Almaty Times.

Hello to all! Here I am in the former capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty. I have had a bit of a rest this week which has been well needed (and well earned I must point out). I suddenly realise that moving on every few days for eleven weeks in a row can take it out of you. In Kyoto I had seven days in one place, here in Almaty I will be here six days, these are the longest stretches in one place I have had since leaving Australia. And there aren't more this long on the horizon.

But I want to write about where I am. For starters, When I told people I was going to Kazakhstan people were often confused, wondering where it was or if it was even a real place - wasn't it fictional created by Sacha Baron Cohen? No, it's a real place, the ninth largest country in the world, in a part of the world that people in Australia generally are not very familiar with.

Central Asia lies between China and Europe, below Russia and above India. There are five countries which used to be members of the Sovet Union, the others are Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan (both to be visited soon) Tajikistan and the rather mysterious Turkmenistan.

Kazakhstan is in the middle of a mining boon, not unlike my home of Australia. So things are moving along here. The President has been in power ever since Kazakhstan gained its independence from the Soviet Union. So I am in an interesting and often overlooked part of the world. Almaty has a stunning setting with a backdrop of some serious mountains. There are monuments aplenty. Last night I visited the Abay Theatre (named after Kazakhstan's most popular poet) and saw some ballet/modern dance fusion in a stunning theatre. 

I have really liked Almarty. I also journied to Kok Tobe, a mountain overlooking the city by cable car. I had adventures at the Kyrgystan Consulate where I was led to believe (before going) that it would be a week long wait for my visa. It was processed in an hour, so I confess this sort of started things off on a positive note. The Zenkov Cathedral was nice, and I visited the Museum of Traditional Musical Instruments yesterday which was ok, but highlighted by a performance on the dombra - a traditional Kazakh guitar - and other instruments for peanuts in an amazing auditorium inside the museum. Great weather last three days too. 

Tomorrow evening I head north to Semey, then Pavlodar and the capital Astana. So far so good, although I have been warned on my personal safety. We will see, I will sleep with one eye open!

The mountains provide a supurb backdrop to the city of Almaty.

Musical Performance - lady strums the dombra!

Dancers at the Abay Theatre.

Independence Monument.

Photos from Yangshuo & Shanghai

As promised I have a collection of photos from areas in China where I was unable to blog or upload photos. I have now landed in Kazakhstan where the old blogger and facebook are once again permitted! Enjoy... more from Kazakhstan in a few days!\

A couple get their wedding photos taken on the Li River, near Yangshuo.

  

The area around amazing Yangshuo.

People stand for photos in front of the same spot on the 20 Yuan note - Li River, near Yangshuo.

Colonial Era building, Shanghai.

Tourist frenzy - sounvenir area, Shanghai

East Nanjing rd - the chief shopping area, Shanghai.

Chinglish Signs

China is full of very interesting signs which didn't get translated quite right. Some are just more bizarre. Here are three I snapped - just today!

Xi'an & The Warriors - Photos

Here they area, please enjoy - it was not easy to put them up!

A mere small portion of the Terra Cotta Army awaits commands!

Encased in glass - was this how he saw his future?

Dance/Perfomance at Qin's tomb.

Xi'an City Walls

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Xian, Warriors, Horses and a big Goose

Howdy all! Sorry, but photo uploading doesnt't seem to be working right now, looks like I will have to wait until I am out of China. Which should, touch wood, be tomorrow. I have a flight to Urumqi, a six hour wait in that airport (guaranteed to be the highlight of the whole trip!) and then off to Almaty, Kazakhstan.

But that is still the future, I am here to fill avid readers such as myself and a couple of my relatives in on the events since I arrived, battered, bruised but not broken, in Xi'an.
Saturday saw me ride the bus out to the Army of the Terra Cotta Warriors, and horses (some signs actually add 'and horses'). Saturday, by the way, is not the best day to see busy tourists sites in many countries - China is no exception. The throngs were out en masse which was a bit overwhelming. But hey, for every tourist there were probably two soldiers.
There are three pits full of soldiers all there to protect Emporer Qin in his sleep, 1.5km away. I think the total number unearthed is around 10,000 but I am not sure. Pit One has 6,000, Pit Three has 85 and they didn't give a number on Pit Two as they are still excavating, but the pit is nearly the size of Pit One (I am guessing) although there aren't a lot of soldiers there (or indeed horses) but they could be off being cleaned, repaired or touring the world.
Yes it's very impressive, and indeed amazing. The crowds, as is the tradition in China, give you very little room to breath and getting through the gate I felt distinctly like one cow in a herd of cattle. But this is with out a doubt a don't miss for anyone's trip to China.
A shuttle bus runs you to Emporer Qin's tomb, however there is not much to see there except for a very nice garden and a dance performance that was rather good. It's extensive grounds, pleasant to stroll around in.

Xi'an itself has many cites worth the visitor's time. The Great Mosque is a tranquil little spot in the city's intriguing Muslim Quarter, and I took a bike ride along the restored city walls, probably around 12-15km in total. Very impressive stuff, although I think if ine chose to walk it you'd be bored rather quickly, and the whole circuit takes around four hours to walk, according to the book.
Today I arrived at the Shaanxi Museum to find it shut on a Monday - a trap I have fallen into at a few museums this trip. But I did visit the towering Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The grounds are large and very interesting, with plenty to keep one interested for an hour or two. The weather has really warmed up over the last couple of days too, well into the 30s today.

So it's a pity there are no photos for you to look at, but this just about does my time in China. I do want to post briefly about some 'Chinglish' signs I took photos of though! Need the photos for that. Tomorrow a completely new region of the world for me - Central Asia. Stay tuned!

Shanghai & Spring Airlines

China is quite the enigma. I am only writing today because I was able to get past the government's firewall (some call it the Great Firewall of China. A little obvious? Yes.) through fooling them into thinking I was accessing this website from the UK.
But where there's a wall there's a way under, over or around it I guess. Apparently anyone who's tech savy can do it. Since my last blog, proxied to you the reader from Yangshuo to Melbourne to your screens I have taken a long train journey to Shanghai, seen the sights and then taken Spring Airlines to Xi'an here, where today I saw the amazing Terra Cotta Warriors.
Really, if I could have worked this out sooner I probably would have been blogging every day. China is a world of its own, it throws things at your senses non-stop and I am well aware of where I am all the time. It's hard to forget.
Unlike India, China has a lot more structure and many more places to put it's 1.4 billion people. They just don't build 1-2 storey buildings here, it would serve no practical purpose. Even here in Xi'an there are more apartment buildings than in all of Australia. Well, we like 1-2 storeys. The younger people, say under 40, are living and riding this economic change and I am not sure they were quite prepared for it. It's a mad consumer market, the streets are not easy to walk. Everyone is out most times of every day with their shopping bags spending their hard earnt Yuan on stuff! Navigating through the throngs is not easy. Cities are big and getting bigger. I think there are like 12-15 MEGA cities in China - cities over 10 million people. It comes as no surprise.

Shanghai has a colonial past, and many of the buildings along the 'Bund' (a one mile stretch along the river) are from those times. There is a 'tourist tunnel' under the river which is more... Chinese in taste. A bizarre light show as you ride a 5 minute cable car to the other side both under and overwhelmed me. Flashing lights, loud music, commentary...

The museum is great, lots to see including some of the oldest coins in existence. China's history puts it ahead of the game in many achievements, including the first country to use money, mint coins, create paper money. Caligraphy, paitings in incredible condition for their age, jade creations 4000 years old. China has had quite the history.

Then there was the Poster Propaganda Art Exhibition, located in the basement of an apartment building. Well. Let's say it was a little Anti-American, visually inteteresting and showed quite the history of China since the cultural revolution. Better seen than spoken about, one of the quirkier yet interesting sites in China.
Oh and there were some temples and the main pedestrian shopping strip in Shanghai too. I quite liked Shanghai to be honest.

Then I flew here too Xi'an. Today I saw the Terracotta warriors - more about that in my next blog. I had one of the more harrowing plane flights of my life to get here.
Spring Airlines is one of the budget carriers here (yet not that cheap) so when I checked in and told I had to pay for baggage over 15kgs in total weight (carry on AND checked in)  I shouldn't have been surprised. We we bussed to the plane on time, and ready to go... and then informed there was a delay because we weren't cleared by air traffic control.
Nearly 2 hours, in a small cramped plane as we wait, there is not a free seat on the plane. The attendants have their work cut out for them - people are getting angry. People are yelling at the poor attendants, one got down on his knees to apologise. There is a lot of noise, it builds and builds. People chattering and people complaining. No, it is not helping the situation.
Finally we leave nearly 2 hours late. Not a big deal, just would have been better to be outside. The flight is bumpy to say the least. Plenty of turbulence. At one point the plane drops quite a few metres vertical with a 'thud'! We are fine but people start screaming and stressing. It all calms down. And then the attendant gives a 30 minute duty free speech and sells a lot of stuff. Touching down in Xi'an Airport was quite a relief...

So there we go. A little about China and what's been happening, more to come in a couple of days!

Yangshuo: Rain, mountains and more!

Hi folks, readers and avid followers.


No doubt you have all been waiting for my next blog, and here it ism via proxy and Australia. Why?

You may well know that Facebook is blocked in China. Well, that ain't all! Yes, apparently some blogging sites are as well. Including blogger/blogspot. So no pictures, This is a cut and paste job done through family.

So I left Hong Kong on Wednesday. I think... seems longer ago. Yes, the metro line takes you to China proper. You don't need a visa for Hong Kong, but you sure need one for mainland China. At the end of the metro line - Lo Wu - there are all the border formalities one would expect. And then into China proper. More formalities, you can even rate the performance of the immigration officers!

Then x-ray the x-ray the bags - everyone just goes for the machine, no waiting in line. In Japan people lined up on the platform to get on the train. In China people don't seem to care about others getting out, it's the 'every man, woman and child for themselves' policy!

Then there was a 14 hour train journey over night to Guilin. I booked into soft sleeper, so i was pretty comfortable.From Guilin there was a bus to here -Yanshuo.

Without photos it's hard to describe this amazing place. I have a great Guesthouse here with 3 meals a day. The countryside is punctuated with countless sharp mountains rising rather vertically from the ground. The roads and rivers wind around them, its a very rural setting here, stunning scenery. The first day here... well I slept. And today has been a total wash out! BUT - I rode a bike for around 25km on Friday, that was great. I visited the 'Assembly Dragon Cave' which you boat and walk through. Lots of colours, all the other tourists were locals/Chinese were very keen to be photographed there. Lots of rocks for sale as well. In the middle oft he walk all of a sudden - souvenirs!

Yesterday I did a combination of rafting (no not like it sounds, slow rafts made from pvc pipes) and hiking. I took the raft someway down the Li River, then hiked for around 8km or maybe a little more, then another raft down to the village of XingPing - famous in China because the view from a certain spot is the art on the 20 Yuan note. This spot is extremely popular!

So tomorrow I start another long train journey, this time to Shanghai, after that, Xian. I will try and update the same way again in a few days time.

Until then......



No that's just how I'm leaving it!

Lights, cameras, Hong Kong!

I thought Tokyo was big. I thought Tokyo was hard to get around, but now I am in Hong Kong. It's hard to imagine all the Skycrapers, lights, people. Okay, I arrived at the start of Golden Week which seems to run throughout north Asia, but wow. I am staying on the twelth floor of Mirador Mansions. It's quite warm and very humid. I took the Peak Tram - this goes almost vertically uphill - to see Hong Kong from Victoria Peak. Naturally it was covered in cloud and I saw nothing. The process of getting on board the tram took an hour and there was lots of pushing and shoving. Then many including myself had to stand inside the tram, at an almost vertical angle, that is seriously hard! Sardine life is not far removed from the life of the average Hong Konger it would seem!

Then I went back to Kowloon where I am staying to see the light show. Across the harbour dozens of buildings light up in time with some music pumped over the loud speakers. It's rather... boring after one minute.

The neon lights are bright on Broadway. but Hong Kong gives it a run for its money. Electricity must be cheap here, I mean businesses keep their doors open and left the air conditioning pump into the outside atmosphere. Who can afford to do that?

Tokyo, after the earthquake and Nuclear disaster, was rationing the power, and conserving it. Hong Kong wouldn't know how! Hmmm I think if you shut down Hong Kong, global warming would not be an issue anymore....

Medicine shop in Hong Kong, lights show the way.

So the trip rolls on, and soon (tomorrow) I will be in China proper. I take the train from Shenzen, just outside Hong Kong. The train takes me to Guilin, from there a bus to Yanshuo. Stay tuned!

Peak tram gets its victims squashed as is the custom.

Tokyo reflections.

It seems such a short time ago that I got off the plane at Kansai International Airport and made my way into Kyoto (It was 17 days) and now here I am in Tokyo blogging for the last time in Japan, a country that poses more questions than answers. A culture that is unique, a land stricken recently by disaster. But to be honest, the places I have been don't show that. Life goes on here even in Tokyo.

The national holiday week 'Golden Week' has started here, and many people are out of Tokyo at this time, preferring to go further south. So Tokyo is a bit strange. I visited Ginza today - a main shopping district. This city has so many districts, big buildings, it never seems to end. I then walked through one of the main parks of Tokyo past the Imperial Palace and its gardens.

A building at the Imrperial Palace Gardens

A street in Ginza

 Yesterday I visited a couple of museums, including the Tokyo National Museum. I usually find excessive pottery works boring, but this wasn't too bad. Some of the information was really interesting.

At the Meiji Shrine

 My first day in Tokyo was spent visiting the Meiji Shrine and Gardens surrounding said shrine. A nice peaceful place in the heart of Tokyo, it wasn't as interesting as some of the shrines in other parts of the country, but still worth visiting. The parks here are huge, and some of the wooden gates are certainly grand. The buildings in Tokyo are also fairly darned big! It's a modern city which still has roots in the past and in nature. But then, it is not your average capital city...

Wall advertisements, Akihabara

 If you are into gaming, if you are into Manga or the Otaru culture, then head to Akihabara. This district is a fascinating walk into another world. Here you can find 'Maid Cafes', where young girls dress and act as servants and treat the customers as 'Masters'. What can I make of this? I'm not sure. I fully intended to visit one of the cafes but when I saw the girls in the streets giving out flyers I changed my mind. They seemed very young and there seemed something not quite right about the whole thing. There are some places that have performances, and others where the maids deliberately abuse the customers. Elsewhere in Tokyo there are 'butler' cafes I believe too, so presumably they do the biddings of the 'Mistresses'

Cool Old Dude? Akihabara

SO tomorrow I leave to head to Hong Kong. I leave Japan every bit as bemused as when I arrived in Kyoto on the 14th. Tokyo is very different from the rest of Japan, perhaps not as friendly, but that is a big city mentality that can be found over the world.

I've met some great people here and wish I could have spent more time with them. An ENIGMA- I think this is a good word for Japan. It seems like I stopped for Japan and now resume my trip in Hong Kong.

What will China bring???

Miyajima & Osaka Fish

Hi everyone! Since my last blog I visited the beautiful island of Miyajima, an easy day trip from Hiroshima where there is a beautiful Shrine with this amazing gate out in the water, paths criss-crossing the hills, and deer aplenty again! Then yesterday, on my way to Tokyo I stopped in Osaka to visit one of the worlds best aquariums, which did not disappoint! Please enjoy the photos!

Gate at the Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima.

Five Storied Pagoda, Miyajima.

View from the hills, Miyajima.

Dolphins & Friend, Osaka Aquarium.

Could You?

The A-Bomb Dome

So today is the 25th of April, 2011. It is my birthday, and in Australia it is Anzac Day, a day when we remember those Australians and New Zealanders (in particular) who fell fighting in War. For those unfamiliar with the day, it commemorates the same date in 1915, when Allied troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, and well, found themselves trapped in a fierce battle for months in which thousands and thousands of people died. 

So today, spare also a thought for the people of 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Because in the months that followed the 6th of August 1945 140,000 people died as the result of single bomb. The first Atomic Bomb ever dropped on people, on a city, on a population. Think of them, and pray that it was the second last. The one dropped on Nagasaki was bigger by the way.

Hiroshima, after 'Little Boy'

Hiroshima is a remarkable and indeed beautiful city. It was rebuilt from total devastation after that fateful August morning in 1945. 66 years later it stands as a monument to peace, to no nuclear weapons. Every mayor of Hiroshima writes a letter of protest before every nuclear test. Who is listening? 140,000 people was only the beginning. People suffered and died for years and years after the bomb was dropped. Cancer, Leukemia. Ask yourself if you could do this. Could you? Could you imagine the destruction that was let loose? I couldn't. And I won't accept ANY 'Ends Justifies the Means' argument. So ask if you could? Then ask - How could anyone?

At the memorial to those who were killed, these are some of their faces.

There is a museum here. There is the A-dome - a building directly under where 'little boy' exploded, some 600 metres above - which was a prefectural office at the time. Because of the position it somehow, in part, survived. I sat in silence and just looked at it. People walk past every day for work. It's part of the city. The Peace Garden, so beautiful. But then, what lessons have been taken? How do we as the Human Race look each other in the face? So we have not seen a nuclear bomb fall in war since 1945. 66 years. But humans kill humans all the same.

Hiroshima as it stands today, a beautiful, modern city.

I have been through three countries so far on this trip. Vietnam I saw the effects of war there,　and the effects of Agent Orange. Birth defects, burns, destruction. In Laos un-exploded bombs, 1.7 tonnes of explosives dropped on a nation of (at the time) 2.4 million farmers. And now here, two atomic bombs. Most of those killed women, children and POWs.
I am not anti-American. Please understand that. Please understand that I have American friends and I know there is a lot of good in the USA. A LOT of good. It has given the world so much. So much music, great movies, technology, the internet.

But I look at what it did in these three countries and despair. The most powerful country in the world for over 100 years now.
So maybe it has changed somewhat. I think it has a long way to go though, because War seems to be its business,　and I don't know if it conducts itself in war in a good way.
Think to yourself. Imagine you are the decision maker. Would YOU make the decision to bomb Laos once every seven minutes for seven years? Would YOU use agent Orange? And finally would you use a bomb that could kill so many? People died instantly. People died slowly over the next few days from burns and radiation. People died over the next few decades from Cancers.

And think on this, 'Little Boy' was the merest fraction of the weapons created since.

The Mighty Carp

Finally, a little bit of sun! I am likely to blog again later today but I felt that this blog does not belong with the blog I am likely to write after visiting the A-bomb dome and peace memorial. For you see I am now in Hiroshima, which experienced the first ever atomic bomb back in 1945.

However, it is also home to the Mighty Carp! The local baseball team sits somewhere at the top of the Central League, and yesterday played host to the Yakult Swallows from Tokyo.　Sadly, the result did not go their way in the form of a 8-3 loss, but it was an enjoyable day none-the-less. Lots of chants and songs, some raucous noise and clapping, and at the bottom of the seventh innings they released thousands of pink balloons in the air for good luck! Didn't have the desired effect though...

Sight seeing in Takayama!

 Okay, just had another long day of sight seeing that ended in me being lost in the rain, again! I started at the above Hida Kokubunji Temple, which was closed but the grounds were open. Another multi-storied pagoda inside which is always interesting.

 This photo is from the Takayama 'Showa Hall' - A small museum which has a collection of artifacts and kitsch from the 50s to the 80s. It was quaint and funny, yet cool also.

 Twice a year Takayama holds a festival where floats such as the ones above are paraded through the streets. There is a centre here which displays some of the floats as you can see. The ticket also got me into a nearby museum with models of temples from the Nikko region. The lighting would slowly dim and brighten to simulate dawn to dusk. I then visited the Hida Folk Archaeological Museum, full of things that don't really interest me, ie bits of rock from 2000 years ago. However the house was really interesting, it used to be a Samurai's house.

I walked to the far side of Takayama, past the station to find this temple - 'Sukyo Mahikari Main World Shrine'. It was a long uphill walk in the rain, and I found the place closed. Then I got completely lost.....
But these things happen when you wander off the boundaries of your map! Takayama is a nice little place, worth a day or two, probably no more. Tomorrow I head to Hiroshima...

Nara, Bamboo and the Amazing Atomu!

 As usual folks a lot has happened since my last blog! For starters I have done two road (well, rail trips, met a gazillion people and am now in Takayama where I finally have a few moments to myself　to blog and get my diary up to date! So a few days ago now I journied to a place called Takarazuka. The purpose of this trip was to visit the Osamu Tezuka museum.
Tezuka was a Manga artist who created some amazing work over his too-short lifetime, including Astroboy (pictured) known as Atomu in Japan. The museum was small but I managed to spend several hours there reading Manga and learning about this gentle man. If you're a fan of Astroboy and in Japan, this is not to be missed!

 The next day saw me travel to Nara. A beautiful little city that, like Kyoto, is surrounded by mountains. In those mountains are many many deer, who have no fear of the human being and walk right up to inspect bags for food. Okay, they are not the main attraction. There are several gardens, countless temples and beautiful hills and forest to roam. The centre piece is the Todaji Temple, which is the biggest temple I have seen in Japan thus far (and used to be much bigger. It houses one magnificent Buddha (pictured) as well as several other large statues. Nara, like Kyoto, was once the capital of Japan.

 Other temples seen on this day include the Five-Storey Pagoda (above) and the Kasuga Taisha. There are more and impressive Halls as well. I did not give myself enough time in Nara unfortunately, it would be easy to spend the whole day walking around this area, however I only had a few hours. And then the rain came, which made it less fun, and then I was lost... but it's all part of the experience.

 Arashiyama is a district on the edge of Kyoto I visited for a couple of hours yesterday. A beautiful area not sure of souvineer shops, I managed to snap two girls dressed as Maikos on the street which was great (above). A beautiful river, yes - more temples too! And a bamboo forest that was quite enchanting (below)! I wandered the paths and found a couple of graveyards in amongst the bamboo, and a train line. It's amazing how these things appeared from nowhere in this high dense grove.

As you can see, there are even rickshaws through the grove if it takes your fancy!
So Kyoto is past already. I was there a week, the first time I have just stopped somewhere for so long in this trip. It is an amazing place. Now I find myself in Takayama after a breathtaking train journey through the mountains. After a week in Kyoto it feels weird that I will be back to moving on more frequently. A week seemed like I was there for ages, and at the same time I feel like I just touched down in Japan. One thing's for certain,　in Kyoto, I only scratched the surface...

Kyoto - Geikos, Temples, Toilets & Manga

What　can you say when you just fall　in love with a place on arrival? Kyoto is simply a beautiful city, so cultured, so clean, so friendly and so polite. My only issue is thiｓ keyboard which has a tiny space bar and the button next changes the text to Katakana or some Japanese text. 

This temple is in the Geiko (Geisha) district, and is devoted to the Shinto God of Money. However, I am not finding Japan a windfall for the budget. It is every bit as expensive as one might think. However, people smile and are the most polite I have ever met.　

On my second day here I saw a Geiko & Maiko performance (Maikos are the apprentice Geikos). Above a Maiko collects for victims　of the Tsunami outside a theatre. There is a whole district in Kyoto where the Geikos and Maikos live. The lanes are interesting to walk around, there are also many temples　in the area as well,　it makes for a fascinating tour. The hostel here put on a walking tour, lots of information!

Yesterday I visited the above - the Golden Pavillion, perhaps Kyoto's most well known site. The Gardens are also very impressive - generally gardens　here are pretty special. Everything is manicured and　looked after so　well. And if　you need the toilet - Japan is one place where the visitor need have no trepidation when going to the public loo! There are impeccable! In fact, most toilets are quite automated here. There is a bidet function, warm seats, and some have a button to make a flushinｇ sound. Why would you need such a button? I have no idea, maybe it helps people feel the need to pee???

I also visited the Manga Museum yesterday, where I learnt a little bit　about Japanese comic strips - Manga as they call it. An interesting place with　a HUGE library of Manga books. The locals come to sit and read, and some come　to 'Cosplay' - as pictured above. The museum has a range of Manga costumes and some, girls in　particular, pay 1000\ to put on the costumes and pose for costumes out in a courtyard.

So Kyoto, I have had a mere three days here, it feels　like a lot longer! I have another four nights, 　I will be doing a couple　of day trips Monday and probably Tuesday to Nara and Takarazuka to visit a museum to the creator of my favourite Anime/Manga character (really, the only one I know) - Astroboy, known here as 'Mighty Atom'!

Arrival in Japan!

Hey folks
A quick update. Just spent a night in Kuala Lumpur then a sleepness night on the plane from KL to Kansai/Osaka Airport. Now I am in Kyoto... it's already amazing me and I am barely awake. Will follow soon with more! Need to find my land legs I feel like I am still on the plane!