Hong Kong

Someones very happy watching THE PARADE!The Parade that went on and on....

On and On!

...and on and on...
...and on and on...
...and on for 8 HOURS!
HK skyline from Peak Point on HK island...one sided fight as I beat the crap out of u know who! as I told him...you have offended my family...you have offended Shaolin Temple...

...now in Hong Kong for 7 days and its pissing down all day(28th June)...went to Chinese consulate for our overland travel in to Vietnam through China...going to visit Dhiraj in GUANGZHAU(China)...school friend of Paresh...will spend two days with him and his family...its 1oth anniversery since giving HK back to China by UK and there are great celebrations now in HK ...great light and firework show in bay...Chinese love fireworks...great city HK and its so busy 24 hours a day...seems to be lots of young people here or may be its just me getting old!...some random woman paid our tram fair today because we had no change,it was very kind of her ! HK must have the most expensive light bill ...cause there are millions and zillions of neon signs everywhere...we got a cheap deal in a 3 star hotel thanks to... wotif.com...thanks mate...going for some Indian tonight in Kowloom on famous Nathan Road...had Mcdon for breakfast this morning...its tough being vege in this part of the world...last night went to a Shanghai Vege Cuisine eatrie in Causeway....not too far from our hotel(we are in Wanchai)...food was ok ...bit like eating cooked plastic if you know what I mean...GIVE ME DAL AND ROTI ANY DAY!!!Vedanta is eating very well now,she eats anything now,not so fussy as before and she has become a savvy traveller and as for my wife ...well ...she very simply IS A SAVVY traveller...her famoue three words are ...I DONT MIND....that solves lot of problems for V and me when its eating time...other famous few words from P...YOU VE COME ALL THIS WAY HERE AND ALL YOU TWO WANT IS PIZZA n CHIPS...so then we go to a posh place ,pay through our nose and still end up eating PIZZAS n CHIPS!

Miyajima

...Miyajima island from ferry across from Hiroshima...
...floating Toril is THE most photographed item in Japan...

...magnificient and it really looks as though its floating...

...Toril in all its glory...

...cloudy and mysterious...

Hiroshima

We left Kyoto after six days of magical time for HIROSHIMA by SS-2 hours ride-stayed for two days a blok away from PEACE MEMORIAL PARK in a small ryokan.
Hiroshima is a young vibrant internatoinally minded city,will always be remembered for that instant on 6th AUGUST 1945 when it became the WORLDS FIRST ATOMIC BOMB TARGET.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is a constant reminder of that tragic day and it attracts visitors from all over the world.
ATOM BOMB DOME-this building is THE SYMBOL OF DESTRUCTION VISITED UPON HIROSHIMA-now a UNESCO world heritage site(USA and UK voted against it!)-this building was the Industrial Promption Hall until the bomb exploded 125meters directly above it-its proped ruins,floodlit at night like a fire glow,have been left as an eterenal reminder of the tragedy.
They said at the time that nothing will grow here for 75 years-but guess what! a tree called phoneix burned to ashes strarted growing only after 3 months and that tree gave survivors hope that they can re-build their lives again and boy that is exactly what they have done-a miracle.
For many around the world,this bombing is still a potent symbol of peoples inhumanity,and even more so for the remaining 125,000 Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors today called HIBAKUSHA.
The youngest hibakusha today is 62 years old,in the womb when the bomb was dropped by ENOLA GAY(B529 US bomber).About 5000 have died each year in the past 13 years. Thousands of school children from around JAPAN visit the site every day bringing paper cranes with them,singing peace songs and placing hundreds of candle lit paper lantern in to the river and its very moving to have witness this and I had to be left alone for a moment as I overcame with emotions.
The bomb killed 75,000 instantly and other 75,000 died from burns and radiations over the next few weeks -3km radius everything destroyed.
Peace Memorial Park includes CENOTAPH that contains the names of all the known victims of the bomb-it also contains FLAME OF PEACE,which will only be extinguished once the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed,and the Atomic Bomb Dome across the river.
Peace Memorial Park also contains CHILDRENS PEACE MEMORIAL inspired by young bomb leukaemia victim SADAKO.She died long time ago but her dream and her work is carried on by youngsters of JAPAN even today.
Peace Memorial Park also contains PEACE MEMORIAL MUSEUM.This museum narrates the events preceding,during and after the atomic bombing of Hirosima. Museum contains real life stories,burnt out clothes,bits of skin,nails etc,explains Japans role in the war and Japanese do blame themselves for starting the war with USA and not accepting the ceasefire when it was offered by USA before bombing but it also explains the real reasons for USA to drop two aomic bombs over Japan(the other in NAGASAKI-3 dyas latter-this was twice the size of Hiroshima bomb).The reasons were political as JAPAN was losing the war at the time anyway-but the atomic bombing did bring WWII to a halt. For us and Dipak in particular this was an overwhelming experience and a potent symbol of idiocy of atomic weapons and war in general.

The Dome Building before the bomb explosion.

Clock frozen at exact time of explosion.

The Dome Building after explosion-now known as ATOMIC BOMB DOME

Atomic Bomb Dome at night

Day scene

We all had a very emotional day

Cenotaph(containing names of all known victims) and Flame Of Peace

Children offering prayers for world peace

This prayer bell has prayers written in Hindi all over-we think it was gift given to Japanese people from people of India

Paper cranes-thousands of them

Kyoto

One above and five below pictures are from a city called NARA...half hour SS ride from Kyoto...its full of UNESCO wolrd heritage sites...this temple called TODAI-JI...its a largest wooden building in the world containing Great Buddha figure weighing 450 tonnes made from bronze and gold...the biggest in the world!
...all kinds of charms for sale at the temple...

...One of TODAI-JI many entrance gates...

...TODAI-JI...

Todai-ji surrounded by hundreds friendly deers.
Golden Pavillion -KIKNKAKU-JI-one of Japans best known sights-covered in gold foil, tiles also made of gold.It looked stunning-but there were thousands others with their digi cameras!
In 1950 a young monk consumated his obsession with the temple by burning it to the ground(fully re-built in 1955)-the monks story is fictonalised in Mishima Yukios THE GOLDEN PAVILLION.

My gang and I fighting the crowd to get this snap!
Simply stunningly beautiful!

Enjoying watching hundeds of KOI in stuuning Japanese garden next to HIMEJI CASTLE.KOIs are considered to be a brave,tenacious and vigorous fish! little wonder why the Japanese loves them so much!

Splendid HIMEJI CASTLE known as WHITE EGRET-the biggest castle in JAPAN -it is totally made from wood-an hour SS ride from KYOTO.On the way- through train window- we saw the worlds longest new AKASHI KAIKYO SUSPENSION BRIDGE,3910m span links island of Honshu with Awaji-Shima-we also passed through KOBE.
Just look at this beauty! its a mean machine!

My favourite SHINKANSEN---its a NZOMI 700 MODEL-latest -but new one comes out in 2008-400km an hour plus.

All engine are modelled on an animal for their aero-dynamic capability-which animal is this?

GEISHA!!! These women are just awsome-you have got to admire these girls-they are so talented and sooo gracious and totally confident in their ability.Real beauties!!! We were lucky to see 3 together going to an appointment at a famous teahouse followed by some 30 professional photographers and me!

They are treated like super stars and with total respect in Japan.

The kimonos costs are 80,000US plus but many big shot clients give them as presents to their geisha.

The kimono colours,flowers etc are worn according the season.

Memoire Of Geisha is a good book to read and good movie to watch too.

Client pay up to 8000 US to spend an evening in the company of one or two geishas at a teahouse or restaurants.
These kimono -clad women versed in an array of visual and perfoming arts,including playing the three-stringed SHAMISEN,singing old teahouse ballards and dancing.
An evening with geisha at teahouse begins with exquisite KAISEKI(Japanese cuisine which obeys very strict rules of etiquett for every details of the meal,including the setting)meal.While client eat,geisha perform fan dance,pour drinks,light cigarettes and engage in charming banter.

Geisha numbers are ever-decreasing,only 1000 or so in Japan and of that about 150 in Kyoto.
Geisha Famous red teahouse on a famous Kyoto street.

Geisha going to an appointment in a Kyoto street.

Japanese garden at back of HIGASHI HONGAN-JI Buddist temple.

P loves gardens(& gardening) Japanese gardens are her speciality.

Him just likes being in the garden on a hot day with cold beer in his hand!

Mother and daughter reflecting on a bridge!

Dragon pool at above temple-at all shrines and temples you have to wash your hands before entering -shoes also comes off .

Inside the temple-most Buddist temples and Shinto shrine

are working temples and shrines with monks.

Arriving at TORIL of SUMIYOSHI TAISHA Shinto shrine(this shrine associated with the sea and sea travel-for safe passage) for OTAUE SHINJI festival- followed by official photographer!
OTAUE SHINJI festival held every June 14th near OASAKA in Imperial rice fields - it was all day affair for us as P loves festivals ! It celebrates coming of the day to plant rice fields-it also commemorate the establishment of the Imperial rice fields.

Traditional costumes for villagers in old days.

More rice planters in traditional costumes.

Boys dressed up as Samurai warriors.

It was a good day for us seeing this festival and it gave us some insight in to Japanese way of life.Japan is a very regious country-Buddism and Shinto greatly influences Japanese culture.

Shinto or THE WAY OF GODS -Shintoists believe in a pantheon of gods who represent elements of the natural world-a devout Shintoist may believe in a local spirit,global gods and goddesses,spirit of a nearby waterfall,uniquely shaped rock or a Shinto deity.Todays royal family of Japan is said to trace its ancestry to the goddess of the sun and thus Crown Prince Of Japan is regarded by Japanese as near enough to being a living god and is respected as such.