Kyoto 京都

I'm back in the USA now. On the way home I stopped in... Japan!

first day in Kyoto

One of the best things about my job is that the school pays for a round-trip ticket home to the USA each year. Last year on my flight home, I had a layover in Korea, and got to take a one-hour tour of Incheon. That was fun, but this year I really wanted to take advantage of the flight home and make a stopover in Japan.

a small shrine

My coworker Ryan was flying home through Japan too, so we decided to make a trip out of it. We arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday evening, and immediately boarded the Shinkansen "bullet train" for the three-hour ride to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, and arrived late at night.

We set off early the next morning on a self-guided walking tour through old Kyoto. Our walk took us through an old traditional neighborhood with lots of beautiful and famous Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

temple in Kyoto

Interestingly, in Kyoto, many of the women dressed in kimonos, especially at the temples. It seems like this is more of a fashion statement than anything, and I didn't see any men dressed traditionally.

they say it's especially beautiful in Autumn

The first temple we visited is Kyoto's biggest and grandest. It's especially famous for its folliage. During the spring, the cherry blossoms bloom turning the surrounding hill pink (which we missed by just a few days - we later saw some cherry blossoms, but they were definitely fading) and in the autumn the maples turn bright red.

sacred spring

Outside the temple is a sacred spring from which people ritually wash and sip in order to be bestowed with health and longevity. To wash, one must follow the Shinto ritual: take the long-handled ladle and collect some water. Wash your left hand, then your right hand. Then pour some water into your hand and take a sip. Then hold the ladle up so that the remaining water washes back over your hands. People aren't supposed to actually sip from the ladle, but anyway, don't worry! After you finish with the ladle, you place it in a UV light box to kill any bacteria. I would never drink spring water in Thailand, but somehow it seems ok in Japan.

fan-tastic

Walking back through the atmospheric and quaint neighborhood, we passed many old wooden shophouses. I even stopped to try some matcha tea and cherry blossom ice cream (which I highly recommend).

Japan is really beautiful!

Kyoto was by far one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. It was also incredibly easy to get around with an expansive and simple-to-navigate bus line. The city was also quite clean and very charming in the way that it retains much of its traditional culture.

street in Kyoto

The next morning we hopped aboard a local train for the 20-minute drive just east of town to one of Kyoto's most famous sites: Fushimi Inari! In Thailand, we see advertisements for Japan all over the place with Inari as a big selling point. We also always see photos of our Thai friends who have gone to Japan and post selfies here. It wasn't something that I wanted to miss!

Inari

Inari is a big shrine complex, with hundreds of red tori gates inscribed with Kanji characters all the way along the 4-kilometer hike up Mount Inari.

As we worked our way up the mountain (not a hard walk at all, quite unlike the Giant Tree, which nearly killed us, or the temple in Krabi), we stopped at waypoints along the way to admire the view over Kyoto.

On the descent we stopped at a waypoint called the "Respectful Sword Shrine", said to be the abode of the God of Craftsmen. While there, we bought a tea sweet set for Y200, which included a big pot of hot green tea (it was quite cold that day) and some tea sweets.

miles of tori gates

Immediately upon leaving Inari, Ryan and I headed back to Kyoto Station to catch a bus to the exact opposite side of town, Arishiyama, home to Japan's most famous bamboo forest.

The final stop for the day was Kinkaku-ji, the famous Golden Pavilion Zen Temple. It was super crowded there, but well-worth it to see. The temple is plated in gold and incredibly beautiful. The place feels very peaceful and calm, despite the hoards of tourists.

The Golden Pavilion

Kyoto was great! Although I saw pretty much all the sites I wanted to, I would have loved to stay longer; two days just wasn't enough. But our time in Kyoto was over. On the third morning, we boarded another bullet train back to Tokyo for the second part of our short stopover.

Last Day in Bangkok (Until May...)

Something that is really big in Asia right now is the concept of a "pet cafe" where you can enjoy a coffee and a dessert while playing with the friendly resident animals. It's hard to keep a pet in a big city like Bangkok, so these cafes can cater to the animal lovers who live in small apartments. Cat cafes have become especially popular in big Asian cities. The trend, of course, comes from Japan, which has now even opened an owl cafe! Bangkok has its share of pet cafes too. I had never been to one before, but on my last day in Bangkok before flying home to Texas via a stopover in Japan, I visited the Siberian Husky Cafe for the first time!

It's difficult to take care of huskies in a hot, humid environment like Thailand, so one of the goals of this organization is educating pet owners on how to properly care for cold-weather dogs in Thailand. The cafe only opens twice a day, at 12:30 and 3:30. The dogs are introduced half an hour later (after you finish your snack), and get to play with the people for an hour before going back to their air-conditioned living area.

The huskies were very well trained and super friendly. They really like people! At the cafe the outside area was fan-cooled and shaded to keep the dogs comfortable during playtime. At five o'clock it was dinnertime! The owner instructed everyone to stand to the side. When she called the dogs, they came running in a huge pack and went to their individual food bowls inside! It was amazing! The entire run was over in just a few seconds!

Nusa Lembongan

When I boarded the public "slow boat" from the big island Bali to the little Nusa Lembongan, I didn't know what to expect. I stepped ashore ninety minutes later on the white sand beach pleasantly surprised by he relatively comfortable journey, despite having to splash through waist deep waves with my suitcase held above my head upon embarking and disembarking the rickety wooden boat.

a view of Mount Agung, Bali's big volcano

Three days in Ubud, three days on Lembongan. That was the plan. Three days of sightseeing, and three of relaxing on the beautiful white sand beaches before heading to the capital city, Denpasar, for the last night before flying home.

the beach at Nusa Lembongan

The beaches looked absolutely stunning, with some of the clearest water I've ever seen. The reason that the water is so clear is because the sand, being mostly small pieces of coral, was incredibly corse. Not being so finely particular, it didn't cloud the water at all. It kind of hurt to walk on though, so I didn't do much swimming. 

Ganesh - the majority of Bali is Hindu

The island itself was quite small, with two small villages and lots of smallish hotels and resorts. Most tourists rent motorbikes from their hotels to get around. There aren't many sights to see, aside from the beaches, some small seaweed farms, or local village life, but one of the things I heard about was some sort of suspension bridge that linked Lembongan to its much smaller neighboring island, Ceningan.  You could walk from one side to the other in two hours or so. That is, if you don't accidentally take the long way through the mangrove forest!

walking through the jungle

The bridge itself wasn't much, but the little island on the other side was nice. It was swaying like crazy, although people didn't really seem too bothered by that as they drove their motorbikes across. It was so narrow that pedestrians have to stay close by the side railing as motorbikes drive just inches past them.

finally!

I didn't explore the other island. I heard that there was another village there and some private bungalows that you could rent. From the bridge I could see a small, empty temple.

Nusa Ceningan

I decided to get a ride in whatever the Indonesian verson of a songtaew is called (covered pickup truck with benches) back to the hotel. On the ride, I got to drive through one of the small, colorful villages.

the ride back to the hotel

My trip in Bali (eight days, including two that were spent traveling there and back) was over too quickly! The last night in Denpasar was pretty uneventful. The cheap hostel I booked was pretty far away from the few sights that the city has (mostly it's a jumping-off point for the rest of Bali), and it started raining, so I got some local food and called it an early night. The next morning I checked out and headed back to the airport. Four hours later, I was back in Bangkok.

sunset

Goodbye, Bali! Hopefully I'll be back sometime.

Around Ubud

In this post I'm going to talk about two of Bali's big attractions that I liked a lot better than the Mother Temple. After leaving Pura Besakih, I felt frustrated and annoyed with the pushiness of the people there who I felt were only after the money of the tourists. The next two places that the driver took me felt touristy, but at the same time much more authentic.

offerings at Pura Tirta

 Pura Tirta Empul

sacred spring at Pura Tirta

Pura Tirta Empul is the Sacred Spring Temple in Bali. More than 1000 years old and dedicated to the god Vishnu, Pura Tirta is where the Balinese Hindus go for purification in the holy water. The temple wasn't nearly as crowded as the Pura Besakih, but there were still a lot of people there praying and ritually bathing in the holy springs.

holy water

The water in the pools was remarkably clean! I didn't get in, but some of the other tourists did. Just off the main bathing area is an area with a large koi pond. The koi, gifts from some wealthy patrons who went to Japan, are huge!

This was one of my favorite places I saw in Bali.

koi pond

Tegallalung Rice Terrace

Tegallalung Rice Terrace

Tegallalung is Bali's most famous rice terrace. Looking out from the top of the ridge, you can see green terraces for miles, it seems. Because Bali is so hilly, they have to cut terraces in the hills in order to grow rice. It creates a really beautiful scene. Once again, I was impressed with how green everything was.

so much green!

Pura Besakih Mother Temple

Bali's biggest and most important temple is Pura Besakih, the Mother Temple. Built on the slopes of Mount Agung, Bali's biggest volcano, Besakih is really a huge sprawling complex of more than twenty smaller temples. The origins of Pura Besakih began over two-thousand years ago as a place of worship for the indigenous animist population. By at least the thirteenth century, it was being used as an active Hindu temple. Built on a series of terraces up the side of the mountain, the temple is accessible by a large number of steep steps.

It feels like something that you have to see when you're in Bali, although my guidebook warned that it would be a stressful experience. "The locals are aggressive", my driver told me. Although it's not true, the people at the temple will tell you that you are forbidden to enter without a guide, and there have been cases of bullying and people being physically prevented from entering without a guide. I begrudgingly paid for a guide from the beginning to avoid all that, and he turned out to be very relaxed and helpful. In the end though, the visit to the temple turned out to be way more expensive than I had originally budgeted for. Although the entry fee was only around $2, you have to end up paying for a guide and a sarong.

The thing is, in order to even be allowed into the temple complex, you have to wear a sarong and the traditional Indonesian costume, which, upon seeing the picture, my loving brother referred to as "the return of Michael in a dress".

It was dark, windy, and cloudy at the temple, although still very hot and humid. Being about halfway up the slopes of the volcano, the highest point on the island, the clouds dramatically seemed to be perpetually gathered around the temple. The guide told me that Bali was preparing for a festival that week, which is one reason the temple was so crowded at that time. He said that there are over seventy festivals throughout the year, and this was an annual one that takes place in early April every year.

Although there were dozens of small clan temples, there were three main shrine compounds dedicated to three of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon.

Interestingly, being built on a volcano, parts of the temple are built from black volcanic rock. The temple has an interesting history with the volcano.

In the 1960's, Mount Agung awoke in a devastating eruption that killed over 1,700 people. The lava flowed down the mountain, narrowly missing the temple. The Balinese people regard this preservation of their Mother Temple as a sign of the gods' favor, as well as a demonstration of their power.

a group of Balinese girls praying

Songkran at Siam

Good Lord! They weren't joking when they said that April is the hottest month in Thailand! It is absolutely miserable now. The other day, my friend Kelsey and I went to the Grand Palace. We got up at 5:00 AM to beat the crowds and the heat, but by 9:00 it was almost unbearable outside. I can hardly walk to the corner Family Mart for a cold drink without needing a shower afterwards. I wasn't in Thailand last year during this time, so I thought it gets pretty bad in May and June, but that is nothing like this!

So it's the hottest part of the year... that means it's time for Songkran, the Water Festival! Though it started as a Thai Buddhist holiday, it's become something much, much bigger, although the religious aspect is still present. People wash their parents' and grandparents' hands with scented water to bless them, and small Buddhist Songkran stations are set up in apartment buildings, grocery stores, malls, and even along the street. At these stations, people will scoop a small cup of water over the statue, symbolically washing it in an act of merit-making. Songkran, the traditional Thai new year, is all about cleansing and purifying.

a small shrine set up in the lobby of my apartment building

With my water gun, waterproof phone case, and flowered Songkran shirt, I set out just before noon to head to Siam Square. The Songkran shirts are basically what I would call a Hawaiian shirt. They are cheap and found all over Bangkok in the month leading up to Songkran. Songkran can get very messy, so they sell these shirts that you don't really mind if they get ruined. In a modern twist on another old tradition, people will sometimes throw white sandalwood powder all over you in a "blessing." That didn't happen at Siam though, the tamest and most Thai of the three big celebration areas. Many farangs opt to celebrate at the wilder Silom or Khao San street parties instead. 

preparing to head into battle with my friends

They turned a big street block into a pedestrian-only area with lots of stalls selling water guns, buckets, plastic bags, and lots of Thai food and snacks. There were DJ's playing traditional Songkran songs, and even some live music as it got into evening. One long street was the "war zone"

getting ready at Siam Square

Once you're in that area, you become a target for everyone. It's a huge free-for-all! Although the day was hot, it was cloudy, and after getting totally soaked, I actually felt really cold. Some people loaded their guns with ice water. Those people were the worst! The water gun I had bought the day before at Big C broke as soon as I arrived. That's what I get for buying the cheapest one! I had to buy another gun, but this time I just got a tiny little "Angry Birds" water pistol. It turned out to be a really reliable little weapon!

crowds of people at Siam Square

Let's not forget that this is a religious holiday, though. It was interesting to see people step away from the water fight to take a moment to wash the statues set up in the middle of Siam Square.

shrines at Siam Square

At one point, a long procession led by dancers in traditional costumes came through, bearing a small Buddha image on a bed of purple flowers.

shrine procession

By the end of the few hours I spent out at Siam, I was thoroughly soaked and freezing! It was so much fun! I'm really happy that I stayed in Thailand for Songkran this year. The party at Siam was very good-spirited. Everyone was friendly and having a good time. It was nice to see a lot of families out there having fun together.

all-out water war

Songkran is really all about family. Many places will be closed during the three-day holiday, and lots of people go home to visit their families. I'll be happy to see my own very soon! I've got to spend all day tomorrow packing, because I fly out of Bangkok on Thursday.

Sacred Monkey Forest

By the time I had arrived in Ubud and checked in to the hotel on my first day in Bali, it was already late afternoon. Not wanting to waste a minute, I took a walk through the town to Mandala Wisata WenaraWana - the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. 

In accordance with the Hindu Tri Hata Karana (harmonious relationships between humans, between humans and nature, and between humans and God), the Monkey Forest is both a nature reserve for Balinese Long-tail Macaques as well as an active temple complex made up of three temples.

Deep in the jungle (or so it feels), visitors walk around in close proximity to the mischievous monkeys. (The monkeys here seemed less aggressive than those at Hua Hin).

deep in the jungle at the Monkey Forest

The first temple I came to was Pura Beji, a holy spring temple used for ritual purification. This one was my favorite of the three.

Pura Beji

Other temples included Pura Dalem Agung Padantegal, the Great Temple of Death, dedicated to Shiva, the goddess of destruction and transformation. This temple serves as the main temple for the complex. I thought that the third one was quite interesting. Pura Prajipati is a funerary temple that contains a temporary cemetery where the deceased are buried until the village mass-cremation ceremony held every five years.

Balinese Macaques

Of course, the monkeys were the stars of the show! There are something like six-hundred monkeys protected at the Monkey Forest. They tend to pretty much ignore people unless they have some food!

As it approached dusk, the forest took on a really amazing light. It was a quiet and peaceful place. After being in Bangkok for so long, spending time in nature felt good.