Japan and beaches of Southern Thailand

Hotels to remember:
near CTS: Hotel Wing International Chitose - uses hotel shuttle bus at specific times
Tokyo: Hotel Horidome Villa horidomevilla.jp functional and great price
Phuket: great hotel in central location, great pool but not such a great destination Baan Suwantawe
Koh Lanta: Soontreeya Lanta: great hotel, great price, nice garden and pool, just off the beach
Nautilus Resort: next door on the beach, good bec. beach but no hot water, run by a nice Swedish couple
Krabie: Baan Andaman Hotel: great little hotel 15 minute walk from centre
Railay: Best hotel at top of hill - Phurit Valley? changed name
Bangkok airport: Silver Gold Garden worked well with shuttle and market nearby

Feb. 29-March 21 - 7 Days in Hokkaido, 2 nights in Tokyo, 10 nights in Thailand including, Phuket, Koh Lanta, Krabi and Railay.

We spent a week with Andrew and Yui seeing how life in Niseko works for them. We enjoyed spending time with them. Some of the highlights included Yui making sushi and sashimi, making and eating hot pot with Yui for the staff, and backcountry skiing with Andrew for an afternoon - seeing where the hills are in relation to Niseko (quite close but around lots of corners and past lots of onsens)(I liked the way the heel lifts on the ski bindings and comes down to 3 different heights - technology seems to always be improving). It was fun walking up the mountain, skiing down and seeing an onsen in the middle of nowhere! An afternoon that I treasure. Clive and I each tried snowmobiling - I definitely prefer skiing to snowmobiling but it was fun to zoom around the fields and through the trees (though I am somewhat nervous to go too fast after discovering the lack of balance quads can have in the sand a couple of years ago). A real highlight was having dinner with Yui's parents and brother one evening. It was wonderful and relaxing. There is a language barrier but I did not seem to notice it this time - mind you the kids translate and you can say a lot without necessarily being understood. It was such an opportunity to spend an evening in their home. Yui's Mom made special things and served them so beautifully. Sashimi, sushi, vegetables, special sweet pork, Clear soup with clams. The beauty is in the cutting and arrangement of everything on the plates. As the guests of honor Clive and I were served a plates individually while the others took from a common plate. Norrie, Yui's Dad made green tea in the traditional way - a treat for us to see. A real highlight, as well, was to walk down the street to the local bath (not onsen but another term for water that is not naturally a spring). It was wonderful - the best - with warm and hot pools, an outdoor medicinal pool in natural surroundings and then the electrical portion of one of the indoor pools. I had someone to follow doing the washing and shampooing that happens on a stool before going into the pools. We are grateful for our experience with Yui and Andrew.

We had a taste of Tokyo. We figured out the massive subway system - I love the description of it being like a bowl of ramen noodles that can be sorted out. There is information everywhere as to what train goes where. Works a treat. We saw the busy intersections, the glitzy stores, the fashions, the tons of people and got a bit of a feel for the city. We went the wrong direction out of the subway to our hotel and some gentleman walked us several blocks (back toward the subway station) and then a few more blocks to deliver us to our hotel. We love the helpful people, the smiles, the way they help you read a map or find your way.
We spoke with an 87 year old guy who could speak English at a Shinto-Buddhist temple on the oldest street in Tokyo and he told us the story of a beautiful woman who had been there (gave us a picture and sent us on our way. In one of the shopping areas, I spoke with someone who was part of a group carrying placards in front of the make-up company Sheishodo. They were protesting the loss of jobs for a lot of the women. The company says that they need to cut down the saleswomen because it is too expensive - but they want the work. This person went on to say that unemployment for women in Japan runs around 50% so alternative employment is very difficult to find - and pay is often quite low. ....I understand and feel for them but everywhere in Japan you see a lot of workers where here we would have way less. There seem to be a lot of nonjobs - or jobs where you stand and wait - sales, construction traffic sign holders and so on.

Thailand: We flew to the Phuket area to see some beaches that we have not been to before. Phuket is pretty much a town and the beaches nearby are full of high rises, beach chairs and umbrellas. Not our scene. We had a wonderful hotel there (and everywhere as well) so that was good. We put together a plan and decided to take the boat to Koh Lanta. We found great accommodation on the net that worked well. The accommodation is spread out along the length of the island so it was good that we had made arrangements as one can not just trundle up and down. There are lots of good beaches and restaurants - though we did not find the bakeries this time. We rented a scooter one day (because it is fairly flat!) and saw the island and checked a few more beaches and the old town. This island has 2 Swedish schools and loads of Swedes staying here often for a month at a time. Lots of parents on maternity leave so the whole family gets to come!...in fact Moms can give Dads a month of their leave - what a deal! As usual, I had some massages on the beach and in the town.
Then on to Krabi which is really a jumping off point for other islands and adventures. We managed a night at Railay and saw what is called the world's most beautiful beach - good and lots of nice rock and so on - but I have seen quite a few nice beaches. Saw approximately some of the area that the climbers spend time on. Apparently there are some 500 pitches with pietons so we didn't see them all!
So it was relaxing and pleasant to visit some of the beaches in southern Thailand. It took the first day or two to get sorted. I, of course, could have enjoyed more time to get to the national parks, etc. but I did enjoy the relaxing time and warmth here.

It was a long trip home with a day near the airport (I had a great time having a massage and a foot massage) and visiting the local night food market. Then we caught the train into San Francisco and managed some time at Fisherman's Wharf and a ride on the old cable car before the last flight home.