Update - Happy Thanksgiving

UPDATE - We have resolved our flight plans from Tokyo and are no longer going directly to Bangkok as you might imagine. The airport is still in the control of anti-government protesters with no quick resolution in sight. After countless hours on the phone with AA and JAL we now have tickets to fly to Hong Kong on Tuesday, December 2nd on JAL and we then fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia on DragonAir (Cathay Pacific) on Friday, December 5th. Cambodia was on our list of places we really wanted to visit and we may be able to go into Thailand via an overland route. We’ll keep you up to date on how our plans develop from here.

Jen thanks for your advice and words of encouragement. You are right on target and we really appreciate your sharing your wisdom.

I’ll try to post more about the rest of our stay in Japan, which has been great. We are in Hiroshima now, but return by train to Tokyo today.  In the meantime here is a picture of the kids with a bunch of school girls. Just as in Ecuador and Peru, other children, especially girls, seem to flock to Eliot and Jack. They all want pictures taken with them.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home and we wish we could eat some turkey with you.

Right now we are in Nara, one of the true cultural centers of Japanese history. We are enjoying our stay, but are focused a bit on the current protests in Thailand, our next stop. The Bangkok airport is occupied by anti-government protesters and is shut down. We are scheduled to fly there in 5 days and are actively exploring alternative destinations. We’ll keep everyone posted about our plans.

Next stop is Hiroshima. All for now!

Gardens, Noodles, Fish, Cleanliness and Advanced Planning

Here we are in Japan, hard to believe South America is over and that we are actually here!

Here’s a picture of the kids in Japanese attire from our Ryokan last evening.

Wow, we knew that Japan would be different, but we didn’t really appreciate how different. Perhaps it is the fact that Tokyo is the largest city in the world, or that they use a language with characters we don’t recognize, or that the trains and streets are spotless. Whatever the reason, our first two days have been fascinating.

Advanced Planning

I’ll tackle the Advanced Planning part first. All throughout South America we shot from the hip, enjoying the freedom and flexibility that comes with that approach. From a practical perspective it also allows us to focus on the present experience rather than focusing on planning future days and weeks. The success of that came to a grinding halt in Japan. We had the first two nights booked, but weren’t aware (dumb us!) that the following days were part of a three-day holiday weekend during which it seems the entire Japanese population heads out to enjoy the fall leaves. (No mention of this being a difficult time for reservations in our trusty guidebook, which only suggested calling ahead for reservations.) So, we spent the better part of our first day shuttling between the Tourist Information Center and a travel agency in search of accommodations, any accommodations. The very helpful and polite ladies in the tourist center finally found us somewhere to stay and were probably laughing inside at the stupidity of the American family standing in front of them. The end result is that we are spending more days in Tokyo than planned. Things could have been worse (Ainsley was angling for a stay in one of Japan’s infamous “Capsule Hotels”).

Gardens

On our way back from finding a place to stay we visited Rikugien Gardens. The sun was getting low and the leaves are turning now, which made for a great time to visit. The kids have gained an appreciation for gardens from Duke Gardens in Durham, and for Japanese culture in general from Kelli’s good friend and nipponophile Nancy (thanks Nance!!!) and the many great culturally oriented programs at Club Boulevard Elementary School. They really enjoyed the visit and here are some pictures.

Noodles

Jack in particular has been eagerly awaiting Japanese noodles and was really excited after Kelli reported finding a noodle shop nearby on one of her walks after she heard the tell-tale sound of slurping resonating from inside. So, yesterday we set out to find it again. Kelli said that she probably wouldn’t be able to recognize it unless it had the same line of people waiting outside. Sure enough, the line was there and we took up our spot in the queue. You might ask why the line? The simple answer of course is that the food is really good, which it was. The other answer is that it is a one-man show. One cook, that’s all. No one else. That means that there are only 8 seats and 8 diners at one time. The wait in the end wasn’t too long as Japanese diners eat their noodles with some urgency, slurping all the way. (The acceptance of slurping also made Jack happy!)

As we waited in the line we began to wonder how to order, so we sidled up to the window to check things out. To our surprise, we found everyone first stopping at a vending machine by the front door. (We shouldn’t have been surprised because vending machines really are everywhere in Japan.) The machine was stocked with various colored and priced rectangular plastic chips. The chips were accompanied by the all too unfamiliar and unintelligible (at least to us) Japanese script. We were at the mercy of either following those in front of us or finding someone to translate. In the end, we used both techniques and learned that everyone was ordering only the navy blue chip, which meant ramen noodles with pork. A few people added some of the other less expensive chips, but we honestly couldn’t see what difference that made. We also learned how to ask for extra vegetables for free.

When our turn came we purchased our 4 navy blue chips and one by one began to take our seats (after filling our own water glasses). The show was then on and everyone watched the noodle chef follow his consistent method for assembling each bowl. From there we enjoyed each and every slurp.

Fish

Yesterday we took advantage of our early awakening hour, as we continue to adjust to the time change, and headed out to the famous Tokyo Fish Market. This is the largest fish market in the world and was a place of orchestrated chaos, with a few tourists thrown in for good measure. Fish, people and vehicles were moving in all directions at all times. We held on to little hands and did our best to avoid being run over. The whole scene was so fascinating and foreign. Here’s a brief peek at what it was like.

Jack in particular was a bit overcome and saddened by the experience. This was probably driven by the connection he made to the world-wide over-fishing documentary we saw in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Eliot couldn’t wait to go and get away from that “fish smell.” Ainsley was ready as always to move on to the next thing.

Cleanliness

This last part is simply a story, but one that we found to be an excellent example of the Japanese culture of cleanliness. (This is certainly a country that GG would like!)

This story took place on one of the many train rides that we have already taken during our short stay. We boarded a train and found a number of open seats, which upon closer examination were open only because of a spill of a thick orange liquid (orange juice perhaps?) on the floor in front of them. We, like most others, backed away. Then one young gentleman (maybe 25 years old) approached the seat, saw the spill and proceeded to pull out his travel package of facial tissues. He then dropped them one by one on to the spill and carefully mopped it up, being sure not to touch the liquid with his fingers. When the spill was fully absorbed he placed the tissues in a plastic bag and carried it off the train. The seats were now fine for others to use. The mess was obviously not his problem, but he felt compelled to make the train a cleaner place for everyone. Wow! Jack was very impressed and moved toward the man to say arigato with a bow. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where this would have happened. Welcome to Japan!

Saitamaya Ryokan - Soka City (outside Tokyo)

This Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) is yet another example of serendipity at work during our travels. Were it not for the unexpected difficulty in finding a place to stay during a peak three day weekend, we would not have ended up staying here.

Soka City is a bedroom community on the Northern reaches of Tokyo. It was beyond our budget range, farther out than we wanted, but it had availability. So, we took our three different trains to get there and schlepped with our backpacks from the train station to the Ryokan with no idea of what we would find.

In the end, we found one of our favorite places to stay during out visit to Japan. We had a traditional Japanese room, complete with robes, tea and sumo wrestling on TV our first night (check out the pictures). They even had framed pictures of the sumo wrestling champion who stays here every year when visiting the local schools. The staff was very welcoming for their only non-Japanese guests during our stay. They even loaned us a number of english language guidebooks to supplement our Lonely Planet which was very limited. On our last day the owner’s son offered to take us to a number of historic sites in Tokyo and then gave us all some parting gifts of Japanese calendars, miniature happi coats and the famous rice crackers made in town.

WGGSH - Yes, but she might not use the public baths.

WWSHA - Definitely, yes.

Tokyo House Ikebukuro

This was our first stop in Japan upon landing at the Narita Airport. Ikebukuro is a section of Tokyo located on the Northwestern side of town and the train station is the second busiest in the city. We navigated there via the Narita Express and a change of trains in Shinjuku Station amazingly well after our 12 hour flight from LAX. Thank goodness they put up very detailed step by step picture directions on their website. We never would have gotten there without the visual aids.

Our room the first time through, we also stayed her our last night in Japan, was a traditional Japanese style room with tatami mats and foldable futons on the floor. We barely squeezed all five of us and our luggage in the room, but that didn’t prevent us from sleeping well. It also set off Jack’s love of Japanese style rooms which we stayed in nearly every night during our visit to Japan.

The guesthouse itself was down one of the typical narrow streets off a large commercial street. It had a small common kitchen, 2 computers, wireless access and clean shared bathrooms/showers. Nothing fancy, but perfect for our needs. It turned out to be our cheapest accommodations in all of Japan too! We didn’t expect we would find that in Tokyo?!

Santa Monica, CA

I’m just now catching up on our Where We Stayed entries, backdating them to the actual date in each location.

Our very brief, 2 1/2 day stay in Santa Monica, CA was a real welcome respite from our travels. The most fun part, at least for we adults, was catching up with Kelli’s dear friend George who we used to visit each year in Washington DC. Since he moved back to CA a few years ago we hadn’t seen him and it was a real treat to come and see his life in Santa Monica. As usual, he was gracious, helpful and engaging. Ainsley played the piano a bit, we took copious notes from his world travels over the years, and just enjoyed catching up a bit.

As you will see from the pictures we also took one day to go to nearby Universal Studios. This was in between our many visits to different stores to stock up on some uniquely US supplies. And as some people noticed in recent pictures, we had a family trip to Supercuts. Jack gave up the growing his hair long goal and returned to his familiar and ultra comfortable buzz cut. Haircuts for all!

Oh, and where else could we stay and have a Mitzvah Mobile in the driveway! We love the picture of George acting like one of the people on the side of it!

Last time in Buenos Aires

We stayed in Buenos Aires on our way out of Argentina and returned to Birgit and Claus’ house. What a treat to see them again!  They were so wonderful to open their house to us for a total of 5 nights.  We enjoyed a fantastic Armenian dinner and traditional Argentinian Asado with them during our two nights.  Argentina was made all the more special by getting to know them and we hope they come to NC some day so that we can return the hospitality.

Wrapping Up Argentina

We’re back in Buenos Aires after more driving than we can believe. The car was the right choice for our visit, but we surely will choose a different means of transportation if we are fortunate enough to come back again in the future. After all, how much of this can we take?…..

Today and tomorrow will involve wrapping things up; packing, returning the rental car, and doing whatever else we feel compelled to do before leaving Argentina. We are staying again with Birgit, Claus and Moritz which is such a great way to finish our stay. The kids are sleeping in, after swimming in the pool yesterday and playing with Moritz. I’m at a local wifi enabled cafe making last minute reservations for LA and Japan. Kelli is probably folding the our clean laundry that we desperately need.  I will return our damaged rental car this afternoon. Such are the glamorous parts of our travels.

Jack and Ainsley will post articles soon about our magical 2 night stay at an estancia named Peuma Hue near Bariloche. It was the singularly most beautiful spot during our travels so far and you can look forward to hearing about it soon in their unique voices. In the meantime, here is sample picture.

Till later…..

Periko’s Youth Hostel - San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

With Bariloche, we returned once again to a youth hostel. This especially pleased Ainsley and the boys. They had eager ears everywhere, ready to hear their tales of travel. We also had a 6 bunk dorm room, with a roomate - Megan from DC who is a State Dept political officer who just returned from Pakistan. She had some interesting stories to tell and the kids enjoyed talking with her.

We also met a number of other nice travelers including a former military officer from Israel who played soccer in the backyard with the kids. Eliot captured him in the photo of the kitchen.

WGGSH - Probably NO, as the youth hostel thing isn’t her cup of tea./

WWSHA - YES, great location, friendly staff and clean rooms.

More Argentina

We are now in Bariloche, still in the mountains of Argentina, but now further north in the part of Patagonia known as the lakes region. Yesterday (Friday 11/7) was quite a rainy day and Jack had his first bout of sickness since we started our trip almost three months ago. Don’t know what he ate or drank that caused the vomiting for most of the day, but he was feeling much better as he went to bed. This morning’s weather looks to be much clearer as the rising sun can be seen coloring the few clouds in the sky. It will be a good day for hiking in the mountains.

Our postings have been a bit less frequent as our car travels through Argentina continue. Making the most of our stops, packing up every 2 or 3 days and then driving for endless hours on dirt roads can be all consuming. Thankfully, we are past the main dirt section of Route 40 and will have paved roads for most of the remaining time. That is much appreciated because we had a few really tough days on the road recently. In particular, our trip from El Chalten to Perito Moreno (the unremarkable town, not the glacier or national park of the same name) was quite a difficult one. The total travel time was about 10 hours or so, with the first 7 hours completely on dirt roads. During those first 7 hours we saw a total of 3 other cars on the road and no people, gas station or other civilization along the way. There were signs for a few estancias, or working farms, but their houses were many kilometers from the road. All I can say is thank goodness that our vehicle did not break down. We would have been in for quite a long wait for another passing driver.

Driving the dirt roads themselves was a bit of an adventure (looking at it with the glass half full), but something I never want to do again. We rarely exceeded 80 km/h (about 45 mph) and often traveled as slowly as 40 km/h (about 25 mph). Rocks frequently hit the underside of the car, making a disconcerting heavy knock at our feet and a loud noise. Kelli and I had to be especially careful not to hit any large rocks head for fear of blowing a tire or hurting the suspension. This was especially important, as we are not driving a 4×4. Instead we were driving a Chevrolet Corsa, or what I refer to as a 21st century Chevrolet Chevette. Let’s just say that it is pretty small and lightweight. Slander aside, it has been reliable and taken quite a lot of abuse from the road. It also has kept us safe in an accident…..

The accident happened as we were driving through El Bolson on our way to Bariloche. We had about 2 hours to go when I stopped to turn left as a car was coming down the same road in the opposite direction. The problem however was that a driver behind me did not take note that I was stopping and thought that he too would cross in front of the oncoming car. He accelerated to make it through and slammed at some speed into the back of our car. He did a fair amount of damage to the bumper and trunk of our lovely rental car, but thankfully everyone was unhurt. Over the last few days I spent a fair amount of time in the El Bolson police station, sending e-mails to the rental car agency and working through resolving the whole situation. Because the trunk no longer opens, we must put all of our backpacks into the trunk through the backseat! The positive out of all of this was that we ended up spending the night in El Bolson, which was really a charming, bohemian sort of town. They have a very active craft making community and it is also the central hops growing area in Argentina. (That meant good beer!) I even found a great international location for our “Boys Mountain Bike Trip”, a combination campground and brewery. (Ken Pugh won’t have to drive long distances to get the kegs.)

So, after the rainy day yesterday we’ll spend one more day in Bariloche, searching out some good, long hikes in the mountains overlooking the many lakes. Tomorrow we head to a nearby Estancia where we will treat ourselves to 3 days of activities (horseback riding, trekking, kayaking, etc.) and a place where all the meals are prepared for us. That will be a welcome break from the constant traveling and guidebook life.

Now, catching up on some photos from recent stops.

Puerto San Julian

This was our most Southern overnight stop on the coast, before we headed West into the mountains. (We ended up skipping Tierra del Fuego, in short because of the tremendous distance that would add to our travels.) Puerto San Julian was a very nice little town that we liked quite a bit. We spent our one-day there traveling the Circuito Touristo, which was a 24 km dirt road along the coast with amazing stops along the way. The kids also found the obligatory playground in town so that they could work off some of their energy after being cooped up in the car.

Parque Monte Leon

Just before heading West to the mountains, we made one last stop on the coast to Parque Monte Leon. It is the only National Park on the coast of Argentina and a very new one. (Kelli needed one last dose of beautiful beaches, sea lions and the coast.) It was quite remote and required us to find a key under a rock and unlock the gate ourselves. The access road then extended for a good 30 km or more before reaching the coast itself. While much of it looked similar to earlier stretches of the coast (at least to me), it had a unique island with thousands of birds and some truly spectacular vistas. We also had some “fun” helping a French couple extract their car from some deep mud on the access road. The kids put rocks under the tires to provide some traction and I (and the wife) rocked the front end back and forth while the husband drove the car. We were the only other people in the whole park and they were quite appreciative of our being there and helping.

Perito Moreno Glacier

Ainsley posted a great article about trekking on the Perito Moreno Glacier and I’m posting some more photos below from our walk around the paths in the park right in front of the face of the glacier. The size and scope of it was really impressive and the sounds of huge pieces “calving” off into the water were really amazing. Observing a glacier firsthand and so closely was really spectacular and unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Carpe Diem - El Bolson, Argentina

This was the stopover caused by our auto accident. It was on our list of possible places to spend a night, so it wasn’t so bad that we ended up here. The town had a nice craft fair the day we were there and it was situated in a beautiful valley.

The cabana where we stayed was just fine and we had a good night sleep.

The owners dog was a big hit with the kids and we were surprised to see him turn up at the craft fair the day we left. It was at least 1 or 2 km away and he wandered over there and found us in the crowd.

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