Wandering North

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Arrival in Belarus: My Longest Border Crossing

Flag and Map of Belarus

I landed at the airport in Minsk sometime after 11:00pm. I had flown there from Vancouver via London and Dubai. Normally I would have flown through Europe, but because of the ongoing war in Ukraine and, at the time, the sanctions against Belarus by nearly every country in Europe, I had to fly via Dubai. I had spent a nice day in Dubai and was now at my final destination. On the flight to Minsk, I noticed live airplane map that our route for the direct flight between Dubai and Belarus wasn’t even direct. Because of the war, we couldn’t fly over Ukraine; we had to veer off East to fly over Russia and then back to Belarus, making the flight even longer. It had taken me over 30 hours to get there; I was tired, and I just wanted to go to my hostel.

But first, the formalities…

At the time that I went to Belarus the options for getting a visa were this: I could apply for a visa ahead of time (a lengthy and annoying process) or I could fly to Minsk and get an automatic 30-day visa on arrival. That was my plan. All that was required was some paperwork and health insurance from a Belarusian provider. (I got the health insurance online, but there is a booth right at immigration where you can buy it.) I did not anticipate there to be any problems. But border crossings are unpredictable.

I was one of the first people off the plane and in the queue to go through immigration to enter the country. A buxom, blonde woman in a military-type uniform scrutinized my passport with a magnifying glass, looking at each page carefully. I had expected this, having read blog posts from other travelers where the same thing happened. But then she called out to one of her colleagues. A young, thin man dressed in similar attire escorted me from the line. He took me back to an area near an office and asked me to sit on a bench just outside of it. He took my passport and arranged around me a little fence of stanchions and ropes to keep me in place. “This is weird.” I thought. But I wasn’t concerned.

He disappeared into the office with my passport and about 15 minutes later asked me to follow him inside. I was still not nervous at this point. I was just curious as to what was going to happen.

Inside, they proceeded to ask me questions. They asked me every conceivable question about my life and my travel plans. They asked me why and where I was going; they asked me how I had planned the trip; why I had chosen it; where I was staying; who I knew there; had I ever been to Russia before (I had); had I been to Ukraine before (I had); did I know anyone anywhere from Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus; the nature of my job; what kind of law I practised; and on and on. They wanted to look at my paper maps and at my notebook, as well as the pages I had photocopied from my Lonely Planet. I had highlighted things on the maps, and they wanted to know why.

They then sent me back out to the bench and I sat there for … I don’t even know how long. While I was sitting there, I noticed that a few other people had been pulled out of the queue as well. Three other men went into the room and were questioned briefly and then were sent on their way into Belarus. One fellow was denied entry into the country for not having some paperwork and he was told that he would have to fly back to wherever it was he came from. At this point I started to not get worried, but I did start to think of alternative plans if I was denied entry.

They then called me back in and went through my phone, where they looked at my emails, at my contacts, and at my social media profiles, which they scrolled through. They looked at my laptop and went through the same things again, as well as my browser history and some documents I had saved on my desktop.

A different person asked me nearly all the same questions again. It seems that the thing that they were most interested in was my blog. This blog. I didn’t tell them that I had a travel blog, but they saw the links to it on my social media profiles and they asked me questions about it. I’m not sure if they were able to read the posts, but they looked at a lot of them. I just explained to them it’s a hobby blog that I write about my travels. They seemed very concerned that I was a journalist.

In scrolling through my Instagram, he asked me “Why you have picture of Putin?” I thought for a second, genuinely confused, and I said, “I have a picture of Putin?” And then he showed me, and I did have a picture of Putin. It was a protest poster in Riga that I had taken a picture of the year before. I just explained that I just thought it was an interesting piece of art.

He also asked me peculiar questions like, “Do you know what March the 9th is?” I said, confused, “Tuesday?” And he said “Do you know Victory Day? And I said, “Yes! It’s the day that the Soviets defeated the Nazis in World War Two,” feeling proud of myself like I got an answer right on a history quiz. It hadn’t occurred to me that Day was occurring during my trip. I had been to Russia for Victory Day many years ago and I was delighted to discover that I was going to be in Minsk this time (and I did attend the festivities), but he wanted to know if that was a reason that I was going to Minsk at this time.

All of this might sound kind of intimidating and scary, but it really wasn’t. The men were polite, and I never felt threatened or intimidated. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was very tired, it was kind of a nice experience. Really? You want to sit down and ask me about my travels? There are two things that I love to talk about more than anything else: myself and travel. Ha. I will never stop talking.

Also, I was very polite and cooperative. As they were asking me these questions, I kept thinking about the advice that I would give a client if they’re being cross-examined in court. I would tell them to think about every question to make sure they understand the question (and if not to ask for a clarification); don’t get emotional; and don’t volunteer more information that you are being asking for. And that’s how I handled this interrogation. Those years in law school paid off.

They sent me back out to the bench a final time and I waited again. It was now past 1:30am, so I had been there for about 2 1/2 hours. Finally, they came out, gave me my passport, and sent me on my way. I went back up to the buxom blonde, who stamped my passport, and I was in Belarus.

I took a taxi to my hostel the Urban Hostel. It was very late, and I just checked in and went to bed. It was a great hostel: good location, walk-able to everything, great amenities, and very cheap. I recommend it.

Urban Hostel in Minsk

While I was obviously happy to be in Belarus, I have to say that that initial introduction did give me some pause. I had certainly heard a lot about Belarus is being kind of a Soviet throwback state with a lot of military and police oversight and possibly surveillance. And after that initial introduction, I was cautious. I didn’t tell anyone what had happened. I would be in the country for five days and I still had to leave. I had done some Googling and heard from some locals about how there can be serious consequences for seemingly very minor infractions or even conversations, so I was careful about what I talked about and to whom during my trip. (I will not go into any detail here, but you can Google these things.) I think Belarus is a perfectly safe and lovely place to travel, but an element of discretion is advisable.

Flash forward: When I left Belarus, I had no issue whatsoever. They didn’t ask me any questions; they just stamped my passport, and I was on my way back to Dubai.

I don’t know if Belarus is always this tight with its security and immigration, or if it was more so just because of the war, but it would not deter me from going back. I loved Minsk and the trip I did outside of Minsk. I would certainly go back to Belarus; I would just plan an earlier arrival.

On to the posts about Minsk…

Asia Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 United Arab Emirates

Dubai Layover: Part One

I was flying to Belarus from Vancouver. A long journey. I had already had a layover in London (on Coronation Day) and my next layover was in Dubai. I know that doesn’t make any sense. The shortest route between London and Minsk is not the United Arab Emirates, but this was May 2023 and the war in Ukraine was ongoing. Although Belarus was not actively fighting in the war, they were supporting Russia and using their territory as a staging ground for the Russian military. As a result of this, there were embargoes by nearly every Western country against Belarus and they had cancelled all their flights. Normally, if I was flying to Belarus I could have flown through Germany, for example, but this time, the only way to get to Belarus was via Dubai.

So what this meant was, I had an excuse to go to Dubai. I’d never been to the UAE before and, honestly, I had no interest in going to Dubai for more than a long layover, so this seemed like a great opportunity. I would have two visits to Dubai on either end of this trip.

Arrival in Dubai

Map & Flag of the United Arab Emirates

I landed at the airport in Dubai and no visa was required. A great bonus. Fascinatingly, going through immigration, when they handed me back my passport, they handed it back to me with a SIM card with one gig of data on it, which was kind of amazing. I’ve never seen that in any country before. Of course, I had no interest in being online while I was there so I just left it behind for someone else to use, but what a nice welcome gift. I left my bag at a baggage storage facility at the airport and hopped on the train. I love a city where I can get on a train to go from the airport into the centre of the city. I wish all cities could have this.

The train into Dubai was in itself fascinating because I got to see all of the modern buildings. It’s an above ground train, so riding it was a little bit like being on some sort of futuristic tram ride at Disney World.

*View out the front window of the train*

Views from the trains of the Frame and the Museum of the Future

The Dubai “Maul”

I didn’t have a long time to visit so I thought that I would try to see the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. I got off the train at the Dubai Mall and from there I should have been able to walk through the mall and then exit it to be at the Burj Khalifa. I exited the train and I walked to the mall, however, the walk between the train station in the mall is incredibly long. I was above ground in this windowed tunnel walking on moving sidewalks, but there’s no way to exit and you just have to keep walking until you get to the mall. It took maybe 20 minutes of fast walking and I found it extremely frustrating. I’d come all the way to the city and now suddenly I was trapped in a tube, walking towards a mall. When I looked out at the city, I was not impressed. There were massive highways and cars everywhere and it just didn’t look like the sort of place that would be pleasant to walk at all.

*Me, in the tunnel to the Mall before I got irritated*

Views from the stupid tunnel and the only glimpse I got of the Burj Khalifa on this trip

I finally reached the mall, and I walked through it for a bit, realizing pretty quickly that I was not going to find my way out anytime soon. The mall is massive, and I got frustrated. I thought, I didn’t fly all the way to this country to spend my time lost in a mall, and so I turned around and I walked out.

I did see the Burj Khalifa on my second trip to Dubai a week later, but this time I decided to skip it.

Bur Dubai

I got back on the train, and I headed to the closest train station (Bur Jaman Station) to “Bur Dubai”, which is Old Dubai. This was much more my cup of tea. Old Dubai is not the most beautiful or picturesque of Arabic city centres, but it has its appeal.

On the edge of Bur Dubai

It has old buildings and mosques and narrow alleyways and wonderfully a Hindu temple with people outside preparing flower and food.

Near the Hindu Temple

I then made my way out to the water (Dubai Creek) and there’s a waterway that separates the city in two parts. I would, on my second visit to Dubai, go across to the other side, but this time my layover was a little shorter so I just stayed where I was.

Around the Bur Dubai souq

I walked around, had some fresh juice, and chatted with some local merchants.

I then plunked myself down at a table by the water and smoked some shisha and had a bite to eat. It was very pleasant. A young travel and fashion influencer from Saudi Arabia came and sat with me for a while and talked about her travels with her family. And then I just sat with myself smoking and watching the people go by.

Shisha and juice by the water

Finally I got back on the train and went back to the airport. I was pretty satisfied with my layover, even if I had been defeated by the Dubai Mall. I wasn’t that impressed with the little I saw of Dubai, but it was pleasant to go to the city it was interesting to be somewhere new, and somewhere that was completely different from London (to place I’d come from (and Minsk (the place that was going to), but I wasn’t that taken with Dubai. The new buildings are just … big new buildings, and the city does not seem very conducive to walking. The old section is nice, but there are much nicer places to go to see have that sort of old Arabic city experience. I will say that my second visit to Dubai would prove to be much better and I will write about that at a later time.

There were no issues getting back to the airport or getting onto the plane. I spent some time at a fabulous lounge at the airport and then I was off to my final destination: Minsk, Belarus.

Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe United Kingdom

Layover in London: Coronation Day

It was May 2023 and I was on my way to Belarus. Getting to Belarus from Vancouver necessitated flying through London. I was happy to do that – I’m always happy to fly through London—and this was my third time this year. I realized as I was planning the trip that I was going to be in London on May the 6th, which was Coronation Day for Prince, now King Charles; and I knew that it would make for a fascinating layover.

I landed at Heathrow at 2pm and took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and from there I walked. My layover wasn’t that long, and I was nervous about getting into trouble with traffic and crowds. I kept reading about the Tube stations being closed or limited due to the number of people that were expected to flood into London to see the coronation procession and concert. Tens of thousands of people were expected to crowd into central London for the festivities. By the time I arrived, the actual coronation ceremony and procession were over, but people were everywhere. Some had camped out for a week or more just to catch a glimpse of the new King. I was happy just to be in the city and walk around and take in the atmosphere.

I know a lot of people were very excited about the coronation and many people were very irritated by it because of their dislike of the royal family. I guess I fall somewhere in between. Growing up, my punk sensibilities made me dislike the monarchy (and I know there are a lot of reasons to be against the institution), but as an adult I appreciate that they are a continuation of the history of England and the lineage of monarchs. I think it’s fascinating to be in London on a day when a new king is being crowned. Just like it would have been fascinating to be in London on any of the days when any of the former monarchs were crowned, and someday someone will look back at the history books (or whatever may replace books) at this day, many hundreds of years ago, when King Charles was crowned, and i just thought it would be interesting to be in the city to see a bit of that.

I walked from Paddington Station over to Mayfair, where I read that there would be a garden party. There was a garden party, however it had rained that day, so the festivities were perhaps a bit dampened. Nevertheless, people were out, a band was playing, flowers were strung up, a lot gin and tonics were being consumed, and people were dancing and singing sloppily in the gardens. It kind of felt like someone’s wedding.

I wandered there and then carried on walking towards central London. The closer I got to the centre, the more police I saw and the bigger the crowds got.

It was delightful to see all the flags strung up and all the coronation emblems on everything – even Prince Charles masks being sold in the shops (although why one would want a Prince Charles mask is beyond me). I even saw one man who was dressed head to toe in a Union Jack suit, which I thought was fabulous, but I couldn’t get a picture.

I just walked around, taking in the atmosphere. Most places were either closed or were very busy. I walked over to Saint James’s St. which is one of my favourite streets in London because it has three cigar stores / lounges on it, but they were all closed, however on this particular day, I discovered that there is a fourth cigar place just a half a block off of Saint James’s St. called C. Gars. And it was open! The rain was pouring at this point, and I was soaked. Honestly, I looked like trash. I was wearing my leather jacket with the big spikes on it and my combat boots, and I was soaking wet. I went into the store, and they greeted me, not with the snobbishness that some cigar lounges do, but with a friendly smiling face and they welcomed me in. I bought a cigar, and I sat down in a group of men smoking cigars and chatting about the day. A welcoming group. It was delightful. All the people were living in London, although a few of them were from somewhere else (Spain, the US, and India). It was very interesting to hear the perspectives on the day, and even though you some of them had some misgivings about the monarchy, they still felt very proud and patriotic of all the celebrations of the day.

It was just a perfect afternoon. I stayed until the store closed and then I made my way back to the airport. It was just an 8-hour layover, but I certainly experienced something that I never have experienced before and probably won’t have the opportunity to again.

And with that, I was on to my next stop en route to Belarus. But first, I would have a day in Dubai.

Europe Oslo weekend 2023 United Kingdom

London Layover: Easter Sunday Edition

It was Easter Sunday in London and I landed at Heathrow from Oslo, en route back to Vancouver. This was the end of my weekend trip to Oslo. I had an eight-hour layover in London, which meant, of course, that I would be going into the city, just as I had two days prior, during an even shorter layover (wherein I visited “Little Venice”).

Again, I had only a very small, under-seat sized backpack, so I just zipped through the airport, without having to faff about with luggage storage, and to the Heathrow Express. Once at Paddington Station, I took the Tube to Piccadilly and walked around from there.

I found myself gravitating towards the West End. I walked past Squares Trafalgar and Leicester. (I always feel the need to explain that even though I know many people hate Leicester Square [a position I find quite reasonable], I have a fondness for it, because that is where I worked when I lived in London, so many years ago.)

The thing that struck me on that Easter morning was that everything was so empty. Sure, it was a bit early, but cafés and some shops were open, but the streets and squares were empty. Perhaps people were at home with family or sleeping in, but I felt like I had London to myself – in a wonderful way; not in a “28 Days Later” way.

I walked down St. Martin’s Lane and had coffee and a bite to eat on New Row, which is normally jam packed with tourists and walkers, but now was serene.

I walked over to Covert Garden, which was a bit busier, but not the throngs that I would normally see on a sunny, beautiful day.

Covent Garden. The last time I was here it was a sea of people

I did have a plan for this layover; it wasn’t all aimless wandering and espressos. I was to visit Sir John Soane’s Museum, so that was my next stop (on foot). Sir John Soane’s Museum (which I shall now simply refer to as “The Museum”) is in Holborn, near Covent Garden, just on the side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields. It is a museum set in the former residence of and displaying the collections of English architect Sir John Soane, who lived from 1753 to 1857. (It is actually two residences, side by side at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.)

Lincoln’s Inn Fields

The Museum is free, but limited to about 90 visitors daily, so often there is a queue, but I got there early and waltzed in. Once inside, you understand why the visitors are limited. But for a couple of more spacious rooms, The Museum is a series of narrow corridors and every inch is covered in extraordinary antiquities. Paintings, sculpture, coins, tombs, weapons, instruments, frescoes, friezes, busts…everything you can imagine and things you could not. There is even an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus of Sarcophagus of Seti I, dating to the late 1200s BC. I tripped over the stairs next to it, making the loudest possible clatter, and spent the rest of the visit terrified I would break something.

*I can’t imagine dusting all these objects*

Images from The Museum, including a little mirror selfie

It is extraordinary. Like the home of a rich, cultured, hoarder.

I left there feeling ebullient. London is just amazing. It has almost all the things I want in a city: history, art, culture, multiculturalism, cigar lounges, excellent curries, expansive public transportation, green spaces…I felt so happy to have had two visits already this year (albeit short ones).

I walked around for a while longer, feeling happy, and then eventually I got back on the train to go to the airport. (I did pop by the usual cigar spots, but they were closed for the holiday.)

A wander in London

What an excellent weekend. I didn’t even mind that it was cut short by work. Two long layovers in London and 30 hours in Oslo? Sounds like a perfect weekend to me.

As I left, I knew I would be back in London again in a month as part of my forthcoming trip to Belarus.

Europe Norway Oslo weekend 2023

One Day in Oslo

I had planned to go to Oslo for Easter weekend from Vancouver. I have a recent history of travelling abroad for four day long weekends from Vancouver. I can travel to Europe over a four day long weekend and get two to three days in a city. Perfect for a city break. I’ve done this in Valetta, Riga, Sophia, and Copenhagen in Europe; and Panama City, San Salvador, Mexico City, and Playa Del Carmen in North America. Oslo seemed like a great place to spend the weekend. Subtracting the flight time, I would have two and a half days in Oslo. Great…except, something came up at work, and a couple of days before I left I discovered I would have to be at work a day early. I could have cancelled my trip, but I was so excited to go, that I thought, “Why not?” It seemed like a challenge. Would I enjoy a trip that was so far for such a short time? So I flew to Oslo (via London), spent one day in Oslo, and flew back to Vancouver. And it was great.

I had a very pleasant, short layover in London on the way there and got out of the airport for a few hours to see ‘Little Venice‘ and then I took a short flight to Norway and landed in Oslo just after midnight.

Norway Flag and partial map

Norway and Oslo are not ‘off the beaten path’, but for those of you who are cartographically challenged, Norway is the first on the far left of the vertical triad of Norway, Sweden, and Finland and Oslo is down near the bottom. It is famous for its fjords, stunning arctic landscapes in the North, trolls, and concept of Koselig (effectively the concept of coziness and warmth in a social and natural setting). Did I experience any of these things? No! But I did have a great day in Oslo, and I look forward to returning to Norway to see more.

*I hardly used any cash in Oslo, which is a shame, because how cute are these Kroner?*

On to the day…

Landing in Oslo

I arrived so late on Friday night that it was just after midnight and, hence, Saturday morning. I would be leaving at 5am Sunday morning. I walked up to the immigration guy in his booth at the airport and expected he would stamp me in without question, as most countries in Europe do; but he did have questions.

“What is the purpose of your trip?” He asked.

“Tourism,” I responded.

“How long will you stay?” He asked without looking at me.

“I leave tomorrow morning,” I replied.

He looked at me. “You are coming for only one day?”

“Yes. It was supposed to be longer, but I have to be at work. I thought I would come anyway.”

“You live in London?” He inquired.

“No. Vancouver. Canada.”

At this point, he put my passport down and sat upright. He had several more questions, but I explained to him that this is the kind of crazy travel that I do and, finally, I heard the ker-chunk of the passport stamp, and he said in a deadpan delivery, “Enjoy your day in Oslo.”

Getting in as late as I did, the train was no longer running, and I had to take a taxi to my hostel. It wasn’t $100 CDN, but it was close. (I was supposed to have arrived earlier but my flight out of London was delayed. If you are going to Oslo, try to arrive at an hour when public transport is still possible.)

I stayed at the K7 hostel, which seemed like the best budget option in the centre. I paid for a private room over a dorm though, which I was glad about, given how later I was arriving and how early I would wake up. By the time I got to sleep it was 2am. I set my alarm for 5:00am.

K7 Hostel

Early Morning at the Opera House

I woke up after three hours sleep questioning my life choices, made myself a coffee in the hostel kitchen, and headed out for a walk.

*“The Tiger” statue. Why? Because Oslo was dubbed “Tigerstaden” (“Tiger City”), based on a poem by Norwegian writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson*

It was brisk, quiet, and beautiful. I went out to see the thing in Oslo that I was most excited to see, the Oslo Opera House. Built-in 2007 and designed by Snøhetta, it is a stunning, angular, white marble structure, right on the edge of the harbour and designed to look like a giant iceberg. It’s beautiful just in its own right; just to look at it from its different angles. What makes it spectacular though is that it is not just to be used as an opera house, but as a structure that also functions as a public space, meaning that people are allowed and encouraged to walk on the building and to use its sloping sides for recreation, for reflection, and as a spot from which to enjoy the view of the water. First thing in the morning I had it all to myself, which was great, however, I better appreciated it when I went back in the afternoon and saw it when it was covered with people. I love the idea that it’s a beautiful building, but it’s also made to be a part of the landscape like a public square.

*View of the harbour from the Opera House / sculpture “She Lies” by Monica Bonvicini*

Other than the Opera House, that morning I just generally walked around Oslo and looked at the streets and the beautiful buildings. It was very quiet, but it was very sunny and cold and the buildings were colourful and beautiful and there were numerous statues that I could look at. Nothing not much was open at that point, I did manage to get a sandwich from a convenience store, which was not inexpensive, but reasonably priced and gave me enough fuel to start my day. (Lots of photos here, but the writing continues.)

colourful buildings on a quiet Saturday morning

*Freia clock at Egertorget square (Freia is a Norwegian brand of chocolate)*

*me and my morning cigar near the Oslo Theatre*

more sights of very early morning in Central Oslo

Viegland Park

After I was finished my walk around the city centre, I continued walking in the direction of Vigeland Park. On the way, I passed a flea market that was just setting up, which was nice for a quick browse. It was a long walk to the park, but it took me through several more residential neighbourhoods and was very pretty.

Vigeland Park is a park that is filled with sculptures of one artist: Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures are weird. I don’t really know how else to say it. I mean, they’re well done, and they are distinctive in their style – a style that I don’t really have language to describe, but they’re weird. They are all sculptures of people in various stages of life and activity: fighting and running and aging and posing in weird positions…there’s a tower of people piled on top of one another and people on each other’s backs. Probably the most famous is the angry baby statue, which apparently is good luck if you touch its hand (I cannot attest to this as I do not like babies), and a man attacked by babies and violently trying to shake them off, which is probably what I would look like if I were ever asked to babysit. (Don’t ask me to babysit.)

*Vigeland Park*: *me after making an impossibly tight flight connection*

The park would certainly be more picturesque in the summer; at the time that I was there it was April, and the trees hadn’t really started growing leaves and the grass was partially still covered with snow. It was still nice for a stroll.

Back in Central Oslo

I hopped on a tram to head back to the city centre. I wandered around some more, looking at notable buildings and checking out streets.

*Statue of Queen Maud near the Palace. Fun fact about Maud: she had an 18 inch waist. Some of her dresses are at the museum and they are shocking.*

Then I was hungry again. This would be, as it turns out, the only sit-down meal that I had in Oslo. I just had too much to do, and I didn’t have time to spend it eating food. (I did, somehow, find time to smoke four cigars. Priorities.) I found a cafe near the harbour and got a table outside. It was a sunny day; it wasn’t warm but with a coat and a scarf it was lovely to sit outside and have a bit of pumpkin soup with a cigar and a cup of coffee.

*A My Father cigar and coffee on a chilly afternoon*

A Gallery and A Museum

Refuelled, it was time for museums. I went first to the Astrud Feamley Museum, specifically because I love modern art and I knew that they had some Damien Hirst pieces there. It was a great museum small enough to navigate the short period of time with lots of weird and wonderful modern art I really enjoyed it.

*Astrud Feamley Museum*: *Damien Hirst wishes you a Happy Easter*

About a two-minute walk away is the National Museum, which is also excellent. It’s quite a bit larger and it has a wonderful display of modern art from both Norwegian and international artists, as well as more historical items. I didn’t linger too long in either museum, but I enjoyed my visits.

*National Museum: Cupboard XII by Simone Leigh (foreground); and Escalade Beyond Chromatic Lands by Sheila Hicks background)*

More excellent art at the National Museum

I enjoyed walking along the harbour as well seeing so many people out sitting outside enjoying meals and drinks in the sunshine.

Koselig in action?

I also noticed the saunas floating in the fjord. I had investigated renting one of them before I went to Oslo, but I decided against it because (1) too expensive; (2) it doesn’t seem like something that I would want to do with such a short period of time. But if you’re there for longer, they look fantastic. You rent your own sauna and you just sit out there floating in the fjord enjoying the heat and then you plunge into the water and do it all over again. If you’re the sort of person who likes to travel with friends (I am not that sort of person) this might be for you.

Smoking Cigars in Oslo

It was around this time that I popped in the only cigar store that I saw in central Oslo, which was Augusto Cigars. It’s a very good cigar store; the proprietor clearly takes tobacco very seriously and had a great selection. I bought a few cigars, but the main reason that I went there was that I had read that they had a smoking lounge. They do, but it was only available for members.

Augusto Cigars

As far as I could tell the smoking laws in Oslo were quite strict. You really can’t smoke inside anywhere; the outdoor smoking laws, however, I couldn’t quite figure out. Some places allowed smoking outside which is why I was able to smoke my cigar with my soup over lunch, but many did not. Although the man didn’t let me smoke in his establishment, he did recommend a place that I could go later and smoke which I did.

A Dame in Damstredet

From there I walked to a different area of the city, around Damstredet and Telthusbakken. I did that because one I love to walk through the city and see the sites that I can see and because the areas those streets specifically are known for having old beautiful and colourfully painted wooden houses from the early 19^th century. It was charming. The houses are brightly painted and wooden, set closely together on cobbles streets. They are adorable. Again, they would have been more adorable had it been summer or springtime with leaves and plants out in full bloom, but I really enjoyed the walk in the area nevertheless.

I strolled through a cemetery, and then meandered my way back to central Oslo, walking along streets with lots of appealing cafes, restaurants, and shops, with people out enjoying the day.

modern buildings

A bar I visited and one of the few murals I saw

Oslo Evening

I will say that at this point I was very tired. I had slept little on the flight coming to Oslo, I had slept only about three hours in my room before I went out, and I had walked at this point about 25 kilometres. If I had more time in Oslo, there are more things that I would have done. There’s a tremendous number of museums there (unfortunately the one with the Viking ship that I most wanted to see was closed at the time), and I certainly could have done everything that I did at a slower pace. But the only thing that I really left off the table being in Oslo for such a short time was that I didn’t get to go on one of the fjord cruises to see the water. But there’s always next time.

I spent much of the evening in a bar smoking cigars. The man at the cigar store had recommended a bar called Dr. Jekyll’s Pub. It’s quite pleasant inside and allows cigar smoking on it nice back patio that is sheltered from the wind, heated, and welcoming. When I sat down there other people out there enjoying cigars. I chatted with the bartender and then preceded to chat with the other people (all locals to Oslo) out there smoking. It was a very relaxing way to end the day.

It was dark by the time that I left. I got a falafel from a local shop my dinner and walked around a little bit more (ok, about 5 km more) in the dark and then taking one final view at the Opera House, which really is just stunning, and then I went back to my hostel room and went to bed. By the time the day was over I walked over 30 kilometres and seen many of the highlights of the city.

While there are a lot of sights to see in Oslo, there really is just a lot of joy from walking around and taking in the vibe on the streets. I’ll go back to Oslo because I want to see more of Norway but all-in-all, I was happy with my ~30 hours spent in the city.

*me in front of a building entrance i liked*

*There is a store here called “Dale of Norway”.*
*(If you’ve just stumbled on this post and don’t know me: my name is Dale.)*

Leaving Oslo

The next morning, at about 4am, I took the train back to the airport, which was cheap and efficient. When I was going through immigration at the airport, I found myself standing in the queue in front of the same man who had stamped my passport when I entered Oslo. I walked up to the counter.

“Hello. I remember you,” I said.

He looked at me and said, still deadpan, “And I remember you. How was your day in Oslo?”

“Fantastic. I can’t wait to come back.”

He stamped my passport with something that approached a smile and wordlessly handed it back to me. It was the perfect bookend to my trip.

Of course, my trip wasn’t entirely over; I still had a long layover in London on Easter Sunday ahead of me…

Europe Oslo weekend 2023 United Kingdom

London Layover in Little Venice

A Swift Exit for a Quick Visit

It was Easter weekend and I had decided to go to Oslo from Vancouver for a long weekend. For reasons that I’ll explain in another post, that long weekend trip became much shorter than I had intended; but this post is about London, and one option for how to spend a layover of about 6 hours.

I love London layover. Heathrow is close enough to the city that even with a short layover (provided you’re efficient about getting through the airport) you can go into London and do something lovely. Usually, I won’t do that unless I have about an 8 hour layover, but on this occasion I had six and a half hours, but I was determined to do something. I just little research and discovered that without venturing too far from Paddington station I could visit a neighbourhood that I had previously ignored: Little Venice.

The key to getting through Heathrow successfully for a quick layover into London is being efficient and planning. I always sit as close to the front of the airplane as possible, without sitting in business class, so I can get off the plane quickly. I travel with carry-on luggage, So I don’t have to transfer any luggage through security. In this case, I was travelling with a very small under seat backpack so I didn’t even need to leave it at the left luggage office at the airport; I could just breeze through and get on the train. Once I’m in the airport, I never for any reason; I just power walk my way right through security (having a Canadian passport helps so I can use the machines instead of having to speak to the guards), and I splurge on the London Heathrow Express ticket (I pre-purchase it online), which is just a little bit faster than the regular train. From the time the plane touched down to the time that I arrived at Paddington station was less than an hour.

The Heathrow Express will take you right to Paddington station in about 15 minutes, and from there you can get the Tube from the Paddington underground station to anywhere. But this time, I thought rather than getting on the tube to go somewhere else, I would just explore the area around Paddington.

Little Venice

When I lived in London, I was unaware of the area around Paddington as being anything special, but it is now apparently called Little Venice due to the fact that there are two canals that converge there. It’s a small but pleasant neighbourhood; relatively affluent with the usual shops cafes and pubs to poke around in, but the real treat is wandering along the canals. There are some small statues and clever bridges and newer buildings; but the best thing are the waterways themselves and the boats on them you can rent a boat or go on a boat tour, and spend your afternoon sailing around the canals, (not something that I’d recommend for a very short layover), or you could just admire them as you sit and have coffee on the path alongside the water, or you can have a fabulous lunch at any one of the of the boats or barges that have been converted into charming restaurants including one that is entirely devoted to cheese. On a sunny day it is a perfect place to wander around.

*Little Venice boat and a group of ladies who brunch*

Beyond the canals

I think even had I had a shorter layover it would have been great to have come there and just walked along the canal and had a coffee and a bite to eat, but I ended up with more time than anticipated so I wandered around a little bit more over to Hyde Park and passed some of the beautiful Regency buildings and smaller parks. It was springtime and the flowers were blooming and the sun shining. I poked into a few of the mewses and tried not to annoy the people that lived there as I took a few pictures of their picturesque streets.

Some shots of a lovely spring day in London

Back to Heathrow

And that was that. I spent a couple of hours walking around, had a coffee and a falafel, and then I made my way back to Heathrow for my connecting flight to Oslo. Going back was equally quick and efficient. I could have stayed longer in London but I’m always a little bit anxious about getting back to the airport with more than enough time. After all, I wanted to enjoy some airport lounge time. It all felt very decadent. And from there I was on to Oslo for what would be the shortest international trip of my life.

Asia Asian capital trip 2023 Japan

Goodbye, 3D Cat: My final day in Tokyo

Good Morning, Goth Girl

I spent my third night in Tokyo (but my first sleeping in my bookstore hostel bunk). I awoke to my third day in Japan realizing that I would leave in the later afternoon. I had done so much in my first two days in Tokyo. I felt satisfied but I also realized it was a place that merited a very long visit to really see the city and to get even a good understanding of it. Months. Maybe years. But I didn’t have that long. I had hours. I showered and scarfed down the complimentary breakfast at the hotel: an ink black dyed bread sandwich with a strawberry and whipped cream filling washed down with a latte dyed black to match the sandwich. I assure you: this is not my customary breakfast, and, despite my appearance, I would not normally pick out a goth-looking breakfast. This is Tokyo, not missing a moment to surprise me.

A cemetery wander

I hadn’t been to a single museum or gallery in Tokyo. Normally I will visit a couple, but I had so little time and I wanted to spend my time walking. (I will have to return just to see museums and galleries.)

I made sort of meandering path over to Yanaka cemetery on foot. It seemed like a nice stroll and who doesn’t love a cemetery walk on a grey day?

I left Shinjuku and made my way. It was pleasant, if not remarkable. I passed some different looking buildings and some small shrines, many with pink blossoms stretching open. I walked down a couple of narrow alley ways and sneaked peeks at wooden buildings and their serene courtyards.

The streets were quiet. It was raining just a little and people must have been at work. It felt peaceful.

The cemetery itself (Yanaka Reien aka Yanaka Bochi) was virtually empty. It started to rain, so I did not linger long, but still enjoyed my walk among the tombstones and shrines.

I wandered back to Shinjuku where I had a final bowl of ramen.

Costs. An aside.

A word about the expense of being in Japan. Ever since I was little, I heard about how expensive Tokyo is. $200 for a lunch. $500 a night for accommodations. That sort of thing. I am not about to tell you that Tokyo is a budget destination…but it isn’t extraordinarily expensive. I’m Canadian, which means my currency buys me far less than US dollars, Euros, or British Pounds, and still I found Tokyo affordable.

My two centrally located, atmospheric hostels were over my usual budget, but were still less than $100/cdn a night (and there are far cheaper places to stay). My meals cost me less in Tokyo than in Vancouver. The food and drink prices were the same or lower and there is no added tax and no need for a tip. (Tax and tips in Vancouver add an extra 33%, assuming a 20% tip.). The subway was cheap and convenient. I spent most of my sightseeing just walking around and gawking at the city, which is free. Again, not cheap; but far from exorbitant. Don’t be afraid of the expense of Japan. (Be afraid of the expense of Switzerland.)

Sayonara, 3D Cat

I went for a final walk about Shinjuku and then checked out of my hotel and walked to the Shinjuku train station.

That train station is a bit tricky with its many entrances, and I knew if I took the wrong one I would never find my hostel, so I always made sure to exit from the same door, which was across the street from 3D cat – a stories-high 3D cat. It meows, sleeps, stretches, and lazily gazes at the people below. Sometimes it wears a little police hat. Why? I don’t know, but it served as my reassuring landmark every time I exited Shinjuku station. I gave the cat a final look and entered the station. (I wish I could say that I gave the cat a final nod as I left, but I didn’t. I am not in the habit of nodding at cats, real or virtual.)

I took the train from Shinjuku station; a very easy and efficient way to get to the airport (Haneda).

Tokyo was amazing. I was happy to have been surprised and, at times, challenged by it. I really want to go back and see more of Japan. I know there are so many things to experience. I’m even thinking about how I could easily fly there for a long weekend, just to eat perfect strawberries, smoke cigars in the coolest bar, and enjoy and the peculiarities.

I flew home by way of Los Angeles and Seattle. And so ended my Asian capital ‘whistle stop tour’ that had started in Manila 11 days prior.

I usually feel a little sad when a trip ends, but this time I had the comfort of knowing that the next month I would be in Oslo.

Asia Asian capital trip 2023 Japan

On the Town in Tokyo: food, temples, sex shops

My first day in Tokyo was so amazing, how could there be more? But there was. More weirdness! More food! More of everything!

Vegetarian heaven at the 7-11

On my second full day in Tokyo, I started by taking the train from Shinjuku to The Tsukiji outer market. Well actually, I started at the 711. Being a vegetarian and being on a budget in a place like Tokyo the 711 is my best friend. Most things are labelled in English and Japanese, the prices are evident, and, amazingly, the food that they sell there is very delicious and tastes pretty fresh. (I found the same thing in Taiwan.) So I went to the 7-11 and grabbed some sort of canned coffee beverage and helped myself to one of the many packaged rice/mushroom/tofu snacks that they had. It was a bargain, it tasted good and felt somewhat authentic to the area, and I could eat it on the go and carry on with my sightseeing.

On to the market…

Tsukiji outer market

I had read that the Tsukiji outer market had closed, but that turned out not to be true. I guess it’s just smaller than it used to be or something, but there are still market activities ongoing and it was great. I didn’t go into any of the buildings, but the streets were lined with food vendors and throngs of people lined up to eat the food that was being prepared.

Most of it was off limits to me – meat and fish – but there were lots of fruits and vegetables and delicious sweet snacks. This is where I first had strawberries in Tokyo. I know strawberries don’t sound exotic, but in Tokyo they are something special. My issue with strawberries is that they’re delicious, however, if you buy a basket, half of them (at least) are likely to be inedible, mushy, mealy, or bland. In Tokyo, however, every strawberry that I ate on my short visit (which was a lot) was perfect. Perfect flavor, perfect texture, perfect colour. I’m sure it’s done through some sort of scientific trickery, but I don’t care. If I could have strawberries this great at home my life would be better.

I also had some delicious oranges and some lovely little rice cakes, and found place to have coffee.

Ginza

From the Tsukiji outer market it was a short walk through Ginza to the Imperial Palace. Ginza did have some impressive sites and I stopped for coffee two to three times on the way. Ginza is a newer, affluent neighbourhood that reminded me a little bit of 5th Avenue in New York, but with decidedly more tourist rickshaws.

I popped into a mall and visited a Hello Kitty store where I loved everything but bought nothing (though I was tempted).

Hibiya Park & Imperial Palace

On the way to the Imperial Palace, I also stopped at Hibiya Park. It’s the sort of place that I would be impossibly picturesque in autumn with the changing leaves. (Seriously, if you are planning a trip, google pictures of this park; it is stunning.) Had I come about a week or so later the entire park (and city really) would have been filled with cherry blossoms (and tourists), however, when I arrived, most of the trees in Tokyo were only just starting to get blossoms with a few in full bloom. It was still lovely for a walk though past the ponds and statues. The best thing about Hibiya Park at the time I visited were these very tall trees (I don’t know the name of them and if someone does know please e-mail me because I would love to know) and they were the most beautiful trees that I saw in Tokyo. They look like the trees that you would see in traditional Japanese paintings. I thought they were stunning.

I walked over to the Imperial Palace, but I didn’t realize how until I got there, however, that if you want to see inside, you need to book a visit ahead of time. (I wasn’t that fussed about seeing it; I just had more time for sightseeing in Tokyo than I had expected.) I simply walked around the grounds, seeing more trees that were amazing: dozens of bonsai-looking trees except full size and planted in a perfect grid pattern around an excellent statue of 14^th Century Samurai warrior Kusunoki Masashige. And I caught glimpses of the palace and the bridge over the river.

Not so serene Sensō-ji Temple

From the from the Imperial Palace, I took the train to another temple: Sensō-ji. A Buddhist temple dating from the 600s (but destroyed in and rebuilt after the 2^nd World War).

The temple itself was big and impressive, but slightly less enjoyable than it might have been though due to the crowds.

There were apparently places near Sensō-ji Temple where you could rent traditional Japanese clothes and wear them for photo opportunities. So what that meant was there were lots of women walking around dressed as geisha and posing for pictures. It was kind of fun to see but also kind of annoying as they took forever to take a basic photo. I don’t personally have the desire to dress up in costumes to wander around religious sites but it’s kind of fun that other people do.

I had a bowl of Roman and carried on my way.

Akhibara Action

From Sensō-ji Temple I took the train to Akhibara, which is a neighbourhood that’s considered to be the centre of all things video games and manga and anime and lots of other things that I have absolutely no connection with. But even being unfamiliar with the genres of entertainment and the characters from them, it was a fun neighbourhood to walk around in. There were so many people dressed up in costumes and ads and signs and video screens for…entertainment stuff. I recognized none of the characters, but they were very fun to look at and there were lots of shops filled with costumes and memorabilia and video games and manga books. Everyone seemed to be very excited about to be there and their excitement was a little bit contagious.

The thing that I found the most fascinating though was the fairly pervasive pervy sex culture in the neighbourhood. It wasn’t menacing; it was more playful. There was a seven-story tall building that was entirely sex toys and sex costumes. I visited every floor.

The sex shop. I only got one picture inside before i discovered photos are not allowed.

And there were lots of cafes and businesses that advertise girls. I can’t tell you what happened inside. I didn’t go. I don’t know if they’re real girls or virtual girls. It was fascinating to walk around and observe. And it all seemed uniquely Japanese.

These three pictures might actually be from Shinjuku, but there was similar stuff in Akhibara.

Interlude in Ebisu

From Akhibara I took the train over to Ebisu for no particular reason other than I had some time and I heard that it was a nice neighbourhood, and it was. It wasn’t remarkable, but it was a pleasant neighbourhood for a wander and a snack and there was a bit of street art to look at.

Book and Bed

At this point it was late afternoon and I had to deal with some business. I had booked myself two nights at the capsule hotel that I stayed at when I originally arrived in Tokyo, but I had decided that I would spend my third and final night in a different accommodation, so I had to move my backpack over there and check-in. The Book and Bed Tokyo hostel.

The Book and Bed hostel is also a capsule style hostel in Shinjuku. What makes it special is all of the bunks are inside bookshelves in a bookstore. When you walk into the bookstore it looks fairly normal, but in between the books are squares (just big enough to crawl into) with black curtains. Inside are little bunks for sleeping. There are shared bathrooms and showers. There are no lockers or any way to secure your bunk but, I mean, it’s Tokyo, nobody is going to steal anything from you.

I decided to only stay there for one night because one I wasn’t entirely sure how comfortable this was going to be staying in a little plywood box behind a bookcase, and it was a little bit more expensive, so I just booked the one night. It was super cool. As soon as I arrived I was delighted with my little bunk hidden amongst the bookshelves. The neat thing about it was all these people were just browsing it books and sitting around reading books during the day and it was really quite lovely. At night, when I came back from my evening out, it was as quiet as … well, as a bookstore after hours. There was a few people sitting out and reading, but most people had gone to bed and the whole place was perfectly quiet. I felt like some sort of a character in a children’s book, going into sleep behind the bookcases and waking up in the middle of the night and tiptoeing around. It was a really unique and fun experience.

So I moved into my new hostel and set up my stuff and then I went out for my final evening.

Shinjuku Re-do

I decided to stay in Shinjuku. It really was my favorite part of Tokyo that I had seen and especially at night with the lights and all the little eateries. I was bolstered with confidence from the night before where I learned that I could in fact find vegetarian things to eat at the tiny little shoe box restaurants, and so I went out.

First off though, was the same bar that I gone to the night before, only because I knew that it was cigar friendly and had an excellent atmosphere, so I went there and had a cigar and a cocktail.

And then I went back to one of the many streets crowded with restaurants; people sitting shoulder to shoulder at counters while chefs cooked up meals in steamy clouds and men smoked cigarettes and drank ice cold beers.

Regular sized restaurants? …I was looking for something smaller.

*Cramped and Cozy. Perfect.* *Also, note the sign in English: “All seats are smoking.” I had found my spot.*

I found an empty stool next to a man at one of the restaurants. He was clearly a foreigner and I asked if I could sit next to him, and he said I could. He was visiting from California, not on vacation, but as a baseball scout. I was fascinated. I know nothing about baseball, but it was interesting to talk to him. He was a guy that traveled all over the world looking for baseball players, drinking and gambling too much and having a really good time doing it. He was a self-described degenerate. We had an engaging and lighthearted chat as we ate and smoked. I left him at the restaurant and wandered off.

I walked around and looked at the lights some more. I could have done that forever; it’s just so magnetic and exciting. Every corner reveals some sort of appealing weirdness. But I’m not really that much of a night person, so before it got too late, I went back to my little bookcase cubbyhole and went to sleep.

The next day would be my third and final day in Tokyo.

Asia Asian capital trip 2023 Japan

Konnichiwa, Tokyo!

Arrival in Tokyo, Japan

Of all the countries I had already been to, I hadn’t been to Japan. I was excited to visit Japan when I was about 12 (never happened; I just wanted to go) and over time my interest waned. I kept hearing about how great it was, but I remained lukewarm. Sure, I love Japanese horror movies and Hello Kitty, and I am fascinated by their weird porn culture, but none of it motivated me to buy a ticket. And then I was hopping around Asian capital cities and the time felt right. And Tokyo astonished me.

The more I travel, the more difficult it is for me to be surprised by a place. Places start to remind me of other places. I get more savvy. Things get easier. But Tokyo surprised me on numerous levels. Sure, it has a lot on common with other big East Asian capitals, but it was also so distinct. The food, the social interactions, the culture – even basic things like using machines to order ramen or flushing some of the very complicated toilets – so much of it really took me out of my element and I loved it. (I will say right now: yes, the toilets are weird and complicated, and I think heated toilet seats are disgusting but some of the other features were pretty nice.)

I arrived in Tokyo from Kuala Lumpur on a flight that got me in just after midnight, so I was unable to take the train to my Shinjuku hostel. Not feeling too disappointed about that, as I was eager to get to my accommodations, I got into a taxi. It was weird right from the start. The taxi looked like an English black cab and the driver was wearing a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, like a casting room castoff from Reservoir Dogs. He wore a chauffeur’s cap and had short but shaggy grey hair that I wasn’t sure was not a wig. I couldn’t tell if the man was 30 or 70. He seemed like a young man playing the part of an old man in community theatre. He spoke a little English, which he used to tell me long winded stories about animals that turned out to be jokes. The whole thing felt weird.

Sleeping Capsule

We pulled up outside my hotel at about 1:30am on a busy, bright street. The Shinjuku Kuyakusho-mae Capsule Hotel. Picking it wasn’t difficult. I knew I wanted to stay in Shinjuku, and I knew I wanted to stay in a capsule hotel. This place was cheap and met my criteria. I thought that staying there might be a penance in exchange for a neat experience, but it was great. I was on the women’s only floor and had a floor level capsule, which I found super cozy. It had a roof-mounted, old-fashioned CRT TV that played whatever was on Japanese TV, wifi, and power outlets. Unexpectedly, it also came with pyjamas, slippers, towels, and pretty much every toiletry you could think of was available in the shower/bathroom.

The only downside, I guess, was the common area room had only vending machines, so you have to go out for coffee (unless you want coffee in a can, which I didn’t but drank anyway). In the common area, with so many men and women wandering around in pyjamas (identical, except that the men wore grey and the women pink), it felt like I had joined a cult. And I was ok with that.

I was so excited about the lively neon washed streets and my cool cult sleeping cubby that I didn’t want to sleep at all. But I did. For a few hours. And then it was time to finally see Tokyo.

But first, coffee

My first stop was the Meiji Jingu Shrine, but first coffee and the subway. I was staying in Shinjuku, which, as far as I could tell, was the epicentre of everything I wanted from Japan: tight vertical neon signs, ramen shops, tiny bars and restaurants, lots of young people in cool street style clothes, and cute things.

I was looking for a café – not something that Japan is known for – but I found an excellent, bright, and modern café where I had a perfect cup of coffee, followed by a French pastry of some sort. I’m not usually a big pastry eater but it was very early, I was starving, and most things were not yet open. I have to say that it was possibly the best pastry I have ever had. I’m not a foodie. I like to eat but food is not an important part of why I travel; that said, sometimes the food in a place is so great or unusual that it becomes a part of the trip (like Myanmar and Georgia). Tokyo was awesome for food. Everything I ate, no matter how cheap, was perfect. Being a vegetarian and being on a budget there made things a little more challenging, but I could always find something delicious to eat. The ramen. The strawberries. This pastry.

After I had my coffee and perfect pastry, I went to the subway station to go to the Meiji Jingu Shrine.

In a Station of the Metro

The Tokyo subway system can be a little bit daunting. There are numerous lines and as far as I could tell it was difficult or impossible to get a ticket that would be good for all of the subway lines all day. When entering the subway station, you’re confronted with banks of machines that sell you tickets, but different ones in different spots, and it wasn’t entirely clear to me whether each machine would sell you tickets for all the lines or not, but I never had any trouble buying a ticket and figuring out where to go. It just took a bit of time of staring at the map and plotting out routes. I know it’s not fashionable to have paper maps anymore, but having a paper map of the Tokyo subway system was super convenient for me. All in all, the subway was amazing. It wasn’t very expensive, it went almost everywhere in the city I wanted to go, and it was a joy to ride.

Sometimes I felt like a big oaf, not knowing where to stand (some trains have different queues for different trains at the same time on the same platform) and being taller than everyone else, and being one of the only people not wearing a mask but no one gave me a look – well, except one time when I accidentally knocked a man over and his CANE fell out of his hand. Yeah, that wasn’t my best moment. I just repeated “I’m so sorry” over and over as I helped him up. Even then though no one really acknowledged me, except the man I toppled. Weirdly though he seemed to apologize to me.

That was one thing that stood out to me about Tokyo. I felt invisible No one looked me in the eye or spoke to me or acknowledged me in any way unless we were engaged in a commercial transaction or unless I specifically spoke to them, and in the latter case they didn’t seem too keen to talk to me. It was bizarre.

Shrine Time

I arrived at the station near the Meiji Jingu shrine (Harajuku Station) and walked to the shrine.

I walked through Yoyogi Park with its tall trees. It was very quiet; it was hard to believe that it was right in the middle of the city. The shrines (dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his wife and built in 1920) were lovely. Peaceful. There were places where people could write down what I assume were prayers or wishes and tie them to structures around trees. It was lovely. I’m not in any way a spiritual person, but I certainly can appreciate beautiful trees and serenity.

There was one astonishing tree near the middle of the temple complex. It was enormous and so perfectly round that it almost looked like a cartoon tree. It was one of the first of what I can only say are extraordinary trees that I saw in Tokyo. When I hear people talk about Tokyo, I never hear them talk about the trees, but I saw several trees there that were so beautiful that they look like they should have been in paintings. It really stood out to me.

From there I walked over to the Harajuku neighborhood, famous for its youthful wacky fashions and cafes. Admittedly, I was there too early. I should have gone later in the day. A lot of the stores were closed or just opening when I got there. So the street was quiet and didn’t have a lot of what I imagine is the energy that it would have later in the day, but I still enjoyed walking around. It was interesting to see the odd cafes that they had, like an otter café, a micro pig café, cat cafes, dog cafes…it was random.

And cafes for Sanrio characters, and stores selling cute costumes and wigs and so you can dress up like a living doll. It was interesting. What was also interesting was walking around that neighborhood off Takeshita Street where there were some cool cafes (without animals) and clothing stores. I stopped and had coffee and looked at some random art and window displays.

From Harajuku it is just a short walk to the Shibuya crossing; That famous intersection that gets flooded with pedestrians walking in every direction imaginable. The best way to get a view of it is to go to the roof of the building. but that wasn’t open when I was there, so I went upstairs to the Starbucks in a record store and from there I got a view of the intersection. I have to say it wasn’t as dramatic as I expected it to be, but it was a lot of people walking in all directions and it’s a quintessential Tokyo sight, so I had to see it.

Ah, Ramen

I made my way back to Shinjuku, and had a bowl of ramen en route. I’m not usually a ramen fan, but in Tokyo I am. I am ashamed to say that I needed help ordering from the machine the first time. (I don’t know how I was screwing it up; pushing the buttons in the wrong order or something.) It seems that in most ramen joints, you order from a machine before sitting down and then your ramen is wordlessly delivered to you. Excellent. No perky server bothering you to ask, “How are the first few bites tasting!” Just leave me in peace to slurp my soup.

Smoking Cigars in Shinjuku

I went back to my hotel my capsule to get freshened up. I had plans for the evening.

About 20 years ago I worked at a La Casa Del Habano (cigar store) in Vancouver and the manager of the store at the time was a fellow whose family was from Hong Kong. We didn’t stay in touch, and he had since move back to Hong Kong. But on the day that I arrived in Tokyo, he and his wife happened to be arriving in Tokyo from Hong Kong (discovered via Facebook). He messaged me to see if I wanted to get together. I did. This turned out to be one of the best parts about my trip to Tokyo, not only because I got to see my friend from so many years ago, but because he and his wife are very familiar with Tokyo and speak a bit of Japanese and they were able to introduce me to some things that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do on my own. Thing one: finding may be the best place to smoke cigars in Shinjuku.

We went to a bar on the 4th floor of a building in Shinjuku that looked completely unremarkable. If I didn’t know there was a bar on the 4th floor I would have never known to go upstairs, but once upstairs it was one of the most perfect bars I have ever been to. It was tiny (sat about 12 people), it was dark, it had an incredible selection of whiskeys and drinks, it was long and narrow like a train car, it played excellent jazz music. The bartender was dressed almost identically to my taxi driver the night before: black suit, white shirt, black tie. And of course, the best thing, you could smoke cigars inside. I met my friend and his wife up there and we sat and smoked cigars and caught up, reminiscing about old times and catching up on new ones. It was so much fun and felt so civilized to be able to smoke cigars inside.

We left the bar and went over to one of Tokyo’s yokocho (alleyways) that are lined with tiny restaurants. This one: Omoide Yokocho.

More commonly known in English as “piss alley” for reasons that I probably don’t have to explain. It is a tiny little alley near Shinjuku station, lined with teeny tiny little eateries. The eateries are just counters (no tables) and the chefs cook up the food in front of you and serve it on tiny plates. I guess it’s like izakaya, but there seems to be a distinction between izakaya and a yokocho eatery that I don’t understand. Almost everyone sitting at those counters is smoking and drinking beer or tiny thimblefuls of what I assume is saki. It’s so charming and so picturesque that is exactly the sort of place that I would have wanted to go and eat but would have not really been able to eat on my own.

None of the signs are in English, of course, and I speak no Japanese. Even looking at the food that they are serving I couldn’t figure out what it was. Is that tofu or fish or egg? I had no idea. But fortunately, my friend did, so we sat down at a bar in a tiny little eatery next to a man gleefully and drunkenly polishing off a pack of cigarettes with his drinks and snacks. My friend ordered me a tiny little plate of objects that vaguely resembled food. He assured me they were all vegetarian. And they tasted great.

It was a wonderful introduction to an area that I would have not been able to fully enjoy on my own. It was a good reminder of the fact that as much as I think solo traveling is the absolute best, it is excellent to be able to connect with people in local areas and have a different experience.

We parted ways and I went back to my capsule, totally content after one day in Tokyo. Had this been my only day in Tokyo, I would’ve been pretty happy, but I had more time and there was more to see. The next day would bring more sights, more ramen, and a new weirder accommodation.

Asia Asian capital trip 2023 Malaysia

Batu Caves, Sightseeing, & A Weird Conversation in KL

The Batu Caves

My second day in Kuala Lumpur, I got up early to go to the Batu Caves. Mountain caves reached by rainbow stairs like the ascent into a gay pride heaven? With mischievous monkeys? Sign me up. While it does have picture perfect rainbow stairs and cute monkeys, it is a proper Hindu shrine to Kartikeya, aka Murugan (aka a lot of other things), a Hindu warrior/scholar god (I’m sure that is an oversimplification) and inside the cave, in addition to all of the tourists, are people engaging in prayer and ritual. But whether you are pious or curious (I was the latter) it is a great place to visit.

The Batu Caves are very easily reached from Kuala Lumpur by train. You could take a tour or an uber, but that seems silly when, for a few bucks, you can be whisked there by rail.

I took the train and made two stops. I wasn’t expecting the second one, but the train stopped, and all passengers had to get off. I was only momentarily confused – until I saw the sign pointing me to the platform from which to continue my journey. At the other end, you walk out of the station and it’s just … right there.

There are some smaller temples. Very colourful and thick with depictions of various deities. There is also a huge statute of a monkey god, Hanuman.

In addition to the temples are outdoor cafes and people selling flowers and coconuts and snacks. It all feels lively.

Going in the morning was a good idea. It wasn’t too busy or too hot. The steps look like a lot of effort, but it’s not that far and lots of people are stopping to take pictures, catch their breath or fend off monkey advances.

Inside it is dark and cool and the air has plumes of incense smoke from the temples. There isn’t much else to do there. There are some art displays and birds, but really, you’re there for the temple, which is visited relatively quickly.

I had a cold coconut and trained back to Kuala Lumpur.

An afternoon wander

In the afternoon I wandered around to a lot of the same places I had the day before, had some more laksa, and stopped into a new cigar lounge, also steps from my hostel. Unlike the one the night before in the Petronas Towers, this one felt like an authentic Havana lounge. Very nice and a good selection of cigars, including some rare ones.

I took the train over to the mosque to visit it (it was closed to visitors at the time) and then went to the Museum, which was excellent.

Evening

In the evening, I had dinner with the girl I met at my hostel, the girl from Netherlands who was about the be a lawyer. We had a nice dinner after walking around the city looking for a suitable place to eat. Kuala Lumpur is busy at all hours, and I liked the liveliness. I wouldn’t say I loved Kuala Lumpur, and it didn’t excite me, but I certainly liked it. I could imagine living there for a time.

The final morning…and a weird conversation

The next day I had to leave for the airport at about 11 am, so I went for a final walk around the neighbourhood. A fellow tourist offered to take my photo in front of the Petronas Towers, which was nice, to have a picture of me that is not the usual selfie.

Back at my hostel, I sat out front with a coffee and a cigar until it was time to leave. A fellow at the next table started talking to me, asking questions about my cigar. He joined me at my table. He was in his early 30s and from a smaller city near Kuala Lumpur, but had gotten divorced and moved to the city for work, traveling back often to visit his five kids. I asked him how he liked living in Kuala Lumpur. “I love it,” he said, “there are so many MILFs.” Of all the answers he might have given me, that was not once I could have guessed. He told me he “loves Chinese MILFs” and the ones in Kuala Lumpur were the best. He showed me pictures of some of his lady friends (all attractive Chinese women in their 50s), including one who produced porn movies, he said.

It’s always interesting to talk with strangers; you never know who you will encounter. I don’t know why people feel comfortable telling me about their sexual proclivities (I swear I don’t initiate these conversations), but they do, from the guy in Colombia who told me about his first sexual experiences with a donkey to the guy in Iraq who told me about how he married the woman his parents approved of but how he has been having a years’ long affair with his true love, to the guy in Canada who told me that his sexual fetish is watching ISIS decapitation videos during sex…people just tell me things. I always say that one of the great things about travel is that it reminds me that, fundamentally, people are all the same – including that people everywhere have their sexual secrets.

I ended my conversation with ‘MILF Lover’ and headed to the airport on the train. My next and final stop on this trip would be Tokyo.