Food in Myanmar.

I love eating local foods when traveling abroad. It is usually quite different from foods in my country, and moreover, I love eating.

I ate lots of Burmese foods (or Myanmar foods), and definitely I love it. Food in Myanmar is similar to Japanese foods in some way. It's not spicy like Thai foods, not so many cilantro in it.

Some rural places, I found frogs and so on. Those were terrible, I can't eat them! :(
(Although I once ate them when I was young!)

If you can't eat Burmese foods, or sick of eating it, then go to Chinese food restaurant! There are many of them here and there, I went eat for several times (I love Chinese food as well!!)

Or Indian food you like? Then, heading to there! In Yangon, it's a lot of Southern Indian food available ;)

Well, I'm in Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam right now, actually. I stay here one more day and leave for Phnom Penh, capital in Cambodia. It's been 8 years since I last visited Phnom penh!! Wow, time flies!

Bagan, Myanmar Today.

Cycling on a bumping road, suddenly it appears.

Hundreds of ruins are straggled here and there, you even can't count how many they are. It's so many, nearly countless. I felt it's comparable to Ankor Wat in Cambodia, but not so many foreigners were there.

Myanmar is changing. You can see many roads and buildings under construction in Yangon, young families enjoy their shopping in smart phone shops. If you visit here a few years later, everything could be changed. Sure, it's good for people living here, much better life, much better choices. But somehow I am attracted something not change. That might be why I love old things...

Anyway, I go back to Yangon, commercial city in Myanmar tonight. I mean.... I leave here in Mandalay tonight, and arrive at Yangon tomorrow. It's a....night bus! Oh my, I am wondering if I can sleep or not ! :D

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I thought I updated this post a few days ago, but it seems it wasn't. Sorry I made you wait such a long time! :(
 

Great Myanmar!!

Finally!!! I somehow can upload my pictures....!!! I took it in Mandalay, it's a bridge made of teak, the longest bridge which is made of it :) I rented a boat so that I could shoot pictures from surface.

Here in Myanmar I can see many people, especially women painting their cheek. I forgot the detail, but I like this way! And even men wear traditional clothes which looks like a skirt. I'm very impressive to see that many traditional things are still with Myanmar people. And foods, I like it as well. There are noodle, rice, bread! I am not suffering from unsuitability of foods at all!

Greetengs from Mandalay, Myanmar.

I tried several hundred times for uploading a picture, but somehow I couldn't do it :( Forgive me for not uploading this time.

Currently I'm in Mandalay, central part of Myanmar. I'm pretty fine, so please don't worry ;) I move to Bagan, a historical place in this country today. I made a friend who is from Germany, and will share a room with him today too. It's cheaper to share the room, and it's a quite exciting to know both Myanmar and Europe.

Well, I'm not sure where I will create a post next time. But surely I will do it soon :)

Leaving.

I'm about to leave Japan within 7 hours and extremely busy right now. I'm cooking for my family, preparing for traveling, gathering cash that needs in abroad (I don't trust credit card!) and so forth.
Don't worry, I will publish as many post as possible from Southeast Asian countries! Wherever I will, I will manage to do it ;)

Well, it's time for traveling!! :)

Kichijoji and Inokashira park.

Cycling for 20 minutes or so from my home, Kichijoji is there. I am a Kichijoji lover and every time I am there, I can't help thinking of the center of Nagoya, my hometown. Why does this place look so much like my hometown? It's Tokyo, still many shops are familiar to me.

Many people love this town since it's in the suburb but easy to get in and out from Tokyo Station and Shinjuku by Chuo line.

Walk a bit from south gate of Kichijoji station, you can find a park called "Inokashira-park". I thought it was called Inogashira, but wikipedia says it's Inokashira. How pity I am... :(

Election for the mayor in Tokyo will hold on 16th December, you are able to see banners on the wall of stations, anywhere, although many people in Tokyo are not interested in it...

I took these pictures last week, so probably foliage are gone by now. Everything is so fast in this season!

In the midst of this park, it has a pond. There is no one on the boat...Soooo cold on the surface!

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This time I posted some kind of a introduction for my favorite place in Japan. I tend not to do this way usually, I mean, introduce something about Japan because you can find anything on other web sites. I can't compare with them, with my poor knowledge, my poor images... More than that, those topics are too natural for me to write them down. However, from now on I try to explain what I saw, what I thought when I saw something close to my heart.

Yesterday's earthquake.

I was on the way back to my home when an earthquake hit East Japan yesterday. While I was walking, I could feel everything was shaking. Electric wires above, name boards on walls, everything. I was nearby a station at that time and announce said us to escape from tall things. It deeply reminded me of the huge one last year, but we are all fine, don't worry. I hope people in Tohoku area, where devastating damage is still remained are safe as well.

Apples from Nagano prefecture.

My parents-in-law went to Nagano prefecture where is known as a various fruits available. They took some apples and sent me. Typically I don't eat any fruits, but I eat anything they give me! What should I cook with them? Apple pie?  ;)

Dear Chalet. I tried to comment back to you, but somehow I couldn't open the comment section :( I'm sorry I can't reply, I will visit Lake Inle too! :)

Heirin-ji temple.

Cycling from my tiny apartment in the morning, I finally reach there. It was second time to visit Heirin-ji temple, located in Niza city, Saitama prefecture.

There is a big garden around the temple, colored with yellow and red foliage in this season.

I arrived at this place around 8:30 a.m., 30 minutes before opening, but some people were lining up in front of a old gate with their camera.

It's not easy to access (that's why I went there by bicycle), many people came here by their own cars.

They require 500yen, or about $6 for admission fee, but I can say with some confidence that it's definitely worth visiting there in Autumn.

Although it seemed foliage were coming to the end of changing their colors, started falling. Still, you can walk on the carpet of leaves. How nice it is...!!

Heirin-ji temple is popular in this season, however, it's not when it is time for Sakura, or cherry blossom. I suppose there are not many sakura in this place.

And a pond, as usual ;)

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Stared with Autumn leaves in the garden in Shinjuku, it looks finally I finished taking pictures of them this year. And what's waiting for the next is winter, a season I didn't like. As I told you last post, I gradually come to like cold season as well. Things change as if weather and season change everyday, every year. I move on to the next step ;)

Leaves and me.

As temperature is getting down and down, I took my winter clothes from the closet in my room. It's the second winter for me to spend in Tokyo and gradually get used to it. It's a bit colder than in my hometown Nagoya, but only a bit. We have a few days of snow, cold winds, and cloudy.
I found myself that I was once a winter hater, but recent year it seems to begin to change. I can enjoy anything, anything even once I hadn't liked.
In this picture, I bought a beverage from Starbucks. Since it's one of the best season to drink coffee outside, instead of taking it in there, I took this in a big park nearby.

So... Tomorrow I go to a temple where is a quite famous for foliage. Don't miss it!

Kyoto in Autumn, 2012.

Waking up at 3:00 a.m. in the morning, I prepared for leaving my home to Kyoto. (You don't have to wake up so early, just I'm a early person ;))

I forgot to bring a guide book this time....Only I'd got was a flyer of Kyoto which Japan Railway published, haha...

So....Let's take a walk ;)

I started with walking around Arashiyama ("yama" means a mountain), where is located western Kyoto, takes about 25 minutes from Kyoto station by local bus. It was first time for me to visit there.

I had longed for visiting Kyoto in the autumn for many years. What made me so hard to make this real was a rumor that Autumn in Kyoto is a number of, or numerous, people gathering for sightseeing.

Since I'm a person who detest crowded places (you know that!), I had avoided to go there such a long time. But this year, many people told me that autumn leaves in this year will be surprising ever, probably once a few decade, some said to me.
Well, I suppose it could be nice if I would go to the finest place to see the finest autumn leaves.

I went to Hogo-in temple at first. As it turned out, this place has an astonishing garden.

I tend to take a glance or two when I see something, not seeing carefully. That's what I usually do. However, this temple was tremendous, beautiful, you can't miss it when you go to Arashiyama, especially when it is Autumn.

I had taken pictures nearly an hour there. I can't believe my ability to concentrate is that good, haha.

This kind of man-made garden, such as this, such as gardens I told you before usually have some meanings. Every single stone has sometime its own meaning. I studied this stone carefully, but nothing come across to me ;)

Even a bench which is usual aspect looks beautiful...!

Look up to see foliage, then turn my face to down, and up, then down.... My neck was tired by then :D

It's a tea house, I think. they require additional fee to be inside, I gave up :(

How come this season is soooooo beautiful in my country! :D

 

An old gate which is not used any more.

Leaving Hogoin temple, I went around Arashiyama again.

Red foliage, yellowish foliage. Everything is beautiful for the time being in Kyoto :)

It's not exactly a gate, but close to it. It's a symbol of a religion as well.

I'm sick of taking photograph by then, I put my SLR in my bag, just enjoy watching autumn begin to change into the winter.

I'm terrible with winter. Cold, everywhere seems in silence, I don't like silent place neither :( And talking about snow, I like snow, but I don't like lots of them.

I consider autumn leaves as gifts from autumn. This thought may be odd, but I like to think that way :)

Last place I visited was Daikaku-ji. Before I arrived there, I ate lunch nearby and a chef in there told me Daikak-ji is a must to see. But after I left the gate of this temple and walking to a bus stop, I couldn't help thinking whether it's such a great place to visit.

Probably that's because the first one (Hogo-in temple) was so overwhelming that rest of temples looked less attractive to me.

Well, that's all for today. I put so many pictures on this post, you may be tired of reading it. Hopefully you enjoyed to see it! :)