counterblogwise - Tumblr blog

[counterblogwise]

S: Ending my Japan trip with visiting the TeamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum on the day of my flight home was a really good idea. It was a mix of modern and traditional Japanese art with lots of fantasy and mind blowing creativity involved.

This was a mirror room full of lamps hanging off long cables, reacting to the presence of people passing by, by changing their colours.

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S: After Kagoshima and the volcano excursion I was on my way back to Tokyo and I just really didn't want to leave until seeing Mt Fuji.

Indecided to stick around for 4 days, and 2 times out of 4 I was so lucky to see the often very shy Mt Fuji while visiting Kawaguchiko lake or thw Shiraito Falls.

This year my birthday cake was Mt Fuji, my candles have been replaced by the Shiraito waterfalls (although there were way more than 25, which was a little rude but also pretty cool), and my family and friends were a bunch of excited, curious, drunk Japanese DJs who spoke just enough English to sing Happy Birthday to me (with a tiny confusion at the "name" part, as we didn't actually know each other) - at a hostel where I was the only guest - with so much genuine enthusiasm that I thought they had birthdays not me! What can I say. It really was an unexpectedly VERY happy birthday!

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S: on my way to the smokey Sakurajima, near Kagoshima, South Japan

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S: next stop from Hiroshima: Kagoshima, the southernmost big city in Japan with a few amazing treasures, for example the Sakurajima volcano. We're actually talking about two active Stratovolcanoes that grew together snd created 3 craters, and still may erupt several times a day.

Check the smokey vid!

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S: despite the spanks, being a deer on Miyajima Island in South Japan wouldn't be the worst life ever!

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S: next stop after Kyoto: Hiroshima and its little nearby island, Miyajima with the famous torii gate standing in the water.

But wait, there's more. Deers are coming.

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S: so after Tokyo I headed to Kyoto. I was told beforehand, that I'd enjoy this city a lot, but I arrived without expectations, since all opinions are subjective.

But I did really enjoy exploring Kyoto, especially on a bicycle; the Geisha district, a Bamboo forest, the 1000 torii gates (day and night time), the Imperial Palace from the Edo era (1603-1868) and many other amazing things that just kept popping up out of nowhere, the further you got in the city.

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S: Tokyo, you colourful, giant mess!

These are the last pictures of the beginning of my Japan trip. After having spent 3 days in Tokyo I was glad to leave the big city, but it's been quite an exciting experience, specially since these were my first impressions of Japan.

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A: and finally, my favorite Zanzibar picture :) sunset through a boat.

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A: my final sunset was a double sunset. The sun first appeared from a under the cloud, then disappeared as it sunk to the sea :) never gets boring!

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A: part two: the bicycle in front of the fish markets, and a phone on a coconut tree. This phone had the reputation to make international calls for free (don't ask, it's Africa). However when I tried, the whole thing didn't work at all (well, it's Africa).

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A: some short pictures of Zanzibar! I stayed in stone town, as for that my time was too short. It's amazing, entering zanzibar is like leaving sub Sahara Africa. Why? First of all you get a stamp in the passport. But also Zanzibar has long been a sultanate, having a 98 % Muslim population and definitely the Arabic architecture! This city has a lot flair of Arabic medieval cities, narrow lanes, white paint, coconut trees, markets and trade with spices and of course the hectic streets and chanting mosqs.

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A: chameleons live in the Usambara mountains and are hanging out in random bushes. Really hard to spot though!

The chameleon on my hand was trapped on a metal sheet roof, which get too hot (lizards that like cold, wot?). When I held out my hand, it actually reached out to it volunteeringly! They have quite a tight grip. I've put it to a nice safe bush to which it remains for the rest of it times to look into different directions and shoot a 300 mil' elastic alien tongue on bugs.

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A: the pictures from my lushoto hike. This is in the usambara mountains. Apparently rainforest is not more usual for west Africa than for east Africa. But this one is special: due to that this part was never covered by a glacier, the old rainforest could survive. Also due to the colder mountain region and wet winds from the coast it neither turned into dry Savanah. And thus it is an old and untouched rainforest with a unique and large endemic biodiversity! Also historically it is very interesting. Germans settled here first and started cultivating coffee (German coffee yaay) and other plants. Through the hike, I could spot various leftovers of Germans. Houses, villages called Deutsch and farms, dating back to the colonial times.

Glad I spent a visit here!

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A: conspiracy theory: is the reason I couldn't spot the top of Killi actually that... Killimanjaro is not a mountain but a farm?! Every product in Tanzania seems to be related to Killimanjaro and I haven't met anyone, who has seen the top.

Just a brilliant marketing trick, or does Killi exist somewhere out there?

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A: This is Moshi. Here I sold my bike and tried desperately to see the top of Killimanjaro (Mt Kibo). I really liked this town. Due to a good connection and plenty of active NGOs, the city is doing better than many others in Tanzania.

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A: and for the final: captures in black and white of elephants and my favorite African animal: the striped donkey. (okay I might really like chameleons as well, OK?)