Day 37: Bazaar Night in Chiang Mai

DID: Early flight out to Chiang Mai via Bangkok. Slept the entire way to Bangkok so can’t say much about Thai Airways other than it’s very colorful (purple and orange color scheme).  Bangkok airport is beautiful and efficient. Transfer to Air Asia was smooth and uneventful. Air Asia basic but totally fine (similar to Easyjet or Jetstar).

Gavin showed off his navigation skills – he can get us to a bathroom or a boarding gate anywhere.

Rhys’ language skills leaping by the day.  Put together a 6-word sentence today “Look at that one over there!” Also can count to 15 in English, 11 in Italian.

Left a key component of the stroller on the airplane (a bar that goes across the front, works like an armrest). Hopefully the airline will locate it and get it back to us, without it Rhys escapes from the chair quite easily.

Got to the hotel, check-in process interrupted by Korean magazine travel writers doing a piece on Chiang Mai, featuring our hotel. Asked us for an interview and some pix of the boys (and even some with us for a change). Hoping they just use photos of GnR – or give a major airbrush to my in-transit-since-4am look.

Quick dip in the pool before the skies opened up. Waited a bit for it to clear up but there was no sign of it stopping. Instead left in search of a night bazaar mentioned by our guidebook, supposedly in a covered building. No taxis available for half an hour, so instead ventured out by tuk tuk. Not the driest mode of transport, especially because all the streets in our area were flooded! It seems one-handed motorcycle driving is a required skill here with all the people driving + holding umbrellas.

Tuk tuk dropped us at an uncovered night market in center of city.  Filled with touristy kind of crap and no food. Asked around for directions to the covered bazaar, found another tuk tuk and we were off. More touristy crap and lots of seafood restaurants. Not the noodles we were after. Found tuk tuk number 3 and asked him to take us to his favorite noodle shop. First one was closed but second one was a hit!

Same driver came back an hour later to bring us back to our hotel. Had a bit of tuk tuk trouble (wouldn’t start) – Jason came to the rescue with a push for the jump start.

After having driven around a bit, can see that there’s quite a bit more catering for Western tourists than the places we’ve been thus far. Up to now we’ve been able to delude ourselves into thinking there weren’t many tourists around because we very rarely saw any other whities. Not the case here, will have to navigate around the fish and chips shops and Mexican cantinas! Loving the neighborhood of our hotel though, lots of nice little boutiques, spas, noodle shops, bars, coffee shops etc. Looks like it might be nightlife central once the rain clears (most everything is set up for outdoor seating).

Called it an early night and picked a movie from the hotel’s extensive collection. I was asleep before the opening credits!!

ATE: Breakfast – croissants in Taipei airport (blah). Jason had airplane breakfast (noodles and chicken) which he said was also blah.

Lunch in Bangkok airport domestic terminal food court. Gavin wanted thai chicken/noodles (pad see ew) while the rest of us went for Popeye’s chicken (haven’t eaten at Popeye’s since the last time we went to Lakenheath Air Force Base in the UK!) Everyone happy except for Gavin…I had to order pad thai because they didn’t have pad see ew and he did not like the substitution. Fortunately there were more than enough chicken tenders and fries to go around.

Dinner – noodle shop along the river in the historic part of Chiang Mai. Gavin was ecstatic with his pad see ew, I couldn’t stop eating my chicken soup (tom kha gai) in spite of the fact that my mouth was on fire, Rhys devoured his chicken fried rice, and Jason polished off his pad kee mao (spicy noodles with chicken) in 30 seconds flat. Total cost of four dishes plus beer and poppy water = $5. We spent more on the tuk tuks!

SLEPT: AT Niman Conceptual Home Boutique Hotel, along Nimmanhemin Road (north of the historic center). Kind of Morocco-meets-Thailand décor, oozing charm through the cracks and crannies. Tall blue glasses of iced tea to welcome us on arrival. Room is spacious, bed is very comfortable, and we have a chair swing on the balcony overlooking the pool. Hope the weather clears up so we can enjoy it!

Day 36: Deja View

DID: Spent the afternoon at the top of Taipei 101 Building. The WHOLE afternoon, in spite of the super fast ride up in the world’s fastest elevator (30 seconds to the 85^th floor). Lots of fun up there, in addition to the Chinese paparazzi who did play their usual part in slowing us down. Not the scary, stomach flipping dizziness of the Bottle-Opener Building in Shanghai - this one has a lot more open space, the windows are not quite floor to ceiling and no glass floor. There was a puppet making workshop, we got to make these little crowns out of paper flower petals. Tons of photo ops naturally, also lots of info for me to read on the building’s LEED certification (sustainability credentials). Is it me or should they get negative points on their certification for having the entire building lit up at night with the words ‘LEED’ and ‘Green On’?!

Then up to the 91^st floor for the outdoor viewing platform. 91 floors apparently not high enough for one kid who was climbing up the barrier around the platform (would you believe it was a security guard and not the parents who finally yelled at him to get down?!)

More to do on the 84^th floor but we didn’t stop as it had already been 3 hours and the pool at Scott’s was beckoning. Spent an hour splashing around and then headed out for dinner and a visit to the night market (see ATE). Had to call it an early night (at midnight!) in anticipation of taxi’s 5am arrival to take us to the airport.

ATE: Breakfast @ Mudon. Jason watched as they made eggs with ‘dashi’ (Japanese fish-based powder), steamed dumpling bread, and fermented bean paste (Taiwanese vegemite?) Potato-guava salad on the side. The boys got vanilla cake.

Lunch @ Taipei 101 food court. Another tall building, another meal at Din Tai Fung for me! Soup dumplings had the same flavor but not the same delicate texture as the Shanghai restaurant. Fried rice was good. Boys had a special meal – happy meals from McD’s. Jason had a chicken noodle soup and prawn tempura.

Dinner @ Taiwan Beer Brewery. Hofbrau Haus Taiwan style, complete with great bbq sausages and people dancing on wooden tables. Birthday group at the table next to us was there to p-a-r-t-y. Rhys was stage diving, Gavin was singing to Black Eyed Peas covers.

Post-dinner @ Raohe St night market. Jason (and Scott) finally had stinky tofu. It is so rancid, I don’t know how they managed it. They said it was good with the addition of chili sauce, but not so good that they would seek it out again. We were so ripe after the experience that we ALL had to take showers back at the hotel.

Day 35: Sipping on Tea and Whisky

DID: Breakfast cook at the B&B suggested we take the kids to the zoo, another guest at the hotel recommended a cable car ride and visit to tea growers. Quick internet search revealed that zoo was actually at the base of the same cable car for the tea, so just like that we had our day planned with something for everyone.

The Maokong Gondola spans 2.5 km in the mountains, gorgeous ride up. Teahouses are nestled in the cliffs along the side of the mountain and there are at least 50 to visit. Very walkable but better with a vespa or convertible. We walked left out of the cable car and headed towards the Tea Promotion Centre (about at 30 minute walk at a leisurely pace).  The curators were so excited to have us use their disabled lift facilities to get the stroller up and down the stairs – I think it was probably the inaugural use judging from the number of photos they took. Free mugs of really lovely tea (and I generally don’t like tea very much – but this was good!) and a well done small museum display of the tea harvesting and drying process. After we left the Centre, we followed their directions to the teahouse which provides the leaves for their tea and bought a box (it really was that good!)

Skies were threatening and it must have been raining over the cable car line because they shut it down. We started walking downhill for lack of a better plan. There are shuttle vans that go between the cable car stations but none passed us. Eventually a taxi came to the rescue and took us to the base station + zoo – but not before we’d gotten quite a workout!

Arrived at the zoo 15 minutes after last admissions for the day. Fortunately due to the cable car shut-down, lots of people were in the same situation so the admissions people were lenient. We snuck in behind another group of people who argued/cajoled their way in. Actually Rhys kind of ran in with them and they had no choice but to let us go!

Top priority was the giant panda exhibit. Ended up with enough time to get through the Asian rainforest exhibit (monkeys and tigers the highlight), the flamingos, and the petting zoo. The whole zoo is really fantastic, artistically done, lots of fun photo ops, beautiful landscaping, etc. Even Jason enjoyed it, and he’s admittedly not really a ‘zoo person’. Feeling not so bad now that we were unable to see the pandas in either Beijing or Shanghai.

Quick showers back at the hotel, then off to meet up with friends Scott and Joyce. Taxi driver could not understand the address. Ended up asking him to drop us off at a Starbucks in the hopes that they’d have free wifi and we could Skype Scott.  Turned into a comedy of errors, eventually the barista took pity on us and not only let us use the café phone to call Scott, but also spoke to Joyce directly, wrote the address down in Chinese for us AND told the cab driver where to take us. So nice!

Was such a treat to spend an evening with friends, not to mention being able to leave the decisions and the translation to them! Plus they yanked us out of our box of restaurants of foodie fame and took us to one that – in addition to good food – had live entertainment. Rhys in particular had a great night dancing on chairs, playing hide-and-seek behind the curtains and making eyes at the lead singer. GnR even got little gifts from the owner/manager – chopstick and spoon sets in Burberry print.

Rhys, the little chatterbox, is speaking very clearly now. Scott and Joyce could even understand him without trouble and noticed a difference between now and a month ago in Seoul.

ATE: Breakfast @ hotel (we’re in a B&B). Omelet with corn and cheese wrapped in a rice-flour tortilla, roasted guava and pineapple, guava juice. Jason offered to help make breakfast tomorrow, so hopefully he’ll learn to cook something equally yummy!

Lunch @ food stalls at top of cable car. Dumplings, stir-fried noodles, and corndogs for the boys. All good (especially the corndogs!)

Dinner @ China Po. Favorite dish of the night was sliced braised pork and cucumber wrapped in a doughy bread. Also had a steamed cod in soy, fried rice, mountain vegetable stir fry, fried soft shell crab.

Post-dinner drinks @ the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Taipei tasting room (a chapter of the same whisky society Jason belonged to in London). Jason was in heaven! This chapter certainly has a Taiwanese twist – first notable difference was that I wasn’t the only woman in there. Also able to order something other than whisky (I had a mojito). Even differences as far as the whisky goes – they served Scott’s on the rocks without making a face, and Jason’s drink looked more like a quadruple than a single!

SLEPT: No housekeeping service at the Mudon House, that’s a bit of a bummer. Particularly because I forgot to take photos of the room when we arrived so it means the room in posterity is going to look a little more lived in than the rest.

Day 34: Taipei, Asian Dream

DID: Up and out and away to Taipei. This is one place that never in my life did I ever imagine I’d be (and frankly could not identify on a map prior to this trip). With a very healthy percentage of stuff in my house bearing the label ‘made in Taiwan’, wonder how much evidence we’ll see of the industrial machine.

Slight issue at airport security – they nabbed the small bottle of soy sauce from my purse. Guess liquids are a no-no here too.

Arrived late afternoon. From the air the city setting is gorgeous, spreading its fingers through a series of valleys and foothills of deep green mountains. Black sand beaches on the South China Sea within 40 minutes by train.

Taxis are luxurious compared to China – clean, spacious, new, slightly more expensive. Room at B&B not ready, so wandered the neighborhood in search of lunch and a playground. Instead discovered the piece of Asia I’ve been expecting all along - steamy weather, pungent smells (some good, some not), broken sidewalks (if there at all), motorcycles zipping between crazy traffic, lots of face masks and umbrellas. Also a piece I wasn’t expecting – very friendly people who speak English really well. Anytime Jason and I stopped to check the map, someone would inevitably come up to us and ask if we could use some help. Beautiful on the outside as well as in, they seem to have blended the best features of the Japanese (delicate) and Chinese (roundness of the face/eyes).  

As we were walking, a guy on a vespa pulled over and ran up to Jason to ask him how long we were going to be in Taipei. Turns out he was some sort of modeling agent and was interested in representing GnR – gave us his card for the next time we’re in town. Next trip…funded.

Back to the hotel to settle in the room and arm ourselves with a better map. Headed to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial park, because it looked like the largest green space on the map. Had trouble communicating this to the taxi driver, but fortunately he did recognize the Din Tai Fung restaurant (soup dumpling mecca) which was just down the street.  Didn’t eat there but did stop for a few photos in front of the big dumplings. Big queue out the door – wonder if it’s even possible that the original location could be better than Shanghai or Sydney.

Wandered around the park – no playground but loads of room to run around and various curbs and other structures to balance on/jump off of. Was also a nice place to catch the sunset – and a mix of old and new with the traditional buildings on the park and Taipei 101 towering in the background.

A walk around the neighborhood just outside the walls of the park seemed to put us in the wedding dress district. We seem to frequently find ourselves in wedding dress districts no matter where we go. Maybe people like to combine visits to historic sites with shopping for dresses? I don’t know. But I can definitely report that none of the designers in Asia are even remotely trying to emulate Kate Middleton’s style. Nor have I seen any kind of kimono-style gowns. Lots of ruffles, lots of sequins, big full skirts, strapless, and usually some color.

ATE: Breakfast – forgot to put out the breakfast order again, oops. Pastries from nearby bakery not so good (surprising considering we are in the French district!) but vegetable buns from the dumpling shop were excellent. Lunch – tiny crowded soup shop near hotel in Taipei. Soup with dumplings and beef-y rice. All pretty good, if a bit greasy. Dinner – one of two restaurants in the wedding dress district. They were next door to each other, one was filled with the pre-newlyweds and their friends, the other was filled with the moms and aunties. We went with the younger crowd. Menu was completely in Chinese and no pictures. Owner spoke English though and was happy to recommend a few dishes. One was a local specialty called ‘green tea egg’ – egg that is hardboiled in green tea and then stir-fried in a very spicy sauce. Yum. Also an omelet with leek, green onion, shrimp and chicken, fried rice with the same, and chicken noodle soup. All very tasty.

Post-prandial dumplings (or “dumpins” as Rhys says) at small street vendor (looked too good to pass up). Only meant to eat one but managed to stuff in two or three!

SLEPT: Mudon House in the Datong district of Taipei. Very charming B&B in a crazy neighborhood. A paradise of street food, auto mechanics and elementary schools (there are three within a five minute walk). Room is approximately the same size as our bathroom in Shanghai, but it’s really cute and the proprietors could not be nicer. Bed looks like it’s a full size (or maybe even a wide twin) – wonder where Jason is going to sleep?

Day 33: East of Venice

DID: Day trip to Tong Li, one of a string of canal towns outside of Shanghai. Chose this one because we heard it was less tourist-packed than some of the other villages (and with only one bus per day from Shanghai, it was a pretty safe bet this would be true).  1000+ year old town described as the ‘Venice of the East’. East of Venice is probably a more apt description if any comparison is to be made, but an enjoyable place to spend the day nonetheless. Particularly enjoyed rock climbing at the Pearl Tower and trying on traditional Chinese wedding dresses at a little shop along the canal.  Saw lots of docked boats over the course of the day, no one seemed to be offering rides. Eventually the tourist office led us to a ticket booth selling tickets to ride long wooden boats. $10/boat for a half hour tour…sold! Should have passed the cost on to the Chinese paparazzi who swarmed the canal banks to get their snaps of GnR. They also had a field day when we were trying on the costumes. Also saw a bunch of Buddahs here and there around the town – every time Rhys sees one he points and says ‘Funny Man!’

Bus back to Shanghai, taxi driver took us the ‘long’ way back to the hotel ($4 cab fare – outrageous!), incompetent butler and/or taxi driver got us to the wrong address for dinner, 2^nd taxi got us there just after closing. Sat down but abandoned ship at a restaurant down the street, ended up returning to the place we’d gone to the first night that was around the corner from our hotel.  Service was slow, Gavin and I ended up leaving Jason at the table so that I could get one of Shanghai’s notorious foot massages before the spa closed.  Ended up with a manicure/pedicure – both excellent but neither of which included any element of massage other than a small application of lotion after the polish was complete. Spa was really fun though – and super lively even at 10pm. Seating was mostly plush leather love seats with foot rests (reminded me a bit of Silk in San Francisco). The ladies all loved Gavin (of course!), even convinced Gavin to have his thumbs and big toes painted sparkly blue (same as me – he picked the color for both of us.) Jason and Rhys got confused about where to meet us and ended up visiting every spa within a 5-block radius, plus had the hotel making phone calls to try to figure out where we were!! In fact I only meant to have a pedicure but it was nearly finished, Jason hadn’t shown up and I didn’t have any money – so naturally the only thing to do was to have a manicure while we waited. Rhys of course had the ladies wrapped around his finger, especially now that he’s finally gotten the hang of smiling and looking into the camera. Maybe next trip to Asia I’ll fund the vacation by hooking GnR up with an Asian modeling agency for a few weeks. J

On the way back to the hotel, GnR were performing what has become their ‘end of the night’ routine. First they start with singing ‘Oh My Darling Clementine’ while holding their noses (they are imitating a sing-a-ma-jig doll that Megan gave Rhys for Christmas). Next they start saying ‘Hakuna Matata’ in funny accents over and over again between peals of laughter. I don’t know what got them started on that but they crack themselves up!

ATE: Hotel breakfast. Quality slightly improved, thinking maybe the hotel kitchen was affected during the construction, perhaps they only had limited cooking facilities at first but now things are being returned to normal?? Leisurely lunch at restaurant near the main gates into Tong Li.  Roasted pork shin (a local specialty), spicy fried chicken (breading and flavor was really good but pieces had small chunks of bone and other hard-to-manage-bits), and a purple variety of spinach. Dinner, back at TeShiHui for more sweet and sour pork and soup dumplings. Also had a breaded/fried pork cutlet (yum) and the hottest beef soup Jason has ever had. Unfortunately they were out of the green beans so we couldn’t get those again.

Day 32: U-Turn Ahead

DID: Morning was a bit of a disaster. Stuffed up the breakfast order (after deciding to change the time for morning room service, the order card never got hung back up on the doorknob) so we ended up sleeping in later than intended.  Then got hung up at the local cleaners (they tried to charge us too much, hence lengthy negotiations required) so we missed what we thought was the last bus out for our intended day trip to Tong Li (nearby water town). Got back to the hotel and the butler told us there were buses scheduled regularly over the course of the day. Based on his recommendation, we went to the bus station. Turned out there’s only 1 bus/day to the town we wanted to visit, and it leaves at 8.30 am.  Useless butler.

Headed out to lunch, a dim sum place in the middle of a large public park (Hyh Chinese Restaurant in Xu Jia Hui Park). Nice playground and garden to walk around. Had to bribe the boys with lollipops to get them off the play equipment and into a taxi.

Back to the hotel for a bath (for the boys) and afternoon tea (included with our room package). 

Walked around Fuxing Park, just outside our hotel. Gorgeous park with a rose garden, bamboo forest, fish + turtle ponds, etc. Lots of people doing group exercise/tai chi, also a group doing ballroom dancing, most of them looked to be in their 70’s/80’s. Playground not quite as nice as the one near the lunch spot but still good. Gavin was asking to go back before we’d even left.

Made our way back to the Bund area to see Yu Garden but it had just closed when we arrived.  It’s kind of funny that the area is really the only part of Shanghai that resembles Chinatowns around the world, and it’s tourist central.  More Chinese paparazzi but they were kept at bay because Rhys was asleep and Gavin wasn’t giving them his trademark stone face.

Got lost trying to get to get to our next destination, and a ride in a taxi didn’t get us any closer. Changed plans, tried another taxi. Driver had to call an English translator to assist with the communications (it’s a toll-free number, very handy!)- success finally!

After dinner, did a bit more shopping back in the neighborhood of our hotel. Found the Oriental Shopping Centre, which had five floors of kids clothing, shoes, toys, baby equipment, etc. Rhys again charmed all the sales staff, while Gavin tried on and dismissed about 7 pairs of shoes.

ATE: Missed breakfast. Dim sum lunch at HYH Chinese Restaurant. Beautiful restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating. Had some interesting dim sum options. My favorites were the shrimp + pork buns (the bread tasted like they’d put a little bit of coconut milk in the dough), and prawns wrapped in rice paper topped with slivered almonds. Restaurant also offered a wide selection of fresh squeezed juices, and it seemed like there was a pitcher of juice on every table. We were disappointed with our choice of papaya, it was strangely flavorless.

Tea back at the hotel surprisingly good considering the mediocre quality of the breakfasts. 3-tiered tray of savories and sweets, easily enough for all four of us.

Dinner @ Yang’s Fry Dumpling. We had to laugh about this place. It was recommended by both Luxe and by United Airline’s 3-perfect-days article for Shanghai. Once the cabbie dropped us off, we realised it was also the place we tried to find on Sunday but gave up when the address led us to the middle of a construction zone. It must have relocated, luckily our Luxe guide had the correct address. Big queue outside and seating situation inside was worse than a shopping mall food court the day after Thanksgiving. Not sure what the big fuss was about, the dumplings were really heavy and greasy. Nothing like the little lovelies from the day before. Finished our meal completely stuffed but unsatisfied. Might also have been because Rhys only wanted to eat the filling, so my dinner consisted mostly of dumpling wrappers…

SLEPT: Too late. Construction noise still a nuisance but I think the immunity to it that we acquired in London is starting to come back.

Day 31: Heads in the Clouds

DID: Did a bit of shopping/wandering in the Luwan District in an artsy but pretty touristy section of Shanghai, Tai Kang Road Art Street. Best find was the Liuli China Museum (www.liulichinamuseum.com) - see Ate, Snack 2. Poppy water, museum-grade bathrooms and a gorgeous gift shop all in one.  Lunches looked beautiful too but not the home-made dumplings we were after.

After lunch, headed over to the Bund area to check out the city skyline. Day was as gorgeous as it gets at this time of year, sky was visible and even blue-ish. Hopped the ferry over to Pudong and saw the sunset from the 100^th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center. I’ve never been particularly nervous about being in a tall building before but have to admit my stomach was doing some flip-flops, especially when looking through the glass viewing portals in the floor. GnR had no issues of course and were up to their usual antics of running around, swinging from railings etc. My annoyance at their behavior actually got me over the nerves so I suppose I should have thanked rather than isolated them! Had a lot of fun at the highest playground in the world on the 94^th floor. And wouldn’t you know it, the Chinese paparazzi were on hand to record every move.

Was shocked that the gift shop did not have keychain bottle openers shaped like the building. Come on!!

Tried to take another sky-high peek from the Hyatt Hotel in the Jin Mao Tower but they are on to that trick. You can’t get anywhere close to seeing anything without registering as a guest. Even the hotel bar is in the center core of the building without any views. There is a view from the lobby itself but it’s not in the ‘good’ direction.

Boat back to the Bund, got yelled at by the Chinese police for standing on a bench while trying to take a photo of the skyline. Taxi back to hotel. Incidentally, taxis in Shanghai are fantastic. Cheap, never takes long to find one, and none have refused to take us.

ATE: Breakfast in bed. Food still so-so but can’t complain too much when I only have to move as far as the wheelie tray at the end of the bed to fill my plate.

Snack 1: bubble tea at Kiss in Luwan. First time I’ve ever tried one. Tapioca pearls are weird but strangely addictive. 

Snack 2:  Liuli China Museum (www.liulichinamuseum.com). Poppy water, museum-grade bathrooms and a gorgeous gift shop all in one.  Lunches looked beautiful too but not the home-made dumplings we were craving.

Lunch: Soup dumplings from reputedly the best dumpling house in the city. We ordered three kinds – pork, pork + chicken and shrimp. Pork ones were the best, but all were little pouches of heaven. We stopped at 40 dumplings only because we could not stuff another one in.

Dinner: More dumplings. This time at Din Tai Fung, who claim to have the best dumplings in the world. These were much more delicate/elegant than the ones at lunch, not sure I have a preference. Also had the drunken chicken, green beans, and a sliced beef dish. All excellent. Chinese food is good.

Side note: I think I am getting an RSI from using chopsticks. I thought my shoulder/neck were sore from sleeping in weird beds/using pillows that aren’t the same firmness at home. However I’m noticing that my shoulder hurts most when I’m using chopsticks. Probably from holding them too tightly. 

SLEPT: Construction noise still an issue but less so than last night. Still annoyed but not enough to switch hotels.

 

Day 30: Storms over Shanghai

DID: Woke up to construction noise & vibration at 8.30 coming from hotel renovations. Not happy, but up and out semi-early as a result.

Set off in search of theatre ticket office to book tickets to the ‘Gazillion Bubbles Show’. Got kind of sidetracked along the way, ended up with two new pairs of shoes (!), played for a bit in a playground for adults, wandered through a really random street market (selling wooden birdcages and nail clippers, mostly) before getting completely drenched in a thunder storm. Show was sold out, bought tix to an acrobat show instead.

Ran inside a shopping mall across the street to take shelter from the rain before heading to lunch. Ended up finding a super cute kids hair salon called Zusso Kids in the Isetan Department Store – so Rhys after saying ‘haircut’ incessantly for the last month finally got his wish. He picked a silver Mercedes to drive and got to watch Dora on TV while the stylist did her thing. Was fun trying to communicate with her on how to cut his hair, especially since I wasn’t really keen on the last haircut he had so it wasn’t a matter of a simple trim. The book of styles she had was no help because of course all the little boys in the photos had very straight hair. But somehow we managed and she ended up giving him a cut that was better than the one he got at home. :)

Got lost getting to lunch thanks to a buggy iphone app on Jason’s phone. (He says buggy, I say piece of crap). Walked 45 minutes to walk in a big circle – and even worse the restaurant was closed for construction.

Bit of shopping (weird – there’s a Marks and Spencer in Shanghai! Same crappy clothes and same prices as the UK. I was hoping for an M&S shopping bag that said Shanghai on it, but no such luck.)

Had a bit of a bathroom crisis when Gavin really needed to go and no porcelain-throne-style toilets could be found. Let’s just say that, in the end, the trashcan next to the hole in the ground became the receptacle of choice. Good thing he’s a boy so this doesn’t happen with every bathroom trip!

Acrobat show (called Era – Intersection of Time) was pretty amazing. Best parts for me were dueling trampoline tricks and 8 motorcycles circling a small sphere cage all at once. Gavin was thoroughly confused when there were people instead of bats (as in acro bats) on stage!!! Rhys was in a trance the whole time, might have to download the soundtrack to see if the music can work a calming spell on him at home.

ATE: Not a spectacular eats day. Breakfast in hotel room was pretty poor and they got the order wrong. Lunch @ Sweeties café in Nanjing West Road/ shopping area. Food was hit and miss, my beef and broccoli was really good, Jason’s bbq plate of pork and duck was decent, the fried rice was completely flavorless, and Gavin did not like his prawn dumplings at all. Dessert = cream puffs from Beard Papa. Pre-theater snack near the venue was the best meal of the day, stir fried green beans with a bit of hot pepper, and homemade steamed pork dumplings.

SLEPT: Hotel manager upgraded us and moved us to a different floor, which hopefully will be quieter in the morning. It’s a shame because the construction is due to last a week – we arrived on the first day of work and will leave the day before it’s complete. In the meantime hotel features such as the roof top bar, the buffet breakfast room and the Jacuzzi are closed.

Day 29: Shanghai Surprise

Happy Birthday Steffi!
DID: Left Beijing for Shanghai. Although I enjoyed the things we did in Beijing and I’m glad we visited, I have to say I did not really care for it as a city. You can’t walk anywhere, to the untrained eye all the neighborhoods look the same, the taxi situation is impossible. What turned me off the most were the blatant efforts to demonstrate wealth (ie high end designer stores on every corner, countless fancy buildings with intricate light displays, etc). Those stores were all empty, there were few luxury cars on the roads (but there were lots of families piled up on mopeds), and most of our interactions involved people wanting to take advantage of us (ie by taking a photo of our children, charging us 10 times the normal price for a service or product, etc). I also will not miss seeing men with their shirts rolled up over their guts, not a good look!

On the other hand, feeling positively delighted in Shanghai. A lunatic cabbie weaved his way through the traffic to deliver us to our equally zany hotel in the French Quarter (see SLEPT). I feel like we have left Sicily and arrived in Milan.
Streets are narrow, tree-lined, and lit up at night with green twinkle lights little red lanterns – love it! Lots of people walking, weather is perfect, smog still present but not as dense as Beijing. Have a feeling this is going to be a great week here.

We’re travelling a little lighter now after sending 2 boxes home. Still have 1 empty suitcase so shopping can continue!

China Airlines is pretty average. Or worse – Jason was annoyed they didn’t have any diet sodas available.


ATE:
Breakfast: buffet @ hotel. Lunch: pork sarnies on the plane. Dinner @ Classic Shanghai restaurant near hotel. Awesome. Soup dumplings, a bran and mushroom concoction, sweet & sour pork, sautéed green beans and fried rice. Easily could have eaten double of any of it. Rhys even went off his rice-only diet, it was so good!

SLEPT: At the Pudi Boutique Hotel. If you ever wondered what happened to the mirrors and black lacquer furniture from the 80’s, the mystery is solved – it’s all here. Along with loads of fish tanks (including floor to ceiling onces next to every room door – who needs the aquarium?) and an abundance of hover lights. Sounds really naff, and it kind of is, but I just have to give them credit for picking a décor and following it through, from the under-bed lighting to the massive swivel bar/entertainment unit, to the tv over the freestanding whirlpool bathtub. And we have our own personal 24-hour butler. I have no idea what that means but I intend to find out!

Day 28: Long Duck Dong

DID: Had our long-awaited Peking Duck experience (see ATE).  Then headed for Ti’anamen Square and the Forbidden City. Only meant to spend an hour or so but the paparazzi were really aggressive today. Rhys eventually took a nap just to escape the flashbulbs, leaving poor Gavin doubly exposed. I can’t figure out why everyone is so intrigued by little white kids! Took nearly 3 hours to get through the city.

Then headed for the Olympic Park. Smog was so thick we couldn’t see the birds nest until we were practically on top of it. Paparazzi here too. This is really unbelievable.

The Olympic Park is gorgeous. I had no idea from watching on tv that the bird’s nest was steel-colored – it’s the lighting that makes it look like wood. Very clever! Slight disappointment that the cube was only lit up in blue, not changing colors, but other than that very happy. Park was surprisingly crowded given none of the venues were open and nothing going on. Shocked that the only elevator out of the station was the single-user kind that attaches to a railing next to the steps. I can’t imagine that the Paralympic Committee would not have a design requirement for proper elevators at all stations on the park.

ATE: Breakfast: Buffet @ the hotel. Took us a day to realize that it’s included in our room rate – oops! Nice combo of eastern-western favorites. Gavin enjoyed the cheerios, Jason liked the fried egg noodles.

Lunch: Peking Duck at Da Dong. All along in Beijing we’ve felt like the table to chair height ratio is different (we’ve been sitting much lower than we’re used to). We’ve been chalking it up to the fact that without the need for leverage over a fork and knife, combined with the bowl-to-mouth shoveling that tends to happen with chopsticks, perhaps this was intentional. At Da Dong, they take this to a whole new level. Everything is supersized. The smallest tables seat 6, most of the tables seat 8 or more. My feet couldn’t touch the ground from the chair, and I also couldn’t reach across the table to help Rhys with his food. The menu made a menu from the Cheesecake Factory look simple.  It took him literally half an hour to read the menu, but somehow Jason managed to order a lovely meal. Highlights were the duck skins dipped in sugar (Rhys and Gavin ate it like candy) and crispy prawns dipped in mayo.

Dinner: Dim Sum at a huge Cantonese restaurant near the Yonghegong Lama Temple subway station. Had all the standard favorites, prawn dumplings, pork dumplings, spring rolls, plus a few new ones. Overall very enjoyable but not in the same league (either in flavor or in price) with Lei Garden.

DAY 27: Chinese Take-Out

DID: Jason did a market tour/cooking class in the morning. Learned how to make kung pao chicken and drunken duck – hopefully he’ll remember the techniques (and can find the ingredients!) once we get home. The rest of us stayed back at the hotel and did some homework. Finding it very hard to help Gavin stay on track with the school work – his teachers have given him so much to do but finding the time to squeeze it in is difficult.

Went back to the Pearl Market to pick up a few things we missed on the last trip. I had much more fun this time now that I understood how to play their negotiating games. Big purchase was a couple of new suitcases, now we just need to figure out how to mail them back to Australia.

Planned to go to the Olympic Park in the evening but I was too exhausted. Am really craving a night in but ironically it seems Chinese restaurants don’t do take-aways. ☹

ATE: Breakfast – pastries that we picked up from a bakery near the Drum Tower. Note to Luxe – this is a true contender for best bakery. Forget about the Comptoir!! I might be biased though because my pastry of choice was a peanut butter one – first taste of peanut butter since we left home. ☺ We saw the baker in the back mixing in Skippy brand peanut butter - can't go wrong with that as a key ingredient!
Lunch: buns/cakes from a café near the new hotel. Also another candidate for quality bakery in Beijing.

Dinner: Pork sarnies, kung pao chicken, chinese greens, and a noodle soup from a Shaanxi style restaurant (Qin Tang Fu). Noodles were fresh, shaped like lasagna, and without a doubt the longest noodles ever. Trying to pick them up/cut them with just chopsticks was an exercise in futility!

Day 26: In the Line of Fire

Happy Birthday Megan!!
DID: First exposure to Chinese way of toilet training. Rhys made a friend with another little boy while we were waiting for Jason to bring our suitcases over to Beijing Hotel #2. Little ones here wear pants that are slit all along the crotch, no diapers, no underwear, and they squat when they feel the need. I found it a bit disconcerting because with him sitting and me standing over him, it put me right in the line of ‘fire’.

Today we explored the north section of the city. Drum Tower, then paddle boats on the lake. Another chance for the Chinese paparazzi to get their shots of Rhys, this time swarming around us on boats. They are relentless!

Afterwards, went shopping on Nanluogu Xiang street. Touristy for sure but the shops sell upscale souvenirs, not just the regular tat. I even found a tshirt for myself, first one!

Lots of people selling (and wearing) mini bunny ears. Is this another Gaga inspiration?

Gavin is getting in on the bartering action. He talked a seller down from 10RMB to 4 (about 60 cents) for a toy (a light-up spinning whirly slingshot thing).

ATE: Brunch – Dim sum @ Lei Garden. WOW. Had difficulty ordering (no carts, no pictures, no English menu, little English spoken, and although Jason knows most of the names of the dim sum items we like, he was not able to pronounce them in such a way as to be understood) but once the food started coming it was fan-ta-bulous, to quote Gavin. Fried pork belly and shrimp dumplings were highlights. Also service was particularly attentive. In addition to filling our drinks, a server stood by our table to replenish our plates with dumplings, rice etc as needed.

Snack – flaky pastries from a bakery near the Drum Tower. Jason went in after he noticed the queue out in the street.  Not sure what they were called but they were really good!

Dinner – chose a crowded restaurant on the main street perpendicular to NangLuoGu Xiang heading back towards the Drum Tower. Basket of fried shrimp and stir-fried green beans with pork, both quite tasty. Beginning to wonder about the reputation outside of China that food here is bland and lacking vegetables  – we’ve really enjoyed every meal, especially the veg!

After dinner we went to the Night Market for ‘dessert’. This is kind of the ‘fear factor’ market where they deep fry all sorts of crazy things like scorpions and snakes. Jason was looking forward to this but the smells completely turned him off, and in the end he didn’t try anything.

SLEPT: New hotel – the Red Wall Garden Hotel. Same neighborhood as the Legendale but on a Hutong (alley) rather than on the main road. Might be my favorite hotel so far. We were upgraded to a townhouse that has a living room + bathroom downstairs and bedroom upstairs. Rooms surround a courtyard with tables, birdcages and a fountain. This is much more to my taste – none of the pretentiousness of the big 5-star hotel, the room is actually far bigger and the service is much more personal. The boys especially appreciate the lollipops in the lobby! The only downside compared to the Legendale is the lack of the doorman to hail us cabs. Taxis really are impossible here.

Day 25: The Great Slide of China

DID: Decided we could not be bothered to wake up early enough to join the group tours to the Great Wall (they all start at 7.30am). Opted instead for the public bus. You should have seen the look on the concierge’s face when Jason asked for info on this! He insisted that we take his mobile number with us because he was convinced we’d need a rescue. Undeterred, we set off for the main bus terminal (Dongzhimen) and caught bus 916 for Huairou. At Huairou there are supposedly official shuttles which take you to the wall (the Mutianyu section). Never did find the shuttle, instead we bartered with a guy to take us there (about a 30 minute ride), wait for us, and bring us back to the bus stop for around $7. Jason’s lack of expression really comes in handy with these negotiations, they don’t know what to make of him!! Most of the time he’s just trying to do the currency conversion in his head, but they interpret the lag time as lack of interest and knock the price down a bit.

Again this may not have been the safest mode of transport. In order to give us more room to get into the back of the van, the driver simply slid the entire middle row of seating towards the opposite side of the car. Sort of take for granted that seating in cars is bolted down, guess I need to revise that while in China.

Mutianyu section has several options for exploring the wall. From the base, you can take either a cable car or a chairlift to the top (each goes to a different terminus), walk across the wall and then ride down. Or you can opt to take a 2km toboggan ride down a metal chute.  We of course went for the toboggan and had so much fun we did it again. This confused the heck out the ticket lady at the chairlift, I guess not too many people treat it as an amusement park.  Took several shouting matches and an escort from the main ticket office to resolve the situation. Yes it was lovely to see the wall but this family will forever remember it as the great slide of China!!
Also had our first encounter with the Chinese paparazzi. They are infatuated with Rhys, and he plays up to them waving, smiling and saying ‘Ni Hao!’ Gavin is happy to let Rhys get all the attention in this situation – in fact the only annoyance for him is when Rhys is asleep so the picture requests turn to him!

View from the van

At the entrance

From the chairlift

Nice view

Ready, set, go!

Chute-ing down the mountain

Gavin is a known fashionista even in Beijing!

Rhys working the paparazzi

ATE: Pastries from a bakery we came across last night. Boys loved the banana bread, ate half the loaf.

Lunch: three plates of dumplings from the restaurant at the base of the chairlift. Originally we were going to get them to go but the taxi driver somehow managed to add a bowl of noodles to our lunch order and was eating them there. The dumplings were really hot, too hot for GnR to eat right away so the waitress brought over a bowl of cold water to speed-cool a few for them. Next thing I know she’s brought out her own chopsticks and starts feeding Gavin and Rhys herself. It was so funny, I’ve never seen Gavin’s cheeks so full of dumplings at once! She really had him stuffed like a chipmunk.

Dinner: Hot pot at restaurant recommended by the hotel. Kind of like Japanese shabu-shabu. Didn’t care for the dipping sauce it came with, fortunately Gavin suggested we try the soy sauce I carry in my purse (usually for Rhys’ rice). Was 10 million times better, he’s a clever one that Gavin!

Check out the chopstick pro!

Steamy shot

Drinks from ‘Happy Lemon’ for dessert. They make a cheese and green tea concoction that Jason wanted to try. Taste is very hard to describe, kind of like bubblegum. He found it addicting, I was happy to leave it at just one sip.

Day 24: Barter Boys

DID: Shopping day at the Pearl Market, let’s make a deal HQ. I’ve decided this market doubles as the supply warehouse for all dollar stores and party shops the world over. It’s also Santa’s Eastern warehouse. It’s spread over three buildings, the Pearl Market, the Jewelry Market and the Toy Market. Best find of the day was a new stroller. For about $55 we got a 3-wheeler that fully reclines, and even features cup holders and a storage basket underneath. Tried to give the seller a good deal on our old stroller as a trade-in but for some reason he didn’t want it. ☺

Rhys got me a good deal on a new bag, the woman gave us an extra discount in exchange for a photo with him. Smile!

Evening walk around pedestrian area in the Chaoyang neighborhood.  Lots of neon, water sculptures, jumbo-trons, etc. Kind of the stuff I was expecting in Tokyo. Loads of people out including children (and lots of them) even though it was approaching 11pm.

Could not find a taxi back to the hotel. Competition was fierce and the ones who did stop either refused to take us or wanted to go off the meter and charge ridiculous rates. Found out later that this is common in Beijing, and it happens to the locals as well. Ended up taking a rickshaw driver up on his offer to take us. We must have been hilarious to look at – four of us squished into a seat for two, plus all our bags from the market and the new stroller folded up and balanced on the handlebars. Jason and I were giggling the whole way back anticipating the look of horror on the doorman’s face as we pulled up in our ride. The drive took about half an hour and the poor guy’s hands were numb from supporting the stroller by the time we got there. Wish we could have taken a photo but the camera was buried somewhere in Jason’s pocket and we could not contort ourselves to reach it. On the safety rating scale, I won’t classify it as a ‘near death experience’ but let’s just say I’m glad my parents weren’t around to see their grandchildren crossing four lanes of traffic on the back of this thing.

A couple funny comments from the boys today:
While washing his hands, Gavin remarked, ‘this water is warm, it feels like tea’
Rhys, when asked if he wanted pasta for dinner, said ‘no, want rice with [soy] sauce’.


ATE: Followed Luxe’s recommendation for the best bakery in the city, Comptoir de France. If this is the best, we’re going to have to suspend the pastry habit while in Beijing. The only good thing at this place was the free copy of Time Out Beijing.

Lunch was a quick hot dog and a bag of peanuts from a convenience store at the Pearl Market. The restaurants in the slummy area across the street from the market did not tempt.

Dinner – Another Luxe recommendation, Noodle Bar. Collection of four small restaurants, each with a different theme, surrounding a courtyard. Noodles were delish, and Jason was even able to get his with the weird stuff he likes (tripe, tendons, etc.) Felt a bit like home, similar style furniture to what we have on our balcony.

Day 23: Sayonara Japan, Ni Hao Beijing

DID: We saw Mt Fuji!!! From the window of the bus on the way to the airport, then again from the airport viewing platform (which by the way is one of many clever features of Haneda airport), and finally from the plane on the way to Beijing. Great shopping in the airport, at last we found a t-shirt in Rhys’ size which had Japanese writing – appropriately it says ‘naughty boy’.

Flew over beautiful clear skies until we hit the border of China. Not sure if it’s weather or pollution related (or both) but didn’t see the ground coming until we were on top of it. 45-min taxi from airport to central Beijing cost about $10 – in an instant we see life is about to become less expensive.

Spent the afternoon relaxing in the hotel, needed some downtime after the pace in Tokyo!

It’s hard not to compare the Chinese with the Japanese, the two cultures seem they could not be more different. We’ve certainly left a land of ‘it’s all about you’ and appear to be in one that’s ‘all about me’. The language reminds me of Italian in a way, I can’t tell if people are shouting because they are angry or just because. But I like their spirit!

The buildings are enormous, lots of interesting architecture and lighting, the streets are immaculate. Sidewalks along the main roads are wide and well maintained, but turn the corner and it’s the exact opposite. Lots of construction debris, crates of plates waiting for dishwashing service, rusty bikes, etc. Can’t decide if it’s better or worse to have the stroller.

Taxi driver back to hotel may not have been the most qualified driver on the road. Should have gotten a clue that his vision was not the best when Jason handed him the business card for the hotel and he had to hold it as far away from his face as possible while angling it for the best light. Made for an ‘interesting’ ride back.

ATE:  Breakfast – pastries @ Haneda airport.

Lunch – dumplings at a restaurant in the basement of the YMCA across from our hotel (recommended by the concierge). Yum. Two plates of dumplings (one fried pork, the other steamed prawn), a couple bowls of rice and two beers cost $5.
Gavin can use chopsticks – it’s official. We’ve got it on video, will post once outside of the Chinese wall.

Dinner – Szechuan restaurant on Ghost St. Mouth was on fire but numb at the same time after delish stir-fried/crispy chicken and green beans. Very festive street of about 100 restaurants on either side, all lit up by red lanterns.

SLEPT: Legendale Hotel in Dongcheng neighborhood. I won 3 nights at the hotel via an auction on Luxury Link. Hotel intrigued me due to its location (10 minute walk to Ti’anamen Square and the Forbidden City), its pool, its ridiculously ostentatious imitation of French Louis XIV style and its equally ridiculous claim to be the best hotel in the world.  And wow, did it not disappoint. From the massive marble lobby, to the gorgeous pool with underwater lounges, to the biggest book of services I’ve ever seen (photo to come) – it really does try to give the impression of being the best of the best. I couldn’t get over the décor – it was just so over the top – the glass wall separating the bathroom from the bedroom was the funniest part. I do have to concede that the bed was pretty damn comfortable, loved the silky soft sheets and loads of pillows. Best in the world? Maybe not, but I will sleep well here and it’s in a flash location – especially for luxury car shopping. There’s Lamborghini next door, Mercedes in the lobby, Astin Martin across the street, and Ferarri two doors down.  Vertu, Gucci, Chanel, etc in the mall next door.

Day 22: Scrunch Time

DID: Last day in Japan!! Much to accomplish, first items on the list: pool and laundry. GnR and I did the former while Jason kindly took care of the latter (with a little break on the pool deck during the wash cycle).

Next on the list was Gavin’s choice – teppanyaki for lunch. See more on that in “Ate”.  Restaurant was off the Ebisu subway stop – but it could have been somewhere in So Cal. Wide streets, everything written in English, even several cafes with outdoor seating! Too sterile, didn’t like it.

Then, shopping in Harajuku. Loved it.  They’ve modeled it off Carnaby St in London, complete with signs overhead (will post pix). Lots of alleys to explore. Never found the BAPE store we were looking for but tons of shops to inspire anyway. Apparently it’s ‘the thing’ to make your shop impossible to find – had to laugh when I read a bloggers comment about this re: have they missed rule #1 of economics - making your products accessible to customers? I guess this defines niche market! Saw a shop exclusively selling scrunchies. Are they back (where have I been?)

After Harajuku, back to Shinjuku Sanchome and shopping at Tokyu Hands. Love this store. Chances are if you get something from us from Tokyo, it’s from this here. And if we did by it elsewhere we came to regret it because they had it cheaper. Highlight was purchase of a Japanese vegetable knife – ironic since I’m in total veggie withdrawal – what would I give for a nice piece of broccoli! Also sad not be to experiencing ‘normal’ summer fruits – no peaches, no plums, not even very many cherries for a  country that has so many cherry trees! But still happy about the cheap bananas. But I digress... Unfortunately we ran out of time the store closed just as we were reaching the children’s clothing floor (made it through 7/10 floors in an hour – record breaking time as far as I’m concerned.)

ATE: Breakfast @ hotel buffet. Boys excited because there were fries at the buffet. Had monster slices of raisin bread, nice to have bacon and eggs for a change

Lunch - Jason chose a 1-star Michelin restaurant for teppanyaki figuring that after the Kobe experience anything less would be a let down. Located at the top of the Westin Hotel. Meal was nothing less than scrumptious…except for the meat in Gavin’s kid’s meal. They substituted Australian beef for Japanese. The difference is striking – it’s one thing to be aware that you’re eating the some of the best beef in the world, quite another having the stuff you get at home on the plate right next to you.  I might have to give up beef when we leave Japan, how will I ever enjoy it again?!

Dinner – burgers at Lotteria. Originally planned for ramen but it was late and we didn’t want to go ‘just anywhere’ for a last bowl of ramen!

Day 21: Trains, cable cars and ‘gondoras’

DID: Did the ‘circle tour’ around Mt Fuji, which involves several modes of transport.  We did the counter-clockwise route, against the advice of the brochure that comes with the train ticket. We chose this direction thinking that the majority of the people would follow the brochure route so it would be less crowded if we did the opposite (not that anything was very crowded anyway – cars were full but we always had a seat and never had to queue for very long). In the end we couldn’t understand why they tell you to go clockwise because on the one cablecar where you see the mountain slope, the mountain would be behind you so you’d have to sit going backwards or keep turning around to see it. Route is:

Luxury train (called the Romancecar) from Tokyo – Hakone-Yumoto
Hakone Tozan Train to Gora (cool old-school train that does switchbacks up the mountain. Beautiful views of the landscape plus hydrangea growing all along the tracks)
Hakone Tozan Cablecar (which is like a funicular) to Sounzan
Hakone Ropeway (advertised as the busiest “Gondora” in the world) to Togendai
Pirate ship across Lake Ashi to Moto Hakone-Ko
Bus back to Hakone-Yumoto
Romancecar back to Tokyo

Time required in the Hakone-Fuji area is about 6 hours for the loop, plus another 1.5 hrs each way to/from Tokyo. Lots of people stay overnight, there are many ryokan and onsen to explore if you’ve got the time.  GnR got a kick out of all the different cable cars, trains, etc. All of the segments are pretty short so there’s lots of time to walk around and explore. Info on the transport/ticket here:
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html

But after all of this, did we see Mt Fuji??? Kind of.  We saw a hazy corner of the western slope. I’m starting to feel like this is symbolic of our time in Japan, just showing itself enough to us that we can check things off the list, but not enough to let us feel that we’ve been invited in for the full show. It’s so private, so reserved, there’s no hint of what’s beyond the (albeit beautiful and intricate) surface. Maybe nothing? Must have language competency or a good Japanese friend for future trip(s).

This was also “Lost in Translation” day. Started off with the hotel staff not letting us see the premier (upgraded) room so that we could make an informed decision about making the effort to switch. In the end, curiosity got the best of me so we packed everything up and the hotel staff moved the luggage while we were out.

Then the concierge led us on a wild goose chase in Shinjuku station for the agency which sells the train passes to Mt Fuji (note to future travellers, agency is called the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centre and it’s on the 1st floor of the Odakyu Department Store, not the basement!)

The woman at the train office sold us only part of a roundtrip ticket. We bought the Hakone-Free pass which gets you to/from and around the mountain. We also paid for an upgrade to an express train. We thought the upgrade was roundtrip too but as it turns out it only applied to the way there.  The return train conductor made us pay a penalty in addition to the upgrade fee (after shouting at us for a good 10 minutes in Japanese even though we kept saying we didn’t understand – frustrating for all!!)

The woman at the train office also gave us a stamp card, which we were to fill out (kind of like a scavenger hunt) and redeem for a prize. She failed to specify that we had to redeem it in the Mt Fuji area rather than back at her office, so poor Gavin missed out. ☹

After all this miscommunication, a little retail therapy was in order. Went shopping in Shinjuku Sanchome (intentionally this time!) – Jason and Gavin now have sweet Japanese kicks (and in Jason’s case, hopefully the antidote to his old shoes which have been giving him blisters).

ATE: Breakfast – pastries from bakery in Shinjuku station. Lunch – treats from a café in Hakone-Yumoto station (fried chicken, a noodle salad and a seafood salad). Dinner – sushi in Shinjuku Sanchome area. Gavin tried tuna, didn’t care for it but at least he gave it a shot!

SLEPT: Well, the new room might as well be in a different hotel for the level of swank in compared to the last room. From the moment we got in the lift we knew it would be different – instead of pressing the floor button we swiped our room key card and the button lit up automatically.  Room itself not much larger than the last room but everything was nicer, from the furniture to the view to even the complimentary toiletries. Happy we upgraded.

Day 20: Sensory Underload

DID: Jason hit the Fish Market while we ‘relaxed’ at the pool. Should have been a nice morning but had trouble locating acceptable pastries in our new neighborhood, and then Rhys had an enormous poo explosion in his bathing suit. Luckily he had gotten himself out of the water before it happened so there were no foreign objects in the pool, but by them time I realized what had happened there was…leakage. Ew. Kind of killed the swimming mood, plus Rhys bathing suit would need a good wash.

Back upstairs caught up on some postcards and Gavin’s travel journal while Rhys napped. Jason returned from a good adventure (he promises a guest post for the blog).

Decided to follow our Luxe guide’s recommendation for a shopping itinerary in Ginza. Got lost several times (note to Luxe editors if you’re reading this: why not give people who buy the guide access to a map online or add it to your iphone app?) For anyone who hasn’t seen these guides, they are very small pocketsized fold-up booklets which give restaurant/shopping/sightseeing suggestions. No photos, no maps, just (very tiny) text. Not exactly Luxe’s fault that the directions were hard to follow – there’s no address system in Japan and there can be multiple names for the same section of a road.

Nonetheless, we crossed off some essentials on the shopping list and enjoyed the walk around Ginza.  Very high end shopping area, much like the mag mile or Bond St London.  Highlight was a chopstick boutique selling sets from $5 - $5000!! Also Sony’s flagship store where you can test out all the new techie toys.

After dinner headed over to Shibuya which one of our guides said specifically is the ‘Tokyo of your dreams’.  In some ways I guess I agree. The train station was massive, impossible to navigate (it took several tries for us to find an exit to the station!) and very crowded. First time that we’ve really felt the crush in Tokyo. Outside, there was enough neon to warrant sunglasses at night.  But I’m still missing the smack of futurism/high tech/sensory blitz.

We were completely out of place in this neighborhood, mostly early 20-somethings in pre-clubbing mode. (read: un-fit and trashy).  Fashion much more conservative than I was anticipating, very little of the crazy combinations and anime-influence. Still lots of black tights with stirups. For the men, big baggy shorts, big t-shirts and big high tops, big whoop.

Got lost on the way home because we got off at Shinjuku Sanchome station rather than just Shinjuku. Kind of a meltdown moment, Rhys had been whining for hours at this point (he still refuses to fall asleep in the stroller and I can’t blame him – it looks uncomfortable) and we were all pooped. I was also getting frustrated that I wasn’t loving Tokyo as much as I wanted to, wondering if it was a matter of being in the wrong places, if I just wasn’t seeing what was front of me, or if I’d gotten it all wrong. A taxi sorted us out as far as getting us back to the hotel, but still feeling lost.

ATE: Breakfast: pastries from shop in Shinjuku station (Jason had sushi at the fish market).

Lunch: at Japanese burger chain Lotteria in Shinjuku Station. Really good. Kind of White Castle like in terms of the softness of the bun, but the meat/cheese were really good. A bit of ketchup was the only topping, this burger stands up on its own.

Snack: Green tea tasting and sake sampling in Ginza (as recommended by Luxe).

Dinner: Japanese version of crepes  (okonomiake)  @ restaurant in Mitsukoshi department store (also suggested by Luxe). Very interesting meal, cooked in front of us on a flat grill. Crepe first, then meat, then bean sprouts and a few sauces, crepe on top. Other items on offer included yakisoba (replace crepe with noodles) and an omelette version (instead of crepe). My favorite by far was the yakisoba.