Life of Buraian

Top 10 Highlights of my Week in Japan

I recently went to Japan for a week to visit Rika's family. Rika was there for three weeks, but I couldn't take that kind of time given the busy work schedule right now.  We don't do a lot of touristy stuff anymore when we go to Japan, so nine days kind of works, but I'd prefer to stay a little longer.  It felt like we returned just after getting adjusted, and with only one week, every night gets booked and the trip becomes a whirlwind.

Below I've written a "Top 10" list of my favorite experiences on this trip.  You can also see the photo album I put up (also linked to the right).

10. Daria-en (Dahlia Park)

We went to "Daria-en" with Rika's mom and grandma.  Dahlia Park is in a neighboring town called Kawanishi.  I used to teach at Okino High School in Kawanishi, which is very close to the Park, but I never saw it while I lived there.  So I actually did do one touristy thing.

The park is just acres and acres of dahlias.  Huge bloomin' dahlias.  Not knowing what a dahlia looked like, I was a bit surprised at how big they are and how many varieties of colors and shapes they come in.  They aren't quite orchids for sheer wow factor, but they are impressive nonetheless.  It costs about $5 to get in, but if you buy the "Park & Onsen Combo", you can do both for $6.50.  We did that.  Nothin like a day of western flowers and eastern bathing.

9. Morning jogs

I always try to go for at least a few jogs in Japan, but this year there was a twist.  Rika was jogging with me.  We chose to run up into the mountains toward the campground, which I found out is actually owned by Rika's family (who knew?).  Rika's family was a bit iffy about us running out there, for two reasons.  The first, and saddest, is that someone committed suicide there the week before I got there.  Nobody really wanted to be up there as a result, which is a real shame because we normally might have had a barbecue there.

The other reason is that there are bears.  Before we start, Rika's mom is careful to remind us to watch out for bears.  Rika decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and sang while she ran, some kids' song about meeting a bear.  It is sung in rounds to the tune of Down by the Bay, and goes something like this:

Aru hi (One day)
Mori no naka (Out in the woods)
Kumasan ni (Into a bear)
Deatta (I did run)

Hanasaku mori no michi (Out on a road in the blossoming woods)
Kumasan ni deatta (Into a bear I did run)

She sang this to make sure the bears knew to stay away.  I argued that Japanese bears were small and wussy and that they were nothing to worry about.  Apparently word got out, though, because on the news one night a bear went into a bus terminal and messed up 9 people.  Don't diss Japanese bears.

Two photo albums up!

After every trip, Rika and I sit down and choose the photos that best represent our time abroad.  I've decided to start housing those here, in conjunction with this blog.  And our first two albums are now up.

India: 2008
Japan: 2008

They are also conveniently located in the sidebar to the right.  The first is from our trip to India.  You've read all about that by now I'm sure.  The second is from our trip to Japan.  I only posted once on that, so if you missed it, click here.

I plan to post more older albums up soon, so stop by to see more.  Until then, enjoy the photos!

Delhi Sightseeing: Bus Tour or Private Car? Day 2: Private Car in Delhi

Day 1 was going to be hard to top.  We knew that going in.  So we weren't surprised that we were a bit disappointed by Day 2.  But we were surprised about why we were disappointed.

We woke up at 9am to our front desk man asking what time we'd like our car to pick us up.  We had only been asleep about 5 hours so we said noon.  He said the price was the same (800 Rupees/$20), but he assured us it was enough time to see most of what we wanted to see.  "You have the car for the day," he said, "It's no issues."

How wrong he was...

Delhi Sightseeing: Bus Tour or Private Car? Day 1: Bus Tour to Agra

Rika and I were in Delhi for two days.  We spent one of them seeing the Taj Mahal in nearby Agra.  Prior to our trip we were given a lot of advice by pretty much anyone we spoke to about how we should go about our sightseeing.  Half said we should take a bus tour.  Half said we should rent a private car.  (Actually, Sukhbir--a native of Delhi--did say we should just go it alone.  Oh, Sukhbir, why didn't we listen to you?!)

We decided to do the following: Take a bus tour to Agra on Day 1 to see the Taj Mahal.  Take a private car on Day 2 to see the rest of Delhi and do some serious bazaar shopping.  We found out through long, uncomfortable, frustrating, bouncy, cold, impatient, non-negotiable experience that both require that Buyers Beware!

This photo is proof that we made it.  But as you all know, it's about the journey, not the destination...

Meet Mankesh

Throughout my stay in Bangalore I had a cook.  His name is Mankesh.  I don't know his last name because I never had time to ask what with all my screaming, "Where's my breakfast, dammit!" and "Another chapati, pronto!"  Here's a shot of us that Rika took just before screaming at him, "Refill my chai!  Now!"

The 10 Most Common Honks in Bangalore Traffic

The first thing you notice in Bangalore is the traffic.  It is...loud.  Everyone is honking their horns.  When you slow down, they honk.  When they catch up, they honk.  When you pass, you honk and then they honk back at you.  (See all those cars to the right?  They're all honking right now.  Seriously.)

I spoke with a couple of the guys here about driving school.  He's adamant they do have it.  Apparently they don't try to teach drivers how to drive so much as how to survive.  One of the two key things you learn is to communicate constantly with your horn.  (The other is to ignore anyone else's horn.)

But I started paying attention and I think I've figured out a code to all the horns.  I've interpreted here the ten most common beep-honk combinations you hear on the roads in Bangalore.  That way when you come, you'll know exactly what people are saying to each other (and sometimes you!).

The Japanese Wife is in India!

That's right.  Kunal Basu's new book, The Japanese Wife is here.  As is MY Japanese wife, Rika.  Hence the pithy title...

When Rika arrived in India Sunday, we decided to spend the afternoon poking around the neighborhood.  We found a bookstore and in the bookstore we found a book reading by Kunal Basu and a theater actor named Munira Sen.  They were reading from the title work in his collection of short stories, The Japanese Wife.

It's a pretty original take on a love story.  A shy Indian boy writes a Japanese woman whose address he gets from a pen-friend magazine.  They exchange numerous letters and eventually agree to marry each other, despite never having seen each other.  For twenty years they exchange letters and gifts by mail.  There's another level to it as well, but the story itself is very short, just 16 pages long.  Still, it's very touching.

We also saw a preview of the movie they are making, and having now read the story, I'd guess that the movie will probably be even better.  The movie should have the time to explore the concept a little more.  Here's a decent review.  I suppose it remains to be seen, however (pun intended).  If you want a copy of the book (and don't want to pay $80 used through Amazon), let me know and I'll bring one home for you.  It's about $10 hardcover here.

As for the rest of my wife's first day, well, about that...

More blasts in Ahmedabad...and other news in India

The day after Bangalore experienced 8 low intensity blasts, the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state experienced 17 blasts.  They all went off within a 90 minute time span, and they were much more devastating than the ones in Bangalore.  It appears that at least 15 people were killed and over 30 injured.  (TV is saying 29 and 100+...)  The bombs in Bangalore were mostly placed near bus stops and were detonated at an hour when there were few riders.  The bombs in Ahmedabad, however, were detonated inside hospitals and at markets.

It also seems that another bomb was found in Bangalore.  It didn't detonate yesterday.  This obviously has made things a bit tense.  News shows are leading with "INDIA UNDER ATTACK" and larger cities like Delhi are officially on high alert.  I went out today to get my broken camera fixed (yeah, not a title-worthy crisis all things considered, but still a crisis) and it seemed like everyone in Bangalore was still out and about.  We'll see if anything changes after these blasts.

Believe it or not, however, there is also other news in India.  Not actually being discussed anymore, perhaps, but it's there, really.

Bomb Blasts in Bangalore

Seven bombs went off earlier today throughout Bangalore, all in a roughly one hour time span.  They were relatively small; the bombs were apparently fashioned out of gelatin sticks and set off with timers.  It does appear that 1 person is confirmed dead but that number is probably a little low based on the TV coverage I saw.  All cell phones and TV networks are not working right now, but that's not because of the blasts.  If anything, it's a government over-reaction.  The Times of India will have reliable coverage here.

To give you a sense of how everyone here is reacting, shortly after news of the blasts we had a small party for Milan, a member of my team who has been with Trianz for six years now.  Everyone enjoyed the cake and the only talk of the bombs was a comment that it was suspicious that six bombs went off on Milan's six-year anniversary with the company.  But then we found out it was seven bombs so Milan was no longer under suspicion!

I honestly don't think there's anything to worry about.  Whoever did it wasn't particularly sophisticated, and it appears they're done.  I'm totally fine and the only affect on me is that it's brought me closer to my Irish roots.  Because...there were...you know...bomb blasts...in Ireland... 

Day 8: A trip to Mysore...and more!

Sunday is my one day to travel in India.  I had originally thought I might undertake some epic pilgrimage to some amazing temples and cave complexes about seven hours away by train, but with everyone working on Saturdays, that plan was shot.  So I started looking more local, and came up with the plan to go see the Mysore Palace.

Since I've come here, I've realized that India is a wonderland of palaces and temples.  It seems that every city has an amazing palace (or two), and there are ancient temples strewn across the country.  Mysore Palace is considered one of the better ones in South India, so I decided that would be my destination.

Suresh wasn't satisfied with that, however.  He had bigger things on his mind.