Category Archives: East Asia

Singapore (Bugis & City Hall)

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Raffles Hotel (Main Entrance)

Bugis Station and City Hall Station is the focal point of the area north of Marina Bay.  There are a few other stations in the area but these are the traditional old stations.  They are somewhat more historical than the other regions of Singapore with a wide range of things to see and do.  This ranges from shopping to visiting religious locations to visiting tourist spots.  It is a place that is full of life and a place that can give people a headache if they hate crowds.  For anyone who loves the big city, this is a great place to be.

 

Iluma Shopping Mall (Bugis)

Bugis Station is where I had my base when I visited Singapore.  I stayed in a hotel that was between Bugis Station and Little India.  Unfortunately I didn’t have the time or energy to go to Little India.  The area near Bugis Station is very much a shopping destination.  There are several shopping malls and lots of teens and young adults in the area.  I found it to be a hard place to get around due to the sheer number of people walking around.  It is very akin to visiting Shibuya or Shinjuku which made it a place that I enjoyed.  The shopping malls were predominantly for younger people and the middle class.  Many of them are connected to each other.  The malls themselves had a mix of western and eastern shops.  I noticed a lot of American and British brands, probably heavily influenced by Singapore’s past colonial days.  There were also a lot of Japanese style shops, but nowhere near as many as Taipei.  If you head outside of the shopping malls, you can find a few night market style streets where you can pick up all of your tacky souvenirs from Merlion key chains to postcards.  You can venture a little farther and find a bunch of hawkers/food courts where you can get a lot of delicious food.  I found that staying inside the shopping mall food courts to be more relaxing and much cooler as well.  Hawker areas tend to be for locals whereas food courts are where tourists tend to go.  If you head towards City Hall Station and Promenade Station, you will find even more shopping malls but they tend to skew more towards the higher end shoppers, but not extreme luxury.

Masjid Sultan Mosque

While shopping is a big thing in the area, it isn’t the only thing to do.  There are many religious sights to see and visit while in the area.  Heading north of Bugis Station will take you to Arab St.  It is an old historical area where you can see the Middle East community.  The focal point of the entire area is the Masjid Sultan Mosque.  It is a grand mosque at one end of the Arab St. area.  It can be difficult to see from the surrounding streets due to the tall buildings in the area but once you are on Arab St. itself it is pretty easy to find.  It is a beautiful mosque with a grand golden orb on top.  The streets around the mosque sell a variety of fabrics and rugs typical of a stereotypical Middle Eastern/Arabic town.  There are also dozens of posh restaurants and cafes in the area selling ethnic food as well.  Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to eat in these places but they looked delicious and welcoming.

Raffles Hotel (Inner Courtyard)

Raffles Place or Raffles Hotel is one of the most historical places and biggest icons of the area.  The Raffles Hotel is one of the oldest and most luxurious hotels in Singapore.  It has retained its original colonial style.  The walls are painted a beautiful white and the courtyards are impeccably clean.  The palm trees inside the various courtyards bring the feel of a tropical paradise, without the beach.  The entire hotel is magnificent but unfortunately I will probably never have enough money to spend even one night there.  Next to the hotel is the parliament building.  It is an old historical building as well but as far as I could tell, off limits to tourists.  It is an official building that is very picturesque.  While the area around City Hall Station is more historical with the Raffles Hotel; Promenade and Esplanade Stations show the modern side of the area.  Just a short walk from the Raffles Hotel, there are new modern hotels as well as the Esplanade Theatres.  The Esplanade Theatres are two buildings that are part of one theatre complex.  They are iconic and shown in most, if not all travel brochures on Singapore.  They are two dome-like structures that look like a pair of durian or a pair of dragonfly eyes.  From afar, it is a very interesting structure, but up close it loses its flare.  If you have the energy, you can also head out to the Singapore Flyer.  It is a large Ferris wheel that takes roughly 30 minutes to make one trip.  It was designed by a Japanese architect and designed to be a labyrinth.  It is designed to bring you in and keep you in.  It is a typical tourist trap.  Thankfully the Flyer itself has great views of the surrounding area.

Esplanade Theatres

Overall, you can spend several days just exploring every street in and around this area.  It is nice to be in the area and there are many hotels making it a very convenient place to be.  You can do pretty much everything on foot provided you can survive the heat.  After living in Tokyo for 6 years now, I find the heat to be bearable.  It isn’t comfortable and you have to seek air conditioning after an hour or so, but it is manageable.

Singapore (Bugis & City Hall) is part of a series of posts on Singapore.  Please continue with the links below to read more about Singapore:


Singapore in a Nutshell

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Central Business District (From Marina Bay Sands)

Singapore is a small country that has been influenced a lot by history and outside forces.  It can be argued that Singapore was born in the early 1800s when England established a colony in the area.  It was governed by England, with a brief Japanese rule during World War II until the 1960s when Britain allowed Singapore to merge with other countries to form Malaysia.  This lasted only 2 years before it was made completely independent.  It has since flourished and grown as a distinct country on the southern tip of Malaysia.  Singapore is a very small country that can be related more as a city than a country.  It is well known for its crack-down on crime with stiff punishments.  Even so, Singapore is a very clean country that is very multicultural.

Changi Airport (Terminal 3)

Singapore is well known for its airport, Changi Airport. It is touted as one of the best airports in the world, along with Seoul’s Incheon and Hong Kong.  It is a very large, magnificent, and beautiful airport with 3 terminals and lots of things to do.  It is also one of the strangest airports I have ever visited.  Upon entering, the method of entry was pretty standard, however it was more American in the fact that I exited the gate and I was in the security controlled area of the airport.  I walked past all of the duty free shops and straight to immigration where I had the typical passport check.  I then proceeded past all of the luggage belts and out the door.  There was no customs control for those who had nothing to declare and only one guard there.  They didn’t take anything such as a customs card. This was also the strangest departure of an airport in my life.  For my departure, I nearly had a typical experience.  The check-in procedure was pretty straight forward.  I had to get my GST rebate prior to checking in, but with everything prepared at the shop all I had to do was scan my barcode and that was that.  I passed through immigration control very easily and I was extremely surprised that there were no security checks to get into the controlled area.  In fact, Changi Airport only does security checks when you enter the gate area, which most people probably don’t know.  The shopping at all 3 terminals are all very similar with almost nothing to differentiate the areas aside from the fact that each building was built at different times.  The shops are all completely the same.  I probably wasted a little time going to Terminal 3 to check out a few of the shops when I didn’t have to.  I will say that the airport is one of the best I have ever visited, but an airport is still just an airport with nothing too special.

Inside the SMRT. The staff are as smart as Ralph Wiggum (s-m-r-t).

Getting into the city is very easy.  Some people take taxis which are affordable but I decided to take the train.  A word of advice; be very aware of the limits of the IC card that they use.  The EZ-Pass is very useful but the cost of it is not really worth it.  I was surprised to learn that I needed a minimum $3 to use the train system and if you top it up with $10 just before going to the airport, you still have to wait 2 or so hours before you can get a refund on the balance.  Plus, a refund means you forfeit the card, which I didn’t know at the time.  Otherwise, the IC card and the train system is very efficient.  Getting downtown, I stayed at Bugis Station, was very easy as Bugis Station is on the main line to the airport.  There are buses that you can use to get around the city but they can be a little difficult to use as you have to calculate how far you need to go.  With an IC card, there is no thinking.  Just tap and go.  It is no different than in other East Asian cities that also use IC cards.  The other plus is that downtown Singapore is such a small area that you can easily walk around the city on your own.  There is no real need to use public transportation unless you decide to head to Sentosa Island or to some of the more distant areas.

Hindu Temple (Bugis)

Singapore is a very multi-cultural city.  My impression that Singapore is a multi-cultural city could have been due to the Formula One Grand Prix that was happening at the time as well but from all of the workers and what appeared to be local people, I noticed a lot of different people.  While Chinese people are the largest group, I saw a large and healthy group of Malays and Indians.  This can easily be reflected in the architecture of the city.  It is easy to see Hindu temples next to Taoist temples, mosques next to churches and so on.  Many of these religious buildings are a beacon in their respective blocks as if to say that their religion is more important than the other, yet there seems to be a great respect for each other.  I can’t say that this is true in real life but that was my brief view of the city at the time.  The common language in Singapore is English, and while Chinese is the most widely spoken native language, it is not the common language.  I have heard time and time again that Chinese will be the most spoken language of the world and that we must learn it in order to survive in business.  I highly doubt that is true.  While it is true that Chinese will become the most spoken language in the world, it won’t be the common language.  People need a unifying language in order to communicate with each other and I think English will continue to be that language.  If you ever visit Singapore, you will notice this easily.  It is quite easy to notice that while speaking Chinese is an asset in communicating smoothly, Indians and Malays don’t speak Chinese or if they do it is very limited.  Even if they did speak Chinese, there are many different Chinese languages.  Hence English will continue to be the unifying language of the world and Singapore for the indefinite future.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Singapore itself is an every growing country.  You can see change everywhere you go.  It is similar to Tokyo in that respect.  Many of the older buildings are being torn down to make way for new high rises.  The central business district near the Fullerton Hotel is an expanding region.  You can find many businesses there.  You can see the huge development in the Marina Bay area with the new Marina Bay Sands hotel and the huge gardens that are being constructed behind the hotel.  The entire area is undergoing its last push for development and should be finished in the next few years.  While there are many new developments happening around Singapore, I also noticed that a lot of historical buildings are being maintained or restored.  It is wonderful to see the Raffles Hotel and how it hasn’t changed much since it was originally built.  It is great to see the old Fullerton Hotel as well as other historic buildings being maintained.  There are also various buildings that are being modernized and restored.  The Custom’s House complex was modernized while retaining the original façade.  Even the famous Arab St. looks historical while being modernized inside the buildings themselves.  It is an amazing sight to see and something I feel Japan can learn from.

Singapore Sidestreet

Singapore is a wonderful city/country to visit.  I would love to visit this city again in the future.  While it wasn’t a perfect trip, I was impressed by everything I did and everything I saw.  It has the modernity of Japan with the historical feel of Hong Kong or Macau.  It also has a lot of unique aspects that give it its charm.  While I cannot tell whether my visit was influenced by the F1 event that was happening at the same time, I did thoroughly enjoy the visit.  In the following posts on Singapore I will go into greater detail on the different areas specifically.

Singapore in a Nutshell is part of a series of posts on Singapore.  Please continue with the links below to read more about Singapore:


Danshui, Taiwan

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Danshui Station

Danshui is a small resort town north of central Taipei.  It’s roughly 40 minutes north by train on the Danshui line.  It is pretty easy to get to Danshui but it does take a bit of time.  It’s a nice day trip to get out of the city and enjoy the coast.  Spending an entire trip in only Taipei itself can be a little daunting as city life can get a little stressful.  Danshui is the opposite.  It is a relatively tranquil area where life seems to slow down.  Danshui is known as a place for couples and it’s more famous at night.  It is also famous for being the hot spring town of Taipei.

 

 

Danshui Waterfront

The first area people will explore from Danshui station is the waterfront.  There is a long coastal road that is lined with various little shops.  As you walk from the station you will see the mouth of the river as it begins to open up to the sea.  The road is pretty small and only local traffic uses it.  There are several shops with various amusement park style games such as basketball.  The entire waterfront is not complete as they were doing construction in many areas.  My guess is that they are trying to create a walkway from the station all the way to the Fisherman’s Wharf which is about 3km away from the station.  About 500m from the station is a small ferry pier which has ferries taking people across the river to “Bali” or up the river to the Fisherman’s Wharf.  I suggest taking the ferry to go up but we decided to walk so we could see more things.

 

 

Fort San Domingo

About a third of the way to the Fisherman’s Wharf is an old fort called Fort San Domingo.  It was constructed by the Dutch but from what I was reading, it was controlled mostly by the Portuguese.  I could easily be wrong as there was little information in English.  The actual fort itself was pretty interesting.  It is built on a small hill and the fortifications were simple.  The main fort was a simple castle like structure that housed a few rooms.  Within the complex, there were a few other buildings, constructed of brick.  You can freely walk around the complex and enter the various buildings.  There is a lot of information in English but very little was of interest to me.  It was mostly historical and from my memory, little explained the nature of each room we visited.  When I visited, they also had a special exhibition on Canada which was a little nostalgic for me.  I’m sure they switch the exhibitions from time to time.  It wasn’t a big exhibition but large enough to give people a glimpse into Canada.

Valentine Bridge

The other area of interest is the Fisherman’s Wharf.  It is located roughly 3km north of the station and it is a long walk.  I would highly recommend taking either a bus, the passenger ferry, or to rent a bicycle.  The entire wharf area is a big tourist trap.  It is popular among couples as it is a very romantic setting.  In the daytime, families are more prevalent, as are tourists.  It is more famous at night due to the lights.  The focal point of Fisherman’s Wharf is the Valentine Bridge.  It is a pastel pink bridge that is lit up at night and reminiscent of many other standard bridges in Eastern Asia.  While it is just a pedestrian bridge, it is fairly large for a pedestrian bridge.  You will see dozens of couples taking pictures in the area.  There are even several restaurants and bars on the main floor of the wharf for people to enjoy themselves.  If the noise is too much for you, it isn’t hard to walk a minute away and see an empty area.  It is a remote area of Danshui so other than the main central areas, there aren’t many people.

Art on the Waterfront

I mentioned that Danshui is a famous hot spring area of Taipei.  There are several hot spring hotels where you can relax and enjoy the hot spring water in your own hotel room.  From what I saw, there aren’t many onsen like bath houses.  Instead, they have expensive resort hotels with beautiful rooms and private baths.  If you have the time, I think it is a great place to visit.  Unfortunately I didn’t visit the resort hotels, but a friend of mine did.  She said the water was great and she enjoyed multiple baths during her one night stay.  From the pictures of the hotel, I think it was a great location and if I get a second chance to visit, I will probably try to stay a night or two in Danshui.

Danshui, Taiwan is part of a multi part series of my trip to Taiwan.  Please continue reading about  Taipei and Food in Taiwan.

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。


Taipei

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Departing Taipei

In June 2011, I embarked on what has become an annual adventure.  Every year, I head out with a couple friends and go on an adventure.  In 2009, I went to Hong Kong.  In 2010, I went to Shimane.  This year we decided to go to Taiwan.  It is a small island where, to be honest, I wasn’t very interested in visiting.  My family is originally from Hong Kong which meant that I grew up eating Cantonese food and hearing Cantonese wherever I went.  I love to eat Chinese food, but specifically Cantonese food.  I had no real images of Taiwan except for the image that it was a cross between China and Japan, culturally.  Little did I know that Taiwan was more Japanese than I could have expected.

Graffiti is rampant in Taipei, but it's very good.

Living in Japan means flying to Taipei is very easy.  I was able to fly directly from Haneda Airport to Songshan Airport.  Both airports are located in the downtown cores.  When leaving Tokyo, I could enjoy the view of Tokyo as we departed and on approach I could see Taipei 101.  It is a very convenient flight and one that makes visiting Taipei much easier.  When I researched Taipei, I learned about Taoyuan Airport which is similar to Narita Airport in Tokyo.  There are no direct trains to the Taoyuan Airport and I’d have to take a bus if I flew there.  I was relieved when I found out I could fly to Songshan and just take the train in.  Songshan airport itself is pretty simple.  There are only a few gates as most flights are designed for domestic travel only.  In fact, Songshan Airport is a little ghetto but they are undergoing renovations to improve the facilities a little.  Upon my arrival at Songshan Airport, I was greeted by a wall of heat and humidity.  It was a little difficult to survive as Tokyo was still in the process of heating up to summer temperatures and summer humidity.  The heat an humidity at this time made it a little difficult to get around but thankfully my hotel was located in a central location.  It was close to the electronics area and a short walk to an area near Daan Park with great food.

Ximen's Red Brick Building

One of the first places I visited was Ximen.  It is a bustling commercial district with lots of trendy shops.  It is akin to walking around Shibuya in Tokyo.  Lots of young people walking around, but to my surprise there was a lot of Japanese shops.  Everywhere I walked there was a Japanese shop somewhere.  I couldn’t get past it.  I found a lot of famous Japanese shops but mostly Japanese restaurants.  It wasn’t all Japanese as I saw a lot of Taiwanese shops and restaurants too.  Being a commercial district, there was a large karaoke shop nearby where people gather to enjoy singing but from what I heard they enjoy the food a lot more.  Walking around Ximen will eventually bring you to the cinema district where you can enjoy movies at a relatively cheap rate.  Compared to Tokyo, the movies were dirt cheap.  On the other side of the commercial district was a red brick square.  I forget the name of the area but I found out that it was the gay area of Taipei.  It was supposed to be like going to Nichome in Shinjuku, but I found it to be just a simple bar area.  Since I visited the area on a weeknight, there were very few people there but the drinks were fairly priced and the atmosphere was relaxing.

CKS Memorial

The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, or CKS Memorial for short, is one of the few tourist areas that I visited in Taipei.  I spent a lot of time enjoying the food and seeing the city.  The CKS Memorial is a huge complex with 2 large halls, a huge gate, and the memorial itself.  All of this is nestled within a large park.  I never got the chance to visit every corner of this park but I did see all of the main points.  The two halls were not so special but unfortunately I only visited one of them.  The exteriors of the two halls were more interesting than the interiors.  I’m not too sure on the completion date of the halls but the interior of the hall I visited was very modern.  If I’m not mistaken, it also served as a theatre which made it less interesting for tourists.  The main gate is a famous point for tourists and can be difficult to get good photos depending on the time of day.  The main gate usually has tourists passing in and out of it at all times making it difficult to get the perfect shot.  Pictures can never put the size into scope.  It is much larger than any picture could have conveyed to me.  The memorial hall itself is where all the action is.  During the day, they open the doors and have a ceremonial changing of the guard every hour on the hour.  It is a slow 15 minute ceremony where the guards change from their platforms and show their ceremonial guns.  I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing the ceremony but I just happened to be there as they started.  I would recommend taking in the ceremony if you happen to be there during the ceremony.  The night view at the CKS Memorial is also very interesting.  I highly recommend bringing a tripod if you want to take pictures at night.  It is popular for young couples to just hang out and make out around the complex.  It can look romantic but there really isn’t enough privacy for couples.

Taipei 101

Taipei 101 is currently the second tallest building in the world.  It is a popular area with many high end shops.  The building complex itself is not that great but the trip up to the top is a must for any typical tourist.  It is a little expensive but the trip up is very quick.  It takes less than a minute to get to the top thanks to the world’s second fastest elevators, conveniently built by Toshiba.  The view from the top is a typical observation deck view.  In reality, I find that when going to observation decks around the world, the view is very similar.  The vantage point is different but the appeal quickly goes away.  You get up there and look out the windows and within a few minutes you feel as if it isn’t special anymore.  Taipei 101 is not immune to that feeling but I don’t regret going up.  My only regret is that the outdoor observation deck was closed when I visited and I couldn’t go outside to the roof.  The observation deck can get very crowded at times and extremely noisy.  When I visited, I saw waves of tour groups go past listening to their guided tour devices.  I also happened to see a group of Chinese models visiting and doing a promotional photo shoot and video.  It was interesting but more annoying than anything.  There are 3 areas of the observation area.  The main area is where you can take pictures of the surrounding areas.  You can go upstairs to the 91st floor which has the outdoor observation deck.  Going down a floor takes you to the exit.  Before you leave you go through the Tuned Mass Damper which is the largest in the world.  It is designed to reduce swaying of the building during earthquakes and strong winds.  After a visit to the damper you must walk your way through a sales area that specializes in coral sculptures and jewelry.  It is your typical rich person money grab and I’m sure they do enough business to get by.

Honour Guard at the CKS Memorial

Of course this is just the surface of places to visit within Taipei.  It’s difficult to see and do everything in a few days but I’d say it’s sufficient to get a feel of the city.  Personally, I can’t see myself spending more than a few days in Taipei itself.  If I spent more time there, I’d have to get out a lot more and do a lot more outside the city.  If you plan to only visit the city, you’ll only need a few days at most.  After that things tend to get boring or repetitive.  This is especially true if you have visited other East Asian cities such as Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Taipei is part of a multi part series of my trip to Taiwan.  Please continue reading about Danshui, Taiwan and Food in Taiwan.

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。


Hong Kong

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Hong Kong

On January 23, 2008, I left Tokyo for a trip to Hong Kong.  It was my first trip to the “motherland” since I was in High School.  The Hong Kong I remember is nothing more than flashes of the past and nothing more.  I was excited to head to Hong Kong and re-visit a place that still feels very foreign to me.  While the main reason for me to head to Hong Kong was to re-visit my parents hometown, most of my family would be in Hong Kong at the same time.  One of my cousins was getting married and I decided that was my reason to go.

The day I left was a very odd day.  I took the first Bus to Narita on the first day of snow for the season.  I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to see more snow, but I was heading to Hong Kong, so it was okay.   The flight to Hong Kong is roughly 5 hours, but I went on a “free tour” package.  Basically, you get the airfare and hotel packaged into one, and a free ride to the hotel and airport.  Note that taking free tours from Japanese companies means you’ll have to wait for everyone to come out.  I had nothing but carry on luggage, and had to wait over 1 hour as everyone came out.  I would rather take the train in and I’d be fine.  Also, I was the last person to be dropped off.  Oh well.

Skyscrapers of Hong Kong

My first day in Hong Kong was more of a night.  I had a nice “lunch” (it was around 5pm) near my hotel.  This place would be where I’d eat every breakfast.  I’m not a fan of congee (おかゆ – Rice Soup) so I didn’t order the tour breakfast.  Plus, it was probably cheaper and much better in the small shop.  They had traditional Cantonese food.  I can’t tell you how good it was, but I was brought up on Cantonese food, so I was so happy to have it.  Everyday, I had “lo bak go” which is “fried daikon cake” (やきもち）.  It is still my favourite type of Chinese food.  After a nice lunch, I went out for a quick tour of Kowloon with my parents.  We went to see the Peninsula Hotel and the Star Terminal.  We even took a quick walk around Sogo.  It’s strange to be in another country and see a Japanese Department Store.  It was very similar, yet also very Hong Kongese.  That night, we went to dinner with a family friend and had a wonderful dinner.  If anything, the food is the main attraction in Hong Kong.

Nice drinks

On my second day, I went for a tour of Kowloon, did some shopping, then headed out for a night on the town.  My cousin, whom I haven’t seen since I was a child, took me and my cousins (from Vancouver) out for dinner and dancing.  We had an East meets West dinner.  It was very British in the fact that it doesn’t look good, yet it had some Canton flavours.  The most memorable part was the cow’s tongue (牛タン).  This isn’t your Japanese cow tongue that is sliced very thin and barbequed.  No, this was an entire tongue and you can easily see the taste buds.  It looked very disgusting, but it didn’t taste bad.  If you ignore the looks, it’s fine.  We also ate some pigeon (a little dry and gamey) and then we were off to the club.  Our cousin did a great job and reserved a table for us on the dance floor.  There was a fillipino band playing rock music and it was great.  Lots of old songs from the 90s that made you want to rock out.  Needless to say, I drank way too much.  The night was half spoiled when my parents came.  Oh well.  I still enjoyed the drinks.

 

Big Buddha

Being a “holiday”, I had to wake up early the next day.  I was going to Ngong Ping 360.  It’s a large national park that has a large Buddhist monastary the largest seated Buddha, outdoors.  However, the only way to get there is on one of the longest gondolas in the world and it wasn’t the safest either.  Shortly after they opened, it was closed because 2 cars crashed to the ground.  They fell off the ropeway.  After a year, they re-opened and we travelled on the “safer” version.  Hopefully.  :)  We also had the luxury of travelling with a scared Chinese girl and 2 Japanese guys.  Everyone was teasing the girl and having fun.  I felt a little sorry for the girl, but I’m sure she felt fine afterwards.  The Buddha was nice, but I found the entire trek to get there to be nothing too special.  Honestly, I wanted to go hiking in the mountains instead, but I knew I didn’t have the time to go.  Afterwards, we had a little time, so we had dim sum for lunch and went shopping at the outlet mall.  At night, we went to Victoria Peak.  It was a nice place, and we took the historical Peak Tram.  There was one major problem.  It was raining most of the day and the peak was fogged in.  We couldn’t really see anything.  At night, we could see a little of the city, but not much.  It was also very cold.  I feel sad that I couldn’t really enjoy it, but that’s life.

View from Victoria Peak

On my last full day in Hong Kong, I had a lot of free time.  I just walked around my hotel as my family went to the wedding.  At night, I went to the wedding and had a nice time.  Lots of free drinks.  I even got to see my cousin who was getting married and a lot of her photos.  Apparently went to Hokkaido and a few other places in Japan.  The wedding banquet was okay.  Just a typical banquet.  Showing the bride and groom, lots of drinking, and many drunk relatives.  The only drama was when one of the staff dropped a bowl of soup on me and my suit.  They cleaned it up a little, but I was already a little drunk, and I felt that I shouldn’t complain.  I found out that another cousin of mine is the manager of the banquet hall and that someone got into big trouble.  I felt bad, but I didn’t make a fuss about it at all.  Plus, the next day I had to leave.  I almost couldn’t leave because my drunk cousin (the one that took us dancing) was trying to get me to party all night.  However, I still had to pack.  Oh well.  I did get back to the hotel okay and I did make my flight.

Typical Hong Kong Street

Going to Hong Kong is not difficult, especially from Japan.  There are only 2 places to really see in Hong Kong.  Ngong Ping and Victoria Peak.  The harbour is also a must, but you can do that at any time and it’s very easy.  Other than that, food and shopping is probably the main attraction.  I’d recommend eating everything you can, visiting night markets, and going to every shop that is unique.  Buying old Japanese music, or the most popular albums, is very cheap compared to Japan.  However, selection is very weak.  Taking the subway is very convenient, but sometimes it’s easier to walk 2 stations.  The amount of people and the noise is something that you can’t be prepared for.  I started to go crazy because there is noise on every street, all the time.  It’s not just the people, but the walk signals emanate a loud ringing noise for the blind.  You’ll also see how multi-cultural Hong Kong can be with lots of Caucasians and South-East Asians on all the major streets.  Lastly, bring lots of money as Hong Kong can be expensive, depending on what you do.

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。


Beijing

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With the Beijing Olympics over, I thought I’d write about my trip to Beijing.  I went to Beijing in December, 2007 for 4 days.  I met up with my father who would be my tour guide for the trip.  Many people say China is a scary place and dangerous.  In fact, it is safer than you expect.  Just don’t expect to feel 100% free.  It is a communist country and the police and army are everywhere.

The Forbidden City

We arrived on December 1st.  People say that summer is a horrible time to visit Beijing because of the smog.  However, I’d say it’s still nice because it would be a lot greener.  I went at a time where everything is grey and red.  It felt very “communist”.  Imagine troops marching in Tiananmen Square with no signs of life, other than the military marching by.  That’s what Beijing felt like in Winter.  We saw Tiananmen Square around sunset.  I got to visit the political hall and the square itself.  They just closed the political hall, but if you have money, you can get in a little late.  Just pay more at the “side” entrance.  After the political hall, we headed to the square to see things.  I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be, until the lights turned on.  Tiananmen Square has a certain ambiance at night that can’t be explained.  After visiting Tiananmen Square, we headed to dinner to enjoy some Peking Duck.  Cheap, delicious, and plentiful.  I had enough Peking Duck for a year.

Great Wall of China

On the second day,  we headed to the Great Wall of China.  It’s about 1-2 hours outside Beijing, but a definite destination for everyone.  We spent the afternoon there and it was wonderful.  We took the gondola up and discovered that it was extremely windy at the top.  It was so windy, it felt like the gondola would fly off.  We were tilting at about 40 degrees, I think.  By the time we got onto the wall itself, you could feel the bitter cold.  The wind dried our skin out completely.  The wall is both easy and difficult to climb.  Some sections, you are climbing straight up the mountain.  Others, have huge steps, or a gradual slope.  I made a point to visit one of the guard towers and it was a lot of fun.  I felt like a kid pretending to be a guardsman.  I can imagine what it would feel like to be stuck up there, waiting for days.  Very boring.  After, we drove back to the hotel to relax before heading to dinner.

Tibetan Dinner and Song

For dinner, an old family friend picked us up and we headed to a Tibetan restaurant.  We had a delicious dinner, and I must thank my dad and his friend for taking us there.  I can’t truly describe real Tibetan food.  I’m not sure if it was truly authentic, but I’d like to believe it is.  Tibetan food is a mix between Indian and Chinese.  Somewhat dry, lots of lamb, and very spicy.  The spices they use remind me of Indian food, but the preparation and style is more Chinese.  They also have a type of goat milk tea.  It’s somewhat sour, but delicious.  It must be warm.  We were even treated to a wonderful show performed by what I assumed to be real Tibetan-Chinese people.  I couldn’t start to describe the songs and dance, but I recommend you to YouTube it.  Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to sleep.

On our third day, we visited the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.  The Forbidden City is the Imperial Palace of the last Emperor.  It is a vast complex with beautiful buildings.  Unlike Japanese buildings, these are red with very beautiful designs in the crown.  The city was being renovated due to the Olympics, but I’m sure the rest of it is very beautiful.  I could easily spend an entire day trying to explore the city, but I didn’t have the luxury of time on this trip.  We even visited a nice park behind the city.  The park has a small hill you can climb and see the entire city.  Because it was Winter, we could see everything, but in the far distance, it was a little smoggy.

The Temple of Heaven

The next stop was the Temple of Heaven.  It is a beautiful park that has a few attractions.  The main temple is a beautiful round wooden building with wonderful art work.  It was a beautiful day which made things much better.  The details on everything was exquisite, and I couldn’t believe they did it such a long time ago.  There was a “hall of echos” where you can send secret messages along a curved wall.  You can’t see the other person, but you can easily talk to them.  Sounds like a horror movie, but it’s scientifically interesting.  The last thing to do is to stand on a stone and start talking.  Your voice will resonate, sounding more beautiful.  As if you have a slight echo.  This is another must see place in Beijing.

On my last day, I just walked around the hotel and visited many shops.  There was still 9 months until the Olympics, but they were going full tilt on Olympic fever.  You couldn’t walk anywhere without them showing Olympic related goods.  The spirit of the Beijing people was quite good and people seemed generally friendly.  Albeit a little capitalistic at times, they were generally nice.  If you visit Beijing, I do recommend a good guide.  I also recommend that you be careful.  Car drivers are number 1.  They will not always wait for you to cross the road, and they go anywhere on the road.  When in a taxi, close your eyes and pray you are okay.  Generally, it’s true.  If you are worried about taxis, I’d recommend taking the subways.  Just be ready to spend 10 minutes figuring things out, but generally, it’s simple to use.

このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。