Sunday, August 24, 2008
I feel like I have been visiting a lot of capitals recently. In June, I visited Vienna and Bratislava, while I visited Cape Town and Johannesburg in July. While I do not think the best way to explore a foreign country is simply to stop by its capital, vacationing in cities located close to major airports can be quite convenient.
While I was scheduled to arrive in Prague relatively early in the morning, I ended up getting there later as I missed my Northwest flight from Boston to Prague. The reason I missed the Northwest flight was a delay in getting from Houston to Boston with American Airlines, which service I had the pleasure of experiencing on the first time. The service on American Airlines is famous for being quite abysmal, but I was almost impressed by the length they had gone to provide an almost hostile level of service. Many customers seem unable to handle the check in counters at the airport, but there are almost no personnel available to assist passengers that are having problems operating the machines. Elderly people and foreigners with a poor command of English come to mind, but also individuals without credit cards (mostly young students) cannot check in as they are not able to pay for the check-in luggage fee.
I would hate to work at the airport for one of the permanently understaffed American airlines. Being constantly yelled at all day by a group of often moronic passengers is not my idea of fun.
The airplanes flown by American Airlines must be amongst the oldest in the industry. There was something broken on virtually every plane that I boarded, the worst being the seat divider. When I found my aisle seat being without a seat divider, my initial fear was that a fat sweaty Texan male would come and sit in the seat next to me. Luckily, on this particular flight, I was lucky to have someone of average width occupy that seat. This does not happen often on US flights.
I may have commented on this earlier, but it takes approximately twice as long to board a plane in the US compared to Japan. The reason is not only that the average American is twice as large as the average Japanese person, but also that everyone feels a need to bring a gigantic piece of hand luggage. It is often impossible to store the luggage in the overhead compartments, thus many passengers end up blocking the aisle for ages while looking around the plane like idiotic donuts. According to an announcement on one of the American Airlines flights that I took, the cabin crew is not allowed to assist passengers with the storing of their luggage (thank you labor union!). I really hope the stewardesses are capable of assisting passengers in an emergency situation; otherwise I am not really sure what their function is.
After finally arriving in Prague after several miserable and delayed flights (Las Vegas-Houston-Boson-Amsterdam-Prague), I was too exhausted to study the public transportation system and simply jumped into a shuttle bus (tickets are bought at the airport). However, I later found out that the public transportation system in Prague is both excellent and cheap, thus I could have saved a chunk of cash by keeping my head cool when arriving in Prague.
After meeting my parents at the hotel, I took a quick shower before we headed out for dinner. Our first stop was Wenceslas Square, which was a horse market in medieval times but later has become more famous as a site for political demonstrations. The creation of the new Czechoslovak Republic was celebrated on the square in 1918, and the end of communism was announced here in 1989 by Vaclav Havel and Alexander Dubcek. At a picture exhibition two days later, I also saw several pictures from the Soviet Union’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, a historical moment I was barely familiar with as it happened a decade prior to my birth. It is peculiar to see history repeating itself in Georgia these days, with nationalist Russia invading a country it determines to be within its realm of interest. Having already ruined half a century with its communistic madness, it is odd that the Russians cannot get their act together and start making some positive and constructive contributions to European affairs.
After eating a mediocre Czech dinner at a local restaurant, we went for a walk along the Vltava River. While it was rather cold outside, I think I could stare at the magnificently lit up Prague Castle for hours on end without getting tired of the view. On the other hand, I would probably get very sleepy, mugged, or even better, freeze to death.
While I was scheduled to arrive in Prague relatively early in the morning, I ended up getting there later as I missed my Northwest flight from Boston to Prague. The reason I missed the Northwest flight was a delay in getting from Houston to Boston with American Airlines, which service I had the pleasure of experiencing on the first time. The service on American Airlines is famous for being quite abysmal, but I was almost impressed by the length they had gone to provide an almost hostile level of service. Many customers seem unable to handle the check in counters at the airport, but there are almost no personnel available to assist passengers that are having problems operating the machines. Elderly people and foreigners with a poor command of English come to mind, but also individuals without credit cards (mostly young students) cannot check in as they are not able to pay for the check-in luggage fee.I would hate to work at the airport for one of the permanently understaffed American airlines. Being constantly yelled at all day by a group of often moronic passengers is not my idea of fun.
The airplanes flown by American Airlines must be amongst the oldest in the industry. There was something broken on virtually every plane that I boarded, the worst being the seat divider. When I found my aisle seat being without a seat divider, my initial fear was that a fat sweaty Texan male would come and sit in the seat next to me. Luckily, on this particular flight, I was lucky to have someone of average width occupy that seat. This does not happen often on US flights.
I may have commented on this earlier, but it takes approximately twice as long to board a plane in the US compared to Japan. The reason is not only that the average American is twice as large as the average Japanese person, but also that everyone feels a need to bring a gigantic piece of hand luggage. It is often impossible to store the luggage in the overhead compartments, thus many passengers end up blocking the aisle for ages while looking around the plane like idiotic donuts. According to an announcement on one of the American Airlines flights that I took, the cabin crew is not allowed to assist passengers with the storing of their luggage (thank you labor union!). I really hope the stewardesses are capable of assisting passengers in an emergency situation; otherwise I am not really sure what their function is.
After finally arriving in Prague after several miserable and delayed flights (Las Vegas-Houston-Boson-Amsterdam-Prague), I was too exhausted to study the public transportation system and simply jumped into a shuttle bus (tickets are bought at the airport). However, I later found out that the public transportation system in Prague is both excellent and cheap, thus I could have saved a chunk of cash by keeping my head cool when arriving in Prague.
After meeting my parents at the hotel, I took a quick shower before we headed out for dinner. Our first stop was Wenceslas Square, which was a horse market in medieval times but later has become more famous as a site for political demonstrations. The creation of the new Czechoslovak Republic was celebrated on the square in 1918, and the end of communism was announced here in 1989 by Vaclav Havel and Alexander Dubcek. At a picture exhibition two days later, I also saw several pictures from the Soviet Union’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, a historical moment I was barely familiar with as it happened a decade prior to my birth. It is peculiar to see history repeating itself in Georgia these days, with nationalist Russia invading a country it determines to be within its realm of interest. Having already ruined half a century with its communistic madness, it is odd that the Russians cannot get their act together and start making some positive and constructive contributions to European affairs.After eating a mediocre Czech dinner at a local restaurant, we went for a walk along the Vltava River. While it was rather cold outside, I think I could stare at the magnificently lit up Prague Castle for hours on end without getting tired of the view. On the other hand, I would probably get very sleepy, mugged, or even better, freeze to death.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Since I am now sitting at Prague Airport and just about to leave this city, let me give a brief review of the Czech Republic's capital. While 4 days in Prague is not enough to see everything the town has to offer, at least I have been able to have a pretty good look around:
The Architecture: Prague certainly ranks as one of the most beautiful cities I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. I expected a lot prior to coming here, and Prague has met my high expectations. Prague suffered minimal damage during the Second World War, and thankfully the communists only purged the city of intellectuals, not of ancient buildings. If someone were to rank the world's most beautiful cities from an architectural point of view, I am sure most of the cities on any objective list would be European. Prague is superior to Paris as it does not have a significant population of French people, not to mention that the prices are much lower as well.
The Food: Better than the cuisine in for instance the UK, but still very bland an uninspired. Luckily there are some foreign restaurants in town, and yesterday I enjoyed some fantastic Mexican food. While Americans will be pleased with the gigantic food servings they will get in Prague for a relatively low price, there is not much else positive to say about the piles of meat that will be placed on your plate at most Czech restaurants.
The Women: Czech girls are famous for being among the most beautiful in Europe, and there was plenty of eye candy to be found among Prague's ancient buildings. However, in many cases you are not sure whether or not you're looking at a tourist or a native, so I will refrain from passing judgement on this one. On the other hand, I did not see many women that had aged well, thus I guess the problem of quickly depreciating property is a real one.
Cost: Except from in the main tourist areas, prices are extremely low, approximately a third of what you can expect in for example Norway. This is definitely the time to visit Prague, even for Americans who have been killed by the weak exchange rate.
The Architecture: Prague certainly ranks as one of the most beautiful cities I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. I expected a lot prior to coming here, and Prague has met my high expectations. Prague suffered minimal damage during the Second World War, and thankfully the communists only purged the city of intellectuals, not of ancient buildings. If someone were to rank the world's most beautiful cities from an architectural point of view, I am sure most of the cities on any objective list would be European. Prague is superior to Paris as it does not have a significant population of French people, not to mention that the prices are much lower as well.
The Food: Better than the cuisine in for instance the UK, but still very bland an uninspired. Luckily there are some foreign restaurants in town, and yesterday I enjoyed some fantastic Mexican food. While Americans will be pleased with the gigantic food servings they will get in Prague for a relatively low price, there is not much else positive to say about the piles of meat that will be placed on your plate at most Czech restaurants.
The Women: Czech girls are famous for being among the most beautiful in Europe, and there was plenty of eye candy to be found among Prague's ancient buildings. However, in many cases you are not sure whether or not you're looking at a tourist or a native, so I will refrain from passing judgement on this one. On the other hand, I did not see many women that had aged well, thus I guess the problem of quickly depreciating property is a real one.
Cost: Except from in the main tourist areas, prices are extremely low, approximately a third of what you can expect in for example Norway. This is definitely the time to visit Prague, even for Americans who have been killed by the weak exchange rate.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I last visited Las Vegas in 1998, and hopefully it will take at least 12 years before I have to visit this city again. Las Vegas is just incredibly warm, and walking outside is simply painful. While Las Vegas does not suffer from the kind of excruciating humidity found in Tokyo, the hot desert air is a strong signal to me that this area was not meant for human habitation.
Since 1998, Las Vegas has grown tremendously, but many parts of the city are still being developed. Even now it takes quite some effort to walk from one side of the strip to the other, and it is bound to get worse in the future. Nevertheless, Macao has already managed to overtake Las Vegas in terms of gambling revenue.
Since I personally do not find much joy in gambling, I am obviously not in the city's target audience. However, I find some pleasure in viewing the ridiculous architecture.
Each casino basically contains the same stuff, i.e. gambling machines and tables. Therefore, in order to attract gamblers, each casino has developed its own theme and attractions, some of which can be quite ridiculous.
Prior to visiting Las Vegas, I spent some time in Boston at a conference. Unfortunately I did not have time for sightseeing, though I have been to Boston a couple of times previously and have seen most of its sights. The most memorable part of my trip so far was a flight from Boston's Logan Airport to LaGuardia Airport in NYC. For some reason, the Delta Airlines pilot took us on a grand tour of Manhattan and provided us with some spectacular views. Too bad I did not have my camera.
Since 1998, Las Vegas has grown tremendously, but many parts of the city are still being developed. Even now it takes quite some effort to walk from one side of the strip to the other, and it is bound to get worse in the future. Nevertheless, Macao has already managed to overtake Las Vegas in terms of gambling revenue.
Since I personally do not find much joy in gambling, I am obviously not in the city's target audience. However, I find some pleasure in viewing the ridiculous architecture.
Each casino basically contains the same stuff, i.e. gambling machines and tables. Therefore, in order to attract gamblers, each casino has developed its own theme and attractions, some of which can be quite ridiculous.Prior to visiting Las Vegas, I spent some time in Boston at a conference. Unfortunately I did not have time for sightseeing, though I have been to Boston a couple of times previously and have seen most of its sights. The most memorable part of my trip so far was a flight from Boston's Logan Airport to LaGuardia Airport in NYC. For some reason, the Delta Airlines pilot took us on a grand tour of Manhattan and provided us with some spectacular views. Too bad I did not have my camera.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
We took quite a bit of video of our white shark cage diving experience outside of Cape Town, but it took me a long time to figure out how to edit videos filmed with my new Canon camera. The way I understand it, new Canon cameras shoot in a format called m2ts, and this format is currently not supported by any of the major media players. Anyway, you can see the result of my video experiment below.
Our shark dive was arranged by a company called "White Shark Ecoventures", which picked us up from our hotel at 4:45 AM in the morning. We had just arrived in Cape Town the previous evening, and were therefore shocked when notified in the hotel reception about the pick up time. There are several different operators that arrange white shark dives, and some start later in the morning. However, the benefit of starting early is that the sea is calmer and you can return to Cape Town well before it gets dark.
The shark dives all take place in Gansbaai, which is a fishing village located in the Western Cape. It takes a couple of hours to get there from Cape Town. Gansbaai is the world's capital for great white shark viewing.
While we were very lucky with the weather, most people on board our small vessel managed to get sea sick, and a few members even threw up. Yuka got sick very early on, though she did not throw. As a result, we did not manage to take many photos. Also, I decided not to buy a disposable underwater camera from the White Shark Ecoventures people, and this turned out to be a bad idea. The preferred option would of course be to bring a digital camera equipped for underwater filming, but I unfortunately did not think that far ahead.
In total, we saw five different white sharks, the largest being about 3 meters long. One individual writing on Tripadvisor.com commented that he saw over 20 great whites, thus it is possible that we were not particularly lucky in terms of the number of sharks that we saw. Seeing a shark is virtually guaranteed, the only issue to worry about is the weather, and I would hate to do shark diving on a day with crappy weather.
Being in the cage is not the least bit scary. The white sharks simply glide by beautifully and have zero interest in you. In order to make the sharks come close to us, the crew used a tuna head as bait, but it was pretty clear that the shark was interested in the tuna bait and not in us. However, I assume this is not always true, otherwise we would not have needed a cage.
After returning to shore, our guide took us to a viewpoint from which we could see some right whales. The right whale is one of the only types of whale that will swim within sight from shore and thus allow for land based viewing.
Here are some pictures from our Shark Dive.
Our shark dive was arranged by a company called "White Shark Ecoventures", which picked us up from our hotel at 4:45 AM in the morning. We had just arrived in Cape Town the previous evening, and were therefore shocked when notified in the hotel reception about the pick up time. There are several different operators that arrange white shark dives, and some start later in the morning. However, the benefit of starting early is that the sea is calmer and you can return to Cape Town well before it gets dark.
The shark dives all take place in Gansbaai, which is a fishing village located in the Western Cape. It takes a couple of hours to get there from Cape Town. Gansbaai is the world's capital for great white shark viewing.
While we were very lucky with the weather, most people on board our small vessel managed to get sea sick, and a few members even threw up. Yuka got sick very early on, though she did not throw. As a result, we did not manage to take many photos. Also, I decided not to buy a disposable underwater camera from the White Shark Ecoventures people, and this turned out to be a bad idea. The preferred option would of course be to bring a digital camera equipped for underwater filming, but I unfortunately did not think that far ahead.
In total, we saw five different white sharks, the largest being about 3 meters long. One individual writing on Tripadvisor.com commented that he saw over 20 great whites, thus it is possible that we were not particularly lucky in terms of the number of sharks that we saw. Seeing a shark is virtually guaranteed, the only issue to worry about is the weather, and I would hate to do shark diving on a day with crappy weather.
Being in the cage is not the least bit scary. The white sharks simply glide by beautifully and have zero interest in you. In order to make the sharks come close to us, the crew used a tuna head as bait, but it was pretty clear that the shark was interested in the tuna bait and not in us. However, I assume this is not always true, otherwise we would not have needed a cage.
After returning to shore, our guide took us to a viewpoint from which we could see some right whales. The right whale is one of the only types of whale that will swim within sight from shore and thus allow for land based viewing.
Here are some pictures from our Shark Dive.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Yesterday, I went to revenge my 2005 climb of Mount Kinpu. The latter is one of the "100 Famous Japanese Mountains", which is a list compiled by by mountaineer/author Kyūya Fukada and later made popular by Crown Prince Naruhito.
In 2005, we approached the mountain from Oodarumi, which is located approximately 1 hour by taxi from Enzan JR Station (塩山駅) in Yamanashi Prefecture. Oodarumi is located at an altitude of 2,360 meters, which makes for a relatively easy climb up to Mount Kinpu (2,598 meters). From Mount Kinpu, we then descended to Mizugakisansou(瑞牆山荘), which is located at an altitude of 1,520 meters. In 2002, we therefore had a relatively easy ascent and a tough descent, which I felt in my knees for 2 weeks afterwards. By the way, a taxi from Enzan JR Station to Oodarumi costs just over 10,000 yen, and there is no public transportation to Oodarumi.
This time around, we decided to take the opposite route, thus we approached the mountain from Mizugakisansou, which is located approximately 50 minutes from Nirasaki JR Station. The cost of the taxi from Nirasaki JR Station was just around 10,000 JPY.
Climbing over 1,000 meters during summer in Japan is quite challenging. Also, there is no water to be found along the route, thus it is advisable to bring a lot of fluids. We brought only a few bottles each (about 2 liters per person), which was far from sufficient.
The climb up to Mount Kinpu from Mizugakisansou took approximately 4.5 hours, and we used about 2 hours on the climb down to Oodarumi. When arriving in Oodarumi, we discovered that the area has no cell phone connection or public phones (normally unimaginable in Japan), thus my friend Kaoru had to hitchhike to Enzan city in order to order a taxi. As a result from this delay, we did not have time to relax in an onzen (hot spring) after our climb.
Anyone planning a 1 day climb of Mount Kinpu should consider the early morning express trains from Shinjuku station. We took a 7 AM morning train from Shinjuku that arrived in Nirasaki at 8:36 AM, and after our taxi ride we could therefore start climbing at 10 AM.
I have posted some more pictures of our August 2 climb of Mount Kinpu.
In 2005, we approached the mountain from Oodarumi, which is located approximately 1 hour by taxi from Enzan JR Station (塩山駅) in Yamanashi Prefecture. Oodarumi is located at an altitude of 2,360 meters, which makes for a relatively easy climb up to Mount Kinpu (2,598 meters). From Mount Kinpu, we then descended to Mizugakisansou(瑞牆山荘), which is located at an altitude of 1,520 meters. In 2002, we therefore had a relatively easy ascent and a tough descent, which I felt in my knees for 2 weeks afterwards. By the way, a taxi from Enzan JR Station to Oodarumi costs just over 10,000 yen, and there is no public transportation to Oodarumi. This time around, we decided to take the opposite route, thus we approached the mountain from Mizugakisansou, which is located approximately 50 minutes from Nirasaki JR Station. The cost of the taxi from Nirasaki JR Station was just around 10,000 JPY.
Climbing over 1,000 meters during summer in Japan is quite challenging. Also, there is no water to be found along the route, thus it is advisable to bring a lot of fluids. We brought only a few bottles each (about 2 liters per person), which was far from sufficient.The climb up to Mount Kinpu from Mizugakisansou took approximately 4.5 hours, and we used about 2 hours on the climb down to Oodarumi. When arriving in Oodarumi, we discovered that the area has no cell phone connection or public phones (normally unimaginable in Japan), thus my friend Kaoru had to hitchhike to Enzan city in order to order a taxi. As a result from this delay, we did not have time to relax in an onzen (hot spring) after our climb.
Anyone planning a 1 day climb of Mount Kinpu should consider the early morning express trains from Shinjuku station. We took a 7 AM morning train from Shinjuku that arrived in Nirasaki at 8:36 AM, and after our taxi ride we could therefore start climbing at 10 AM.
I have posted some more pictures of our August 2 climb of Mount Kinpu.
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