When we come back to school in August, I always like the idea of having 3 whole days with no students to start us off. We have one day full of meetings, and then we have time just to discuss our classes, plan all our work and get the mounds of photocopying done. Of course I sneeze all the way through the welcome Liturgy (my friend Trish thinks I am allergic to Catholicism since I do that at all school services), fidget my way through the meetings and then start doing the dull bits and pieces like arranging my planner and writing all the dates in my diary.
It is nice, because I never used to have this time to get myself organised before there were 30 kids in the room. On the other hand though, being organised (and I am generally getting better at this) can have a downside.
The students aren't in for another day, and I am BORED! I finished all my work at approximately 10.30 this morning, and have spent the rest of the day procrastinating, wandering around, sneakily playing computer games and finding other interesting ways to waste time. I spent a lot of time at the end of last term starting a new filing system (see, I really am getting organised. I even love spreadsheets) and it has saved me more time than I expected. It's not as though I rushed my work either! So now I am blogging, and from time to time lending my geological knowledge to a Japanese teacher who needs to know lots of English words for things to do with volcanoes. That at least is interesting!
I think we are just about over our jet lag now. I don't know why it takes so much longer when we travel east than when we travel west, but it always seems to take me at least a week to be able to sleep through the night and not hit a wall in the middle of the afternoon. At least we were back early - some of the others only got back at the weekend, and they are really feeling it now! It was good to be back before then, because then we could fully enjoy the Azabu Juban festival.
My camera is still broken and I have done posts about this for the past two years anyway, so I don't have any photos. It looked exactly the same, just imagine rain on there too! It is quite a claustrophobic experience really, as so many people cram into the little streets and around the stalls selling drinks and toys and so many different foods. An Australian friend says she avoids the Juban festival as she has just come back from a small town full of wide open spaces and she can't take the closeness of everyone. It is a great weekend, but when it is raining, it lends a whole new problem.
People in Japan are used to the rain, and used to walking around a lot, so during the summer months almost everyone has an umbrella on them. In a small space filled with so many people, it is quite alarming when a few spots of rain fall and they all suddenly pop out the umbrellas at the same time! Will tends to get hit in the neck, but I am just the height that the back of peoples umbrellas either jab me in the face or pour water off onto my chest. Twice an umbrella got caught in my hair clip, but it is impossible to stop in the sweep of people so it just sort of ripped out. And of course you still get wet! We did take an umbrella but it just seemed to make it harder to move around or carry anything from the stalls, so we gave up. The rain itself wasn't so heavy, it was the gathered drips falling from trees and other people that really got you wet.
We almost didn't go because of the rain, but Will had told one of the new teachers all about it and said we would be there. She doesn't have a phone yet, so there was no way to let her know if we didn't go, and we couldn't just leave her standing in the square waining for us on the off chance, so we went. When we got there, there were loads of school people who all strolled down to see if anyone had turned up. Almost everyone said they had come to get some food and have a look and then leave if there was no-one there, but with a big group, we all ended up staying until the end (not very late, this is Japan - 9pm!). After that some of the group went on to Roppongi to the pub, but I was tired so I went home. Will got in at 3.25am. I have never seen him quite so hungover. In fact I didn't really see much off him the next day at all!
So you are either wet because it is raining, or wet because the heat and humidity is a killer and you are sweating so much, but either way, the Azabu Juban festival of Obon is a fantastic night. And the new teacher had a great time too!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Bangkok
We were a little worried we wouldn't make it to the airport on time, as we had left later than we intended (there's a shock!) and the rain on the way down the motorway was torrential. We couldn't see enough even to change lanes and the traffic all slowed right down for a long time. We also got lost trying to get on to the M40, but that is another story!
The check-in girl was sooo nice, and she put us into an aisle and window seat so that we would have three seats for the two of us. It makes such a big difference, especially with Will's long legs and on an overnight flight. We actually managed to get some sleep, and we were hoping that a stopover in Bangkok would make all the difference to the jet lag when we got back to Japan.
We arrived in Bangkok and were surprised but pleased that it was not as hot as we had expected. We got a taxi to the hotel, and had a bit of a rest before we met up with some friends and let them take over the schedule. They know Bangkok quite well and had been there a few days by the time we arrived, so they had some cool ideas for where to go to eat. We decided on a restaurant called Spring/Summer, which is actually two old converted houses. One is a restaurant which serves modern Thai food, and the other is a dessert and drinks cafe style place. We called ahead to book at 7.30, but they said they didn't take bookings and we should hurry because they get very busy after 8pm. We went straight outside to try to get a taxi.
Taxis can be difficult and quite annoying in Thailand. You can tell them where you want to go, and try to negotiate a price (which is usually cheap), but they will always start to try to convince you that the place you want is no good and they know somewhere better! It doesn't matter if it is a tourist attraction, shop or hotel, but the main problem areas are restaurants and tailors. I have never asked to be taken to a tailor, but the taxi drivers are notorious for trying to take you there. We just had to stick to our mantras of where we were trying to go!
The first taxi driver we spoke to told us it was a 1-2 hour drive and (here's one we didn't see coming!)he knew somewhere better. We told him we would get the train instead. We went to where we thought we should be and started walking, but Mark had misinterpreted the address (they make about as much sense as Japanese addresses so it wasn't hard to do) and we were miles away. We stopped to ask directions from a tuk-tuk driver who told us (surprise surprise!) that it was a rubbish restaurant and he could take us somewhere better! We were quite coordinated when all four of us chorused "Nooooo!" and then we started to make fun of him by saying "tailor?" too. He laughed. One of the better things about Bangkok is that everyone is very friendly. Eventually we agreed that it was too far to walk and set a price for the tuk-tuk.
A tuk-tuk is a sort of motorbike with a cart, not like a trailer but part of the bike, covered over and with a small seat inside. They are tiny. Somehow we managed to squeeze all four of us inside, although it meant Mark sitting on a sort of metal ledge at the side next to all of our feet. We hung on to the bars in the roof and set off.
The poor guy driving us was not the one who had agreed the price, and clearly (after about half an hours driving) had no idea where he was going. He weaved around streets and in and out of lanes of traffic, and eventually conceded defeat and called back his boss on Mark's mobile. He followed those directions for a while, then stopped to ask outside a different restaurant. It seemed we needed to turn around, but that is difficult for a tuk-tuk, so instead we drove through the courtyard of the restaurant. There was a big aerial antenna with a streamer attached to the back of the tuk-tuk, and it was bent right over and bouncing off all of the struts in the roof.
As it was my first time in a tuk-tuk, I was quite enjoying the ride, looking at all the sights and smelling all the smells! Mark was less comfortable by this time though. I am not so sure he would have offered to sit on the ledge if he had realised it was going to be for an hour! When we eventually arrived it was 9pm. There was no space in the restaurant, but they found us a table in the other area and said we could order from the full restaurant menu. They food was great, and of course we had to have dessert since we were in a specialist chocolate place! We all had different things so we could try lots (including mine, the biggest brownie I ever saw). They were all spectacular too. The taxi ride home was much shorter than getting there!
The next day we met up again and went shopping. Bangkok is knock-off heaven, but they still seem to have the same size issues as Japan - ie they don't fit us. Will managed to get a few t-shirts and we got some DVDs, but that was about it.
For lunch, Mark had set his heart on going to an art deco hotel which had been used in lots of films and is supposed to be really interesting. We found it far more easily than Spring/Summer! It is called the Atlanta, and it was as nice as described. Inside we found a sign which said something along the lines of "this restaurant is for room guests only. We may on occasion serve non-residents, but if we don't like the look of you we will refuse to serve you and no explanation will be given". There was also a long list of the types of people they didn't like. After some confusion (one woman would serve us, but the other didn't seem too happy) we were allowed inside, and you could tell we were all on our best behaviour, extra polite and quieter than usual! In the menu there was another full page explanation of their policy. It seems that they are determined to protect their guests from all of the things they consider to be the negative side of tourism in Bangkok, and anyone who doesn't like it can get lost. It was a very funny place. They even told us we couldn't take photos, but the food was nice and it was very interesting to see it. If you didn't know about it, you would never find it. Definitely worth the trip. Even in our hotel, people were constantly trying to get you to take a taxi if you walked through the lobby, so I can see the appeal of the Atlanta!
The check-in girl was sooo nice, and she put us into an aisle and window seat so that we would have three seats for the two of us. It makes such a big difference, especially with Will's long legs and on an overnight flight. We actually managed to get some sleep, and we were hoping that a stopover in Bangkok would make all the difference to the jet lag when we got back to Japan.
We arrived in Bangkok and were surprised but pleased that it was not as hot as we had expected. We got a taxi to the hotel, and had a bit of a rest before we met up with some friends and let them take over the schedule. They know Bangkok quite well and had been there a few days by the time we arrived, so they had some cool ideas for where to go to eat. We decided on a restaurant called Spring/Summer, which is actually two old converted houses. One is a restaurant which serves modern Thai food, and the other is a dessert and drinks cafe style place. We called ahead to book at 7.30, but they said they didn't take bookings and we should hurry because they get very busy after 8pm. We went straight outside to try to get a taxi.
Taxis can be difficult and quite annoying in Thailand. You can tell them where you want to go, and try to negotiate a price (which is usually cheap), but they will always start to try to convince you that the place you want is no good and they know somewhere better! It doesn't matter if it is a tourist attraction, shop or hotel, but the main problem areas are restaurants and tailors. I have never asked to be taken to a tailor, but the taxi drivers are notorious for trying to take you there. We just had to stick to our mantras of where we were trying to go!
The first taxi driver we spoke to told us it was a 1-2 hour drive and (here's one we didn't see coming!)he knew somewhere better. We told him we would get the train instead. We went to where we thought we should be and started walking, but Mark had misinterpreted the address (they make about as much sense as Japanese addresses so it wasn't hard to do) and we were miles away. We stopped to ask directions from a tuk-tuk driver who told us (surprise surprise!) that it was a rubbish restaurant and he could take us somewhere better! We were quite coordinated when all four of us chorused "Nooooo!" and then we started to make fun of him by saying "tailor?" too. He laughed. One of the better things about Bangkok is that everyone is very friendly. Eventually we agreed that it was too far to walk and set a price for the tuk-tuk.
A tuk-tuk is a sort of motorbike with a cart, not like a trailer but part of the bike, covered over and with a small seat inside. They are tiny. Somehow we managed to squeeze all four of us inside, although it meant Mark sitting on a sort of metal ledge at the side next to all of our feet. We hung on to the bars in the roof and set off.
The poor guy driving us was not the one who had agreed the price, and clearly (after about half an hours driving) had no idea where he was going. He weaved around streets and in and out of lanes of traffic, and eventually conceded defeat and called back his boss on Mark's mobile. He followed those directions for a while, then stopped to ask outside a different restaurant. It seemed we needed to turn around, but that is difficult for a tuk-tuk, so instead we drove through the courtyard of the restaurant. There was a big aerial antenna with a streamer attached to the back of the tuk-tuk, and it was bent right over and bouncing off all of the struts in the roof.
As it was my first time in a tuk-tuk, I was quite enjoying the ride, looking at all the sights and smelling all the smells! Mark was less comfortable by this time though. I am not so sure he would have offered to sit on the ledge if he had realised it was going to be for an hour! When we eventually arrived it was 9pm. There was no space in the restaurant, but they found us a table in the other area and said we could order from the full restaurant menu. They food was great, and of course we had to have dessert since we were in a specialist chocolate place! We all had different things so we could try lots (including mine, the biggest brownie I ever saw). They were all spectacular too. The taxi ride home was much shorter than getting there!
The next day we met up again and went shopping. Bangkok is knock-off heaven, but they still seem to have the same size issues as Japan - ie they don't fit us. Will managed to get a few t-shirts and we got some DVDs, but that was about it.
For lunch, Mark had set his heart on going to an art deco hotel which had been used in lots of films and is supposed to be really interesting. We found it far more easily than Spring/Summer! It is called the Atlanta, and it was as nice as described. Inside we found a sign which said something along the lines of "this restaurant is for room guests only. We may on occasion serve non-residents, but if we don't like the look of you we will refuse to serve you and no explanation will be given". There was also a long list of the types of people they didn't like. After some confusion (one woman would serve us, but the other didn't seem too happy) we were allowed inside, and you could tell we were all on our best behaviour, extra polite and quieter than usual! In the menu there was another full page explanation of their policy. It seems that they are determined to protect their guests from all of the things they consider to be the negative side of tourism in Bangkok, and anyone who doesn't like it can get lost. It was a very funny place. They even told us we couldn't take photos, but the food was nice and it was very interesting to see it. If you didn't know about it, you would never find it. Definitely worth the trip. Even in our hotel, people were constantly trying to get you to take a taxi if you walked through the lobby, so I can see the appeal of the Atlanta!
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