New Look

Woke up this morning and just felt like doing something different.

So started off my "life transformation" with changing the look of my blog. I feel this new look is way lighter and more in tune with me. I like it!

I can't seem to change the second "Links" to say "Fav Blogs" - anyone know how?

Yesterday's pre- screening seemed to have gone off well. I had to write an essay type answer on whether I was for or against the decriminalization of marijuana usage - and I totally pulled that one out of my a**!!! They said they'll let me know in 2 weeks if I've made it to the second round for the interview.

Good 'Ol Fashioned Family Fun!

My littlw cousin elebreated his First Holy Communion yesterday and like most big (or any) occassions, the family was out in full force to celebrate with him.

After much anxiety over the weather - last week was dull and rainy - Sunday dawned bright and sunny with a promise of a high of 20 degrees! Everyone was thrilled - though Captain (my cousin visiting from India) declared that she was still cold!

Preparations for the event began days... and weeks before with various family members being handed their respective "duties". The household was busy all of Saturday as there was fruit for dessert to be cut, gram to be boiled, sandwiches to be made (cheese and chutney) and the give aways to be packed. Somehow in the middle of all of this Captain and I managed to fine time to visit an old high school teacher who is currently here in Toronto visiting her family.

My brother, uncle and myself went over to the event venue early on Sunday morning to set up the tables and move the majority of the food, misc things over. We only had about an hour to do all that before we had to rush back home to get changed and ready for the mass.


Family and friends were represented in full force at the Mass and we needed much more than the 1 pew reservered for communicants family! The service was really enjoyable as the pastor was nice and dynamic and kept everyone interested throughout. After mass, we all trooped over to the reception and the festivities were soon underway. Many more guests joined us over the afternoon - I think we must have been about a hundred in total.

With DJ R (another cousin!) at the helm, there were enough party tunes being belted out to keep the dance floor crowded all afternoon long.

The kids had a blast chassing balloons, playing hide and seek and generally running around adding to the noise and chaos that is most of our parties! Guests drinks were being well looked after by rookie bartenders who were very generous with pouring out the pegs!

And of course there was FOOD - snacks consisted of batata wadas, pakoras, chips , meatballs and sandwiches.
The main course was pure Parsee delight with sali boti, chicken, and fish parsee style combined with potato chops and sorpotel. And let's not forget dessert - Laganoo custard and a chocolate fountain hat you could dip fresh fruit into - big hit with the little kids.... and some big kids too!

As guests began to leave, it was cleanup time .... and with many helping hands the room was back to normal pretty soon.

All in all, a lovely afternoon with family and friends!

In other news, I finally got a call for an interview tomorrow morning at 9 am - rather a prescreening. It will be like a brief test - I will have to write an essay type answer, 2 short answers and also do a personality test. The job is with the Central Toronto Employment Centre and the position is that of Training Application Coordinator. If I get through this round, I'll have an interview with the manager there. *fingers crossed*

Spring seems to have finally made an appearence in the city. The past week was wet and rainy, but the warm sunshine over the weekend seems to have made a difference and forced the trees to push out some tiny buds. Hopefully before long, things will be green again.

Old friends, New Obsession

After a week filled with nothing but sitting at the comp surfing job sites and applying for God knows how many jobs.... I was really looking forward to the weekend and meeting up with the gang again.

Started things off with a bang on Friday night as I headed over to Menace's for dinner and drinks (a lovely BIG bottle of red wine) and then out DANCING with the girls - Cosmo Girl and Big Blue Eyes. The very lovely and the newly single and very hot Drama joined us gals on the dance floor with some bustin' moves of his own! Guys be warned.... Drama is on the loose!

Saturday with Menace was nice and relaxed. Beatutiful day for just taking a walk, catching up and getting high on my latest addiction - Veronica Mars - seasons 1 & 2!

It was a nice reunion with my friends on Saturday evening - not too drunk, not too crazy... good times and lots of news being exchanged. Should "formally" congratulate Brooksy and Carolyn on their soon-to-be new addition to their family - Clumpy Brooks, we fondly await your arrival.

Rounded up the weekend by taking advantage of the sunshine to clear away a lot of the mess and wild bushes from the backyard. Its looking a lot better now, but there's a long way to go before we'll have that oasis of tranqulity we all crave! Some more eppys of Ronnie Mars and fantastic grilled fish dindin... and my weekend was done!

Monday morning now.... and its back to the mundane life of an ex world traveller who's now looking for a job..... any job.....

To Do List

• Find a Job
• Sort out banking matters
• Put away travel clothes
• Clean up room
• Find a Job
• Upload Japan pics onto Flickr
• Buy new sneakers
• Sort gifts from trip
• Find a Job
• Get over 4 year relationship

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Did you know that in addition to Naval Combat Information Offices, Military Policemen and Naval Combat Systems Engineers the Canadian Forces have 52 job openings for MUSICIANS???
Cross my heart..... its true! I didn't know soldiers got piped into battle these days...... 

New Game, Old Player

You know things are not going well when you return from a 4 month vacation and your supposed boyfriend doesn't contact you for 3 days, nor does he reply to any of your emails or voice messages. Even I - Ms. Optimism herself - was troubled.

Well, we finally made contact last evening, and split up. This time for good.

So here I am in the middle of a new game. But I'm an old player and I need to figure out the rules for myself. And I can't cheat and ask for help either as that would mean I lose and would be stranded mid game.

Why am I speaking in metaphors? I don't know. I suppose it makes for a more interesting post instead of just blabbing on about a breakup!

Everyone (even me) knew this was coming. Things have been crappy for ages. It still doesnt make it any easier, and it still makes me want to go over every detail and wonder what I could have done different. But its too late now and I need to figure out my next move.

So I'm officially signing up for a new team now. Let the games begin.

Reality Bites

I went away for 4 months hoping that he'd miss me.

Turns out he didn't.

Journey to the Ends of the Earth.

April 11 2007

0800 hrs (Japan time): Leave home for airport after being up all night with Sakura House pals.
1000 hrs: Arrive at airport find out flight is delayed.
1200 hrs: Find out flight is delayed some more.
1327 hrs: Finally depart Narita International Airport (delay of 2 hrs 27 mins) for Mumbai, India via Bangkok and Delhi.

Movies watched in-flight: Dreamgirls, Eklayva.

April 12 2007

0246 hrs (IST): Arrive into Bombay 3 hrs 36 mins behind schedule.
0415 hrs: Arrive at grandparents home and crash.
0800 hrs: Wake up.
1015 hrs: Go to family Doc for last in series of Hep shots.
1045 hrs: Go to bank and conclude banking matters. Withdraw lots of money!
1125 hrs: Go shopping for last minute gifts etc etc.
1300 hrs: Lunch
1415 - 1535 hrs: Phone calls to all and sundry.
1645 hrs: Meet VBF her mum and her bf JJ who's down from Glasgow for a holiday.
1650 hrs: Find out JJ and VBF got engaged 2 days ago - run around and shriek madly.
1715 - 2020 hrs: go ring shopping for JJ's ring. Find nothing other than the knowledge that there is a LOT of ugly a** jewellery that exists.
2025 hrs: Get back home, finish packing. At. Last.
2100 hrs: Dinner (and more phone calls)
2230 hrs: Leave for airport.

April 13 2007
0215 hrs: Leave Bombay for London on BA 138.
Movies watched in-fight: Stranger Than Fiction, The Holiday (seemed apt), Casino Royale.
0731 hrs (GMT): Landed in London-Heathrow
0731 -0820 hrs: Sat bucked up in aircraft on the runway waiting for a free docking bay.
0830 - 1300 hrs: Wandered around in Heathrow airport.
1300 hrs: Departed London for Toronto on AC 857.
Movies watched in-flight: Driving Lessons, Charlotte's Web, Eragon
1529 hrs (EST): Arrive into Toronto.
1720 hrs: Arrive home.

The End.

Sayonara Japan, Arigato Gozaimas!

I've finally come to what I'm sure will be the last post on this amazing 4 month adventure. I leave Japan for Bombay tomorrow morning, then its on to Toronto on Friday the 13th. (Auspicious na?)

Moved on to Kyoto on the 8th after my 3 nights in Osaka. Kyoto was a far more interesting city than Osaka and I had more than enough to see and do here to fill my 2 days. I didn't have time to see it all of course, so chose to see the "top 5" of Kyoto:

• Toji Temple - highest 5 story pagoda in Japan
• Kinkakuji Temple - famed "Golden Pavillion"
• Ryoanji Temple - amazing Zen garden
• Fushimiinari-Taisa Shrine - 100s of red Toriis line the path to the main shrine

Day 2 was supposed to be spent in Nara, but met up with some fellow Canadian (they insisted they were Quebecers... but I soon put a stop to THAT!) at the hostel and decided to hang out with them in the Gion district instead. Caught a Maiko Odori show as well (performance by apprentice Geisha) that just about put a crowning cherry on my amazing Japanese experience.

After returning from Kyoto late last night, I (mistakenly) thought I'd get a good night's sleep but of course that's something that doesn't really exist in Sakura House! All the gang was in attendance last night and we had a special guest appearence by some bottles of wine and (horrors) tequilla! It made me feel so good to be back in Tokyo again - almost like a home away from home.

Boo was nice enough to volunteer to show me around the parts of Tokyo I had missed, so when I finally surfaced, I gave her a buzz and we met up. She showed me around town - the electronic shops where all the geeks of the world unite, the by lanes where goods from sushi to souvenirs are sold, to Asakusa temple and area and to fashioneista centre - Ginza. I told Boo I had just 2 things I needed to buy - Sake and Hello Kitty socks. By the end of the day I had bought a whole slew of souvenirs for friends and family.... everything BUT the things I mentioned! But in my defense, I picked up COOL JAPANESE stuff that I won't find anywhere else.... and all really light so that I don't play any more havoc with my baggage situation! Finally did buy some Sake to take home, so at least part of my plans were achieved. Still can't believe I looked all over Japan and couldn't find one lousy pair of Hello Kitty socks! Unbelieveable!

Must really get down to packing up all my stuff. Want to get it done before everyone arrives back home - coz once they're here.... there'll be no chance! Looking forward to cracking open one of the Sake bottles. Kampai Japan..... o-sewa ni narimashita!

There will be good times.... and then some bad!

My third night in Osaka now and its sure been an interesting ride! Spent most of Thursday in bed as I was totally knackered with all the late nights Id been having. It was worth it though as I woke up really refreshed and ready to hit the town! The only thing I had time for before the sun set was to check out the Umeda Towers (i think thats what its called) that boasted of spectacular city views - and I wasnt disappointed!

Met up with some Aussie guys at the Tower and we decided to join forces for the rest of the evening and together we checked out the Dombutori district in downtown Osaka where neon is the light of choice and "bigger and brighter" is the local mantra! After sampling some amazing cuisine (NO clue what I actually ate....) we headed over to a karaoke bar and rocked the night away to Madonna, the Backstreet Boys and AC/DC before we ran (RAN) to catch the last train back to our hotels!!!

Spent Friday in Hiroshima which is just about an hour and half away from Osaka on the Shinkansen (thank you GOD for inventing that and the handy dandy JR pass!!)

It was Good Friday, and a seemingly auspicious day to be in a city that spells a message of peace... and more importantly.. that of hope. It was a bright and sunny day and walking around the Peace Park, I was struck by how Hiroshima is not remembered as a city destroyed, rather a city reborn. By its very existance today, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are cities that stand to remind us about how ugly war is and how fragile and yet how resiliant life is.

I've been having such a wonderful vacation, that at some point or the other my luck was bound to turn - today was that day! Lost my wallet between hotels (5 mins apart) and spent all of the morning sifting through dirty laundry trying in vain to locate it. When that proved futile, there was nothing to do but call and cancel my cards. Amex was easy. Stupid Scotia doesn't have any local numbers so was forced to call les parents in the T Dot and ask them to do the needful. Fortunately I had most of my cash on my person and my passport and other documents are all safe - so really... things could have been worse!

Determined not to let this morning's events deter my vacation... I headed off to Hemeiji this afternoon to check out Hemeiji Castle - a Japanse Treasure and World Heritage Site. Glad I made it there as its definately a MUST SEE and wandering around there really lifted my sadly downtroden spirits! The super large super dark chocolate cone that I devovoured along with the other kids also helped! (yes, I'm sometimes 5.......:p)

Will try and get a good night's sleep now as I head off to Kyoto tomorrow..... after all as Scarlette said.... "Tomorrow IS another day!"

Another day, another friend!

After getting to bed as late as 3:30 am last night (rather, this morning)... waking up was rather difficult! Fortunately I had told Don I'd meet him at 11:30 in Yokahama and there was a direct train from Sakura House there.

As per Don's instructions, I was to exit the station via the "Central Exit" head out and right and wait at the "Soup Stock" - sounds simple huh? Well when I get to Yokohama, I discover that "central exit" does not exist; instead there is "West" and "East" exits and they're quite far apart from each other. A quick call to his celly doesn't help either as it goes to voicemail. After wandering around for a bit, I discover that he meant the WEST exit, and waited by the shop for this dude I've never met and who's supposed to show me around Yokohama but who is obviously directionally challenged!

The dude turned out to be great fun though, and we had an amazing day together!

With Don as my guide......

• I explored my first Don Quiotxe store (very popular chain store in Japan that sells everything from socks to lightbulbs)
• Gazed upon the Landmark Tower - the tallest building in Japan with the fastest lift
• Checked out the Cosmo Clock Ferris Wheel - Japan's version of the London Eye
• Wandered along the Osanbashi Pier
• Chowed down on some yummy sushi
• And reveled in the beauty of the landscaped gardens and relocated houses of Sankei En.

After a mad dash on the subways and the JR lines we made it (late) back in to Tokyo where we met up with Junko one of my friends from ASL classes in Toronto. Junko had just returned to Tokyo after some years studying in Toronto and she had suggested that we check out a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome. She managed to score some amazing seats right behind the catcher (in the upper deck of course!) and Don and I both most thoroughly enjoyed our first Japanese baseball experience! Had to try the beer (overpriced) and the dogs (cold and insipid) of course and came to the conclusion that some things are the same the world over!

The Japanese baseball fans are however in a class of their own, rivaling even the die-hard Bostonians over their passion for the sport. So enamoured with the players are they that the fans have come up with little chants for each player that they sing and do coordinated hand steps to each time a player comes up to bat. There was never a quiet moment in all of the 3 hrs and 20 mins of the game! Amazing!

Altogether, another good day in Japan all due to the efforts of both Don and Junko - thanks a million you guys!!

Sake bath anyone??

Today was earmarked as "Trying to see Mt. Fuji day", but thanks to the crap weather, that was quite out of the question. Went to Hakone anyway since it was pointless staying in Tokyo in the rain.

Beastie had reccomended an Onsen in Hakone that she had recently been to and since visibility was near nil, I decided to go check it out. For my first Onsen, it was really quite spectacular! There was the traditional section with the heated pools and hot springs and then there was a whole other section that was more like a family ammusement park with slides and theme pools and other funky stuff.

Some of the pools I paddled in today -
Coffee - more like Cappucino actually; it was all foamy
Green Tea - smelled kinda funny, like cold tea smells
Dead Sea bath - high salt content and everyone was all floaty

I peeked into the Red wine bath, but Beastie had already discounted it as mere coloured water, so I gave it a miss.

Finally, I loved the bath with the little fishies that nibble on your toes - they apparently love to eat dead skin! Its terribly ticklish though, and when you're by yourself its hard to keep a straight face while you're being tickled to death by fish fins!

Thanks for the recco Beastie, it saved my trip to Hakone from being a complete washout!

Hanami Sakua = Bloody good times followed by killer hangover!

My first Hanami Sakura was a truly amazing and I'm so thankful to Jo for inviting me. Before I met up with her, I went to Haraju station and people watched outside. Everyweekend, the bridge just outside of Harajuku station is filled with Japanese youth who all dress up in crazy costumes - superheroes from comics, baby dolls, goth charecters etc. - and parade about posing for the crowds of tourists who come there to snap pictures of the wackier side of Japan!

Also managed to take a quite look at the Meiji Shrine which is right around the corner from the station. Glad I did as there were a lot of weddings ceremonies going on and I had the opportunity to witness a traditional Japanese wedding party.

Headed over to Kichijoji to meet up with Jo, and I was SO excited I could barely stand still at the designated meeting spot. Jo was one of the primary reasons I was in Japan to begin with as I was so taken up with her discriptions of Japan and her many zainy adventures here, I just had to come see it all for myself! We'd been chatting with each other for almost 2 years now and I was terribly excited to be finally meeting up. And I was so not disappointed - she's just as lovely (and crazy) in person as she is online and I've had the best time with her over the past 2 days. We met up with a bunch of Jo's friends and went to the park and as we entered, I had a "jaw drop" moment. There were literally 1000s of people all over the place having little picnics everywhere. Every inch of ground was covered with groups of people - young, old, families, guys in business suits, gals in designer clothes - all eating and drinking (yes, you can drink in public here) and generally chilling out under the cherry blossoms.

Hanami Sakura liteally translates into "party to go look at the cherry blossoms". Hanami is party and Sakura cherry blossoms. Its a HUGE event in Japan and judging by the scores of people I saw all around, a very popular one as well! And I can see why! After all, who wouldn't like the idea of sitting in a beautiful park under a canopy of white and pink blossoms chilling out with friends or family and getting piss drunk in the process?? I certainly applaude the whole idea!

We were about 20ish people in our group and everyone had brought food and drink of some kind. Along the way random people joined in - including some drunk Canadians, some drunk Japanese, some drunk Brits.... well you get the idea.

Finally at about 10 pm we decide to pack up (only because it begins to rain) and head out to a bar. What kind, Karaoke of course! Many many rounds of horrendous singing later we (somehow) stumble home to Jo's place, get some late night food from the corner store and crack open a few more beers and don't go to bed until we're too sleepy and too drunk to keep sitting upright!

Suffice to say after the appaling cocktail of drinks I'd had (bubbly wine, sake, sochu, beer.....) I paid DEARLY for that today as I was Sick. As. A. Dog for all of today. Jo and I had planned to go sightseeing around Tokyo but all I could manage was to crawl from the bed to the washroom about 5 times to try and purge my sins.

We headed out to Shinjuku (Tokyo's entertainment district) at 5ish to meet up with some more blogging buddies and even along the way there I had to get off the train to get some air. I was *this* close to calling the whole things off and heading home when I FINALLY threw up all that crap that was in me, and immidiately started to feel better.

Meeting Beastie, Sigsy and Shiomi was another wonderful experience. Sigsy and Shiomi I know from blogging and Shiomi is Jo's friend. We went to this amazing little restaurant - Izakaya its called - and I tried all sorts of new kinds of Japanese food. Thankfully my tummy was behaving now and after having nothing but two bites of salad and tiny sips of water all day, I was quite ready to dig in!

I even got some prezzies today as Sigsy gave me a beautiful "Sayonara Doll" and Jo had earlier presented me with a packet of Hello Kitty pasta! In the course of conversation I found out that Sigsy is actually in my line of work - Corporate Training and coincidently her company is looking to hire! Huummm.... now that would be an interesting opportunity!

Many drinks, eats and laughs later, we had to reluctantly say goodbye but I will always have wonderful memories of meeting up with my blog buddies in Tokyo!

Not Lost in Translation

Turns out, I know a lot more people in Japan than I originally thought.

For starters, there's De the girl I'm currently staying with - daughter of mum's colleague.
Then there's the blogging buddies - Jo, Beastie and Sigsy who I'm meeting for drinks and general fun times tomorrow night.
There's Don - a friend of a friend who also from Canada and who also went to York!

.....AND....

I just found out that Junko, a friend from ASL classes has just moved back home to Tokyo after 4 years in Toronto!

What with plans to meet up with all of them, my social life is quite hectic - considering I'm in a whole other country!

*****************************************************************************

Spent yesterday in Kamakura which is about an hour and half southish of Tokyo. Like Nikko, its a "temple town" with little shrines and beautiful masterpieces of architecture scattered over a large area. Took my own sweet time wandering around, poking around little corners and (of course) taking hundreds of pics! Spring is just EVERYWHERE you look, and the Japanese gardens are simply amazing. Every tiny leaf and bud here looks absolutely precious! I took about 10 pics of the "totally cool tree" before I realised it was a MAPLE tree!

Day 5 in Japan, and I'm off for Hanami Sakura, which basically means sitting in a park, looking at the trees and drinking oodles of sake!

wooohoooo......

Sticking it to the Fat Guy

Expert from scrolls of ancient conversation:

King/General Rich Guy/Religious Bigwig: Let's build something impressive that will cost us a bomb (but that's ok, I'm rich/ the coffers are full/ the faithful are rich) and people will come for miles around to see and it will make me rich(er) and famous.

Common Man/ General Lackey/ Novice: Cool, let's.

King/General Rich Guy/Religious Bigwig: Its all about location, location, location. Where's a good spot you think?

C/GL/N: Well here's a great spot. Nice flat open spacious grounds. Close to the main roads. Good access to everything around.

K/GRG/RB: Oh no, that's way too easy. Let's build it instead on this almost inaccessible hill. Let's add some more steps leading up to the hill and just for kicks, let's make a rule that folks who come visit must be shoeless, hat less and hapless - to go with the breathless they'll be by the time they get up to the top.

..... and so it was.

Which is why every God D*mned temple, church, monument and shrine I've been to over the past 4 months has been situated in the most hard-to-reach, out-of-the-way, guaranteed-to-give-you-a-heart-attack spot. It obviously wasn't enough that the original poor workers had to haul up tons of wood, bricks, stone and general monument making equipment but also today's everyday tourist has to puff and pant their way up - all for a chance at a glimpse of greatness.

And the worst part is that all those Kings and General Rich Guys and Religious Grand Kahunas were all probably ferried up that mountain - probably on the backs of the Common Man who probably cursed himself all the way to the top regretting his initial enthusiasm.

Good times in Japan

Woke up to a miserable rainy day today and was a little bummed out as I had planned to spend the day in the ancient temple town of Nikko which is about 2 hours north-east of Tokyo. I'm glad I went ahead with the plan, coz once out of the city, the weather cleared up and I had nothing but clear blue skies all day long!

I had heard so much about Nikko and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. Its kinda like the Hampi of Japan I suppose - little town snuggled in the Japanese mountains with ancient temples and shrines scattered all over the place.

Experienced my very first Shinkansen (bullet train) ride today as well. Not as cool as I'd imagined it, but then again it was such a short distance that maybe they don't go all out. I'm hoping the Tokyo - Osaka leg will be better.

Met two amazing girls today. Hanna from Munich, Germany who was here with a German tour group; and Sandrine who's French but coincidently also lives in Munich. Since both Sandrine and I were on our own she suggested we join forces and I'm glad we did as it was a lot of fun exploring amazing Nikko with her.

Like Hampi, the temples were just overwhelmingly beautiful and no amount of pics and discriptions can fully capture their true beauty. I took heaps of pics and will be posting the best few soon.

After we were done with the main attractions, Sandrine and I found ourselves in what was probably "main street" Nikko where we stumbled upon this cute litte restaurant. The hostess didn't speak a word of English... or German... or French... so with much gesturing and some handy dandy drawings we ordered what we THOUGHT was tempura veggies, noodles and soup.
We were almost right! The tempura part was right (there was shrimp too) and the noodles part was right - only they were cold noodles and the "soup" was a cold sause.

After some false starts, and a joke about "putting it in the microwave" the couple at the next table took pity on us and explained that we were supposed to dip the noodles in the sause to get the maximum flavour. Turns out it really does wonders for the overall taste and we quite enjoyed our meal after all. As we stumbled out of the restaurant on very cramped legs (we'd opted for the Japanese style tables) we did note that both the other couples in the restaurant were grinning at us and ironically they'd chosed to sit at the regular tables!

Back in Tokyo the boys at 606 Sakura House had decided to put together an impromptu dinner party as some of them were leaving the next day. We went down to the grocery store to get some ingedients and we came back with:

2 cases of beer (the very first thing we picked up)
1 carton of eggs
1 pkt of bacon like looking pork (but not bacon)
1 LARGE cabbage
2 pkts of snowpeas
Mushrooms
Onions
3 pkts of Tofu
1 large bag of kinda shake n bake chicken
Udon noodles
1pkt spicy saussages
Kimchee (sp?)
A bottle of Coke
and
Cupcakes!!

3 chefs (1 Chinese, 1 Taiwanese 1 Korean) and 4 sub chefs (1 Canadian, 1 Malaysian, 2 Chinese) worked hard for a half hour and the result was a culinary feast consisting of

Udon soup
Fried chicken
Spicy saussages
Tofu with meat (of somesort)
Egg and onion stirfry
Kimchee with cabbage and pork sauteed in some funky Korean chillie paste
and....
BEER!

Good times at Sakura House!

Adventures of a Canadian Indian in Tokyo

Armed with 3 maps (2 city, 1 JR trains), 1 "point to it" book, 1 novel and of course the trusted Lonely Planet guide I set off to see the sights of Tokyo.

Indended itenerary:
Imperial Palace - East Gardens
Kitanomaru Koen - park with martial art displays
Yasukuni Jinja - Memorial to Japanese war dead
Shibuya - general area and Hachiko statue
Ebisu - Yebisu Garden Palace and Sapporo beer museum
National Theatre of Japan - performing arts

Things got off to a slightly rocky start when after I got off at Tokyo station I wandered in various directions for 45 mins before I accidently stumbled upon the right path towards the Imperial Palace. Even though all you can actually see of the Palace is one little building, its still quite nice and there are some lovely photo opps if you're patient and wait for the excited family tourists to get out of the way!

Wandered around the East Gardens for a bit soaking in the beautifully landscaped trees and lawns all around. I'm very glad I decided to come here in Spring - it couldn't have been more beautiful. Everywhere little green leaves were making their debut and the gorgeous cherry blossoms beamed at you around every corner. I know I'm going to a Hanami Sakura thingy on Sunday, but I just couldn't resist taking picture after picture of the blossoms.

After exiting the gardens, I cut across the Kitanomaru park heading towards the Yasukuni Jinja. Dozens of vendors line the road leading to the shrine selling mostly food, but also all kinds of curious knick-knacks. Funnily enough I had just finished telling myself that I wasn't that hungry and would skip lunch when I came across the vendors and then BAM.... my stomach decided I was starving after all!

I took a quick round of the shrine which proved to be a great site for pics both of the monument itself as well as the interesting tourists there. I found it interesting that there were almost no "foreign" tourists to speak of. All the people coming there (and by the busloads too) seemed to be older Japanese folk.

After searching through the many stalls that sold eatables like salted fish-on-a-stick (gills still attached) to deep fried octopus tentacles to other concoctions that I couldn't even identify, I finally settled on some bbqed pork-on-a-stick, noodles and beer! Everyone was just sitting around on the grass under the cherry trees and so that's what I did too!

I then made my way to the nearest JR train station and then on to Sibuya - Tokyo's version of Times Square. Like the original, Sibuya slaps you with its sensory overload of flashing lights, large billboards, running adverts and crazy traffic all competing for your attention at much the same time. What Sibuya has that Times Square lacks - a funky crossing system whereby ALL traffic stops and people then cross the road in every which direction! Its really cool to watch and I took a bunch of pics. Wish I had a camera to capture the full effect.

Before I left Shibuya, I made a quick stop to pay hommage at the statue of Hachiko - the faithful dog of Japanese lore who waited for his master at Shibuya station even after the master's death and ceased only when he himself died. Located in a little garden just outside of the station's "Hachiko Exit" the statue is a popular meeting spot for Japanese youth and I enjoyed watching them as much as the chaotic scenes around me.

Sadly I had to give the beer museum and the National Theatre a miss as I was already bone weary and in any case it was too late to catch a show. By now I was much more confident with the JR lines and getting home was easy as apple pie.

I have a day trip to Nikko planned for tomorrow - can't wait.

On the flip side, I STILL don't have accomodation for 2 days in Osaka! Everything I've called/ emailed or googled is full and I'm not sure how to proceed. Ah well.... I'm determined not to worry (too much)... things are bound to settle themselves eventually.

Konnichiwa Japan

Arrived into Tokyo at 8 am local time this morning after a LONG but amazing flight. Thanks to VBF's dad, I was upgraded to Business Class and it made a WORLD of difference and I actually arrived in a non vegitative state! 

Getting to Dee's place was relatively easy. FYI, Dee is the daughter of the friend of my mother from her work. Yes, I am a complete free housing slut, but when on holiday in an EXPENSIVE city like Tokyo, one says "yes" when one offeres help! 


For those who are curious, she lives just steps from the Omori train station. Tres convenient I say!

Contrary to what I've been told, the people in Japan are TRES helpful! A girl on the train lent me her celly to call Dee (ok, she was American) a guy helped me haul my bag up a flight of steps, a lady on the train told me how many stops until mine and another guy saw me standing confused at a crossroad and pointed me in the right direction! I sincerely hope I haven't used up my entire "nice-people-in-new-county" quota all in one day!

Am feeling much better after my wee nap and armed with about 5 different maps and of course the Lonely Planet - I'm off to explore Japan now!

Sayonara.

Phir Melenge! (We'll meet again)

Many many wonderful people - friends, family and perfect strangers - have all helped make my stay here a totally awesome experience.

Thanks for the late night walks on Carter Road followed by the most delish mango kulfi!

Thanks for the "hang out" sessions at the Bandra Gym.

Thanks for introducing me to Totos, Pecoes and Blossoms!

Thanks for the shopping sprees to Colaba Causeway and Fab India.

Thanks for the trips to Aurangabad, Rajasthan, Hyderabad and Karnataka.

Thanks for the weddings, christenings, pre and post wedding parties, housewarmings and for-the-heck-of-it parties!

Thanks for taking time out to meet up, even if it was for a rushed cup of coffee - it means a lot to me.

Thanks for letting me crash at your place and saving me hostel costs!

Saalam Bombay.....hum phir melenge.

What... just 7 days to go??!!

Ever since I got back from the south, things have moved at a super-fast pace, and I suddenly find myself with just a mere 7 days left in India! Somehow, 3 months have just raced by and I'm having to get ready for a new leg of this seemingly never ending adventure! 


The past 2 weeks since I returned to Bombay have been a mix of parties with friends, parties with family, long walks on the promenade, a visit to the Bombay courts (no, I didn't get into trouble), eating pani puri at Elco's, drinking at Toto's and hanging out with Nana and Papa. 


Scribbler has been here for the past few days together with her college roomie. Her fiance was also down from Bangalore, so it was a lovely reunion of sorts. Since it was the first time everyone was together, we had a little party for the happy couple (that they didn't know was for them) at my grandparents place on Saturday. There was much eating and drinking and making merry and plenty of embarrasing family details were disclosed! Fortunately he still wants to marry her and in fact they went off to the courts this morning to give in their one month notice of "intent to marry". Apparently they have to do since they're from different religions and need to get married under the "Special Marriage Act"! The happy event is set to take place in the 1st week of June.

My mum's sister and her husband who were in India for a month left for Toronto on Sunday night. Thankfully they were travelling light(ish) and I was able to send back almost 20kgs of my stuff with them! Thanks-be-to-God coz there was no-way-in-hell I would have been able to carry all that back with me! Ironically, I can only take 20kgs from BOM to London, but am allowed 46 kgs on the London Toronto leg - Go figure!

Thanks to my baggage weight dilemma, Sanch will be inheriting most of the clothes I brought with me and then and only then will I have space for the really important stuff like my books and the cool Tanjore paintings and other random house stuff I bought in India. 


Looking back at the list I made of things I HAD to do in Bombay, I'm happy to report that I did, saw, ate, met, visited and witnessed them all... and much much more!


Time to move on and have new adventures.


Side Note: I've been getting a few comments on how tedious it is to look at all my holiday pics - hey I can't HELP it if I take 100s of pics! - so have tried to reorganise the pics into sets with just the "best" ones and that should make life easier for all.

New Places, New Experiences

Been on the road for over a week now and somehow this southern trip seems more relaxed and reflective than the Rajasthan experience. I'm glad I made the decision to have longer stays in some places and that's given me the opportunity to both catch my breath and catch up with others!

The two days I spent in Hampi were terrific - I'll have to say it even beats my Udaipur experience. I loved the fact that I could wander all over the countryside and "discover" little shrines and ruins all along the way. I walked all over the area north of the river on the first day and on day two, rented a bicycle and spent a glorious morning biking down tranquil country roads lined with banana fields on either side.

Hampi was the first place where I was truly "alone". Up until now, in every place I visited, I either knew people or had travelling companions. For the first time ever I was travelling totally on my own, and I really enjoyed it! It was really nice being able to do your own thing and not have to consult anyone else along the way. I also realised that you tend to meet more people when you're travelling along - other travellers are more inclined to strike up a conversation when you're alone as opposed to if you're already with someone else. I met some really nice people in Hampi and hope to meet them again along then way in the south.

After 2 days in Hampi, I arrived in Bangalore, India's IT capital. I've been staying with my cousin and her husband and their cute little 3 year old who's constant chatter has keep me entertained over the past 3 days! Didn't do a whole lot of sighseeing here - it was more of a rest stop before the next intense leg! It was nice catching up cuz who I haven't met in about 11 years.

Met up with cuz Scribbler's fiance) for lunch yesterday, and a post lunch "just one pint" turned into a full afternoon session! It was nice to really be able to get to know him - our previous meeting in Bombay had been quite rushed, and sans alcohol! He took me to Pecoe's - Bangalore's oldest pub. And I do mean a REAL pub - something Bombay is sorely lacking, and I've been missing! Inspite of being just off one of Bangalore's main and busiest shopping streets, Pecoe's still manages to drown out the noise and chaos of the city and allows you to down ice cold goodness and sink into the mood music in its deep (and very dark) interior. Top marks for ambiance, service and quite good masala fries as well!

Went back to Brigade Street today to check out this bookstore that Scribbler had reccomended. 2 hours later I staggered out of there bent under the burden of my new purchases! Let me introduce you to the newest members of my bookshelves:
The Man in the Brown Suit
The Listerdale Mystery
A Murder is Announced
Cat Among the Pigeons
At Bertram's Hotel
The Regatta Mystery
The Mysterious Mr. Quinn
Funerals are Fatal
- Agatha Christie

If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What am I Doing in the Pits?
I Lost Everything in the Post Natal Depression
- Erma Bombeck

Yes, He is the Best: A collection of TOI cartoons
- R. K Laxman
Ice Candy Man
- Bapsi Sidhwa

The Hungry Tide
The Glass Palace
- Amitav Ghosh

And, for that mandatory fluff factor:
Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason
- Helen Fielding

That brings my total book count to well over 20. Any one with ANY ideas on how I'm going to get them all home - drop me a line!