Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

A weekend at Limpinwood….

Posted on: June 25th, 2012 by n3tB1z No Comments

I must tell you about the weekend I have just had….because it’s the best one I’ve had for a long time….

I was taking part in a wedding open day at Limpinwood Lodge, a stunning country location in the Tweed Valley, overlooking rolling mountains, fields and forests.  Tough gig!  Here’s how my day started….

 

 

The owners, Robyn & Bob very kindly gave my hubby and I two nights accommodation in exchange for decking out their silk-lined marquee.  We were happy for the little get away and I was looking forward to it for weeks.  After I finished the set up on Friday night, we retired to our luxury chalet.  We were in the honeymoon suite and decided the first duty of the night was to have a bubble bath.  Of course, this is not your standard bubble bath, it is outside, overlooking a rainforest, surrounded with tea light candles.  We sat in the bath drinking port and eating  boutique chocolates that were waiting for us in our room.

Soon after we got out, we were picked up by Robyn & Bob,  two of the world’s friendliest hosts and ferried to Flutterbies,, a local restuarant in the town of Tyalgum.  I use the word “town’ in its loosest form because it consists of a pub, a general store, a mechanic, a gift shop and Flutterbies.  That’s the whole town…and it was wonderful.  Flutterbies is rustic at its best, an old timber shed converted into a restaurnat with  mismatched chairs, a pot belly fire, exposed beams and a wooden fence with old coffee bean sacks thrown over the top boasting Papua New Guineas best oven roasted beans.  They even have blankets thrown over the backs of the chairs to warm your chilly winter legs.  Attached to it is a gift shop full of tea cups, tea pots and lavendar products….and next to that another shop selling everything to do with fairies.  My wallet was in trouble.

I filled myself on home-made spelt pizza, good conversation and drunk in the people around me.  I have never been to a place where it seems that everyone actually knows everyone.  They greeted everyone with a hug and a kiss and looked them in the eyes as they asked about their week.  I took notice.

We ordered a desert pizza to go and made the short trip back to our lodge.  It didn’t last long that desert pizza….caramel fudge, creamy custard and nuts on a pizza base.  Max Brenner’s has NOTHING on these.

End of Friday….

Saturday was our open day and photo shoot.  My amazing photographer saw works of art before they happened and scouted locations I hadn’t discovered yet, yellowing maple trees, an ancient wishing well, a moss covered love seat.  I played photographers assistant and dutifully followed him around, marvelling at the shots he showed me as they happened.  We met some lovely couples who enjoyed champagne, canape’s, cake tastings and massages.  Limpinwood Lodge know how to turn it on!  Here’s a pic of the marquee I snapped on my iPhone….the professioanl shots will come soon enough!

The sun went down and we retired to our luxury chalet once more. The fire had been burning all day and our room was toasty warm. Sprawled on the soft couch we ate more port and chocolates  and did something I haven’t done for a long time….NOTHING. I was forced not to work because there is no Internet down here. Oh dear, how sad, never mind.  I haven’t zoned out in SO LONG….I felt guilty for not working.

Sunday morning we didn’t roll out of bed until 9am!!!  The beds at Limpinwood are like clouds. The gobble you up as you sink into them. I woke up in the same position I went to sleep in, THAT’S how you know you’ve had a good sleep. Andy added more fuel to the smoking embers of our fireplace. More fresh bread was tucked into the hole in the wall for our breakfast.  Did I mention that before?  Bob makes fresh bread every morning and brings it down to your room while you are still sleeping so there is something there for you when you wake up.  Speechless.

I laid in bed and reflected on my weekend….

Limpinwood Lodge is not your average weekend escape.

Limpinwood Lodge is coming up for air.

It is taking your blinkers off that have been plastered to your eyes by work, responsibility, phones, emails and daily routine. You don’t even know you need it, until you do it. I can see why some people come back here year after year because after just one weekend, I am addicted.

Robyn and Bob have created a home away from home and become your extended family. They are the reason Limpinwood stands out from the rest. They have carefully selected their favourite things from their own travel experiences and wrapped them up in three stunning chalet’s. The love they have for this place is apparent in every cozy detail, from the selection of books and DVD’s, to the slippers and dressing gowns, the home made bread, jams, butter, bottled water, eggs (from their pet chickens of course) and orange juice in the fridge, bowls of fruit that have been picked from the property and the crystal decanter of port and chocolates that greet you on arrival. This was not a money-making venture for them, but the desire to have a place of escapism for couples to reconnect and rediscover each other. Thank you Robyn and Bob!

If you value your time as much as I do, you should value taking just a little bit of it back from the world and give it to yourself as a gift. You will function better in society if you do.

If you value your partner as much as I do, there is nothing better than sitting in an outdoor bubble bath, looking into a rainforest, surrounded by candles and not needing to say anything at all.

If you value these things, Limpinwood Lodge is just one hour from the Gold Coast. It’s waiting for you.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Sugar & Spice Events: Wedding Planner, Wedding co-odinator, Stylist & Decorator on the Gold Coast, Tweed Valley, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast.

Services include venue consultation, wedding photography & videography, transport, entertainment, jewellery, invitations and other stationary, wedding attire and accessories, hair & makeup, beauty services, chaplain’s or celebrants, floristry, accommodation, catering and event design.

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Posted on Monday, June 25th, 2012

21.02.12 – Day Ten – Maid Cafe Experience

Posted on: February 21st, 2012 by n3tB1z No Comments

 

Woke up early today and worked out what we were doing.
We decided on a Maid Cafe, Shinjuku and Tokyo Tower.


I forgot to write yesterday that I lost the pearl from my


engagement ring on the train yesterday.  I looked down at my finger


and there was a silver rod where the pearl used to be.


I think it was when  Valerie (my bag) got caught up in a swarm of


people as they were getting off the train. I was sad.


That pearl had been on my finger for 6 years. Andy said we could


replace it, and I know we can, but I'm sentimental about those things.




Anyway, moving right along...




We had breakfast at Excelsior Coffee which has totally


been mirrored off Starbucks.One half was smoking, the other non,


but the stinking smoke wafted over to my side for me to enjoy with my bagle.


Last night when I went to sleep, my hair smelled of cigarettes.


It's been a long time since that has happened.


 


Onward to the craziness that is Tokyo Station. People swarm at


you from all directions and you have to weave and glide your


way through them. It's no place for unsure foreigners.




We meandered out of the station onto the streets of Shinjuku.


We just wandered around and found ourselves in the "dirty"


part of town. Huge colourful posters screamed at us with lewd pics,


pretty "tank girls" and tell-tale neon lit hallways.


I'm pleased to say it was almost deserted at this early time of the morning.


Almost, but not completely...GROSS!


 


We walked back up to the main street and were immediately


in the high end part of town: LV, Tiffanys and Gucci’s shiny


facades and minimalist window displays caught my eye and made me want.


I couldn’t go in of course, not dressed in my Adidas hoodie and faded jeans.


We kept walking.  An outfit in a department store window caught


my eye so we went up. It was so tall and thin and every floor was devoted


to a different style of clothing, punk rock, Lolita, gothic.


We had a good look around, it was such an eye opener.


It's incredible that people can spend upwards of $500 on an outfit


that makes no sense at all. Droopy woollen jumpers are


paired with ripped jeans and tartan, OTT pink pink pink nursery


rhyme dresses with cartoon prints...


hideous gothic top hats with netting, floral print hooped skirts


with high collared necks....


it’s out of control and completely out of the ordinary.


 


It’s so interesting to see the difference between the “older”


generation and the youngsters.  The former is so stayed and sensible


in their tidy suits and bland colours.  The latter are the other end of the spectrum....


no sense at all.  It’s amazing to wonder what will happen to Japan when


it’s these people running the country.




We made our way down the many escalators, back out to the street


and back to the station.On the way we stopped at a French patisserie


(whoops) and I bought a cute little fur scarf thing from another flashy


gleaming irresistible department store.




Next stop was Shibuya station. When I was twelve I came to Japan


on a school trip and stayed with the Tazaki family in Osaka.


I'm friends with the little girl, Hiromi, on Facebook and she works


at Tullys Coffee. We stopped in to say hello and on the


way Andy pointed out that 1992, when I was here last, was 20 years ago.


"Ha ha...you're old" he teased.


How can I possibly have a memory that is 20 years ago?


That is a huge expanse of time and it freaked me out.




Back on the train, next stop Akihabara maid cafe. A helpful Scottish


man in Hakuba who lives in Tokyo told us about the maid cafes, which are


almost like a theatre restaurant with an unreal Japanese twist.




We caught the elevator up to floor 4F and were greeted with "Welcome home Master"


by a  pretty Asian lady in a maid outfit.  Whoa.  We're not in Kansas anymore.




I wanted to try and take in all the details of the cartoon they call


@ home maids cafe, because photos are not allowed.  Here goes: the walls were


half pink and half pea green with pastel polka dots.  Stuffed toys hung from the ceiling


and were also in circular cut outs in the walls.  There was silver and blue tinsel,


silver snowflake cut outs and giant stickers of cartoon animals with


instruments all over the walls.   It was like bad taste was personified, had a


big night out and threw up....then the locals in their infinite wisdom decided


to make the space into a cafe.




The "maids" themselves were in chocolate brown dresses with


white aprons, thigh high tights and chunky heels.  They were absolutely


dripping in pink accessories from their hair, ears, arms, wrists, off their


clothes.. everywhere.




Wide eyed, we took our seats among alot of Japanese business men.


Our maid brought us the menu and we opted for menu number 2 which


got us a drink, a desert, a photo and a present.  There was other


menus where you could pay to play a game with your maid and also


enjoy a main meal, but these were things like rice made into a


snowman with a tomato sauce face.  Come on, that's not even food.


 


You can't take photos of the girls. It was in a list of rules we


were handed before we were allowed in.  Before anything arrived,


one of the Maid's called my name over a microphone to come up the front,


at the front of the restaurant, in front of everybody, for the photo.


I was told to choose animal ears from a box behind me.  Then was our pose:


do you want a ruv heart (beiber finger heart), cute (hands made into fists and placed under chin)


or animal (hands in fists, one near ur forehead the other one in front of ur chest)??


Hmmmmmm...so many choices....I think I'll go with Beiber thanks!




Got my pic over with and it was the funniest thing ever seeing Andy go through the same process.


He NEVER does anything like this.




Drinks came after about 20 mins. You don't come for the service.


Our maid asked what straw colour we wanted.  Pink for me, yellow for Andy.


But she doesn't just give it to you, she puts it in and stirs your drink.


Then says we have to make "bery deliciousu magic!" We have to make our hands into


Bieber hearts and repeat Miu Miu sook! while waving our hands back and forth


over our drinks. The spell didn't work, the drinks were crap.




Shut ya face. They just turned the lights off and disco lights came on.


One maid has a tamborine...everyone else is clapping....there’s music...


two of them are up the front saying things I don't understand. They're teaching


the patrons a funny little dance...biz men are standing  up doing it...they're singing


"Happy Happy Nice Day".  This is so weird!!! Nothing in me understands.


This is Japan!! I'm sitting here with wide eyes and mouth open.




Our food arrived and we did the delicious magic again. It worked a bit better,


but it's not hard to make good parfait....everyone like parfait!!




We quickly ate and asked for the bill.  We were given silver loyalty cards


that say License of your Majesty on the front.


Wow.  We were grateful to get out. Too much of that could send you insane.




We went back to the "normality" of the streets of Shinjuku. We saw a few more


maids walking around, promoting the other Cafes.




Back to the station and onwards to our next destination, Tokyo Tower.


We got off at Hamamatsucho and my GPS, Andy got us in the right direction.


I would be lost without him (ha, pardon the pun).


 


It was about a 10minute walk and we went right through an old temple


that has been there since the 1300's.  History like this amazes me,


imagining all the people who stood where I now stand, their lives


and how they lived them.  I wish I could soak it up through the soles


of my feet and watch it like a video.




There was a tree in  the centre square that said General Grant,


the 18th president of the USA had planted in 1886.  It was big and beautiful.


I've had a lot of fun photographing trees on this trip.




We arrived at the Tokyo Tower, bought 800¥ tix and got in the lift. Inside


the lift was (of course) like a space ship ride.  It was dark and the lighting


changed from pink to blue to green and back. We reached the top and stepped out onto the


observation deck. The city sprawled out in every direction, an unending metropolis


of concrete in varying heights and shades of grey. High rises went for as far as


the eye could see.




We had expected to be here later than what we were so grabbed some wedges


and melon soda, pulled up a pew and watched the sun set over Tokyo.




At about 5.30pm  we left and got some dinner at a Sashimi place


on the way home.  We’re now back in our room, watching Transformers....such daredevils!


Living on the edge, our last night before we’re homeward bound.

					







Posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
20.02.12 – Day Nine – Travel back to Tokyo

					
					

	Posted on: February 21st, 2012	by n3tB1z	No Comments

					

						


Today we had to leave our winter wonderland and return to Tokyo. The alarm went off at 5am (yuk) and we hit snooze a few times. Getting up at 5am on a warm Gold Coast summer’s day is bearable. Getting up at 5am when it’s blistering cold and pitch black makes you feel like you are the living dead.


 


Our going through the motions went like this:  taxi to bus terminal, bus to Nagano, bullet train from Nagano to Tokyo station, with me sleeping most of way.  We farewelled Drew & Rach at Tokyo Station as they are leaving tonight and we have a couple more days.  It was really sad to say goodbye to our travel buddies :( 




We dropped our bags off at the hotel and went to explore. Imperial palace was something we really wanted to see but it was all closed up.  There was a guard there telling people it was closed and he just started to babble at us in Japanese. After a couple of minutes I told him “Wakarimasen” – I don’t understand, but he kept going for a bit.  We decided to go to the next place on our list, Shibuya. On the way back to the station we stopped off at Tully Coffee to wake ourselves up.  Just about everyone smokes in Japan, and Tully’s had a smokers room. Every time they opened the door puffs of toxic smoke plumed up my nostrils and ruined my cocoa.




Back on the road, and onwards to the station which we navigated our way through and bought tickets to Shibuya. 20 minutes later we were on a bustling intersection, surrounded by tall buildings, loud advertisements and huge TV screens playing bad Japanese pop music videos. Our Tokyo handy guide told us the Shibuya 190 was a shopping complex with interesting clothes for girls, so we headed straight there.




Wow-I could have taken one of everything in every shop. It was all kind of vintage styled with polka dots and pearls and lace. I could have stayed and looked all day but Andy was doing the boy thing (leaning uninterested  against a wall outside the shop…don’t you hate that??!!) and I was dressed like a complete bogan.


 


Let me explain….


 


In Hakuba when one is skiing all day, one’s first priority is to just be warm. One does not worry about makeup or fashion. This is the vibe I have been in for the last week. Under strict instruction, I didn’t even bring any of my pretty clothes.  We couldn’t change when we got to our hotel as we were too early to check in so I’m basically wearing the clothes I rolled out of bed in.  I’m standing in what could well be my shopping Mecca, in black trackies, black ski booty things, a Janet Jackson t-shirt, not a skerrick of makeup and a tired old beanie. Nooooooo……


 


Every shop assistant looked like an Asian supermodel: heels, lacey ankle socks or thigh high stockings, tiny frilly skirts and pretty tops. Their hair was bleached and curled, fake lashes on accentuated by flawless makeup with baby pink lips. For a woman who doesn’t usually leave the house without glittering stilettos and circa 1950’feminine dresses, fascinators and tube skirts…..I felt disgusting. We did one quick loop to the top and straight back down again.


 


I went to drown my sorrows at Burger King (my bad) and we decided we could no longer be seen in public, representing our country in this manner.  We went back to our hotel to change.  I don’t have much to work with but achieved a semi-funky winter look, still not what I would wear in Oz, but it will do.  I also put makeup on for the first time in a week.  I actually can’t wait to get home to all my gorgeous clothes and feel like a woman again.   Yes fellow feminists – pretty clothes and makeup mean WOMAN to me. Sorry Germaine.




We rested in our room for a few hours then caught the train back out to Harajuku.  I was SO EXCITED to go here because of the wicked fashion and craziness that freely roams the streets.  Also because all of this action happens on a street called….


 


wait for it….


 


TAKESHITA STREET.


 


You heard it first here.  Every time we passed it I giggled like a child ‘cause I’m well immature.




Takeshita St is awesome.  I’m trying to think of somewhere else I’ve been like it, but can’t.  It’s lined with crazy shops selling crazy stuff and bustling with crowds of young people.  I was looking in the first shop and Andy whispered  sharply… BABE!  I turned around just in time to see two of  the kind of people we had come to see: Gothic Harajuku girls.  They were extreme!  Painted faces, coloured wigs and black, black, black clothing.  One of them had a face full of metal.  Andy scolded me for looking at the shops and not at the people.  That’s ok babe – I’ll chase them down and get a photo.  “You can’t ask them for a photo, they’ll rip your face off!!” he said.  I considered this for a second, but my experience with every other Japanese person this trip has been overtly polite and welcoming, so I didn’t think these vampire clown looking ones would be any different.  I was right.  They didn’t really smile, but they did pose and that’s all I wanted.  Looking back at the photo, I counted 20 piercings in her face that I could see.  That must be heavy!




We wandered down the rest of the street, past some OTT costume shops, market stalls selling socks and hats and gothic clothing, the same kind of vintage stores I’d seen in Shibuya, and stores that were completely pink….I mean completely…carpet, shelves, wares, lighting….there was no rhyme or reason to any of it.  Anything goes in Harajuku.


 


We had dinner in an Italian restaurant (that’s baaaaaaad, two “western” meals in one day.  We won’t do that again) and then made our way back up the street to the train station that would whisk us back to Tokyo.  Not sure what we’re doing tomorrow…we’ve heard about a “Maid Cafe” which apparently is a must see.  Night night from Rayumeikan Hotel xx




 

					







Posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
19.02.12 – Day Eight – Last day in Hakuba

					
					

	Posted on: February 19th, 2012	by n3tB1z	1 Comment

					

						


Today was our  last day skiing, so I could not avoid it.


 


We all made the 10 minute walk to Happo for our final day of fun in the snow…..awwww….too bad so sad for me.


 


We decided that I would go up  in the gondola so I could see what the views were like for the real skiers.  It was a bit of a walk and just before we got there, there was a steep snow covered hill I had to get down.  I took  my time, these things cannot be rushed…and Andy eventually told me to scootch down on my bottom.  Then he video’d it.  If he uploads it, one of the funniest things you will ever see.




We jumped into one of the capsules and it took about 5 minutes to get to the top.  The views were impressive, but there was about a million other people enjoying them as well.  Apparently Sunday’s are big for skiing in Japan and kids ski for free.




Andy wanted to go down the normal way…on his board, so I jumped back into the gondola, down to the bottom and walked for 20 minutes back to Evergreen where my wretched skis were waiting.




I clicked in my boots and went back to my old stomping ground, the area I learnt on.  I couldn’t quite bring myself to go up the mountain, so just had a little rest.


 


I plopped in the snow, kitted up in thermals, ski boots, pants, jacket, goggles and helmet, skis standing to attention beside me, and began typing my thoughts on my iPhone. I hated being there,  the whole mountain screamed FAILURE!!!


I must have sat there for at least 40 minutes, justifying why it was ok to sit and watch: I go to the beach and sit, it’s the same thing. I watched endless Japanese folk glide confidently to the bottom. Yeah, you guys can ski, but can you swim??!! Cause I CAN. I watched kids who looked no older than 4 or 5 whiz zing down fearlessly. I watched a woman fall over and become unable to get up. Ha. Been there love. She looked like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time.




I don’t know what it was that made me finally get up, maybe thinking about the fear and not wanting it to get the best of me. Or maybe it was that my bum was numb and my hands were cold, with my gloves perched on top of my sticks at the bottom of the hill. But I did get up and slide successfully down. Then I went up and did it again. Then I decided I deserved a break so went and got a cookie and hot chocolate at the café right at the bottom.


I sat by myself and eventually two nice looking men, one Asian and one Caucasian  motioned with their hands asking if they could sit. Hai Dozo! I said. “please sit” I’ve learned that from the chair lifts. They gave me a weird look, sat down and started chatting in English. How embarrassment.


I took the time to reflect on the things I love about Japan so far (apart from skiing of course):


Heated toilet seats – AH-MAY-ZING!!!!

Over the top politeness

Refusal to take tips-they will chase you down with your change


Being on time – If the cab says they’ll be there in 5 minutes, it’s actually 5 minutes

Amazing service no matter where you are

General respect and humility no matter what your occupation


My thoughts were interrupted by a rude Australian woman yelling out to the whole cafe “can someone shut the door!!”. With an afterthought of “please”.


Shut up would ya. Your making us look bad.


 


I sat in there for so long that it was time to meet the others for lunch.  Excellent!


 


We all had noodles then “got back out there”.  Drew, Andy & Rach tried to get me in a chair lift.  It was a valiant effort, but I got tricky and scooched off out of sight.


 


I didn’t even think about it and skied down a couple of little hills.  Hmm.  That’s different.  No paralyzing fear.  BANG!  Collected by a Japanese skiier. Awesome – just what I needed.  No problem, pick yourself up and go again.  Up I get BANG!!!!  Another collision.  What is wrong with you people?  Can’t you see I’m a woman on the edge??




Amazingly, I kept going.  It was the disappointment  in Andy’s eye’s  that spurred me on to keep practicing.  I walked half way up my practice mountain and skied all the way to the bottom without incident.  Go again.  Go a bit further this time.  Another triumph!  Go again…you’re on a roll!  No problem….go again…go you good thing!  I’m one turn away from the bloody Olympics….look at me go!  I did this for ages.  Walk up halfway, each way just a little bit further (HARD WORK) and skied down again.  I know this wasn’t from the top, but I was happy with myself, I felt like I had achieved something, and that was enough.


 


I skied off my mountain for the last time and walked back to the lodge.


 


Dinner tonight was entrée’s at “The Pub” then Pizza back at the lodge.  We had sparkling rice wine (sake) served in champagne glasses. It did not smell good &  funnily enough, tasted like rice. I’m glad I tried it, but have no desire to ever have it again.  This was followed by edamame, wagyu tempura, fried chicken, cream cheese tempura (OMG), deep fried rice cakes (weird chewy texture) and dumplings.  Anything I’ve just mentioned with meat in it I didn’t eat, but was thoroughly satisfied with the rest.  We’re now sitting in our lodge, reflecting on our time here, eating pizza and drinking a lovely Australian red.  Does life get any better?  Tokyo is calling my name J

					







Posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
18.02.12 – Day Seven – Another day off

					
					

	Posted on: February 19th, 2012	by n3tB1z	No Comments

					

						


So I had another day off today.  What I didn’t write yesterday is that by the end of the day, my left leg was crippled.  I’ve had a bad knee for a while now, but I think it was more about the pressure of the ski boots clamping my calf and making everything above it hurt.  OR it could have been walking up the mountain over and over again.  I’ve just realised that my acupuncture guru told me that in Chinese medicine, knee injuries are related to fear.  Go figure.  All I know now is that it hurts when I walk long distances  and is uncomfortable to bend it….so I thought I would stay in.


 


I had a ball checking my emails uninterrupted, uploading pics to Facebook and reading about Gangsters Wives until about lunchtime.  Then I decided to venture out and about and take a walk by myself in the snow.




There is something about snow.  I don’t know if it’s because it’s so rare to us in Australia, but it has a magic quality and transports you to a different realm.  Walking down the snowy street, I felt like I could be in an ancient time.  It’s so quiet and the buildings that are here are few and are nestled quietly into the landscape.  As I walked, the trees above threw their snow down on me.  I was walking along an icy path and saw that a piece of ice had started to “peel” off the rock wall.  It looked like a wave! I resisted the gto kick it off and took a photo instead, leaving it for others to enjoy.  I felt like I was the only person in the world.  Nobody know the winter I’ve seen.  It’s the kind that freezes your body but warms your soul.


 


I walked down to the village.  I don’t really know where this is, I just followed my nose.  I saw cars that had snow dolloped on top like cream cheese icing on a cupcake, and huge snow clearing tractors with chains webbed across their enormous wheels so they get traction.  I got lost pretty quickly.  Oh well, I’ve got a few hours to get found again.




I found myself at another ski school at the bottom of a Happo mountain.  I was pretty hungry so went into the first place I saw that said “Restaurant” in English.  I had to queue up at a vending machine, press the food I wanted and get a ticket.  The only thing that wasn’t funky meet was Austrian style crepes, so I got them.


 


The place was packed so  I sat on the arm of a couch in front of a big screen TV showing THE WORST Japanese soap opera ever.  There were two women arguing, one looked angry, the other looked surly.  Look out!  Angry just hit Surly over the head with a clip board.  Thrilling stuff.


 


I ate my crepes and kept walking (limping now), trying to find the way back to the lodge.  I wound up at the bus station and asked for a Takushi (taxi).




I jumped into bed as soon as I got home and started devouring my book.


 


It wasn’t long before Andy came back and said everyone was downstairs waiting to make a snow man!  How exciting!  My first snow man.  I wanted it to look like the snowmen out of the movies, three perfectly round balls of snow, one on top of the other with a scarf, top hat and carrot nose.  Unfortunately it ended up looking like a big cone with twig arms and leaf facial features.  It still counts though.




We went to dinner at Hakuba’s best sushi restaurant.  The boys had been hanging for this and unfortunately the salmon wasn’t the best.  I loved it though – tempura vegies and my new favourite – Edamame (boiled soy beans).  These things are the bomb!  You squeeze the outside husk and the sweet soy beans pop into your mouth.  It sounds boring but it’s so yummy.


 




 


There was nothing on the desert menu that appealed, especially not the “Ice Cleam” so we stopped off at seven eleven on the way home and stocked up on some chocolate.  I got a strawberry flavoured bar and it was soooooo good.  We sat comatose on the couch in the dining room, drinking tea and eating chocolate before dragging ourselves up to bed.  Tomorrow is our last day in Hakuba before making the trek back to Tokyo.


 

					







Posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
17.02.12 – Day Six – Skiing at Cortina

					
					

	Posted on: February 18th, 2012	by n3tB1z	No Comments

					

						
 


After my day off yesterday, I was actually pretty amped to put my ski skills to the test.  We went to Cortina today and one of the other guys in the lodge said there is no better slope you could ask for as a beginner.


 


I still decided to take it slow and didn’t go up in the chair lift (I now have an aversion to chair lifts unless they are strictly for sight-seeing purposes), I opted to start slow and walk a little way up the hill (can’t even call it a mountain) to get my ski legs back again.  I got to a sensible height, snapped on my skis and pushed off.  I got a couple of metres then came to a complete stop because it was so flat.  Hmm.  Maybe I do need to go up in the lift for this one.


 


Rach came up with me and the whole way I was studying the slope below.  Yup – it’s pretty flat there!  I can totally do this, I said out loud, talking myself into it.  We got to the top and slid off the lift.  So far so good.  I’ve found that the most scary bit of the slopes is the bit right at the top.  It looks like it goes on forever and it’s the steepest part.  I was with Rach though, and couldn’t get around her.  I slid all the  way across to the left and the snow was so thick it came up to my knees.  The scariest thing is turning because there’s a moment where you are facing full frontal down the mountain and you wonder if you can actually defy gravity and turn up by LEANING INTO THE MOUNTIAN, not away from it.  This is the bit I hate.  Anyway, I did it once, then again and again.  Neal taught me to lean into the mountain and say “I’m not scared of you!”.  This worked well for me, anyone who heard me would have thought I was a raving lunatic but what did I care, I WAS SKIING!!!  I made it all the way down to the bottom without incident.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was still too nervous to say I was having fun, but I did go back up in the lift again.


 


Unfortunately for me, this time was a little different.  I started off ok but about half way down, I skied straight into a snowboarding Japanese teenager as I was turning.  He was learning too and despite my screams, we collided and his knee connected brutally with my right cheek bone.  He kept saying “sorry sorry sorry”, so did I.  I wasn’t hurt badly, but my insides were now like jelly.  I wanted to take my skis off but Rach wouldn’t let me (ski nazi) so I got up awkwardly and went again.  My problem is, I can’t calm myself down and realise that 30 seconds ago I was skiing, all skill has been replaced with the same dreaded fear.  I tried to turn right and stacked it.  I leant up instead of down and totally lost control.  Ok, 2 falls in under a minute FREAKING OUT.  Got up again, so scared I probably couldn’t even have told you my name, and went again.  AND DOWN SHE GOES.  Three (brutal) stacks in under a minute.  The temperature was about 15 below and I was sweating profusely.  We’re done here.


 


I told Rach to  go, she is a good skier and had much better things to do than baby sit me.  So my predicament is that I’m stuck in the snow, terrified, AGAIN, just when I thought I might be ok, we had only been there for about an hour and usually it’s an 8 hour slog with my die hard travel snow fiends.  What do I do????


 


I had a rest, collected my thoughts.  I decided I would walk back up a little way and start again.  I did this a few times but it’s so much effort for hardly any reward.  It’s HARD WORK walking in knee deep snow, up a mountain, in ski boots, carrying your skis on you shoulder like a muppet.  It only took about 30 seconds to whizz down and about 20 minutes to get up.


 


I (stupidly) decided to give the chair lift another go.  I thought at least if I went up, I could walk down and that would be easier.  I made my way to the top, slid off again and stood there, paralysed.  Crap!  If I take my skis off and walk down – LOSER!  If I leave them on and brave the mountain alone – DEAD!  Good options.


 


Just at that moment, Andy appeared.  He talked me into skiing down with him to help me.  I slid slowly, so slowly you would walk quickly past me if you were walking, to the left side of the mountain where the sow was thick.  My rationale was that this would slow me down and maybe I could just stay over here and come down slowly.


 


I had to turn right though because the mountain wasn’t endlessly left.  Stand up, bear down and put weight on left like….NOOOOOOOOOO…..I’m careening down the mountain out of control!!!  What have I learnt????!!!!  Lean in….and my skis did what they are supposed to do.  I went back up the mountain and stopped.  My heart was racing and I burst into tears….AGAIN!!!!!  “I can’t do it, I can’t do it babe, I CAN’T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!”  Ok, he said, defeated.  Ski’s came off and I started to walk down the mountain.  I hate disappointing him and truth be told, that is the only reason I am trying to persevere with this.  We walked down for ages, it took about an hour and a half to walk down to a spot I was comfortable with.


 


We finally got to a “safe” place and I snapped the skis back on, in the thickest snow possible and started to go down maybe at 1km per hour.  My long suffering husband came with me, gently encouraging me and saying what a good job I was doing.


 


We got the bottom and it was time for lunch.  I felt like an absolute failure.  My fear was getting the best of me, even though in theory, I do know how to ski.  I was so torn between wanting to do this, just to prove to myself that I could, and not wanting to ever put my skis on ever, ever, ever, ever again.


 


We discussed it at lunch and decided that my reactions are not normal.  The gut-wrenching, paralysing, heart-stopping, breath-taking terror that overcomes me when I’m looking down the mountain is not a normal adult reaction.  I actually said I think I need psychological help.  I have never experienced anything like this, and it’s really hard to explain to other people, they just don’t get it because they can’t relate…because it’s not normal!


 


Some people have fears though right?  Some hate public speaking, but that is second nature to me.  Skiing, this amazing relaxing hobby that millions of people the world over pursue and love, is my worst fear.


 


After lunch I hoped they were tired enough to go home…but no.  I had a choice of sitting in the hotel playing solitaire on my phone, or having another go.  I had a good hour to calm down so decided I would go back to walking up as far as I wanted and then coming down.  I had no problems with this because it was so flat and wide.  I went up a little further every time and on the last time waited for Andy to come down so I could show him how brave I was being.  Instead he said that I should have gone up further….thanks….but he still clapped me down the slope.


 


I know I totally piked and did not go back up in the chair lift, but I did keep going (to a e) and overcome the unreasonable fear that was very real to me.  I felt like I had achieved something and Andy said he was proud of me which put a big beaming smile on my cold little elf face.


 


We had got a package rate with skiing, lunch and Onsen at Cortina so now it was time to get naked with a whole bunch of skinny strangers again.  This is my third time and I think I’m getting used to it.  It was more liberating than traumatising.  This Onsen was amazing because it looked out over the slopes we had just been on.  Imagine:  You are in a steaming hot bath, looking out onto a movie-worthy mountainous snowy landscape, silver trees everywhere, temperature below freezing and you can enjoy the beauty in a warm hot pool.  Once in a lifetime….


 


Back to Morino Lodge and off to dinner we went.


 


Drew had been really excited about this place all week.  It was a restaurant that was just in someone’s house, called Denenshi.  We were ushered into a Japanese couples dining room and treated to the most exquisite food and service we have ever experienced.  It was a marvellous end to another surreal day in Hakuba.

					







Posted on Saturday, February 18th, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
16.02.12 – Day Five – Day off!

					
					

	Posted on: February 18th, 2012	by n3tB1z	No Comments

					

						


I had a day off skiing today.  Sad but true, I enjoy answering emails and working on Sugar & Spice just as much as I do skiing half way around the world.  No sorry, I enjoy it more!


 


I took a walk into the village and perused the funky convenience and souvenir shops.  Back at the lodge I walked through the forest is backs onto.  It’s hard to describe the serenity in this place.  It’s like you could be the only human on earth.  The air is just still.  The only noise is the sound of your boots in the snow.  There was only one thing to do….make a snow angel.  It was my first one!




My intrepid hubby and mates can’t get enough of the “sick powder” (said like Trent from Punchy) so were all day at the slopes again.




We went out to dinner again, it’s awesome.  We went to an Izakaya restaurant which is kind of the Japanese version of Tapas.  You just order lots of different bits and pieces and it’s gooooooooooooood.  I’ve never had vegies like I’ve had in Japan.  Our waitress was one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen with her fine Asian features and flawless champagne porcelain skin.  I took a photo, but it doesn’t do her justice.




Another early night.  We’ve been in bed by 8pm every night…utterly exhausted.  Skiing again tomorrow.

					







Posted on Saturday, February 18th, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
15.02.12 – Day 4 – Skiing Take 2

					
					

	Posted on: February 16th, 2012	by n3tB1z	1 Comment

					

						
I gave skiing another crack today.  I was still traumatised by my break down on the mountain yesterday so I insisted we start back at the basics.  Neal the friendly ski nazi had no choice…it was that or nothing.  Andy was amazing and stayed with me all morning for encouragement,  I don’t know what I would do without him.  Neal kept saying to me that considering I had only one lesson, I was doing really well.  He kept pointing people out on the slopes and telling me I was better than them, I just had no confidence….I really have no confidence.




After a couple of runs on the baby slope, they got me back on the chair lift to go back up the mountain.  The scariest part when you get off the lift is the bit right at the top.  It’s wide and slopes down sharply (to me anyway).  I got out of control the first time I was on it and that scarred me.  They got me down it by just doing one turn at a time with Andy standing in front on his board promising he would catch me if I got out of control.  I got down the first quarter doing that much but at one point I didn’t turn in time and I ended up face planting into a tree.  It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, it’s more awkward.  My ski’s got wedged in the thick heavy snow and became impossible to move.  I couldn’t get out of my boots at all and I was lying backwards so the pressure on my thigh muscles, knees and ankles was intense.  Neal & Andy came over to save me, and that shook me up enough to realise that I could not get down the rest of the mountain.  The boys were doing their best to get me to remember that I knew what I was doing, but I was frozen with fear, couldn’t get my legs to move, was muttering swear words under my breath and trying not to cry again…. “Please don’t make me do this….I’ve been really good to get down that far!”


 


Neither of them would listen.  They said I had done the hard part and had to keep going.  I had to go, there was nothing I could do to make them go away.  So I went.  I got down a little bit at a time.  I had to stop and get my wits about me every 20m or so until I was nearly at the end and managed to do the last little bit seamlessly.


 


We still had half an hour left of the lesson but I made it very clear it was time for lunch.  The one good experience I have had with skiing so far is the vegan restaurant at the base of the camp.  The food is amazing and a comfort after my skiing  ordeal.


 


I’m so disappointed in myself.   I have spent literally thousands of dollars to get here, $600.00 and something on ski gear hire, $500.00 on ski stuff I bought, a group lesson  $140.00 and that agonising private lesson…$325!!  It’s not that I can’t do it, it’s that I’m terrified of falling and being out of control and seriously hurting myself.  If I had enjoyed it at all, I would at least have an inkling of wanting to practice so I can get better, but every time I snap those horrid calf clamping ankle strangling callipers they call ski boots into the skis, my heart races and I have a mental battle with reason.   I wonder, Is there anyone out there who has felt like this and overcome it??


After lunch, Drew, Andy and Rach went up to Skyline, (a place my feet will never tread) and said they would meet me back at the bottom so I could do some more practice.  This was a test as I had no security blanket  instructor.




I went right back to basics.  There was no way I was going back up in that chair lift.  I kept practicing on my little beginner slope.  Point the ski’s down the hill, lean into the hill, stand up, bear down on the right leg, lean into the hill.  Repeat.  I did this 3 or 4 times and then skied down a little pathway to the left of the cafe at the bottom.  It was so incredible, surrounded by snow covered trees, just like the Narnia landscape.  The icy wind blew up snow dust and enveloped me in its sheer curtain.  It whipped my face and numbed my nose but it was absolutely magic.  Snowflakes were falling all around me and turning to water when they hit my ski gear.  I concentrated on one and saw that it left a 6-sided star shaped water droplet even once it had melted.  The gay, two-tone chime of the chair lift snapped me out of my day dream and I realised I couldn’t be standing here when Andy came flying down the mountain, he would have been so disappointed.  I took off my skis and trudged back up the icy slope…crunch, crunch, crunch.  I snapped one foot into the ski and the next one.  It wouldn’t click in though, stupid left foot!  I stood there for a good 15 minutes, surrounded by funky Japanese people in colourful parachute material ski suits, trying to  get my foot into the damn ski.  It would not go in.  That’s it.  My ski’s are now broken, the only thing left to do is to have a hot chocolate.




I walked back down the hill, got to the bottom and tried one more time.  Click!  Click!   Both feet went straight in.  Whatever!  I’m going for hot chocolate anyway.


 


Andy came and met me there and we decided to call it a day.  It’s only about a 10 minute walk from the ski fields to our lodge but it was blisteringly cold.  After about 5 minutes, my hands began to burn.  I had glove inners and thick padded gloves on, but I may as well have had no covering at all.  All I could concentrate on was walking faster to get home and while my body heated up, my fingers continued to burn.  The cold was intense!  It was actually painful.  By the time we got to the lodge I threw my skis into the rack and madly shook my hands around to get the blood back into them.  Thank God that was over!


 


We chilled out for a bit (ha, pardon the pun) then went back to the Onsen before we headed out to dinner.  I had my first experience with the Onsen yesterday and this is something I have been dreading since it was first mentioned to me when we booked back in Australia.  Basically it’s a Japanese bath house that is a naturally occurring hot spring and you go there after a long day on the slopes to wind down and relax your tired muscles.  It sounds like pure bliss, but for someone as body conscience as I am, it was a nightmare.  You know those dreams you have where you’re in your pyjamas at school?  Or naked in a crowded street?  THIS IS THE REALITY OF THAT.  It’s important you understand who I’m going to the Onsen with – Rachael.  Now Rach, I know you will be reading this so I want to make it very clear that she is not the type of woman who would ever make me feel uncomfortable about being naked, she is as down to earth as they come.  These issues are all mine.  She can’t help it that she has an immaculate figure, the kind of body most women dream of having.  Props to you Rach.  The thought of me, being naked next to Rachael, was pretty horrendous.  But what was I going to do….miss out?  Be a prude?  Let my issues get the better of me?  Or embrace it and have an experience I will probably never have again.  I chose the latter.


 


So, you walk into like a locker room at a gym and there are baskets for all your things. Step one – get undressed.  Oh my God oh my God oh my God….it’s go time.  I got undressed pretty quickly, why prolong the inevitable right?  Clothes in the basket – done.  Me naked – done.


 


Before you go in you are given two towels, one to dry yourself afterwards and one for “modesty”.  I grabbed the modesty towel and tried to wrap it around me….ummmmmmm…who shrunk my modesty towel?  Rach – I think my modesty towel has shrunk.  It only covers the front of me, and not even all of that…I would like to be modest about my behind as well.  Note to the Onsen owners – please sew two or even better three modesty towels together for oversized westerners.  Thanks.


 


So I don’t feel very modest, I feel very exposed and my bum is on show for the whole world to see (yes,  the whole world was in that Onsen).  This is just stage one, after that, you have to get through the double glass doors and shower before you get into the bath.  Of course, this is all open, just shower heads down a wall.  There were a few ladies out there and they didn’t give a rats, they were sitting on the little stools, washing their hair and their…bits…and no modesty towels in sight.  So I now have to lose the only thing standing between me and my naked dignity and shower in front of strangers and the gorgeous skinny blonde I’m travelling with.  Sweet!  I’m having fun.


 


Quickest shower ever.  There was no hair or “bit” washing.  Get that water on me and get into the bath…stat!!!


 


I got into the bath and quickly put as much of my body underwater as possible.  You know when you see hippos in the lake and all you see is their ears and eyes sticking out?  This was me.  I felt like a hippo too.  I don’t know why God chose to make Japanese woman effortlessly slim with tiny bottoms, and why I chose to put myself in a room where we were all naked together.  I was just concentrating on not staring at anyone.  It was like a porno.  There was a little waterfall in the corner of the bath which became the most interesting thing I have ever seen.  Oh yes…that’s pretty isn’t it…and the wall…yup, look at that, no naked people there.


 


After a while, this indoor bath got too hot to bear, and there was another one outside in the open air.  It was surrounded by snow and the bath was steaming in the middle of it.  It looked amazing, so I had to get myself out of this bath, naked, out the doors, naked, and into the outside bath…still naked.  It was of course very pleasant once we were in there and if I was about 20kgs smaller, I would have probably really enjoyed it.  I was ashamed though and so scared to bear all.  It’s not our culture, is it…but it’s really widely accepted here, and broadening your mind and experiencing how other people live is what travelling is all about, isn’t it?


 


After about half an hour I took the walk of shame back out to the dressing room and broke the speed record for the fastest person to ever get dressed in the history of the world.  “I’ll see you outside Rach!” and I trotted back out in the safety of my clothes.


 


So we went back again tonight.  It was pretty much the same experience but I had done it once so it was a tiny bit better.  We had dinner at Cedar Creek Lodge, I had some amazing stir fried noodles.   By 8pm I was exhausted and we made the 10minute chilly walk home.  I’ve got a bit of a cold and might have a day off skiing tomorrow to explore Hakuba a bit more on my terms.

					







Posted on Thursday, February 16th, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
14.02.12 – Day Three – Cinderella learns to ski (just)

					
					

	Posted on: February 14th, 2012	by n3tB1z	

					

						
I’m sitting in my gorgeous warm room reflecting on the day’s events.  It’s about 5pm and soon we will go to the Onsen (more on that later) then out to dinny dins.


 


Today was the day that we paid an expert to teach me how to ski.  The expert had his work cut out for him.




We woke at a reasonable hour, toddled down to a communal breakfast and I then put on 4 layers of undergarments with ski jacket and overalls on top.  For the first time since I’ve been here, I was finally warm.


 


Our shuttle picked us up and took us out to Ever Green Recreational facility.  I met my instructor – Neal, an Aussie (of course).  We only had two other people in my group who were from Singapore.




Neal started with the basics…how to put on your skis, how to carry them without knocking someone out behind you.  Got it…sweet…I’m all over that.


 


We then walked across the hill to the beginner slope.  Apparently this is the MOST beginner level you can get.  It was about 20m long and at a 10degree incline.  It may as well have been Mt Everest as far as I was concerned.  Here we learned how to stop by “snow ploughing” which for all your novices J is turning the skis in so the tips nearly touch and the backs out so it looks like a piece of pizza (I now know why Andy kept going on about pizza & fries).  We had to go down the little hill and make sure we had the snow plough stance right and could stop when we wanted to.  I don’t remember being scared at this point, I think I picked it up pretty quickly.




Neal then said we were going to learn how to turn.  Right – turning….I didn’t think you had to turn, I just thought you went straight down.  Turning is not as easy at Neal made it look.  You have to stand up straight-ish but bear down on whatever leg is the opposite way you want to go…while you’re sliding down hill, trying to keep your balance and trying not to freak out.  I took a few spills and was actually quite terrified of the whole thing.  I decided that skiing wasn’t really for me…if I didn’t get it now, I’ll never get it.  You see – I only do things I’m immediately good at.  Unless I really have a passion for it and want to get better, I don’t see the point.  This is skiing for me….lots of agonising moments of “am I going to face plant in the snow and hurt my bung knees and ankles”.  After about 2 hours of of stacks, alot of snow ploughs alot of “Please don’t make me do it again”, Neal, in his infinite wisdom, decided it was time to have a go on a proper slope.  This meant getting in the chair lift and going to the top of the longest, steepest mountain IN THE WORLD!  (slight exaggeration, but it may as well have been).  I kicked and screamed but he would not take no for an answer.  Getting onto that chair lift, I was the most apprehensive I think I’ve ever been, but once you’re on, the only way off is to get to the end and ski down (although I did find a different way).


 


We got off at the top and OH MY GOD….I looked down and I felt like I was about to ski off the edge of the earth.  I forgot EVERYTHING I had been learning for the past 2 hours and absolutely freaked out.  Neal could not understand….”it’s the same principals of what you’ve been doing…you’re ready” he pleaded with me.  I lost all sense of reason and common sense.  I could not see straight.  I was begging him to please take me down……plllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeeeeee.  Neal wouldn’t listen and he would not take no for an answer.  He was persistent!  I changed my tactics…I’ll incite a coup. “Hey guys!” I called out to the Singaporeans…”You don’t want to do this do you??  It’s pretty steep! ”  They didn’t care, they were rolling around in the snow and falling over and getting back up…that didn’t work.  Neal would not give up, but honestly, I wasn’t being difficult, I was just absolutely petrified, I have never been so scared in my life.  Of course, the only thing to do was to cry.  Yup – I’m 32 years old, in the snow with two unco Asians, one determined ski instructor ,CHILDREN WHIZZING PAST ME…and I’m crying.  I’ve never had a panic attack before but if it was any worse than what I experienced on that mountain, I don’t know how you survive.  The worst thing was despite all my begging and pleading, Neal wouldn’t give up.  He could not comprehend why I was so scared considering it was the same principals I had learnt and mastered all morning.  This is the difference between men & women I suppose.  I desperately pleaded with him to let me walk down, and he desperately pleaded with me to give it a go.  He even tried bear hugging me and guiding me down, then bending down in front and physically moving my skii’s for me.  It was no good, reason had left me and I could not see sense.  My skis came off and I walked down the mountain…absolutely defeated but at least in one piece (physically, not mentally).  Sorry Neal, I really am.




By the time I got down to the bottom it was time for lunch so I met the rest of my pro-skier / snowboard mates and told them my sorry story.  I was so upset that I just kept crying (can you believe this?  How ridiculous).  Then I was embarrassed because I was crying…just a mess.


 


After lunch it got worse – Andy told me I was booked in for a whole day lesson, not just the morning.  Then it got worse again – my fellow students decided they’d had enough and left.  It was just me and Neal.  Dear GOD.


 


I was so worked up by this point that I couldn’t even go back to the easy slope and be as good as I was in the morning.  Just putting the ski’s on caused my heart to beat faster and my breath to become short.  Neal kept saying “There’s no such thing as can’t.  Stop talking yourself out of it”.  You know – I’m a pretty positive person and happy to give stuff a go – honestly – but not if it leaves me in tears, a panicked mess.  It wasn’t so much “I can’t” more “I don’t want to, please don’t make me!!!”.  Once again, there was no getting around it but I think he understood that I was a woman on the edge so he let me go down the beginner bit again for a while.  I kept telling him that me and that mountain – not gonna happen.  I said I was citing irreconcilable differences and divorcing my ski’s.  After about 30 minutes of trying to get some kind of clear head about the whole thing, my knight in shining armour, my Andy, snowboarded into view.  I felt instantly relieved – he’ll save me!!!  I told him how bad and scared I was and that I kept falling over.  Then Neal brought out his camera – he’d been filming me!  He showed it to Andy who said I was better than him.  Not coping.  Together they gradually got me to go further and further up the bloody hill.  Out of the whole 5 hours I was skiing, there was a moment of about 2 seconds where I felt in control and confident.  This 2 seconds was enough for them to get me back on that chair lift.  Well talk about mind over matter…my mind was a million miles an hour up that lift.  The only way they got me on it was by saying I could walk down to half way and then go down from there.  Andy was amazing, he said we would split it up in 20-30m sections then I would stop, get my wits about me and go again.  Believe it or not, with this method, I got down that hell of a mountain, tear free.




Once I was at the bottom, I thought – I’m pretty happy to never ski again.  Something as terrifying as that is not an activity I want to do again.  The problem is, I’m here for another 6 days, have spent $600.00 on ski hire gear, not to mention thousands on the holiday itself.  The other problem was that Neal told Andy that I should have a private lesson tomorrow and Andy booked it in!  All I’m hanging onto is that 2 seconds of confidence…I’m hoping it will be a bit more frequent.  If I hadn’t had that, I would honestly never ski again and warn anyone else against this perilous sport.


 

					







Posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 









				


						
				

				
					
13.02.12 – Day Two – Travel to Hakuba

					
					

	Posted on: February 14th, 2012	by n3tB1z	No Comments

					

						
We got up at Sparrows Fart (that’s for you Jaz), checked out and rushed to the Shinkansen.  Being the responsible young adults we are (can I still be a young adult at 32?  Or am I just the regular kind??) we got our tickets last night so we could sleep in until 5AM today.  I was prepared for the cold in Chelly’s mums ski pants and jacket….super stylin’.




I’m now on the bullet train with the grey Japanese landscape whirring past me  on both sides.  To my left I can vaguely make out the iconic white peak of Mt Fuji way off in the distance.  Next stop Nagano before we catch a bus to the snow monkeys…not coping!!!


I nodded off on the bus and I don’t know how long the bus ride was, but when I woke up, there was a thick blanket of snow covering everything.  The only time I have seen snow before is on a grade 8 band camp (ha ha) when we went to Canberra and had quick stop at the snow in Jindabyne.  I don’t remember being particularly impressed, it was just like ice and wet dirty  foam on the ground.  It didn’t stop my class mates from eating it by the way.


 


The snowy landscape out my window was nothing short of a fairy tale.  The trees were naked and their twiggy branches were decorated with puffs of snow glistening from every twig.  The houses looked like they had been wrapped in a puffy white doona, the snow was thick and perfectly curved at the sides.  The snow on the ground looked like a million billion crushed diamonds, like it had been mixed with glitter and it sparkled and shone.  I felt like I was in a story book.


 


We got off the bus and when it pulled away Andy jumped up and down.  Behind us was a postcard view of mountain in the distance with snowy peaks and little far-away houses nestled at the base.  We became the most snap happy tourists to ever set foot in this part of Japan.  I bent down to scoop up the snow and it was like POWDER….seriously!  Like talcum powder!  I scooped it up and ran it through my fingers.  I was like a little kid.




Drew and Rach had been to the Monkeys before so they knew exactly where to go.  We started walking up an icey hill, I’m marvelling the whole way and Andy was just beaming.  Some of the houses were traditional Japanese architecture and were puffing out thick chimney smoke, if cozy had a smell, it would be this.  We passed cars and busses half buried and houses with icicles….real icicles hanging from their eaves.  I was lagging behind because I was taking so many photos.




We got to the entrance of the monkey park and surprisingly I didn’t see the huge sign overhead that boasted a 1.6km walk (even though I took a photo of it).  We had to walk around an ice covered path that twisted and turned around the curve of a mountain.  To my left was a drop and a snow covered forest and then the hill shot up to the right.  I felt like I was in a movie…I was waiting for the Ice Queen from Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe to come around the bend in her chariot….or Lucy Liu and Uma Thurman to appear battling it out on the slopes…or crouching tiger hidden dragon to reinact an epic fight scene in the forest below.  AH-MAY-ZING!!!!!




The ice was slippery and pretty hard to navigate.  I did fall once (cause Andy wouldn’t hold my hand…yeah….I put that in) but my large, cushioned bum took the brunt of the fall and there were no major injuries.


 


After about 20 minutes we got to the entrance of the park and paid the equivalent of a $6.00 entry fee.  We walked around a bend, down some steps and out into a movie landscape.  The pictures explain what it looked like  better than I can in words.  We kept walking around the track and eventually got to an area where there were monkeys EVERYWHERE!!!  They sit in the snow and it looks like they are eating it, but they must be eating from the ground underneath maybe.  There were hundreds of them, some were fighting and tumbling down the side of the mountain, others were jumping and catching themselves at the last second before they fell to the ground by hanging onto tree branches that stuck out from underneath the snow, and there were a few that were steaming themselves in a sulphurous hot spring bath.  You could get up really close to them here and I went crazy  with my phone.  One of the big monkey was smiling at me…well I thought it was smiling, afterwards the guys told me that no, that was a snarl and a good time to back away…which I ignored.  I was trying to interact with them so got a big hunk of ice and gently rolled it towards the big monkey.  He ignored it like “Ice?  Ha – you’ll have to do better than that…I’ve got heaps of the stuff!”.  It did get the attention of a tiny little baby monkey though who came over to bit it and roll it….so cute!  I filmed it…it’s the closest I’ve ever been and I just wanted to pick him up and give him a big cuddle.




He ran away back to his mum and I followed around the edge of the hot spring (which stunk like poo concentrate by the way).  I nudged my way in between all the other tourists standing around and got some awesome shots of the baby monkey with his mum.  Check them out!


 


We had to eat lunch and catch the bus back to Nagano so made our way back down the icey path, said goodbye to the Kill Bill forest and walked back to the main road.  Drew took us to a little restaurant and we  had hot green tea and home-made buckwheat noodles with mushrooms.  Pretty yummy.




Back on the bus….back to Nagano….and on another bus that would take us to our destination for the next 6 days, Morino Lodge, Hakuba.  It’s a really cool  little lodge with a communal dining/lounge room where you congregate to eat and chat about the sick powder you’ve been carving up all day (I’ve got the lingo down pat).  There are HEAPS of Aussies here.  Our room is a traditional Japanese style but with a western bed.  The view from out of our window is a forest of bare trees covered in snow…absolutely magic.


 


We went for an evening stroll in the snow and had dinner at another little Japanese restaurant.  They are very quaint and warm and you feel like you could just sit there forever.


 


On the way back from dinner I made my first snow ball and hurled it at my husband’s back.  He tried to retaliate but lost his footing and fell over….he he he.  Despite the biting cold, the walk home was pretty surreal.  Crystal flakes were falling all around me, the street was softly lit and the snow was crunching under my feet.  I’ve never experienced anything like this….supremely happy. I can’t help but draw wedding inspiration from everywhere I look…. the next mood baord will be white for the snow, silver for the bare trees and charcoal for the mountains in the distance.




Tomorrow – I learn how to ski!!!

					







Posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012