Koh Samui

I am in Koh Samui and had a wonderful new year night! Pui has been a great host and I think I would have been lost without her. Thailand is so different, like nothing I was prepared for. Some good and beatiful and some bad.

I was able to see the real Thailand when I visited Pui's home town in the country. The living conditions were something we don't get to experience in America. I am greatful for that experience. Unfortunately, some things were stolen from my bag during the flight there and my camera charger was one of them. So now I am looking for another one but it's not looking good and my battery is dead so no pictures. :(

Also, I am sick again. Or I should say still sick but got worse again. I think I have a fever tonight. I hope I can get well for scuba diving but I am worried it's not looking good for me. I will try to take it easy. Seems like everything has been going wrong here in Thailand. I hope things turn around as it's not a good start to the year.

Anyway, I am happy to experience this new and exciting country even if it comes with the bad.

Happy New Year to all of you.

Blessings.

Loren

Heading for Thailand

Time is flying by and it's time for me to fly off to Bangkok! I don't want to leave Japan, it has been amazing! I am looking forward to more adventures and relaxation in Thailand though. Japan has been non-stop walking and going here and there. It has been pretty cold as well so I am beat!

Once I get a chance, I will upload more photos and a better blog post. I haven't had really good internet access but I am ok with that. Tired of spending my life on the internet and I love that I am living in the real world and meeting incredible people every day.

Sending smiles to you all!

Tokyo!

Before I left Shizuoka we went to a tea ceremony and it was amazing! I really enjoyed it.



It was so hard to leave my new friends from Shizuoka.



I am in Tokyo now! Awesome place!

I arrived in Tokyo yesterday and met Koichi who is hosting me this week. He has a nice but very small place in a great neighborhood called Shinjuku. It's a tiny hallway containing a kitchen, shower and toilet room and then a door to a small bedroom. That's it.

Last night when I arrived we walked around a bit. I was able to see Shinjuku at night, also Harajuku and Shibuya. We had a nice tempura dinner and then went to a sento or Japanese traditional bath house for a nice soak in hot water. It was pretty relaxing and put me to sleep.

Today, I was on my own again as Koichi is working. I went around Shibuya a bit and Harajuku. It was so quiet as it's really a night time place. Then I made my way to Akihabara. That is the electronics city. What an amazing place! They have every gadget and gizmo you can imagine and some you can't. All the games, electronics, etc. It was fun to walk around and check them out but it was pretty overwhelming as well. Also in this area are quite a few "maid cafes". I had to check them out! Here, you can find cute girls dressed up in various outfits catering to the geeks. It's pricey but fun. It's a pretty good business and I am sure makes a ton of money off of the shy and geeky types who want some interaction with cute girls but don't know how to get it.

After a long day walking around, I made my way back to the apartment for some relaxing before dinner.

Shinjuku at night when I arrived.



A nice guy I met at the Maid Cafe who was a regular and had many pictures of the girls he often went to see there. I received a picture with my girl as well but will have to upload it another time.

No More Sake!

Sizuoka has been awesome, especially the people. Mochan has been the best host ever and everyone else has been amazing as well. We had a great dinner and party on Sunday night and drank two huge bottles of Sake. It was so much fun as you can see in a couple photos here. I have a ton more pics I will upload when I get a chance.

However, that much drinking is always followed by bad times. Today, Monday, I was soooo sick. I went with everyone on our sightseeing trip but I had to run out of the bus a couple of times to puck. Uuugggg. I am just now recovering tonight.

Fortunately, I was able to enjoy the Onsen with everyone. It was so relaxing and refreshing. I hope I can go to more onsen while I am in Japan. I am also slowly getting over the cold/flu that I had so that is good news.

Cheers.

Osaka Castle



Dinner with Sakura in Osaka



Dinner party in Shizuoka. I had a ton of fun but drank way to much Sake.



Sight seeing trip



Dinner party after two huge bottles of sake.

Mt. Fuji

I am still alive and getting better. I am in Shizuoka now and going to Mt. Fuji today. Kyoto was great and then Osaka was nice as well. I didn`t do too much in Osaka as I was still feeling sick and so rested a lot. It was really nice that Sakura helped me and took me to see her doctor and I was able to receive some medicine.

Looking forward to the rest of my trip. I will update again soon with some pictures.

Cheers.

Kyoto Day 2

Kyoto Day 2 was great! I started out by transfering my bag to the dorm room where I will stay my last night in Kyoto. Then I headed off to the Golden Pavilion. It was a cold morning but beautiful as you can see in the picture. I will upload all of my pictures later when I have more time. I got some really great shots.

I visited another shrine in the same area and then made my way to the Imperial Palace for a 2 pm tour. This was by far the most turisty thing I have done. There were a lot of people on the tour. I met a really nice girl along the way from Brazil who is living in China and we walked together and took some pictures together. The gardens of the Palace were the most beautiful part of the tour as the buildings were very simple.

After the tour I went back to my bed to rest a bit before heading to dinner. I was getting more and more sick as the days go by as well. Caroline called me (the brazilian girl) and we decided to meet for dinner and walk around. We went to a little ramen shop in the shopping area and then found a gaming building after and played some video games. We had a good time. Then I needed to head to bed for some rest.

This morning I will head to Osaka and Sakura will help me to go see a doctor. I hope I can get over this sickness. I fear it may have turned for the worse.

Cheers.

Kyoto Day 1

Today was my first whole day in Kyoto and it was a great day!

Again, I woke up around 3 am and then laid in bed until about 7 am and then got ready. This jet lag is killing me. haha. After a few failed tries, I found a place to get some breakfast. There are not many places in the area I am staying. Then I walked toward Kiyomizu Temple and on the way met Junko, a really nice girl who showed me around.














Junko and I went to Kiyomizu Temple, Ryozen Kwan-on, and Heian Jingu Shrine.















Junko had to go back home to Shizuoka so I took a nap and then later that night I went to Arashiyama for the Hanatouro Light festival. It was very beautiful. I met a couple very nice college students who went way out of their way to go with me and show me around.


Then I made my way back to my Ryokan for a good night sleep.

Cheers.

Loren