再见!

So, the time has come to leave Beijing (for the time being at least) and I am terribly sad to go. Every time I leave I have this sinking feeling, but I know deep down that I'll be back! Especially now that Ben has been bitten by the proverbial Beijing bug, and would not be averse to spending some of our (married - eek!) life together out here… so I'll have to hold him to that!

 

We had a lovely last weekend here, involving, manicures, massages, Xiao Wang Fu's duck and a dose of KTV - can't get much better than that!

I'll be keeping up the blog as and when I can over the next 7 weeks, as we embark on our trip round Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet and Nepal.  Until then, 再见!

Sundays in Tokyo - Yoyogi park and Harajuku

Sunday is the day to take a trip to the beautiful Yoyogi Park, and the surrounding area of Harajuku.  The park is pretty and peaceful, and it was there that Ben discovered a new found love of bird photography - which has got me a little concerned about our future!

 

In the park there are lots of teenagers practising dance routines, and it is a prime spot for people watching!  The outfits are spectacular, to say the least.  Near the gate at Harajuku station, there are a few crazy, busy and hectic streets around which performers and attention-seekers hover, and pose for pictures.  Never a dull moment!

 

I was also able to try out my DELIGHTFUL new Diana mini Lomo camera.  She is so beautiful.  I hope I am using her correctly, or I will be terribly disappointed when my 'arty, stylish, colour-saturated, half frame, double-exposure' photos don't come out...

Bar in a van...

We ate at Gonpachi on Saturday night with Ben's friends from school who now live in Tokyo, and some of their colleagues.  Gonpachi was, allegedly, the inspiration for the Kill Bill films, so obviously, I whipped out my camera for a tourist shot!

 

Dinner was great, and afterwards we headed for a drink and passed the most hilarious 'bar in a van'.  It was literally a bar... in a van.  It doesn't get much better than that!

Tsukiji fish market

We took a trip to Tsukiji fish market at 4.45am on Thursday morning, in order to see the tuna auction and the place where 90% of the fish eaten in Tokyo passes through.  The auction was cool (especially as I had never realised just how LARGE tuna are!) but the best thing about it was the fact that more than 50 tourists had got up before 5am and trekked across Tokyo in the snow to watch it!  You can see them (us!) all papping the auction and the fish, under the ever watchful eye of the guy in white...

 

The fish market was enormous, and contained hundreds of sea-creatures that I simply had never seen before, never mind considered edible (and this did make me wonder what I'd been eating for the last few days!), and we headed to a tiny sushi counter at the side of the market for a sushi breakfast at 6.45am.  I am not a massive fan of sushi (yes, yes, I know - this makes me v. uncool!) but it was the best and freshest I've ever had, and I will admit it was... not too bad! ;-)

Tokyo

Apologies in advance for the overload of posts today... I have a backlog and am off the internet for a while as of today, so am playing catch up.

 

Aside from the trainer-shopping, Ben and I did see some of the sights in Tokyo, including the 'busiest crossing in the world' at Shibuya, the Kaminarimon and the first cherry blossoms of the spring.  Unfortunately, the main temple in the Asakusa area, where we stayed for the first night, was being renovated (so that's when we decided to hit the shops...!)

 

We booked ourselves into a Ryokan, and enjoyed the full on Japanese living experience, with tatami mats, yukata, a 12 course dinner and steaming onsens.  While we were staying here we went to the fish market (see post to follow) and on our way back, were treated to an absolute spectacle - the snow was building up on the roof of the main gate by the Senso-ji, and workmen were out to make it safe.  However - they took their eyes off it for just a few seconds, and *whooomph* down came a whole splattering of snow from a 30ft height!  This happened again and again, and as more and more business people began their journey to work, it just got funnier and funnier for us... though when it was our turn to pass through the gate, we were worried karma might catch up with us!

Kyoto and Nara

Kyoto is a beautiful city, and we had a lovely 3 days there.  It was our first stop, and so gave us our first impressions of Japan - polite and friendly people, good food and (lots and lots of) temples.

 

We decided to head to the Imperial Palace first, for the free (obvious bonus...) tour.  Unfortunately, Ben failed to take any ID (yes, no passport, driving licence or even credit card!) with him, so could not go in.  I soldiered on regardless, and happily reported back that Japanese buildings and gardens look EXACTLY as you imagine them to, and are just like you have seen in films!  This was at least some comfort...

 

Unfortunately it rained for our whole time in Kyoto (bit of a wound after 6 months in sunny, if cold, Beijing), but everyone in Japan seems to own an umbrella, so we fitted right in.  Coming from Beijing, I was a fan of all the bikes in Japan, but got caught in a few near misses seeing as everyone there cycles on the pavements!  Very strange that such an advanced country has not yet introduced cycle lanes.  At least in China, the road-risks are such that you know to be constantly on guard!

 

The strangest food we had in Kyoto has to be the rice balls.  Ben wolfed them down, but the sticky, dense texture just freaks me out.  The Chinese put them in a super sweet and sticky dessert/soup thing, but these were a semi-sweet, semi-savoury skewered concoction that I avoided for the rest of the week...

 

Kyoto is also where we first discovered Japan's micro-bars, that sit c. 8 people (see previous post) and we had a fantastic time cramped into a bar with crazy posters and memorabilia stuck on every available surface.

 

We took a day trip to Nara, where we found more of the same temples, but this time surrounded by a large number of deer.  Very random!  We spent a fair amount of time observing the hilarity involved with tourists buying snacks for the deer and getting chased around, nibbled and prodded as a result (usually Japanese teenage girls...).

Japanese intrigue and ingenuity

We were struck by the inventions all over Japan, and their different ways of doing day to day things.  Here are a few of the ones I noted down, and a couple of pictures to go with them.  Apologies that the photos are grouped together - the curse of blogging via email...

 

1. Turn-able train seats - so you can always face forward, so you can swivel to face your friends, just for fun.... administered by the fuwuyuans in pink between train journeys (see picture).

 

2. Pyjamas provided in all the hotel rooms - though not always a good fit (see pic!).

 

3. Taps coming out of the toilet cistern - maximising space in a city with loads of people per square metre.

 

4. Toilets in general - heated seats, bidet functions, electric flushes, blow-driers - hours of fun, and strange yelps being emitted from the bathroom!

 

5. Clothes for dogs - shops and shops full of these (see two pics) and hilariously dressed dogs all over the place.

 

6. Tiny bars that (seem to be) privately owned - seat 6 people, essentially the bar owner's mates, and are open from early evening until 6am when the trains start running (see pic of Ben 'enjoying' the fish guts in sake...!)

 

7. Magnetic plugs! - pop right into the socket on the back of the kettle, etc. Genius!

 

And many, many more - but I kept losing track!

Trainer heaven

Ben and I are just back from a trip to Tokyo, where we indulged a passion we never knew we had - shopping for trainers!  Now second only to eating and drinking, and just ahead of people-watching on our list of all time favourite holiday pastimes...

More Japan posts to follow - too much to be said!

Beijing explodes for CNY

After a fantastic dinner at the Ritan park branch of everyone's favourite restaurant, Xiao Wang Fu, we headed to the area around Nanluoguxiang and the Drum and Bell towers to observe the complete chaos and craziness of Chinese New Year's eve.

 

Unlike in most countries, there do not seem to be any safety regulations that govern the purchase or use of fireworks and firecrackers, or at least none that are heeded to by the general public.  Therefore, everyone who's anyone takes it upon themselves to buy hundreds of fireworks, and let them off across the city 24/7 (yes, even in daylight) for the duration of the holiday period.

These fireworks are set off (see above pics) on every street, by children and adults alike, with no regard whatsoever for nearby people, buildings, or even police cars...!  The noise is incredible, and made for plenty of amusing shouts of 'take cover!' and corresponding dives behind lampposts, etc.  But fear not, 'fire engines' are on hand should anything get out of control...

For midnight itself, we went to the bar on the 86th floor of the Park Hyatt, from which we could see the entire city exploding with fireworks.  It was amazing, and very surreal to see so many fireworks going off in every direction from a height.  The fireworks began in earnest at dusk, and peaked at midnight, but continued well into the morning, when there was a pause for a few hour's sleep, before they were resumed at about 6am - and so this pattern continued!

The chaos got me wondering about fires and accidents caused by the the Spring Festival celebrations, and I'm pleased to report (see this article) that the number was down by almost 50% since last year (when the half0built Mandarin Oriental near the CCTV tower was set on fire by a 'stray firework').  However, according to the Ministry of Public Security, that's still 7,480 fires across the country, which killed 35 people and led to direct losses worth 28.5 million yuan (c. GBP 2.7 million).  Perhaps it's time for those health and safety regulations after all....?!

新年快乐!

Chinese New Year's day fell on 14 February 2010, welcoming the year of the tiger - for all of your born in 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986 or 1998, this is your year,  so best get out your red undies!*

 

On 13th February, and after a big dim sum brunch, we decided to hit Ditan Park temple fair, the biggest and busiest new year temple fair in Beijing, during which the entire park is decorated with red lanterns.

 

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but it certainly was not the hilarious tack-fest that was in store!  The main attraction at the temple fair, at least early on, was about 1,500 stalls selling a multitude of zodiac-related tack.  Items were mainly centered on the tiger (tiger ears, masks, costumes, toys, muffs, giant paws, etc...) but also included things clearly left over from previous years (mouse ears, toy dogs, ram memorabilia and dragon paraphernalia, etc).  We spotted a prime opportunity for comedy, and set ourselves a Y25 budget each for acquiring accessories for the day (see above pics...).  On our way around the park later, I splashed an extra Y15 on a comedy all-(Barbie Girl)-singing, all-flashing, all-dancing white and pink ram, which was worth every penny...

 

Later in the day, there were performances by dancers, people on stilts, dragon/tiger dancing etc, and a huge selection of fairground games (on which we won a red tiger toy) - so all in all, a funny and pleasant way to while away the new year's eve.  新年快乐, everyone!

 

* Traditionally, those whose zodiac year it is should wear red every day, all year long, though practically speaking some opt for red underwear in order to protect yourself against the hazards of benming nian (meeting your zodiac year)...

Common taxi advert.....

"Enjoy the luxury experience of breast augmentation....."

This chap has a microphone and all the power at the dim sum restaurant at the South gate of Ditan Park. This was taken on the morning of the first day of the Temple fair for Chinese New Year, so he had his work cut out!

Spotted at CNY: an unusual bus traveller!

Beijing deserted...

... for Chinese New Year: