I received this the other day:
I would sign a petition to privatize the CBC. It is an out-dated institution where tax funding produces primarily low grade content in an inefficient manner … just like where the idea came from.
$1B better spent elsewhere.
The Tokyo baseball pre-game workout in Minato-ku.
I cannot imagine standing in a circle, holding hands and bouncing up and down to the cadence of a random teammate with people on my hockey team … ever.
Once the cherry and plum blossoms are gone, the Japanese cities explode with Azaleas. They are everywhere. 5 shots from around town via my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 50mm f/1.2.
High on an embassy wall.
After the rain.
The problem in my house is that I made ONE mistake with regard to movies/TV and I cannot live it down. That mistake:
“Come on. I remember this movie. It is amazing. It was the first of it’s kind. You have to watch the original TRON with me”
I can admit I was wrong and I was VERY wrong. My rose coloured view of TRON has been tainted by age, time; remembering my youth and the beginning of science fiction movies.
Unfortunately, it was awful. The acting is bad and the effects may have been great for the early 80’s, but they just look bad now. So in our house whenever I suggest anything that is older than 5 years I get the “Seriously? You told us TRON was good and look how that turned out”.
Which brings me to Seinfeld. I am going to try it with my teenage boys, to see if it is dated or still funny. I know that reading The Economics of Seinfeld still makes me laugh. I saw Jerry Seinfeld at a charity event a year ago and it was great. I just don’t know how it will turn out.
You tell me, will it work or am I making another TRON level mistake?
Sure, you can find “different” things in those out of the way shops in North America. What we would consider “different” in Canada is the mundane in Japan, even common.
At Tokyu Hands (best described as a big craft, DYI and everything in between store), you wander from the mundane to unique in moments.
On a Sunday we had to get craft supplies for my son’s science project. Here are a few things that caught my eye (I had my 5D with me as we were heading over to Yoyogi afterwards).
The street outside the store. Busy, busy.
This diorama of a kitchen is valued at …. wait for it … $3500. You can almost smell the rice. Who would buy it? Not sure. Remarkable detail.
This one made me laugh out loud. After all, how can marketing “Girl und Panzer” not be a winner? Right? (far right side of box in English)
Who feels it necessary to buy these for the house? Not sure. But they are “Home Sign’(s).
Japanese people LOVE their dogs. I mean LOVE. So much so, that they dress them up non-stop. For that special pooch in your life, look not farther than Tokyu Hands my friends.
Check out http://doggiespotting.org for some great Tokyo dog shots and their crazy outfits.
I am not sure why you would buy these coloured specimens, but there is lots of choice .. although they are not cheap. Our boys were looking at the bottom shelf, which had the $400 specimens.
This is from the popular mobile game Touch Detective Mushroom Garden. I found it disturbing.
Always an adventure.
Through the gate lies tradition. This little outpost has a group of people living the “old way”. I do not know the difference from others as we did not have an opportunity to see how contemporary Balinese live, but here are a few shots. (Canon 5D Mark III, armed with my 28-70mm f/2.8).
Through every gate lies a new visual experience.
Of course, a family temple. Decorated and ready for a festival.
A simple shot. A Balinese home.
He smiled as he carved.
In the middle of the country, in a little town with a name I did not know. Just another town along the road and another breathtaking temple, built by locals over hundreds of years. Famous? No. Breathtaking? Yes.
A lot of the gates had lions. I wonder why?
The owner of this scooter was no where to be seen. Because it was about to rain again … hard.
This shot gives you a sense of this rural Balinese village temple. It is huge and multi-sectioned .. and yes, about to rain.
Deity carvings were everywhere.
And many of the carvings were decorated.
The intricacies of this door are remarkable.
It was the entrance on this kori agung gate (roofed) with a candi bentar gate beside it (right).
And the detail across the temple caught the eye at every turn.
They had not gotten out all of the decorations yet, but were starting.
Truly amazing. So much care and beauty .. in a remote location. One of a thousand temples, that will never be famous.
Glad we stopped. And thanks for stopping by.
Our family is not heading back to Canada this summer. Instead we are touring around Japan and through Asia, with a few trips booked already (Guam, Palau (I am crazy excited about this island) and Thailand is almost booked).
When we lived in England we had a great expat travel coordinator who booked up all of the trips as they get complex when booking excursions, tour guides, cars, etc. In Japan, no luck due to the language so I have become “Family travel booker”. It is not for the faint of heart requiring a lot of work.
TripAdvisor is my go-to guide for locations as well as reaching out across the personal network for opinions. But what has continued to be a real pain is booking flights. When you are traveling from A to B and it is not a simple connection, it gets very complex and I have spent many hours on airline websites not getting the right times or connections until I found this website: Aviability. While it doesn’t give you a “spread of options” on flights across a range of days, it does narrow down options when flying to remote locations like Palau (helped me find out that Delta is the only direct flight).
Between Aviability and Expedia, finding flights has gotten a lot easier.
As mentioned, Bali is filled with temples. It is a Hindu province in a predominantly Muslim Indonesia. The notion of the Balinese temple is very different than the traditional Christian North American or European geography, where there is a church in a small village. In Bali, temples are every few meters.
There are large temples, small temples, village temples, temples near bridges, temples in the middle of the jungle, temples in homes. They are everywhere. We had selected Gunung Kawi as the temple we would visit.
It was getting later in the day and as we approached it started to rain. Hope was high that it would pass. Our driver explained what to do; you must acquire a sarong which can be rented at the temple for a dollar or buy one. We made our way to the entrance and were accosted by some very motivated sellers. $15 later we had 4 very nice sarongs. There are very strict on this cultural tradition. Configuration: Canon 5D Mark III and 28-70mm f/2.8.
Alas, the weather was not cooperating. It rained harder.
We made our way down to the temple (275 steps) … and then after a wait, headed back. It was not lifting. We were at the end of the day and began our trek home. After 30 minutes the rain lifted and we stopped as a “temple” was on the to-do list. This time the bathing temple, 9th century Goa Gajah:
At the façade of the cave is a relief of various menacing creatures and demons carved right into the rock at the cave entrance. The primary figure was once thought to be an elephant, hence the nickname Elephant Cave. The site is mentioned in the Javanese poem Desawarnana written in 1365. An extensive bathing place on the site was not excavated until the 1950s.[2] These appear to have been built to ward off evil spirits.
The weather cooperated.
As a Canadian I always marvel at the age of things. This temple is very old.
A step down to the water.
The mouth to the elephant cave, a sanctuary.
We did not linger. The storm had caught up …….
As I mentioned in a previous post, driving in Bali is different than in South American countries. In Bali every meter has some form of life jammed into it. I don’t know how to describe the press of humanity, at every corner and every meter. We just stared out the window and watched as scene after scene passed by. A few observations ….
You would see bottles of Vodka or other large glass alcohol containers at the front of many stores. It is not Vodka, it is petrol. I saw very few gas stations except in the more modern towns. Correction, these are the gas stations.
As in most 3rd world countries, their use of the scooter was impressive.
And helmets were discretionary, as were the number of passengers.
Surprised to see a little bit of Canada, on a remote road. Life insurance anyone?
The shops are visually fascinating with ornate carvings, huge pieces of wood for tables and the most amazing doors.
We were feeling extra safe at our hotel (Westin Nusa Dua) as there was a big conference going on. There were military and police everywhere.
I understand that a few different Presidents were in town, with impressive motorcades.
One morning we took a walk outside of the tourist campus (As you can see above, very clean and well manicured). The economic collapse has hit Bali also.
I stopped at this abandoned shopping complex to take a few shots.
Things are tough all over.
As we drove through the countryside of Bali we watched the people preparing for the Hindu festival of Galungan. Our driver explained that this festival is as important to the Hindu’s as Christmas is to Christians.
Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremonies. The spirits of deceased relatives who have died and been cremated return to visit their former homes, and the current inhabitants have a responsibility to be hospitable through prayers and offerings. The most obvious sign of the celebrations are the penjor – bamboo poles weighed down by offerings suspended at the end. These can be seen by the side of roads. A number of days around the Kuningan day itself have special names, with particular activities being organized.[2]
Driving through Bali is very different than in South/Central America. It seems like every meter along the road was filled with homes, villages and shops; all preparing for the big festival.
All along the roads were these ornate decorations, lining the way while hundreds of people laboured in front of their homes to make them.
This temple was across from the coffee plantation.
When I looked at this temple I thought “wow, it must be a special place”. But my perception was wrong, it was no more special than thousands of other Hindu temples that are scattered everywhere.
The Balinese take their temples seriously, spending copious amounts on building temples everywhere; on roads, attached to villages, in the centre of villages, randomly located in a remote jungle location or in their homes, as the quality of the temple in your home is a statement of wealth.
This spectacular and ornate temple was no different than the others.
And it was unlocked, welcoming any visitors. Too bad it was raining or I would have gone in.
A few weeks ago we were notified of a fire drill that would happen in our apartment building. In Canada (or anywhere else), a fire drill involves a bell ringing, walking outside and then back in.
Not in Tokyo. In Tokyo it is a major event. The fire department arrives with a fire truck and what looked like half of the fire department. They walk us through what to do during a fire or earthquake and then walk us through how to use the fire extinguishers. The little kids in the building JUMPED at the chance to try them out.
When it comes to process and preparation, no one matches the Japanese. After marvelling at their preparation, I could not help but feel better prepared. Although, I was disappointed that they didn’t bring the earthquake simulation truck.
A few days before we had arrived at the Elephant Safari Park, a baby was born. She was shy.
I had to wait around for 5 minutes before she finally sneaked out for a few minutes from her mother’s protective care. She walked with a wobble (smile).
Took one look and trotted back to her mom.
The elephant has the most beautiful eyes.
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There is a soul piercing intelligence peering back, as you stare deep into their eyes.
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Beautiful.
There are two types of parks in Bali, the larger zoo-like park and the more remote Elephant Safari Park.
We chose the second. The notion of elephants in captivity is a tough one, but the facility covers their conservation focus throughout their brochures and website. For animals that would love to be free but are facing extinction and an ever shrinking habitat, this becomes a second best choice.
The facility is beautiful, clean and they clearly take good care of the elephants.
As with everything in this country, the North American notions of “behind the glass” and “at a safe distance” are not in play. At the restaurant you stand behind a waist high fence and get the opportunity to greet the elephants.
It was a moving experience to stand at the foot of such a huge, and majestic animal.
This shot pretty much say it all. I was in awe.
What a truly unique place. To stand beside such a beautiful creature is a true privilege.
Different cultures have different traditions. I passed this sign the other day in Roppongi Hills and stopped short.
If you have not heard about the process of shark finning, read about it here. A terrible, cruel thing where they catch the shark, cut off it’s fins while it is still alive and then throw it back into the ocean to die a horrible, painful death.
If you are not convinced that this is truly barbaric, this 2 minute video should be enough to turn you off shark fin soup for good. Those big, bad, terrible sharks are disappearing at a rate of 250,000 a day through fishing, finning and as collateral damage from commercial fishing and face extinction if we don’t do something. How will the ocean ecosystem change if one of their top predators disappears?
Barbaric. But then so is tying a dog outside all year long and never giving it attention.
“Man is the cruellest animal.” Friedrich Nietzsche
I won’t be eating there .. ever.
Please.. Pass it on.
This fellow had it all going on. He was driving barefoot, had things dangling everywhere in the taxi, 2 CB radios and no less than 10 cell phones; not a single one manufactured after 2007 or 2008.
I had gotten into quite an eclectic taxi.
I smiled when I looked over the seat. He had a lot of things plugged in.
As I have mentioned before, the Japanese culture is one of poles – the very ahead and the very behind.
The sense of honour in Japan is one for the “very good” column and last week I gained some first hand insight. To understand the business culture of Japan you need to understand what happened after World War II, as the US and Japan partnered to rebuild the country, companies came together to rebuild in the form of Keiretsu’s. Via.
Keiretsu are groups of companies that work together, trying not to compete with one another and cooperating in order to make more money together. After many years of this sort of collaboration, Toyota has become the world’s number one automobile company. Toyota’s lead is so strong it made five times more money in 2006 than the sum of the profits made by its eight most direct competitors.
Over the six big keiretsu (each of them controlled by one important bank) is the MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry). The MITI is considered the ministry with greatest direct influence over the country’s economy, because it has the standing to give direct orders to certain keiretsu, asking them to double their production for the following months or to help this or that sector come out of a crisis.
In practice, the Japanese companies work together and often talk about the greater good. They will compete, but at their core they think about their country and the success of all.
To illustrate, I was speaking with an executive from a large Japanese manufacturer and I mentioned that I owned many of their products but had also bought an “add-on” from one of their competitors. His response was surprising. He thanked me for buying their products and encouraged me to buy his competitors products.
Why? Because that company had a factory in the earthquake stricken Japanese north and had decided to keep their factory open to support the people of the region. It was a very honourable thing to do, with a great leader who make great products. He was very happy that I had bought their products.
In that way, we can learn much from the Japanese. Their sense of the group over the individual is admirable.
A few shots of Tokyo a week ago. Spring is upon us but it cannot decide if it wants to be warm, cool, cloudy or raining. Handheld HDRs via Canon 5D Mark III with 70-200mm f/2.8.
Makes interesting viewing out the window.
It wasn’t raining, but it was foggy. I don’t know why I woke up, but I took this shot at 2AM.
The sunset against the clouds.
I work in that office .. for a few more months.
I threw my 2X extender on to get this shot (handheld).
Loved looking at this lonely cloud.
A few hours later, it was raining.
Thanks for dropping by.
I opened up my phone and it was flooded with “like” notices on my posts from a single person. The interesting thing was that each notice was milliseconds apart (20+) and finished with a single comment:
Nice reading about you
Thanks for visiting my blog xxxxx. Browse through the category sections, I feel you may definitely find something of your interest.
The irony of this comment/activity is it comes 24 hours after I read the article “How to become internet famous for $68”, a fascinating insight into fake twitter followers, fake Facebook pages and the dubious system of internet rankings. Follow that up with the old article “How to get 3 million blog views” and you are left with a dirty feeling.
I follow a bunch of bloggers and randomly browse through posts. I often click on those who leave a comment, curious.
I “like” what I “like”, with no other goal than to thank someone for a good post and acknowledge their photo or writing.
Those with dubious or self-promoting intentions are welcome to stay away. This blog isn’t for you and I can see you 1,000 miles away.
I deleted the comment and out of principle, did not go to the site.
I was in the elevator at the Westin in Beijing the other day and looked over to see this young man standing beside me.
It was clear he was right out of college (or a couple years out), Tumi bag in hand (Excellent choice, mine is 10 years old and still looks new despite 1M miles) and heading out for the day. I had to ask …
He was recruited by Boston Consulting out of University, lives in Shanghai and is working in China.
For the majority of people in this world they don’t achieve their full potential simply because they cannot see what is possible. I did not understand that fully until my mid-20s. The only guidance I was every given is “You must go to University”, nothing else.
So each time, the boundaries would be pushed and it was big, open territory. For many, it is like the elephant and the rope.
As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
Anything is possible. You just have to envision it, build a plan and execute. Failure along the way is inevitable. Nothing worthwhile is easy.
But anything is possible in this world. Our world is flat; video conferencing via Skype, cheap flights to anywhere, Google Translate ….. It gets easier to connect globally every day.
Something our children have learned first hand. It will be interesting to see what they choose to do with that. Hopefully it involves an elevator in China.
I would be interested to hear the stories of others ….
Is it the best coffee?
The prices would indicate that it needs to be. At the plantation 200g of coffee is $100USD. In town, 50g of beans is $150USD.
It is a great experience on the farm, starting with a full tasting of their coffees, tea and cocoa. There is a pineapple coffee, and a host of others topped off with amazing cocoa.
They then ask if you would like to buy a cup of Civet coffee for $5USD a glass. It struck me as humorous that people pay $5 multi-times a day for a simple Starbucks. We ordered 3. They bring out a “made in Japan” coffee brewing system, that looks intriguing to me.
The water slowly moves up into the container above and then filters back down.
The pour.
I normally drink my coffee with a little cream and honey.
In this case, it seemed heresy to try it with something in it, so I drank the Civet coffee straight up. It was smooth, bold and surprisingly, without any bitter aftertaste.
Is it the best coffee in the world? It might just be.
I am curious what others think .. have you had it? Do you consider it the world’s best coffee bean? If not .. what is?
Thanks for dropping in.
One of our stops in Bali was a coffee plantation that serves Civet coffee, or Kopi Luwak coffee.
The coffee is made from coffee berries that have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet, excreted and processed.
Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection and digestion. Selection occurs if the civets choose to eat coffee cherries containing better beans. Digestive mechanisms may improve the flavour profile of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The civet eats the berries for the beans’ fleshy pulp, then in the digestive tract, fermentation occurs. The civet’s proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids.[2] Passing through a civet’s intestines the beans are then defecated with other fecal matter and collected.
I love coffee. I am on my 2nd Jura and I start each day by making cappuccinos for myself and Narda. On Saturday and Sundays I usually follow that up with an espresso.
We arrived at Luwak Civet Coffee Farm in the rain. It really isn’t a farm, it is retail establishment with a tour, coffee tasting and the opportunity to buy Civet coffee. I had my Canon 5D Mark III with the 28-70mm for the tour.
The grounds are beautiful. Coffee berries enjoying the rain.
Oh durian, you sweet smelling fruit … and acquired taste. They clearly enjoy it on the plantation.
There were a couple of these around the farm; they are bee hives made of animal hair.
Looking out on the jungle, I was amazed at how thick it is. My son hypothesized that the lack of farmable land was a key contributor to the economic differentiation between Europe/NA and countries such as Bali … The AP history class is going well.
The plantation had displays of the coffee as it progresses through the processing stages. I did not see the Civet excrement separation stage.
Is it the world’s best coffee? Next post …. And thanks for dropping by!
The Bali Bird Park is also filled with flowers and a few very interesting animals. The only Komodo Dragon I have ever seen is through a very, very thick glass at a zoo.
This fellow was a few meters away. Amazing that they are so fast that they can catch and eat a deer.
Everyone else had moved on so I was the only one standing there. He just slowly turned his head and stared at me … not blinking. I wonder what he was thinking?
Scattered through the park are beautiful bushes and flowers. Sharing a few photos of a beautiful, sunny day.
In Canada it is so hard to grow flowers like this. They are often cut and only stay beautiful for a few days. In the jungle, they are everywhere.
The commonly beautiful.
We had to see the birds in Bali, therefore the Bali Bird Park was on our “to-do” list.
Like the other wildlife, you get to interact with the birds and they are very close. A few shots to enjoy. This outings configuration was the Canon 5D Mark III with the 70-200mm f/2.8.
I love the colors of tropical birds, like these Wreathed Hornbills.
This Australian fellow is a bit homely. Sorry buddy.
Lots of water birds.
Vibrant.
This bird can kill you. Dead. Meet the Cassowary.
He/she (I cannot tell) was unimpressed by my camera.
I found the red .. intestine looking markings on the back of their necks rather disturbing.
At the entrance to the park are a few parrots. I was watching this fellow and it is almost like he looked at me and decided to show off. He slowly maneuvered upside down and then flipped his legs into this position. This is not a natural parrot position.
And of course, a tourist experience isn’t complete without a “birds hanging on me” photo. The bright red parrot pooped on my shoulder (smile).
Worth visiting. Thanks for dropping by.
Meet one of the most highly debated fruits. Is it good? Is it awful? Does it smell? (no contest).
For those outside of Asia … Durian:
Regarded by many people in southeast Asia as the “king of fruits”, the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow as large as 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.
The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour that is strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as pleasantly fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and revolting. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine, raw sewage, and gym socks. The persistence of its odour has led to the fruit’s banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia.
Before we started our rice field hike we stopped at a little restaurant at the top. They cracked a few fresh coconuts, cut up some pineapple and offered durian. We had to try it.
This fruit is so smelly that in Singapore they have signs on public transit that say “No hazardous chemicals, explosives, food or durian”. I have been told that if you bring a durian into a government building there is a $5,000 fine.
I have also been told that the “pungency” varies highly between countries and that if left to ferment, it makes a strong alcohol drink. We had to try it.
Verdict: I didn’t spit it up.
It tasted keroseney to me (is that a word?). Not a favourite, but I can mark it off the list .. tried. I do think that it is one of the coolest looking fruits, and it may even look like “the King of the fruits”.
Bali is a lush and beautiful country and one of the “must do’s” is to stop at a small town with the rice fields new Ubud. You look out on the river flowing through the terraced fields .. and all you see is green. As viewed through a Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 28-70mm f/2.8, mostly shot in handheld HDR.
You hike down one side, cross a bridge and hike back up to the other side. Along the way there are a few farmers collecting “donations” .. donation 1 was at the bridge.
It is quite steep.
Row upon row of rice, with carefully crafted ledges around each terrace to keep the water in.
And a simple mode of getting the water from level A to level B.
What is at the top of the hill?
Nothing but a great view of this spider, who is almost impossible to spot .. even after I edited the photo to bring out highlights and confirm that she/he was the focus point.
A great hike.
I just read this quote:
“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”. Saint Augustine
I never grew up thinking this way. I never dreamed of living in Tokyo or London. It was not an aspiration.
I never left Canada until 23.
It isn’t that I didn’t think it was possible, it just wasn’t how I was brought up. Make money, buy a house. That is how I thought.
Granted, we didn’t grow up with the money to take trips beyond a camping trip or the occasional trip to a close city so experiences did not show me what was possible. Spark imagination.
I am lucky to have married someone who opened my eyes to what is possible and why. The rich tapestry of other cultures, foreign foods and people. Of taking a risk and living through the good and bad of the experience.
Smart dude that Augustine.
We stopped at an Art shop while touring in Bali. We bought a piece (a rice field), and I am sure that we overpaid. You always leave wondering how much should I have paid? But we loved the piece so such is life. The price of art is all relative.
The good thing is that we were first in and their culture is all about making sure that the first people buy as they believe that it influences the day. If you buy, they will have a good day. If you don’t buy, it will be a bad day.
As I bought, he let me take a few photos of the shop. As Galungan was quickly approaching, they we decorating everything.
A distinctly Balinese form of art (that we did not buy, but was interesting to look at) below. Reminds me of a “where is Waldo?”
In Bali, temples are everywhere and people who have the wealth, invest in family temples within their homes. At the art shop, they were decorating their temple for the festival.
Parasols are a common decoration.
The Balinese go all out.
A wonderful time of the year.
For the Mt. Batur part of our Bali trip we did not hike the volcano (another time), but we had lunch at the base. It is a beautiful sight.
The view from the restaurant.
Glad we didn’t hike it. We would have gotten soaked. A storm was on the way in.
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The rain hit just was we stopped for fruit at this stand.
The colors were spectacular, even under a very grey and growing black sky.
If you are in Bali, make sure that you try all of the different fruits. Some will surprise you and you probably won’t see them again.
It is hard to plan a trip to a country that you have never been to when you live in a country where no one speaks English. We asked questions, read reviews and researched through Tripadvisor and Lonely Planet .. with a final itinerary as follows …
We booked a car with Sila Tours (Highly recommended. They are not tour guides, but $55 a day for a new van and a driver is fantastic) and set out a rough goal of seeing these things:
This is more than we normally do as we definitely do not subscribe to the “as much as you can” philosophy. We like to do less, but really enjoy where we are. As most of these were nature trips, the learning/history element (which is time consuming) was not as big a factor.
Many people stay in Ubud, we stayed in Nusa Dua which meant driving through the traffic laden streets. In other countries that would be an issue, but not in Bali as the countryside is fascinating. I was enthralled looking out the window as we went from town to town. The people, the shops, the never ending temples on every street corner and at every house. Fascinating. I would have loved to spend more time wandering through small village streets.
My only mistake was that I should not have relied on the driver to help us order the trip over the 2 days that we toured as their sense of time and directions is a little deceiving. When I would ask “how far to the next place” I always got the answer “30 minutes”. 30 minutes later I would ask for an update and get “20 more minutes”.
If you are heading there, enjoy. Great place.
This has been an odd winter. A couple weeks of warm weather meant that the trees began to blossom 2 weeks early. With our family heading to Bali for March break, we were essentially missing the season.
Plus the temperature has dropped again. But we did get out on Sunday to Yoyogi park in an attempt to see the blossoms before they are gone. Sure enough, the park was filled with young revellers enjoying a picnic and drink below the blossoms. A lot of revellers. A lot of drink. Shooting Canon 5D Mark III with my 28-70mm f/2.8.
They all looked cold. 🙂 I found the lighting difficult to shoot – it was so grey and gloomy.
Many were in unique outfits, which candidly, is not that unique in Tokyo .. and no longer very surprising. I liked the zombie theme.
This is much more traditional Japanese.
OK, this fellow was a little surprising.
These folks actually had a sign up that said “No photographs” in English. Sure, go out in public dressed like that at Yoyogi Park and demand no photographs .. isn’t going to happen. People were lined up.
Oh, almost forgot, the blossoms ….
As it is the end of the season, they fall and make a beautiful pink carpet.
I wish they were around a little longer. It was grey, overcast and 9C.
Beautiful. Thanks for dropping by.
The Sacred Monkey Forest in Bali is a truly amazing place, one of the most interesting that we have ever been at:
The Sacred Monkey Forest of Padangtegal is owned by the village of Padangtegal. Village members serve on the Sacred Monkey Forest’s governing council (The Padangtegal Wenara Wana Foundation). The Padangtegal Wenara Wana Foundation has historically strived to develop and implement management objectives that will both maintain the sacred integrity of the monkey forest and promote the monkey forest as a sacred site that is open to visitors from around the world.
The Sacred Monkey Forest is a series of paths that cut through the jungle, encompassing 3 temples and hundreds of macaques with staff spread on the paths selling bananas. A tourist mecca. There are many different reviews of this place, but my TripAdvisor review will give it 5 stars and call it out as one of the most unique places I have ever been. Yes, the monkeys can be ill-mannered – as this is the wild, with no control.
I loved shooting here, interacting with the long tail macaques. This little fellow kept my attention, when we first arrived. Same configuration, Canon 5D Mark III, and luckily I had my 70-200mm f/2.8.
He was just looking around … enjoying a banana.
And look at how white his teeth are. Really enjoying that banana.
Those eyes ….
I could have watched him all day. As you walk the path there are monkeys everywhere.
This fellow made me smile. He found a remote place to enjoy his banana, away from the rabble … away from prying hands.
If you looked closely, you would see mothers and their children.
There was a group of mothers sitting above us, on a log.
I wonder what this fellow was thinking?
It is a beautiful place with temples scattered across the grounds.
A special place.
We pretty much missed the cherry blossoms in Tokyo as they are early this year and we were out of the country.
But it is worth it. A few photos from the Monkey Forest in Bali. Glad I put the 70-200m f/2.8 on the Canon 5D Mark III for this walking adventure.
A few close-ups. I was very close.
Just hanging out.
Very close.
They are cheeky little fellows.
I won’t be blogging this week .. But left a few shots of things that caught my attention in Tokyo. Sorry, iPhone configuration as the 5D was not with me.
This is how you fill 5 pots with herbs on your terrace when you own a mini in Tokyo. My SUV is back in Canada ….
This is a 3 colour bush beside an embassy in Tokyo. Some quality grafting.
I love the flower stalls in Tokyo. Spring has sprung, the streets are alive with colour.
Not sure why they wrote this in English on this Tokyo window, but I agree … “Peace”.
A bus parked outside an office building in Tokyo .. I don’t know why it is in English? (smile) It was a very “Japanese” neighbourhood. Traveling stomach x-rays anyone?
I was at a meeting at Canon and WISH I would have had my 5D to take some shots. Loved their old camera display .. Great cameras.
Last shot. No one in Japan wears bike helmets. The most amazing thing? Gaijin (like the guy in the middle) have adopted a “if you can’t beat them join ’em” attitude abandoning the helmet.
Just amazing that you see everyone wearing helmets in North America and then they come here and stop. (Insert shaking head in bewilderment). The irony? He had a face mask on.
Thanks for stopping by. Posts resume Monday.
There are shrines everywhere in Tokyo. What I didn’t know is that many of them are family run, generations and generations.
Near us is a shrine with a wall around it. I have not gone in yet, and when I walked by on Equinox day it seemed closed (which is odd). I did hear drumming. I had to get going, and will return, but I snapped a few photos (usual configuration shooting handheld HDR). It looks like an interesting place for future exploration.
Love the flowering bushes in Tokyo.
The not yet “awoken” contrasted by the blooming.
The view over the fence.
In contrast to a hazy white sky.
Warrants more exploration.
It was Vernal Equinox Day on Wednesday this week.
Vernal Equinox Day (春分の日 Shunbun no Hi?) is a public holiday in Japan that occurs on the date of the Northward equinox in Japan Standard Time (the vernal equinox can occur on different dates in different timezones), usually March 20 or 21. The date of the holiday is not officially declared until February of the previous year, due to the need for recent astronomical measurements.
Vernal Equinox Day became a public holiday in 1948. Prior to that it was the date of Shunki kōreisai ( 春季皇霊祭?), an event relating to Shintoism. Like other Japanese holidays, this holiday was repackaged as a non-religious holiday for the sake of separation of religion and state in Japan’s postwar constitution.
Even though it is a non-religious holiday, many people visit their ancestor’s graves. I walked past a cemetery near our apartment that I wanted to visit .. and clicked off a few photos using my Canon 5D Mark III and my go-to lens: Canon 28-70mm f/2.8.
Pink peeking out behind the red.
The bell at the cemetery. People would walk up randomly and hit the bell, followed by a bow of respect.
A mix of very old, and very new graves.
Of course, people leave behind flowers.
The grave stones are all grey and covered in moss. Intermingled with shots of color from the fresh flowers.
A beautiful place.
Mount Fuji continues to elude me. Bring my camera, clouds role in. Don’t bring my camera .. clear as a bell. On this day I thought that Tokyo could double for Gotham city.
Shooting with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 28-70mm f/2.8. A mix of handheld HDRs and RAW.
The weather has been odd in Tokyo. I am told it was an extra cold winter, but that it is also warm earlier. This means the trees are blooming weeks earlier. As I walked home with the wind blowing, I clicked off a few pictures.
A school yard.
Walking a dark path. Not scary in Tokyo.
Trees in bloom.
Beautiful time in Tokyo.
In Japan, no one has a Social Insurance number. Somehow, the government tracks you based on your name and birth location. But with no number.
Now it has become a political issue, as people do not want to become a number in the system. There are 130M people in Japan … all known by their first and last name.
So far ahead, so far behind. Amazing.
A fantastic photographer has been coaching me on shots. He is one of those “I picked up a hobby and there is no halfway” personalities.
Part of that is framing the shot. Here are 3 of the same shot at different crops. A cherry blossom on an old roof. I like 1 and 3. I just can’t decide which I like best? Although number 2 shows the roof top. In the end .. went with number 1.
Opinions appreciated on which way you would go?
Configuration: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 28-70mm f/2.8.
The spring is here. It does not matter where I live (big house or small), I feel compelled to tinker. We have 5 pots on our deck that we will fill with herbs. So this weekend I put together an automatic sprinkler system for the pots. This way when the 45C Tokyo weather hits, I do not have to remember to water them.
A Tokyo hardware store is a journey. Imagine going into a place where you can read nothing …. a place filled with toy lawnmowers.
I had to figure everything out by sight. “This looks like a sprinkler head”
And of course, you have to park.
Always an adventure.
What you don’t want to see during a Tokyo snow storm when you need to get to Narita to catch a plane.
The duck that I saw when I made my plane to Sydney through a snowstorm.
Fuji-san through my iPhone. I had my 5D, my 70-200m AND a 2X extender at the office this week and do you think I could get a good clear shot of the mountains during the daytime? Nope.
I spent 36 hours in Auckland, New Zealand recently sans a real camera .. so I snapped a few with the iPhone as I made my way around the harbour.
I don’t like the fact that Qantas is One World and not Star Alliance. Every time I fly them I feel like I am losing points … Good luck flying anything else in Australia.
I found this on a university paper when I was cleaning out our basement last summer. LOL.
From a golf tournament. I grew up a Calgary Flames fan. Love the moustache Lanny.
I don’t miss Canada very much. Friends and family. My morning hockey league. Certainly not the snow. And living on a golf course and golfing with my family whenever we wanted .. that was a nice perk. No .. that is not my pink cart. Mine is blue.
Last week I was at a meeting at the Happoen Garden. The conference center and gardens are beautiful. All of the trees are not in bloom yet, but they are started. Definitely on my Fall visit list.
Today’s configuration: Canon 5D Mark III, handheld HDRs, Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8.
A beautiful open space right in the middle of Tokyo.
The cherry blossoms are beautiful.
I stood outside at lunch and took a conference call, snapping off a few shots as I listened.
Of course, a beautiful little shrine is tucked into the garden.
I am going to have to take the family back there.
I had to get up in the middle of the night to attend a call after the sandstorm. The sky was an eerie yellow. Supposedly the sand did come from China.
Unfortunately it has led to our learning about PM 2.5 and how Chinese pollution is effecting the region:
Atmospheric particulate matter – also known as particulates or particulate matter (PM) – are tiny pieces of solid or liquid matter associated with the Earth’s atmosphere. They are suspended in the atmosphere as atmospheric aerosol, a term which refers to the particulate/air mixture, as opposed to the particulate matter alone. However, it is common to use the term aerosol to refer to the particulate component alone.[1] Sources of particulate matter can be man made or natural. They can adversely affect human health and also have impacts on climate and precipitation. Subtypes of atmospheric particle matter include suspended particulate matter (SPM), respirable suspended particle (RSP;particles with diameter of 10 micrometres or less), fine particles, and soot.
In speaking with a colleague today he mentioned that when he was a child Tokyo was very polluted due to rapid industrial expansion. Over the years Japan has spent a huge amount of money to clean the air. I was surprised, as smog is not something that I have seen in Tokyo.
The weather has been up and down this week, cold and hot. On this hot day I happened to bring my camera and get a few shots off of Fuji-san and the Tokyo skyline.
A gorgeous sunset.
No smog ….
According to my language instructor as early as 20 years ago there was no word in Japan for accountability. In fact, the notion of accountability was one that the Japanese could not understand culturally. This was a difficult one for him to explain as I could not understand how the concept of the word was not present in the society, how do you trust someone? His explanation was that there was no need for this word as it was part of their societal norms, it was not required.
Fascinated, I kept questioning until he shared this story: When he was in the US, he was hired to teach Japanese at a school and was brought in front of the parents to explain how Japanese would help their children. The notion of having to explain to the parents was a very foreign experience for him, but required as the local taxpayers paid for the school’s programs. A parent stood up and said that he must be accountable for the money they are investing in him, to his bewilderment. He did not understand the word “accountable” and went home and looked it up in the dictionary. Even after reading it, he struggled with understanding the concept of individual accountability as it was not present in their culture.
In Japan it is all about about the group. That group pays taxes, contributes to society, lets the government lead (recently to their detriment) and think about the group over the individual. It is a homogeneous society (98.5% of the population is Japanese) where they all work together and the concept of rewarding the individual over the group remains foreign.
The downside to this thinking is that it may breed mediocrity, where the lower performers are protected by the group and higher performers are not individually rewarded as the society trends to a the middle. It also makes societal change such as women’s rights much harder to progress as it breeds a resistance to change.
The upside is that this notion is the epitome of the “golden rule”, where people take care of each other (Don’t get me started on the rich white “Christian” republican “cut taxes to line my own pocket” hypocrisy). It is the reason why I could leave my laptop on the train with a realistic expectation that I will get it back and walk around in Tokyo at 2am with almost no risk.
With the notion of the individual so strong in North America and the notion of group so strong in Japan, it is easy to see how misunderstanding can flourish if not carefully managed.
Fascinating for this Canadian socialist who is fine paying 45% taxes due to a sense of obligation to the group’s welfare.
In Japan, Valentines Day is not the same. Instead the day is called Giri choco day, roughly translated to “Obligation Chocolate day”. Women must give chocolate to their bosses and important men (husband, boyfriend) in their lives to thank them. Then today (March 14th), we have White Day where men must give back gifts to anyone who gave them chocolate. The key to this ritual is the small print:
sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し?, literally, “triple the return”) is used to describe the generally recited rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine’s gift.
Crazy. I have elected to not participate.
Spent last week in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. A whirlwind of a tour with very little free time but I did snap off a few shots.
Canon 5D Mark III with a 50mm Sigma f/1.4 – my only non-Canon lens, most handheld HDR.
On the redeye.
Off the redeye.
A war monument in Brisbane.
I do like the way that Australia has preserved their buildings. So much character.
The clock outside the Westin in Sydney.
A few shots around the Westin.
No time …. just 18,453 km.
If you like pineapple, this kitchen gadget works great. I am surprised. Seriously – great. End of message 🙂
On Sunday afternoon the wind picked up and the sky went light brown .. sandy coloured actually. I was grabbing sushi when I saw it moving in.
It was amazing to watch. The sky went from beautiful blue and 21C to cold and blowing.
You could barely see Tokyo Tower.
Turns out it was just a cold front hitting a warm front, not the Chinese.
I had a session with my language instructor the other day where I learned a few interesting insights into the language and culture that go well beyond speaking the language (I am awful at it as I travel in and out of Japan too often).
If you wonder about the Japanese accent when they speak English it is not because of their ability to say a word, it is because of how the Japanese approach language. In their culture, there are a fixed number of language sounds (a little over 100). If you learn those sounds, you can speak any word in Japanese, which technically makes the language simpler to learn. This is very different than English which has an infinite and always changing range of sounds. These are the only “sounds” in Japanese:
Therefore the Japanese take new words and attempt to fit them into the above patterns. For example: Australia fit into Japanese sounds becomes “Osutoraria” as those are sounds that match up to the above. The interesting thing about this is that when Japanese are speaking English (they learn it in Junior high), it also accentuates or exaggerates their accent as they attempt to “fit” the new word into their known language sounds.
It also explains why you will hear English words littered through a conversation as there is simply no way to fit the Japanese language sounds into certain words, so they remain English.
Forget about trying to read the language, it is a combination of 3 languages (Hiragana, Katakana and Chinese) which takes children 10+ years to learn and has 10’s of thousands of characters. Not going to happen for this westerner.
Michael Weening: a few pictures 