In Bangkok and last bit about Japan

Arrived in Bangkok last night. Flight went fine. By the time I got through customs and picked up baggage, it was midnight, so I had to take taxi to hotel. It was an amusing way to be welcomed back to Bangkok.

Supposedly the taxi line at the airport is legit. You go up to a guy at a desk, tell him where you want to go. He writes it on a piece of paper, gives you a receipt, puts a reciept in his pile. well when it is my turn, I tell him where I want to go. He says, "hey, is it ok if you go there for 400 baht, inclusive of toll road fees?"
"Everything?" I ask.
"Yup, everything, no extra fees."
I figure why not. I remember reading on the hotel's website that it should be around 375 baht if you go during "normal" hours. Throw in the post-midnight cost, and 400 doesn't sound bad.

So he doesn't give me the receipt nor puts it in the pile. He walks me to a car that looks pretty ghetto compared to the other taxis, and says something to the driver, and away we go- no meter running of course. Welcome back to Bangkok Sean.

Naturally the whole time I was thinking "Ok, this guy is going to BS me when we get there. There is no way he'll just take the 400 and be content. this is too good to be true." Well it turned out to be perfectly fine, no problems whatsoever. He even drove down the little drive way to the place I'm staying- Suk 11. I am in a dorm room for 250 baht (umm, between 5-10 dollars/night). Has A/C and seems reasonably clean. The showers make me miss Japan though.

Ok, so that brings me to Japan. I have like 10 things to write about but I don't know if I can write about it all in the 32 minutes I have, so let's get to it:

1. Bikes

China might be known for its bike riders but Japan is pretty crazy about bikes itself. What drove me nuts about them is the riders rode on the sidewalks. It was annoying having to walk down the sidewalk, fearful of some stupid bike coming from behind you and nicking you. It only happened once or twice, but it was still frustrating not knowing what was going to happen.

2. Escalators

In Tokyo, when you stand on the escalator, you get on the left side. In Osaka? The right side. Yes, w/in the same country, there are two different methods of escalator etiquette. And everywhere else? Uh oh, it is ugly. Japan orderly? Not when it comes to escalators in mid-sized cities. Kyoto Station was a prime example. In a hurry to get to your train? Best not get on that escalator cause you won't be able to move ahead.

3. Hair styles

when I was in Korea, this "fad" was just beginning: dudes getting perms. In Japan, it was even more prevelant. I am sad to say it is even in Thailand now. Fellas, you look stupid, ok? Cut out the perm crap. Thanks. Oh, and I'm not talking full-on fros here, just perms to make your hair "wavy".

4. Money

The japanese love their coins. Smallest bill? 1,000 yen, or about 10 dollars. They have a coin for about 5 dollars. I had so many coins that I was seriously considering investing in a coin purse. Alas, now I'm in Thailand, which is a little more sensical about its coins. Apparently Japan isn't alone in its coin addiction. I was whining about it to an Aussie and he said it was similar there. That's a shame.

5. Mos Burger

This is a Japanese fast-food chain. The place rocks. Basically their "signature" item is a hamburger with a tomato and some salsa-like sauce on top, with onions. It might not sound so good, but it is. Their fries aren't very greasy either. I think they should open some up in the States.

6. Convience Stores

They're everywhere in Japan, but that's true in most East Asian countries. What was my breakfast more times than not? A packaged meal from 7-11. Gourmet stuff.

My best experience, however, was in Hiroshima. After a night out on the town, this dude wanted to get a snack before going back to the hostel. He said, "ok, time to use up my coins!" and just poured them all out onto the table. Well the bizarre part is the cashier apparently knew quite a bit of English: "Wow, that is a lot of coins you have. Mind if I count them for you?" She then proceeded to count them all in English. We ended up having a brief conversation. I think she spoke better english than any japanese person I came across during my trip. Why she's working the graveyard shift at some random store is beyond me.

5. Maybe Tokyo isn't so big after all

Sunday was my last full day in Japan. I got to my hostel around 1:30 PM. After dropping off my stuff, I figured I would go take one last tour of the city. Well I had just walked through Shibuya and was headed to Harajuku via an earth-day fair and Yoyogi Park, when I hear someone call out "Sean! Hey there!" I turned my head and it was Dave, a guy I met in Hiroshima. He then introduced me to his friend Tim. Ended up hanging out with them and a few others in the park. Had Mexican for dinner. It was all right. El Torito, the chain restaurant. Afterwards, had a couple tall beers walking through Shinjuku. It was a really nice evening, around 60 degrees.

Well then the following day, i was walking through Roppongi, since I hadn't seen it yet, and who do I run into? No, not dave. No, I saw Tim and Chris, one of the others in the group. Yup, over 20 million people in the Tokyo area and I run into people twice w/in 24 hours. Fun times.

6. Earth Day

Just in case you're wondering, Earth Day fairs in Japan are pretty much the same as they are back in America. As Chris said, "This makes me feel like I'm at home [in seattle]." Yeah, all kinds of hippy crap. Peace signs, all that good stuff. At first I didn't smell incense, and thought, "well that makes sense. guess they just stick to using that at temples." Alas, about 10 minutes later, I got to the "incsense" area. Joy.

Best t-shirt of the day: some chick had a shirt that said "Kill All Hippies." This was at the fair. Can't get any better than that.

Oh, one big difference between USA and Japan fairs: Lots of people were drinking beer at the Tokyo one. I didn't smell any pot. Total flip-flop of American version.

7. Akihabara

This area is the electronics area of Tokyo. Nerd central. seriously. The first time I walked through it, I didn't really care. The 2nd time though? For some reason I felt really uncomfortable being there. It wasn't the electronics that did it, but all the comic crap, porn here and there (porn pops up in random places in Japan), and I don't know, just general atmosphere.

Speaking of porn, only in Japan would I be able to look across the aisle on the bullet train and see some dude looking at a porn magazine.

So there you go, a quick summary of things in Japan. Didn't take as long as I expected, woo hoo. 12 minutes to spare.

What's next for me? Trying to get a visa for India and Bangladesh. Looks like the former will be a bit more time consuming than I expected. Should have gotten it in SF. Oh well, should have, could have, would have- right dad?

Cheers.