Gritty City Kind of Girl

This was an observation made by an ex boyfriend of mine.  He said I liked, and even thrived, in what he called gritty places...he was absolutely right!

We traveled quite a bit together.  He always choose the extravagant, lavish, posh destinations, and I mostly picked the more "grittier""real" places.  I didn't feel the need to play on the same remote island beaches or stay at the same hotels as the uber wealthy.  That impressed me for a quick moment, but did not inspire me.  Throw me in a small far away town in Central America, Europe, or the Himalayan mountains and I feel right at home.

So now I find myself in Singapore...not my kind of place.  My kind of place is where unpretentious people live life, where egregious wealth is not on full display, where accumulating masses of possessions is not valued. I'd rather be where all people, locals and travelers alike, come together and share in the same experiences.  I guess in order to know that about myself I have been fortunate enough to experience many situations, cultures and places and am proud to be labeled a gritty city girl!

Impressions of Tokyo

What an impressive city.  I have never visited a place where everything is always on time including trains, busses and people.  It is beyond my comprehension how this can happen in a city with a population of 9 million.  I can only guess that people's time is highly valued here.

 

The underground metro system is complex but well organized and I had no problem getting around to the places I wanted to see.  It was helpful, though, that my friend Brian who travels here 4 times a year loaned me his metro card and loaded it up so I didn't have that to think about! I found it interesting that most of my work colleagues commute by metro at least one hour each way to get to the office; the cost of living here is higher than I thought.

All the people I interacted with, from the lady at the post office with her poodle, to an expat waiting for a train, to my work colleagues, and everyone in between, were genuinely friendly, respectful, polite, and calm.  I did not encounter one stressed out person.  Also, the city is very safe.  People are out at all hours and no one locks up their bikes.  Lots of people ride bikes, many leave them at an area near metro stations, and there is no fear of theft! 

The food was amazing.  I got to eat all kinds of traditional foods like sashimi, uni (sea urchin), tempura, miso soup, noodles in broth, and many things that I didn't even question!  Everything was fresh and beautifully presented.  My work colleagues were surprised I chose to fumble my way through meals using chopsticks and didn't ask for silverware!  Also, salad is served at breakfast, which was awesome since I have to admit I was missing my kale and chia seed drink! 

If you like good food, friendly people, a sense of order, large cities, are not intimidated by a language you probably can't read or speak, I highly recommend Tokyo.

Spring…please hurry!

I have been neglecting my blog lately, and instead, lobbing rapid random half thoughts on twitter. Since my trip to Bangkok and Bhutan in October, I haven’t traveled very much…a few 3-4 day trips here and there, but nothing truly amazing to report.  Honestly, I have been hibernating this winter, but today I feel like the beast is awakening and ready for some adventure!  I have been researching and planning lots of trips for this year.  Some will happen, others may not.  For sure I will be going to New Orleans, in April and am so ready for all the hedonistic shenanigans that will ensue!  Most of May will be spent traveling in Asia on business, but if you know me there will be plenty of fun and exploring thrown in: Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Pudong, Shanghai, oh my!  Looking into going to Africa, feeling pulled to see Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zanzibar.  I would also like to catch some metal festivals in Germany this summer.  Lots to see and experience on this glorious planet!  Cheers to everyone in my part of the world who are pushing aside the winter doldrums and looking forward to warm weather and great adventures!

My Relationship with Music

Today is Thanksgiving and as I reflect back I am thankful for all the usual things (friends, family, pets, health…you get the idea) but most forefront in my heart today is the influence that music has had on my life.

Music has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.  As a young child growing up my parents had what it seemed like lot of parties in the 1960’s and the stereo was often cranked up in our house.  My sister and I share many memories of those parties and peaking down the stairs when we were supposed to be asleep…asleep with the music up full blast..yeah, right!  From Steppennwolf, to Buffalo Springfield, the Rolling Stones, Animals, Doors, CSN, Neil Young, and CCR.  For a few years, our neighbors included Jimmy Fox (drummer) and Roland Paquin (road manager) of the James Gang.  Recently, my dad shared a memory with me… My mom was working at a store which sold music and one day she brought home Neil Young’s first self-titled album in 1968 and it blew him away.  My dad still has that album and it is no wonder that Neil Young remains one of my favorite artists! 

Then the journey continued with the various babysitters we had who turned us on to David Bowie and Todd Rundgren.   I will never forget the first album I bought in 6^th grade…Aerosmith’s Toys in the Attic.  I have been lugging that album all over with me since (19 different moves) and still treasure it.  During my teenage years I rocked out to all the hits from that era, but that was also when I was turned on to The Blues!  My step-father had an amazing stereo system with all kinds of components and speakers which were bigger than me.  He loved the Blues and I was so lucky to be able to have had that influence.  The Blues is one of my favorite genres today.

Looking back, it is no wonder that once turning 18 I headed to New Orleans.  It was a very volatile time in my life and I landed in what I consider the music capital of the US.  There, I spent 3 crazy years bartending and hanging out with my new group of friends who all were musicians/fans of heavy metal/hair metal bands from southern Louisiana: Lillian Axe (who are still recording today!), Savage White, Melange, 24K, and Deus Vult.  More often than not, you will now find my Sirius satellite radio tuned to HairNation, channel 39.

The past few years I have been totally into hearing live music again and find myself going back to my musical roots.   My sister and I snagged front row center to CSN at a small outdoor venue in our hometown of Cleveland last year and the music brought back so many memories.  Then there was Neil Young with his original band Crazy Horse, Todd Rundgren, Los Lobos, and new favorites Trombone Shorty, Gary Clark Jr., Indigenous, Plateros, Tommy Castro, and local Blues band Elm Street Blues.  December, alone, will run the gamut from a heavy metal marathon at Beachland Ballroom to Baroque Vespers at Trinity Cathedral.   

It is fitting that today I am receiving a turntable from my step-father’s bad ass stereo system.  After Thanksgiving dinner, I will drag out all my old albums and reminisce about music’s influence on my life and look forward to all the great music I will hear in the coming year!

 

Crosby, Stills & Nash

 

  Indigenous

 

  Trombone Shorty

 

A little piece of paradise in Bangkok

Flew into Bangkok late last night from Bhutan and came back to the small boutique hotel I stayed at a few weeks ago, the Ariyasomvilla.   I feel like I am at a Thailand beach rather than in the middle of a city.

I had a Thai massage at the hotel spa and am now hanging at the pool drinking a pretty blue cocktail.  

The massage was really cool. You are dressed in a light cotton loose fitting shirt and pants.  The massage is done on a comfortable mat on the ground of an open air structure with a high ceiling and fans overlooking the gardens and pool. The massage is a combination of acupressure and stretching.  I loved it so much I made an appointment for a 2 hour massage tomorrow!  

My plan is to skip the craziness of Bangkok and hang here at the Ariyasomvilla until late tomorrow night when I catch a 1:00am flight back to Cleveland via Japan and Chicago.

Cheers! 

The RENEW Center

Today was a special day.  Our group visited The RENEW (Respect Educate  Nurture Empower Women) Center in the capital of Bhutan which is Thimphu.

It is a non-profit which provides services to women who are victims of abuse.  Yes, even in Bhutan the abuse of women is an issue.  

We met with Chimi Wangmo, the executive director. She is a native Bhutanese who graduated from Yale. The purpose of this visit was to learn about all the good work happening and to make a donation.  A portion of the money we paid to ourAmerican tour company, Wandertours, is donated to this organization and we were so excited to deliver it in person!

To learn more about RENEW go to

http://www.renewbhutan.org 

http://www.facebook.com/renewbt

Bumthang Festival

It is believed that Buddhism in Buthan started in the Bumthang valley, which has the two oldest temples in the Kingdom.  

Every year there is a festival here and today we attended dressed in the native dress.  Schring had many kira and jackets from which to choose and with some help from the staff at our lodge we were able to figure out how to put these on!

The festival is only a 10 minute walk from our place.  Once we arrived the local people could not believe we were dressed in kira.  They smiled and came up to us all day.  We have not had such a great opportunity as this for interacting with the local people since we arrived.  We were the only foreigners there wearing the native dress and received a lot of attention all day...it will always be a most memorable experience  in my life.

At the festival there are native dances and we put a mat on the stone ground to watch.  We were surrounded by locals, as well as priests and nuns who were also enjoying the dancing and singing.  The most interesting thing was how the crowd was seated.  Everyone had a mat or a piece of cardboard or a jacket...something to sit on.  There were four of us on the mat we brought and we thought we were packed in tightly with the other people, boy were we wrong! Within the hour, many people came and sat around us, more then we ever thought could fit.  If there was a 6 inch square spot, someone was eyeing it up to claim.  Tight seating is typical at these festivals!

After an hour, Jan (one of the ladies on the trip) and I decided we had enough sitting on the ground and went to wander the festival stalls.  There were craftspeople from around the country set up to sell jewelry, clothes, food, and other souvenirs .  

Jan wanted to purchase a kira and jacket, which was a success.  I settled for the cotton candy! The vendor area was set up in aisles. The first two closest to the main area were selling native dress and souvenirs for tourists.  The next few aisles had western clothes for the local people; then a few aisles of household goods, then food, then games.  It was pretty muddy and we had to hold our beautiful kiras off the ground as we walked. 

After shopping we found our tour leader, Joslin, surrounded by a group of children and she had brought paints and was face painting.  Jan and I joined in and interacted with the children...it was so fun!

Later, we attended a ritual in the temple at the festival.  During the ritual if you took a small amount of currency and put it to your head and made a wish, and then donated it to the monks, your wish is to come true and you also  have good luck!  The chanting and music at this ritual was mesmerizing and I was so honored to be in attendance.  

After the festival we did some sightseeing then back to the lodge for an early dinner and a nap.  We had to leave at 11pm to go back to the festival (dressed warmly in our street clothes this time) to view the sacred naked dance performed by local men. This dance is performed to purify sins and receive a good harvest.  It is believed to be very good luck to watch these dancers and be absolved of a lifetime of sins.

As earlier in the day, we were mashed together siting on the ground with the locals.  Shring had gone to the festival early to secure us a spot. The dance did not start until well after midnight.  It started  with the building of a bonfire to keep the dancers warm.  A while later the dancers arrived, naked except for masks. The dances were unorganized and to our group looked like a bunch of young men goofing around a fire...not what we expected.  It then started to rain and we took this opportunity to leave and go back to our warm comfy beds!