Travels in Japan: The Wonderful World of Ghibli

There's something magical in Mitaka! Disembark from the train, take a short, suspense-filled stroll through some leafy suburbs and you will be in for a real treat...

OMG! It's Totoro!

...because Mitaka is home to the truly amazing Ghibli museum. But, it's more than a museum, it's a fabulously joyful Ghibli microcosm with fantastical animations, models, artwork, topsy-turvy architecture and lots of opportunities to encounter well loved characters.

Although a supposedly grown up woman (whatever that means), I love cartoons! From the silly crude humour of Family Guy and American Dad to the schmaltzy cheese of Disney (yes, that's me happily singing along in an off key manner to Tangled!). So, as soon as we started talking about Japanese travels Ghibli was top of the list.

Just thinking about this day brings a smile to my face as I remember how emotional I felt to see this wonderful body of creative work presented in such an original, interactive and loving way. On arrival you are welcomed into a lively warm and friendly homage to Totoro, Ponyo, Kiki and their many companions. The spaces that resonated most for me were those which replicated artists studios filled with inks and drawings, books of inspiration and bound rough sketches for the films. Beautiful and so inspiring!

It's not permitted to take photos or recordings within the museum and rightly so! Such a special place can only really be appreciated in person. It's an incredibly immersive experience and I can most thoroughly recommend the trip, even if you do have to travel across the world to get there ;)

I'm leaving you with a handful of photos outside the museum (just a tantalising taster) and a promise for tales of imperial castles and woodland adventures to come.

If you've read this post wondering what on earth I'm talking about, why not give one of these fabulous films a try?! From the story of a girl with magical abilities to communicate with cats through to harrowing tales about war there really is something for everyone and they are all truly beautiful.

Happy times in Ghibli land :)

Travels in Japan: Tokyo

Way back in November in the distant and far off year of 2013, my lovely husband and I packed our matching suitcases (really!) and took to the skies for an amazing asian adventure. Two weeks to experience as much of Japan as we possibly could... awesome. Bring on the green tea.

First stop? Tokyo, of course!

Sake barrells in the late afternoon sun at Meiji

I am one of those breakfast obsessed people. I love breaking the fast and woe betide any one or thing that stands between me and my sacred morning meal. No breakfast has ever been as fine, fresh and sumptuous as the one we feasted upon in Sushi Bun. A killer combination of jetlag, burstingly full itinerary and let's face it sheer lack of willpower meant that we didn't quite manage to get up for the 5am registration for the tuna auctions. Nevertheless we saw some beautiful early morning rays amongst the small side-streets of Tsukiji fish market whilst deliberating on our brekkie venue. Sushi Bun was all we dreamed of, a tiny haven of delicious fishy delights. Sitting at the end of the counter we chomped our way through a set menu of meltingly tender morsels served alongside the obligatory miso and green tea. A phenomenal start to the day.

We knew we were headed in the right direction...

Not tuna auction early, but early nonetheless ;)

 

Good morning Tsukiji

What can one do in the midst of a mighty modern metropolis on a beautiful day with a belly full of lush fatty tuna? Too many things to mention in one blog post certainly. What would I recommend? Taking a stroll, finding some peace and being completely blown away by just how zen the Japanese gardens are. Photos cannot do this experience justice.

Hamarikyu Gardens, just a small sushi filled roll away from Tsukiji (thankfully)

A-mazing right?!

Even better, when one tires of the strolling just keep your eyes peeled for one of the teahouses. Take your shoes off, take a load off and order a bowl of beauteous pure green matcha. Yum. What a treat.

From here (Hamarikyu Gardens) you can take a boat journey. Woohoo! What's not to love? Getting to see the city by water and check out the architecture. Count us in...

Round about now, you should be starting to feel a bit peckish. Since you've only been in the country a couple of days what could beat heading to a rather splendid luncheon with a friend near the imperial palace gardens? We couldn't think of anything we'd like better either! Lunch on the terrace of a grand hotel next to the water with rain beating down atmospherically besides us was very beautiful. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear more about the country in which we would be travelling. As fate would have it my friend grew up in the town which was next on our itinerary and was tickled to hear we were heading that way. We also got to cover important topics of debate such as jewellery-making, cooking and running before we had to part ways. Ah, such a happy memory.

After feasting like kings (again!) there are so many post gastronomic delights on offer. Towering emporiums of technology at Akhibara, hitting the shops at Roppongi Hills or Daimaru, art at the Mori Tower (where we took in the high culture of Snoopy) or a bit more contemplative peace and cultural amazement in the various temples... We did a bit of it all...

Feeling exhausted after ambitiously bombing around the world's largest city? You bet! But the night is young, as they say. So, why not head to Harajuku for some hipster shopping then see about squeezing in a completely phenomenal never-ending Teppanyaki dinner whilst looking out at the Tokyo Dome with another wonderful friend. We ate and laughed so much! It was such a pleasure :) This meeting was a little more instructional too and we were urged from then on to incorporate 'Domo domo' as a way of saying thank you into our teeny Japanese word bank. It seems insufficient as thanks for such a great evening!

So, if any of you guys survive that onslaught of pure awesomeness, you know what you have to do next...

Seriously! There is only one option open to you at this momentous point in your journey. For relaxing times...? Oh YES, we did. Park Hyatt Tokyo, New York Bar. The ultimate Lost in Translation / Bill Murray pilgrimage. It was fabulous. We sat at the bar, we watched live music, we viewed the beauty of the city lights below stretching blinking and twinkling into the distance and we fell in love with Tokyo a little bit more.

Sx

Ps. In case you hadn't guessed, this makes up not just one of our days in Tokyo but a composite of the 4 nights we spent there. It's a long post but we do a lot on our holidays us Silversmiths. Coming up... Totoro (!), castles, woods, traditional inns, kobe beef, Kyoto & much more!

Putting the Chang in Chiang Mai

It was a trip of many firsts for me, first time in Asia, first journey on an overnight train and first to travel first class. Since it was our honeymoon we decided to push the boat out and travel from buzzing Bangkok to the northern city of Chiang Mai in decadent style...

Ok, busted, Orient Express it was not. But, it was our very own cabin and we were being whisked into the hilly north and new exciting adventures in the walled city. If anyone is tempted to follow in our footsteps and take this service here is my advice... 

Take snacks and water - there is food on board but it's limited and it's fun to have a train picnic. Make sure you have a cardigan or similar - this was the only part of the trip where I really had to put on warmer layers, including socks. Don't trust the timetable - a prompt service it was not and we reached our destination a good few hours late. Be aware that this will not be a smooth ride, or necessarily one of your better nights sleep. And most of all - try the dining car! :) We had so much fun in the dining car! You can get a proper hot meal, the atmosphere is great and there was lots of retro music (think Mark Knopfler and Neil Diamond), which the train policeman was happily singing along to!

Sunrise from our cabin :)

After getting our weary train shaken selves to our hotel it was time to explore our new home! 

In Chiang Mai I fell in love with the relaxed pace of life, beautiful atmosphere at the temples, bells, local crafts in the markets, weekend walking street. We also discovered iced coffee - a brilliant pick me up when like mad english folk we were out in sweltering mid day heat. Two of the central Chiang Mai temples were particularly special to me - Wat Pan Tao and Wat Phra Singh. The former for its simple rustic beauty - a stunning teak structure removed from the bling of many of the glittering bangkok buildings. The latter due to its extraordinarily serene environs and its fabulously resonant gong.

By this point in the trip Mr S and I were missing some of our routine daily activities and decided it was high time we got back into the kitchen. That's right, it was Thai cookery class time :). It was so much fun and really sociable. We tried not to get too jealous talking to others in the group who were on a much longer sojourn from real life on backpacking adventures and concentrate on the task at hand. The day started with a trip to an amazing local food market to learn about and source our ingredients, then it was back to the chopping board, frying pan and pestle and mortar. I made Pad Thai (but, of course!), Massaman curry (YUM!) and Sticky rice with Mango. Whilst there were day courses in which it was possible to make more dishes, I am not sure we could have eaten any more. We went away very happy and very full!

Pad Thai Perfection

So, could our fabulous time in Chiang Mai possibly get any better you ask?

Quite simply - YES.

Whilst in Chiang Mai we had one of the absolutely top moments of our whole trip. Thanks to some very special, very big creatures...

I had been really sceptical about this before the trip, but our time with the elephants was amazing. We chose our location very carefully and visited an elephant park which worked to save and care for rescue elephants. We knew that the park in question didn't make the elephants perform or ride them with chairs fitted to their backs. The staff there clearly cared deeply about the elephants and I learned so much about them. Thank you so much Baan Chang Elephant Park for an absolutely amazing and unforgettable day. 

Ah, happy memories!

One last thing on Chiang Mai. If you are reasonably respectably dressed and have the baht, do go for a drink at The Chedi. It was honestly like walking into The Sunday Times Style magazine. Decked in candle and firelight it is a sleek modern minimal paradise. The drinks aren't bad either!

P.S. In other news - I am finally back to my jewellery classes. Not much to report yet, but many exciting ideas on the go. So many that I've got a proper brainstorm chart of them. Getting back to designing and making and can't wait to share some creations once more. Happy Sunday everyone.

S.S.x

Say Wat?! In Angkor ;)

All I could see from the plane were trees and water when landing was announced. Where on earth were we going? How would we land? What kind of fresh madness was this?! Siem Reap is definitely where culture shock hit me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of uber-metro naturo-phobe, I grew up in the Fens of Cambridge which can themselves be fairly bleak and watery landscapes, but this was something else. Luckily there was a landing strip and a proper, albeit diddy, airport!

As we headed to our hotel the heavens opened, none of the locals batted an eyelid, all quite contentedly walking cycling, motorbiking (many without helmet or even shoes) all over the road in the increasing water. Then just as quickly and dramatically as it had started it stopped. Quite the crazy place!

My sense of unease increased when we made our first excursion to Ta Prohm, one of the Angkor temples. This one has been left to ruin and hides amongst the jungle. It was late afternoon, gloomy and threatening rain, the sound of the Cicadas was incredible (like a pervasive car alarm) and we were heading to this dark ancient place overgrown with wild things. 

And then, it rained some more!

See - I wasn't scared really! I'm so intrepid ;)

So Cambodia and I didn't get off on the best footing. All this would quickly change though. That very evening in fact, as soon as I discovered... Amok! 

No not more Cambodian craziness, but a mighty fine curry. Oh yum! It was so tasty and flavoursome. Once I had some fine Khmer cuisine inside me I was feeling much more civilised and fuelled for the big day to follow - exploring the mighty Angkor temples.

Wat a day! Angkor is an absolutely stunning and incredible place. We saw our first wild monkeys, learnt lots about the ancient culture and beliefs from our great guide and took a million photos (really there are just insane amounts of them). I'll be kind and share just the edited highlights...

 

Whilst in Cambodia, Mr S couldn't resist ticking off another 'floating' experience, this time a whole village which bobbed along on the great and quite phenomenally enormous Tonle Sap lake. So, we jumped aboard another boat...

The pictures speak far more eloquently about our experience than I can put into words. But, before signing off on Cambodia I have to share something which I don't have photos of - the awesome craft scene! Siem Reap had some wonderful, colourful and vibrant craftyness going on. From market stalls through to jewellery shops, boutique galleries and out of town arts centres. We could easily have filled our cases twice over with the fabulous scarves, ceramics, spices and paintings.

Coming up next - first class travel, meeting big new friends :), rustling up tasty dishes and making the most of night markets, it must be Chiang Mai!