Paradise Found

After 24 hours of traveling, we made it to Koh Tao, Thailand from Tokyo, Japan. It took a mind whirling trip to get here, including a subway train, express train, two plane flights, an overnight train, a boat ride, and finally a quick ride across the island in the back of a pickup truck. But we made it, and it was sooo worth it. Koh Tao is the summation of everything you dream of in a tropical island paradise. Clear turquoise water, palm trees, plenty of fresh fruit and delicious local dishes, good snorkeling at every turn, over 30 scuba dive sites, and private bungalows for dirt cheap. Ahhhh, we may never leave. Today is our fourth day on the island which we spent mostly in the shade relaxing and reading books. We are fairly sunburned and wore out after snorkeling and kayaking for the last two days. Our kayaking adventure yesterday took most of the day and we covered nearly 8 km to visit two different snorkeling spots.

Life here is very slow and stress free. You can spend an entire day eating great food and lounging underneath palm trees. And everything is really cheap, even more so after spending three weeks in Japan. In Thailand, you can eat a meal of thai noodles or curry and rice for under $2. Beers are a buck, and a week in a bungalow directly on the beach is $70 (and thats not the cheapest place in town either). Enjoy the pictures we have posted below, we will post again soon if we can peel ourselves away from the natural beauty that surrounds us.

This is the sunset as seen from the porch of our bungalow, seriously!

One of two private beaches at our resort

Our home for at least the next week.

Relaxing on the porch, a little slice of heaven.

Chalok Baan Kao Lagoon as seen from our bungalow.

Eating lunch on our snorkel/kayak trip.

We saw parrot fish, angel fish, clown fish, huge blue clams, and lots of brightly colored corals at this snorkeling stop.

Our friend, "Geico", the 8 inch long red and grey gecko who lives in our bathroom.

Our bathroom, sort of a trade off for the paradise outside =)...the sink drains straight onto the floor and you use a bucket to flush the toilet.

Kinugawa and Kyoto

We have spent the last week taking 2 trips outside of Tokyo, the first was north to Kinugawa and then south to the former capital, Kyoto. Kinugawa is a town with snowy mountains, rivers, ravines and an awesome hot springs which is piped into several of the hotels in the town. We stayed in a traditional Japanese hotel with tatami floors and a tea room. During the day we visited a famous temple complex in Nikko that paid homage to samurai warriors and was decorated with intricate carvings and statues. We spent the evening dining on delicious Japanese cuisine much of which we had never tasted or heard of before. After our healthy dinner we headed to the onsen (hot springs spa) and soaked our bodies in mineral rich water at temperatures over 100 degrees. Before leaving we hiked down a large river gorge to a waterfall with a small shrine.

Here we are in our Kimonos before heading to the onsen.

Our second trip was a 2 day excursion which began on an overnight bus from Tokyo to Kyoto. We arrived exhausted but ready for sightseeing at 6:00 am but had to hang out in the subway station for a few hours until our destinations opened for the day. We then walked 3 miles from Kyoto Station to Kiyomizu-dera temple which was a mutual favorite. This temple is known for its kiyo-mizu "clear water" waterfall which legend says can cure any illness when drank however neither Josh nor I indulged since we have no trouble or worries. The second day we visited Ginkaku-ji (Silver Temple), Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple) and the Imperial Park which used to be the residence of the emperor and nobles of the court. The Silver Temple was a bit disappointing since it was under renovation and its iconic pond was drained and full of mud, on the other hand the Golden temple was very impressive. All in all we feel Kyoto is a must see for anyone traveling to Japan.

On the steps in front of Kiyomizu-dera.

Ginkaku-ji with its Zen garden of raked sand.

Kinkaku-ji viewed across the reflecting pond.

Photos from Tokyo

Here are several photos from our first week in Japan...

A statue guarding a small temple complex near Donald`s house.

Walking around in a Rikugein Park.

The face of a giant buddha statue that was destroyed during an earthquake.

A delicious sushi platter we had for dinner.

Some of the first blossoms of the year.

Coy in a shallow pond in Rikugein Park.

Donald and Kozue on our trip to China Town in Yokohama.

One of the many funny things you will see in the supermarket.

A lobster christmas tree

Downtown Yokohama

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Tokyo Japan

So the journey has finally begun. After months of planning and waiting, we boarded a Singapore Airlines 747 from LAX to Tokyo. The flight was awesome, and the service was the best we have ever had. We caught a train from the airport into Tokyo, where we met up with Erika`s older brother Donald. Donald and his wife Kozue live in the middle of Tokyo in a tiny apartment, which is par for the course here. So far we have been here for a day and a half and already we love Tokyo. The city is massive and its easy to get turned around and confused. Fortunately we have locals to show us around. There is so much going on here its pretty overwhelming. So far we have gone out for sushi, played arcade games in a giant entertainment complex, walked around Ikebukuro station (the second largest subway station in Japan), and saw some local Japanese chick bands play at bar in Roppongi. The Plinky Piglets and Bo Peep were fun to watch and we all had a good time dancing and drinking Tokyo Ale. Right now its Saturday morning and we are laying around the apartment watching movies. Looking forward to the next few weeks, we`ll keep everyone updated on all of our exploits.

Below are a few photos we want to share:

We saved all our packing for the last minute and it was a mess.

Tokyo is always under construction....
This drumming video game was awesome, after we figured out how to play, all the instructions were in Japanese of course.
Donald and Josh in front of one entrance to Ikebukuro Station.

The bathroom isnt quite designed for people that are six feet tall. My head touches the ceiling if I stand up straight.

There is still some snow left over from a storm that hit Tokyo three days before we got here.