Wednesday 18 December 2013

Shanghai for a night

I made it onto the plane without security escorting me away and the flight was nice in a brand new plane, although even a blanket cost money! 
At the border the guy looked tired, i was tired, and he gave me a stamped in 72 hour transit visa, easy as pie! 
I went to the airport hotel as I didn't really have time to get home, and checked in, the room was nice and clean although very expensive, nevermind.
I got a good night sleep and now on to the next plane, to England! Back soon!

leaving manila

I had my last day in the Manila office on Monday, had a meal with Bryan the Manila IT guy and then got a taxi (eventually) back to the hotel near the airport, the next day I spent the day working from the hotel before grabbing a quick time out (to see the hobbit) and then heading to the airport.
The hotel was just over the road from the hotel but there didn't seem to be a crossing, and I couldn't see a pedestrian entrance, so I got a taxi, which joined a giant queue of traffic, 6 lines wide, down the whole face of the airport to a roundabout, then all the way back again to the taxi entrance., it took 20 minutes to cover the distance from the hotel to the airport! Madness! The meter in the taxi was 'broken' too, when you watched the time counter it was spinning way faster than real time, luckily taxi's here are as cheap as in China but I was still not impressed, transport in Manila sucks, no metro, only buses which are very slow, jeepneys which are slower still and taxi's which usually try to not to use the meter unless you insist, then try to weedle as much money out of you with stupid routes and dodgy meters, and then expect and even ask for a damn tip! 

I got to the airport and wasn't in the mood to argue, I got there 3 hours early incase of problems and went to checkin, I was worried about my bag weight and my two pieces of hand luggage and went to the checkin desk, the woman looked for my chinese visa but I didn't have one as it had expired. I had looked online that there was a 'visa free transit' for 50 countries, UK included, but some places claimed the UK wasn't included, some claimed that it only covered flights to and from those countries and they all referenced a document on the Chinese government website which didn't exist anymore (dead link).  The woman looked worried and took my onward booking email and passport and disappeared for 10 minutes, coming back and checking me onto the flight without comment on my giant bags, phew!

I went in and got a coffee and a muffin for dinner as it was already 7pm and I wouldn't land until 11.30pm, I also had a feeling that this was a budget carrier and any food would not be cheap. Whilst waiting in the coffee shop I heard an announcement, could a passenger please go to the help desk ASAP, and I heard my name, crap.

Worried that my visa had been refused or confused I hurried to the desk, and guessed that since the Philippines was not a visa free transit country they weren't sure exactly what I could do, I got there and they made me wait at the gate for 5 minutes very nervously, if I missed the flight here and couldn't enter China for the transit I would lose my whole flight fee probably and have to buy an incredibly expensive flight from Manila out of my own pocket, ouch!

After the delay they informed me they needed a copy of my onward ticket for the visa request, they took the copy and assured me I was ok, and could indeed get a visa for upto 72 hours without pre-submission. I then had an hour and a half wait in the airport listening to every announcement worrying it would be calling me back to tell me they couldn't do it, and I would have to go away and rebook something else…. I hope I get on the plane OK!

I fly to Shanghai first, arrive at midnight, after security etc it will be gone 1am I guess, and the metro will be closed, so I will stay a night in the airport (hopefully at the hotel there) before getting the 11.50am flight the next day direct to London, if all goes according to plan! 

Island near manila (that sounds like corridor)

The next morning I had a lovely lie in, and then had a day to rest after a busy week and late night, I ventured out for coffee and food but then got an early bed as I had a very early start the next morning.


I was up at 5.45 to leave the house after 6 to find a taxi as I had a boat to catch, I was planning to visit coregidoor (not spelt right) island, 8 miles off the coast of manila in the bay. It was a heavily fortified island in the early part of the 20th century and then the last American location in  the Philippines being getting pushed out by the Japanese, it was then a scene of very heavy fighting again when it was retaken from the Japanese.

I got to the boat at 7am and then slept on the hour or so ferry over, getting off the boat I took the tour bus around and learnt a lot about the war in the pacfic. Unfortunately also on the tour was a stupid Australian guy who made lots of anti Japanese comments and was a general idiot, just proof that even old men can be idiots!

The tour however was very interesting, I just wished I had time to stay the night and do the evening tunnel tour which takes you into the huge labyrinth of tunnels built by both the americans and the Japanese through the island.
The island is quite big and now covered in jungle but during the war was very heavily bombed and so completely removed of all flora and fauna. At one point 16,000tons of bombs were dropped in 24 hours by the Japanese.

There were also some huge gun emplacements and all the old barracks and other buildings from the old base were these huge post apocalyptic shells with giant bomb craters spaced through them, amazing whilst being haunting and eirie, and very photogenic!

I got back from the island and then had to move to a hotel near the airport, the remmington hotel, it was very basic, but at least clean, and only for two nights as I come to the end of my time in Manila, and prepare to fly back to the UK!

Working in Manila

I spent a week working in the Manila office, usually one of the first there and staying later after work trying to get a handle on how they do things here, meeting with the various managers, and taking occasional trips out for beers in the evening with them. Friday night was the office Christmas party, a good chance to relax and socialise with the people from work.

Bryan, the Manila IT guy, offered to walk with me to the party as it wasn't too far, and so we first went home and I grabbed a shower and changed into jeans before we set out to walk to the office, it was an interesting walk as it took us through the center of the red light district. Bryan is a shy guy and the girls standing around and calling out worried him a bit, but if you ignored them they soon gave up. We arrived at the restaurant way too early and so after seeing if anyone was there (they weren't) we headed out for another walk around a nearby park area.

We walked for about 45 minutes and then realised we had walked quite a way from the hotel and had to get back, we planned to get a taxi back but then Bryan had a better idea, Jeepney!

Jeepneys are everywhere here, old Jeeps that have had the body extended and now carry 16+ people in the back with a few more clinging on where they can. They are a very Philippino travel method and I was keen to try, Bryan found one going the right way and we jumped in, soon we were crammed in and off we went, there was no aircon obviously but when the vehicle was moving the air movement made the heat bareable, unfortunately the traffic meant that most of the time was spent sitting and waiting, it got hot!

We arrived near the hotel and walked in about right, and in Philipino fashion everything started an hour late anyway.

The meal was good, chatting with lots of people and the service was very attentive, as soon as your beer was half empty a new cold one would be put into your hand by the young attractive waitresses. There were also 6 girls dressed as 'sexy santas' wandering around the party and greeting people, apparently one of the guys in the office is married to a local girl who owns a girly bar and she asked a few of her staff to come over to brighten the place up…madness!

After the meal we went upstairs for a slideshow and more drinks and I was one of the last to leave around 3am, I was careful not to drink too much whilst being sociable and think I surfed that edge nicely. As everyone left another British guy in the office offered me a nightcap in a local bar and then as we walked over the road he saw some of his friends drinking in a very local bar. We stopped there and he introduced me to the mix of locals and foreigners drinking outside this small bar. One of the guys had a guitar and would play random songs from the 80s that everyone would sing along to, madness! I stayed for an hour then made my excuses and walked home, a good night!

Friday 13 December 2013

Manila

Manila is hot, seriously hot, and it is winter! The weather is beautiful, shorts and Tshirt weather. I was driven to work the first day by the driver, but it is actually so close I will walk in future, the CEOs apartment is lovely, and so convenient. It is right near the 'green belt mall' a giant mall I need to check out! 
I met the people in the office and one of the guys took me for lunch in the giant mall, Vietnamese food, it seems the Philippines have fully embraced the american diet with pizza, pasta, Vietnamese, Chinese, and so many burgers and fast food places, but for actual local specialties I can't find anywhere! 
After work I got changed and walked around the malls, I started walking, walked through greenbelt mall 1, 2, 3, 4 and then found a door signposting the next mall, with a quick bridge over the traffic I was in the next mall, and just kept walking in the same direction, and after 15 minutes left that mall, still walking away from my flat, I found a door to ANOTHER mall, so I walked on through this one and found yet another mall, all as big as the first, I walked for 40 minutes, all inside these 4 huge malls, and all in the same direction, not walking down any of the branches full of shops on each side. 
Eventually I reached the train station, exited the mall and wandered off down some random streets to explore, it seems the Makati district is a giant financial district with huge buildings, 5 start hotels, and banks everywhere. There are some beautiful parks, but I can't seem to find anything too special or unique, a big city is a big city, no matter which country you are in! 

The people i've met, the doormen, the drivers, all call you sir all the time, and I keep forgetting to tip anyone, every, I hate tipping culture! 

Hopefully I can find something more tomorrow... we will see, I also need to buy some shoes, I only brought work shoes and they really don't match my shorts, and heavy jeans are not comfortable at all!

Monday 9 December 2013

Photos of the room

A couple of photos of the room in Manila, nice!

landed in Manila

Woke up a bit late after a few beers the night before to celebrate my
leaving, packed in a frantic rush including ironing a weeks shirts
then had to rush to the office to fix a couple of small last minute
issues, got to the airport in plenty of time which was lucky as it was
so slow to check in, then through immigration and then screening, then
they changed the gate to the furthest away, and just as i got there
changed it to the other end of the airport, doh! I've been to pudong
enough times i knew gate 228 wasn't good, its the gate that means the
plane missed its slot and needs to be bused out to, i was right and
the plane left an hour late, it did make most of that up in the air
though. Landed in the balmy 30degree heat and wandered out but
couldn't see a sign with my name, wandered around and phoned chat and
was waiting when a guy came over and asked if i was Nathan, the driver
had found me. His name was Roy and he is so friendly, we got to the
car and he was confused that i wanted to sit in the front with him and
look out, then he gave me a little driving tour of Manila and we
talked, he was one of ten children and had seven himself, with two
different wives and was now single! He is the longest member of the
company having been there 11 years! A great guy, we chatted and he
dropped me off at the beautiful flat i was staying in. The new CEO had
rented a flat in Manila but hadn't moved in yet so he let me stay at
his place until he moves in Sunday. Then i have to get a hotel room
for a night. Its a beautiful place and really near the office, no WiFi
though. So tired after a long day but found a nearby coffee shop to
get some internet before bed! Good night all!

last week in Shanghai

With not long left on my visa I started the week ominously, my boss was out in head office in Manila and so I just got on with finishing up as many projects as I could incase I had to leave next Monday and never return! I spoke to my boss midweek and he suggested an alternative, I could go to manila and work remotely from head office for a week, meeting with our IT company, and helping them in any way I can.

Then I need to fly to Hong Kong again for an upcoming IT broadband provider change, then from there I can fly back to the UK, change my passport (spend Christmas and the new year there) then fly back to China in the new year on a visa I can apply for in London. A good plan!

My last weekend before leaving I packed up a few precious things to leave in Ningbo incase I couldn't come back and had a good weekend in Ningbo, I watched a film, Gravity, that I had really wanted to see, (although not enders game yet).

On Sunday I packed my things and went to look around the computer markets before getting the 5.14pm train back, I finished shopping and started looking for transport around 4.15, an hour but I already had my ticket so only had to do the 20 minute journey. I looked for a taxi but at that time in the center of town they were all taken, I found a bus but it was late, and just when I thought I was done saw the bus go past me, damnit! We ran down to the next bus stop and just caught it, however by that time the bus took 20 minutes and it was already 4.55, unfortunately the bus driver was in no hurry, stopping extra early for lights, stopping for people to cross the road, even if they didn't want to, very unchinese of him, and so got to the station at exactly 5.14, the train had gone. I queued up at the refund ticket counter to be told that I need a change, so I joined the buy ticket counter for 20 minutes only to be told I was wrong again and to go a special ticket window, once I had queued up a third and final time (of 20-30 people) I was given a free change onto a later train, not bad!

 

Back to Shanghai for one night in my new house before flying to Manila tomorrow afternoon, apparently the new CEO for the company is spending one week in 4 in Manila so they have bought a flat for him near the office, he hasn't moved in yet however so they are letting me stay there until the 15th when he flies back from Hong Kong and wants to move in! Hopefully it will work out, I have no idea where it is but apparently there will be a driver waiting in the airport… we will see how it goes! I know nothing about the Philippines so it will be interesting for me to go a country I know nothing about, lets go!

Parents come to stay...

I was having a busy month, I moved house, the company moved offices to a new location, which I had a large hand in organising and both moves were scheduled for the same week, I then spoke to my parents on Skype and they mention an upcoming time when they both had holiday and that they hadn't decided where to go, as we talked they googled plane tickets and found a return for 600gbp each way, a very good price, however the only time my mum had off was 10 days, which included the week of my house and office move! They booked their tickets anyway and a few weeks later landed in Shanghai.

I took the morning off work and went over to meet them, took them on the maglev and helped them find their hotel and grabbed a tasty spicy chinese lunch before heading over to work the afternoon.

That evening we met for dinner and to see my house, they left a few things in my house before their travels.

 

The next day I had to work so they amused themselves in Shanghai and after work I met them in peoples square and we went to pick up their train tickets at the station and had a dinner at coco curry, then I had to rush out and go to Chris's leaving party (work Chris) and they shot off to Beijing and Xi'an for a few days. I spent the weekend working on the office move and so got two days in lieu to use at a later date. Mum and Dad arrange to visit Beijing and Xi'an themselves and then get the train to Hangzhou. I would hire a car in Shanghai and drive to Hangzhou to meet them, we could then have a day in Hangzhou and drive down to Wenzhou on Thursday night, have Friday in Wenzhou together then drive back up to Shanghai Saturday.


Since there were not enough problems this busy week my visa also expired, so I had to send my passport off to the visa office to renew my short term visa whilst waiting for my full visa to come back. The office found a company to help me with that so I picked up the rental car in the afternoon, then dropped my passport back at the office for them to extend, then could leave for Hangzhou. So I set out Wednesday night to drive to Hangzhou.

 

I got an hour of Shanghai using the most random route, I was using my GPS and it was taking me everywhere but the expressways, it drove me through the central square of Shanghai at rush hour (luckily I escaped without getting stuck in the huge traffic jams that are common there) and then drove me out on tiny back streets carefully avoiding all high speed roads and stopping at traffic lights every 500m. Eventually I stopped and asked on the outskirts of town the way to Hangzhou. The guard I asked said to drive on and join the motorway at the next junction, my GPS said straight on so I switched it off and joined the motorway, I drove towards the Hangzhou signs for half an hour and finally made good progress. I stopped at a service station for a break and while I was stopped tried turning on my GPS again, it tried to find a new route then flashed an alert that it was impossible to plot the route because of my settings. I looked closer and found that for some reason avoid toll roads was ticked, and all motorways in China are toll roads, so it was driving me 200km on the backroads! Disaster! I changed the setting and knocked an hour off the estimated time, yay! After that I made good time to the hotel my parents were staying which had a carpark, I checked in and then we all went out for dinner at grandmas kitchen, a famous restaurant in Hangzhou near Westlake.

The next morning we went to Westlake and climbed the leifeng pagoda before taking a boat out into west lake, we looked around the island before heading back to the city, grabbing some food and picking up the car to head to Wenzhou.

The drive to Wenzhou was about 5 hours and we left about 2pm. We got about an hour down the road and my administrator phoned to say that my visa had been declined, the new laws in China are tough and they had decided not to grant me a visa, so on the Thursday night I was told I had to leave China by the Saturday night. Wow.
I had a couple of calls as the office went into panic mode, desperately finding an excuse for me to fly to Hong Kong and work from there for a week whilst I worked out what to do next, the only other option was that I make an appeal in person in the visa office and try to get a short term extension with the reasoning that I had to help my parents whilst they were travelling China. The only problem was that the visa office and my passport were in Shanghai, and I was in Wenzhou, 700km away, and this was Thursday night, and the visa office took it's last applications at 4.30pm Friday and wouldn't open until the next Monday, by which time it was too late.

I had a meal with Elaine my Chinese teacher and my parents then copied their passports and hotel receipts and got to sleep at 1am in the fantastic Linxi international hotel, that we had look at so many times but never dared to go to.

At 5.45 I woke up and left my parents to spend the day in my old hometown with Elaine whilst I grabbed a few pastries and downed a cup of coffee and left the hotel at 6.20 with the hire car. I drove all morning, stopping for a 15 minute break to grab a mcdonalds lunch and by 1.30pm was on the outskirts of Shanghai. I had a great run that far but then I hit traffic, and for 2 hours queued all the way across town. I got to the road outside my building and there were cars and a bus completely blocking the street which had the entrance to the office carpark on it, no way in, it took 20 minutes to get into the carpark from 20meters away as people just sat in their cars and refused to move whilst waiting for their children.

It was nearly 4 when I got into the office building, the admin woman ran down with my passport but we couldn't get a taxi, we ran into the metro, ran across to change line and power walked to the immigration office making it at 4.20 and getting a number, we had made it.

 

We didn't wait for the number but went straight to the appeals desk and I felt so tired I didn't have to put on a bedraggled look, we pleaded the case and he gave me 10 day visa extension, with his writing on the visa form we had done it, we got 10 more days to prepare a plan.

 

I was very pleased and Mina also came up to Shanghai to see me, when she got the train she didn't know if this was the last time before I had to leave the country! A shame I didn't get to spend more time in Wenzhou with my family and Elaine but at least I got the visa. My parents got the train up that evening got a hotel in Shanghai.

 

The next morning we moved them to a Chinese style hotel for 25gbp a night very near my house, not as nice as before but perfectly adequate! Then the four of us took the hire car and drove out to one of the water towns near Shanghai, it was about a 2 hour drive but when we arrived there was no foreigners there and it wasn't busy, the sun came out and the pollution was down and we had a lovely day in various little museums and climbing over bridges and exploring the little town. We also took my parents for Korean Hot Pot, a cook it yourself bbq in the town which was very fun!

Saturday night we returned the car and then went for dinner in BiFengTang, a chinese restaurant near my house which was very tasty.


Mum and Dad's last day in Shanghai was spent shopping and exploring, we went for a late breakfast of fantastic xiaolongbao near peoples square, worth the 20minute wait for sure, and then got the metro to the computer district, yay! We looked at some cool phones and got a coffee in Pacific Coffee before walking down towards the old town. We found a small antique street and bought many random things, bargaining hard for cups and various other antiques, fresh from the antique factory.

 

We made out way down to the city god temple and a famous tea house which was heaving with people but nice to see before walking my parents back to their hotel.
We said goodnight as they had an early flight, but since I only have 10 days left on my visa I may well be seeing them soon!

Thursday 7 November 2013

Hong Kong 2013 pictures


Hong Kong trip 2013

I needed a new visa and so my company sent me to HongKong to get one, it meant a 3 day stayover, staying in the new territories not on hongkong island (to save money on hotels) and I had a great time, although busy in the Hongkong office for some time part of my job there (whilst waiting for the visa) was purchasing, meaning I was forced, as part of my job, to trawl around the huge computer markets of HongKong, awesome! I managed to escape with only a little purchase for myself (a wireless charger), however I had been asked by a contact in Coventry university (who now lives in Shanghai) to help her son buy an iPhone as they are much cheaper in HongKong (100gbp cheaper on a 600gbp device). I tried to buy one however they were like golddust! In the end I queued for an hour in the middle of the day (it was busier in the morning) to get a while model, no blacks available and white only had limited stock, apparently so many are being shipped over illegally into China that they can't keep stock up in HK! Madness!

I did get to ride the star ferry, and had a nice hotel room, and stock up on Bombay Sapphire in Duty free! Perfect! I got my visa O.K, so back to the mainland!

Random Japan things

Fugu (puffer fish) Restaurant pictures I missed before, (including a dried puffer fish) and an amusing can of Mens Spray!

I also never mentioned going to the Tokyo internet cafe, we needed internet when out and about so went to the 8th floor of an office building, we checked into a booth and went into a huge room of small cubicles, inside was a low sofa, and two computers, with internet, games, movies, etc, and you can sit and relax, they also have massage chair seats for an extra cost, and free unlimited drinks, snacks, and ice cream! They even have a shower there and so for a lot of young people they will go out for the night, end up in an internet cafe, pay the 10gbp nightly 2am to 7am fee, sleep, shower, then get the metro home when it opens in the morning! It was really cool! 


Beijing trip

The company needed some onsite work in Beijing so I got sent to Beijing for a few days on the companies dime. Great! I took the fast train up to Beijing and got a nice hotel near the client office, I did the onsite work however the plan changed as I was on the train and the 12 machines they needed fixed changed to only 4, however accessibility meant that I still needed to stay over 3 days, perfect! 

The hotel was a Spa hotel, offering spa quality water, however the water was yellow! 


I managed to not work too hard and sneak away an afternoon and do a little sight seeing, going to nearby TiananMen, eating a mountain of Beijing Duck, and getting over to the Birds Next stadium, which is a huge place left over from the Olympics, and the scale of the place must be seen to be believed. I didn't manage to make it to the summer palace however to see the giant inflatable duck 'sculpture' that is there at the moment, a shame! 



New job!

I finally found an IT job in Shanghai like I had wanted for so long, working as IT and security administrator for a small company which is great. I started and have been rushed off my feet every since, I've been working on many projects, and this is a relatively new position here there are many IT projects I'm getting involved in, as well as learning computer forensics and analysis and mobile phone investigations too!

I have a new place right behind the Shanghai Center sharing a flat with a Chinese girl vivi and a French girl, they seem nice but we are really busy so I don't spend too long with them. I've been working weekends and evenings but whenever I'm not working hanging out with the people I work with, it is a fairly young company and so there are quite a few cool people who are happy to drink a beer or two when needed!

2nd August – Back to China

All good things must come to an end, as must my time in Japan, I booked a flight on Spring Airlines, a budget carrier, back to Shanghai but unfortunately that meant that I wasn't flying from Tokyo airport, but Iberaki, a 2hour bus ride away from Tokyo in a sleepy rural town!
I got the metro to the bus stop, and Mina accompanied me to the airport too, at the airport they inforced the militant policy of 15kg, including handluggage, and everything you want to take, it all goes on the scales and all gets counted, I was of course expecting 22kg in the hold + 8kg in hand luggage, so was a bit over, but luckily not too much, I paid the fee and got on the plane, the airport was cool as it was mostly military and in fact from the viewing platform we watched a couple of fast jets shoot off into the sky!

I landed in Shanghai alone and went to my new house to drop off my things, I then rushed to the station to get onto the next train back to Ningbo as I still had to pickup all my things before work started on Monday in my new job!

On the train Chris texted me to say he was celebrating his birthday with a beer so I went straight from the station to the bar he was at for a few beers, then, very tired from a very long day of travelling, I went to the Ningbo student apartments and went to sleep! 

Tokyo Capital Tower and Odaiba Island


Last day in Japan, this time!

My last full day in Tokyo and we went out to do some last minute shopping, after a long morning we stopped off for a rest and then we wanted to take to the skies so we visited one of the many skyscrapers in Tokyo. Most have expensive entry fees but one, run by the government is completely free and offers amazing panoramic views around Tokyo, beautiful!

Then I had heard that there was a beautiful island on the end of one of the train lines, so we headed out that way to explore it. We got there late afternoon and took some cool pictures around the harbor and looking back over Tokyo, we then did a bit of shopping and got a picnic to eat whilst watching the sunset over Tokyo skyline and the miniature (but still big) statue of liberty copy.

After that we walked to a nearby mall for some more gift shopping and to see a huge lifesize Gundam model that people had randomly built, we took pictures with that and then got some dinner before jumping on the train back in the dark. I really like Tokyo, I don't want to leave!       

Fish markets photos and random woman in kimono


31th Tokyo day 2 – Fish markets and poisonous fish

One place my guidebook recommended was the Tokyo fish market, a huge place where apparently 10% of all Japanese seafood is bought and sold (and the Japanese love their seafood!) We tried to get there early but didn't manage that, arrived late morning when it was mostly closed up, however the scale was still amazing to see and the nearby market was filled with fresh seafood, Mina was very keen to try a very expensive cut of fish, one of the best, from a street vendor there offering a very good price. We took a chance and bought it (for around 8gbp) and tried it, it was nice in flavor but was a bit more chewy than I would have liked. After this we walked around the area and found a recommded place to eat puffer fish. Despite puffer fish being out of season you can still get it in some specialized restaurants, and it was on my list of things to try! We ordered it among a few other dishes, and it arrived prepared in a few different ways, the traditional way is very thin shashimi, raw slices of puffer fish flesh, and that was nice, nothing hugely special. Perhaps in season, or highly expensive versions, are hugely tasty but I think I still prefer salmon sashimi with extra wasabi!

We then walked through another beautiful miniature garden and found a very famous shrine that is very infamous in asia as commemorating all Japanese war dead, including many convicted war criminals, it was interesting to see and is very near a giant military museum. We walked through there to take a look and it was also interesting, with one of the most shocking being an example of a suicide submarine, just big enough for one crew member to pilot and try to blow up taking an enemy ship with him, they also had photos of Japanese war dead, a huge room and corridor covered floor to ceiling with small photos, very moving.

Then we recovered with some retail therapy, I may have accidentally bought a Macbook I had my eye on… for a very good price, and we had good fun wandering around the electronic markets and buying some cool technology!
One odd thing was the 'maid bars' that are everywhere, with girls in French maid uniforms working there, you can go and drink with them, much like a hostess bar, and chat with them, but nothing more, a bit strange, but so so popular, I however didn't take advantage of this unique experience!

Tokyo Day 1 photos, including Shibuya crossing and Akiba electronics market!

 

30th Tokyo Day 1 – Museums and Famous crossings

My first day in Tokyo Mina's friend went off to work and so we went off exploring, we got the metro to a huge park full of museums, with possibly the biggest and busiest starbucks I had ever seen and went to see the Tokyo Museum, it had some nice art and some lovely statues, we didn't spend too long there as it got a bit overwhelming after a while and so we walked back through the park and went to the really famous intersection, featured in every film of Tokyo (including Tokyo drift) and went to the overlooking starbucks for the best view of the crossing and the sea of people flowing over it at every rotation of the pedestrian crossing, very orderly and patient after living in China for so long!

We then went to the huge electronics markets in Tokyo Shibuya ward, a huge multi street temple to electronics of all sorts and shapes and sizes, it was amazing, I wandered around happily for a couple of hours and could have stayed a lot longer, there were so many things I wanted to buy however I held off, but I know I will be back before I leave! Among other things I noticed a Macbook air for a VERY reasonable price, £200 cheaper than the Chinese price!

We then wandered around a nearby district of bars and hotels before heading back to Yonehs house, Tokyo is huge and really busy and fun, I like this place!

On to Tokyo

Today was on to Tokyo, we got the train with no problems and arrived in Tokyo! We got the metro out to a stop outside the center and waited in a coffee shop for Mina's friend, whos house we had been offered to stay at.

She was a bit late finishing work and so a bit late meeting us however when she arrived she was lovely! Yoneh! She also spoke no English, or very little, but welcomed me into her house and it turned out we were sleeping on her floor with her in the bed next to us! My British upbringing coming out I was a bit embarrassed about sleeping on the floor of someone I had just met that night but there wasn't much I could do about it! No worries though, it was a common thing in Asia and they were really loved people, and I was happy to have a place to sleep!! Fantastic.

Getting our Yukata on!


28th Fireworks and Japanese clothes!

With no real plan for this day we wanted to just chill out around town and maybe catch a film, so we got the car and drove over to a nearby shopping center, had a wander around and some window shopping in this giant place before finding the cinema, we watched the new fast and furious film (huge in japan) and then going out went to a nearby pizza place for some pasta and free unlimited pizza side, random but tasty!
After the pizza we went home and it turned out that Mina's brothers friend had tickets for an annual fireworks display nearby that night, VIP tickets! He offered them to us but in the end managed to get another 2 tickets as well so we could watch together!
We decided to wear the Japanese tradition clothes to go and watch, just for fun, and it seems that is pretty common in Japan, people can often be seen hanging out, shopping or walking around wearing the traditional Kimono and other clothes, it is a nice feeling and makes it feel very Japanese. 
Mina is good at doing the traditional Japanese clothes, and actually has a qualification in fitting and helping people wear a Kimono, but doing mens traditional clothes turns out to be completely different, luckily with youtube on her phone and her brother as a model she did his first, and then mine, it was very funny, it did however take an hour to do us two, then 10 minutes to do her own!
I was wearing the traditional Yukata, the summer Kimono, but didn't look hugely Japanese, it was however good fun and we were in the second row of the uppermost balcony of the yacht club watching the huge display over the harbor and drinking beers, very fun! We must have been a good picture with mina, her brother and I all in the traditional Japanese dress, (and a few others were too, although no other foreigners) in this small town drinking asahi and taking pictures, unforgettable!

Beach Pictures


To the beach!

Mina's brother, (Ken-san) as well as having a really cool house, to be a really cool guy, friendly and down to earth, and with a real love of speed. He used to be really into racing, and has a drift car parked on his drive waiting for a new Engine, he also has moved onto Jet Skiis to get his kicks until his car is back on the road.

He offered to take us out for a spin, and we readily accepted.

It turns out that her brother has a drift car, a Prius for day to day driving, a minivan parked on his drive to sell to Mina's sister, and also has a really cool tiny little van. It probably has the footprint of a mini, but is built like a box, with a tiny engine, needless to say I instantly wanted one, much to his surprise!

We got into his tiny van towing his JetSkii and went off to his club. At the club there was a launch ramp, a forklift, a terrace bbq area, and lots and lots of JetSkiis! I never knew it was so big over here!

We got changed into stuff we could get wet in, and he offered to drive us over to a beach on a nearby island, we could stay there for an hour then he would come and pick us up again, giving him some time alone with his friends.

We agreed and he drove us out (3 up) to this nice island, dropped us off in the shallows and went back, leaving us there with a few other people. It was a lovely beach, not as clean and nice as Okinawa but still lovely, and had a tower built out in the water for people to jump off, I swam out and left Mina relaxing on the shore and proceeded to climb up and jump off, soon I was joined by some friendly Japanese locals who promptly (and good naturedly) pushed me off, I climbed back up and in equal good humour pushed them off the top, they loved it and soon we were diving and jumping off together into the warm sea, Mina swam out after a while and we took turns jumping off and swimming around before it was time to go back to the meeting point to meet our jetskii.

Mina's brother came to pick us up and said that he would like to give me a drive, but you need a license to drive them in Japan, and you need to take a test, which I obviously don't have.. However on the 15minute ride back he stopped half way and offered me a go, which I of course accepted! I started easy, worried he would be annoyed if I gunned it, motoring along nice and gently, however he had a need for speed and so with his urging I gunned it full throttle, flying across the wavetops even three up, this thing was fast! Great fun too! As we neared the coast he motioned that the people on shore shouldn't see me drive, so we swapped back and headed in for a break.

In this time lots of his friends had arrived, who all didn't speak English, but were very nice. One guy especially, a bit older, but was very very friendly.

We ate bbq food and drank a few beers, then the friend suggested I try wakeboarding! A little drunk by this point I agreed anyway, never having done it before they took me out and then, since it was just me and the guy, he explained by motions what to do and I gave it a try, I was towed behind ok but when he gunned it I just couldn't stand up. I'm sure there was a secret tip (possibly linked to me weighing twice what they did) about how to do it but after many tries I couldn't get it, damnit! Next time… I will have to take a lesson in the UK so they can explain the technique then I am sure I could give it a good go!

We went back in after half an hour of playing around for a few more beers, the last of the good, and then we packed up and headed back. When we got dropped off another of Mina's brothers came over driving his giant white hummer, needless to see Mina and I had to go out and take lots of stupid pictures with it, fun!

I was shattered and had an amazing shower before hearing about a festival in the town, we walked out from the house and up the small main road and found lots of food and stalls set up for a small local festival, we had a nice walk around but didn't stay out too late, we were so tired after the days exercise!

Sunday 27 October 2013

Hiroshima photos day two


As I was photographing the dome, a small cricket landed on my shoulder, a nice reminder that life is now back in a place that was so completely destroyed...


Exploring Hiroshima and on to Nagoya

The downtown area of Hiroshima was calling, and our train was booked for the evening so we knew we had to get out and make the most of the time we had, and so we jumped up, grabbed our cameras and headed out! The first place we went for was peacepark, a huge open park built very near to ground zero for the bomb. We arrived and found the A-Bomb Dome, an industrial hall / meeting room that, due to being almost directly underneath the blast, was one of the only buildings left standing in Hiroshima. The blast pankcaked the floors but since it was side on to the walls the pressure was equal both sides and they stayed standing. Nearby was a small statue of a child from before the war, the surface on top had been blasted smooth but the original texture of the stone in some places, under the chin for example, was still rough, this really brought home just how close it had been to the blast, and just how hot it was.. 

We walked over the bridge through this beautiful park, built in place of dense housing that was there before the bomb, and down past a series of statues, donated or in memory of certain groups, one being to the children affected, and as I walked past, a family came with a very old  woman in a wheelchair, who must have been alive during the war, paying her respects and taking a picture in the garden, very touching.

Further down was a casket containing the name of every known victim, and a large museum about the a-bomb. It was a very moving experience, and in some places very vivid with pictures of the dead and dying, a step with a shadow left of some person sat there when the bomb went off, and many other heartbreaking scenes and stories of people who were caught up in the blast. This also included a lot of information about the war in general, and the lead up, interestingly the focus was not ever on America as being at fault, the included talks of it's strategic importance and was more focused on ending nuclear war than blaming the Alies for the part they played in the war. We read about the number of dead being 70,000+, more than Nagasaki, in part due to Nakasaki's hills which offered a little protection for some, and saw a huge wall with a letter sent to every country asking for nuclear disarmament.

It was a very sad and emotional visit, but well worth it.


After the museum and in a very contemplative mood we went to visit the cities old castle, it was a lovely castle, but not on the same scale as Osaka or Okinawa, the central tower however was beautiful peaking over the trees.

 

We then found a traditional garden, built back to the design of hundreds of years ago, and although small, containing many different beautiful and unique scenes, it was very cleverly done and well thought out. It included a small pagoda that I lay down in, and promptly fell asleep for half an hour, oops, feeling well rested we walked around the small lake and took lots of pictures.

 

After that we were both pretty tired, however we had a train to catch! So back to the hotel for our bags, then back to the station and onto the bullet train, we got Nagoya and changed onto a small local train for another 45minutes journey to a small village where Mina's brother lives. We got off the train at a dark station in the middle of nowhere, the platform was empty, and it was very very Japanese, it was awesome!

Mina's brother arrived a little late, and he was a great guy, he packed our things away and then took us for some food in a local place he liked, we sat on the floor and ate some tasty Japanese food, and although he didn't speak much English, and I didn't speak much Japanese, we bonded over a mutual understanding of beer.

After a couple of beers he asked if I had ever been to a hostess bar, I said (through Mina's translation) that I hadn't (and in truth had no idea what a hostess bar was), he was surprised but said nearby was his favourite, and he would show us.

We paid and walked out, walked 5 doors down and into another bar, the 'hostess bar'. It was tiny, 15 meters long, 3 meters wide, with a sofa at the end, a bar down one side and a row of stools along the bar. The bar was quite full with most seats taken by single Japanese men and Japanese girls working as 'hosts'. The girls were very well dressed in cocktail dresses, hair all done and with lots of makeup, and the guys would sit, and the girls would sit and drink with them, and talk, and keep them company, and the guys could talk with a nice girl with no pressure, and that is all that happened. The guys talk, and then they go home, apparently the chance of a girl going home with them is only if she wants to, it is basically just a date, no pressure, and a chat with a pretty girl. We sat down and ordered Japanese spirits and tea, which was very tasty, and a girl that knew Mina's brother well kept our cups full, drank along with us and we tried to make small talk without sharing a language. After a time Mina and I were both tired so we headed off (in his car) back to his house, where he had offered to let us stay, and Mina drove us back. He stayed late to have fun in the bar. We rolled into his house and I fell straight into bed in the spare room. His house was huge, two floors, 3 bedrooms, a huge shower/wetroom and even a small garden. It was beautiful, clean and very modern, although you could tell he was currently between girlfriends, he has two PS3s, one for his bedroom and one for the lounge, a Wii, a PSP or two, a Nintendo DS, 2 TVs, and so many gadgets, besides the techno toilets so common here (warming, Bidet, music, false flush sounds and all) his bath had no taps, only a remote control, it fills the tub for you automatically to whatever depth and temperature you want, then at a button press drains away again, so cool!

Anyway I had a quick look around and then got to bed, more exploring tomorrow!

Hiroshima Photos Day one