Bye, Bye Tokyo

This is our last day.  A little sad leaving Tokyo today.  We're leaving Japan and ending our fantastic adventure. It's been a very memorable trip filled with gracious people, exotic out-of-the-way places, great food, scooter rides, and.......rest. This trip raised our energy levels back up to a more normal range.   For that, I am thankful.

Often, when Terry and I stopped to take a second or third look at a Tokyo map, a Japanese would stop and ask if we needed help finding something.  They were always in their 50 or 60s, sometimes a man, sometimes a woman.  Occasionally, they would walk out of their way to point out where we needed to go. It happened 4-5 times while we were wandering around Tokyo.  It was a kind gesture.  This didn't happen in any other country we visited except one.  In Bangkok if someone asked you if you needed help....it was the first clue there was a scam coming in the next breath.

Tidbits: Interacting with many different people was one of the fun things about the trip.  Finding out about their lives was something I sort of do naturally by asking lots of questions.  Several people in their mid to upper twenties moved to the big city with their spouses from small outlying villages.  They came into the city to make a life for themselves but couldn't afford to bring their children, which were home being raised by the grandparents.  One taxi driver told us he sees his son 3 times a year.....he works 7 days per week to make ends meet and send money back home.  A lot of people work 7 days a week.  Seems like an exhausting life.

Laos had the most laid back and spiritual feel about it.  It was like everyone had a music implant playing Jack Johnson or James Taylor music all day.  We happened upon a restaurant/bar above the river that was very quiet and low key. Utopia was the name. The place was frequented by young backpackers so we ambled in slowly, incognito, with our hats tipped low. Nobody noticed. The patron didn't talk much and when they did it was kind of low and hushed....the way you would chat in a library or maybe a church.  We sat for awhile, among the youngsters and their backpacks, downed a refreshing drink, then headed out. Next to the door was a sign that pretty much described this place exactly..."Zen during the day, Groovy ay night."

Luang Prabang, Laos, had the highest number of Monks per square block of any city we visited. Monks dressed in orange robes.  Calm and smiling.  You never see a hyper monk....I don't think they exist.  And many monks means many Buddhism temples or Wats is the proper name for them.  There are 5000 Wats in Laos, which is not a very big country. They are generally ornate and beautiful, as you would think a temple would be, with gold the primary color.  Buddhists believe in the existence and cause of suffering.  They also believe in moving down the path that leads to the cessation of all suffering. Tourists, on the other hand believe in taking pictures....of the Wats, hundreds of them.  Then move on to the next one and take a couple hundred more pictures.  At home, counting up all the pictures with every angle possible of a serious looking Buddha and ornate everything.....they say to themselves...."Wat have I done", (now that's suffering!!!..lolol....sorry about that.)

The food in Laos was great and it was cheap.  They had some killer restaurants that we enjoyed, but we also ate several times at the night market for 2 bucks a piece....at a buffet, no less.  I wasn't sure what I was eating sometimes, but damn it was good.  They also made these slush drinks....a little sugar, fresh fruit like pineapple, mango, strawberry, lychee, etc and ice.  That all goes into a blender on high for 30 seconds.....Instant hydration.  I had 5 of those a day.....

I liked the people in Laos.  They just seemed real without a lot of pretense.  Thais were very busy, Vietnamese were aggressive and mean sometimes, and the Japanese were high fashion and had a lets-get-ahead mentality...Tokyo seems a lot like New York.....that kind of energy. If I got to pick my neighbors out of the places we visited it would be the folks from Laos and would hope they invited me over for a BBQ.


I will write one more blog and that will be the end of my SW Asia blogging. I hope you enjoyed it.