The Travel Thread

[T_R]

I thought Rona was a really good young player
Remember saying the raiders should target him

I looked into some sumo stuff too. Really wanted to take my young bloke along to check it out but it wasn’t to be timing wise

We’ve just had a few absolutely delightful days in Takayama, we timed it out nicely and the Cherry blossoms here are in full bloom

Truly wonderful place… we got snow flurries walking home from dinner last night and honestly think that is a memory the family will have forever. My kids had never seen or been in real snow… and walking around the town this morning with snow sitting atop cars / roofs (not much though) was pretty cool for us all

I’ve eaten my body weight in hida beef and we’ve ticked all the boxes we could. Including Shirakawa-Go which was also very cool despite the rainy weather
Would have loved to get to Kanazawa but that’ll have to be next time

Off to Kyoto tomorrow morning… we’ve got day trips out to Osaka and lots planned for this next part of the adventure… but I’m already feeling sad about leaving Takayama

Based on your posts, we're off to Takayama for a couple of nights from tomorrow. Haven't been there for a decade or more.

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[gerg]

Slightly related to Sumo. My boss invited me to a Muay Thai prison fight event the week before last. I passed it onto one of my staff who is crazy about Muay Thai and I'll be going next year instead. They had a great time and were treated like celebrities. The 'Thai' fighters won all the bouts but apparently they shouldn't have.

They have the 'Kings cup' in December so I'll be going to that one. Hopefully John Wayne Parr has a fighter involved.

[Dr Zaius]

I thought Rona was a really good young player
Remember saying the raiders should target him

I looked into some sumo stuff too. Really wanted to take my young bloke along to check it out but it wasn’t to be timing wise

We’ve just had a few absolutely delightful days in Takayama, we timed it out nicely and the Cherry blossoms here are in full bloom

Truly wonderful place… we got snow flurries walking home from dinner last night and honestly think that is a memory the family will have forever. My kids had never seen or been in real snow… and walking around the town this morning with snow sitting atop cars / roofs (not much though) was pretty cool for us all

I’ve eaten my body weight in hida beef and we’ve ticked all the boxes we could. Including Shirakawa-Go which was also very cool despite the rainy weather
Would have loved to get to Kanazawa but that’ll have to be next time

Off to Kyoto tomorrow morning… we’ve got day trips out to Osaka and lots planned for this next part of the adventure… but I’m already feeling sad about leaving Takayama

Based on your posts, we're off to Takayama for a couple of nights from tomorrow. Haven't been there for a decade or more.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

Specifically the part where he said they are leaving tomorrow, and so it's safe to go?

[T_R]

I thought Rona was a really good young player
Remember saying the raiders should target him

I looked into some sumo stuff too. Really wanted to take my young bloke along to check it out but it wasn’t to be timing wise

We’ve just had a few absolutely delightful days in Takayama, we timed it out nicely and the Cherry blossoms here are in full bloom

Truly wonderful place… we got snow flurries walking home from dinner last night and honestly think that is a memory the family will have forever. My kids had never seen or been in real snow… and walking around the town this morning with snow sitting atop cars / roofs (not much though) was pretty cool for us all

I’ve eaten my body weight in hida beef and we’ve ticked all the boxes we could. Including Shirakawa-Go which was also very cool despite the rainy weather
Would have loved to get to Kanazawa but that’ll have to be next time

Off to Kyoto tomorrow morning… we’ve got day trips out to Osaka and lots planned for this next part of the adventure… but I’m already feeling sad about leaving Takayama

Based on your posts, we're off to Takayama for a couple of nights from tomorrow. Haven't been there for a decade or more.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

Specifically the part where he said they are leaving tomorrow, and so it's safe to go?

Life is about timing.

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[T_R]

Holy crap, Takayama has turned into Disneyland for foreign tourists The last time I was here the streets were empty. Wow, things have changed.

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[Botman]

Holy crap, Takayama has turned into Disneyland for foreign tourists The last time I was here the streets were empty. Wow, things have changed.

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We found walking around in the morning before the bus load of tourists rolled in was the best
There is a women selling Takayaki at the markets which were great

We arrived in Kyoto today, hit a little of the old town and had some tempura for dinner
Off to Universal Studios Japan tomorrow… gonna be a banger

[T_R]

Holy crap, Takayama has turned into Disneyland for foreign tourists The last time I was here the streets were empty. Wow, things have changed.

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We found walking around in the morning before the bus load of tourists rolled in was the best
There is a women selling Takayaki at the markets which were great

We arrived in Kyoto today, hit a little of the old town and had some tempura for dinner
Off to Universal Studios Japan tomorrow… gonna be a banger

Chuffed that you're enjoying it. Had a lovely night here in Takayama. Still stunned - this was an absolute backwater last time I was here where I couldn't even get a ramen after 7pm .... whereas we just dropped $300 a head in a Michellin starred French joint that was bursting at the seams with tourists. Stunned is an understatement.

Still a gorgeous town.



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[Botman]

Haha. We walked past that Michellin star restaurant (unless there is more than one!) and desperately wanted to go in, but our kids are 7 and 9 so it seemed a bit of a stretch

Still what a town… loved every moment there. Up there with Dinkelsbühl Germany in terms of placed I’ve truly felt like I’d sell up and move there to live in a heartbeat

[Botman]

Have to say, being in a cash dominated society is very strange
These guys put plastic around everything but handle cash like it’s 1990


Been enjoying the Kyoto vending machines with beer… rreeeeeally helps me keep solid but respectable day buzz going

[greeneyed]

I have thought this about many places, like

Riquewihr in the Alsace.
Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux.
Gordes in the Luberon. Everywhere in the Luberon.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany.
Sarlat-la-Canéda in the Dordogne.
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in the Lot.
Amalfi in Italy.

Plenty more. Better to leave the magic to that week, those few days.

[T_R]

Plenty more. Better to leave the magic to that week, those few days.

Probably good advice, but Yasuko and I will definitely retire to a place around here or over in the next valley.

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[Botman]

I have thought this about many places, like

Riquewihr in the Alsace.
Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux.
Gordes in the Luberon. Everywhere in the Luberon.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany.
Sarlat-la-Canéda in the Dordogne.
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in the Lot.
Amalfi in Italy.

Plenty more. Better to leave the magic to that week, those few days.

I’m not as well travelled as some but I’ve been to some very cool places and I’m pretty reserved with that sort of comment.

It’s really only been 3 cities that I’ve felt that way about (Dinkelsbühl, Heidelberg and now Takayama)… though many places we went in the south of France went damn close, most particularly around Dordogne

[greeneyed]

Suspect it’s much easier if your partner comes from that other country. But living in a country where the local language not your own is difficult. Then there’s all the added complications of health care etc as you age.

[Botman]

Went out to universal studios today
And let me tell you, the Bot family had a **** blast!

We spent big, got express passes and all they jazz but man we just had the funnest **** day. The Harry Potter and Nintendo world were absolutely astonishing.

The immersive experience robo coaster stuff is actually incredible. Honestly blows my mind

Man. What a great day, and I’ve got myself Voldemorts wand to duel the kids with now, so that’s a banger too … that all being said I’m currently walking around the hotel room like I’m **** 89 because my feet are so god damn sore

[T_R]

That Harry Potter world is insane. We went when it first opened (we were living in Kobe at the time for a bit, with two huge pre-teen Potter fans).

Dunno how they've aged, but those rides were madness at the time. I mean, I KNOW what it's like to be killed by a dragon, because I pretty much have been.

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[-PJ-]

I travelled today.

[bonehead]

I'm in Cairns, it's stupidly hot

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[Botman]

That Harry Potter world is insane. We went when it first opened (we were living in Kobe at the time for a bit, with two huge pre-teen Potter fans).

Dunno how they've aged, but those rides were madness at the time. I mean, I KNOW what it's like to be killed by a dragon, because I pretty much have been.

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I imagine if you’ve done this stuff before maybe they don’t have the same impact these days but I can tell you for our family and it being a first time experience… the Wow Factor was still very much there
We all came out of them shocked with how incredible they were. The Harry Potter, new Mario kart and the minions were particularly impressive

My kids and wife LOVE Harry Potter so just sauntering around there with some wands and doing all the wand magic, drinking butter beer, getting a chocolate frog and all that stuff outside of the rides was just great fun for everyone

just having lunch now near the Silver pavilion and we did Fushimi Inari Shrinethis morning too before the crowds filled in
Two really stunning places to see

[Azza]

That Harry Potter world is insane. We went when it first opened (we were living in Kobe at the time for a bit, with two huge pre-teen Potter fans).

Dunno how they've aged, but those rides were madness at the time. I mean, I KNOW what it's like to be killed by a dragon, because I pretty much have been.

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I imagine if you’ve done this stuff before maybe they don’t have the same impact these days but I can tell you for our family and it being a first time experience… the Wow Factor was still very much there
We all came out of them shocked with how incredible they were. The Harry Potter, new Mario kart and the minions were particularly impressive

My kids and wife LOVE Harry Potter so just sauntering around there with some wands and doing all the wand magic, drinking butter beer, getting a chocolate frog and all that stuff outside of the rides was just great fun for everyone

just having lunch now near the Silver pavilion and we did Fushimi Inari Shrinethis morning too before the crowds filled in
Two really stunning places to see

I just remember when I was in Japan (or indeed, most places overseas), I never bothered posting on crummy internet forums as I was having too much fun. So my belief is you aren't actually having THAT great of a time.

[Botman]

There is actually a decent amount of down time… we’re doing a lot but we also have to manage a 7 and 9 year old

You’ve got waiting times at train stations, the actual time on trains (even getting around locally you’ve got 20 minutes on a train to get where you want to go… the day trips out further form our base can be 1-2 hour journeys), then at meals once you’ve ordered the waiting there

And then, our kids are in bed by 8pm. Trying to keep them well rested to handle the days (we’re averaging about 12kms a day walking which is quite a lot for our kids)

All ends up it leaves plenty of down time post on this stupid site.

Just got the kids to bed now. Heading off to Nara tomorrow for a day trip

[greeneyed]

*this wonderful site

[Azza]

Just got the kids to bed now. Heading off to Nara tomorrow for a day trip

Hope a deer steals your wallet.

[T_R]

Suspect it’s much easier if your partner comes from that other country. But living in a country where the local language not your own is difficult. Then there’s all the added complications of health care etc as you age.

Very true.

[Botman]

We’ve had a big few days
The kids loved walking around Nara and the deer. My son also got himself a $120 sword to go up in his room which he’s chuffed about
We’ve hit the Bamboo Forest, the monkey park, a few amazing temples around Kyoto and today we got out to the aquarium at Osaka, which was actually so very cool. My kids LOVE zoos and aquariums and this was one of the best experiences we’ve had.
The design and flow of it was excellent and it helped that we got there super early and were one of the first people through so it felt like we had the place largely to ourselves

Hit Osaka castle… which I mean at this point of the journey. You’re starting to get shrine’d out but this one was pretty **** impressive

Then we went out to Skinsekai which honestly… I could have spent a week there just eating, drinking and having a grand old time with all the games and arcades

Then Dotonbori for dinner which was very cool too. We ended up as a sushi / sashimi train joint for dinner and.. yeah that was a good time.
Didn’t realise until the bill came that my daughter and wife were just hammering the expensive plates

[Botman]

Just got the kids to bed now. Heading off to Nara tomorrow for a day trip

Hope a deer steals your wallet.

Deer tried to bite my hoodie pocket (looking for biscuits I presume) and put a small hole in it
So suck eggs to you, pal!

[Botman]

Just on a Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Hiroshima was a nice little town and doing all the a-bomb stuff was really interesting and profoundly sad. That town and its people paid a very heavy price.

We went out to Miyajima for the floating Tori gate, and man that little town was spectacular. Kind of just assumed it was your run of the mill small town with a nice gate (my wife does almost all our planning and I just wake up each day and ask what we’re doing )

Didn’t know it was this beautiful little town in amongst this lovely peaceful forest, and delightful food, and this very fun vibe along the Main Street with beer and lemon sours when ever I ran dry… just a delightful day. One of the best of the trip.

The trip is coming to an end, we have Disney tomorrow and then one final day in Tokyo before getting a late night flight that night back to Australia.

[T_R]

Just on a Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Hiroshima was a nice little town and doing all the a-bomb stuff was really interesting and profoundly sad. That town and its people paid a very heavy price.

We went out to Miyajima for the floating Tori gate, and man that little town was spectacular. Kind of just assumed it was your run of the mill small town with a nice gate (my wife does almost all our planning and I just wake up each day and ask what we’re doing )

Didn’t know it was this beautiful little town in amongst this lovely peaceful forest, and delightful food, and this very fun vibe along the Main Street with beer and lemon sours when ever I ran dry… just a delightful day. One of the best of the trip.

The trip is coming to an end, we have Disney tomorrow and then one final day in Tokyo before getting a late night flight that night back to Australia.

I've enjoyed following the trip on FB!

[Botman]

Had a nice couple of days to end... Disney was really cool, i had pretty low expectations for reasons i dont quite know. I think i probably thought maybe the kids had already aged out of it... and whilst they didnt really give a **** about seeing Mickey and co in the parade (my son actually asked who Donald the Duck was) the rides were actually very fun. We had a great day

Finished up knocking around a bit in Toyko and found this little hole in the wall Ramen bar that served up the best meal i had on the trip.
Back home now, picked up our little Poppy dog on the way back from the airport and happy to be home after a great trip.

And true to form, my wife is already starting to think about the next trip (South Africa looks to be taking a bit of a commanding lead on that race)

[gerg]

If you’re still looking at Thailand options Bot, get your wife to look into Koh Samet. It’s a small island east of Pattaya, accessed by ferry from near Rayong. Was about a 2 and a half hr drive from Bangkok. We’re staying at Ao Prao beach and it’s wonderful. Not much to do except relax on a beautiful beach with incredible sunsets, drink cocktails while the kids splash around in the water. Not too crowded like other spots in Thailand.

[Botman]

If you’re still looking at Thailand options Bot, get your wife to look into Koh Samet. It’s a small island east of Pattaya, accessed by ferry from near Rayong. Was about a 2 and a half hr drive from Bangkok. We’re staying at Ao Prao beach and it’s wonderful. Not much to do except relax on a beautiful beach with incredible sunsets, drink cocktails while the kids splash around in the water. Not too crowded like other spots in Thailand.

Thanks mate
We're just in the process now of fleshing out the trip. Think we've got our plan in place so not sure there will scope to add something like that in, but we'll definitely check it out!

[gerg]

If you’re still looking at Thailand options Bot, get your wife to look into Koh Samet. It’s a small island east of Pattaya, accessed by ferry from near Rayong. Was about a 2 and a half hr drive from Bangkok. We’re staying at Ao Prao beach and it’s wonderful. Not much to do except relax on a beautiful beach with incredible sunsets, drink cocktails while the kids splash around in the water. Not too crowded like other spots in Thailand.

Thanks mate
We're just in the process now of fleshing out the trip. Think we've got our plan in place so not sure there will scope to add something like that in, but we'll definitely check it out!

Where are you now @Botman? Great time to be in south East Asia with songkran festivals happening. Get the kids out and enjoy some water fights. The heat is off the charts so any excuse to cool off is good

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[Botman]

We just arrived in Hoi An today

Spent the first 5 days in Hanoi, did Ninh Binh and a Halong Bay overnight boat cruise.
The boat cruise was awesome and Hanoi was very cool. Really different sort of trip for us, the kids were a bit overwhelmed at first but warmed up. Hanoi was awesome but even only one night in man Hoi An **** rocks… wish we didn’t have the kids
Vibes around old town are incredible. Food is amazing

We’ll hit the beach tomorrow, maybe head to Da Nang for dinner and check out what it’s like there at night. But Vietnam is absolutely living up to the hype so far
Tremendous country!

[Dr Zaius]

Love Hoi An.

[Botman]

Doing a quick hit a run mission to Cambodia the last few nights.
Mostly just here for Angkor Wat which we did today and it was incredible
Heading ti Thailand tomorrow

But we accidentally came to Cambodia during their new year celebration, which apparently just means the locals all fill the streets with music, dancing and a giant city wide water fight
It’s **** chaos out there. Walking back from dinner we got soaked by kids, teenagers and adults a like shooting us with water guns and dumping water on us with buckets or anything else they can grabs
Shops putting our barrels of water just so there is free reign to fill up the guns.
(It was 34 c and about 100000% humidity so no one minded!)

This is the funnest celebration I’ve ever seen.

[gerg]

Doing a quick hit a run mission to Cambodia the last few nights.
Mostly just here for Angkor Wat which we did today and it was incredible
Heading ti Thailand tomorrow

But we accidentally came to Cambodia during their new year celebration, which apparently just means the locals all fill the streets with music, dancing and a giant city wide water fight
It’s **** chaos out there. Walking back from dinner we got soaked by kids, teenagers and adults a like shooting us with water guns and dumping water on us with buckets or anything else they can grabs
Shops putting our barrels of water just so there is free reign to fill up the guns.
(It was 34 c and about 100000% humidity so no one minded!)

This is the funnest celebration I’ve ever seen.

Just as chaotic in Thailand. Might be water fights all this week too in some spots.

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