Kyoto Day 3
Took my first bus ride this morning to visit some Zen gardens. The ride turned out more amusing than the gardens. The Japanese does it backwards from the way we do it in singapore. Instead of entering from the front of the bus, everyone goes up from the middle and they pay a flat fee of 220yen* when they are ready to get off from the front. The ride can never be lonely. Not even if there is only one commuter on the bus. The driver provides a constant audio track throughout the ride, letting you know when he is turning right, when he is stopping for the traffic light, when he is starting again. For a job that only requires you to drive from point a to point b, japanese bus drivers sure need more than a driving licence to give you the full service on board the bus!
*For specific route in a specific area of town.
Each zen garden charged an entrance fee and they were so small, one could walk around the garden in 10minutes and exit again. But the point of a zen garden is to keep things simple and perhaps helpful for achieving peace, focus and contemplation? So I determined to just sit around on the patio in front of the garden and absorb the morning chill. It was then I spotted a pair of angry eyes staring pointedly ahead. Now I’ve found something to focus on in the zen garden, and did a sketch of the fat cat. It was rather obstinate, sitting there between two rocks and shivering in the cold, as if it were a rock that was part of the zen garden design.
It was no photos allowed in there but my sketch was bad so I sneaked a photo of the cat, see it on instagram – http://instagram.com/p/hplye3lIGt/
The later part of the day was more interesting as I joined a horde of people invading one of thr top temples in Kyoto as part of a special nightime prayer session event. That is a tale for another day.
I don’t have any updates of Donna today as I have lost my phone somewhere between dinner and getting back to the hotel. I don’t really think I’ll get it back.
Kyla
No photos? Why? Do they believe photography would steal the souls of the plants? Maybe they’ve seen my attempts at photography and wanted to save everyone from the horror.
pljx@live.com.sg
Lol! Unless you are an exceedingly rude curmudgeon, you are likely not the reason. It seems some photographers tend to be rude to other temple visitors getting in their way or they destroy temple property in their quest for the perfect photo until some of the people who actually visit the temples to pray started to avoid those temples known to get hordes of photographers. Some temples thus decided they needed to ban photography in their premises.
Roxy the Traveling Dog
Sounds like a very interesting place to visit. Bummer on the phone!!
pljx@live.com.sg
Everyone I spoke to preferred kyoto to tokyo, which is why I tagged along on this trip. But my stars must ckash with it considering the unfortunate circumstances! Haha! Great place for photography enthusiasts though!
angelswhisper2011
I like the sketch of the cat, Donna and the photo is Pawsome. Too bad the phone is gone, Granny always says, her whole life is in the phone, so that must feel pawful :( Comfy Pawkisses :)
pljx@live.com.sg
A part of my life is in the phone, photos, whatsapp chats mostly. At least I’ve still got my galaxy note, which keeps me connected but only in the hotel. I’m getting used to it though its inconvenient. Thanks for taking the time to write! I appreciate it!
completelydisappear
Sorry to hear about the lost phone.
I have been in Kyoto too in my latest trip to Japan. We usually took buses for our way of transportation by buying one day pass (500 Yen) and the pass was worth buying as we took at least 3 bus route a day.
pljx@live.com.sg
Yup I sometimes buy that pass too, we take a fair bit of train as well though so it depends on the route for the day :)