Chinese Visa Center in KL

Since we will be moving to China in about 6 weeks we had to go through the process of getting visas to enter the country. This has been a long process since China has recently tightened restrictions. We had to get authenticated translations of our  marriage certificate, one of the harder things to do since this had to be authenticated at the Chinese embassy. We did this in Japan since we could trust courier services there. We then had to send that authenticated translation along with my criminal clearance from my home country (which I got through an FBI courier service) and my resident country criminal clearance which I had to get in KL. What a pain that was. In order to get my criminal record in the US I had to submit fingerprints. I have done this before, so why I have to submit new ones each time I move is a mystery to me. Anways, I thought I would go to the local police station in Batu Ferringi to get it done. Last time I did this when I was living in Japan I went to my local police station in Aizu-misato (a town of roughly 15,000) and got them done. However, the Batu police said yes, then no and told me to go to Tanjung Bungah which is a slightly larger station. Once there the police told me to go to Georgetown central police station. I went there and the detective laughed and told me to go to KL to the central police station there to get it done. (a side note, while I was in the police station all 4 tires on my car were slashed. I was parked right next to the station). I don't know if this is a lack of skill or a distrust of the FBI for Malaysian police but the whole process was a pain in the butt. Once at the central KL station they almost didn't let me in because I wasn't wearing long pants! The joy of living in Malaysia. Ok, so I got the finger prints finally and had them sent off to the US. My criminal record went to my mothers in the US since they don't send abroad and she sent it on reaching me shortly after. I then bunched everything and posted to Beijing using EMS to make sure it would be fast and secure. Batu Ferringi Post office is known for theft and especially after all of that I wasn't about to send it via local post.

Once those documents reached Beijing my new school had to then produce a letter of employment for us. We then had to take that letter along with another authenticated copy of our marriage certificate (didn't know this at first, so had to get the marriage certificate translated again and authenticated at the Chinese embassy again), copies of the marriage certificate, letters from employer, copies of passport pages, current country visa pages, past Chinese visa pages (which for me was in an expired passport), two head shots each, about 800myr for processing fee, and documents to the visa center in KL. On Friday morning I went to the center to apply for an expediated service. The visa center is housed in Hampshire Place, a tall glass building about 2 blocks from the main road of Jalan Ampang. I went to the 5th floor, was checked to see if I had the proper documents then given a number. I opted for the earliest time slot of 9-930am assuming later would be busy. At 915 it was not busy, there were about 12 counters services an equal number of applicants. My number was called within minutes and then I stood with the center rep as she made sure I had everything and understood that I would have to return for an interview on Monday.

So I left knowing that Aya would return on Monday to do the interview and to collect the passports. Spouses are allowed to apply and collect without each other. That part of the process was fairly painless.

The interviews are at the Bank of China building right along Jalan Ampang. Its a tall white building with the Plaza Osk sign along the main road. Aya said the interview consisted of 2 or 3 very mundane questions like, "So your husband has a job in Beijing?" and took just a few minutes. She then had to return in the afternoon to the other building, Hampshire place, to pay the fees and collect the visas. So now we have my Z visa and Aya's short term tourist visa and can enter China. Then within 24 hours we must report to a police station to register and then within a week or so we will be getting our residency permits. At the end it only cost us two trips to KL, 4 nights in a hotel, numerous taxi rides, two authentications/translations, a few photos and copies, and about 8 hours of total document collecting and writing. In monetary terms, probably close to 1800USD. Jeez, Louise. 

Cameron Highlands

About two months ago Aya and I went to Cameron Highlands as part of our "lets see Malaysia before we leave Malaysia" campaign (trademark pending). The Cameron Highlands got its name from Sir William Cameron, a British surveyor who was commissioned by the then colonial government to map out the Pahang-Perak border area in the 1885. He noted that in the mountains there was wide space of gently rolling hills and flatland. Throughout the 20th century it was developed into a resort/retreat and eventually took on an agricultural role as well.

We drove from Penang and it took us about 4 hours. Traffic wasn't so bad initially, but we did find that once we had left the interstate at Ipoh and started traveling east the road was a lot more dangerous. Most of that danger came from other drivers as they passed us on blind single lane corners winding up the mountain side with 100s of feet drop off on the other side. Though normally this would seem to be shockingly bad driving to us, but we have been living in Malaysia long enough to know that this disregard for safety is normal.

We had heard from a number of people that Cameron Highlands was a nice place because of the cool weather and this was certainly true. Most of the night and day was cool enough to need a long sleeve shirt and perhaps a light jacket. At around noon temperatures were warm enough to wear short sleeves, but not brutally hot like the rest of Malaysia. Each morning I took a short run through a valley and barely broke a sweat. Not like the dripping work outs I've become used to in Malaysia.

As for the activities we partook in, there isn't a whole lot to do which I suppose is the point. There are many strawberry fields and honey "farms" as well as roadside produce. There are also a lot of golf courses in the area and a good number of hiking trails. Unfortunately I had a sore knee and so didn't get to do any hiking. We did manage three things while we were there; visiting the Jim Thompson Tea Room, going to a strawberry farm, and visiting the Time Tunnel museum. We should have gone to the BOH tea plantations as well, but we didn't.

The Jim Thompson Tea Room is located at the Cameron Highlands Resort and we had a nice tea and cakes set one afternoon. Mr. Thompson is most well known for his involvment in the silk trade and being a CIA agent who just disappeared one day in the Cameron Highlands. The story still commands a lot of speculation even 50 years later. My guess is that he was taking a walk on a jungle path when another hiker tried to pass him on a single land blind corner and forced him into a ravine. Just a guess.

The strawberry farm was a bit lackluster as there were so many other tourists and traffic. We basically bolted in, bought some strawberries and bolted out. There is something you lose when you are elbow to elbow with other tourists and the roar of diesel trucks is breaking the mid morning calm.

The Time Tunnel we went to on the way out of town and it was a neat little museum. Most of the material you need to be Malaysian to truly appreciate, but there were some interesting bits none-the-less. If someone reads this in the future with the intent of going I would say do it, its fairly cheap and gives a nice view into some of the more recent historical events in Malaysia. Lots of knick knacks and pictures were there along with some other random things that made no sense what-so-ever.

Overall we enjoyed our time in the Highlands, but think that the drive to get there more than cancelled out the nice weather and beyond about a day and a half of activities there isn't much to do especially if you bring kids with. I have no idea what parents would do with them. As a relaxing weekend it was just fine.

SamPoh Temple

 

SamPoh temple, located on the south western shore of Penang, has been a target visit for me since I moved to Penang. A few years ago I worked in a humanities department whose head was rather knowledgeable about a man called Zheng He (Cheng Ho). In the early 15^th century he is known to have made many very long voyages from China to explore the world. It is confirmed that he sailed as far as east Africa on ships that were many times the size of European explorers of a similar age. Zheng He's first voyage departed 11 July 1405, from Suzhou and consisted of a fleet of 317 ships holding almost 28,000 crewmen. He would make 7 more vogayes before dying sometime in the mid 1400’s. There are a few temples attributed to him in Malaysia, but this one was a bit unique since there is a footprint in the rock there which is supposed to be where he landed. The footprint is rather large and seems like it is carved into the stone.

While being a neat little visit in Penang, this temple is now flanked by a construction site for a new residential/shopping plaza. The rate at which construction is happening in Malaysia is mad and even more so for the disregard for the heritage for the area. Who knows how long this temple will stand there.

Forest Trail

The trail from Teluk Bahang forest reserve to the top of Penang Hill has been on my list to do since before I arrived here. Searching through possible hiking treks around the island this seemed to be the most appealing as the distance and time required better matched what I have previously done on longer hikes. However, after being here for just a short while and trying some other hikes around the island it occred to me that hiking here would not be like hiking in Japan/the US/New Zealand and that each step would take a bit longer and be a bit more uncomfortable. The thing about Penang, and about Malaysia, is that the heat and humidity can be oppressive. Most days when I arrive home it’s a struggle to not just lay down on the couch and never get up because the heat is just too much. This has lead most of my hiking here to be in the 3-4 hour range max. Plus, there aren’t too many people to whom a 6-8 hour hike clear across the island would appeal to and it’s a trail where you don’t want to be alone due to proximity to help. Should you twist an ankle it would be at least a couple of hours hike on healthy legs, let alone a sprained or broken one, to get to help.

 

So when my friend told me that she was going on an exploratory hike in advance of a club she would be leading later I jumped at the chance. So too did a few of my colleagues and 6 of us set out at 12:45 from the Teluk Bahang Forest reserve this past Saturday. Most estimates put the hike at 6-8 hours and so we assumed we could make it to Penang Hill at or just before nightfall. There we would meet up with another group of teachers at the Methodist Center, a sort of run down bunkhouse where we could camp.

It took us just about an hour to climb the first section from the base of the Forest Reserve to the top of the first hill where we took a 15 minute break for water and snacks. This part of the trail starts out fairly flat, but the latter half begins a steep ascent where ropes are fixed in some places (yellow line).

After that is a small series of up and down hill before a long steep ascent up to the juncture/right turn off to Titikerawang. This juncture took just over an hour and a half to get to from the last stop making this about 3 hours into the hike. We stopped here as well for 15 minutes to snack and rest. There are some views here to the west and north and the reservoir at Teluk Bahang as well as Batu Ferringi are easily seen here.

After that stop the trail goes right down the other side of the mountain and is very steep in some places where fixed ropes are the only way to safely descend. I can’t imagine what it looks like in the rain. This took us another 40 minutes or so. Once at the bottom of the hill we stopped for a quick rest and water at rain gauge 11 before heading up the final large hill to the edge of the Western Reserve (red line). Though it appears on the map as if there is a turn off just before rain guage 11 to hike to air itam dam we never saw that.

It took us about 40 minutes to make it to the edge of the Western Reserve where a red circle with white dash told us to turn right. This followed about 10 minutes of steep downhill, across a small creek, then steep uphill for another 10 minutes or so. Then you are spit onto the road on Penang Hill. From there you take a right off the trail to get to the tram. Keep going straight along the main road and you should get there in about 45 minutes to an hour.

Overall the hike was good, but if you are using the maps from the Forest Trail book of hikes be careful. Maps are not nearly to scale or representative of distance relation of objects to one another. Many trails have turn offs not listed. Bring plenty of food and water. I went through 4 liters over the 5 hour period and was still very thirsty at the end. The hiking is easy in some points, but all of those points are broken by very steep sections. This hike requires stamina, so do not attempt for a leisurely walk.

Thaipusam In Penang

Last year I avoided Thaipusam because I knew traffic would be bad and also I just plain got lazy, but this year seeing as it will be our last year in Penang Aya and I decided to go see what all the hubbub was about.

In Malaysia there is a pretty big Tamil community and Penang I feel like even more so. Thaipusam is a word meaning the month of the star, or something close to that, and is celebrated by Hindu devotees. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a Vel "spear" so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. I can’t pretend I know any of that though, wikipedia tells me so. What I knew about the festival is that it involved moving a heavy silver shrine from Lorong Kulit temple  in Georgetown to Arulmigu Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple near the botanical gardens, people would be making offerings of milk, and there would be a lot of devotees making the long walk there with hooks and spears in their bodies. Yeah, you read that right. Carrying kavadis, or burdens can be done as an act of penance. Usually in Penang this is done by carrying pots of milk, being speared, or both. Upon reaching the temple, devotees will fulfill their vows, offer thanksgiving prayers and penance to Lord Muruga.

We didn’t get speared or carrying any milk. More or less we wandered around Jalan Waterfall to see the speared men making their march to the temple and to get some street food. Aya ended up getting some henna done on her hand as well. After snapping a couple of pictures we left, mission complete. On the list of things to do in Penang, one more thing checked off. Now, I have to get Aya to climb Penang Hill with me!

Osaka

Back in Osaka for the new year we took some time to visit the castle and to go to the shrine to make a prayer and wish. On the way to the airport we stopped in Rinku town as we had a couple of hours between checking out of our hotel and the flight. Rinku town is the last stop before the airport and is a center for an outlet mall. We stuffed our bags into a locker and then went to do some shopping, have lunch, and then go to the hot baths. It was rather nice to do before the long flight back to Penang. For those of you who can't read it, that sign on the floor says that "pleasure town" is to the right. Yes please! 

Naha

Back in Naha the weather did improve slightly, no more rain. It was pleasant during the days, just warm enough to wear short sleeves. While in Naha we went to an orphanage that Alex had visited before. This was a great highlight to the trip as it was great to volunteer some time doing some good. I wish we could do more, but it seems like we were lucky enough to just get to spend some time playing with the kids. They definitely seemed to like it, but it was sad to go. Many of them asked when we would come back.
The next couple of days Alex spent seeing some acquaintances of his on a nearby island and Aya and I did some shopping and went to the aquarium in the north of the island which was very cool. This was my second time there, but this time I got to do something I didn't last. We watched the feeding of the whale sharks, which was so cool to see them sucking in and filtering their food. After that we were allowed up onto the top of the aquarium for a look down.
On the new year we went to an american base to walk around for a bit and also to watch some dancing and fireworks on new year's eve. It was a good time. That night we bid Alex goodbye and were on our way to the airport and back to Osaka the next day. 

Iriomote

Seeing as we would be spending nearly a week on Ishigaki we thought it would be fun to take a day trip by ferry to one of the neighboring islands. We chose Iriomote as Alex astutely pointed out, "I want to ride the yak (cart)." Unfortunately it was still a very rainy day so going to the island and walk around it was a pretty wind swept and cool exercise. The yak cart was in fact kind of neat, but on the island there wasn't too much to see. A few animals in a small zoo, mangrove forests, some beaches, and a small museum. There seem to be about 30 yaks, maybe a dozen working each day. The cart drivers also had traditional sansen and would serenade us as we crossed from the mainland to the island. We also took a boat tour to get a closer look at the mangroves, but it was raining so wasn't too fun. Unfortunately we didn't see what I would have liked to, the Iriomote wild cat (modeled by Aya).  

Ishigaki

Our friend Alex has been in and out of Okinawa over the past few years and we decided it would be good to take a trip together. He suggested first going to Ishigaki and the pictures we saw were beautiful. The New York Times seems to think so as well and ranked it among its 54 places to go in 2014. Indeed, it is a beautiful place with great beaches and clear water. The island isn't too small, but not so big either. I would say you could drive the circumference in less than half a day. The downtown area felt like there were about 5,000 people there, probably the same scattered around the island. We arrived via Peach air from Osaka and stepped into a shiny new airport. Since it was rainy and cool we didn't get too much beach time then or any other day. We did go to a few view points and walk around town, but more or less we didn't do much with our time here. Alex did go scuba diving and said it was a good experience, but overall I think we all wish we had come in a different season.

Osaka Peace Museum

On the way into Japan we had to stop in Osaka for a few days so that Aya could take a test. As I had the day away from the wife I thought I would do something fun. After researching a bit in the morning I decided to go to a museum! I read that the Osaka Peace Museum was interesting because in some ways this museum put a large degree of blame for the war on Japan and also a large degree of admission of wrong doing in Nanjing. As I entered the museum I was greeted by two women at the counter and a security guard. Admission was cheap, 400yen I think but I can't remember. The museum has three floors, the third largely devoted to a peace memorial type room and a library. Most of the displays on WWII were on the first and second floor. It was indeed interesting and there were many different displays openly showing the atrocities the Japanese committed not only in Nanjing but also a section on SE Asia. I found particularly interesting a book written in English for Malaysians warning about the Japanese. It had accompanying pictures of Japanese soldiers bayoneting babies. Always a page turner.
More or less I was glad I went to the museum. Though small and mostly deserted I enjoyed the different displays of memorabilia and I think the reviews were right in saying that it did have admissions of Japanese guilt. Perhaps this is especially poignant in a Japan that is becoming more and nationalistic under prime minister Abe. 

Need I Say More?

Unfortunately we didn't have time to figure out what this store sells, but if had to guess it would be anything ranging from hummus to pea-coats to new balance shoes.

The New Year

Although it might seem like I fell off the face of the earth, I haven't. The real reason I haven't posted the last few months is because I lost my camera's charger. In the interim Aya and I went to Vietnam and Singapore for her birthday in October and then our anniversary in November. Both were great trips. 
In Vietnam we visited the chu chi tunnels and the War Remnants museum. Both were very interesting places. We tried going through the tunnels, Aya made it but I had to exit early. I guess she was the right size for it. At the museum we saw a lot of poignant photography of the history of the war of Vietnamese independence. It reminded me a lot of the museum I went to in Hiroshima as it left me with a feeling of disgust and frustration. War, what is it good for? Most of our time remaining we spent getting massages and chilling. Peace, love, and massage.
In November I tried to surprise Aya a with a trip to Singapore, which more or less worked as she didn't know where we were going until we got to the airport. The first night we went on the Flyer, a huge Ferris wheel near the downtown area. I'm not sure if it's because I've been on better, like the London Eye, but I wasn't too thrilled. The city did look nice though. The next day we shopped and then went on the Night Safari. It was cool as with the lights low it was hard to see the enclosures and so it seemed like we had free access to the animals (and them to us!). Many people tell me that Singapore is a big boring city, but I don't feel that way. Despite the shopping overkill I felt like there was plenty to do and the city had a nice feel to it.
So here we are in the new year and I have a new charger so the posts will resume. Though I haven't fallen off the face of the earth I am taking a leap this year. Hopefully someone will be willing to catch me.

A Nor(w)ich Wedding

After having traveled around Europe (and N. Africa) for the past few weeks it was now time for my final destination, Norwich. I'd considered taking a train from Amsterdam to London then to Norwich, but time and money put me on a flight from Schipol to Luton, one of the cheaper Easyjet flights. From there I took Greater Anglia trains all the way to Norwich with one stop in Cambridge. It only took a few hours, not bad really and the trains were comfortable enough. Once I got to Norwich I started walking for my hotel. Unfortunately I forgot the map I printed, but remembered the general direction and that I thought I could walk it in less than 30 minutes so I set out. It wasn't too far to get to the Best Western Annesley. I was quite pleased with the hotel, it was a nice little place. Since I arrived at the hotel close to 9pm the guys were already out for the bachelor's night, but I was able to locate them and get a few pints in before the night was over. The next morning I had two missions, haircut and pair of dress shoes. I figured I could get a pair of dress shoes for 20BP or less and that was what I was willing to pay not to have lugged a pair of my own across Europe for the last three weeks. I was in luck as there was a TJ Maxx and SuperCuts. I had my breakie, shoes, and a sharp cut by noon and so had just enough time to get back to the hotel to take a nap before heading to meet the guys at The Assembly House. Long story short the bride said yes, wedding was beautiful, food was great, drank too much, got to bed around 1am. It was cool to see Jon so happy, also very nice to see some of the guys I had known on JET as well and to talk about old times and how things have changed. The next morning I was on the verge of death, but managed to get myself checked out and walk to the train station by 8am, Monday. This began what is probably the longest set of trains, planes, and automobiles that I have ever taken. It took me about 48 hours to train to London, fly from Gatwick to Basel, Basel to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and finally Kuala Lumpur to Penang were a friend picked me up at the airport. I got to my new apartment at 8pm Wednesday, signed my lease papers, and went to sleep in order to face the first day of work the next day. I've been back in Penang for about a month now and this year is running much more smoothly than last. Aya joined me shortly after I arrived and now I could even  possibly see myself staying here for a while, maybe. 

Amsterdam

From Brussels I moved on to Amsterdam by Thalys train. For the first night I had booked a hotel out by the airport and so spent the evening in town walking around but not doing much else. People were very laid back, but a big difference I noticed right away was the smell of marijuana wafting through the streets.
As I was walking through a shop I noticed that they had a bottle of absinthe, which is illegal in the US. So I grabbed it and headed back to my hotel room. Green in color this drink is often associated with green fairies and is rumored to lead to mild hallucinations, so I had to try it. It is also very strong at about 75% alcohol. I had a couple of glasses of it and I must say that it was disgusting. Hopefully the maid liked absinthe because I ended up leaving almost a full bottle when I left the hotel the next day.
The next couple of days I stayed closer to the downtown area in the King Hotel. Amsterdam has plenty to do and I spent most of my time just walking circles around the streets near the train station enjoying the canals, the people in the squares and street performers, and window shopping. I went to a store that had over 1000 varieties of beer (otherwise known as heaven), ducked through the red light district a couple of times, and enjoyed all sorts of street foods most notable fries with gobs of mayo. I did some constructive things too, the first being going to the Amsterdam Dungeon. About 5 years ago I had visited the London Dungeon and really thought that was fun so I would give the Amsterdam Dungeon a try. Basically it is like an informational haunted house. As a group of 30 or so you get shuffled around to different rooms where there are different stories told and things to scare you. Just like in London the characters interacted with you, frightening you and generally making people laugh with discomfort. It was really fun and at the end the Amsterdam Dungeon had something that the London Dungeon didn't, a roller coaster!
Later that afternoon I went to the My Dream Exhibition, which honestly at first I thought would be kind of lame. About 200 Van Gogh paintings had been retouched to show their original color and 7of them had been rendered in 3-D. Unfortunately I have lost all my pictures from this experience, but it was very cool. Besides seeing the bright colors of Van Gogh the 3d booths were neat. They looked like large photo booths so you would pull back the curtain and step inside. Once inside you put on your 3d glasses and view the painting with soundtrack  which would play in a 2 minute or so loop. I found this video, but it doesn't do it justice. Van Gogh's My Dream Exhibition
After having seen the exhibition I thought I would then go and see the real Van Gogh paintings. I have been a fan of Van Gogh for a very long time and kind of felt like I was going to a concert where my favorite band was playing. The paintings at the museum were beautiful and I was very glad to spend the rest of the afternoon just shuffling from painting to painting.
As the museum would soon be closing I thought it best to move on to the Heineken factory. I joined a tour group and they showed us how Heneiken was brewed along with a couple of beers at the end. There were lots of neat things like a 4D experience of how Heineken makes their beer, an area where you could customize your bottle, where they keep the horses (apparently Heine has horses?)The experience was enjoyable and since I have recently started home brewing myself it was neat to see the industrial version of the 7 gallon buckets I use.
Having had a few beers it was time to go see Anne Frank's house. Unfortunately by the time I got there the line was very long and I didn't think it worth it to wait to see what would basically be an old house. Sorry Anne Frank, you were a brave little girl but there was a dinner/beer special around the corner from your former house.
More or less that encapsulates my time in Amsterdam. I really enjoyed it and would like to go back again some day to see a bit more of the city and perhaps take some day trips to the surrounding country side. Onward to Norwich, England!

Brussels

From Tanger I took a flight to Paris, arriving around 9 at night. I booked a budget hotel for the evening and got up early the next morning to catch my train Paris Du Nord station to get to Brussels. I used Thalys and the train was fairly nice and fast. In Brussels I was a bit early for checking into my hotel, but I thought I would give it a try anyways. I had booked the Max Hotel with no real thought for what type of hotel it was, just that it was fairly central and cheap with fair reviews. Since I was too early the receptionist told me I could keep my baggage in a locker on the 2nd floor. After I put my bag in I looked around the corner where there was a large sitting area and a computer terminal. There were also a couple of vending machines. Some of these had normal things like beer, candies, and some personal products in them. However, I was very amused to see another machine selling 24 hours of wifi, maid service, extra towels, etc. There were many plastic cards that you could buy which would then drop out of the vending machine and you could use for the service. For example the maid service card had a slot nearby where you dropped it with your room number on it and a maid came at a later time to clean your room. I bought a wifi/satellite tv card and was very satisfied to have control over what I was being charged for in terms of a room. Most hotel rooms have things I never use like a hair dryer, safe, or slippers. I hate that because I am being charged for the service that I don't use. 

So, first impression of Brussels was pretty good. I then bought a can of Hoegarden from the adjacent vending machine and my impression got even better. I had a few hours until I could check in, but basically was free to roam the city and so I headed to what I thought would be a cool sight, the museum of modern art. I didn't get in the first day because it was closed, but did on the next day and was very disappointed. Most of the artwork was of the 15-1800 paintings of Christ and the saints variety. I did a tour of the whole place in about 30 minutes. I'm sure the other patrons must have thought me mad to be walking about so briskly barely looking at most of the work, but I had already paid the sunk cost of the ticket and wasn't about to additionally waste my life looking at what bored me. 

There was one particular painting I enjoyed though, Jacques-Louis David's painting of Marat, one of the martyrs of the French Revolution. The story behind it is interesting. 

There were a few other points of interest for me in Brussels. I visited the famous Mannekin Pis and the Grand Place. One of the most interesting places I visited was the Atomium which was built for the world's fair in 1958. I can't say that the inside itself was too interesting, but certainly the building was. Plus, I got to ride what was the fastest elevator in 1958 (which was super slow) and realized why elevator music was invented. I enjoyed my time in Brussels, from the beer to the waffles and all of the very friendly people. Someday I would like to go back again, but this time with my chocolate loving wife. 

Tangers

His name was Mohammed, which was no surprise. I was beginning to feel like the people here in Tangiers were very friendly as this was the second man to chat me up within a couple of hours. The first had helped me to find dry cleaners and as we walked away I expected him to turn and ask for money or a favor. My experiences with cultures such as these in the past had taught me what to expect, but it never happened. So I thought this second guy might be on the level. It was evening and the streets were jammed with people as dark was coming in a couple of hours and everyone would break the fast. People were scurrying here and there try to buy last minute meals or get home to family.

When Mohammed first approached me I thought he would just want to ask where I was from, but the more we talked the more he divulged his story. Nearing 40, no wife, out of work for a couple of years but starting work at a hotel next week. He asked where I was going, to the Kasbah, and offered to show me there. As we approached all I could think was that he might try to get me down a dark alley so that he could rob me, so as long as we were in crowded streets I was ok and kind of enjoyed talking to him. We entered the outer market and made our way up a steep hill. During this climb he asked me if I smoked, honestly at first I thought he meant cigarettes because we were both starting to breath hard and so I said, “Not really, but once in a while I might”.  He then said, “Yes, sometimes it is good to smoke with friends to calm down, but not too often. That is bad.” And then I realized what he had really meant.

So now I am thinking that Mohammed is going to rob me for sure so that he can go buy some hash and get smoked up before the evening meal. His eyes seem to tell that story, but he still hasn’t made any really aggressive comments and we are still on the crowded street so I don’t bother to cut this off. Eventually we reach the top of the hill and are going to where we can see over the harbor across to Tarifa. It’s a beautiful view and I would stay to sit for a while, but its beginning to be odd having Mohammed at my side. More or less I have run out of things to say to him. So we stay a couple of minutes and then start making our way through the back streets down to where we started. At one point there is a fork in the street and Mohammed asks three teenage boys something, and they say "prison, it used to be a prison" pointing to a rather nice looking building which Mohammed steers us to the right of. I may mention that the back streets of the old city are very narrow, windy, full of people and character. It’s a maze more or less, but we navigate very well and are soon back to where we started. At this point there must be about 30 minutes to sundown and I press Mohammed about getting to his family to break the fast. He tells me that I should come, asks if I am truly sure that I don’t want to get some hash, and then we exchange numbers and he says goodbye.

So now I am on my own, by the Kasbah and with about 30 minutes to dark so decide to go back the same route to the top of the hill to sit and look at the harbor. Everything is fine, besides the two men who approach me to sell me hash on the way up. I get to the top and sit for a bit, then decide that I better get going as now the sun is setting fast. As I leave the wall and make my way back down to the market I decide to take a different route. I take a left instead of a right by the prison assuming that I basically just have to go down and to the right to get back to the main market. Sooner than I realize I am deep down a side alley that has no exit so I turn around and see the boys who were at the top of the wall by the prison, but in the darkened alley and on my own they seem more menacing than before. To avoid them I take a left which turns out to be another dead end and run into another group of young guys. This time I try to ask them in Spanish, where is the Medina? They are helpful and point me in a direction which I go, but 5 minutes later I am facing another seemingly unending maze of alleys. So I ask again and get pointed in another direction again leading to confusion and an ever darkening maze. By this point its right on the verge of darkness and the streets are thinning of people as they are all breaking the fast. Eventually I see a sign for a pension deciding that this might be a good place to go as they will probably speak English and definitely will know how to guide people to the Medina. So I enter and find no one but a young girl who I attempt to ask in Spanish and English, where is the Medina? I guess she does not understand and runs to get her father who after a few confused moments points me down another alley. Now it is dark and as I emerge into a small square I recognize where I am, back in the Medina.