the driver wants to live too

This is my mantra I use when I find myself with eyes squeezed shut, breath held, and fists balled. Reminding myself that the driver wants to live to see tomorrow seems to help calm me down. I haven't yet decided if it's better to watch where were going or not. Today I was forced to watch, crammed in the front of the bus, practically sitting in the windshield with standing room only and bodies pressed up behind me. For two hours. I should have been wary when the bus attendant let Tammy and I board with full backpacks on an already stuffed bus. We weren't the last people to get on. If I could have loosened my grip to take out my camera you would be able to learn a lot about Sri Lankan daily life from that trip.

The bus trip usually starts off with a quick offering and prayer to a roadside deity. Insurance so to speak. Yesterday, we were on a bus decked out in Jesus wear and we stopped to pray to Lakshmi, just to cover all the bases. The bus, a cacophony of blaring Hindi pop, constant honking and blinking lights, takes full advantage of both lanes of traffic swerving around people walking and on bikes, the errant cow grazing its cud or dog scratching its fleas, tractors, and other vehicles. Driving is a constant game of chicken on windy roads. The driver is upshifting and downshifting, jerking the steering wheel and breaking hard to let passengers on or off, all while adjusting the music, using his cell phone or talking to the attendant. The alternative is the train where it took 6 hours for a 3.5 hour trip. But it's beautiful countryside.

I didn't imagine Sri Lanka to be so lush and green. Palm and mango trees, hibiscus flowers and other unidentifiable foliage, emerald green rice paddies. I never get tired of looking out the window. Men wear sarongs with or without a shirt, the women in saris and dark chocolate skin with the whitest teeth I've ever seen. The people are very friendly and the children treat us like celebrities. I still can't determine if the head wobble means yes or no. Besides the cows and dogs, there are gaggles of monkey, the most amazing birds and reptiles, elephants and yesterday a gigantic "not a garder" snake crossed our path. We haven't even been on safari yet. I can't wait to see crocidiles, sloths, panthers, more elephants and whatever else this tiny teardrop island nation holds (except the mosquitoes).

Thus far, we've ventured to the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Sigiriya. To be fair, we've both been to Angkor Wat, I've been to Macchu Picchu and Tammy's been to Burma, so we might be less appreciative than we should. I've also learned that a World Heritage Site designation by Unesco makes a huge difference in the quality of the experience. Sigiriya has been designated WHS but not Anuradhapura and it was obvious in the amount of trash, lack of information, and quality of upkeep.

Please forgive me as I geology geek out. Sigiriya, literally 'Lion Rock" in Singhalese, is a volcanic plug formed from hardened lava in the mouth of a volcano that has since eroded away. Then 1600 years ago a Sri Lankan king with an ego problem and poor familial relations decided to build his summer home on top of it. Of course he made sure to stock it with his 15,000 concubines and lest he should have to walk up the 1200 steps to his bedroom, had his soldiers ferry him up. He took extreme security measures to guard against his brothers, one of whom already killed their father, with 2 crocodile filled moats, ramparts, an army and rocks set ready to come rocketing down the hill should someone get too far in. But the aesthetic side of him insisted on a water garden, fountain garden, and boulder garden with like 6 swimming pools. Of course, this being his summer cabin, someone had to hand pump the water to his rock top swimming pool 200 meters up. For further appreciation of the female form, concubines were painted on the walls. Although the setting was amazing, it was a little too windy for me.

Disclaimer: It's been quite a pain to download photos so there may not be any for a while. Please forgive me. Try to use your imagination instead.

194 degrees

According to my calculations: (90C x 1.8) + 32 = 194F. I think the oven starts at 175F. That means that sitting in a sauna is literally like sitting in an oven. Only you can't cook anything at that temperature, it's just the warming function. Good news.

Visiting an onsen is a time-honored Japanese tradition. An onsen differs from a sento due to the mineral properties found in the water at an onsen. Following the requisite scrub down, a cornucopia of choices are presented. Multiple baths with different water temperatures, mineral properties, with or without jets, in or outdoors. A steam room and showers with misting or tornado features. My fav has to be the sauna.

I love that feeling of slow roasting until dizzy then jumping in a pool of cold water that first steals your breath then feels cool and comforting. Take a sip of water and do it again.

Tammy was a little nervous as we checked in and picked our polyester outfits for the day. She thought there might be something like a most wanted list behind the counter. Her last visit ended with her expulsion due to her tatoo. Turns out tatoos are associated with the yakuza, Japanese mafia and are not allowed in most onsens. Fortunately, no one ratted her out on this turn.

This particular onsen in the Tokyo dome was massive and modern. The locker room held over 1000 lockers on the women's side alone and spanned 4 floors. An electronic wristband, the ONLY thing you are wearing, grants access to lock and unlock your belongings, order dinner, get a massage and any number of beauty treatments. The bill comes at the end at check out and I can see it would be easy to rack up the charges. We were there for 7 hours and only because Tammy forced me to go home.

My other two favorite Tokyo adventures were the sculpture garden in Hakone (not actually in Tokyo) and the Tsukiji Fish Market. Both of which reminded me of Seattle.

Hakone is a get-a-way for frazzled Tokyoites, where they all go together to get away from the hustle and bustle and crowds of the big city. The trip out to Hakone featured a dazzling view of Mt. Fuji as I picked a sunny day. I was stuck by the verdance and lushosity of the vegetative life. Hakone is more a region than a town. It features a mountain lake to be viewed by FUNicular, steaming mountainside of volcanic activity, a cable car, a sweet little train and the sculpture garden. Sorry Seattle, Hakone has you beat. Although both gardens have pieces by Alexander Calder and Seattle has the advantage of being free, Hakone has fried egg benches and a sculpture that takes you underground through narrow, winding and dark passageways to sit on a tiny stool and gaze through a tiny hole showing the sky. It was rad.

And sorry Seattle, I love you, I really do, but the Japanese are way serious about their fish. None of this kitchy fish throwing business. We're efficient. Visiting Tsukiji Fish Market is an exercise in being aware of your surroundings lest you find yourself run over by a cart zipping around to deliver all manner of fish in their stages of preparation, simply stepping in fish guts or find yourself impeding commerce. I really can't understand how they let tourists visit. We are a danger to ourselves and others. Motorized carts move fast, are many and navigate narrow aisles. Then with our gawking and incessant photo taking, it's hard for the people who actually
come to buy fish to actually buy fish. It was amazing to see a Steinhart Aquarium of fish there and to think that was just a Wednesday. They start with whole frozen fish on one end of the market and serve it up for brekkie on the other end.

I'm a little behind with my reporting as I am now in Bangkok and have already spent a week in Kyoto. Next stop, Sri Lanka in two days.

so many people

Tokyo Day 8. Today started the rainy season and they mean it. The weekend has ended, the work week begun. I like to fashion myself an amateur anthropologist and Tokyo is rife with observation.

Tokyo is a big, crowded city. 34 million strong. But the streets are remarkably clean despite the glut of packaging and the dearth of garbage cans. The green movement has begun to be embraced with an elaborate system of waste disposal. There's burnable and non-burnable distinctions then PET recycling. Bottles need to be rinsed with caps removed, boxes broken down and tied up. Different types of garbage are collected on different days of the week. Electronics disposal requires contacting the manufacturer. There isn't much of a donation system for unwanted items. The urban culture is strongly centered around consumption of consumer goods, yet living spaces are tiny and disposal of unwanted goods expensive.

I've determined Tokyoites to be a sleep deprived people. Closed eyes and nodding heads are a common site on the subway, even for those who are standing. Many have long commutes and longer work hours. Salarymen can be identified by their black, blue or brown suit with their white or blue shirt and blue or gray tie accessorized by a soft cased briefcase. There are also their female counterparts though smaller in number. Office Ladies or OLs and housewives make up the majority of other women.

Weekends present the opportunity to break free from the drab work week. A visit to the Harajuku section of Tokyo made famous by Gwen Stefani and her tribe of Harajuku girls finds high school girls from the 'burbs in outlandish costumes. Little Bo Peeps stand next to goth girls with white tape crisscrossing their faces. They hang out on a bridge between the subway station and Yoyogi Park on Sundays waiting to be photographed. Yoyogi Park is filled with folks relaxing on the grass and walking along the pathways. There's also the rock-a-billy dancers with their pompadours and leather jackets, yo-yo aficionados, rock bands and amateur dance troupes.

Mostly the weekend is a good time to shop. Shopping areas are packed and you better keep moving lest risk getting trampled or poked in the eye by a parasol. Women teeter on 4 inch heels with perfect hair and make-up dressed in the latest fashions. Basically, I feel like an oafish slob at all times. I figure it's what's expected from me as an American anyway.

Tokyo4me

Tokyo was made for me! Not only have I not had a bad meal, there are public restrooms every 500 feet.

I'm sure we've all heard about how Japanese restrooms are bastions of privacy and the users would never want to reveal they have bodily functions. It's true. Every toilet is a new experience. The doors and walls are floor to ceiling. Either there is a toilet seat cover or sanitizer to wash the seat. Once seated, one may be surprised to learn the seat has been electronically warmed. Buttons to the side offer flushing noises or the cleaning of various nether regions. The final step is the most challenging. The flushing device may be on the back of the toilet or it's automated, but it may be a lever in the wall or a button on the floor.

There are always a lot of instructions as this is a rules and order loving country. Occasionally, there is a button I really want to try but am worried it will cause someone to come rushing to my aid. Squat toilets add even more variety. I've even seen a stall with a child seat where your youngster is trapped while you take care of business. The possibilities are seemingly endless.

I know I shouldn't talk about food in the same breath as toilets, but it just seems to work well this way. The food here is amazing and they serve it the way I like it; small portions of lots of different goodies. I don't always know what I'm eating, but it's usually good.

So far, there's been ramen, eggy noodles in a salty pork broth with hunks of tender roast pork and seaweed. The only polite way to eat this is with a slurp. Then all you can eat shabu shabu, thin sliced Kobe beef and veggies you cook in a broth at your table then garnish with a sesame sauce and another slightly sweet and briny sauce. Bento, a little box of treasures with various salads, flavored rices, protein source like fish or meatballs, something pickled and something sweet. Tonkatsu, a breaded and fried pork cutlet.

Yakitori, the businessman's happy hour with skewered something: chicken, pork, liver, brains, leeks, shiitake, etc. and a cold glass of Asahi, Kiran or Sapporo. To experience yakitori, it's best to visit the Golden Gai, a narrow alley in the Shinbuku part of Tokyo where 10 seater establishments are crammed side by side behind corrugated metal doors and smoke from the grill and cigarettes fills the walkway. A yakitori joint can be identified by the red lantern hanging outside and the businessmen crammed inside.

You may have noticed the ubiquitous sushi missing from this list. Besides a dabble in grocery store sushi, I have yet to divine this delicacy. I'll get there. AmPm and 7-11 are great for a quick seaweed salad or rice ball. Rice balls are triangular wrapped in nori seaweed and filled with either salmon, tuna, roe, fermented soybeans or another treat. It's like a little surprise every time I bite inside. The selection process is based on the color of the label and how many are left in the case. Fortunately, I have yet to cross paths with the fermented soybeans. For dessert, there's basically mochi, pounded rice, with adzuki bean filling. There are variations on this combination, but Asia is not known for it's fabulous desserts.

Packing Up

So this is a little late, but such is my way. In thinking about blogging for my Asia trip summer 2010 (woohoo) I thought I'd start off with the itinerary and packing list. This second one is more for me to be able to refer to later to expedite the packing experience.

The itinerary. I'm still not totally sure but it involves many forms of transport, overnights in cities I will never see and a large carbon footprint. It roughly works out to 10 days in Tokyo, a weekish in Kyoto, Bangkok, 3 weeks in Sri Lanka, an overnight in Kuala Lampur (this will be my second time doing this although this time won't be sleeping on a couch in the airport) and a week in Krabi, Thailand. It's something like 6 weeks of actually being somewhere and a week of getting there.

The packing list. I've always wanted to do this...

I should start off by mentioning that the travel nurse at Kaiser totally freaked me out about Sri Lanka. First there were the shots; polio, tetanus and typhoid (I asked but no yellow fever needed). Then there's the stuff you can't vaccinate against, namely malaria and dengue fever. I traveled in malarial countries before and have never taken any medication because it was either sequestered to a certain area of the country, like the lowlands of Bolivia, or not in the urban areas, like Cambodia. But apparently in Sri Lanka malaria is everywhere. So I picked up my prophylactics (love that word) to be taken daily and for a week after leaving the country. Unfortunately, there's no preventative for dengue so I've been chugging tonic water(quinine), chomping garlic and bought some 98.6% deet mosquito repellent (the usual stuff is like 15% deet) along with the natural stuff. Here's where I'll start my list:

Medications:

Deep, deep woods, Indian Jones strength mosquito repellent

All natural, actual attracts mosquitoes because they think it's a joke, mosquito repellent

stuff that makes you poop

stuff that makes you stop pooping

antibiotics (in case you really can't stop pooping)

ibuprophen

first aid kit (the standard stuff)

Other Toiletries:

hair care (shampoo, conditioner)

face wash

15 SPF face lotion

30 SPF face sunscreen

15 SPF sweatproof sunscreen

night time lotion (I aged a lot living in Thailand, plus white skin is highly prized in Asia)

aloe for the inevitable sunburn

toothbrush, paste, floss

nailclipper

hair bands, brush

travel towel

wet wipes

earplugs

hand sanitizer

tissues

Clothing: You'll notice this to be a short list for 7 weeks, so if it looks like a did a lot for one day it's probably just the same outfit on different days. That's the advantage of not staying in one place for too long.

1 pr jeans

1 pr pants

1 skirt

6 shirts

4 tank tops

yoga clothes

climbing pants

1 sweater

1 sweatshirt

2 bathing suits

undergarments

1 pair close toed shoes

1 pair flip flops

climbing shoes and harness

sarong (has endless uses, a total essential)

sunhat

Media:

camera with download cord and charger

guide book to Sri Lanka and photocopied pages for Thailand

1 book - The Secret Life of Oscar Wao. This is important. There's ample time for reading with this kind of travel, but paper is heavy so it's necessary to have a limit. Fortunately, travelers trade and there are English language bookstores (sometimes even used) in big cities.

Documents:

passport

itinerary

2 credit cards (in separate locations)

debit card (primary source of getting money)

driver's license

traveller's checks (just in case) with purchase record in different location

cash (just in case)

Miscellanea:

water filter

1 large and 1 small water bottle

water treatment tablets

bungee cords (great for hanging laundry and other uses)

pen/pencil/travel journal

sunglasses

suitcase locks and key

snack bars

If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. Amazingly, all this fits into my backpack with room to spare and under 50 pounds. We'll see how much of it I use.