Tokyo

After a 2 and a half hour bullet train ride from Kyoto, we glided into Tokyo central station. What a nightmare. Not only does Japan have, far and away, the most confusing public transit system in the world, but we were navigating the nerve center of it with bags in tow during rush hour. Now, the Tokyo metro system is very comprehensive and can take you most anywhere you want to go, but you REALLY have to know what you’re doing. There are three separate entities that operate the various lines and they all have their own tickets. So, for example you wanted to get across town and make two line changes along the way, that could mean buying 3 tickets and actually re-surfacing to find the adjacent but identically named station. The disjointedness of having three separate networks of trains running around the city is just stupid. It’s way overcomplicated and not user friendly at all. There are long walks during changes and often, one has to surface, walk down the side walk and go back underground again to continue on the next train. Just terrible.

Sorry about the rant. The metro just really got to us during our 4 days in Tokyo. Aside from that, it was a pretty cool city. The first day we were there, we went and applied for new Chinese tourist visas so we can re-enter China to change out our suitcases in a couple weeks. The process was painless and we even got one-year, multi entry visas for the same price as a 30 day single entry. So bizarre. All that hassle with our work visas, but they’re just handing out long-term tourist visas like crazy. After that, we checked out an all in one work-live-play development called Roppongi Hills. It’s a huge and beautiful complex including offices, apartments and shops and designed to be a city within a city. Pretty neat. We had Indian food for lunch (it’s become a staple food for us here in Japan) and continued on to see the Shinjuku area. Shinjuku is known for its wild shopping, red light districts and first class people watching. However, Shinjuku metro station is the busiest in the world, serving more than 750,000 people…per day… and is a huge maze of corridors and exits. We arrived at Shinjuku station but didn’t actually find the right exit for at least 20 minutes. When we got out on the street, we realized Shinjuku is kind of a seedier part of town and we weren’t in the mood to see Tokyo’s red light district. So, it was back to the dreaded Shinjuku station.

One stop away was Shibuya with it’s famous crossing. We got out of the station and onto the street. And then we saw Shibuya crossing, the biggest convergence of moving people in all of Tokyo. Alexa was gleeful to be crossing amongst the hundreds of other people. There were black heads in all directions. Above us and to the right and left were giant screens. It was wild. We made our way across the street to the two-storey Starbucks and got some drinks. And then we camped out. We sat on the second floor bar and watched the crossing for two hours as the afternoon faded to evening and rush hour began. The Starbucks was playing jazzy Christmas music and we were able to just relax as we watched the frenetic energy below. I didn’t want to leave. But, we had another view waiting for us at our next stop…

(Alexa) Ryan had told me the day before that he had a surprise for me, something the Scottish guys in Osaka had told him about. Little did I know that he was taking me to the bar at the top of the Park Hyatt where they filmed Lost In Translation, one of my favorite movies. When we got to the hotel we kept reciting lines from the movie and pointing out where they filmed scenes. We took the elevator to the 52nd floor and when the doors opened our jaws fell open at the blanket of colored lights below us. The bar is encased in floor to ceiling windows so it’s almost impossible to take it all in at once. Luckily, the waiter directed us to the best table in the house, right next to the piano. We ordered drinks (Whew! The cost what we would have paid two meals for on a normal day!) and just sat in awe at the view for the second time that day.

Other highlights from Tokyo included the Tsuki Fish market (the largest in the world), the Sony Exhibition Center (where they display all the new gadgets that have yet to be available to consumers), a day trip to Mt. Fuji (which actually ended up being a bit of an expensive disappointment) and eating breakfast every day at Denny's. Yeah, the cheap American diner Denny's!

All in all, Tokyo was cool. A bit overwhelming at times, but it's essential Japan.

LINK TO TOKYO PHOTOS

Our first few days in Japan

Konichiwa from Japan.

We've been here in Japan for the past week and a half or so and have had a great time thus far. Here's a brief rundown of our experiences:

Landing in Osaka early in the morning and enduring another painfully long train ride to the city, we made it to our hotel only to find that our room was on the 5th floor with no elevator. So with the help of the reception clerk, we muscled our 3 suitcases, 2 camera bags, one backpack and one large purse up the stairs to our $80/night, 30sft, bunk bed room with a shared toilet. The shower was two floors down and shared amongst about 15 people. What a bargain! To its credit, the hotel was clean and the beds were far better than those in Korea so it wasn’t a total rip-off. The other guests were friendly and I made friends with some Scotch lads on vacation from Edinburgh. They were just finishing their 2 week tour of Japan and gave me some great tips for Tokyo.

The city of Osaka is known as the working heart of the Kansai region of Japan. That’s a nice way of saying “industrial.” There were a few highlights though. We rode the world’s largest Ferris Wheel (112m high) and saw the world’s largest aquarium tank that houses, amongst other things, two whale sharks and one manta-ray. Alexa had read about the whale sharks and was excited to see them even before we got to Japan. She may look all grown up, but she's still a little kid inside.

LINK TO OSAKA PHOTOS


From Osaka, we took a 15 minute bullet train ride to Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan. We dragged our bags 10 or so blocks to our next home - "Kyoto's Cheapest Inn." No kidding. That's the name of the place and it's a pretty good description as well. We had a private room with an ensuite bath (ooohh la la!) but it was pretty basic. We spent that afternoon at the Golden Pavilion - literally a building covered in gold - and some other smaller temples. We turned in early that night as Alexa was feeling a bit under the weather. The next day, we checked out the main sight seeing district of Kyoto, home to most of the famous temples and shrines. We spent the afternoon meandering through ancient neighborhoods and Zen gardens soaking in the Japanese atmosphere. The fall colors were just beginning to show and we got some great pictures. We even ran into some Geisha in the backstreets. Such a quintessential "only in Japan" moment.

After we walked the equivalent of about 7 miles, we were feeling pretty beat and headed back to the hostel. Alexa was feeling pretty sick at this point and called it quits early. I stayed up and made friends with a British couple who was taking 2 years to travel the world. They were taking a break from a 6 month tour of Australia and had come to Japan for a while for something different. Alexa and I are planning on seeing Aus sometime soon, so I picked their brains for a while to get some good ideas.

Alexa woke up the next morning feeling terrible and decided that it was best for her to stay in that day. I ran some errands and did some light sight seeing but not much worth mentioning. We met with the Brit couple that night for more Aus talk though.

The final day in Kyoto was a quick blitz down to a famous shrine seen in the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha." At this particular shrine called Fushimi-Inari, there are thousands of orange colored toriis (Japanese style archways) lined up one after another. They create tunnels through the woods and make for some really cool pictures.

After the shrine, we made our way to the train station and had a great meal overlooking the city before we left for Tokyo.


LINK TO KYOTO PHOTOS

LINK TO FUSHIMI-INARI PHOTOS

I'll pick up where I left off soon. As you can tell, we've been pretty busy as of late. We're having a blast though and wouldn't want it any other way.

Seoul and the DMZ

So we’ve said our goodbyes, closed up the apartment and left Shanghai for good. We’ve reflected on our time there in previous posts so I won’t dwell on the sentiments.

From China we left for Seoul, South Korea on November 8. I can’t tell you what a relief we felt when our plane lifted off the runway. We were free from the hardships of China. After a pleasant 2 hour flight, we landed in Seoul and made our way (via the worlds longest and most stair-ed subway system) to our hotel, the Bee Won Guesthouse. It was a shabby but welcoming place with exceptionally small rooms and a modest price. We spent the next several days poking around the tranquil city of Seoul. The tourism commercial that we frequently saw on Discovery channel in China used the tag line “calm yet exciting” to describe the city and it was actually pretty accurate. Even at rush hour, the city didn’t seem overcrowded or frenetic. The streets are often lined with trees and everything, including the air, is very clean – a world of difference from our gray and polluted former home.


LINK TO SEOUL PHOTOS

After a couple days of seeing the city (and doing our best to appreciate Korean food), we took a day trip to see the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the border with North Korea. Unfortunately, the tour to Panmunjom (the UN area with the famous blue negotiation buildings was booked) so we went to the very tourist friendly observatory instead. From there we could actually see N. Korea and the fake villages constructed at the border to feign affluence and success. What a strange country. A nearly completely hermit society with a personality cult for a leader who has only ever uttered one publicly documented sentence. Work camps, starvation and oppression are a way of life there, but the people still talk of Kim Jung Il as a demigod. Bizarre. I have to admit that I’m morbidly curious to see it someday.

LINK TO DMZ PHOTOS

Anyway, we left Seoul the next day and headed for the land of the rising sun – Japan. More soon.

Looking Back

So, we’ve made it. It’s finally our last night in Shanghai. Over the past week, I’ve been compiling a list. Things I like and things I loathe about this incredible city.

Like:

• Cheap foot massages – There’s something about a full stomach and a foot massage that will brighten even your darkest day.
• Cheap DVDs – When you can buy a DVD for cheaper than you can rent one back in the States, you see a lot more.
• No tipping – It may not encourage good service, but at least you never have to make a split decision or pay for bad service.
• The chestnut smell – I think this is the only good vendor smell in the whole of China. Whenever I smell it from now on, I will think of Shanghai.
• The Chinglish – On shirts, signs, everywhere. In fact, the World Expo 2010 count down sign even has Chinglish on it. I mean, you’d think when designing a sign on which they bolted electric lights, they would have checked the English first. So amusing. And then there were the great text messages from our dear friend Xu Bin. I used to read them aloud to Ryan like they were haikus. For example (word for word with original punctuation): “NI HAO! IMPICIT consulting; have a row; in formation; be disappointed; pleasantly surprised – maybe – set sb a task – promise of secrecy-sth embarrassing to mention.” Classic. And I’ll never forget him writing, “Auntie come your house washes and cookies.” This means the ayi (in Chinese it means aunt) will come to your house to cook and clean. I will miss Xu!
• The fabric market - Where else can you get tailor made clothes for 1/5 the price? Bring in a picture or something to copy and you can have it in any color.
• The Hongqiao market – Pearls, shoes, luggage, sunglasses, fake bags, you name it. And we got pretty good at haggling too. It can be fun when you make it like a little game. The vendors stay pretty light spirited with it.
• The friends we made here – far and away, the best part of being here were the wonderful friendships we made. Nancy, Wei, Sue, Xu, Steven, James, Molly, Jean, Michelle, Jenn, Christy and everyone else we’ve befriended here have been absolutely wonderful as a support system.

Loathe:

• The grit – There’s no where on Earth like China in terms of dirt. It’s just dirty in every way. Things that come to mind include:

• • “The China rag” – the Chinese have this rag that they use to clean everything. Dishes, the floor, the walls…My friend Steven once told me about a time that he was in a grocery store and the woman in front of him was buying chicken. The meat was in a leaky plastic bag, which she had set on the conveyor belt. There was chicken juice and blood all over the belt. The cashier looked at Steven and pulled out “the rag” and wiped it off. “No problem.” Who knows where the rag will be next?
• • Some dirty things that I saw first hand:
• • A man riding a moped down the street in rush hour, buses spewing black smoke, with a lamb carcass on the back.
• • A woman putting her bear-butted son on the subway seat across from me. You see, in China, they simply don’t use diapers. The parents cut a hole in the pants of the children and then let them pee or poo in the street.
• • The hocking and spitting. Anywhere you go, men, old women, beautiful girls – they all do it. They just hock a loogie and spit in your walking path without blinking.

• The cheating. You honestly walk around with a “dupe me” sign on your forehead. They see you and they raise the price tenfold. I guess they value cleverness, but it really gets old sometimes.
• The discrimination – See above. Once, my good friend Jean, from Zimbabwe went to Starbucks and ordered a drink. When she got the cup, it said, “Black girl” in Chinese like it was her name. This same friend told me that she often makes babies cry. They look at her foreign face and cry to their mothers. It seems like we’re always being pointed or starred at. Or when Ryan and I go to Ajisen (the local noodle chain restaurant), they say, “2 laowai (foreign devils)?” That’s like the equivalent of us saying, “Two chinks?” at Denny’s.
• Bad Chinese pop music – The play it over and over at 50 decibels too loud. The chorus is always in English and the rest is in Chinese. “You are my superstar,” “When you touch me, I become a hero,” “We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun,” “Everyone is number one.” What does that even mean?
• The repetition – See above. Megaphone messages, the same music over and over, toys that make the same noise. The Chinese are completely un-phased by it. It’s rather remarkable.
• The pushing/lack of common courtesy – When the doors open on the subway, people just push right through without letting people get off. If you aren’t aggressive and push back, you won’t get off the train. It’s the same with the elevator.
• The lack of volume control – It’s absolutely incredible how loud it is here. It’s not just the people. It’s the horns, the music, the mopeds…
• The scratchy grunt “Wei?” – This is what the Chinese say when they pick up the phone. It’s nothing like the smooth Italian “Pronto.”
• The way they say “uh huh” – “Uh uh uh uh.” Frankly, it sounds like they’re having boring sex. I remember being in the office, on an interview one afternoon and hearing one of the HR girls on her cell phone. I looked and across the cubicle to Molly and we both just cracked up.
• The lack of imagination at solving problems – There’s a way things are done and that’s it. Sometimes I think the Chinese could do anything they put their mind to. Think of the amazing road system they’ve built! But then at the same time, sometimes they can’t even ring up a pizza correctly.
• Pure sensory overload – Try going to Carrefour before breakfast. It’s enough to make you really dizzy on an empty stomach. There is music blaring, bright signs everywhere, women with megaphones promoting various products, people pushing into you, and to top it all off, a woman drops a huge bottle of vinegar on the conveyor belt right in front of you. No problem! They’ve got “the China rag” on hand.
• Above all, not being able to communicate is the most frustrating aspect of life here – after three months directing a cab is about all we can do. It limits our experience and makes us feel alone in the crowds of millions. I’m ready to be in an English speaking country again!

So there you have it. This list isn’t comprehensive, nor is it meant to be slighting against China or Chinese people. It’s just a compilation of impressions from our wild 3-month experience. As you all know, China has been an enormous struggle for the two of us and in almost every way, we’re glad it’s over. I do believe that if things had been different, we might not mind it so much. Had we both been employed or better prepared in our language skills or not suffered such crushing setbacks with the fire etc, we might be sailing along just fine. But that’s just not meant to be.

As we sign off from China tomorrow at 6:05pm local time, we’ll look back on these three months as the hardest, most challenging, most disheartening, most frustrating and least rewarding time of our lives. Yet even still, we’re holding on to our last shred of optimism that the lessons learned here will pay off later in life and that our brutally expensive experiment won’t be in vain.

As the French (the inhabitants of that wonderful country we miss so much) say, “C’est la vie.”



Stay tuned to our blog as tomorrow we embark on a 3 month journey through Asia and Australia. We promise to update more often and not write novels every time.