day trip to Hiroshima

We did a day tour to visit Hiroshima to learn more about the events surrounding the atomic bomb that took place in 1945. We knew it was going to be an emotional trip, but one must learn about the past to appreciate the present and hope for a better future.

The first thing that greeted us when we got off the city tram was the Genbaku Dome (atomic dome). It was a surreal feeling to witness this burnt-out structure with many modern tall buildings around. It felt out of place in such a modern city. There were many school kids on field trip here. There were also a number of foreign tourists as well.

Genbaku Dome & Peace Memorial

The Peace Memorial provided detailed exhibits about the atomic bomb and an overview of the second world war. Among the exhibits, I was surprised to find a paragraph describing the Nanjing Massacre in China. There are other exhibits explaining why the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan and why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen. I learned that initially Kyoto was on the list of cities to drop the a-bomb. Can you imagine all the temples and shrines becoming ashes?

After the overwhelming experience at the Peace Memorial, we went into the city for a change of scene - the modern Hiroshima. In the city, we could not feel any remnants reminding us of the a-bomb event. It was a thriving city, full of shops and restaurants. We had okinomiyaki for lunch - a Hiroshima specialty. Very interesting to see the chef piling the ingredients in layers, like making a sandwich. We also took a stroll to the Hiroshima castle before heading back to the train station for our bullet train ride back to Kyoto.

It was a fulfilling day - a bit rushed but worth the effort.

Okinomiyaki

guidon (beef on rice)

Hiroshima castle

Katy and the capsule toy machines

Day 107 - Kyoto - the mecca of temples and shrines

Hide's parents were very generous to let us stay at their home in Kyoto. Our room was the traditional Japanese style with tatami mats and futons. We had a lovely stay and many interesting chats with their parents. Their house is located inside the shrine boundary. In fact, the house number actually shares the same street number as the shrine. Very quiet and holy.

The next two days we toured around the temples and shrines of Kyoto. On our first day, we walked quite a bit from Kyoto University to Silver Pavilion to the Philisopher's Walk to Nanzenji Temple. The next day our legs were still tired, so we opted for a day-pass on the public transit, which was easy to navigate. We managed to visit Sangjusan Gendo and Kiyomizu-dera temple, our favorite temple visit so far. Just like other temples, Kiyomizu was packed with tourists and schoolkids. But it was still nice to walk on the wooden platform and view the temples mountain and city around you.

Golden Pavilion

Silver Pavilion
schoolgirl drinking holy spring water at Kiyomizu

For dinner, Hide treated us to one of his favorite restaurants in Kyoto. I forgot the name, but it serves delicious sukiyaki – slices of tender, marbling beef – inside a tatami room. My oh my, the beef was to die for. Since Katy and I are going to become vegetarians the next month in India (not by choice, but of necessity), we were eating the beef as if it is our last carnivorous meal.

sukiyaki

us eating at a local restaurant in Kyoto

Katy enjoying green tea ice cream

We also did a day-trip to Hiroshima (next blog entry). On the day of our departure, Hide's father told us about a special annual event in front of the Imperial Palace. Hundreds of people dressed up in traditional clothing dating back 1,300 years. Interestingly, the parade was started off by 60 Miss Internationals – beautiful and tall. It certainly grabbed the attention of the entire (male?) audience. :)

scenes from the parade

Day 103: Tokyo - start of our short Japan trip

After one stop-over in Kuala Lumpur (to pick up the suit/dress for Hide's wedding) and one stop-over in Singapore (to pick up the apartment key from Choy Fun), we finally arrived in Tokyo. The weather was dry and cool – quite different from the humid tropial climate Katy and I have got used to the last two months. It was very good to see Hide, who picked us up from the airport in his new Mercedes E class. Always in style – Hide style. :)

Hide and me at a gas station (or "air pump" as I call it - gas pumps are in the roof)

At dinner time, we finally met the bride-to-be, Noko, in person. Very nice lady. We were so happy for them both. As a welcome dinner, Hide treated us to a nice unagi (eel) restaurant that was founded more than one century ago. Delicious indeed. It was also Noko's last day at work. So double happiness.

meet the groom and bride

I still had the beard

As a ritual, a visit to Tokyo must include of a sushi breakfast at Tsukiji fish market. The last time I was at Tsukiji was with Hide two years ago, and we waited for three hours at Daiwa Sushi. And we did not even a seat at the end (a long story for another blog). So at 6am, we grudgingly got up to turn off the alarm. An hour later, we were at Tsukiji market. We waited about 20 minutes for a seat. My God, the wait was well worth it. The sushi was so fresh that the toro (tuna belly) just melts in the mouth and we could still taste the sea in the uni (sea urchin).

scenes from Tsukiji market

sushi chefs hard at work at Daiwa Sushi

The next day we boarded a bullet train with Hide to Kyoto, where we planned to spend a few days visiting the temples and shrines.

Katy posing in front of the huge slipper at Sensoji temple in Asakusa

our delicious bento box on the train to Kyotocheck out Hide's sandwich - he was on diet due to the upcoming wedding

Day 99: Legian - last stop in Bali

We are back to where we started almost one month ago – Kuta & Legian. This time we wanted to try out surfing. On our first night back, we took a cheap room in a non-nondescript homestay in Kuta. We got about three hours of sleep due to the disco music next door and dogs barking downstairs. The next morning we rented a scooter to look for a quieter place in Legian. We eventually found one – Ady's Inn near the Legian Art Market. It was one of the best places we have stayed in Bali and Lombok. Located in a small lane, it was quiet but still close to the beach and shops. It had a pool (which was used mostly by us), nice garden and a pingpong table. The fan room with cold water cost us 110,000 rupiah – more expensive than other places but was a steal in Legian.

Ady's Inn

We took a private lesson on the first morning and rented the board the next morning. The condition was ideal for beginners – sand bottom and good waves. We were able to stand on the board and ride to the shore a few times. It was fun, exciting and tiring. We had bruises on our knees, and struggled to change our clothes in the afternoon due to the sore muscles.

learning how to surf

Besides learning surfing, we managed to catch up on our blogs and sort out our arrangements in Tokyo, our next destination. It was relaxing and fulfilling – just the way a vacation needs to be and a good way to conclude our month-long trip in Bali and Lombok. It will be a while till we can smell the sea salt in the air (likely in southern Turkey).

one of our favorite lunch places - pork satay under the tree

monkey enjoying the sunset at Uluwatu Temple
Uluwatu temple

Day 92: Ubud - second time around

We spent five more days at Ubud. Guess what we had for lunch? Suckling pig at Ibu Oka, of course. However, after two days of suckling pig, my heart and liver told me to stop as they can not handle the fat anymore. We went on a detox diet the next day, eating mostly gado gado, nasi campur and sandwich.

Ubud Palace where the Legong dance took place

One evening we went to see the Legon dance at Ubud Palace. Bill, our acquaintance at Lovena, highly recommended the show on Thursday night to us. The show was very good. The music together with the dance were memorizing. With only 30 minutes left of the show, the rain started coming down. Light drizzle at first. Then heavy downpour. Everyone ran for cover. Katy and I were hiding under a big tree. Almost immediately an old lady, who was selling beverages earlier, quickly showed us un umbrella and said “san man” (thirty thousand in Japanese). Clever businesswoman.

katy riding the scooter

One French traveler we met recommended us to rent a scooter and drive up to Mt. Batur, an active volcano (last eruption in year 2000). The panoramic view was indeed splendid – Mt. Batur with a blanket of black lava from last eruption on the left side and the jade colored Lake Batur on the right side. On the way into Mt. Batur, a security guy handed me two types of tickets – one for a museum and the other for the national park. We thought it was a scam, so we ignored him and drove on. Later while eating lunch, we inquired about the drive to Lake Bature, the vendor asked if we purchased the ticket on the way in. Katy and I looked at each other and laughed (embarrassingly). Oops.

Mt. Batur

Lake Batur

Alex also recommended Gunung Kawi, a temple with stone carvings which we visited on the way back from Mt. Bature. Although not as grand as the one in Datong, China, Gunung Kawi was quite something – set among the rice fields and small creeks. So peaceful and tranquil. There were huge carvings, at least seven or eight stories high. It was well worth the effort to get there. Don't forget to bring your sarong.

the rice field before Gunung Kawi

entrance to Gunung Kawi

stone carving

pilgrims cleansing themselves with holy water in Pura Tirta Empul temple

Day 88: Mataram - the end of Ramadhan & Hari Raya

After Gili Island, we spent only one night in Senggigi. The experience was not good – had lunch at Yessy Cafe, a tourist trap recommended by our hotel staff. The hotel (Raja's) was nice, but it was the only hotel during our Indonesia trip so far that did not include a complimentary breakfast. It was also located between a club and a mosque where rock-n-roll and chanting went on till 3am. Not much sleep.

The next morning we took a bemo, similar to the jeepney in the Philipines, to Mataram, the largest city and the only KFC outlet on Lombok island. It was the eve of Hari Raya, the end of Ramadhan. The streets were filled with people busy shopping to celebrate the new year. What a change of scene from the Gili islands only a couple hours away.

parade on the street on the eve of Hari Raya

Originally we wanted to rent a scooter to visit a remote waterfall. Unfortunately all the scooters were rented out due to Rari Raya, so we took a bemo to visit the Water Palace. The rain started pouring down hard soon after we got on the bemo. Not wanting to turn back, we continued with the bemo ride. The street where we got off the bemo was flooded to ankle high. There weren't that many tourists due to the rain. Only a dozen pilgrims praying at the temple and some locals fishing at the Water Palace (yes, fishing right at where the king used to live).

the very wet Water Palace

pilgrims sheltering from the rain

In Mataram, we took a room at Oka Homestay, where we met Alex (Dutch & 1/8 Indonesian) and Nico (French) & Veronica (French Canadian). Nice people. Alex is contemplating about living in Indonesia for good while Nico and Veronica are working in Australia. We hung out at the homestay and talked late into the night while the fireworks were going off on the streets. Nico and Veronica took the same ferry as us back to Bali and had some interesting conversation. They live by the fruit season literally. They go wherever there are fruits to be picked from Okanagan in Canada to Cully in Switzerland. They are going back to Australia, just in time for the mango in October and cherry in late November (with one week of gold panning in between – which they are very serious about this prospect). Nico is going to spend one year in Canada, not knowing what he will do yet, maybe something in the oil sands. Veronica will spend one more year in Australia picking fruits to save up, so she can invest in a piece of land back in Montreal.

From left to right: Nico, Veronica and Alex

on the ferry back to Bali

Good luck to you all, Alex, Nico and Veronica!