Thursday, March 20. Rain, cold, nasty. I head off to Rappongi Hills to find the Tokyo National Art Center, a stunning glass and concrete waving wall of a museum with vast open inner spaces clustered around upside down concrete cones. (where are the galleries?) I am too busy inspecting the gift Read More
Travel
Shrines, Hari-Kari, Maple Leaf, The Shogun.
Nikko: The original, “Monkey See no Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak no Evil.” March 18: Tuesday is a lovely sunny day and I head off through Roppongi and Midtown where the cherry blossoms are just maybe starting to pop to wander through Akasaka. I figure if I can keep walking Read More
March 2014. Jet lag in translation: Tokyo early days
Sunday March 16. Land in Narito after a 14.5 hr flight sitting in a coach middle seat next to the only fat man on the plane, who also is missing the fingers on one hand. Sasha picks me up in a borrowed car and we hit the road (drive left, look Read More
Afterward. Burma Books. If you go…
Afterthoughts: I have a Burmese student who told me that Myanmar is hosting the Southeast Asian games (SEA) next December (2013) and has just eliminated Ping Pong and Gymnastics as events. Why? Because these events will easily be won by the Chinese. (Is China a SE Asian country?) True? Not Read More
Rangoon/Yangon: First and Last (Burma 6)
The Kayan Women of Kayeh State (bordering Thailand) have traditionally worn brass neck coils to elongate their necks (actually shortening the rib cage by pressing down on the clavicle starting at around age 8). The practice is largely abandoned and discouraged, but it remains a part of Kayan culture and a Read More
Following Buddha’s Footsteps (Burma 5)
The Buddha Burma is a very Buddhist country. There are monks everywhere with shaved heads, sienna brown robes and mustard shoulder wraps. There are nuns everywhere as well – looking exactly like monks except in pink robes. Basically, if you want an education, you have to spend years in Read More
Bagan (Burma 4)
We arrive in Bagan, site of 4,000 crumbling pagodas, stupas, pavilions and temples mid-morning after a 6:00 AM flight from Rangoon. The weather is still winter and gorgeous – mid 80’s — but the locals are bundled and wrapped in blankets. Bagan is dusty red earth with a high desert feel Read More
Eel’s Blood! Inle Lake – Burma 3
Fact or fiction: The story of eel’s blood (sounds like a Shakespearean curse). A generation ago on Inle Lake, the fishermen grew eels in coffins. Eels are, evidently, not only a delicious source of protein but their blood, mixed with alcohol, is a particularly hearty aperitif. The fatter the eel, Read More
Shan State – Burma 2
Flying on the ATR 72-500 French made 70 seater from Mandalay to HeHo (pronounced something like Hellhole) there are no seat assignments and we are told that we will have to fight the Chinese for seats. Our response – they are no match for us Jews). In fact, there are Read More
The Road out of Mandalay – (Burma 1)
The Mandalay (International) airport was recently built by a Burmese general to be near his hometown rather than the large commercial centre and former royal capital of Mandalay. During the airport’s construction the general stole half the concrete intended for the runway and hence it can’t land heavy international jets, so Read More