Okinawa – The tropical South <2009.3.8>

Somehow I nearly forgot – I have never been to the tropical south of Japan, OKINAWA!

Famous for its hundreds of Island laid back on volcanic scenes with tropical surroundings.
Some of you may remember it from the movie Kill Bill Vol.2?!

Anyway it is one of the best dive spots here in Japan, so it was on my MUST-List to visit.
Here you can find the highlights of the 5 day exploration above & under water:

Traditional Greeting of Shissa (or Austrian: Scheisser :-)

Spectacular coastal lines

Famous sights & even more famous food

Very impressive Aquarium with even 3 whale sharks

& Underwater – one of world’s best dive spots: Kerama Islands

There are really many snakes:

And countless little fellows :-)

Okinawa is real gem of Japan and must to visit. It’s a pity I never had been there before, but I am glad at least to know now what I missed x-)

Yours BILL

SAYONARA Japan <2009.3.22>

Time flies and so the day has come were I have to say goodbye to Japan.
It is exactly 6 years now after I set my foot here in Japan – it just seems like view moments past.

So I packed my remaining stuff and prepared my last items for the journey.

The past days I used intense to for my last impressions of Japan which I love most:
Enjoying the view or strolling through my neighborhood of Roppongi – the extremes …

Enjoying the start of Hanami (Cherry Blossom) – my 7th time …

And looking out for the entertaining English signs & messages - my favorite ;-)

Thanks to all who joined the many farewell parties – I won`t forget them:

So it is now time for me to say:

GOODBYE JAPAN & SEE YOU SOON MY FRIENDS!

It can easily happen that we meet during my trip through Asia – so watch out for the Austro-Chinese Noodle Hawker

SAYONALA

The Long Journey <25.2.2009>

Dear Friends,

Time goes by so quickly and now already 6 years past since I arrived here in Japan!

This was somehow my personal maximum target; even I started initially with 2 years only ;-)

I loved every second of it and I already know I gonna miss the country and all friends I need to leave back! But the world is small so I am sure it is not a "Good bye" - just a "See you later"!

Over the past years I always thought about, to make once a long journey to see more of the world and in a more intense way. So I was working on this idea, to make it come true for sure and the time has come now...

I use the end of my Japanese assignment and the new start of my next career at my company to realize this dream of mine. So I plan a trip of 9 months starting in Japan going mainly to South East Asia & Australia. You might think this is not much, but I already feel the time is too short, as those countries are so large and versatile, which would be a pity to rush trough.

Here you can find my detail stops: (Click to enlarge)

End of MarchI start moving to Bangkok which I will use as Hub for my trips, where I stay 2 weeks to get organized obtaining necessary visa. Then the Australia trip starts which will follow from west (Perth) to north (Darwin) and north through the center (Alice Springs) to south (Adelaide)

After a brief stop at home to celebrate my grandma`s 90th birthday it goes on from south Australia (Melbourne) to East (Sydney) and up the coast to north (Cairns) to the barrier reef. Everything by camper van which means more than 12.000km, which would be same far as going by car from Tokyo to Graz;-)

The 2nd half of the trip is as backpacker through South East Asia starting again in Bangkok. Heading north to Chiang Mai to the boarder of Laos, then on the Mekong to the 2 Main cities Luang Prabang & Vientiane.

Flying next to north Vietnam (Hanoi) and following the highlights along the east coast down to Ho Chi Min city (Saigon).
Further by bus/air to Cambodia to finally visit- long time dream – the large temple area Angkor Wat and the hidden beaches of Cambodia south of Phnom Phen.
Finally crossing the border back to Thailand, fading out the trip on one of the tropical island, before flying back to Japan.

After a 3 week final autumn celebration trough out the country on Japans fastest trains, the journey will end at beginning of December for my final attempt going back home…

Sounds much? Tough? Impossible? … sounds to me like a real adventure!

I learned a lot here in Japan and one for sure:

CONGRATULATIONS - You have made it reading to this point, so you already proofed yourself to be ready to follow me on this longer travel ;-)

So be my guest and follow this adventure on my footprints…

Yours truly Marco Polo

The Largest Lagoon in the World <2009.2.7>

Welcome to my first report in 2009.
And to give you a warm welcome, I travelled far to reach for the warm weather during this winter days. But not everywhere in the world is winter … NO - on the other side of this planet the summer is at its peak or smoothly fading out.

So I took the chance and started the diving season with a one week trip to the biggest lagoon on this planet – do you know it … New Caledonia!

Do you have the same first thoughts as me? Ah nice … but where is New Caledonia?
To help you out here you can find a picture – it is in between Australia & New Zealand:

Further here come some facts (out of Wiki):
New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Caledonie) is a dependent overseas territory of France lying in the western Pacific Ocean, in the Coral Sea, to the east of Australia and west of Vanuatu. The territory consists of the main island of Grand Terre, the archipelago of the Loyalty Islands (Iles Loyaute), and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls.

New Caledonia offers stunning beaches, mountaintop fondue in chalets, camping, amazing snorkeling and diving, and fabulous French food.

N.C. is not a typical tourist place so don`t expect the typical infrastructure of plenty souvenir shops and never-ending opening hours. This place seems to live for its own and the people enjoy their lives in very pacific-french way of live: short opening hours; closed in afternoons; bus systems stop at 7 p.m. & the live is happening in and around the beaches.

The weather is all-year round stable around 25 – 35 deg. That`s why it is called the endless spring islands. Only the months from Jan – March are a bit wet but the rain never last long.

One of the highlights is to visit one of the islands around. Like the one I visit – Ouvea – which is called the island which is closest to heaven … see yourself:

Here I want to share my great impression of these lovely islands:

ABOVE THE WATER:

Around the hotel - Anse Vata

Culture Center

Noumea Centre ville

The lagoon around Noumea

Loyality Islands - Ouvea

French Cousine
AND BELOW THE WATER:

Let me send you some of this sunny days to all of you so that the spring will soon arrive at our other half of this world.

SUNNY GREETINGS