10 of the 53 places to go in 2008

by Jamie Rhein on

I already mentioned Detroit as being number 40 on the list of the New York Times places to go in 2008. Sad to say, I have only been to the airport in Detroit. After posting about this city, I agree that the capital of the automobile and Motown is indeed a place to see this year.

Places to go lists such as the New York Times version can either make a person feel as depressed as hell that one can’t possibly see all of the places mentioned in one year, or fairly smug that one seen as much as one has. As for me, I’m happy I’ve been to some places, but still tipping towards the so many places, so little time and not enough money to even make a dent reality check.

1. I’ve been to Oslo, although I was young, broke and can’t remember much about it except for this Canadian guy I met who I was enamored by to the point that meeting him was far more important than any glacier I may have seen. I still have the sweater I bought.

I’ve also been to San Francisco, New York, Prague, London, San Diego, Tuscany, Vietnam, London and Munich–all on the list at various points. That’s it. I have so much more to see this year and the two places on my itinerary so far, Mexico and Williamsburg, Virginia aren’t even mentioned.

When picking from such a list, here are my suggestions for making a choice based on the places I’ve gone. I’ve linked the destination suggestions with past Gadling posts. If you click on the links, you’ll go to posts with a variety of angles.

2. For a culture different from your own, but one that is affordable and accessible to tourists, I’d head to Vietnam. I’ve been here five times and have never been disappointed. If I were you, do not stay in a top-tiered hotel, but in a family run place. Much more interesting. Sitting downstairs visiting with the family who owns it is a cultural treat.

3. Laos is on this list though, as a place more edgy than Vietnam. I’ve never been to Laos, but know people who have and they’ve also had great experiences. If you want a place not so tourist ready, this would be more of an adventure.

4. If you want to be wowed by history, art, landscape and architecture, plus a sensual delight in food, I’d pick Tuscany, although according to some reports I’ve read, it’s getting filled to the brim with tourists. Still, if you rent a car and can drive out into the countryside, that might help offset the crowds.

5. For a place where you can easily see pomp and circumstance and a sweeping sense of a country that has had a huge impact on the world, head to London. The last time I was there, we only had a day. I was traveling with my husband, my then 9 year-old daughter and 1 1/2-old son. We walked, took a double-decker bus, took the Underground and took a taxi to make tracks, but managed to have a lot of fun and see what we wanted to take in without wearing ourselves out. I remember hitting the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the Thames River, The Tower of London, The British Museum and Trafalgar Square.

6. For a place that evokes images of traveling on top of a wedding cake, go to Prague. It is stunningly beautiful. If you do go, take some time for Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter.

7. Munich was another place I breezed through when I didn’t have much money. The beer hall was fun, and a contrast to the other things I did. I spent some time at Olympiapark thinking about the Israeli athletes who were killed here and seeing the pool where Mark Spitz swam. I must have been woozy on beer, bratwurst and a period of life when I was eating mostly bread and cheese to make the traveling dollars stretch. My shoes were taped together with electrician’s tape. Okay, this feels depressing and not why Munich made the places to see list. If you have wonderous Munich experiences, do tell.

8. Old Town in San Diego is a shoppers heaven. I’m not much of a shopper, but I love the shops here and the history of the buildings. We visit relatives in San Diego, so we don’t hit it up as a tourist destination. One thing I would like to do is take a fishing boat ride. We’ve only fished on a pier. If you go to San Diego, don’t miss Neiderfrank’s Ice-Cream. It’s special indeed.

9. San Francisco was probably my favorite city in my across the U.S. sweep after the Peace Corps. The most memory producing activity I did was the tour of Alcatraz Island. Highly entertaining and informative. The bonus is the chance to see San Francisco from the vantage point of across the water.

10. New York City, though, is my most favorite place in the world. If you don’t take the time to walk several blocks, say from 42nd Street to the East Village, your missing out on an interesting time.

Big in Japan: Japanese monks down pints in the name of Buddha

by Matthew Firestone on

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Zen Buddhist monks?

If you guessed raked pebble gardens, immaculately poured cups of green tea and the continual search for inner peace and enlightenment, you’re wrong!

Starting this week in Japan, a trio of Buddhist monks have secured a regular spot at the Chippie Sound Music Bar, a popular Tokyo jazz club.

Here, they seek to educate patrons about Buddha while simultaneously performing their unique shomyo (????; Japanese Buddhist chants) to an attentive crowd.

Yup – you read that correctly.

Zen Buddhist mantras and Miles Davis do in fact mix well under the limelight!

As reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the three monks took to the stage, rang a small bell to silence the crowd, and filled the bar with their hauntingly beautiful chants.

To keep reading about this utterly bizarre but fascinating event, click below.

During the second half of the show, the trio once again took to the stage, silenced the room by ringing a small bell, kneeled in their gray robes before the crowd, and began to lecture an attentative audience about their faith.

One of the monks, Hogen Natori, believes that people are more receptive to complex philosophies when they are relaxing in a bar amongst friends.

“Many Japanese don’t want to come to temple. They think Buddhism is very difficult, and deep and serious, but Buddhism is much more than that – exciting, funny even. I want to spread this kind of teaching.”

So why is it exactly that the Buddhist monks had to resort to performing in jazz bars to keep their religion thriving?

Buddhism has had an extremely strong foundation in Japan since the religion first arrived in the archipelago 1,200 years ago from mainland Asia. In fact, almost three-quarters of Japanese people are registered Buddhists, though the only time they enter a temple is on their death bed.

Furthermore, since Japan is a rapidly aging society, interest in Buddhism is virtually non-existent amongst Japanese youths who care little about religion.

As a result, the vast majority of Japan’s 75,000 temples are in serious financial trouble. Although funerals are a huge source of income, the temples will have to attract new followers if they wish to thrive beyond the immediate future.

Although their effort to raise awareness about Buddhism’s lighter side are being applauded by most, the trio of monks is being accused by others of lowering themselves to the level of commoners.

To these critics, Hogen Natori offers these simple and succinct words:

“Come and join us. We are telling people what Buddhism is, what monks are.

Only in Japan…

Japanese Buddhism is undergoing a serious face lift these days. For coverage of a recent Zen fashion show here in Tokyo, be sure to check out the article Japanese monks strut it out on the catwalk.

** All of the photos in this blog post were taken by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) **

Big in Japan: Japanese energy drink makes Red Bull look like apple juice

by Matthew Firestone on

Life can be unbelievably stressful, which is why every one of us needs a quick boost from time to time.

Whether your preferred liquid energy comes in the form of a double skim latte, a bottle of Jolt cola or a red bull and vodka, life is so much easier with caffeine and taurine surging through your veins.

Of course, if you think that we have stressful lives in the West, you should spend some time in the Land of the Rising Sun, where eighty hour-plus work weeks are the norm, and sleep is for the weak and the dead.

So, it should come as no surprise that the Japanese are partial to their energy drinks.

With that said, allow me to introduce you to Yunker Fanti (??????????????????????????????), a powerful concoction by Sato Laboratories that makes Red Bull look like apple juice.

I’m not kidding!

From Royal Jelly and liquid-based nicotine to complex vitamins and herbal extracts, this stuff will put some serious spring in your step.

Want to know more about this invigorating elixir? Click below to learn the secret behind Japanese efficiency.

In Tokyo, you can buy a 50 milliliter bottle of Yunker Fanti for 1,700 yen or approximately US$15. The product is even endorsed by the legendary Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki, so you know this stuff has got to be good!

Remarkably, you don’t even have to go to a health food store to buy the product.

Instead, just simply walk out of your apartment, head into the first convenience store you see, and knock your socks off for the price of a large cappuccino and a pastry at Starbucks.

So what is exactly in Yunker Fanti that makes this stuff so damn good?

For starters, this tiny bottle is jam-packed with caffeine and taurine, which probably isn’t the best thing for those with fragile hearts. But, think of this little baby as a mix of a double espresso and a red bull on ice.

Here’s the clincher.

Yunker Fanti, along with several other Japanese energy drinks, is packed-full of nicotine, which isn’t exactly the greatest thing to be putting into your body.

But, if you want to sharpen your senses, stave off hunger and punch the clock for a few more hours, you can’t beat this liquid gold.

Yunker Fanti is also brimming with a variety of natural and herbal remedies for fatigue, depression and sickness, such as royal jelly (think bees), complex vitamins, ginseng, guarana, garlic, ecinachia and a whole bunch of Chinese herbs that don’t translate into English.

Seriously – this stuff is the cure for what ails ya’.

If you’re still interested in trying Yunker Fanti, sadly you’re going to have to make the trip out to Japan.

Unfortunately, I’m fairly certain that there strict import restrictions in the States regarding liquid-nicotine based products, though perhaps I’m wrong. With that said, please chime in if you’ve seen this product in a health food store near you.

Big in Japan: Aliens may have landed in Japan

by Matthew Firestone on

Ever wonder why the Japanese are so much more advanced than the rest of us?

What if the answer to this question was simply that the Japanese government has made contact with aliens?

What if the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3 were actually alien technology that was adapted to life on this planet?

Believe it or not, there may in fact be some truth to these statements!

Well, sort of…

According Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr. Nobutaka Machimura, one of the Japanese government’s chief spokesmen, unidentified flying objects (UFOs) do in fact exist.

Although he said that the Japanese government could not confirm any cases of UFOs, he told reporters that believed they were “definitely” real.

Interesting.

I guess at this point in the posting, you’re wondering one or more of the following:

a) How do you say Area 51 in Japanese?
b) So ramen really is an alien creation!
c) If there were space whales, would the Japanese hunt them too?
d) This has all got to be some big joke, right?

Have I peaked your curiosity yet? If so, keep reading as I assure you that there is some sort of rationale behind this apparent madness.

To put things into perspective, this whole ordeal started when a member of the opposition party asked the current government what their policy was in dealing with UFOs.

Although this is generally the type of question that no politician would want to touch, Mr. Machimura was quick to weigh in on the issue.

In the event that a UFO was discovered inside Japan’s sovereign airspace, Mr. Machimura said that fighter planes would be scrambled in an attempt to confirm the nature of the object.

However, Mr. Machimura regretted to announce that the government’s response measures ended there as there were no mechanisms in place for dealing with an actual alien landing.

Drawing peals of laughter from the crowd of reporters, Mr. Machimura admitted that this was a stereotypical response from bureaucrats.

Of course, Mr. Machimura was quick to emphasize that the Japanese government was not aware of any confirmed cases whereby a UFO was actually discovered in their airspace.

However, he did reiterate the urgent need to try and scientifically confirm whether or not UFOs exist because of what he called incessant reports of sightings.

Although to date most UFO sightings in Japan have either been birds, planes or other easily explainable objects, Mr. Machimura was proud to announce that he believes that they definitely exist.

And, it’s worth nothing that the position of the government’s chief spokesperson isn’t that much different from that of the prime minister, namely Yasuo Fukuda.

When questioned about his belief in UFOs, Japan’s Prime Minister took a long hard think, and then responded with the appropriate political rhetoric.

Although he was a bit more reserved than Mr. Machimura, he said that it was impossible to answer the question since no one could either prove or deny their existence.

Truth be told, the Japanese aren’t exactly famous for their direct answers, though perhaps Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is trying to tell us to read between the lines.

Christmas in Saigon

by Grant Martin on

Nothing helps you realize you’re eight thousand miles away from home better than spending the holidays in a foreign country.

Last year, traveling through Southeast Asia with my parents we found ourselves at the Oscar Hotel in downtown Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by the locals), Vietnam over Christmas Eve. An interesting way that tourism has seized the country is the Vietnamese interpretation of Christmas. While about 85% of the population is Buddhist, pretty much everyone identifies with the holiday — or rather Santa Claus. It’s their understanding of what the Westerners know and will appreciate while they’re visiting Southeast Asia.

But instead of decorating their houses, exchanging gifts or getting a Christmas tree, I found that the Vietnamese seem to be most fond of riding around the city square, wearing santa hats, dressing up their children and socializing. Thousands of young Vietnamese youth come out to participate on Christmas Eve. Thousands.

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As you go outside to witness the madness of what’s happening before you, the air fills with the sounds of ten thousand motorcycle engines humming, a two-cycle chorus revolving around you on the streets of Saigon. The heavy tropical air fills with motorcycle exhaust and you get the feeling that you’re in some sort of Cajun voodoo spell, children dressed as Santa flying past you disappearing into a fog, a foreigner in a strange land.

It’s an experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen — something that I think everyone should see once in their lives and something I will never forget. Back at home in Kalamazoo this winter, I breathe the fresh air and watch deer wander in our back yard through six-inch snow. Such a contrast to Christmas past.