Winter driving me crazy. Or Miss Daisy.

Well folks, another blog back in the cold reality of Iwate, Japan. Winter here is long. I was informed that they call winter over on the 4^th of February. This seems a tad hopeful. That was three weeks ago, and it has snowed the last three days! Things are certainly warmer in Tokyo and the south, but still colder than a Melbourne winter!

Here in Iwate the hardest thing of late has been adjusting to the winter. I’ve had to organise a few things like a new visa recently, and in particular a Japanese driver’s licence. My international driver’s licence is good until the 2^nd of March. That’s this coming weekend! So anyways after one year you need to organise a Japanese licence.

Well, it’s not so straight forward, however comparatively for myself it’s not too bad. If I was American or Canadian, I would need to sit a proper driver’s test. Thankfully that wasn’t necessary – I understand it’s almost impossible to pass on the first attempt. To be thorough the driver testers almost feel obligated to fail people on their first attempt!

Then there is a huge pile of paperwork. Basically I had to prove I had been in my home country for three months in a row since I got my licence. One thing they look for is the issue date of the licence. Well, the state of Victoria doesn’t put that on the licence! So, I had to get a ‘driving record’ sent here. The fact that in the past five years I have had two speeding tickets (both for less than 10 km over the limit!) worked in my favour. It proved I had been driving in Australia. I also submitted over 30 payslips to prove my continuously being in the country. However, it still wasn’t enough to grant me a full licence.

I am on a beginners licence for a year now. I have the special mark/sticker/magnet on my car to say I am in my first year of driving. I think I have less demerit points to lose, but I am not sure. I’ve only been driving since 1995!

Anyways, such is life and if I don’t speed I should be ok. The roads are something else I’ve had to get used to. I woke up one day in January and the usual 35-40 minute drive to work suddenly took 75 minutes! I had allowed for delays thankfully and made it on time by five minutes. When there’s snow, the roads are slow. When there’s ice, they are dangerous.

What tends to happen is driving on snow churns it up, turns it to water etc. Then at night the temperature drops, maybe to minus five, sometimes colder. Last night was more like minus ten. The water, even though there’s not a lot, freezes. The winter tyres don’t grip very well the next morning. Breaking is something to be done very carefully. I’ve experienced a little bit of skidding on the ice. The key is not to break hard, but gently, and leave plenty of space between you and the car in front.

I was driving home one very cold day when it didn’t reach 0 and this post van zoomed over the hill the other direction to me. The downhill slope (for him) was iced, and suddenly he lost control. He went from side to side, desperately swinging the steering wheel (which I’m sure was a bad move) and I thought – I was a goner! Somehow he missed me and regained control.

Downhill is the worst, the scariest part of driving when the road is icy. Usually people are painfully slow on those parts. Hence a 35 minute trip turns into over an hour. Patience and being careful is the only remedy here.

The forecast is for more snow this week.

My Mali Part Three

Bus travel in West Africa is an early morning affair usually. It’s nice to just find a bus service really as it’s much cheaper than bush taxis and other forms of transport in the region, and I think the bus out of Mopti to Segou, about halfway to the capital Bamako, left before 6am.

Getting ready for departing Mopti, Bani Transport

My friend and I decided on that bus because we wanted to get to Segou  early enough in the day to walk about and see things. We had run out of days to get to all the places we wanted to so this way we had a full afternoon in Segou to see the river and life in the town.

It was always good to be out of the bus before it got really hot in the early afternoon, and by lunch time we were in Segou. The guesthouse was simple enough but again there was a dorm room, this time with three beds and the third remained empty. We had a TV in the room but showers and toilets were downstairs via a rickety old metal spiral staircase.

There was a decent restaurant at the hotel too which helped a lot. After we finished lunch it was siesta time. Throughout West Africa I found that places all shut down after lunch for a couple of hours before reopening. Towns become a bit quiet. Who can blame them in that heat?

Ferry and life, washing, Segou

We were following the Bani river southwards in Mali, and Segou was another town built on it. Although I didn’t go to any museums or see anything amazing, I quite liked Segou as a sleepy town with bustling river life. The river was where people bathed and washed their clothes. Boats lined up – big boats compared to the small ones in Mopti. On the rocks by the river people spread their wet washing to catch a few rays of sunlight. I don’t expect it took a lot of time to dry in high-30s heat.

Segou also featured many mules, I saw plenty by the river. But time was short in Segou, one afternoon and then off to the capital Bamako. What a journey it turned out to be!

I had been warned to take a reputable bus company as some of the cheaper, less official companies had a lot of issues and often stranded passengers if something went wrong with the bus. I was soon to find out that those issues also can be encountered on the better bus services.

Bani was supposed to be one of the best, but not long out of Segou and the bus was having problems. I shuddered at the thought of having to wait for a new bus once we were already on the road, but the driver opened up an engine panel at the back of the bus and seemed to think everything would be okay.

And for the most part it was, however, as we approached Bamako, maybe 30 kilometres from the centre, the troubles resurfaced. It had been a fun bus trip with a happy atmosphere on board. The buses aren’t always that comfortable in West Africa, sometimes they really pack ‘em in, but generally people have a smile on their face.

But just before Bamako the bus was stopped again and the panel was opened again. This time it seemed there was no remedy. Bags were removed from the top of the bus – they love to stack buses, taxis and mini-buses as high as they can with luggage on the top.  All of a sudden no one was around. Everyone, including the driver, had disappeared. Well. What was there left to do? Had to hitch a ride into town somehow, and I found myself on a coal truck headed into central Bamako. Then in a share taxi.

Bamako Street

Eventually I found my way to the guesthouse where I took a mattress on the floor for not much money at all. Bamako was another fleeting visit. There’s not a lot to see in Bamako, but the markets are rather interesting and there are some decent bakeries and restaurants, good if you’ve been stuck on simple food for a while.

There was a great arts and crafts market I visited, called the artisans' market. This is where people worked at woodcraft and other such things, a great place for souvenirs and the like. When I went to the fetish market – where you can get all types of things, many voodoo related, was interesting too. I took a photo and the owner was very upset and angry, I showed the photo to him and suddenly he was very pleased. I offered to delete it but he didn't want me to. In fact he asked me to take another, this time with him in the photo.

Wood carving at the Artisans' Market.

In Africa generally you have to be very careful about taking photos when people are involved. Often they will ask for a gift – money (cadeau) if you ask, which you should do if you are photographing people up close, or often even midrange. As travellers we love to take photos as our memories, and now that film is a thing of the past nobody worries about how many they are taking, but as a local I can only imagine how sick they must get of tourists and cameras.

And the fetish market. A little creepy. The kid just wandered into view half a second before I went 'click'.

Bamako has statues (some of crocodiles, big ones) churches and mosques. It’d be easy enough to pass a few days there before getting bored, but it is no high on tourist attractions. Mali though, especially for the region is.

According to news reports, things appear to be going the way of the French Army in Mali, and if they are to be believed the local Malian people are happy about that. It’s very sad to read or hear about a place I visited having troubles, especially with terrorism and the like. I’m hoping for a speedy return to normality, and that once again Mali will be attracting the tourists like it did before. It’s a very rewarding place to visit.

If you'd like to know more on Mali, or other places I have written about, I have some interesting stuff on Kindle:

Andrew Boland Author Page

My Mali Part Two

Continuing on from the previous post, I have bee reminiscing about one of my favourite African countries to visit, Mali.

Mopti was the first proper town we arrived at. I was lucky to still be in the group of four that had done the Dogon trek together, so we found our way to a cheap guest house. I can't remember the details or name of the place, but it was probably around ten dollars a night. I shared a dorm room with my friend, and we were fortunate to have it to ourselves.

Changing money was a bit of a hassle I remember. I didn't need to but friend did and it took quite a while at the bank. I had used traveler's cheques at times. Cash was much easier to change in West Africa, however you usually needed a passport to change any money at all and often receipts for traveler's cheques. 

Mopti is situated on the confluence of two rivers, the Bani and the Niger. It's a great base for branching out to the famous and recently infamous Timbuctu, sometimes by boat, sometimes by car. It's not particularly close and depending on the river levels can take 3 days to a week I think. I wasn't headed that way, but many in Mopti were. They were organising all the details for their trips there, quite a few foreigners were staying in Mopti.

The best thing to do as a tourist there, as Mopti itself doesn't contain a plethora of tourist attractions, was to take a boat on the rivers. I spent a few hours floating around, visiting some islands, watching river life in Mali. It was great. The people living on the islands see quite a few tourists naturally, and are always asking for cadeaux (gifts = money) but that doesn't spoil it if you have a cheerful attitude to it.

Watching boats move people and cargo around is great, and I saw some interesting things being ferried - including a small boat full of coffins.

Coffins on the river.

Aside from Dogon Country, Mali's greatest attraction is the Mosque at Djenne, which we did in a longish day trip from Mopti. We had to hire a taxi, but with four people that was very affordable. We took it south, and at one point had to get out as the car made it across a river and up the embankment on the other side. The recent rains had taken out several bridges in the area.

Over the rooftops of Djenne the Mosque stands tall.

A ferry took us across the river to Djenne, it's on a sort of island of its own. The taxi left us outside the mosque, pretty much the centre of Djenne. It was the biggest mud-brick mosque and probably building I have ever seen. A large square surround it - I think there is an amazing market there once or twice a week. You can't go inside sadly, apparently some westerners shot an advertisement there many years ago now which featured scantily-clad women and people were so shocked the mosque became closed to all foreign visitors.

However the whole town is mud-brick, an amazing maze of streets and life. Many people had official cards as guides and desperately wanted to guide us, but we found a nice bloke who showed us the way when we needed help so we employed him instead! It was a highlight of Mali, Djenne, no two ways about it. A must see and a very special place on Earth.

From there it was back to Mopti and another 5am bus the next day. My friend and I said goodbye to the two we'd been travelling with as they headed north to Timbuctu. We would head south to Segou....

The Mosque at Djenne. 

And that's where today's post ends. Last part on Mali in the next week, maybe sooner. Right now I can't recommend travel to Mali, however, if the troops in there get the job done as they seem to be doing, it could be a safe tourist destination sooner rather than later again.

Don't forget my writings:

Dhaka to Dakar: Across Africa

Dhaka to Dakar:Across Africa - Mali Chapter only

My Mali - Part One

Folks today I am writing about one of my favourite African countries, Mali, in the first of three posts.
Why? Well it's been in the news of late:

From the BBC -

Mali crisis: French-led troops 'enter Timbuktu'
French-led troops in Mali have entered the historic city of Timbuktu encountering little resistance, French and Malian military sources.
But there are reports of thousands of ancient manuscripts being destroyed, with video footage of the library showing charred books and empty boxes.

French President Francois Hollande declared that the joint forces were "winning this battle".
They have been pushing north in their offensive against Islamist rebels.
They seized Gao, north Mali's biggest city, on Saturday.
Islamists seized the north of the country last year, but have been losing ground since French forces launched an operation earlier this month.
Most militants appear to have moved out to desert hideouts, says the BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Bamako.
The advance came as African Union (AU) leaders met for a summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the key issue at which was Mali.

This week, French troops with a small contingent of troops from Mali moved into the north of the country to take towns back from terrorists. This was sparked by the siege in Algeria that claimed over thirty hostage lives, nine or ten of them were Japanese. So, that’s been big news here in Japan. What you may or not know is that the terrorists are based in northern Mali, and the gas plant where the siege took place is not that far away in Southern Algeria. It is hard to imagine a place so remote, almost completely desert, where something like this could happen.

From what I’ve read, Al-Quaeda now have a base in this part of the world, and as I wrote a few months back now, terrorists had basically taken control of much of the north of Mali, including the famed ‘Timbuctu’.

If news reports are to be believed, the French and Malian armies were greeted with cheers from the locals when they moved in. I never went as far north as Timbuctu, time didn’t allow, but two people I was travelling did, and many tourists went there. This was in 2007. It’s a little confronting to think of such a place changing so much in five years.

Mali was a wonderful place to travel, a real highlight of West Africa. I crossed the border from Burkina Faso with the first item of the ‘to do’ list being ‘Dogon Trek’. The Dogon Escarpment appears like a big cliff face near the ocean, without the ocean within 1000 kilometres. It’s flat and continuous on each part, the top and the bottom.

Scattered around the base and the top are villages every few kilometres. Life is basic there, there is no electricity save the use of car batteries to power lights, and every building is built out of mud. Despite many tourists visiting there, sleeping on rooves (as we did) and eating pasta, the atmosphere is still rather authentic. Tourism has become very important to the villages, but life goes on. Women pound millet, doing the bulk of the villages’ physical labour, and the men hold councils to decide what’s best for the village. Yes, sexism is alive and well!

For the tourist,  finding a guide is the first thing to do when you arrive there. If you head to nearby towns such as Bandiagara you will surely be approached by someone, or enquire through your guesthouse. Prices are negotiable and I can’t remember what I paid exactly, however having a group is obviously much cheaper than doing it on your own. In a group of four I’m sure we paid well under forty-fifty dollars a day for our guide, who we had met at the Burkina Faso border making things a little easier for us. The money pays for most things, including meals and sleeping.

Trekking is easy in as much as it is flat, except for the two hour climb up the escarpment in an area water has made walkable. (no climbing rock faces at all!) The heat was intense in the middle of the day, maximums around the low-40s (celcius) in November, so you walk in the morning and late afternoon, and from 11-3pm you have lunch and rest each day. Guide books and indeed guides recommend buying some kola nuts, a local nut, to give as gifts to village leaders or important people. Most guides won’t let you go without them, and they need to be of a decent quality.

We did a three day/two night trek. That seemed a decent length. The guides will cater to what you want, from one to five or maybe more days. The escarpment is long so there are many villages to walk to and visit. It’s an amazing cultural experience, a beautiful, mystical and other-worldly part of this planet. Lying on a roof top looking up at the stars as you fall asleep is possibly the major highlight. I visited a school, met a village medicine man and blacksmith too. I don’t remember a negative experience in my time there.

At the conclusion on the third afternoon, we had a jeep waiting to take us into Bandiagara and we could shower again. The red sand of this part of the world has a tendency to stick to you! This town is not particularly attractive to be fair, but the hotel was rather nice and about 15 dollars per person twin share – the name, naturally, escapes me.

Next post I will move on to the northern most port of call I had in Mali, Mopti, and talk about the one place more amazing than the Dogon Escarpment, Djenne.

For more writings on Mali and Africa, please visit my Kindle store!

Mali chapter from 'Dhaka to Dakar'

Dhaka to Dakar Volume Three - Across Africa (includes seven West African countries including Mali)

Meanwhile, in Vang Vieng

An interesting article today in the Age about Vang Vieng, a place I visited in 2011 whilst it still was a party Mecca. Apparently 20 people died tubing in 2011, only 7 last year. ONLY? sorry. Things have changed there it seems....

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/holiday-type/budget/partys-over-for-backpacker-mecca-20130115-2cr95.html

sorry folks blogger doesn't like links. You'll need to cut and paste it. At the time I felt sorry for the locals because of all the drunk tourists! (not to mention the stoned tourists) Now I feel sorry for them because of the lack of drunk tourists.
To be fair though, something had to be done with people dying so regularly. Having visited the place it is easy to see how that could happen. The thing is - you can bet your bottom dollar that a similar place with more relaxed rules than Vang Vieng has now will soon open up. If it hasn't already.

Final days of Sri Lanka

Street near where we stayed in Colombo

Good evening, morning, afternoon wherever you may be this day. I am compelled to recount the final 3 days I spent in Sri Lanka. I returned a week ago now and since then have been treated to a couple of nights at around -13 degrees and today it has been snowing solidly all day. I journeyed to Morioka to successfully replace my alien registration card, a victim of the wallet disaster, and tomorrow I am back at school. But there were 2.5 days in Sri Lanka after the wallet was stolen and I should write a little about them.

For not the first time in my travels, I was taken in by a family very sympathetic to my needs. This time, my wife was with me. In Burkina Faso, post-malaria I was very lucky to be taken in by an American family. As far back as India 1999 and Iran 2004 I have been taken in by total strangers, although in those cases I was not in peril or desperate need.

In this instance, all the cash was basically gone and credit cards maxxed out. We could have survived though, however this family was so kind and wanted us to stay with them it seemed like the perfect option, and a great chance to get to know some Sri Lankans. Don't go somewhere if you have no interest in learning about the people who live there too, I say. Except for (insert most hated country here). 

Negombo Beach at night

We were taken in by a very vibrant family who were very excited to have us in their home. We didn't get up to a lot in that time, we relaxed and talked to the family and got to know them. There was a bit of singing and dancing as you do, I was trying to contact Japan and check I would be okay to re-enter the country.

 We did go with the extended family to the Negombo beach one night. We all piled into a mini-van and off we went. It turned out to be quite a long drive. At the beach we threw the ball around a bit and had fun. Little stalls (pictured) sold food and snacks, mostly fried sweet potato which was okay. Maybe a little sandy lol...
The journey home someone owned a tuk-tuk, or a three-wheeler (pictured with yours truly below) and my wife and I traveled home in that. Well, it was quite a journey. Right next to the airport, about 50 metres below the bellies of landing aircraft, we were pulled over and the driver was in trouble as he didn't have the right papers with him, and he had been drinking! It was all sorted out but it took an hour and I believe it was solved by the promise of a bottle of brandy. We had no idea what was going on. Back into the tuk-tuk and we were off again! We were joined by the father of the house on motorbike who had come back to see what was taking us so long. He sped ahead and suddenly this dog fight was on the road and impossible to avoid, and he hit a dog! He was very lucky not to come off the bike. Then the tuk-tuk was having problems - turned out to be out of petrol! So it was well after ten when we finally arrived back at the house. But you have to take these things in your stride, especially when people have been so kind!

I never did take the Tuk Tuk out on the road :(

We had a barbeque that night, lots of meat! The only food I had in Sri Lanka that wasn't spicy and didn't make me sweat! The final day arrived, and we were sad to say goodbye to Sri Lanka despite all that had gone on with the wallet. It truly is a wonderful, beautiful country. A bit easier to survive than India in some respects, feels like a little India, SE Asia and even Ghana rolled into one! I really do recommend it as a place to visit, just careful at the Colombo Fort train station.
We took Malaysian Airlines back to Japan, via Kuala Lumpur. It was great to have some extra legroom for a change as we'd gone budget airlines all the way until then. I slept an awful lot during the flights and even at KL airport. Arriving in Tokyo we took the train to Tokyo station from Narita, and then the overnight bus to Ichinoseki. Exhausted, I slept half the day but my poor wife had to work.
It was clear but cold, but nothing compared to the night where it dropped below minus 10 degrees celcius. that was a serious freeze, and such a shock after coming from Sri Lanka!
We are home now, but I am going to try and keep the blogs coming, so stay tuned!

Colombo daze... or how I lost my wallet

Howdy folks. Back safely in freezing Japan. Seriously it was like -13 last night. YES MINUS! Crikey and all that you know!

So the story of the wallet awaits, but first on the way back from Sigiriya we stopped at Matale where we saw the very ornate Sri Muthumariamman Hindu Temple. It's not ancient like the ruins at Sigiriya, but the carvings are very impressive and detailed. Even being so tired after the day trip, we could still be impressed!

The next day we were so tired we cancelled our plans and decided to just walk around Kandy and the lake. However, most of the day it rained and rained and even rained some more!

Sri Muthumariamman Temple

So the next day it was time to move on. The plan - visit Galle on the coast. This required two trains, with a change in the capital, Colombo. We got up nice and early to get the 6.15am train, where we had a comfy seat in the observation car. Was it a beautiful journey? Possibly - I slept most of it so I can't be sure! But what I did see was very green and very wet. Well, it was the time of the year! 

Arriving at Colombo Fort station, I had a couple of things to take care of. Firstly, toilet! Done! Secondly - buy tickets to Galle. Done! Thirdly, get out enough cash for the rest of the trip - Done!

Well, that seemed very smooth. Down to platform five to wait for the 10.30am train to Galle!

Inside the observation car

The train was suitably late. Only about 10 minutes. The platform swelled with people. The train pulled up. Before all this I took a few photos by the way. Mad dash as always to get on the train, I wanted to secure a seat for my wife and myself. People on board took time getting off. Finally it was free-for all time. No matter who was first, push shove and go go go!

Put my bag down on one seat, another behind it was free - oh no, someone saving that one. Just one seat, my wife came in and sat down. I sighed - I might be standing for the four hours to Galle. Still, for some reason my pants seemed lighter. Oh EXPLETIVE! I don't have my wallet! 

Someone had nicked it as we pushed onto the train. 69 countries, and the first time I have been robbed. What happened? I usually put my wallet in the zip pocket. But this time I just plonked it back in the front pocket. To be fair - it was an easy target in that rush. 

People were very kind though. They stopped the train, and someone said later they saw someone running away from it very fast and scared. Who knows if they had my wallet. Police were on the scene, the train was stopped. One passenger was very angry - I didn't ask anyone to stop the train for me.

Soon we were shunted off to the police station to make a report, or as they called it 'a complaint'. Against whom? The thief? The station? The police for letting it happen? I found it a strange title, that's what the police used.One office to another I explained my story, wrote down the contents of my wallet, all the time feeling an utter idiot to be honest. I know what's what - I know that the moment everyone is pushing is prime time as far as pick pockets go.

such is life I guess.

HOWEVER

every cloud has a silver lining. 

To find out about this silver lining...... you'll have to wait for my next post!

Steps and Sigiriya

Water gardens below the Lions' rock.

Howdy all. I've had a bit of bad luck here. I have visited 69 countries in my life, but for the first time I have been robbed, boarding a packed train at Colombo station yesterday. I had my wallet picked from my front pocket. Usually have it in the zipped pocket, but was for whatever reason a bit lax yesterday. More on that in my next post though, trying to keep it all in order on the blog for now! 

The lions' rock.

That means today's post takes a look at a few days back when I visited the ancient city of Sigiriya.

We took a small tour on Wednesday from Kandy to the ancient city of Sigiriya and surrounds from our lovely guesthouse in Kandy. Through a friend  organised a great driver, name of Sunil, who drove my wife and I around and explained things as we went. We were both pretty tired from all the travel and the Danish family at the guesthouse who weren't the quietest of neighbours, nevertheless the day was a great one.

Ancient Sigiriya was built by a Sri Lankan monarch on the site of a monastery the good part of 2000 years ago. I believe it was in use for many centuries, and was built by a rather paranoid King who decided the safest spot to rule from was on top of the Lion's Rock (above) and built water gardens and a moat around the foot of it, and chucked in a few crocodiles for good measure.

The lions' paws and the start of the final part of the ascent.

 Today, it's a tourist attraction and visitors can climb the rock via the stairs to see the ruins of the ancient palace, not unlike the ruins of Macchu Picchu, at least the photos I have seen. On the way up we walked past the mirror wall, adorned with paintings of well-bosomed ladies in the one of the scariest (for those who are scared of heights) parts of the climb.
Many tourists were there too. We ascended the 1200 steps with them. We passed the mirror wall, and various gardens. Some parts were steps built into the rock face, at one point there was a wall between the drop and the walkers. Some impressive work to get that made!

leading up to the mirror wall.

 Finally, the last part faced us. Two giant lions' paws and steps leading to the very top. This also was very hairy, but then the view on top was spectacular. We saw the remains of the palace and grounds and even the swimming pool! Unfortunately very hazy but still a wonderful view. 1200 steps climbed and vertigo conquered - we had done well! It's really up there with some of the world's amazing places, it should be more well known. It's not quite the pyramids or Angkor Wat, nevertheless for the seeker of the world's ancient sites, it's a must-see.

Swimming pool and view at the top!

 On the way home we stopped at a temple in Matale, visited a herb garden where we were given the ins and outs of herbal medicine and had a nice buffet lunch - I should say the food is not the greatest here, at least not the restaurants. If you're like me and can't deal with spicy food, you're a bit in trouble. Everything gets a bit of chilli from a chicken sandwich to a bolognaise!

There was also a stop in Dambulla, where there are famous Buddhist temples in caves. We entered behind this huge statue of the Buddha and then... proceeded up maybe 500-600 steps. Yes, I couldn't escape steps wherever I went!

Gold Buddha, Dambulla.

 Impressed that I hadn't had a heart attack, I was sweating like crazy at this point instead! (yes, sorry, a detail you probably didn't need!) Still, the caves were nice if not mind blowing. Monkeys abounded in this area, but of more concern were the tourists, or should I say lack of locals? This place was only frequented, the afternoon we were there, by western tourists and their cameras. Yes, that includes me. But at least I didn't use the flash.

Inside one of the rock temples.

Nevertheless an interesting place to visit. We returned home via a road which was showing signs of the mud slides only a week or two before we came. Imagine sleeping in your house as the rain pours down outside and suddenly you are swept down the hill. Many people died as a result of the rain, floods and mudslides in December. And here we were touring the place. It's a strange thing to be touring an area so soon after tragedy.

So that was the day. A twelve-hour tour left us pretty tired. Next time I will tell you all about how my wallet was lifted - truly exciting stuff. lol. Until then...

Kandyan Hospitality

Well, here I sit on my bed enjoying a few moments of actual working wifi to bring you the ins and outs of coming to this amazing and beautiful country, Sri Lanka.
A large island off the east coast of India, Sri Lanka has some similarities to its neighbour, but has a strong identity in its own right. We arrived a few days ago now after taking Tiger Airways from Singapore. The visa process is great here - you get an electronic visa thing online before you come, it was 20 bucks, and your passport number comes up on the computer at immigration and you're in. Didn't even need our printouts.

Kandyan street

The guesthouse here really goes all out to provide services for you. It organised a pickup from the airport to take us all the way here to Kandy. Tours, dinners, laundry, run by one wonderful woman we have been so impressed.
Our first day we walked around the town. We visited the train station and booked a ticket for today to go to Nuwara Eliya - we never used it as we had a long 12 hour tour yesterday and we didn't have the energy. Fortunately it only cost around nine dollars for two people.

In the evening we went to a cultural show near this man-made lake that Kandy is centred on. The hall was filled with westerners who watched a 45-minute show mostly of Sri Lankan dancing with drums, which was interesting. Following that there was the national anthem, a bit unexpected and not sung ummm.... very well. But the show stopper was the fire walking at the end. Much of the audience moved to the stage so we could watch in the round as two men breathed and walked on fire. It was pretty awesome.
Then we came home to the guesthouse for a feast of curries and fruit. Some fantastic cooking!

The next day we visited the Temple of the Tooth. Whose tooth? Well apparently it is Buddha's tooth, a sacred relic. It is in a special container covered with gold, and for select times each day it is open to see. However, the container is not. The queues (it was New Year's Day) were long. That's an understatement.

The queues went on and on...

But they kept slowly moving as we entered the temple. Up some stairs, down some others, what then hell we went all the way to catch a half second glimpse of the container. It was very... shiny. Is it real? Who can truly say? Not I.

There were other rooms and temples in the complex, and a small museum that was very interesting. As for animals, this area is teaming with them, especially monkeys. But my favourite simply has to be the elephant. Such grand creatures. They seem so noble, and there was one in the grounds.

The afternoon featured braving the bus system to the tea museum. A very interesting place, I had tea manufactuaring explained to me in the country whose name is sysnonomous with tea. Housed in an old building with creaky, wooden floors, I recommend this place. Nice tea to buy as well - and prices as good as anywhere. We found the building up a big hill. I was worried the bus wouldn't make it up there for a while, but it did. Beautiful, green, hilly landscape everywhere. We've found a little piece of paradise here!

I don't normally plug accommodation, but if you need a good priced guesthouse in Kandy, then please consider the one we stayed at - Madugalle's Friendly Family Guesthouse. The owner is wonderful. The link -

Madugalle Friendly Family Guesthouse

Universal Christmases Inc, Singapore LTD,

Happy New Year readers! This post was to mark the end of 2012 but with no access to the net due to the wifi at my guesthouse being frustratingly down, it's been rolled over to the new year. So I am left with a bit of catching up after flying from Singapore to Sri Lanka and already having a few adventures.

Singapore was a brief sojourn, nothing more. I took in two movies - do not miss Les Miserables.... Anne Hathaway you blew me away! And the most fun day (oh gawd my English usage is starting to mimic my students. Apart from this bit in brackets) was at USS - Universal Studios Singapore. Many of my students went to USJ (Universal Studios Japan) and raved about it. I had a suitably good time at its sister site in Singapore. Well some rides were better than others.

This made 2012 the year of the theme park for me - I visited four, up on 2011's zero. They are fun, although it's not a priority in my life at this stage. It was the main thing in Singapore I hadn't visited. Peak season again like it was for Tokyo Disneyland, or so it seemed. The biggest lines were coming to and leaving Sentosa Island for the monorail.A wait to get tickets, but comparatively cheap at 74 Singapore dollars, around $AUD60.

I enjoyed 'The Mummy Returns' Ride most of all, far superior to the films, of which I have seen one only. The Transformers ride was excellent containing an indoor roller-coaster type thing and 3-D to great effect. The Jurassic Park water ride was longest queue for the smallest buzz. The Shrek 4-D show was pretty cool, and the Jurassic Park observation ride was good too. I finally got the courage to go on a roller coaster - the Battlestar Galactica ride which really didn't have anything to do with the series once you were on it. That wasn't so scary but I kept the fear bottled up inside and as a result didn't get the buzz I was hoping for out of it.

 Orchard Road's famed Christmas decorations were pretty special, a reputation well deserved. It was a couple of days after Christmas, but they stick around for a while into the New Year I imagine. I wasted some wonderful time looking for a coin laundry that wasn't there any more, as I said saw movies, I was there for three days with my wife... Seems like we didn't do a lot but really we did enough. Fourth time for me in this island city. So VERY busy these days. It is the shopping mecca.
As for the locals, as I wrote in March 2011, they just won't put down their phones and ipads. I saw a woman watching a movie on the MRT and it was their stop, so she kept their head down and walked out of the train still engrossed in her iphone. Is this the future of the world??

But now I am in Sri Lanka. Stay tuned for the trip from Singapore to Kandy, and everything I see in this amazing beautiful country!

Happy 2013!

Bemusing Batam Island

Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre

What can I tell you about the first three days of this Winter Sojourn? (keep in mind I live in Japan for now!) Well, they were spent on Batam Island, in a town called Nagoya. They were not full of site-seeing or anything, rather I had a long massage on the second day and went to the cinema to see The Hobbit - which was awesome but someone might have warned me they were splitting it into three parts!

It's Christmas in Indonesia

 I saw the movie at the very swish Nagoya Hills Mall, where they were very aware it was Christmas despite Indonesia being a Muslim country. Decorations abounded although not quite to the extent of Japan. To be honest, the hotels looked cheap and I thought Batam would be a good place to unwind for a couple of days,. There are no real touristy things to do in Batam. The supermarket was huge though and had a lot of things you can't get in Japan, and the prices on groceries were pretty cheap. Electronics though were more in line with Singapore. Batam is supposed to be some sort of special economic zone, attempting to rival Singapore. However, I think it has a long way to go yet!

 The mosque, built in the 1990s, is quite splendid with a minaret out the front. There are several mosques in Nagoya itself but the others are more hidden. The morning prayer call can be heard as can the others through Nagoya town. It's been a while since I heard it to be honest. There are some new areas that look very impressive and yet some places that reminded me of the poorer parts of the third world. It's a bit of a paradox. And the open sewers lead to an unpleasant smell, especially after any rain.

 I wandered the streets of Nagoya on the last day trying to get a handle on this place. Not so easy, I felt very detached. I didn't see any of the darker side of Nagoya though that was supposed to accompany the town. And then, as easily as we arrived, we left. Another boat out from Batam Centre, also boasting a mall and hotels, but 20 minutes taxi from Nagoya.

Nagoya street, bustling, moving.

 What can you make of a place over 2.2 days? Not much really. Can I recommend the place? Not really. As a stepping point to the rest of Indonesia? Maybe. It's a very busy place, so so many people in Nagoya especially. Indonesia is a very populous country though, it was to be expected. 20km across the waters from Singapore, Batam is a strange sort of enigma. We can travel for many reasons, one is always to discover new places.

Santa in Nagoya Shopping Mall.

A journey, a Christmas, Batam Island - Indonesia

So folks I am finally back on the road after it seems like ages, but actually just over a year. I blinked and it's Christmas too. Luckily, I have been saved from a Japanese Christmas this year. Yes, Christmas exists in Japan, and quite a big deal it is too. There are trees, decorations and on Sunday we went to a shopping centre in Kamiooka that was nearly as busy as some of the ones in Melbourne.

BUT there's no real understanding of Christmas. Christmas cake is white sponge with a lot of cream, and the most popular place for a Christmas meal is KFC. Well, they do have Santa's colours I guess.

As for understanding the religious significance of the day, which even your staunchest atheist understands, forget that!

Just before midnight we flew out of Haneda Airport on the 23rd. Haneda is Tokyo's second airport, much smaller and quieter than Narita. My Japan Post debit card didn't work in the ATMs there (and it doesn't work anywhere overseas) so I was a little miffed at that. To say the least. Seems they shut down ATM services at night even if the ATM you use is working. And over holiday weekends (which it was) it also shuts down - the network that is.

I slept better on the bus to Tokyo than the packed flight to Kuala Lumpur. It was a bit of a shocker - full plane complete with screaming kids, nine seated across so very little room. But for the price Air Asia can't be beaten and their service is easily the best I've experienced on a budget airline.

Transfer over five hours at the budget terminal in KL was fine - slept a couple of hours on some very dirty seats, then double checked details for this place - Batam Island.

We arrived in Singapore shortly after midday Monday and customs and baggage were so fast it was almost painless. Took the MRT to Habour Front where ferries for Batam Island left. Similar to Japan, everything is sort of centred around the shopping malls in Singapore. We entered one side, walked through a seriously busy mall to the ferry terminal, still inside the mall. Bought our ticket (boy were we tired by this point) and had to clear customs again to take the ferry.

Above is the inside of the ferry. It scooted across the bay between Singapore and Sentosa Island. Last year I took the cable car ride above the ferries. This time I was on the ferry looking up!

Looking up from the ferry.

I probably should have got up on the ferry roof for better photos, but bang! Out like a light. Woke five minutes from Batam Island. Customs - nice and easy, visa on arrival, nice and easy (if a poor exchange rate. 10 US dollars does not equal anywhere near 18 Singapore dollars) and I was in country number 68 - Indonesia.

It's poorer than Singapore and Malaysia, that much you see right away, but this place half operates on Singapore dollars. It's not nearly as poor as some places, and is a special economic zone, I understand. Hotel is very nice for the price, Christmas breakfast even included roast chicken but I presume that turkey won't happen today. Driving on the left - not what I expected but chalk another one up for the southpaw drivers! 

This place is supposed to be a bit seedy - it's called Nagoya and a far cry from its Japanese namesake. However everything I've seen so far has been well above board. It has a huge shopping mall too, where Christmas Day should include a chance to see 'The Hobbit'.

Wherever you are this Christmas Day, 2012, Happy Christmas!

View from the hotel room

hello folks! Well, I am counting down the hours now to my next plane flight from Tokyo to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur. Then there's 3 days in Batam Island, which should provide plenty to blog about, and then Singapore followed by eight days in Sri Lanka, very excited about that! Stay tuned to this blogs for news, views and pics!

Winter has really been setting in. I write from Yokohama, with maximums around 8-10 degrees. As an Australian I never thought I could consider such temperatures warm, but compared to the last few weeks, they certainly are!

Ichinoseki saw a bit of snow. Last Thursday I had to drive to Sumita, a small town, for training. The road was covered in snow in some places and the return was treacherous too, with many downhill hair-pin bends to negotiate. But I survived in my Kei-car - that's a type of small car I drive and many others in my English-teaching position do too.

Last Sunday, the 16th, saw the general election here. I took my wife to vote late in the day. It was a very quiet polling booth indeed. The general turnout has been reasonable and one of the highest I believe at around 59%, however I was being told it was something like 25%. I think now that must have been an estimate on the turnout in Iwate. Certainly at around 3pm there were no more than a dozen people going to vote at the booth we went to. 

The result saw the ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (who are the conservatives here) won with an increased majority. They are quite nationalistic, especially over some islands that are disputed with China, and pro-nuclear power which has left a few people here a little mystified. I was told there was a real chance for change before this election, and so not knowing much about Japanese politics I was a little surprised. It's been a year for elections! Georgia, USA, Egypt all with vital votes on their future.

That's the state of play here. In Ichinoseki the person who won had something like 6000-7000 votes, which demonstrates a very poor voter turn out for the city. I had a page with the results but can't find it now. The winner I believe was from the LDP. He is highlighted in red. With the exception of the woman running, all the candidates looked very similar to me. All employed the technique of cars with loud speakers driving around town shouting out some sort of message through loud speakers. Very unwelcome in my opinion! It's fair to say that Japan is very big of older men in glasses and suits, and not just in politics!

See you soon, from another country!

Earthquakes and Snow

Yesterday evening I had the experience that has threatened many times since I have been here in Japan, I experienced a big earthquake. The epicentre was off the north east coast of Honshu, perhaps 250km from the mainland. It measured 7.3. Let me tell you, dear readers, it was a scary few minutes. A day later and I still feel like the earth is moving. Things fell from shelves, and this ol' building made some serious noise. It shudders and rocks a little when someone in one of the flats shuts their door, so perhaps not surprising, but this was clearly more.

Across the rooves this morning lay snow.

 I had the iron and the gas stove going naturally, and my wife wasn't home as yet. I had to rush around and turn them off, open the front door and then cower like a craven in the bathroom, supposedly the safest place to be when inside. I considered running outside. Once you're outside in a car park you're safe but with all the movement I didn't feel safe running down stairs. It felt like three minutes of shaking, probably it was less. When it stopped I didn't really know what to do. I felt quite lost, and alone.

Snow across the rails here in Ichinoseki

 In perspective, of course, this was nothing compared to the earthquake on the 11th of March last year. Now we wait for aftershocks. We had one and maybe two small tremours but nothing significant. We wait nervously to see if there will be more. Is there a bigger one coming in the next few days? 7.3 is big enough for anyone, but last years was 9. The power didn't even go out yesteday. 2011 and Ichionoseki had no power for two weeks I am told. It seems strange that we haven't have 24 hours of aftershocks to me.

Snow is pretty - sometimes!

It was only a day or three after March 11th 2011 that snow fell. We woke this morning to a cover of snow most places. The night was pretty cold. A serious earthquake and below 0 conditions would not make for a pleasant combination. Yet this morning I couldn't help but notice how pretty everything looked. The first serious snow of the winter? Well, I have nothing to compare it too. Please enjoy the pics.

We leave in two weeks for Batam, Singapore and Sri Lanka. If it must shake so again, perhaps the underground gods would consider doing it whilst we are away?

A footnote - seeing no sign of disruptions or damage today. Lest we forget that 2011's earthquake and following tsunami took around 18,000 lives.