In support of the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal...

I have been devastated watching the news unfold as the situation worsens in Japan. The first day was heart breaking and each day since has been torture for the poor people affected.

If you are a long term reader, you will know that I spent a few weeks in Japan this time last year and absolutely fell in love with the place and its people.

Prayer cards outside a temple in Tokyo

Everyone we met was so kind and hospitable. We were typical tourists, getting lost every five minutes, standing in the middle of the street holding a map and turning it every which way to try and work out where we were. Well, we never had to stand there for long before someone, a teenager, a business man, a woman with children, a little old man, would come rushing over and without a shared word in the same language, they would set us on our way again in the right direction.

Prayer notes tied to ropes around a temple

in Nikko, just North of Tokyo

There was one day in particular, we had somehow got on the wrong train and ended up in a really empty station where the station master couldn't understand where we were trying to get to. We were there a while, getting more and more frantic, thinking we may have to move into the station when a local man walked in and asked if he could help us. We told him where we were trying to get to and then he had a long conversation with the station master discussing the best route for us to get home. Not only did he tell us which train we needed, but he walked us to the right platform as well. We had a bit of a chat about where we came from and what we thought of Japan and then he went off to get his train. A few minutes later, he came rushing back - he had put us on the wrong platform! So off we went again, following this little man to the right place. He walked off again to catch his train. A few minutes later, we looked up at the glass bridge above to see him jumping around waving a piece of paper in the air. He came rushing down the steps again. He'd written us a note, in Japanese, explaining that we were tourists and saying where we were from and where we were trying to get to just in case we got lost again! Luckily we never needed to use it, but I still have it tucked away in my travel journal.

A girl in traditional dress reading prayers outside a temple

in Kyoto

It was such a lovely act of kindness from a stranger. There was no reason for him to feel obliged to help us, he just did. And we were so grateful to him.

After the earthquake, I knew I had to do something to help people like that man who had been affected and lost everything. I wanted to go out there to help the survivors but only trained personnel have been allowed out up to now. So then I thought about fund raising and came up with a plan.

A prayer note tied to the cherry blossom in Nara

We have the royal wedding coming up soon so I thought it would be a good idea to organise a big village party to raise money. So, me and another lady in the village have joined forces to create the wedding party extravaganza of the year!

We are starting with a wedding dress walk from the church (with the bells ringing behind us) down to the village hall where the wedding will be shown on the big screen television. After the wedding, we will be having a British tea party style lunch - cucumber sandwiches with their crusts cut off, cakes, jelly and tea and coffee. In the afternoon, I'm hoping to get some live music or other live entertainment.

I have been on the beg, asking everyone I know for some kind of donation for a raffle - so far I've managed to collect a meal for two in the Hilton, 3 overnight stays at various hotels, a beer gift pack from a local brewery and, get this, a pair of entry passes to Disney Land Paris!

Prayers outside Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto

So, kind man in the station, this is for you - and all the other people who helped us during our stay in Japan and who warmed my heart everyday through their kindness and warmth to each other. It really is a culture we all could learn something from.

You can read about my time in Japan here.

In Lonely Planet...

I had a lovely surprise on my doorstep last week... the latest copy of my Lonely Planet magazine, and in the back? This:

Click on the photo to enlarge

Rua Reidh Lighthouse, Gairloch

You can read more about my lighthouse adventure here.

Fun Fact Friday!

Our world is made up of approximately 180,497 islands. That number changes constantly as new islands are born or eventually disappear back into the ocean (like Venice). Lands are split apart by the movement of tectonic plates to create new land. Volcanoes erupt under the sea, with lava building up and building up until new land emerges from the water.

The world's youngest island is Surtsey. Part of Iceland and its most southerly point, Surtsey was created by a huge underwater volcanic eruption in the 1960's. It has been protected so that it can be explored by scientists in order to study the creation of new land. People cannot walk on the island but visitors can travel around it by boat.

The world's largest island is Greenland at 2,131,600 sq km although new land has recently (2007) been discovered off its east coast. This new land was once part of the mainland, attached by a glacier, but was separated as a result of part of the huge ice sheet melting. Scary proof of global warming.

Like the evolution of man, our world is changing and developing - the smaller islands are eventually eroded away by extreme weather and the constant biting of waves at it's edges where bigger islands continue to grow as more lava is pumped out of the earth forming mountains and extending the land - it wont be the same when we leave as it was when we got here and it probably won't be around forever so we need to do all we can to protect it and enjoy everything it has to offer.

An extension of land formed by a cascade of
molten lava, cooled by the sea.

Another land arch, this time formed by a strong underwater
current and harsh waves.

Will you wigwam?

I'm off to British Columbia in Canada in a few weeks and was reading about an Indian reserve where you can spend the night in a wigwam looking up at the stars through the tipi holes. Oh what bliss.

I went running to the Internet, bank card flapping in my hand, ready to book me a night as an Indian... But, alas, they don't open until June. I am inconsolable.

http://www.blackfootcrossing.ca/tipivillage.html

This time last year...

This time last year, I was in Japan.

This time last year, I felt like I was in the safest place on earth.

This time last year, I never could have imagined what would happen today.

Today, Friday 11th March 2011, there was a massive earthquake that hit Japan in the middle of the afternoon. It measured 8.9 on the Richter scale - the biggest in Japan since records began, the fifth biggest ever recorded in the world.

The earthquake brought with it a 30 foot wave that came crashing through the town tearing down buildings like they were made of paper.

It has sent shock waves around the world, as far away as Washington  and California have been on Tsunami alert. New Zealand, not even recovered yet from their own earthquake early last month and a Tsunami two weeks ago caused by a quake in Chile, yet again has been waiting for the worst

Footage in Japan has shown cars frantically driving away with the wave of black sludge steadily gaining pace on them until they are washed away, seen later bobbing bottoms up in the water like corks.

Ships have been consumed by the ocean, trains have disappeared from the land.

Buildings have collapsed, burned, been washed away.

People have been frightened, hurt, killed, heart broken by this earthquake.

This time last year, the kind, gentle, friendly people of Japan did not see this coming and neither did the rest of the world.



I want to share with you, some photos from my happy times in Japan. I hope the people can soon remember the happy times and return to normality in the best way they can.

A sunny meadow in the heart of a metropolis

Cheerful faces everywhere

Cold tea in a can

The sugary scent of cherry blossom hovering in my nostrils

Dogs in dungarees

Happy people, always laughing

Monkeys fishing for Koi Carp

These are the things I remember most fondly when I think of my time in Japan.

This post is for the people who were lucky enough to survive the day that rocked the world and in memory of those who didn't. I hope you are all safe tonight.

Kat x

Destinations Travel Show 2011

This weekend was the Destinations Travel Show at the NEC in Birmingham. I have always wanted to go to the show and got a couple of free tickets this year.

It was a completely miserable day outside - perfect for wandering around stalls displaying fabulous pictures of lands far away and listening to talks on trips you'd never even imagine.

We listened to a talk on trekking through Tibet to Mt Everest - this trip was already penciled in for next Easter but after hearing all about it and seeing dozens of photos of snowcapped mountains, glaciers, blue skies, sherpas with their donkeys and pile's of prayer flags, it is now firmly scribbled on the calendar in big fat black marker! My worries about the walking, camping and freezing cold nights were completely obliterated and transformed into pure excitement for what would be a once in a life time trip.

Mt Everest - photo from earthinformations.blogspot.com

We also heard an inspiring presentation on walking safaris in East Africa. I had no idea that you could do safari on foot - I just presumed it would be too dangerous. I have always wanted to do a safari but the idea of being stuck in a bus with a load of other (potentially annoying) tourists just didn't butter my muffin. Walking, however, is interesting. Imagine - the heat of the sun on your shoulders, the feeling of sand gently slipping away under your feet (although god forbid it gets in your shoes!), the sound of animals calling one another in the distance, the smell of the life around you... it just sounds perfect. They teach you how to track the animals and how not to become lunch and you get to sleep in tents with roll down walls.

Walking safari led by a Masai Tribesman
photo from www.happytellus.com

Over the weekend, there were a number of celebrity speakers. On Friday Mark Carwardine who presented 'Last Chance to See' last year with Stephen Fry gave a talk - I would have loved to have met him but it would have meant using a valuable days holiday from work. 

Instead, we got to see Simon Reeve who has written a number of books on terrorism, including 'One Day in September' about the Munich Olympics massacre and 'The New Jackals' about Osama Bin Laden and the future of terrorism. He has also most recently presented the BBC series' 'Tropic of Cancer' and 'Tropic of Capricorn' - both of which I really enjoyed. Simon spoke about his life on the road and how even the most dangerous of territories can be warm and hospitable. He is currently working on a new series for the BBC called 'The Indian Ocean' where he and a team of four will be travelling to various countries in (and via) the Indian Ocean. They will be passengers on huge cargo ships - great big floating pirate bate... he seemed a little nervous. I can't wait to see the series.

Counting dow the days now till my next trip...

Fun Fact Friday!

Most of us have some kind of literature in the loo - a book, the paper, a couple of magazines. Some people even have puzzles - Rubik's cube perhaps.

Well, how about a Sega games console where pee means prizes?

That's exactly what is turning up in lavs in Japan right now!

Aptly named 'Toylets' are Sega's latest creation; the aim ('scuse the pun) is the longer, faster and more accurately you widdle, the more points you score! There are four games to choose from - one you have to erase grafitti off the wall and another one you have to try and lift a ladies skirt (Marilyn Monroe stylee). You can even plug in a USB stick to keep track of your scores between visits!

Obviously, unless you are very skilled in the firing department, these games are for boys only.

They can be found in the urinals at the Sega Mega-Store in Akihabara's Electric Town in Tokyo.

This brings a whole new meaning to Nintendo Wii!

Japanese Space Toilet...
complete with bird song setting for those
'noisier' visitors!

Happy Mahashivratri!

I received an email on Tuesday from one of my colleagues in India to let me know that there would be no one in the office on Wednesday because it was a religious festival. Tell me more, I said - we don't have any religious festivals here in the UK so I am always fascinated to hear what people celebrate in other countries.

This is what she taught me:

Mahashivratri is one of the most important Hindu festivals and takes place on the fourteenth night of the waning moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun (like Easter, it doesn't always fall on the same date).

According to Hindu folklore (and this is the bit I love, I always do a lot of reading up on folklore before I travel to a country as I think it is a great insight into what the people believe in and what is important to them), it is the wedding anniversary of the god Shiva and his wife Parvati.

Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati - Isn't she pretty?

The most common explanation of the origin of Mahashivratri is that the other two gods of the trinity (Brahma and Vishnu) had a fight to decide who was the most powerful. The fight became so intense that the existence of the whole world was at stake and Shiva had to intervene. He took on the form of a Lingam (the Lingam represents the Stambha pillar with no beginning and no end, symbolising the infinite nature of Shiva) which shone a huge column of bright light in both directions.

Shiva challenged Brahma and Vishnu to find the end of the column and promised that whoever found it would be declared the most powerful. Brahma went up, and Vishnu went down. They travelled for a thousand years, up and up and up, down and down and down but neither ever reached the end.

Brahma eventually saw a Ketaki flower falling down in the light. He asked the flower if it had seen the end of the column. The flower replied that it had been put at the top of the column as an offering of worship. Brahma took the flower in order to claim that he had found the end of the column.

The Ketaki flower

Brahma and Vishnu returned to Shiva - Vishnu admitted that he was unable to reach the end of the column, however, Brahma said that he had and presented the little flower as proof. Shiva did not believe him - he said that light travelled forever so it was impossible to find the end of the column. He was furious with Brahma for lying to him and put a curse on him so that no one would ever worship him. Even today, there is only one temple in the world which is devoted to Brahma and that is in Pushkar in Northern India.

The Ketaki flower was also punished - never again to be used as any kind of offering in any form of worship.

The day Shiva became the Lingam was the fourteenth night of the waning moon in the month of Phalgun, so Mahashivratri acknowledges the greatness of Shiva.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva

On the day of Mahashivratri, devotees pray to statues of Shiva and bathe him with milk, honey and water in temples which will have been decorated in celebration, and fast all day. When the prayer is over in the evening, fast is broken and everyone will eat something. The evening prayer is in the form of religious songs called 'Bhajan' and in some temples, the whole legend is re-enacted in a play.

All images from Google image search: Mahashivratri