Tuscany

After a long relaxation period in Cyprus (know it’s hard to believe it, but you do need a holiday after a holiday!) and catch-up with family and friends in Slovenia, we got restless and decided to do one more Italy stint. If you remember from our last year’s journey in Italy, to our utter dismay and bad planning, we skipped Florence. And vowed to rectify that mistake this year. Throw in fulfilling a life-long dream to see Tuscany and you are sorted for a week. Well, over-sorted really. We knew there would be crowds in August,  but we were not prepared for the reality. It seems the rest of the world stops and everyone just flocks to Italy. Combine this with Dejan’s genetic aversion to waiting in queues and you have a hectic week of trying (and mostly succeeding – thanks for Nives’ stamina and determination!) to see everything you planned. But let’s start from the beginning…

We arrived in Venice with only three hours to spare before our train to Florence. As the streets looked like a big concert grounds filled with masses of people, we decided that the best course of action was to take a public transport boat – kind of poor mans’ gondola – and just drive around. It was a lovely and relatively speedy ride to Piazza San Marco. We enjoyed looking at amazing palazzos and small restaurants filled with tourists. It was like being in a movie. And then we decided to turn back. Little did we know that not all gondolas are the same. So, this time we boarded a super slow one. And not just that, the driver was the most relaxed person in the world, just letting everyone overtake us. It took forever to get back. To say that we were nervous while doing minutes count-down would be an understatement. At the end, we had to run (with the suitcases) to the train station and boarded the train 4 seconds before departure (literally!!!). It was a picture, but no sound situation for the next hour, as we were trying to avoid the heart-attack.

And then we arrived to Florence. To be honest, it was not a love at first sight. Does not have the vavavoom of Rome or the beauty of Venice. But we soon discovered it has magic. And yes, you do have to go off the beaten track and tourist hordes (in millions probably) to get there. And then the Duomo. We have seen a few, but this one just leaves you speechless. It is a truly magnificent structure, as witnessed by the queue outside – it went all the way around the church! Well worth the visit, but not in the tourist season. Dozen or so local churches (Dejan was bonding with his phone again) and copious amounts of amazing food filled three days to the brim and it was time to move on.

To another tourist heavy weight. Pisa. To be honest, did not expect much, but the tower and the Duomo are magical. Definitely something to see. Even the queues were not too bad and we enjoyed our time in this otherwise sleepy (in the summer) university town. And we joined the local mania of taking photos with the leaning tower in the background. Totally hilarious! But, when in Rome… khm… Pisa…

And then it was time for the cherry on a cake, thing we were most excited about. Tuscan hills and especially Chianti were something we have always wanted to see. Surely you know what we are talking about: beautiful stone house surrounded by vineyards and olive grows and tall, elegant cypress trees. Set full of expectations we started our drive in a probably cutest car ever – Smart. But reality hit soon. Yes, there are lovely vistas, but actually not that many and pretty far apart. To be honest, we were pretty disappointed; especially with Chianti, which was to be a treat. We actually realized that we have as nice vistas in Cyprus. And those are usually admired on a bike, which definitely is a big plus. But no worries, soon to be rectified with some lovely red wine we thought; after all that is one of the main reasons why we were here in the first place. To be honest, we are not big fans of Chianti or Tuscan wines in general, but thought we just didn’t get to try really good ones. So we dived into local wine shops and sampled quite a lot of local besties (two of them even scoring 100 out of 100 points!). And then it hit us – we are just not fans of sangiovese grape.

And the mozzies. To be honest, we have not encountered so many mosquitoes anywhere in Europe in the last 20 years as in Tuscany. Thank God Nives treats repellent as important as the tooth-paste, so we were prepared. But genuinely felt for all those tourist with big red swells on their legs and arms.
Our thing in Tuscany turned out to be discovering beautiful medieval towns of San Gimignano, Montalcino, Montelpuciano… just to name the few. Usually perched on top of the hill with amazing vistas these little gems speak of the past. Not for the fainted hearted thou – it was pretty bloody and brutal here. So many assassinations and poisonings were going on, it is amazing anyone is left alive! Best thing was to walk these towns late in the evenings when other tourists are gone, soak up the atmosphere and all that history. Favourite place has to be Sienna. It is not big, but it is absolutely magnificent. It really does have a soul. The old town is preserved so well, you feel you are transported into the past. It just had that something that gets under your skin. We really enjoyed our time there, not to mention the best food we have had (even tried the lampredotto – tripe that was fabulous!) in a little gem of the restaurant just few streets off the main square. Not to mention the ice-creams… pecorino and pear was the absolute winner!

The week passed quickly and it was time to leave. Truly tired (another holiday from holiday in Cyprus is badly needed) and few kilos heavier (who can resist all that good food?) we boarded Ryanair flight heading east to our summer home – Cyprus.

Some more pictures here.

Maldives

Can’t say no to “Maldives for free” is how we sold it to ourselves. It probably took a whole of five seconds to give in. So, with cheaper flights back to Cyprus from Maldives than from Kuala Lumpur, we conceded into a weeklong paradise stopover.

The move was also a chance to erase an embarrassing dent into our traveling ego. Last time we were going home from the Pelican (The Sequel) our plane landed on Maldives to pick up extra passengers. And so we were there, in our seats, with time to spare and no chance to get off. Pretty much a disaster scenario for the Jug team. We said we will be back. At some point.

And there is no better time than now. Especially as things changed in Maldives. Basically, the government realized a few years ago that they are missing out on a whole universe of budget conscious tourists – you know, the ones that trawl up and down Thailand. In historical move to get more beach worshippers they opened their local inhabited islands to tourism (as opposed to resort islands you have seen in the postcards). We selected Dharavandhoo island as out host for one key reason – it practically rolls of the tongue and they are known for a Manta ray or two. Sunny days we thought at this stage.

In yet another masterstroke of planning we decided to stay on one of this islands during a holy month of Ramadan. It didn’t take long to realise that outside of tourist islands they take they religion seriously here. Not only are there no drinks on the island (other than lime infused water, ginger infused water, or even lime and ginger infused water) there will also be no food until sunset. Just to confirm, drinks were available only after sunset as well. OK, why not we though, as we imagine our bodies slimming down to Kate Moss size before leaving Maldives.

As we settle into our beach front property (everything in Maldives is beach front located anyway) our ears start picking up that all too familiar sound of minimal pest control. We wanted authentic local and that translated into s*it load of mozzies and send files. So much so, that part of our team (you really don’t need to guess at this stage, right?) was forced to be locked in the room. Just for a record, we (well, Nives) got bitten through clothes and that is with “natural mosquito repellent” on. And this is during the day. Don’t even ask about evenings and nights. So, room it was, with 24h CNN coverage, we never felt as informed on a holiday before. So much for the real Maldives - best to stick to a tour operator brochure island for you next honeymoon.

None of this mattered to us anyway. We are here to be entertained by endless tornado of Manta rays in Hanifaru bay as promised by yet another UNESCO designated site. What you see on TV / online isn’t what the real life turns out to be yet again (at this stage, we are asking ourselves how stupid can we be?). Out of 6 days hunting for manta rays we only managed to go out once. This is even after using all the latest drone flying technology to find them. Overall it was nice, but we have not seen as many manta rays as we wanted (well, as many as Nives wanted).

With deeply mixed feelings we packed one last time and prepared for a four flight 30h ordeal called “getting our cattle class asses back home to Cyprus”. And also, that Kate Moss thing didn’t work out either – you actually can consume a day’s worth of food in one sitting.

Some bonus pictures here.

Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

We didn’t write a lot of about KL on this blog. We have been here so many times by now, we don’t do the tourist stuff anymore (so much so, that we struggled to find a single picture from our stay here on this trip!). It is our Asian home; our home away from home. Place we know and love. Where we come to rest, recuperate and lick our wounds. Where we have our favorite places to eat, party, shop. Or just do “normal” stuff like cinema, laundry or watch TV late into the night. And as the trip went on, we realized we were happier and happier to come back and less and less keen to leave. That view of the Boys (AKA Petronas towers) is just magical and keeps you glued to the city.

So, what part of town to stay in? For us the key is to stay within golden triangle with walking distance to all our must visit locations. This is also where all the high-rise hotels and apartments are – what a happy coincidence. With KL topping the charts for most affordable accommodation on the planet it totally makes sense to get some sunshine into the wallet and go for a 5 star fancy apartment high off the ground. This will set you back less than sleeping on the bench in Singapore. Also they will allow you to leave luggage behind between visits – key for us as we are hauling around almost 80 kg on full load by the end of the trip (if you have shares for Crocks, well done! This will be a very good year!). It's all nice to be practical, but the key sales point is sleeping on 40th plus floor as we are bottom dwellers back home. With frequent visits we often get upgraded for free into deluxe 100 m2 apartment – not that we need it for anything other than play hide & seek. Still not convinced? They even have a Nespresso coffee machine – I hear your brain buzzing about buying flights to KL.

So how does our time here look like? We finally caught up with technology and are using Grab or Uber to get in / out of the city. Once settled into our home, it’s time to walkabout. Petronas towers with its Suria shopping mall is the place for Nonya laksa dish. That’s lunch sorted, before we head over to Pavilion shopping mall to stock up on French wine, Irish butter & cheddar cheese and Japanese Hokkaido tarts. Across the road is i-setan store for sushi and on the way back home we stop in Indian restaurants for dinner and breakfast takeaway. If we don't have too many perishables we drop in one of massage parlors for quick foot massage. Then we settle into dinner at home pigging through all the excessive grub we bought. Pass out and then repeat next day – we are sane enough not to expect a different outcome.

Needless to say, it was hard to pack and say goodbye. Especially as we do not know when we are coming back next. But we are coming back, that is for sure.

So this is not a goodbye, but rather until we see you next time, Kuala!

Japan, Epilogue

As we are sorting out our impressions of Japan – and they are plentiful – few things will definitely stick with us.

This is an amazing place. It is definitely very special and different. It has its own culture and set of values that are so different to what we are used to. Only regret we have is to have traveled to Taiwan before Japan. Some things, that would have been absolutely special and unique now were not (we caught ourselves few times saying how similar something was to Taipei). But then, not sure why we are surprised, Japan and Taiwan have been sharing a lot of (intertwined) history and Taiwan was actually under Japanese rule until after WW2.

Connection with past and traditional values. It feels very alive in Japan. Seems as thou there is some way traditions are still influencing modern life more than they do in west. From clothes to attitude, from manners to music, fashion to makeup, seems they are still very aware of their past.

Food

Japan has amazing cuisine that is so much more than sushi. Not that we don’t like sushi – we adore it! But it was nice to have been able to see and try other things as well. What surprised us thou, were prices for fruit and veggies. We thought we were blind first time we saw a melon for a €100 (well, there were specials for two for €170). Cherries retail at about €3-5 a pop. As do strawberries. Mangos are sold wrapped with ribbons at about €100 a package of one, albeit a very handsome package. We dare you to be vegetarian here!

Toilets

I know, sounds bizarre, but it took quite a time to figure out all the functions: from different types of washing to drying. Not to mention heated toilet seats. If anyone ever decides to start selling this in Europe, you have a buyer.

Safety

It is absolutely ridiculous how safe Japan is, like a Vatican vault. Just to make a point let us share our experience. When we crossed Japan Alps we sent our luggage with currier service. And when we were arranging this at the train station (yup, train station – synonym for all bad that can happen to you everywhere else in the world), the luggage guy went to get a new pen and left money unattended for about five minutes. Seriously! We were in total shock. We just felt for all those Japanese tourists who find their way to Johannesburg. They probably get mugged on Day 1 and just head back to airport to go home.

Queues

Seems Japanese are waiting for everything. To eat. To have coffee. To buy things. To enter museums, shops… anything really. To cross the street. To go on bus, train, metro… But it is not the waiting that mesmerized us, it is the orderly queues they do it in! Seemed so natural. Well, possibly not to the two of us. Instant gratification is really not a thing here.

Traffic jams

There are none. But there are considerable people jams. Especially on the metro! Everyone is neatly waiting in the queue for their turn to get on already full trains. Not to worry that you won’t get on – they actually employ people who push passengers in! Seriously, we have seen places where cattle was treated better. And RyanAir seems like a first class service.

Stairs

There is something in Japan about the escalators – there are few and rare. So, we went up and down, and down and up. Over and over again. One would think its fine as long as you can find a nice place and rest on a bench. Yeah, in theory! These are non-existent in Japan. As are bins (we kept carrying our garbage back to the room!). It is probably government policy to discourage loitering and resting. Really hard on our Mediterranean souls…

Order

There is order and effectiveness in everything. Even the roads are built in 3D, so traffic can go on and on with minimal interruptions. Trains, busses and every other way of transport are on time here. For real – we do not mean the Irish way where plus/minus five minutes counts on time. Taxi cars are all same and they have doors that automatically open and close. It is almost as the whole country has an OCD!

Road Safety

So many people are doing menial jobs trying to keep everyone safe: directing traffic and people. You would think you are in a third world place where government is just coming up with schemes to fight unemployment, not in one of the G7 countries. It takes two people with jedi sticks doing the dance to get a car from the garage! On the other hand, they cycle without helmets and let you get so close to moving trains (and they move pretty fast here!) you can feel the wind in your underpants. Bizarre!
Space. It definitely is a commodity. Hotel rooms are beyond small. IKEA is prospering here, only the furniture probably is not compact enough. They actually sell 120cm beds as a double. We booked twin rooms quite a few times to avoid midnight bed fights.

But most of all, Japan will stay with us as a magical, special place. One that you have to visit at least once in your lifetime. And then come back. Again and again.

Japan, Tokyo

We arrived to Tokyo, just to drop bags in the hotel and head for the main event – final day of Tokyo Grand Sumo tournament. This is something that was planned well in advance. We tried to book tickets moments after they have been released (they sell as fast as the U2 in Dublin) only to get a sold out response. Lucky, tragedy was averted – we found an agency that still had few tickets. And they came with the guide. To be honest, we just thought it was a money making scam, but in the end it was brilliant to watch a tournament with a local lady who is an avid fan. And could speak good English!

And even with seats far back and almost touching the clouds we could see well – the guys really are that big. With nine out of ten top sumo wrestlers over 160kg this ancient sport requires a healthy appetite. To top it all, we saw Hakuho (one of the best ever, if not The Best) regain his mojo with clean sweep victory. Still have goose bumps thinking about it... What a day!!!

What does one do in Tokyo? Well, we were there to see modern, contemporary Japan. And that is exactly what we did. We climbed skyscraper after skyscraper and had glorious view of Tokyo skyline. And as luck would have it, on the last day we even had a good view of Mt Fuji! Talking about luck. We walked modern districts and checked out Tokyo sub-culture. Young people here are similar to everywhere in the world, but still a bit different. And that is the correct term to use – they accept and embrace their individuality and have special style. Best place to see is Akihabara. Shop after shop with glaring techno music selling everything. Definitely a sight to see and then move on to a slightly quieter area, as we did.

One of the things we will definitely remember was Tokyo river cruise on futuristic boat (apparently it was designed by a known Japanese manga artist) that looked like Millennium Falcon to us (for non-initiated this is a name of a star ship from Han Solo and Chewbacca in Star Wars series – the good ones). To be honest, the boat was even better than the views. And those were pretty spectacular as well, especially of the Rainbow Bridge. So we ended up on the artificial island and took a driverless monorail back to town. It was a really neat experience, whizzing by tall glass buildings. Felt like being in the future already. And that was even before we tangoed with the cutest robots ever!

After hefty considerations, we went to Tsukiji market as well. Not to the fish section as some of us (Nives mainly) cannot stand the sight of dead manta rays (it is bleeding hard to see live ones, trust us!) and both of us have tears in the eyes when we see shark-fins. We are still not sure how exactly we would react to dead dolphins or whales. So, we strolled a bit on the outside part of it (nothing special really) and then settled in and had a pretty good sushi (damn good one, to be honest!). Definitely a thing to do in Tokyo – east sushi here, that is.

But we will remember Tokyo the most by Shibuya crossing. Basically it is giant road crossing that sees 1000 people crossing the street at the same time at peak hours. Trick is that when traffic lights turn red, they do it in unison – all of them. Traffic completely stops and people just surge on the road. We joined this wave of humanity and kept crossing it time after time. To be honest, it did not get boring!

And then it was time to start packing again. Time to start going back home…

Fancy seeing more people, glass and concrete? Click here to find out.

Japanese Alps

Our new obsession with gardens and a plan to see Japanese Alps really decided the next place we visited: Kanazawa. We planned to stay there just one day, but the weather thought otherwise. Only really bad day in the whole time we were in Japan was supposed to be the one when we were to cross the Alps! Even Hannibal had better luck.

So, the plan was changed yet again and we were facing two days in Kanazawa. And as usual, biggest fu*k-ups, turn to be the best things that happen to you. We absolutely loved this place! Very few tourists, charming town and probably prettiest garden in all of Japan.

And we haven’t even talked of ramen. Now, this is the food discovery of Japan for the Jugs – noodle soup Japanese style. Absolutely fabulous! Rich, thick pork bone broth with slices of mouth melting pork belly and tasty firm noodles... divine… Top that with soft boiled egg (Dejan), young bamboo shoots (Nives) and sprouts (both) and you have a winning combo. We probably had the best ramen in Japan in a little joint across from our hotel in Kanazawa. Tiny place serving just this dish with long queues outside (we finally gave in and realized this is part of the ritual of the Japanese meal). But what a feast that was… We went back every day!

We found a really pristine izakaya as well – only locals there and menu on a tablet as a translation. And we can confirm – Google translate does weird things. But we bravely soldered on through the menu (and sake) and had an amazing evening. At the end we were saying our goodbyes and thankyous (arigatou gozaimasu) to the waitresses in the street with bows so deep we got lightheaded (sake had absolutely nothing to do with it!). One of the things to remember…

Kanazawa gardens really didn’t disappoint. Large grounds crisscrossed with paths and streams allowing for lazy walks while enjoying what-ever plants are blooming at that season. But this is not the only thing to see: geisha quarter (so-so), samurai district and museum (absolutely fab) and even a play with local music (and drums, breath-taking – literally!). Kanazawa was such a refreshing way to see traditional Japan without hordes of tourists (we were the only two visitors to see the play!). And in hindsight – they had the best market of all as well! Wish we spent more time there…

Other thing we got to experience here is traditional onsen. For the non-initiated these are thermal baths Japanese way. Very similar to hamams. Not even that different to traditional sauna really. In general, this is the place where people used to come to get warm (and clean). And to chat and gossip. And indeed they did that a lot (especially in the ladies quarters – of course, it is gender divided). So, there we were, arriving in our little pyjamas (it was really hilarious as most of the guests in this hotel just walk around in these) and trying to follow local customs in traditional baths. First you wash yourself sitting on a little stool, then you go in the less hot pool, then you wash yourself again, and then you go for the really hot pool. And we mean really hot! You are actually dizzy after about ten minutes and have to get out. But then, it’s time to wash yourself again. And then pretty much faint back in your room. Such an experience!

Finally, our Alps day arrived and it was sunny. Disaster averted! Off we were on a shinkansen bullet train (first one for us, as there were none from Kyoto to Kanazawa). Definitely one of the things on our to-do list. But a little deflating experience. Not too different from bullet trains in Europe (why would it be really?), except it goes a lot underground or in the populated areas. And Japan is populated (at least part we saw). House on house, road crossing road and rice field next to a rice field. But the trains looked awesome, more like fighter jets really.

To say that we were not prepared for Alps is the biggest understatement. Most appropriate (bear in mind, we did not say adequate here!) shoes we had were crocks. Yup, your usual winter hiking gear. But hey, where there is will, there is a way! So we set off in multiple layers of clothing (pretty much what we had bar the tropical clothes) and ready to face the cold. Luckily, we were making our attempt the Japan way. All organized, on prepared transportation vehicles and paths with army of uniformed employees keeping you in tow (Takes a train, cable car, bus, trolley bus, rope-way and a bus to cross)

Japan Alps are known for the powder snow – greetings from Siberia. No joking here, this is where the weather front comes from. And keeps coming throughout the winter. Enough snow here to impress the polar bears! And this is why we went. Believe it or not, but there still was a 14m high wall of white gold to be found at the end of May! Truly impressive sight. This must be the reason why tropical belt Asians flock here to experience the snow for the first time. In orderly fashion thou. You get to walk on a strictly guarded route and cannot go out of the corridor marked with the rope. Minute you step out, there is local jedi with the lightsabre (ok, stick) to get you back on the right path. Actually funny. Well, when you get used to it. So, we slid around on the snow in our crocks. Guess this was a sight as well…

Few hot soups and some more cabbage and we were off again. Trolleybus and gondola ride to another impressive site: Kurobe dam. The tallest one in Japan. And it really is something to see. Basically this whole route to cross the Alps was built to allow for building of this dam. We really enjoyed the views of the snow-capped mountains and this architectural wonder while sipping some sake and having some more cabbage. And soon enough it was time to pack and go to our next stop – Nagano.

Nagano is a city just below the Japanese Alps and host of the Winter Olympic Games in 1998. This fact is still obvious the minute you step off the bus or the train. Big logos, signs, pictures – like it was yesterday. Really nice to see. We didn’t have a lot of time here, just one night. Next day we were on the morning shinkansen to Tokyo, our last stop in Japan. So, we spent the night having another yakiniku (not even closely good as one in Osaka) and ramen (very good ramen, but not top of our list). Soon we hit the sheets tired from cold and fresh mountain air, getting ready for the big day next day – sumo tournament.

More gardens, rice fields and snow here.

Japan, Kyoto

Kyoto is advertised as a must see TV for traditional Japanese experience. With Osaka city being almost void of international tourists, we expected everybody to wear a kimono as we booked Kyoto for two nights. In hindsight, bad decision. Although it really has great and amazing historical sights (there are temples and shrines not to be missed here!), the whole place feels a bit (well, quite a bit) like the tourist trap. It is traditional Japan, but very tourist ready. They even have translations to English almost everywhere! Our suggestion: stay in Osaka and just do day trips to Kyoto. But we did get a new obsession here – Japanese gardens. So lovely! And the way some of us (Nives, really) think is the best way to enjoy nature. Looking at arranged formations from lovely teahouse, or a wooden path. Divine! And then dry gardens. That would be stones arranged on the pebbles in designs only clear to the creators. And people who have reached zen. We tried, but alas our minds were too clattered.

And we found kimonos here for sure. Probably not exactly in the way we expected thou. So, one of the touristy things to do is to rent kimono and do your sightseeing in it. Result: tourist sights are swarming with people dressed in traditional clothes. But it is not tacky, actually very cool. You almost feel transported back in time, watching the life go by in this amazing country. Colour attack from everywhere! And then we even caught a glimpse of a geisha in the street! Now this was what we wanted! Truly, truly beautiful. We toyed with the idea of doing it ourselves (kimono, not the geisha), but our regular 20km or so seemed impossible in those little sandals. Crocks are way better! Not to mention the heat – it was more than 30 degrees in almost 100% humidity.

One peculiarity of historical sights in Japan is also the amount of school children visiting. Bus after bus of kids dressed in same uniforms and hats (those were especially cute on younger ones) were whizzing by. And talking to us! Thing is they get an assignment to find tourists and ask them few basic questions (where you are from, why are you here, what do you think about Japan, that kind of thing) and practice English that way. Really, really nice! Although, we did need to spell Slovenia for each group we encountered…

As we were continuing with our long walks, too tired to go out for dinner (and Kyoto just felt too touristic after Osaka), we opted to go to local stores and just buy few things and eat in our room (which did have enough space for two extra plates besides us – “huge” is not a first thing that comes to mind here). Light dinner of some sushi, fruit and vegetables was the plan. Little did we know that you need to be a lottery winner to afford vegetables, especially fruit. So, only thing cheap was sushi (fabulous!) and cabbage and sprouts (we gave bloating a new meaning). And that was our diet a lot!

After almost three days in Kyoto we were all templed-out and it was time to move. Back to snow – Japanese Alps, here we come!

Lifetime supply of Japanese gardens here, or just some more pictures of Kyoto here.