It’s a beauty.

 

Staying with my friend, my days slipped away from me a bit.  I was traveling all over the place, but ultimately had to be back in Tokyo because that is where I was flying out.  I wanted to take a day trip to Mount Fuji to see it up close and personal.  Hiking the mountain is only available during the summer months so my timing was off, but I still wanted to get closer.

I started looking into tours towards the end of my stay with my friend and quickly realized that most things were sold out.  I was so bummed!  Instead, I  found the Fuji Shibazakura Festival in Lake Kawaguchiko.  When I began to map out the best route for getting from my friend’s house, to the festival, back to Tokyo I  realized that it was a little trickier than I had originally imagined with my reduced number of days. It was a ‘take this train here, switch lines there, transfer to the bus route, not many hostels available, total time approximately 7 hours there and back’ situation.

I began to make every excuse in the book for not going, “It’s too complicated. I can see Mount Fuji from the train ride from Okayama to Tokyo.  It’s not that big of a deal.”  And so on.  Finally, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I was in Japan.  I was going to regret it if I didn’t go see Mount Fuji.

So I did.

I arrived to Lake Kawaguchiko just as the sun was setting.   I dropped my bags off at the hostel without even checking in and ran about a mile to the edge of town to get my shot.

I need to constantly remind myself to just do things.  Stop over-thinking.  Get on the train, change the bus line, travel all day and go.  In the end, I’ll only regret the things I didn’t do.

After Tokyo, Julia was heading to Europe and I was visiting a friend of mine who was teaching English in Japan.  It was so sad to say goodbye to Julia.  We had such a fun time together over these past 3 months, and I will always be grateful to her for making this experience so wonderful and fun.

My friend was living in Okayama and was central to many things in the country.  I decided to buy the Japan Rail (JR) pass and use her home as a base for traveling around.  A quick note on the JR pass.  This thing is just invaluable.  The easiest and most convenient way to get around the country is on the Shinkansen or bullet train.  The JR pass is only available to non-residents (as a way to boost tourism,) and it’s just the best.  It is quite expensive but unlike other rail passes (I’m looking at your Euro-rail) it does not regulate the number of times you use the pass.  7, 14 or 21 days, unlimited use!  Unbelievable.  I used this thing to zip all over the country, most days heading back to my friend’s house by nighttime.  Day trips made incredible easy all thanks to the wonderful JR pass.

Day Trip 1: Kyoto

 

Day Trip 2: Arashiyama

Day Trip 3: Hiroshima

Day Trip 4: Miyajima

 

Day Trip 5:  Art Island

Day 6: Himeji

 

Tuk-tuks rule the road in Southeast Asia.  Forget being transported in the lap of luxury or even a normal car for that matter, tuk-tuks are typically a motorized rickshaw.  Not always the safest way to get around, but sometimes (mostly) the only option other than walking.  Tuk-tuks were in almost every country  visited in Asia and they vary greatly by region.

Thailand: These guys are the kings of ‘kick-backs.’  You are looking for a ride to the local temple? Be prepared to make 3-4 stops along the way.  Jewelry store, tailor shop, tourist agency, random temple under construction that charges $3 to get inside. . . . It can all be a bit of scam if you’re not careful.  By the end of our time in Thailand, Julia and I would set a price with the driver and then say “No stops.”  The driver would say “No stops?” And we would respond “Only here (pointing to our destination on the map.) No stops.” Then we were off.

Cambodia:  Nicest tuk-tuk drivers.  We really didn’t use many tuk-tuks while in Cambodia, but the couple we rode were so nice.  The tuk-tuk themselves were the most comfortable too.  Cushioned seats, cold water in an ice chest under the seat (for the longer tours around the temple ruins) and individual names emblazoned on the sides.

These guys have the tours around Siem Reap down to a science.  Drop the tourists off at the temples, then hang out for a couple of hours with each other.  Some even have hammocks hung inside the tuk-tuk to catch up on beauty sleep after delivering the tourists to the obligatory sunrise at Angkor Wat.  Our guy in Siem Reap was Mr. Nang.  He was a true gem.  He spent the day driving us around to different ruins, telling us where to go, and offering us cold water when the Cambodian sun was beating down.

Siem Reap is a very walkable city and that is what we did on most days.  Although we didn’t use the tuk-tuks,  we were constantly offered them.  When walking along the street it’s all you hear.  You have to give these guys credit (and yes it is mostly men) because they are really trying to hook you in.  “Tuk-tuk lady? Where you go?” We would smile and say ‘no thank you,” and then it would be “How about tomorrow?  What you planning for tomorrow?  Need tuk-tuk.”  One after another “Tuk-tuk lady?” “Tuk-tuk ride?” “How ’bout tuk-tuk?”  The best was when they would beep and wave at us from across the street and yell “tuk-tuk lady?”  One night we were walking home and the usual chorus of “tuk-tuk? tuk-tuk? tuk-tuk?” rang in our ears.  We were almost to our hotel when one guy leaned my way “Lady, you want tuk-tuk? Marijuana? Cocaine?”  Yikes. I picked up the walking pace.

Vietnam: We didn’t ride in many tuk-tuks while in Vietnam.  These carts were typically non-mororized. The men pushed the carts on bikes.  To Julia and I this just felt like a bit much.

China: The tuk-tuks in China we didn’t even ride.  We had heard horror stories before getting to China about the safety (or lack thereof) of these things.  First of all, they are basically steel death traps and I’m not convinced two full-grown tall-ish American women could fit inside.  Second, many people told us that even if a price is negotiated before the ride, it is often reneged half way through.  Something along the lines of agreeing to 30RMB (around $5 before the trip starts) and when you arrive near the destination the price is changed to 300RMB.  Sure you can refuse to pay but things can often get dicey and dangerous quickly.  Julia and I decided to leave it to our very own reliable tuk-tuk service, our good old fashion strong legs and feet.

The last tuk-tuks I saw were in Japan.  These rickshaw contraptions seemed to be more for show than actual use.  I saw them mostly in towns that catered to tourists look for traditional Japanese culture.  They were push by sheer body might. I had to give it to these guys and girls.  They would haul people around by first walking and then picking up speed to a run.  It was very impressive.  Again, I didn’t partake because I never needed to.  I preferred to wave and take pictures of them.

Japan loves dogs.  Over the top, unapologetically loves them.  One day in Tokyo we stumbled upon this festival.  At first we thought it was some sort of holiday or special occasion but we quickly realized that no, it was just a celebration of dogs.

 

Continuing with our tradition of staying with friends on the road and being incredibly spoiled by them, we spent a week in Tokyo with Julia’s best friend’s family.  Julia and this friend went to grade school and high school together.  About 2 years ago her friend’s family moved to Tokyo.  Her father manages a Naval hotel in Tokyo.  The typical guest at the hotel is either retired military, or sponsored by a current military personal to stay there.  It is considered an active military base, so Julia and I had to be “approved” to stay there.

What a treat it was to stay with this family!  After being on the road for months it was so nice to have comforts from home and being that this place is considered “US soil” it afforded us all the things we longed for!   This family was just too good to us.

They showed us around the city, took us to their favorite restaurants, and just made us feel right at home.  It was really perfect.  I feel so blessed to have had so many people “taking care” of us on the road.  It’s amazing.

During our visit we saw the beauty of cherry blossom season, drank tea as part of a traditional tea ceremony, visited temples and saw the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo.

Shibuya in the daylight.

On one of our first nights in Japan, our friends took us for sushi.  It was like I had waiting my whole life for that moment-real, authentic, Japanese sushi.  We went to a small, little place near our friend’s house in Tokyo.  The menu was only in Japanese, but it didn’t matter because we ate whatever was freshly prepared for us by the owner (restaurant owner, chef and local community leader.) Honestly, I couldn’t even say what most of the food was but it was all delicious and unlike anything I had ever had before.  When I asked him how long he had been creating sushi delicacies he told us “75 years.”  He is 79.

We also met up with another friend in Tokyo.  This story is a true 6-degrees of separation.  Long story short: two years ago, my parents were in Disney World in Florida.  They were at the Japanese restaurant in Epcot.   Somehow Frank and Maggie started talking to the waitress there and telling her about their hometown in Pennsylvania.  My parents told her if she ever wanted to visit the east coast, she is welcomed to visit them.  Being the adventurous person that she is, she and her friend planned a trip for the following week!  She only spent a couple of days at my parents place, but apparently she saw all the sites of our small town.  She lives in Tokyo, so Julia and I ended up spending time with her.  It was a full circle moment!

 

 

 

 

SCAMS!!
They happen to the best of us.  We are all accustom to the typical ones (aka scam emails: “Terry Wetherford, you have won prize.  Send money to address, so we send money you won.”)  However, traveling is completely different, because you are dealing with people face to face and in the moment.  There are higher emotions and less time to think.  Most people I’ve met on my trip are awesome, wonderful and great.  Some are not.  Here are just a few of the “scams” I’ve come across on my time on the road.

The Tuk-tuk Scam:
This usually begins by negotiating a set price before entering the tuk-tuk.  The scam may ensue when a driver drops a person off at a random location and expects payment, or the agreed upon price is changed upon arrival (“No, not $3, I said $30.”)  This happened to Julia and I in Thailand.  We showed a tuk-tuk driver the address, he told us he knew where it was, then he proceeded to take us to the wrong location and wanted us to pay him.  We began to walk away, he started to yell at and follow us.  We ended up paying the fare because in the end it was about $5 and our safety is worth much more than that.  Moral of the story! We would write down the number of payment  on a sheet of paper to show the driver (30 Thai dollars, not 300,) also always negotiate before getting in the taxi, and last try to not get too upset if we were taken to the wrong place.  In most case these drivers were fair and honest.

The Milk Scam:
“We don’t need money we need milk.”  Person buys the milk.  It’s immediately returned for money. I completely fell for this one.  A little kid approached me in Siem Reap and asked me to buy his little sister milk.  I should have never done it, but kids just get to me.  I thought to myself “What’s a dollar or two for a bit of milk?”  Well, the problem is it wasn’t a dollar.  It’s never a dollar!  The little boy walked into the store like he owned the place (and for all I know maybe his family did,) and picked up a $25 BOTTLE OF FORMULA.  I told him no.  So he goes for the “cheaper” version. A $20 bottle.  I say no again and he finally settles on a bottle for $8.  “Fine” I tell him.  It was $8.  Does that bother me so much.  Not really.  His family probably needs the $8 dollars more than me.  What bothers me is that I helped to perpetuate this problem.  I essentially sent the message to his mother “Great job!  Your child CAN in fact tug on the heart-strings of strangers and make you money.”  Moral of the story! As sad as is for me to say, don’t trust the kids. They know not what they do.

The “I Don’t Have Change” Scam:
This typically happens on the street with food or little goods, usually from vendors carrying their items. We are constantly counting our change.  One night, in Vietnam were completely ripped off by a street food vendor.  We bought these little donut things and asked for change.  The conversion is ridiculous there with $1=20,000 dong.  We gave the woman 100,000 dong (about $5) and asked for 50,000  dong back (about $2.50).  She gave me 10,000 back.  My hand was still waiting for the rest.  Then she gave me 5,000 dong more.  Hand still waiting.  Then another 10,000.  Still waiting.  Than another 10,000. Then she tells me she doesn’t have any more change.  Do we sit there and fight with this woman over 10,000 dong?  The equivalent of 50 cents?  No, we didn’t, but the principle of it is so aggravating because we were already giving her WELL above what this little food was worth.  They probably cost less than a $1 to make and we ended up paying $3. Moral of the story! Carry small bills!

The “Your Shoe Is Broken” Scam:
This one is just so strange. A person will walk up to you on the street, and will try to take your shoe off you to fix it by glueing and sewing the shoe.  Then it will be returned and payment of around $40 is expected.  This didn’t happen to us but it did to friends of ours.  My response probably would have been, “uum, these shoes are the $4 Target special.  You aren’t getting me to pay $40.  K thanks bye.” Moral of the story! Tie your shoes tight!

The Tea/Coffee Scam:
A friendly person will walk up to you, make conversation in English, then  ask you to go for coffee or tea so they can continue practicing their English.  They will take you to a café or restaurant that is in on the scam, and will proceed to order items without presenting a menu. Thirty  minutes later the bill comes and it is hundreds of dollars.  They even go so far as to have fake policemen outside of the restaurant who will say you must pay.  Moral of the story! Be wary anyone too nice! Don’t randomly follow a person somewhere.

The Black Taxi Scam:
These non-metered cars try to encourage you to skip the taxi line and hop a ride with them.  If they don’t rob you before making it to the car, then the ride is not metered and there is a joy ride around the city.  Once arriving to your location you are expected to pay an exorbitant fee.   Moral of the story! Always go with the taxi line.  Never ride in an unmetered taxi.  Don’t be tempted to skip the long line in favor of one of these guys who approaches you.

The “This Is My Unique And Authentic Merchandise And You Should Buy It For An Ridiculous Amount Of Money” Scam:
One of the first days we were in Thailand, we stumbled upon this really cool merchants market.  Everything seemed unique and handmade.  We found these interesting bags of all sizes made out of cork.  Julia and I ended up talking to the owner for 10-15 minutes about how he went to design school and thought of the concept of creating these bags and wallets out of cork because he was bored with using traditional materials.  We didn’t buy anything 1- because I don’t really want a cork handbag and 2- they were just too expensive for us.  Imagine our surprise when over the coming weeks we saw these “unique” cork bags at every market we visited in Thailand.  They weren’t original or created by this man.  They were in fact mass-produced.  Moral of the story! Shop around!

The “You Look Western And Therefore Will Be Charged 100-500% More Than Locals” scam.
While we were visiting friends in Shanghai we went to a place called “The Fake Market.”  Obviously, you can figure out what this place is from it’s name.  It’s a huge underground mall-esque mini-world.  They sell probably everything you can imagine.  Lots of the stuff comes from factory overruns, but other goods are straight up fake (and yet good quality fake!)  We were there one day with our friends, one of whom is from Hong Kong.  We bought purses, which we really liked for about $7USD.  We liked them so much we decided to go back the next day.  This time without our friends.  We walked into the exact same store, asked to buy the exact same purses, and the man quoted us at $60USD.  “Ooookay.  We were here yesterday.  These are the purses we bought,” Julia and I showed the man the purses we had just purchased the day before.  “They were $7 yesterday.” The owner dropped the price to $30.  Just like that slashed in half.  “Riiiight.  Okay yesterday we paid $7 for them, so today we want to pay $7.” We felt like this was a fair price for the items because again this stuff is fake. The man literally starting yelling at us.  “You here yesterday with friend.  You friend Chinese.  Yesterday, Chinese price.  Today you price.”  In my world, no purse is worth getting yelled at so Julia and I started walking out the door.  “Okay, okay how much you want to pay?  Best price.  Tell me best price.”  “$7 dollars,” I deadpanned.  “No, no $7 dollars not your price.”  We settled on $10.  Gah!  The frustration level of this is over the top for me.  We would see this all over the place.  In some ways I get it.  Friends, family, resident, locals discount.  Sure, I guess but come on!  Moral of the story!  Have local friends to help you!  If this is unrealistic which is probably is, Bargain like your life depends on it.

The “I’m A Monk Or Some Other Person Of Charity” Scam:
This one happens outside of local temples, shrines, or even just on the street.  Someone is dressed like a monk or from a charity and is asking for money.  Usually it’s a scam.  Moral of the story!  We were told monks will never ask for money on the street.  Ever.  As for other charities, probably best to walk on by and make a donation to a place where you know exactly where that money is going.

Moral Of The Story: Scams happen all over the world.  It’s easy to get “taken for a ride” because people are doing this day in and day out.  We are newbies at this. We don’t have the practice that others have in these situations. It’s easier for us to get frazzled because we have the element of surprise working against us.  “Just a couple of dollars for milk? Sure!” “Let’s go grab a quick coffee and practice English? Why not?” Dealing with scams is part of traveling.

My best advice is to trust your instinct, try not to get swept up in the moment of doing what someone wants you to.  Do what is best for you in the moment, even if it causes a delay or awkwardness.  It may sound as if I am very untrusting or paranoid with people during my travels but actually quite the opposite is true.  I am very trusting and often rely on the kindness of strangers to help/guide me in certain situation.  However, in my opinion the key to safe and succesful interactions is to approach these on your own terms.  I will often walk up to a stranger in a foreign city and ask for guidance or directions.  Yet, when someone randomly walks up to me offering advice, to sell me something or do something amazingly generous for me I take a certain level of caution.

I read a sign at a National Park that said “Your safety is our concern, but your responsibility.” I try to remember this daily.  Even if people are generally concerned with my well-being, my safety is my, and only my, responsibility.  Acting accordingly is key.