My Home Country...

I had been anxiously counting down the days until I could fly to Japan and see my family. I wouldn't exactly say that I was homesick, but I was definitely ready for some comfort, some constant in my life, and of course, the free food and accommodation couldn't hurt.

I arrived in Osaka, one of the major cities in central Japan, where my parents had just permanently moved and owned a condo. I had met up with my mom who had come to the airport to greet me - my dad was away for business until the next day - and we went back to their condo, definitely the best place that I had stayed in the last couple of months. The one thing that I had realized, or was reminded of, was the fact that Japan has arguably the best food in the world; this I had taken notice after eating some leftovers from the day before. After some reorganizing, I knew that I only had 3 weeks in Japan so I started sightseeing right away. The great thing about traveling in Japan is this one particular transport: the bullet train. It's very very easy to take a day trip to cities that are 500 km away, and come back in time for dinner.



From Osaka, I first headed to the old capital town of Nara - one of the most important areas in terms of Japanese history. Nara was the capital of Japan during the Nara Period (710-794) when many of the famous Buddhist and Shinto Temples were built, under the guidance of such emperors as Shomu and Kanmu. Dating back 1200 years, the impressive Todai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world, houses the largest bronze statue of Buddha in the world. A bit off the town center of Nara is the Horyu-ji, one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world, built by Prince Shotoku, the author of the 17 articles of the constitution in the 8th century.







I definitely started off my trip with the largest bulk of historic sites - namely Kyoto and Nara - which may hinder my appreciation for the rest of Japan (it's like starting Egypt with the pyramids). The biggest disappointment with Japan so far is the fact that everything, and I mean every castle, temple, shrines, etc., is a reconstruction because most wars and battles leave towns and opposing castles in ash. One of the best preserved castles in Japan is that of Himeji, built in the 14th century. Of course, when I was there, the castle was being repaired... Nonetheless, there were many inside secrets that were on the castle grounds that were interesting.



On the way back home, I stopped by the southern part of Osaka, headed to a strip called Dotombori with its bright neon lights and famous scenery. Here are some of the stranger sights of Osaka:







As a last day trip out of Osaka, I took the bullet train to Hiroshima, the city that conjures up only one image in most minds - the atomic bomb and the 80,000 deaths that it had caused during the last few days of World War II. The famous monument at the peace memorial park is the dome that still stands today, but it is a stark reminder of the damages that the bomb had caused, as the skeleton of the building was one of the few buildings standing near the epicenter of the blast.



And at the peace memorial museum, here's one of the displays that really struck me. This is a small portion of the number of letters that the mayor of Hiroshima had sent to ambassadors and world leaders of countries that possess nuclear weapon every time a test bomb has been detonated. Unfortunately, the number of letters had reached an unforgiving amount...



The next few days, I will travel to Kyoto and actually stay at hostels. I hadn't spent a dime yet in Japan because of my parents, but it's a little bit scary to imagine how much I'll be spending compared to SE Asia or China. In 5 days, my whole family will reconvene in Tokyo, this time with my parents and my siblings. A little bit of family, a lot of familiarity.

- Ryoji

A Historical Trip through the Heart of China

Xian, historically known as Chang'An, was the capital of China during the Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang Dynasties, which span from around 200 BC to 900 AD. It has arguably more ancient history tourist spots than any other city in China, which is saying something. So in the four days that I was there, I was busy visiting the Drum and Bell Towers, the Muslim Quarter, Big Goose Pagoda from the Tang Dynasty, and of course, the Terracotta Warriors. Of all the sites, the warrior statues in the tomb of Emperor Qin were the highlight of my stay. Although 2 UK guys and I started the journey to the tomb with a rather dull headache (some might call it a hangover), by the end of the day, I was sincerely astonished, not because it was 2000 years old, not because there were over 6000 statues, but mostly because I could not fathom what was possibly going through the Emperor's head when he decided, "Ok, before I die, I'm going to make thousands of people build thousands of sculptures, so that I am ready for battle in the afterworld. Yes, that'd be a good idea." Of course, I guess I can say the same about every other tomb and pyramid in the world...





As for the nightlife in Xian, this is when I started realizing that the backpackers in China are of different breed compared to those in SE Asia. The people in SE Asia are mostly in their early 20's or they're on their gap year, and most of them come to Asia to party. In China, it seems like most of the travelers are Chinese, and the foreign backpackers are a little bit older, a little bit calmer, and more about culture and history. By the time I was in Xian, I had kind of accepted this fact, and there were many times when my group of friends was the only Westerners in the whole club. It's all about different experiences, I guess.

Before heading to Beijing, I decided to stop at an UNESCO World Heritage Site called Pingyao, which is the best preserved walled town in China. Many of the buildings show a great deal of age and character, a charming change from the restored historic sites of Xian. Although the town was touristy as hell, it was still nice to sit on a porch, drink some tea, and watch the world go by.



I also took a day trip to the Wang Family Palace from the Qing Dynasty, and I guess all of the Wang's that I know in the United States are descendants of this family?? Anyways, the more interesting part of the day trip was the castle that dates back from the 7th Century, and the underground tunnel built as an escape path for a possible invasion, although never used. The underground castle contained even stables, prisons, and intricate traps. Places like this really make you realize how old China's history is.



After Pingyao, I headed for my last stop in China, the massive capital that is Beijing, the municipality of which covers as much area as Belgium. Home to 3 World Heritage Sites among various other historic sites, the city required every minute of my 5 days, not to mention the 10 million inhabitants and many more summer holiday tourists. Although I was a bit disappointed with the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City, I would have to admit that the Great Wall is one of the greatest wonders of the world. It helped that I went to a rather remote area of the wall called Mutianyu, and the weather was absolutely wonderful. It was a 3 km stretch of ups and downs, but I was able to traverse the whole length twice in a matter of 3 hours, drenched in sweat, completely out of breath. But it was one of the most fulfilling days of the trip. These pictures really don't do justice:





In Beijing, I also enjoyed going to an acrobatic show, trying out strange food in the night market, and of course, engulfing a whole Peking Duck.





Unfortunately, I was so sick of the crowd by the last day that I couldn't wait to get out of the city, and the country all together. After all, it was my day of homecoming - home to Japan! I had a plane to catch at 9:30am, I left the hostel at 7:00am, but with the Beijing transportation system, I still managed to almost miss the flight. The only thing that missed the flight, though, was my bag, which I had to retrieve later. Frankly, I was so overjoyed that I was going to Japan that it really didn't matter. 3 weeks left, 1 more country, hoping for more adventures...

- Ryoji

The Most Beautiful Places on Earth

I had 5 days before my Vietnam visa ran out. I had to get out by Aug. 1st. So while in Hanoi, I had to decide if I should cut Vietnam short and give myself more time in China, or spend as much time as possible in Vietnam. I chose the latter, and it turned out to be a fantastic idea. By the time I got to Hanoi, I would bump into the same people over and over, familiar faces all over, and it felt like home sweet home. And it definitely helped that I stayed at a very social hostel called Hanoi Backpacker's Hostel (highly recommended if you're going to Hanoi) and made many friends in a span of five days.

I signed up for the all-famous (if you're in Vietnam) Ha Long Bay Tour, which takes you to a bay on the NE corner of Vietnam with limestone peaks and phosphofluorescent water. A little geography lesson: Ha Long Bay is home to around 2000 limestone karsts, many of which have taken over 500 million years to form. It is also one of the finalists for the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. It was a 2 day, 1 night trip on a sleeping cabin, but it turned out to be more like a booze cruise. During the day, the 36 of us from the hostel swam in the bay, kayaked through the limestone peaks, and explored a cave. After 2 months of traveling in SE Asia, I thought this was the most beautiful place that I had seen, and I think that's saying something. But by 9 o'clock, we hit up the boat bar and played a massive game of Ring of Fire, Vietnam style. By the next morning, most of us just wanted to get back to the hostel and pass out. Work hard, play hard, I guess.





The next few nights, I had met up with some of the guys I met in Cambodia, some of the girls I met in Ho Chi Minh City, and we all hit up the city, which tends to die out around 1 am, unfortunately. EXCEPT, this one shady place on the top of a hotel, which has successfully drawn the foreigner crowd by staying open until the wee hours in the morning. By August 1st, I was ready to move on to...CHINA!



I'm not gonna lie. I was petrified about going to China. Such a huge country. Nobody speaks English. Don't really know where I should go. So little time. With a backpack and Lonely Planet in hand, I got on the bus and headed to Nanning, the closest city in China from Vietnam. And WOW. I had imagined a small quaint town, but to my amazement, it turned out to be a metropolis of millions, with McDonalds and Walmart in the city square. I didn't stay there for a long time, but it was a nice introduction to China - maybe it wouldn't be too bad after all.

The first real stop in China was Yongshuo in the Guanxi Province. Although massively touristy, the bustling town had kept its rustic charm and the backdrop of the limestone karsts in the countryside was absolutely magnificent. My oh my. This place was like Ha Long Bay, only on land. I had never seen any scenery quite like this. I only stayed there for 3 days due to time constraints, but I managed to go on a solo biking tour through a 25 km stretch of the countryside, an absolutely wonderful experience. On top of it all, the town had a great nightlife, a strange juxtaposition of nightclubs and the countryside, but for a traveler, it's got it all.





Since the train to Xi'an was booked up for the next 8 days, I chose to go to a city that was in between the two cities - Chengdu in the Sichuan Province, known for pandas and spicy hotpots. Another bustling city like Nanning, with a population of 4 million, Chengdu has a reputation to be one of the livable cities in China although I disagree. On the first full day, I went to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, one of the few places in the world where you can see giant pandas and red pandas in "captivity." They say that it's for breeding purposes, but it seemed more like a zoo. But nonetheless, it was something I had to do in Chengdu.



Then, 2 Dutch guys from the hostel and I went out to eat at a Sichuan hotpot restaurant, which is like Shabu-Shabu, only the broth is boiling red with all kinds of spices and herbs. I'm not sure how the Dutch guys handled the spice, but I thought it was fantastic.



Tomorrow, I'm heading out to Xi'an on a 15 hour train ride, the only problem being the fact that I was only able to get a seating train, instead of a sleeper train. Cheap, at the cost of comfort. But these days, comfort is a luxury I can't really afford (or really care about). 10 more days until Japan!

- Ryoji