Wednesday 27th April

We arrived home at 10.55am. What a long flight!! The plane was a A330 Air Bus and it was full. We had good seats but there wasn't much leg room. The seating was 2 - 4 - 2. We had a 2 seater and Wally and Helen sat in front of us

They gave us a meal about 1am consisting of pork and rice or chicken and rice with all the trimmings. Sandy had some but we weren't hungry. Tried to sleep but it wasn't happening. Read until about 3.30 then tried again. You could nod off and when you wake up, think you have slept for 2 hours and find out that it has only been about 10 minutes. Wide awake again.A little baby girl about 6 months cried until the last hour from Sydney. Her parents looked really tired (as you can imagine) by the time we got to Sydney. They were sitting in the bulkhead seats and they had a baby boy (about 8 months) beside them and he never moved.
They served us breakfast about 8 which consisted of a choice between a ham/cheese sandwich (which we both took) or a chicken/rice dish. The ham & cheese sandwich was bacon, cheese and mushrooms on a baget roll. I didn't feel like this but ate the bacon and a few mushrooms. Had 2 lots of apple juice too. Sandy had his. We got into Sydney 10 minutes ahead of time as we had a tail wind.
I got some Opium perfume at Sydney Duty Free and came on through. My seeds that I had purchased in the Old Town got through Customs. I had declared them and when I got to Customs, they put them on the Computer and said I could keep them. Don't know when I am supposed to plane them as the writing is all in Chinese. I will put them in a pot as they are Morning Dew flowers.
The limousine was there to bring us home. I have never been so glad to see land and know that we are coming home.

Arrived home at 1.30 and the limo took Wally and Helen to their home. Sorted out our suitcases and started the washing. I didn't realise we had so much washing. It's all done except for 1 load and that can be done in the morning.

Andrew came in about 5.30 and Simon and the boys came in about 7.30. As we had had our tea, and Sandy had his about 5.30, we were sitting talking when Simon came in. Not really hungry but more tired than anything.

After tea the boys were in bed by and I followed and not far behind me was Sandy.

A good time was had by us and we thoroughly enjoyed the company. I think we are getting that much older and don't need the early starts and late finishes but..........

Tuesday 26th April

After breakfast (with Edna and Dick) we were back on the bus again at 8.30 to go touring. As this was an extra day for us (at no cost to us as China Airlines had cancelled our flight even before we left home).
We travelled through the longest tunnel again (13kms) and it was dark and there was nothing to see.

We arrived at Yilan County and we were told there were mineral springs in most of the hotels.

We arrived at Wufeng qi Waterfall. It was a beautiful place and the waterfall was just something. We took lots of photos and (as far as we went) there were some ladies doing Thai Chi at the Waterfall Viewing Platform. The water just gushes down into the Canyon. The view is wonderful. At the bottom of the waterfall is a natural pond where the water is clean and clear.

We came back down after climbing 541 stairs to the bottom and had a peanut ice cream. It was different and mainly made of ice not ice-cream. They had lots of little stalls where the locals sold fruit and vegetables.

It is a famous scenic area in Jiaosi Township. The name comes from the 5 peaks that line the background of the waterfall which look like a flag from a long way away. Walking up the trail past the Earth God Temple near the entrance, you will reach the waterfall source of foot within the hour.

We got back on the bus and were off the Luodong. In 1914, the Japanese discovered Taiwanese juniper forests on Taiping Mountain and started a lumber business there the following year. The lake was lovely but it had a lot of rubbish, cigarette butts and papers. We couldn't see any garbage bins either. We walked until 12.30 and then we got on the bus to go to our lunch at Dragon Garden.

Lunch was OK but still Asian. We then went off to the National Centre of Traditional Art arriving at 1.15. It was a very big place and was very interesting. Due to the rapid changes in their current society, traditional arts are dying out because there are no people learning these skills. Therefore, in 1995, a proposal for the establishment of a "north Eastern Cultural Arts Park" was changed to a plan for establishing a 'Centre for Traditional Arts' and the Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan was put in charge of this plan.

We saw a ceremony in Taiwanese of a 'wedding'. It was performed by Taiwanese people and a sort of 'ballet'. It was made up of sea life, squid, whales, fish, dolphin, fishermen etc. They were dressed in costumes and the more you looked at them, you could see what they represented. We followed them to the centre stage after they had finished and watched them perform the last of the dance. We sat and had ice creams (in the shade) then went through some shops and saw what they were making and selling. Watched a man making sugar cane lollies. It just melted in your mouth but we found it too late to buy any.

We got back on the bus at 4.30 and going to our Farewell Tea at 4.30/5. Out tea tonight is a Mongolian Style Bar-B-Que and Northeastern Style. It was a very long day.

We arrived at our Restaurant for our tea. It was called Tang Palace but the sign said Tang Kung BBQ. You got a bowl and filled it with what you wanted and they had 2 chefs who cooked it for you on a HUGE bar-b-que. They had pork, chicken, beef, venison, veal, heaps of salads & oils and it was great. Ice cream and fruits for desserts too. The Mongolian Hotpot (I didn't try) but it was made with vegetables and you cooked your own meat in it (for just a minute, and no more).

After tea, we went onto the airport for our flight home. Yippee!! Looking forward to going home but not the flight.

Le tried to get us into the 1st Class lounge to wait for our flight but because we weren't Frequent Flyer's, we weren't allowed. We said goodbye to them and we went and had coffee and just sat and waited until our flight at 11.55pm. It was only 9.20. We ended up going to more comfortable lounge chairs next door but it was so cold with the air conditioning that we went down to our gate, A9 and waited.

Finally our flight was called and we got to the plane for a journey home.

Monday 25th April

2 sleeps to go!!! We left the hotel at 8.30 and we are on our way to Meiji Shrine about 20 minutes away. It was a lovely shrine where we couldn't take photos of the inside of the shrine but could take the park on the outside. We were just in time to see a ceremony with the monks and 'lady monks'. I think they are called monks also but not sure. I took some photos of their ceremony and it was quite amazing.
Back on the bus at 9.40 and off to shopping in Akihabara.

We drove past Olympic Stadium and they had Circus de Soliel on. There were tents everywhere (which I think were for food etc).

We also drove past the Royal Palace which is surrounded by a moat (except where their driveway is but not for the public).

There wasn't much traffic there as peak hour traffic is between 5 - 7 each night.

We arrived at the electrical store consisting of about 7 floors. They have anything that you want in electrics. Sandy bought some ear phones for his iPod . We said good bye to Steve and Kim as they were staying in Tokyo for another 2 days on their own.

We got an email address for Ayumi as we leave her this afternoon.

We got to Tokyo airport and said good bye to Ayumi. She was a good Tour Guide and this, she said, is going to be her last tour and she will have to find another job. She was very knowledgeable and tried to let us see as much as she could fit in.

Our flight to Taipei was due to arrive at 5.15.

We boarded at 2.10 and there is an hour difference between Tokyo and Taipei.

I should imagine the trees changing colour in Autumn would be amazing. You could see there were orange and red trees everywhere.

On arriving at Taipei, we were met by our Tour Guide, Ruth for the rest of the day and tomorrow.

We were staying for the night at Howard Plaza hotel in Taipei (where we had stayed before).

We walked up to the Sogo Department store and Helen bought a pair of shoes. Sandy and Wally had a coffee at Starbucks and waited for us to come back for them.

We passed Le & Lien going for their tea. Le said to wait a minute and he bought 2 more beers and gave them to us to take back. He said he would be back soon.

After about 9, he hadn't arrived so we drank his beers and as Wally & Helen were going to their room, our phone rang and it was Le asking if it wasn't too late (10pm) he would come to our room and have a drink. Sorry Le, we had drank it.

Re-packed our bags and were in bed by 10.30 as we had an 8.30 start tomorrow.

Sunday 24th April

Today is Easter Sunday. We aren't home to give the grandchildren or Noah and Kennedy Easter eggs. I'm sure they will get heaps anyway.
Sent a text to Jack and Ty, Hannah & Sophie, John & Marilyn and my sister and Jeff.

We had to have our breakfast and be on the bus by 8. We are off to Hakone and view Mt. Fuji today.

We saw (from the bus) Mt. Fuji and it was just beautiful. It had snow on the top and was a panorama view to die for. Hakone has been famous for hot springs since 1590. We stopped at Hakone Valley and had a look around. There were heaps of steps and we went to the top and boy, did it smell (sulphur). It had hot springs bubbling and needless to say we didn't stay too long. The sulphur got into your throat and clothes.

From Hakone Valley, While the others went down the bottom in the bus, Lee & Lien, Marcelle and Graham, Wally & Helen, Anna & Vlad and us went by cable car (they call it a rope ride) and, to say the least, it was absolutely magnificent. It only took about 20 minutes to get to the bottom and 1020Y each, was worth every penny of it.

We had our lunch at Hakone Kojiri Terminal before we went on our cruise. Lunch wasn't too bad but I wasn't hungry and ate a little.

After lunch we went on the Ashinoko's Pirate Ship cruise. We sat behind the captain's Room where he steered the 'boat' from. It was very cold outside and windy. The scenery was beautiful and it lasted about 35 minutes. We left the boat and got our bus as we were off to Tokyo. We saw about 30 motor bikes on our trip up to the top to get on the freeway. The motor bikes were going down to the pier. I think they might be going on the cruise ship also.

Back on the bus we stopped for a "pit stop" before arriving in Tokyo. It was a long way but we made it. We then headed for Tokyo.

We had another River Cruise for about 40 minutes. It was called Sumida River Cruise from Hinode Pier on Tokyo Pier to Asakusa. The river was the most important waterway for the development of Tokyo. We got off the River Cruise and saw the Asakusa Kannon Temple and walked through Nakamise Shopping Street. It you bought an ice-cream there, you had to eat it at the shop and you weren't allowed to walk along and eat. There are 400 cherry blossom trees planted on both sides of the river too.

We saw a Korean pop group who had "idols" watching them. They didn't mean anything to us but we couldn't work out what was the attraction. They looked like another Asian to us.

We met at 4 and back on the bus to go to our hotel. The Grand Prince Hotel in New Takanawa. We had a little "pit stop" on our way and then stopped at the Sea Deck Shopping Mall. We were going to have our tea there later.

We had a look through the shops but there wasn't anything to buy for tourist shopping other than 'young' clothes for teenagers. It was a huge place with lots of floors.

We went to the 4th floor where we had our dinner. It was buffet style and help yourself. They had pizza, pasta, and salads etc for everyone. It was just delightful. I even had 3 helpings of the main meal then there were desserts and a chocolate fountain where you could cover any fruit in chocolate.

On to our hotel and there isn't the Internet again. I wrote 4 blogs in Word so I will cut and paste when we find an Internet. If the hotels have the Internet, they charge like wounded bulls for 24 hours and if you only have it for 1/4 hour, you still have for 24 hours. It is quite expensive. I fell into bed about 1/4 to 11 as I couldn't write any more.

Saturday 23rd April

Le and Sandy went down at 5.45am to have a Spa in the Japanese Mineral Springs. I didn't go so I had a shower while he was away. The bed was uncomfortable and as for the pillow!! Words don't describe it. It was hard one 1 side and had 3 bars on the other which apparently you could take out but we didn't find this out until the next morning. Duh!!!
This room was last night's room and this says it all.

We had breakfast at 7 and on the bus by 8 to go to Tateyama Korobe Gorge. We had our breakfast with Val, Gordon, Kim and Steve. It was simple but nice.

The steep cliffs of Korobe Gorge wants nature lovers to enjoy it's breathtaking scenery. It was once an isolated region but now offers a variety of thrilling sights for adventure seekers.

We went by various means of transport to reach the Ice Wall (which is only open in April). The journey costs 8900Y, went by bus, Cable Car (all the way indoors which wasn't any scenery to look at), shuttle bus and finally got there. It was a magical way to see the Ice Wall. The ice has built up and is about 7 metres high. There is only enough room for a bus to go through. I don't know who gives way to who if there is a bus coming the opposite way. By the time we got to the chalet, it was snowing and quite cold. We went out and Sandy wrote our names on the ice then we had to go back inside as it was freezing. We ended up sitting in the cafe having a coffee to try to warm up. I even had a coffee so that will tell you how cold I was. I don't like coffee!!!

The hotel was 2-1/4 hours away (Kimiyoshi Hotel, Tateyama).

Back on the bus and we stopped at a 7/11 store and had an ice cream. Never too cold for an ice cream. Our hotel was now about 1/4 hour away.

Tonight we stay at a Ryokan style hotel for the experience of traditional Japanese hostilities. On arrival, we got our room and had to take our shoes off. There were futons on the floor and we had to sit on the floor if we wanted to eat anything. It's not too bad getting down but getting up is another issue. Before tea Wally & Helen and Le and Lien went for another Spa in the hot springs. We had our tea on L2 and had to dress in our kimonos Sandy dressed up but I didn't. Quite a few of the others did and they looked terrific. We decided to dress in our kimonos for beakfast in the morning and have a photo taken.

We went back to our room for nibbles and cocktails. Le came in and Wally & Helen came too. Lien went to bed early??? Went to bed and we and to be on the bus by 8 tomorrow.

Friday 22nd April

After breakfast with Wally & Helen, we headed for Takayama’s Jinya Morning Market. It has been operating since 1863. I was disappointed in the markets. There wasn’t many shops open and what was open didn’t appeal to me. We were told there were lots of flowers and fruit & vegetables but we still haven’t found them.
We requested an extra ½ hour to look around but now I don’t know why. It sounded good at the time. I bought 3 packs of seeds of flowers so hope I can get them through Quarantine. If not they can have them.
On our way to the Old Town about an hour away to see the historical streets of the area. We went through a long tunnel about 14kms long. We then went to Shirakawago. A small village that is world heritage listed. It is located in the mountains beside a beautiful river. It is also where the Praying Village is located. Model-zukuri Gassho house, or “construction praying hands” is characterised by a sloping roof form and symbolises the hands of people who are praying. It was beautiful with snow capped mountains.
I even had to go to the loo and guess who went to the wrong on? He never battred an eyelid and neither did I but just about ran out.
Off to our lunch then a walk in the village. Left my camera in the Restaurant after lunch. When I discovered it was missing I flew back to the Restaurant and it wasn’t there. With my little knowledge of Japanese and their little knowledge of English, I couldn’t make out what the lady was saying. She was trying to tell me that it had been given to our Tour Guide and she was in the bathroom. When she came out and gave it to me I was so relieved.
We saw men re-thatching a roof on the Temple. One man had a chain saw and he was levelling the roof off. I wondered what they did in the old days when there wasn’t a chain saw around. Maybe they used a scythe.
We then travelled to a town called Tonami. On the way we stopped at a shopping complex where the check out ‘chicks’ were so polite. We could send planes of our people to see how to serve customers. They could learn a thing or two.
Wally finally got an ATM and it worked. He quickly grabbed his card and money before anything could happen.
We are staying at the Royal Hotel in Osaka tonight. It was a beautiful hotel but miles from everything and anything. For tea we had to take our shoes off and sit on cushions on the floor. It is OK to get down but trouble for some to get back up.
Sandy and Le are having another mineral spa in the morning at 6 and our bus leaving in the morning at 8.

Thursday 21st April

We had breakfast with Noel & Chris, Marcelle & Graham, Bill & Edna this morning and we had to fight for a table with the Japanese taking most of the 3 restaurants.
Our bus was leaving today at 8.30 and we are going to Hikone Castle about 1/2 hour away. It is one of two of Japan's remaining 4 medieval wooden castles and are each around 400 years old.
Genkyu-en Garden, Hikone's number 2 attraction is the garden at the foot of the castle. The park contains a sprawling villa built in the Chinese Tang Dynasty style in 1677 for Naooki Li, the fourth lord of Hikone.
It has beautiful gardens and the surrounds are lovely too. There were large carp in the lake and black and white swans.
We again had to take our shoes off as there were lot of steps in the castle and they were large and steep. We had to come down backwards.
We left again at 10.30 on our way to Gujo Hachiman for lunch. Oh, for a steak and chips with salad!!!
On our way again (all we seem to do is travel by bus to another destination) to Takayama. It is a historical Edo period consisting of shops, museums and wine shops. It was from 1600-1868) On the way we passed mountains covered on the top with snow and also some snow on the roadside. There were lot of tunnel too, the longest being 4350metres long.
We went to Takayama Jinya (National Historic Site) which was so small on the outside but huge on the inside. We had a Japanese guide take us through. We stayed there about an hour then we wandered through the old town and looked in the shops.
We got back on the bus about 4.30 and came on to our hotel for the night. It was only about 10 minutes away. It was called the Hida Hotel in Takayama.
It had 2 3/4 beds again and we went for a walk before our tea, which was at 6.
Wally tried to access an ATM again but to no avail. This is the 3rd time he has tried.
Everyone seems to be able to get onto the Internet but us. Le even came to try and get us going but 'not on'.
We were having abeer in our room when "lo and behold" it came on and I am writing my blog.
Sandy and Le are going to have a Mineral spa (in the nude) in the morning so should be interesting. Le is picking up Sandy at 6.
I'm sorry it has taken do long to get up to date but with no Internet it couldn't be done.