A Clean, Safe City...

Tokyo, Japan

January 31, 2008
N 35°40.360
E 139°46.600

Tokyo has been a great experience for us and we’re very happy we made the stop. We had a great time with Mr. and Mrs. Ito and their hospitality was far beyond our expectations. They became our friends, or tomodachis, and we enjoyed all of our time with them in Japan.

Our time in Japan was very quick, but we were able to soak in many of the sites over the last few days, eat sushi and visit with our new friends. We even had the opportunity to connect with a few of my old colleagues from Openwave who work in Japan.

Tokyo is by far the cleanest and safest city we have visited during our journey, especially since there are over 12 million people living in Tokyo proper.

It’s incredible, there aren’t any garbage cans on the streets, but no one would ever think of throwing a wrapper or piece of paper on the ground. Smoking is only allowed in designated areas on the streets and cigarette butts are always tossed into the designated receptacles. Little girls, with their book bags, ride the crowded subways alone, laughing, chattering and never worrying about their safety. Everyone seemingly works together, taking pride in the city; keeping it how they want it—safe and clean.

Now on to the best of the best… the toilets. The toilets in Japan are amongst the most sophisticated in the world. You practically need an owner’s manual to operate them. In some places the seats are heated, they play “etiquette” music to avoid others hearing bodily functions, and they have several different bidet options. Marc loves the warm water, warm air and comfy warm seat so much; he wants to install a Toto toilet at home. We’ll see…

And of course the people in Japan are incredibly polite. It’s against the rules to use your phone on the train, and when you’re sitting next to “priority” seats designated for the elderly your phone needs to be off all together. This cuts down on the noise on the train and allows people to relax on their way to or from work.

Overall, we had a great stop in Tokyo and it was a perfect last stop for us before we re-enter society.

Over the next week or so, look for a final wrap-up, more Top 5 lists and possibly a public picture viewing at Giordano Brothers for those interested.

Best Beaches

1. Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand
2. Montanita, Ecuador
3. Sandfly Beach, New Zealand
4. Positano, Italy
5. Barcelona, Spain

Friendliest People

1. Cambodia
2. Thailand
3. New Zealand
4. Japan
5. Australia

Worst Traffic

1. Bangkok
2. Saigon
3. Rome
4. Mumbai
5. Delhi

Best Public Transportation System

1. Barcelona, Spain
2. Prague, Czech Republic
3. Tokyo, Japan
4. Berlin, Germany
5. Sydney, Australia

Time for Fresh Fish...

Tokyo, Japan

January 29, 2008
N 35°40.360
E 139°46.600

After Ko Phi Phi we made a quick stop in Bangkok. When I say quick, I mean quick… 12 hours after arriving in Bangkok we were back on a plane on our way to Japan.

Our 6:00 AM flight got us into Tokyo in the early afternoon and we were able to head out and get some local cuisine. Japanese fare is one of the main reasons we decided to tack Tokyo onto the end of our journey—we had dreams of fresh sushi, shabu-shabu, yakitori, tempura and of course more sushi.

After a dinner of yakitori at a dark and smoky little Japanese pub, or Izakaya, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. We had a big day ahead of us with Mr. Mamoru Ito and his wife; they scheduled a full day tour of Tokyo for us, a perfect way to see Tokyo and celebrate our one year milestone.

Let me explain how we “know” Mr. Ito, or Ito-san. We didn’t find him and his wife in the smoky little Izakaya; we were actually referred to Ito by Marc’s dad, Randy. Randy is a retired high school superintendent, but still finds time to travel and perform accreditations of overseas American schools. The schools are normally attended by children of US ex-pats. Ito works at one of the schools Randy visited in Japan and then became good friends with Ito when he had the opportunity to guide Ito around the San Francisco Bay Area a few years later.

Okay, back to our one-year milestone…it has been exactly one year since we left San Francisco bound for Ecuador. It has been an amazing journey with a lot of ups and not many downs. We’ll spend the last few days in Tokyo making the most of our time and enjoying the company of our new friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ito.

The best part is, since there so many great sites to see in Tokyo, and food to eat, we haven’t had much time to think about the fact that we’ll be home for good in a mere three days. We’ll do our best to keep up the blogging, in the meantime, check out a few more Top 5 Lists.

Worst Travel Days

1. Ecuador Bus Ride (What a Pisser!)
2. SFO-Koh Phi Phi Don (40 hours of travel)
3. Vietnam Six Pack with Bob, Teddy and Elise
4. You Go Pak Beng? I Go Pak Beng...
5. The Journey Back to Bombay...

Natural Beauty

1. Halong Bay, Vietnam
2. New Zealand—ALL of it!
3. Patagonia, Argentina/Chile
4. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
5. Iguazu Falls, Argentina/Brazil

Favorite Cities, excluding San Francisco (Marc)

1. New York
2. Amsterdam
3. Rome
4. Prague
5. Barcelona

Favorite Cities, excluding San Francisco (Laura)

1. Barcelona
2. New York
3. Rome
4. Prague
5. Tokyo

It Will Never Be the Same...

Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand

January 27, 2008
N 07°44.128
E 098°46.795

My mother-in-law, Teddy, told me a story about Marc when we were in Vietnam. The story was based on a trip to Disneyland when Marc was eleven, his sister nine and his brother was three. The three siblings had a great trip visiting the Mouse. In the car, getting ready to leave the parking lot of Disneyland, Teddy looked in the backseat. Marc’s eyes were welled up, replaying the trip in his head. Teddy quickly asked, “Marc, what's wrong?”

Today, we're standing on the side of the ferry, looking back at the beautiful, lush green island of Koh Phi Phi, reflecting on our visit to the island. We had a great time relaxing on the beach, eating great Thai food and chicken at Tuks and staring off of our balcony into the crystal blue waters. We looked back one more time, looked at each other, eyes glossy as the ferry pulled away towards Krabi and the mainland. I looked over at Marc and said, “What's wrong?”

Both of the stories ended the same. When Marc was eleven, a child who analyzed everything, he knew as he grew older Disneyland would change for him. “It will never be the same,” he told Teddy while choking back tears. “The experience will never be the same for me again.” Teddy turned forward and fought back her own tears; knowing her oldest son was growing-up and was no longer a little boy.

Fast forwarding to present day, as we pulled away from Koh Phi Phi, an island that changed tremendously in the five months since we were there last, Marc smiled and said, “It will never be the same.” This time his words had a tone of happiness, he's happy for the Thai people and their ability to continue to rebuild the island and their lives. At the same time, he had regret because he knows if we have the opportunity to visit Koh Phi Phi again the island will continue to evolve into a hot tourist destination, losing some of its character

Koh Phi Phi is an island where you tell time by the ferries and where they're coming from; an island where a local gives you a smile and its really a smile; an island where toddlers run freely in dusty alleys from dawn 'til dusk; an island where you can still find a secluded beach; an island where roosters run through your legs as you walk to dinner.

Marc is probably right, the experience for us on Koh Phi Phi will never be the same; however, we have a lot of great memories and pictures to last a lifetime. We wish all the local people on the island a lot of happiness and, of course, Good Luck.

A few more Top 5 Lists…

Worst Insects

1. Sand Flies (New Zealand)
2. Bed Bugs (Port Douglas, Australia
3. Malaria Mosquitoes (Montanita, Ecuador)
4. Cockroaches (South East Asia)
5. Mosquitoes (Laos)

Best Food

1. HoiAn, Vietnam
2. Florence, Italy
3. Buenos Aires, Argentina
4. Bilbao/San Sebastian/Barcelona, Spain
5. Prague, Czech Republic

Best Beer

1. Czech Republic
2. Belgium
3. Argentina
4. New Zealand
5. Holland

Best Wine

1. Spain
2. Argentina
3. Italy
4. France
5. New Zealand