Picture of the Day: Wat Xieng Thong Buddhas

Wat Xieng Thong
Luang Prabang, Laos
08.16.2011 

Picture of the Day: Bridge of Nine Turnings

Bridge of Nine Turnings
Shanghai, China
08.08.2011 

Misadventures of Lisa & Trisha: Getting a Ride to the Beijing Opera

In November 2008 while while my friend Trisha and I were both living in Japan we decided to take a few days off of work and visit Beijing, China.  

One of the things that we wanted to see was the Beijing Opera so when we checked into our hostel in the evening and saw a great deal for transportation and tickets we decided to book it for the next day.

We spent our first day in Beijing being amazed by the vastness of the buildings and intricacies of the detailed carvings at the Forbidden City.  After spending the remainder of our day soaking in the history of Tiananmen Square and marveling at the beauty of the Temple of Heaven we headed back to the hostel with a little bit of time to kill prior to headed to the opera.  We grabbed a drink at the hostel bar and chatted about our day until it was time to get picked up.

I had to use the restroom so Trisha headed to the lobby with our booking tickets and I met her there after going to the bathroom. When I got there she was standing with a Chinese guide who was holding the booking tickets and said "OK, let's go," once he saw me.  We followed him a for a few winding blocks until we reached an old, beat up car. He opened the back door and without saying a word slid into the back seat with us. The car drove off and the two guys in the front and our guide started chatting away in Mandarin.

It all seemed a little odd so and I wondered what had transpired between Trisha and our guide while I was in the bathroom. "So, what is the plan?" I asked Trisha. "I have no idea," she repiled, "He came into the lobby and said 'Beijing Opera?', I said 'Yes,' he said, 'Tickets?', I gave them to him and then you appeared. I don't know anything more than you."

At this point I thought maybe it was time to interupt the conversation between the three guys and ask our guide a little bit about the opera. He explained in English that it was about a twenty minute drive to the opera house and that he would need to pick up the opera tickets at will call for us once we got there. Satisfied, Trisha and I enjoyed the rest of the amusing ride listening to the Mandarin banter between the guys and cracking up that our paid ride was in a vehicle with a transmission that was contstantly slipping and where we were packed in like sardines.

Upon arrival at the opera house the driver dropped us and the guide off at the front and drove away. Unfortunately, I had to use the restroom again and left Trisha in the lobby while the guide went to the ticket window for our tickets. I returned to see a dazed Trisha holding two opera tickets in one hand and twenty yuán in the other. "OK, I go now," said the guide. "Wait, when are you picking us up?" I asked. He proceeded to explain that the twenty yuán was for us to take a taxi home and he was leaving. I argued for a little bit that we had paid for a ride both ways and how could we be assured that twenty yuán would cover the ride home. He was adamant that it was more than enough and there wasn't much that Trisha and I could do so we headed into the auditorium.

After finding our seats and laughing about our strange, adventurous ride Trisha and I noticed a posting up front saying that we could watch the performers applying their stage make-up in the next room.  We were really early and had nearly an hour until curtain so we thought it would be fun to check out.

Watching the performers put on their make-up was fascinating. For the actors portraying most of the humans, they started with a base with an orangish hue and then brushed red accents around their eyes before finishing with dark eyeliner around the eyes. Since all parts in Beijing Opera are played by men it was interesting to watch the transformation into a beautiful woman by some of the men. I particularly enjoyed the make-up of the Jing, which have very elaborate patterned make-up in bold colors.

Trisha and I had been watching the make-up process for a few minutes when some additional actors entered the room. "Oh, my goodness, Trisha, that guy is the front passenger from our car," I surprisedly said. "And that guy was the driver!" Trisha replied. All of a sudden everything made sense. The performers in the opera must get a discount on tickets and since they are heading to the opera house anyway they can probably make a little profit even with offering the tickets for such a great price. All they needed was a friend with some English skills to help with the pick-up and getting the tickets they had reserved at will call. It also explained why we arrived so early; the performers had to get ready for the show.

After watching the rest of the actors, we headed back to our seats to enjoy the show. The opera was simply amazing. The style of music is very different from what we were used to with Western music but it was mesmorizing. There were English translations projected on screens to the side of the stage but we were so wrapped up in the performances we didn't look at them much. In addition to the talented singing, amazing acrobatics were also incorporated into the performances. One act was a female aria with the actor creating lovely scenes with waving ribbons. It was an amazing evening and Trisha and I were sad to see the show come to a close.

Trisha and I headed out to the street reflecting on the amazing performances we just saw and as we hailed our taxi we laughingly wondered how many other people were driven to the opera that night by two members of the chorus. In the end, it also turned out that the guide was indeed correct; the taxi ride cost less than twenty yuán.

 

Centrair Airport Bath

Bathhouses are very popular in Japan and while I was living there I loved going.  I didn't have a chance to go earlier on my trip, but Centrair Airport has a bathhouse so I decided to take a bath prior to catching my flight home.  

Japanese baths are a little different than what I was used to back in the US, particularly that you wash before getting in the bath so that the water keeps clean for everyone.

Upon paying I got issued a key for a locker in the ladies changing room.  Typically there are seperate bath facilities for men and women.

After undressing and stowing my things in my locker I went out to the washing area. A typical washing area consists of mirrored stalls equipped with a handheld shower head and stools to sit on.  Additionally, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are provided along with a bowl that you can fill with water and dump on yourself for rinsing.

Once I was squeaky clean I went to soak in the hot bath and enjoy the view.  It was really relaxing and I could watch the planes taking off over Ise Bay. I had the bath to myself so I couldn't resist sneaking a few pictures. 

Unfortunately I had to catch my flight home so all too soon I was rinsing off again and heading back into the changing area to get dressed and dry my hair. After a long work week and with a twelve hour flight ahead of me that hot bath was just what I needed.

If you are interested, check out the rest of my December 2011 Japan Trip here: Visiting Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Kobe: Luminarie + Beef, Autumn in Kyoto, Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi, Centrair Airport Bath

Picture of the Day: Silk Tree Growing Over a Temple

Ta Prom Temple
Cambodia
08.18.2011 

Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi

One of the fun things about going back to Japan for work is that I get a chance to eat at some of my favorite places in Toyota-shi. There's a great Taiwan Ramen shop a block south of the train station that will serve up seconds of noodles for practically free.  Masu Masu is a great izakaya (Japanese pub) with wonderful food, especially the grilled pork belly with leek.

For something a little different there is a wonderful Indian and Vietnamese restaurant on the top floor of the T-Face building which serves a cheese naan that is so enormous you have to see it to believe it.

Hanabi is another of my favorites.  It is a yaki-niku restaurant where you choose nice cuts of meat and then grill it yourself on a little charcoal brazier set into your table.

Unfortunately there is never enough time to visit every place that I would like to go but there is one restaurant that I make sure to eat at on every trip, Tsubasaya. It is a fun izakaya that has good, inexpensive food and a wonderful, lively atmosphere.  They are famous for their tebasaki, which are chicken wings with a sweet and spicy sauce covered in sesame seeds.  I'm also partial to their ebi mayo, fried shrimp dressed with a sweet chili mayonaise sauce. Absolutely delicious!

If you are interested, check out the rest of my December 2011 Japan Trip here: Visiting Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Kobe: Luminarie + Beef, Autumn in Kyoto, Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi, Centrair Airport Bath  

Misadventures of Lisa & Trisha: The Great ATM Debacle

Going to the To-ji Flea Market this past weekend made me reminisce about the first time that I went there.  I had been living in Japan for a little over a month and it was cherry blossom season.  Over lunch one day, Trisha, another ex-pat, and I decided we should go check out the blossoms in Kyoto that upcoming weekend.  I already had plans on Saturday but Trisha wanted to go for the whole weekend, so I met Trisha early Sunday morning at Kyoto Station.

I had read about the flea market at To-ji that is held on the first Sunday of the month and since it was happening that day and To-ji is not too far from Kyoto Station we decided to start our day there.  We had an awesome time looking through all the fun items and finding treasures.  We happened upon a lady selling a wide selection of beautiful scrolls and Trisha found one that she loved.  It was expensive, however, and Trisha had already used most of her cash to pay for her hotel room the night before so we set off to find an ATM.

We asked directions to the nearest bank, but despite trying a few times, Trisha's bank card didn't work. There was another bank right across the street so she tried there with still no luck.  She then tried an ATM in a convenience store but got denied there as well.  As it turns out, her bank had a holiday that day and in Japan that means you cannot access your money in any way, including ATM withdrawls.  Being Americans, Trisha and I were completely caught off guard because ATMs are always available in the US. Since my bank was the same as Trisha's I was stuck in the same situation of not being able to withdraw any money.

I had headed off to Kyoto without much cash planning on taking some money out when I got there so  between the two of us we had only about ¥3000 ($30 at the time).  In the US that wouldn't be a big deal since you can use a credit card for just about anything.  Cash is king in Japan, however, and you can't use credit cards in a lot of places.  Luckily, we could buy our shinkansen train tickets home using a credit card but we had to make do with cash for everything else.  With entrance fees for our planned stops running ¥300-¥500 each we were on a tight budget for the day and buying anything else at To-ji market was out of the question.

We went back to scroll stand to explain that Trisha would not be able to buy the scroll after all.  The lady seemed to indicate that Trisha could still have the scroll. "What is she saying?" Trisha asked me.  "I think she is saying that if you give her your address she'll send it to you and you can pay then," I replied, "but I could totally be misunderstanding her."  Trisha figured it was worth a shot and after writing down her address we were on our way. 

For the rest of the day we scrimped by walking everywhere and eating a lunch of America Dogs (Japanese for corn dogs) from a convenience store.  We went to Nijo-jo castle to wander through its famous cherry tree groves and then headed to Maruyama Park (free!) to see its huge famous weeping cherry tree.  Maruyama Park also turned out to be great for people watching with thousands there for hanami (blossom watching) parties with food and drinks spread out on blankets beneath the trees. We splurged on a yatai (food stall) snack at the park and headed up the hill to Kiyomizu-dera.  The sun was low in the sky at this point and we had picture perfect views of the sunset over Kyoto and the temple ringed by blossoming cherry trees.  It had turned out to be a great day despite our morning mishap and we headed back home happy but ready to get some money out first thing on Monday.

A few days later Trisha's scroll showed up in the mail as promised and this time she was armed with the cash to pay for it.  As for me, from that point on I always made sure to have plenty of cash on hand because you never know when a bank holiday can creep up on you and catch you unawares.

Autumn in Kyoto

Although I've been to Kyoto several times, I've never been during Koyo (colorful leaves) season so I was happy to have the chance to do so today.

First things were first, however. To-ji in Kyoto has a wonderful flea market on the first Sunday of every month so I stopped there before venturing out to see the autumn leaves.  

I always have fun when I go to the To-ji flea market and this time was no exception.  I ended up buying a small abacus (¥500), five glass balls (¥2000), an old milk delivery box (¥2000), and a set of enamel ware soup spoons (¥500). I can't wait to bring my newfound treasures home.

After getting my fill of browsing and bargaining, I headed to Tofuku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera which are Buddhist temples in Kyoto famous for viewing their autumn leaves.  The temples were swarming with tourists so moving around was slow, but the inconvenience was more than made up for by the beauty of the vibrant colors.  My favorite part was the view of the leaves from the bridges over the ravines at Tofuku-ji.  

North American maple trees in the fall are beautiful but there is something especially lovely about the tiny, delicate leaves of the Japanese maples. 

If you are interested, check out the rest of my December 2011 Japan Trip here: Visiting Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Kobe: Luminarie + Beef, Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi, Centrair Airport Bath 

Picture of the Day: Roofline of Wat Xieng Thong

Wat Xieng Thong
Luang Prabang, Laos
08.16.2011 

Kobe: Luminarie + Beef

After spending the day at Hieizan Enryaku-ji I headed to Kobe to see the Kobe Luminarie.  I had been to Kobe before but never had the chance to see the Luminarie so I was excited to be able to do it on this trip.

The Kobe Luminarie is a light festival that began in 1995 as a way to commemorate those lost in the Great Hanshin earthquake.  Held for a few weeks every December, the Luminarie has now also come to celebrate the rebuilding of Kobe.

I had heard from a friend who went last year that the line to get to the Luminarie was very long so I thought that if I arrived at 5 when the lights first turned on the wait would be a little less.  Unfortunately, I was wrong and it took an hour to make it through the line.  Luckily for me I had a companion while I was waiting.  When I left the Sannomiya train station and was trying to figure out how to get to the Luminarie I asked a girl for help and she said that she would just show me since she wanted to go, too.  Unfortunately, my Japanese is not as good as I would like so our conversation was pretty superficial but I learned that Satomi-san lived in Kobe and was in school studying how to make Japanese sweets.  She even gave me a sample sweet that she had made that day in class which was very kind.  It was fun to practice my Japanese and made the wait seem much shorter.

Finally arriving at the lights was impressive.  Huge illuminated gates arch over the street so it looks like you are walking through a tunnel of lights.  The end of the street opens up to a plaza which is decorated with more lights and is ringed by yatai (Japanese food stalls).  Normally I love eating at yatai, but I was in Kobe so I had other plans.  After thanking Satomi-san and saying goodbye I headed to Moriya for a dinner of Kobe beef.

I'm the kind of girl who buys her clothes on eBay and doesn't hesitate to stay in hostels to save money, but I love food and am willing to splurge for nice meals. I chose Moriya because I had read some good reviews and it was conveniently located by Sannomiya station.  I got a 130g A5 Kobe tenderloin that included a crab appetizer.  The server brought out the steak to show me before it was cooked and then I got to watch the chef prepare it.  It was absolutely delicious and made for a wonderful cap on the end of my day. 

If you are interested, check out the rest of my December 2011 Japan Trip here: Visiting Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Autumn in Kyoto, Favorite Eats in Toyota-shi, Centrair Airport Bath