Japan - travelling is actually fun!

Konichiwa!
As we entered the ferry we could not believe our luck - the stewardesses were smiling at you, you could see the movie list on the right, the restaurant on the upper floor and even a laundry for free! We felt like we are just about to go on a cruise a la Titanic (well, hoping it won`t sink!). We really enjoyed it - apart from the little bumpy bit where I felt sick for hours and only considered the toilet as my best friend - and although 46 hours sounds long, it was necessary for us to do NOTHING else than eating, sleeping, watching movies. We were only a few people on board so we had lots of space in our Japanese style dormitories (on the floor - real Japanese style!) and we arrived on time (wow - nothing compared to Vietnam or China!) after 46 hours in Osaka. The people on the ferry were amazing, everybody was talking to us, Rafi played table tennis with a 78-year old Japanese champion it looked like, we had a nice chat with various people, a nice lady from my room gave me a lovely present and we had about 5 mobile phones more and everybody said if you need help, call me! IS THIS REAL??? The first impression we had was truly amazing and so welcoming, we could not believe their hospitality.

In Osaka we had a really nice hotel as well and at night we checked out the busy Den-Den Town district. We loved it - it` s a whole new world, with lots of different colors, giant neon figures on the walls, Japanese lamps decorating the alleys and arcades, stylish Japanese teens showing off their latest fashion gadgets - and you can see a lot more: porn everywhere and old vhs videos. Well, bit of a controversy to the "shy" and modern Japan, but even that made it a bit more mysterious.

We took the bullet train (the coolest train on earth!) to Kyoto, which took less than one hour and stayed there for 3 nights. Kyoto is great - probably the best city in Japan, with 3000 temples, shrines, palaces, castles, ... - oh there is lots on your agenda. We managed to see two temples (Higashi-hongan-ji), Nijo Castle and the Manga International Museum (well Raf did, as I am not into comics that much, but he went out and felt like a little boy during Christmas!) on the first day.

We walked for about 7 hours, had lunch in our newly discovered supermarket chain Family Mart (cheap and good take aways!) and were destroyed after we came back.

Our highlight was Nijo Castle though - really astonishing when you enter the palace with the golden paintings all over. You really get into the Japanese culture in the old days. The hostel we stayed in was great as well, K`s Hostel is a chain and we tried to book it for other cities too.
Day two: Another long day of sightseeing - we started with the Golden Temple, quite impressive setting, but unfortunately you can only admire it from 20 meters away.

We then went to see another temple complex 20 minutes away, really giant garden with a few pagodas, shrines and temples inside. We then took the bus back to the city, where we went to see Nishiki food market where we also tried a typical "wagashi" (sweets) - not so much our taste though! It was great what there was on offer, colorful, tasteful and really different to what we normally put on our plates. We went shopping at the endless Kawaramachi-dori district and took another bus to Gijon district - THE highlight of the day. Gijon is the oldest district and reminds of the old Japanese days, with little alleyways, dark brown wooden buildings and Geishas walking around as if you turned back the clock a few hundred years. But we can say that we have seen many many Geishas, so it` s still alive and hopefully will be the next hundred years as it is a really amazing culture. We have even seen trans-Geishas and men dressed in Geisha costumes - one cannot really say they do not adapt to the new days!:) We also went to see Ponto Cho, the most famous street in Kyoto, full of little shiny lamps, tea shops, restaurants and you really feel like in a different world. We were so tired though that the only thing we could think of was BED, so we went back home, trying to relax after another long day...
Day 3: Slightly tired of sightseeing we hardly got up to go to Nara, but managed in the end. However, due to our physical and mental instability (haha) we only checked out one place, Todai-ji also called The Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden). Absolutely unbelievable - these giant wooden figures and the biggest wooden complex in the world. Really breathtaking. And it literally was, as we could hardly stand on our feet (maybe because we exaggerated a bit the last days...). So, back to Kyoto, we really relaxed a bit this time - hot coffee, nice meal and nothing else than "Charlie`s Chocolate Factory" on TV, oh yes....

Heading to Mt. Fuji, we arrived in our hostel and had a nice walk around Mt.Fuji - very impressive mountain and we felt so relaxed just looking at it! The highlight of the day was something else though - we had spaghetti a la napoli for the first time in months!!!!!!!! And we managed to eat half a kilo of it! It was delicious, nothing could ever top that.

Back to Tokyo, we were still in the "I just want to chill out -phase" but managed to get up and check out Shibuya station, the busiest crossing worldwide, and it really feels like thousands of ants crossing the 4 different sections. Hungry but not in the mood for another supermarket meal we decided to eat at McDonalds and it was great;)The next day our super-fantastic-japanese-experience started:

We met up with Hiromi, an ex-student/colleague of Mel, who offered us to show us round Tokyo and spend two nights at her parents home. The first day she showed us Asakusa market and the temple nearby and we got a really nice souvenir, a japanese lamp, which will decorate our new flat in Munich! We then went to see the Royal Palace/Garden and also the garden of Meji Shrine. She took us to a really nice Japanese restaurant where we filled our stomachs til the end - it was great! The highlight of the day was about to follow, as we tried to check out a sumo tournament. They are only on for 3 months in a year in Tokyo so we could not miss this chance!! The first time you see a REAL sumo is quite exciting.

We have seen our first sumo fighter coming out of a taxi - BIG guy, looks quite scary at first, wearing a colorful kimono. Hiromi asked if we could take a picture and they nodded trying to smile a bit - just great, you feel like next to a cupboard but it s actually breathing!;) The sumo fight itself was our personal highlight of Japan. Entering the stadium and the first impression you have is really overwhelming. Then - there they are: 20 Sumo fighters entering the "stage", bowing and stomping. The first fight was quite abrupt, it only took him 10 seconds to throw his opponent from the circle. These guys are really big but you can see the tons of muscles and really are amazed by this strange, mysterious and traditional sport - if you can name it this way! We then took the train to her parents home and they welcomed us as if we were old friends and her mum cooked a special meal for us: slowly cooked and thin slices of beef, with mushrooms, vegetables and tofu accompanied by rice. Absolutely delicious! We also slept like queen and king - Hiromi s room was really comfy and her mother even offered to wash our clothes, we really felt like home! The next day, her parents took us to Nikko, a famous place of sacred temples and shrines. After a 2-hour ride we arrived at Nikko s national park, where we were stunned about the colourful and densely built temples. We also got to try the "fortune cards", a bit shocking but might be true, who knows, one day we will find out! Her parents then took us out for lunch, and we could try "tempura", a typical Japanese dish with fried seafood and vegetables, absolutely delicious! In the afternoon they took us to try some wood carvings. At first we did not quite know what to do, but then we realised: you can choose one wooden material such as mirror, plate etc. and an object that you want to carve in the wood. Mine was a monkey, Hiromi choosen a cat and Raf a dragon - it was great. We felt like children trying to handcraft something for their parents, really really nice idea and a great souvenir! Back in their home, I got to try the Japanese kimono and after 30 minutes I became the German Geisha;)

It was a wonderful day that ended with another real highlight named running sushi - we loved it! The plates were towering up and we felt like in heaven. We really had a great time and the Japanese hospitality is far superior than the European we must admit. They really know how to make somebody feel welcome and home and we will never forget this special day, THANK YOU HIROMI!!!

We were then let alone and made our way to Hiroshima, where we stayed for one night. The peace memorial park and museum are really astonishing and a great way to discover the shocking past. We spent a few hours there before heading to Fukuoka where we are taking the ferry to Korea tomorrow...

Japan, we will miss you and we will hopefully see you again!!!!!

Mel & Raf aka "can we stay in Japan forever??" or "how can we face India after Japan??"

China - part 1

Our first impression of China was - GREAT, it` s so clean (well, the spitting kind of ruins this picture) and compared to Vietnam it`s heaven. The people seem nice, the mentality seems quite European and they do not try to rip you off every 5 seconds.

Guilin is a great city with lots to see. Lakes, bridges, lots of Chinese weddings. The first day we met a lovely lady called Lin, 30 years old, working for a 4Star hotel. She just wanted to speak English as she needs to practise she said. At first we were a bit sceptical but in the end, it was one of the best experiences in terms of foreign hospitality we ever encountered. She showed us nice and cheap restaurants were we ate together and told us much about Chinese culture. In the end we booked our train ticket to Shanghai, a one day tour to Dragon` s Backbone Rice Terraces and decided to go on a day trip to Yuangshou. Yes - lot`s to do in 3 days.

Later this night, we had a very different encounter with the Chinese - police - They stopped and circled us in an Internet Cafe and asked for our passport/visa. The big boss aka "I-treat-you-like-shit" was a 50 year old woman who made us think that we will end up in prison or we did something wrong. I already thought "What is possible in this country? Can they arrest you just because they don `t like you?" Anyway, in the end it was all good and "cleared", they also called our hotel and asked us many questions. When we came back to our hotel, they strangely removed the name of the hotel - coincidence or not??:)
Our two day trips were amazing though - The rice teracces and the little minority villages we met was a real experience.

Although they try to sell you anything, we were stunned with their 2 meter long hairs that they are binding together on their head.


Our trip to Yuanghshou was another highlight as we met a "fisherman" (who probably was only a sales man) who offered us a bamboo boat tour along Li River until Yuangshou. We thought - great, this is what we wanted to do anyway. But as all the normal tours started too late for us we made our own way. So this guy took us to Yangdi, from where the boat started. We gave him 200 CNY and waited for our 50 CNY change. Well, in the end, he put us on his brother`s boat and waved at us, while we slowly moved away. We just shouted "HEY, what about our cash?? Who will bring us to Yuangshou and who is paying for the bus from Pinxing to Yuanghsou??" We can tell, we are just a bunch of trustworthy (stupid) Europeans. The guy only said "But cheap-very cheap", ignoring our deal that we had. After lots of shouting and fighting (not literally, however I was in the position to punch him in his face) he finally gave us back the change, although his promise of taking us to Yuangshou, paying for the buses and showing us how to fish in Cormoran style was not fulfilled.

Slightly annoyed, we calmed down during the absolutely astonishing river cruise, a mix of Halong Bay and Mekong River, seeing water buffaloes, farmers etc.

We arrived in Yuanghsou 1,5 hours later - only had 2 hours to spend but it was one of those places where you want to come back. Very touristy but beautiful location and surroundings.

Back in Guilin we went on another cruelling 24 hour journey on a hard seater train....We started to regret not having taken a sleeper for twice as much very soon. In the end, after our backs felt like a crashed car, we arrived in Shanghai and the madness went on.

Of course, we were lucky enough to get to Shanghai on the first day of the world-famous Expo (millions of visitors were expected) plus national holidays (and you know how many holidays they get in China!), which meant mayhem. Like true backpackers, we did not book any accomondation and soon realised that it was a very very stupid idea not to. After 1 hour of walking around, blindfolded (not literally!) we found an expensive dormitory in a youth hostel, THANK GOD, and went to see The Bund with approximately a few millions of other people. Shanghai is a very vibrant city, and the Expo looks like a real big thing - so we decided to come back after Japan to check it out! After one day of walking around for about 24km our feet and stomach went on strike but we did our best to see Shanghai in 12 hours - a KILLER!

On the second day we decided to go to Suzhou, a really nice city called "the Venice of the East", however, for us, it was a bit like "Madness of the East". We could not book a train ticket as the whole of China was about to do the same as we did - sightseeing, so we needed to go with the slower bus. At 1pm we arrived there and needed to go to the train station by taxi (another 45 minutes drive) only to find out that there were only return train tickets from 11pm left. GREAT! Slightly pissed off (I had troubles not to bang my head against the wall!) we needed to walk for another 45 minutes to go to town. At 3pm we finally sat down for lunch and also were able to book a train ticket at an agency for 8pm. Halleluja! The city seems like a nice place to have a coffee, check out some of the 1000-year old gardens (we have seen the "Master of the Nets", really beautiful) the "Master of the Nets", really beautiful) and do a little boat cruise round the river, but we did not have enough time and unfortunately my mood was flushed down the toilet, so not a good day for romantic cruises. Anyway, back in Shangai we went to the 48-hour ferry ride to Osaka on the next day...

Raf & Mel aka. Gimme a break!