TravelStream™ news feed for member tayka on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/tayka en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:12:33 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1204512900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1204512900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1204512900/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:12:33 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is a girls dream...none stop shopping!  Gunta and I were so excited when we arrived and saw the hundreds of tailors shops.  I was in heaven.   After a couple of hours of being there, I'd waved goodbye to my budget and convinced myself that I needed a whole new wardrobe!  It's so cheap compared to home and really great to get everything custom made.  I really enjoyed designing again...it's been a while.  I had dresses, skirts, shorts, jeans and shoes made.  The amount I bought is maybe a little excessive, especially considering I'm backpacking and don't have a job to fund it.  But shopping is so addictive and it was so much fun!  Anyway, for everything I got including postage, it cost me less than I'd buy the boots for at home...I'm just trying to convince myself I didn't go completely over-the-top!Gunta and I did have a couple of very emotionally draining days.  You wouldn't believe how stressful and tiring shopping can be!  We experienced a mixture of excitement, anxiety, disappointment and happiness.  Things never go right when it comes to making clothes...I already know that very well and at times I was reminded of work a bit too much!  Not all the tailors are great and we did have to deal with a few of these, but we also found some really good ones, who were friendly, listened to what we wanted, did a good job and were very patient.  And they had to be patient!  I had on average three or four fittings per piece, when I think most people are happy after just one.  Usually they were just minor alterations, but at times things were made so badly that I had to demand them to be remade.  The worst has to be my boots.  They were so bad!  The first fitting was a disaster, I honestly don't know how they cocked them up so much.  For starters they used the wrong heal and buckle, all the details were wrong, they were badly made and the fit was so awful that it made my foot looked deformed.  They tried to make out that they looked great and that they'd magically stretch to fit my foot.  It was just like being at work again...very frustrating!  I was mad and made them very aware that I really wasn't happy!  I refused to accept them as they were, or any of their suggestions.  In the end they agreed to remake them following what I asked for.  It was hard work getting what I wanted, but after the fourth attempt I was very happy with them.  For some strange reason I then asked them to make me another pair of shoes.  I thought maybe the cock-up with the boots had been a one off, but I was wrong!  The sandals weren't exactly difficult to make, but they succeeded in messing them up with the stupidest mistakes.  I'm not sure if they expected me not to notice that one foot was different to the other, or whether they were just blind.  It took another four fittings to get what I wanted.  So I spent the majority of my time running around to different tailors for fittings, but in the end I was very happy with everything I got.  I stayed in Hoi An five nights, which is the longest I have stayed anywhere on this trip.  I really enjoyed my time here...all I did was shop and hang out in cafes.  Gunta and I did consider hiring a bike for a day and cycling to the beach, but it started to rain, so we had no choice but to continue shopping!  It's a pity it rained for the last few days, but the town was still very quaint.  Hoi An is a very chilled, sleepy town.  There's definitely no party seen, everything closes early and starts early...5am to be precise.  They have an alarm clock for the whole town that doesn't shut up for 1 1/2 hours, and the loud-speaker that blasts the radio show with awful music, was right outside my window.  Gunta left after 3 nights, because she is running out of time and has to move faster than I do.  We've been travelling together for 3 weeks and have been together almost 24/7.  It has been so much fun and now it's really strange to be alone again.  But I wasn't alone for long, because Steve and Craig (the British guys we keep bumping into) arrived in Hoi An the day Gunta left.  So although I lost my shopping partner, I had new drinking friends...we made the most of the 15p beer. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205053920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205053920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205053920/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:39:40 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Hanoi, Vietnam

I liked Hanoi as soon as I arrived, even if I was completely lost and had absolutely no idea where to start looking for accomodation.  The bus dropped me miles out of town and because I'd done no research, not even looking at a map of the city, I didn't know where to go.  There weren't many tourists on the bus, but I met a Japanese guy, Tomoyasu, who was heading into the city centre.  So I tagged along with him, even though I didn't know whether this would lead me to accomodation.  It was just luck that he was going to a cheap hostel and this is where I ended up staying.  I was in a much better mood than I had been in Hue.  The fact that it wasn't raining was enough to make me happy.  But it also helped that I met some great people as soon as I arrived.  I am staying in a dorm and have 2 roommates; Bill from Hong Kong, and Takamasa from Japan.  I also found out that Gunta had changed her plans and instead of going to Laos, she had decided to stay in Vietnam longer. She was still in Hanoi and I was so happy to meet up with her again. I spent my first day in Hanoi with Bill.  We went to see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  I wasn't actually expecting to see his body, so it was a little weird.  Spent the rest of the day wandering around The Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, going to markets, drinking Vietnamese coffee, which is far too sweet and too strong, and trying not to get run over by the hundreds of motorbikes.  In the evening I went out for beer with my roommates, as well as a few other people I met at the hostel.  The following day Gunta and I had a lazy day, just catching up on what had happened to us during the long time we had been apart!  The only productive thing we did all day was to book a tour to Ha Long Bay.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205725140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205725140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205725140/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:32:59 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Sapa, Vietnam

Since India all of my travel has been by bus, so I was really excited about the train journey to Sapa. But it didn't live up to my expectations. Craig, Steve and I had left booking our tickets to last minute and the sleeper train had sold out. All that was available was "hard seats"...they lived up to their name. The 10 hour journey was possibly one of the most uncomfortable journeys I have ever experienced. The pain started after 2 minutes of sitting on the hard wooden benches and it just got worse and worse as the night went on. I tried sitting in every position possible, but couldn't get rid of the excruciating pain and ended up with a bruised bum and dead legs.The train took us to Lao Cai and from here we had to get a mini bus or taxi to Sapa. As we got off the train it was raining, we were aching from head to toe and exhausted after a night of no sleep. A group of Vietnamese students asked us if we'd like to share a mini bus taxi with them. We asked no questions and just tagged along, although I was wondering what the catch would be, because it all seemed too easy. But there wasn't one, we arrived in Sapa safely without being overcharged (a rarity). Our first day in Sapa it was misty and very damp. Thick fog obscured the mountain view from our hotel. We spent 2 nights there, giving us one full day to go on a trek to a couple of the nearby minority villages. Luckily the weather cleared a little, so we could actually appreciate the scenery. We wanted to do a trek without a guide, so we chose one tht we were guaranteed we couldn't get lost on...but we did! Findingour way to Cat Cat village was easy, we just had to follow the road and tourists. But we wanted to continue to the next village. It should have been just as easy to get to Sin Chai, but instead of following the road we took a little path that ended after about 2km. But we still continued in the same (wrong) direction, by following an animal track up the side of a muddy mountain. We decided to turn back when we realised the chances of us slipping and falling were pretty high. We finally made it to Sin Chai. Like Cat Cat the village was a tiny cluster of wooden huts, but it was different...there were very few tourists. The locals weren't trying to sell us things and the kids hadn't quite mastered the art of begging, although it seems imminent. It was nice to see village life still largely unaffected by us...western tourists...but I doubt it'll last. The countryside is beautiful, with brilliant views of the mountains and terraced fields.Sapa is full of women and young girls from surrounding villages selling their handicrafts. As soon as I arrived here I knew my backpack would double in size...I loved everything they were selling and couldn't stop myself. The girls were really friendly (if they thought you might buy) and they spoke surprisingly good English. The pestering from them could be a little overwhelming and annoying, but it didn't bother me because I was interested in buying. As soon as I showed an interest I would be swamped by girls all trying to get my attention. At one point I couldn't move or get away, because I was surrounded by about 20 girls all waving blankets at me...walking away from this empty handed would have been a challenge. But I wanted to buy, in fact I wanted to buy everything they had...if only I had more room in my backpack. I did try and make room by giving away a pair of shoes, which I've carried around for 11 weeks and haven't worn once. It was difficult finding someone with big enough feet...the girl who took them was very happy, but they didn't fit her. The girls were so desperate to sell, that when I told them I liked their clothes, they started undressing and wrapping me up in them. I did feel guilty when I bought a girls belt (the one she'd been wearing), because she started to cry when she gave it to me. She was worried her Mum would be mad at her for selling it. I felt awful and said I wouldn't take it, but she and all her friends her insisted I have it. I still feel a little guilty, but I have to admit, I also now own a necklace that one of the hill tribe girls had been wearing for the last 3 years.On our last night in Sapa we played pool with 3 local girls. One of them, Mia, had taken a fancy to Steve (aka "Monkey boy" because of his chest hair!). So that's how we ended up playing pool with them...a very funny game. There were no rules, apart from Mia must win!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205493480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205493480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205493480/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:34:20 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Hanoi, Vietnam

Back in Hanoi I risked my life on a motorbike. The roads are insane. I've never seen so many bikes...usually overloaded with people, boxes, huge mirrors, dead pigs, live ducks strapped to the sides by their feet, or even a boat! Gunta, Craig, Steve and I decided to go to the Museum of Ethnology. It's a little way out of town, so we thought it'd be fun to get a bike there. It was fun, but also incredibly dangerous. We got 2 bikes, so including our driver, there were 3 to a bike. We had to share helmets, so I went without since my head is too small anyway. The journey back was the scariest, because our driver was a little nuts and spent more time checking out girls, as well as naked shop mannequins, and kept looking round to tell us how beautiful we were, instead of bloody concentrating on the road which was heaving with bikes zigzagging everywhere.Bia Hoi is the local draft beer and it's dirt cheap...so I drank a lot of it! They often serve it out on the street and you sit on tiny plastic stools. I was enjoying it until I noticed that the glasses were being half filled from the keg and then topped up with the slop bucket...so that's why it's so cheap!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205407020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205407020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1205407020/tpod.html Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:02:03 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Halong Bay, Vietnam

Initially Gunta and I were disappointed that the people on our tour weren't much fun. How were we going to survive 3 days and 2 nights with this group?! Rice Wine was our answer. When the bus stopped at a shop selling hideous stone statues, we sneaked off in search of booze. We'd befriended the only fun guy on our bus, Volker, and he came with us to a tiny road side stall. We tried to communicate what we wanted. Finally we were understood and from under the counter a shot of homemade rice wine was produced for us to taste. Perfect...just what we wanted...a dodgy spirit that could quite possibly make us blind...too strong to drink straight, in fact the smell almost knocked us out. We got 3 half liter water bottles filled with Rice Wine for less than a quid.After the bus we were loaded onto a boat and taken to Dong Thien Cung. A huge cave heaving with tourists and decorated with multi-coloured lights. I wasn't impressed. I'm sure the cave was breathtaking years ago, but it's been completely wrecked by tourism. There's even a paved footpath and steps running through the middle of it. It's hardly in it's natural state! After this Gunta and I accepted the fact that this tour was going to be very touristy and just enjoyed it for what it was. Unlike the miserable American girls who over reacted when the slightest thing went wrong. Gunta and I just laughed at the disorganisation.The tour guides didn't have a clue what was going on. There were lots of different groups and they kept mixing us up. When we arrived at Cat Ba Island, we were told to get on the wrong mini bus to the hotel, which separated us from our group. The driver didn't know where to take us and we were told we needed to pay for the hotel, even though it was included in our tour price. Gunta and I didn't take any of their crap and refused to pay anything. They realised they were wrong and rejoined us with some of our group at a hotel way out of town. It was actually good that our group kept being mixed up, because we finally met some interesting people.Our hotel was dull. We couldn't spend the evening there. So we started drinking rice wine mixed with sprite (not a great mix!), then jumped onto the back of a motorbike into town. We met a French guy, Aymeric, and 2 Americans, Eric and Craig. Such a great night. We partied at an empty bar... just the 5 of us going crazy on the dance floor. But the bar closed early and we were kicked out...probably a good thing since we had to get up early the next day.The next part of the tour was a trek on Cat Ba Island. Gunta and I had expected to be following a huge tourist trail, along a concrete footpath with handrails. We were pleasantly surprised that there were only 5 of us in the group with 2 guides and we didn't pass another tourist along the route. The footpath was natural and very dangerous in parts...great...this is what we wanted. Back home I'm sure the footpath would have been forbidden. When we were reaching the top we had to leave our bags in order to be able to scrabble up jagged rocks with sheer drops, to get a 360 degree view across the Island. It was fantastic. Gunta and I really enjoyed the trek, but I'm not sure how much the others in our group did, since they were wearing flip flops. They ended up with cut toes, bleeding knees, ripped trousers, a few tears and one of them didn't make it to the top.We had a bit of free time in the afternoon before heading back to the boat. The tour group was then mixed up again and we randomly ended up on the same boat as Craig and Steve. We were spending the night on the boat, so were happy that there was a really great group of people. We kayaked for a little while as the sunset, then finished off our rice wine. I tried mixing it with pineapple juice...a really bad idea.The journey back was as disorganised as the rest of the tour had been. We were woken up at the crack of dawn, which was pointless because we just had to hang around later. After a lot of waiting we were eventually squashed into an uncomfortable mini bus for a 3 hour journey back to Hanoi. Our tour guide provided entertainment on the bus...firstly because he said "Ladies and Gentlemen" about 5 times in every sentence, which was cracking me up. But he topped it off when he decided to sing us a song...it was very hard to keep a straight face!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1207814760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1207814760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1207814760/tpod.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:38:50 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Pai, Thailand

I'm loving my extended holiday!  Travelling in Thailand (actually all of SE Asia) is incredibly easy.  I miss the challenge of India, because everyday was an adventure and it was very rewarding just to survive.  In Thailand it's so touristy and it seems like there's no escaping it, so I'm just enjoying it.  At the moment my life is stress free and all about having fun.I just spent 3 nights in Pai and had such a great time.  The journey there was another one of those windy roads into the mountains on a rather cramped, smelly bus, but it only took 4 hours.  Marion and I left our backpacks in Chiang Mai, so it was really nice to be free of the burden and just live of the essentials.  We stayed in a bamboo hut on the riverside for only 100 Baht (about $1.50) for the both of us.  Our hut was very basic, but we both loved it.  Inside we just had one very old, hard mattress on the floor and a mosquito net full of holes.  Our only luxury was a fan and electricity, although there was a powercut one night and the whole town was in darkness, so we had to survive with candle light in our flammable wooden hut.Pai has a very similar vibe to Vang Vieng in Laos.  It's very touristy and I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this at the beginning of my travels, but I'm getting used to the chilled out backpacker life.  I met so many great people and spent every evening drinking with them and listening to live music.  Marion and I hired bikes everyday, but we never left the town so we didn't exactly go far, but cycling made getting from bar to bar alot quicker.  My days in Pai went fast and followed this kind of pattern...yoga in the morning,  then chilling in cafes, sketching, reading and drinking far too many fruit shakes, then a Thai massage, then cycling around town a little and trying to avoid getting soaked by the kids throwing buckets of water over every person or vehicle that passed.  Thai New Year (Songkran) is approaching and they celebrate it by throwing water over each other, so it's basically just one big water fight.  Lots of fun and it's so hot here that a bucket of water thrown in your face as you cycle past is very refreshing.  So my time in Pai was very relaxing, although I now ache from head to toe.  I'm actually in complete agony!  Maybe 3 days straight of yoga wasn't the best thing, considering it's been a while since I did any exercise.  I don't think the Thai massage helped either.  I felt great afterward, but being poked, stretched and twisted in every direction, on top of the yoga, pushed it abit too far.  I'm so glad I haven't got to carry my backpack back to Chiang Mai.   
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1212409200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1212409200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1212409200/tpod.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:23:25 -0400 Asian Adventure

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New York City, New York, United States

My first day in NY was spent doing laundry. When I arrived at Jenny's I didn't smell too good. She refused to talk to me until I'd showered and then made me wash everything in my backpack.I spent 2 weeks in NY. It was strange to be back, experiencing the city as a tourist, rather than working. I spent my evenings and weekends meeting up with friends and my days enjoying the city in ways I hadn't been able to before. Also went away for a couple of days on a camping/kayaking trip to Port Jervis.At the beginning of my trip my backpack weighed 16kg. I thought that was heavy, but on my final flight back home, my bag weighed 23kg...that's not including my overflowing bag of hand luggage and the many packages I shipped home along the way.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1212164700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1212164700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1212164700/tpod.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:07:40 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Hiroshima, Chugoku, Japan

Travelling by Shinkansen is amazing. Precisely on time. I tried to take a picture of the super modern, streamlined train, but I couldn't because it went too fast. The trains stop for seconds at the platform, so you have to be ready to jump on, otherwise you'll miss it. I'm still amazed by the amount of legroom. I can put my gigantic backpack (which seems to grow everyday) and numerous other bags (which seem to multiply everyday), infront of me and still have more legroom than any other train I've been on.My next stop is Hiroshima. My Grandparents have a friend (Yasuko), who lives here and she very kindly offered to show me around and put me up in a hotel. It's by far the best place I have stayed on my whole trip. I couldn't get over how comfy the mattress was. Luxury...just what I needed.Arranging to meet someone at a station exit in Japan is not a good idea. There is never just one exit. At 10.30am I was meant to be meeting Yasuko. She had given me detailed instructions and I really thought I was waiting at the right exit. An hour passed...then more...still no sign of her. She had said she might be a little late, but I was now getting concerned. At this point, unknown to me, Yasuko was waiting at an exit on the same side of the station, but on a different floor. We had no way of communicating and didn't know what each other looked like...although I probably stand out around here. Yasuko decided to do an announcement over the loudspeaker in the station! I was outside so I never heard it. I decided to check-in to my hotel, which was nearby. Then found the Internet, she'd emailed me and was now back at home. We finally met up a couple of hours later than planned.Yasuko had planned everything. She was a great guide and spoilt me the whole time I was there. We ate a lot and I was surprised that there are a few things for veggies to eat. You just have to know what to order or how to ask for it without the fish/meat. I really liked Okonomiyaki, which Yasuko called a "Japanese style pizza", made from noodles and egg. Hakuso (Yasuko's brother) took us out for dinner to a traditional Japanese restaurant. We all ate vegetarian and the food was great. We exchanged gifts; they had both put so much thought into what they gave me and it was as if they'd known me for years. I think my Grandparents have been talking! Afterwards we went to a couple of tiny Karoke bars. I was only in Hiroshima for 1 night, but I managed to cram a lot in, thanks to Yasuko. We went to Miyajima, which is an island you can only get to by ferry. We had a really nice afternoon here, going to Itsukushima Shrine and then Green Tea and cake...Yasuko taught me how to drink tea properly if I ever go to a Japanese tea ceremony...hopefully I wont have forgotten by then. Also went to Iwakuni to see the unusual shaped wooden bridge. I went alone to the A-Bomb Dome and the Peace Memorial Park and Museum, as Yasuko finds it very sad and depressing...I did too, but it's something you have to see and remember. I found it very interesting, but incredibly sad, to hear Yasuko talk about how her family survived the initial impact of the A-bomb, but how several generations have had to suffer the awful consequences.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1211970120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1211970120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1211970120/tpod.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:34:38 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Nara, Kinki, Japan

Nara is much smaller than Kyoto. It's easy to do in a day and you can walk around all the main sights, which are...you guessed it...temples! I went to Kofukuji Temple, Todaiji Temple, the Great Bell, Nigatsu-do-Hall and Kasuga Taisha Shrine.In Kyoto and Nara there have been school kids everywhere with questionnaires to ask foreigners. After shyly questioning you, they ask to take your picture or get your signature as evidence they've done their work. All the questions are the same and there are hundreds and hundreds of kids, so you get stopped quite often. One of the questions is "Do you like Japanese food?" Sometimes I was honest and tried to explain that I'm vegetarian and there's absolutely bugger all for me to eat. But they never understood. The food issue is really getting to me. Even if I find something that looks like it has no fish and I'm told that it has no fish, it's strange how it always tastes of fish! I'm looking forward to some decent food in NY.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1211714160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1211714160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tayka/asia-2008/1211714160/tpod.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:22:55 -0400 Asian Adventure

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Kyoto, Kinki, Japan

I still can't stop comparing Japan with India. I caught the Shinkansen train from Tokyo to Kyoto. It was clean, modern, spacious, comfortable and exactly on time. Everything Indian trains are not. So for the end of my trip I'm travelling in luxury. I need it because travelers fatigue is setting in. City after city is exhausting and I haven't had a travelling companion since I left Koh Phangan in Thailand 4 weeks ago. I have no-one to help with the planning and I'm starting to get really lazy about it. I arrived in Kyoto at 5pm with no idea where to stay, no guidebook and less than 500 Yen (approx 2 quid) in cash. Finding somewhere to stay and getting tourist info was easy, but getting cash wasn't. The majority of ATM's in Japan don't accept foreign cards, so you have to go to the Post Office or Citibank. It was Sunday and I found out that the following day was a holiday. The Post Office is closed and I can't find Citibank anywhere. I needed to eat and pay for my bed. The man at reception at my Youth Hostel almost had a fit when I'd told him I had no cash and he sent me out immediately to get some. I couldn't return without any money, otherwise he'd kick me out (that's exactly what he did the following day, but for different reasons). So I'm running around the city asking people for help and getting nowhere. All the ATM's just spit my card out. After an hour or so of trying I'm frustrated and tired, so I went into a posh hotel and asked for help, luckily they directed me to a tourist friendly ATM. Finally I have cash! Back at the hostel the stupid giggly man at reception is pissing me off. We have a 10.30pm curfew/lights out and cant shower after 7.30am, as well as other ridiculous rules.The next day I get up for a day of sight seeing and as I'm about to leave the annoying man at reception tells me I'm late for check-out. It's not even 8.30am and I don't want to check out anyway. But he says I have to leave, because it's a holiday and they are closed. Well he could have bloody told me when I checked in, because I would have found somewhere else in the first place. I was so mad. He just giggled at me and I wanted to punch him. I packed my bag in about 30 seconds and stormed out. I have limited time in Kyoto anyway, so I was annoyed that I had to trek around with my bag again, wasting the morning looking for somewhere to stay. The place I found (Tarocafe Inn) was much nicer than the last one. The people are very friendly and there are no rules. It's very Japanese with tatami mats and a futon mattress on the floor. It's a small dorm, not many beds and the doors are tiny. I had difficulty getting my bag through one of the doors and you have to crawl into the bathroom. There are so many temples in Kyoto...far too many to see in a couple of days. So I just picked a few; Kiyomizu-dera temple, Ginkakuji temple, Chion-in Temple, Kinkakuji (Golden Temple), Ryoanji temple with the Zen Rock Garden, which consists of white gravel, a few rocks and...um...nothing else. I also went to Maruyama Park and Nishijin Textile Centre, where you can watch women weaving and they have a regular fashion show of women in Kimonos. The temples surround the city and are very impressive. There's so much greenery that it's hard to believe that they are so close to the city. It's really easy to get around, because the buses go everywhere and the map is surprisingly simple (nothing like the Tokyo train map!)Kyoto is one of the few places left where Geisha still work and there are only about 100 of them left...extinction is looming...so I went Geisha spotting. I had met a local who told me when and where I could see them working. So I spent an evening wandering down dark alleys, peering in through windows and doors. It was a lot of hanging around and being patient. I saw quite a few women in kimonos, but none were fully made-up, so I wasn't sure if they were real Geisha. I was beginning to think that maybe they didn't bother with all the make-up anymore and was feeling a little disappointed. Then a taxi pulled up at traffic lights and in the back seat was a real Geisha, fully made-up, white face, bright red lipstick, beautifully done hair, exactly how you'd imagine a Geisha. It made me gasp to see it in real life. I continued my search and passed another 2 crossing the street with an elderly gentleman. I wanted to take pictures, but it felt wrong to do so...my staring was enough.
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