Oceania + SE Asia

We're staying in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo. Flew into Narita airport which is 90 minutes by train to the Shinjuku Station (the busiest train station in the world).
Our hotel is in the Shinjuku ward. It's pretty roomy for Tokyo with a double bed and a desk.

Shinjuku's Golden Gai area is 200 tiny shanty-style bars, clubs and eateries. Most have just 4 seats. Drinking Japanese cocktails and conversing with your bar mates over hibachi cooked skewers is the pass time here.






Here is a little Yakatori place (six seats) Jan found on her iPhone. Yakitori is a Japanese type of skewered meat cooked over charcoal. The owners spoke no English, so they just served us their delicious fare two at a time until we could eat no more. The other patrons bought us a round of Sake.


Kabuki Cho is an entertainment and red-light district with many restaurants and colorful neon signs.




Took the Tokyo Metro to the Sky Tree (tallest radio tower in the world).







Jan went shopping at the Shinjuku station (largest train station in the world) with dozens of malls and hundreds of restaurants. We had dinner just outside the west gate of Shinjuku station at Omoide Yokocho ( “Memory Lane”)

Hi,
We’ve just arrived in Tokyo and are waiting to take a high-speed train to our hotel. Only 7 more days left of our wonderful trip.
Love,
Jan and Lyle

Rooftop restaurant at the Marriott 48th floor

Best steak ever: El Gaucho Bangkok

Jan's shopping excursion





We visited a small flower market near Chinatown in Bangkok. There were huge baskets and bags of orchids, long strings of marigolds, and small colorful arrangements that are often seen on the elephant statues and as temple offerings around the city.
The cute kitty found a comfy spot to curl up for a nap.

Khao San Road - The book 'The Beach' famously described it as "the center of the backpacking universe" with countless guesthouses, hotels, internet cafes, bars, restaurants, massage parlors, travel agents, bookshops, market stalls, tattoo shops and much, much more. Its unlike anywhere else in Bangkok. Located north of the Grand Palace, the 400 meter long road is a bit difficult to find from the river, but we did eventually stumble upon it.

The Chao Phraya River flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Its river ferries provide access to the various palaces and temples in the old city. The wooden ferries are single row 50 foot long boats. The driver is at the very front and cannot see the boarding area on the back. He relies on the boatman's whistle to guide him: one blast means stop at the pier, two blasts means backup to hold the stern against the pier for 10 seconds so people can jump on and off, a third blast means proceed ahead. There is no passenger limit that we could see and people are mostly jammed onto the stern as the purser yells for people to go below, but "below" is completely full too.




[

Hi,
We arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. Fortunately we are both feeling better today, after several days of “Thai tummy”, and the weather’s lovely. Lyle chose an awesome, modern, and quirky hotel right in the middle of the fun and excitement. The pool is not only on the rooftop, but it’s also glass-bottom! The wavy white rectangle is a van on the street 9 stories below us. The sunset was phenomenal. We’re winding down to the end of our trip and are looking forward the most to cooking our own food again.
Our love to all,
Jan and Lyle

Here is a sample of places we saw in Bangkok.

Looking down onto Sukhumvit Road from the BTS Sky Train

Each floor of this mall is themed by a country or city (San Francisco here)