Warmth, laughter, friends and beauty, Christmas 2010

Ho Ho Ho

So santa did arrive in Thailand and Thong Noi Pan also. He could not use his regular reindeers here though as of course there is absolutely no snow and the sled would never have moved without it. So this year the santa got a ride with some pirates. He wore his santakini and did not dear to shave, even through the sun was making his face hot and sticky. He jumped onboard the ship and sailed through storm, rain, lightening and thunder from the north pole all the way to Koh Phanghan where four little Norwegian mini-pirates were waiting patiently. 

First he left four little parcels with flashlights inside, those he picked up from Aksel in Frognerparken. Later the same morning they found the map from Santa with a special note. The pirates slipped in their gear and stocked up on some fresh juice, eggs and bacon and after the borning toothbrush ritual and sunblock extravaganza, they where ready for the hunt of their lives.

Four happy mice opened each their present and found some sparkeling tressures and as they played the grown ups enjoyed mumms champagne by the pool while the wind was gently blowing in the coconut tops around us.

Later we all got together and ate, sang and lit some lanterns and sent wishes to you all that we love, miss and think about daily. Happy wishes to you all


Twinkles, love and happiness from the travellers

Merry Christmas

December 24th Treasure hunt Berge/Vikanes meets Stokke/Eide

Life in paradise has turned even prettier. As rain decided to stop and the sun got to show off, our beach transformed into a tropical, white, dreamy playground. The emerald green water is crystal clear. Misha is swimming with her vest and Teo seems to be practicing for a beach marathon. He says he is the fastest runner, and then he dives into the water.

We are all making new friends, the dogs on the beach recognice us and dig their own daybeds right next to us and we have fallen in love with one amazing restaurant on the beach.

This year the Christmas feeling is far away, but we have planned a treasure hunt. The map is ready, now we are only waiting for Berge&Vikanes to arrive to our very special Backshackervilla Vadee.

Merry Christmas to all wonderful friends and familiy.

Love, peace and smiles from the travellers

Monsoon

The road to our village before the rain started

November footwear!

Our island

Girlpower

The man of the village

Chilling at the beach

Cafédoodle

The artist and her friend Ingrid

The ferry over to Koh Phangan was rescheduled the day we were going over from Koh Samui because of wind. Luckily I had no idea how bad it was before we got on. The boat finally arrived after another delay of 45 minutes. A catamaran, room for maybe 50. It was a 30 minute ride, joyful for some and painful for others. Amongst young partiers with their beer cans and the laughing crew, who acted as we were on a tivoli, we managed to drag our packs, stroller and our selves on the moving boat. Steffen took immediatly a seat alone and told us not to talk to him for the next half hour, wise from past experiences. I was in the front with the kids.

The waves were a lot bigger then what I feared. I was holding on to both kids and trying not to fall off the seat while manuvering small plastic bags for Teo who unfortunatly is like his dad on boats, while he screamed for his dad the whole trip. After thirthy very long minutes I was thrilled to get off the boat, fully covered in vomit and with legs that felt crippled, we were happy to meet Roman, our pickup and villa man.

Roman suggested to stock up and we managed somehow to pull our seasick and beaten bodies together and daised through the supermarket in Tong Sala with slaughtered pig parts spread out on ice. There where eyeballs, other balls, feet, noses and other delicious parts,  we just could not feel the temptation. Only the last stretch was left: Forty minutes on bumpy roads, or something that once were roads. We felt mildly beat up as we entered our new home for 9 weeks. Our very ‘simple’ back pack villa with our own pool, 4 bedrooms, maid, beautiful view of the ocean hugged in by tall palm trees, papaya and banana trees.

We later learned we arrived on a good day with mild winds and no rain, the next day monsoon really started! It is raining buckets of water. It sounds like torpedos. All traffic to the island is closed down, roads are cut off and have fallen into the rivers. The village shops are overflowing, power is toast and we are on level one on the extra power supply.

Today the rain stopped for a moment. We can hear the insects, they sound as they are batterydriven. A tiny lizzard sound like a beefeating mammal.

Tunes are flowing out from the awakening cafés and bars, the ceiling fans are on slow speed, 28 degrees, an island dog is streching under our table, the curry is hot, creamy and filled of wonders.

Lost in translation II, Stokke Eide in Japan.

October 18th 2010, ready to get married at the Norwegian Embassey

The family of four.

Steffen is having a wedding beer at the mobile liquor shop.

Robot totem pole in Roppongi.

Views over Tokyo.

Snow exhibit

Our wedding dinner and cake. Consumed quietly in the end of the bed not to wake Misha.

Tokyo Metro

Harajuku, where fashion statements are born

Natural and beautiful interior

A temple in harajuku, watching some fine people getting married.

At the metro

Getting advice at 7eleven

The logo of a facial cream company.

Pureness and simplicity.

Our balcony in Kyoto.

Everyone and thing in Japan is exquisite. Nothing is overlooked. They are all proper, neat and organized. They bow and show their gratefulness at all times and have a strict shoes off policy. Walking down the streets, you will not find one garbage can, but that does not mean there are any waste around, not even a piece of gum stuck on the ground. It is all spotless.

The taxi drivers wear black suits, tie and hats and they all have white, croched blankets made by their mums, on all seats, and hey, no cigarette holes, lipstick stains or other seedy buisness on those seats. They are too blenda-white and fresh smelling.

If you are lost in Japan and trust me that is not hard at all in the jungle of foreign characters, they are the most pleasant, polite people. They don’t just wave you in the right direction, they actually take the time to get of the metro with you and walk you  through elevators, snackshops under and over bridges until you are safely back where you started.

We decided the second day in Tokyo that we were ready for the metro in Tokyo. Should not be that big of a deal, after all we have been riding the T-bane in Oslo for years. We had a map and the name of the stations, and even which lines to follow. This should be a smooth ride. Ikeburo station was just a few meters away from our hotel and luckily at the moment we had no idea it was the busiest station in all of Tokyo. There are half a million people on and off this station every day. There are lines in all colours of the rainbow, with unique numbers, directions, transferes, express types with their again unique stops. When we then in addition to our Norwegian  ’baby snackpack’ also had a large stroller, one almost two year old that would rather hang from the handles in the ceilings then sit in his stroller and a four year old that usually always walks in the opposite direction then her brother it certainly got exciting down in the mystery halls of the Tokyo metro.

We felt like bees on mission for a secretly sweet flower. Which floor? Carrying the stroller up and down trying not to bump people and keep track of our little herd. Which direction? Where do we get the tickets, and what do we push to get them out, what do we pay, what type of coins or bills does the machine like and finally when we are safly on, how on earth do we get out the desired direction before the tickets expire. We spent some time down there during our stay and in the end of two weeks we felt pretty good at it.

Kyoto was a fantastic experience. It was a great contrast to Tokyo. One of the only cities not burned during the war it offered the true authentic feeling of what I had dreamt of. The narrow streets with the red lanterns, the bamboo gates, the verdant, dense framing forest, the temples, 17 of them in Kyoto all on UNESCO's list and the silently tripping geishas.

There are pages to be written about the beauty of this country and we got a small taste, enough to linger and bring us back at another time in our life.

Hello Kitty's pink potion

So for about a year, since Misha realized that Hello Kitty was born in Japan, this whole trip has been all about Hello Kitty land and the excitement of what this world might have to offer. It is hard to fathom how much our four year old girl has dreamt of her all these months, days, hours and minutes up until now. We are finally here, the day has come and we could not help feeling a bit ancious about the pinkmojo of this place. Could it actually deliver on all these dreams, the hours of goodnight stories, the endless drawings and paintings of what this fairyland would look, feel, smell and taste like. All the stories in kindergarden with all the other little, pink girls in their pink kitty shirts, pants, socks, haedbands, umbrellas, braclets, hats and life coloured by this soft, big, pink cat?

Steffen was mildly pessimistic after having spent 3 hours on Tokyo metro for the first time in our life, having gotten on the wrong train, trying to backtrack our steps in the right direction plus some bad Kitty-reviews in a hoky magazine the night before.

Well we stood outside and our faith laid in the rainbow in front of us, which actually ends here. We stepped inside, hardly nobody there, could this be a good sign?

Well the sparkles started to prickle us, within seconds the fairydust had captured us and we took of into fairyland. Guess what? The japanese they know how to do this sort of stuff. They don’t decide to do the ikea furniture in the last minute or cut the budget in the glitterdevision nor do they settle for any less then the best performers, the friendliest staff or the funkiest treats that shower you with cuteness, hugs and pink potion as long as you want.

It was a success. We were all pinked up to the top. We will be back!

For those specially interested in pink, glitter, kitties, sparkledust and such, here is the video pink fairyride, notice how much daddy likes this.

Thank you Brian, James, Karen, Curly and Bella

Our fantastic friends in Waimanalo, Hawaii: James the mechanic masterbrain and Brian, the murder mystery writer.

The view from our back yard.

Thank you Karen for your warmth and generousity.

Thank you Curly for the entertainment, speed and happy, wet morning kisses.

Bella and Curly, happy muffins and Misha's best friends.

Thank you, dear friends for making our stay at your place so happy, fun, safe and interesting. Thank you for driving us to the store, giving us the tour through the mountains, introducing us to that heavenly, amazing coconut pie and being so welcoming and warm.