December 2008: SuiFenhe, China to Grodyekovo, Russia

Leaving Harbin in the evening of 30 Dec, I was in the Chinese border town of SuifenHe the next day.
Just in time for the crossover into Russia on the last day of 2008.

December 2008: ZhengZhou to Harbin, China

Chongqing never went below 7 degree C. Zhengzhou was hovering around freezing point. Harbin, as the weather station forecasted, was
between -5 to -15 dgree C. As the trains pushes further and further north, the scenery outside was beginning to look more and
more like the winter wonderland.

For someone from the equator, the greatest attractions Harbin could offer was its cold, snow and ice.
And Harbin duly delivered.

December 2008: Chongqing to Zhengzhou, China

Henan is recognized as the cradle of Han Chinese civilization. On the south bank of the HuangHe (Yellow River) is the HuangHe Scenic Park.
Dominating the park are the gigantic statues of Emporer Huang and Emporer Yan, said to be the forefathers of all Chinese.

December 2008: Chongqing, China.

Went down to the banks of Yangtze to check out the Chang-jiang (Long River).
It was Xmas and the Liberation Monument Park was getting ready for a "wild night", which involved youths hitting each other
with inflated rubber baseball bat and hammers.

Another sight recommended by locals was the Yang-ren Chun, or Foreigners' Village.
It is billed as a theme park with no theme. And everywhere were signs of irreverance.

August 2008: Kamakura, Japan.

A day trip out of Tokyo to Kamakura. Kamakura is famous for its DaiButsu, big copper Buddha statue.
But this being summer, I was hoping to catch some beach balls on the Shyonan coast. This I did, in more ways than one.

歌手名：陈绮贞
歌曲名：坐火车到传说中的湘南海岸
专辑名：收藏陈绮贞(最新创作集)
www.99Lrc.net =>九九Lrc歌词网 配词

坐火车到传说中的湘南海岸
听起来好像会有穿花衬衫的少年和比基尼辣妹
所谓的湘北就是灌篮高手的那个神奈川县的一个地区
樱木花道是湘北高中篮球队的
湘南理所当然是在湘北的南方
至于清楚的地图上的位置
我放弃
详细情形我记不清楚了
虽然只是几天前的事情
存在我的脑海中只剩一些块状的片段
火车两边的风景
长长的车厢可以从第一节直接看穿到最后一节
有些路段两旁的房子靠得好近好近
火车好像被夹在矮房子的中间冲动的逃脱
火车的椅子是绿色的
窗台的铁柱被阳光照得发亮
明明知道照相机很难真的拍出直接进入眼睛的一切
我还是忍不住的拿起相机胡乱的拍了一阵
拍累了　稍息以后
安静的坐在椅子上
看看坐在对面的人　对于眼睛看到的景色
也只是静静地看着而已
不像我掩饰不住心里的激动
树啦　花啦
平交道　砖块　招牌
海岸线　女学生
还有流窜在车厢里饱满的光和影子
我被他们追着跑
下午四点关闭的湘南海岸　只有我和欧巴桑没有穿比基尼

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCPDzufZLXM&feature=channel_page


After Kamakura, it is a short day in Ueno Park (not the Zoo), Batman with Japanese subtitle and Narita for the trip home.

August 2008: Tokyo, Japan.

With the 14-days JR Rail Pass all used up, it is a retreat back to Tokyo. In time for the last day of the Gundam Exhibition.
It's a small exhibition in a shopping centre but it was packing them in, young and old, boys and gals, Otaku and non-otaku.
Incidentally, Gundam original "mecha" designer Okawara Kunio was in Singapore in late 2008. What I did not get to see in Tokyo, I did back home.

Back in the Asakusa capsule hotel, I was blessed with this sight of sunrise (Asahi) on a full-moon night.

August 2008: Omiya, Japan.

What better way to wrap up the Japan train trip with a day out to the Japan Railway Museum in Omiya.
It was still the Obon holiday and the school summer vacation. Omiya Railway Museum was jampacked with children out with their parents.
There were however a right mix of adults in the crowd. Two of them, parents out with their grownup daughter was feeling especially nostalgia for a
picture of an old train from Nagoya. They were singing out the tune the train would play as the train doors open and close.
When a curious visitor looked on, they again repeated the tune.

The museum is a huge building. It has to be as train engines and carriages from different era of railway development were housed within.
These include the first generation Shinkasen, the 'O' series that was retired with much fanfare in December.
On the wall of the museum was a timeline showing the development of railway in Japan, starting from the first steam engine in England.
The timeline stops on the year 2008 and has space left for the years 2009 to 2014. Going by JR track record, I await with bated breathe.

August 2008: Suwa, Japan.

Suwa is the site of one of the most famous Jinja, Shinto temple, in Japan. Two actually, since there are two, one Summer temple and one Autumn temple.
The two sites a link by road lined on its side with old hotels and bathhouse.

August 2008: Chino, Japan.

With the Taiko Matsuri going on in Okaya, the hotels in Okaya were all booked up. The alternative was nights in Chino, one stop from Okaya.
Chino station vicinity suggested an urbanized twon like no other in Japan (although it seems to have a greater share of bored-looking
youth in hip-hop attire). However, the colorful posters and brochures at the station tourist information counter suggested that no far away from the
town centre, great nature is to be had by all. So, with only a day left in Chino, I ventured out of the town centre. It took the bus less than 15 minutes out
of the town centre before it hits the open road. And in less than an hour, you will be right in the Chino highlands.

August 2008: Okaya, Japan.

The summer matsuri in Okaya is the Okaya Taiko Matsuri, where taiko (Japanese drums) takes centre-stage. Hundreds of them, in fact.

August 2008: Nagano City, Japan (by way of Okaya).

From Okayama to Okaya in Nagano prefecture. Then on to a day trip to Nagano City.
From outside the train station, caught a bus to the ancient battlefield of Kawa-naka-jima, site of one of the most famous battles during the Warring States period.
The day was also the Obon holiday, where people visit ancestors' grave to spruce it up and make offering.
Judging from the old folks at the stations with flower offering, it seems, similar to in Singapore, it is an "old-folk" festival.

August 2008: Okayama, Japan (by way of Osaka).

Okayama has the Go-raku-en, or literally After-Joy-Garden, or Back-Joy-Garden. It is one of 3 best lanscaped garden in Japan.
It got its name from a Chinese saying that a good court official should worry before the people worry, and to enjoy after the people get to enjoy.
Of course, depending on your sexual inclination, you are free to inteprete it some other way.

Anyway, the last time I was in Okayama as jobless recent graduate, I gave the garden a miss since it was charging an entrance fee.
This time as a jobless recent victim of the Wall Street fiasco, I decided to get in.

Okayama museum (next to the train station) was at that time holding a railway exhibition.
It was one on a small scale, but at least there wasa video about the designer of the first Shinkasen looping on one of the TV.