Hope you all had a weekend full of Halloween revelry and goodness. I am all too aware of my missing both the False Profit Halloween party AND the Brass Tax sunrise party, but I will try to find solace in my banana daquiri.

Jon and I arrived in Krabi after a very long and very late bus ride from Penang. We stayed Wednesday night in the town of Krabi, which is nothing more than a port town from where all the ferries and longboats to the beaches depart. Had a terrible night's sleep which was frequently interrupted by the whooping howl of a resident gecko. Thursday around noon, we arrived on a longboat at East Railay Beach to find that since Jon was here over a year ago, there has been a lot of development and the area has become a bit more of an overpriced family tourist destination. We walked the short path to West Railay, then took another short longboat ride from one cove to the next to get to Ton Sai Beach. (During low tide in the morning, you can walk from West Railay to Tonsai by clambering over rocks.)

The boat pulled up on the shore and I knew we were finally in a place that felt like home. On both ends of the beach, giant rugged cliffs with gorgeous massive stalactites loom over the sand below. A restaurant/bar called Freedombar covered with a large Bali-style canopy is nestled next to the rocks and you can sit on the couch with a drink in your hand watching ludicrously fit rock-climbers clambering in the bouldering cave. Though we are not on an island, it feels like one since we took a boat to get here and are on a small peninsula with a compact network of beach coves and inlets.

We checked into the first bungalows we saw (Tonsai Beach Bungalows... a little over $1 a night) right next to Freedombar, threw our bags in the room and immediately assumed the position on the couch where we stayed for about 6 hours or so until it was time to change out of bathingsuits and sarongs for dinner. While lounging, I met a Thai woman named Phit who is a rock climbing instructor and we arranged for a lesson the next morning.

I got up to meet Phit at 9, she got me outfitted and we headed to 1-2-3 wall, which I shall assume by the name is one of the easiest walls around here. With me belaying, she lead-climbed her way to the top of each route to place the top rope, and then it was my turn to climb. I did four routes, the last of which was the longest but easiest technically. I didn't learn much since the objective of the 1/2 day lesson is to learn the basics of belaying, rope tying, etc. and I already knew how to do all that, but for $17, it was worth it just to have her set the ropes and be a trustworthy belayer for me. I can easily see how so many of the people we've met here spend months out of every year living here and climbing most days. Must be tough.

Yesterday, Jon and I rented a kayak and rowed around the coast and out to some of the small islands nearby. It was a gorgeous clear day and we found some amazing little caves and places to swim. Last night was the Freedombar Halloween Party, where we spent about 6 hours dancing the night away while drinking Thai buckets, a nasty concoction that includes a bottle of Coke, a bottle of Thai Red Bull (a bit different than the American one), and a 150 ml bottle of cheap Thai rum served in a bucket with four straws all for about $4.

Today is a lazy rainy day and I am catching up on email while Jon gets a massage. Tomorrow he is going diving near Ko Phi Phi (where "The Beach" was filmed) and I am going on an all-day snorkeling trip at some more nearby islands. Now I think I'll go read a bit more of my book ("Mr. Nice," which was recommended to me by a Canadian couple on Ko Chang, and which I also highly recommend).

Our aim is to be on Ko Pha Ngan for the full moon party on November 8, so we will probably forego any plans to move from here until we're ready to go there.

Happy Halloween everyone! After a 9-hour bus ride from Penang, Jon and I made our way back into Thailand and are now living a blissful life on the beach near Krabi, on the southwest side of the country. More details later, right now we are off to a Halloween party at the bar near our guesthouse. I'll miss Halloween in San Francisco and will be thinking of you all wherever you may be.

After a 16-hour overnight train ride to the Malaysia/Thailand border and then an 8-hour bus ride from the border, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Friday evening. The train ride was my first sleeper-car adventure, and was more fun than I expected. After a great dinner at my seat, I went to the bar car where I met two Malay guys who bought me Heinekens and kept me entertained until the porters came around and made up the sleepers. Then it was off to bed for some reading and finally some minor contorting to fit onto the rather abbreviated mattress. Random note: the toilets on Thai trains are no more than holes that open up underneath the train. I don't recommend taking a stroll along the railroad tracks. :)

On one of the rest stops during the bus trip, I located some durien, Southeast Asia's most infamous fruit. Now, let me just say that everything about this fruit's biological makeup screams "DON'T EAT ME!" First of all, it's covered with dangerous looking spikes all over the outside. Then, when you cut it open, it reveals the most horrendous funk you've ever smelled, particularly when you're talking about something you're supposed to be putting in your mouth. I had heard if you can get past the smell the taste is quite nice, but I couldn't get past it nor the unexpected creamy texture of the fruit and nearly hurled it onto the sidewalk. The nice ladies at the fruit stand opted not to charge me for my ordeal.

Saturday morning, my ear infection seemed to be getting only worse and I went to a nearby clinic to get it checked out. The doctor offered me an antibiotic shot, which he swore would allow me to heal up much more quickly. I got to have my first-ever shot in the butt. Yay. Afterwards, I checked out of the quaint-but-nice guesthouse I'd stayed at Friday night and went over to meet Jon at the Pondok Lodge, a better guesthouse in a nicer part of town where we'd agreed to meet. Reception told me he'd gone to check email and directed me toward the internet cafe. I found Jon buying fruit from a street stall and gave him a big hug... so happy to see him.

We spent Sunday exploring KL, and while the KL Tower, National Mosque, Islamic Arts Museum and the Butterfly Garden were nice, I don't think a big city atmosphere was what either of us were looking for. We did have a nice time last night on a Firefly Tour, which consisted of a 1/2 hour boat ride along a river whose banks are utterly infested with fireflies. They lit up nearly every tree like strands of Christmas lights and were quite beautiful.

We left KL this afternoon after waiting for our very-late bus and made our way to Penang, an island off the west coast of Malaysia relatively close to the Thai border where we are now. Jon has been here before and while it seems to have its charms, I think we are both yearning for beaches and a slightly different atmosphere. I think we will leave tomorrow and head to Krabi in Southern Thailand.

Back in Bangkok now, but not for long. I arrived last night after a hellish bus ride that took a lot longer than normal because of the traffic. The APEC conference (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) was held on Monday and Tuesday here in Bangkok and yesterday the city was aswarm with people coming and going. Shrub was here and in an effort to impress him and other 'important' people, Thai authorities collected thousands of homeless dogs roving the streets of Bangkok and dumped them in Northern Thailand. I've never seen anything like it really... no one seems to bother fixing their pets and I've seen dozens of litters of kittens and puppies everywhere I go. So cute! Yet so sad.

I went for another swim on my last night on Ko Chang and unfortunately did not do an adequate job of dumping the water out of my left ear. I now have a brutal ear infection. Ouchy. :( At least I got to see that plankton again.

This morning I awoke at about 5 AM to the disorienting sound of a male Thai voice over a microphone. I remembered the guesthouse is near a temple and deduced it was someone leading the morning prayer. I haven't heard that since I was in Lebanon during Ramadan. Fotunately this one only last about a minute rather than an hour.

I went to the travel agent this morning and discovered my only option for getting to Kuala Lumpur cheaply was to leave today, as all other trains were booked until the 29th. Under normal circumstances that would be ok and I'd just cavort around Khao San Road some more, but there's someone special waiting for me in KL. Jon's meeting me, and we're going to be traveling together for 4 weeks. I am over the moon and really looking forward to traveling with someone I know and love.

I bought a new backpack today about half the size of my current one, and am about to pack it up. I will leave the other one in storage for something comical like $3 a month. It will be liberating to not be schlepping so much crap. Off I go...

I am leaving for Bangkok tomorrow and will write more then, but I wanted to quickly get down the details of the most incredible experience I had last night. I was sitting around drinking after dinner with Ty, Oliver and our newly acquired group of friends when Ty had a wild hare to go for a swim. About 10 minutes after he left, he came quickly back and said, "I am not sure if I am just high or what, but there's something going on in that water that I can't even describe."

We all quickly threw on our bathing suits (tempting as the idea of skinny dipping might have been, the Thais seriously frown upon such things) and dashed semi-drunkenly and semi-stoned from the sleepy indica our barmen sold us, into the dark water. Ty instructed us to wave our hands around in front of us and watch closely. Inches below the surface, millions of phosphorescent plankton swirled around us like constellations. With every movement, intense bluish-white tracers would follow, growing in intensity the more vigorous the movement and fading to nothing almost instantly when still. I was completely stunned by the unexpected beauty and started to cry. I swam down toward Nature Bar where I could hear the music and spent the next hour playing with the plankton, orchestrating my own light show in time to the music. It was truly magical. The sea changes quickly around here, but I will go tonight and see if I can find them again.

Had been feeling a bit mopey for a couple of days, but it feels like paradise again. It had been raining quite a lot and I think I was beginning to feel uncomfortably lethargic. Then at the Jah Bar party, I lost my money belt with all my money and room key. I spent the night in my hammock and got up early to see if they'd found it, and miraculously it had turned up in a coconut tree. This perplexed and cheered me up quite a bit.

The weather got nice again yesterday and I managed to rouse Ty from his hammock to go for a kayak with me. We rode out to a small island near Ko Chang, walked a little on the island's one beach, then paddled all the way around with intermittent stops in a series of small coves. I educated Ty about Gilligan's Island and did my best to recall all the words to the theme song. We were only gone for two hours, but just breaking away from my little strip of beach did wonders to recharge me.

Went to another party last night, this time at Nature Bar, the place on the beach that always has the loudest bass. I sat with Nicole, an American girl I'd met a few nights earlier, and her entourage of Thai men (she's dating one of the bartenders at Jah Bar). We sat on mats on the sand while fire dancers entertained us with the ocean as their backdrop. The music was good, I danced, people were nice, good conversations were had. It was a wonderful night.

Before the party, I went to The Treehouse, the island's chillest coolest hangout and met this group of about 10 women who were hanging out playing Jenga. So far I've found that most solo travelers or groups of travelers who seem receptive to meeting new people happen to be men and that meeting other women to connect with is bit more difficult. Even in this case, I initially felt like I was on the outside looking in-- listening to conversations and not really having much to contribute-- almost like I was in high school again trying to break into the cool crowd. I started talking to two of the women, an American and an Italian, and they were both really easy to get to know and were proactive about trying to make plans. Lauren, the American, invited me to go motorbiking with her and two Spanish girls, Auroceli and Vanessa, and she even came to wake me up this morning to make sure I was coming. That was kind of a nice feeling, even if I was a bit hungover.

I jumped on the back of the bike with Lauren and finally got to see some of this gorgeous island. I let her drive because she'd rode before and I was scared to death to ride on the island's many steep curvy hills, but I will learn yet, I swear. We visited a small elephant preserve, which was cool but the poor elephants chained to trees was a little disturbing. We then went to a waterfall nearby, but the path was extremely rocky and slippery and Lauren broke her flip flop. We opted to stop short of the top of the falls and instead took a quick dip in a small pool where we were. We rode back with the wind in our hair, stopped to watch the sunset, and now I am here contemplating the allure of another night out.

I will stick around here for about three more days and then it's back to Bangkok for the next leg. 'Til then fair readers...

I should have known there would be little motivation to move beyond my little enclave of paradise on Lonely Beach (the southwestern-most beach on the island). I moved Tuesday morning to a beach-facing bungalow. It is now 15 steps to the ocean and five steps to the massage tent. That elephant ride and snorkle trip didn't happen and my last three days have gone something like this...

sleep til 10, breakfast involving some sort of tropical fruit, swim, read in hammock, swim, lunch involving some sort of noodles, sit and talk to whomever is nearby, wait out storm, talk more, nap in hammock, dinner and some sort of decadent dessert, drinks, chill at outdoor bar. Today had an extra bonus... the guesthouse's dalmation emerged with her three puppies and I played with them for a bit.

Don't listen when people tell you that you can get by on $10 a day in Thailand. I mean sure, if you stay in one spot, do nothing but eat and pay for accomodation, it's definitely doable. But there are $3 massages! And $1 beers! And $3 hammocks! And $1 CDs! And $2 shirts! As you can see, the list of really cheap things that it seems like you really need to have in paradise can get quite long. And nevermind transportation! I've been here only a week and I've already spent 10,000 baht... that's way too much. Today, I began and implemented a plan to address my out-of-control spending and passed on the massage.

Tonight is Jah Bar's much anticipated party (free Vodka Redbull from 9-10 and something about mushroom milkshakes? sounds gross). High season officially began today, so I am enjoying some of the island's few remaining days of seclusion, quiet, privacy and low prices.

Tomorrow I might motivate to explore another part of the island. Pshh. Right.

I have truly found paradise and I am not quite sure when I'll get myself unstuck. Wait, let me back up.

I spent a very fun two days in Bangkok. Met a lot of cool people, had a number of yummy drinks and late nights, discovered that Bangkok has the best shopping of any city I've ever been to (Jatochak Market (sp?)), got pampered from head-to-toe, had yet another failed attempt to go dancing (went out at 1:30 rearing to go only to find that the dance clubs close at 2 AM), got ripped off by a guy selling eighths of pine needles, ate more pad thai and Thai banana pancakes with chocolate and condensed milk (so, so good).

Met an incredibly complex Ugandan named Taabo who promotes a club on Khao San but whose real talent is creating Swahili hip hop. With him I met Jan, a Swedish-American dude who embodies what I believe most foreigners think of as a typical guy from the states, whatever that means.

Friday night, the oppresive heat finally got to me and in an uncharacteristically bold move, I decided to get my hair braided. 3 hours and 400 baht ($10) later, 4 members of a Thai family had put 70 little braids on my head and a smile on my face. Yesterday I decided they were kind of annoying and took them out on the ferry over to where I am now...

Ko Chang is absolutely paradise in the most postcard picture-perfect way. I came here with Oliver and Ty, two South African guys I met on Saturday night on Khao San Road. They're very cool blokes (pls. exz random Britishisms, haven't talked to an American since Jan) and when they mentioned at 1 AM over a drink during the England/Turkey soccer game that they were catching a 7:30 AM bus to Ko Chang, I told them I wanted to go.

< aside > There is currently a giant black flying insect on the floor next to me in this internet cafe/dive shop. He flew in, scared the crap out of me, I screamed, and now he has been on his back for about five minutes swiveling himself and waving his legs haplessly in a vain attempt to correct his unfortunate position. < / aside >

We arrived at Koh Chang (Elephant Island) on a car ferry and while we could see there is quite a bit of new development going on, Ko Chang is still one of the least visited islands (by foreigners at least... most tourists here are Thais) and now during the off-season especially, it is a dream come true. There's not even a complete perimeter road yet and the vibe is distinctively chill.

We checked into our little beach bungalow and dashed as soon as possible into the water. It's warm, almost too warm, and wonderful to float in. We were swimming on our west-facing beach at sunset on a cloudy day, and as the sun broke through just before it set, the white bungalow buildings turned orange. We stared in awe at the scene in front of us- the water, the sand, the orange sunlit bungalows with colorful hammocks hanging, the rainforest-covered mountains behind- and just as it couldn't get any better, a giant perfect rainbow formed, arching over the entire scene and framing it it like a painting.

After a very good dinner and several overpriced fruity drinks at Jah Bar, Ty, Oliver and I went for a midnight swim to watch an electrical storm that seemed to be everywhere but where we were. We heard the distant thunder and saw lightning jump from cloudtop to cloudtop in every direction and floated with the rain on our faces.

Today the guys went motorbiking while I putzed around the beach, got another massage, hung in my hammock, read, explored and absorbed the beauty of this place. Tomorrow, I plan to go hiking to some waterfalls and an elephant ride, and Thursday is an all day snorkle island hop around the little islands close by. But we'll see what really happens...

Yay! I finally made it to Bangkok. I got in around midnight, picked up my bag and waited in the taxi line. Some guy in a cab yelled to me skip the line and come get in his cab, which seemed a bit dodgy but the line was *really* long. Even though I'd asked if he was going to run the meter and he'd said yes, he didn't turn it on and told me it would be 500 baht as we were driving off. Granted that's only about 10 bucks, but still. I made him turn around and deposit me back at the taxi line at a different terminal where there was no line, and I met this nice chain-smoking Austrian couple who shared a cab with me. 100 baht each... much better.

I found a dingy dark little guesthouse near Khao San Road, the main backpacker thoroughfare, at about 2 AM. I didn't much care about how nice it was at that point as I really just wanted to drop off my stuff and explore a bit. I headed out and was immediately hit by the smell of all sorts of food being cooked by street vendors right outside my place. Pad Thai, curry, crepes, seafood, all sorts of appalling looking insects... you name it. I paid about 15 cents for a bottle of water, $1 for a plate of Pad Thai, 30 cents for some fresh pineapple, and $2 for a tanktop. Oh boy, this place could be dangerous.

Today I slept until almost noon after wandering around til about 4:30 AM and awoke eager to see what Bangkok held for me in the daylight. Dozens and dozens of street vendors selling just about *everything* you could think of line every side of every sidewalk. In between, nothing but stores, travel agencies, massage places, beauty salons, guesthouses and internet cafes as far as the eye could see. I bought a watch, some fake Gucci sunglasses, flipflops, a money belt, a pair of Thai shorts, an electricity adaptor and some padlocks. Add all that to two nights' accomodation, the one-hour Thai massage I had this afternoon, all my food and beer, and I've spent less than $50. I could get *very* used to this.

I met Dan, Grant and Ben, three more friendly Canadian guys who were drinking beer on my guesthouse's patio. We talked and drank cheap Thai beer before heading over to get massages at a place Dan and Grant recommended since they are living here teaching English and seemed to know their way around. If you've never had a Thai massage, I highly recommend it. It's kind of a combination of massage and chiropractic adjustment and felt fantastic, all for the rock-bottom price of about $3.50.

Tomorrow I do believe I will keep up the pampering treatment and get a manicure/pedicure, facial, and haircut. Yep, life is tough.

Just a personal note today. I got an email from my uncle (mom's brother) letting me know that my Grandpa Luther (mom's dad) died on Tuesday night. He had been living in a nursing home near Fresno for about six years ever since he first started showing signs of senility, and contracted pneumonia about two weeks ago and died of congestive heart failure at the ripe old age of 92.

He was born in 1911 and was an introvert with an amazing talent for reverse-engineering electronics. He built the family's first TV in the garage in something like 1945, years before most people had one. My grandma and he divorced long before I was born and she remarried (my other grandfather Jim is still living as is my grandma) while my Grandpa Luther lived out the rest of his life alone and very much to himself. He had an amazing wit and even when I went to visit him just before I left for Japan, he was doing his best to make smart-ass comments in between sloppy bites of his hospital dinner. I gave him many hugs before I left knowing on some level it would be the last time I would see him.

My tiny family just shrunk a bit more and that saddens me a lot. It also hurts to lose another part of my mom. I will not be able to come home for the service... it just doesn't make a lot of sense and I feel sad and guilty about that. October 7 would also have been my dad's 64th birthday, but he never would have admitted it. :)

I leave for Bangkok today, at long last. I will allow about four hours to get to the airport this time.

Damn Tokyo... dammit I say. This town just doesn't want to let me go. I missed my flight to Bangkok and am currently exhausted and feeling sorry for myself. My departure time was 6:30 PM, so I left Aurelio's place at 3:45 thinking at most it would take 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport, getting me there by 5:15 at the latest. Admittedly, that was still cutting it a bit close but I had no bag to check and I really hate sitting around the airport for no reason. Well, I got to the airport over three hours later at 7 PM, my flight long gone. The United agent said he couldn't help me and that I needed to go back to my travel agent since it was at their discretion to help me out. So, I schlepped myself all the way back to Aurelio's for yet another night in Tokyo and went to the agency this morning. It should have come as no surprise... the Japanese are notorious sticklers about "the ruuuuules" and they blamed United for their inflexibility. Go figure.

I bought a new ticket to leave tomorrow for 47,000 yen (about $450) and just have to kiss the $400 ticket I already bought goodbye. *whine* I am trying hard not to think about the fact that that is over a month of travel around Southeast Asia lost. It's particularly difficult for me to still be here because I've made a mental shift already. I was done with Tokyo a long time ago and yet I am still here, which is tough to swallow. It's gotten rather gray and chilly around here and I am ready for some heat, a change of scenery, and maybe some different food.

My mood is probably not helped by the fact that I am feeling a bit out of touch with a lot of people back home. This is the part where I encourage those of you reading this to send me email once in a while and let me know you're alive. Traveling can get a bit lonely and communication with the people I love makes it all feel right.

I have no motivation to explore Tokyo any further and am now going to select a movie from Aurelio's vast collection and wait for tomorrow...

I fell in love with Kyoto for so many reasons. The graciousness and kindess of its people. The ease of getting around by bike or foot without getting hopelessly lost. The narrow winding riverside streets. The deeply spiritual vibe in every temple, shrine, and garden. The sheer beauty of it all. Don't get me wrong; at first glance of its drab concrete and buzzing neon, Kyoto is just as ugly as every other Japanese city. But like San Francisco, Kyoto is surrounded by undeveloped mountains snaked with hiking trails and views. Add to that the serenity of a raked Zen rock garden, a row of red Shinto torii (arches) and the graceful architecture of hundreds of Buddhist temples, you have a place that could keep its mysteries hidden for quite some time. If you can just ignore the omni-present din of the city's pachinko parlors and inexplicably amplified voices below, it's truly spectacular.

I left Kyoto on Friday to visit Naomi, a friend of Mike Lavigne's in Kobe. She was lovely and we spent Friday and Saturday nights together having a fun but mellow time out on the town. I spent Saturday an hour outside of Kobe at Himeji, the best preserved castle in Japan. While the castle was impressive, there was a big Sumo festival going on that day and the sheer number of visitors was overwhelming given the time I'd just spent in Kyoto. On my way from the train to the castle, I stopped by a small street festival that made me laugh out loud. I do believe the Japanese could use a visit to the States for a crash course on street-fair throwing. First of all, when I go to a festival I expect food and lots of it. Greasy grills, tasty, sweet, salty aromatic offerings from every booth. I expect good music-- perhaps a DJ or a lively band with a crowd drawn, maybe even a person or two dancing. I expect the booths to be hawking things that might actually be interesting... I dunno, perhaps 10-minute chair massages, jewelry and clothes, maybe some nice art. Heck, I'd even made do with some free Power Bar samples.

This had to be the most sedate festival I've ever seen. There were dozens of booths offering, uhh, what? I can't read Japanese but I do believe the vast majority were handing out informational pamphlets of some variety or another. And oh, there was a band, but it was the worst male/female singing duo I've ever heard and everyone was watching in stoned silence. There was NO food, NO beer, save a tiny soba stand way off on the side where people would buy their noodles and plunk themselves down on a bench, since the Japanese never walk and eat at the same time. The most interesting booth I found offered an interactive display demonstrating the benefits of forest conservation dams (see photo album). I quickly left and made my way toward the castle, where there was a bit more action in the form of the traditional Sumo portable-shrine ceremony. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but it involved dozens of grown men wearing what looked like cloth diapers occasionally lifting fake-gilded shrines up on their shoulders, then putting it down after a minute or two and doing a little mosh dance with each other. It was riveting.

I decided to head back to Kyoto for my final day (Sunday) since my hostel in Kobe was pretty expensive and I'd been having such a wonderful time in Kyoto. I spent my final day visiting Chion-in temple, which had yet another gorgeous hike behind it. This led me to Shoren-in, another temple at the top of the East hills that was completely deserted except for me, and I spent a fair amount of time sitting in their garden thinking.

One of my goals for this trip has been to take time to think hard and evaluate-- to keep my eyes open for a path laid out for me that in my everyday life, I've just been too busy or blind to see. The days I spent in Kyoto gave me the perfect environment to spend a lot of time alone to think, explore and just be. I've tried to allow each fork in the road to speak softly to me, gently nudging me in the right direction in a way that has opened me up to more possibilities, almost more than I am prepared to deal with. I've had several "aha!" moments that make me feel I am closer to finding it than I am far, but still often find that I talk myself out of these moments for any number of reasons and am often left feeling more deflated than when I started. Thoughts like this make me realize I should start a journal, as the number of ideas and impressions I have every day while away from the computer are too many to count.

My final night in Japan was spent with Aurelio and his friend Rickie in a karaoke box. They got wasted on cheap beer and I had milk and cookies (I was serious when I said I was off the stuff). I sang Bohemian Rhapsody, Like a Virgin, Hotel California, Obladi Oblada, Vision of Love, and American Pie. It really was good fun I must say.

I am leaving for Bangkok in a few hours and can't wait for what awaits me there. Until then, sayonara!

I rode naked in an elevator last night. Sure, there's no photo evidence and the only witness was a geriatric Japanese lady who was also naked and, like me, navigating the three levels of the sento (public bath), but I thought it was a novel experience.

Yesterday was a fantastic day. After a slow start with the Kiwis at some rather uninteresting temples that we rode to on our rented bikes, I decided it was time to take off for some solitude. I first went to Nanzen-ji, a grand temple in the Southeast corner of Kyoto nestled far into the hills. The temple itself was beautiful, but I have to admit that all of these gorgeous pagodas and shrines are starting to look alike. What made this one spectactular was the hike I discovered in the way back, far from the busloads of Japanese tourists (by the way, it never occured to me that I'd see so many Japanese tourists *in* Japan). I started at this little quiet garden and noticed a gate out to a road. I followed the road past a small Buddhist cemetary and then found myself ascending deeper into the woods on a trail lined with several mini altars, shrines, a little red bridge over a stream, and a little waterfall at the top. I was alone, save the mosquitos and some hikers from Colorado who had happened upon the same trail, which apparently extended for several miles through the woods all the way to the shrine we visited on our first day, Ginkaku-ji.

I decended back to the temple to quickly get my bike in order to ride to Gion, the famous geisha entertainment district, by sunset. I rode along a lovely tree-lined stream into the heart of Gion, where my Lonely Planet indicated I should be able to spot some of Kyoto's only 20 or so remaining geisha hustling to and from their evening appointments. As I milled about trying not to loo too much like a tourist (pah!) I noticed three Japanese men setting up a video camera on a giant tripod. I figured that was a good sign, so stood close to them and waited. A crowd began to draw around us and by the time the first elusive geisha actually appeared, there were about 40 people with cameras poised. The first I saw was in the back of a car, which made for a very paparazzi-like photo. But then I lucked out and saw two girls walking together. As luck should have it, they had to stop at the crosswalk of a busy street, and I was able to not only get a reasonably good close up of them both, but I even got some Aussie to take my picture with them. They were beautiful, and I felt pretty lucky for that opportunity.

A quick note on my hostel, which I just checked out of since I will be going to Kobe this afternoon after one more temple visit (Fushimi-Inari, supposed to have miles of gorgeous hikes). This place was such a relic. Comprised of a maze of rooms that looked like they'd been added on slowly over the years as need dictated, the place was dusty as all hell and wreaked havoc on my respiratory system. There were signs posted on nearly every available surface mandating such things as "No roasting of cockroach! Fine! 5,000 yen!" and my favorite, "No peeping in shower! Fine! 5,000 yen!" I wanted to know how much time that bought me. Hee hee.

Final note... if you ever come to Japan, allow plenty of time for Kyoto. It is a truly magnificent place. And now, off to Fushimi-Inari.

I am now in Kyoto, and feel much better since I arrived. I'd certainly had some spells of loneliness and ponderings about what the hell I am doing here, and feel so relieved to finally be settling into a groove. My last days in Tokyo were not so fun, save the Dakini Nights party. spot's visuals were mindboggling, and the rest of the music and performances were great. I met some very nice people and even got to dance for a little. I rode the first morning subway home with all the other Tokyo hardcores (and little old ladies on their way to get an early start on shopping) and slept most of Sunday. Sunday night I drank WAY too much at the bar where I'd met Aurelio a week earlier, and had to be put on a subway home by a nice Australian couple. I had the worst hangover I've had in months on the bus to Osaka the next morning, but sitting still for 8 hours did just the trick to make me better. No more bottomless Asahis for me.

The bus ride went through miles of quaint villages, rice paddies, cities, towns, and mountains. I still haven't seen Mt. Fuji and am beginning to wonder if it exists. I spent one night in Osaka, but felt it was just a scaled-down version of Tokyo and so got on the first train out to Kyoto the next morning. My Lonely Planet pointed me to an adorably run-down, loud, smoky hostel in central Kyoto called Uno House ($13 a night), where I've finally met some wonderful people and gotten a taste of what traveling feels like it should be. I'm sleeping on a thin futon on the floor in a room with two other girls, one American and one Canadian. I spent yesterday with three Kiwis, Lauren and Olivia who are English teachers in a small town south of here, and their friend Aaron who came to visit them on his first trip abroad. We explored two of the temples and shrines in the east part of town, Shinnyo-do and Ginkaku-ji. The latter was what most people think of when they think of Japan... raked pebble gardens, immaculately manicured gardens and beautiful pagodas.

Today the temple tour continued with Myoshin-ji, Ninna-ji and Kinkaku-ji in the Northwest part of town with three very goofy and fun Canadian guys, Cameron, Tim and Hartt, whom I met last night at the hostel. The first temple was wonderfully serene and quiet with a garden that we could have sat in for hours. Tim kept trying to feed his fingers to the giant koi and the rest of us looked on in amusement. Kinkaku-ji is the famed Golden Temple, which is unfortunately a 53-year replica of the original that was burned down by a young psychotic monk. It is gorgeous and one of the most popular sights in Kyoto, so it was swarming with adorable uniformed schoolchildren who giggled, pointed, and attempted to speak English whenever they spotted us. This made taking a photo of the Canadians' bare butts in front of the temple some trick, but we pulled it off.

I will spend one more day in this great city before heading to Kobe and Nara for my last days in Japan. I leave for Bangkok from Tokyo on Tuesday, October 7. I will post my photos from Kyoto when I get back to Tokyo. Time to head back for cards and beer in the hostel lounge. :D