This cute little town just south of Beppu is home to Mt Yufu, which we climbed in a fit of utter madness, as a precursor to Mt Fuji. Although not really a genuine preview as the top is 800m below the starting point of the 5th station! Still, the view down to the valley was lovely when we could see it through mist and cloud. Unfortunately I did not have time to go to Beppu and get buried up to my neck in hot sand - the reviews I read made it sound wonderfully...
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Hiroshima is the stepping off point for this island. It is most famous for its massive ‘floating’ torii gate seen on countless brochures for Japan. Spectacular at sunset and floodlit at night, it is a beautiful sight. People walk out to it at low tide and attempt to throw a stone up on to the top. If you can get it to stay up there, your wish will come true.
The other spectacular site is the shrine behind this, which also appears to float when the tide comes in. It has...
I may as well own up now. I failed in my major ambition to climb this damned thing. I made it to the new 7th station with a pounding headache and slight dizziness. The weather was threatening and I was progressing at a slower rate than an asthmatic ant carrying shopping (thankyou Blackadder). The going was really rough. Volcanic rubble and sand made slipping easy and we all had sticks purchased at the bottom, for branding at every station achieved. The summit-makers...
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The last port of call was to see my old school friend Paul who is based in Singapore for the next few years. After the humidity and heat of Japan, I can say with pride I did not even crack a sweat in Singapore. It was relative bliss! Paul took me out for a very swish meal at the Fullerton Hotel, recommended to him by a good food guide, as well as by some friends of mine, who had also lived in Singapore for a while. We followed this up with the obligatory Singapore Sling...
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Without so much as a how’s-your-father Delhi was up our noses before we had finished taxi-ing on the runway. The acrid smell of wood smoke pervaded the air and the doors had not yet opened.
At the top of the dismounting steps I squinted into the fuggy air to see bleary lights glinting through the winter fog and smoke as if I had worn my contact lenses all night through a drunken haze. Shadowy figures did their work shifting vehicles and baggage.
Before leaving, many...
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The air is full of smoke and the streets are full of people and every kind of litter and dirt. Phaharganj bazaar is described by my guidebook as being a bit of a ghetto. I guess that’s fair, but as with other ghetto-like places it is full of colourful people and activities. I warily start to expand my locus of activity and visit a chai wallah. I won’t need to worry about the dearth of cakes and chocolate in my diet here, as you almost need to ask them to put some chai...
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Mornings are a good time to be out and about in Paharganj. The streets have been sprinkled with water and there are only the beginnings of traffic and more space to walk freely. The power is routinely cut off for half an hour or so at 8.30am and the generator fumes fill the air blending with the usual tinge of incense. People trudge around swathed in shawls and peeping out of blankets wrapped tight. Backpackers fully loaded up move on to the next place. Small crowds...
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