Tokyo: Hello 2009

It has been just over a year since I arrived in the land of the rising sun, and much has changed in this ever-evolving city. As you can see in the post below, I recently took a short vacation to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and its environs-The Mekong River Delta, and the beach resort of Mui Ne on the South China Sea. More posts on that trip will follow.

In the meantime, spring is once again in the air in Tokyo, and the Cherry Blossom Festival is upon us. In Japan this is a time of socialization and reflection. Most Japanese enjoy parties under the myriad of blooming Cherry trees across Tokyo and the rest of Japan. Last year I spent most of this time in the Kansai region to the West including Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. This year, I will explore Tokyo more in depth.

I will also be posting daily, on a variety of issues, as laid out below, and upon request.

I have had many requests for opening up a dialogue on current news, trends and events going on in Japan and around the world. So this year I will introduce conversational topics on this blog concerning current issues that touch each of our lives to one degree or another: the global economic crisis, international security issues, and political alliances of both the fair-weather and long-term variety.

I look forward to out conversations in 2009. Please feel free to challenge ideas, promote your opinion, and present new topics. Whether the discussion covers travel related issues (good vacation destinations, "volunteer tourism" opportunities, travel secrets) or economic issues (current bailout plan in the U.S., subsequent decline in Japanese exports) or political concerns (PM Taro Aso or President Obama's policy machines at work) any discourse is welcome.

Hope to hear from you soon.

-David Tomyn

Vietnam and beyond

As the sun rises above the South China Sea I am once again amazed I am up before 6 am. I am also a tad incredulous that I rented my own personal jeep tour and guide for the morning for only $60. As the sun rose above surreal sand dunes, I peered beyond at the water that seemed so juxtaposed to the dry arid nature of the dunes around me. After hopping back in our jeep, we checked out a local fishing village at the peak of activity. At about 730 am, most boats were coming in from a long arduous night of fishing, and we were able to watch as each boat worked quickly to get their goods to market-fresh clams were taken out of the shell-the shells scattered aimlessly across the beach. Small fish were placed in tubs and cleaned in shallow water before being sold to middle men, who would then take the fish to the main fish market later that morning. Men worked on their fishing vessels, huge power tools breaking the otherwise silence of the bustling morning atmosphere. And it wasn't even 8 am yet, we had already visited giant white sand dunes, smaller, more red sand dunes, went dune surfing (you'll have to ask me about that one) and checked out a gorge made of red clay. Quite the morning. The night before was quite excellent as well. After 2 hours of pampering at a spa, the breeze gently flowing into the room where I had a hot stone massage and Thai massage alongside my girlfriend, we went perusing for a dinner locale. we settled on a spot where we were able to choose fresh fish from the days catch. Soon Tiger Prawns, giant shrimp and Barracuda steak was being weighed on the scales, and we were escorted to our seats in the bamboo restaurant overlooking the resorts of Mui Ne, the latest beach phenom of Vietnam. We ordered a bottle of Chilean white, naturally, which fit nicely with the seafood that was served with equally tantalizing sauces and spices-from lemon and pepper concoctions to hot sweet pepper sauce. The best food I've ever tasted-no joke. After a casual walk down from the restaurant we found our tour operator and booked out jeep tour-bringing this small snippet of our trip to Vietnam to a close.