TravelStream™ news feed for member monk-san on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/monk-san en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:43:03 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/europe/1254673613/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/europe/1254673613/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/europe/1254673613/tpod.html Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:43:03 -0400 Aim: Visit every European country by June 2019

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Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland

I have wanted to visit Helsinki ever since the night that I watched Lordi romp home as winners of the Eurovision song contest. Scandinavia embraces heavy metal and that's something that I can relate to! Not that I knew I would be visiting Helsinki. My OH booked the trip as a birthday present and just told me to keep the dates free and pack for cooler weather. It certainly was cooler on the first day and I now have a cosy Helsinki hat and scarf to remember my trip by. Once I'd bought these items, of course, it warmed up considerably.

We started off by exploring the harbour area, admiring the statue of Havis Amanda, dodging the seagulls and browsing the shops.

On the Saturday, we took a ferry across to Suomenlinna, one of the world's largest maritime fortresses. Just taking the ferry was fun, as we were treated to sweeping views of the harbour, with it's massive cruiseliners swamping the many smaller boats, and indeed, our ferry. We had great fun exploring the island, and learning the history of this fort. Apparently the French and British attacked it during the Crimean war. For reasons that are not clear to me, they gave the place a pasting but then cluttered off without taking it.

We enjoyed some splendid food in Helsinki - apparently it's not all herring. At a restaurant called Lasipalatsi we enjoyed a meal showcasing the best in Finnish cuisine - crayfish soup, boar, cloudberries. It was fantastic although with the euro exchange rate at almost 1 for 1, the bill was extremely painful. We had a good deal more inexpensive a night out the following evening at Mount Everest, a Nepalese restaurant in the spacious square around the Central Railway Station.


For me though, the most unforgettable part of the trip was seeing Nightwish at the Hartwall Areena on the last night of their epic tour. First the support act, Apocalyptica, put in a solid hour, then Nightwish gave us two hours of heavy metal heaven, culminating in "Wish I had an angel".
Awesome.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/europe/1249679593/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/europe/1249679593/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/europe/1249679593/tpod.html Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:58:31 -0400 Aim: Visit every European country by June 2019

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Dubrovnik, Croatia

The one-time city state of Ragusa knows that she no longer has the wealth status that she once did, but she has accepted her reduced status with dignity and style. The compact walled city is spotlessly clean, with many new and bright roofs after the bombardment of the early 90s. If the odd ruin can still be found down the quiet back alleys, if anything, they add to the charm. Dubrovniks growing propserity has not resulted in the old town being crowded out by builders. The old town, and indeed our hotel, nestle on the breathtaking Adriatic coastline, with its calm blue waters and rocky ledges. Inspired by the sheer outdoorsy healthiness of it all, we were inspired to get on bicycles for the first time since out trip to the Ile de Re last summer. That in turn was the first time for a good couple of decades and since Ile de Re is almost completely flat, the fact that I had forgotten how gears work didn’t become apparent until I tried to cycle over Scipan, once of the many beautiful islands scattered charmingly along the coast. Luckily, we were on an organised day trip with a splendid young fellow from Zagreb and he explained to me how the gears worked with an impressive amount of patience and words of one syllable. We had reached the island, not by taking one of your namby-pamby ferries, but by getting in a kayak and paddling across. Oh yes, this outdoor stuff just goes on. Standing on the mainland shore, the island seemed just a short distance away and it was only after a good 20 minutes of kayaking, with the shore disappearing behind me that I began to notice that Scipan wasn’t getting any closer. It took a good deal more paddling to get to our destination; the nearside harbour, which gave me ample time to reflect on how glad I was that I had decided to strip down to my swimwear and out my clothes in the waterproof bag. I was glad because the item that I had been lead to believe was going to provide "splashproofing" in fact seemed to operate more like a funnel, gathering the seawater and then dripping it into my lap. When we did finally transfer from kayaks to bikes, we were able to leave the kayaks pulled up in the harbour, along with any items not needed for the bike ride, confident that they would still be there on our return. This low level of crime is enviable and makes me think that Croatians must be very fine people indeed.

The Croatians also seem to have got on with the business of rebuilding relations with their Balkan neighbours with commendable willingness to forgive and forget. Forget that it, but not ignore. The men who gave their lives defending Dubrovnik are commemorated in a small room at Sponza Palace and there are other mentions elsewhere, such as in the maritime museum. However, the commentary is surprisingly objective for so recent a conflict and people we spoke to talked about other parts of Balkans in a positive way. We took a couple of coach trips – one up to catch the ferry to Korcula (via a vineyard, as it happens) and another over the border to Mostar (in Bosnia-Hercegovena)

Both times the guides on the two coach trips both mentioned their Homeland War – hard not to as, especially in Mostar where bullet holes are still spattered across some buildings and indeed, the main point of our visit was to see the famously bombed and restored bridge. But again they spoke honestly of fault on all sides. If other nations could be so willing to put the past behind them, how many more might be at peace?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/971177880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/971177880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/971177880/tpod.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:13:50 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Koriyama, Japan

(Horse - I'm struggling with the map location - the site defaults to a location up near Tokyo - I've just made a random guess in the Yamato-Koriyama area.)

When we got back to Koriyama each evening, we had a long wait until my brother & Miho finished work. Sometimes we had to find our own dinner, and this was usually in the Obento shop just up the road. They also had helpful pictures on the counter, gretly assisting us as we made our choices. The staff in the obento shop didn't speak English, but really once we'd mastered a few basics like yes and no, please and thank you, one and two, everything was pretty much covered by pointing at pictures. Feeling hungry one evening, the DH, Bob, strode purposefully into the shop. We had only a short wait before it was our turn at the counter and man there greeted Bob with "Hai?"
"Hi!", replied Bob and then started pointing at the pictures. Meanwhile I ws laughing my head off at how the conversation must have sounded to the shop guy. "Yes?" "Yes!"

I still have a copy of Miho's final instructions to get us back to Osaka airport. They are written on Kitty-chan notepaper which I kept because I saw "Hello Kitty" everywhere in Japan, but back then (2000) had never seen her in the UK.

Hello Kitty. Bye bye Honshu.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970918560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970918560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970918560/tpod.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:11:07 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

It was cool and growing dark as we waited at the coach station for the night bus to Tokyo. Thankfully, the task of booking the correct bus and finding the right stop had been taken on by my brother and (now) sister in law, Ian & Miho and I could focus on mentally checking that I had packed everything I needed for a weekend in the capital.
The seats on the bus were well spaced and seemed comfortable. Everyone on board tipped their set into maximum recline and as we pulled out of the bus station, the lights dimmed and people tried to sleep. Luckily for me, sleeping is my special skill, and I snoozed my way north until, approaching 6.00 the next morning, we arrived outside Tokyo Disney.
We made use of the disabled loos to clean ourselves up and then stowed our bags in a locker: Tokyo Disney, here we come. Miho was particularly excited, not least because she would get to the visit the house of her favourite character, Pooh-san. Our passports to Disneyland were clipped to our fronts with jolly Pooh-san badges; the Disney version of Pooh, of course, not the original. Miho also loved the round the world tour, a boat ride that drifted along cheesy displays of one nation after another, while over the soeakers came the sound of children singing in English, 'It's a small world after all".

It like a very big, exotic world, when we went out that evening into the city centre, to a traditional Japanese restaurant. We left our shoes behind the rice paper doors and and knelt before a low table. Ian & Miho guided us through the courses - dip your tuna is this sauce, don't rest your chopsticks on the bowl, try the tofu. The saki flowed and we did our best to learn a few words of Japanese. "What's 'delicious'?" I asked. "ouwishi" said my brother. (That's my best effort at spelling it, I have no idea). After a few drinks, we were confidently describing the latest course as "ouchi" (That's 'house', explained Ian). Miho, I noticed was able to kneel still for the entire meal, while I got pins and needles after 15 minutes and didn't sit still for the rest of the meal.

Outside the streets were busy and lined, I noticed, with countless vending machines and phot-booths. "Photos!" cried Miho and we piled into a machine together, choosing background and jumbled layout for a series of daft photos. English photo booths, with four plain passport poses, must seem like a criminal waste to any visiting Japanese. Then I spotted a karakoke bar and in we went. Fortunately for the wider Tokyo population, we wre in a private booth, with our own telly providing backing music. Ian and Miho treated us to some classic Japanese tracks and, emboldened by a few more rounds of sake, Ian tackled "Staying Alive". In fairness,he still sang that better than anything I managed - unfortunately, I couldn't hold a tune in a bucket and the DH isn't that much better. Ian & Miho sang a romatic ballad, DH and I opted for "Tie me kangaroo down, sport". Never the less, we were still humming when we eventually rolled out into the streets. "Who's in the ouchi?" chanted DH.

Day 2 in Tokyo found us having fun and excitement 333 metres above Tokyo in the Tokyo tower, before exploring parks and markets. Entering one market we passed under a huge red lantern, which apparently sends dwn cleaning power to remove your negative vibes before you shop. Nice! Before we could leave the market and enter the temple, we had to purify ourselves in some smoke. We wafted the smoke over ourselves and tried not to cough like tourists. At the back of the temple, we had the chance to have our fortune told - we put 100 yen in the slot and then shook a tin. A chopstick fell out with a number on the end. Miho read the number for us and then opened one from a whole bank of drawers behind us, the one sporting the matching number. We crowded round as Miho translated the fortune for us. She decided to paraphrase. "It is very .... bad", she told us. The appropriate way to deal with a fortune that you don't fancy is to tie it to a trellis, which is taken away and burned at the end of the week. However, I decided to keep mine and stick it in my album, which I suppose makes any bad luck that I may have experienced since 2000 entirely my own fault.

We shopped in Uniqlo and I took the opportunity to buy a high necked top. Although the one I had one would not attract a second glance in the UK, in Japan, low cut just wasn't done. The sidelong glances were disconcerting, especially from me who were happily ingoring the fact that large numbers of teenage schoolgirls had skirts that genuinely relvealed bum cheek if they did anything other than stand stock still.

We left Tokyo in considerably more style than we arrived, taking the Shin-kan-sen or Bullet Train back down to Kyoto, admiring Mount Fuji as we passed. In Kyoto, we met Miho's Parents and they trated to us to a 14 course meal (that's right, 14). This time we sat at a table on chairs and my fidgeting ws not an issue. Ian and Miho snatched bites to eat in between translating for the rest of us, our language skills all falling bit short. The DH & I managed "Ouwishi", "Ouchi" and "Hah jimi mashti" (pleased to meet you, again, no idea how to spell this) and Miho's father's main contribution was to say "England OK, Japan OK" while giving us a big thumbs up. We had an absolutely splendid evening and liked Miho's parents a good deal. Her Dad can put a few beers away too, which is always conducive to good conversation, especially when you are speaking different languages.
Miho's mum smiled at me and said something to Miho. Miho explained, "She says you're much smaller than she expected". The DH laughed appreciatively, my petite stature being the subject of regular amusing gags from him. Perhaps it is a small world after all.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970659300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970659300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970659300/tpod.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:11:07 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Kyoto, Kinki, Japan

We never made it to Kinkan-Kuji. Or at least, we made it to the gates, only to find the temple closed and in many ways I blame Rikkyo School.
Making our way to Kyoto from Koriyama had been relatively straightforward on the railways that really to run to the second. Waiting on the platform for out train, we watched white-gloved staff hop down onto the track between passing trains to clear up littler and remove any weeds. Kyoto station is considerably bigger than Koriyama; one of those places when your first task on arrival is to work out how on earth you get out. Outside the station, we briefly consullted the map and then started off up the hill towards Kiyumizo-dera. The shops in the road leading to Kiyumizo-dera drip with signs and flags, which are jumbled underneath the powerlines. The street was neatly bricked and swept clean, making it pleasant to walk along and browse the mountains of incredible tat inside the shops. There are loads of cats with waving arms and I want to get one just because they are so tacky, but the DH puts his foot down. Inside the temply, you could forget that you are in the middle of a city, as you stroll around neatly clipped hedges, carefully balanced fountains and raked-to-perfection gravel.
Outside, we found a shopping mall and went to a burger bar. Normally, I'm all in favour of eating local food, but after the rather random results of picking something Japanese in the last two days we were keen to eat something familiar and clearly identifiable. On our first day out, we thought that we had really lucked out when we found a small restaurant with mocked up copies of the meals on it's menu displayed near the entrance. As the menu was printed only in Japanese, which we can't read, this was enormously helpful. Poiting and smiling works in any language and so we were able to select from the display. I chose some sandwiches, the display version of which looked a little like polystyrene as the bread was a glow-in-the-dark white. I had assumed that for some reason it hadn't been possible to secure more realistic looking pretned bread, but when my sarbies arrived also dazzlingly white I realised that they had done it on purpose. The DH had picked something more substantial and of course, we have no idea what it was. With my brother's assistance, we had had more luck with our evening meals, but sometimes,you just have to have a burger. At least these did appear to have been made with real meat.
After browsing the streets and shops a bit more, we started out towards to Kinkan-Kuji and this is where we were approached by the rickshaw man. He spoke good English, and offered us a mini tour with such charm, we could hardly say no. His name was Souta. Despite the warmth of the day, he tucked a bright red blanket across our laps and then set off running through the street, commenting here and there. Souta wanted to know whereabouts in England we came from, and was surprisingly excited when we said that we lived near Gatwick. After a few more questions, it turned out that we lived not far from the English School that he had attended while his father worked in the UK. Rikkyo School is well known in Sussex, it's pupils scrupulously well behaved on rare public appearances, "It was like a little Tokyo", Souta told us. We had to speak and behave as though we were still in Japan. When out tour was over, he took back the rug and then bowed politely as we waved goodbye.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970572720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970572720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970572720/tpod.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:38:25 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Osaka, Kinki, Japan

Miho wrote out some directions for us so that we could take a train to Osaka while she and Ian were at work, as well as making sure that we knew the difference between Koriyama's JR line station and Kinetsu line station.... Based on her helpful directions we arrived at Osaka castle and went in to explore the museum inside.
The castle was built towards the end of the 16th Century by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a War Lord who at that time had control of the whole of Japan. Examples of the splendid costumes of the War Lords and their contempories were on display inside the castle, along with the swords and other items, designed to put the "war" in "War Lord".
As we walked round I noticed a stocky looking Japanese teenage boy peering into one of the displays. He caught my attention because he was dressed in shiny sports wear, the kind favoured by the British underclass, and something about his demeanour seemed different; wrong almost. Then he spoke, with a strong US accent and I realised that he wasn't Japanese at all, except presumably by descent. Having corrected his nationality, his outfit and demeanour didn't seem wrong anymore, which made me wonder how much we give away our nationality just by the way that we dress and move. It reminded me of a waiter I once saw, standing at the entrance to a restaurant on Bruges' main square. He called to passers-by in a variety of languages, encouraging them in for a meal. As we passed he spoke in English. My curiosity got the better of me. "How do you know which language to use when you speak to people?" I asked. He assured me that you could tell with ease and having been drawn to the one Asian-American in a Japanese crowd, perhaps I do know what he means. There were other stocky Japanese people and others who dressed in sports tops, but this one guy somehow stood out and, even more bizarrely, when I think of Osaka Castle, I always remember him, standing thoughtfully by the outfit of some by-gone Japanese War Lord.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970486260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970486260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/970486260/tpod.html Sun, 31 May 2009 11:44:57 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Nara, Kinki, Japan

My youngest brother has been living in Japan for a few months and had recently moved into an appartment with his fellow-schoolteacher and girlfriend. Being the odd-thousand miles apart did not weaken my big-sister radar and I had identified this young lady as a girlfriend who I should meet. With an invitation to their place secured, we hopped on a JAL flight to Osaka (via Schiphol) and arrived early afternoon feeling like it was the middle of the night. My brother knows that jet lag is there to be fought and so having come to collect us from Osaka, he was keen to take us out again.
His appartment, at which we had only the briefest of visits, seemed very empty - he gestured briefly at the bathroom and kitchen before taking us to their sitting room, where we would be sleeping. There didn't seem to be anything in it, or anywhere to put our stuff. But we had no time to worry about this, as the horse quickly whsked us off to Nara Park. In Nara Park, the Deer have right of way. Whether you are a pedestrian or a driver, if you see a deer, the prudent thing to do is just get out of the way. Not that there is anything unpleasant that the deer might o, it's just that its their park and I think they know it. Todai-ji Temple is in the middle of the park, it's layered roofs rising above the treetops, topped by what looks like - but almost certainly isn't - an elaborate aerial. The path to the Temple has been swept clean of Deer poo, by someone who, one hopes, doesn't have too specific a job title. Outside the temple a deity (or possibly spirit) or some kind has been carved in wood and then inexplicable dressed in a red shower cap and cape. My brother and I are struck by the statue's resemblance to our Nana. Inside, an enormous carved Buddha sits, one had raised in a cheery greeting, before a selection of offerings in the form of flowers and candles. Buddha is so big that there isn't room for a lot else, so it's a rather brief visit before we head back out in the park.
As we leave the park a group of Japanese chldren suddenly notice the Europeans in their midst. "Hello!" they shout in some excitement, several times over. "Hello", I replied, making them giggle and run away. We crossed the road with ease as a large deer had chosen that moment to amble across too, forcing the traffic to stop. Nice one.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/960203820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/960203820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/960203820/tpod.html Sun, 31 May 2009 11:09:29 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Playacar, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Playa Car is a nice quiet resort and a good base for things to do. Scuba diving, horse riding (including swimming with horses) and an excellent marine park where you could swim with dolphins.
We alternated between days at the adults-only pool (result) at the hotel and the diving /riding / swimming etc.
We decided to make our own way to the dolphin place and on that day, much like right now, I couldn't remember the name of the park where the dolphines were. However, I knew it wasn't far from the hotel and it was the biggest tourist marine park-type thing in the vicinity, so how hard could it be?
We got in the taxi and asked for the Marine Park at Xcaret. The driver's English was obviously roughly on a par with our Mexican Spanish and he looked a bit puzzled. With the internet at my fingertips I can tell you that we were trying to get to Puerto Aventuras, but without it, I could only offer up "Dolphins", focussing in on the most important word. He nodded and drove off. A few minutes later we pulled into a town where he stopped outside a cafe. It looked shady and inviting, but (we felt) lacking the hoped for intelligent sea mammals. A man stepped out of the shadows and approached the car. He had aviator shade on his forehead and wore a checked western shirt. He engaged in a brief conversation with our driver, occasionally throwing a suspicious glance at the OH and me, waiting uncertainly on the back seat. The conversation with our driver ended and he nodded decisively before turing to address us. "Where you want to go?". All became clear. The diversion to town was to locate a mate who could speak English and find out where the daft English were trying to go. Still unable to recall "puerto Aventuras", I tried again with the key attraction. "We want to go swimming with the Dolphins", I said. "Dolphins". Aviator-translator turned to the driver in triumph. "Delfines" he said.

Based on this expert translation, we were taken to Puerto Aventuras poste haste. We have an epic video of the two of performing tricks with the Delfines and a photo, which I greatly cherish, of a dolphin with his beak pressed against my cheek, smiling happily as he gives me a kiss. "Thanks for coming", he said. "It was no trouble", I replied.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/954673740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/954673740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/954673740/tpod.html Thu, 21 May 2009 11:04:50 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Uxmal, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Before the show even started, we enjoyed a visual treat. Out in sticks, far the light-polluted cities, the stars were smeared vividly across the inky night sky. We were handed a little radio set, with one channel for each of five different languages we took our seats and stared at the stars while we waited for the rest of the audience to arrive for the Sound and Light show at Uxmal temple.

The show was very sweet and gave the impression of having been put together by someone who head of son et lumiere, but hadn't actually been to see one. The crackly sound of ancient worshippers brought smiles to our faces. As well as the feathered serpent this crowd worshipped Chaac, and cried out his name: Chaaaaaac! Chaaaaaac! Chaaaaac! It probably wasn't intended to be funny, but it was.

Around Uxmal we visited a number of different ruins from the Mayan era. Some of them were almost hidden, down long dusty tracks and behind tall, wispy trees, just a few with green leaves still as the end of the dry season apporached. To turn a corner and find a ruined temple, with the odd scrubby tree growing within it's walls is to feel like you are discovering it, unseen by human eyes for centuries.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/954331620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/954331620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/monk-san/the_rest/954331620/tpod.html Thu, 21 May 2009 09:28:44 -0400 Beyond Europe - my travels to other continents

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Chichén Itzá, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

The Maya were fond of a god that took the form of of feathered serpent and went by the name of Kukulcan. Images of their god were carved into the pyramids and other buildings around Chichen Itza. Later, the Toltecs set up residence, added to the site and worshipped the feathered snake god too. They called him Quetzacoatl. (Well, that's the abridged version, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatl for more).

The pyramid at Chichen Izta is often photographed. My photos aren't digital, so here's someone else's:

It's a steep climb, but we did it anyway. Its was pretty darned hot too and as we wandered from the colonnades to the Ball Court, there was a definite balance to be struck between being close enough to hear what the guide was telling us about the ruins and standing in the shade.

The hotel we stayed in was shady and styled like a colonial hacienda. Peacocks stepped daintily round the gardens, breaking the quiet every few minutes with their less than dainty calls. No need for a morning alarm!
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