2017 October 19th - November 7th: Hawaii - Tokyo - India 👍

Dateline: November 2017, Mumbai, India.

The trek west to the Orient

First Class United is not all it's supposed to be, but about right for the price

Once again, we are slumming it in Hawaii for no other reason than we have to offload our 2 weeks of timeshares, this time one ends in October, so we are out here, mid October instead of our usual November gig

The great thing about booking flights close to the departure date is that while regular economy seats go up and up the closer you get to your date, everything above that seating, the prices are stable. So it was that I found "First Class" tickets Toronto - Hawaii for $CAD700+ each.

Timeshare on Hawaiian islands aren't too
difficult to get. Just don't expect much luxury

A quick Uber to the airport (there's lots around at 5:30AM it seems)
US immigration was pretty easy, although I'm still very nervous about US travel, more on a personal ethical level than anything to do with security
We depart
First class that wasn't. Only a 2 hour flight was actually in real First pod, the other two longer flights were "Business". Business in United is definitely a'la Air Transat.

On the local golf course

The "welcome breakfast" schtick
Surprisingly, a lot of the attendees sign up 
for a lot of this crap
We were just looking for $100 to view timeshares. We were busted

There's alway a hot tub
or 3. Varying qualities
Hot tub and hot tub attendees

It did have an upside. On the first flight to Denver, the cabin crew said something like "Sorry all you guys in Economy, there has been no provisioning of breakfast". We in "Business" however got some basic gruel like serving, and sad coffee.
Business Class it was not.

hat 

We did get the First lounger pod box Denver - LA, and real First service. The last leg, LA - Hawaii, really reminded me of Air Transat. Not even an entertainment screen - this identified as "First" under United Airlines - Be aware!

The "First" lounges were also pretty sad. All of them, Toronto, Denver and LA.
My advice? Short United.
 'Nuff said

Funnily enough, by far the best deal on car hire was from these really grasping folks at RCI, less than half the cost of every other supplier.

So, all in all, shop and compare and shop again!

Heres a rough idea of the Hawaii trip: Not much of a travel trip here

We pick up the car (and yes! no extra to pay, just like it said - I'm amazed. Within 30 minutes of landing, I'm picking up the missus and the bags, and we're off, but not too far as my phone is having a fit and cannot work out our GPS location. A first!

We struggle to find our time share without GPS, but guess and fake it till we get somewhere that has a key for us

This is a really nice place. "The Cliffs" It's all totally time share everywhere around here

So this is what we do when we are not in Toronto

We do the Hot tub rotary: this is where I like to catch up on how Americans view the world through their new Trumpian lens. Sad to say, everyone simply changed the subject. Last year everyone had an opinion, mostly upbeat, this year, I can't even find out what any local (ie US citizens) are thinking. One guy (this all in the hot tub) said "I have no opinions on it".
He looked pretty insecure about the topic, and later I found out he was in the airforce.......

"Thank you for serving" said the assembled fellow hot tubbers

Time share madness
It rains a lot at this time of year, or is that global warming? I'm too confused by it all.  Definitely come here in November, there's lots more choice of time shares, and the weather is almost always perfect

Yet again, no one offers us $US100 to listen to a time share talk.... Rats!

The introduction (buy me!) presentation is typically an exercise in excess (way over priced excursions offering "superior" services etc etc) and surprisingly, several people bite for this stuff - go figure - sales baffles logic I guess

This is really a been here, done this kind of vacation now. There isn't much left of this island (Kauai) to explore anymore

Trailhead
Looks quite inviting

Read the signs.
This must be the US

I do have one thing that has not been done: the Kalalua Trail. This is the other side of the Na Pali coast (as in Jurassic Park landscapes), but by foot. I did the other end of this trail a few years back, it was a great adventure and it was quite a hike

This time, its been raining, a LOT! and the trail is a mud stream

The Kalalua Trail - need a mud fix?
this is the place

There's more mud here too

This is the end of the road, for me anyway

So, on the way I meet a young couple who are fully kitted out with all the camping gear, they are heading back as the path to the camping (an 18Km hike) is "impassable) - OK, I was only going up to the waterfall anyway.

Not so, I'm heading off there and a guy with an "Ironman" T shirt is coming back - he and his girlfriend turned back after a Km - "Impassable with mud" I'm told. What to do?

This is a stopover for snacking prior to the big leap

So, this is an easy decision.

Those peaks are the ones
(maybe) I hike to from the
top a few years ago

Lunch of eggs, and other vittles and I'm heading out again. About 8Km's total is all I manage, about 4 hours.

I know just the antidote for this hike.

Hot tubbing. And chatting to occupants therein.

Basically, the same old American refrain, "scroungers, welfare cheats, food stamps, criminal activities of Clinton(s), taxes WE have to pay to support this".

I was game, but if an Ironman couple gave up
I'm with you

Guns, abortion, global warming...... None of it. all personal selfish stuff

I have definite feelings that the president of the day is so ingrained in the followers at large that the current political rhetoric pervades even thinking people.

Everyone is looking forward to "Tax Reform" I hesitate to inform them that this reform will certainly cost them more than they are paying now

It's frightening - lets get out of here!

Trump is not a welcome subject here

We can't locate another RCI week for the points we have so we pay $200 to RCI (I hate doing that!) to roll 3 time shares into one (as one dies in 3 days)

Time share, locale, I'd rather have an extra week in India than on the island.... Most of you who know me will understand this.

So, we book our flight to Tokyo and after a week, onto Delhi. This time on Japanese Airlines

So, a quick visit to Airbnb, and we have a place, hopefully, close to where Kayla tells us its all happening in Tokyo: Shinjuku

 Heres the travel scoop on Japan

First visit: Yasakuni Shrine - 
Glorious War Criminals honoured here (lots)

It's late arrival on top of a few hours time change. The seats in JAL were not the best, and it was a bit of an uncomfortable trip. God knows how the folks in the cheap seats in the back managed.

We eventually fast train to Shinjuku and taxi from there.

We've got a bit of a pit, and a relatively expensive pit too.

Oh well, at least there's lots to do here.

A view from the other side
same stuff as at the River Kwai 
Museum, but different spin

Surprisingly, the Uber cab I tried to get was 4 times the final price of the local taxi service. I don't think this service will take off here somehow.

Next day, my back is in terrible condition, probably the seats on the flight, or more likely the terrible bed, (see how we suffer!?) so we hobble towards the Yasakuni Shrine: our first on our wandering around Tokyo. Whenever a high Japanese politico comes here to "pay respect" it causes an international incident, especially in Asia as a lot of these "spirits" and "Hero's" are convicted war criminals of the highest order, or at least, as far as the winners of the war that tried and executed said spirits and heroes tell us. Hey! I'm ok with that assessment.

Edo (aka Tokyo) Castle from the Tokagawu era

One of the glorification exhibits near the museum, had a collection of tools, implements etc from the death camps on the River Kwai, as previously reported by your correspondent. This aspect of the other side of the

The once Imperial Palace.
Tokyo Downtown at back

coin comes home to me as having been to the actual camp, the railway and knowing how the prisoners there were treated, whether you were the "victor" and wrote the history, or not, this display of relics from such a death camp, was actually pretty sickening.

We do a grand loop on foot around the city. Down through the ancient castle, much like Osaka, but a lot smaller, the (once) Imperial Palace, down to Tokyo station

I didn't realise just how stupid my sense of direction is with my (attenuated) wobbles still in some force.

It's hopeless. Worst of all, there is zero WiFi available for free, So we are reduced to using an actual paper map

Dial a Lunch, just select and pay

The missus has always relied on my sense of direction, now it is totally shot. Surprisingly, we get lost, a lot!

Quite a show for music and Dance

Entering Tokyo station is really terrifying, except we don't know that yet.

There are about 3 lower levels in the station, all with various subway train lines, shops food courts, department stores on each, then above, also with various surface train lines also, on each

And it's huge, about 200 x 300 metres: that's a lot of places to get lost in.

We do of course

Kodo Drumming at it's best. We loved it

It's awful, the missus doesn't want to walk much further, and I'm lost (even a good GPS doesn't work on 6 levels of building, so I can only go about 100 metres in any direction before I  have to make my way back to where the missus is hanging out before I get lost.

It is truly frightening

We eventually luck out and find a tourist information centre which does have WiFi. We catch up on emails and such and realise what we are up against to get around
Eventually, we give up searching for whatever it was, find a train back

Jims very own Okonomiaki
Not the best

His and hers
Sortta taste familiar

Next day, it's pissing down and even I try to catch a cab. while waiting in the rain, a young lady come out from a bakery across the road and gives me an umbrella, I'm already soaking wet, but it was a lovely gesture.


We try to find tickets to a Kodo drumming spectacular we learnt about at Tokyo station, but no one here has heard about it in Shinjuku. Easy we think, go back to Tokyo station and get the tickets from the tourist info.

Wrong. After searching for about an hour, we ask the "transport information" where the "tourist Information" place is. They send us to a travel agent,which actually has wifi. They have no idea, but I find another "tourist Information" centre through the wifi, that although having no idea what I want, actually phones up yet another tourist information centre which confirms that, yes, that is the place we want and we get directed there. PHEW!
Even with a map and directions it takes 20 - 30 minutes to locate it

The "reception area" is apparently full of adoring fans

A great chance for merchandising

What the fuck are we doing here?

We buy our (half price) tickets and head to the venue
It's pissing down, still.
The show, Mangekyo, was in fact pretty stunning - highly recommended.

After, we locate an Okonomiyaki restaurant, this one you make it yourself. I don't do too well.

It's far worse than it looks!

Kayla has told us about various restaurants (Ichiran), "Robot Cafe" and the Tsukiji Fish Market

We get tickets to the "Robot Restaurant" show. About $CAD75 per ticket.

Absolutely appalling rubbish!

I'm told some attendees even enjoyed it!

This is in Shinjuku. After this rubbish and an ongoing fight with multiple ATM's (sound familiar?), we decide to see the new Blade Runner movie. It's not one I'm going to ever ask for a directors cut. It's ok.

We also shelled out for the 4 Max, or whatever. The vibrating seat, water spray and odourama (mainly of malt wiskey supposedly.

On the way back, we stop at a noodle shop that has the most fantastic "Black Garlic Oil" noodle soup.

Talk about DIRE - no don't! PLEASE!
It went on, and ON AND ON!

Around Shinjuku, the advertising lights on the high rises, the Japanese characters, the sheer mass of people, and of course, the rain. Quite eerily familiar after Blade runner. Very similar in perspective

Now onto fun stuff

We, thankfully leave our Airbnb

We have booked a Ryokan in Hakone. navigate, with some issues, the train system, and arrive at this fabulous traditional Ryoken: An ancient hot springs spa

Four hot spring fed baths: one a walk in if the door is open, one pre bookable private one and a mens and womens that swap gender at 10:00PM

Also, breakfast and dinner Japanese  style included

A local noodle house in Hakone - delicious

Japanese style means sitting and sleeping on mats

Our room, personal Kimono and dinner

It's quite fantastic.

And the hot springs are truly wonderful

Our next dinner -
something else folks

The food, dinner, maybe 20 individual pots and dishes, mostly tiny, with lots of rice and unidentifiable tidbits

 We're not totally sure what a lot of this stuff is.

Certainly the Shashimi is the best I've ever had, probably all the other stuff is the best other stuff, whatever it is, that I've ever had too


We finish off the bottle of bubbly from Hawaii

Still life, with Kimono accents

We are all too near Odawara, so I hike down for view.

It was originally built in 1447 and was under seige many times, most notably in 1590, by, Tototomi Hideyoshi. But you all know that. (see Odawara Castle - Wikipedia)

The Private hot tub,
with model

With our trusty personal waitress
Neither of us had any idea what the
other was trying to say

Odawara Castle C1960 something

It has also been destroyed by earthquakes many times, and was most recently rebuilt in 1960 ish

We visit all the hot tubs in the Ryoken, and I get two more visits in the next morning before we depart back to Tokyo

UGH! This is the whale meat counter
Tokyo Fish market

We have another Airbnb in Ginza for our last 2 days in Japan.

Still a lot of action, but no auction today

This is mainly about the fish market and making sure we get to the airport

The market is full of, well, fish, all sorts.

I have a Tuna sushi roll and some grilled Tuna
Our host, Max has told us about a huge shopping area; Asakusa.

It's an easy trip there, but get totally disoriented (heard this before?) in the market.

Get yer Tuna Sushi here!

Do I look intimidated yet?

Another shrine, with Kimono's

There's a shrine here. It looks like a big deal but we pass, get totally intimidated by the sheer weight of the crowds and shops, have a fantastic tempura shrimp street food, get really lost again, and finally head back to the fish market for dinner

Not the best, and this is the 
Tokyo fish market! but filling

To be honest, I've enjoyed my sushi more elsewhere.

Your own personal Sushi chef will see you now

In the league, I'd say:
#1: Kyoto
#2: New York with Kayla
#3: Banff (YES!! Fantastic Sushi there)
#4: Tsukiji Fish Market

We met a couple who spoke English at the dinner sushi venue, and she said she always goes there because its "the best".

OK

First class lounge breakfast
Tokyo airport
The best business lounge food
I've ever been in

We are up early, about 5:45 local and get to the airport well in time

Surprise! We have been upgraded to First, complete with "Sakura Lounge" which is incredibly superior to anything lounge wise in North America.

Real food, lots of booze, help yourself to bubbly etc etc etc, then onto the plane.

What a delight - a real pod and first class service. None of this trolley business. The stewardess individually comes around to everyone and says, if there is anything you need, just call me.

Ah! what a delight.

The boy from Chaddleworth makes the grade

Well, why not flaunt it.
Surly the boy from Chaddleworth deserves it

It's late when we arrive in Delhi. I've booked a flight out to Mumbai. Everything is late, the original hotel I booked has been cancelled because I didn't respond in time. We end up in a dive under the flight path.

Next morning we move downtown to the real Mumbai

It's totally different from the North.

Want to find out more?

Is anyone bothered?

If I type in the forest would anyone care?

From Your Correspondent