Ladies in Yokohama!!!

Konbonwa!

This past weekend I had a nice refreshing weekend of traveling with KK! Much needed 🙂 Even though I was recently in Thailand… clearly I have the traveling bug and the itch needed to be scratched. My friend Kelli posted this article recently and it couldn’t have summed up my feelings more perfectly. I find it so easy to get caught in the bubble here in Moriyama-Ku which I think is true no matter where you are in the world. As humans we get so stuck in routines and are always thinking about what’s next. I know I personally struggle with “staying in the moment”. I’m a do-er, I thrive on being productive and making the most of my time. The teacher in me loves to-do lists and the satisfaction of crossing things off is sadly really exciting for me. But, the downside of this is I’m noticing this gets me caught in the daily grind where I forget the happiness of the little things.

I’ve become more irritable and the littlest things are bothering me. But when I travel I find that it helps me to appreciate the important things in life and I just feel lighter, happier, and more free. I think I have been getting bogged down because I don’t know what lies ahead. It feels as though I’m failing by leaving NIS because this vision I had for myself of traveling and teaching abroad may not be the path I continue to take. But I need to accept dreams change, nothing is constant and that’s okay. Even though I don’t regret coming to Japan whatsoever, sometimes I feel like I haven’t grown or changed the way I had imagined I would. But as time goes on, I’m realizing that I have been changed for the better in many ways.

I’ve learned how to travel on my own and attempt to be more directionally capable (for those of you who know me, I get lost on one way streets). But after traveling in Tokyo alone and being stranded without my parents in Bangkok, I feel a little bit more confident in this area :). This year has also taught me that I actually want to live in or close to a city which is something I never thought I would say! I’ve always thought that I couldn’t handle it because cities are crowded, sometimes smelly, and just super fast paced. BUT after living in quiet ol’ Moriyama-Ku I’m like “BRING IT ON!!” This year has also taught me how naive I am in terms of the world. There are so many other places and cultural experiences that I want to learn about and experience for myself, it’s as if my eyes are slowly opening… there’s still so much to see and to learn! Last but not least, I feel like I’ve grown immensely as a teacher and it’s only been 1/2 of a year… learning about the PYP curriculum has rejuvenated my inspiration to teach and challenged me to expand my thinking of how to teach more effectively in a creative way.

Basically, even though I have random freak-outs multiple times a day, I need to remind myself to let it go, and trust the process. (Frozen seriously knows it all) When it comes down to it, I never thought I would end up in Japan and welp, here I am! I have no idea where I’ll be next year or even the year after that, but I need to have faith and be positive that this is all a part of shaping who I am and adding onto my journey. Okay end rant and more on Yokohama below…

Check out this article, so well said: http://masedimburgo.com/2014/06/04/17-things-change-forever-live-abroad/

chicas getting cray on the train

We left Friday night, took the shinkansen (bullet train) and had a night on the town in Roppongi- WOOP WOOP

out to Roppongi we go!

We tried going out to this restaurant that a friend recommended but sadly it was packed 😦 We went to a little izakaya across the street that was still really good.

this was meh

BANGIN’ chicken

grilled aspargus with foodgasmical creamy sauce

this picture alone sums up our night

Even though dinner was nommy, chicken and asparagus wasn’t the best pre-drinking meal. We pre-gamed at a place that was about $10 for unlimited drinks all night… dangerous, I know. We stayed out until like 2:30 and danced our butts off, such good fun. At one point we both thought we were in a music video we were so into it hahaha it was hilarious

miso soup, rice, hard boiled egg, and salad for breakfast… ’twas a struggle to choke this down

After we awoke from our slumber we headed towards Yokohama! I had heard such great things about this city (2nd largest in Japan!) that I couldn’t wait to see what all the hype was about. It definitely did not disappoint and it was the perfect combo with Roppongi the night before. We were also just so pumped about being in a new city that all weekend we chanted “Ladies in Yokohama, Ladies in Yokohama!” Yes, we are silly, I know.

gorgeous view of Yokohama from lunch!

We shared a salad and fajitas! NOM NOM NOM

Entrance to China Town

off exploring!

Once we found a hotel to check in (hello spontaneous humans checking in the day of- I’ve never done that!) we showered, rested up and then headed out to explore.

 

all lit up at night!

naughty pandas 😉

PANDA CRAZINESS

holy Kit Kats

Walking around China Town was so fun! Lots of street food that all smelled and looked so delicious, and tons of shops with lots of chotchkies (I don’t know how else to say this in English but in Yiddush it’s like crappy trinkets basically? haha) The highlight was finding this restaurant that just happened to be on the list of top 10 things to do in Yokohama I found out afterwards. It was so good we ended up going back the following day for lunch!!! It was $20 for all you can eat and the best part was that it was tapas style which I’ve never seen for Chinese food. It was perfect because we could try lots of different dishes and share!

yup…we didn’t eat that 

best fried rice I’ve had in Japan… it had such good flavor!

cashew chicken

veggies… so simple yet SO good

can’t go wrong with spring rolls!

spicy tofu!

SESAME BALLS… sounds strange I know but so damn good. Perfect combination of salty and sweet. The outside had sesame seeds over a layer of mochi and then inside was the sweet red bean paste… NOM

WE SO FULL

=0

I couldn’t be more glad that there weren’t too many bars in Yokohama because that meant we could just explore/chill and then get up a bit earlier! We went to the famous Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel and got to ride it and see the city lit up at night 🙂

 

Then we went on the underwater roller coaster which I have seen a ton of times on Pinterest and it was sick. Especially because we went at night when we were headed up on the incline it was so neat to see the stars and it was like we were about to take off on a rocket ship into space! Nothing like a good thrill 🙂

 

underwater rollercoaster!!

We also found this arcade inside with this awesome drum game. It was basically like DDR but with drums, it was so fun. We obviously had to do “Ari no mama no” – Let it Go in Japanese

best. game. ever.

Then we stopped by this ice skating rink and watched for about 30 minutes just dying at people falling. I know this is mean but hey, it’s the little things in life right? I swear I was laughing so hard I was so close to peeing my pants

sadly, this was one of the top highlights of my weekend

new purchase- enough said.

I couldn’t believe it but I actually slept 10 hours and I would’ve slept more if KK didn’t wake me up. Thank goodness she did because I didn’t want to waste the day away. We hit up Yamashita Park, the Cup of Noodles Museum, and went back to China Town for lunch.

bright and sunny day in Yokohama!

walking around Yamashita Park 🙂 Such a beautiful day 

cup of noodles museum!

This was actually such a cool museum. I’m not a huge museum but they designed it in such a creative way I was thoroughly engaged, interested and inspired the whole time! I had no idea Momofuku (the creator) invented Cup of Noodles in his 40’s and actually recently died in 2007 at the age of 96. He was an entrepreneur from the young age of 22 with a clothes company. Originally from Taiwan, he moved to Osaka shortly after to embellish on his business. After WWII he realized food was the connection to all people. He wanted to create something that was cheap and would last a long time, especially for Japan. Little did he know his invention would become known worldwide and end up being able to be eaten in space! (I ended up watching youtube videos afterwards to share with my kiddos to inspire them for their hopes and dreams project hehe)

Momofuku Ando the creator himself!

we made our own cup of noodles!

Seriously if you can ever go to this museum, I highly recommend it! So inspirational and fun 🙂

Have you noticed a pattern in my posts? I’m happiest with ice cream in hand 😉

on a final note- making the most of my time here. Time to plan trips on trips!

Finally, hi from my pups chilling and enjoying the new lakehouse!!!

PHEW that was a lot! Sayonara for now 🙂

 

January so far in a nut shell

こんにちは konnichiwa !

This month has flown by and I haven’t written anything since winter break travels. So here we go 🙂

Exciting things that have happened: 

1. Going over a couple from school’s house to cook dinner. We made persian rice and fish stew- both were absolutely amazing. I’m obsessed with this couple because they are the sweetest people ever and also have such an interesting background I just love talking to them. They are both from Bolivia but have parents who are German so they can speak Spanish, German, and English. They have also taught in many countries and have two beautiful twin daughters who were born in Zimbabwe and now go to NIS! They love to cook so I feel bad I can’t invite them over here there’s not enough room in our kitchen 😦 But I hope we can cook together more, it’s so fun!

2. Hiking Magome to Tsumago with my friend Campbell was an awesome day trip. The hike wouldn’t have been as challenging if it weren’t for all of the ice but we made it through alive! Minus Campbell’s 2 huge banana slip falls… I was that obnoxious person laughing hysterically it was too funny. But seriously there was about 2 inches thick of ice almost 85% of the trek. The parts were there was snow through the woods was nice. This trail extends all the way from Tokyo to Kyoto!! It’s become very famous but we just did a small section and walked a total of about 6 miles by the end of the day! I was quite sore the next day 🙂

sooo much uphill!

fish snacks haha

One of my favorite parts about this hike was we stopped at this little wooden hut where this old guy served us snacks all Japanese style and TEA which was so nice since we were so cold! There were also books on books of people who had stopped here along their hikes which was really cool to see where everyone was from. He also had one of those straw cone hats and he sang to us in Japanese about how much he loves this area… what a cute little old man. I should’ve snapped a pic with him. Thanks for the hospitality!!

we found a waterfall!

we made a friend!!

hard to see but funky freaking pants

3. I’m going to Cambodia!!! We booked tickets for spring break and I’m SOOO pumped :)) We have a week off in March and it’s going to be a fun girls trip with me, Katiria, Anna, and Leah the two other interns. Can’t wait!

4. Beautiful sunsets and on the kick to get back in shape!

Yes, I’m being one of those typical people and making New Years Resolutions but as I see it it’s just a re-set button. I know nothing is going to change over night but I’m just trying to be more conscious about portion control and also forcing myself to workout even though most days I would just rather sleep. I want to get back to the place where I feel 100% confident with how I look… one day at a time 🙂

5. We had a Sun Mall Fiesta on Friday which was super nice because we all rarely get to hang. I drank like I was a college kid (yes, see I’m not perfect) but it was really really fun. The best part was the cops came to tell us to be quiet after everyone had already left… whoooops.

the drunk asian eyes are here to play

hello there mr. cop!

6. Our power went out this week!!!! Thankfully our gas stove worked so we could make dinner but we weren’t able to get the power to come back on even after trying the circuit breaker. Apparently the big switch with the red tag and that was in Japanese and said something about “no” was the one to flip… k cool. Here was our nice candle lit dinner using the spices that one of my students moms gave me… thanks again Shreya! 🙂 We made Chicken Butter Masala with rice and garlic naan on the side… soooo good!

7. Missing my Charles and my rents as they just moved into their new house this past weekend! There is still a lot to be done but they made it in!!! Go Irwin team- here a few snapshots mom recently sent me.

8. It’s been so nice to catch up with people since break. I feel like everyone is really starting to make the most of our time here this year which is nice. The week we got back, Sylvia a friend from school invited us over for dinner and drinks. We ended up sleeping over it was so fun! We also recently had a New Years staff party which had muchhh better food than the Christmas party and was overall much nicer! We went out afterwards to my favorite salsa dancing place downtown, El Coco. I’m thinking of taking salsa dancing classes there soon 🙂

tomato cheesecake and matcha cake?

the chicas!

black curry was interesante!

Recent Nom Nom’s:

1. PARIWAR- duhhh (My favorite Indian restaurant here)

This was a nice meal to catch up with Kelli and Katiria on the weekend before school started to hear all about their travels! Katiria went back home to the states and Kelli went to Thailand and Cambodia!

2. Pad Thai Soup

Similar to this recipe: http://domesticfits.com/2012/10/22/pad-thai-soup/

Pad Thai Soup!! Super yummy

3. Thai Quinoa Salad

Recipe from: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12233/thai-style-quinoa-salad-its-vegan-too.html

4. Dijon Salmon with Mediterranean Style Salad and Cous Cous

Recipes adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Dijon-Salmon/Detail.aspx and http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/04/ultimate-greek-chopped-salad.html

I didn’t use the butter or anything for the salmon and I added chickpeas and olives for the salad 🙂

 

5. Coconut Curry- I know it looks like mush but this was a fab meal from http://minimalistbaker.com/30-minute-coconut-curry/#_a5y_p=1531167

6. Matcha latte!! 1 serving: 1/2 cup of water boiled then add in 1 tsp of matcha powder. Once it dissolves add in 1/2 cup of almond or soy milk then add honey as desired 🙂

7. Tofu Teriyaki Peanut Stir Fry

8. Tried a new Udon place and I will never be going back. First, I ordered one with miso broth to be safe and it was so bland. So since it was cheap I just ordered a new one instead and it had curry so it had more flavor. However, there was only udon and tempura vegetables at this place and we both left feeling like garbage… I don’t get how Japanese people are so little. We were not pleased – ___ –

School Updates: 

We are finishing up our unit on “How We Express Ourselves” and the students recently did a formative assessment to show what they have learned about symbolism thus far. They each chose something to create to use symbolism to represent themselves. The options were flags, totem poles or crests. They had to research to learn more about what they chose and about different types of symbolisms that correlate to it. Then they had to create their own piece with symbolism specific to them. They wrote a piece to explain what they learned through research and what their symbolism means. I can already see such growth since the beginning when we did a window into the world for our first unit- it’s so exciting!

so proud 🙂

Next, they are focusing on a hope/dream (inspired by Kid President 😉 ) and picking a unique way to use symbolism to show the class without actually stating their hope/dream. For example, one student wants to be an artist and is choosing to make a flip book with images that represent that. Some kids chose a play, diorama, puppet show… this is going to be sooo cool I can’t wait to see the presentations!

Going to Tokyo this weekend with Katiria- more on that soon.

Happy almost Friday!

さようなら sayonara

Sawadeekah to Konnichiwa

こんにちは konnichiwa!!

First off, I have officially exceeded my space limit on here and just had to purchase some more. That’s a sign that I love all of you dear readers so much PLUS I can’t believe how many posts I’ve written since just this summer! I’m working my up towards 80 posts… holy cow.

Very belated update on the rest of my trip with my parents but here it finally is! As last mentioned, we safely arrived in Nagoya and stayed at another teacher’s house (Sylvia- YOU RULE) which was so sweet of her. We didn’t do much in Nagoya (because frankly there isn’t too much here) besides showing them my apartment and our school. It was so nice for them to see what my life is here like in Japan! I think my family was super intrigued about our curriculum and how an international school works because they started to ask so many questions! I can imagine how it hard it might be to really picture what my life here is like on an every day basis. I remember feeling the same way when my friends were abroad- besides the facebook posts and random skypes/postcards, it was really hard to get a detailed image in my head.

Anywhoooo as my Grandma says, there are only a few snapshots of our time in Nagoya. Sadly, the picture below is evidence of possibly the worst breakfast I have ever had. Coming from someone who absolutely adores breakfast, like rushing down the stairs status to make it- this was extremely disappointing. Breakfast really isn’t a big thing here in Japan. If you remember from previous posts, something that is very common is that people will go to a cafe and order a coffee before 11 AM and get a piece of toast and a hard boiled egg for free on the side. Don’t forget though that the bread is a huge piece of stark white bread and slobbered with butter… yuck.

Sylvia lives right near this place called the Pelican Cafe and I figured it would be a good place to take them since I’ve been there before and they had okay pancakes. Problem numero uno: we thought we had learned our lesson of over ordering after the airport incident but clearly not. We ordered coffee, two different pancakes, and 3 orders of what we thought was a piece of toast, egg, cheese and tomato. We were very very wrong- it was egg salad mixed with cheese on toast. That was probably the most disgusting combination of foods I have ever tasted… mayonnaise and cheese YUCKKKKK. Such a waste of food and it was just carb overload- we felt like we needed to be rolled out of there. And it was about $70 for breakfast! Craziness. I think this was such a horrible experience it made Nagoya drop a few notches in my parents eyes haha

the absolute worst breakfast of my entire life

off we go!

felt so sorry for his poor knees- such a sport! 

After our disgusting breakfast, showering up, visiting school, and v-chatting with my grandparents we were ready to make the trek to Tokyo! The lovely Hiroko called us a cab and we magically squeezed all our luggage in and ourselves as well. Off we go!

smushed in a cab!

Someone had once warned me how crowded Tokyo is around New Years time but oh my goodness- crowded was an understatement it was CRAZYYY

oh my gooooodness SO MANY HUMANS

Even though the Shinkansen isn’t too long to Tokyo. It still takes some time to get the train downtown and then get on the Shinkansen it’s about 3-3.5 hours. So we didn’t get to our hotel until about 4/5 PM. We checked in and had to make a pit stop at the gym to see what was up- never have I ever seen a mini rodeo machine in a gym. We definitely had some good giggles from this 🙂

ish got rowdy real fast

We were unsure if we should eat at the hotel or venture somewhere else. The hotel restaurants looked super fancy and also very expensive. We thought we might as well go out to explore and I’m so glad that we did! We went to an Izikaya restaurant that was absolutely AMAZINGGGGG. Izakaya is like small tapas portions but Japanese style.

simple, yet delicious miso soup

this was another simple dish that was SOOOO good. I need to make this! It was just cucumbers, sesame oil and sesame seeds I believe. There might have been something else but it was so fresh I loved it 🙂

cold tofu- still trying to decide if I like tofu that way haha

mushroom skewers!

Surprisingly, I didn’t take a picture of my favorite dish which we ended up getting seconds of (so good and small portions which means you can try more!) was the chicken and leek skewers. The restaurant was called Torigen in Shinjuku right by our hotel. If you ever go to this area in Tokyo I highly recommend! We ordered so much more food than what I posted above and it was only about $70- for the win.

 

for the win!

The next day was our free day!!! Yippe! Sadly though, the day started in an international clinic and I was diagnosed with the mumps due to the fact I had a fever and my throat gland was as swollen as a grapefruit. Yes, I know I didn’t think mumps still existed either but apparently they do! You can still get it even if you had the vaccine and especially in Japan there are people who weren’t vaccinated- fun fact.

view from our room!

I was a bit worried about what our free day would be like because so many things I wanted to do with my parents were closed :(. What is still left on my list for Tokyo is: Imperial Palace, Rikugein Gardens, go back to Tsukiji market to eat sushi for breakfast, and go out. but all of those were closed!!! Thankfully some of the places I have been to before were still crowded with people and we had some good time adventuring about. I took them to Takeshita Street in Harajuku, the sky tree (my first time!) then to Asakusa at night to see Senso-ji temple!

famous cookie man?

Nakeshita street we meet again 🙂

happy crepe faces!

Mom was in heaven with the shopping because she is perfect size for all women Japanese clothing haha… maybe you should move here ma, you fit in so nicely!

If you ever go to the sky tree make sure to book tickets in advance! The line is always CRAZY long but thankfully Hiroko helped us reserve tickets so we got to zoom on ahead.

It was absolutely breathtaking to see Tokyo from so high up- I didn’t realize how truly big it is until that moment. I’m also glad we went at 4:30 because we got to see the sunset and watch the city during the day to being all lit up at night! 

so so tall!

The next 2 days we were super tourists but it was kinda nice to have someone take us around and not have to worry about time/transportation. The first tour day we went to Mt. Fuji and stopped at some of the surrounding lakes. On the second day of being tourists, we went to Nikko which is a world heritage site- both super cool!

green tea, wasabi, and strawberry shortcake kit kats !

Mt. Fuji is behind all of those clouds haha

These views were absolutely breathtaking! We took a big ferry across Hakone for a nice scenic view. 

famous waterfall at Nikko

blurry but hi monkey!!!

So I learned that the monkeys that symbolize hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil comes from Nikko! If you look in the upper left corner of this picture there are the monkeys!! 🙂

Last day it was time to say goodbye. I am beyond grateful that my parents came to visit me. Such special memories that I will cherish and I know I will never forget. I sobbed and blubbered like an absolute baby but I can’t wait to reunite again in June! ❤

 

the cutest parents ever!!!

Thinking of you guys as you moved into the new lakehouse today! Can’t wait to see it this summer… may the stress continue to fade away and only happiness overflow this house!! 🙂

さようなら sayonara for now!

 

 

Day 8/9- Elephants and Phuket Sea

Today’s the day!!!! TIME TO GO PLAY WITH ELLIE’S (elephants of course) I was so excited for this!!

yummy breakfast!

First stop was to go white water rafting which was MUCH different than our experience in Costa Rica. Over the summer when we went rafting as a family, our guides nearly tried to kill us. Tipping the boat on a 15 foot drop with rapids to me does NOT sound like fun. I fell out of the boat and went flying down the river… yikes! However, this experience was muchhh different. It was pretty low key and I actually would have liked a bit more adventure.

 

Obviously I couldn’t take the camera in the boat so I only have some pictures from post rafting when we went swimming with the fishies by a waterfall!

sooo many fish!

only dad and I went in, mom was a bit nervous 😉

After that we got to go for our elephant trek. My only complain about this was that it actually wasn’t long enough! I was sweating prefuselyyyy 1. because it was so hot 2. because I was actually really nervous! We went through the woods and there was a lot of inclines and declines so we were bouncing around in the back and holding on for dear life!!

Our guide also was the only one who completely got off of the elephant and took my phone to snaps some pics. We were a bit nervous because the elephant was pretty much free to do whatever it wanted but she was so good!!! She seemed like the oldest one and that she didn’t really want to move but she was perfect. The guy also snapped a bajillion pics so I was quite happy… here are some of my favorites 🙂

At the end we got to feed them bananas and I couldn’t believe that they eat the whole banana! I tried to peel it and then they were like nooo! Whooooopsies

getting washed off

this ellie then took the house in it’s mouth and was flapping about and was spraying itself- too cute!

beautiful sunset!

When we got back we showered up quickly and headed to have a quick dinner because we were going to see a show nearby called Phuket Sea. We didn’t really know much about it except it looked like a mix between a circus and a broadway show.

deeeeelish

soup was too creamy 😦 but I appreciated the rectangle presentation of the rice haha 

Sadly, I hate to report we were not fans of this show. There were some cool attractions within like this animal kingdom, but it was way too commercialized for my liking. Both my mom and dad fell asleep within 5 minutes of it starting sooo that sums it up. My two favorite parts were when they came down from bungee cords from the ceiling and did a bunch of cool flip things and hung from trapeze looking bars. And of course they had ellie’s and I was starstruck in love.

Our last day we just relaxed allll day and it was simply perfect! Just what we needed 🙂

 

 

 

last breakfast in Thailand!

the BEST coconuts I’ve ever had!!! That’s also my new silk scarf I got in Chiang Mai that can also be worn as a cover up. How cool!? 

Then we flew back to Japan first stop: Nagoya and then onto Tokyo. First, we had a layover in Sueol and ordered way too much food.. each dish came with like 3 side dishes. Whooopsies we learned our lesson!

WAYYYYY TOO MUCH FOOD

So we really didn’t think we were going to be able to fit all the luggage in the car. We each had a suitcase and a carry-on… I stupidly had to buy a carry on when I should’ve just brought one! My dad bought rope in Thailand just to be prepared but somehow we squeezed the luggage, little mommy in the back, and long legged daddy in the front! I even drove us back safely all the way. HOORAH!!

IT’S A MIRACLE!

Tomorrow is my first day back at school in three weeks, I can’t believe it! But I’m excited to see the kiddos 🙂

More on the rest of our trip in Japan soon.

For now, oyasumi nasai! (good night!)

 

Day 6/7 – Off to Sea!

Sawahdeekah! After we flew to Phuket, we were very ready to kick back and relax. This was the biggest hotel we had stayed at so far since Phuket is known as more of a resort area. We were greeted at the hotel with milkshakes and went over our schedule with the Thai travel agent.

YUMMY IN MY TUMMY

lobby area

all ready for the holiday spirit

hi koi!

loved this little decoration

absolutely beautiful views!

We hit the beach, took a walk, and played on the swing. Oh and met an elephant at the hotel named, Candy! It was just the afternoon we needed. The hotel had lots of different kinds of restaurants it was overwhelming to pick what to eat. We had eaten so much Thai food at this point we thought it would be a good idea to switch it up. So at night we headed to an Italian place which was deeeelish! We were so pooped we just headed back shortly after that… Mom and dad were almost fully adjusted at this point thank goodness! Just to give you an idea of what the hotel looked like here are some more pictures…

BEACHHHHH

they are too cute 🙂

swinging our little hearts out 🙂

Irwin selfies HAYYY

ELEPHANT TIME!!!!!!!

I love this picture… my face probably looked the same. Completely caught by surprise that an elephant knows what “cuddle” means!!

HOW CUTE!?!?

and she even knew how to kiss 😉 So sweet but it tickled so much!

BYE CANDY!

view of the hotel lit up at night!

Dinner time! 🙂 We shared a salad, tomato/mozz spread, eggplant parm and some seabass.   The next day we got up nice and early for our first Phuket excursion of sea canoeing! First we took a van ride to get to a meeting place… Boy were there a lot of people waiting to go on this trip. Then once everyone arrived, I would say close to 40ish people, we hopped on a boat. We visited three different islands: except I can only remember Phang Bay, one of them started with an M. Mom or Dad do you remember!? We had our tour guide Hon who was the person who steered the little boats. We went into different caves which were really narrow and we had to duck down for most of them. In one cave we got to see some diamonds on the rocks which was pretty sweet. In between exploring, we met a couple who was there on their Honeymoon and met on OK cupid. Turns out they both live in the same area outside of Boston as my brother! They are also both Jewish and we got along great, I love meeting people while traveling 🙂 We ended up running into them in Tokyo too, they were too sweet.

boss breakfast to start the day off!! Loved the addition of some Indian

before getting on the mini ferry!

off we go!

Hon made me a flower out of straws which was so sweet 🙂

in we go!

this is a tighter squeeze than I thought!

OHHHH YEAH

This is challenging for a 6″5 man!

Recognize this from the James Bond movie?

WEEEEEE

  We got to explore on the beach for a bit and lay out which was nice. Except stupid me didn’t change into my bathing sit and this is what I get for wearing an exercise shirt!

well that’s cool…

Then we got back, got to facetime with Brett and headed to dinner! It was at a different hotel and it was a seafood buffet. It was pretty yummy but my pictures are too dark to show you 😦

facetime with Brett from Israel!

loveee the lights every where for dinner 🙂

I love this mushy mom ❤

‘Twas a great day of adventure sea canoeing with some great sights and good food as always! More on white water rafting/elephant trekking tomorrow 🙂

Day 5- Behind the Scenes of Chiang Mai

Sawadeka from the airplane!

Yesterday was an incredible day full of lots of varying Thai culture. We had an early wake up of about 5:45 and left our hotel at 7:30 for our bike ride day. The man who picked us up was named Fook from the Netherlands… Yes we were laughing like immature kids at his name. Before we got on our bikes, we picked up a couple also from the Netherlands to join our tour. I enjoyed rubbing the belly of one of their dogs.. How cute!?

breakfast!

my new friend 🙂

We hopped on our bikes and followed our tour guide, Ton and rode single file like little ducklings following their mama. The first stop we made was at a leprecy village… To be honest the only time I’ve ever even heard about leprecy was at some point in the Torah when I was in Jewish private school. I didn’t think that still existed!! Apparently it was a really big problem in Thailand so they decided to put them all together so they could live in a community. Even though it is highly contagious Ton said they took some pill so it’s contained?? No idea. Mom was freaking out. Somewhat rightfully so considering their limbs were contorted and some had missing legs or hands… Yikes. But if you think about it the other way, it’s something that’s a part of their history so I think it’s important to see.

Since they set off such a huge piece of land, and most of the people with leprecy are dying now, they are looking into using the space for homeless people. Quite a genius idea if you ask me! Apparently there also aren’t really retirement homes, only if you have a lot of money. Usually the family will take care of them when they get older.

Near the lepracy village there were some pretty lily pads though !

Next stop: rice fields! Even though there wasn’t rice planted when we went it was still really cool to see. It went on and on for daysssss. We also tasted a piece of rice that was left there, and it was good! You have to take out each piece individually and they are also planted one by one… It really made me appreciate rice a bit more.

Now this stop I was not expecting to see at all- a crematorium. In Thailand there really aren’t any graveyards because they believe they will be reincarnated in their next life since most people are Buddhist. They showed us where they get burned and these little huts where the monks will stay. It was pretty creepy because you could see the bones leftover from a previous burning.. Yikes

I decided to show you the picture of the huts instead of the ashes and the bones..

The next pit stop was definitely less grim, as it was a family bakery where they worked and lived in their house. They were making tons and tons of banana bread muffins and packaging them up to go to either schools or convenient stores. I was so excited that we were going to be delivering some of the muffins to the school and get to meet the kids!! Right when we rode in, I saw a huge sign for BBL (brain based learning) which is something that I use in the classroom. It’s using hand motions and saying things out loud to make learning more engaging. It has also been proven to help kids remember information better. And of course, it’s fun 🙂 we went into one class and boy where they excited to see us! I’ve never seen anything like it. The kids just wanted to be hugged and loved.

family bakery

schoooool!

Dad found a fellow eagle scout haha

so many shoes!

HI KIDDOS

he’s so mushy I can’t handle it

Since Ton has visited so many times the kids knew him really well and were so excited to see him too. What he usually does is have the kids answer questions based on what we said in order to earn the muffin. I wish we could’ve given one to everyone but either way it was a great way for them to practice their English 🙂  I got to teach them the goodbye song I do with my class and they absolutely loved it! My mom had them stand up to do jumping jacks since she’s a personal trainer which was absolutely adorable. I think they loved my dad the most though because he’s so tall, they were getting mini airplane rides. It brought back memories for me as a kid 🙂 He used to carry the three of us up the stairs! One on each shoulder and one in his arms or on his back. I’ll never forget that! Plus having a really tall dad means extra high airplane rides. They got a little taste of that, they even were trying to hold onto his feet so he couldn’t leave it was so precious.

this was my childhood summed up in a picture… having a tall dad is AWESOME

After the school (the biggest highlight of the day for me), we saw a few more temples. I feel ignorant but I have a really hard time remembering the temples and the names of food in Thailand because they sound similar and are hard to pronounce! We saw some ruins of what was left after Chiang Mai was flooded about three years ago. I also really liked this one temple where we got to see the different positions of the Buddhas. Their hand positions determine the meaning.

There are 15 buddhas in total in this building!

Our last stop was to a local market which was cool! It was interesting to see because for them I think that is the norm of how they food shop. I didn’t see any super markets while there, but buying there food from the markets is definitely more fresh than a super market. We tried some sausage from this cute little lady and sticky rice. Then we tried mango and sticky rice which I had been seeing advertised everywhere. It was so stinking good!! Perfect combination of sweet and salty. After sharing some nibbles we went to a different spot of the market to eat. I got the chicken and rice and some lemon drink.

I LOVE markets

sausage lady nom nom nom

mango and sticky rice!

lunch 🙂

All in all, it was a fabulous day. Great food and I loved seeing the behind the scenes of Chiang Mai. I wish that the ride was more strenuous but I don’t think there are many hills in the area. The rest of the day we relaxed by the pool ’twas lovely. A night we headed out to eat dinner on the river, shopped at the famous night Bazzars which were full of all sorts of things. Anything from Buddha replicas, flowers, elephant pants, lanterns, you name it. I could seriously spend all of my money here… Help. We had to buy me an extra carry on because I was running out of room! So silly because I have one in Nagoya! Whoooopsies.

 

night Bazaar

street food

flower section of the market

I wish I didn’t see this but it’s too crazy not to share…

on a brighter note… MORE FLOWERS

dinner on the water

oh goodnight?

I think I have more selfies than anything else from this trip, but I don’t hate it

we even found matcha lattes!!!

Tomorrow we head to Phuket. I LOVED Chiang Mai. Besides the fact that it was a bit cooler temperature wise, I think it was my favorite so far.

More on Phuket next 🙂

Day 3/4 – Temples on Temples on Temples

Sawadeeka from Chiang Mai!

After arriving in Chiang Mai which was only one hour away, yippee! It was a bit of a rough morning, starting at 5:45 AM considering I was pretty hungover. I didn’t get to sleep until about 3 and we went pretty hard the night before. I’ve only done that probably twice since being in Japan, so I was more than happy to embrace my inner college Lirwin.

bose headphones were a plus for the plane courtesy of Hanukkah present from the broski 🙂 Thanks Alex!

Chiang Mai here we come!

cause selfies with the rents never get old

Once we arrived we were all in awe with our hotel. It reminded me of Woodloch, something like a relaxation getaway. Since our room wasn’t ready we thought it was the perfect opportunity to get a massage! After walking around we paid a million times more what is offered on the nearby streets. First we each were given a free ten minute massage which won us over instantaneously. Mom and I both got a 90 minute Thai massage. There was a lot of stretching but also hot stones. No words how relaxing this was. After we woke up we headed to lunch at the restaurant at the hotel we are staying at, Tamarind village. I could seriously eat here every meal for a week. The food is so fresh and their selection is so unique it’s always so hard to choose!

served really yummy tea 🙂

loved this tree

beautiful flowers too hehe

massage time! Waiting for it to be my turn 🙂

their bed…

my bed lolz. Sadly, most places couldn’t do 2 queens but hey I can’t complain 😉

pool side chillin’

the incredible menu!!

the mini restaurant

the most amazing banana chips I have EVER had

GOTCHAAAAA

bamboo leading up to the hotel

time to explore

After we finished eating, we did some shopping (because there is clearly never enough) and chilled at the hotel. Later on we explored towards the nearby river to find a place to eat at by the water. Sadly my stomach started to hurt at this point. I’m not sure if it’s cause of the water here even though I have only been drinking bottled water, or if it’s the food. Either way, it makes it really hard to fully enjoy the food 😦 The view was beautiful but we are all so tired so I was more than happy to call it an early night back.

I wish they had coconuts like this everywhere… fresh coconut water is absolutely amazing

The next day we had a tour of the temples and the craftsman village. The main highlights were being blessed by a monk where he said a prayer and splattered water on my head. It was really interesting to learn more about the Buddhist traditions and see how monks and Thai people observe their religion. I really like the concept of Buddhism of trying to find a balance in your life and many of the other beliefs. We also had the opportunity of chatting with a monk for almost half an hour, it was so cool! We asked him as many questions that we could think of like does he have a Facebook (yes, but mainly for teaching), does he cry/laugh/get angry (yes, but he tries to find a balance and control his emotions), when did he start, (At 12 and is now 24). My dad kept teasing him that he was a modern monk as we’ve come to learn though, there are two different kinds of monks. Either they are monks to teach and give advice to others or to learn and be at peace.

little “hats” to cover the drinks at breakfast- genius!

reclining Buddha

Dad LOVED ringing those bells haha

The temples here are also a nice change of pace from the ones in Japan. But I still liked the ones from Bangkok better. There was such a wide variety there and they were absolutely exquisite. After finishing up with the temples we headed to the craftsman village and got to see how they make silk and silver. The learning part for both places took less than ten minutes but spent way more than that shopping. In both stores the products they were selling were gorgeous it was so hard to decide. I ended up getting this silk scarf/cover up dress or skirt. I love it! I also got silver elephant earrings and a ring…I like elephants just a bit, can you tell?

she was WORKING it

pulling the silk out… how crazy!?

new ring! little ellie looks so happy!!!!! HI ELLIE

earrings to match 🙂

For dinner we had a reservation somewhere but we couldn’t find it! Our tuk tuk drove us around in circles and we tried walking around afterwards. We ended up finding this cute little Mediterranean place which was perfect. We shared a mango smoothie, spread of hummus, babaganush, cous cous, falafel and pickles, pita with tomatoes and feta, andddd a salad! Lots and lots of food but it was actually a nice switch from all the Thai food we’ve been eating to have some fresh veggies and a little taste of Israel 🙂

tuk tuk selfies 🙂

After dinner we went for me to get a mani/pedi and my parents got foot massages. It’s crazy how cheap things are here. Mine was a total of $12 and a foot massage was $6!! Unreal. Mind you this was also 9:30 PM and there were sooo many massage places open it’s crazy. I was embarrassed though because my dad fell asleep within 5 minutes and was snoring so loudly… Dad!! I tried to wake him up but was unsuccessful since I was three chairs away. Oh well. We walked around for a bit more then took a tuk tuk back. Wild night for the Irwin’s we didn’t go to sleep until almost midnight and woke up at 6 AM the next day for our bike ride… Livin on the edge baby!

almost got one of these bad boys (fish spa) but realized that’s probably really nasty since they don’t change the water -__-

More on that tomorrow 🙂 night night!

Day 2- You Can Sleep In The Next Life

Good morning from from Chiang Mai! Yesterday was an incredible day. It reminds me of when I was traveling with Sherry and we only had one full day in Tokyo and we jam packed so much into one day.

I was going to try to sleep late since I went to bed so late because of the stupid transfer confusion nonsense, buttttt I felt time was too precious I didn’t want to waste any. I woke up and hit up the breakfast buffet which was so overwhelming. I actually walked not once, not twice but three times just to really evaluate all of my options. This is my tactic at all buffets, important to really pick and choose! I started off with some fresh fruit and guava juice. Then I made a plate of this random assortment: it was killer.

morning view!

After talking to my friend from birthright, Tessa, she recommended that I go to Khao San road for some market shopping. It ended up being like 35 minutes away there was so much traffic and it wasn’t even during the week! I spent pretty much all the money I had taken out for the day. Partly because I was truly enjoying bargaining and also partly because there were so many things I wanted for myself and for others as gifts! Hehe

peek a boo taxi man

sooooo much stuf

even underwear lol

remember this empty road for later on in the post!

how cool are these clocks!? Kinda wish I got one

After shopping for about an hour I was ready to head back to freshen up (I don’t know how they handle this heat plus it’s their “winter” season) before the temple tour. I took my first tuk tuk and it was AWESOME. It was like a Rollercoaster in the road. It’s basically a mini car with open doors, they are everywhere here in Thailand! Driving in Bangkok is actually kind of scary because their are a ton of motorcycles weaving in and out between the cars! Good thing the drivers seem used to it.

even Ronald does the “wai” – when you put your hands together as a sign of respect/hello. Like bowing in Japan!

tuk tuk selfie!

After I got back I didn’t have much time to spare before the temple tour. I can’t remember the last time I went on a solo tour, I felt famous.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it because I’m not a huge history person but it was really interesting! I learned a lot about the background behind the temples like where they came from and the history behind their royal leaders. My only problem is a lot goes through one ear and out the other. I was honestly considering taking notes but I thought that might have been a bit too much. Either way the architecture was absolutely impeccable. Everything was so intricate I was in awe. Afterwards my tour guide, Tea (yes, that is her name) took me to this famous Thai jeweler and I wanted to be like hey lady, it’s all beautiful but this is out of my price range. Maybe next time when I’m here, my future husband can buy me a ring 😉

I met a monk!

I learned that you must be lower as a sign of respect. Women are also not allowed to touch them.

awkward angle but whatever

some stranger wanted a picture with me hahah

Cambodia smaller version on Ankor Wat

people praying

the Emerald Buddha is inside there!

Chinese style buiding

Once we finished the temples I got dropped off at Chatuchak market. This one was sooooo big, alley ways every corner you turned of endless clothes, souvenirs and food. It was really overwhelming and I really just wanted to take a shower. But it was about 4 and I hadn’t eaten lunch so I was starving! I got this mystery meat on a stick- she said it was chicken but it didn’t taste like chicken! Oh well it was very yummy with some spicy sauce. I also couldn’t resist this coconut ice cream that I saw everyone walking around with. It was very refreshing! I attempted to walk around and look but I was so over shopping at that point. After that I came back and showered up because I was a wet rag.

this made me sad 😦 she was dancing for money to pay for her education

most amazing ice cream ever.

I was waiting to hear back from Tessa and Nick because I was hoping they would join me for dinner. They didn’t get back early enough so it was dinner for 1! I took a cab (they are so cheap here it’s amazing) to the hotel, however I was a bit thrown off when they said I needed to take a water taxi to get there. I was like say whattttt… But they were right! They own a restaurant on the opposite side of the river, the boat ride was super short and the lights reflecting on the water were magnificent. I spent way more money on myself for dinner than I probably ever have but oh well pinkies up I was being fancy! I had a glass of wine, some soup I can’t pronounce or remember the name of, and green curry with chicken, veggies, and rice noodles. It was perfectttttt. But I really felt alone when the waiter brought over a magazine, a newspaper and a light to offer me to read. I wanted to scream “Yes, I know I’m alone!” Either way, I loved eating dinner on the water like that and the food was simply delightful.

off to dinner!

water taxi

view across the water

thank you waiter – ____-

doesn’t look like it but I promise it was a nommy soup

green curry and the rice noodles

love this picture 🙂

I headed back and met up with Nick and Tessa with lots of hugging and squealing. It’s just so crazy that we were both staying in Bangkok at the same time and so close to each other!! We decided to head to Khao San road because Tessa had been here two years ago and remembered it was bumpin. Boy was she right! I’m actually glad I went that morning because it completely transformed at night. The streets went from bare to super crowded and bustling with people. There were still people selling things on the side but the bars were overflowing with people and blaring music. There were some really weird things going on too. Like people selling bugs- I may or may not have tried a scorpion once I was drunk… tasted like a chip I swear. People also kept saying “ping pong” which Tessa kindly told me is when old ladies but ping pongs in their lady parts and pop them out… Could not even tell you why that is a thing.

reunited!!!

this is the SAME road I was at in the morning when it was empty!!

another man who was brave enough to eat scorpions with us

you can tell this place was really classy

buckets on buckets

we were feeling quite happy 🙂

We bar hopped a few times and shared a few of these buckets! I honestly felt like I was on the spring break I never had in college. There were people from all over the world which was a nice change of pace compared to Japan. We went to this one club after catching up and it was sooo much fun! Danced our booties off and then headed back to the hotel around 2ish just in time to see my parents! We caught up for a bit and the headed to bed because of a 5:45 alarm to get ready to head back to the airport. Somehow when I’m traveling I’m able to push sleep aside because I want to see so much, I’ll sleep when I’m dead right? Right.

Bangkok I really liked you. I definitely will need to come back I missed some markets- especially the floating market and also the famous rooftop bars! Until next time 😉

Day 1- Stuck In Travel Time Warp

Konnichiwa from Nagoya!! I’m baaaaaack. Time to update you on all my travels! I had written as we went along so let’s start with day one….

__________________________________________________________________

Oh. My. Goodness. I honestly thought I would never make it to Bangkok!! What a long and crazy day it was. First, let me preface this journey by the fact that I almost went to the wrong airport. This should have been the sign that things were going to go downhill. My mom had kept saying I was leaving out of Nagoya which would make sense considering that’s the closest to me. But silly me should have checked the itinerary a little more closely to read that I was actually leaving out of Tokyo! Just a wee different.

Thankfully it worked out that my friend, Taylor could drive my car to Nagoya airport so it will be there when we get back. I left my apartment (bye for now Sun Mall!) at 7:15 AM and didn’t arrive to Tokyo airport until noon. After a train, the Shinkansen, and another train… YIKES so much sitting! To make things exciting, (because why wouldn’t they be when it’s an Irwin trip) my parents completely missed their flight. Another miscommunication but this time actually the travel agents fault. The itinerary said PM but it turns out their flight left that morning…k cool. Not gonna lie I was pretty upset because we only have such a short time together I want to savor every moment. Butttt on the bright side we will be doing more exciting things later on in the trip 😉

While waiting for the flight, I enjoyed walking around- got a snack and explored some stores 🙂

this store was all made out of origami it was absolutely incredible…

sushi and inari (tofu skin wrapped over rice) and a glass of wine to help this exhausting traveling hehe

classy in a plastic cup right!?

Before taking off for South Korea and had the best surprise ever. My name was called to report to the gate and I thought to myself, here’s the next curveball, I bet they lost my seat or something. Actually the complete opposite happened. The nice woman said, “I’m so sorry Ms. Irwin we have seemed to run out of economy seats and you will need to seat in business class. Is that okay?” Is that okay!? That was the best damn news I heard all day.

I felt like I was a freaking princess. They were checking up on me every 5 seconds, it was unreal. And SO much leg room! Reclining seats bahhhhh! I apologize for those of you reading who fly business or first class all the time, but I’m still giddy with excitement. I also even had bibimbap, a traditional Korean food but much different than I’m used to. In Japan it is usually served in a hot bowl with rice, veggies and a cooked egg. You mix the egg around until it cooks and it’s Deelish. This one was more pickled veggies and served with hot rice and a hot kimchi kind of sauce. I also learned that metal chopsticks are more common in Korea, I found them easier to use actually. Oh and the best part? WINE. I was definitely a little tipsy after that flight, nbd.

Let me just kick back and relax, don’t mind if I do.

Korean Bimbimbop on the plane

HELLZ YES.

Incheon Airport was quite shmancy fancy!

violin players were ON point

The next flight… Not so much. Not sure what it was but for the first two hours I felt so nauseous it was horrible. I was so nervous I was going to vom on the person in front of me. Thankfully that didn’t happen and ginger ale helped a lot. But sadly all I could choke down of the economy dinner was a small bread roll, some rice, and some ice cream. The veggies and chicken were yucky… Nutritious meal right!? Nah I actually feel disgusting… Tomorrow might call for an early morning workout. Praise the gods I was able to sleep after that though, despite the two crying babies, one to each side of me.

Getting out of the airport was no problem. I was a little nervous to be alone but I was able to transfer money and get my bags and everything without any trouble! Until… I tried to get my transfer to the hotel. First of all, no one was even there to get me even though it had already been paid for. The woman didn’t believe me that my parents missed their flight and kept saying we needed to wait for the flight they were supposed to be on because it was delayed. Let’s just say, nasty Lirwin came out because I was cranky and quite frankly tired of the B.S. She was trying to tell me I needed to take a taxi because she had no documentation of my flight number, only theirs. Makes complete sense since we came from different counties, right? Right. After a fun hour and and 45 minutes of that nonsense I got my transfer and we are on our merry way to the hotel at almost 1 AM! Happy vacation to me. It can only get better though I hope!

BAHT ON BAHT

king bed to myself yippeeee!

I am pretty pumped though because I just found out two friends from the birthright trip I led this summer are staying in Bangkok right near our hotel! They are also going to Chiang Mai next too- fate has a crazy way of working things out doesn’t it? Tomorrow we… I mean I am off to see the temples. I must take good pics and hopefully I’ll be reunited tomorrow officially with the rents.

I’m glad I’m out of the travel time warp and it’s time for a real bed and a shower for this stinky traveling girl.

Bye bye and may tomorrow be a better day!