Day 6- Sawat Di Thailand

First day in Bangkok is in the books and it couldn’t be more different than in Tokyo. The people and their outlook is probably the biggest change. In Japan there was a quiet confidence about everyone, a respectfulness, a warm yet cold feeling if that makes any sense. I admire the way they carry themselves. Though I have a very small sample size so far, the Thai people are much more open, much more in your face. Extremely friendly and very outgoing, but a definite brashness to them. Whenever I have been approached by someone or have asked someone a question its pretty awesome. They try to show me how much English they know and I try to whip out the few thai phrases I’ve picked up on- sawat di is hello, sabai di is how are you, kop kun is thank you… lost in translation or not, it always pretty much ends in laughs and a shrug of the shoulders

I’m staying in an area that is well known for its shopping (which is already a bit foreign to me) and if I had to describe it I would say its like if Vegas were made of shopping malls. There is every level of shopping you could ever find, from the expensive huge fashion stores to the small knockoff boutiques, all in one place. It’s interesting. I definitely didn’t get a very good idea of what Bangkok is like last night in my tuk tuk ride from the train station. It seemed like I was in a quiet part of the district but then I walked out the door this morning… nope. The traffic isn’t so much as crazy as it is just dense, jams everywhere and taxis, tuk tuks (a motorized carriage) and motorbikes galore.

So far my favorite part has been the food. Today I had Dim Sum which is more a way of serving food than a way of preparing it. Its kind of like an endless stream of appitizers… I also had Som Tam and it might be the best thai food I’ve ever had (Kyle that’s a challenge to your mom). It was a cabbage salad with a small portion of rice, a few unidentified vegetables and a braised beef. It was spicy as ever but delicious. There are some form of American fast food on every corner but I have no idea why you would ever want it.

I used my Chevro-legs to cover a pretty sizeable chunk of ground around my hostel today but my roommate, Sun-Ta from South Korea, showed me some cool areas and tomorrow I’ll be hitting up Western Bangkok which is a more historical/cultural section…

Here are some of the day’s pictures:

Day 5- Tokyo --> Bangkok

Made it to Bangkok by the skin of my teeth (i never understood that saying)... As I mentioned before, there is exactly 1 flight from Tokyo to Bangkok, and today was my day. I thought for sure i was going to have to stay another night in Narita which is a town right by the airport (the new Tokyo airport is like DIA, a bit out of the way and Narita is like Commerce City). And I thought one more night was going to turn into 3 because tomorrow and the next day are weekends and have a busier travel schedule and I might not get out til monday. I was a little worried because Japan is expensive by travelers standards. This morning I paid around 20 bucks for the hotel breakfast buffet, and I didn't value it quite that high haha. So im glad to be on to my next stop. Airport personnel wouldn't let me through security at first because it creates more work for them to let me into the gate and then escort me back out through customs if I didn't make the flight. So Ted from Fairbanks, Alaska (whom also missed the flight last night) and I had to wait by the ticket counter til the last second. I was standby passenger 13 and Ted was 15 meaning that 13 seats had to be open for me to fly and 15 had to be open for him. There were 12 open seats with one person yet to check in for a flight... that was lucky number 13. When they didn't show up with 20 minutes left before the departure they gave me the seat. I said farewell to Ted and then the time trail was on for security, immigrations and making it to the gate. Of course I made it... But running around the airport as a gigantor with 35 pounds of luggage is probably a funny sight to be seen. The flight was 6 ish hours and I scored another emergency exit seat... so clutch. So here I am, sitting in the lobby of an airport hostel in Bangkok, Thailand. It's currently 1:15 AM and I'm about to get some shut eye. Pretty stoked for tomorrow.


Double D

Tokyo Video

Here are some of the things I have been up to in Tokyo...



Tokyo from David Daly on Vimeo.

Day 4- Fishes and Facials

No. I didn't get a facial... but. I could have. Today was my anticipated last day in Tokyo and thus I set out to do some very Japanese things.

Firstly I thought, what is more Japanese than the freshest sushi on the planet? So I took an early morning trip down to the world renown Tsukiji Market. Tsukiji is made most famous for its live fish auction in which fish mongers from all around the Japan come and bid on the days catch. The highlight? half ton tuna.. I saw some big ones, no where near a half ton but those fish are massive. I really can believe there are any fish left in the oceans after seeing this market...

Some of the days coveted catch

Then I made good on my goal and had some fresh sushi. I couldn't even afford the good stuff, but everything I did have tasted awesome. There were hour long waits at some of the tiny hole in the wall sushi stands inside of the market to eat sushi. Some of which were 800 yen a piece... roughly $10. Crazy.

Next, I decided I had to visit an Onsen. Onsens are bath houses which use water from a sacred hot spring and are considered to be very spiritual. I really just found it to be a slightly smaller slightly more nude Glenwood Springs but to each his own...

I just want to say you HAVE to wear a yakuta at an Onsen...

It was kind of a half day for me here because I had to get over to Narita Airport to catch a flight to Bangkok. Unfortunately the buddy pass struck again and I'm still in Tokyo for another night... There are worse things, however. So I'm crossing my fingers for tomorrow in hopes of reaching the next chapter.

Double D

Day 3- Tokyoooo

 Day 3 is going to be hard to beat. I arrived to Tokyo late last night and all I could do was find my hostel and crash. But the good news was that falling asleep at 7 meant I woke up early today and had plenty of legs to go exploring... I would need them. I did a pretty extraordinary amount of walking today. Or as one of my current roommates Nik from New Zealand would say "kilometers and kilometers and kilometers bru."I set out for Tokyo Station (the main hub for subway/mass transit) on foot and only had to ask for directions once (great-success!) and decided that the days activities were Shinjuku District, Harajuku District, and Shibuya District. 

Each have their own pulls or attractiveness about them. Shinjuku is filled with glitz, it has its own area labeled "Times Square" and I'm sure is unreal at night. But it also has one of the coolest parks in all of Tokyo- the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which is kind of a mini central park. Harajuku is known for its fashion, think hello kitty. Everywhere. Tons of shops and boutiques, lots of weird food. Its pretty cool. And it also has a pretty sizable Shinto Shrine called Meiji Jingu tucked away in the corner. Shibuya seemed very business like but it also had a few quirks which I'll talk about later.

One of the funnier things I've done lately was buy my first train ticket. I enlisted help from a little girl, she was legit. And we're off....

I spent the majority of my time at the two parks: Shinjuku Gyoen and Yoyogi (where the Meiji Jingu Shrine is) and I couldn't honestly believe these two places existed in the middle of the bustling city.

Painted sake crates which were dedicated to the Meiji Emperor. The Meiji era was known for its integration of Western culture into Eastern civilization. The crates serve as a preservation of tradition amidst a boat load of cultural change.

Shinjuku Gyoen Garden. My favorite picture of the day

But I also got a pretty good perception of what it would be like to live inside this huge metropolis... people, everywhere. The Shibuya crossing says it all...

Shibuya Crossing from David Daly on Vimeo.

Only one more day in Tokyo before its off to Bangkok...

Double D

Day 1- The beginning

First day under my belt. The day was a long one and pretty slow moving but that was the risk of the Buddy Pass. Sorry everybody, not much to report yet… at this moment my goal was to not even be able to blog to you all because I would be smack dab in the middle of the Pacific. But here I am. Today started early- got to the airport just after 7:00 (had to stop for some McD’s breakfast first- I mean… it was quite possibly my last American meal). But not quite. After arriving at the airport my first task was producing proof of entering and exiting Vietnam within the constraints of my visa. I hadn’t yet bought a bus pass to and from Bangkok, and Delta required proof that I wasn’t going to immigrate illegally so the majority of my morning was spent on the trusty comp nailing that down. DIA’s wifi was tortoise-like and by mid morning I was finally on my way. 10:05- Bid farewell to my good buddy Jana at the ticket counter. 10:23- Cruised through security. 11:16- Watched the first Minneapolis plane take off without me. All full. 2:05- Same story. 3:30- Third time was not the charm. It was starting to feel less and less like I was trying to board a plane and more like I was just hanging out with a lot of people with a lot of bags who would all ditch me all of a sudden. Gate C38 was becoming my arch nemesis..

But 5:50 rolled around and just when I thought I might have to spend the night back at home and head for the summit in the morning, I caught the last Minneapolis plane out of Denver. It all worked out well.. I scored a emergency exit aisle seat (#christmasmiracle) which is amazingly more comfortable than normal seats. And now I get to spend the night with Lauren and take a mini-Minneapolis tour tomorrow morning. If all goes according to plan I’ll hop on a 1:30 flight toward Tokyo and then the trip really gets underway.

Double D