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JAPAN BASEBALL - BALLOONS
I went to the baseball yesterday in Japan and saw the Hanshin Tigers (my team) play the Tokyo Giants at Koshien Stadium. During the 7th innings there is a tradition that involves everyone letting off sperm-shaped balloons.
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RUBIK’S CUBE SOLVING ROBOT
This robot is located at the Maritime Museum and Kawasaki Good Times World in Kobe, Japan. The footage was filmed on 17 Sept 2011.
The robot uses a camera to capture how the cube is scrambled and sends the images to a computer. The computer determines the pattern on each face and algorithms are used to solve the cube. The solution is then translated to the arm’s pneumatics and motors.
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KISHIWADA DANJIRI MATSURI: 17-18 SEPTEMBER 2011
I went to Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri today. The festival is held every year in Kishiwada, Osaka. Danjiri (festival floats) are hauled through the streets by hundreds of people using ropes. The carpenter of the float has the privilege of dancing on the roof of the float. It’s not uncommon for there to be a death caused by an out of control float plowing into the crowd or the dancer getting drunk and falling off the float.
Bosnia & Herzegovina - The road less travelled
Back in September 2006 I was travelling around Europe without a plan and was simply making things up as I went along. I was in Dubrovnik, Croatia when I decided to check out Bosnia & Herzegovina. It turned out to be the best decision I made of the trip. Here is a recap of my trip with quotes from my travel journal and photos.
“I don’t really know what to expect. Evidence of war? My Lonely Planet guidebook warns of land mines!”
I travelled by bus from Dubrovnik to Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina. It was suppose to take 3 hours. It took 4 hours and consisted of 3 border crossings as we hopped in and out of Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. When I arrived in Mostar, Majda from Majda’s Rooms was there to greet me. I’d booked one night accommodation with her.
“Just driving through Mostar was a real eye opener. There was evidence of the destructive qualities of war everywhere. In the short 5 minute drive from the bus station I saw buildings covered in bullet holes and signs warning of dangerous ruins. We drove along a road that use to be the former frontline, where every second building was just an empty shell. A school was covered in bullet holes but otherwise was intact and still operating as a school. Bullet holes and damaged buildings are just part of everyday life here.”
Majda drove through the back streets to her apartment, where I would be staying. The apartment building was splattered with bullet holes. Majda was the perfect host – giving me cake and tea on arrival, spoke perfect English and provided maps of the town and suggestions on what to do.
I learnt from Majda that Mostar was caught in the crossfire of two separate conflicts during the Bosnian war (1992-1995). It got hit from both sides and it got hit hard. As a result many of the buildings still today lie in ruin, completely guttered and riddled with bullets. The old medieval town of Mostar, however, has been beautifully restored and the Old Bridge (Stari Most) completely rebuilt using (where possible) recovered stone from the original bridge. It was nice to wander around the town along the narrow cobbled laneways and to explore the shops which sell items like jewellery, smoking pipes, backgammon sets, tea sets and carpets. At night the old town looks even more beautiful with the little pathways and bridge lit up.
My only regret was not staying longer in Mostar, it is a truly beautiful town. Although a day is plenty of time to see the town, there are loads of nearby places that I would of loved to have explored on day trips if I had the time.
The train journey from Mostar to Sarajevo wound it’s way through beautiful countryside, up and down mountains and along stunning lakes. Arriving at Sarajevo I was surprised to find that, like in Mostar, pretty much everyone spoke English. I had no trouble getting to my accommodation thanks to the tram driver telling me which stop to get off.
Sarajevo is full of life and energy. The old rusty trams rattle along the streets. All around the city are street cafes with people sitting out enjoying a beer or coffee. At the bustling old Turkish market, Baščaršija, you can buy tea / coffee sets, jewellery, and rugs.
The city is famous for its traditional religious diversity, with Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Judaism coexisting there for centuries. This is most apparent when wandering around the city where there are mosques, synagoges, catholic and orthodox churches within 500m of each other. The echo of the Muslim call to prayer five times a day reminds you that Bosnia is one of the few Muslim countries in Europe.
Being the capital city a lot of the recovery effort has been focussed in Sarajevo. Many of the buildings in Sarajevo have been restored. However the evidence of war can still be seen but in different ways. The library was set on fire by the Serbians during the war destroying over 2 million books. On the plaque at the library is the blunt message “Do not forget. Remember and warn!” On the hills surrounding the city is a sea of tombstones, another reminder of war.
Bosnia is slowly recovering with infrastructure gradually being reintroduced and facilities developed. Catching the train from Sarajevo to Zagreb in Croatia I was reminded of just how slow the road to recovery can be. Train travel in Bosnia had only just started up again. The train station in Sarajevo is eerily quiet and deserted. It is the main train station in the capital city yet only about 10 trains leave from it each day. The train journey was the train journey from hell. The 9 hour train journey took 12 hours, the train was filled with the stank smell of the toilets, and there was no food being sold on the train. At random points during the journey the train would stop and someone would jump off the train, make some adjustments with a rather large hammer and spanner and then we would be off again. The journey did bring the people together and when the train finally rolled into Zagreb I had two new friends.
Everywhere you look in Bosnia & Herzegovina you are reminded how the wars in the 1990s practically destroyed the country. It’s a beautiful country, with so much history and culture. I can’t wait to go back one day.
Istanbul, Turkey. 5 August 2006.
Back in 2006, I quit my job in England and went backpacking around Europe for 3 months during the northern hemisphere summer. I went to several countries including Turkey. I travelled extensively around Turkey – along the Mediterranean coast, inland to Cappadocia, Istanbul, and the Gallipoli peninsula. I ended up spending 3 weeks in Turkey, longer than expected, because I loved it so much.
I was just looking through old photos and stumbled upon this one of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul. I love this photo.
