Hong Kong - Dropping in for a Few Days

A City that Continues to Captivate Me
After our Japanese vacation we spent a few days in Hong Kong on the way back to Singapore.  I don't know what it is about Hong Kong.  It's crowded, noisy, polluted, dirty but somehow I really like the place.  I cannot put my finger on it.  Perhaps it reminds me of NY, with all the hustle and bustle and striving.  We stayed in the usual hotel, just steps from Victoria Park.  This is a shot from the hotel room.

Japan - Final Notes

But What About the Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdown?
Keep in mind we went to Tokyo and then headed south whereas the tsunami and nuclear meltdown happened 150 miles north.  Had I never known about them from watching the news I doubt I would've figured it out.  There were minor things like the occasional escalator that was turned off to save energy but other than that Tokyo was brightly lit and the air conditioning was flowing, even out of the wide open front doors of many retailers.

Fukuoka - Nokonoshima Island

A Visit to an Island Nature Park
Just a ten minute ferry ride away, Nokonoshima Island is another world entirely.  It's a large nature park known for it's flower fields. 

Hakata - Even Further South

Closer to Seoul than to Tokyo
Our final destination was Hakata, the main city in Fukuoka, the southern-most island in Japan.  It has a different feel than any of the other places we visited.  It's normal.  This is a back-handed compliment, I guess.  There are no great historical buildings to see, no well-known temples and the cutesie kawai culture is muted.  It seemed like a regular city full of regular people, far from the capital's trendiness.

Kyoto - Temples

These Are What Draw the Tourists
The many Japanese tourists you see in Kyoto are there for the temples.  There are more temples than you can see in two weeks - there are over 2,000, many of which are listed by UNESCO as world heritage sites.  Our ryokan was on the edge of a forest that housed a few large temple complexes.  We toured them on foot, taking in the peacefulness and beauty.  These ladels are used to clean your hands prior to entry, done for ritualistic purposes rather than public health.

Kyoto - Alleyways

Tourist Central is Kept Sweepy Clean
Across the river from Gion is a neighborhood called Kawaramachi.  The many restaurants you find there are packed into tight, neat alleyways.  We walked a few of them but didn't eat.  We were already stuffed.

Kyoto - Geisha

The Old World is Dead
It's always a bit sad.  I romanticize my travels, expecting to step into some ancient world and become annoyed when I don't find it.  Like an idiot, I looked for real geisha in Kyoto.  I found instead the most dispiriting imitation - foreigners who paid to be made up and pulled around the streets.  They were probably looking for the same thing I was and were equally annoyed to be gawked at and photoed by some dummy in flipflops.  However, if you look in a different way, the past is there, right in front of you.

Kyoto - The Look

Just Like Everywhere Else, Except...
Kyoto looks like every other Japanese town except for Gion, a national historical prevervation neighborhood.  Gion is known for being one of the most famous, exclusive geisha districts dating back to the middle ages.

Kyoto - Pay for Pain

Checking in at the Ryokan
Dodo loves staying in Ryokan.  They're traditional Japanese inns that flourished in the 1600's.  Kyoto is known for having many of them so it made sense to stay in one.  They're not my favorite and as we planned the trip, Dodo told me to "pick one of the two I sent you the info on."  One was kinda crappy and the other specialized in adding Yuzu to their hot bath. Yuzu are a Japanese citrus fruit similar to an orange that the Dodo is kinda crazy about.  I'd gotten the signal.....

Kyoto - Sounds

Crickets
It doesn't seem to matter where in Japan you travel during August - the crickets go with you.  Such a lovely sound.  Turn up the audio on your computer while you watch this movie.

Osaka - Osakajo

Jo Means Castle
Osaka Castle dominates the western side of the city.  Its large grounds are surrounded by a deep moat and high ramparts.  It looks like a museum piece inside the modern city. 

Osaka - Lamp Post

Whimsy
These man-like lamp posts lined a small street in the Dotonbori neighborhood.

Osaka - The Other Thing...

Is the Underground....
The miles and miles of underground reminded me of Toronto.  The Osaka underground looked less mall-like but contained just as many stores.  We walked to escape the heat. 

Osaka - Two Wheels

Bikers are Everywhere
On our first walk what struck me, almost literally, were the bikes.  There are many more bikers in Osaka than in Tokyo.  They ride in the street, on the sidewalk and cover every age group.  Old ladies on their uprights, youngsters on racers, dressy women holding umbrellas in one hand and the handlebars in the other.

Osaka - First Blush

Immediately Likeable
Compared to Tokyo, Osaka is greener, easier, mellower.  Though still a large city of 2 million, it feels finite, walkable, greener, nice.

Osaka - On a Bullet

Riding the Shinkasen
It looked to me like a white rocket laying on its side.  The Shinkansen took us from Tokyo to Osaka, over 540 kilometers, in just under three hrs.  In no time, Tokyo's cement maze was a blur and we soon whirred along the coastline, through tunnels, past rice paddies and tight rows of tea bushes.  Mt Fuji popped up on the right and disappeared just as quickly.  Nearby buildings leaned into us at strange angles but it was the train banking, centrifugal force kept in check so smoothly that it created the optical illusion.  It's a quiet, easy speed that impresses - I couldn't take my eyes off the passing landscape.

Tokyo - Greedy

If Armand Lived in Tokyo....
He might end up looking like this guy.  So much food, all around, 24-7.  Not exactly sure why the Japanese are so slim.

Tokyo - Moon

Shot from the Balcony
Tokyo tower in the distance.

Tokyo - Chiyoda

The Royal Square Mile
Right smack in the middle of downtown is a square mile of greenery surrounded by a moat.  Chiyoda is home to the emperor's palace.  I took a train to the main Tokyo train station and walked a few blocks to the Eastern moat.  It's a bit surreal - like Central Park in Manhattan - greenery surrounded by skyscrapers.  The moat is at least 100 yds wide and if you can manage to swim it then you have to scamper up a 30 ft stone wall.

Tokyo - Settling In

Apartment Swap
One of Jean's girlfriends lives in Tokyo and was planning a trip to Paris the same time we were to arrive in Tokyo.  So, we swapped apartments.  At the last minute, the girlfriend couldn't go to Paris but decided to go to Hong Kong, so we were still able to use her apartment.  It's in Roppongi, the "midtown" of Tokyo.  We're in the left tower, which is just above the Suntory concert hall.

Singapore - My Bestest Friend...

and Constant Companion
I don't go anywhere without my umbrella.  Not any ordinary umbrella, it's a double-ply, super-thick anti-sun, anti-rain special.  At first I was carrying it around in case of rain but now I'm under it constantly.  I don't let the sun touch my skin, not even for a split second.  The sun here is different.  I know it's the same golden orb that you see during your American day, but somehow it's hotter and closer and meaner over here.

Singapore - Family Business

Food, What Else?
Jean's brother has a friend who owns a food stall specializing in fried noodles.  He offered to bring her brother into the business by opening up a second outlet.  Jean invested.  The grand opening was last night and we were there to inspect.  The experienced chefs from the first stall were in charge and business began well.  There was a small crowd around the stall ordering.

Singapore - It's All Upside Down

Night is Day and Day is Night
When you're 6 hrs ahead of the Frenchies, everything is off.  If I get up at 7am, there are 8 hrs before the workday starts.  My working hours are 3pm to midnight.  So, I play then work and it feels really weird.  Actually, this week has been busy so I've been working from sun up to midnight.  Today was finally the exception.  I met Dodo in town for breakfast and then went to hit some golf balls.  It's been a while and I wasn't hitting them too well but it was a joy.  I found a bus that takes me from the range to within a block of the rental, which is brilliant.  It's now 2pm, I'm at home watching Tiger's return and am about to join a conference call. 

Singapore - Navigating New Hoods

Jumping the Bus
We are living in the East Coast, north and east of downtown.  There is a subway but it's not right around the corner so I looked up some nearby bus routes.  We tried out an express bus this morning to head downtown and it was pretty decent - it took about 30 minutes.  A few hours later I took a different bus to one of my favorite cafes near the Kallang river.  This is a shot from the cafe looking north across the river.

Singapore - Last Minute Scramble

The Strike Strikes Again, Sorta
Knowing that Air France was planning a strike this past week, I switched my flight to Singapore Airlines.  Dodo was on that same flight so it worked out well.  At least that's what I thought.  When we arrived at the airport, Singapore Airlines told me that my ticket had been canceled and refunded by my company's travel agency!  No reason whatsoever, just human error.  I had to scramble and buy a ticket.  You won't believe the price - about 10k!  So, here's what ten thousand smackers buys you....