The Philippines 2007 Pt II – Island Hopping In El Nido

Posted on May 9, 2007 by tokyofox

After taking a cramped bus to Taytay the Belgians and I decided to just carry on for an extra couple of hours to our intended destination of El Nido in north-west Palawan which we did by paying the driver a handsome sum (still very cheap by our standards). About the only available accommodation belonged to a man who looked put-out when we showed up offering him money to stay at his place for a night or two. Still it was only P300 (just over £3) for the night though probably the most basic of all the accommodation I stayed in and thats saying something! After some dinner and a couple of Red Horse beers we booked on to a snorkelling tour for the next day.

I woke up to what sounded like Noahs Ark outside but was in reality just a pig chained up behind my hut. Not surprisingly we changed places after that with me going to a hut with splendid views of the Bacuit Bay. It was fantastic weather on the snorkelling tour which took us on a boat tour around many islands with the main one being Matinloc Island where we went to the beautiful Secret Beach which true to form is not really secret as everyone knows about it as its in all guidebooks and maps. This was lovely turquoise coloured sea well-hidden and provided our first area for snorkelling.

After that all the islands blended into one as we stopped off at many and did lots and lots of snorkelling and of course I ended up burning my back despite applying my Japanese-bought sun lotion. Thats the last time I use that! At one of the later islands I was invited on to a big boat where a family and their friends were having a birthday party and I was treated to some unbelievable Filipino hospitality and I even got the chance to cut a piece of meat from the pig they had cooked.

            

In the evening we had some local fish specialities and after that myself and Nichola (an English girl on our tour) went out for a few drinks where we met a Filipino called Lester whose name alone was of great interest to me! We played pool for beers and then went to a karaoke bar which was basically empty and we partied till about 2.30am.

It was a cloudy start to the following day which saw us take another tour around the islands and it even rained a little (it did get back to normal later thankfully) when we got to the crytsal clear saltwaters of Big Lagoon on Miniloc Island. There was also a Small Lagoon which was only accessible by swimming through a small hole.

Both were very nice and there was another lagoon to come in the form of Secret Lagoon which was accessed by climbing through a hole in the rock. I saw a nice sunset at night near my lodgings and had drinks at a beach bar with a load of people from the two tours and after a spot of dinner we attended a fiesta which was taking place on the street right outside my place and this festival of dance, music and drinking carried on into the early hours. Having had a big one the night before I lasted until about 1am before hitting the sack.

Wanna go to Palawan? Get Php500 off of your adventure trip by going to LetsPalawan.com and enter the code TokyoFoxC034

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The Philippines 2007 Pt I – No Thriller In Manila But It Was OK!

Posted on May 7, 2007 by tokyofox

I was a little apprehensive beforehand about whether my Philippine travel plans would be realised but in fact they were surpassed on what was a fantastic weeks holiday. Kind friendly people, lovely turquoise-green water, amazing islands, mostly great weather, beautiful women, good snorkelling and lots of adventure. First of all though I had to survive a night in the capital of Manila.

Dinosaurs at Intramuros  Intramuros  Philippines AprMay '07 020  Philippines AprMay '07 025

Due to the length of time spent at the Airport going through immigration, searching for an ATM, deciding where to go and taking a taxi it was already mid-afternoon by the time I found some suitable (i.e. cheap!) accommodation; the ironically named ‘Lovelymoon Pension’ at P400 (just over £4) for the night in the Malate area.

Once I hit the streets I walked along Baywalk promenade to Rizal Park where I met a Filipino called Eddie (or Eduardo) who I was suspicious of from the start but travelling must affect the brain as I kept talking to him when he approached me. I eventually gave him the benefit of doubt as usually they’re only after money.

Rizal Park, Manila  thankfully not our bus!  Manila Baywalk  Lovelymoon Pension Inn

We watched a quite nice sunset together before walking back through the park to see Intramuros which is a ‘must-see’ in Manila according to the guide books. Having read about it I still didn’t really know what it is but after a night tour I discovered it was the oldest district in Manila with old style buildings buily by the Spanish which were closed and poorly lit at night so I wasn’t really any wiser!

After that we took a ridiculously cheap jeepney (colourful indigenous public transport) back to the Baywalk and had a few ‘San Miguel’ beers while watching a live band consisting of hot girls in short skirts and boots performing a medley of songs by the likes of the Sugababes, Pussycat Dolls, Mary J Blige and a load of other predominantly female bands or singers.

The following morning (Mon 30 Apr) I was up early to take a couple of jeepney rides to the Airport for my domestic flight to Puerto Princesa on the “last frontier” more commonly known as Palawan Island in the west of The Philippines. As soon as I arrived at the airport I took a tricycle to the bus station ready to take a bus up north to a town called Taytay and it was here that I met a really nice Belgian couple called Donald and Evelyn who would become my travel companions for the rest of my travels.

Wanna go to Palawan? Get Php500 off of your adventure trip by going to LetsPalawan.com and enter the code TokyoFoxC034

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The New Face Of English Learning In Japan??!! (Part II)

Posted on April 28, 2007 by tokyofox

Last Wednesday I made my appearance at long last on Keikotomanabu.net which I talked about last month after I had had the photo shoot. There is an interview with myself which can be seen (though probably not read as its in Japanese!) here by clicking on my face. For those who have forgotten what I look like I am the one in the bottom left corner with ‘friendly’ written next to me though I don’t know who decided on such a thing! There are a few other teachers featured from other English schools as well as two other teachers from my company (we are in green) though I don’t know one of them.

Keikotomanabu.net
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Football Fever

Posted on April 27, 2007 by tokyofox

Last Saturday was a nervous sweaty night for me and not just because I was on ‘standby’ for work the following morning. Instead I was very worried about the plight of Leicester City who looked like they could have been heading down to the third tier of English football for the first time ever had it not been for a vital last gasp winner at Preston.

Though we did ‘the great escape’ act in 1991 it is a whole new game now and we have encountered Play Off finals, Cup Finals and top half Premiership finishes since then. However the last few years have been absolutely dreadful but now we’re virtually assured of starting next season in the 2nd tier and hopefully with a team of players who are committed to the cause of helping Chairman Milan Mandaric realise his dream of getting us back where we hopefully belong.

It was a busy night for me with so much going on. I was rather scared of looking too much at what was happening in our game. I had one eye on the Leicester Tigers’ Heineken Cup semi-final (which they won and keeps their dreams alive of a clean sweep) while also dipping in and out of the Sky Sports on-line videprinter.

However, my main viewing was the three live Premier League games which are shown on SkyPerfect which I have recently had upgraded for the end of season games at home and in Europe. Every Celtic game is also shown thanks to Shunsuke Nakamura’s involvement and it’s fair to say he was very involved last Sunday with an injury time winner to give Celtic the title.

It might cost me a fair whack but it’s already proving its worth with many, many live games as well as highlights shows which saves me from downloading the BBC’s ‘Match Of The Day‘ (although I did see last weekend’s as I was intrigued to hear how the programmes first female commentator faired) which can be dangerous in terms of potential viruses. In fact I recently bought a portable hard drive to back-up all my photos and music as I’m getting more and more paranoid about the computer dying.

Due to the 8 hours time difference games are shown here at unsociable hours so it’s nice to be able to watch the games in bed rather than having to go out all night to watch a game kicking off at 3.45am. This has been highlighted in the last couple of days with a couple of big Champions League semi-finals involving British teams.

After watching the last World Cup with Japanese commentary only its been so nice to hear familiar voices which are taken from the BBC, ITV and Sky feeds. Never thought it would be so delightful to hear David Pleat’s voice! Sadly there is no presentation of the games so half time is very long with no analysis and just adverts and ground atmosphere and unbelievably they don’t edit any of this out on the many re-runs.

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Climbing To New Heights In Kokubunji

Posted on April 21, 2007 by tokyofox

It must have been over 15 years since I last did some proper rock climbing but that drought ended last Sunday when I went to ‘Run Out’ which is in Nishi Kokobunji. I didn’t really know what to expect as I’d never done any indoor climbing before and was a little disappointed when I saw the place as I had expected a tower building of some sort.

Little did I know that once inside this wasn’t to be like the climbing towers which I encountered all those years ago at cub scout camp. They were a doddle compared to these which had various gradients with colour-coded routes of varying difficulty. I just could not follow such things as I have always just made-up my route as I’ve gone along.

Indoor Climbing Apr '07 001  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 003

As some of you will know I am no stranger to heights having done a skydive and three bungy jumps (which I don’t really like to talk about!!) but that certainly didn’t stop me from bricking it a little when I had to let go of the rope and descend. Some of the climbs were managed by an auto-belay device which helps you climb alone and retracts itself at the top and when you let go or fall your life is in its hands as it slowly lets you down.

Indoor Climbing Apr '07 004  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 012  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 006  Indoor Climbing Apr '07 013

All in all, 2500 yen (about £11) for three hours including instruction, shoes and the harness belt thing was good value although with the majority of the instruction being in Japanese it made it a little bit scarier as I had no idea whether I was grasping all the essential information. I remember going rafting up in Nagatoro on the Arakawa in Chichibu-tama National Park, Saitama, a couple of years back and being afraid that I would miss a very important, if not life threatening, instruction by simply not being able to understand it. Luckily I lived to tell that tale and this one too.

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Meet Tokyo’s……Fast Food Restaurant Customers

Posted on April 19, 2007 by tokyofox

As maybe the only person who still wanted a ‘Big Mac’ after watching the ‘Super Size Me‘ (2004) documentary film it should be no surprise that I sometimes like nothing better than a visit to the golden arches (known in these parts as Makudonardos or just simply ‘Mac’) or ‘First Kitchen‘ which is the Japanese equivalent selling delicious flavoured fries.

Like most other things going to these types of restaurants is different in Japan as there are many types of person there. The first type of person is the one like myself; the gaikokujin who pops in and scoffs down a set meal while being surprised and amazed at the others. Space is limited in Tokyo so many people use fast food restaurants to relax in. Other common types are:

Sleeping Schoolgirl – this girl buys maybe one or two cheap things on the menu and consumes them with all her books out before inevitably falliing asleep as only Japanese people can in public.

Preening Queen – this is the girl who uses the restaurant more as a make up studio and concentrates all efforts on her appearance using a number of different tools and sprays.

Seat Hogger – this person doesn’t seem to understand that seats are limited but still selfishly uses up an extra seat or two for their coat and/or bag and gets away with it due to the Japanese lack of confrontation.

The One Drink Nurser – they buy one cheap 100 yen coffee and think this entitles them to while away hours conducting their business or reading or whatever while nursing their drink.

The Free Meeting Venue – usually consisting of old biddies having nothing more than a drink each while having their coffee morning chinwag.

The Slow Eater – This may help explain why Japanese girls are usually slimmer than their western counterparts. Although they may buy a regular meal they seem shy of eating it and just nibble at a few fries before they go cold and a few more are later consumed before the rest is left.

No doubt there are many more types but overall fast food restaurants seem to be far from a quick in-and-out for many Japanese who use the place as an office, library or their own quiet place away from their families and the everyday pressures and intensity which comes with living in such an over-populated city.

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A New School Year

Posted on April 13, 2007 by tokyofox

The new school year started in Japan this month which for me meant Spring Schools and new kids groups. I’ve talked about these schools before but for the benefit of the new reader(s) they are an extra two hour lesson (10am-12noon) for kids before our regular shift. Parents may regard this as a chance for their children to be educated further in English whereas others think its a good chance to get rid of them for a couple of hours!!

These ‘special’ schools weren’t as well-attended as last year so I only had two of them during the recent term break; the first was with Higher Elementary students and the second was with a Kindergarten group and that one was probably my smoothest one yet. Despite the earlier start to my day I was actually close to enjoying myself!

Two regular fun groups departed at the end of March with one of them being a mixed group of gigglers who always found things far more funnier than they actually were but thats kids for you. The one that really got to me though was a six year old called Rika who I have taught for the whole two years with this conversation school. Seeing her progress during that time was a pleasure for me to observe and i have to say I did feel a touch emotional when she said goodbye for the final time, said thankyou and presented me with a farewell box of biscuits.

School Farewells Mar '07 009 School Farewells Mar '07 010 Spring school Apr '07 004 Spring school Apr '07 003 School Farewells Mar '07 005 School Farewells Mar '07 018 School Farewells Mar '07 007 summer school '07 001 School Farewells Mar '07 016 School Farewells Mar '07 014
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Tokyo Daytripper: Monkeying Around In Nikko

Posted on April 9, 2007 by tokyofox

Cherry blossoms in full bloom and temperatures in the late twenties last Sunday can only have meant one thing! However, i ignored the temptation to have a ‘hanami’ party and went about 140km north to visit Nikko in Tochigi with Gideon. After getting up at 7am we finally arrived there at about 11.30am having buggered up our final connection and sampled the local speciality straight away with Yuba (soy bean milk) soba for early lunch which I thought was very nice but as is often the case in Japan it wasn’t so filling.

Nikko Apr '07 056  Nikko Apr '07 057  Nikko Apr '07 055  Nikko Apr '07 034

First up on the sightseeing was the UNESCO World Heritage listed Toshogu Shrine which really is a beautiful sight and thats coming from someone who doesn’t really like shrines (which may surprise regular readers who have maybe read some of my dull reports on other shrines and temples recently) so much and is often underwhelmed by most things.

I first visited this site nearly three years ago during the summer of 2004 and that was not such good timing as the place was packed full with coach-loads of school kids but this time it was nowhere as busy on that scale but still full of other tourists as is the case if you go anywhere in Japan on weekends or national holidays which tend to be the only times when the Japanese don’t work.

Nikko Apr '07 005  Nikko Apr '07 009

About a month ago I had never even heard of the ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ monkeys until my eldest sister Ruth told me about them and not-so-subtly suggested I buy her one. Typically I didn’t even notice this sacred stable of carvings last time but it caught my eye instantly this time and with many people re-creating the three poses I thought I would copy them but with an added twist which can be seen below and will please fans of the ‘Austin Powers‘ films!

Nikko Apr '07 072  Nikko Apr '07 071  Nikko Apr '07 073  Nikko Apr '07 037  Nikko Apr '07 069  Nikko-0448-1

We spent a few hours looking round the shrine which was maybe more to do with Gideon taking so bloody long snapping away in every direction and getting every possible angle. Our ticket entitled us to get entry into a few more temples and shrines so we visited a couple more which were very quiet and nice too though not a patch on the tourist trap of Toshogu. I did enjoy one though for no other reason that it had a hoop throwing game which i was very successful with getting a brace of perfect scores.

Posted in Japan Travel, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

‘Big Red Bus Day’

Posted on March 30, 2007 by tokyofox

This special event started off on the other side of Tokyo Bay in Kachidoki last Sunday. La creme de la creme of teachers…..and myself (9 of us in total) were present to take two groups of kids to Odaiba on a London red double decker bus which is certainly a novel form of transport in these parts and all day we felt a little bit like stars as we were driven round Tokyo attracting much attention.

The idea was letting the students travel on a British institution and having a laugh on the top deck of our new workplace while getting the job done in terms of playing games and promoting the company name.

We started off with a reworking of ‘Old MacDonald’ but substituting ‘farm’ for bus’ (genius eh!) and continued with ‘…and on that bus he had a (teacher name)!’ which left us all slightly embarassed. However, as the song continued we were probably enjoying it far more than some of the kids who were very bemused by it all. Renditions of ‘Heads and Shoulders’, ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ and the inevitable ‘Wheels on the Bus’ followed.

Tokyo Big Red Bus Tour Mar '07 023 Tokyo Big Red Bus Tour Mar '07 030

Once in Odaiba we parked the bus and played games in small groups for about 40 minutes which was not so easy given the small and restricted confines on the top of a bus. My first game was a pelmanism game which involved the kids rolling a dice with colours on each face and the animal cards face-down had colours on them and they then had to individually make the animal noise which the others would guess. As always at any event a lot of improvisation was needed and I had to really stretch this fairly simple game out by slightly changing the rules.

Tokyo Big Red Bus Tour Mar '07 011 Tokyo Big Red Bus Tour Mar '07 012

I didn’t need to go on the second kids bus trip but not wanting to hang out in Kachidoki for two hours I thought I would just sit at the back of the bus and help out a bit with the craft part which was to make a 3D bus. Not a chance though as I got told to play an animal bingo game with the kids involving a spinning wheel which was certainly more interesting than the first game I did.

Tokyo Big Red Bus Tour Mar '07 027 Tokyo Big Red Bus Tour Mar '07 025

Next up was the adult party which was a bit more straightforward and involved drinking beer and mingling with them for a couple of hours which also included a game or two. These included ‘Guess the picture’, ‘Fizz-Buzz’ counting game and a game where teams were given a category and came up with five examples (i.e. 5 tall buildings, 5 rich people, 5 famous Brits etc) which the other teams had to try and guess.

Overall, it was a fun day and nice to get out of the classroom and do something a bit different even if it was on my day off.

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Yasukuni Shrine

Posted on March 30, 2007 by tokyofox

At a bit of a loose end last Friday as part of my three-day holiday I met a friend at Yasukuni Shrine in Kudanshita. Like Meiji Shrine I think that the walk preceding the actual shrine is more interesting beginning with a giant wooden torii gate leading the way through gingko trees and the usual food stalls and a statue of the bloke who founded the Japanese army or something like that.

     

It must have been three years since I visited this place and back then I knew very little about the controversy surrounding it. When former Prime Ministers such as Junichi Koizumi have gone there it has caused uproar as fourteen class A war criminals among the 2.5 million war dead are enshrined here. Most of these protests are from China and Korea who suffered most from Japanese aggression during WWII. No such protests when I visited and nothing too controversial either.

In fact the most controversial thing to happen involved myself daring to take a photo in the Yushukan Museum where photographs are prohibited! This museum is next to the shrine but we only just made the last entry and so had to really rush round in order to see everything which didn’t bother me too much as I was getting a little bored and tired of looking at all the military related stuff.

   
Posted in Japan Life | Tagged , | 7 Comments