SUMO!

Saw a few sumo wrestler statues in the heart of the sumo district of Tokyo... and luckily we got to see one real guy walking the streets. Wow, we felt small next to him!

FC Tokyo

Our first full day in Japan was timed with a home game for FC Tokyo. We enjoyed our seats amongst the locals and our game time snack - can't say we've ever eaten soba noodles out at a major sporting event!!

Independence Day!

Our first day in Bali happened to be their Independence Day. Lots of festivities on the beach in Kuta, including an interesting pole climbing tradition, panjat pinang.








We spent a lot of the day at "Sammy and Suzy's Beach Bar" in Legian Beach, though bar may be a bit a of strong word - more like a collection of beach chairs and coolers in front of the ridiculously nice looking lifeguard tower. Amazingly enough the beers are cheaper from these guys than they are at the convenience stores. Too bad California would never let this kind of scene fly...







If you zoom in/look closely you can see Cat sitting in the middle of the group of "regulars" - the Aussie snowbirds who vacation in Bali every year and have been visiting Sammy for 20+ years. They all seem to have a standing appointment to gather at Sammy's for sunset whenever they are in town.





*** UPDATE ***

We visited Sammy for one last round of drinks the day before we left and saw he had a new umbrella and sign. Nice!

Put Up Your Dukes!

Front row seats at a Muay Thai fight in Bangkok! These guys are fierce! Muay Thai is referred to as the "Art of Eight Limbs" - I'd have to agree with that. These guys are moving every which way to strike and defend.

Surf's Up!

We were blessed by the sun gods - the monsoons let up just in time for our arrival to the coast-> in Mulki, just North of Mangalore.

After spending a long night on the bus back from Hampi, we arrived around 6AM to a sunny morning. We decided to seize the day and hit the waves right away, not knowing how long the sun would last.

The first day, Dustin and Luke surfed while I boogie boarded and kayaked. The next day, the sun was out again and I decided to give surfing a go on the big yellow board (pictured above), who is nicknamed "The Super Tanker."

And guess what - I stood up! Not for long, but I had a blast. The Arabian Sea is amazingly warm and EMPTY! Not a soul around! The few passerbys were typically fishermen or women gathering driftwood to build fires. Most don't know how to swim and looked at us as if we were crazy. One day we were on the beach and a few young guys came by to see what we were up to. It was like a scene out of "Earth Girls are Easy" as they picked up the boards, skeptically eyed the fins and tapped them to see hear their hollow sound.