodia is on! Tickets and hotels have been booked! The plan is to hit Ho Chi Mnh City and the surrounds for a few days then head straight to Angkor Wat for the new year then back to Japan via Penom Pehn. Should be amazing!

2) No news on going away with the wife, but October looks almost certain. Locations have been trimmed down from a dozen to about six or so.

3) Europe next year is off. Maybe 2009...

4) Vegas should be on if everyone gets their act together! (the inverse law of video rental stores applies in this scenario though - unfortunately!)

Ideas!

I had a chat with a friend (former co-worker who now works for another company in Japan) the other night, and one of the things that came up was the subject of Christmas holidays. I was thinking of going back to SE Asia - namely Koh Samet - again, but I really would like to see a new country as well...

Turns out she had a similar notion! (Great minds, etc. etc.)

So my thoughts are currently turning to Vietnam and Cambodia (especially Angkor Wat) for a couple of weeks around Christmas. From some preliminary reading it looks like the best time of year weather-wise, which will probably also mean it's busy. Still, it'll be my first Christmas travelling, which will make it special.

Stay tuned...


The wife and I may have a chance to go somewhere together in September or October, but no holidays yet - so no plans either...


There's my mother's idea of going to Eastern Europe perhaps in April next year...


Also some current and former co-workers are brainstorming going to Vegas next year for a reunion... lordy lordy! What a holiday that could turn out to be if it ever comes to fruition!

A list.

The Times has published a list taken from The Rough Guide of what they consider to be the top 25 places to visit in the world. I can check off two of them, Vegas and the Grand Canyon. And while you may wonder why Vegas is there in the first place, consider why a dam is there at all (even if it is so friggin' huge) and that the Galapagos Islands are not....

The 25 Wonders of the World

1 Salt flats of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

2 Uluru or Ayers Rock, Australia

3 Pyramids at Giza, Egypt

4 Drifting down the Amazon

5 “Fairy chimneys” and caves of Cappadocia, Turkey

6 Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

7 Petra, the city carved from stone in the Jordanian desert

8 Machu Picchu, Peru

9 Sagrada Familia, Gaudí’s masterpiece in Barcelona

10 Perito Moreno glacier, Patagonia

11 Sistine Chapel, Rome

12 Trekking in the Himalayas

13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia

14 The canals and palaces of Venice

15 Taking a camel train across the Sahara

16 Great Wall of China

17 Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe

18 Paddling in the Barrier Reef, Belize

19 Taj Mahal, India

20 Maya ruins of Mexico and Guatemala

21 Stone giants of Easter Island

22 Grand Mosque, Djenné, Mali

23 The temptations of Las Vegas

24 Forbidden City, China

25 Itaipú, the world’s biggest dam, Paraguay and Brazil

And while fair Australia is only represented once, alas, I have not been there. I'll have to rectify that.

Japan has a grand total of zero, which isn't fair when you consider the silent splendour of Fuji-san, or the endless wonders of Kyoto...

Updating

1) The Festival of the Phallus was certainly *quite* the experience! We all had a hilarious time and took heaps and heaps of pix. I'll have to make a Flickr page so you can see them all. I can't choose just one...

2) Today was probably the best day to see the cherry blossoms at Himeji Castle for this year. It was a little earlier than usual but if you bookmark your diary then around this time should be right for you!

I went for a cycle and a wander about 9am this morning and the sky was crystal clear, as you can see. By the time I got home from the gym around midday it had clouded over just a touch and the smog was building, so early on is certainly the best time of day to see it all!

Next trip?

Nothing planned at the moment... but you know how that can change!

Next Trip!

Next Thursday the 15th is the day. Just a day trip this time.

I'm off to see the Giant Penis Festival which is held near Nagoya!

Yes, they have souvenirs...

I'm going with some co-workers and other hangers on. Most of the participants are female (what a surprise!) but there will be a few of us blokes along - all of whom are comfortable with their masculinity. Should be fun.

We're going by Shinkansen to Nagoya then by local train to where the shrine is.

Home Again!

Don Rickles give Las Vegas the thumbs up - and so do I!

Made it back late last night. Still in a bit of a whirl from the whole experience!

After my last post I went shopping up to the top of the Strip to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets. Getting there took nearly one and a half hours since it was Sunday, there weren't many buses so I tried walking for a while, then caught the bus that goes up and down the Strip, then had to change to the public bus which took 20 minutes to turn up. Wasn't feeling too chipper by that point; fairly frustrated at how long things were taking after everything had gone so swimmingly well up to then.

At the shops I bought up some shoes and t-shirts at the Nike shop, then went for a wander. I bought a top at Eddie Bauer, some work clothes at the Van Heusen shop and had lunch. I had a Chinese variety of things from the Food Court including Sweet and Sour Chicken the way we used to have it back in Oz with the luminous red sauce. MSG, I love you.

I took a taxi to the huge Bonanza souvenir shops which I'd seen from the bus. True to the title, it was truly a bonanza of kitchy goods for everyone and anyone. I picked up a couple of things including a Poker set for about $20. The staff were all so very nice to talk to - actually nearly everyone I talked to while in Vegas was lovely except for one taxi driver who refused to take me and Mr. Nishikawa from Fremont Street to the Stratosphere. Apart from that one dork, the taxi drivers of Vegas are all fine ambassadors for that city.

After that I took the bus which (slowly) made its way back to the Bellagio. I got changed and (mostly) packed so I had about an hour or so to hit the tables.

Turned out to be a pretty good session. I went to three casinos, played nothing but roulette and
ended up +$100. Happy! So happy I ordered a vodka martini at dinner - I'm such a class act... at least I felt like one afterwards!

Dinner was at the Bellagio's signature restaurant, Picasso. It was a bit Nouveau Cuisine, but the food was magnificent. I haven't had beef that literally fell apart like that for such a long time - so amazingly tender. I wish I could've had a bottle of the sauce they served with it to bring home as a souvenir as well. Afterwards, we enjoyed wonderful coffee as the fountains danced through the windows.

Back up to the room, changed, packed, down and on the bus. The check-in process at the airport was smooth, I got an aisle seat and we had to just hang out at the airport for a couple of hours.

I must say that for all my worries about U.S. ©'War On Terror' style security, they were much like any other immigration service I'd come across, except for the laid-back staff at the Seychelles International Steel Shed. They were more thorough perhaps (shoes and belts off) but not Gestapo-like or anything like that.

I didn't sleep at all on the plane even though I tried my best. I was lucky enough to be seated next to a tiny Japanese woman so that meant I didn't have to compete for space. I had three drinks, no coffee and did my stretches, but all to no avail.

The best thing about not sleeping turned out to be that the cabin crew on the return flight were the same ones that brought us over, so I had a long chat with one of the flight attendants, Jung, before she had to go make breakfast for us. She recognised me as I got on board and was assigned to my area, so I got a big, friendly smile, a quick chat to catch up and awesome service for the whole flight. When I asked for a vodka with orange juice she turned the plane upside-down trying to find the vodka and mixed up a mightily strong one which was a bit like the Fatima-style ones I'm used to having on Saturday nights! It certainly pays to be nice to the cabin crew. I've learned a lot from 'Air Babylon'!

Korean Air put them all up in a small hotel off the Strip which didn't have a casino (so they wouldn't gamble - like that stopped them!) and they spent most of their time in Las Vegas hitting the sights along the Strip and shopping. I got a few pointers for my time in Seoul (if we were going to have any free time) which was nice too. She was off to L.A. next, which she said was one of the worst routes for them as most of the passengers were Korean-Americans and were always very demanding. She said they all loved working on routes with lots of Japanese since Japanese customers were always easy to please. True though - a couple of drinks and a feed and nearly everyone was asleep!

We arrived early at Inchon Airport so it was into the centre of Seoul for fun and games. We went to one market (Namdaemun) that opened early. It was sprightly and energetic for so early in the morning with motorbikes and mini-trucks flying along the narrow lanes, closely avoiding the growing crowds of locals and tourists. There were lots of food, cheap clothes, accessories and what-nots but not for me. We were given four hours to wander around there as well as another market area (Myeong-dong, which had lots of designer clothes shops... yawn!) so I did precisely that, but had a long breakfast and leisurely lunch. Kimchi, kimchi and more kimchi! Yum! (K says I still smell like kimchi now, but hey - it was soooo good!) I found a nice little restaurant in the basement of one building and had lunch there for an hour while surrounded by Korean business-people and groups of ladies out shopping. Another out-of-this-world experience.

After a tourist-trap stop at a Korean food shop, it was time to catch the plane for the final leg of the trip, get on the bus and finally stagger through the door clutching my Duty Free and dragging my bulging suitcase of plunder into the silent apartment.

Viva Las Vegas! (with Seoul a close runner-up)



Next trip? Not overseas for a while, but I and some workmates are planning a day-trip to the Giant Penis Festival near Nagoya next month. Stay tuned for that one!

Vegas Baby!

Yup, in Vegas and I have a few minutes in the Business "Center" in the Bellagio. Try to access the internet here and they make you jump through hoops - it's taken me over an hour. That is the only thing that has sucked about this trip though so I won't gripe too much.

Oh... and I haven't won any huge jackpots or anything - that I'm sooo disappointed with. I'm all up $30 down, which isn't bad really considering I've gambled in four casinos (so far). Roulette has been the best game for me - surprising since I've never really played it much before. Beginner's luck I guess.

The Grand Canyon yesterday was truly an experience of a lifetime. Words cannot describe the experience so all I'll say is it's something you have to do for yourself some time in your lifetime.

Vegas itself has been big, brash, and busy. Next time I'll make a mental note to come during the weekdays. Trust us to be here on the weekend!

I've had one "Vegas Experience". I was nearly propositioned by a gorgeous black woman at 6am in the Bellagio corridors yesterday morning. She was stunning but as soon as she smiled at me I knew what she was after. What happens in Vegas, eh? There were a couple more prowling the hallways when I got back at 3am this morning but they were being hassled by a drunk hotel guest.

Been to Fremont Street, The Stratosphere Tower, and up and down the Strip. Today is shopping and maybe lose some more money. Tonight it's the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio for a final send-off.

Viva Las Vegas!

visited countries, as of next week!

create your own visited countries map

The Seychelles are so small you can't see them on this map, but trust me, I've been there!

less than 24 hours to go

This time tomorrow I'll be in Seoul.

We're stopping over there for half a day on the way to Vegas and back. I have a good map thanks to Pav and tips for what to do, so that'll easily take care of the time, providing I can escape from the group.

The group consists of my private students (known as 'The Doctors', Masako and Etsuji), their daughter and son-in-law (Anri and Hiroyuki, who are also doctors), their grand-daughter (Sara, who is 8 months old, and is doomed to become a doctor) and about 30 of their staff from their hospital who have nothing on their minds except raising havoc in Vegas for 48 hours.

Apparently last time they did this, some people didn't sleep for the two days they were in Vegas...

We're staying at The Bellagio, seeing 'O', doing a Grand Canyon tour, having dinner at Picasso, and I'll try to squeeze in as much Vegas as I can without killing myself or others. I will be sleeping though. I couldn't have a room at a place like The Bellagio and NOT sleep there at least one night!

If I can see at least one Elvis impersonator, I'll be happy.

I've got my suitcase out, got my traveller's cheques signed, got my clothes out. Things are starting to happen...

Next trip!

Back from Thailand and already the next trip is lined up.

This time it's courtesy of my private students, known affectionately as 'The Doctors'.

They're taking me, expenses paid, to LAS VEGAS!!

I'm a bit thin on the details at the moment, but we're flying via Seoul, so we're spending about 12 hours there, then 3 nights in Vegas, then back via Seoul again.

Since it's the doctors, it'll all be pretty hard to take as they like doing things in style. It'll be another chance to see how things could be if I won the lottery. If I hit the jackpot in Vegas, who knows?

All I really want to do is to see the Grand Canyon.

Stay tuned.