Bali & Borobudur - 1

Bali is an island and a province of Indonesia. Though Hindus are in a minority in Indonesia, as most of them live in Bali they constitute the major section of the population in Bali.  So there are a quite a number of temples, some of them in picturesque locations. The island is also famous for its beaches and handicrafts.  Borobudur which is in the nearby island of Java is famous for its greatest Buddhist monument.  We planned a short holiday to these two places of cultural interest, during the winter month of June in Australia, when it will be summer there. We left Sydney by Garuda International and arrived in Denpassar, the capital of Bali, on the evening of Friday the 10^th of June.  Even as we were going to our hotel, The Haven in Seminyak, we were greatly impressed to see the big statutes in the street corners depicting incidents from Hindu epics.  The hotel was located in a busy street but was close to shops and restaurants.

Travel and hotel we booked through Expedia.com, but local tours we had booked through Bali Agung tours. The next morning we started on a day tour of Bali, with the English speaking driver Wira, acting also as the guide. Our first visit was to a Bathik factory in the Ubud area.  In a Bathik factory we can watch the artisans at work. You can see them draw pencil designs on the fabric and then apply melted wax onto the outline.  You can even buy and have a design made on it if you have the time.  Some of the designs are quite intricate and require deep concentration and steady eye. One cannot but be impressed by the artisan’s dedication to the traditional art.

Our next stop was at Ubud Monkey forest.  It is officially called as Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Here there are more than 600 Balinese long tailed monkeys.  The park staff feed them sweet potato and visitors feed them bananas which are sold locally.  Bread and snacks are prohibited.  They have no fear of people and come very close looking for food.  They freely climb on us if we hold the banana high above our head.  We are warned not to touch them or play with the food.  Then they will become aggressive and bite and their bite can cause even death. There are also three temples inside and they are not open to tourists. One temple is devoted to Lord siva; another to Godess Ganga and the third to Prajapathi.  There is a cemetery attached to the Prajapathi temple in which bodies are temporarily buried pending a mass cremation which is held once in five years. The sanctuary is a vast hilly wooded area and a deep ravine runs through its grounds, at the bottom of which flows a stream.

After lunch we had a roadside view of Tegelang Rice Terrace. While admiring beautiful green rice terrace we also wondered how tough it will be for the local farmer to cultivate on the cliff-side.  From there we proceeded to Kintamani to view the active volcano of Mount Batur and the caldera lake, Batur lake.  Mt. Batur has erupted around 24 times since Year 1800, the latest being at the start of this century. Lake Batur is the biggest lake in Bali.  We were lucky to have a clear view of the peak and the mountainside as in the late afternoon it will be covered by clouds and the view was magnificient. Some tourists go trekking uphill to watch sunrise.

Our next visit was to a Luwak coffee farm.  I heard about Luwak coffee here only.  It is a very expensive coffee prepared from the poop of civet cat, which is a nocturnal tree cat that eats the ripest coffee beans in the field and secretes the beans processed by its internal juices.  The beans are extracted from the poop, washed, roasted and then ground up. Here in the farm on a terrace overlooking the hillside we were offered more than ten different varieties of coffee for tasting, but not this Luwak coffee, which has to be purchased only.  I had no mind to taste one, paying money, after hearing about the preparation process and anyway I had my fill tasting more than ten different varieties of coffee. 

From here we went to the elephant cave, Goa Gajah.  Though called elephant cave, there are no elephants there but in the cave’s entrance is the face of a giant carving and this carving is considered to be of an elephant.  You have to go down a number of steps to reach the cave.  In the cave there is the statue of Lord Ganesa and also three lingas of Lord Siva where people offer worship.  There is also a pond with water pouring out of pitchers held by the statues.

 

That day we rounded off with a visit to Tanah Lot where there is a famous temple on the sea shore accessible on low tide. This place is also famous for its sun-set view. By the time we reached the place, the sun was under heavy clouds and sun-set could not be seen.  Further as it was getting dark rapidly, we did not venture walking over the slippery rocks to reach the main temple entrance. There is another small temple built on a rock formation with a “hollow” overpass linking to the mainland. Because of the scenic view and location Tanah Lot is a favourite among all classes of tourists.

 

 

Japan, Land of the Rising Sun - 3.

Tokyo

The hotel of our stay in Tokyo was Tokyo Dome Hotel which was in the heart of the city. This 43 storeyed hotel is part of the Tokyo Dome city complex.  Tokyo Dome city is an   entertainment complex consisting of the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium, an amusement park, the La qua spa and shopping mall besides the Tokyo Dome hotel.  The amusement park has various rides and entertainment facilities, including a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel and a tower that drops riders from a height of 80 meters, a water ride and a merry-go-round etc.  Our room window was facing the dome and amusement park and when they were lit up in the night the view was wonderful. Not only the night-view from the window but also hotel’s location was very much to our liking, as a Subway Restaurant, a McDonalds restaurant and a Starbucks coffee shop and a Seven eleven store were all located close to the hotel on either side of the same road. This suited us well as the next two days in the hotel were free days with breakfast only in the hotel as per our tour itinerary. 

On 14^th morning we went round the Tokyo dome city and returned to the hotel lounge after lunch at Subway as MichIko, our daughter’s friend, who works in Tokyo had sent a message to us that she will be meeting us in the hotel lobby in the afternoon.  We also knew Michiko well as she had attended my seventieth birthday function in Chennai ten years ago. She is interested in Sanskrit and Yoga and also attends a yoga school in Kerala annually.  Further she also follows my blogs regularly.  We were looking forward  to meet her after a gap of ten years. After spending some time in the lobby we went with her to Shinjuku Garden.  In Tokyo also there are a number of subway lines and manoeuvring through the maze of lines would have been a big problem without her. We were content to be guided by her without bothering to know about various lines. We found the subway trains in Tokyo quite crowded any time of the day like the electric trains of Chennai. 

Tokyo has many noteworthy parks and gardens and Shinjuku garden, one of the largest and most popular parks, is located near the Shinjuku station. It is one of the best places to view cherry blossoms in the city in spring, we were told.  The garden contains three different types of gardens; Japanese traditional garden, French formal garden and English landscape garden.  The Japanese landscape garden has large ponds dotted with islands and bridges and with shrubs and trees surrounding the water.  It has a large number of cherry trees of more than a dozen different varieties.  The formal French garden and English landscape garden have symmetrically arranged wide open lawns besides number of flowering cherry trees. The rest of the park consists of forested areas besides a beautiful greenhouse with many tropical and subtropical flowers.  There is also a restaurant, an art gallery and an information centre.  From Shinjuku garden we went to Dharmasagara, a south Indian restaurant near Higashi-Ginza station and had south Indian dishes for dinner.  The chefs Raju and Pandi were from Melur, Madurai and the owner Didi, is a frequent visitor to India and Nepal. The dishes were delicious and in this happy atmosphere Rajam celebrated her birthday, a day in advance, with a special sweet dish hosted by Didi.  Michiko escorted us back to the hotel and we all went round the Tokyo Dome city in lights. Promising to meet us at 9’o clock next  morning in the lobby, Michiko left leaving us in the hotel.

Next morning after breakfast we met Michiko in the lobby and together we went to the Nature and Science museum in Ueno, located near the Ueno station. The museum has a modern Global gallery and a Japan gallery.  We started with the Theater 360, a spherical theater showing wrap-around movies about nature and space. There is a section on dinosaurs and also lots of stuffed animals from around the world.  There are a number of items on the evolution of humans and animals. There is a big gallery devoted to man's inventions, with full-scale air-planes, cars and satellites. Next to that is a room filled with hands-on experiments that investigate physical phenomena such as magnetism and electricity, light and motion.  Since this itself took considerable time and as Michiko had to report for work in the afternoon, we made a hurried tour of Japan Gallery and left.  Michiko escorted us back to Akhibara station and saw us off in the train to Sudeobashi.  Since it was a straight run with no change involved we had no difficulty in reaching the hotel.  After resting for some time we went round exploring the multi-storied La Qua shopping Mall in the evening. 

On 16^th morning we vacated the room and left with our luggage on the city tour of Tokyo.  We first visited the Meiji Shrine.  This shrine is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji, who modernized and westernized Japan to join world’s major powers, and his Empress. It is one of the most popular shrines and it is situated in a large wooded area. Here, we also observed Shinto mode of worship.   Before entering the shrine, we washed the left hand first.  Then using the left hand poured water on the right hand and washed it.. Then using the right hand took water into the mouth and rinsed. With the purification process over, entered the shrine, made an offering, rang the bell, bowed twice and clapped twice before the shrine.  Then said our prayer and bowed again and left. 

From Meiji shrine we went to Asakusa area where the oldest temple of Tokyo, Asakusa Kannon Temple is situated.  We enter through a big outer gate called ‘Thunder gate’. Between the outer gate and second gate lies the shopping street selling authentic local souvenirs.  Here we could buy a few authentic local souvenirs without which any trip is deemed incomplete.  From Asakusa we made our way to Ginza, an upmarket shopping area with numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries etc.  After going round the area for some time, we came back to Asakusa pier to join a boat cruise on the Sumida river.  The cruise was on the Hinode pier route and we got down at Hama- rikyu and visited the beautiful Japanese Garden.  It is a traditional landscape garden with a number of trees, some large and some crooked.  From the Garden we made our way to Tokyo tower. The tower Is modelled on Eiffel tower.  From the Observation deck we got a good all-round view of the city. With Tokyo tower, the sight-seeing trips in Japan were over.

We retired for the night to Narita Gateway hotel, which was near the Narita airport, from which people returning to Perth were taking their Cathay Pacific flight next morning.  Our flight was from Haneda airport, which was at the other end of town and our flight  was only in the afternoon.  So next morning after a brief rest after breakfast, we went to the Haneda airport travelling all the way across the city.  Our guide accompanied us and saw us off at the airport, waiting to wave us off till we checked in the luggage and entered the restricted area. The return journey to Sydney from Guangzhou was very much enjoyable as the flight was not full and both of us could enjoy the luxury of two seats each. It was a fitting finale to a nice trip with Nexus Holidays where all the hotels of stay were convenient, guide was friendly and helpful and pace of the tour not taxing.  Photos of Tokyo can be viewed in Flickr album “Tokyo” @

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157666368507323 

Japan, Land of the Rising Sun - 2

Nara, Oshina Hakkai,& Hakone

On 12^th morning we vacated the hotel and moved with our hand luggage to Nara.  Our main luggage was transported separately to our next hotel of stay, Jirigonno Fuji No Yakata.  In Nara our first place of visit was Todaji Temple, located in the Nara Park. It has one of the largest bronze statues of Buddha which is 15 metres tall and is flanked by two Bodhisattvas. A popular attraction is a pillair which has a hole in its base.  It is believed that those who can squeeze through the hole from one side to the other will get enlightenment, if not in this birth at least in the next birth. Deer roam freely in Nara park and it is said there are around 1200 of them in the park.  Deer -crackers are sold in the park and visitors feed them these crackers. The deer freely surround the visitors seeking cookies.

From Nara Park we made our way to Kyoto where we had lunch and moved on to the station to board the bullet train, Kodama super express to Shin Fuji.  Though called a super express it halted in almost all stations on the way. We could feel the speed only when we stood in the passage between compartments.  Our night stay was at Jirgonna Fuji No Yakata, a traditional Japanese style hotel which was set on the foothills of Mount Fuji and surrounded by woodland. We wore Yakata, a sort of dressing gown, for dinner which was on buffet style. We had carried yoghurt with us and so taking more than a bowl of rice, we managed our dinner without difficulty.  It has an indoor hot spring bathhouse which you can make use of only in the buff.   So I alone made use of it after dinner before going to bed. Photos of Nara can be seen in Flickr album ‘Nara’ @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157666328716814

Next morning after breakfast we left for Oshino Hakkai, a small village which has eight ponds which are fed by melting snow filtering down the slopes of Mt. Fuji through the porous layers of lava. So waters in the lakes are clear spring waters and are known as Springs of Mt. Fuji. Next to one pond, we can drink the cool water straight from the source.  After drinking from the source we also filled our bottle with the cool spring water.  There are large fishes in this pond swimming merrily. Also we could see houses with beautiful private gardens.  There are many small shops and vendors around the pond selling local foodstuff.  In contrast to the first day, we had clear bright sky on all other days. This made possible a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji, bright and without clouds, which we were told is not a regular phenomenon.

From the village of Oshino Hakkai we went to the Peace Park, in Gotemba.  It commands a good view of Mt. Fuji and houses a stupa in white chalk.  This stupa was a donation from India by the then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Along with the stupa, the ashes of Buddha was also donated by India, which is kept in the Stupa. In the Stupa there are four golden images of Buddha, one on each of its four sides.  In front of the stupa the guardian dogs representing various Asian Buddhist countries are there.  Foremost of them near the Stupa is the one representing India. Although referred to as dogs they more resemble lions.   On the opposite side is a row of Kirins.  Kirin is a mythological sacred animal with the face of a dragon, the tail of a bull and hooves of a horse. There is also a Japanese garden and a temple and images of Deity of Mercy.  The park has numerous cherry trees and in the cherry blossom season, the beautiful cherry blossoms in the backdrop of Mt. Fuji are a grand sight to watch, it was said.

Our next halt was at Hakone Shrine. Shinto places of worship are called shrines and are usually found in beautiful natural settings.  Shintoism is the oldest and original religion of Japan. The followers of Shintoism believe that spiritual powers exist in the natural world. They believe that "spirits" called kami live in natural places such as in plants, stones, mountains, rivers etc.  Shinto shrines are marked by a special archway called a Torii.  This archway is believed to separate the sacred world of the shrine from the world outside.  Purity is important to Shinto followers and therefore they rinse their mouths and wash their hands before entering the prayer hall. Here the shrine is up a small wooded hill with a flight of steps to the main shrine and a huge Torii Gate before the start of steps. In shrine there are no images and it is the prayer hall where they pray to Kami.  Before the shrine there is a fountain whose water is used for cleaning the hands and rinsing the mouth before entering the shrine for prayer.  Buddhism came to Japan from India much later and the place of worship of  Buddhist religion is called the Temple and it houses the image of Buddha and Bodhisatvas.  Shintoism and Buddhism are two leading religions of Japan, peacefully co-existing. 

From Hakone shrine we went to the shores of Lake Ashi for a cruise in the lake in a pirate ship. The lake was formed after the last eruption of Mount Hakone.  This was a scenic 30 minute cruise from one end of the lake to the other.  After disembarking at the other end, we left for Tokyo. Photos of Oshino Hakkai and Hakone can be seen in Flickr album ‘OshinoHakkai  & Hakone’ @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157666328716814

Japan, Land of the Rising Sun - 1

Osaka and Kyoto

We went on a short tour to Japan taking the “Japan, Land of the Rising Sun” tour of Nexus Holidays. We left Sydney on the night of 8^th May ’16 by China Southern Airlines flight CZ 302. We had a change-over at Guangzhou, China where we took another flight CZ389 to Osaka.  We landed in Kansai International airport of Osaka at 13:10 of 9^Th May.  After clearing our luggage and coming out we were met by the tour guide, Jennifer and joined by few other members of the tour group who had also travelled by that flight. Together we left for the first hotel of stay, Stargate Hotel, Kansai Airport. The hotel was convenient and we had a good view of the Osaka bay from our room.  The hotel was located near the Rinku Premium outlets and Rinku pleasure town. Since there was no other activity scheduled for that day we took it easy resting after the long flight and then exploring the shops and restaurants in the Rinku town. We were happy to locate there a McDonalds where we took chips and cheeseburger as our night dinner.

The next day after breakfast, we left with our luggage and 27 other members of the tour party to Kyoto for sight-seeing, escorted by the tour guide.  Kyoto was the capital of Japan and also the emperor’s residence until 1868.  It has a number of temples and shrines and heritage sites. It is the city of traditional culture with a modern face. Here we first visited the historic temple of Klyomizu-dera, established in 778.  It is on the UNESCO world heritage list as a historic monument. There is a three-storied pagoda and a bell tower besides a big hall and other cultural properties.  This temple is also known as “Pure Water Temple”, as it is on the site of Otowa waterfall in the wooded hills and it is considered beneficial to drink the waters of this waterfall.  The water falls in three streams and cups with handles are stacked there to catch water and drink. There is also a shrine dedicated to love before which stand two stones wide part. Going from one to another blindfolded successfully is supposed to help one to get a suitable match. During our visit to the temple it was drizzling all along. Myself holding umbrella and Rajam wearing poncho braved the drizzle and negotiated the steep and busy approach to the temple, crowded with souvenir shops  and restaurants selling traditional food, and also the visited the various places of interest in the temple besides drinking the sacred pure water for longevity and good health. We could not enjoy much the scenic surroundings as it was drizzling on and off, mostly lightly and occasionally heavily.

Another important place we visited was Kinkakuji, also known as Golden pavilion. It is a Zen temple built overlooking a pond. There is an impressive garden surrounding the pond.  We can look at the temple from across the pond only as it is not open to visitors and  only the windows are kept open to have a peep-in from distance.  It is a three storeyed building with top two floors completely covered in gold leaf. As we go round the pond, we come across statues behind the temple at which people throw coins for good luck. Here also we went round with umbrella and in poncho, unfazed by the continuous on and off drizzle and so could not enjoy much the garden.

The modern Kyoto station stands in complete contrast to the traditional Kyoto city. It has an observation deck on the 11^th floor of the station building which is reached through a number of elevators and finally by a flight of steps. There is a covered skyway, 45 meters above the central hall covering the length of the station. Through its glass walls one can have good views of the city as well as the station below. There are also two malls and one departmental store in the station, besides number of restaurants, few of them western-style. From here only we took the bullet train to Mt. Fuji later. Photos of Kyoto can be seen  @  https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157668852585025

Lunch was in a traditional Japanese style restaurant.  Though the tour guide took pains to get certain vegetarian dishes, Japanese style, we could not relish them and were content with a bowl of rice mixed with hot water like soup. But luckily as we returned to Osaka, before going to the new hotel in the heart of the town, ANA Crowne Plaza, we went round Shin-Sai Bashi, a market place in Osaka, where we were happy to locate a McDonalds and we had our dinner of chips and cheeseburger there.  Our new hotel was also very convenient and I could locate a convenient store “Family Mart” nearby where bananas, packed egg and cheese sandwiches, ready to eat cup noodles and yoghurts were available.  Morning breakfast was no problem anywhere as it was on buffet style and we could manage with cereals, bread, butter, jam and fruits. It is only Japanese style lunch and dinner that was the problem.  Though rice was available, yoghurt was not available and we  learnt to carry it in some places.  I was also looking for yoghurt in convenient  stores wherever we went.  So much so whenever we sat for dinner or lunch other group members started asking us whether we have bought yoghurt.

The next day was a free day in Osaka and we decided to go by ourselves to Osaka castle by local transport.  In the hotel they had a road map for the way from the hotel to castle giving directions in English with Japanese translation, which was very useful.  We took the train from the nearest Midosuji line, Yodayabashi station, changed over in Honmachi to chu-o line and reached Tanimachi 4 Chome, and walked to castle. As  almost all boards and instructions were in Japanese, the cross over from one line to another was also difficult  and there was quite a distance to walk in the subway to change lines. It was a very different experience from the subways we had used in U.K. and Australia.  The castle is an imposing structure and is an important landmark in the city. The castle tower is surrounded by secondary citadels, gates, turrets and moats and there is an informative museum in the castle. It has also a lift that facilitates reaching the top. The nearby castle park has lots of green and also sports facilities.  It seems the park will present a grand sight in the Cherry blossom season. As we were returning we could spot a Subway Restaurant, and having a Vege-delite sandwhich there for dinner was a sheer delight. Photos of Osaka can be seen  @  https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157668480332992

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