Omagri Hanami

The weekend after I got back from Cambodia I went to a firework festival in Akita, the prefecture just north of Yamagata. I have been so busy catching up that it has taken this long to make the post. Omagari festival is said to be ichiban/THE BEST firework display in the country. It is hard to say if this is true, but the 700,000 people that showed up tells me that it definitely isn't the worst and probably up there in popularity in Japan.

It was difficult to find a spot to sit because on arrival we realized you could pay and reserve seats or go super early, tape down your mat and leave to reserve a free seat. We had done neither of those. Luckily being foreigners and looking confused some people offered us a small spot that we were able to squeeze in. From there the show began. They had some sort of event that happened in the daylight where fireworks shot parachutes in the air and people would run around catching them. This was almost a bigger hit to the Japanese people than the actual fireworks themselves.

Finally the sun went behind the mountains and the REAL show began. It lasted for three hours consisting of displays with music and one grand final display at the end. It was amazing!!

When it was over we were exhausted and covered in ash. Because of all the people we had to line up for our train 1 km away from the station. Getting on the train we were pushed and everyone was packed in like a can of sardines. Crazy way to end the day.

Thai

By the time we got to Thailand there really wasn't time to go anywhere but Bangkok. I was okay with this because we had just spent four days at the beach. It was time to do some serious shopping and a bit of sight seeing in the big city. We were fortunate to stay at two different hotels with swimming pools. I forgot how much of a fish I was, so I was happy to get in as much swimming as I could.

We visited a pottery village and sweets bakery shop a bit out of the city. It was the worst pottery I have ever seen. Every piece was similar wiht the same simple shapes and style of paint strokes. It was a little disappointing for me and I didn't buy anything. I did purchase a bunch of sweets to take back for people in Japan. Even the cookies weren't that delcious. It was unfortuante!

I enjoyed some time by myself inside this temple. It was peaceful just peering up at the good sized Buddha. Even though not in prayer, it was nice to be in the presence of the beautiful icon.

Reclining Buddha! One of my favorite things to see in Asia...giant Buddha's! This one ranks nubmer two to the Buddha in Toadiji temple, Nara Japan.

Lastly, Good-bye Rob and Jon I'm back to Japan Land! The travel home including a bus, overnight plane, two train rides and a car ride took a total of 18 hours. I was exhausted but headed to work anyways!

Sihanoukville

The three days we spent in Sihanoukville were definitely my favorite part of the vacation. It was good to just relax, enjoy nice weather and food in good company. I was especially excited because we had Kori along with us. It was great to have girl to hang with, not to mention someone to share Japan stories with. She is also teaching English in a small mountain town in Japan. Rob, Kori and I arrived early in the morning after an all night bus ride. We met Jon, checked in to a guesthouse on the beach and headed for a morning beverage. The Mekong buck I drank was enough to knock me out for the rest of the afternoon. That night we headed to a beach party consisting of dancing barefoot and playing with fire. Don't be surprised that I found a new trick to try and practice while on vacation and dancing with fire sticks was it.

The next day we took a small tour boat to a practically deserted island for snorkeling and lunch. It would have been enjoyable had we not drank and stayed up so late the previous night. I have never before, experienced sea sickness along with dirty travel stomach problems. The boats you see in the picture below are what we took. The water was rough and the boats rocked with the waves. It was awful. Arriving to the island we were rewarded with uncrowded beaches and delicious food.

The best beach activities: collecting sea shells and chillin' in hammocks!

There is the little hut we stayed in.

four great people one giant swing!

Angkor What?

When it rained, which happened often I was able to stop inside and make a few sketches of architecture, the carvings and different colours/textures within the temples and surrounding grounds. Even though I did not understand most of the stories of carvings I viewed their detail and quantity amazed me.