Japan: What Felt Like Spring

I went to Japan for a little over a week with my mom. We stayed in Osaka and made day trips to Kobe, Nara, Kanazawa and Kyoto.

Osaka:

Cat cafe! Yewwww!

This is the cat that hung out with us the most. He was huge and so insanely cute. 

Nara:

Whoa blind deer. 

Nara is kinda magical with all the deer running around, but most of the time they're just doing this: flocking to you the instant they see you have food and then dropping you like you're nothing once they've eaten it all. 

We ate so much ice cream.

Kanazawa:

Found this on the ground. 

Main reason for going to Kanazawa.

Laughing at my mom.

Kyoto. So lovely and fell in love with it:

Bamboo Forest. 

Mom. 

I had been to Japan before with Jane over a few years back and we had such and fun and hilarious time. It was nice coming back to Japan with my mom, to be reminded of toilets that do everything for you, eating oodles of noodles, having inanimate objects talk to you, navigating complex subway systems and stations, seeing such beautiful and intricate objects and crafts, consuming copious amounts of green tea everything, seeing such cute stuff that it hurts, seeing inexplicably odd stuff that you can only describe as 'Japanese', getting to wear pants and experience the tail end of a spring season, and of course, seeing and experiencing all this with my mom. xoxo. 

Bali, Indonesia: Waves.

I was in Bali, Indonesia for a month. Snaps:

Piece of shit Ronald McDonald watch I bought. Note to self: never buy a watch in Bali ever again. 

This place is one of the most touristy things to go to in Bali, but it's totally worth going to. I have been here before, years ago when I was a kid with my family. I remember my brother had a package of peanuts and the monkey just snatched it right out of his hands and it shocked and terrified him. I didn't expect for it to feel so new and interesting to be in the park again. It's so crazy and hilarious to be so close to so many monkeys. 

Tanah Lot. 

Went to Bali mainly to surf. 

Puppy spot. 

Paths going I don't know where but oh I'd like to know. 

This was the view during this meal: 

Like I mentioned earlier, I had been to Bali before when I was a kid with my parents. I don't remember much of it and I don't think we did much either when we were there, just stayed at a resort and were as lazy as humanely possible. So I was interested in revisiting it (lol and not living a resort lifestyle) and seeing how I'd feel about it now (tough life, I know).

There were times where I loved Bali - the surfing (catching better waves and moving to shorter boards, hooray!), the incredibly nice, warm and hilarious people, what little untouched nature I did see was beautiful, the ornate architecture and aesthetics, the spirituality running through so much of everyday living. And there were times where I was so frustrated with it. So many people, so many cars creating these paralyzing traffic jams (what should be a 15 minute ride turns into an hour), hotels and villas everywhere, everyone trying to sell me something (a massage, motorbike rental, sarong, bracelets, taxi ride), being asked where I am from and if they could come with me ("No? I miss you already"), the huge gap between rich and poor, the pollution. But I know that there is more to Bali then what I saw and I want to see it. To know it. And I will be there again soon and I hope I get a bit closer to doing that.  

Coron, Philippines: Friendship Love Letter

After Siargao, I met up with Maggie and we went to a town in the Palawan province in the Philippines called Coron.

It was great. Get ready for a whole lot of pictures of Maggie's back against some stunning spots.

Although this looks kind of nice, this was actually a crummy beach. Coron isn't known for having great beaches in the town. But what it is known for is being close to some really amazing ones (white sand, clear waters), you just have to take a boat out there. If you can, I wouldn't even really bother going to the beaches in town. 

Maquinit Hot Springs. Here's Maggie with a bag of pseudo pork rinds in a delicious flavor (can't quite remember it, but if you're in the Philippines, get the red bag) and a beer in a giant pool of hot spring water. This is a real nice spot. 

:) Us on a boat tour. The company that ran the tour was disconcertingly called, "Cheap Travels". Good tour though! 

On the boat tour they take you to several different spots. This is one of them. I feel like this spot was solely for people to take jumping photos (which the tour guides are excellent at taking at as you can see). 

Maggie's hilarious sarong. 

Apparently this is the most photographed spot in Coron. You can see why right? Beauty. 

Our hostel was in the middle of a bunch of locals' housing. So many kids milling about asking "What's your name, what's your name?"

If you're going to ride a motorbike, ride it real slow. I didn't and I looked like I got mauled by a bear and hurt my knee pretty bad. It was fun up until that point! After that everyone looked at my face with a horrified expression and asked what happened to me. Idiocy is what happened to me.  

I like his legs and how they're splayed out. Perfect dog rug.

Maggie and I would go nuts at the barbeque stands. They sell skewers of barbequed meat and then there are two big jars of dipping sauce for you to dip the skewers in, one sweet, the other some sort of vinegar thing (ps - everyone dips in this jar. I love stuff like this, things that would never ever fly in North America). What was awesome about these skewers is for the pork one, they always end the skewer on a massive piece of fat. Even more awesome, the skewers were only like 30 cents or something. 

We would also get these watermelon slushies to drink it with that were so cheap and good. Also whenever we were at the market, I just went nuts and tried anything that looked mildly appealing. I would have the weirdest combinations of snacks. But man it was good. 

Maggie asking for something at a drug store. I liked their setup. So well organized and colorful and the total opposite of Shoppers Drug Mart or something like that. 

Maggie walking past Mormons.  

Hanging out to dry.

I was saying to Maggie how glad I was she was here with me in Coron because as beautiful as the things were that we saw, it would have been not nearly as nice and meaningful to see it alone. Also it be boring. And also it's always cool to be in some random foreign place with a really good friend doing random things. Maggie is my only friend that I have hung out with in person since the holidays. It was nice to catch up with her and have (many) full conversations in English where I didn't have to say my ideas in a limited or simple way. Where someone got my jokes without me having to explain them. And where I could say what was on mind and have a meaningful response (partly because I am finally articulating myself fully, but also because it's Maggie and Maggie gives meaningful responses). 

Maggie is currently in New York and then off to Amsterdam indefinitely. Our friendship has gone through periods of large physical distances and months where we don't say anything to each other at all, but when we see or talk to each other, those distances and time don't exist. 

And I am thankful for that too and wish her all the best until I see and talk to her again. 

xo Maggie and Coron, was real nice.