Hiroshima

Hiroshima was an incredibly moving experience from start to finish.

Pretty much the only thing left standing on the ground after the blast was the Industrial Promotion Hall. Ironically, it is situated right next to the T-shaped Aioi Bridge, which was the pilot's visual target from the air on the day that the Enola Gay all but removed Hiroshima from the face of the earth 67 years ago. The bomb detonated about 600 metres above the actual building and it has been left just as it was when the city was decimated on 6th August, 1945.

The Atomic Bomb Dome, (as it is now known), stands opposite the Peace Park, which is itself home to the Peace Museum and countless memorials to commemorate the victims. These include the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound, containing the ashes of 70,000 unidentified victims of the bomb, as well as the statue of Sadako Sasaki holding a golden crane. Sadako became an international symbol for peace after dying of leukemia at the age of 12 in 1955. Aged just 2 at the time of the blast, she was a mile away from its epicenter, but the walls of her house could not protect her from the threat of the radiation. After contracting the disease before reaching her teens, she tried in vain to fold a thousand paper cranes in the belief that this would help her to recover. She died before she could complete them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkECxqjdj0g

Japan

Having just returned from an incredible trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, here is a short film briefly documenting some of the many things I was lucky enough to experience throughout the journey. More will follow shortly on the places I visited during my stay, starting with Hiroshima which not surprisingly was incredibly moving.

In the meantime, here's an overview of the vast diversity of wonderful sights 

 that Japan has to offer during Springtime. 

A weekend in Hong Kong

Taking the short 2-hour flight to Hong Kong at the beginning of March in the hope of doing a

spot of sightseeing proved to be somewhat optimistic to put it mildly.

After returning to Manila feeling a little disappointed, (as well as cold and wet after a 17 degree drop in the daytime temperature), a friend who used to live in Hong Kong confirmed that it's just about the worst time of year to go. The weather is miserable and the view is pretty much non-existent. I guess this is one time I should have done my research a little more thoroughly.

One of the most interesting experiences of the weekend for me was staying at the T Hotel on Hong Kong Island. The T Hotel is a government run facility where trainee staff receive official on the job training in the true sense of the word. Consequently, from the moment you enter the main door, you are continually lavished with an unbelievable level of service, enthusiasm and goodwill. At times it's almost a little too overwhelming, but it's nevetheless fascinating to spend a day there.

Taking an afternoon meal in the restaurant was almost surreal, as one trainee was put through his paces in front of our very eyes. We watched engrossed as under close scrutiny, he demonstrated how to wait on the guests. Openly observed by four fellow trainees making mental notes while standing right behind him, as well as an on-looking manager ever-ready to give advice, he laid the cutlery at a neighbouring table, before being sent back to move it just a few millimetres to the right. Ironically, the guest who was eating there hadn't even noticed that anything was amiss, and the entire scene had something distinctly Pythonesque about it. When I took a break from watching the action to go to the toilet, after returning I found that my serviette had been folded up and replaced as new on my table. The moment I sat down, a waiter appeared from nowhere again to unravel it and place it back on my lap. This happened every time I got up, even when crossing the room to get a glass of orange juice.

Upon check-in, a very young Mandarin-speaking trainee spent what felt like 15 minutes proudly explaining every single gadget in our hotel room in his pre-learned English. I really felt for him constantly stumbling over the Ls and Rs throughout his long explanation, but he managed to keep a smile on his face throughout this entire session of what must have felt like linguistic torture.

I can't ever remember staying anywhere even remotely similar where the entire staff endeavoured so much to create a lasting and favourable impression, and if I ever go back to Hong Kong, the T Hotel is unquestionably the place I'll stay. The staff are so helpful and eager to please, and the experience there is quite simply priceless.

Tribal Dancing

The Philippines are rightly renowned for their colourful and vibrant festivals. Dinagyang, which is unquestionably one of the most famous, is held annually in Iloilo at the end of January. Whist en-route, we stayed for two nights in Bacolod on the nearby island of Negros. My first experience there, (and I kid you not), was to spot a "Black Sambo" listed openly on a restaurant menu! Apparently I was the only one who found this offensive. Negros is evidently not a place that will be renowned for its political correctness anytime soon.

The journey across to Iloilo on Panay island is a 90-minute boat ride, and as always, the passengers are blessed via the on-board TV screen before departing.

The festival itself is an extravaganza of garish costumes, rythmic tribal drum beats, painted skin and some incredible dancing. It begins with a parade through the city and later ends with each of the tribes performing in the large stadium before a raucous crowd of enthusiastic spectators. It was quite a day.

Chinese New Year

The Chinese community celebrated the start of their New Year at the end of January. 

Witnessing the traditional dragon dance as part of the festivities 

in our hotel lobby was a really enjoyable experience. 

Midget boxing!

Manila certainly caters to some very strange tastes and preferences. Should you seek confirmation, look no further than a bar called Ringside on the edge of the red light district.

I told Kev about this place over Christmas dinner. From the moment he heard about it, he was frequently talking about going down there to check it out for himself. I'm pleased to say that I've never been in there. Admittedly, I do have some testosterone-driven fantasies that Manila could easily fulfil, were I able to ignore my conscience and better judgement. However, watching midgets punch each other isn't one of them and it never will be.

Kev, however, was determined to see it with his own eyes, so on his last night here, he and Jule took in a piece of the action. No sooner had they gone in the bar, than Kev found himself invited to referee the next bout. Needless to say he needed no second invitation.

Now I could be wrong but it definitely looks as if the midgets are wearing nappies in the photos! Whatever their attire, I got the distinct feeling the morning after, when Kev eventually surfaced with something of a brutal hangover, that he couldn't quite believe he'd willingly parted with so much money for the privilege of experiencing something so incredibly bizarre. Apparently, he'd had to show his appreciation by buying the midgets a shot apiece (or should I call the drink a 'short'!), after watching them box. Looking at the pictures that Jule took of him ringside, I have to confess that I am in no way tempted to follow in his footsteps. Next time I'm down in P. Burgos, I'll do what I normally do and have a tonic water while enjoying some of the more usual tourist sights that Manila has to offer.

Driving on Provincial Filipino Roads

It's no exaggeration to say that the amazing 7 day road trip we experienced after Christmas was only made possible by the fact that we had such a skilled driver behind the wheel of our hire car. Arnel's presence was extremely reassuring for so many reasons, not least because driving in the Philippines often quite literally means taking your very life in your hands. Below are just some examples of the hazards Arnel had to overcome while driving us around the provinces.

Rain-drenched slippery roads of deep mud and full of potholes were almost impassable in our 

Toyota Innova. At times there was even a steep drop off the edge. It was no small feat that
Arnel skillfully negotiated his way along several miles of this track
during the dead of night in pitch darkness.

Carbon-monixide poisoning was a constant danger when travelling behind a public bus 

embellished with the slogan 'Your safety and comfort is our main concern'!

Overhanging rocks can collapse at any time....

... and quite frequently do.

At such times it's important to keep a look-out for workmen who are actually catching
falling rocks even as you drive by. Dense fog makes it almost impossible
to see them until they are just metres away.

Any number of protruding objects can puncture your tyres on unfinished roads.

Road repairs are often carried out with mud rather than gravel or tarmac.

The dust is pretty horrendous for your lungs at times too.

Arnel - King of the Road

Overtaking trikes is a real nightmare, as they are so numerous and unpredictable. 

Some kids riding them look as young as ten.

Don't get too close to the back of a refuse truck, as you never know 

what (or who) will fall on your bonnet if you do.

Anything that moves is used as a vehicle, be it on roads or down alleyways. 

And for this very reason, as soon as you're back in the city, very little traffic moves at all.