Short work trips to European cities

In 2019, I had to make a couple of short work trips to some cities in Europe (and around). As they were for work, I spent most of my time between the hotel, office and the airport. But I did manage to snatch a few hours here and there to go outside, explore a bit of the city and walk around. And it felt awesome. At least I got some feel of the world outside, even if just for a few hours 😊. And so here are snippets of what I saw during my few hours outside, in Istanbul, Cairo, Asturias, Madrid, Dusseldorf and Milan.


Two days in Istanbul

I was in Istanbul for two days for a conference and I must say, even the two days were enough for me to again fall in love with the depth and variety of experiences in Istanbul. As soon as you land here, you feel a vibrancy in the air, which is difficult to explain. My flight landed past midnight but still I could see the city, alive at night all the way till the hotel. With its low and high lights, its teeming millions in the streets, the small hills in between and the mosques on top of those. Just the drive in brought back all the energy to explore the city all over again...

Our take-off point

The first day, we had a yacht ride on the Bosporus. We got into the yacht from one of the palaces on the side, and then were in the water for the next few hours. We went up and down the Bosporus during this time, almost till the end. The weather was sunny and warm. The sky a deep blue, dotted with clouds. And there was something very heavenly about the whole surrounding, the deep blue Bosporus on a sunny summer day. I remember thinking, that this is life, this is what bliss must feel like.

Holiday homes on the side

As we floated on the Bosporus, we initially passed by the busy city, then all the mosques looking majestic, on top of the hills. Then came some forts on the banks. And then many grand houses on the sides of the Bosporus, which looked like holiday homes. It just felt so relaxing, fun and uplifting. Just to be there. And seeing all I did on the boat ride encouraged me to read about Istanbul when back in London.

Then we walked back to our hotel, taking in the colours and life of the city. It felt like such a vibrant place with so many layers. You walk past high end shops, then roadside vendors, then a green park, then a mosque and then the Bosporus. Everywhere there are people, smiling and going on with their lives. Everyone with a different story to tell.

In the evening, I was to meet a friend near Galata Tower, and decided to take the public transport there. So I first took a tram and reached a bridge. There I got out and saw a guy selling the Indian butta, which I wanted to buy. But I decided to then take the train up the hill to Galata, called Tunel. This slow moving one stop train takes you up the hill to the Galata tower. At the Galata, we had dinner at a market place, with green plants growing all around, bringing a lot of coolness to the restaurant. And there were lots of people sitting around just chatting. I loved it all again, I don't know why.

We then walked on Istaklal street, doing a bit of window shopping and then went in to a restaurant to sit on the terrace and eat Baklava. The Baklava were too heavy to eat a lot, but from the terrace, we got a good view of the street at night. It was so active even so late. So clearly nothing much has changed since I was here last, in 2006...

Blue Mosque at night

At night we saw the Galata tower and the blue mosque. And both looked scintillating. We also walked to the Galata bridge on top of which people were fishing. And under the bridge, there was a long line of restaurants, each with a brilliant view on the Bosporus. The restaurants had people standing outside, trying to lure in tourists. We sat there at one of those for a bit, just enjoying the feeling of being between Europe and Asia, with a grand water body below and the vibrant city around.

Istaklal street at night

While walking back, we saw people on Istaklal street late through the night. And shops were open even at 1 am! There were some people begging and a few singing on the sides. It was tough to get by with English though. As the shops were open so late, I bought some Turkish sweets and finally said goodnight to such a long day in such a vibrant city.

The next morning, after our morning sessions, we had a few free hours before our flight. So we decided to walk till the Hagia Sofiya. We couldn't reach there as we got lost a few times 😊. But we did experience Istanbul again. The streets sometimes feel rich, sometimes have a European feel with outside sitting, sometimes feel Middle Eastern and sometimes just feel downtrodden. And all of it exists right next to each other. People are different everywhere and seem to be from different countries and backgrounds. And all seem to be going somewhere.

I finally got to the butta place again and bought butta. It turned out that the vendor was Pakistani, and he spoke to me in Urdu. So clearly Indian style butta isn't made by anyone else! Anyways, after randomly exploring the city and never reaching the Hagia, we came back to our hotel to be off to London. It even started raining while we were going to the airport, just after it was so hot and sunny all day. The city never fails to surprise me. Flying out of Istanbul was a bit of a surprise though, given how many security checks you need to go through! I had to go through 3 baggage checks and 3 passport checks before I got to the plane. Clearly, things are more fragile here than I remember from before.

Anyways, I was so impressed by this visit that I came back and read two books about Istanbul. It is such a deep and layered city, with so many cultures merging in a mosaic, it always feels like a mystery to be understood and solved. Again and again.


An evening in Cairo

My work trip to Cairo was one of the shortest ever. I barely got 24 hours outside the airport - I landed there early morning and flew out the next morning. From the air, I could see how huge the whole city was. The lights extended till where my eyes could see. Apparently 30% of Egypt's population stays in Cairo and around.

Once I landed there, it felt like having come to a different place. Everything was written in Arabic and it was not as easy to get by with English. I got an on arrival visa at the airport from one of the bank stalls and then in 10 mins, I was out of immigration. It looks like the airport is open all night, unlike European airports which shut down at night. I was staying in the airport hotel itself given the early flight timings and took a hotel shuttle rather than walking there, which was convenient. The hotel though could have been anywhere in the world, it didn't feel like I was in Cairo at all.

The first half of the day, I was in the New Cairo part of the city. It was very near the airport and felt like any other modern financial centre. The traffic felt much busier, but more on that later. After my meeting, I had a few hours left in the evening and decided to make a rush for the Giza pyramids, to at least see something of the city as I was there. The pyramids are on the other side of New Cairo, in the city of Giza, and traffic getting there is expected to be bad. I was discouraged to try to see the pyramids, but I did anyways.

Yellow houses of Cairo

It took me almost an hour to get there and it was quite an interesting drive. I could see the desert everywhere, all yellow and empty rocky landscape outside the city. Inside of course, the city was very densely populated. The driving wasn't that bad, as there are a few highways which literally take you over the city of Cairo, to Giza. It was all so crowded everywhere and you could see the city below the highways. Shops, houses and narrow lanes. Filled with people. And in between, I saw some very pretty mosques and churches.

There were high rises everywhere. All in yellow. It felt like a sea of houses everywhere I could see. It was almost like a bombardment of yellow on the eyes. But lot of these buildings looked only partly completed. They all had this yellow sandy shade to it and felt as if stuck in time. People were staying in them, but they had not been completed. I am guessing those were the poorer parts of town.

On the way, I also drove over the deep blue waters of the Nile. And realised why it is known as the lifeline of Egypt. It was all so green and alive next to it, while the rest of the city was so yellow. There was also something spiritual about the Nile, something worth exploring on a longer trip to the country.

The pyramids

I reached the pyramids much later than I expected and they were closed. So I was only able to look at them from the outside. As grand and magical as they looked, with the setting sun behind them, I do think they lost a bit of their shine as they are literally inside the city. But their grandness and peacefulness was quite impressive. Standing as testament to the movement of time... I had been super warned to stay away from the hustlers there, so I avoided going into any of the shops I around. I found a Pizza Hut right in front and walked up to the third floor to get a good view of the pyramids. And the view from there is something I would totally recommend.

View from Pizza hut

After this quick view, we drove through the city to come back. By then, the sunny and warm day had also turned colder, just like it happens in the desert. Inside the city, we drove next to the promenade next to the Nile, which was very active again. Lots of people were walking there in the cool air, and the road was lined with tens of nice restaurants. I drove by Tahrir Square too which didn't really have much. But I could see all the liveliness there. My drivers didn't speak English well and were surprised when I wanted to stop and see things on the way, like walk next to the Nile and eat at one of the restaurants there. They kept discouraging me and just kept driving me around!

I was surprised by how much everyone was scared of driving into the city, as if the traffic would dissolve them! The distances surely are huge. You can keep on driving and still be barely far from where you started. But it wasn't as bad as I expected. Definitely better than Bombay traffic 😀.

For dinner, we went to the Lakeside club which was in New Cairo. Driving there I saw how different New Cairo was to the old city. It had very wide roads, green trees all around and houses which looked like palaces. And the restaurant was next to a swimming pool surrounded by lights. The food was good, but again the restaurant could have been anywhere in the world. Its not fun to eat at such modern places when you are in an ancient place like Egypt. I would definitely like to see more of the country and its culture sometime. But Cairo I may want to stay away from 😊. I found it very tiring somehow, don't know why.

At the airport in the morning, I saw some people wearing the choga, but not a lot. So it felt like I was in the Middle East. And I saw men kissing when greeting each other, which was super weird. Anyways the trip ended quite quickly, but I am happy that I saw something of the city, and not just the hotel, airport and office!


A weekend in Oviedo, Asturias

The trip to Oviedo was a personal trip to attend a wedding. So it wasn't work but it was still very busy and I wasn't able to see much of the area. I loved what I saw of it though. And plan to go back sometime for sure 😊.

Asturias is a principality in the north of Spain, neighbouring Galicia and Portugal in the west, and Santander and Basque country on the east. It has the coast and the mountains on either side and boasts of a different heritage and weather from the rest of Spain. For one, it is always cold and rainy there. It is greener than the rest of Spain. And the people here have Celtic origins and believe in some different motifs and symbols.

There are two main towns in the region, Gijon and Oviedo, and both share the same airport. While landing at the airport, I saw the area around the sea, and it looked fabulous. I could see the sea waves lashing against the cliffs, the clouds on the top and this huge green area in between. The whole area had small green hills, dotted with wooden houses like in Switzerland, but colourful like in Italy 😊. The colours looked resplendent against each other, and very welcoming.

After landing, it was a one hour drive to Oviedo which was through stunning countryside. It was sad though that the entire three days I was there, it was raining very heavily. So we could not explore much of the outside but I could see its potential for sure. Oviedo looked like a nice quiet modern town. And you can see high snow covered mountains all around. No wonder, this place was cooler and greener, very different from the Spain across those mountains.

The first evening, we had an event at a traditional Asturian cider place. They are famous for their apple cider, made from apples grown locally. The place had a very fun and casual feel about it. With huge barrels kept like decoration, inside the restaurant. And the apple cider was served by the waiters in the traditional manner, after tossing it into the glass from a height, so that it splashes everywhere. It was fun to see this show before every glass being served 😊.

View from Meres Palace

The wedding next day was at the Meres Palace which was a lovely venue. It also suddenly stopped raining that day which was welcome, as we got to see the lovely bright countryside for a bit. The views from there were stunning. Of green mountains, orchards, beautiful wooden colourful houses on the hills and so on. All around it, it had apple orchards (for the cider 😜) and within the Palace, they had a chapel, a lovely ballroom and a grand interior to host the wedding. They also had amazing food and of course the traditional apple cider, being served by the waiters in the traditional manner. We had a great fun time at the wedding. I also noticed that everyone here dressed up in much more subtle colours and clothes, even to weddings. Especially given how much being an Indian I love colours, everyone around felt very very sober 😊.

The chapel

The next day we had some time, so we walked a bit around town as there were some places to see. But it was raining so much, that we just stopped and had lunch at La Corte de Palayo. Which turned out to be an amazing choice. The food there was outstanding. And I must say, Asturians love their food. They have so many tasty dishes, even vegetarian. Both at the wedding, in the restaurant and my friends place, the food was so yummy and tasty. I loved it!

And very soon it was time to leave. I found Asturias to be very different from the rest of Spain that I have visited. People are very friendly here. And happy. As family living is still quite a large part of their life. Its tough to get by with English though. Its definitely a place am coming back to sometime.


Two days in Madrid

Lunch at the casino

I spent two days in Madrid recently on a work trip. The first day was at the conference in a museum - Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. It was an impressive location. We explored the museum a bit between sessions and the paintings were impressive. Our lunch and dinner was at the Casino de Madrid nearby, which was even more grand. The lunch room was gorgeous, with its painted roof and huge chandeliers. And the dinner on the terrace was lovely, with cool wind blowing all around and a view of the bustling street below.

View of Madrid streets

During the day, we took a quick break and walked out in the sun to the Sol market place. The area was quite charming, with small streets, boutique shops, painted buildings, and lot of street artists in the square. Some of the street artists tableaus were much better than I have seen elsewhere. And it was so hot and sunny, it felt awesome to just walk outside. At night, we walked to one of the party areas near our place and spent some time at Salmon Guru. All around, the place was very active, and full of people even after 11 pm.

The next day, after the conference, I spent a few hours with a friend where we walked around the Central area. We also walked to one of the local markets and saw the local fish being sold. Madrid has such a green and open feel to it, with its wide tree-lined roads, its sun and its laziness. I always miss this in London. And there is so much to do in the city too. I feel it is not really a touristy place but a stay-worthy city.


An evening in Dusseldorf

I spent a couple of days in Dusseldorf on work where I barely got to see the city. But one of the evenings, I had a few hours to explore the place, and I liked what little I saw. I walked to the central area where I walked around the cobbled streets of Altstadt. There were lots of shops and restaurants there and some churches and other grand buildings. It felt like the downtown of the town.

Houses on the Rhine

The highlight for me though was the walk along the Rhine river. From Alstadt, I just walked to the river and walked along it for a kilometer. It was a sunny day and people were siting outside at one spot enjoying concert music in the sun - such a European thing to do.

As I walked along the promenade, I was impressed by the huge houses on the other side of the river and the greenery there. Plus the row of trees all along the river. It felt like a lazy calm place where walking along the river feels like coming to a different place altogether. I enjoyed the calmness of the city, and again felt that it is a non-touristy, but worth-staying-in kind of place.

Summer concert

The Promenade

A couple of hours in Milan

The carving

Milan was a very short and busy work trip for me. I only got 2 hours before my flight to explore the town, and so I took a tram to go to the Duomo, the Cathedral. The Duomo is the heart of Milan, everything is concentrated around it. All shops around are named after it. And that's the place everyone tells you to go to if you have time in the city.

The stained glass

I have been to Milan before and have seen the Duomo before too. But this time, I went inside and was amazed by its grandeur and detailed work. I especially loved the stained glass windows inside. They were huge with some very detailed work on them. And the carvings on the outside are fabulous anyways. It suddenly got sunny for that one hour we were there and it felt like the Duomo was suddenly shining...

We also then walked into the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele arcade nearby and that was shining too. All the gold paintings and lighting all around. And I left Milan again feeling how grand even a market in Europe can be...

A week in Japan, exploring Kobe and around

Japan during cherry blossoms

This year around the cherry blossom season, I got a chance to visit Kobe for a week on a work trip and then explore the places around on the weekend. I had visited Japan during the cherry blossom season just last year, but I still loved being there again. Most of my week was spent at work, but on the weekend I got a chance to see a few new places and enjoyed the experience. I visited Kyoto again, went to a local onsen at Arima village and visited the famous castle at Himeji.

And of course, I was once again impressed with the people and the culture of the country.

Workweek in Kobe

It was a long way to get to Japan as it was cherry blossom season, all major flights were already booked and I had to take a connecting flight through Helsinki. At the Helsinki airport, I noticed a lot more flights to Japanese cities, as compared to any other European airport. And then I remembered that the two countries share a very old and deep relationship.

Finland looked quite bare and snowed out from the air, with only a little bit of green here and there, while Japan was the opposite. The first views of Japan (once I woke up!) were of small green islands appearing in the water, with snow laden mountains visible far off and loads of fog everywhere. I hadn’t realised till then that Japan was quite a mountainous country.

Being back in Japan brought about an explosion of feelings (again), of its deep culture, its uniqueness and differences from the rest of the world and its eccentricities. Again I felt like an explorer, standing open-eyed in front of a country which has so much to offer to someone willing to explore. And immediately, I felt again that Japan is a juxtaposition of extremes. The old and the new, the polite and the kinky, the open and the closed. There are so many words which come to mind when thinking about Japan as a country - exotic, calm, deep, contradictory and so on. And it was the same this thing around as on my last visit to the country.

I had flown to the Osaka airport as it was one of the closest airport to Kobe. The airport is located on an island, connected to the mainland through a long bridge and it was about 1.5 hours drive to Kobe. As expected, the airport was very efficient and I was soon on my way. The road till Kobe was all along the port, totally industrial and very boring. So even though it was along the sea, it wasn’t really too exciting to look out.

Kobe

Kobe felt like a nice little city, modern with high-rises but with the mountains right next to it, providing it a lot of warmth and naturalness. At night too, the city looked awesome, with all the lights on and twinkling. The city felt a bit alien though at first, with so less written in English. It was not a typical touristy town, I could see that early on. And it felt like any other modern town in Japan, with high rises, steel and glass all around.

View from Nunobiki herb garden

There are a few things to do in Kobe but we didn’t have much time during the week. One day, we took a cable car and went up the Nunobiki herb garden which was right behind our hotel on one of the hills. It was a sunny day and so we enjoyed being out in the sun. We took the cable car up and got off midway. We then explored the area a bit, passing through some typical Japanese gardens. All along the walk up to the peak were herbs and flowers, set in various landscaped gardens. There was a glasshouse with some flower decorations set up. And we got some panoramic views of Kobe and the port down. You could also walk all the way down next to the Nunobiki waterfall, or just take the cable car down. And we ended up taking the cable car down. But it felt nice to be out and about for a bit.

One day we walked out from the hotel to a small street nearby which was lined with expat trader houses, and small shops from different countries. Apparently these were all houses of people from trading partners of Japan from much before, like British, Indians and so all. The small cultural houses felt nice after all the only high-rises we had seen around. It turns out Kobe is quite a multi-cultural town as such, as compared to some other Japanese towns, as it was one of the few and earliest Japanese towns which were open for business much before Japan opened up. But it wasn’t so apparent to me initially.

We did not go out of our hotel much though other than dinner at Kitano club which was a restaurant with a scintillating view of the city, especially at night with the twinkling lights and high-rises all around. I also went to Gaylord’s restaurant which is owned by a friend of mine. Its apparently one of the oldest Indian restaurants in Kobe, and I loved that I could eat Indian food there. Kobe is of course famous for its Kobe beef and sushi, but given my food preferences, I hadn’t been able to eat much of the Japanese food when I was there. So I really welcomed the Indian food!

About the Kobe hotels
I was staying in Crowne Plaza which was a multi storey hotel with the mountains on one side and the city on the other. The view of the city from the room windows were all beautiful. It had multiple restaurants on the 34th, 35th and the 36th floors with great views of the city but the restaurants all closed down by 830 pm! So you always need to hurry up if you want to eat dinner😜. The hotel was conveniently located for all travel around. If you take the lift to the bottom floor, you are right at the metro station as well as the Shinkansen, ready to explore all of Japan!


Trips from Kobe

I made Kobe my base for my weekend travels around. To be honest, it may not be the best option as its quite a lacklustre town. But it was definitely convenient to travel around.

Visit to Kyoto

On the last day of our training, we had half a day left and went for a quick trip to Kyoto, which given the fast bullet trains was so much more efficient and convenient than I would have thought. We took the Shinkansen from Kobe, which took about 30 minutes to get to Kyoto. Apparently you can take the slower trains too for much cheaper but we didn’t know. While going to Kyoto, we got a direct train, with one stop in between at Shin Osaka. And while coming back, we took a connecting one through Shin Osaka. But the train connections were very convenient and regular. Buying the tickets was a bit complicated though, as we had to buy both express tickets and fare tickets. And so had to stand in line after buying the tickets from the kiosk, as they only sell the express tickets.

Kiyomizudera temple

I had been to Kyoto before in cherry blossom season, so this time I explored a few places I hadn’t seen before. We first took a cab to the Kiyomizudera temple. On the way we drove by the river which had a few cherry blossoms just coming out. And lots of people were walking there, wearing kimonos. At the temple, the last time I had not gone in, but this time I explored the whole complex. It looked so beautiful, so serene and so majestic, I again loved it.

One of the smaller shrines

There was a main shrine and many smaller temples all around it, with most of the structures built of wood. After visiting the main temple, we walked on the mountains to visit the smaller stupas and temples. We got a view of Kyoto from the top, but there were not a lot of cherry blossoms. Most of them were just blooming. And I could already imagine how it would look like in just 3-4 days.

From the temple, we started walking towards the river, through the markets. We walked into a whiskey shop which was selling a lot of exotic and rare whiskeys. Then we walked along the river, where there were a few cherry blossoms just blooming. And on the other side, we could see the old houses, made of wood, from a time far away.

One of the Kyoto streets

We soon reached Gion and walked on the Pontocho alley. We knew we would need to eat soon and restaurants would also shut early. So we tried a lot of the small restaurants in the area which all looked very inviting. But most did not have a lot we could eat, or would have been tough to find something to eat given their limited English speaking skills. We tried searching on apps and find some good restaurants but they were all booked out!

During all this searching, we also walked next to the very small canals in this area, which were lined with cherry blossoms which had bloomed a lot more than any of the others we had seen. And the canals provided a great photo opportunity finally. Being in Kyoto always gives the feeling of having come back to a world from a long time away. I loved the blossoms there and the whole ambience, it was like reliving a year ago.

We had to walk around a bit to search for a place to eat, and then finally walked into a touristy place offering western food. It was right next to a canal and had some great cherry blossoms which provided a nice ambience as we sat outside for a bit next to the canal. Soon though it got too cold to sit outside and we sat inside for dinner. The food there was really bad but at least we were fed.

Anyways, we were done with our half day trip by then, and took a cab to take the Shinkansen back to Kobe. Wile driving back we realised that right next to the restaurant there were some cherry blossoms in full bloom which we had missed. Anyways, we took the Shinkansen from there and were very soon back in Kobe and all settled in.

I also realised this week that cherry blossoms blooming dates are so variable in the country. It was supposed to be peak season in Kobe the week and weekend I was there (as late as the week before, that was the forecast). But it had got cooler the last two weeks and the blossoms had got delayed by a week. People were planning picnics this weekend and they all had to postpone. And this year Tokyo peaked earlier than Kyoto, while last year, Kyoto peak was before Tokyo (which is normally the case).

So we had been extremely extremely lucky to have seen what we saw last year. Especially since we had booked our trip almost a year in advance. Generally tourists travelling from far with less flexibility would not be as lucky as we had been.


Day trip to Arima Onsen

On the Saturday, it was supposed to be a rainy day, so I kept the plan for the day more focused on indoor activity rather than outdoors and took a trip to the onsen in the nearby village of Arima. I first had to get an umbrella from the hotel where I was staying as it was so sunny. And then was off to the Sannomiya train station. As I was walking to the station, I walked past 2-3 Nepali-Indian restaurants on the way. Which I found quite interesting. That's a sure sign, that the place is touristy 😜.

I was also trying to take out cash that day and it turned out to be surprisingly tough as there were not as many ATMs around as I would have expected. I first walked to the ATM the hotel receptionist had told me about. And it turned out it didn’t even accept international debit cards! Thankfully, there was a Nomura ATM around to save the day.

I was earlier planning to take the underground to Arima, but I missed the train. Then I realised, there was also a bus option to get to Arima. Given that it was Japan, I decided to be adventurous and take the bus from Sannomiya bus terminal. The terminal was so huge, with trains, metro, buses and all the shops, that it took me a bit of help to get to the bus terminal within the building. It didn’t help that most people didn’t know English and there were very few signs in English.

The bus took about 45-50 mins to get there and it was an interesting experience altogether. The weather was very rainy and fresh. And the bus went through a tunnel, into the mountains. The whole drive was then through mountainous areas, with the bus stopping at many small villages on the way, like Tanigami and Hanayama. The mountains were mostly bare and sometimes the peaks were covered with fog. There were loads of bamboo trees lining the road side along the way. All villages had small streams flowing through them. And the village houses were sometimes pretty and sometimes not. And all along the bus route was the train line running next to it.

Arima village

When I got down at Arima, it was like I had come to a different era altogether. Arima is quite popular as a resort spa town and there were loads of tourists around. But still, the village felt very small, with wooden houses everywhere. There was a small river flowing through the middle, and still to bloom cherry blossom trees around it. It almost felt like an alpine village, with the mountains and the wooden houses, plus the rainy and cloudy weather.

I tried finding the onsen and it wasn’t easy to get around without English. So I walked into a hotel and got all the information I needed in one go. The onsen in Arima are apparently the oldest springs in Japan and they have two onsens there - the golden and the silver springs, both with different minerals and different properties. Both of them were walking distance from the centre, and I went to the closer one, called the Kin No You So.

It was quite an interesting experience to be there. All the systems around were working like clockwork, so it was all very convenient. There was a place to keep the umbrella, place for the shoes, kiosk to get your tickets, a queue for key to the lockers, lockers to keep clothes and so on, one after the other. There was a queue to get into the onsen as it was the weekend, so I had wait a bit. There were a few separate pools inside, all with different temperatures and minerals. The water was too hot though and I couldn’t stay more than 30 mins. But I did feel refreshed once I got out.

After that, I walked around a bit in the village and it was quite cute to be there. I walked through the market, with the wooden shops on both sides. And saw some of the pretty wooden houses around. It felt like I was in a different era, not the glitzy Japan we all know but a more older calmer slower Japan.

There were buses back every hour to Kobe, so I caught one of the last ones. And as expected, the buses left exactly on time from the bus stop. I was soon back to today’s age with the high-rises and the fast pace of Kobe. It almost felt that day that I had visited the Japan of old, from a different era. And felt very relaxed after being there.

In Kobe, I had dinner with Indian friends at the Gaylord restaurant, one of the older Indian restaurants in the city, running since 1973. As my friends had been staying in Japan for years, I learnt some more interesting titbits about the country, and as I said, Japan continues to amaze me.

The Japanese wear suits when working, and when not in suit means they are not working 😜. They mostly have mistresses and work very late. There is also apparently a huge Gujju community in and around Kobe, They are all third generation and have been staying there for a very long time, as Kobe was the only city open to trade while Japan was still closed. There is also a Jain temple and Gurudwara in Kobe, which I never expected!

Apparently, for all its law and order, Japan does have a very strong underground mafia (I guess anyone who sees movies knows that already, but for me that was news). They deal in drugs and fight each other, but are extremely polite to the locals. A funny scene I heard of was that when the Mafia Yakuza boss is running in the park, his 6-7 bodyguards run around him in suits. And when anyone passes them, they all bow to passers-by in synchronisation. In suits, while running😂. That is a sight I would like to see sometime.

The mafia regularly give gifts to the community and help the locals as they need their support to survive. They pay off the Japanese police, so looks like the Japanese police is also corrupt. And the mafia are supposed to have very cruel rules, especially of cutting off fingers. And hearing of all this really burst the Japanese bubble for me. So the Japanese again are this mix of extremes, honest and corrupt, lawful and lawless.


Himeji castle 

I decided to visit the Himeji castle on my last day as the weather was sunny and I hadn’t been there before. As usual, it was easy to get there with the convenient Japanese train travel. You just walk to the station and can buy tickets as there are regular trains going to all the major stations. For Himeji, I didn’t take the Shinkansen though as it was more expensive. I took the JR from Sannomiya and it took about 40 mins to get there. As Himeji was a touristy destination, they were announcing in English which helped.

The train ride was mostly right next to the ocean, and I saw grand views of the sea, the islands and some resorts on that route. I also saw the bridge to Akashi and Shikoku islands on the way. It was sunny too, so I saw some very fascinating views.

The town of Himeji seemed to be centred around the castle and the moment you get off the train, you can see the castle right in front. The path from the station to the castle was about 10 mins and it was lined with shops on both sides. I had lunch at the farmers lunch place - Sorairo kitchen, which thankfully had vegetarian options in the menu, explained in English. I had a pizza made in the Japanese style and then walked in to the castle.

Himeji castle

Himeji castle is a huge complex by itself. It has the main 7 storeyed white keep which is the most photographed part of it. And then all around, it has the castle walls, some small palaces and lot of towers as lookouts. There are many smaller gates and pillars inside. And the complex is surrounded by a huge moat. Everywhere in the castle, are planted hundreds of cherry blossoms trees, which would add to the magnificent views of the castle. At this time of the year though, they were just about to bloom.

View of Himeji

As soon as I entered the castle, I came onto a huge ground surrounded by the cherry blossoms. People were already picnicking in the garden even though the flowers hadn’t bloomed yet. This part of the castle was free to enter. When I got in, I first walked to the west bailey which had a long corridor displaying the history of the castle. It has been there for centuries, ruled by different families over the years. Princess Sen seems to be a famous occupant of this place. And it has strong defences setup too, all hidden under the beauty of the main keep. I also got some interesting views of the city outside, which was surrounded by hills on all sides. The city was bigger than it had earlier appeared.

Himeji Castle

The main keep is a beauty in white, perched on top of a small hill and visible from far away. It is built fully of wood and had been renovated multiple times. It has tiles and pillars, with stone walls for protection. There are multiple spots from where you can take pictures of this, each even better than the one earlier. And when merged with cherry blossoms, its a sight to behold. I can only imagine what it would look like when the blossoms are in full bloom.

View from the castle

It was very crowded this time of the year and there were long queues waiting to get inside. Inside the keep, I was surprised to see all the 7 floors were made of wood and were supported on two huge wooden pillars in the centre. It was built in the 14th century and is still standing tall, almost as it was then. Each floor has windows and places for weapons for soldiers to fight. It was a bit claustrophobic inside though especially with 1000s of tourists! Thankfully the foundation is strong and it doesn't fall apart as it feels it would. There are symbols of the families who built it inscribed outside. And the views from the window is a nice juxtaposition of the old and the new - the old castle walls against the gardens surrounding it and the huge modern city, all enclosed in a bowl.

Apparently there was a night festival also going on for sakura, which can be experienced in the evening when the castle is all lighted up. I had to get to Kobe before night, so I missed out. I did find a great cherry blossom there to get a nice pic though. I did a bit of shopping in the local department store and took the JR train back to Sannomiya.

And was off to Kansai airport in Osaka. The highway to the airport was lined with lights all the way, the shiny glitzy Japan we all know of, with high rises and lights dazzling everywhere. Its interesting how in a day, you can get from where to where in Japan.

At the airport, the counter opened only 2.5 hours before the flight while I turned up 4.5 hours before so I could chill in the lounge 🤣. It clearly din happen. Also a lot of the restaurants closed by 930 pm which was such a bummer. Anyways I got to eat some Udon noodles in one of the restaurants and was ready to come back to London.

Stay in Sannomiya Kobe Union hotel 
I was staying in a small boutique hotel in Kobe during the weekend and was surprised at how convenient it was. The rooms were small as per Japanese standards but everything else was great, especially the service.


Other things to do in and around Kobe

There are a few other things to do in and around Kobe if you have more time. I didn’t this time, but maybe for some other time...

• Roko cable car: You can take the cable car to go up the Roko mountain and spend a half day there
• Sakura tunnel: You can see a tunnel of cherry blossoms, and its about 15-20 mins bus ride from the city 
• Shukugawa: Line of cherry blossoms along the river, is about 15 mins train ride away 
• Awagishima: Is an island nearby, takes about 1 hour to get there 
• Wakayama: Beautiful countryside nearby, need a car to get there though

Impressions of Japan

• My first thought on landing in Japan was, how polite is everyone! I actually had a feeling of how nice it was to be with very polite people again. If there is someone walking behind you, he/she will wait behind you if you suddenly stop, and not try to cross you. Everyone who is providing any service will bow to you, especially in the Shinkansen. Everyone was so quiet in the trains, not talking to anyone else. And they all wear masks. I had a very interesting experience. We asked one of the guards how to take the connecting Shinkansen from Kyoto to Kobe. He did not know English and couldn’t help us. But once we boarded the train, the ticket master came to tell us how to get to Kobe! And it looks like the guards from the Kyoto station had told him to help the Indian lady on the train to get to Kobe😜. I am still amazed at this level of helpfulness and can't get past it
• It still felt a bit tough to get by with English. People speak much less English than what I was expecting. My friend said that most of the Japanese do know English as they are taught in school. But they are too shy to be wrong. So they prefer to not help you as their English is not great and they don’t want to be wrong. That makes more sense than most of the country not knowing English! Though I don’t mind some wrong English if it helps. But of course, when they can speak, they are extremely helpful and take a lot of effort and spend time to help you.
• The Japanese keep quite to themselves. And have too many rules. While coming down from the herb garden, no one would sit with a stranger in the same gondola. They would rather let it go empty and go onto the next one! Which led to long queues. Also there was a service person cleaning the gondola seats before the next person got it. Japan really has a very different standard of cleanliness than anywhere else I've been
• The Japanese have their dinner too early, at 630 pm! So a lot of the restaurants closed down by 10 or so. So we all needed to be extra careful everyday to get to the restaurants on time
• People follow the rules too much. I was checking out from my hotel an hour later and the receptionist said he would charge me extra for the one hour too! I tried asking him for a discount and he didn't get what I was asking him for 😝. Sometimes I feel Japan and India are quite on the opposite ends of many metrics

Caribbean diaries (2) - Miami, Panama City and San Salvador

Caribbean diaries (1) - Haiti, Trinidad, Martinique

Miami

Fort Lauderdale from the air

Miami was a base for us when I was in the Caribbean and I flew in and out from there many times (6 times at last count). So I got to see it lot more from the top than on the ground 😁. And it looked just like I had imagined. The skyline while landing in Miami was always enchanting. A mix of the high rises in the city, with sun and waves all around it. And while landing at places nearby, like Fort Lauderdale, you can see the retirement houses lining the coast, with their huge houses, swimming pools and palm trees all around. The whole coast is densely populated, with lots of buildings and palm trees lining it for tens of kilometres. Also once when I was landing, we also flew over a long stretch of swamps all the way to Miami, which made for pretty pictures. So from the top, it was definitely a different experience every time.

Miami downtown from the air

The airport experience though was never great. There were always long queues for immigration, lot of confusion and very rude staff every time. There was a lack of clear directions in the airport, especially when taking connecting flights between terminals. Immigration took forever, with the attendants very rude to you if you do anything out of the ordinary, like take out your phone! And the US flights are quite low in service anyways. The whole experience just leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. And it made me decide to avoid connecting through US airports as much as I can.

During my stay in the Caribbean, I twice stayed there for a night between flights (once in Fort Lauderdale and once in Miami), and once spent a whole weekend in Miami. My first night there was spent in Hyatt House hotel in Fort Lauderdale which was quite a disappointment. The hotel was very downmarket and full of very random and scary people. It barely had any facilities or eating options. I tried walking to the nearby mall but the sidewalk was closed. So I decided to order in the food and what came was so American - a lot of food! Overall my experience wasn't great and I would never recommend the hotel to anyone. But the drive there from Miami had been quite refreshing, with palm trees and holiday homes everywhere, and a nice relaxed vibe to the air. So clearly, there was something better in the offing in Miami.

Retirement communities

So I turned up there again, for a weekend, when we stayed in Miami and ended up doing nothing much really 😀. We were staying in a huge airbnb in one of the gated communities in the city and it was an amazing experience. Staying in a 7-8 bedroom house with multiple living places and its own pool was definitely a unique experience. We walked around the area a bit and got to see some of the huge luxurious houses around which were interesting.

The whole vibe of the city was so relaxed and it was raining the whole weekend. So we ended up just doing indoor stuff at a slow Floridan pace. Our first outing was a brunch in the warm weather at Morgans which was a nice start to the day. And we spent the rest of the day shopping at the Sawgrass shopping mall.  We spent some time walking in the Design District and Birknell, both of which seemed fun to explore. They were full of graffiti and street paintings everywhere. The city felt spotlessly clean, well lighted and quite posh. In the evening we went for dinner to Beaker and Gray and called it an early night.

The next day also, the weather wasn't too great. So we spent the rest of the day lounging in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, with a view of the waterfront. And so the weekend was done, without having done anything much. As expected, the ubers as is everything in the US were huge. But surprisingly, most of the drivers did not speak English which felt a bit of a surprise as we were in the US! But I guess, Miami is a lot more spanish as compared to the rest of the country.

Swamplands?

My last night in Miami was when I had missed a flight and ended up staying 24 hours in the city. I stayed at the W hotel in the city centre with a beautiful view outside of a river and a nice park. But the world cup was going on at that time and I ended up spending the whole day inside itself. So inspite of having spent so much time in Miami, I still haven't explored much of what it has to offer outdoors. And even after having been to Miami 4 times, I haven't managed to visit the South Beach yet! Maybe I need to go on another trip to Miami then?


Panama City

Boats moving towards Panama Canal

I barely spent 24 hours in Panama City but it somehow left an impression on me. A good one, one which makes me want to visit it again. The first view I have of Panama is of flying in and seeing the country from the air. When land slowly comes into view, and you can see hundreds of ships making its way into the Panama Canal. And then, we saw lot of beaches with high rises and resorts next to it, followed by vast lands of rainforests and then we landed in Panama City. As soon as we started driving through the city, I experienced a kind of richness which was missing in all the other places I had visited in the Caribbean.

The waterfront

And it turned out to be exactly that. Panama is quite rich and well developed as compared to most of its neighbouring countries. Most of it comes from the Panama Canal and its consistent stream of revenue, but over the years Panama has developed into a successful South American hub. A lot of the well educated people from around Central and South America come and work there, and its a nice melting pot of immigrants from across the continent.

A view of Panama city

The city felt very modern and lot safer than some of its neighbours. Again, I spent most of my time in the office and the hotel in the city centre which looked fab. The waterfront was full of people enjoying walks. There were malls, offices and apartments in highrises all next to the waterfront. And hills nearby behind the highrises. They all made for fascinating shots at sunset. There was the typical beach-ey feeling about the city, which felt relaxed and luxurious. And somehow I came back with the feeling that I want to spend more time there for sure one day.

My biggest surprise on the visit: Panama is a rich and well developed country, and a popular place for expats in Central and South America to come and work.


San Salvador

I spent two days in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador but again spent most of my time in the hotel and the office. I did get a good sense of the country though, based on the small visits I had outside and time I spent with some locals. The people in ELS are Mestizos and I could easily merge with them. In fact, many people spoke to me in Spanish when I was there 😀.

ELS is a poorer country as compared to Panama and very unsafe. We again had strict instructions to not go anywhere without security. I noticed lot of guards outside buildings walking around with armed guns, which clearly indicated that we hadn't got the wrong advice!

A view of San Salvador

There were lots of malls around. And the nice areas felt very nice. I went out to two malls for lunch and dinner and liked the vibe I noticed there. Good restaurants and people out in the warm weather enjoying the nice meals. Also the country felt a lot more conservative than what I had imagined all of Latin America to be like. In fact, there was something there which made it feel a lot like India - with its so many potholes and the difference between the rich and the poor.

As I said, I did not get to see much of the country. I had the option to go and see a volcano which was very near. However, I debated going there and decided against it after hearing how unsafe the city is. So I decided to leave instead for the airport, which again was a nice drive. I passed through lot of hills and green dense forests on the way to the airport. I did feel sad leaving without exploring the country, but maybe thats for another time 😀.

My biggest surprise on the visit: There was a volcano within 30 mins from the city of San Salvador.

Caribbean diaries (3) - Ocho Rios, Port Antonio (Jamaica)
Caribbean diaries (4) - Negril and Kingston (Jamaica)

The exquisite town of Sintra, Portugal

This summer, I spent a few days in Portugal in the town of Sintra near Lisbon. It was a work trip but somehow, I made time to make two short trips to town and I was glad I did. It turned out to be a tourists delight with beautiful vistas of sun-kissed Portugal dotted with palaces and parks. A true paradise on earth and worth returning to some day.

View from Sintra

This is how Sintra is described on one of the websites and it was exactly that - 'With its rippling mountains, dewy forests thick with ferns and lichen, exotic gardens and glittering palaces, Sintra is like a page torn from a fairy tale. Its Unesco World Heritage–listed centre, Sintra-Vila, is dotted with pastel-hued manors folded into luxuriant hills that roll down to the blue Atlantic.'

Lisbon from the air

While landing in Lisbon, I got some breathtaking views of the city and around - of the sea, estuary, bridges, the city filled with orange coloured roofs and white buildings, and of green hills far off. It all felt very sunny, bright and warm even when landing. And once out of the airport, of course it was the same feel, the typical relaxed atmosphere that I always sense in Portugal. It had been the same even on my last trip to Faro in Algarve.

I took a cab to take me to my resort in Sintra. The driver did not speak English, so we had a quiet journey but the views on both sides were quiet captivating. With all the picturesque sun-kissed houses on both sides, shining in the sun, with baroque churches dotting them sometimes. The drive also made me realise that Portugal is a little less developed than a lot of Western Europe. People drove all over the place and didn't really follow the rules. Also the road wasn't perfect and at times we encountered water standing on the road!!

Penha Longa resort

I was staying at the Penha Longa Resort and it was awesome (at least what I got to see in between work). It was a huge open property with golf courses, running tracks, old historical structures and an old monastery on its premises, all located within a huge green belt. The monastery had been converted into a meeting convention centre but still retained all its beautiful paintings and tiles, plus the church.

Inside the monastery

The hotel had infinity pools and gardens all around, tons of eating places and all its rooms had a beautiful balcony with a green view outside. I didn't get a chance to explore the resort at all actually but I can see how it would be a fun place to stay on a weekend. While checking-in, I also ran into a big Indian group at the resort who were there for a wedding. Clearly destination weddings have become very very huge in the sub-continent, all the way till Portugal!

When I had realised I was going to Portugal for the conference, I had assumed our resort would be near the sea and I will get a chance to relax on the beach. It turned out that it was actually far away from the beach. Thankfully, a friend of mine told me that I should definitely visit the town of Sintra as it was culturally very rich. Given I hadn't read or heard about it earlier, I wasn't expecting a lot but was pleasantly surprised. It turned out that Sintra was the summer holiday location for the Portuguese kings as it was cooler, and so had a lot of things to do and explore.

It was quite spread out and was essentially a suburb of Lisbon, about 30 mins from the national capital. Even though it was a small little town, it had a few palaces, some monasteries, a few gardens, a Moorish fort on the hill, forested hills and a few beaches around. The town is located on a side of a hill and is reachable through narrow winding roads passing through picturesque colourful buildings, with a mix of Portuguese and Arabic architectural influences. All in all, offering a lot to tourists to explore for a day or two.

Pena Palace

I made a couple of short trips to town and got to visit the Pena palace, the National Palace and the town centre. At the Pena palace, you walk through the Pena Gardens which surround the Palace and have a few things to visit, like the fern gardens, a few statues, a huge cross on top of a hill, a valley of lakes, the stables and so on. You need to walk up about 800m from the gate to get to the Palace or you can take the bus inside the park complex, to go from one place to another.

Cathedral

The icing on the cake though is the Pena Palace. It is a luxurious fantasy palace built on top of a hill, integrating architectural designs from across the world and painted in bright colours - yellow, red, blue and grey providing a majestic sight. It started out as a monastery and then was renovated to convert it into a palace. The current structure was designed by a German architect, and its ownership has passed through many of the Portuguese royal families over the years.

View from the Queens Terrace

The whole palace is painted in bright colours, with multiple structures taken from different forts and palaces. They have Moorish tiles decorating some of the walls, with archways looking into the horizon, towers from typical castles and so on. Its a photographer's delight with its colours, and various architectural shapes ranging from Baroque to Arabic to Rajasthani. The Queen's terrace next to the queens room was one of the places where you can get a good view of the Palace, the park and the sea beyond. And I sat there for a while taking in the view and doing some work on my phone 😀.

Inside the palace, you can walk through many of its rooms and it is pure luxury. It felt like a country house with grand rooms filled with exquisite furniture, gorgeous paintings and other wall decorations which was unique to each of the room, plus with panoramic views of the country outside up to the sea.

View of Moorish castle

Then I walked to Tritons terrace leading to the the cathedral, along the side of the palace through the watch towers to where you can see the Moorish Castle glistening on top of the hill. You can even visit the castle remains from the 5th century when the Moors ruled Portugal but I had ditched that. Every turn in the castle felt like a photo point and I enjoyed every moment of the couple of hours I spent there.

View from the gardens

After the palace, I strolled through its forests and the fern valleys and other gardens, stopped at some of the sites but essentially just explored the area lazily. It was a refreshing walk and I passed through the Queen's chalet on my way out. I also got some majestic views of the palace from the garden on my way out. You can easily spend hours there in the complex if you want. It had turned out to be a very sunny and warm day which I had loved. And maybe was the reason for such a huge crowd turning up there on a Wednesday. Anyways I had a nice time in my short break there and would definitely recommend a visit.

Vintage cars

I made another trip to the National Palace for dinner one of the evenings, which was located in the city centre. It was apparently the summer home of the King and so very lavish and luxurious in its decor. We were driven there in vintage cars through the small streets of Sintra which felt awesome with the cool breeze blowing on your face.

Outside National Palace

We first took a tour of the palace and saw its richly painted rooms, with decorated ceilings, murano glass chandeliers and lot of other such displays of wealth and art. We also got to see attractive views of the city and the sea beyond during sunset from one of its windows, as well as an enchanting shining view of the Moorish castle on top of the hill in front. There was clearly a lot of money in Portugal which was spent lavishly across their palaces, looking at the luxurious feel of the two palaces in Sintra itself.

Random painted buildings in town

The last day I again went to the city centre but ended up not doing much as I had my luggage with me. So I walked up one of the roads and found a small church with an open area to sit. It had a fascinating view of the houses below and the sea beyond. There was a wedding happening in the church at the time. And a person was playing a musical instrument in the open area behind the church.

And I just sat there for a couple of hours, just enjoying the view and ambience with the musical background. It was pure bliss. And I loved it. There is something about warmer countries which I love. A relaxed feel which makes you forget all your worries. It was so nice to just be in a small village like this in the middle of nowhere, and enjoying the moment. This is the picture that I took away with me about Portugal and Sintra, and will always remember with fond memories. It was perfect.

Quinta Palace

After my stop there I walked around the town a bit and realised that it had many amazingly beautiful buildings. I passed by a few which were exquisitely painted and decorated with tiles, and looked beautiful. As I kept walking, I also ran into the Quinta da Regaleira palace which looked magnificent from outside. It looked so intricate from the outside, with its own gardens and is definitely something for the next time. Sintra is a place so simple, and offering so much, I can see myself coming here again...