Flew into Narita airport, Japan to a sea of neon lights. Headed to the information desk to ask about taxi's, the lady a bit bemused said "It's very expensive, it'll cost about 250,000 Yen" I pulled my phone out of my bag, did some quick calculations, £1980!!! I punched in the numbers again, there must be some mistake! I then headed to the subway which cost about £8 to Asukasabashi. The trains, as I understand it, are all privatised so run on different lines, you have to buy tickets according to the company that owns the lines as opposed to a ticket to your destination or a ride on the 'Metropolitan' line. It was very confusing and asked nearly everyone I encountered if I was in the right station, on the right platform and on the right train. My train was due in at 18:21, at 18:21 on the dot the train pulled into the station. My confusion was magnified when I was directed on a train and none of the stations we stopped at matched my map. I interrupted a chap playing on the Nintendo DS who was heading to Nagoya for a heart operation...great, here I was fretting over whether I was on the right train and this chap was about to have his chest ripped open!
Finally made it to where I was headed only to realise that the roads don't have names, only the main roads do. Stopped in a police box to speak to a very serious looking man wielding a rather large cane, "hai" he said pulling out a map, he smacked the cane on the desk "left and left, hai" he said. Two seconds later I was at the Khaosan Tokyo Ninja hostel. It was a sight to behold. The outside was in clad in geometric shapes, white-washed with little black ninjas painted on. I entered through the slide door and I was give the key to bed 18 on the forth floor. I followed the red lino up the stairs through a white stairwell with octopus ninja scrawled on the walls. Got to the forth floor; to the right was the locker room, to the left was the bathroom (with remote controlled toilet with a glorious heated seat) and the dorm was Mr Ikea's wet dream. There was about 16 capsules knocked up from a bit of MDF. The capsule was rather cosy, relatively spacious with a light, shelving, plugs and a little window, luckily my bed was next to a window, so got plenty of natural light. Capsules are the way forward, no being disturbed by people coming into the room, switching on lights, moving around, etc. Most importantly it was really private and found myself thinking I was at home, then waking up rather confused as to why I was in a coffin!
Got a one-day travel card and headed off into the city. Started at "central park" which seemed to be surrounded by universities. Visited a few shrines, which are different from the other temples in SE Asia, they are not as ostentatious and seems exude power and regalness, with its simple lines. The difference is like comparing Steve McQueen to Liberace.
Shinjuku is where all the action is, lots of neon lights and huge TV screens embedded in buildings. Again the confusion set in as Shinjuku station is size of a town but seemed to not lead anywhere. I was going around in circles for a good 3 hours before finding my way around Shinjuku, mainly because you find your way around using landmarks, and past the Japanese art-deco building of Isetan. The highlight of Shinjuku was a cluster of alleyways with tiny bars, half the size of my front room, there were rock bars, jazz bars and traditional Japanese pubs all lining this little oasis tucked away behind the busy Shinjuku roads.
The Japanese love jazz and take it very seriously. You never hear muzak, they opt for soothing tones of Miles Davis or Thelonius Monk in shopping centres, restaurants, trains and of course, the plethora of jazz bars. There are also about million art galleries dotted all over Tokyo, with the most surreal and creative art I've ever seen. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Ueno was a slight disappointment, there was a William Morris exhibition which I had no interest in, I was hungry for Japanese traditional and contemporary art. One hall displayed art work from Japanese school children...I was blown away that children are this talented and creative. Using every technique and material, some art was still life, lots of geometric shapes and a lot of psychedelic images. It made me realise that Japan's modern renaissance was all about absolute freedom and the mind was allowed to create, nothing was absurd or too out-there!
The party district of Roppongi was quite swish, but at the same time had a very seedy and aggressive atmosphere. Mainly, I think, because the majority of the clubs were gentlemen only. It isn't as in your face as the red-light district of Kabukicho, that was all 'pink cabaret' and hidden shops behind pink curtains decorated with anime ladies offering the depraved Japanese male all sorts of naughtiness. It's a bit weird, having something so immoral hidden behind a sugar-coated, pink, cartoon silliness. It's a little Victorian, like unspeakable, unacknowledged sins behind a veil of proper face for society. Anyway, watch the sunset from the Roppongi Hills, behind the Toyko Tower (which is like the Blackpool Tower). The sky was doing crazy things and was gutted about the absence of a camera.
I wanted to venture out of the city to Kyoto or Okinawa, but looking into transport this was going to be expensive. I figured that I wasn't going to come back to Japan anytime soon, this was once in a lifetime, so what the hell. I booked myself onto a Shinkansen (bullet) train to Kyoto, it cost 24000 Yen or £192 (ouch). The 7 hours road trip was reduced to a 2.5 hour train trip through central Japan past Mount Fuji. I wanted to catch the 8:05 train, the train left Tokyo station at 8:05. The scenery was breathtaking, apart from when I thought there was something wrong with my eyesight only to realise that it was posts dotted along the track going past so fast, they were just flickers. The train was so clean and very quiet, people are so polite and respectful (baring in mind that chivalry is non-existent). The journey was so smooth. I'm very impressed!
Kyoto is more traditional then Tokyo. Lots of traditional wooden buildings, surrounded by a magnificent mountain range. Kyoto is really quirky, it reminds me a bit of Camden Town. Lots of funky and second-hand clothes shops. I got myself I one-day bus pass. My bus to Gion (lots of temples, little traditional roads and geishas) was due at 10:43, the bus showed up at 10:43 and off we trundled. All the drivers have Britney Spears headsets, and one with a comedy voice was talking constantly, I don't know what he was saying but no-one was paying any attention. There are so many temples and shrines, it would take about 3 weeks to see them all. There is also a stretch of road called Tetsugaku-rio-Michi or the path of philosophy, which is just a nice walk really. I couldn't find the Sumiya Pleasure House to see all the geisha's, I'm sure I was just being dense with the whole 'let's not name our streets' policy.
I had planned to head to Tsukji fish market, it opens are 5am with a tuna auction, but I slept in. By all accounts, it's very good and the food is incredible as your sushi barely dead when they serve it you. Central Tokyo around the bay and station is more the Tokyo you see on television and hub-bub of technology, but it really isn't the place that makes Tokyo so amazing and completely different from any city in the world.
The whole of Japan is silly really, in many ways it's so modern, forward-thinking and serious. On the flip side, it's all about garish, silliness, cartoons (Manga is a cartoon) and childlike. The women are so liberated, but oppressed at the same time. You barely see couples or mixed-gender groups together in the street and a lot of women are alone. Using a mobile phone in public is a serious faux-pas, despite being the birthplace of the cell, I don't think I ever heard one go off or anyone talking on it, but everyone was clutching one.
Wednesday 25 February 2009
Malaysia
I didn't spend as much time in Malaysia as I would've liked as I was down to my last £300 (£200 of which I was saving for Japan). In times of financial crisis, sacrifices must be made; flights/packages to Thailand/Malaysia are cheap and easy, just how I like it ;)
Kuala Lumpur (KL) is an incredible, cosmopolitan and vibrant city. It reminds me a little of Rio, in terms of it being a tropical metropolis. Got to KL Sentral station and tried to hail a cab; one stopped and informed me that the road my hostel was on Bukit Bintang was closed off for a valentines parade, he gave me very precise instructions on how to get to the monorail, where to get on and where to get off. The monorail was great, incredibly cheap, very efficient and easy to use. Got to Bukit Bintang, which is the main shopping district and the first thing I saw was a massive Topshop, somewhere I could hear angels singing! The hostel, Red Palm, was tucked away behind the hustle and bustle, parallel to a massive food court - I'm telling you, no need for travelling as every country in the world has a restaurant here!
The hostel is one of the coolest places I've stayed. Much like the Afroba, it felt like I was staying at a funky friends house. The owner Sofia was really welcoming and gave loads of advice about monks asking for a donation who are part of a syndicate and very friendly men who scam people out of money. The hostel was also next to a row of curry houses, which constantly smelt incredible...drool...
Heading off around KL, on the main strip where I was staying, a big stage was erected where Malaysian pop stars performed love songs in honour of St Valentine. For those on there own, you can have a very cheap massage with a happy ending?!
As well as the skyscrapers that dominate KL's skyline, there is also colonial buildings left by the British and building built in a very Islamic style dotted around Merkada Square (where there is also a cricket field). The fantastic areas of Little India and Chinatown were amazing, bustling assault on the senses. I sat in a very Art Deco Colosseum Cafe in Little India, which looks like has not been touched since its opening in 1922. I was instantly transported to a time where ladies were draped in fur and pearls and men wore hats, not the khaki trousers and Primark t-shirt I was wearing!
I wanted to head of the Central Market, but the road was closed off the a bicycle race, that I watched. I lasted approx 2 seconds as fluoresent, Lycra clad men whizzed passed without incident, no crashes, no falling over, no rearing off the road...just happily whizzing around KL.
I then realised that I only booked the room in the hostel for one night and it had already been booked out to someone else, eek! Sofia (the owner) recommended one just up the road called Travellers Palm Lodge, which was equally funky and cool, run by a lady called Suzy. The place was covered in turn of the century telephones, gramophones and a burgundy bathroom! I want to live here!
My flight to Japan, stopped in the divers Mecca of Sabah (south-east from the Malaysian pennisula), it confirmed my opinions of Malaysia being packed with thick rainforest and perfect coastline - looking around you see little house with slopping red roofs, surrounded by a thick canape of palm trees. Malaysia really is a little bit of paradise coupled with all the creature comforts of a modern developed world. The people are as friendly and happy as they are in Thailand and has the prices to match! I need to come back here, to visit the jungle railway, Georgetown, Melaka and Pulau Tioman.
Kuala Lumpur (KL) is an incredible, cosmopolitan and vibrant city. It reminds me a little of Rio, in terms of it being a tropical metropolis. Got to KL Sentral station and tried to hail a cab; one stopped and informed me that the road my hostel was on Bukit Bintang was closed off for a valentines parade, he gave me very precise instructions on how to get to the monorail, where to get on and where to get off. The monorail was great, incredibly cheap, very efficient and easy to use. Got to Bukit Bintang, which is the main shopping district and the first thing I saw was a massive Topshop, somewhere I could hear angels singing! The hostel, Red Palm, was tucked away behind the hustle and bustle, parallel to a massive food court - I'm telling you, no need for travelling as every country in the world has a restaurant here!
The hostel is one of the coolest places I've stayed. Much like the Afroba, it felt like I was staying at a funky friends house. The owner Sofia was really welcoming and gave loads of advice about monks asking for a donation who are part of a syndicate and very friendly men who scam people out of money. The hostel was also next to a row of curry houses, which constantly smelt incredible...drool...
Heading off around KL, on the main strip where I was staying, a big stage was erected where Malaysian pop stars performed love songs in honour of St Valentine. For those on there own, you can have a very cheap massage with a happy ending?!
As well as the skyscrapers that dominate KL's skyline, there is also colonial buildings left by the British and building built in a very Islamic style dotted around Merkada Square (where there is also a cricket field). The fantastic areas of Little India and Chinatown were amazing, bustling assault on the senses. I sat in a very Art Deco Colosseum Cafe in Little India, which looks like has not been touched since its opening in 1922. I was instantly transported to a time where ladies were draped in fur and pearls and men wore hats, not the khaki trousers and Primark t-shirt I was wearing!
I wanted to head of the Central Market, but the road was closed off the a bicycle race, that I watched. I lasted approx 2 seconds as fluoresent, Lycra clad men whizzed passed without incident, no crashes, no falling over, no rearing off the road...just happily whizzing around KL.
I then realised that I only booked the room in the hostel for one night and it had already been booked out to someone else, eek! Sofia (the owner) recommended one just up the road called Travellers Palm Lodge, which was equally funky and cool, run by a lady called Suzy. The place was covered in turn of the century telephones, gramophones and a burgundy bathroom! I want to live here!
My flight to Japan, stopped in the divers Mecca of Sabah (south-east from the Malaysian pennisula), it confirmed my opinions of Malaysia being packed with thick rainforest and perfect coastline - looking around you see little house with slopping red roofs, surrounded by a thick canape of palm trees. Malaysia really is a little bit of paradise coupled with all the creature comforts of a modern developed world. The people are as friendly and happy as they are in Thailand and has the prices to match! I need to come back here, to visit the jungle railway, Georgetown, Melaka and Pulau Tioman.
Thursday 12 February 2009
Laos
I rather lazily and decadently got on a plane to get from Hanoi to Luang Phabang, I'm running worryingly low on cash and I'm dreading the credit card bills, so perhaps flying wasn't the most frugal option, but saved me 24-hours on a bus. Felt very out of place on the flight, as apart from 2 Aussies, I was the youngest person on the flight by about 15 years! Getting my ready for my Saga trips.
Luang Phabang it's so beautiful. The UNESCO world heritage site is situated in the mid-north, nestled in a valley. It looks very much like a village in the south of France and there are temples everywhere. I get very uneasy talking to monks, especially when they're about 7 years old, so I ignored them (minus 50 karma points). I stayed in the guesthouse called Vilay, which was just on the outskirts of the centre of town and near the Mekong river, on Kok Sak Road...tee hee! As Luang Phabang has a lot of temples, you get woken up by the sound of beating drums from the wats at 4am, I think this is a call for everyone to bring food to donate to the massive procession of monks, I declined as I'm not getting up at 6am for anybody, (minus 75 karma points).
Passed through Vieng Vang, as according to reports it's a bit of a water-sports place. It was rammed with backpackers with heavy-duty hangovers. It was incredibly beautiful with the river snaking its way around the mountains.
I then got on a bus to Pakse, which is to the south. From there you can see Wat Phou (pronounced What Poo...this is too much!), the largest Khmer site outside Cambodia and Si Phan Don or 4000 Islands on the Cambodian border. I headed to the largest island in the Mekong called Don Khong. It is a very sleepy island and good base to explore the rest of the islands (not all 4000 of them, just the best ones). It also has a large selection of wats and lots of little villages hugging the banks of the river and cafes catering for the massive amounts of French tourists. People in Laos are really friendly, they just walk passed and say Sabai Di (pronounced zebadee) with a smile...they're not trying to sell you anything or invade your personal space, just being friendly. Laos is more laid-back then it's SE Asian counterparts, has the most spectacular sunsets and scenery. The north is really mountainous and beautiful, the south is currently at the arse-end of the dry season, so is a little dry and scorched, but still boasts rolling landscapes.
I explored the islands of Don Det and Don Khon with its disused French railway and waterfalls. I've been rather colonial on this trip, just falling short of the handlebar moustache, blunderbuss and carry around a heft supply of bells/mirrors for the natives. So sat in the little cafe on the island, which was a little wooden shack overlooking the river and ordered tea, to my delight it was a pint of the stuff, none of this fruit tea rubbish, proper builders tea with milk and sugar...apart from it wasn't sugar, it was salt. I had to surreptitiously pour it away as I was too embarrassed to admit my mistake and worried that I might get charged for another (I'm running very low on Kip and there are no cash machines on the islands).
After this little drama, I trotted off towards the waterfall, I was taking photos of derelict colonial buildings, when I arrived at this mass of water bursting its way through jagged rocks, I realised my camera was missing. I then retraced my steps back the 3km walk to see if it had by chance just fallen out of my pocket, it hadn't, but just in case I walked the 6km there and back again just to double check in the heat and humidity (just think of the tan and weight loss). I asked at a few restaurants and a tickets agent, nothing. None of them seem to understand the word police either, so I couldn't report it missing. As I was heading to the city next day, I thought I would report it then. Totally gutted, I had a few fantastic shots that I ear-marked for framing.
Then headed off to the Mekong that separated Laos from Cambodia to see the Somphamit Falls on the other side of island and go Irrawaddy dolphin spotting. The falls were immense; the Mekong river is unimaginable in size, stretches over 5 countries, starting from the southern tip of Vietnam all the way to south China, it's on average about 3km wide, now to see this expanse of water crashing through a small gorge is incredible as the water swirled and crash underneath me.
I then embarked on a mammoth journey from south Laos, near Cambodia to head to the north-west capital of Vientiane, which borders northern Thailand. I booked what I thought was a tourist bus, embarked at 9am from my guesthouse when I quickly realised this was a local bus for local people and I was the only white in the village...I don't have anymore comedy catchphrases! We passed through some remote villages, all really cute and rustic rows of wooden houses, loving built with carved doors and balconies, surrounded by mountains and fields. We passed through Savannakhet, which seemed a bit soulless to me. I befriended a monk who was sat behind me, he asked where I was headed, he was headed that way too, I asked what time we arrived, he pointed at the sky and showed me 4 digits on his left hand, he meant 4am! Oh Christ, I haven't booked anywhere and I have to wonder around Vientiane at 4am looking for guesthouse, great! About 11.30pm we passed a bus station I recognised and figured we had another 3 hours, apart from the bus driver took the opportunity to go about his business on route and then disaster struck! The bus broke down, amid the hammering and clanging, I started to panic about what would happen if the driver couldn't fix it and how would I know as no bugger speaks English, I looked around and the locals looked quite relaxed, even the ones with small babies, so I decided to chill-out...I kept dosing off and waking up panicked like a granddad at Christmas. The bus started and we ended up heading back the way we came, so maybe it just went in for an MOT. Arrived at 5.30ish and by the time I got to my guesthouse on the main strip in the city it was 6am and city was starting to wake, phew!
The city of Vientiane is so beautiful, again looks like France and more like a town then a city. Traffic is very light and the whole city is populated with massive colonial villas with wooden shutters, wrought iron fences, courtyards and wrap-around verandas. I want one!!! It has this really incredible temple, that lacks all of the ostentatiousness that the others have but there was something very regal and wise about it. The royal palace looked a bit like a stately-home-cum-precocious-hotel in England, if I was the queen, I would move! Between the hours of dusk until dawn, there is a plague of Biblical proportions of mosquito's that swarm around everywhere, very unnerving especially in the bathroom! There is nothing more satisfying then the crack of the mosquito light as it claims another victim.
Speaking of colonialism, next stop Malaysia.
Luang Phabang it's so beautiful. The UNESCO world heritage site is situated in the mid-north, nestled in a valley. It looks very much like a village in the south of France and there are temples everywhere. I get very uneasy talking to monks, especially when they're about 7 years old, so I ignored them (minus 50 karma points). I stayed in the guesthouse called Vilay, which was just on the outskirts of the centre of town and near the Mekong river, on Kok Sak Road...tee hee! As Luang Phabang has a lot of temples, you get woken up by the sound of beating drums from the wats at 4am, I think this is a call for everyone to bring food to donate to the massive procession of monks, I declined as I'm not getting up at 6am for anybody, (minus 75 karma points).
Passed through Vieng Vang, as according to reports it's a bit of a water-sports place. It was rammed with backpackers with heavy-duty hangovers. It was incredibly beautiful with the river snaking its way around the mountains.
I then got on a bus to Pakse, which is to the south. From there you can see Wat Phou (pronounced What Poo...this is too much!), the largest Khmer site outside Cambodia and Si Phan Don or 4000 Islands on the Cambodian border. I headed to the largest island in the Mekong called Don Khong. It is a very sleepy island and good base to explore the rest of the islands (not all 4000 of them, just the best ones). It also has a large selection of wats and lots of little villages hugging the banks of the river and cafes catering for the massive amounts of French tourists. People in Laos are really friendly, they just walk passed and say Sabai Di (pronounced zebadee) with a smile...they're not trying to sell you anything or invade your personal space, just being friendly. Laos is more laid-back then it's SE Asian counterparts, has the most spectacular sunsets and scenery. The north is really mountainous and beautiful, the south is currently at the arse-end of the dry season, so is a little dry and scorched, but still boasts rolling landscapes.
I explored the islands of Don Det and Don Khon with its disused French railway and waterfalls. I've been rather colonial on this trip, just falling short of the handlebar moustache, blunderbuss and carry around a heft supply of bells/mirrors for the natives. So sat in the little cafe on the island, which was a little wooden shack overlooking the river and ordered tea, to my delight it was a pint of the stuff, none of this fruit tea rubbish, proper builders tea with milk and sugar...apart from it wasn't sugar, it was salt. I had to surreptitiously pour it away as I was too embarrassed to admit my mistake and worried that I might get charged for another (I'm running very low on Kip and there are no cash machines on the islands).
After this little drama, I trotted off towards the waterfall, I was taking photos of derelict colonial buildings, when I arrived at this mass of water bursting its way through jagged rocks, I realised my camera was missing. I then retraced my steps back the 3km walk to see if it had by chance just fallen out of my pocket, it hadn't, but just in case I walked the 6km there and back again just to double check in the heat and humidity (just think of the tan and weight loss). I asked at a few restaurants and a tickets agent, nothing. None of them seem to understand the word police either, so I couldn't report it missing. As I was heading to the city next day, I thought I would report it then. Totally gutted, I had a few fantastic shots that I ear-marked for framing.
Then headed off to the Mekong that separated Laos from Cambodia to see the Somphamit Falls on the other side of island and go Irrawaddy dolphin spotting. The falls were immense; the Mekong river is unimaginable in size, stretches over 5 countries, starting from the southern tip of Vietnam all the way to south China, it's on average about 3km wide, now to see this expanse of water crashing through a small gorge is incredible as the water swirled and crash underneath me.
I then embarked on a mammoth journey from south Laos, near Cambodia to head to the north-west capital of Vientiane, which borders northern Thailand. I booked what I thought was a tourist bus, embarked at 9am from my guesthouse when I quickly realised this was a local bus for local people and I was the only white in the village...I don't have anymore comedy catchphrases! We passed through some remote villages, all really cute and rustic rows of wooden houses, loving built with carved doors and balconies, surrounded by mountains and fields. We passed through Savannakhet, which seemed a bit soulless to me. I befriended a monk who was sat behind me, he asked where I was headed, he was headed that way too, I asked what time we arrived, he pointed at the sky and showed me 4 digits on his left hand, he meant 4am! Oh Christ, I haven't booked anywhere and I have to wonder around Vientiane at 4am looking for guesthouse, great! About 11.30pm we passed a bus station I recognised and figured we had another 3 hours, apart from the bus driver took the opportunity to go about his business on route and then disaster struck! The bus broke down, amid the hammering and clanging, I started to panic about what would happen if the driver couldn't fix it and how would I know as no bugger speaks English, I looked around and the locals looked quite relaxed, even the ones with small babies, so I decided to chill-out...I kept dosing off and waking up panicked like a granddad at Christmas. The bus started and we ended up heading back the way we came, so maybe it just went in for an MOT. Arrived at 5.30ish and by the time I got to my guesthouse on the main strip in the city it was 6am and city was starting to wake, phew!
The city of Vientiane is so beautiful, again looks like France and more like a town then a city. Traffic is very light and the whole city is populated with massive colonial villas with wooden shutters, wrought iron fences, courtyards and wrap-around verandas. I want one!!! It has this really incredible temple, that lacks all of the ostentatiousness that the others have but there was something very regal and wise about it. The royal palace looked a bit like a stately-home-cum-precocious-hotel in England, if I was the queen, I would move! Between the hours of dusk until dawn, there is a plague of Biblical proportions of mosquito's that swarm around everywhere, very unnerving especially in the bathroom! There is nothing more satisfying then the crack of the mosquito light as it claims another victim.
Speaking of colonialism, next stop Malaysia.
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