Our Travelling Digest

This entire blog has been of epic-proportions! We've detailed our every stop, travel and sight-seeing moment in these pages. We don't blame you if you haven't had the time (or couldn't be bothered!) to read each one. We also know lots of you will ask us the same questions when we return. So to make it easier all-round, here is our handy 10-minute summary digest for you to enjoy whilst sipping on a cup of tea. Consider it our way of bringing you bang up to date on what we have been up to in the last 6 months... all in 1 teeny weeny blog post!

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Some FAQs to begin with:

How long have you been away for? 6 months

Where did you go? USA, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, India, Dubai

What was your favourite country? Peru - for all it had to offer: fascinating Inca culture and ruins, Macchu Picchu, amazing scenery and great trekking, lovely kind people.

Did you have a good time? Absolutely! Unforgettable!!

Were there any difficult bits? Yes, some, but fortunately we stayed safe and well throughout the trip. Of course we had moments of missing family and friends and the comfort of our own home but it was all worth it for what we got to see and do.

How much did it all cost you? Wouldn't you like to know!!! Ask us if you need advice on travel budgeting, we under spent by 14% against projected budget (Google docs - zindabad!)

What was your biggest splurge? Diving with Quicksilver in the Great Barrier Reef

What was your cheapest meal? 2 masala dosas for 54 Rupees (US$1.10) in Kerala, India (might have got a touch of Delhi Belly with this though!)

Did you get ripped off? Not really, but got taken on the 'long way round' taxi journey which cost 10 USD but should have been 1 USD! Small amount taken from my credit card in San Fransisco. Others were generally just local scams and misinformation which were more annoyance then attacks on the wallet.

What was your worst toilet experience? Alkesh - round the back of a shack on day 2 of the Macchu Pichu Trek. Navita - at an Angkor temple... best not to ask the specifics!

Did you meet any 'special' characters? Yes! Only Brazil's #2 Michael Jackson impersonator! He sang and danced for us at the hostel barbecue in Iguazu.

Any memorable quotes? Someone on our Galapagos trip told us not to worry about bottled water, cause he had an 'expedition standard, water filtration system' with him! Priceless...

When did you fear for your life? Definitely traversing up and down landslides on our way to Macchu Picchu. If this was known before, there's no way we would have ever done this!

Where did you have the best food? Vietnam, due to the quality, low cost and variety of cuisine, especially the delicious food at 'Morning Glory' restaurant in Hoi An - yum!

Where was the worst food? Argentina, for sure. Unless you like steak every day of the year, or rubbish pasta and thick crust pizza, not much going on here.

What did you argue over most? Where to eat within a certain cost bracket. Throw in a vegetarian and things get interesting!

What experience surprised you the most? The Temples of Angkor. Relatively understated in worldwide appeal, but seriously cool and worthy of at least 3 full days of your trip.

What was your worst night sleep? Non-AC house boat in Kerala. Hot, humid and room fan was running on 1/4 power.

What have you gained from this experience? A greater interest and thirst for knowledge of this fascinating world than ever before! Also, knowing I can live side by side with my life partner for 6 months straight, 24/7!

What was the best decision you made on the fly? Cancelling our pre-booked over priced Inca trek during the landslides and getting all our money back using small print to our advantage (others who did same got nothing back)!

What was the most regrettable decision you had to make? Avoiding Thailand due to the civil unrest.

Did the backpacker thing ever go too far ever? Yes. Alkesh haggled tooth and nail over 1 soles in Peru (25 cents) showing frustration over bad computers in an internet cafe.

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Next, we've put together some of the bits which we didn't need or want to write as part of the normal blogs. Just coming up with this list was entertaining enough, and done whilst sipping an iced-coffee in a peaceful garden in Tokyo. Enjoy!

Travelling by numbers:

Visted 40 major towns/cities,
across 14 different countries(excluding those visted in-transit).
Stayed in 54 different hotels, hostels, friends/family homes, tents and campervans.
Taken 36 flights,
20 buses,
2 trains,
1 boat,
1 car drive,
and 1 campervan tour for 7 days.
Spent 180 days abroad,
144 hours blogging,
and 40 hours calling family and friends with skype.
We've used up 15 bottles of shower gel,
4 cans of bug spray,
180 malaria tablets,
and 750 ml of sunscreen.
We've taken 5 GB worth of videos,
and 15 GB of photos snapped.
We've spotted 2 celebrities.


Highlights (in no particular order):

• Parasailing in Nha Trang, Vietnam
• Trekking to Macchu Pichu, Peru
• Snorkelling with penguins, turtles, seal lions, iguana, and reef sharks in Galapogos Islands, Ecuador
• Seeing Neeta, Jilan, Siana, Joshan in Dubai
• Scamming free drinks in Las Vegas, USA
• Partying hard at the Rio Carnival, Brazil
• Getting soaked in the worlds biggest waterfalls in Iguazu, Argentina/Brazil
• Campervanning on the South Islands, New Zealand
• Diving with white tipped sharks in colourful Great Barrier Reef, Austrailia and the wreck of the USS Liberty, Bali
• Watching Ramayana Ballet in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
• Reacquainting with freinds and family in Indonesia and Singapore
• Exporing the temples of Angkor, Cambodia
• Playing with the latest gadgets in Tokyo
• Relaxing on a house-boat through the backwaters of Kerala

What we'll miss...

• This type of freedom
• Complete selfish indulgence
• Living from one day to the next, everyday looking for fun things to do
• Experiencing new sites, sounds, cultures, food, people and language
• Avoiding the rat race

What we won't miss...

• 2 attacks of bed bugs
• The major cut to Alkesh's finger, needing 2 stitches
• 1 turd found in our hotel shower cubicle (from the house dog!)
• Travel clothes - they need burning!
• Living in hostels
• Excessive budgetting
• Long and tiring transits
• Recycling underwear
• Early morning flights with 3-4am starts
• Missing family birthdays and friends weddings
• Constant regurgitating of our travels plans to other travellers
• Repacking our backpacks
• Attack by mosquitoes in Haast, New Zealand

Wish we'd done...

• Patagonia, Argentina
• Salt flats in Bolivia
• Thailand
• Oz with more time and money
• Driving across the USA
• Amazonian rainforest in Brazil
• Getting tailoring done in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Cooking course in Hoi An, Vietnam
• Goa, India

Munnar, Kerala, India

So we've been a little slow in writing up our post from Munnar, Kerala - the last leg of our travels before heading off to Dubai! Apologies, but we've been somewhat distracted by feeling a little melancholy at our 18 month adventure coming to an end and also very excited at the prospect of coming home and seeing family. So here it is - at long last... a little brief but complete all the same!

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Alas, the good weather (no rains) of Alleppey and Cochin didn't last us to Munnar. It poured for most of our 5 hour drive up the hill tops of Munnar in the Western Ghats of Kerala. Our driver kept promising us 'many many sights' along the way but it was all a wash out! I mean who wants to see waterfalls in the middle of a torrential downpour?!! Feeling a little bit hard done by, we headed straight for our hotel, catching a quick glimpse of the tea plantations views. After some dinner and TV, we went to sleep praying for better weather the following day.



Our prayers were answered and the rain stayed away just long enough for us to race round the viewpoints and sights before we commenced our long drive back to Cochin for our flight to Bombay. We breakfasted on dosas and utthapams - yum!, I could get used to this!! Munnar is known for its tea plantations... I have some vague memories of these from when we were in Indonesia but the vast vistas were quite breath-taking. The tea plantation bushes looked like green thick clouds; from a distance, a hill of tea looked like a lush green shaggy carpet.

Next up, we visited a spice garden where we saw all sorts of household spices and fruits growing in the wild. There were green, red and black peppercorns all growing from the same single plant. Pineappples, ginger, guava, strawberries and aubergines. We smelled fresh basil, ajwain, curry leaves and lemon balm.

Finally, and what a befitting end to our travels, Alkesh and I decided to take the plunge and ride an elephant. I know morally / ethically it is questionable and I could debate the matter for some time, but when faced with the opportunity I got all giggly and decided it had to be done. We'd missed the chance in Thailand, found it too expensive in Angkor but finally in Kerala - we had our chance. Despite Indian elephants being smaller than their African counterparts we'd seen on Safari in Kruger, it was still a massive beast. We rode the elephant as he plodded through the jungle... cheekily stopping at several points to feast on the fallen down branches. It was good fun!



From here, we return to Cochin for our flight to Bombay. 2 sleeps in a nice Bandra hotel ordering room service and last-minute shopping before we catch our penultimate flight, early in the morning to see Neeta, Jilan, Siana and baby Joshan in Dubai. Hoorah!

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And there you have it - our final official post of the Alkesh and Navita World Tour 2010! Thank you to you all for sticking with us - we've loved sharing our experiences with you. Alkesh and I are very very grateful for being able to live out this dream and pray thanks for having stayed safe and well throughout our journey.

Kerala, India

A short flight from Mumbai, and we reached one of the most picturesque parts of India. Hugging the south western coast, the narrow state of Kerala has a rich economic and cultural heritage derived from its pivotal role in the world spice trade for over 3000 years and pits Portuguese colonisation in the 15th century.

We were immediately surprised with the more laid back atmosphere at the Cochin (new name = Kochi) airport. No shouting and jostling for business by transport and hotel touts, we quickly found our pre-booked taxi arranged by our hotel (come on... homeward stretch now, so why not splurge a little, right?!) and started our 1hr+ journey to our base for the next week in Fort Cochin. En route, we then noticed another big difference between here and Bombay: very little traffic, cleaner roads, no potholes, and generally better sanitation. The journey took us through small towns strung together along the highway, with no real slums to be seen (although I'm sure they exist).

Fort Cochin was a far-cry from the maddening scenes of Bombay... yes, it was low season, but still the small township was peaceful. We were staying in a very comfortable guesthouse run by the very fastidious Mr. Walton. He was a local Christian Keralan and ran a very tight ship at the guesthouse - no unnecessary chat or smiles, but lots of accurate and clear information was provided. During our week's stay, we became quite fond of Mr. Walton - almost like a father figure, he would tell us to ensure we had an umbrella with us in case it rains, would watch out for us when we came home later than 9pm, phoned the taxi driver during pickup and drop off to the houseboat to ensure we'd reached there ok, and always enquired about our future plans! He ended up sorting out our trips and travel so we were grateful!

We spent a few days, roaming the small streets around Fort Cochin, checking out the old colonial buildings and generally watching the world go by. Many of the restaurants and shops were suffering from very poor business as it was the monsoon low season, so they were only too happy when we walked in.



There was quite a melange of religions and cultures to be observed in Kerala. Now predominantly Christian, we saw several big churches (e.g. St. Francis Church - believed to be India's oldest European-built church). In Mattancherry, we also visited a 400-year old synagogue - owing to the once small but significant Jewish population that settled here in Kerala.



One of the scenes we particularly enjoyed was the giant cantilevered Chinese fishing nets. A legacy of traders from the 1400 AD court of Kubla Khan, these enormous, spider-like contraptions require at least 4 people to operate their counterweights at high tide. We caught the fishermen during their trade and watched the spectacle for a while!

We visited Mattancherry Palace that was built by the Portuguese in 1555. Here we saw some surprisingly well-preserved Hindu murals. Colourful and detailed, they depicted scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. There was also a portrait gallery of the maharajas from 1864. Nearby we saw part of the modern-day spice market; large quantities of ginger being dried in the open sunshine.

We travelled south to the Alleppey district to experience one of the main attractions for any visit to Kerala: a houseboat excursion through the backwaters. Some say Alleppey is like a 'Venice of the East', made up of shade streets set around a grid of canals that spill into the vast watery highways of the region.



We spent a 24-hour period on a rented houseboat, designed like a kettuvallam (a rice barge), complete with the skipper, server and chef to look after us. My parents had done a similar trip on their visit to Goa and Kerala so I knew it was going to be a great highlight for us.

Drifting through the quiet canals lined with coconut palms, watching rural village life unfold around us and eating delicious authentic Keralan food - it was a beautiful and serene experience. Alkesh and I sat on our deck, looking out on to the various scenes as we past: women washing their clothes on the bank of the waters, kingfishers on electric cables, children travelling to school by boat. It was idyllic!

Back in Cochin, we took a few more days to relax, shop, eat and enjoy the precious few days of our travels - the end was very much in sight! We attended a traditional Kathakali performance. This ancient art form crystallised in the 16th century although some elements of it stem from as early as 2nd-century temple rituals. The Kathakali performance is the dramatised presentation of a play, usually based on the Hindu epics. Drummers and singers accompany the actors who tell the story through their precise movements, particularly mudras (hand gestures) and facial expressions. The actors have fantastic costumes and full face paint to take on their characters.

We really enjoyed the performance! It was amazing at how talented the actors were in being able to move precise parts of their face so fast, like their eyes or their cheeks. During our travels, we've seen various enactments from the Ramayana or Mahabharata: the Kecak dancers in Bali, the Angkorian temples in Cambodia, the Ramayana ballet in Yogyakarta. I truly believe this Keralan Kathakali was the most talented of all!

We returned to the cultural centre the next day to watch a North Indian classical music concert featuring a tabla and sitar player. They both came from different parts of Kerala and had never played together before. Without any sheet music, the 2 musicians played their insturments so skillfully. We marveled at how fast their fingers moved over the instruments and the whimsical sounds they created. It was beautiful!

We'll post this for now, although we still have a few more days left in India. Tomorrow, we are off to the Western Ghats of Kerala, to Munnar in the hills. We're back in Mumbai on Saturday night for 1 last day of chaat and shopping before we head of to Dubai on Monday morning.

That's it! - just 3 more days left before our backpacking travels come to an end! It has been an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience that we will treasure forever. What with the 12 months in Canada, we've had great adventures over the past 18 months!!

Mumbai, India

INDIA - our ultimate homeland and the last country to be visited on our world travels!

We don't often write about our flight experiences themselves - it's all much of a much-ness when you've travelled so much. Air New Zealand (from San Francisco to Auckland) definitely stands out as our best in-flight treatment... they served Alkesh's standard meal at the same time as my special request veggie meal (which always comes out at least 20 mins before the rest of the cabin is served) just so we could have company in eating - how very considerate! Anyways... Jet Airways from Hong Kong to Bombay was also pretty good, somewhat surprisingly. To be honest, I was just excited to have sabji, roti, raita and pickle as my in-flight meal! Alkesh and I enjoyed 'Wake up Sid', a new-ish Bollywood film that was fresh and different[Alkesh: Navi forgot to mention the attendant who missed us on every drinks round and gave me the death-stare when I asked for water at the end of the flight]. Great Indian food and film and we hadn't even left the aircraft yet! Bring on India!!


The whole point of our Indian travels was to explore a region that neither Alkesh nor I have ever been to. We'd heard a lot about Bombay and braced ourselves for a bit of a 'culture shock' compared to Tokyo. After all the countries we've visited and different cultures and peoples we've experienced, India should have been easier for us. And it was in someways - we knew the language, understood the customs, knew to expect the noise / air pollution, avoided the rubbish on the sides of the road and dodged the many scooters! But in other ways, we also felt like 'outsiders' - we may have 'looked' Indian (and even that was questionable, dressed in linen and Crocs, cameras at the ready!) but we were not the same as the locals. We ate food with our hands in local restaurants, like other locals, but we ordered Bisleri (bottled mineral water) and anti-bac'd our hands before we began! We tried our best to haggle prices down at the street stalls, using my best Hindi, and yet the accent gave it away! It's hard to explain in words, but we felt quite 'misplaced' on the first day in Bombay. As a woman, I had forgotten just how much the Indian men stared!

[Alkesh: The night manager at our hotel was the Indian Basil Fawlty:- friendly but always super stressed out and quick to move you on so he could deal with the next person, gave us both plenty of giggles whilst dealing with him]



Still, it didn't take us long to adjust and find our feet. Bombay is a crazily busy and hectic place. Alkesh's fear for crossing streets was at its worst here - cars and motorbikes didn't stop for anyone, and there were no pedestrian crossings (apart from a few which, even when the green man was showing, the traffic kept going past!). Unfortunately, there was one more 'unknown' that we had to contend with - the rains! Yes, we'd arranged this last portion of our travels in India to coincide with the annual monsoons. I didn't think it would be so bad, having experienced tropical monsoons in Indonesia as a child. But those first few days in Bombay were difficult - heavy intense bursts of rain followed by a bit of steamy hot sun and then more rain. We persevered as best we could...

We spent our first day, walking through the sights of South Bombay in the areas of Fort, Churchgate, Kala Ghoda and Colaba - the original city centre, now heavily congested and somewhat run-down. A lot of the buildings have Western architecture left over from the British rule.



For example, the main central train station (previously known as Victoria Terminus, now renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus... many areas, buildings and roads in Bombay / Mumbai have been renamed since Independence), the High Court and the University. We had a small victory upon entering the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (a.k.a. Prince of Wales Museum). Alkesh went up to the ticket booth and said in his most gruff and commanding Hindi, "doh ticket dedho" - upon which we paid the 'locals' admission rate, just one-twelfth of that charged to foreigners! Result!!

We ended our day at the famous landmark of Gateway of India, facing out on to Mumbai Harbour. The big arch was built to commemorate the 1911 royal visit of King George V. Nowadays, it's a place for youngsters to hangout. At dusk, the roads are lined with these massive silver gilded horse-drawn carriages... very tacky and touristy but fun to see - needless, to say we resisted the urge! Instead, we opted for cocktails at the Harbour Lounge of the world-famous and luxurious Taj Hotel.



Yes yes, the one bombed a few years back... althought you couldn't tell by looking at it. It was a lovely setting from which to see night fall. It was also interesting to see the wealthy Indian businessmen and ladies carrying on in the plush bar. Ahh - the 2 sides of Bombay!

With the aid of a car and driver, the next day we explored further afield in the areas of Malabar Hills (some nice parks with views there!) and Chowpatty Beach. We visited Mani Bhavan, a very small but well laid out museum - it is the building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his visits to Bombay from 1917 to 1934.

Picture of Gandhi with a young Indira Gandhi (Neru's daughter)


The museum showcases the room where Gandhi formulated his philosophy of satyagraha (non-violent protest) and launched the 1932 Civil Disobedience campaign that led to the end of the British rule. There was a collection of photographs documenting his life, along with letters to other world leaders, such as Hitler and Roosevelt.

Whilst in Bombay we enjoyed lots of good food and chaat: we had bhel puri from a stall at Chowpatty beach; pav bhaji and dosas at a few places; and even puri sabji for breakfasts. We also watched a Bollywood film ("I hate luv storys" - yes I spotted the error on all the posters!) at the cinema when the rains were too bad - unfortunately that also meant we couldn't get out to Elephanta Islands to see the cave-temples.

On our last night, we met up with an old friend of mine from school in Indonesia - Dipti. Having lived in Bombay for several years, we asked her to take us to a typical night spot for young 20/30-somethings so we could experience a slice of the Bombay nightlife. Having negotiated more heavy rains and potholes, we arrived at Olive Bar in Bandra (a central suburb) 1.5hrs later. It was good to catch up with Dipti and experience another side to Bombay lifestyle. The bar filled up with young working Indian adults - all in business dress, having just arrived from work at 10pm! It was a sight that neither Alkesh nor I had seen before - perhaps only heard of or seen in the movies. Lots of very well-turned out men and women, smoking and drinking, chattering away in English (with the slightest of Indian accents), ordering from Indian waiters in English (!) and nibbling on Western tapas-style food. The prices were similar to back in London. En-route through the suburbs, we had seen posh malls and grand residences. Bombay for sure has a very very modern, Western and upper-class side of itself!

The following morning we picked up some last minute shopping from Colaba, before heading to the airport to fly down to the state of Kerala for a very different side of Southern India! On the way, we saw some of the slums that Mumbai is famous for, including the one in the film Slumdog Millionaire (Slumdog Crorepati!) . Navita and I had previously been told to visit the slums by other travelers, but, as with the Favelas in Brazil, seeing such poverty and looking in as tourists isn't something we're keen on doing, so we kept it as a drive by only.

Onwards to Kerala!

Tokyo, Japan

Our travels in South East Asia started several weeks back - with the strange smells, loud noises and manic motorbikes, a.k.a. the hustle and bustle of Kuta, Bali. But then we knew what to expect of South East Asia - and that was it! However, arriving in Tokyo last weekend, we were greeted with a very different scene. For us, Japan was a whole new side of Asia - perhaps not suprisingly - like nothing that the rest of Asia could offer.



We decided to spend our 1 week just in Tokyo, rather than venturing out on day trips or excursions. It was such a different capital city to all the others we'd visited in Asia - we felt we should give it sufficient time to truly understand the vibe. Tokyo consists of a series of neighbourhoods, catering to one's every needs: plush shopping malls and designer brands; crazy pop culture and video games; boy's toys and gadgets to satisfy any geek and so much more. Perhaps something similar can be said of most Asian capitals - but the main difference we discovered in Tokyo was the genteel people and air of peaceful-ness that permeated everywhere (well, perhaps not the crazy loud video / arcade games halls called Pachinko... read below). Even in the busiest shopping and commercial hub (Shibuya crossing - again see below), the streets were full of people and yet strangely it felt calm and quiet. It's hard to explain.

A picture of the plentiful vending machines you find throughout the city - selling cigarettes, snacks and cold drinks. Apparently it's a 6 billion Yen industry in Japan!


The Japanese are polite and demure... their culture centers around etiquette: from the tea ceremonies to hosting guests, from the ritual bowing of heads before engaging in any conversation (even when ordering a Big Mac in McDonalds - I kid you not, the server bowed and greeted each and every customer) to the chorus-style welcome you get upon entering any establishment... it's almost intimidating when you first hear it: konnichiwa (hello) // moshi-moshi (hi) sung in unison by 5 beautiful women! And then there's the safety. Apparently the judicial system for dealing with criminals is severe - so maybe that's why people feel safe here, even a woman walking alone late at night. We were surprised to see people's bicycles just propped up outside their doors in the quiet residential streets of Asakusa where we stayed in our hostel - they wouldn't last 30 minutes in Shepherds Bush!

[Ma - on the last post, you asked about language barriers. We are pleased (and embarassed) to say that we suffered no difficulties in Cambodia and Vietnam - all the tourist stops are full of locals who can speak enough English to get by. We barely learnt the word for 'thank you' even! In Japan, we thought we may have had a harder time, but other than learning the basic phrases of 'hello', 'thank you' and 'bill please' we seem to have coped just fine with broken English and hand gestures.]



No trip to Tokyo would be complete without taking in the shopping districts. We went to 2 areas - Ginza and Shibuya. Both offered large American-style tree-lined boulevards packed with all the designer brands you could think of: Dior, Tiffany, Diesel, Chanel, Gucci, Armani... the kind of shops where it feels too expensive to even window shop! Especially for us backpackers, clad in khaki linens and crocs!! It was good to see it - and the sight of model-like Japanese women carrying arms full of shopping bags. Also at Shibuya, we got to experience the famous Shibuya crossing. A common sight on any video footage or postcard from Tokyo, this is just a very busy pedestrian crossing on a major crossroads. It is a wonderful sight - like water rushing to fill the void - people stream out from every corner to cross the road - lots and lots of people. Check out the pics and vids below!







I was bracing myself for a tough time in terms of food here in Tokyo, being a veggie. But I am surprised at how well I managed. Japanese cuisine is much more diverse and varied then the basic sushi joints we take for granted in UK. Yes, of course, I did indulge Alkesh in 1 sushi feast - complete with conveyor belt, he sampled raw-fish delights like sea urchin and shrimp (which is usually cooked in UK joints). The speed with which the chefs cut and slice and roll the sushi is impressive. I just enjoyed listening to the sing-song calls as each chef yelled out orders to his partners. And of course I nibbled on my simple cucumber roll which delighted the chef lots I think!





We enjoyed okonomiyaki - a Japanese style omelette-cum-pancake, cooked on a hot plate in the centre of your personal table. Usually, the customers do the cooking themselves, but as it was our first time, we asked for some help. It was a quite a ceremony and fun to watch the cabbage-based batter cooked with your choice of additions (mine was more veggies, Alkesh had seafood). The finished omelette is then garnished with Japanese-style BBQ sauce, mayonnaise and seaweed. Delicious!





We also sampled soba - Japanese noodles. I had a vegetarian ramen - noodles in a salty broth which leeks and tofu. Alkesh had these dipping noodles: a huge plate of cold noodles which you dip in a flavourful hot steaming bowl of browth. We also sampled some grilled meats and veggie skewers - the Japanese barbeque style of food, known as yakitori.



Here is a quick video of some street-food sweets that we sampled also - pancake batter style cakes filled with sweetened red aduki bean paste.


Along with sight-seeing and roaming the various Tokyo neighbourhoods, we spent quite a bit of time sipping on coffee in cafes or resting on sidewalks watching the world go by. I quite like doing this wherever we are, but 'people-watching' in Tokyo is by far the best fun! Firstly, all the women are immaculately turned out. Hair styles that come straight from a salon, flawless make up, slender bodies and milky-white skin - they all look stunning, even after a day in the office. The teenage girls are something else - taking the height of fashion to another level, Alkesh and I played the game of 'spot the craziest outfit'... girls wearing school girl outfits; to hippy-style bell-bottoms, flowers in hair and massive wedge heels; and even Japanese goths! Bizarre! Here are a few of our favourites we spotted!





The pop culture is quite well developed here. Japanese comics permeate through most of what kids do. Anime and Manga are 2 of the most famous comics. Entire industries have been set up to allow fans to live their lives through their favourite comics. Of course there's all the usual merchandise: clothes, stationery, accessories etc. But then there are entire cafes and underground bookstores where children spend hours and hours reading their latest favourite comics. Servers dress up in costumes like their favourite characters. It truly is a fantasy world.



Another aspect of the youth's past-times here in Japan is pachinko. Think of the 2p/1p penny arcades in seaside resorts back home - then multiply the lights, sounds and variety by 20 fold and you start to get close to what these places are like. The sound of coins clinkings, winnings pouring and game sounds is truly deafening. It's a sight to behold in of itself. Grown business men, still in their suits, spend their lunch hours and evenings glued to these machines. One guy had three shoe box-size baskets by his side to hold his already amassed-winnings - crazy stuff!



I've taken some time to explain some of the social phenomena we witnessed in Tokyo - I guess it's fair to say we focused our time on trying to understand these different facets of Tokyoites. But of course Japan is steeped in religious culture also. We visited two or three temples and shrines. These were all surprisingly Chinese looking - much of the architecture was 'borrowed' from China (as was the Chinese-style characters that are used in Japanese script). We visited Meiji-jingu shrine in Yoyogi park. This was a very serene, simple and large space. As is custom, Japanese people write poetry in the form of short verses, called waka. These are in turn displayed at the shrines (on paper or wood) to bring them good fortune.





We also visited Sensoji temple in Asakusa. A brighter, more typical temple design - we watched with curiosity and the strange rituals worshippers went through to bestow good fortune on their homes and families. One such ritual was the shaking of a drum which held many chopsticks - you pulled one out at random and noted the Japanese character etched in to one side. This character then corresponded to a small drawer from which you pulled out a fortune. If it was good, people took it home with them. If it was bad, they tied it up near the temple to leave it behind!

We also spent 1 morning roaming round the very grand and well-put-together collection of Japanese art housed in the Tokyo National Museum. The exhibits portrayed the history and culture of Japan, through the wars and various reigns of emperors, from the last 2 millenia.



I think one of the reasons Alkesh was keen to visit Tokyo was to pay homage to the 'mecca' of technology. And being the dutiful wife that I am (!!), I followed him around 2 major sites. First was the Sony Centre. A 6-storey high showcase to the latest and greatest Sony products. The emphasis was on display and demonstrations - all the gadgets were out and powered for you to enjoy! Shuvo - we thought of you... I think this would be your heaven!! As we entered, Alkesh was handed a brand new Sony small-bodied SLR... his for 5 minutes to snap and zoom away. Pretty cool, huh! Next, we checked out the very best of laptops, AV equipment, home-entertainment systems and... 3-D TV! Alkesh and I were treated to a free demonstration of football, video games and cartoons - all in 3-D, from the comfort of your very own sofa... if you can afford it! I have to admit, even I got a kick out of this!



A few days later, we also visited Akhiabara - a.k.a. 'Geek town' or 'Electric town'. The name did not disappoint. Packed with outlets selling every possible gadget a geek would need to design his own computer, AV system or personal office - from the streets lined with shacks to the fancy AC shopping malls, it was gadgets everywhere. I noticed Alkesh jotting down model numbers and brands... I think some of these will be finding their way in to our home in the coming years. I'll just nod and say yes!



Mona - some pics of pens for you, as promised! This is us in the MUJI store. If Alkesh can hang out in the Sony store I promised myself, I'd spend at least 40 minutes in Muji stationery!




Yesterday, our last day in our penultimate stop on these world travels, we took in a traditional Japanese performance of Kabuki at the National Theatre. This art form began in Kyoto around 1600 by a troupe of beautiful young women who entertained the crowds with this new type of dance. Before long, the order-obsessed government officials declared the entertainment a threat to public morality. Troupes of mature men took over the roles and the art form evolved in to it's present-day form. The performers wear pronounced and ornate costumes, masks and make-up - playing both male and female roles. Our performance featured a comical story of a emperor who lied to his wife so he could spend the night with his lover. Alas his plan backfired and he came home to be beaten and yelled at by his wife. We had running English commentary on personal headphones to help us understand the Japanese songs and speech. It was a great spectacle and interesting to understand this ancient skill.



We've managed to fit in quite a lot of sight-seeing, eating and soaking up culture in our 1 week in Tokyo. Even though the flights to and from here have been a bit irksome, we're really glad we got to see the multi-faceted life of Tokyoites. It's quite a scene! We've also stayed in our last hostel (only hotels with AC for us in India now!) - which we won't be sad to leave behind on these travels! Of course, there's also been lots of sports to keep us entertained in the evenings lately. Watching World Cup games abroad is quite interesting - seeing how the locals support other countries' teams, and travelers from all over the world jostle with one another over their allegiances. Can't believe big teams like Italy, Brazil and Argentina are already out! And of course Wimbledon has not been without it's upsets either.
If you didn't already detect a somewhat foodie focus section earlier on in the blog - here's one more pic for good measure!


Of course no trip to Japan can be complete without 1 pic of Hello Kitty!


Our next and final country on this 6 month extravaganza is India. A country that arguably we should know most about - it is with excitement and some apprehension that we hit the busy-ness of Mumbai and the serene countryside of Kerala. All with a good helping of delicious food and chaat of course!! Just a few more weeks until we are reunited with our family and friends - very much looking forward to that now! Onwards and upwards...