Ghibli Museum, a peek at the magical world of Ghibli...

Hey everyone! It feels good to write again, so I hope that this time around, I won’t do such a bad job at it! I’m finally back to my home away from home! It’s only been ta few days but Japan has been really good to me already, and Kaya, being the wonderful girlfriend that she is, surprised me with tickets to the Ghibli Museum! If you were ever interested in visiting this museum, then you know how annoying it can be to get tickets as a foreigner. Ticket sales are limited, must be purchased a month in advance, and are not sold at the museum itself, and they sell out often. For foreigners I only know of JTB USA that sells the tickets online, though I am not so familiar with the process. Regardless, this is a place I wanted to visit every time I was in Japan, though I never got the chance….until now!

For those unfamiliar, the Ghibli Museum showcases the works of Studio Ghibli, an animation studio created by Miyazaki Hayao. The studio is know for animated films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and many others. As a fair warning, photos and video recording are not allowed inside the museum itself, you’ll have to visit yourself in order to get the full experience. Inside you’ll find a treasure trove of information on how the movies were made, the animation techniques used, life size sets and displays, as well as lots and lots of tiny doorways which were definitely NOT made for a nearly 6 foot tall American… I’m just saying… watch your head or it WILL hurt when you bang it on steel and concrete…

After exploring the exhibits, you can watch a 15-20 minute short film inside the small theater room. Pro tip: Get in line 10 minutes or so before the start time as they try to fill every seat in the room, including sitting some people on the hardwood steps in the theater. Personally, I prefer the cushioned benches. Now all that’s left is to hit the gift shop and spend, spend, spend…. I really mean it. Unfortunately this museum is not excluded from the super overpriced gift shop bug that’s spread to pretty much everywhere. While they do have some neat things for sale, most of them are overpriced. There are some smaller and cheaper options of course, and if you’re visiting on vacation, it’s nice to take a souvenir home.

All in all, the museum experience was really fun. It’s definitely not a full day event, so I wouldn’t book a whole day to spend at Ghibli. Depending on how long the travel time is from your accommodations, if you get the 10a.m. ticket, you’ll be done by 12:00-1:00p.m. Luckily, we found a delicious okonomiyaki restaurant nearby, and you know me, I’m all about that food porn.

Check out the links below for more information on the Ghibli Museum, Studio Ghibli, and how to book your ticket!

Ghibli Museum Website (Japanese/English): http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/
Ghibli Museum Tickets with JTB (outside Japan): https://online.jtbusa.com/services/ghiblimuseum.aspx
Studio Ghibli Website (Japanese): http://www.ghibli.jp/

See you next time friends!

Ceramic Village - a trip through Bat Trang

Hey Guys!  Worlds laziest blogger checking in!  Before I get started let me give you a quick update.  Hanoi is great, sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s humid, and sometimes there’s a typhoon.  There, you’re all caught up, so let’s get started.

Today I want to talk about pottery, specifically Vietnamese ceramics.  Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the village of Bát Tràng.  The village is located 15km from Hanoi, and is now considered a suburb of the Vietnamese capital city in an area rich in clay which is perfect for producing fine porcelain.  Pottery making in this village can be traced back to the 14th century AD, and is famous for some of the best-known porcelain products.  It’s nickname “ceramic village” is quite fitting, as there seem to be more ceramic stores and markets than restaurants or convenience stores.  It’s quite a sight to see indeed.

One word of warning.  The town produces a large amount of products which are shipped all over Vietnam and exported to other countries, however, since becoming a hotbed for tourism, there is definitely money to be made.  Unfortunately this may mean running into some pushy sales people, who will shop short of nothing to try and get your to buy something.  This isn't too big of a deal, and just saying no a few times will get most of them to let you be.  This did surprise us however as we were instantly greeted in a motorbike parking lot by a woman who ran a pottery workshop which offered a pottery making experience.  Full disclosure, my friends and I planned to do this anyway, I was just caught off guard a little how quickly you can be pulled into a sale.  The workshop we were brought to was a very simple stone building with wide open spaces inside.  Nothing fancy and nothing like an industrial machine of any sort in sight, simply a large number of hand spun potter's wheels and the dreaded tiny Vietnamese stool.  

After we were sat at our wheels, we each got a chunk of clay and were given a chance to play around and try our hand at making a ceramic cup.  It didn't take long to figure out that this is definitely something I would be awful at.  In theory pottery seems so simple, especially when watching one of the workshop employees transform a lump of clay into a perfect cup in a matter of 15 seconds.  More amazing still is how they could repeat the process over and over again, each time creating a cup of exact and precise proportions.  Oh how wrong I was.  Messing up over and over again, there was no way I was walking away with a perfect cup.  The workshop employee told us that it takes approximately 2 years to get to his level of making cups.... that right, just basic ceramic cups.  That shows just how difficult it can be.  Despite the miserable failures, I had a blast trying to create something.

Have no fear however, for even if you fail over and over again, the workshop is nice enough to make a cup for you, which you can then take your artistic skills to and paint to your heart's desire.  Once that's done, you can also pay to have the cup baked, creating a fully functional teacup masterpiece.  This is something I chose to do, and while I was super excited at the idea, I came to be greatly disappointed.  See the problem started with the paints.  The paints the workshop provided were inferior in quality, and more importantly they were watered down to hell.. I mean, even after applying 5-6 coats of paint, after baking and curing, the colors faded so much, leaving very little in terms of a desirable final product.  Of course this is not something you can tell until after the baking process, which was a 24 hour turnaround at this particular shop.  Since they also requested payment upfront, there is no way you can inspect the final product before making your purchase.  My advice?  If you choose to bake your final product to take home, ask them for quality paints, or at least ask for paint tubes and water on the side so that you can dilute the paints yourself, and not end up with a final product you are unhappy with.  I do however still highly recommend that you try the experience should you find yourself here.

In the main market areas of Bat Trang, there are dozens of shops, most of which will sell very similar products.  It seems as if there are very few artists who "create", and then many others mass re-produce their designs for sale both to consumers and wholesale to merchants all over Vietnam.  Do be careful however and don't rush into any purchases, as prices will vary from store to store.  Take some time to walk around and compare prices as there could be anywhere from 10-20% in price difference.  All in all, this was a fun day trip capped off with a delicious, yet super inexpensive Bun Cha lunch.  For more pictures please check out the gallery here.  Until the next adventure friends, cheers from Hanoi!

Casting aside doubt, and making changes.

Welcome friends.  Here I am attempting to start a blog, and I am having the hardest time finding the right words to put down, the irony makes me smile.  So, lend me a moment of your time, and let me tell you why this website exists, and what you can expect from me in the future.  This website is about memories, those memories which I wish to hold on to through the years, the memories I want to share with my friends and family, and the memories which define who I am. 

“When in doubt, choose change.”

I once read that quote online, and it never really resonated with me until now.  I’ve spent most of my life living with doubt and always thinking, “when the time is right, things will change how they’re supposed to.”  Then I simply went about my life, day by day, not doing a single thing to move forward towards a better goal.  It truly was a naive way of thinking.  Time won’t change a thing, it is up to me to change my life the way I see fit.  So, I’m putting aside all doubt, and making a change.

This change starts with something simple, I want to see the world.  I want to see and experience this beautiful earth we live on.  Experience its sights and its people.  Over the next few months, I have some big changes planned, and I will use this website to share my journey with all of you.  There are still many details to plan, and some things to set in motion, but starting May 1st 2017, I will be posting regular updates to let you in on what is going on in my life.

What you can expect from this site is a lot of travel material.  Pictures from my trips, writeups on delicious food, stories of the places I visit, tips and tricks I pick up along the way, and a way for you to share your own experiences and advice with me.  For the time being, please check the photo galleries for some snapshots I took on my trip through Japan in 2016, and don’t forget to check back on May 1st for a huge announcement!

(p.s. for those in the know, please don’t spoil the surprise 😉)

Until next time~!