Touring Tokyo

Tuesday June 18, 2013

I can hardly believe that our Asia trip has come to an end.

Map of Tokyo Metro System

We left April 28, and we are now in the Tokyo airport headed home via Chicago.  N is hoping to catch a Boston-Chicago hockey playoff game it the airport.  Although every time, I've watched Chicago doesn't seem to be doing very well.

 It has been an amazing trip, but we are ready to head home now.  Our bags are heavy, and our clothes are filthy. It's time to be back in our place.

Our time in Japan was lovely.  Tokyo is not a city that necessarily has "must see" spots, which suited us very well.  I love just wandering around and getting the flavour of a city.

We were not as organized as we could have been, and so we missed out on some stuff we might have liked to see but just wandering around the city proved extremely enjoyable.  N and I were both quite ill on and off during our time here, which slowed us down a little (we are wondering if it is a side effect of our malaria medication). The train system though a bit intimidating is great to use.  It takes you anywhere you need to go.

 National Art Centre Entrance

We went to The Tokyo National Art Centre, which is very interesting architecturally.  I was not blown away by the exhibits.  I can't complain though since most were free, and we only paid about $4 to go into one.

Some of my favourite Japanese prints are coming to one of the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museums next month.  An unfortunate miss.  We didn't find that out until we got there though.  It is still an interesting building to see.  It looks a bit odd amid all metallic skyscrapers.  It is in a high-end business area, but we found a nice bistro and a little sort of park area just behind it for lunch.

The other museum, I wanted to see was also closed on Monday. It has the largest collection of Asian art in the world. It is surrounded by a beautiful Ueno Park though so we enjoyed the trip. In Sundays, it apparently is a major hangout with a big goth scene.  Again our poor planning failed us, and we didn't get that information until we were there on Monday.  And the Museum is closed on Mondays.

Another museum, which has the largest collection of Asian art in the world was closed on Monday.  It is surrounded by a beautiful Ueno Park though so we enjoyed the trip anyways. In Sundays, it apparently is a major hangout with a big goth scene.  Again our poor planning failed us, and we didn't get that information until we were there on a Monday.  And the Museum is closed on Mondays.

The First Market was a highlight for me.  Early in the morning they are supposed to have enormous tuna but we went late in the afternoon and caught it for an hour just before it closed at 3pm.

The Metropolitan Government Building has a great view if the city for free!  That seemed like a good find.

While we were totally disorganized and missed out on a number of things that we may have enjoyed but it did not at all takeaway from our experience.  I think N was happy enough to have missed spending long hours in the museums, although he was genuinely disappointed for my sake.  The great thing about trying to get to so many if these destinations is that we saw lots of different parts of the city.

I had  my heart set on seeing Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, June is supposed to be the worst time to see it because the weather is rainy/humid creating a cloudy haze that prevents a good view.  Instead of taking a 2hr bus (one way) to see it and being disappointed by not getting to see it we decided to just not try and enjoy trekking around in the city instead.  I just keep telling myself we'll have to come back.  I'd like to come again to see me cherry blossoms and the art museums. 

We went to an area called Shibuya. It has the busiest crosswalk in the city.  The Starbucks on the corner boasted the best view of the street.  It was quite cool just to sit up there, and people watch.

Again and again on this trip I have been surprised by how much I have enjoyed the major cities: Beijing, Bangkok, Kuching, Kuala Lumpur.  I knew I'd love Tokyo.  I don't know if I had a low expectation for these places, but I feel like I'd to return and spend more time or even live in many of them. 

We've rounded off an amazing trip, and I just feel like we will have to return because there is slouch left that we need to see and so many places that we missed!  The world is just so wonderfully vast and diverse.  The media always tricks me into thinking the world is small and everywhere is the same but it's just not at all that way.  Ever place we go give me such a different perspective and outlook on others, myself and the world.

It's such an amazing experience, something I really consider a gift!

Angkor Wat - Tree Takeover

Saturday May 18 2013

Angkor Wat

Called the ultimate expression of Khmer genius.  It is a symbolic representation if Mt Meru (Hindu Paradise-home of the gods).  It is the worlds largest religious building.  It has never been abandoned like the other sites and in nearly continuous use since it was built.  It was built around the same time as the European gothic period, Westminster Abbey and Chartres.  The main temple is dedicated to Vishnu.  

The size and scale of the site are extremely impressive.  

We went for the sunrise but the muggy air meant we didn't see one.  

Angkor Wat from the back

Angkor Wat view from the front

Ta Prohm

This section is "nicknamed the Tomb Raider temple...nature has run riot, leaving iconic tree roots strangling the surviving stones" (this post is almost entirely borrowed from South East Asia on a Shoe String Lonely Planet).

12th cent Mahayana Buddhist Temple "reminds us equally of the awesome fecundity and power of the jungle" and for me likewise of God. It spoke so clearly of the fickle nature of even great human accomplishments!  

Built by Jayavarman VII from 1186 apparently looks much like all of the temples would have when European explores first came upon them.  

It was used as the location in the movie Tomb Raider.  

This was my all time favourite site to explorer! It was just so cool!  I would go just to see it!

Bayon

"The surreal state temple of legendary King Jayvarman VII, where 216 faces bare down in pilgrims, asserting religious and regal authority." The faces apparently hold a string resemblance to the egocentric king.  

Floating Market - Bangkok

Wednesday May 15 2013

We got up early to check out the Floating Market near Bangkok.  It's about an hour drive through the country.  It's lovely and lush as you get outside the city.  

We had been warned that it was extremely touristy.  And that definitely was the case, unfortunately.  All around the floating market is a barrage of shops selling cheap souvenirs, hippy pants and t-shirts.  We had a lot more time than was needed to browse these shops.  You take a motor boat with the whole tour group to the main site and then from there you rent a cheaper smaller hand paddled boat to slowly go through the market.  This market is lined again with souveneer items.  In the boats are some people selling more authentic things like fruit, spices etc but mostly it's hats, t-shirts and placemats.  

Overall it was a fun experience that we enjoyed.  

That night we checked out the giant gold reclining Buddha.  It was very large and the site was pretty cool in general.  

Buddhist monks walking outside the walls of the temple of the Reclining Buddha

Floating Market outside Bangkok

Reclining Buddha

Buddhas feet

Reclining Stray Cat

We packed up that night to take bus to Cambodia early in the morning.  We prebooked this trip specifically asking, "we make no other stops?" And we assured no.  So for $8 each  we had our tickets for our 7am-5:50pm journey to Siem Reap

Having a Blast in Bangkok

Tuesday May 14, 2012 9:20 am

We landed in Bangkok, Thailand last night at 3am.  We had already booked our hotel, so we just headed straight there with little fuss (aside from the can driver refusing to use the meter that the Lonely Planet had warned about).  The hotel is more like backpackers, and I was initially distressed by the dusty sheets on the single beds and the lack of AC in the tiny cell. This morning when the light flooded in its okay, despite the dust.  It's a comfortable hot here totally bearable, unlike India.  The area we're in is extremely touristy.  As in more ugly Alibaba pants and backless tank tops than you can count touristy!  I am currently enjoying a strong cup of coffee and American Breakfast # 2.  Now we're off to explore!

7:42 pm

Well turns out there was no need for nervousness, Bangkok has been lovely so far.  We spent the day wandering around the city in the area near our hotel.  We ended up in a web of sort of underground feeling shops.  They weren't underground, but they were all sort of like inside/between buildings so that there was little sunlight, and they wound round and through.  I don't think they were meant for tourists as they were selling unfamiliar religious icons.  

We have found the Thai people extremely helpful and friendly.  There are of course people trying to scam you like in any touristy destination but thanks to a little before and research and a bit of experience under our belts we were able to avoid the tricks this time.  The trick is someone offers you a day tour for less than a dollar but then you end spending all your time in tourist knick-knack shops feeling badgered to buy and the driver makes a tidy commission.  It started to feel like everyone was in on it after a while, but we still managed to avoid this experience.  

We checked out a giant standing Buddha.  

We took the sky train that is the main metro that runs through the glitzier part of downtown.  It's cool cause it runs quite high over the city centre, so you get an ideal view of things.  Right in the core is super high end looking.  It's all glass and metallic enormous skyscrapers.   It's one most impressive looking cities I've ever seen if you only saw that city centre area.  

We hopped off at the largest mall in South East Asia.  It was so awesome.  All the stores I love at home and many new ones. Plus delicious food everywhere!  Starbucks and Dairy Queen were familiar. Then they also have these wicked Sushi buffets where the sushi rides a little convert belt all around the booths, and you just pluck off whatever you'd like!  And gelato and steak places!  I got totally lost in this enormous stationary store.  I was in there for like an hour!  I know there a few of you out there who can appreciate my love for this place.  I honestly could have bought the whole store!  (Mom I think I found your fav Korean pens...not sure, but they're really nice and from Korean anyway haha!) I bought myself this awesome little contraption that cut perfect circles for $3!  Hopefully, it doesn't get taken away I the airport...just thought of that.  

As the train progresses you move from glamorous skyscrapers to plane cookie-cutter condos.  Slightly shorter whitewashed concrete buildings one after another begin to line the route.  They are not offensive in the appearance but decidedly ugly.  They gradually get worse looking as the train shoots along.  Near the end of the line, the skyline seems to disappear.  You have to stand at the edge to observe the grubby slummy residence below.  They are similar to what we saw in Mumbai, not a full on the actual shanty town but very rough conditions.  An expanse of tiny crumbling and filthy apartments toppling over each other, climbing in a sickly stairway around ten stories high.  These sort of harsh conditions in such proximity always make cringe and wish I hadn't seen them.  They make me wish there was a way to ignore the knowledge that human beings live there.  Likely large families cram into one small hovel each night.  They make me wish I didn't know the conditions that some people endure and the fact that I can do nothing about their individual lives.  They make me resume that desperate, helpless pit in my stomach I feel.  But I did see it, and I did feel it, and the train whizzed by.  

From the train, we took a river boat.  

Now you have two options with the river boat:

A) Book through a tour company

Cost: $30/person

For a one hour trip 

B) Follow the locals

Cost: $0.50

To get off where you please-near your hotel

Guess what we chose?  Obviously B!  A dollar is not too shabby for a sunset river cruise with my hotty husband!

Turns out riverboat is one of the primary modes that people commute home after work.  You can take e express from one end of the river to the other, or you can take the one we did which makes regular stops at various little docks along the way, like a bus.  It was totally great.  

For dinner, we found a great little spot near our hotel for some fantastic Pad Thai!  I must say tofu is growing on me.  Aside from the large rat that ran past our table mid-meal it was a romantic evening.  Rats are terribly alarming though cute if I did not know they were disease infested, I will never get used to their presence.  

Seeing Singapore

Friday May 3 2013

We wanted to just get a taste of daily life in Singapore so K took us to:
- Park View Square which is an enormous old hotel that has now been turned into office space.  It was raining on and off all day, so we had umbrellas with us.  the rain is actually very pleasant in the heat but we didn't want the camera and stuff to get so wet.  When we came into any public building from outside they have these skinny little umbrella bags for everyone to use so that they don't drip water everywhere.  Outside they have all these bronze statues of random famous men throughout history. So in one section we saw Plato, Dante, Dali (as in the artist Salvador), and Lincoln or Newton, Churchill and a Chinese politician I didn't know.  It just looked super arbitrary who they had together.  It was pretty entertaining to say the least.
 It has a restaurant inside that serves wine and cheese in the evening.  We didn't get to see this in action (because we were there in the afternoon) but we saw the evidence...they have this huge tower of very expensive wine and they have a harness for a woman dressed as ferry zooms up the tower and gets your bottle and then flies down with it for you!

- We checked out the fancy, fancy Raffles.  You can pay $10 000 per night!
The gift shop was selling $1300 wallet! So needless to say we bought all our souvenirs there, not.

- Next we went to see St. Andrews Cathedral aka the sugar church.  The white plaster on the outside of the building is made from sugar, egg white, lime (not the fruit).  It creates a very beautiful white effect.  N reported after a lick though that the resulting plaster was not sweet tasting, as we had hoped.

- Fort Canning Park was a lovely gardens that we Moises through.  Unfortunately the Mosquitos and ants were rather unwelcoming hosts so we didn't stay as long as we might have liked.  Kind of random but I thought interesting, there
Also used to face ocean now cannon shoots into city

- Lunch at Boomerang an Australian restaurant N and I had kangaroo pizza.  It was delish!

- We went to the Fullerton Hotel that used to be a post office. mot was beautiful inside!  It had a very funny elephant-unicorn sculpture inside.

- There are Starbucks all over the city, which made me very happy.  So we got frappe chinos before heading to Merlion Park.  On the the way to the park we passed a number of bizarre sculptures including a bird with giant feet and a tribute to Isaac Newton by Salvador Dali that was kind of disturbing.
The Merlion is a national symbol of Singapore.  It is half lion, half mermaid.

- To finish off the day we headed to Orchard Road which is a large series of shopping malls.  They have every store imaginable.  There are tons of designer brands (Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci) but then they also have lots of familiar stores from home (H&M, Levi's, Mango).  Sadly we have no space in our luggage for me to get to shop.  Very cool to see.  In the middle of it all we saw a couple getting wedding photos, outside.

- Went to Cafe Rouge, for dinner.  It was delicious French food.  Although seeing a meal for $6 N ordered something more local that was very interesting looking and tasting.  I had to laugh at him.  My meal came with coffee and not wanting to stay I asked for it to go.  They gave me a styrofoam cup in this interesting bag-carrier.

 Over all an awesome day!

 Randomly bridal photos in the middle of a shopping centre

Super Trees in Singapore

Thursday May 2

We arrived in Singapore at noon.  Our friend K and her little boy met us at the airport.

We dropped our bags at their apartment.  It's a cute little (by Canadian standards) two bedroom place.  It's a very comfortable size.  They have a lot of visitors and were all set up for us.  We even got our own room. K has fun decorating style and has made the place feel very homey!

K is at home with her son.   D works long days.  So K and little S were our tour guides around Singapore, and excellent ones I might add!


The main thing I wanted to see was the super trees I'd read about that we're just finished.  So we went to them first thing was go to the Gardens by the Bay.

On the way there were several fountains that provided great entertainment for the little guy in our company.

The super trees did not disappoint!  I do not fully understand them but they are these enormous metal trees, I think there are five of them.  They are metal with plants growing out of them horizontally.  They have solar panels all over them, I think.  They are supposed to be fully sustaining as in they recycle back all e energy they use or something.  I don't really know, just google it if you're interested (haha). What I do know is they're super cool to see and Eco friendly and I loved.

They also have two domes right next to them that are sort of like the Mutart Conservatory, in Edmonton x10.

The one we went in was called The Cloud Forest.  Inside there was this mountain of plants with a waterfall coming off the front.  You take and elevator up and then walk down this spirally ramp.  It has beautiful plants all around it.  Cloud forest are a special kind of ecosystem that is at great risk with global warming and apparently takes 200 to 300 years to mature.  It had a very interesting assortment of crazy awesome plants. I loved it.


We had dinner in the Arab quarter.  We at a restaurant call Alaturka that served Turkish food for dinner. Yum!  You can get pretty much any food imagination or in Singapore.  And it's awesome!

Beijing - Forbidden City

Wednesday May 1 2013 1:30 am

Jet lag and excitement about seeing the Great Wall today are keeping me awake.  

Yesterday (April 30)

N wandered around the street our hotel is on and found a cool little bakery.  He got this cool breakfast sandwich type thing and a loafs of raisin pineapple bread for quite cheap.  They were very tasty.  

It proved quite difficult to book a trip out to the Great Wall due to the language barrier so we decided to hold off on that and opted to check out Tiananmen Square.  

We walked and took the subway there.  They have a very sophisticated subway system. 

We spent the day exploring Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. On our way we accidentally stumbled upon quite a cool little fruit  market and managed to buy some fruit there.  

The  Forbidden City was packed because of the Labour Day holiday, that wasn't really a big deal though.  It quite cool for the first 2/4 km in but about half way we realized that every phase was virtually the same.  I came out with over 150 pictures of what look like all the same building.  It was very pretty but maybe four hours of walking  was a bit ambitious for our first day out.  We were pretty blistered, burned and  beat by the time we got back.   It was a lot hotter than we'd thought (about 25-30*C) so I ended up with a nasty sunburn on my neck.   

The smog in the air is different than I expected.  You might not notice it if no one had said anything to you.  It's just that the air never feels fresh.  And when I got back to the hotel I had a few coughing fits.  It just sort of sticks in your throat and you can't get it out.  

We are really enjoying Beijing.  The people are kind and friendly, but almost no one speaks English.  We feel very safe on the streets, which makes travelling so much more enjoyable.  

Today we plan to leave early (as in normal waking hours 6am...not the middle of the night which it is now) and bus to the Great Wall.  We are hoping that by going early and going to a further away and less touristy parts of the wall we will miss the major mobs and maybe even get a seat on the bus.  It's about a two hour bus ride.  

The Great Wall

Thursday May 2 2013 12:00am

Sitting in Starbucks I am immediately transported home: the coffee, the smells, the music, it's all exactly the same.  And for  brief moment the familiar is so lovely.
We are in the airport, headed to Singapore.  Our schedules are all out of wack.  I've been hardly eating during the day, I have just not been hungry at all during the day but now I'm ravenous.  

We spent yesterday at the Great Wall and it did not disappoint.  Again reaffirming our theory that if something is a major attraction there is usually a reason why.  Surprisingly though, considering what a major site it is, this Wall is not easy to reach.

We had just assumed you could easily book tours through the hotel and get there on a single bus, easily booked.  Turns out not so much.  So a 20 min cab ride, 2 hour bus ride another 20 min in a cab later we finally arrived.  We left the hotel at 6:30 (and nearly left the battery for the camera in the room charging) and didn't get back until 2:30pm.

The wall seems to go on forever. Which makes sense because the Frommer's guide book says it spans an estimated 5000 km.  it was build during the Ming Dynasty to keep out the Mongols, which it unfortunately did not accomplish.  it stands 26 feet high, off the very high hills.  we actually had to take a gondola (aka cable car) up.  The wall is 30 feet wide.  It's very impressive.  Almost equally as stunning though is the mountainous landscape that surrounds it.  The craggy hills that the wall runs along look just like an ancient Chinese ink painting.  It's breath taking (partly because I was way too out of shape for such a long height and then also in the normal sense of the phrase, that the beauty makes your breath catch) .

We chose to hike a section of the wall a little less popular, probably because it is a lot steeper, but said to be more picturesque.  It was exhausting but totally worth the view.  Although at certain points I was unsure I felt that way after climbing mountains of uneven steps.

The whole time we were there we just kept saying to each other, "we're on the Great Wall!" It was a very surreal experience.  I don't think my descriptions really do it justice.

We are so glad that we made the trip through Beijing!  It was totally worth it! I did a cart wheel on the Great Wall of China, so I can cross that one off my bucket list. 

City Guide || Cape Town

The trip has just been a whirlwind of activities and excitement in these first weeks in Cape Town. Hardly two weeks and I’ve taken over 1,250 photos! It feels like we have done so much in a very short amount of time. I lose track of the days. Jet lag finally seems to have worn off, and I am enjoying every moment of our stay in this beautiful country.

Cape Town Water Front

May 19th

We hiked up Table Mountain. It gives a view of both the Indian and Atlantic oceans and almost the entire city.

May 20th

We had a small family reunion of N’s dad’s siblings. The place, we stayed at, was quite cool it was called !Khwa ttu. It is a bushman museum. It was an excellent location for a group gathering. We slept in tents with sticks over them and the communal area it was all built with sticks. We went on a mini-safari, to see some of the wildlife and learn a bit about the culture.

May 21st

We went down to the Waterfront, which is just breathtaking. The place, where the ocean and mountains meet, is strikingly beautiful.

May 22nd

We toured a Vineyard/Winery. Groot Constantia established in 1685 is the oldest one in Cape Town.

May 23rd

We went to Boulder’s Beach to see the penguins. I thought they were pulling my leg first, but there are hundreds of African Penguins.

We drove up signal hill that night. You can see all the lights of the city. It’s a bit of a lover’s lane apparently and rightly so, it’s a wonderful view.

May 24th

We went to Cape of Good Hope/Cape Point. Tourists are often told it is the most Southern point of Africa but it is more a South Western Point, but it still offers quite a spectacular view. It is thought to be the place where the two oceans meet.

May 25th

We took a ferry over to Robben Island and took a tour of the prison where Nelson Mandela detained as a political prisoner. Our guide through the prison was a former political prisoner there.

We also went on a tour of the Langa Township. My understanding of  townships, based on what I have been told, is that townships were historically where all the black, coloured, Indian and Millay (people of Malaysian descent) people were forced to live. Everyone was separated by racial group and placed into designated areas around the cities.

They still exist all over the country even though people are no longer forced to live here they stay because they have strong communities in these places. They are areas associated with great poverty.

Our guide, who grew up and still lives in a township, was very positive and hopeful about the work of the government and the improvements happening in these communities.

It was a very interesting experience for us to walk around with him (it is not really considered safe to do this without a guide). We went into people's homes. Most live in hostel style quarters; these have six rooms per building. The hostels were originally built to house sixteen working men to live in while they were employed away from home. Now several families live in one small room. The one we visited had eight people living in an extremely tiny room, with three beds. It becomes easy to imagine how impossible it would be to protect yourself and your family against crime, violence and violation in this living situation. Families pay R20 ~$3/person/month in the older hostels. The more newly renovated ones rent for R 80 ~$11/person/month. The rest of the residents mainly live in shanties.  The occupants of these more temporary looking houses  families who have moved into the city for work. Some people live in stand alone concrete housing, and we did see a few quite nice homes of people who have chosen to stay in their township after becoming more successful.

We drank homemade beer in a kind of “pub” shack and sang with the men. And we visited a “traditional healer” aka witch doctor. He wore what looked like a whole raccoon on his head and a red sash and waved a wand made of some tale with long hair around. I was pretty sure he was under the influence of something—his hut was very cramped and filled with mysterious and creepy things. Between the smells, the tight space, the weird hanging everywhere and the flies, I nearly lost my lunch.

May 26th

Today has been a wonderfully relaxing day for me. I got to sleep in and then go to the beach and read. N and his siblings went surfing early this morning. Now they are off with some of his sister’s friends caving. I have had the perfect day sitting in the sun with my book and now taking refuge indoors as the day cools.

Yesterday’s tours were a lot for me to digest. Thinking about Mandela and the other political prisoners and what they fought so hard to have; what they sacrificed for freedom, what they endured not knowing if it would ever change anything. Looking at the lives of the people in the townships and the extent of their poverty. And beyond their poverty are the social issues that occur because of the poverty.

I could say, yes, that’s just how it is but at the same time it is hard for me to reconcile with my standard of living standing in this poverty. As well it forces me to confront the complacent way that I thoughtlessly pass my days. When you see these people, you question how you are justifying yourself. The suffering is very real. There are no easy answers. It greatly troubles me. I could just stop everything and change everything in my life but what good comes of that. I could give all my money away to whoever asks but is that the best way. Seeing these dirty children running aimlessly between the shanty houses, I felt sick about how comfortable I have become in my life.

It is not all bad. There are many positive things in these communities as well. There is hope.

 Tonight N and his brother drove a few hours from Cape Town to Hermanus where they will go shark cage diving. I have opted of this activity. I hope will not regret this choice, N has promised to take extensive pictures so I can live vicariously. The girls I will join them on Friday, to entertain ourselves more safely, and on dry land.