NewYears WinterWonderland

NewYears was an escape to Hakuba, Nagano for our first trip of the season to the snow! forecast wasn't looking too good, we arrived on Thursday and it snowed the whole time we were there! Totally awesome powder fun at Happo One! Sore muscles and lots of laughter and rolling down the powdery slopes mixed in with carving and shredding and what an awesome time! Stayed at the Alpine Lodge, with its own private onsen, close to the shuttle so on the slopes at half nine! Good times. Never before have i seen the golden arches at top of the slopes - only in Japan! Fluro and 80's fashion has never gone out of fashion here, i guess the japanese know that it will all just come around again. The all in one dayglow suits are the best.

Gone Coconuts

Celebration times for our first year of marriage (and my birthday) in the Philippines. What a wacky place! coming from the utter cleanliness of tokyo cebu is quite a change - noisy, smelly, busy, and not as clean but oh so beautiful and wonderful all at the same time! Some beautiful churches and forts still stand from the spanish times, the fresh food markets and strange shops selling all types of baby jesus and mary paraphanalia will just keep you smiling and wanting to spend your many pesos. From cebu we took a 3 hr bus ride (yay for aircon) down the island of cebu to dumaguete and crazy ride in a trike (tourists obviously and paid way too much for our short trip). A (cargo)boat ride took us to little siquijor, a small island just south of cebu. Hired a motorbike and hooned and dodged our way around the island a few days, going two up with me on the back was well fun. The maps are so basic and the roads more so, therefore one of the days we spent getting lost up in the jungle and mountains - all the while young kids kept asking us "where are you going?" and in response i gave a smile and a wave! The question was obviously related to the fact that the road we took became a goat trail with mud and holes all over it and then funnily enough finished at the front of someone's tiny little shack at the top of the hill! Had to backtrack but it was just so pretty and well worth the detour. Birthday was wonderful, a suprise cake that was brought from town about half an hour away on the back of the bike and amazingly still intact! Coconut cocktials and karaoke on the beachfront at JJ's cafe was cool with some fun new friends from Aus and Finland! and then off the local nightclub to dance the night away! door charge 15pesos or 30cents, jugs of local rum n coke 150pesos woohoo Our anniversary was so lovely, the little resort, with a beachside hut, that we stayed at on siquijor was pretty quiet and Ace n i were the only ones having dinner on the beach! Amazing! Yummy fish, mango salad and aussie wine, all with a wonderful sunset and just me n ace! Lots of swimming of course to enchanted waterfalls, blue ocean, and a nice pool. The people are friendly and pretty crazy, and carefree. Our last few nights back at a nice place in cebu with a lagoon at our doorstep, wonderful filipino massages, more good food n cocktails and laying about! Perfect relaxing time so hard to drag ourselves away... we will return