Mamamalaysia

Well it's all over for Thailand and so the weather got better immediately after I crossed the border. They have highways in this motha! Woosh we ride very fast to Penang/Georgetown where I setup base camp in chinatown with the indian blocks not far away. It came as a total surprise to me that they have Indian food here in Thailand and nothing could make me more happy that night than a nice Masala Dosa. Oooh so good! The town has kept its colonial image with the low storied buildings with a chinese temple there, mosk here, all that jazz. Nice place to stay a night or two but I was on my way to the highlands.. Cameron Highlands!



Took the ferry over to Butterworth and hopped on a bus that was right next to the ferry docking point that flew me right down to Ipoh where I was destined to change the buss. Unfortunately the perfect time leaving bus was canceled to who knows what reason and I had to wait 4 hours for the next bus at the bus station. Well with a nice book to read it wasnt that bad. Another wooosh through some nice landscape as we climb into the clouds to see some tea plantations. Dusk arrived before I could see any and the episode was delayed for a couple of days. At least I was able to find a nice cheap indian street eatery where this mother/daughter combination keeps giving me more and more delicious foods. I have become a regular guest at their establishment.



A couple of days into the highlands and I see myself enjoying the cheap food, cheaper accommodation and nice walks that they have to offer. Did a big tour to the tea plantations a couple of days back and my legs are still hurting! Never mind though as the scenery was just to die for. Never really realized just how well blue and green go together until I started snapping away with the camera to a certain extent of TOO MUCH. I was expecting there to be tons of tourist loitering around the estate area but I didn't see any other tourist or locals apart from ones traveling with a car or motorbike down and up the curvy roads amids the tea bushes. I took the liberty of walking around anywhere I pleased and it turns out those tea bushes dont really bent easily and you have to really jump over them if you want to skip a line. Anyway the walk back turned out to be a exhausting one even though its mostly downhill. I was completely beat when at the last mile or so left the signs of a storm started to be in the air and I could feel the drops of rains starting to hunt me. Make a run for it to keep yourself dry!



Legs dont hurt anymore and I think soon Ill hit the jungle paths again. Hopefully the weather will be more merciful this time :)

More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Angkor and Thailand

Yes it's been a while. Cambodia is now behind and so are the temples of Angkor. Have to say that place is massive! Frankly when you have to bicycle 8 hours to see just a glimpse of it all even though the temples are more or less 10 minutes from each other it kinda makes me feel small. The place was crowded not so much by tourist as I thought but the constant hassle with the tuk-tuk drivers was getting to me. Jungle covered temples that have been literally swallowed by the trees and the musky air over there was getting me into the Indiana Jones groove. We took a car out to see one temple that was kinda out of the and the ride over there took over one hour but at the end it was worth it. The temple was absolutely stunning and unlike in the main tourist area here you could really jump and climb around the collapsed walls and roofs. Kick ass time continued every night at Siem Reap with the other travelers with cheap bear and good card games :).



When it was time to go to Bangkok we knew what we were facing. A road of complete rubble and utter madness that last for a good 4 hours of the first part of the journey. This is a road everybody has to do once in their lives and after that you don't complain ever again. From Siem Reap to the border it's just a dirt track with a scatter of bombed potholes, drilled manholes and is probably maintained by a few holes of the different kind as well.



Bangkok is the major meeting point and epicenter of any trip through SEA and should not be missed even though it has a reputation of being a bit of a tourist trap.. well at least khao san road. That road really is something. It has the lights of Las Vegas, The noise of Delhi and the drunken people of every western country imaginable. Tuk-tuk drivers are crooked as can be and with the number of t-shirts on sale on that street you could sort out the Red Crosses clothing campaign for the next few years. Ping Pong games to your right, pimped out rickshaws to your left and cheap street food in your face! Got to love it. Me and Sas visited a few big ass markets and I took the liberty to go see a Thai-boxing match on one of the main stadiums the town has. Naturally I get the seats in the cheapest stands where of course all the locals go too. The boxing is intense but so is the betting that goes on in the crowds. Men raising and lowering their hands, sign language with the fingers and thousands of bath exchanging owner every 30 minutes. Good fun indeed.



As for the beaches, yes I've seen some damn good ones. First we stayed two weeks at Sas's friend with a rooftop terrace, own swimming pool... I could go on but you probably know whats coming next. Anyway we took the bike out to explore the island and this is a island you definitely need a motorbike of some sort to get around. Incredibly steep hills and long distances in the immense heat is something you don't want to experience walking. As for the beaches. They are just amazing! I have never in my life seen such clear water nor had the bath sensation in open water. It really is too hot to feel refreshing. These two weeks were definitely needed to drain the wanderers encumbrance that had accumulated since leaving Hanoi.



Since we were in the area and the moon was in the right position we decided to go see the full moon party in Koh Phangan. How does one stick about 5000 people on to one strip of sand and turn it to a party known throughout the world? I have no idea but it damn it is one hell of a party. Decided not to bring the camera to the big party in fear of stealing so I leave you with a picture of the swing by our bungalows overlooking the sea, Koh Samui and a full moon.



More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Cambodia Year 0-2008

It's a holiday in Cambodia! A week into it but can't say it's been all lovely. Phnom Penh turned out to be just a place to visit if your intrested in the Khmer Rouge regime and the horrific genocide it commited. Killing fields and the S-21 are probably the main attractions of the town, with the shooting range of course.

The Killing Fields the of hundreds of cambodian civilians that perished during the Khmer Rouge rule. There are to mass graves that have been dug up and some say there probably are more beyond the small pond on the far side of the site. A pagoda full of skulls stands as a memorial of the events that occured there. Im not sure what was eerier - the khmer wedding music echoing just outside of the site or the two kids chanting their begging mantra on me. How dare some people put their kids to beg into these kind of places. The S-21 was more of a torture/interrigation office than a mass grave but gave me the chills none the less. The pictures of people executed and tortured just make you think what can human beign endure and have to suffer. A few people had written messages on the walls of the prison cells asking questions of mans inhumanity and looking at it really makes anybody want to cry.

A part from that the city really doesnt have much to offer. It's just one of those noisy, dirty, big asian capitals. This gave the tag team Sas-T a good excuse to bail out and head for the coast in hope to get some sunshine (It's been raining here every day). So we close our eyes and pic a point on the map - KAMPOT IT IS BABY YEAH! In reality its a small river town near the coast of Cambodia with not much to offer in itself but once you get the motorbike out and cruise the coast your rollin'. 4 hours on a bus turns out to be 6 hours - nothing new in Asia I would say - and we arrive there. After being harassed to death by touts and nice dinner we go to bed and get ready for a nice bike ride.

First thing we run for the coast to see the old abandoned colonial town of Kep. A big french resort in the 70's now only has concrete outer walls left of the once mighty hotels that stood there. The place was invaded when the Khmer Rouge took power and was probably burned down after the Vietnamese "released" from the evil grip. This probably has more appeal in the sunny season and for now it still has some of that local charm left although major tourist attractions have started to pop up here and there.

On the way back we stopped at a local fisherman village to take some pictures of the kids and pigs. Together they are almost as photogenic as me although Sas thinks I look more like a pig. Those hogs were huge and in true pig manner they were eating anything that came near their mouth. As the evening sun began to descent we took the opportunity to use the closest thing Cambodia has to a freeway in the country. The road between Kampot and Sihanouk Vill is by far one of the smoothest roads I've been on in SE and we decided to go check out the Bokor National Park/Hill station entry point not far from town. Apparently they have some illegal tree cutting going on those deep forest as they didnt want anybody to enter the park. Then again maybe our bike was not ment for that muddy road.

On a sidenote I would like to mention that I will start to write this blog only once a month soon so dont expect any fast updates. Photos will still be uploaded.

More photos on:
picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen

We be tubin'

Forget the elephant rides! We got tubes! Thats right. Turns out the 4 legged beasts are quite expensive to ride so it was decided to tame some of the wild versions later on to save some money. Maybe find some in Cambodia or Thailand? Tube for now.



The photogenic Luang Prabang was only viewable from the rear view mirror when we started to check out what the next city, Vang Vieng, had in store for us. Horrors! But before that we had a nice little 6 hour roadtrip ahead that the WRC could easily add to their yearly schedule because the curves that are endless! As always the scenery is amazing and the pictures dont do them justice. The center of Vang Vieng is useless. The streets are full of restaurants serving "happy" pizzas, fruit shakes, beerlao and a neverending list of Friend's episodes. There really is no difference here. The are all the same. Looking at the other travelers, I feel a sense of disgust going through me and I want to leave. Who comes to South East Asia to watch friends? The first night is spent getting settled and having dinner.



Vang Vieng still has a lot to offer though. The have canoes, rock climbing, trekking, caves and of course TUBES! The stay started off with a visit to the nearest cave that was situated 2 km from the TV-hell. Easy walk except for the mud obstacle course setted up by a couple of trucks and a digger. As we get there a little bit early I decided to take a dip at the bluegreen shining lagoon right outside the cave. Running water might be cold but it definately is relaxing with the temperatures going through the roof. The cave in it self was a massive complex that didnt suffer from that horrible blue/green/red light syndrome that makes the staligmites look like pop sicles. Just natural light and a light bulp here and there. We had some monks as company and I became a light bearer with my head lamp as the monks wanted to venture outside the guided tour into the darkness Sas right on my tail. Messing with the lights caused some giggles and claustrophobia in the team but we got out in the end. Sas was being a big girls blouse about the whole darkness thing and a hug made it all better.



A little lunch companied by mango shakes which I'm totaly addicted to now and we leave for the main event the city has to offer: tubing. Prices going at a steady 3 euroes a pop and a ride to the up stream starting point, it is a fairly good deal. The idea is to ride down the river for a hour along the slowly running river of Nam Song. The main attraction of course is not the tubing itself but the abbundance of bars the place has to offer on the river sides. Catch up with the other travelers, have rice wine shots or a beerlao and try out the crazyest swings know to man all at one spot. I managed to scare everybody by breaking on of the swings while on it but I came out alright at the end with a small bumb on the head and a scratch on the knee. Instead of crusifying me the barowners paraded me with free shots of Lao Lao and icecubes. Apparently not the first time this has happened..



Been six months on the road I must say that the tubing has got to be one of the most chilled out things I have done so far during this trip. Once your out of the range of the towering boom boxes owned by the restaurant, the whole riverfront becomes your own personal ether. You only hear the steady sound of running water and see the sun setting behind the magnificient limestone cliffs. Not too shaby.

More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Takes five..

So close yet so different. Thats what the feelings have been for first few days here when I've been comparing Vietnam and Laos. Can easily say that its been much more pleasant here in the country that holds the newest stamp in my passport. Capitalism has really exploded in the red edged star country and it shows. Motorist drive after you in the search of a few bucks, pineapple sellers stalk you and the word customer service has not yet reached the dictionary.



We spent a few days in Sapa in hopes of better weather because the whole city was inbeaded in clouds this time around. After three days of waiting and touring some of the local minority villages that I missed last time we decided to head for the Laos border by bus. The good thing about bad weather was that I had time for some books once more. At the moment I'm eying the last pages of Neil Gaimans American Gods book which my lovely Sas brought out for me. Couple of friends from back home had already recommended to me but it doesnt seem to be available anywhere here in SEA. Before that I managed to go through Dan Browns Digital Fortress which reads like a Hollywood moviescript and Henri Charrières Papillon. Great true story book about a young man escaping multiple times from the prisons of French Guynae and his adventures on each side of the bars.



Back to the maters at hand. The road to the border crossing had to be the worst one I've been on so far during the 6 months I've been on the road now. Needles to say I found completely degrees pain in my ass after that. Stayed at a hotel that god had abandoned or had allowed to be created by accident because there is nothing good to be said about it. Just take my word for it. We had heard that the border crossing should be now open to international tourist and everything should go smoothly. Still there is always room for doubt in Vietnam. In the end the worries were worthless. Ofcourse the were! I said that everything would go smoothly and Sas could spare my thumbs. Two thumbs up for the Tay Trang border officials in Laos for excelent work.
The bus ride was actually a bit more better than the one to Dien Bien Phu because there werent that many people onboard this bus, just a shit load of noodles which almost killed Sas in a moment of collapse. The views were amazing as the whole horizon was filled with every shade of green that which the eyes can feed the brain with. The tiny little villages on the way down through the endless jungles could only be described as accient and the motorbikes and satelite dishes (that served as nice shades for the pigs) were really sticking out of the scenery.



The road lead all the way down the river village of Muang Khoua where we decided to stay a couple of days. During this time we managed to meat two french canadian landscape gardeners that were riding their bikes through SEA, uninvitedly entered a street party that had been going on for a couple weeks and visited a massive collection of local schools. The people here seem really more chilled out than in Vietnam and it really shows. Ricshaw drivers dont follow you, there are no touts in sight and the street vendor owners are busy sleeping on the fake t-shirts their selling. The country is a little bit more expensive than its eastern neighbor but thats the price you pay.



The latest issue would be Luang Prabang where we landed a couple of days ago. Like it read on the Lonely Planet, it really has to be the most photogenic city in the whole country. Every street, every building, every river (there are two) and every hill seems like a work of art. Be it the mahong wood on the French colonial buildings or the lantern lights on the street corners, it just blows anybody away. The day has been spent admiring the scenary, playing water games with the kids on the banks of the Mekong and watching monks change light bulbs on the temple cealings. How many it takes you ask. It's five.



More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Cat Ba Fucking Island with a hint of monsoons

Nice scenery, nice weather for a day or two, bad.. everything else. Amazing how much trouble some people are willing to let you go through just in order to get a few bucks and your wrath to go with it. Be it arranging a bus trip, boat ride, motorcycle, food, beverage.. as long as there is money involved they are not shy about making it hard for you. Take for example my trip to the beautiful Ha long Bay and the Cat Ba islands. Smooth minibus ride to the coast and then the trouble begins. Boat ride to the island would have been fine if the tour guide hadn't been asking me every twenty minutes would we care to take the buss to the city once we arrive. No we don't want no ride, we'll figure it out for ourselves. Prices come down, temper gets high. LEAVE US ALONE DAMN IT! Bus rides to from the pier to the city cost you around 50 000dong on a bus and 100 000 on a bike. Naturally buses are all reserved for the actual tourist and no cheapskates are wanted so that leaves the only option to be XE OM's. Those ghastly drivers and their prices didn't really flatter us at the start so we tried to organize one of the hotels to send a rescue ship (bus) to the.. well rescue. No dice with the reception so we sadly have to succumb to the prices of those ghost riders of Cat Ba Islands.



I've been referring to I, me and us. Us being me and Sas. Yes the lovely girl finally made it to the country and everything has been awesome! Still getting to know each others quirks and such so nobody has been strangled just yet. Continuing with the horrors...



Hotel is good and cheap so no problem there and the forecast send us to the beach the next day. A small and quiet beach was really in order but there was something afloat. That being garbage. Lots of it too. Between the ever annoying seaweed you could clearly make out plastic bags, tiny straws, small ropes, tin cans and of course who could forget condoms. I decided to help the locals clean up the strip a bit but that really is just a temporary solution to a much bigger problem. See the crap there isn't brought there by people who come to the beach but instead it comes with the waves from the ocean. God knows how much shit there are lying at the ocean bottom. Problem is most of the locals are not educated enough to understand that it is a real that needs to be dealt with.



Next day I decided to rent a bike to ride through the island in search of some sightseeing. Nice ride and some 40 k later I'm back at the hotel with the bike. Bike not being my real favor of choice on transportation I decided to trash it to the closest wall next to the hotel and take out a tiny oven and a advertisement sign with me. Result is one slightly battered bike, destroyed oven and a bruise on the advertisement owned restaurant workers leg. Bill is 50 Euros for everything and some bad looks from the locals. Guess these things happen was my thoughts exactly when I went back to the hotel room to do some little sobbing of my own.



Then its time to leave the island. We are about board the ship back to the mainland only to find that my passport was left at the hotel reception. The tout tells us eagerly that it can be send on to same day to us in Hanoi but I'm really in no mood to find that when it arrives there will be a ridiculous service charge hanging on to my passport. So back to the hotel vie bus and stay one more day.



Finally we make it back to the mainland only to find that trouble lurks around the corner or should I say above us? We get the first real taste of the monsoons when a huge rain shower starts hitting the streets of Ha Long City. People seek shelter under any little piece of plastic they can find, gutters cough up water like a asthmatic having a seizure and any attempt to switch destination ends up being a lesson in swimming. Not to leave any cliffhangers, the rain follows us back to Hanoi where motorcycles battle it out with the streams of brown water that reach the bikes headlights. Today its time to head back to Sapa as we are about to cross the border to Laos from the northern part of Vietnam.

More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Chillout and bikeout

Sorry for the short absence of the blog for the last few weeks but I've been busy... doing nothing. Yes Vietnam is my home address for the next couple of weeks as the lovely miss Vassie will be arriving here to make life on the road more intresting. Destinations include at least the world heritage site Halong Bay or more likely its little brother which is not so turistic. But before I start to tell what the future holds in store for us I would like to tell whats happend since I left Japan.



Actually leaving Japan felt kinda like leaving home again because Shanghai and Japan both felt so close to the western way of life that it could be compared to home and Vietnam was definately not goig to be all that. I managed to screw up on reading the time table for my scheduled departure from Osaka and spend 24 h at the airport! Fortunately for me the place had its own manga kissa where you could use the Internet, read comics, drink beverages and eat a shitload of icecream. Hurrah for the Japanese subcultures!



I arrived Hanoi at 9 PM local time which ment that not alot of busses were heading out the city. For some reason you couldnt change your money to Vietnamese dong at the Osaka airport and it was even a bigger suprise when I found out that the foreign currency exchange office was closed at the Hanoi airport. That leaves me with hundreds of dollars and alot to hope for. Fortunately dollar is a payable currency in Vietnam so I manage to get a taxi to the host I'm staying with in Hanoi, another couchsurffer. Mark is a university professor who has pretty much done and seen it all. Being a traveler for 4 years all around the world can leave a man with alot of stories to tell. He hosted me for a week at his pad which offered free wakeup calls in the form of jackhammers and motorbike horns from 7 AM in the morning.



As for Hanoi I can say only that its not much of a tourist town. Great bars and cafes and tons of lovely cheap local food but other than that it was just a place for me to catch up on some reading. I want to do it properly when my counterpart arrives here :). Managed to read two books during that week. The first being a one man adventure story about survival on your own without money, accomodation or transportation called Into The Wild. A decent book to read while your traveling but doesnt reach my top 5 books so far. The other book was of corse the one I've been trying read for a month now, George Orwel's 1984. God what book. Hope we wont have to endure anything of that sort in our lifetime although there are some signs in the air...



Anyway after one week of staying in Hanoi I decided to check out the lovely hill station in the northern Vietnam called Sapa. Filled all around with gigantic hills and local minorities making it a place deffo worth visiting. The day of arrival I checked in to a cheap hotel headed out to the local villages near the town. At the bottom of the valley lies the village of Cat Cat with waterfalls and rivers running through the villages, creating small ponds where to swim, relax and bathe in the sun. Most tourist decided only to look from a distance and take pictures so it was a really great experience mixing with the local kids in their water sports (throwing rocks into the water next to people to get them wet).



Also managed to meet two italian guys named Criss and Gabri with whom we spend the next day cruising the countryside with motorbikes and getting into some sticky situations on the outskirts of Sapa. Basically we went on a dirtroad that supposedly lead to a minority village but the road was so bad we had to dump the bikes midway where we talked to some local folk. After the visit we came back to the bikes to find them a bit out of shape and took a while to find out that the locals (god knows for what reason) had made some adjustment to the bike that made them run like shit. After a little figuring out we managed to fix the problems and drived into the sunset like the cowboys we are! Now its time the head back to Hanoi to meet my beautiful girlfriend who will be here in a matter of days!



More pictures at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

A temple is a temple. is a temple. is temple. is a

temple. or Kyoto. or Nara. Who cares! I surely don't as I have now officially seen too many shrines for one lifetime. Seriously though. Every single religious sight I visited in Kyoto and Nara were exact replicas of one another. Nothing different about them. You can even browse my photos and ponder if all of the pics were taken in one specific place or multiple locations. There are over 2000 temples alone in Kyoto and 1,43 million people. That means there is more than one temple for every 700 people there is in the city. After almost collapsing under the tourist masses, a insane idea came to my mind that all of the temples should be housed by the people who live here and making them off limits to all tourist. Shouldn't be that hard considering the cultures nature of fitting big things into small places. Just an idea nothing more.



Sure they had a couple of nice gardens and statues here and there and the city of Kyoto seemed really small compared to Tokyo mainly because of the absence of skyscrapers. Another nice treat in the city is the Manga museum and the geisha/maiko stacked avenues on the city's east side. I predicted that getting a geisha to pose for photo would be a chance not likely to happen as somehow I had the perception that the highly trained entertainers wouldn't have time for common folk. How wrong was I! Once I spotted one in the buzzy streets I waisted no time and put on a big smile and asked nicely in Japanese could I take her picture. The white faced girl was more than happy to pose for me and the rest is history.



Nara turned out to be a miniature copy of Kyoto where you replace geishas with deers that are something of natural treasure and obsessed with making little Japanese kids cry as they stalk them for those dear cookies. The parents laugh as the evil dears trample over their small beloved ones in search for a piece of sweet and all I can do is join the laughter, what great fun! Besides the dears, there is a nice hill to climb of to for a picnic and take some photos of the city.



For Osaka I cant say that much except had a good time with my host Brian and Renata from couchsurfing and had some of the local cuisine called tacoyaki or in English octopus balls! Trust me, their better than they sound. Nearing the end of the Japan experience I decided to try my luck with Himeji where they have one of the most well preserved castles from the 17th century. If the place wasn't a complete tourist attraction nowadays I probably would have enjoyed but with German and American tourists walking in never ending lines through the rope created tour route trough the castle, I could not help but feel like a rat in a maze. Wouldn't recommend it unless your arriving early there.



Tired by all the tourist that seemed to flock around me like a pigeons, I decided to do something different and head for the onsens in the southern part of Kansai by train. As I was stepping in to the rapid service bound for the my destination, the conductor asked for my ticket and decided its not valid for this train and would have to catch the local trains with 3 switches along the trip. Time was 8PM so scratch that and head for a manga kissa place overnight. Next morning had an idea to go see the worlds largest suspensions bridge near Kobe which I had seen on the previous day from a train window as we went past. So hop skip and jump and I'm in Maiko with a San Francisco feeling to it with ocean breezes, Japanese guitar players and of course the big ass bridge with the length of 3,9 km. Have some miniature beers, eat some strawberries and let the sea breeze hit my face. Next its time for Vietnam and the bustling Hanoi. Ill keep you posted.



More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Beyond the future

It was time to leave Tokyo in search of little peace of mind but first I had to get rid of my ever so wonderful beard that had gone to the limit of being attractive. Japan isnt really know for its bearded people so I had to settle the score myself. Naturally traveling with a budget doesnt give OK-GO! to a electric shaver and I never had a lesson in switchblades while I was in college. The next best thing was a 1000 yen costing razerblade with a battery operated shaver attached. Cheapest things I could find on a short notice and worked out great except that the shaving process took almost 1 hour.



I had already booked cheap tickets which permit me to travel around Japan as much as I want with 5 separate days for 11500 yen (around 70 euroes) with the catch beeing that you can only use local trains which is the equilevant of the dictionary word slow. Train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto takes 2 hours and 20 minutes with a bulletrain without changes and the same trip with the local trains takes around 9 hours with 5 changes. Then again the bulletrain costs already more than the 5 day pass so this works for me fine as Im going to Osaka and Himeji also.



During the train ride I had a great chance to practise my growing Japanese skills and had great fun with the local train riders. Managed to spot Mt. Fuji also during the ride as the train swaping goes trough the town of Fuji. Originally I planned to climb up to that easily accessible hill but turns out its one of the worst times to go up there. With the combination of some reasent year deaths of people who have attempted the odds of going up there, I decided to be a good dog and just chase my own tale instead.



Upon arrival Kyoto I was quick to notice that there are no available places to stay in town so decided finally to stay at one of these 24 hour internet cafes that can serve as temporary places of rest for fairly cheaply. 12 hours with access to bathrooms and unlimited supply to tons of beverages for 20 euros isnt that bad of a deal in a town where room prices start often at 30 euroes.

More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Big things come in even bigger packages

Konichiwa, Domo, Sumimasen and so on. We are in Japan-time now and although it's only been a few days it feels like a lifetime experience. It's even hard to decided where to begin so let's just on with it! The flight to Tokyo was smooth one and the first thing that caught my attention from the airplane was the fact that the country is very VERY mountainous. After checking with LP I found out that around 80% of the country is at least a hilly if not mountainous. As the planes skits to the airstrip I listen up to the old classic by Deep Purple (you know which one) and think about my girl overseas. Not long now..



From the airport it's a quick 40 minute ride to the center of the city but I decided to skip sightseeing and head for the outskirts of Tokyo to the couchsurfing buddy. The first day is spend waiting the host and other guest turn up at the house but it was a good time to get to know the local town. I make up time by checking into a local Manga-kissa. A Internet cafe with loads of manga to read around as well. I get to the house around 00.01 AM and it's straight off to bed waiting excitedly for the next day.



The Sunday starts with a stop at the Harajuku part of greater Tokyo which is known for it's cosplay kids. The kids from the suburbs of metropolis gather to this spot near the Yuyuji park to play out their fantasy costumes varying from popular manga characters to their on own creations. Nowadays the days has become such an attraction that there are exponentially more tourist than cosplay kids. Yuyuji park is a host to all sorts of free attractions as local folk of Tokyo come out here to play out their part in the world of arts. You can find anything. Drums, jugglers, step dancing, hackey sacks, BMX bikes, skaters, guitars and of course the Tokyo Rockabilly Club that throws their thing down at the entrance park with big ass speakers playing the coolest 60-70's rock & roll songs with Japanese lyrics added. Just get your hair full of boot shine, boots worn out to the point of lacing them and gets your groove on!



On Monday it was time for the electronics/manga part of town which is the mekka to any die hard fan of gizmo's, hentai or old school video arcade games. The streets are filled with second hand junk (that is still appreciated here in Japan), nerds seeking for the ultimate cosplay cafe experience and the classic songs from ancient video games. You can observe the most adorable miniatures from hit animes or check out authentic Darth Vader helmets without forgetting of course, Gozilla!



On the other hand you have manga, porno and hentai that have made a small foot hold. Like the miniature shops, you can find the stuff from small rat holes to six floor shopping halls. The subjects vary from Hamtaro styled stories for kids to the stocking bondage for the big kids. Up next it was a visit to see the amazing masses of people at the Shibuya square and the Shinjuku metro station rush hour that 3 million people use daily. To make the day even more memorable, I headed out to see the Tokyo skyscraper ward with outstanding views. First it was a free visit to the 29th floor of the Tokyo NK Building followed by 41th floor views from the Park Haytt Towers Peak Bar. Accompanied by a cake and pint Guinness and the breathtaking views of the greater Tokyo, these are the moments that really make life worth living. "Where is my girl now?": I ask myself as I gaze in to the endless path of lights



Took a days rest and then it was a early wake up for the Tsujiki fish market. Get up at 5.30 and drag my corpse to the metro station for the 50 minute ride to every cats heaven. At the outer rims the action seems to have died down and I'm contemplating if we didn't get here early enough but once you get to the main market, the game is on! Once again Tokyo doesn't disappoint as I roam through endless alleys filled with squid, tuna fish, crabs, shellfish and blood filled buckets full of fish that probably haven't been discovered by any scientists yet. Trying to dodge the forklifts I realize that the place is very well airconned' and the smell of dead fish doesn't go over the top. The day has just begun but I'm exhausted. Maybe I'll head for one of those Onsens to get relaxed.



More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

a list of things..

..that make me happy. Shanghai, beeing the modern city that is, doesnt really have that much cultural heritage but rather the towns about partying and the economic boom thats still is in function. There have been a few party's during the stay here so far and they have varied between cool house parties to awesome raves in the clubs. Zapatas, Logos and The Shelter just to name a few. Parties aside though, its always nice to make a list of things that make you happy so when your in the deep hangover recovery phase you can read something that reminds you that every is not lost. Here is my list as it goes:

- cooking with friends, even though its not often
- the smell freashly cut grass
- the way everything lights up with that orange glow during sunset
- creating
- organizing and planning ahead
- rooms with high cealings or decorative lights (have both and i'm yours!)
- making people happy
- touch the stars in the dark quite hours of the night
- to cry
- making faces
- Snickers
- the way Sas answers my to smile. I get such a lovely smile in return
- how director Steven Sodeberd uses lights in his movies
- comics
- film noir
- photoshopping the hell out of everything
- the way a wooden floor feels under my feet
- Jack Johnson's Taylor song intro, suchs a good tune
- painting miniatures
- the Finnish summer
- when my father cooks meals (the former navy chef knows his stuff)
- the true stories that seem to rival the fictional ones
- the few times that I've had the pleasure to sail
- Vevey - Montreo coastline in Switzerland
- my parents and their eternal support for me
- the small clubs of Alicante
- starting a trip to the unknown

Thats a part of it. There are more. Next time I talk to you readers it will be Japan time!

Letters from Shanghai

It's been too long again since I've posted one. Partially the Chinese Internet-byrocracy, partially me is to blame. Also I'm not able to upload pictures to the picasa site so will have to the story without them. Anyway let's continue where we last dropped off.

After getting back to Pokhara I immediatly got the commonly known "Delhi-belly" again which took a couple of days to recover. Diet was mostly brown rolls, porridge and hot chocolate. Still dont know why I didnt get it during the sancuarry trek though. When I left for the trek I had left my passport to one tourist office so that they could handle my Chinese passport while I'm doing some trekking. Saves time and effort.. or so I thought. Once I got back from the trek I was told that my passport is still in Kathmandu (where they issue the visas) because my passport already had a chinese visa and the embassy was currious why I hadnt used before. The truth was that I had no previous visa to China and the other office had mixed my passport up with somebody elses. After clearing this up it was time to get the plane ticket to Shanghai. The fact that the same tourist office in Kathmandu was handeling that also didnt make my heart feel at ease. After waiting a couple of days the passport and plane ticket arrived Pokhara. Guess what. The ticket is not to Shanghai but to Bejing!!! So lets send everything back to Kathmandu and wait a week to get the right plane ticket. All ends well but because of these errors I didnt have time to visit the lovely village of Bandipur which lies between Pokhara and Kathmandu. Of to Kathmandu then it is.

Durbar Square, Monkey Temple and the tourist ghetto of Thamel. Thats my Kathmandu in a nutshell. After living it cheap in Pokhara for almost a month! I decided that spending a few extra bucks in Kathmandu wont hurt anybody. So i decided to book in to the Kathmandu Guest House, one of the first guest houses to operate there and its been around from the 70's. 5 US dollar rooms werent that much of a bargain but the lobby with hotel like reception and satelite tv, the courtyard with its own restaurant and sauna facilities were more than the moneys worth. The lobby was a good place to meet other travelers, read Shogun which is taking way too long to read and watch the news or movies on the telefizel. Situated in the center of Thamel as it is, after stepping out of the complex gates you will be surrounded by drug sellers, rickshaw drivers and trek operators who all want your money. Coming from India though, this is more like the kiddies corner of Varanasi so I managed alright.

As for the sightseeings.. Durbar Square is the blessing and living point of the kings but nowadays it works as one of the main turist attractions of the city with lots of local people handling everyday business in the mix. Flock of tourist here, a couple of goat heads there and a million pidgeons everywhere. You know how it is.. The Monkey Temple was a bit of a let down though. Sure there were monkeys who tried to steal practically anything plastic you were carrying around but otherwise it was just another temple. Think I'm getting templed out after India and Nepal.

Besides the briliant german bakery's and lovely italian cusine, Kathmandu has live music for every day of the week. The narrow streets of Thamel are filled with the golden oldies of The Doors, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin that invade even the hotel rooms. Naturally I was compelled to buy some tourist crap before I left this pleasent country so bought myself some fancy pirate gear! More of that later. Now it's time hit Shanghai!

PS. My lovely girlfriend Sas told me I should write a list of my favorite things so stay tuned for that!

More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

Trekking

Yes, I know. It was I shame that I survived the accent to the Annapurna base camp (from now on it will be shortened to ABC). It took 7 days to go back and forth. 4 and half day going up and 2 and half coming down. I imagined the experience to be more exhausting but it really was a peace of cake! Watch out for avalanches there, jump off a cliff there and boom, your at the base camp. As the explanation may sound a bit dubious, I will explain how I got up there.



Day 1-2:
Started off in around 11 AM in Pokhara by walking to the buss station to catch a buss on the way to Baglund. Then it’s a easy ride for 20 minutes and I got off at this village called Khare. From there the walking starts and with a accent of around 500 meters or so to the place called Australia camp. The people there don’t even know why it’s called that so it is hard to say where the name comes from. Anyway decided to have lunch later on so strolled around the cloudy landscape and watched the world go by. Wasn’t really much to see on the way because of the shitty weather so can’t really tell much except I ran in to a apparent bunch of western missionary at lunch brake. They were carrying their lives with them up to the mountain so I decided not to stick around too long with my lightweight backpack. First night was spent in a place called Tolka basically eating dhall bhat and rescuing baby chickens from the gorges of hell! Second day was a bit of a bore as it was raining when I woke around 7 AM. It took a couple of hours to pass and then it was cloudy all day. Tolka should be the first places where you really get to see the mountains close so naturally the clouds were disappointing. Passed a bunch of Koreans on the way and their porters were carrying ridiculous amounts of stuff with them. The route followed down to the river Modi Kola and stayed with it until the next big accent to Jinu and Chhomrong up almost 800 meters. Jinu is good place to stop for the hot springs but as the weather wasn’t getting any better I decided to head all the way up to Chhomrong. Their I stayed a lodge listening to the horror stories of the people coming down from the ABC telling how already half way up there is waist high snow. Seriously doubting that, I went to sleep.



Day 3-4:
Weather was clearing up a bit in the morning so decided I will at least try to get as far up as I can. So I set off to Bamboo! The day was pretty boring with only the cloudy forest as my only real sightsee that day. Fortunately at the resting place, the household cat Jenny kept me company in my lap and I decided to rename her to Sarah because she used to purr the same way. The pink haired island girl was on my mind a lot that day and wrote some stuff about her in my journal. I’ll keep that part private :). During the evening a Korean couple with their annoying Nepalese porter arrived at the same lodge and I decided by myself to use them to lead the way to the next checkpoint so I get a better foothold on the ground as they walk before me. The next day was beautiful! All the clouds were gone and the Fish Tail -mountain could be seen clearly. Definitely took too many pictures of that damn thing which apparently has never conquered. Snow was so bright that you really needed sunglasses to see the way you were going. The accent that day was up to Deorali and 3 200 meters. During the evening we met 3 Nepali cooks coming down from the ABC and MBC lodges telling us it is too dangerous to go there as the snow is almost neck high! They told the locals they were going down to Chhomrong for a week and would come back after that. The Koreans who had intended to stay up at ABC or MBC were shocked and could not believe that they couldn’t stay up there the in the following nights. After listening to the uncomprehending English between the Koreans and the Nepali I really didn’t know should I laugh or cry. They just could not understand that I can’t stay up there. I was going up and coming down the same day. No biggie.



Day 5:
By morning, the Koreans had finally understood that they would have to do the same accent/decent thing as I was planning to do and we went off. Part of the trail goes through dangerous avalanche chutes and you have to clear off them before the sun has shined too long on them. We started around 8.30 AM and were at MBC after a relatively easy 2 hour walk even though oxygen was little bit lower at this height. From there on, it was going to be difficult. Not a lot of people had crossed between ABC and MBC so there was only a slight trail and the snow was knee high, sometimes even more. It was though but half way through we could already see all the mountains and it became easier to walk as wind had blown the snow of the rocky surface. The sights were to say the least breathtaking and pictures don’t really give justice to the place. I could see that the usual mountain clouds had started forming around the edges of the pass and asked the porter how long it would take to get to base camp. The answer was around one hour and I could make it out from the distance. No way were we going to get there before the clouds cover all the mountains and there is nothing left to see from there so I decided to turn back there. One of the Koreans was so eager to get to the base camp that they decided to go up anyway. In 15 minutes everything was clouded and that was the last I saw of them. Coming down seemed to take for ever and I had decided to get as down as I could that day as I didn’t want to waste time looking at the same stuff twice. I got to Bamboo around 6 PM and was beat. After hanging my stuff to dry I just sat there and looked at the table corner for a hour. Everything I was wearing was almost completely wet and smelled horrible. It was time for bed.



Day 6-7:
I wake up at 7 AM and want to kill myself. I wake up at 8 AM and want to kill myself. I wake up at 9 AM and ask the doctor am I dead yet. Don’t remember when I have been so tired last time. 9 hours a day trekking is not a good idea after all. But I got to keep going and sleep when I’m dead. Decided then and there that I’m only going to get to the river side today because after that there will be no more accents on the way back for the last day of trekking so it will be easy. Clouds had gathered again so 5 hours later I was at New Bridge waiting for my lunch and went to look at the dried up river more closely for the rest of the day. Last day was a easy walk around a different route which I found to be surprisingly joyful as you really went through a nice variety of small villages with lovely people, scenery and sounds. Finally I got to Birethani and on to a bus. The journey to the mountains was over. On a side note I have to say that I have never seen so many Korean people in such numbers. I saw maybe 5 people from western countries and 100 people from Korea. There were more Koreans than Nepali people.



More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/

One flew over Pokhara

This is a good point to reflect on what kind of people I have been hanging around with for the last couple of weeks..

Let's start with the person who introduced me to most of the other people mentioned in this blog entry, Brianna. This small (dare I say petite) aussygirl has traveled SE-Asia with extremely tight budget. Apparently the shortcomings in money give you such privileges as steeling toilet paper and candles from unsuspecting restaurants. She also has a tendency to tell people how unhealthy their food is once its in front of them. Moving on to the Montana hippie Benja. No, It's not short for Benjamin. It's really just Benja! Living out of Jesusland for the last couple of years, the guy has managed to film a non-profit documentary about the suffering of some SE-Asia tribes, gotten some tattoos in the middle of the jungles of Laos and worked previously in the eastern part of Europe in rural areas doing farm work. Even though he is full of great stories, he has (accordingly to his home country) a hard time listening to what other people say. On a side note I might add that he has studied physics, worked as musician in a circus and lived for one year in Varanasi.



Then we have the Irish Nile who has spend the last 6-7 winters in Nepal mostly para gliding. Even though with his photography and drawing skills, the guy seems to be "out there" somewhere. Maybe his mind is stuck in the clouds because he keeps writing "no grinding" on the fireplace with coals. At the moment the guys para glider is stuck in Kathmandu with customs because of a mailing error and he's trying to befriend himself with a member of the customs so that they could smuggle the glider out without paying for the extra customs. Lorenzo is a Sicilian born Brit who has stuck to my mind because of his cruel humor and perverse thoughts. He foul mouths to every local person with bad English and makes sexual suggestions to every girl starting from 16 years and up. And that doesn't even include the marriage proposals. On the second week I managed to meet (and avoid after that) a skinnier, whiter and taller Billy. The boy from kangarooland had to be one of his countries top ten sightseeing attractions if nothing else than his exploded orange hair. Meeting him for the first time in the Shivas restaurant had to be one of the anticlimax points of my trip so far. The master of thrash talking and fly-talking vanished to thin air after terrorizing the city for three days... some say deported.



Then theres Owen. The other bartender/owner of the bar Titicaca hails from Ireland also. And has a even more morbid sense of humor than I do. And which often goes to the point of not being humorous but down right cold. He has a certain confidence that reminds me of Finnish people. The French girl Alice is the newest add on to the people who hang around the bar Titicaca. The viola playing girl has a Swedish boyfriend who's name is also Timo! A name (by the boyfriends terms) that isn't used anywhere in the nordic countries! What a load of crap. Travis has arrived to Pokhara from the city of Philadelphia and is a real down to earth motorman. Having earned his living as a tattoo artist, the man has had lunch with the vice president of Hell's Angels, seen some closeup knife fights and attended a Japanese tattoo conference. Let's not forget that the other owner/bartender of Titicaca starts every conversation with the phrase "Dude".



Beside these charming personalities we also have a 50 year old French male bale dancer, a lunatic Italian and a hyperactive polish guy. And you would love all of them. The only downside to the people is the ability understand my humor while their under the influence of hash/ganga. Which is to say, constant. In a way it feels like my very own "One flew over the cuckoos nest". Everybody assumes that I'm as crazy as they are and yet I'm a like a fly on the wall with the secret eyes. It's off to the mountains for now so I will see you in two weeks or so!

More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/