#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau Travel Forum >  >  Amongst the Kimchi eaters

## beerlaodrinker

im just back from a trip to korea and japan, had a great little holiday heres some pics, we flew into seoul then went down the coast to Busan then a hydrofoil over to japan 
 
Incheon airports about an hour from downtown so the first thing to do was find the subway and grab some tickets, i was travelling with the wife and our oldest boy so we were using the subway a fair bit


a ticket to seoul station costs about 13000 won or roughly $13 

 

once we figured out how to use the ticket vending machine we were in business
 The subway sytem in korea is quite amazing 
 
we were staying in the myeongdong area which is known for shopping

pissing rain the day we arrived so didnt see much the first day 
   
I think this palace(The first of many ) was called changdeokgung, i was a bit sick of temples and pagodas by the end of the trip but her indoors likes all that stuff,

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## beerlaodrinker

Time to hit the 7 eleven and sample my first Korean beer
 
Not the worst beer ive ever had.

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## beerlaodrinker

Got to love these electric shitters eh.
 

After backing out a bad boy we hit the streets looking for a feedbag

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## beerlaodrinker

my internets a bit slow at the moment, post up some more later

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## pseudolus

Great thread as always BLD. One question - when are the snide pictures of the hot Korean chicks being posted?

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## beerlaodrinker

Cant go wrong with a korean barbecue
 

 


 



Some K pop girls practicing there moves

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## beerlaodrinker

When we were in busan the 2014 international auto expo was on there was some hot Korean ckicks modelling the cars that will make your head spin pseudolous, im getting to that

This little area is called cheong gye cheon

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## beerlaodrinker

Pretty sure this bloke wasnt going to end up on the Menu

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## beerlaodrinker

Gyeongbokgung palace


 

 

 



A tattoed Korean chick taking a selfie
  Originally built by king taejo in 1395 to serve as the royal residence until 1592 when it was burnt down during the japanese invasions

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## beerlaodrinker

Next we headed of to the Giant Noryangin fish market, if it swims , they will have it make your selection then head upstairs to one of the restaurants and they will cook it for you

 
 
  
Mighty sporting of them

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## beerlaodrinker

Myeongdong shopping area
 

Korean tuk tuk?
 


Theres lots of things to keep my boy amused on the street
 
went for a nice little cruise along the Han river before heading over to itaewan for a bit of nightlife

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## chassamui

Take away the temples and the pagodas and you could almost be on the Manchester Ship Canal.  :Wink: 

Great pic thread as usual BLD.

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## beerlaodrinker

Cheers chass
The last night in seoul we headed over to itaewan for a gander.

 

A good place to go if your looking for a HO

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## beerlaodrinker

This little pub had a great selection of records

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## Necron99

Top thread as always BLD, but less Lookee and more Nookee Eh?
Where's the tarts?

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## beerlaodrinker

Didnt see a lot of seoul but really enjoyed the place, next morning we were back on the subway to seoul station to grab the 300 kmh bullet train to the port city of Busan, which turned out to be a top little place as well

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## beerlaodrinker

> Where's the tarts?


Coming right up

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## beerlaodrinker



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## palexxxx

> This little pub had a great selection of records



Did they actually play them or were they just for looking at?

Great pics by the way.

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## beerlaodrinker

Nice car eh
 
  
  
  

 


The last one was gagging for it i reckon

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## beerlaodrinker

These little tent pubs are all over the place

 


After arriving in busan it was back on the subway for the short trip to haendai beach where we were staying for 2 nights 
 
Damn crowded it was

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## terry57

What where the people like mate ?

Friendly or what.

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## beerlaodrinker

Not all that hot the days we were there so didnt see many people having a swim
   

Some more pics from the auto expo.
 


   
  


  
Her indoors had decided i had had enough perving for one day so we set of to visit Beommeo sa temple

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## beerlaodrinker

> What where the people like mate ? Friendly or what.


Yes, they were ok the Koreans, Makes a nice change going to a country where you arent viewed as a walking ATM

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## beerlaodrinker

Not really my cup of tea temples , had to be done though

 

this one was nice enough though
 

  
Busan has an excellent hop on hop of bus that costs you about $10 we could never manage to get a seat though as most days the lines of korean tourists were just to much, a taxi to most places around town was quite cheap so we used taxis a bit in busan
 back at the beach there was a sand sculpting event going on
 my boy had a lot of fun playing on this giant sand pile
 

   
Looks like a lot of work went into them

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## terry57

Did you run into Loopy walking around in his high heels ?

He has a Korean girlfriend.    :Smile:

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## beerlaodrinker

strapping on a feedbag again

 
that night we headed over to Gwangalli beach where you get a view of the new bridge all lit up
      
The Dreaded Kimchi

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## beerlaodrinker

No sign of looper

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## terry57

^

Mate you really are one great traveler.

Brilliant how you get around with your family.

Respect EH.

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## stickmansucks

More beautiful fair skin girls photos please <3

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## Gravesend Dave

Nice one Beerlao

That dreaded Kimchi is actually very moreish

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## beerlaodrinker

> That dreaded Kimchi is actually very moreish


Some of it was, makes me shit like a duck though

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## thaimeme

Well done, BLD!!

Candid pics... :Smile:

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## beerlaodrinker

Just wandering around checking out the street eats , I had heard that Korea and japan was going to be expensive and they are compared to Thailand and the rest of south east asia , Japan actually seemed cheaper than visiting Australia 
 

 


These reataurants that have the plastic replicas of whats are on the menu are a good idea
   Live silk worms
 

 


This was a little street we found downtown Busan with tons of great street eats 
 

The wife was quite chuffed she had come across another big fish market

JAGALCHI FISH MARKET
  
They had seafood there ive never even heard of

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## beerlaodrinker

This little mobile pub came in handy
 


A few farang style boozers around as well
 



A giant Hostess bar add, 

 

Still banging around busan we found ourselves in Chinatown which seemed to be the main whoring area for Koreans with a penchant for shagging aging Russian Tarts. it was pretty grim
 

 

 

Busan also has a tower you can enter and get a decent view over the city

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## beerlaodrinker

The boy getting a view from the telescope

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## beerlaodrinker

That was about it for Korea, the next day we took a hydrofoil ferry over to Fukuoka in Japan and visited Hiroshima, Osaka, Tokyo, Kyota and Kobe 

 
 
The ferry to Fukuoka takes about 3 hours and booked online cost about $70 each 
 
 


In japan we had the excellent Japan Rail pass so we just used Bullet trains to go everywhere
 
A 7 day pass cost $300 each and about $170 for the young bloke, Saves you about double the cost of turning up without one, They cant be purchased inside japan, when you arrive in Japan you simply go to the nearest JR office and exchange your voucher for the pass, dead easy that.

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## beerlaodrinker

I bought a Lonely planet guide for japan and one in thai for the wife but found that most of the info i needed i had already downloaded onto the ipad,and found it was more a pain in the arse to lug the big heavy focker about
 


i took about 600 or so pics of japan and will try to post some more tomorrow but my home internets Lazier than the bloke who designed the jap Flag.

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## beerlaodrinker

Checked into the hotel then it was of to have a look at fukuoka. japans sixth largest city, 

 
Fukuoka isnt bursting with sights like Tokyo or Osaka but has quite a freindly atmosphere, good shopping and is also famed for its "hakata Bijiin"beautiful women, and a good bowl of Ramen
 
Down in the lobby of the hotel there was a Traditional jap wedding going on

We were getting pretty hungry by now and headed of to the nightlife area of Canal City
 

 

  

Canal city attracts the crowds with its artificial canal, Tons of bars and plenty of good food to be had


  
 
we found a small boat offering tours along the canal so grabbed a few asahi for that.
 
 
Back on Land i saw my first pachinko parlour, japs love these places and they are everywhere
 
Back on Land i needed to get rid of some of those asahi cans 
 
Sadly not all the shitters in japan are of the electric variety

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## beerlaodrinker

we wanted to see as much of japan as possible in the 8 days we had there so only stayed 1 night in Fukuoka, next day we set of by shinkansen train to the lovely and rebuilt city of Hiroshima and Miyajima island . To most people Hiroshima means just one thing, The Atomic Bomb. Its a lively little city though and we enjoyed it 



arrived in hiroshima to early to check in to the hotel so we headed straight for the unesco world heritage island of Miyajima, one of japans most visited tourist spots, the star attraction being its bright red Torri (shrine) Gate
 


The japan rail pass also covered the ferry ride
 


for the fit or adventurous hikes can be done around the island or there is a cable car to reach the top for views over the island but we didnt do that

 

Hiroshima is also famous for its oyster beds and the excellent dish of Hiroshima style okonimiyaki or grab yourself some sqid on a stick

 
And an ice cream for the boy

 
The island is also covered in cheeky deer that will eat your luggage if your not careful
 

  




 
Grabbing a Bento box for lunch we decided to head into the city via a smaller ferry that takes a bit longer but brings you out bang smack at the hiroshima peace park and was only about a 2 minute walk to the hotel.
 



 

The Bento box can be had for between 5 or 10 bucks and are an excellent lunch snack if you dont want to look for a restaurant
 
this ferry wasnt covered by the rail pass but at about $10 each i wasnt worried as it would save me time by not having to use the subway and we had only planned a night in Hiroshima 
 
It drops you of at perhaps the starkest reminder of the destruction visited upon Hiroshima, The Atomic Bomb dome
 The bomb exploded directly above it and killed everyone inside it but it was one of the few buildings left standing anywhere near the epicentre and a decision was made to preserve the shell 

 
Time to check in

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## beerlaodrinker

Hiroshima has a decent tram network running throughout the city as well as the subway

 

The day we arrived the Hiroshima carps baseball team was playing (And won ) so there was a very festive atmosphere, The girls were all dressed in the Yakuta(spelling) and looked great
 
 
The japanese love there vending machines, and i do to even better when there filled with beer
 
  
Next it was off to look at Hiroshima castle  originally built in 1589 then destroyed by the bomb, Rebuilt in 1958, Theres not a lot to see  inside but theres a moat and the park is pleasant

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## beerlaodrinker

There was plenty going on and the street eats were awesome

 

Deep fried octopus balls
 
No idea what these were but they looked tasty enough
 
 
Bit of free entertainment for the boy
 
    
Most hotels we stayed at in japan had little vending in the Lobby for punters wanting to watch some Porno

 
Porns also available on the shelf in the minimarts 


I had to buy one to see what the nasty japs get up to,(Not because im perverted you understand) More of a pornographic comic really, but it did come with an amusing dvd

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## pseudolus

^ full action, or are they the soft core ones?

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## Necron99

> 



NOTE: The above pictures by BLD have been deleted for the sake of humanity.

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## beerlaodrinker

Oh the humanity.

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## beerlaodrinker

^Soft core mate,

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## somtamslap

Top quality, mate. 

I remain envious of your 200 holidays a year. 

Bastard  :Smile:

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## katie23

Thanks for the pics and excellent commentary, BLD! I liked the pics of octopus, squid and other marine things.  :Smile: 

I won't be backpacking in SEA this year, as plans have changed. Maybe next year, if circumstances permit. Will PM you if ever I go to Laos. Cheers!

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## beerlaodrinker

^ You would be most welcome Katie

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## beerlaodrinker

> Top quality, mate. 
> 
> I remain envious of your 200 holidays a year. 
> 
> Bastard


 Just getting in some practice for retirement slappers,  I do believe you are the Maestro of the 10 year issan holiday

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## beerlaodrinker

OSAKA pop 2.8 million

Back on the bullet train for the short trip ( 2.5 hours) to Osaka famous for the phrase "kuidaore" or eat till you drop. osaka,s a Great place to experience a modern japanese city only surpassed by Tokyo as a showcase of the japanese urban phenomenom

The shinkansen waiting patiently for BLD to stagger bleary eyed to the terminal after 1 to many asahi,s

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## beerlaodrinker

Osaka isnt particularly attractive . its an endless expanse of concrete boxes , pachinko parlours , and elevated highways, Chuck in a few bars and maid cafes and it ticks all the boxes i reckon 

The famous Glico man
 

 

Shoppings not for the faint hearted here
 we were staying in the dotonbori street area
 
th 


is area had plenty to see, a couple of cool pubs and eye candy abounds

even an aussie pub.
 
And down on the canal you could take a boat trip



  
Never got to find out what goes on in this bar.
 
We were flat out keeping BLD junior away from these japanese toy stores. theres only so much stuff you can carry around when your travelling 
 
These crab legs were great but at 800 yen for 3 i wasnt buying to many
 
The locals were quite the mixture
 
Meet my new Drinking Buddies, funny conts they were

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## beerlaodrinker

This sign seemed to be beckoning me to get away from all this street madness and find a pub

 
 
 
And thats where i met mr okimura and his mate, although his mate was passed out on a sofa. Top bloke and didnt mind a sake or 2

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## beerlaodrinker

Some strange things go on in japan. despite it seemingly appear to be a hard working , uptight and traditional society it does have an unexpectedly bizzare underbelly. These little maid cafes were all over the place
 

 

 
 

They arent restaurants, although you can get food, they arent pubs, although you can get a beer, its not a theatre, although there are performances, and its not a fetish bar, although the appeal is vaguely sexual 
  
 

There are no windows in maid cafes. There are no photos allowed, Customers are expressly told not to touch the maids or ask for there phone numbers.

Quite bizarre i reckon, chicks are cute though and for an extra 500 yen ($5) you can play a game of Jenja with the maid of your choice   WTF?

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## Necron99

Top shots mate.
Pics of your visit to the Tora Tora Platinum studios coming up next I hope?

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## beerlaodrinker

> Pics of your visit to the Tora Tora Platinum studios coming up next I hope?


Absolutely, the wife and boy wanted to go to disneyland that day, but i went to the tora tora studio instead and got it on with Maria Ozawa, quite a sporting lass she is. Im big in Japan dontcha know

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## grasshopper

"nice cars."???? What cars?

Oh! Those cars. Of course! Luvly cars, BLD.

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## terry57

How much for a room on average, say a double ?.

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## beerlaodrinker

I booked online before  we left terry, after much internet searching with agoda,booking.com. asia rooms etc , it was all a much of a much ness, you never know what your gonna get in japan. traditionalythe rooms are small and cater for business men, i reckon all the hotels i stayed in averedged out to about $120 a night, except for tokyo where i paid $250 a night. focking sure it can be done a lot cheaper though, but in my case i had the family so didnt want to fuk around , lifes to short, nice to turn up and have a gaff to stay in and a plan of attack. we were only in japan 8 days so just wanted to get on with the serios business of being a decadent bastard, But the rooms did have good shitters that would wash your bum and dry it after backing out a Okonimoya induced Bad boy

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## terry57

^

I don't mind paying the $120 but $250 is taking the piss innit.    :Confused: 

Fuk that.

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## beerlaodrinker

Im pretty sure besides roaming around  the bar district of osaka we actually manged to visit a few cultural sights. problem is my home computer is focking slow in vientiane to post up these pics so might hafta give it a try again tomorrow.and im also a bit pissed , fok it give it a try anywat

i think i might of mentioned already the Vending machine rules in japan, heres the deal. you choose what you want from the menu on the machine ans pretty soon you get the tucker,  no cash changes hands between you and the staff. would this work in Thailand?
 


hey presto , sorted innitt
 


one thing about japan i found hard to get my head around was the coins, shitloads of them,    living in Laos where they have no coins whatsover, it came as a bit of a surprise. bloody handy in the vending machines though. a pain in the ass to tote around in your pocket though
 


looks like im still knocking around Dotondori, hopefully have enough coins left for  a beer

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## beerlaodrinker

> I don't mind paying the $120 but $250 is taking the piss innit.


Nah. it was a one off tel. how often am i likely to be in Tokyo? wanted to make it special, for the wife and boy, combined with a trip to disneyland, that he will probably remember for the rest of his life. cant put a price on memories like that. plus im 50 fockin years old mate and can afford it, been working my ass off since i was 16, not a hippy anymore?. the boys nearly 7 so if he doesnt remember he can always log in to Teakdoor, sort of like a time capsule eh?

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## terry57

^

Yes, I can pick up what your putting down.

Looks like the Lady friend will be pulling double shifts to pay for her trip.   :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## beerlaodrinker

well i.ll be fucked my internet seems to be running at warp speed tonight , maybe the Lao folk have all gone to bed? or dont log onto teakdoor? who knows? i will try to throw up a few more pics but i seem to have lost my train of thought.
i think im still in osaka?
 

 
they say you should never post pissed but i.ll give it a whirl
 The guy that invented neon must be making a Motza here
 
  




   
And for those of you TD punters that are hanging out to see osaka castle. i will post em up tomorrow. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## terry57

^

Ain't to many Jap threads on this forum mate.

Top work there EH.

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## beerlaodrinker

> ^
> 
> Ain't to many Jap threads on this forum mate.
> 
> Top work there EH.


No there isnt a lot, when you gonna get of yor ass and post up your india trip, that will be fockin interesting. you got the time mate, come on,  your retired. its all good. ive got another 10 years to go, gotta raise the sprogs

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## beerlaodrinker

I was amazed to find a vending machine full of XXXX 
 
  
Manga Comics
 
Down in the subway 
 
 

 

 
Our Train looked like it was straight out of Bladerunner
 Next we were off to spend 2 days in Tokyo, i had promised my son a trip to Disneyland

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## beerlaodrinker

TOKYO  pop 13.24 million 

Arriving at shinagawa station we jumped on the Yamanote subway line and headed for Shinjuku we only had the 2 days here but you would need a couple of weeks to see it all i reckon, it has a neighbouhood for everyone, Suitclad salarymen, Manga thumbing geeks, cosplay girls you name it

 
 
i had to pony up for our gaff more than i wanted , but what the fuk, im on holiday 
 
 
well i,ll be focked, they even have a vending nachine for changing dollars into yen

 
After getting settled in it was back on the yamanote line to Yoyogi park for a stroll walk through this amazing park and you will pop out in the Harajuku area
 
 


 
Harajuku is Tokyo,s catwalk. where the citys fashionastas come to shop and show off
 

 





   
The naughty japs like taking sneaky photos of the girls panties

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## beerlaodrinker

The Weirdest Show in Japan
every night in a basement in shinjuku,s Kabuchiko area Bikini clad women stage mock battles using enormous robots , strange but quite enjoyable

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## beerlaodrinker



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## robbo

great stuff mate, as i have said before ....you do get around!! well done

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## beerlaodrinker

all that neon and bikini clad birds was making my head spin

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## beerlaodrinker

Faaark" i needed a drink after that, upstairs i found a cute girl with a keg of Asahi strapped to her back. Damn how goods that eh. 

 

 

 

Looked like they had Liberace to design there lounge 
 

  
The shitter was designed by butters i reckon
 
Post up a bit more later

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## pseudolus

the japanese are just weird. 

I hope you got some upskirt shots....

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## terry57

Some of those Jap tarts are OK Innit.   :Smile: 

The best was the one with the beer strapped to her back.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 

Gota go there, I been threatening to go for a few years now. 

Actually bought a ticket 2 years ago but had to cancel at the last minute.

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## mingmong

Enjoyed it Beer Lao, Greening material

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## Yemen

Great thread BL. Enjoyed it!

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## beerlaodrinker

Just doing a bit of people watching on the street




For the TD punters that like a drink i can highly recommend the Kirin bitters, a bit like a cider and at 8% will kick your arse


 

A nice old harley
 

 

Noodles or icecream from a vending machine

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## beerlaodrinker

A bit more Tokyo nightlife

 
  
Salary men enjoying a drink

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## beerlaodrinker

Still knockinng around shinjuku we came across the small alleys of bars known as Golden Gai
 

 
   
Werent welcome here though

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## beerlaodrinker

The next day we were of to Disneyland, my boy was pretty excited about that 
I had booked a 1 day pass online before we left and at about $65 each was pretty good value i think
 


The weather was a bit shitty but that sort of worked to our advantage by keeping the crowds down
 

 
 


 
 
     
I thought the little guy would of been scared on this but he loved it and went twice
   
he loved the little race cars to

   
Always thought porky pig was a bit of a cont

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## beerlaodrinker

It was a big day and we must of walked about 20 klicks . The next day we were of to Kyoto. so decided to get back to the subway before the evening rush , they jam em in like sardines

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## crocman

Another great thread BLD. You certainly do some good trips.

I had a Japanese girlfriend back in the day but got warned off her by one of her mates because her old man was some big shot in the Yakuza. Still reckon the Japanese girls are the cutest of all the Asian girls.

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## terry57

Hey Lao, 

Approx how much for a beer in the 7-11 and street food.

How much for that.  

Good fun Disneyland innit.

I've been to the one in California and Hongkong.

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## beerlaodrinker

Tel, in a 7 eleven I was buying a frosty for about 270 yen or about $2.70 cents, quite reasonable I reckon, even in a bar we never paid more than about $7 for a beer, didn't go to any girly bars because they wouldn't let us in with the boy in tow. Fair enough. After a day of sight seeing we would usually head back to hotel for rest and I would neck a dozen or so of  asahis before heading out for some street grub, The boy usually needed a bit of down time by then, but he always sparked up after a rest, good little traveller he is, he was missing his little bro and his granny but we used that time to Skype them. Internets great in it

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## terry57

^

Looking at your posts it seems that the main Expense is in Accommodation. 

Beer and food seem OK and get the bullet train pass is the go.

I suppose if one planned out the Trip carefully you could get reasonably priced   accommodation EH. 

In fact it seems that a trip to Japan is On par with a trip to Australia.

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## beerlaodrinker

its definately on a par with australia, my expenses were always going to be x 3 for everything , enter a temple or pagoda its $10 x 3 of us have a meal its x 3 of us , pretty sure japan can be done way cheaper than i done it, i just didnt want to go into the unknown with the family, most of my travelling has been solo and way before the internet came along to google up the info. didnt have a problem with that, but the logistics change when travelling with a small boy and Lao wife. all of my hotels and ferrys, trains  etc were booked about a month before i left , i took some cash as a backup plan but never used it, mostly just hit the ATM . my expenses in country were just food, beer, and entrance fees, i havent had a chance to look at my bank statements yet but i dont think i spent all that much for a 2 week holiday and a bloody good one at that. mind you i dont think i will be going to far from Laos for a couple of months at least.  maybe a quick one to vietnam or cambodia again, cheap and easy to reach, fuckin like that

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## beerlaodrinker

KYOTO   POP 1.47 MILLION

kyoto is the place to go see what japan is all about. All the things you associate with the land of the rising sun: Ancient temples, colourful shrines , even the japs come here to learn about there own culture.

 

A short subway ride from downtown kyoto is the city of Nara where you can see the Daibutsu (great buddha temple) one of the largest bronze buddha images in the world contained in an equally huge building, i dont even like temples but i couldnt help but be impressed. hope my pics do it justice
 

      
The big bloke
   
we spent 2 nights in Kyoto and i was a bit templed out yet again, but there is some nighlife to be had in the area known as Gion and Ponto cho where if your lucky you can see a geisha or Maiko done up to the nines on her way to a function, No luck unfortunately.

Japans a very clean place and they wont tolerate any focker throwing trash around

 
my missus get a bollocking from an old bloke at the train station for leaving her empty bento box on the seat, fair enough i reckon, 

not done with temples yet we headed of to Kinkaju ji one of japans best known sights

 


  


     
A nice pagoda on the way back to the train station, i forget the name
  
 
i had worked up quite the thirst and my feet were bloody killing me so time to head back  the hotel and and rest up before checking out the nightlife and finding something to eat, there only so much you can do in a day, hard work this being a Tourist eh

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## terry57

Some nice pics right there lao. 

Good stuff.

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## patsycat

Wow, just Wow!!

What i love about your threads is the planning you must have done to get to where you go.  Hotels - check - planes - check.  You have everything down to a T.  Me, i would be flaffing around asking in a loud voice if anyone SPOKE ENGLEESH!!

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## beerlaodrinker

In the internet age patsy it actually a doddle, glad you enjoyed em, I've got more but bit busy to finish this thread today

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## beerlaodrinker

A few more from Kyoto, The 2 nights we stayed in Kyoto we found ourselves wandering around the Gion area after dark 




Its an interesting area and a bit of fun getting lost in the little streets

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## beerlaodrinker

Kyotos a great little city and we only saw a fraction of it in the time we had there,

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## beerlaodrinker

NO TIPPING
Tipping is not a japanese custom, if you try to leave a tip you will most likely have it returned to you, It can actually be considered rude to leave a tip. I kind of like that



Not a bad beer this one

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## beerlaodrinker

Have your Fortune told from a vending machine in japanese , english, Korean




Or just thow a few coins at this statue for good luck

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## beerlaodrinker

This place was absolutely heaving with japanese Tourists 




Forget what it was called but it was a really nice spot




If ones feeling a bit slack you can get a rickshaw around thge place, gotta pony up about $50 though

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## beerlaodrinker

A bit more nightlife in Kyoto, Its not all Temples, Thank fuk"

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## beerlaodrinker

Done with Kyoto we headed of to the excellent little port city of Kobe, ive got a workmate who has been living here for a while and reckoned he knew a place that would cook us a Kobe Steak without breaking the bank 


But first a bit of sightseeing

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## beerlaodrinker

My old mate , big red , didnt disapoint we wound up in an awesome little restaurant where i got to sample the Famous KOBE STEAK, Faark it was good .

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## beerlaodrinker

Not cheap, we payed about $40 for 130 grams of meat and a few jap side dishes plus a beer , Everyones heard the story about how The cattle in Kobe are fed beer and massaged daily to give the meat that Fantastic Marbling that attributes to its flavour, Fuk knows if thats bollocks or what, but thats the best bit of beef ive ever had i reckon , 




Big red was also the full bottle on where all the jap eye candy could be Merved upon




we didnt stay the night in Kobe , had to get to osaka to Fly out of Kansai airport , but Higashimon street is where the nightlifes at the big read headed fella informed me


Drunk salaryman sleeping it of in the park

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## danno5

Once again, great report BLD! Thanks for your efforts!

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## beerlaodrinker

Down in the port area we had heard that theres an excellent little Maritime museum that would amuse the boy so of we set out for that 


The museum werent keen on punters taking photos but i got a couple of sneaky ones anyway, 






this thing runs by magnetic propulsion

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## beerlaodrinker

TTached to the maritime was the Kawasaki good times museum which had an excellent collection of early kwakkas,






i didnt realise how much stuff Kawasaki heavy industries made , they had all kinds of stuff in here 



Kawasaki built the tunnel boring machine for the chunnel connecting england to France, ( never knew that)



Gas Turbines trains, ships and helicopters 





even Robotics



The bike collection was awesome

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## pseudolus

Any more?

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## beerlaodrinker

I thoroughly enjoyed japan and all the quirky things going on, pretty sure i would go back again, 

They treat your arse right

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## pseudolus

> They treat your arse right


They do lack the power of the bum gun though. I would be interested in one combined with the water power of the Indonesian toilet attachment things. That would be good.

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## reddog

i will pencil that kawasaki museum in if i get there, also liked the sports model in front of the lady with the pram.

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## beerlaodrinker

Have to agree red dog, snapped those pics near the train station while waiting for my mate to arrive, They tell me the Mazda museum in Hiroshima is interesting to but we were there on the weekend and it was closed, as was the Toyota museum near Tokyo, I was trying to strike a happy balance between entertaining the wife and the boy and myself, Think I might of achieved that , my boy hasn't stopped talking about Disneyland since we got back, And hopefully her indoors hasten enough temples for a while to,  Time permitting I would of taken them to universal studios in Osaka and Disney sea, but there's only so many hours in a day

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## terry57

Killer thread,

I would love to have a contact to show me around but unfortunately I do not so will have to wing it.

Looks fokin brilliant.

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## katie23

Thanks for another great thread, BLD! You do get around.  :Smile:

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## beerlaodrinker

it turns out mrs BLD took a shitload of pictures that she thought she lost. might post up a few more once my internet speeds up enough to download the fockers

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## Gravesend Dave

That photo with the yellow amphibious vehicle!

We have them in London( similar might be the same motors ) called the Duck tours.

I wonder did us Brits nick that or the other way round.

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## WorldNomad

Well done!

It appears you had a very good time in the land of kimchi.  :Wink:  

I enjoyed the Japan pictures.

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## beerlaodrinker

They were called duck tours there as well Dave, saw em in tokyo as well

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## CalEden

I first saw Duck Tours in Boston 20 years ago. Took a Duck Tour in Seattle, Washington.

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## Cujo

> That photo with the yellow amphibious vehicle!
> 
> We have them in London( similar might be the same motors ) called the Duck tours.
> 
> I wonder did us Brits nick that or the other way round.


That amphibious vehicle is called a duck, so anyone who uses them probably calls them duck tours.

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## Looper

Great thread BLD.

Cheers. Outta greens.

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## bushwacker

Great thread.  I feel as though I have been there.  So, I can cross it off my list and think about all the money that I have saved.

Looks like you had a fun adventure.  Thanks for sharing.

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## Mr Earl

Excellent thread, I've never been to either country, now I feel like I've been there.
Thanks for taking us along. :Beerchug:

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## English Noodles

I have been rotating between Busan and Bangkok for the past 11 months. IMHO, Koreans are the worst bunch of people I have had the displeasure of spending a lot of time with. They are filthy stinking wankers. I'm leaving here next week, and hopefully that will be me done with the place.

Nice thread, but sorry, Koreans are awful.

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## Bazzy

> Got to love these electric shitters eh.


Yes but I just want to take a dump, not fly a 747.

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## Bazzy

^ can't green yet, thanks for the pics

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## Bazzy

> Originally Posted by terry57
> 
> What where the people like mate ? Friendly or what.
> 
> 
> Yes, they were ok the Koreans, Makes a nice change going to a country where you arent viewed as a walking ATM


I had heard of a reputation for arrogance before I went to Seoul, never experienced it. Guys I worked with LOVED a beer. Usual Asian stuff too, food is high on the agenda.

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## Bazzy

^ Did the missus try kimchi? Might be an odd taste for a thai woman.

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## Davis Knowlton

^My wife's a Flip, and she loves it. Korean neighbors are constantly bringing it over to the house.

Of course, considering Filipino "cuisine".................

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## beerlaodrinker

She is Lao and can eat all manner of weird shit, she couldn't get enough kimchi

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## terry57

> So, I can cross it off my list and think about all the money that I have saved.



I reckon I will make Japan Next year with My South African Lady friend. She pays half.  :Smile: 

BudJet 10 K I reckon.  Na fuk that, I don't do budgets, whatever it costs EH.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## BarnacleBill

Thanks for the tour, BLD.  Spent some time in Japan - on and off - 1950-60's.  My contacts tell me that I wouldn't recognise the places now - looking at your pics, I believe them!  Beautiful, and interesting.

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## Paddy Whackery

> She is Lao and can eat all manner of weird shit, she couldn't get enough kimchi


I have to say that that was absolutely the most incredible trip report i have EVER seen on any of these boards.  Absolutely loved the photos of Korea.  Thanks for sharing your family pics.  I would love to be able to take that trip someday, especially the waterfoil from Busan to Japan.  Better keep playing that Lotto, eh?   :irish:

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## mingmong

just noticed the Kawak's, big fan and past owner of the 900's 

enjoyed the tread for all the other Culture pic's and thanks for posting again,

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## Stranger

Great pics BLD. 

Have a green.

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