Another shot from the Ebisu Garden Place Tower… I really love it when the sky does this.

Posted on February 6th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: aerial photography, clouds, skywatch, Tokyo. Comments: 2

I previously mentioned the nice view from Ebisu Garden Place Tower on the day after the typhoon when the skies were extremely clear. I was recently there again, this time with my camera, on a day when the weather was changing.

Beyond Ebisu, in the immediate foreground, you can see Shibuya. I like the way the sun, between a break in the clouds, drew a line under the Shinjuku skyscrapers in the distance.

Posted on February 3rd, 2010 under Japan. Tags: aerial photography, shinjuku. Comments: 2

After Phuket’s Big Buddha, our next stop on the way to the airport was a store called SuperCheap. It was a huge mistake to go here in the middle of the day as there is no air conditioning. The place felt like it was over 90 degrees and humid, not exactly a pleasurable shopping experience.

The inside was sort of like a Costco in the states…

…only it was much bigger…

…and the selection was different…

…and included a carcass of something which you could order a piece of if you like.

We didn’t actually buy a thing. Instead, we looked and looked. When we could stand the heat no longer we went to a nearby restaurant for smoothies and shakes to wait for our cab driver to come back.

Given the hustling and outright scams in Thailand, we couldn’t fully enjoy this day with our cab driver. Not only did he try to drive us to a bunch of places we didn’t want to go (so that he could get a commission if we purchased anything at these places), but he had all our luggage in the trunk of his car. Until we made it to the airport my heart couldn’t rest easy.

We did eventually make it to the airport, with luggage too, so we did finally relax. The sunset out the plane’s window was fantastic.

We pulled into Tokyo the next morning to a glorious sunrise. Even though we had some great times in Thailand, and Tokyo is far too cold at the end of December compared to Thailand, I was happy to be “home” in Tokyo. I like living somewhere with a decent infrastructure, where you aren’t asked every two seconds to buy something, and where you don’t have to worry about your safety and security as you walk the streets. The streets of Shinjuku, when we returned on December 29, were very peaceful compared to what we experienced the prior nine days. Actually, they were peaceful compared to most places in the world as most businesses were closed (for the New Year holiday which lasts about a week to 10 days beginning the 29th), many people had left town, and those Tokyoites that were still around stayed warm by staying inside.

Posted on January 24th, 2010 under Thailand. Tags: aerial photography, clouds, phuket, skywatch, Travel. Comments: 1

At gas stations in Japan the service personnel bow to the cars as they drive away. I thought that is what would happen by the ground crew at Narita Airport as we pulled away from the gate on our holiday getaway to Bangkok. Instead, they just waved.

This is the first time I have had a window seat on a large plane in a very long time. Not only that, it was on the right side of the plane so I had good views of Mt. Fuji …

… and Tokyo soon after take off. Our apartment is actually in the above picture, between the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro skyscrapers.

The skies can get crazy blue, at times, this far above the smog and clouds.

Sometimes you can get above some layers of clouds, but still have some other varieties to gaze at hovering at similar levels and above.

Finally, seven hours later, we landed in Bangkok. The new airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, is very nice on the inside and out.

Stay tuned for our Thailand adventures over the next few weeks.

Posted on December 29th, 2009 under Japan, Thailand. Tags: aerial photography, bangkok, mt. fuji, Tokyo. Comments: 2