Snow Festival in Sapporo

Three story snow sculptures are the norm in Sapporo.  Pretty impressive masses though not very creative.  It was 5 degrees F so we were walking fast to keep warm.  After an hour of ice and snow we were psyched to duck into a Starbucks.

This Malaysian building looked like it was created 1/2 scale of the original.

Wouldn't be Japan without Manga!

The winning small scale sculpture.

One of my favorites with the backhoes lined up in the background.  Presumably to tear it all down next week.  This webpage shows the buildup of the sculptures: http://www.snowfes.com/english/daie/index.html

A few local sakes were displayed in frozen sculptures.  Check out the opaque layers within the clear glass bricks.

Local produce proudly displayed next to the ice carving competition.

The opaque ice rose in this sculpture looked like it was frozen in clear glass.

…and some unabashed advertising

Hokkaido

Jex's 6'3 frame and size 13 snow boots are very entertaining for locals.

We've just arrived in the Olympic city of Sapporo (1972) on the northern island of Hokkaido.   Niseko ski resort is located on the west coast of the island and host to winter storms from Russia that dump tons of light fluffy powder snow.

Niseko is two hours from Sapporo via a tiny train that has great underseat heaters to combat the frigid temperatures.

Thanks to the cold and mostly overcast weather there is almost always fresh snow!

A rare sunny day with views to Mt Yotei and the ocean in the distance on the right.  The farmland below produces the best potatoes, apples and dairy products in Japan.

Farmers Market at UN building

The farmers at the weekend market are not reserved and it is a great place to test and learn about various Japanese delicacies.  Jex now has us eating kelp appetizers with yuzu sauce. 

This stand sold bread under the label 'A gift from the Goat'. That was the only English text so we're hoping that the gift is milk...

It's apple season and they're huge!

… and so are the radishes

The kids are convinced that we need to go to the market every weekend …
so that we can eat at the food stands that surround the market.

Arrived in Japan

In contrast to Mumbai, Tokyo is neat and organized.  The subway system is timely and easy to use.  The traffic lights and pedestrian crossings all function and you actually need to obey them!

Stores are often narrow and deep like this trendy restaurant in Shibuya

Our first foray into the tourist side of the city; The Edo Tokyo history museum is an imposing structure with great exhibits showcasing the last 600 years of the cities growth… not enough weapons showcased for Jex though.

Bicyles are prolific and allowed on the sidewalks.  

Cambodia

We spent the New year in Siem Reap, Cambodia in temples and small villages

The bas relief in the 12th century temples was impressive.  Our favorite places were the
small temples that had few tourists and had seen little reconstruction.

This fishing village is accessible only in the dry season by a dirt road.  The rest of the year only by boats.

The kids in town played around in boats and improvised boats when they weren't in school

In Banteay Chmmar (small town in the northwest) our guide, Peat, was also the leader of the local musician troupe.

He introduced us to locals (some of them his family) in their daily routines of fishing, house building  and silk weaving.

These versatile tractors had drive belts that could be connected to pumps and other machinery.

Typical gas station in a village with repurposed soda bottles full of  gasoline

Diving in the Maldives

Just spent 6 days studying hermit crabs, boat building and underwater life… very relaxing.

There are over 1000 islands in the Maldives…of which only about 200 are inhabited by humans.  The islands are built from thousands (millions?) of years of coral growth and decimation.  At night the ocean is filled with tiny bioluminescent creatures that look like stars underwater.

This Christmas tree tube worm was our best Christmas present. 

Curious boxfish

We think that we discovered the mother of all hermit crabs on a night dive.  This lady was about 8" across!

This pufferfish posed for a few minutes on the stag horn coral.  Check out his scraped lips from chewing on crabs, clams and snails.

These tiny fish are aggressive defenders of their anemones and will nip if you get too close.

Jex found tons of tiny red crab and ghost shrimp hidden in the coral.

Post dive bliss

Evening boat trip to catch tomorrow night's dinner (snapper and grouper)

India is….

India is so many things that I've come to love….

Traffic: 

Lines on the road are not really relevant (traffic lights as well) and one way roads are not always that way.  Size and brand of car dominate but after that the hierarchy is mostly by size.  So pedestrians are at the bottom of the barrel. However, driving, walking and biking are cooperative activities and drivers are very aware of all the moving 'parts' around them.  Cars and rickshaws constantly honk their horns to warn you to move, not out of anger. 

  Crossing the street is best done holding hands with as many sets of eyes as possible.  Walking on the street is safer than the sidewalk as these are invariably under construction or blocked by vendors or structures.  

Trains are the most dangerous way to travel but if you don't hang out the doors and use the 'women only' carriages they are the most efficient.


People (best part of India):

The school and paper supply store owner, after meeting me twice, gave me store credit for expensive printer cartridges.

The roadside tailor neatly sewed up the hole in my pants (from jumping onto an elephant) and had to be convinced to take 35cents for his trouble.

The hotel owner in Kerala only had one room for the four of us so he simply added a small mattress on the floor and a third pillow to the double bed

The butcher once charged after me into the grocery store to ensure that I didn't forget to buy cane sugar (our chef had called and told him to remind us).

The second generation grocery store owners personally filled every order and would deliver a single egg to our door if we forgot it.

Boys of all ages play cricket in every alley or dirt patch and were thrilled to share their bats with us or show off their 'helicopter swings' (just about broke my nose again)

The beautiful sari clad women will break into brilliant smiles if you smile at them… but only if you nod before smiling

On the rough side:

The smog and cooking fire smoke are so thick in December that you can't see across the bay.  The newspaper carries daily stories of women being abused in one way or another.  The slipshod wiring makes for entertaining photos but is also a serious life hazard.
The poor constantly implore at your windows and run barefoot through the myriad of slums.

Most importantly, however,  always remember to pray to Ganesh first!

I'm drinking a toast to the ants in our kitchen with Oban scotch tonight .  India is a creative country and since I  can't seem to get rid of the critters whiskey seems like a nice way to live with them.  Who knows, they may be reincarnations of someone I knew.