Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Black Eyed Peas

We recently went to a Black Eyed Peas concert! Oh, man, it was a blast, too. We hadn't been to a concert in ages so it was great to finally see a show again. I really enjoy listening to Black Eyed Peas' music because it typically puts me in a great mood. And, it makes me want to dance or push myself a little harder on the stairmaster. Or, sometimes it makes me dance ON the stairstepper, which I think Travis finds embarrassing. Anyway, most of the lyrics are rather ridiculous, and I'm sure I've lost a few brain cells in the process, but how can you not like rocking out to them?! Anyway, here are a few pictures of the fun we enjoyed.

Here's our group hanging out at the subway station before the show. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. It really was sad how excited I was, but man, it felt great. Oh, and I stole this picture from Ayako's facebook pictures. I feel like I should say that for some reason.

Here's a pic of me with my pretty friends, Ayako and Jessica. I'm pretty sure we danced for two hours straight.
The show was only the second of their E.N.D (new album) tour. I'm pretty sure they took their show to Japan first to work out all the kinks before going worldwide, but it was a really fun concert. It was extremely high energy, and Fergie was awesome, and super hot. But, I will say she looked like she recently had some work done. Her cheeks were really tight and puffy. I still like her, though. Even if she has an accident every now and again.

Here's another shot of the set during their show. This was during their song, "Generation Now," which isn't my favorite. But, they played a lot of patriotic video footage during the song. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Oh how I miss home these days...

I know what you're thinking! They bought shirts?! Yes. Yes, we did. I know. I know. But, they say all of the Japan cities on the back, and you're seriously looking at two Americans who miss their motherland. Little things like concert t-shirts make all the difference. Don't ask me how much they cost. The memories they represent are priceless. 

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Chicago vs. Nagoya

Recently, my good friend, Heather, and her mom, Mary, made the trek from Chicago to Japan just to see us. Ok, well, maybe not just to see us. ;) 

Heather and I were randomly placed together as roommates our freshman year at Mizzou. And, we've been great friends ever since then. We lived together three out of our four years of college. The only year we missed was due to Heather joining a sorority. She had to put her time in at the sorority house. We had so much fun together during those four years, and I really can't imagine what it would have been like without her. We laughed so much, and cried some, too. She's a great friend, and I don't really believe our meeting was random at all. We were definitely put together for a reason. Oh, and I just have to mention that you should have seen the filthy apartment we shared in downtown Columbia our senior year of college. Domestic disputes, nasty carpet, homeless folks in the stairway, paper-thin walls, a rusty tub, mini-stove, irritable garbage disposal and wood paneled walls were among the luxuries we enjoyed. 

I derailed. Back to the trip highlights.

Travis graciously picked Heather and Mary up from the airport after work while I anxiously waited for their arrival. After they arrived, we went to a delicious sushi restaurant so we could win them over right away. The next morning, we headed to my favorite place in Japan, Kyoto. I think this trip marked my fifth trip there, and I have plans of returning next month. Just can't get enough of the place.

This trip was the most unique, though, because we stayed overnight in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. It was such a fun experience. Upon arrival, we were greeted with authentic green tea and some Japanese desserts. After that, we left the inn and explored the city a bit. After returning to the hotel, we put on our yukatas.

Here's Travis and me posing in our traditional Japanese room complete with paper screens, wood carvings and tatami floor. 

Shortly thereafter, Heather and Mary joined us for dinner. We ate dinner in our room in our pajamas! The food was a bit difficult to handle as it was very traditional. Much of it was raw, and some of it was unidentifiable. It was all presented beautifully, though, and I think I at least tried it all. It was certainly a very unique and authentic Japanese experience. We had a great time laughing through dinner. The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast in our rooms in our pajamas again! Breakfast proved to be no less challenging, but it was still a ton of fun.

From Kyoto, we headed to Nara. We walked around Nara Park and enjoyed lunch at a quaint little French cafe. Heather and Mary checked out the world famous Todaiji Temple, and then we headed back to Nagoya.

We managed to relax a little bit after returning to Nagoya because the next day we headed to Shirakawago, Takayama and Gero with my friend, Miyoko, and her husband.

We took this picture at one of the rest stops in Japan. The view was really beautiful. I love the rest stops in Japan. They always have very clean restrooms and lots of good snacks to enjoy. They also include a gas station, so they're quite convenient.

Our first stop was Shirakawago, a village famous for its thatched roof buildings and homes.

We took a little jaunt up a mountain and enjoyed this view. The photographer suggested we make triangles with our hands to resemble the shape of the thatched roof houses. We also enjoyed some really yummy snacks atop the mountain.

After Shirakawago, we headed to Takayama for lunch and sightseeing. It was my first time to Takayama, which is often described as a little Kyoto. The town was calm and beautiful. I definitely would like to return there sometime soon. After leaving Takayama, we headed to Gero, a town famous for hot springs. We didn't have time to fully enjoy the hot springs, but we did stop off to enjoy a free foot spa with a nice view of the mountainous region.

We returned to Nagoya and decided to spend the next day relaxing a little bit and did a bit of shopping. The following day, we visited my friend Miyoko at her home and dressed in kimonos for the day. I feel like I'm almost Japanese now that I've worn a kimono three times. As always, the day didn't disappoint, and we shared some good laughs together. 

My Japanese friends tried to teach us how to pose properly. This was our attempt. After taking a few pictures, we headed to a nice lunch and then to sing karaoke. Singing karaoke in the middle of the afternoon feels a little strange, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

The following day, we headed to Gifu to watch cormorant fishing on the Nagara River. It was my second time, and I enjoyed it once again. The weather was perfect, and we had a really fun time.

We also got to see this beautiful sunset. 

The next day was the last day of Heather and Mary's visit. I was so sad they had to leave, but we had a great last dinner at a Brazilian restaurant downtown despite the fact that the owner was quite interested in Mary. That was a bit annoying, but she was a good sport. Afterall, it's not easy being beautiful. ;)

Here we are enjoying our final dinner. Several of our friends in Nagoya joined in on the fun, too, and we were able to enjoy dancing to some Latin tunes as well. I'm so glad they came to visit us. 

Friday, September 18, 2009

Malaysia

After spending a couple of days in Singapore, we hopped on a short flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We quickly settled, enjoyed some awesome Turkish food and began the Malaysian leg of our vacation. Here are a few of the highlights.

We went to Batu Caves, a Hindu shrine, near the city.

Travis and I posing before climbing the stairs. 

We climbed 272 stairs to get to the top, and it was oh so hot!

The inside was pretty neat, but it was really dirty. I was a bit shocked considering it's a revered religious site, but there were heaps of trash laying around and wild monkeys and chickens wandering. Oh, and there was a guy with a python. EWWWwww...

Here is one of the many monkeys we saw while visiting Batu Caves. We saw a ton of monkeys throughout the trip.

After visiting Batu Caves, we made friends with a taxi driver who agreed to take us to our next destination, a nature park with several waterfalls. We spent a couple of hours hiking around and playing in some natural waterfalls. Not a rough way to spend a day.

The waterfalls were quite impressive. 

We played in this one for quite a while. The water was freezing, though.

On the way back down, we stopped to feed a crowd of monkeys.

After returning to Kuala Lumpur, we managed to find one of my favorite stores, Forever 21. There are no Forever 21 stores in Nagoya yet, so I was absolutely thrilled! It was the biggest one I've ever seen, too. 

I could have been there for hours.

We stumbled upon a great Raggae Bar in Chinatown. The music was great, and it brought back sweet Jamaica memories for me. Bob Marley will always have a special place in my heart. I heard about three of his most famous songs twenty times per day for a week during our honeymoon. :)

And finally, here are our vacation buddies, Chris and Jessica! We had such an amazing time together. I'm so grateful for the memories we made on this trip. Definitely the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Malaysia and Singapore are well-known for durian, also known as the stinky fruit. Chris and Jessica ate it the night before we arrived in Singapore so Travis and I were anxious to try it. Chris described it as having a "spiral-perm-kind-of taste." And, I must say, he was pretty much right on.
I actually kind of liked it. It reminded me of an extremely sweet cantaloupe. The texture reminded me a little bit of a mango, but it was more slimy and stringy.

We really enjoyed the tea in Malaysia. It was super sweet  and delicious. This picture of Chris and Jessica was taken at a little hawker stall. We told a taxi driver we wanted to eat the best satay, and he dropped us off here. We were a little nervous since there were absolutely no tourists there, which is actually usually a good sign, and lots of cats were roaming around. But, I'd have to say his recommendation was perfect. We enjoyed some amazing satay. The funniest part, though, was when we asked what kinds of satay we were eating. The waiter knew a little English and told us, "Chicken and meat." So, we asked him what kind of meat we were eating to which he responded, "Meat." Oh, right... We tried a couple of more times to figure it out, and then we just gave up. Perhaps it was cat? 

The Petronas  Towers in Kuala Lumpur are awesome. Really beautiful buildings that certainly make Kuala Lumpur's skyline spectacular. Another sidenote to add, Al Jazeera has an office inside, which brings me to another topic.

We were told by a few locals that Malaysia is 70 percent Muslim. By the way, I have not verified that statistic, but I know it was around 60 percent in 2000, so it seems about right to me. I had never been to a predominantly Muslim country before so it was certainly eye opening. We saw many women wearing burqas, and many of them only had their eyes exposed. Even the bridges of their noses were sometimes covered. The most interesting scene was around the pool where the women would sit quietly near the pool in full burqa while their husbands enjoyed the water. Let's remember that it was 100+ degrees outside. Not. Fair.

Also, I think Kuala Lumpur has been experiencing a rise in fundamentalism  as well. As a result, we had to walk through metal detectors every time we entered our hotel. Additionally, all vehicles had to be searched for explosives. I didn't feel uncomfortable or unsafe for some reason, but the experience was a first for me.

We spent another night traveling to a neighboring town called, Kuala Selangor. We took a van taxi there, and wow, the ride was interesting. It was extremely curvy and the setup of the van required two of us to sit backwards. I don't struggle with motion sickness, but even I was beginning to turn a little green. 

Alas, we survived. We went to a seafood restaurant on the river for dinner. The food was okay, but not the best we enjoyed and unfortunately the most expensive. By the way, by expensive, I mean around $12/person. Not exactly expensive, but for Malaysia it was a little pricey. 

After we left the restaurant, Travis decided to inform us that we dined with an enormous rat the entire time. I guess I was kind of glad I didn't know beforehand because I would have been freaking out, but still! 

Our main motive in traveling to Kuala Selangor was a nighttime firefly cruise, and it was certainly worth the long and treacherous van ride. We boarded a nice wooden boat and enjoyed an hour-long cruise along a river lined with trees filled with fireflies. It was amazing. Felt like Christmas, but it was much greener if you know what I mean. No electric lights here. Just trees lit by thousands of fireflies. Awesome.

When booking our hotel, we found a really great deal. And, I thought I would just ask for a room with a great view of the Petronas Towers for kicks. It never hurts to ask.

This is the view we awakened to each morning from our corner room on the 22nd floor. We also had a corner window and could see the KL Tower as well. I was impressed. And just think, all I had to do was ask.

And, my favorite part of Kuala Lumpur might have been our hotel's pool. It was amazing. In Japan pools are rare, and if you find them they are packed full of rugrats. So, we spent several hours enjoying the amazing pool, which included a swim-up bar. 

Well, that does it for our Malaysia re-cap. If you're traveling to Kuala Lumpur soon, let me know. I'd love to give you some recommendations.