One Crazy Day in Kyoto - Part Three

We'd been to temples; we'd had monkey encounters; and now evening was drawing close. New Year's Eve. What to do?

We both knew this would be our last New Year in Japan. My first year there, I saw in New Year avoiding cockroaches at my landlord's house as I fielded the advances of his drunken son-in-law and the conversation of his senile mother. The following year, I celebrated in New Zealand, having spent the day before (my birthday) stuck atop a volcano during a cyclone. It seemed I had created a trend of interesting ways to say goodbye to the year and this would prove no different.

Despite being in historic Kyoto, Nic and I thought it would be fun to have a little English-speaking company. A glance through one of the free tourist guides led us to a country and western bar, which was, according to the paper, very popular with gaijin. Perfect!

And so we made our way to Hillbilly Heaven. Yep, that was its name.

Sadly, our only picture of our country and western escapade.

It looked promising, even the signs on the door were in English. We waited outside for a while, hoping to see some other non-Japanese but soon decided to just go on in and join the fun.

Remember the famous phrase from the movie Field of Dreams? "If you build it, they will come." Looking back, I wonder if that was the inspiration behind the signs. If we put up signs in English, foreigners will come. 

The marketing trick hadn't worked.

As we entered Hillbilly heaven, the music stopped and all eyes turned upon us. All Japanese eyes. All dressed in the most elaborate and no doubt expensive urban cowboy gear either of us had ever seen. Hats, spurs, waistcoats, top to toe designer duds, complete with the obligatory (and so practical in the Wild West) fringe. I do not believe a Westerner had ever set foot in Hillbilly Heaven until now...and boy were they overjoyed to see us. 

The owner's wife bustled over and showed us to a free table, conveniently within view of everyone. Feeling that it would be incredibly rude to leave, we ordered a few beers and a pizza. Conversation resumed and soon the excitement began to grow. It was time for the promised New Year's Eve live musical entertainment. I cast an eye around the place, not seeing any signs of a band nor the space for them to set up. What was I thinking?

After a quick announcement, our entertainment arrived. Onto the tiny stage walked a little Japanese woman, dressed in a silver sequined cowgirl outfit, with matching hat and fringe. Her accompaniment? A small electronic synthesizer. 

There then followed a series of well-known Western classics, sung in terrible English. It was only 8 o'clock. Could we really stand another four hours of this. Worse still was the fact that everyone kept looking to us to make sure we liked each song and found it authentically American. 

After an hour or so, our musical star performed a rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Wiru Aruways Rub Youuuuu" that haunts me to this day. It was getting increasingly hard not to laugh and we desperately did not want to offend anyone. Making our excuses about another party, we thanked everyone for a wonderful evening and left, waiting until we reached the car to burst out into a quick verse or two.

Back to the ryokan, only to spend time hiding in our room from the owner who desperately wanted to feed us mochi. (Small children can choke on that stuff!)

By eleven, we decided to head back out in search of revelry and entertainment, or a temple. Yet we could find nothing. We wandered aimlessly through the streets of downtown Kyoto when suddenly we chanced a purely magical scene. A choir in the middle of a square. We decided to join the small gathering of onlookers. As the countdown to midnight and a new year began, the choir burst into song. Fireworks erupted at midnight to the exquisite strains of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. Nic and I hugged and kissed, while those around us, amused by our actions, wanted to hug us as well. They handed us mugs of warm amazake and we shared traditions in a beautiful moment of friendship that remains with me to this day. 

A perfect ending to a perfect day. A joyful start to a joyful new year. 

One Crazy Kyoto Day - Part Two

So yesterday, I left us in Kyoto on New Year's Eve, visiting temples in the surrounding areas. What I didn't mention was the monkey population.

You didn't think I'd leave out monkeys, did you?

These two are Japanese macaques, also known as the Nihonzaru (Japanese monkey) or the snow monkey. They are the world's most northern living primate (with the exception of humans) and you may have seen pics of them enjoying a nice hot onsen in the snows of northern Honshu. They also have incredible swimming abilities.

Now, living in rural Japan for three years had taught us that occasionally the Japanese displayed odd behavior when it came to animals. When reports of a bear surfaced in the mountains near my school, children were given tambourines to carry with them as they walked home, the rationale being that the noise would scare the bear away. The neighboring town experienced complete mayhem one day when a wild boar came into town, raced along Main Street, through the small department store, and off again. Time for those tambourines and whistles again! My school went into lockdown one day because of a small snake outside the main door. Finally, the vice-principal snorted and braved the harmless grass snake, tossing him down a drain.

So when we saw a sign warning of dangerous monkeys, Nic and I honestly did not take it too seriously. NB: For those of you wondering about my suitability to be near primates in South Africa, please know that this happened 15 years ago and I have learned much since then.

The sign certainly seemed all the more implausible as we drove further up the road and passed several macaques waiting patiently in line...at the bus stop.

Look at the warning sign and now look at the guy below....

Kind of looks like all he's killing is time, waiting on that bus.

A few hundred yards or so further along the road, we came to a parking lot for a scenic look out, and a host of monkeys. Given the empty bags of corn chips and candy laying around, it seemed obvious that ignoring the directive not to feed the monkeys was being routinely ignored. Please, people, do NOT feed them. It is irresponsible, bad for their health, and potentially dangerous for you and the monkey.

Being mindful of the signs, I did, however, want to take some pictures. So we got out of the car and I started snapping away, being sure to keep a safe distance.

Unfortunately, we had not counted on the ingenuity of these little guys, or on the attractive smell of a tin of Band-Aids in our car. Despite it being New Year's Eve, the weather was cool and sunny, so we had left the windows wound down...which meant we turned back to the car to find one sneaky macaque exiting the back window, clutching the tin in the happy bliss of successful thievery.

Inspecting his booty.

At this point, I panicked. If they opened them and tried to eat them they could choke and die. The last thing I wanted on my conscience was having caused mass monkey death by Band-Aid!

What to do?

Enter Nic. My brave beau Nic.

Out of concern for me or the monkeys, I'm not sure which, he understood the need to retrieve the tin. So he calmly approached the happy bandit and raised his arms. The plan worked. Monkey dropped tin. Monkey left. Nic picked up tin.

Except monkey wasn't quite ready to give up, just yet.

He came back...with two buddies. Now in the picture above, Mr. Macaque doesn't look too big does he? His friends were bigger. And once they all reared up, arms above their heads, they looked significantly more like their friend on the warning sign.

One Nic. Three unhappy monkeys.

Nic chose the sensible plan. He dropped the tin, ran back to the car and we continued on our way to the temple.

When we drove back the same way later, we noticed that fortunately the monkeys had not eaten the Band-Aids. Instead, wrappers lay scattered everywhere while the three males strutted around with little stripey plasters attached to their fur. It added an extra dimension of fearsomeness.

Meanwhile, the women and kids were still waiting for that bus.

Wondering how the day could get any crazier? We haven't seen in the New Year yet. Come back tomorrow for the third and final installment, complete with cowboys, fireworks, and a rendition of Dolly Parton that will never be forgotten.

One Crazy Kyoto Day - Part One

As a break from talking about monkeys and apes, I plan to spend the next few days sharing the crazy events that all fell into one day back in 1997, while Nic and I were in Japan. Looking back through some old photos brought back a bunch of memories, and I promise, this all happened in one day.

Let me start with a little background. After college, I spent three years in Yamanashi, Japan, on the JET programme. I was in a wonderful small rural town, and taught at a junior high school there. During my time in Japan, I met my now-husband Nic. He was also on the JET programme in Yamanashi. In 1997, we decided to take a trip down to Kyoto after Christmas. Kyoto is an absolutely wonderful city. Some people prefer the 24 hour nonstop atmosphere of Tokyo, but for me, you can't beat Kyoto with its sense of history.

So there we were, New Year's Eve, 1997...

I should start by saying that we had driven to Kyoto, a fact that caused our Japanese friends to pause in amazement. Why not just take the train? For the simple reason that this gave us a bit more freedom to explore the city's surroundings. If you drive up into the mountains around Kyoto, you come across some delightful villages and temples which you would miss if you had to rely purely on public transport.

Yes, I had much less hair then.

We did spend quite a bit of time exploring the city, famous for its numerous temples. My advice if you ever visit: by all means, take some time to see the "big" ones - Kiyomizudera (Pure Water), Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), Sanjusandgendo, for starters; each has a flavor all of its own and to just visit one would be to miss out. But also take the time to visit some of the lesser known ones. I followed the tradition of many Japanese tourists and purchased a goshuin, a small book in which you can collect calligraphy and stamps at each temple. During my time in Japan, I amassed several of these small books. They are easy to pack and carry, and you have a wonderful souvenir of the individual stamps from each temple you visit.

And Nic had a little more hair back then.

We also spent some time happily wandering around the old street of the Gion district, catching the occasional glimpse of a geiko (the local name for geisha) rushing between appointments in the rain.

But since it was to be our final New Year in Japan, we decided to drive up into the hills to see some of the other temples and shrines as they prepared for New Year.

So armed with a map and a sense of adventure, off we went....

Now I will tell you about the drive there and back tomorrow, because that is a story in itself, but for now, I will leave you with a few photos of the preparations for New Year.

Ringing the bell as a prayer offering

Come back tomorrow for Part 2 - there'll be monkeys....

Many thanks to those who have already donated to my IndieGoGo campaign for primate volunteer work in South Africa. To read more about the project, or to donate, click here. 

Why Primates? Why me? Why Now?

Image courtesy of www.morguephoto.com

Did you have a passion as a kid? Mine was apes. I could spend hours watching the gorillas and chimps at the Aspinall parks in Kent, where I grew up. I wanted to learn more about them. My college friends even said that I was most likely to be trekking in the jungles saving apes in my future.

But I didn't believe in myself enough to follow that path. Instead, I went to grad school, worked, married, and settled down. Admittedly, I didn't exactly do that in a conventional way, but I knew I wasn't a scientist so what could I do?

As it turns out, I could and can do a lot. You see I write. I write for a living. I write about things that fascinate me. And I write to teach others. I've authored several books, written for encylopedias, magazines, and more. 

So now it's time.

It's time to believe in myself, believe in my dreams, and write about apes. 

I'm heading to South Africa. That's an important point - no matter how much funding I am able to raise here, I am going to South Africa in the spring of 2013 and I will be volunteering at a primate rescue facility. 

So where does IndieGoGo come in? Simple.

I can afford to spend some time at one facility, but the more I raise, the longer I can stay and the more research I can. Raising extra funds will allow me to spend time at two facilities, including Jane Goodall's Chimp Eden, where I can not only volunteer but undertake an in-depth primate education program, learning about chimp habitats, rehabilitation, conservation, and so on.

With that extra time, experience, and research, I can produce a better result:

• a book of photographs from my stay, illustrating conservation programes in South Africa
• a non-fiction book about my time there and about the importance of primate conservation programs 
• a slideshow and educational program which I can give at local schools and community groups

To learn more about my IndieGoGo campaign, click here. 

I'll be posting updates on this blog in the coming months, and will be starting a private blog for funders during my trip.

Get Ready for Something Big

I haven't been posting here much lately because I have been busy researching and making plans. As you may remember, earlier this year I was feeling quite down about my recent lack of travel, an impeding 40th birthday, and a sense that I have not followed many of my dreams.

I am please to tell you that I have decided to put some plans into action, and on Thursday, November 1, I will be making an announcement about future plans. It will involve some serious travel and some serious fun, not to mention some serious dreams coming true.

So be sure to check back then and in the coming months for updates.

Hotel Mirador, Mexico's Copper Canyon

Few hotels inspire you to sleep with the curtains open, let alone to get up before the crack of dawn while you’re on vacation. But you won’t want to miss the sunrise if you are staying at the Hotel Mirador in Mexico’s Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon).

Watching the sunrise from our room.

Built into the wall of one of the area’s multiple canyons, all rooms at the Mirador face the same way, providing magnificent views that stretch for miles. The décor is simple and comfortable, designed to reflect the local style; but it is the region’s nature that makes a stay here feel truly luxurious. From the break of day, when sounds begin to carry up from the Tarahumara houses scattered in the valleys below, to the stillness of evening, when it is hard to tell if a voice comes from just below or from miles away, the tranquility of the canyon makes it hard to leave.

Tarahumara Homes

Numerous hiking trails lead from the hotel, and cycling or horse riding are also available nearby. A small Tarahumara settlement is within easy walking distance, although tourists should remember that these are people’s private homes. On the other hand, you may choose to just stay put, enjoy the views from the balcony, and experience a peace unknown elsewhere.

Hotel Mirador

South of the Border: Ex-Pats in Mexico Share Their Thoughts About Safety

 I wrote the piece below last year but it was never published due to closures in the magazine industry.

Headlines warn to stay away from Mexico, telling of drug cartels that roam the streets, killing anyone who gets in their way… including tourists. A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle reported the violence has escalated. With killings in Acapulco and the bombing of a Guadalajara nightclub, the message is clear: visitors are also in danger.

Yet Mexico remains a popular destination for those relocating from the United States. I spoke with a number of expats to get their feelings about the dangers of Mexico. Did safety concerns play a part in their decision to move to Mexico, or their choice of location? Has the violence created any problems in their daily life? Their answers offered an interesting contrast to what the media has been saying.

Baja California (Photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com)

 

When people think of Baja, they think of Tijuana. But author Melinda Bates has lived in Baja California since 2006, and loves it: “It's beautiful, affordable, and has a different rhythm of life.” Baja California Sur is one of the lowest crime spots in Mexico. In addition to the tourist spots of Los Cabos, the region offers art, history, diving, hot springs, and hiking. Is there crime? Of course, but not enough to interfere with Melinda’s enjoyment of Mexican life.

Then there are the expats who have chosen to live in Tijuana itself. Mary-Ellen* moved across the border from San Diego just six months ago. A single female, nearing sixty, many would say that she is mad, but Mary-Ellen doubts that she will ever return to the States. As for safety: “I drive a car and use public transportation and had no problems. I have encountered more weirdos when using the San Diego trolley.”

The sense of safety is universal among the expats I spoke to. Sid Grosvenor, a former Dallas cop, moved to Guadalajara after the death of his first wife. He remarried and moved to Lake Chapala where he works as a realtor in the expat community. He comments, “As a former police officer I was impressed with the low crime rate at Lake Chapala. I spend more time explaining that the Lake Chapala area is still very safe. Our ladies here feel safe to walk in our towns and villages alone (even after dark).” Most locals he knows are horrified by the violence in the US, and he recalls how his Mexican mother-in-law would insist on praying over him before he traveled north to visit family and friends.

Michele Kinnon and her husband felt safe enough to move their entire family to Mexico. In 2004, they came to Playa del Carmen with their young children. The attractions were numerous: an investment in a growing city, a global atmosphere in which to raise their children, and an overall higher standard of living. Years later, they still do not regret their decision. “As a woman and a mother, at no time have I felt unsafe or concerned for the well-being of my children.” Michele works as a realtor. Although she has seen a few people decide against relocation to Mexico, the effect on her business has been minimal. “Most of our buyers are already familiar with this region and realize that drug violence in Monterrey will have no impact on their lifestyle in Playa del Carmen.”

The Mayan Riviera (Photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com)

Everyone I spoke with agreed that the media has failed to put the crime in Mexico within any larger context. Melinda Bates says, “The media has been very irresponsible in their reporting of violence in Mexico. They seem to think all places are the same, when in fact Mexico is a very large country. There is crime where I live now - just as there was crime where I lived in Washington DC - but no one says ‘don't go to Washington 'cause it's so dangerous!’”

There is also a sense that they are not at risk from drug cartels: “Since I'm not planning to be in East Tijuana at 3am in a Hummer trying to score dope, I feel quite safe!” (Melinda Bates)

Michele adds, “Is there violence in Mexico? Yes. Thinking that crime does not exist in any country would be naïve and unrealistic.” Nevertheless, the crime she has witnessed has been limited to petty theft. At no time has she ever felt that her children’s safety might be threatened.

So what tips would these expats offer to anyone considering a move to Mexico?

Melinda suggests, “We live a low key life, drive an old car, don't flash money around, don't wear much jewelry. That would be good advice for many places.”

Sid Grosvenor agrees: “The usual tips apply here (don't flash money, lock your homes, be alert to your surroundings.) Use common sense, but don't live in fear.”

Michele Kinnon offers the same advice that she would offer anywhere: “Doing your homework before you move your family anywhere in the world is a good investment of your time. Making sure the area you move to is safe and will provide you with the level of infrastructure that your family needs to live happily is essential.”

* Requested that last name be withheld.