Lost in Translation

Right now, I’m sitting in the quaintest of Internet cafes, on the tip of the village of Oia (pronounced ee-a) in Santorini. The walls are painted in various shades of aqua blue, and the cool breeze blowing from the ocean below is calming and invigorating all at the same time.

To say that Santorini is an amazingly beautiful place would be an insult to the island. It’s so much more beyond just being breathtaking. Every where your eye wanders, you’re amazed by the sheer abundance of natural beauty, as well as the creativity and innovation of mankind.

The entire island seems to be carved along the mountains. Houses are almost cave like, burrowing through the sides of vast mountains, high above the Mediterranean sea. I decided to stay in the picturesque village of Oia only because of it’s famed sunsets, overlooking the caldera.

The trip from Dubai to Athens was absolutely delightful. Emirates unveiled a new plane, and this was its maiden flight. Everything was brand spankin new, and the plane smelled new. It was great. Finally it seems as if Emirates listened to its passengers and have now introduced comfortable seating. Finally!

As usual, I had my windows seat and a very nice lady was my companion next to me. She reminded me of my high school English teacher, Mrs. Dee Snyder, and sure enough, she herself turned out to be an English teacher. We talked about a range of topics, and she told me a lot about what I would be seeing in Greece, the history and the myths surrounding many of the areas I mentioned I wanted to see. The 4hr trip didn’t seem that long and before we knew it, we had landed in Athens.

Athens resembles more an Asian capital than a European capital. From the dirty streets, to the unruly traffic, to the ungodly numbers of billboards shoved into each street corner. The customs and immigration was a snap and before long, I was on the bus on my way to the port of Piraeus to catch the ferry to Santorini. The lady was a sweetheart and within 10 minutes, tickets in hand, I was off to Gate E9 to wait about 2hrs for the ferry.

6:30 rolled around and we all poured into the ferry and thus began the journey from hell. The waters were very rough last night, and the strong winds weren’t helping any. The entire ferry was shaking like a leaf on a tree, and that can only mean one thing: extreme nausea. I put on my headphones, closed my eyes, went into the fetal position and tried to sleep. It worked! Only until I started hearing a lot of commotion. I woke up and I swear it felt like the ship was about to keel over. WOW … not a good feeling. We could see the waves hitting the windows a good 15 feet from the bottom and the entire boat was just rocking away.

I tried to sleep again, but that was not happening. My heart was pounding and everyone on the ship had this ashen look on their faces. Frightening. Then came the inevitable announcement: Ladies and Gentleman, the weather near Andros is very bad. We regret to inform you that we cannot stop at Andros tonight. We will TRY to steer the ship towards Santorini. WHOOOA!! TRY?!? Maafi quwais!

Finally, around 12:15AM the ship docked on the shores of Fira port and everyone was making the cross signs on their chest. I was tempted to scream AllahuAkbar in relief, but I thought that might cause more chaos on the boat, so I intoned it to myself.

From there, I went off looking for a taxi, but none were in sight and before long the entire crowd from the ferry dispersed leaving me and 2 other passengers alone. I started talking to the guy, who turned out to be a cop in Athens, originally from Crete, and his girlfriend, Thula, originally from Rhodes. Both wonderful people who just happened to be looking for a taxi to Oia as well.

Around 12:30 a taxi rolled around and we were finally on our way. Another heart pumping journey. As I was saying earlier, the ENTIRE island has been carved out of mountains, so of course the roads aren’t an exception, and they’re at extremely sharp angle, on VERY narrow layouts. The taxi driver, as is the case with taxi drivers the world over, was whizzing by like he was driving in the middle of the desert somewhere. I’m clutching the car seat and the door handle with dear life hanging in the balance. Everytime he turned the corner my foot would go on my imaginary brake and after each curve that we didn’t die, I would sigh in relief and offer a prayer to the Lord Almighty.

After what seemed like an eternity (it was only 20 minutes), the dude parked in front of Delfini Pension and I was finally home. The pension owner, Rena, was there to welcome me with a beaming smile, even though it was nearly 1AM! She gave me a quick overview of the area and then took me to the studio I had reserved.

OH MY GAAAWD!!!! The location of this place is spectacular to say the very least. It is RIGHT ON THE DAMN CLIFF!! The stairs are barely 5″ wide and walking them is harder than walking a tight rope in a circus.

Once I got to the room, and relaxed … I decided to go out and take some pictures of the city in the dead of night. I cannot begin to explain the beauty, the warmth, and the ambience of the night in this remote place. What an amazing feeling. The sky was filled with stars from one end to the other. I think there was more sparkle in the sky than the dark blue that we’re commonly used to.

The cool breeze, and the occasional sound of a dog howling kept me company for awhile and before long I had dozed off in my balcony. It was only the sense of chill that prodded me to my bed around 2.

Woke up early in the morning because of the beautiful sunshine screaming through the various nooks in the walls. I took a nice warm bath and went off to begin my days journey, taking us back to the top.

It is only 1:30 in the afternoon, and my picture count is so far upto 200+. The sunset is right around the corner … God have mercy

Signing over …

Boo! I’m back for the quarterly update. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s only because I’m on my way out of Riyadh.

I don’t know why this happens - my daily life in Riyadh is pretty exciting, with late nights, funky stuff at work, quirky times with friends, and so much more. But probably because of all that, I don’t get time to actually sit down and write anything.

This is officially my last trip as a solo traveller. And this comes with a mixed bag of emotions. Sure, it’ll be nice to have someone to share the experience with, watch the sun set over the vast oceans, but at the same time, the solitude and “privacy” that I enjoy will also be compromised. I am talking like I really have some choice in this matter, and I really don’t. I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m bitter about the whole marriage, I’m not … and am looking forward to it in many aspects, but the thought is still pretty damn daunting.

Anyhoo … I’m sitting in the lounge at Dubai Airport right now, waiting for my flight to board. I am so tired, it’s not even funny. I say this in every travel blog entry, but it bears repetition … the business class lounges are a blessing from God to the weary traveller. Decent food, all the drinks you want, decent computers with chairs that dont flatten ur ass, and very comfy leather recliners to boot. On a layover that has extended well over 8hrs now, it’s great!

Airports are amazing places. They provide a snapshot of the breadth of humanity in it’s finest form. You’ll see people from all walks of life … from the old father and mother from a remote village in India visiting their son in Umreeka, to the big tribal African Shaka Zulu going God knows where.

These are the people I want to talk about in this entry - they get on my friggin nerves! I mean, sooo incredibly loud, and soooo obnoxiously pushy. I’m a pretty healthy (read: fat) guy and even I am no match for a 5′2″ woman barrelling thru looking like someone unleashed a bowling ball with fury. She’ll have her football team of kids in tow, an ungodly number of suitcases loaded on a poor, pathetic card just wheeling around. Why do I say this with such anguish and hate right now? Yeap, one such lady rammed it into my ankle and it hurts like a bitch!

Then I get to the lounge hoping to get some shuteye time, but nope, the lounge is full of em too! Talking in their loud, intruding languages. Ok, I’m no racist or anything … Gina will tell you that … but *AAAAH* I find me a quiet spot in the corner and just as I am about to fall asleep, this couple comes and sits right next to me and proceeds to laugh up a storm, and not dainty, sexy laugh … the kind that would scare ghosts … this raspy, throaty variety!

And to top it all off … I went to the bathroom to wash my face and these 2 guys on either side of me were “brushing” their teeth, and I damn near puked looking at them. This one guy was classic … I think he took cleanliness to a whole new level … the brush was far down his throat, I could barely see his knuckles. Of course, this was causing him to choke and he’s standing there coughing up a storm, and spitting all the stuff out all over the sink. Just the thought of it is giving me goosebumps. YUCK! Let’s not even get started on the other guy.

Maybe some petite French dame would think the same of me when I try and brush my teeth But anyways, airports are always fun places to chill and see all sorts of people make their way through!

As I did with the Japan trip, I’m going to try and be regular on this trip as well. So the 2 of you that are actually reading it … keep glued!

Adios!

Instead of doing another writeup of the days events, etc, I have decided to do a final wrap-up of Japan. In case you didn’t notice - I leave for home today, inshallah.

Before I forget, I came up with this gem on the way from Nara last night. I know, Forrest Gump says ‘Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get.’ Well, he was retarded, what does he know.

Here is the realness: Life is like a train. People get on, and people get off, but some stay on for the whole journey. I know, profound! It’s ok, just sit back, take a deep breath and keep going.

What I’ll do is a list of the good, the bad and the ugly from Japan, a Top 10 list, if you will.

In between the heavy rains in Tokyo, the manic fever in Kyoto, I would still have to give this trip a solid 7-8/10. The people are wonderful, the sites even more so. The food left me a little weak, but hey, to each their own, right?

So, without further ado … here’s the list:

The Good:

• The freakin cool toilets. Press a button and you get a nice water splash (pressure controlled), press another button and a nice breeze of air will dry you right up! Insanely cool!
• The traffic light crossing sounds. I mentioned this one before, the lil chirping sound when it’s ok for you to cross.
• At the entrance to all the stores, there this lil stand with long plastic sheaths, and you stick your umbrellas in it so the water doesn’t drip all over the place.
• Some stores also have umbrella lockers. You stick ur umbrella in a cage type thingy, and there’s a small tiny lock to lock the handle in. Real cute.
• The plastic food models. So you never have to wonder what your meal will look like before you get it. Walk along ANY street in Japan, and you’ll see showcase after showcase of plastic foods with the name and price. If you have a hard time with Japanese, just drag the maitre d’ outside and point at what you want! It’s a snap!
• The fashion sense of the women. Again, I mentioned this earlier: everyone is dressed like they’re on their way to the runways. Hair done, great clothes, and amazing shoes to boot!
• The freakin Internet Cafes. I mean, there aren’t words to describe how HAAWWT these places are. Free drinks, free snacks, PS2, TV, fast ass computers, showers, clean toilets … the works! The cost: $9 per 3hours!
• The subways have this reaaaaaaaaally nifty lil line map. Let’s say you’re on the purple line, it’ll have the entire lines network shown over the doors, and like a lil light will blink to show which station you’re at. Maybe other places have this too, but saved my ass on multiple occasions!
• The courtesy and politeness you’re shown as a customer in any store. They bow down when you walk in, and there is this lil tray where you give your money, you never hand the money with your hands. And your change is given cupped in both hands, and head bowed. Very refreshing - esp coming from Riyadh! I still gots love for ya, Riyadh!!

The bad:

• There are no trash cans. You can walk 10 city blocks and not encounter one. It’s very frustrating! Their reasoning: after 9/11, it’s a security threat. I mean, I thought these guys were smart, but they always throw a wrench in there somewhere.
• The train stations are humongerous! To get from the Side A on Level 1 to Side B on Level 1, you’ll have to take no less than 31341034 elevators up, then another 13412351 elevators down, and voila! You’re on the other side of the tracks! I mean, gimme a break people!
• The Japanese from the past had this uncanny affinity for high places. These mountain shrines/temples get reallllly old, reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally fast. Again, gimme a freakin break! May God bless the souls of the poor laborers who worked on these fine structures. Must have been one hell of a contracting job!

The Ugly:

• THE FREAKIN PEACE SIGN PICTURE POSE. I swear, seeing that makes my blood pressure rise to no end. And it’s not just cute school girls doing this, it’s the entire freakin Orient! You’ll see a 90yr old grandpa line up for a pose and BAM! the peace sign is right in yo face! I want to walk right upto him and just tell him off. We get it … you LOVE peace!
• Maafi English. This one is ugly, only because it boggles my mind. One of the most, if not the most, technologically advanced societies in the world, but yet sooo isolated still, and they’re oblivious to it. The worst of it is, I can say anything to some people, and they’ll just start nodding their heads, and I’m getting real excited here … OMG! THIS PERSON MIGHT ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING, and then it’s over just like that … the person smiles and starts saying ‘Hai!’ incessantly!

I’m sure there are more things that can go in each category, but that’s for another trip. Thanks for reading and taking part in this trip along with me. I appreciate it.

Anchors away!!!

So after a great trip to Hiroshima, I got into bed, and promptly around 3 started getting feverish chills and I kept thinking, please, don’t let me come down with a fever. It’s the last thing I need right now!

I was sleeping in my birthday suit, so I thought, ok … I’ll put on something, maybe it’s just cold in the room (no real chance of that happening, the lady keeps a tight grip on AC usage in her lil place! No less than 26C, and the AC is only from 10PM-7AM!) Anyways, did all the tricks I could think of, bundled up in the 2in rag she refers to as the “Japanese quilt” and went to sleep.

Woke up the next morning, burning. It was so bad, the freakin bedsheet had burn marks on it! I was soo exhausted, just rolling over felt more onerous than playing against Brazil. Although, now that I think about it, playing against Brazil would be pretty easy: just step aside and let them do what they want. You know you’re not going to stop them :o)

I was (man, my vocab is really failing me right now!) determined not to let a little fever schmever get in the way of my grand Kyoto plans. So, being the soldier that I am, I trudged outta bed, headed to the shower, and was outta the house within the hour.

I took the bus straight to the Golden Shrine. Build by some Shogun back in whatever year. The trip was hella long, and I ended up being on the bus for a good hour! From there tho, the shrine was only a hop away, and ticket in hand, I went in.

WOW!

This place is seriously stunning. Build on a small island surrounded by a beautiful lake, with smaller rock formations within the lake. The shrine is all gold and the reflection in the water creates a serene, calm feeling.

Again, the Japanese gardens on the premises are top notch and it was a blast walking thru them, taking pictures, the usual. I spent a good 2hours, and then got on the bus again to head to another shrine. Somewhere along the way, my stomach started saying it needed some feed, so I detoured to a McDonalds.

The sandwich was ok … kinda bland … but whatever, it was much needed fuel. I chilled in the small eating restaurant upstairs for a bit, and could definitely feel my fever rising. Popped some Motrins and decided to relax for a bit.

About 30 mins later, I was on the go again and this time, I was back at Kiyomizu Dera temple. Last time, I wasn’t able to reach the top before closing time, so I had to make a return trip. Very glad I did. The view from the top, and the structure holding up the building is marvelous. I’ll say it again … to think these people did all this over 300-400 years ago just dazzle your sensibilities.

It was almost sunset by the time I got done walking around the massive temple and feeling slightly light-headed and squeamish, I headed back to the hotel, calling it an early night … or so I thought.

I just had the worst night imaginable. I sweating like I was sitting in the middle of the sun. I could feel my temperature go through the roof, so I decided to head to the doctor. He was floored - temperature was at 104.6 (40.3) and the doctor was like WTH are you doing walking the streets?!?!? I tried to explain to him in my calm tone, kinda pissed off for some reason, but he was like ok, ok … dont freak out on me … take these medicines and spend an hour here so I can see that the temperature is going down.

Sure, as you wish! Plus, the hospital was nice and cool So within like 45 minutes, it had gone down in the 102s, and he said ok, it should continue to go down blah blah blah. So I came back home around 3AM, tried to sleep again, and I think finally around 4-5, I must have dozed off.

Next morning, I woke up pretty fresh, but still lightheaded, but less feverish. Decided to chill for most of the day. Came to the Internet cafe, and then went shopping at the Kyoto Handicraft Center.

This place is massive. About 7 floors of all the goods that Japan has to offer: katanas, kimonos, dolls, silk scarves, lacquer wood goods … just everything! I spent shitloads of money and then with both hands overflowing, got back to the hotel.

I finally came across an Indian restaurant, and had my first real meal in Japan. What a relief. And the food was excellent to boot! I just licked all the plates, and then the crumbs on the table as well … just about, but not quite! :o)

Finally had a great nights rest on a full stomach! Alhamdulillah!

Although the train ticket was a wee bit too steep, I really had my mind setup on visiting Hiroshima. Actually, wasn’t THAT interested in Hiroshima, but in the island off of it, Miyajima. The holy island of Japan.

There is a floating torii in Miyajima which is regarded as one of the 3 Must See Sights of Japan, but of course during high tide. So I went to the train station, talked to the people and voila! the lady brings out the tide chart for Miyajima. As luck would have it, the high tide today was going to be at 5PM!!! Perfect!! So I handed her the money, got the tickets and happily started skipping to the Shinkansen. I really need to take a pic of the Shinkansen … if the damn things wouldn’t move soo fast, lol!

The ride from Kyoto to Hiroshima was very pleasant. We went thru Kobe, Osaka and some other small town. So in between seeing high rise buildings, traffic and the sort, you’d see the beautiful country side of rice paddies, farmers wading upto their knees inspecting their crops.

I got into Hiroshima around 1, and I was honestly blown away by the beauty and charm of the city. For some reason, considering it was A-bombed and what not, I was expecting some sorry, self-pitying city, but not so. The city is laid out in a clean style, broad avenues criscrossing, with many a gardens for you to relax in.

I had quite sometime before I had to head Miyajima, so I decided why not visit the Peace Memorial Park. And I’m so glad I did. It was a very moving experience, especially the great museum. With the war going on right now, it really shows you how meaningless our quest for ultimate power is. The tragedy and suffering of the millions could almost be felt from the pictures and the testimonies of the survivors. Very chilling.

They’ve done a great job with the park … and the only standing building from August 8, 1945 has been preserved, and again, it offers a reminder of the stupidity of war. There is a flame that burns in the middle of this long water pond that will burn until the day the last nuclear weapon has been destroyed. Looking at how things are going, the flame better be strong enough to last an eternity!

It was already about 4PM when I decided to board my city tram to goto the Miyajima-michi station to take the short ferry over to Miyajima. I was so excited, I could hardly stand myself! At every turn as we got closer, I started imagining that I could indeed see the floating torii, but of course I couldn’t

We finally did get to the station after what seemed like an eternity … 50minutes damnit! … and then ferry wasn’t going to come for another 15 minutes!!! grrrrr!!!! But, this was a good chance for me to eat some seriously delish ice cream. Mucho better compared to my last experience with the seaweed and sushi flavor. I went safe this time with orange and grape. All the kids were lookin at me like I was holding the most prized possession in the world, so feeling kinda guilty, I gobbled it down fairly quickly. Plus I could see the ferry nearing in the distance.

I was so bad, I was in back of line, right, but I didn’t want to let all the kids get on first and take the good spots, so I cut in front of them, shoved my ticket in the conductors face and rushed along like a madman, lol.

The only thing missing from the picture was me snorting and laughing maniacally to myself.

The ride from Hiroshima to Miyajima was very nice, short, but nice. And since I had taken the prime spot, I was snapping pics like no tomorrow. Changing lenses, kneeling down, bending over the railway. Must’ve looked like I knew what I was doing, but the end result will be the judge.

The first thing that strikes you about Miyajima is as soon as you step out from the ferry station, you’ll be greeted by free roaming deer. They’re not scared of humans, and will in fact come right up to you and nuzzle your legs looking for some cookies. You can apparently buy deer cookies and make some new friends, if humans just aren’t doing it for you anymore.

This one lil stag decided to follow me to my destination. It was so flattering! Awww!!!

It was like 5:30 and being a total high-tide dumbass, I didn’t know how much time I had to take my pics, so again, I’m rushing down the coastline like a retard. It actually was very retarded, because the torii is like literally a 2min stroll from the station to the main entrance, lol!

There were a lot of tourists and we’re all busy taking pictures, and it was sooo amazing. So calming! The palace to which the torii belongs to is this massive structure comprising of apparently 21 buildings or whatever and looks so stunning, esp with the time I was there, the sun was shining directly on it!

I must’ve taken over a 100 pics in this place alone and waited till about 7:15PM to get some even better shots before heading back to catch my train back to Kyoto.

I made it back to Kyoto around 10:30, and had an amazing sleep - I kept see-sawing on the torii all night long!

So I’m back for another installment! A few days have gone in between updates, but I’m trying hard to make sure the entire trip is documented here, unlike the other times!

Last time I had just gotten to Kyoto, and since it was kinda late, I had to check into a REAL hotel, and had to pay for it too But it was worth it, like totally! I was soo tired of walking and having a nice, real bathroom, a comfy plush bed was totally welcome!

As is my ritual, I had to take a bubble bath, followed by an order of a nice drink from room service! This time I ordered a Mango-kiwi concoction. It was really very good. I was able to watch some TV, and luckily the Brazil game was on, so it gave me a chance to catch up with the World Cup. Of course, Brazil kicked a$$!!!

I finally went to sleep around 2 after planning the next day. I woke up around 9, took another shower, and headed out and decided to eat at the hotel restaurant. The buffet was good, but a little too heavy on the seafood side, which makes total sense, I suppose. I had a chance to try fried unagi (eel) and octopus. Yeah, let’s not get into that anymore!

I left around 12 from the hotel and headed to my ryokan for the remainder of my time in Kyoto … the Ryokan Hinomoto. The check-in wasn’t till 3, but the old lady was nice enough to let me leave my things until I came back at night. The location of this place is great, right next to a 7-11, and close to downtown, and walking distance to most of the temples in Higashiyama area.

The city of Kyoto has over 2,000 temples and shrines, and each belongs to a different sect of Buddhism. I swear, as peaceful as these Buddhists come off as, they sure have issues with each other. Every temple sign you read “This temple was founded by Foobar-san, who later became the leader of the Foo branch of Buddhism because of differences in ideology with the Buddhism of the time” But let me not take away anything from the actual temples and shrines. They are magnificent to the MAX!

What really boggles my mind is how people from the past were able to produce such masterpieces, at this scale, with the limited technological resources they had. There is one temple, Kiyomizu-dera, which is perched high in the mountains. It is a trek just to walk up there, and to imagine the laborers who had to actually make this thing is amazing.

Anyways, so I did some more temple sightseeing around Kyoto and came across a beautiful Japanese garden, preserved from the Edo period. The garden was complete with the manicured trees, raked sands, and overall peace and harmony. You can spend hours in these places, and I didn’t realize why people talked about Japanese gardens so much! Now it all makes sense.

After walking for over 6hrs, up and down the narrow alleys, I came face to face with a Buddha statue that was just too humungous. Even with the 18mm lens, I couldn’t fully capture it. Took some creative angles to get it in. Again, makes you think of the artisans from back in the day - from all over the world.

I saw my first Geisha in those streets and it was truly a sight to behold. The lady looked absolutely stunning, completely done up in her red and gold embroidered kimono, with the huge bows in the back, the wooden slippers. The hair held together beautifully with a series of jewels, and wooden sticks. She had a beautiful silk parasole with her, and looked completely charming. No wonder Japanese men pay over $300 for an evening. I tried to take a picture, but she was being escorted by a gentleman. So I did what any guy would, I took a pic from the back

I thought NOW, my trip to Japan is complete! Saw a geisha!!! YEEHAAAHHH!!!!

The rest of the day was a blur with shopping, more temples, more shrines, more gardens. Of course, there were frequent stops at the various convenience stores to replenish the water supplies.

I got to Hinomoto, totally exhausted and wanting to sleep right away. Exactly what I did! The sweet, old lady led me to my room, turned the AC on, and I was out without even changing.

First day in Kyoto was memorable, and the city is in such stark contrast to Tokyo, it was almost refreshing. Oh yeah, the women of Kyoto don’t have HALF the style of their Tokyo counterparts! NOTHING!

Many of us often wonder what the greatest invention has been, and many people offer their views, from scientific, to artistic but they’re all WRONG! Yeah ok, so the smallpox vaccine saved millions of lives, so the lightbulb allowed us to stay up all night like freakin owls, so the automobile allowed us to travel long distances … yada yada yada!

Today is your lucky day!!! Why, you ask? Simple. I will tell you what the greatest invention of our time is: the Western style toilet. Have you ever tried squeezing into those stalls with 2 bags in tow, and a camera bag slung across your shoulder? Yeah, it’s almost impossible. Then you’re trying to do this awkward squat action to make sure your clothes atleast look clean to others when you leave. Eek!

So, as you can tell, I’m back after a 2 day hiatus. Those 2 days saw me enjoy the amazing city of Tokyo. My friend in Riyadh, Omar, was saying make sure you come back when I was leaving … don’t fall in love with Tokyo, but it’s virtually impossible.

Now onto the amazing city that is Tokyo. The center of the modern Japanese universe. This place is electric. From the minute you step outside the Tokyo Station, the entire energy and vibe is electrifying. You see a million guys, all dressed in black suits, rushing towards their office. And women dressed in the most amazing fashions following right behind them.

Let me take a minute to commend the Japanese women on their fashion sense. It’s totally on point. Everyone is dressed like they’re about to enter the Milan Fashion Show. Hair is perfectly done, as is the makeup, and again, the clothes are just classic.

I ended up taking the train to Shinjuku station. Let me tie the last post with this one. Remember, I was saying that supposedly Shinjuku station in Tokyo is the busiest in the world … I’d like to ammend that. It’s the busiest in the universe. HOT DAMN THAT PLACE IS CRAAAAAAAAAYZEEEEEE!!!! The size, the sheer number of people, and just the feeling is out of this world.

The station is definitely the size of a small city, perhaps my old hometown of Gaithersburg, MD. No, not perhaps, surely the size of Gaithersburg. There are like mega-gazillion exits and each one takes you out into a totally different part of town. For those of you who have seen Aladdin, it’s like that scene when the genie sticks out like a hundred hands indicating the exits.

I know, I keep yapping about the Japanese rail system, but a few more things. There is no comparison to anything anywhere else. I used to think NY and DC subway systems were the shiznit, but those are like maybe 10% of the size of the Tokyo system. There are over 12 train lines, and each station is like it’s own little town. I can go on and on about this, but let me move on.

Back to our regularly scheduled blogging. So yeah, I found a locker in Shinjuku … stuffed my carry-on stuff and back on the train to the temple area of Asakusa. Asakusa really reminded me of Boston for some reason. Well, I mean, Boston doesn’t have huge Toriis sticking everywhere, but the street atmosphere is similar. Paved walkways and a large street market. The good thing I’ve noticed in Japan is that people are not hassling you to look at their wares. You are free to browse, and instead of being an annoyance, the shopkeepers are fun to interact with. Always smiling, bowing their heads, lol.

So anyways, after like a good 20 minute trip down the street market, you come to the main temple grounds. The temple is vast, and in classic Japanese form. Red, gold and white adorn much of the building, with smoke rising from various corners, indicating areas where ‘holy smoke’ biers are giving believers a chance to absorb the smoke for good luck.

A small corner hid a beautiful small shrine where locals where praying to the Buddha, and giving charity to the sweet monks. The praying manner was pretty new to me, and I got a few pics of some of the ppl in the process.

The left side of the main temple consists of a large, 5-story pagoda that seems to touch the sky. The view is so classic Asian, it was great. I strolled around the area for a bit and finally decided it was time to go see something else before the sunset.

I was really hungry, but decided to wait for dinner and opted for some ice cream instead. The shop had a display of 4 ice cream flavors … yeap, in Japanese of course! Two regular: chocolate and vanilla, and then a yellow/orange and a green one. I thought maybe the green was pistachio and tried to ask the old lady what it was. Before I knew what was going on, she’s shoving the cone in my face. I said ok, whatever … I’ll try it.

I tried taking the ice cream and then giving her the money. The lady jerked her hand back and stuck out her free hand asking for the money first, LOL! I almost died laughing. I got outside, and took a lick at the ice cream! OMG THE HORROR!

It was the popular SEAWEED and SUSHI flavor ice cream. It was soooooo amazingly nasty and bitter. I was cursing the woman to no end. The bad thing I noticed in Tokyo … virtually impossible to find trash cans, so I was forced to eat the gunk. But surprisingly, the taste got better, or maybe my tongue kicked into panic mode and stopped any taste from registering.

I got on the train again and decided to head down to the famed Ginza district. Ginza is the place to see and be seen, the place to spend your money if you want to make a claim to your well-offness. The streets are reminiscent of Times Square, and the lighting and billboards make Times Square look like a small town festival.

Before coming, I really wanted to see a Kabuki play (a traditional Japanese theater) and fortunately a show was on at the Kabuki-za, the most popular Kabuki theater in Eastern Japan. I waited in line for the 1-hr balcony view show, and was in there shortly.

The play was remarkable, and even though it was all in Japanese, it made total sense with the actions, the dialogues etc. Very enjoyable. It was already 7^8 by the time I got out, so I decided to walk around Ginza and take pictures. Remember, the women I mentioned above … well, the women in Ginza are dressed even better, if that is at all possible.

From Ginza, I went over to Shinjuku again and marvelled at the lights and the sheer volume of people in the streets. Again, I roamed around the streets, the station and decided to call it a night around 10:30. Yes, I know … I didn’t mention dinner! For good reason too … I didn’t have any :o(

The next day started early and I went to Starbucks for a very good Mango-Chicken sandwich and a nice hot coffee!!! From there, I went to Shinjuku station again to drop off my bag at the locker and then to the bank to replenish my decimated funds!

I had read a lot about this store called Yodabashi in Nishi-Shinjuku and had to check it out. WOW! No words to describe the immensity. 8 floors of NOTHING but cameras and camera accessories! EIGHT FLOORS! I saw cameras in price from $300 - $94,000. Lenses from $150 - $58,000. It was absolute heaven. An open wallet would have been the ultimate blessing right then!

That area of Shinjuku is full of electronics stores so I kept roaming around there and ended up at the Pentax Forum. A shop dedicated to all things Pentax. That was great! I got my camera CCD cleaned for $9!!! It’s as good as new!

I had time in between the cleaning, so hopped on the train and headed over to Ikebukuro to view the longest elevator in the world. Thing is HUGE, but somehow I was expected something going into the clouds, lol. Just to say I climbed it, I went up, saw a few galleries, back down, on the train and back to Shinjuku.

From there, I went to Ginza again for some dinner before heading out for Kyoto. It was drizzling when I left, but by the time I was near the hotel, I was soaked from head to toe!!! But the warm Soba noodles with raw egg and spicy Japanese plum sauce was very satisfying.

Back to Shinjuku to collect luggage, and then off to Tokyo station for the Shinkansen to Kyoto. I arrived in Kyoto late last night and after a relaxing sleep am here.

More about events from this morning coming next :o)

Let’s see how this goes. The keyboard is on Japanese layout and is almost hopeless to figure out. The spacebar is literally less than 1in and there are like a gazillion keys all over this keyboard. I think I’m gonna type without apostrophes … hitting Shift-7 is not fun everything you want the stupid thing to show.

Frustrated? Me? Naaah … it’s not that bad that nobody here speaks English, or that nothing sold here has any English text anywhere on it. It took me 10 minutes to find a bottle of water this morning at the grocery store. I know, water is clear, but when you throw in the fact that some of the Kirin beer sold is also clear, it makes it a bit more interesting.

All bitching aside … the place really is wonderful. More than anything, I am impressed by the people. They are just as advertised… extremely welcoming and sweet. And I really thought this head bowing thing was just for the movies … but it REALLY happens! You just have to make eye contact with someone and there goes their head bobbing up and down. They say something with it too, but hell if I know what it means.

I landed in Nagoya yesterday. Now that’s what I call an airport. Absolutely incredible. And it’s almost cute in a wierd way. I guess it’s the really cute PA announcers voice, or the lil cute cartoon characters guiding you around. The airport is spotless and the views of the water are so great! The visa process was a breeze, and within 20 mins I was on my way. The Travel Info center ladies were soooo sweet. Laughing, trying to explain where I was supposed to go. Finally, I got onto one of the famed Japanese trains, and again …just as advertised.

The rail network just in one city is IMMENSE! You have to realize that Nagoya is a city of only 2.2million. Just for comparison, that is less than the number of people passing thru the Shuinjuku station in Tokyo EACH DAY! Mmmmyeah!!!

Anyways, back to Nagoya. The trains are clean, comfy and again, the announcements are sooo cute. I think I really love how the Japanese language places emphasis on certain words and you have to stretch the word to no end. So after hopping on 2 lines, I was finally at the Higashi Betsuin station on the Meiji line. It was raining hard, but I had no choice but to make the short walk to my ryokan (traditional Japanese house). The ryokan is next to this massive, gorgeous temple … the Higashi Betsuin temple. It’s apparently close for renovation, but since most of the work is being done on the temple grounds, looks beautiful from the outside.

I got to Ryokan Marutame and was greeted by the very sweet owner … and guess what … he speaks some broken English! The rooms are very basic, but I like the feel of them. Just imagine Mr. Miyagi’s house in Okinawa! Straw mat flooring (tatami) and futons on the floor, and sliding paper doors.

I was totally pooped, so I just changed, washed up, and crashed into the very comfy bed. I was thinking it would be pretty hard and what not, but I slept like a baby and woke up around 9 the next morning, got ready and headed out.

I had planned to visit a mountain town called Takayama today, but since I got a late start, it wasn’t possible - maybe on the way to Tokyo tomorrow. I got on the train at Yagi-Obi station and just went to the main station of Sakae.

Something interesting happened on the way … I was standing in the train, minding my own business, when this girl, probably in her late-teens, comes upto me, says “you cute”, giggles like crazy and runs away. I thought my ears were on fire. The ppl around me are looking at me smiling. I’m so embarrassed, I can barely lookup!!

So anyways, I decided to head for downtown and ended up in Nagoya Station. Think Union Station and then multiply it by 10. The place is IMMENSE! 4 rail lines converge here, and it feels like there’s a whole city underground. The entire complex is headed by two beautiful 50-story sky scrapers, of which the first 12 floors are occupied by the JR Tanayashami mall. Yeap … TWELVE FLOORS! You name the brand, and you’ll see it here. Most of the items were from the usual designers … Vuitton, Prada, D&G, RL, Burberry, Dior, etc.

The 12th floor is for kimonos and of course, I had to visit. I had heard that kimonos can get pricey, but I wasn’t ready for this. I saw kimonos for over $25K. There were obis that were over $5K - JUST for the Obi!!! (For those wondering, Obi is the belt that holds the kimono in place)The prints are exquisite, and the material even more so. The sheer variety of accessories was eye-popping.

From there, I ventured outside and decided to visit the Noritake Garden. Now, you all know I’m very much into decorating, so this was an obvious choice. Noritake is one of the most highly renowned fine china makers in the world.

The garden is composed of beautiful fountains, walkways, and inviting foliage, replete with a small shrine in the middle of the complex. The exhibits were great; my favorite being the dinner plate processing display. There was a class available to learn how to paint a dinner plate. But I felt kinda awkward … all I saw partaking in the activity were these cute old ladies, chatting away merrily.

I spent a good 4-hrs at Noritake Garden, and then decided to head back to Nagoya station for some more of the window shopping. I rounded the corner from a different side and noticed the beautiful main entrance of the Nagoya Station. Of course, a few pics were in order, and some chilling on the steps. Drank my Gatorade, and for the first time, I was thinking it would be nice if someone else could have been there to take in all the beauty of the place.

Phew … that was a LOT! We’re only on Day 2, and I’m hoping I’ll have the chance to do this for the entire trip.

Oh yeah … I saw some extremely cute things so far:

1. Individual boiled eggs are sold at convenience stores in these cute lil cardboard boxes with a sweet little yellow chick on the cover.
2. The pedestrian crossings at the street corners have these speakers installed, and they make this pikachu-type chirping sound when it’s your turn to cross.
3. Comics everywhere. There are even “comic bars.” You enter the place and are greeted by a wall of comic books! Take your pick, goto a table, and a very polite attendant will come and take your order.
4. Whenever the train arrives at the next station, the lady announcers voice goes all excited as if she just won the lottery or something. And she has to say the name 3 times! KANAYAMA! KANAYAMA! KANAYAMA!

Also, I must give it to these guys on their punctuality. You can tune your watch with their timings. If it says the train will get there at 6:18, you better believe it’s gonna be there. And if it says it’ll leave at 6:30 … yeap, you best be there or wait for the next one.

I think that is more than enough for now, and hopefully I’ll be able to do this on a daily basis for the rest of the trip.

Sayonara! Domo Arigato for reading!

BOO! I’m back for another quarterly update. I thought I would be good at this, but I’m really stinking it up these days. Everyday I think I should write about this, that or the other, but I’m too lazy to open up the site.

Anyways, I didn’t have any other choice today - the network at work is down, and I am done harrassing everyone else, so it’s just you and I now.

Let’s see, what’s changed since the last Eid … ah yes, the 2nd Eid came and went, too … so to all those who observe, another Eid Mubarak! This Eid was very boring for me, and I am actually glad to be back at work, except the getting up early part. We got 5 days off total, and my schedule for the for ALL 5 days was: sleep at 3AM, wake up at 1PM, crawl to the computer, decide to eat around 4, watch TV, play piano, internet, gym/tennis, and then back to bed after watching some more TV.

Annnnd … I came back from Morocco, I’m sure many of you have already seen the pictures … THANK YOU! I’m going to quit trying to do a day by day writeup of my journeys, because God knows, I really suck at it. I’ll sum it up … Morocco was very nice, not great, not bleh, but very nice.

The people are extremely nice, and you can see everything within a few hours of each other. Meaning … you can drive 2 hrs west and be looking across the Atlantic, or you could drive 1hr the other way, and be among the highest peaks in Africa. Drive about the same distance to your south from Marrakesh, and you’re welcomed by the vast expanse of the Sahara.

As a race, they are probably the most beautiful people I have seen. And the women … out of every 10, you see 11 beautiful, that’s how good it is!!! :o) And don’t get me started on the food … it was beyond sumptuous. The national soup, harira, is sooooo good, sooooo incredibly goood!!! And then there’s the succulent tajine dishes, made with all sorts of fruits and vegetables, cooked with either lamb, chicken or beef and the couscous. I am surprised that Riyadh doesn’t have very many (any??) good Moroccan restaurants. Considering that the Saudis and Moroccans have a rich history of brotherhood, I was expecting to see more of their food crossover … we all know the Lebanese have done great in that area!

I just realized that I never posted this blog and now I’m at the tail end of my next trip, so let me cut this short by saying all of Morocco is very, very nice. From the beach, to the mountains, to the Sahara, the whole place is extremely enjoyable.

Sorry about that! Read the latest one, it has some good news in it!

Sorry for the long delay … seems to be the habit these days.

Ramadan ended, and it was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life, from the feeling of brotherhood, to the exciting and nerve-tickling night prayers, it was great! I can’t wait for next year now.

As exciting as Ramadan was, the Eid festival marking the end was just as boring. There was nothing to do, and I basically spent the 4 day weekend holed up in my home, watching TV, sleeping and that’s about it. But the excitement of the last 30 days was worth it.

Today I went off roading with Gilbert. It was such a fun time - I am all into this activity and can’t wait to go back next weekend.

We drove out about 100 KM from the city to this small town of Nisah in the middle of the desert. The drive was very relaxing and very scenic. The roads have been cut thru the mountains and it’s amazing to see the sands of different colors so distinctly. You’d think over time, the sands would have mixed and you wouldn’t see the individual colors, but not so. You see dunes of complete red sand and over the next ridge is a completely different shade.

I think what also made it more beautiful was the time of day … the sun was hitting the peaks just right, and accenting and highlighting the different rock formations perfectly!

Overall, it was nice to get out of the city and do something different for a change, as opposed to always going out to eat and shopping.

Oooh … speaking of shopping, I bought a really nice watch the other day, as a gift to myself for Eid. Hmm … doesn’t sound all that exciting written out

I have more to tell about gay Riyadh … more coming soon, I promise this next one will be fun! LOL!