Halong Bay

January 7, 2009July 20, 2013 / edebock / 6 Comments

We awoke very early Christmas morning to the sound of roosters crowing. This might not have been unusual had we not been in the middle of Hanoi, a city of approximately 3.5 million people but we were quickly learning not to be surprised by anything!

After eating breakfast at our hotel, we were picked up by a 14 passenger van for our trip to beautiful Halong Bay. The trip took longer than we expected but it gave us an opportunity to see more of the countryside as well as many small towns along the way. We also stopped at a very large souvenir shop that sold local pottery and a wide variety of other handicrafts. At one end of the building, a workshop had been set up where embroidery pictures were being handmade. This was a work project for disadvantaged people, many of them quite young.

We arrived at the busy Halong Bay tourist wharf and boarded our junk around noon. As this was our Christmas gift to each other, we had booked the deluxe tour. After a welcome drink, we settled into our small but comfortable cabin then made our way to the dining room for the first of the four fabulous meals that we’d be served aboard. Though the food was incredible, some of us jumped up several times to rush out on deck and take photographs of the amazing sights that surrounded us.

More than 3000 rocky islands rise from the waters of Halong Bay which is both a UNESCO world heritage site and one of Vietnam’s natural marvels. At about 3 o’clock, we docked at one of these unusually shaped limestone formations and climbed up well over 100 steps to the mouth of a massive and fascinating cave which is made up of three enormous caverns complete with stalagmites and stalactites. The cave has been well developed in recent years with lights and a pathway so that it can be safely enjoyed by the many tourists that pass through it. Apparently there are countless other caves throughout the bay area but entrance to most of them is forbidden in order to protect them from damage.

Sea kayaking was one of the options that was available to us when we booked our tour but Richard and I were the only passengers on board our junk who chose to take advantage of this. After exploring the cave, the other passengers boarded the junk again while we and our guide set off by kayak. We met up with them just outside a fabulous lagoon with just one entrance, a tunnel through the rock. As we kayaked through the tunnel, we sang Silent Night and listened to our voices echoing off the rock walls around us. We enjoyed a peaceful paddle around the lagoon while our fellow passengers boarded a small boat and came in for a quick look around then we all returned to the junk which was now anchored for the night. As the sun set over the bay, we relaxed on board until supper, another wonderful feast, was served by candlelight. The water was dead calm and the lights of several other junks reflected off it beautifully.

We shared the junk with fifteen other passengers, mainly French, including two families with children. Our Vietnamese guide, however, spoke fairly good English. He seemed to take quite a liking to us and as we visited that evening, he willingly shared his concerns about the corruption of the Vietnamese government and the plight of his people. We learned that in his youth he tried to escape Vietnam as one of the boat people but after reaching Hong Kong, was sent back and endured many years of regular interrogation by the police. He talked of how difficult it was to decide to bring children into such a world. He now has two, aged 8 and 10. What impressed us most was the fact that this young man constantly had a smile on his face and whistled and sang as he paddled his kayak. We saw this repeatedly throughout our trip; people who have so little and who truly don’t know what their future holds living for the moment and doing it joyfully.

Following a good sleep and an early breakfast, we set off again by kayak rendezvousing with the junk and our fellow passengers at a sandy beach on one of the islands for a climb to the top where we were able to enjoy spectacular views of the bay. North Vietnam is a bit too chilly for swimming at this time of year but I did go wading before climbing back aboard the junk!

After an early lunch, we arrived back at the wharf, transferred to another van and headed back to Hanoi. That evening we attended a performance at the Water Puppetry Theatre. This unique art form originated in the rice paddies of North Vietnam more than 1000 years ago. The large wooden puppets are manipulated by puppeteers who are themselves standing in water but hidden from view behind a curtain. The performances are accompanied by music played on traditional instruments. After the performance, we stopped at a nearby KFC (the only North American fast food chain that we saw in Vietnam) for a snack then took a cyclo, a bicyle powered rickshaw, back to our hotel.

Hanoi, our introduction to a different world

January 5, 2009January 5, 2009 / edebock / 1 Comment

We flew into Hanoi, Vietnam on December 23 to begin our Christmas/New Years vacation. As we rode the airport shuttle into the city, it was obvious that we were entering a world that was entirely foreign to us. Women wearing traditional conical hats worked the fields alongside the road by hand and we saw water buffalo for the first time. As we traveled Vietnam, we saw harvesting being done with small hand scythes and land being cultivated by hand with hoes. Some labourers used old fashioned plows pulled by animal and others had large roto tillers. We saw only a few small tractors.

My first impression of the city itself can only be described as culture shock! I don’t know if there are words to adequately describe the traffic! Hanoi is a city of three and a half million people and most of them appear to be riding small motorcycles! The average annual income in Vietnam is approximately $1000 US so most workers can’t imagine ever being able to afford a car. The motorbike is their family vehicle and it isn’t unusual to see whole families on one bike – three, four or even five people! If there are traffic laws, no one seems to follow them and very few intersections have traffic lights. The only road rule seems to be that small vehicles yield to bigger ones. Roadways are a cacophony of sound as horns honk constantly. No one seems to be honking in impatience or irritation. It’s simply their way of letting one another know where they are which is perhaps a good thing as lanes seem to mean absolutely nothing! Can you imagine crossing the street in such a place? You simply take your life in your hands, step out and the traffic weaves around you! Amazingly, Richard, my small town prairie boy, found this totally exhilarating. He likened it to skiing down a black diamond run – not that he’s ever done that, but he has a good imagination! I, on the other hand, found it quite overwhelming at first. It’s amazing how quickly one adjusts, however.

The other thing that stood out to me was how run down and dirty the city was. In many cases people are living in buildings that seem to be falling down around them and garbage is strewn everywhere. For the most part, however, it doesn’t smell bad. The garbage seems to disappear overnight so I’m assuming that street cleaning provides much needed employment for some.

The airport shuttle dropped us just outside the Old Quarter. Walking through the Quarter to our hotel was quite an adventure. We were constantly approached by taxi drivers of all sorts (car, motorbike, cyclo) and vendors trying to sell us books, maps and postcards. The streets are narrow and crowded and seem to go in every direction. When we finally found our hotel, we discovered that even though we had a reservation, they didn’t have a room for us! They had, however, arranged for us to stay in a similar hotel nearby for our first night and had someone waiting to show us the way and carry our luggage.

After returning to our original hotel for breakfast the following morning, we took a taxi to the Museum of Ethnology about 7 kilometres away. That was another adventure! In spite of the fact that the hotel clerk told the driver where we wanted to go and we showed him in writing, he decided to take us on a circle tour first! When we realized what was happening and protested, he took us directly to our destination but then expected to be paid the full fare on the meter. We refused but ended up paying him more than we should have because we didn’t have smaller change.

The museum itself was very interesting focusing on the many minority groups living in Vietnam. Until recently, many of these people have been living very traditional, quite primitive lifestyles. Many have depended on crafts such as pottery making and basket weaving as their only sources of income. As the market for such items dries up, they are finding it necessary to adjust.

Behind the main museum building is a historical park of sorts featuring traditional houses of various ethnic groups constructed by builders brought into the city from their home villages for that purpose. We found these especially interesting. The one pictured on the left above reminded us of the longhouses built by some of Canada’s native groups.

After eating lunch at a restaurant on the museum grounds that is a branch of Hoa Sua School, set up by a group of retired Vietnamese school teachers to provide training for disadvantaged youth, we took another taxi to the Temple of Literature which was originally dedicated to Confucius and later used as a university. Built in the 11th century, it is a well preserved example of traditional Vietnamese architecture. While there, we had the opportunity to listen to a performance of Vietnamese music played on a variety of traditional instruments. We then walked the couple of kilometers back to our hotel, growing ever more accustomed to crossing the busy streets.

Well this is just a glimpse of our first 24 hours in Vietnam. There is so much more to tell but it will have to wait. We arrived home early this morning after flying through the night so it’s definitely time for some shut eye!

Subarashi Christmas

December 21, 2008July 15, 2012 / edebock / 2 Comments

We celebrated Christmas with our church family today and it was subarashi – absolutely wonderful! We got up a little earlier than usual so that I could put together the food that we were taking for the big potluck meal after the service. Everyone was in a festive mood when we arrived and it quickly struck me that while we’re far from family this Christmas, we’re part of a whole new family and so privileged to share this special time with them.

When the service began, the lights were dimmed and with the auditorium lit by a single candle, we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus (in English). It was very moving. Next we sang several familiar carols in Japanese and then Pastor Steve delivered his Christmas message.

The meal was amazing. The food line passed through three small rooms and the tables were laden with a wide variety of dishes – everything from pizza to sushi! It was impossible to sample everything but we tried as many as we could.

Following the meal, we moved back into the sanctuary for the Christmas program featuring performances by a variety of groups from the youngest children to an adult choir. I took a few photos throughout the day but it’s impossible to capture what Hope Church has come to mean to us in either pictures or words. We feel God’s love so strongly in that place and in a short time we have developed wonderful relationships with many people there. We came home bearing gifts from some of our special friends but, more importantly, we made memories today that will stay with us and when future Christmases roll around, we’ll remember our subarashi Hope Church Christmas with joy.

Today truly was our Christmas celebration. We have one more day of classes and then on Tuesday morning, we fly to Vietnam. On Christmas morning, we’ll be picked up at our hotel in Hanoi and driven to beautiful Halong Bay where we’ll board a junk for an overnight sightseeing tour. Christmas dinner will be a seafood feast on board the boat and if the weather cooperates, we’ll also enjoy some swimming and kayaking. After returning to Hanoi, we’ll travel the length of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and then fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see beautiful Angkor Wat. We’ll arrive back in Japan early on January 5. I don’t know if we’ll have access to the internet while we’re traveling so the blog may be silent until that time but I’m sure there will be lots to share when we return. In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas wherever you are and we wish you all the best in the New Year.

Christmas in Japan

December 17, 2008December 11, 2012 / edebock / Leave a comment

Though Christmas has only become widely popular in Japan in recent decades, its roots go back several centuries. It was first introduced by Catholic missionaries in the mid 1500s. Beginning with the expulsion of missionaries in 1587, however, Christianity was banned throughout Japan during the Edo period and the public practice of Christmas ceased.

For the next 250 years small groups known as Kakure Kirishitan, hidden Christians, continued to meet underground. Persecution was severe and any who were detected during that time were executed for their faith.

Christianity and Christmas reemerged at the beginning of the Meiji period which lasted from 1868 to 1912. By the turn of the century, Japan had become a leading manufacturer and exporter of Christmas ornaments. It was through this industry that the average Japanese gradually became exposed to the western concept of Christmas. Though I wasn’t aware of the fact until now, chances are that many of my Christmas ornaments back home in Canada were made in Japan.

Christmas in Japan is very much a commercial endeavor. In the 1930s, stores began to popularize the celebration by having special sales and, as at home, Christmas decorations appear immediately after Halloween. During World War II, the use of English loan words was prohibited so, for a time, Christmas became known as seitansai, which literally means “holy birth festival” but once the ban was lifted, the term Christmas regained popularity.

Not a national holiday in Japan, Christmas is celebrated as a purely secular event. Adult students often tell us that they like Christmas but they always hasten to add “but we’re not Christian”. When I asked one class why they celebrate the birth of a god if they don’t believe in him, they told me that it’s because Japanese people love festivals and decorating. How true that is!

Though many Japanese do enjoy celebrating Christmas, it is vastly overshadowed by New Years which has much greater significance here. If Christmas fell at some other time of year, it might have become much bigger than it is. Devoted mainly to children, Christmas often involves decorating, gift giving and a special meal. Turkey is not usually eaten. Instead, chicken tends to be the meat of choice. In fact, many order a special meal from Kentucky Fried Chicken! I’ll bet that’s a Christmas tradition that wouldn’t go over very well in most North American homes! Japanese Christmas cake is also very different from ours. Unlike our heavy fruit cakes, it’s a delicious sponge cake with whipped cream filling and topped with fresh strawberries. Definitely delicious!

Memories from my Dad

December 9, 2008December 9, 2008 / edebock / 1 Comment

After reading my recent post about our day at Yokohama, my father sent the following message. I found it very interesting so I thought I’d share it with the rest of you. Thanks, Dad! It’s nice to have you as a guest on the blog.

Your comments on Yokohama and the silk trade brought reminiscences. Vancouver, of course, was very much involved. When I was young (a long time ago), at 11 o’clock every second Saturday morning, a big 3-funnelled Empress liner — Empress of Japan, Empress of Canada, Empress of Asia, or Empress of Russia — would sail from CPR Pier B or Pier C (opposite sides of the same wharf), about where the cruise ship wharf is now. Destinations would be Victoria, sometimes Honolulu, Yokohama, sometimes Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and sometimes Manilla. On the following Monday the next Empress would come in, so there would be one at the wharf most of the time. When the ship docked, there would be a train of baggage cars (not freight cars) on the dock and the silk would come off as the top priority. The train would then highball through Calgary to Moose Jaw, cross the border at Portal, and continue on to Chicago, which was then the centre for the silk trade in North America. That was in the days when the passenger train was king. But the passenger trains would pull off into a siding to let the silk train go by.

Snow?

December 8, 2008 / edebock / Leave a comment

For those of you who’ve been wondering or asking why there’s snow falling on my blog, it’s an option that WordPress made available for the Christmas season. I thought it was kind of cute and since it might be the only snow we see this winter, I decided to accept it. All I had to do was find the right screen and then check the box next to “Show falling snow on this blog”. Had it been any more complicated than that, I assure you that it wouldn’t be there! It will disappear on January 4, 2009.

Happy Birthday!

December 7, 2008 / edebock / 4 Comments

Following Augustine is one year old today! It all began with a short post on December 7, 2007 announcing that Richard and I had accepted teaching positions in Japan and were preparing to spend a year abroad.

The blog has been a wonderful way of sharing our adventure with friends and family back home as well as others who have come across it along the way. It has been a blessing in other ways too. I have always loved writing. In my younger days as a stay at home mom, I did some freelance writing and had a few articles published but once I went back to teaching, there didn’t seem to be enough time to keep it up. Sharing my love of reading and writing with my students seemed to fill the gap but writing the blog has definitely rekindled my love of writing. Sometimes it’s easy. The words seem to flow, tumbling over one another in a rush to get onto the screen. Other times, they don’t come as easily. Sentences are written and rewritten as I struggle to picture for you the wonderful things that we’ve been experiencing. As in other things, I’m a bit of a perfectionist and I don’t like to hit the publish button until it sounds just right to me!

I’m also a person who has a tendency to live for the future. I love planning things and looking forward to whatever it is that’s coming next. I don’t suppose there’s anything terribly wrong with that but writing the blog has forced me to learn to live in the moment and to experience everything with my eyes wide open. Even as we are in the midst of discovering new and interesting aspects of life here in Japan, I’m thinking about how to share them with you. I’ve discovered that I love living this way and I hope that this is something that carries over into my life back home when our time here is done.

Yokohama

December 4, 2008January 9, 2012 / edebock / Leave a comment

Since the port of Yokohama opened in 1859, it has grown from a small village of 600 people to Japan’s second largest city with a population of over 3.5 million! From its early days of exporting Japanese silk and tea, it has become a vibrant metropolis and a major international trading port.

We spent today exploring the area surrounding Yokohama’s harbour, an easy day trip from here. I was disappointed to discover that the world’s largest ferris wheel doesn’t operate on Thursdays at this time of year but a ride in the world’s fastest elevator to the observatory on the 69th floor of the Landmark Tower, Japan’s tallest building, afforded us excellent views of the surrounding area. In addition to its role as a modern seaport, Yokohama has also become an industrial centre and since it hasn’t rained for the past few days, the air was pretty hazy. We couldn’t see very far into the distance.

While much of the harbour area is very modern, including a moving sidewalk that carried us from the train station to the Landmark Tower five minutes away, there are also a number of very historic buildings that are still in use. We spent a while poking through some of the interesting little shops that are now housed in one of the old brick shipping warehouses. Since coming to Japan, we’ve both read James Clavell’s novel, Gaijin, which was set in Yokohama during its very early trading days so it was easy for us to imagine what the area might have been like in those days.

We also enjoyed strolling the seafront promenade in Yamashita Park and visited the nearby Silk Museum which was very interesting.

Not far from the harbour is Chinatown, one of Yokohama’s most popular tourist attractions. With its colourful facades and abundance of eating establishments, it struck us as much less genuine than Vancouver’s Chinatown or even Edmonton’s. Apart from the many restaurants, there were lots of tiny souvenir shops where practically everything seemed to have a panda motif. Kantei-byo, the very elaborate Chinese temple at the heart of the district was interesting to see, however.

Nomi no fufu

December 2, 2008March 16, 2012 / edebock / 5 Comments

Did you know that a female flea is always bigger than a male flea? I didn’t until this past weekend.

Compared to most Japanese women and even many of the men, I’m very tall. They’re often amazed by my size and comment on it quite openly. Fortunately, they also tell me that I’m beautiful or I might feel somewhat insulted! This weekend was no exception. Rie’s family was not only surprised by my height but by the fact that I’m taller than Richard. It was her husband, Keiji, who introduced us to the Japanese term used to describe a couple like us. Nomi no fufu literally means ‘flea couple’ and is used because of the scientific fact that female fleas are bigger than males! I suspect that I’ll be hearing it for a long time. Richard clearly loves the saying and will probably remember it long after he forgets the other Japanese words that he’s learned. Oh well, it’s better than saying that I suffer from ‘gigantism’, which is what he’s been saying for the past several months! Maybe I should start calling him Little Flea!

Onjuku adventure

December 1, 2008March 9, 2012 / edebock / 2 Comments

We’re just back from our weekend trip to my student’s second home in Onjuku and what an adventure it was! It rained very heavily Thursday night and we woke to a wet dreary looking world on Friday morning. The forecast was for good weather over the weekend though so we hoped for the best. Sure enough, early in the afternoon shortly after we met Rie and set out the sky cleared and the sun began to shine.

It took us four hours to travel the approximately 120 km across the Boso Peninsula to Onjuku. We explored back roads that we would never have seen from train or bus and made several stops along the way to enjoy the sights. One of our stops was at Otaki Castle which, though much smaller, is built in the same style as the castles we visited at Osaka and Himeji on our first trip to Japan. We would also have done some hiking but the riverside trail was impassible because of the heavy rainfall.

Rie’s husband, Keiji, who took the train out to Onjuku after he finished work for the day, joined us a couple of hours after our arrival and then began the first of the amazing meals that Rie prepared! Served in traditional Japanese style, dinner both days stretched out over a couple of hours and consisted of a wide variety of foods served in several small courses. Presentation is an important part of the Japanese dining experience and Rie is a very artistic person so everything came to the table looking beautiful. Dinner both days began with sashimi, slices of raw fish which Richard and I have both come to enjoy very much.

Neither of us had met Keiji before but it didn’t take us long to decide that he and Richard are two of a kind. In spite of his very limited broken English, Keiji’s sense of humour shone through and we enjoyed him thoroughly. Though he didn’t join us for most of the weekend’s activities, he was a wonderful host whenever we were at the house.

Yesterday began early with a visit to the Saturday morning market in nearby Katsuura. The street was lined with vendors selling a wide variety of seafood, produce and even flowers. It was amazing to us to see all of this happening outdoors at the end of November!

After the market, we headed back to the house for breakfast then went to Onjuku beach, a 2 km stretch of white sand, to see the famous statue of a prince and princess in Arabian garb riding on camels. The landmark was erected in 1969 to commemorate Tsukino-Sabaku (Moonlit Desert), a 1923 song inspired by this beautiful beach. Like many spots along the coastline this weekend, Onjuku beach was dotted with surfers.

Next on the agenda was a trip to Kamogawa Sea World, one of the world’s largest facilities of it’s kind. We observed a wide variety of fish and other sea life in the aquarium and took in the dolphin, killer whale, sea lion and beluga whale performances. While we have attended similar shows in other places, we’ve never seen anything quite like the killer whale show before. The trainers entered the water with the whales and the interaction between them and the enormous animals was absolutely amazing.

A stop at Tanjo-ji temple finished the day’s sightseeing. Back at the house, we were joined by the rest of Rie and Keiji’s family, their two daughters, son-in-law and three grandchildren who all stayed the night. We thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by a family and realized that, except at church, we don’t have that experience here in Japan.

When Keiji, who has been teaching school for 38 years, retires next year, he and Rie will move to the lovely Onjuku house that they built three years ago but for now it’s their weekend getaway. After a relaxing breakfast this morning, everyone packed up and went their separate ways. Miwa, the elder unmarried daughter, joined Richard, Rie and I while Keiji took her car and headed for home. The four of us spent the day taking the scenic seaside route around the southern end of the peninsula and back up the Tokyo Bay side. It was a day of surprises. Our first stop was at Rosemary Park, a quaint bit of Victorian England complete with gardens and gazebos, a little church and even a replica of William Shakespeare’s birthplace! As we strolled amongst the flowers and enjoyed soft ice cream in the sunshine, we had to once again remind ourselves what time of year it is. The day was so warm that we didn’t even need jackets.

Before we left for the weekend, Rie drew me a map of the places that we’d visit and the routes we’d take. It showed us driving around the peninsula but not all the way to Nojimazaki at the very end. If there was one place that we’ve visited in Japan that I’d have chosen to return to above all others, it would have been Nojimazaki. It is such a beautiful spot and we enjoyed our stay there so very much. Imagine my surprise when we rounded a curve today and I spotted the Nojimazaki lighthouse in the distance! My amazement grew as we continued toward it and by the time the car stopped almost across the street from the hotel that we stayed in back in early July, I was pretty much in tears. Never in my life did I expect to see that spot again or to climb the 77 stairs and 14 ladder steps up the inside of that wonderful lighthouse! The icing on the cake was yet another amazing meal in a restaurant looking out over almost the same view that we had enjoyed from our hotel room.

We made one more stop along the way, riding a cable car up a mountainside. Rie and Miwa, who had never been up before, had hoped to show us a giant Buddha carved into a rock face but we discovered that it was quite a hike from the top of the cable car and it was too late in the day for such a jaunt. The views from the top of the cable car were spectacular, however.

Rie is a tremendously giving person. Not only did she refuse to let us pay for anything this weekend except the ice cream at Rosemary Park, but we learned on the way up the mountainside that she hates cable cars and was only making the trip for our sake!

We feel so very privileged to have had the opportunity to share this weekend with such special people. I think we all stepped a long way outside our comfort zones and hopefully came away better because of it. I know we most certainly did.