We are a product of experience: 2013

Friday, December 13, 2013

Japan

Though my time in Japan was brief it was memorable. I was fortunate enough to meet three solo travellers at a hostel in Tokyo; Fabien, Annabel Le and Andre. We decided to tackle what Japan had to offer together.

Tokyo ate me alive. Much like Shanghai the city was overwhelming. I spent more time gazing aimlessly at signs and maps rather than being where I wanted to be. If you like peace and quiet and your own space steer clear of Tokyo. The metro's were like cans of over packed sardines, I was constantly stepping on toes at bars, and walking the streets was like joining a school of fish; don't go against the current or risk losing yourself in a sea of sandal wearing goldfish tenders. (Thank you Mr Burns)

Tokyo, view from the Sky Tower

From Tokyo the four of us ventured to Hakone. The town is part of the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park; less then 100km from Tokyo. Hakone is known for its natural hot springs or Onsens. We were informed that it was customary to bathe naked and that tattoos were forbidden due to their affiliation with the Yakuza Mafia. Fabien and myself both have tattoos but thought we would take our chances. It wasn't to be; the sharp eye of the Japanese caught us, we were pulled out of the water stark naked and escorted out in nothing but a towel.

Our next stop was Fuji, with the intent of climbing the 3,800m Mt Fuji. It was nice to be away from the bells and whistles of Tokyo. Fuji is a peaceful and serene town; more of what I was hoping for from Japan. Unfortunately we weren't able to get a snap of the mountain due to the thick cloud cover. I was told by a local that Mt Fuji is like a shy woman; you need to keep working at her until she reveals herself, but knowing my luck with women I didn't catch a glimpse. We did manage to climb part of Mt Fuji until rough weather forced us to turn back.

Dogs can climb Mt Fuji too

Kyoto was my final stop in Japan. It lies 400 km south of Fuji but with the bullet train reaching speeds of over 300km/ph the journey was seamless. I didn't spend enough time in Kyoto to comment on the city, but I found it similar to Tokyo, just on a smaller scale.

There are three more topics I want to discuss re Japan; karaoke, fashion and the fact that a lot of Japan seems to be living in the not too distant future; its scary. The karaoke machine was invented by a Japanese musician; Daisuke in 1971. After becoming popular in Japan, karaoke spread to South East Asia during the 1980's and subsequently to other parts of the world. Throughout Japan karaoke establishments are often fronts for gentlemen's clubs, where men pay to have females serve drinks and dance/sing with them. You can't go far in Japan without coming across a karaoke bar. I swore I would never karaoke again after a terrible performance in Barcelona two years ago, but 'when in Rome'. I had countless nights on the mic; my best performance was a duet to Single Ladies. Beyonce; my guilty pleasure, don't judge me.

Moving on, I knew that Asian's were into technology, but Japan takes the cake. Science and technology in Japan is focused on consumer electronics. Japan's research and development budget currently sits at $130 billion US dollars a year. On the metro system I struggled to find someone that wasn't glued to their phone or device. Much of the western world seems to be moving in this direction, however Japan is one step ahead.

Finally, Japan began to emulate Western Fashion in the 19th Century. By the 21st Century this emulation formed Japanese Street Fashion. At present there are many styles of dress in Japan created from a mix of local and foreign labels. Many of these styles are extreme and avant-garde, similar to the haute couture seen on European and American catwalks. One afternoon I took a stroll through Harajuku; Tokyo's high fashion district and felt like I was on a different planet. I recommend checking it out if in Tokyo, a great place to shop as well.

Friday, November 8, 2013

我不說英語

I didn't know what to expect when I landed in Beijing, but it was clear I wouldn't be hearing much of the English language.

Luckily these things called 'smart phones' exist and thankfully they're smarter than me. Free WiFi and Google were my only source of navigation in China. God help me if I had to use a map (I don't know how I passed geography).

Somehow I found my way to a hostel. I was staying in the Quaimen area, which I highly recommend if in Beijing for a few days. It's close to Tiananmen square and other major attractions in Beijing, and like a lot of hostels, close to bars and nightlife. China was off to a good start; I met a great bunch of people at the hostel and upon my arrival a local gave me 5 yen when he noticed I didn't have enough money on me for a train ticket.

After my visit to Tiananmen square however, things took a slight turn for the worse. I jumped in a rickshaw headed for the closest metro. After what felt like an odd route we arrived in an alley way. Long story short, the driver tried to mug me; he asked for all the money in my wallet, but luckily I only had 20 yen on me; equivalent to about 4 Australian Dollars (sometimes it pays to be a stingy bastard). The mugger left disappointed and in the end I had the last laugh. If you count the 5 yen the bloke lent me for a train ticket China's still 15 yen up. Ill get them back one day.

The Great Wall was just that. I cant say much other than don't miss it if your in China. This coupled with a few big nights and a colossal amount of dumplings pretty much wraps up my time in Beijing.

From Beijing I managed to navigate my way south to Hangzhou. Hangzhou is the capital and largest city of the Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. The city's main attraction is West Lake. I spent a day riding through the parks which surround the Lake. Hangzhou is also littered with great bars and restaurants; I got the impression that Hangzhou is frequently visited by the wealthy from Shanghai and neighbouring cities.

A local ritual at Ling Yin Temple

My final stop in China was Shanghai. To be honest the place was a little overwhelming. Shanghai is very westernised, especially when you compare it to Beijing. The sheer amount of people coupled with the lack of English certainly put me out of my element. I embraced the culture as best I could and after six nights I'd certainly warmed to the city for two main reasons; the shopping and the food.
Shanghai cuisine focuses on light seasoning and is known for its mild and tasty dishes. The Shanghaniese describe their food as fresh, intricate and refreshing. As a result their sauces are often very thin. Sauces in Beijing on the other hand are usually more of a paste; it tends to be thicker and sweeter.

The Chinese love their shopping and Shanghai is no exception; it boasts some of the biggest malls in Asia. I spent some time strolling through the main shopping district; Nanjing Road but at times this experience was soured by countless people asking me if I wanted a 'massagey' or 'sucky sucky', I was in Asia after all. Lastly if your in Shanghai make sure to walk along the Bund at night and witness the spectacular view of the city's business district.

Tips for China

Learn Mandarin: I know that's asking a lot, so at the least take a Mandarin handbook.
Don't get in a rickshaw: For reasons stated above.
Eat as many dumplings as you can, both meat and vegetable: They are delicious, also lurk for dumpling houses after a big night, most open at 4am.
Try hot pot in Beijing: These dishes are unique to Beijing and normally consist of raw meats and vegetables which you cook yourself in a pot of water presented at the table.
Guided tours where possible: Unless of course you can read signs and plaques in Mandarin

Monday, September 9, 2013

Get it India

Forget about seat belts, hot showers, wifi, beef, power or personal hygiene, this is a post about India.

My plane arrived in New Delhi just before midnight on the 26th of July where I was greeted by a familiar face amongst the sea of black hair and dark skin; Mr Jordan Cutts.

*Note we stuck out like dogs balls.

From the airport a taxi dropped us at our hostel; The Smyle Inn in the suburb of Paharganj, although we didn't have too much to 'smyle' about after we were informed we were staying in one of the most dangerous areas of the city.

That aside we jumped in a rickshaw the next day and took off to see the sights in New Delhi; namely India Gate and Humayun's Tomb. The day wasn't complete without the occasional beggar and our driver insisting we visit his 'friends' shops. These were common themes throughout India.

The next few days we embraced the crowds, noise and smells and survived the streets of Delhi.

One highlight in India's capitol was our cooking class. We took a taxi to the outskirts of Delhi and arrived at a run-down apartment block. We walked up a few flights of stairs and found our intended address. It certainly wasn't what we expected; we envisioned a big kitchen with a cooking class full of tourists. What we got was a small apartment with no one but ourselves, our instructor and her family. It was awkward at first with Jordan and I wondering if they were going to rob us however once we got going we really started to enjoy ourselves.

We prepared masala chai; a traditional sweet Indian tea, potato pakora with a coriander chutney, followed by mutton rogan josh with pulao rice. No Indian meal is complete without bread, so of course we also learnt how to make roti and paratha. The cooking class was a great experience; it showed us what goes on in a real North Indian kitchen, and we enjoyed our meal with some new found friends.

I can safely say that Jordan and I loved the food India had to offer, and we didn't tire of eating curry. We ate at some of India's best restaurants, to stalls on the side of dirt roads. We learnt that mutton in India is goat, and that the majority of meat dishes are based around chicken, which suited us just fine. A typical meal for Jordan and myself would consist of two chicken dishes, one rice, two Kingfishers, and of course a double helping of nann.

The weekend had arrived in Delhi so we thought we'd do the usual and get our binge on. Again it wasn't to be, the only 'club' we found was one where men in turbans sung to Linkin Park and failed to skull even half a beer. We found out that New Delhi doesn't have a club scene. We did however meet one local who decided he'd take us on a tour of New Delhi's most exclusive clubs. He'd brag about the millions of dollars he had, but failed to get us on a single dance floor. We later dubbed him the Delhi douche, and rightly so.

After 3 nights in Delhi we made our way to Agra with the help of our driver Asok; at the time we were unaware of the comedy that would ensue at his expense. His stutter, repetitive questions, and lack of communication skills provided Jordan and I with hours of entertainment/frustration on our long journeys. Unfortunately he failed to get us hashish which ruined his chances of a decent tip.

Agra served us up some memorable sights including the epic Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Even though we made it to the Taj at 6am, when its supposedly cooler we still looked like drowned rats in our photos.

We then made our way to Jaipur. Some points of note in the Pink City were Amber Fort, The City Palace and Raj Mindir Cinema where Jordan and I sat through a four and a half hour Bollywood film; Bhag Milka Bhag. Despite our lack of Hindi we thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I highly recommend watching a Bollywood film if ever in India.

Jodhpur was next on the Golden Triangle route; a four hour drive west. The spice markets and Merangarh Fort kept us entertained before our final stop; Pushkar. This was one of my favourite places in India for a few reasons. Pushkar is surrounded by mountains and has a beautiful lake in the middle of town. It also boasts the 'Rainbow Restaurant' which provided us with energy we needed to climb the 500 steps up to Savirti Temple in the form of space cakes.

After 7 days on the road dodging cows and conversing about cricket we returned to Delhi. I bid farewell to Jordan as he prepared to ease back into western civilisation with a night at a 5 star hotel; The La Lit. I jumped on a 14 hour bus headed north to Dharamasala.

India is something else. It is the least westernised country I have ever been to. India has managed to keep it's own identity even after so many years of British rule. Jordan and I often found ourselves saying "thats so India" because there are so many aspects that are uniquely Indian, and thats why I'll always have fond memories of this country.

India is well worth the cold showers, the gut wrenching smells, the sweat, the dioreeha and hecklers. It is a country full of colour, smiles and surprises.