Moving in

Well today was the first "day of moving" into the new apartment. It actually began last night with me packing boxes and suitcases at the current place (after going to the gym).

I had booked the "Man with a Van" to collect the stuff at 9am, and he arrived on the dot. There were 3 big boxes (think the size of M&D's TV), plus four suitcases (two big, two carry-on). Even with all of that, there is still stuff left at the old apartment that must be moved before the end of this week. Just goes to show how you quickly accumulate stuff - although this does represent what we have been living on for the past 18 months, and two of the boxes contained only new crockery that we bought just before leaving Tokyo.

Anyway, for those of you who follow this, remember I mentioned that the new place is on the 5th floor of a walkup building (no lifts)? Well in order to avoid paying too much to move the stuff (cutbacks!), I arranged for the man with the van to deliver the stuff to the ground floor. So I spent the next hour walking up and down the stairs carrying boxes and suitcases. Easy on the first one, much harder by the time you get to the last one. In fact the last box held the bulk of the heavy plates so I ended up leaving it on one of the landings and shuttling a carry-on bag up and down until I could carry what was left in the box.

The landlord had ordered a new desk and arranged for it to be delivered between 10 and 12, so I spent the morning unpacking. Then off to Ikea to pick up a few things (including towels, Sonia!). Once more up the stairs carrying bags...

I am now sitting in Cafe O (refer to map) recuperating. You will see from the map how close this is to the apartment, so I am sure we will become even more regular customers than we are already.

The worst bit is that I know I have to make at least one more trip up the stairs today. My next stop is the Japan Home Store up the road, where I need to get cleaning stuff. This must be delivered to the apartment so that I can spend time tomorrow cleaning (just dusty because no-one has lived in the apartment for a while).

Finally, to whomever left the comment, I was writing on the mobile phone rather than blackberry. But yes it is a direct result of the predictive text and me being at the gym at the time and so not paying as much attention as I should have!

The weekend

What to write this time? Well it is still cold. So cold that I sat cv good at home last night working on the computer and watching tv, in a sweatshirt - inside. Today continues to be cold, but not so bad. One advantage of the reason is that it tends to be clearer - most of the cold days have been accompanied by blue skies and little pollution. And so wandering around has been fairly pleasant (if you discount the morons who do not look where they are going - whatever the are doing on their mobiles is clearly much more important).

Took the escalator and MTR to church this morning - saved about HKD60 in taxi fare, and took about 45 minutes. Not sure if getting up 25 minutes earlier is worth the HKD60 in savings. We will have to see.

Sonia is flying to Hanoi today, returning to Bangkok next Sunday. I am also arriving in Bangkok next Sunday for the week.

This week will be spent moving into the new apartment, getting supplies, and working out what is missing...

Another Update

What to say this time? This update comes to you from 1 Wellington Street aka the gym. I am sitting on the bike, attempting to maintain about 90 rpm. It is Friday night, and Sonia texted me earlier to say that she is heading for the hotel spa tonight (she is in Bangkok). So I guess I lose on that one. The gym is surprisingly busy given the day and time.

Went hunting for curtains today but without success. The trip was not wasted though, as I took the opportunity to check out a supermarket that I heard stocked Japanese groceries. Sure enough, the best selection I have seen in HK so far. 300 hkd later, I am now supplied with the makings for miso soup and soba dipping sauce. Tomorrow, back to looking for curtains.

Well, time to get off the bike and move to the treadmill to run for a while...

Gyms

January is definitely proving that New Years resolutions are real. The gym has never been busier. Hopefully most people will prove the cliche and give up soon so that it becomes easier to get at the machines again. Maybe gyms should discount fees for regulars during january because we are not getting the same level of service as usual?

Apartments - the conclusion

Ok, please hold your applause / laughter until the end...

We are signed up for a new apartment for a 6-month lease. It is on Elgin Street, smack bang in the middle of the Central / Soho area. This is a trendy area, full of restaurants and cafes.





Click here for a larger map.

The map also shows the location (if you click the link just above) of the current apartment, and the gym that I have been going to. It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk from the current apartment down to the gym. Shelley Street is the escalator that runs between Central and Mid-levels, so I can walk out the door and about 10 meters to the escalator. Great once/if I get a job...

One possible cause for laughter. This is an old building. Which has been done up a little bit, and is populated with what appears to be a good crowd. There are five floors to the building, so it's not huge. But... because this is an old building, there is no lift. You have to climb the stairs, which are narrow. And the apartment is on level 5. But at least this means we also have use of the roof space, which is set up almost like a BBQ area. I am looking forward to taking my breakfast/coffee up to the roof (one flight of stairs) each morning, and possibly doing the same with dinner. Of course I need to figure out how to eat through a face mask for those days when HK pollution is bad. But it has been great since we got here - possibly something to do with winter - so maybe it won't be too bad?

Second cause for laughter. I realised after agreeing to take it, that there is no washing machine/dryer. Oh well, I guess that means we will be sending everything out to the laundry. So maybe not a cause for laughter after all? Laundry here is charged by weight - you pay HKD XX per lb. And it is cheap. I paid HKD 40 (about USD 5) for two big bags of washing the last time I got it done. And they will iron the shirts for you!

Vegetables - I remembered that I need to tell about our experience of the wet markets so far. When we lived here the first time, we would not go near the wet markets, and bought everything from Park n' Shop or Wellcome or CitySuper. All of which are expensive for fresh stuff. This time, we have ventured into the markets a couple of times. Vegetables and fruit are sold by the lb. Cherries for HKD 40 per lb, and salad vegetables (lettuce, etc) for HKD 24 per lb. That means salads for about NZD 5 per lb. This seems to be pretty good, and is certainly much better than how we did it last time we were here. Of course the lettuce is probably full of lead, arsenic, etc....

Back to the apartment story. I sign the lease tomorrow and move in on Monday. Need to get the boxes across from the current place to the new one (I need to find a "man with a van" service), get some curtains for the main window in the lounge (one full wall), some towels, and probably order some groceries from Park n' Shop (they deliver, although they will probably only deliver once when they realise they have to carry up five floors). Also arrange internet access somehow, and satellite TV (or decide to watch DVDs and Chinese TV). Not sure about getting a phone unless it comes with the internet access.

I am meeting the agent at the apartment this afternoon to measure for curtains and check that the airconditioners have been fixed...

Apartments

Well we have been looking at apartments over the past week, and they now blend into an amorphous image in our minds. One more to look at tomorrow, then we need to come to a decision.

The only one that we really, really, like, is (of course) too expensive. The current tenants have bought an apartment and need someone to take over their contract. However they started renting when prices are high, and now they are not. So they need to get as much as possible to reduce the amount they will end up contributing themselves. We'd told them what price we would go to, but are not really expecting them to agree to it (about HKD 10,000 less than their asking price). Oh well, never mind.

Winter has arrived

The temperature here this morning was 14 when we stopped for coffee on the way to Sonia's office. Coat weather! It does mean tonight will probably also be a little cold - thinking of being out celebrating the new year and watching the fireworks.

Hua Hin Revisited

In answer to Dad's question about Hua Hin, we stayed at the Alila hotel:




To get a better idea of the area, click here to see a larger map.

I have marked the hotel, the Sofitel, the train station, and the clock tower (you will see the list on the left side of the screen in the larger map). You can see why it takes a while to get to the hotel - and most of the trip is around 80-100 km/h.

Sunday

Well we are now back in Hong Kong having avoided the strike at the airport yesterday (the baggage handlers went on strike for about 3 hours in the afternoon).

It is raining gently right now, possibly the first time since we have been back. It is also cold enough that I have been wearing my leather jacket pretty much all day. Still, from experience I know that this will pass fairly quickly and we will be heading back towards the regions of 30+ temperatures.

Only 8 weeks until Paul and Tiffany get married. Time to start thinking about clothes and travel arrangements... And what the weather will be like in Hot Springs? According to the weather websit, there is an historical range of around 15 degrees, so I guess we need to pack at the last minute? Having said that this is what normally happens.

Bangkok was pretty much the same over the last couple of days. On Thursday we went to the dinner buffet after spending most of the day at the pool. I headed to the gym in the late afternoon. On Friday Sonia went to get her fingernails done while I caught up with an ex-colleague for lunch. Then off to the gym in the afternoon, snacks in the exec-lounge, and a room-service pizza for dinner. Not very exciting, I'm afraid.

Saturday we went to the gym before going out to the airport for 4:30pm flights (me on AirAsia, Sonia on Cathay Pacific). Checking in took about 5 minutes for Sonia and about 45 minutes for me (AirAsia are so slow and do not manage their volumes well). Then through immigration quite quickly. Sonia managed to convince the nice Qantas lounge staff that I should be allowed to come in as a guest, so we were able to sit quietly for an hour before boarding.

Today we went shopping for a coat for Sonia - sales are on at the moment. We found a satisfactory coat on a good special at A|X, so that is done. Sonia is deciding whether I need to wrap the coat in Christmas paper and put it under the tree for her to then unwrap. I do not think so (Tim!).

Now we are off home to do the laundry and cook something for dinner.

The way back

We are now on the way back to Bangkok, having checked out of the hotel in Hua Hin. The hotel was very nice, and I am sure we would stay there again. We got a good deal through wotif.com. I managed to get a couple of photos and will upload them later. We have booked a car to get back to Bangkok, having caught the train down. The train was an adventure and we realised why the concierge at the Conrad looked suprised when we asked her help booking the tickets. It was called a diesel railcar, and had three 2nd class carriages. These turned out to be somewhat decrepit, but at least were air-conditioned. The trip took about 30 minutes longer than scheduled... Then onto a taxi to the hotel. I say onto because the taxi was a ute whith a canopy and a couple of bench seats. About a 40 minute ride from the station. So having taken the long way down, we are taking the easy way back. Tonight will be a quiet night, and tomorrow probably spent by the pool. More later.

Hua Hin

Today's update comes to you from the museum cafe at the Sofitel Hotel in Hua Hin. We are not actually staying here but caught the shuttle bus (which turned out to be an E-class Mercedes car) from our hotel into town. We have wandered around town and got pretty hot so stopped here for coffee. When trying to decide where to stay, this hotel was our second choice. Hua Hin town is ok but the centre is fairly full of cheap hotels, junky shops, and thai massage places that look a little shady... Not one of the main destinations for overseas tourists so far but it is apparently growing quite fast. More later.

Quick update

This comes to you from the executive lounge of the Conrad in Bangkok. This is level 29 of the building, with a pretty reasonable view across the city.

Today comprised:

• Breakfast from 8:45 until 10:00, with scrambled eggs on toast, some bacon, and hashbrowns, and toast and coffee
  
• 1.5 hours at the gym attempting to undo the damage from breakfast
• A panini for lunch at the deli downstairs
• A couple of hours working on emails/etc in the Exec lounge
• 30 minutes in a taxi to cover a fairly short distance between the Conrad and the Westin
• A meeting with a Prudential alumni who has set up a recruiting business and who may be able to connect me to a job
• Another 45 minutes in a taxi back to the Conrad

which brings you up to date...

Sonia is on her way back from work, and then we need to figure out what to do for dinner. Will probably be something small, although I am not sure what she has had to eat today so who knows...

And now to the Traffic Report. Traffic has been bad this afternoon and according to an SMS from a regular listener (Sonia) the traffic getting from her office to the hotel is bad...

The forecast for tomorrow?

• Breakfast
  
• Gym
• Sit by the pool
• Lunch
• Dinner
• ???

As you may be able to discern by now, this is a very stressful life. I really do not know how much longer I will be able to put up with the pressure...

Japanese & Christmas

Well we are thinking of starting to review Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong. On Sunday we had lunch at a sushi place in Causeway Bay, called "Sushi One".

It was a bit of a mixed bag, but overall not a place that we will return to. We sat at the counter - there is a mixture of tables and counter seats just like in sushi places in Japan. At the counter there was a travelator going around, but only 2 or three plates on it. Given the size of the restaurant we could probably have taken this as a warning sign and left immediately?

We ordered off the menu, choosing a few nigiri sushi: tuna, broiled salmon, inari, and sea eel. The sea eel was made fresh in the kitchen in the back and was not bad. The salmon was ok, the tuna and inari just mediocre.

We also ordered miso soup, which was alright but made our tongues tingle. You may know that that is not a standard thing to have happen when drinking miso soup. Maybe something a little off?

And some tempura - prawns and soft-shell crab. The tempura was good, probably because it must be made fresh each time. Soft-shell crab is not something that is normal in tempura, but worked quite well.

And I ordered a "spicy tuna" handroll. This turned out to be a tuna roll with a dollop of spicy mayonnaise. Just not right, and did not take good!

So the food was a mixture of mediocre and ok. However it was not helped by the chinese guys behind the counter (not a Japanese chef in the place as far as we could tell) crashing plates down on the counter.

Next time we'll fill you in on a good Japanese restaurant, and another ok sushi place. Not sure if we should start giving them ratings or not. How to judge the quality of the fish when it is smothered in spicy mayonnaise?

We have finally worked out where we will be having Christmas. Sonia flew out to Bangkok this morning, having returned from Hanoi on Saturday afternoon. I fly to Bangkok tomorrow night, and we will be at the Conrad for the rest of the week. Then on Sunday we go to Hua Hin for 3 nights at a beach there, before returning to Bangkok on 24th. So Christmas will be at the Conrad in Bangkok. We fly back to HK on 27th December, and will have New Year here.

Another one from HK Airport

Well, another update is due, I guess.

I am sitting at HK airport, waiting for a flight to KL. I am heading back there to close bank accounts and get admin stuff sorted out. We did not close the bank accounts before we left because we had deposits that we were waiting to receive back, and of course once you are not in the country it gets a bit difficult to sort things out. Hence the trip.

I am flying AirAsia - the cheapie airline. I figured it would be busy checking in (usually too few counters and too many people), but as fate/luck would have it, I arrived with time to spare and found that there were zero people queueing. So straight through, immigration with no queues, and security with no queues. And now sitting at the gate with over one hour to go. Still, better that than racing around.

Sonia is still in Hanoi, and seems to be enjoying it. Muttered something about cute-looking houses (at least I think she was talking about houses and not guys) yesterday. However she is on her guard - apparently one of her workmates warned her that the rats in Hanoi are much healthier (and therefore larger) than those in Bangkok. Something to do with a better diet, I guess?

Cheese

There is an Italian deli about 10 minutes walk from the apartment, on the way to the Mid-levels Escalator. We went in the other night on the way home, thinking to get some cheese and meat for a light dinner. The cheese (selected pretty much at random from the case) was Rutulin. Well worth trying if you can find it. I had never seen it before, but it is a reasonably strong-tasting goat's milk cheese. Apparently it normally has a coating of sesame or herbs, however the one sold here is just raw on the outside. Very nice...

Turducken

This recipe is well worth a read, just for the chuckles. But if anyone can convince Sharon or Paul to attempt one of these, I would seriously consider purchasing an air ticket just to join the meal. It sounds like quite an experience...

An update

Well, sitting in a cafe having just finished lunch, I guess I should put something a little more detailed onto the blog. We will see how much detail I can be bothered writing.

As I mentioned, the apartment here is fine if a little small for two people. We originally expected Sonia to be in Bangkok, so it puts a little strain on things. Luckily the cafes around HK have wireless Internet access, so we are able to spend time sitting/reading/working in Pacific Coffee and other places.

We have been trying to be good food-wise, generally cooking chicken and salad at night. Last night I got some mustard and breadcrumbs and we attempted to cook the chicken breasts with a crust. It seemed to work ok (tasted alright) but was probably not very healthy. This was accompanied by salad (lettuce, tomato, bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, cucumber), and fried mushrooms. Tonight needs to be healthier....

I have been going to a gym most days, usually 1-2 hours each time. The gym is about 15 minutes walk down the hill from the apartment, so that helps on the exercise side as well. The routine at the gym is normally 30 minutes on the bike, aiming to get the pulse up to around 150-160 (no problem at the moment!). Then every second day is a "weights day", so I follow the bike with about 30-40 minutes on the machines. I am trying to get to the point where I can do a full set (15-12-12) of chin-ups. I have a bit to go yet... Finally, I normally finish off with 30-45 minutes walking on the treadmill, aiming to have my pulse around 120-130.

The first week I think I overdid it a little. I found that I was getting a bit tired and requiring less and less resistance to have my pulse at the desired levels. After taking a day off and also reducing the treadmill time a bit, I think this is sorted out. Between leaving the apartment in Tokyo on 31st October and getting into the gym here in the 3rd week in October, my exercise regime was a bit erratic (sometimes at the Conrad in Bangkok, a couple of times on the treadmill at the hotel in HK). I suspect that I was simply too ambitious getting back into a proper routine in HK.

At night we are tending to get a bit bored. TV in HK has many more options than was available in Tokyo, so it is tempting to blob out in front of the TV at night. We need to find ways of getting out and around.

A few times in discussions in Tokyo we commented that it was much easier to meet people in Japan compared to HK. We'd put this down to the higher level of isolation in Japan - language factors and significantly lower proportion of expats. Sure enough, this feels true now that I am in Bangkok and trying to make contacts here. Oh well, just need to find the methods that work in HK.

I mentioned previously that the property market in HK is dropping at the moment. It is not uncommon to walk past a real estate agent shop and see signs where prices have been crossed out and replaced with a lower figure more than once. Reading a couple of online forums, many people are commenting (both landlords and renters) on how things are changing. At this point most people are expecting it to continue sliding until Q2 next year.

Good to hear that Paul has cottoned on to the joys of Eggs Benedict. I need an independent review of the final product, so please feel free to forward me your ratings and I will add him to the list.

We are thinking ahead to what we will do for Christmas. At this stage the favourite is Caprice for Christmas dinner. If you look back to a previous blog entry, you will recall that this is the place where I had veal brains for a main dish. The Christmas menu at Caprice looks very yummy. However we are not sure whether to book at this stage. Sonia's company is disorganised as ever and is unable to confirm which country she will be in at the time. Will it be Thailand (assuming the government gets the terrorists get sorted out), Vietnam, or even UK? Who knows.

This afternoon I have to go and submit a pile of documents to the HK immigration department. This is the supporting documentation for my spouse visa...

Well, I think that is enough for now.

PS: D&S - can you please post some photos of the new house (inside and out).
PPS: Jordan and Kyla - time to update your blogs.

Hong Kong and Thailand

The protestors (People Against Democray) have continued to wreck their havoc in Bangkok. So we are still in Hong Kong.

Back to Island ECC on the weekend, which was good. We met a couple from Buffalo in the US, and I am meeting the husband for lunch tomorrow.

However, the apartment is starting to get a bit small. It is supposed to be around 45 sqm, but I think in reality it is probably less than that. It is a studio, as wide as a queen size bed (!) plus a 2.5 seater couch, plus one foot of extra space. It is as long as the bed plus another six feet. Then on the side we have the bathroom and a corridor kitchen (about 10 feet long and about 4 or 5 feet wide). So for two people it gets a little "close".

We have the apartment for 2 months (mid January) so I think we will probably end up signing up for a longer term in a bigger apartment (not serviced apartment) when this rental finishes. The property market in HK is dropping, both for rentals and purchases, so we should be able to get quite a good deal. We will see...

Thailand and Hong Kong

Well, we are still stuck in HK. The "People Against Democracy" party has blockaded the airport at Bangkok, as as such have contributed to a drop in support for what they are trying to achieve. Basically they have just hacked off a lot of people, including me. It is truly amazing that a bunch of people can decide that they don't like the democratically elected government (however corrupt and imperfect). And the army is not doing much to help the situation.

Anyway, we are hoping to get on flights to Bangkok on Sunday. Outside of the localised problem areas (currently the airport!) there doesn't seem to be any real problems. From what we are hearing from people on the ground, the rest of the place is carrying on much as normal.

Well Sonia arrived in HK last night, and the double (!) bed is way, way too small. It has been many years since we last slept in a double. Most recently the bed at the Conrad Hotel in Bangkok, which is a super king (or larger). Just as well she is only here until the middle of next week - earlier if the bed gets too small!

Bike trip

Well here is some more about the bike trip.

First thing, the route: Click Here For Map

We started at 6:30am in Shibuya, and spent the first hour and a half really just getting out of Tokyo. We stopped at a MacDonalds somewhere on the outskirts of the built-up areas, and had coffee and a muffin. Then on to the real riding.

The highlight (?) of the trip out to Takayama was the road 299. If you zoom in far enough on the map you will be able to see how windy it is. Great if you are on a light sporty bike. Unfortunately mine weighed a ton and was built for touring. Throwing it round corners was hard work, and there were many switchbacks along the way.

The scenery was spectacular. Given the time of year, the trees were a great range of reds, yellows, and oranges. As I said the other day I did not take the camera so I will have to get photos off the other guys.

The road gets up to around 2000 metres, so the temperature change was noticeable. At the top there is a lookout from which there is a great 360-degree view. Then going down the other side it was back to the switchbacks and tight turns. Going downhill on a heavy bike is harder than going up.

Around midday we decided that it was taking much longer to get there than planned, and so we choose to get to the motorway and take the jump north. This took about 45 minutes, and gained a lot of distance. Then it was back to smaller roads (but bigger than the 299). At this point the rain started. We were back to climbing up into the mountains towards Takayama. Lots of tunnels, colourful trees, and amazing hillsides and gorges. It would have been better if it was not raining and we could have stopped and looked.

We got to Takayama around 5pm, and then had to find the hotel. We thought it was next to the train station, but it wasn't. However there was a tourist information booth at the station, and they gave us directions for a 5-minute ride outside of time. The hotel was Associa - a great place with an onsen.

We checked in (scruffy in biking gear while a wedding party proceeded through the lobby), unpacked, and then went down to the onsen to warm up.

Dinner was a beef bbq restaurant back in town, which I enjoyed but the other guys thought was too fatty. In Japan, more fat marbled through the meat means better quality. Then back to the hotel by 9:30 ( the rest of the town had already shut down as far as we could see).

The next morning we decided to take it a bit easier, trying to use the motorway to skip the original 1.5 hours in Tokyo. That meant we could have breakfast (western style) at the hotel before leaving. We were back on the road by 8:15, in the rain. We got safely back down the mountains to the motorway, and decided that it would be horrible to try the 299 in the wet. So we agreed to take the motorway all the way back to Tokyo.

Racing down the motorway is much easier, even in the rain. We stopped at one of the motorway services aroun 11:30 for lunch. Tonkatsu with Miso soup. Yum. And an icecream. Then back onto the bikes (I swapped bikes with David, who was riding a Street Triple - 675 cc). We got back into Tokyo around 2pm, much faster than the trip outwards.

It was a bit of a shame that the weather was not great, but the trip itself was great. I just need to get full use of my hands back, after the strain of moving the bike around!

Japan and Hong Kong

Well, back in Hong Kong again, after spending the weekend in Japan on a bike trip with a couple of friends. We rode to Hida-Takayama (more on this later), which took up all of Saturday and Sunday.

Monday I caught up with people at the office, before flying back to HK yesterday afternoon. Sonia is still working (someone has to!) in Bangkok, but is flying in to HK tomorrow.

This afternoon I am moving us into a serviced apartment that we have rented for a couple of months while I figure out what I will do in the future, and in which country we will base ourselves.

HK temperatures have dropped over the last week. Today is apparently about 22 degrees. I am writing this while sitting outside in my suit (just been to meet a headhunter) and it is still a little on the cool side, so I suspect that we have not reached 22 degrees yet.

Oh well, on to pick up mail from Sonia's office, then to collect my bags from the hotel where I left them this morning. The apartment will be available from 2pm, so I need to get there, leave the bags and then go find some groceries. Not exactly a pressured life!

All going well I will post a more detailed review of the bike trip later today. Unfortunately I only have a couple of photos on the mobile phone (forgot to take the camera with me), but I will display a map of the route. I rented a Triumph 1050c Sprint ST (touring bike), which was a bit different from the types of bikes I have ridden in the past. Anyway, more later.

Bangkok

I have been here for a couple of days now, living in Sonia's hotel room at the Conrad. Yesterday was very busy (for me), starting with cooked breakfast in the executive lounge. I had to rush this a little bit, as it finishes around 10am. I managed to fit something in though, and then spent time checking emails and reading the news on the computer.

Then off to get fitted for a new suit (Gulati's in Nana). Sam (the owner) has an amazing memory and knew who I was as soon as I walked in. He also knew where I worked, and that Sonia was my wife, and the names of the people I know who are also his customers. To put it in context, it is probably two years since I last walked into his shop. The fitting took about an hour, although we quickly picked out the fabric (dark blue with a pinstripe). The rest of the time was spent waiting for the tailor to come in and then do the measuring. While waiting we were talking about the economy and the market behaviours (Sam spends the downtime during the day investing in stockmarkets online). Sam also pulled out the measurements from the previous time I was in and commented on how much smaller I am now.

Then down the road to Liu's Bootery, recommended to me by a friend from AIG Japan. He has had some shoes made there a few times. Mr Liu will create whatever you want, using most different types of leather. I chose a pair of new black shoes for work (not sure where I will wear these yet), and also asked them to make me a new pair of more casual shoes. For the leather I chose snakeskin. The Crocodile, Ostrich, and something else, all looked a bit too flashy for me :-). I am going in to pick up the shoes on Thursday morning.

Then stopped for lunch at the Food Loft in Chit Lom, which is a food-court type of place. A huge range of types of food, including Japanese (yeah!).

After lunch, back to the hotel and the executive lounge to let lunch settle before going to the gym. The gym was not busy (as you would expect for 3pm on a Monday), and I did the bike, weights, and treadmill.

Then back to the executive lounge to wait for Sonia. The nice people here are going to recognise me quite quickly, I suspect. Sonia and I sat here and had nibbles before leaving for Siam Paragon where we were booked to see the new James Bond movie (thanks to "Tippie" on the concierge desk for her help making the booking). The movie was at the Nokia Ultra lounge - think lazy-boy chairs with pillows, blankets, and waitresses who will bring the popcorn and drinks to you. Of course I will need to explain the plot to Sonia later today...

What does today hold in store? Well it is almost time for lunch, after which I need to go to the gym. Then meeting an ex-colleague for coffee at 4:30, then back to Sam's for a suit fitting, then out to a restaurant for dinner. Such a busy life - it is truly amazing that I managed to find time to write this update.

Kyoto again

Well I did promise that I would write more about the trip to Kyoto, and it is now almost 2 weeks since we were there. So I guess I should do so before the memory fades further (seeing as how we are getting pretty old now)...

So breakfast.

Breakfast was a combination of rice, fish, tofu, and millions (or so it seemed) of small pickled vegetables. With orange juice and japanese tea.

The rice had been selected the night before. I thought I would be healthy and chose brown rice. Sonia picked white. She made the right decision, and I got it totally wrong. It turns out that white rice is your basic steamed white rice. Brown rice, however, is gluey porridge - almost. We decided that they probably cook it in a lot of water, and then serve without straining.

The fish on the other hand was quite good. A piece of something that had been marinated in some sort of soy sauce, then grilled. Tasty. The tofu was a couple of small cubes of tofu, served in soy milk in a paper "plate" on top of a burner - the burner was to heat up and cook the tofu. A metal plate underneath the paper took the brunt of the flame and heated the paper.

The orange juice is a strange taste when you put it into the context of a savoury breakfast. And of course we didn't really finish the pickled vegetables. Still, apart from my disastrous rice choice, breakfast was not bad. But quite a different taste to what us westerners are accustomed to.

We spent the first day walking around Kyoto in the drizzle. Sunday was not great weather-wise, but at least it did not pour down too hard. In Japan you can stop at any 7-11 (convenience store, like a dairy in NZ) which are on every corner (you will almost never need to walk more than 5 minutes to find one) to buy a disposable umbrella. Which we did.

We went to the market street first - narrow alleys filled with all sorts of interesting things, both edible and not. Edible includes vegetables (fresh or pickled), fish (dried or fresh), tea, meat (fresh, BBQed, grilled, etc), Japanese junk foods, and lots of ice-cream (of the snowfreeze style).

Lunch was okonomiyaki - a Japanese junk food pancake (sort of) - the sort of thing you might find in a food court except a bit better and much tastier.

Then off to one of the temples to have a look around - called Kiyomizu Dera. It is famous for the views (of trees as it turns out) and it's architecture/construction, which is pretty impressive. Because the weather was gray I didn't get a lot of great photos, but here are a couple.

This first one is one of the fountains at the entrance - to wash your hands (I think).

At another fountain inside the complex, it is considered good luck to drink the water. And lots of people line up to do so. The two ladies (mother and daughter) looked nice in their kimonos.
Then a view from one of the terraces - lots of trees.


More to come later. I have just received a text message from Sonia instructing me to buy some makeup for her from the duty-free shop (I am writing this at the airport). Since this will take about 10 minutes walk back from the gate (my current location), I better get moving.

Quick update

Well this short episode comes to you from Pacific Coffee (Starbucks clone) in Times Square in Hong Kong. I have signed up for a month of wireless internet access (HKD 158), which happens to be available at most of the coffee places. So every day so far this week I have been found sitting with coffee working on the laptop.

I was talking to Sonia about the feeling of being disconnected during the last few days in Tokyo. At that point I was staying in a cheap hotel, which did not provide internet access. And my mobile phone (which had internet access built in) had been given back to the office. What is worse, Tokyo is incredibly bad for free wireless access - everything is charged (and expensive). So suddenly, after spending the last couple of years being able to look things up quickly, check the news, email, etc, I was stuck. A very strange feeling.

Anyway, now in HK, flying tomorrow night to Bangkok. I will spend the first part of the week there, then fly back on Thursday, before catching an airpoints flight first thing on Friday up to Tokyo. Along with a couple of friends, I will be going for a road trip (motorbikes) over the weekend. Then back to HK on Tuesday to continue the job search and get apartments sorted.

Kyoto Part 2

The following was written on the train on the way back from Kyoto. I still have not sorted the photos, but will do so and then put some more up here.

Where to start?

The ryokan was a great experience. It was actually a combination of a ryokan with a restaurant that specialises in Kyoto cuisine - which means Tofu as far as I can tell.

We arrived at the ryokan after a shortish taxi ride, although the driver needed to call the dispatcher to ask how to find the place. This does not happen very often, as they normally have satellite navigation systems. And this despite us providing him with a printed map showing the place clearly. Well I thought it was clear, as the map was all in Japanese.

On arrival, we were shown straight into a bar/lounge area where we were served green tea made the traditional way. This was accompanied by three small sweet balls of goo. Not sure what they were; certainly not familiar to western tastes. The tea was made by rapidly whisking tea powder with a small amount of water until the result is bubbly. Much stronger than either of us are accustomed to.

While drinking the tea and eating the goo balls, we were asked what time we wanted to have dinner and breakfast. Dinner is served in the individual rooms, but breakfast is in a shared breakfast room. For breakfast we had to choose either brown or white rice. All of this in a combination of Japanese and English - more Japanese than English.

Also during this time I took the opportunity to warn Sonia that I was not going to be protecting her food-wise - she had to experience this herself!

Then we were shown to the room.

The room was eight tatami mats in size, with a low black lacquer table in the middle and two cane/bamboo seats with cushions. The seats are basically there to support your back, so you are effectively sitting on the floor. For those of you who are older and have therefore forgotten, cross-legged sitting on the floor is not easy.

Off to one side is a small table with two comfortable chairs for sitting, and to the side of that (tucked away in the back) is a toilet. On the opposite wall is a scroll, which when surrounded by the plain furnishings looks really nice. We actually bought a scroll in the same style when we went to Kawagoe. Our scroll has a picture of Mt Fuji.


Because of the time we arrived, there was no time for a bath/shower before dinner. Instead, we sat down for Shabu-shabu. The menu was somewhere over 8 courses long, with the main course being the shabu-shabu. I'll review the two menus in detail later on once I have convinced someone to help translate them for me (I kept the menus, which are beautifully printed). Suffice it to say that there were multiple unusual flavours, starting with the appetiser. This was small pieces of grilled horse. The remainder of the meal included two more courses of horse (a horse is a horse of course, of course), includind horse sashimi.

After dinner, we were warned that they would be "bed-making", so we took the opportunity to quickly change into our yukata, then down to the communal baths. I had briefed Sonia on the etiquette of Japanese bathing (as I understand it to be), so we were both fairly uncertain about the whole thing. In the end there was no-one in the men's or women's baths.

By the time we got back to the room, the table had been pushed to one side and the beds were made. These are foam mats about 1 inch thick, with a futon mattress on top - 1-2 inches. If you fell off, you might not notice... Then a thick duvet on top. The pillow was half beads and half normal. Needless to say, your head goes on the normal side. This may not sound very promising for a good night's sleep, but it is actually quite comfortable. Unfortunately we don't have any photos of the beds - sorry.

In the next episode, I'll relate our breakfast and the first day (rainy) of wandering around Kyoto.

Kyoto Part 1

This episode comes to you from seat 4D in car 13 of the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto. The trip is scheduled for around 2.5 hours, and it is now 3:20. We left Tokyo station pretty much on time at 2:10, so we are almost halfway through the trip.

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan (way, way back), and apparently looks quite differentto Tokyo. We are expecting to see lots of old buildings and streets, along with Geisha and Maiko walking around in traditional costume.

We are staying at a Ryokan - a traditional Japanese inn. The ryokan is called Yoshinoya (click here), and is supposed to be quite nice. At least it looks nice on the web page. Rooms at traditional ryokan are based on tatami mats - a room might be an eight-tatami room, meaning that the floor is eight mats in size. We will be sleeping on futons, which the staff will lay out when it is time for bed.

Dinner will be served in the room, along with breakfast. Dinner tonight will be shabu-shabu, which is (I think) basically a range of sliced meat and vegetables which are cooked in a pot of stock at the table. Tomorrow's dinner will be kaiseki - a drawn-out affair involving many courses of different foods, served in a variety of different dishes and styles. There may or may not be horse sashimi involved (exactly what it sounds like - sliced raw horse meat). We will let you know afterwards.

Apparently there is no bath attached to the room. Instead there is a communal bath (onsen-style). It's a bit difficult to tell from the webpage as it is all in Japanese (of course). Our understanding is based on what my staff have told me - and they may be having fun at the gaijin's expense. Bathing will involve washing thoroughly while crouched on a small stool, before then getting into the bath itself. Washing must be thorough, and you must rinse off the soap properly so as not to contaminate the water in the bath. Baths in Japan are for relaxing, not washing. Washing must be done prior to climbing into the bath. I believe there may be a "family bath", which can be booked. If not, then the segregated communal baths are the only option. One way or the other, it will be an experience as we cannot wait until Monday night for a shower!

Back to the Shinkansen experience. The train itself is as fast as you read about - the scenery is racing past. Getting to the train station was simple - a 10 minute taxi ride from home to Tokyo Station. Unfortunately there are not many signs pointing where to go to find the Shinkansen platforms (as opposed to the subway and local train platforms). The policeman helpfully pointed the way. Getting through the first entry gates was a little tricky - you need to use the ticket instead of the seat reservation card (both look basically the same). Somehow I managed to get through, but Sonia didn't, and so she had to find someone who could explain. With that obstacle surmounted, we wandered our way through the station looking for the Shinkansen platforms. Again, not many signs. It turns out that the first gates were just to get into the general platform area - once we found the Shinkansen platforms we were faced with another set of gates. Inserting my ticket did not work, and it was only after an explanation from the guard stationed next to the gates that we successfully navigated our way. It turns out that while the first gates only require your ticket, the second gates require both the ticket and the seat reservation card at the same time. Intuitive...

The weather today is very gray - this makes the countryside look quite drab and a bit uninteresting. Still, you get to see a bit of the world this way.

Each carriage on the train is five seats wide, by maybe 30 long. There are 16 carriages making up the train, plus a caboose (Sonia's description). A pleasant young lady pushing a snack trolly is working her way up and down the train, and bows to the carriage as she leaves it for the next one. No-one (except us gaijin) pay any attention to the bows, but it is part of life.

Half of the people in our carriage (which is about 80% full) are snoozing, having boarded, eaten, and promptly fallen asleep. This is another normal part of life - every train (including packed subway trains) are filled with sleeping people.

On Thursday I took Sonia out to Kapabashi, where I bought the plates and things last week. Sonia managed to complete most of the purchases, although we realised that we are still missing some small dishes/cups for the soba dipping sauce.

Now the challenge will be to pack everything properly and get it safely to Hong Kong. Japan Post has a service that will send boxes less than 20kg at a reasonable price, so I plan to pack much of the stuff into boxes and ship it that way. We spent this morning sorting out the contents of the apartment into suitcases and a pile of "to be packed". Sonia is flying to HK on Tuesday morning and will have a suitcase full of stuff - which will end up in Thailand. I will have two suitcases to get to HK. The rest (Mac computer, screen, plates, and some artwork) will need to be sent by a combination of Japan Post and DHL. DHL is looking like the best option for shipping the computer and screen, as they will collect from the apartment. The rest will be via Japan Post.

Shopping

Well as we are now down to only two full weeks in Japan, I went shopping for kitchenware this afternoon. There is a street called Kapabashi, which is lined with kitchen stores. Almost half of them were closed because it is Sunday, but I still managed to find most of the things I was looking for. The rest will have to wait until a visit after work one evening. So far, the tally includes:

• 6 cherry wood miso bowls
• 6 donburi bowls (big bowls for noodles)
• 6 long narrow plates
• 6 more plates (cannot remember exactly the shape)
• 1 hangiri (wooden rice bucket 30 cm diameter with lid)
• cooking chopsticks
• sake flask with six cups
• bamboo wood tea canister with bamboo scoop
• tongs for pickled ginger
  
• four serving dishes - different shapes and sizes
• a soy sauce container
  

I still need to find:

• 6 small cups with lids for serving savoury custard
• 6 soba plates with bamboo mats
• a rice paddle (for serving the rice)
• 6 rice bowls with lids
• 6 chopsticks with rests
• six ladles for use with the donburi bowls (for hot udon/soba noodle soups)
• a soba sauce pot (like a teapot)
  
• a tetsubin (cast iron teapot)
• an oroshigane (japanese grater)

In the process of writing this, I came across this website which has a lot of information about Japanese cooking.

Updates

Well I was originally planning to put together a big blog update, relating the adventures of last weekend. In fact I started writing it at work (my replacement has started so I have some spare time on my hands), but in the end I finished the week going from one thing to another (e.g. attempting to close a bank account) and did not finish the entry. Maybe next week.

This weekend Sonia is in Bangkok, and I have spent the today sorting through the accumulated junk from the past year. It needs to fit into suitcases, with the exception of the computer and screen. Everything else is going to be carried on planes back to Bangkok and Hong Kong. We shall see.

Right now I am cooking (in between writing parts of this) Dashi, which is used as part of making miso soup and dipping sauce for cold soba noodles. You start with a piece of dried konbu (a type of seaweed) about 4-6 inches long. After wiping it (not sure why), put it into 7.5 cups of cold water and bring to a simmer.

Then add about 15 grams of bonito flakes. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add another 10 grams of bonito and take off the heat. Let it settle, then strain. And that's it. Pretty simple, although it makes the kitchen smell a bit.

Well I have just finished the dashi, strained, and the remnants disposed of in a sealed plastic bag before being thrown in the rubbish bin.

For miso soup, I need to mix dashi with red miso paste, simmer (with optional piece of leek), and then eat with cubes of silky tofu or pieces of some sort of fish.

New

Please check out Jordan's blog on the link on the right-hand side.

Shanghai

Today's news comes to you from the gray city of Shanghai. We arrived here on Tuesday night (about 10:30), and since then it's been hot and gray. Wednesday was quite hot, and we cooked while sitting outside for dinner in Xin Tian Di. Xin Tian Di is a couple of city blocks that is basically a collection of restaurants and cafes. Pretty much all of them western, along with the obligatory Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Nice enough, and we ate at a place called Luna. Fairly standard western (read American) style of food.

Then last night was at a German/Austrian restaurant. Again, pretty good for what it is. The restaurant really reminded me of South-east Asia, as it had the usual Filippino band singing covers of popular songs that targeted the age range of the bulk of the people eating there - Eagles, Abba, etc.

Wednesday and Thursday we did not get to see anything of the city, as we were here for a conference (4th annual Insurance Technology Summit). And then today Sonia and her colleague needed to do some work, so we spent most of the day in the Hilton's Executive Lounge (free wireless internet access). I managed to get to the gym this morning (as well as Wednesday evening), but the rest of the day has been spent gazing out the window on the gray skies.

Now we are sitting here eating the free canapes in lieu of dinner ("cutbacks"). Tomorrow we will hopefully get out and do something, although I am not sure what. Probably a massage somewhere along the lines...

FYI - Eggs Benedict at Altura was much better this last visit. Maybe they have changed cooks?

Oh, one last comment - I managed to win a digital camera at the conference. Pretty much the type of camera that mum wanted to buy (very slim, big screen on the back, etc). Samsung, 8.4 Megapixels, 2GB memory card, etc. Very nice and convenient.

Weather Update

Feels like I should be part of the weather bureau!

The rain has come and gone. And while coming back from the gym, I checked the forecast for the rest of the week. It is posted on a sign in the lobby, updated every day.

Just thought you might like to know that the forecast for tomorrow morning 6:00am is for 22 degrees Celsius. With a high for the day of 32. I guess at least it is lower than the 36 degrees that we have had from time to time. Much the same for the rest of the week - overnight lows of around 22 degrees, high of 32.

Oh boy.

NZ's rain and cold is looking pretty good right now. See you on the weekend.

Oh, watching Karate Kid. Blast from the past and all that. It is also very interesting having been living in Tokyo for a year now. Not all is as it is shown in the movies. In fact Morita-san is very atypical.

きょうはあついですね！

For today's Japanese lesson:
きょう = today
は = connector
あつい = hot
です = it/is
ね = aye/eh
In Romanji, you would pronounce something like: "Kyoo wa atsui desu ne?"
So what I am saying is: "It is hot today, eh?"

Well, you get the point. Today was back to being very hot - all day. It is supposed to rain tonight or tomorrow - hopefully that will cool things down again.

きょう

(means today, as long as I have spelt it correctly)

Today is back to being sweltering in Tokyo. It's hot, humid, and there are clouds overhead. Thunder and lightening last night, with a bit of rain. Today's forecast is for more rain later on.

We went to Shibuya this afternoon, looking for presents. We managed to find a few different Japanese cookies and sweets, and it will be interesting to see what people think of them. I find some of them interesting, but an acquired taste. Japanese sweets tend to be less sweet than I prefer from having grown up in NZ. Sweets in NZ focus on sugary goodness, which is quite different. Anyway, we will see.

Sonia has gone off to Ginza now, looking for ゆかた (Yukata). These are the summer kimonos, lightweight cotton things that many people wear out - it's a very respectable way to dress here. Apparently they are very comfortable. However I am not sure that I will be joining in any time soon. There is a tendancy to see label gaijin dressing like that as "try-hards". Sonia doesn't have her mobile with her, so we will see if she manages to get to Ginza and back in one piece.

Pizza last night, from Pizza Salvatore - not bad, although on balance I think I prefer Pizza Hut. There is another pizza place that is supposed to be worth trying - Brendan's Pizzakaya. Californian pizza versus Italian. Both (of course) with a Japanese twist.

One week

To go before we get on the plane for NZ. This time next week we will be recovering from the long flight between Tokyo and Auckland.

Sonia will have a long week (or short depending on your viewpoint). She flies to Bangkok as normal on Monday afternoon. Then Thursday night (instead of Friday) she flies overnight back to Tokyo. Friday evening we fly to Auckland overnight. So she is only really working for 3 days this coming week. Although if you ask her, I am sure she will claim that she works from home for the other times. Yeah, right.

At the other end of the trip, we leave Auckland very early in the morning on Monday. Flying all day gets us back to Tokyo in early evening. Then Tuesday afternoon we fly to Shanghai. Returning to Tokyo on Sunday afternoon.

Think of the mileage points...

On Friday morning I went to the Chinese embassy to apply for my tourist visa. Arriving at 9:00am (when it opens), I was disappointed to see a long queue stretching down the road outside the building. However the queue disappeared within 5 minutes once they opened the doors.

Getting inside I worked out that the instructions on the website omitted one crucial piece of paper that you are required to provide - photocopies of your Japan Resident Alien card, and the front page of your passport. There are signs up on the walls (in Japanese of course) explaining how to photocopy correctly. I dutifully dug out some change and fed it into the copiers that are conveniently located for this purpose.

Then getting a ticket number, I waited for about 5 minutes before getting to the counter. Another 5 minutes while they checked the documentation (record of return air ticket, hotel booking, application form, and passport), and it was done. I now have a little receipt (for the passport) which I need to go back on Monday morning to (hopefully) swap for my passport with a visa. If there are any problems, I will have to figure out an alternative very quickly - probably rushing around in NZ to get it done there.

Sonia has not done hers yet, and is planning to apply while in Auckland.

This weekend

Was rainy - very rainy.

Saturday Sonia slept until 3pm, at which point sushi seemed like the thing to do. So off to すしざんまい (Sushi Zanmai) for a few pieces for lunch. We ended up sitting along the counter from some people with a French accent. One of them was particularly irritating - asking in heavily accented English for something with no fish. Why did he bother going to a sushi restaurant if he didn't want fish? The guy behind the counter looked understandably suprised and eventually chopped up a bunch of lettuce and poured some dressing over the top. One salad coming up. And then the customer decided that he really wanted some wasabi - but fresh, please, not made from powder. It's always fresh here - ground from the wasabi plant root, and used quickly. I think this guy needs to go back to France or wherever else he came from.

Saturday night was a visit to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We started with crabcakes (Sonia) and lobster bisque (me). Swapping halfway through to try the other dish. The crabcakes could have done with some chilli or something - a bit bland for my taste. And the lobster bisque was unfortunately nothing special.

Then on to the main course - both of us had the Petit Filet (8oz), and shared Lyonnaise Potatoes and creamed spinach (wait for the comments). Very good - the steaks come out on a sizzling while plate - the plates are so hot that the steaks continue to cook in the butter on which they are served.

Finally the cheesecake for desert - the deserts are so big that you need to share one between two. And it is not often that I am forced to say that. The cheesecakes are about 6 inches diameter, and about 2 inches high. Packed full of fatty, sugary goodness. Oh well, back to the gym we go.

Holidays

Well, we seem to have settled on some dates for a trip back. We will be flying from Tokyo on Friday 12th, arriving on Saturday 13th, probably grumpy and tired. So don't try talking to me until later on when I have slept.

We will return on September 22nd, having to be at the airport early (8:30 departure). So we will probably be grumpy that morning as well.

Warn the sproglets!

Rain

Well, strangely the temperature has dropped - far, and suddenly. Since Friday the temperature has been almost 10 degrees lower than previously - so down around 25 degrees.

We headed out to Costco yesterday morning. Sonia's theory was that by getting out early we would be able to avoid the busy times. Leaving home around 9:30, we got there to find that it was as packed as normal. Oh well. We did the usual - 2kg packs of chicken breasts (very cheap because people do not like the bland breast meat), bags of dried cranberries, and so on. We also arranged a new pair of glasses for me. A couple of weeks ago we got some for Sonia. Mine should be ready in a week or two.

Saturday was rainy pretty much all day and through the night. The cloud has been very low, bordering on misty, and as a result you cannot see far across the city. Normally you get a great view.

Not much to say, but still

Amazing thunderstorm tonight.

And a big earthquake the day before yesterday.

What else? Cannot think of anything...

Yoyogi Koen

Koen is the Japanese word for Park (こえん), and today we went to Yoyogi Koen to take a look at the B-boy festival. On the way, we paused to look at the bands and the Elvis impersonators.

The bands set themselves up along the footpath just outside the park boundary. Because the park rules prohibit loud noises inside the park itself. No matter that they are so loud that you still hear them inside the park - they are following the rules by being outside.

The first band we came across was a rock (?) band with a huge bunch of female groupies. Click here to watch the video from YouTube (taken on my digital camera, so apologies for the quality):



The groupies were particularly amusing, dressed up in all sorts of things. I liked the girl dressed entirely in white on the right side of the screen, and the opposite in black on the left.

What made it more entertaining was when the two policemen on their bicycles wandered through the middle of the performance, and no-one batted an eyelid. They were followed by an older lady on her bike:



Ok, and for photos of the Elvis guys. They are not really trying to copy Elvis so much as some of his style (?!):




Elvis needs a car - preferrably a pink Cadillac


And just because we saw it, here is a picture of a dog pram, complete with two fluffy-looking animals.


There were bands of different styles, and there appeared to be a hierarchy in terms of location. The better ones were closer to the entrance of the park, with quality dropping as you carry on down the footpath. These guys were very close to the entrance, and were not bad.



They called themselves:

A new week

Well, it's now Wednesday. Actually the end of Wednesday.

It's still hot. And overcast.

This is Obon (I think that is the correct spelling), which means that many people are away on holiday. Work is therefore quiet - unusually so. Next week will probably be the same.

However I am currently driving a project to find a new Claims Management System for the company, so my team is actually busier than everyone else. Oh well, how sad. About time that someone actually gets something done. Maybe we can achieve something useful while the rest of the company is on holiday.

Sometimes working here has it's frustrations. More on this later...

The weekend

Well the weekend came and went, accompanied by theme song. The theme song was a troupe of protest vans/buses/trucks going up and down the road. I have no idea what they were blaring out of the speakers as they drove (slowly) past. Whatever it was, it was objectionable. I don't actually even care. They were plain obnoxious.

Sonia has arrived...

And according to the sign at the airport, the temperature was 27.8 at 7:10 this morning. You can probably guess that it is now getting to the point that you need a good reason to bother going outside.

Having said that, we are about to head out to get something to eat for lunch (probably noodles to slurp) and then to the supermarket.

Later we need to get to the gym.

Fun...

What to say?

Yesterday was the wedding anniversary - which both of us failed to remember. Well, my excuse is that I remembered and Sonia forgot....

It has gotten incredibly hot in Tokyo now. Temperatures have made it to 34 degrees today, and the forecast for tomorrow is the same. The problem is that there is sufficient humidity to make it intensely uncomfortable, without being quite as problematic as HK or Malaysia. In HK and Malaysia the culture adapts by turning the air-conditioning up a notch, and as a result the interior of the buildings is actually quite comfortable. Here, everyone grabs a fan, umbrella, and sweats (or perspires if you are a girl).

Fireworks are the big thing at the moment. This is the season for festivals, which are usually accompanied by a large number of fireworks being let off. People crowd into the parks to watch, although some smart people look for more comfortable (air-conditioned and less crowded) alternatives. For example, I was asked by a couple of people at work if it was possible to see a particular park from the apartment windows. The suggestion was that they would come over tonight for pizza to watch the fireworks. However, the apartment faces the wrong way so they departed with downcast faces to look for alternatives. :-)

Another Monday, Another Flight to Bangkok

Oh dear, he is back to giving you lengthy restaurant reviews. Suffice to say dinner was delicious and I am sure we will be back.

It's been a scorching weekend in Tokyo, and I am almost looking forward to returning to not-quite-so-hot Bangkok later today. I think if you looked at the weather forecast the two cities probably have very similar temperatures at the moment, but Tokyo really feels a lot hotter. It might just be that I spend a lot more time outside here. I have had a nasty cold all week that is just starting to clear up - I don't think the constant moving from air con to the outside world is really very good for me.

Our weekend was pretty standard with a 6.15 arrival at Narita airport, and home to the apartment by 8.45. Andrew had been out late the night before and so was not in the mood to be woken up. I managed to grab another couple of hours sleep before he decided that enough was enough and we needed to face the day. One thing about living without a car is that everything we do takes takes so much longer than it would normally. We needed to get across to Costco to pick up my new glasses (even though I only ever wear them at home, we figured that seeing my existing ones date to prior our marriage in 1994 it was about time!). I reckon it would probably take 15 minutes to drive to the closest Costco from the apartment. With taking the Subway, Bus and Taxi combination it is about a three hour round trip. Does mean we don't ever buy too much - we have to carry it and that is no fun!

Sunday night we caught up with a collegue and friend from Hong Kong who has recently moved to Tokyo. I like his wife's style... she is happy to move country when necessary for his job, but the rules go like this... Moves only ever happen over the summer. She leaves the house and heads with the kids to the US for six weeks. While she is gone he is responsible for arranging for the packers to pack the house and ship it to the next location. He then unpacks and has the house looking like it should before she gets back. Perfect. I am going to need to learn a lesson or two I think!

I worked out yesterday that we have 14 weeks left in Tokyo (assuming always that the next job does not end up being here). Time really has flown by - the end of this week will mark Andrew's one year anniversary. It has been interesting, but in all honesty, kind of weird too. The Japanese culture is really so unlike anything else we have encountered in Asia. It is formal at times when you would expect informality, but slurping your noodles is completely acceptable. The people are intelligent, but slow to embrace new ideas or ways of doing things. Life is lived by rules, and there is no stepping outside of the rules. Even minor repair works on the footpath require that barriers are put up to ensure that no-one slips into the rough area, a rubber path is laid to show you where to walk, and at least two men with lit up oranage sticks point you the way and bow to you as you obediently follow their instructions on how to safely walk past. Just think how much could be saved if they just stuck with the barrier and a 'take care' sign. Shopping is the national pasttime, and huge amounts of money are spent on designer gear - a Gucci belt on your Armani suit is a sure sign that you have made it. But bizzarely for a nation that appears very with it,　of all the money saved (and the Japanese have one of the highest saving rates in the world) over 50% of it is either under the mattress or in bank accounts that earn no interest. It really is the most 'foreign' of all the places we have lived.

Not sure any more which week I will be travelling down to Melbourne for work - might be the 25th August rather than the 18th. I have learnt that planning just one week at a time is the way to go! We still hoping to be back in NZ for week mid to late September. No tickets booked yet but maybe soon.

Better get started on my Monday morning. Andrew left early for his Japanese class. He used all the milk before he left... guess it will have to be a bagel for breakfast.

Sonia

To Kyla...

Why have you not put anything onto your blog for a long time? Are you still alive?

Caprice

So to the menu from dinner at Caprice.....

I started with the warm Duck Foie Gras appetizer - at least that was after the two teasers. The first was a small piece of salmon with pesto on a spoon. Just a nice mouthful to kick-start the tastebuds. Then a smoking bowl (the cone-shaped plate was sitting atop a bowl of dry ice) with jellied beef and vegetable topped with horseradish foam. Not bad, although Sonia was not keen on the jelly...

Sonia started with a trio of scrambled eggs with truffle. Three eggcups, filled with nicely done scrambled eggs, each topped with a small slice of black truffle...

Not a bad start to the meal.

Then Veal fillet for Sonia, and Veal for me (Sonia's was most expensive!). What I should point out is that mine was Veal Sweetbreads. Nice - and I hope you are all impressed with how adventurous I have become.

Then to desert. The cheese that we say going out looked good, so we settled on cheese (each) and a shared Black Forest something or other. Cheese turned out to be a selection from about 12 different cheeses on a trolley. Each cheese was a significant chunk sliced off the whole cheese sitting on the trolley. Predictably Sonia went for mostly blues, while I aimed for the camembert/brie and goats cheeses.

And.... full.

HK

Hong Kong was good - I start writing this sitting at the airport (first-class Cathay Pacific lounge).

Important things first.

We went to Caprice on Saturday night - in theory a belated birthday celebration. Caprice is the French restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel. Very nice - nice atmosphere if you are prepared to discount the tipsy/drunk Japanese guy at the table next to us when we arrived. Still, they were just finishing and left after about 20 minutes. The other members of his party (businessmen) were fine, so I guess he must have had one glass of wine too many?

Dinner was very good - a good menu (not too much, not too little), great presentation, excellent taste. I kept the receipt with the dishes on, and will post later.

Continued from home...

The earthquake last night was enough to wake me up - 12:30 in the morning. I found this website which reports the earthquakes around Japan.

Pots and Kettles

I (Andrew) just want to point out that it was Sonia that picked a selection of restaurants for Saturday night, and put them in front of me for a decision. None of them was less than expensive. So blaming it on my birthday and my expensive tastes (which I am not trying to deny) is a little unfair.

My Turn

Figured it must be my turn - Andrew has been providing you with restaurant reviews for far too long!

Today is a public holiday in Thailand, and so the office is closed. I've been hanging out working in the Exec lounge at the Conrad all day - they have mangaged to feed me complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner today. It pays to be in the right place at the right time. I'm currently enjoying the evening cocktails with 15- 20 hot and cold snacks. Plenty for dinner! They even have a georgous bitter chocolate mousse with sour berries - yumm.

My project in Thailand is going ok, but is suffering a bit from very slow testing by the users. The go-live date is looking at the moment like it will be towards the end of the year, with October being mentioned by all the big wigs. We shall see - they will really have to get moving if they want to achieve that date.

The constant travel is getting to be a bit of a drain - more from a feeling settled point of view than a physical exhaustion viewpoint I routinely travel to BKK on Monday afternoons, and then get back into Tokyo very early Saturday morning. Thank goodness for Business Class - I sleep very nicely and cannot really complain. Japan Airlines (JAL) is nothing to write home about - they serve exactly the same meal on every one of my flights, and it changes every three months, but they do provide the best timetable :-). Japan's ridiculous need to fill up most of a page in my passport with a sticker everytime I enter the country is a bit of a pain - the new passport I got in July last year now has less the 8 pages left (it started with 48). Time to get a new one I guess. One great discovery I have made is a thing called an APEC card. Basically it is for frequent travellers, and you get pre-approved for entry into different Asia/Pacific countries. You can then use the Diplomatic or Crew immigration lines. Saves me hours of queuing!

I tried working out of Japan one week not so long ago but just about went insane. The apartment was too quiet and there was no one interrupting me every five minutes. I have decided that working from home would never be my forte - I thrive on the stream of people wanting things from me. The cleaner who wanted to know if she could vacuum now just did not cut it... Once we see what happens with Andrew's job in October a decision will have to be made - I don't think I really want to be away from home most weekdays for too much longer. Please pray for us as we head towards October. Andrew's secondment to Japan is scheduled to end then, and we really do not know what is next. We have been looking at going back to the UK, returning to HK or trying to find something else in Japan, but really do not know what is the right thing to be doing, and where God would have us be next. The current global financial crunch does not make it a great time to be looking for opportunities in the Financial Service Industry, and the recruitment agents really do not seem to have a lot going on.

Holiday plans are also on our minds at the moment, and we are hoping to find a week or so that works for both of us to return to NZ in September. Andrew's contract includes one set of tickets home and it would be a shame not to use them! It is looking like maybe 15th September, but my advice is don't count on it until you see us :-). We would also really like to get up to see Evan and Kirsten in Edmonton in Feb/Mar when we head to the states for Paul's wedding. I am planning, Andrew is procrastinating.... Story of my life when it comes to holidays :-).

Nothing much else of interest happening. It looks like I'll end up in Melbourne rather than Bangkok for the week of the 18th August, but none of you are there so I don't guess you care. I had a great visit with one of my collegues from Melbourne here in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago. Penny was working with us in KL when we were there, and went to the same church that we went to. It was really good to catch up with her again. I miss some of the friends from the church and particularly the home group from KL.

Like Andrew said in his last update, we are off to Hong Kong for the weekend which we are looking forward to. Trying out a cheaper hotel option this time - hopefully it will not be too much of a dump - staying at the Conrad kind of spoils you for budget accomodation :-). We will head off to our old church on Sunday - they have moved to a permanent building since we left, so it will be good to see where they are now. Andrew also has interviews with a couple of different people at one of the other insurance companies in HK - please pray that these will go well. Other than that, I am sure there will be another restaurant review as we head out on Saturday night for Andrew's delayed birthday dinner. His theory is that with a cheaper accomodation for the weekend he can use the saved money on an exceptional dinner. We shall see.... Other plans for the weekend include a return to my more excellent nail lady, and some more highlights in my hair - some things just are not the same in Bangkok or Tokyo!

Till next time....

Sonia

Heat

It looks like we have now moved past the rainy season. Today was hot - up to 32 degrees according to the forecast. While we were out for lunch it did feel hotter at times. Particularly as we walked home, which triggered the need for an ice-cream from the 7-11 in the building.

Lunch was at Union Square, an American brasserie in the Tokyo Midtown complex. Not bad, although not cheap. We did sit outside on the terrace and enjoyed the view over the park and the people walking by.

Of course the ice-cream did then necessitate a proper workout at the gym - what goes in must be worked off.

Back to the weather - the forecast does mention rain around midnight tonight, before going back to being fine for most of the week. Temperatures up to around 29 degrees most days this week. Ouch.

Next weekend we will be in HK - flying down Friday night and back on Tuesday. Monday is a holiday in Tokyo (not sure of the reason), so a good chance to get away for a short break.

Always be sure of your point

I thought last night (after writing about the new PC) that I needed to be prepared with the receipts when going back to the Apple shop to sort out the memory. Just as well I checked. Despite asking them to put 8 GB in the machine, they only put 6 GB. And I only paid for 6 GB. So in the end I decided to stick with it and see how things go. If it performs ok with 6 GB then we'll have avoided spending the additional money. And I can always upgrade if it ever gets too slow. Right now it does not seem to be in any particular danger of this speed a problem, but to be fair I have mostly just been downloading the software and getting things installed. Over the coming days I will start to do some development and then we shall see. Loading up the web/application server software, the development tools, the database server, and the browser (for testing) will put some load on, and that will really be the acid test.

Macs

Not "Big Macs", and not referring to Dad either...

Today is a milestone in this blog. This is the first entry that has been created on a Mac instead of a PC. Yesterday we set off to Ginza to find the Apple store. A very nice building, shaped a little like a Mac computer. We left after half an hour or so with a receipt for a PowerMac. After a walk around (while they fitted the extra memory), we got back, collected the enormous box, and went home (in a taxi).

For anyone who is really interested, the specifications are:
2 x Xeon 4-way 2.8GHz CPUs
8GB Ram
320GB Hard-disk
Dual video card

Actually I have just noticed that although we paid for the 8GB memory, the system actually thinks it has 6GB. Tomorrow I will have to go back to the shop to find out what's going on.

Then today we needed to get a monitor to go with it. I had resisted buying the Apple Cinema display. While it's very nice, it's also extremely expensive compared to other brands. We went out to Akihabara - where the guy went mad a few weeks back and stabbed a number of people at an intersection. I am sitting in front of a 26inch wide-screen Samsung monitor. Actually the desk is a little too small - I end up sitting closer to the monitor than is strictly comfortable.

The next task will be to learn how to use the Mac - everything is just that little bit different to a Windows PC. Should be interesting.

News

Well, not that much to say right now. Have just booked a flight to HK, planning to be there over the weekend of 19th July. The Monday is a holiday in Tokyo, so I will catch the Friday afternoon flight down and then back on the Tuesday. That gets a long weekend with one extra day of holidays. Not that the annual leave balance is a problem - I have a few days outstanding.

Went and got a haircut this evening after work. The nice girl doing the chopping took the opportunity to practice her English, which at the same time challenged my Japanese capability. We established that Japan has lots more history than New Zealand, but that NZ is a really good place to go snowboarding (one of her customers is heading that way soon). Also that my hair is very nice (I don't understand why), even if it's gray.

Now sitting down in front of the TV (some useless movie is showing) and eating a bowl of instant noodles. Not the Maggi noodles of olden days. Instant noodles here can come in a big bowl, with about 5 different sachets of ingredients to mix in. Since I have no idea of what they are (one is an anemic white paste, two others are sauces of some kind), I generally empty them into the bowl, poor hot water over the top, and hope. These ones seem to have come up ok.

Spring

Well, in view of needing to write more frequent updates, I tried to keep my eyes open today. Turns out that spring has well and truly arrived - there are plants and greenness everywhere!

Walking back tonight I noticed that the plants have been let grow for a little bit too long - time for the caretakers to get out and about with their choppers and do some weeding and tidying up!

Updates

Well, after getting Dad's email today pointing out that the blog needs updating and broadening past food, I figure that I should write something. At the same time I realise that it's been a couple of weeks since the last entry.

Well, what has happened? Sonia was here for the weekend, but left today to go back to Bangkok.

This weekend we decided that we'd had enough of sitting working at the computers (our home laptop, Sonia's work laptop, and my work laptop) at a desk the size of a postage stamp. The answer (or course) is to buy a wireless router. Which we did at a place called Bic Camera. It's essentially a department store, but focused mostly on electronics.

So off we go to Bic Camera in Ginza (posh area in central Tokyo). Easy enough to find the wireless routers, but a bit more difficult to figure out which one is a good balance between the cost and the features. Given that we have one in storage in HK, we were not in the market for a good one. Rather, just something that will do the basics until we get the shipment sent up to Tokyo. Eventually we selected a box that had a good picture on the outside, and some logos that looked like they meant the router would do what we want.

After getting it home, I unpacked it and started setting it up. Problem is, the software is all in Japanese. I tried looking at the appropriate website to download a software update in English, which I found. However, the version available in English was older than the Japanese version on the router. In the end I decided to make do, and after some mucking around I managed to get the appropriate settings made.

So I write this from the coffee table, where the laptop sits comfortably. TV is showing the movie "The Transporter" except here it has the French name "Le Transporteur". Not sure why, but that's what they call it.

I have just got back from the gym, after doing 30 minutes on the bike. These days I'm up to resistance level 12, and doing the time at about 90rpm. That turns out to be about 11.3km, burning somewhere around 470 calories. At least that's what the bike readout says.... Doing that between 4 and 5 times a week, with weights 2 or 3 times.

Daryl: time to get a move on - you are falling behind!

That's all for tonight. More later.

California Grill

Just a short update this time.

Tonight was dinner with the CEO (his wife and kids just left for a holiday in Thailand). We went to a place that I'd previously been to with a friend. Called California Grill Yoshi (not sure why to Yoshi on the end) in Azabu-juban. This is about a 15 minute walk from the apartment, and serves fairly standard fusion food.

However it's definitely worth a visit because it's very good quality, and at a reasonable price. The set dinner (big range of appetisers and main dishes) is ￥3900 per person for three courses. Dessert is pretty small - a sliver of cheesecake with a dollop of coffee icrecream, but it's still great food.

The restaurant is typically small - four tables plus two seats at a counter. Tucked away upstairs, and easy to miss from the street. In fact, I had not been able to find it again after the first time I went there the first time with David.


Anyway, I had soft-shell crab entree (masala sauce), and then the foie gras burger. A huge heart-attack-inducing slab of foie gras on top of a medium-rare burger. A little mashed potato on the side (which is not really needed given the pile of carbs that make up the burger). Definitely recommended.

Bikes

Well I heard today that Evan (of M&M fame) now has a Honda Gold Wing! I am officially green with envy. Well not so much green as slightly off-white. The racier bikes are more my thing, but still....

Spring continues to play havoc with the weather here, rainy-sunny from one day to the next. I did manage to get sunburnt arms on Sunday, sitting at Starbucks with the paper for a couple of hours. At the time I did not think it was that bright (which might be attributable to the sunglasses). However by the time I was on the treadmill at the gym last night, I could see the warmth rising. Ended up spending 45 minutes on the treadmill while watching the final of American Idol. I think I mentioned we are a few weeks behind?

Food & cooking

Well, as Sharon so kindly points out, my blog entries are by no means as informative (or picturesque) as Paul's.

We found a Japanese cookbook on the weekend - an English book by an English author who describes how to make Japanese food. It seems to be authentic - when I described making Soba dipping sauce from scratch, my colleagues 'oohed' and 'aahed' in amazement. Most of them (it turns out) buy instant dashi powder, which when mixed with water turns into the same sort of sauce that I cooked up.

Funnily enough, the jar that I put the sauce into to keep (glass jar with a metal lid) could not be opened last night when Sonia and I had soba for dinner. In the end after much struggling, I made two holes in the lid with a pair of scissors. Now I need a new jar for the next time I cook the sauce...

For anyone who's interested, the recipe goes something like:
100ml soy sauce
100ml mirin (go to a Japanese grocery store)
400ml water

Boil the mirin for a couple of minutes to cook out the alcohol.

Bring the soy and water to the boil, then turn down, add the mirin, and then add 75g of dried bonito flakes. Simmer for about 2 minutes, then leave to sit for 10 minutes. Then strain, and leave the liquid to cool - put in the fridge.

The make the soba (boil 100g per person) and wash thoroughly in cold water (the noodles need to be cold by the time you finish). Then serve with the sauce in a separate small bowl. Sprinkle chopped nori (seaweed, about 1 inch long) on top of the noodles.

Yummy. And much nicer than asparagus soup.

Update

Well, what to say?

As I said the other day, it's become very changeable here in Tokyo. While Sonia enjoys the usual hot weather in Bangkok, Japan has moved into the rainy season. Almost every day this week it has rained part of the day, and it's raining even now as I write. This will apparently continue through into the start of July.

Sonia is flying back to Tokyo overnight tonight. We don't have anything really planned for the weekend, so it will probably be another quiet one.

TV is the usual boring stuff - it seems to run somewhere between 4 weeks up to one whole season behind everywhere else. Although American Idol has finished everywhere else in the world and people are celebrating David Cook, here it's finishing this week (tonight I think).

The Day of the Jackal is on at the moment - the original version. Much better than Bruce Willis' version in 1997. Strange how the remakes are often not as good as the classics.

What else? Well I cooked cold Soba noodles tonight, with authentic dipping sauce. A bit of a rigmarole, as you have to cook the sauce, cool it, and then cook and cool the noodles. I now have a jar of sauce in the fridge for next time. I am not sure how long it will keep, but as it is primarily soy sauce, mirin, and water it will probably be ok for a week or so.

A quick note

Just rushing to check email and then get off to work - through the rain again.

Weekend before last I got the chance to ride a BMW K1200S - very nice bike. A bit bigger than I am used to, but amazing amounts of smooth power.

Then last weekend we went to Costco - highlight of the weekend.

As you can see there is not much happening at this end of the Pacific....