Big Mango Bar
drink and blog

To Tokyo and then…

Posted by admin | Blog, Japan, Reader Submissions, Trip Report | Posted on August 30th, 2006

Well. I had to do it folks. I had to leave the land of smiles and make my annual pilgrimage to the states. I don’t enjoy it. It costs too damn much but I have to see my folks. My folks are still the 2 most amazing people in my life and I have too many brothers, sister n’laws and nephews(neice on the way) to count. So once a year I make the journey. I eat too much, don’t drink and hardly find time to chase to women. Yet the journey only helps me to appreciate my life in Thailand more and drives me to figure out a way to make sure that my quest in Thailand is not short-lived. It might even make interesting reading…

Life is just different in Asia. It many ways  – some hard to convey and some just so obvious that it hits u in the face. I set out for States from Bangkok, old airport/immigration was smooth, and stopped over for one night in Tokyo to see an old friend. I like Japan for a visit. I could never live there but I always enjoy a few days of either partying, people watching or shopping. Or all of the above. I enjoy Japan because it is so hyper-organized but yet beneath the exterior Japanese are a pretty edgy group.

Take Japanese guys living in Thailand. They are a funny crew. Especially the only child male type who reside in Thailand. Had one guy in my Thai school who continually used his example sentences in class to talk about his crazy Thai girlfriend who was always angry at him, extremely jealous and prone to fits of anger that typically ended in a fight with various household items thrown at him. At break I would ask him why he put up with it? He would say isn’t every Thai girl like that? Possibly. Plus he added that they were hot and put up with his lack of ambition and his dream of doing nothing in Thailand for as long as he could. Cool. He then added that this was better than dealing with the Japanese girls and his parents constantly pushing him for more. Nice. Another Japanese guy I knew, also dating a bar girl, was the most calm guy I had seen but when he had a fight with his girlfriend all hell broke loose. U could suddenly see his only child pent up rage coming out in full force against every calm Japanese cell in his body. He almost enjoyed the confrontation – something he could never do in Japan. He explained to my NY friend, who speaks Japanese, that they can come to Thailand, do nothing, screw around, go to Thai school, hang in bars every night and pretend the orderly world of Japan hardly even exists. This is the whole blade runner theory I have on Thailand. People thrive on its chaos, the edginess and all the hidden gems that can live in that type of enviroment. I must agree and hope Thailand never really cleans up too much since I don’t think SE Asia needs another Singapore.

Back to Tokyo. I had one night and one afternoon before having to reboard United Airlines to head to San Francisco. For the evening my friend and I cruised around on bikes, people watched, harassed the Nigerian door guys in Roppongi, ate at various places and discussed the world at large. No drinking. No partying. No sarging. Just existing. Great fun. Plenty of eye candy in Tokyo – but always just a little too pretty and organized for me. I missed Bkk already.

Morning found us heading out to the Omotesande area for some shopping. Japanese are masters of precision. I wanted precision. I wanted the world’s thinnest condoms and I was told to head to Condomania. Most people assume that the Kimono brand condom is the thinnest but it is not. About a month or so ago a company in Japan started making a sub .02 mm thickness condom made out of polyurethane rather than latex. Some of u may know that Thailand is now the largest exporter of condoms and they even make some of the brands sold in the US and Japan but for the thinnest condoms possible u have to look to Japan. Can’t quite trust Thai manufacturing with building the world’s thinnest condoms anymore than u can expect good value for your money in Patpong. I forgot the name of the condoms since they are buried in my luggage and I can’t seem to find them on google, I think they are too new, but I will update this later. U have to love Japan for this type of stuff. The condoms are each individually sealed in a very cool container with a peel off lid. The containers are quite small. The box of condoms came with a user manual written in Japenese with tons of diagrams touting their saftey, amazing feel and superior heat transfer qualities. I can’t wait. The box of condoms is quite unique as well since it comes with a lid that locks into position when u close the box. Cardboard box. This where the Japanese excel. Precision, quality and presentation. I left one condom with my buddy in Japan and I have not heard from him yet. He told me he was saving it for someone special. I never got a chance to use them in the US so I can’t tell u if they are any good. I plan on fixing that once I am back in Thailand. Anyway. I picked up four boxes. This was all I was looking for in Japan. That and some quality time with an old work buddy. Mission accomplished.

I headed to the airport, checked in and did some time in the Red Carpet Club catching up on email. Right away this is where u get some sense of how different the US is. The Red Carpet Club is run by United and is a lounge for people with a member card or first/business class passengers. In Tokyo they have free wifi, decent snacks, a very cool beer machine(u put a chilled glass on it and it pours the beer while titling the glass and putting a small bit of foam at the top), a fresh coffee machine and plenty of reading material. In America? Wifi by Tmobile for 10 USD a day, 1 bar coupon, lame snacks and a few newspapers. What gives? I can understand the bar and snack issue. Maybe the reading material but the wifi is highway robbery and points to the very heart of what is wrong in America. Wifi needs to just exist. Especially in places where u r paying to get in already. America needs to realize that high-speed access is key to broader based growth in the economy and the rise of a knowledge based society. America is currently experiencing some of the highest charges for the slowest speeds. What gives?

Anyway. The security lined beckoned along with the flight to SFO. They let me take my eye drops once I confirmed that I was willing to put the drops in my eyes. My iPod and computer were safe to carry again so I boarded the plane and settled in for a long ride. I was fortunate to be in business class since I still have boatloads of miles left over from my jetsetting days but my status as a frequent flier was slowly sliding into oblivion…