Memoirs of a Geisha or Kyoto!

Friday April 22, 2011

Memoirs of a Geisha…and Kyoto

I had a bit of a restless night of sleeping with bad body aches and joint pain. My friend’s daughter has been ill with a fever and cold so am wondering if I got a little bit of something from her. Now you can all laugh at me but I am actually really paranoid that I have dengue fever!!!! From Bangladesh….I exhibit no signs of a cold but my body is so sore and I am so very tired. I slept for ten hours the night before and woke up tired and needing to urge myself on to get out of bed and dressed ready for the day. I had planned to head on a local train with my friend’s wife to the small and quaint nearby city of Kyoto by local train. It had been nearly 5 years since her last visit there and she wanted to visit a particularly popular temple…of course, I welcomed her wanting to come with open arms. She asked her mother to come over to babysit while we went on our outing. It is so fun practicing Japanese with Yorioko. She is an absolute delight and I know will thrive in Australia when her and the family make the planned move down under next year. Together, we learn each other’s culture and language with the translating dictionary ready at hand. I am so excited for her. The train took around 1 hour to get to and as we got out of the station were greeted with light rain – my first in Japan.

Walking down the streets, I could tell the city was a well visited spot by tourists and locals alike. There are many many temples and shrines throughout the city and the one that Yorioko wanted to visit was one of the most popular that overlooks the city. One particular street we walked down was well known for geisha houses and I was fortunate enough to see quite a few “Meikos” around. The difference I learned is that “meiko” simply wears the traditional dress and make up and a “geisha” dresses and performs all the traditional skills.

I was surprised that there were sooooo many different aged school children around (wearing their cute uniforms). Yorioko said that they were most probably visiting from various parts of Japan all over the country. Now with the Shinkansen (bullet train) that is no surprise! The rain got heavier as the day wore on but we continued walking up towards the temple passing many local stores selling traditional pickled vegetables, green tea and geisha dolls. Each day I also get to try new Japanese foods made helpful with Yorioko there. Today I tried a steamed vegetable Manju flour bun. Very tasty and served with green tea. In fact, all places you eat at will always give you a clean hand towel to wipe down your face and hands, as well as a glass of water or green tea! I love it!

The temple was very crowded with heavy foot traffic mainly of school children. I continued enjoying taking photos of the students posing for photos since I find their uniforms adorable and their well known poses with a peace hand sign fun to capture on camera. The shrine had holy water that came out of a well which you could wash your hands with. I wanted to take Yorioko to lunch in Kyoto but we had to get back home in time so her mother could get to her work (Japanese restaurant) on time to prepare the food for the night’s business. I ended up getting some ramen noodles and sushi on the way home for us to eat, but bear in mind that their ramen selection is phenomenal and sushi quality probably better than ours in stores like a “7 Eleven”. We got home around 3 pm for a late lunch and I was so tired again that I showered and slept for 3 more hours – my body still aching. I woke around 8pm to watch some tv than slept again for the night. My plan the next day was to wake early (7am!) and head out to the main station to catch the bullet train to Hiroshima a day’s adventure.

The next station is Umeda..Umeda!

Thursday April 21, 2011

After my friend got home from work last night (he is an English teacher and does private lessons each day that get him home between 8 and 9 pm each night), we headed to Namba town for dinner. His daughter was not feeling well so his wife stayed home. I had seen Namba during the day with its 3 miles of shopping malls and knew the strip would light up at night to be a fun place.

I was not mistaken as the neon signs glowed from every shop and street corner with advertising, karaoke, clubs, restaurants and more. We were going to have a sushi dinner night and started at what looked like a super local joint with the traditional style of the sushi being made right behind the counter you are sitting in. I won’t lie…the sushi was really good. Now sushi in the US and Australia has been altered and the traditional type of sushi is simply raw fish and rice wrapped in seaweed. We ate cheek tuna and salmon, as well as egg. Adam said this place was really good quality sushi and he should have taken me to it last since the next sushi place we were going to try was a “sushi train” type restaurant. These types of sushi train restaurants are typically cheaper and after our first place, I could definitely tell the quality of sushi was different by looking at the cuts of fish. It was still fun though….

I’m lucky to have a lot of my questions answered by Adam since he’s lived here for 11 years now and I know I will continue asking questions to my other friends that I stay with during my trip in Japan. I asked about prostitution….and he said that there’s certain levels of it that progress. For example, there is a bar where there are girls that will sit and talk to you, then another place where it goes a little further and they are topless, and you get the idea with the continuation of levels. There is a house near the apartment that is on the corner and stunning too….when I asked about it, both Adam and Yorioko smiled and looked at each other knowingly answering that it was owned by the Japanese mafia??!!! Yes! They are existent and the police never touch them simply because it has been a tradition that they have been here for centuries! They run everything from normal business shops, restaurants to the trades that are illegal!

After dinner we headed to his friend’s bar that was on the 4^th floor of one of thousands of buildings in the Namba area. Its amazing because Adam says there are bars like this all over the city and I just wonder how you find places like that but I guess its when you have a friend of a friend of a friend that knows the place and shows you and the cycle continues to keep the joint running. The bar was really cool and we ended up staying there talking story with some of the people in there and the bartender/owner.

We got a cab back home at around 3am about 10 minutes away and I noticed that all the cab drivers are elderly men (seriously looking like in their 60s and 70s) who are dressed very well in suits and their cars are immaculately polished and clean. The late night meant I woke up late as well at 10am and my plan to head to another district called Umeda was quickly getting dismissed as I ate a late brunch, met Yorioko’s mother who came over and took a nap with baby Tiffany who was still a little bit sick so didn’t go to school. After the nap, I finally got the motivation to head out and it was definitely a warmer day than the last two…..sunny as well! Umeda is a very busy station known as a real travel hub. I am starting to get a feel for all their train lines and learning how to buy a ticket from the machine. To do so, you have to work out on the map how much your ticket will cost and then insert your money first. I try to ask station staff and they have so far been so helpful with good English. Umeda---like I said, a huge hub and that meant sooo many people (plus I think it was people going home from work and school). So many retail shopping stores again which to be honest, quickly got old for me. The sales assistants were sooo incredibly beautiful dolled up as every just like their female customers. I am continually impressed! This shopping complex had a ferris wheel on the top (9^th floor) so I headed up there to check out the view.

I walked and walked and walked around enjoying the green trees planted around the giant buildings to add some ambience at least to the area. I then headed over to “The Floating Garden”, and this is a building 36 floors high with an observation deck. There are two buildings and they are joined by a walkway at the 33^rd floor. I didn’t want to pay the observation deck fee plus it was getting late so I just took the elevator for a ride and the incredible view and then checked out the gift store up top before coming back down. There is a restaurant at the observatory, which I could imagine is a popular place for couples. It was not busy at all though during my time there. The view made me realize even more how big Osaka is…and I haven’t even been to Tokyo yet!!!!

I found a bathroom in the bottom floor of the building and again was baffled in delight with the whole contraption. Next time, I want to take a video. This was a public toilet and super clean! I decided to just press all the buttons for fun. There is a voice that talks to you in Japanese and I have no idea what she is saying. I think I got the hang of the whole thing and am understanding the controls now too. So, to start of you walk into the cubicle, you can clean the seat with this sanitizer that is dispensed. Adam also says there are some home toilets that will sensor your entrance into the area and lift the toilet seat up for you! Ok, so after sterilization, you can warm the seat up with a temperature control, you do your thing and you can put a waterfall sound on during this time, then you wave a sensor to flush the toilet. You can then get your bottom washed with a water that sprays up, then you can dry the area, and then spray a fragrance in the air….pretty impressive right!!!!! I think I’ll just end up going into toilets now without even needing to goJ

The train ride home was easy as well and pretty busy. Adam says that there are actually people hired to push and pack the people onto the train in the mornings during rush hour! The school children’s uniforms are soooo smart and adorable – I just want to make them into figurines and want to try and take some photos of them without looking like a creepo! Hahaha! We had home made pizza for dinner and I think I will try and head to bed at a decent hour tonight so I can waker up earlier and plan a trip out to Kyoto or Nara tomorrow!

First Day in Japan!

Wednesday April 20, 2011

Ｋonnichiwa Ｅｖｅｒｙｏｎｅ！　ａｎｄ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｄｏ　Ｉ　ｂｅｇｉｎ．．．．．

Ｉｎ　ａ　ｇｏｏｄ　ｗａｙ－－－－－－

Ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ　Ｉ　ｆｅｅｌ　ｌｉｋｅ　Ｉ　ａｍ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｅｔ　ｏｆ　ａ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｃａｒｔｏｏｎ　ｔｖ　ｓｅｒｉｅｓ．．．ｙｏｕ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｔｈｅ　ａｎｉｍａｔｅｄ　ｏｎｅｓ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｄｒｅｓｓｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｇｉｒｌｓ，　ｃｕｔｅ　ｔｏｙｓ　ａｎｄ　ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｓ．　　Ｌａｓｔ　ｎｉｇｈｔ，　ｗｅ　ｈｅａｄｅｄ　ｏｕｔ　ｔｏ　ｄｉｎｎｅｒ　ａｔ　ａ　ｌｏｃａｌ　ａｒｅａ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｋｉｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｈａｖｅ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｐｌａｔｅｓ　ｏｆ　Ｊａｐｎｅｓｅ　ｓｔｙｌｅ　ｄｉｓｈｅｓ．　　Ｔｈｉｓ　ｔｙｐｅ　ｏｆ　ｄｉｎｉｎｇ　ｉｓ　ｐｏｐｕａｌａｒ　ａｍｏｎｇ　ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ　ｓｉｎｃｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｓｈａｒｅ　ａ　ｌｏｔ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｐｅｃｉａｌｔｙ　ｉｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｋｅｗｅｒｓ　ｃｏｏｋｅｄ　ａｓ　ｔｅｍｐｕｒａ．　　Ｗｅ　ｓａｔ　ｏｎ　ｔａｔａｍｉ　ｍａｔｓ　ａｎｄ　ｅｖｅｒｙｔｈｉｎｇ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｗａｓ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｃｏｏｌ　ｉｎｄｅｅｄ　ａｎｄ　ｄｉｄｎ：ｔ　ｇｅｔ　ｈｏｍｅ　ｕｎｔｉｌ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｍｉｄｎｉｇｈｔ．　　

Ｉ　ｈａｄ　ａ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｎｉｃｅ　ｓｌｅｅｐ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｍｏｒｎｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｎ　ｇｏｔ　ｕｐ　ｔｏ　ｒｉｄｅ　ｏｎ　ａ　ｂｉｋｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　Ａｄａｍｓ　ｗｉｆｅ　ａｎｄ　ｄａｕｇｈｔｅｒ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　１００　Ｙｅｎ　ｓｈｏｐ．．．ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ　ｉｔｓ　Ｊａｐａｎｓ　ｖｅｒｓｉｏｎ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｏｌｌａｒ　ｓｔｏｒｅ．　　Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｓｏ　ｎｉｃｅ　ｔｏ　ｒｉｄｅ　ａｒｏｕｎｄ　ｓｉｎｃｅ　ｅｖｅｒｙｂｏｄｙ　ｄｏｅｓ　ｔｈａｔ．．．．Ｉ　ｌｏｖｅ　ｓｅｅｉｎｇ　ｔｈｅ　ｅｌｄｅｒｌｙ　ｄｏ　ｓｏ　ｔｏｏ．　　Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓｍｅｎ　ａｎｄ　ｗｏｍｅｎ　ａｌｌ　ｄｒｅｓｓｅｄ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｆａｎｃｙ　ｓｕｉｔｓ　ａｎｄ　ｄｒｅｓｓｅｓ　ｆｏｒ　ｗｏｒｋ　ａｌｌ　ｒｉｄｅ　ｂｉｋｅｓ，　ｇｒａｎｄｍｏｔｈｅｒｓ　ｐｉｃｋ　ｕｐ　ｇｒａｎｄ　ｋｉｄｓ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｂｉｋｅｓ．．ｗｈａｔ　ａ　ｈｅａｌｔｈｙ　ｌｉｆｅｓｔｙｌｅ！

Ｆｏｒ　Ｌｕｎｃｈ，　ｍｙ　ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ　ｗｉｆｅ　ｓｈｏｗｅｄ　ｍｅ　ｈｏｗ　ｔｏ　ｍａｋｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｆａｍｏｕｓ　Ｏｓａｋａｎ　ｄｉｓｈ　ｏｆ　takoyaki．　　Ｓｈｅ　ｓａｉｄ　ｅｖｅｒｙ　ｆａｍｉｌｙ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ａｒｅａ　ｈａｓ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｏｗｎ　ｋｉｔ　ａｔ　ｈｏｍｅ　ａｎｄ　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｔａｓｙ，　ｃｈｅａｐ　ａｎｄ　ｅａｓｙ　ｔｏ　ｍａｋｅ．．．．ｔｈｅｙ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｄｅｌｉｃｉｏｕｓ　ａｎｄ　ｉ　ｌｉｋｅｄ　ｉｔ　ｃｒｉｏｓｐ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｕｔｓｉｄｅ　ａｎｄ　ｇｏｏｅｙ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｉｎｓｉｄｅ．　　ｔｈｅ　ｒｅｃｉｐｅ　ｉｓ　ｓｉｍｐｌｅ，　ｅｇｇｓ，　ｆｌｏｕｒ,　ｏｃｔｏｐｕｓ　ｂｉｔｓ　ａｎｄ　ｃｕｔ　ｕｐ　ｒａｄｉｓｈ．．．ｃｈｅｅｓｅ　ａｎｄ　ｓａｕｓａｇｅ　ｃａｎ　ａｌｓｏ　ｂｅ　ｕｓｅｄ　ａｎｄ　Ｉｆｉｒｇｕｅｄ　ｙｏｕ　ｃｏｕｌｄ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｔｈｒｏｗａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ　ｉｔｈｅｒｅ．　　Ｔｈｅ　ｂａｌｌｓ　ａｒｅ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｉｚｅ　ｏｆ　ａ　ｄｏｎｕｔ　ｈｏｌｅ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｉｓｈ　ｙｏｕ　ｃｏｏｋ　ｉｔ　ｏｎ　ｉｓ　ｌｉｋｅ　ａ　ｄｕｔｃｈ　ｐａｎｃａｋｅ　ｏｎｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　１８　ｂａｌｌｓ　ｙｏｕ　ｃａｎ　ｍａｋｅ．　　

Ａｆｔｅｒ　ｌｕｎｃｈ，　Ｉｈｅａｄｅｄ　ｏｕｔ　ｔｏ　ｅｘｐｌｏｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｉｓｔｒｉｃｔ　ｏｆ　Ｎａｍｂａ　ｏｎ　ｍｙ　ｏｗｎ．　　Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ａｎ　ｅａｓｙ　２　ｓｔｏｐｓ　ｔｒａｉｎ　ｒｉｄｅ　ａｗａｙ．．．Ｋｉｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｔｈｅ　￥Ｂｒｏａｄｗａｙ　ａｖｅｎｕｅ　ｏｆ　ＮＹＣ　ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ．．．ｌｏｔｓ　ａｎｄ　ｌｏｔｓ　ｏｆ　ｎａｍｅ　ｂｒａｎｄ　ｓｔｏｒｅｓ．．ｂｕｔ　ｔｈｅｎ　ａ　ｓｔｒｅｅｔ　ｐａｒａｌｌｅｌ　ｔｏ　ｔｈａｔ　ｉｓ　ａｂｏｕｔ　３　ｍｉｌｅｓ　ｏｆ　ａ　ｃｏｖｅｒｅｄ　ｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ　ａｒｃａｄｅ．．．ｙｃａｎ　ｙｏｕ　ｉｍａｇｉｎｅ　ｔｈａｔ．．．ｓｏｏｏ　ｍａｎｙ　ｓｔｏｅｓ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｃｌｏｔｈｅｓ，　ｆｏｏｄ，　ａｃｃｅｓｓｏｒｉｅｓ，　ｓｈｏｅｓ．．ｙｏｕ　ｎａｍｅ　ｉｔ！　Ｔｈｅｙ　ｅｖｅｎ　ｈａｖｅ　ａｒｃａｒｄｅｓ　ｈｅｒｅ　ｔｈａｔ　ｙｏｕ　ｃａｎ　ｗｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｃｕｔｅ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｃａｒｔｏｏｏｎ　ｔｏｙｓ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｌａｗ　ｉｆ　ｙｏｕ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｗｈａｔ　Ｉｍｅａｎ．．．

Ｓｏ　ｈｅｒｅ　ａｒｅ　ｍｙ　ｏｂｓｅｒｖａｔｉｏｎｓ　ｏｆ　Ｊａｐａｎ　ｏｎ　ｄａｙ　　１

１．　Ｐｅｏｐｌｅ　ａｒｅ　ｓｏｏｏｏ　ｈｉｐ　ａｎｄ　ｔｒｅｎｄｙ．．．ｗｏｍｅｎ　ｅｓｐｅｃｉａｌｌｙ．．．ｍａｋｅ　ｕｐ　ａｎｄ　ａｌｌ　ｄｏｌｌｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｅ　ｌａｔｅｓｔ　ｆａｓｈｉｏｎ　ａｎｄ　ａｌｌ．．．ｉｎｃｒｅｄｉｂｌｅ　ａｎｄ　ｙｅｓ　Ｉｆｅｅｌ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｏｕｔ　ｏｆ　ｐｌａｃｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｍｙ　ｈｉｋｉｎｇ　ｂｏｏｔｓ　ａｎｄ　ｐａｎｔｓ　ｏｎ　ｂｕｔ　ａｎｙｗａｙ．．．ｉｔ　ｍａｋｅｓ　ｓｅｎｓｅ　ａｆｔｅｒ　ｓｅｅｉｎ　ｇｈｔｅ　ｅｎｄｌｅｓｓ　ｓｈｏｐｐｐｉｎｇ　ｍａｌｌｓ　ｔｏｄａｙ．　Ｉｔ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｉｓ　ｃｏｎｓｕｍｅｒｉｓｍ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｍａｘ　ｈｅｒｅ．．．ｂｕｔ　ｓｏｍｅｈｏｗ　ｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｅ　ＵＳＡ？？？Ｉｄｏｎ：ｔ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｈｏｗ　ｔｏ　ｅｘｐｌａｉｎ　ｉｔ．　　Ｅｖｅｎ　ｅｌｄｅｒｌｙ　ｍｅｎ　ａｎｄ　ｗｏｍｅｎ　ｓｅｅｍ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｄｒｅｓｓｅｄ　ｕｐ　ｔｏ　ｓｈｏｐ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｗｏｍｅｎ：ｓｓ　ｆａｓｈｉｏｎ　ｉｓ　ｓｏｏｏ　ｃｏｏｌ．　ｉｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｔａｋｉｎｇ　ｐｈｏｔｏｓ　ｏｆ　ｔｈａｔ　ｔｏｏ！

２．　ｃｌｅａｎ！　ｅｖｅｒｙｔｈｉｎｇ　ｉｓ　ｓｏｏｏｏ　ｃｌｅａｎ．　ｓｕｂｗａｙｓ，　ｓｔｏｅｓ，　ｐｕｂｌｉｃ　ｔｏｉｌｅｔｓ　．．ｖｅｒｙ　ｉｍｐｒｅｓｓｉｖｅ

３．　Ｐｒｅｓｅｎｔａｔｉｏｎ　ｏｆ　ｆｏｏｄ　ｉｓ　ａｍａｚｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　Ｉｔｈｉｎｋ　Ｉｈａｖｅ　ｔａｋｅｎ　ｓｏ　ｍａｎｙ　ｐｉｃｓ　ｏｆ　ｆｏｏｄ　ｔｏｄａｙ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｔｈａｎ　ｓｉｇｈｔｓ．　　ｔｈｅ　ｆｏｏｄ　ｉｓ　ｆａｋｅ　ｂｕｔ　ｌｏｏｋｓ　ｓｏ　ｒｅａｌ　ａｎｄ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｙｏｕ　ｂｕｙ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ　ｆｒｏｍ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｔｏｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｐａｃｋａｇｉｎｇ　ｉｓ　ａｂｓｏｕｌｔｅｌｙｌ　ｉｍｍａｃｕｌａｔｅ．Ｉｅｖｅｎ　ｗａｌｋｅｄ　ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ　ａ　ｍａｓｓｉｖｅ　ｆｌｏｏｒ　ｏｆ　ｅｎｔｉｔｌｅｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｗｅｅｔｓ　ｄｅｓｉｇｎ　ｍａｒｋｅｔ！

４．　　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｉｌｅｔｓ．．．ａａａ　ｙｅｓ　ｓｏ　Ｉｔｏｏｋ　ａｓｏｍｅ　ｐｈｏｔｏｓ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｉｌｅｔ　ｔｏｄａｙ．　　ｔｈｅ　ｐｕｂｌｉｃ　ｒｅｓｔｏｒｏｏｍ　ｗａｓ　ａｇａｉｎ　ｓｐｏｏｔｌｅｓｓｌｙ　ｃｌｅａｎ．　　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｗａｓ　ａ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｂａｂｙ　ｃｈａｉｒ　ｙｏｕ　ｃｏｕｌｄ　ｐｕｔ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｋｉｄ　ｉｎ　ｗｈｉｌｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｄｉｄ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ．　　ａｕｔｏｍａｔｉｃ　ｆｌｕｓｈ　ｏｆ　ｃｏｕｒｓｅ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｎ　ａ　ｌｉｔｔｌｅ　ｃｏｎｔｒｏｌ　ｐａｄ　ｏｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｉｄｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｏｉｌｅｔ　ｓｅａｔ　ｔｈａｔ　ｃｏｎｔｒｏｌｌｅｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｖｏｌｕｍｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｆｌｕｓｈ　ａｎｄ　ｅｖｅｒｙｔｈｉｎｇ．　　ｉｎ　ｆａｃｔ，　ｆｒｏｍ　ｗｈａｔ　Ｉｃｏｕｌｄ　ｗｏｒｋ　ｏｕｔ，　ｔｈｅ　ｖｏｌｕｍｅ　ａｌｓｏ　ｃｏｎｔｒｏｌｌｅｄ　ａ　ｎｉｃｅ　ｗａｔｅｒｉｎｇ　ｓｏｕｎｄ　ｗｈｉｌｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｄｉｄ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｔｈｉｎｇ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｌｏｏ．．．．ａｍａｚｉｎｇ！

５．Ｇｒｅｅｔｉｎｇｓ．．．ｅｖｅｒｙ　ｓｔｏｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｅｎｔｅｒ　ｉｓ　ｄｅｌｉｇｈｔｆｕｌｌｙ　　ｇｒｅｅｔｅｄ　ｂｙ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｔｏｒｅｋｅｐｅｒ　ｏｒ　ｃｈａｓｉｅｒ．　　Ｉｈａｖｅ　ｎｏ　ｉｄｅａ　ｗｈａｔ　ｔｈｅｙ　ａｒｅ　ｓａｙｉｎｇ　　ｂｕｔ　ｉｔｓ　Ｓｏ　ｎｉｃｅ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ｇｒｅｅｔｅｄ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａ　ｆｒｉｅｎｄｌｙ　ｆａｃｅ．　　Ｉ　ｇｕｅｓｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｕｓｔｏｍｒｅｒ　ｉｓ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔ　ｎｏ　ｍａｔｔｅｒ　ｗｈａｔ！

Ａｇａｉｎ，　Ｉ　ａｐｏｌｏｇｉｚｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｙｕｐｉｎｇ　ｅｒｒｏｒｓ　ａｓ　ｍｙ　ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ　ｃｏｍｐｕｔｅｒ　ｉｓ　ａ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｓｏｎｅ　ｓｏ　ｓｔｉｌｌ　ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｕｓｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｋｅｙｓ　ａｎｄ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｔｈｅｙ　ａｒｅ　ｎｏｔ．

Ａｎｏｔｈｅｒ　ｃｈｉｌｌｙ　ｄａｙ　ｏｕｔ　ｂｕｔ　ｎｏ　ｒａｉｎ　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ｇｏｏｄ．　Ｉｔｈｉｎｋ　Ｉ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｈｅａｄｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｔｏｍｏｒｒｏｗ　ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｄａｙ　ｔｒｉｐ．　　Ｍｏｒｅ　ｓｏｏｎ．．．！

OOOOsaka!

Tuesday April 19, 2011

So after what I guestimated as about 21 hours of transit through 4 different countries of (Bangladesh, Malaysia, China and Japan), I have finally made it to my last stop on this Australiasian adventure to the land of the rising sun....
I had a little hiccup on the trip with my 1.50am flight out of Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai being delayed 90 minutes which made my layover in China a tight one to get on the plane to Japan...but fortunately it turned out just fine! The Bangladesh time being 2 hours behind Malaysias defintely helped staying up and then i was lucky enough to get a whole row to spread out on the plane too.

I have now immediately noticed how looking Asian has made people automatically think I speak the language whether it be Chinese or Japanese! I got greeted at the airport by my old tennis friend from Australia who has lived here for 11 years now after marrying a Japanese woman and having a daughtter here. It has been over 11 years since we have seen each other and I am so grateful to have a local guide and place to stay right off the bat here in Japan.

The first thing I did was head to the toilets because as some of you may know, the Japanese are known for their incredible cleanlinesee, hygiene and technology in teh bathrooms. And, such was the case and what a hugggggeeee change this was to Bangladesh...it was nearly no touching of anything in the bathrooms! We very easily got the train to their apartment about 30 minutese away. His HAPA duaghter is so adorable with the Aussie fair skin and Asian features...hearing her speak Japanese is sooo cool!

I notice that Japanese people, especially women, are sooooo stylish and trendy and hip! Just gorgeous! The children are dressed so cute too since some of his wifes friends happen to be on the same train home with their little ones! The extremes in temperature are felt here too...its sooo cold out tonight so ive gone from about 90 to 10 degrees Farenheit or 40 to 5 in a day!

I took a nice shower and headed for a 2 hour well needed nap. I just got back from the local supermarket which was so much fun to explore...the sushi selections, fish, cakes, teas, coffees.....aaaa I love it! Prices...average western world...so a big big change from my past SE asian counhtries...we will head out to dinner tonight when Adam gets home from work. Exploring Oskaa city tomorrow is planned. Sayonara for now!

PS. sorry about the typing errors as I am on a Japanese keyboard!

Over the River and On the Roads...

To Milan's Village We Went.....

We rose VERY early this morning (perhaps the earliest I have all trip!) at 5:20am to be ready for our 6am departure to Rick's housekeeper/cook's village about 4 hours north of Dhaka. Our driver for the day pulled up in a small white van with an eagle's wings sticker spread on the back window and "ADVENTURE" written on the side - Yup, I knew it was going to be a great day of exploring in Bangladesh! We were so excited to see Milan and I got to wear my new sawar kameez out fit for the first time---it was my Sunday best! :)

The drive from Rick's place to the airport at such an early hour took 11 minutes!!!!!! The same distance on the way back at around 8pm tonight = 60 minutes!!!!(But I'll talk about that later). The ride to the village was very pleasant as we headed out of the city and into the countryside of Bangladesh. The rains from last night meant quite a bit of standing water along the sides of the streets which I noticed on our drive. That coupled with loads of garbage = filthy and smelly....much of the problem in this country. The green pastures and fields of agriculture were such a nice change to look at compared to the city stores of Dhaka itself. Of course, there were the smoke stacks polluting the air from brick factories along the way too, but for the most part we were seeing Bangladesh countryside in one of its best settings. There was ploughing, planting and some harvesting going on as people prepare for the head of the Summer and the monsoon rains that come around June/July.

So, let me take this opportunity to now talk about the roads and country driving in Bangladesh. Firstly, after today, I feel like I have no fear of vehicles coming directly at me while I am in the car. What that means is that countryside driving in Bangladesh means overtaking using your horn. We saw 2 overturned trucks on our drive today and I don't know if there were any fatalities but the giant trucks themselves were on their sides! The loads we see in these trucks stacked with everything you could think of (bamboo, logs, cows etc) often look so heavily packed and unstable that it could lean to one side or another at anytime. Drivers are almost playing "chicken" with others and there were definitely some very close calls and "whiplash" instigating stops today.

We arrived and met Milan and his 4 year old sweet daughter in the main town turn off before driving into his house and land area. His whole family are adorable including his wife and 14 year old son. His mother lives with him (father passed many years ago) and they do not have a record but thinks she is well into her 90's since one of Milan's older brothers is 75 years old. She doesn't say much but her face is so young and she can still sit down like the other women at her age. We had some morning tea and then went for a walk around his house where many of his other sisters and brothers have homes and farm land set up. There is a mixture of Christian, Muslim and Hindu religions present in his village and we got to walk to one of the Hindu temples too.

After that, we got in the car and drove a very short distance to visit another sister and then to the area where his children go to Christian school. The set up is fabulous and made us realize it was a great place for children to grow up. A giant new church was being built and there is boarding school for both girls and boys. We got to meet some of the sisters that run the girls boarding school and had tea with them too. We were in for a real surprise treat when one of the sisters had us visit a classroom with some of the girls present. They gave us flowers and sang a welcome song to us, as well as performed a traditional Bengali dance....we felt so special and knew Milan had organized much of this to happen!

I forgot to mention that our van was compressed natural gas as well...very cool indeed! It had a small tank so we had to fill it up more often than normal since regular vans have 2 tanks. The nearest CNG station was about 30 minutes away so we built up an appetite getting gas before getting back to Milan's home and having a delicious Bengali meal with rice, vegetables, salad, chicken and sweets. After a rest watching some cable tv, we decided it was time to head back to Dhaka. It must be hard for him to say goodbye to his family each week (and I imagine many families have to do this!) but his little daughter sadly said her farewell and we headed back to the city.

You know most of the time it feels quicker going back to a place than when you go somewhere....well yes, this definitely was NOT the case returning back to Dhaka at 3pm. We knew it would take longer than the 4 hours getting there but it took nearly 6 hours of bumper to bumper traffic along with spurts of crazy overtaking. Driving at night in Bangladesh was also an experience and let's just say, you don't want to take overnight buses here and buses during the day are safer. We figured out that we were in the van about 11 hours today...BUT, it was all worth it! One of the coolest things about today's trip too was that we were only about 25 miles away from the Indian border...so close!!!!!!

We had planned to take Rick and Judy out to dinner as a "Thank You" for our last night in Bangladesh and we ate late around 9:30pm at one of Rick's favorite places where you have a second floor view of the Gulshan 2 circle roundabout seeing everything going on. We had some naan and chicken kebabs cooked in a real claypot oven.....Oh how I am going to miss Indian/Bengali food!!!!! A rickshaw ride home topped off our night.

I can't believe I am headed back to the first and Western world tomorrow...I think a little sleeping in in the morning after today's long day and then last minute shopping before heading to the airport at 2pm. Japan-my last country stop! Bangladesh has shocked and surprised me in every way possible...but all in a good way!

River Crusin'

Saturday April 16, 2011

River Cruisin’

We woke today excited for our full day river cruise with one of the highly recommended by expats (and one of the only too!) tour guide companies in Dhaka. We met at the main Gulshan 2 (name of the district) roundabout and had a small group for the trip today with a total of 8 people – a group of 4 Germans and a Lebanon man. We headed to the river dock about 45 mins to 1 hour away. The ride was with pretty minimal traffic which was nice but we would experience something else on our return home…..

The small boat we took was a very nice one indeed and seemed especially big since there were very few of us. Although, I wonder if its ever had a “full” boat…probably with hosting groups/embassy people I’m thinking. Of course we had some great staring by groups and workers along the river as we hopped onto our boatJ

The river we were cruising was one of the outlets that flow from the famous Ganges River out of India. The Bay of Bengal and ocean itself is more than 100 km away so it is pretty amazing when I find out from Rick that the tides are still felt in the waterways close to Dhaka!

We saw so many amazingly interesting things today including many smiling waving faces of men on their working boats and children playing along the water shoreline. There are boats that look like they are about to sink and they are the ones heaped with sand (dredged from the bottom of the river), bricks and jute fibers. It was obvious that EVERYONE working on the river was working hard!

Some other really interesting things we saw were the building of giant ships on the banks. Just like everything else in this country, this was all done completely by hand from the putting of metal sheets onto the exterior and the building of the inner wooden frame – absolutely amazing. We also saw cows being washed and not to forget the Bengali river dolphin!!!! In fact, I guess we were lucky because we saw the blind river dolphins more than 5 times which is very rare. They don’t jump out of the water with tricks like the ones in Hawai’i but still so great to see. They call them blind because the river is so dirty that they don’t know where they are swimming but have such incredible senses to do so.

What else…..o yes we saw paper mill plants (sadly polluting the waterways quite badly) and brick making plants (also heavily polluting the air with its smoke stacks!). We had 2 stops during the river cruise where we physically got out of the boat. The first was to an old landlord’s mansion, which has now been converted into a university and the second was to a very special kind of saree fabric and design weaving place. The prints were all done by hand and took about 3-4 months to complete one saree so you could imagine the detail that goes into such beautiful pieces.

Like I said earlier, the traffic coming home was literally at a stand still at some points downtown where a new by pass (“fly over” is what they call them here) is currently being built. But once you got through that the traffic was bearable although worse than the morning. Maybe everybody was coming back to town getting ready for a new work week (remember Sunday is the Monday here in a Muslim dominated country) after the new year celebrations.

Alison and I went shopping a bit in Gulshan 2 before heading home and just in time to get out of the giant rain and thunder storm that blacked us out tonight. We bought a basket for our food package to take to Milan’s family tomorrow which will be a 4 hour drive one way into the countryside leaving at 6 am tomorrow morning. I am so excited!

Inspired...Humbled...and Diggin' Old Dhaka

After watching a documentary on Tibet last night and staying up past 11pm, I woke up this morning at nearly 8am which is the latest I have ever since arriving 8 days ago. After breakfast, Rick himself drove us out to the Buddhist monastery and orphanage that he tends to in Dhaka town. It's Friday and the holy day of the week so fortunately, traffic was 500 times better than on nearly every other day of the week. Still, Rick's driving was superb and I am continuously baffled at how drivers and bikers calculate mere centimeters and millimeters of scraping past each other while on the road. The orphanage was about 15 minutes drive away in this light traffic today.

On arrival, I immediately knew how much Rick's generous spirit and presence has played on the people and place. We were welcomed with warm smiles and lovely tea and Bengali snacks by the monastery leader. This is the biggest monastery in Dhaka that Rick found when he first arrived in the city four years ago and there is a large body of water in the center of the complex where people play and can bathe. There are steps going down and this has been seen quite a bit in the city. There are 600 boys boarding at the school and Rick first offered English tutoring at the school. Along with networking kind donations from friends, the monastery was able to fund a $10,000 water well to supply clean water to the school, monastery and community now! Rick's school also has regular service projects such as tutoring at the school now too.

The monastery recently built a 38 meter tall gold Buddha statue in the complex and Rick was presented a miniature sized gold statue to take home - another example of their love and appreciation of Rick! The prime minister came for its grand opening and blessing of the statue which was definitely a big deal! We toured the complex with the principal of the school and Rick hung a Tibetan prayer flag he had brought in one of the temple areas of worship. We saw some of the boys playing cricket on their field just outside their boarding complex. 600 students and 43 teachers, 10 computers and no dining room. They were meant to build a new dining room and library and government gave money to do so but stopped suddenly and that meant only the ground was broken. There is no stable financial support for the school and that's the most challenging situation the leaders face--having to rely on donations. If only........

After the visit, we headed back to the main area near home to meet Rick's friend Shobuj. He was kind enough to take some time out of his day (after the new year's celebration last night) to show us around Old Dhaka and some specific places Rick thought we would enjoy visiting. So we headed to Old Dhaka in my first CNG (natural gas) green caged vehicle. We got into Old Dhaka in good time (the same way to Sonargoan the other day took nearly 3 times longer in bumper to bumper traffic!). Then got on a rickshaw and headed to "The Pink Palace" - the former residence of Bengali royalty now turned into a museum. It opened at 3pm so we headed to the river side and walked on one of the boats that take people to various places in Bangladesh.

The water way was busy with small wooden boats and big boats (for travel), as well as industrial boats for carrying cargo. We had time to kill so we took a small boat across the river over to the other side to have lunch and so Shobuj could also pray at the mosque. The river is not clean and so is hard to see kids swimming in it! We will come back to this river tomorrow on our full day river cruise we have booked!

Heading to the Pink Palace, the building/museum is old but still well visited by many locals (especially since it was Friday!). We walked over to "Hindu street" after this and this is a very narrow street in Old Dhaka where traditional temples and Hindu ceremonies are still held on a daily and weekly basis.

On the way back home, we stopped at one of Shobuj's uncles fabric stores and then got in a local bus to stop and visit his home. Again, the people here are so happy to welcome you into their homes and his sister cooked us some noodles during our visit with a cold drink. Their house is very sweet indeed and has a little concrete space where all the neighborhood kids come to play at.

We are definitely exhausted from another big day of adventure in Dhaka tonight.....ready for another tomorrow!