I’m officially a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV). I flew home on 1 August on a direct flight from Beijing. This time my suitcases were under the 50 pound limit as I mostly carried home my Mongolian clothes, gifts I received, and all of the goodies I bought in Ulaanbaatar.
July was simultaneously a slow and fast month. It was pouring during the Naadam festivities. Then during one weekend, my entire town lost power. Last time this happened Mongolians had been forewarned about it and had told me, so I could pre-download movies and charge my external battery. However, this time, there was no warning. My closest friends had either left for the countryside or were in the city. I was standing in a dark supermarket with other Mongolians looking glumly at what we could buy that wouldn’t require electricity to prepare: a jar of pickles, canned fish, carrots, crackers. Ultimately, I dropped my shopping basket, walked out, and went straight to the bus station to buy the next ticket to the city.
Trying to avoid getting drenched at the Naadam stadium.A ride around the government square.Went out for dinner with Tuya’s family.
Clearing out my apartment was a month-long process. For future Peace Corps Volunteers in Mongolia, don’t wait until the last few days to begin organizing, donating, and selling your items. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll accumulate. My apartment wasn’t going to have another Peace Corps Volunteer living in it so everything had to go.
Peace Corps offices around the world have a special bell which volunteers are allowed to ring when we have successfully completed our service of two-years. It signals the end. My group decided to wait until everyone had finished their end of service interviews, medical exams, and other miscellaneous paper work in order to ring the bell together. We were a little too enthusiastic as a piece of the bell fell off.
“We came in together, we’re leaving together.”
With 5 out of 9 of the Yeruu gang/my training group from 2016.
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer 🙂
Now I’m happy to be home, but my time in Mongolia will be with me forever.
Watch my video at the top for my last summer in Mongolia.
In June, I traveled to Khövsgöl Lake to help at a Junior Ranger camp hosted by the Mongol Ecology Center.
The arduous trip took seven-hours to Ulaanbaatar, followed by another seven-hours to Erdenet, and ending with a 5 hour drive to Hatgal in Khövsgöl.
The 25-minute rest stop between my town and Ulaanbaatar.
Due to Mongolia’s ever turbulent weather, my bag was packed with a combination of rain gear, clothes for when it was hot during the day and clothes for when it got really cold in the evening.
While growing up I didn’t attend any camps as a child. Every season, I was always on a sports team, but camps I didn’t do. I was lucky to always have a parent at home and close friends nearby. As Tina Fey jokingly wrote in her book Bossypants, “I never went to summer camp, as I was neither underprivileged nor Jewish nor extremely Christian nor obese.” So consider this my first.
The Junior Ranger camp was a 10-day event. First, we had to wait in Hatgal for the rest of the campers to arrive from Hanh soum. A small amount of campers are from Hatgal but most arrived from Hanh soum. The soum is further north up the lake. Their drive took 14 hours through the rain. All the kids were young with the youngest being 9 and the oldest being 12. Once we were all united and introduced, we hiked to Murun where our camp site was on the eastern shore of the lake.
The boys slept in gers, the girls all slept in one large house, and the adults slept in two A-frame houses.
The group of adult leaders consisted of three Peace Corps Volunteers, two Americans visiting from Texas (who are related to the founder of MEC), and three Mongolian high schoolers.
Developing environmental projects to pursue at their schools
Need advice for how to entertain 30 children or more? Just find a long piece of rope. They’ll be entertained for hours playing jump rope, limbo, etc. etc. etc. Picking up trash at Wishing Rock.Hiking through the woods to Wishing Rock.Volleyball games everyday, all day.
Monitoring the water from the lake.Chuka and the Executive Director of MEC, Chimgee.
Additional games and activities consisted of:
An hour and a half of English lessons every day. Me and Chuka were in charge of the 5th graders
Felt making
Yoga which I led every morning
Mental and emotional lessons
Volleyball
Disco night
Jump rope
Felt making with Bolor.
Hiked to the top of the hills for wild onion planting.
The first half of the week was very busy but tapered off at the end. When the kids were busy and the adults weren’t needed, we went hiking, took naps, and even went swimming in the lake. The lake water was 12’C. There’s no WiFi and all the kids had to hand in their phones at the beginning of camp. We found various ways to entertain ourselves (e.g. when the kids were inside writing an essay, the rest of us were down by the lake skipping stones and seeing who could throw the most rocks into a hollow tree trunk).
The camp ground on the eastern side of Lake Khövsgöl. A 6th grade camper.Skipping stones over the lake.Swimming in 12’C.
The Junior Ranger program is meant to be enjoyable and exciting. However, the kids did have to write an essay and take a test to prove that they did learn something and were paying attention during the sessions. There was also no tolerance for unruly behavior. One camper was sent home for faking heat exhaustion.
On the last day of camp, kids got certificates. The kids who placed the highest in their test scores received an automatic spot in the program for next summer. We took a boat across the lake back to Hatgal. We spent an hour hugging and saying goodbye to everyone and went home with scarlet skin from sunburns due to the wonderful weather we had all week.
Hanh soum kids before leaving for home.Sometimes I woke up at 7:30 AM to enjoy the surroundings while the kids were still sleeping.
Two years have come and gone. I’ve been having long phone calls with friends reminiscing about our time in Mongolia. I will be going home in two months. All that’s left to do is to go to Lake Hovsgul where I’ll be working at a Junior Rangers Camp, visit my host family one last time, last-minute exploits around UB, empty my apartment, find a car to take me to the city with all my bags, and ring the bell in the Peace Corps office.
Just like last year, here’s a summary of all that’s happened during 2017-2018:
SUMMER
June 2017
My first year working at school ended and my second summer in Mongolia was beginning.
Solo traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia.
Had a new blue deel made for me.
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July 2017
Celebrated Naadam in my new deel.
Me and Jenni, my M26 site mate, went to a concert of some popular Mongolian band.
Re-arranged my entire apartment because PCVs have to find any way to feel productive and active when the days are long and your counterparts have left you for the countryside.
Walked to a different restaurant every week to use their wifi in order to watch Game of Thrones season 7. I got a lot of curious and strange looks as I sat in the corner.
My counterpart helped me to design my new summer deel.
August 2017
My parents came to Mongolia. We traveled around the Gobi and explored UB.
Rode a camel.
My school never paid for my power when I was gone for two weeks. I came back at 10pm to no electricity and an awful smell coming from my fridge.
Had MST (Mid-service training) in Terelj National Park. Nobody was expecting how cold it was going to be.
Rode a horse.
Finally got unlimited internet in my home.
When Andy spilled M&M’s, causing them to clatter everywhere, while people were sleeping at 2AM in the guesthouse: “OH F###!”
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Flaming Cliffs in the Gobi.
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AUTUMN
September 2017
School began.
Signed up for the GRE.
Teacher strikes were happening all around the country.
Special Olympics was held in my town.
Celebrated Teacher’s Day.
Met Zaya, owner of Friends Café. My new favorite place and an amazing person.
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My amazing counterpart and friend who has helped me with so much and has accepted me as part of her family.
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October 2017
Finally got hot water in my apartment.
Drove to Kharkhorin for a Halloween race.
Started my English club at the Children’s Center for 5th, 6th, and 7th graders with two counterparts, Uugunaa and Saikhnaa.
Because my shower hadn’t been working for two-weeks due to a burst pipe, an entire bucket of water I was filling up as my “shower,” tipped over the edge, cracked, and spilt EVERYWHERE. Neighbors below came running up when they saw my water leaking into their apartment. When the repairman also came he could see how exhausted and defeated I looked, laughed, and said he would finally fix my shower the next day.
Read 12th grade essays. Here’s an actual excerpt from one: “Policeman is light, criminal is night!!!! We stop crime. May be we!!! Can be!”
Bought my ticket to Japan.
The Halloween Race banner that was hung on the side of the bus.
Representing Arvaikheer!
Me and Zaya, owner of Friends Café, who came to help out.
Our first group picture.
We had a Halloween themed club before Halloween.
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Sitting at attention.
November 2017
Finally bought a yoga mat.
Almost had an electrical fire in my kitchen.
Began Write On preparations.
Hosted Thanksgiving for my counterparts in my home.
WINTER
December 2017
Finally took the GRE with 3 other people in a small room at the University of Science and Technology. There was a power outage right in the middle.
Attended a Peace Corps PAC meeting to talk about the TEFL program (Teach English as a Foreign Language).
Began reading “War and Peace.”
No longer being afraid to call out people when I could hear them talking about me in Mongolian.
Began an air pollution project to raise money for face masks.
My apartment door broke. Neighbors would know I was leaving or entering my home because the action was accompanied by 5 minutes of kicking, slamming my shoulder against the door, and growls of frustration.
Had my counterpart and her family over for Christmas Eve dinner.
Had a really fun New Years party with my school.
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We wish you a Happy New Year!
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My counterpart’s daughter dancing a solo.
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January 2018
Traveled to Japan and visited Kyoto, Nara, Hemeji, and Osaka.
Turned 25 years old in UB.
Ran a study abroad session at a Career Fair with Miga.
A month-long winter break from school.
When school resumed, I held writing workshops.
Kyoto, Japan
February 2018
Traveled to my host family to celebrate Tsagaan Sar, Mongolian New Year. I was so happy to see them all again.
Write On competitions were held throughout the country. The medals I received to give to winning students were so awful – it was like a 5-year-old child DIYed it in her kitchen. Uuguanaa told them, “If you want to get your medals fixed we can go back to the store after Tsagaan Sar,” but they all thought the ugly medals were so funny no wanted to get new ones. “Charming,” as an 11th grader put it.
At 6AM on 12 February, I woke up to a very loud “POP” followed by great stream of boiling hot water spraying all over my bathroom. It sounded like a geyser. The pipe connecting to my shower head to the hot water pipe quite literally exploded. While getting showered in blistering hot water I had to turn a rusty knob that hadn’t been turned in 3 years to turn the pressure off. The adrenaline, fear of a flooded bathroom, and being burnt alive gave me the strength needed to crank it.
Two years later, Winter 2018 with my host family.
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March 2018
So many sand storms. Nothing but brown murkiness as you look outside.
Schools and the market were shut for one-month because my town was under quarantine.
Spent a weekend at the Shangri La.
Cheering on the Loyola Ramblers during March Madness.
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SPRING
April 2018
Held a weekend long girls camp with Adiya.
Began receiving the first emails about COS (Closing of Service).
Sporadic snow storms and dust storms throughout the month.
Taught myself how to gut a fish.
Created a reading nook with all the donated books from America.
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May 2018
Had our COS conference at Mongolica outside of the city.
Finished “War and Peace.”
Received my ticket to fly home at the end of the summer.
Helped a 10th grader apply for a week-long English program in the city during the summer.
No longer have hot water in my apartment. It’s back to the bucket!
Attended a hair cutting ceremony for Uuganaa’s daughter.
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Today, I had my last day of work. Let the summer begin!
When you have to sit through a very long meeting in Mongolian.When PCVs feel underappreciated by their HCAs.When it’s spring and sand storms are a thing.When a student who has been mute all year suddenly reads perfectly or answers a question fluently.When it’s finally the weekend and you don’t need to answer those “Where are you?” messages.When you find someone who can speak fluent English.When you put on a Mongolian deel.
When you have a great idea for your school and it’s got some traction for a day or two but then slips away as people lose interest.
When it’s the COS lottery for who gets to go home during week 1 or week 2.When the people you work with believe everything they read on Facebook.That determination you feel when your second year begins.When you’ve got to mingle but you have no idea what anyone is saying.When you begin work at your HCA.When you go to the countryside for the weekend with your school.When you try to make a dash to the store next door before anyone sees you. When you’re in the Shangri La. When you can say a sentence in Mongolian.When you arrive at staging and meet your friends who are embarking on the same crazy adventure as you.When you’re finally on that plane back to America.Whenever you go out in public.When you make it to COS.
When you go shopping after a really long time and something actually fits you.
When you’re in the city and you’re debating if you really should spend all your money on food and drinks.When no one tells you anything.When it’s the middle of winter.When you have a terrible singing voice but everyone at karaoke says otherwise.When you get that call or text saying your package from America has arrived.When people go “OY” or whistle for your attention.When it’s only Monday.When you have food poisoning or any other ailment that brings you down.When people at work are surprised that you’re still here.When nothing is going according to plan.
When you think sticking a face mask on will solve all your worries.When you haven’t seen your American friends in months.When people back home ask if you really ate a goat’s head.
Our Closing of Service ceremony (COS) at a nice hotel outside of the city felt a lot like having a big party on a Sunday night and then immediately returning back to work on Monday.
On paper, we are finished as Peace Corps Volunteers in Mongolia but technically we still have another three months left in country including one more month left of work.
I think I’ve done the best I could in my situation. I don’t think my school ever wanted a PCV or if they did they didn’t know what to do with me. During my first year, I was more polite asking, “Can I do this?” During my second year I was more, “I’m going to do this now!”
I came to realize that if no one at school was asking for help, proposing ideas, or telling me what I should do, I had to take the bull by the horns so I could stay busy and feel productive. I believe without that attitute my girls camp in April never would have happened.
Seeing friends again and receiving our certificates was both exciting and bizarre knowing that two-years has flown by. Unfortunately, my name on my certificate said Anne. I will get a new one before I leave. We received a lot of information about what we need to do before leaving our villages and towns such as closing our bank accounts, alerting our landlords, having a final interview with the country director, and visits to the doctor’s office.
Mongolia’s Peace Corps Director, Gene
I also received my departure date to fly back home. My flight leaves Mongolia at 6 AM. I’ve been mentally preparing a feast to eat as soon as I land – (seafood, seafood, seafood, seafood, seafood, seafood). The plan is to reacquaint myself to the big city, to Amerian life, and a different time zone. Then possibly followed by a trip to visit both my grandmothers in Sweden and Scotland.
This time last year I was planning my trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. My parents were also visiting for the summer. Now I’m eyeing everything in my apartment that either needs to be sold, donated, or thrown out. Work at school has been slowing down. My last project I’m trying to finish up before the end of the month is recording all the reading passages in textbooks teachers can use next year when I’m gone.
June 2016May 2018
I can still clearly remember arriving in Seattle in May 2016 and seeing other people, who were complete strangers at that time, struggling to leave the airport with all their bags. We would look at each other and go, “Peace Corps?” “Yep.” “Niiiice.”
Only one person from my training group was absent as we took pictures together in our deels and with the Mongolian flag.
As my school’s very first TEFL volunteer, some ideas are considered to be too radical. Met with indifference or confusion that later get swept away under the rug.
As my second (and last year) was starting in Mongolia, I thought how I wanted to do something at my school so I could end my year with a bang. A high note knowing I’ve accomplished something different and new.
With the help of one counterpart, Adiya, we organized and prepared a weekend-long Girls Empowerment workshop/camp/training/call it what you will that occurred on March 13-15. The second semester of school in Mongolia is thwarted with many long breaks – winter break in January, Tsaagan Sar break in February, and a Spring break in March. Suffice it to say…time was running out and I knew I had to begin early.
Powerpoints and worksheets had to be translated into Mongolian, subtitles added to videos, activities had to be thought of, and what type of topics to be covered during the weekend. I then turned into a part-time health volunteer when an 11th grader said: “We are told we should do something but not told the importance of why we should be doing it.” Thus health was included into the schedule.
What impressed me the most throughout the weekend was the amount of English the girls wanted to use despite the difficulty. They were free to discuss amongst themselves in Mongolian and write in Mongolian but they all wanted to speak and write in English.
Some of the topics and activities we did from Friday to Sunday, 10 AM to 4:30 PM:
Girls learnt about Mongolian and foreign role models. Malala Yousafazai was very popular.
The girls learnt about non-profit organizations and in teams created their own non-profit. The winning team was about human rights while the runner-up was about an environmental issue.
After kicking out the boys who were playing basketball, we did yoga in the gym. For most of them, this was their first time ever doing yoga. Lots of giggles erupted when we were in happy baby pose.
An art project. Girls drew and painted themselves after describing themselves with adjectives and connecting those adjectives to specific colors.
In addition, we talked about the importance of goal setting, stereotypes, leadership qualities, and created bucket lists. An 8th grader said she wanted to visit Genovia and was sad when I told her the country doesn’t exist. While all the girls said they want to travel to another country, goals ranged from the lofty to the simplistic. Having purple hair, wanting to meet Emma Watson, becoming a doctor, learning how to swim and to wanting to walk through a haunted house during Halloween.
This weekend wouldn’t have happened without the incredible help of Adiya. She met with me every week, helped make applications, and did her best to understand everything. As a result, the entire weekend went smoothly and I went home happy.
However, not all projects will have so much preparation time like mine did. You have to judge your school’s vibe. Either you are a very busy PCV or you fall into the same hole as me and your school doesn’t utilize you enough. As a result, I had plenty of time to bring this weekend with Adiya to fruition.
Spring break wasn’t supposed to begin until the end of March but on 9 March I got a text message from my counterpart: “Do you know? Break has started.”
I was perplexed.
As it turns out, foot and mouth disease has been spreading throughout Mongolia infecting both livestock and people. I had heard about it in northern Mongolia but it had eventually seeped down to my neck of the woods. The governor ordered a shut down of schools and the market. The market was so empty all it needed was tumbleweed. If it had been during my first year I would have been excited for starting break weeks early but it’s my second year and I have a project in the works. Me and my counterpart had a long meeting with my supervisor and so my project was pushed back to mid-April.
So Spring Break or Quarantine Break began early.
Schools were closed yet students and teachers continued to meet informally. In the mornings, I went to help my students for the upcoming Olympiad exams.
My hard working 12th grader has been improving her writing since January.
I went on a very long hike over the hills. The only person I encountered was an old woman watching over her goat-herd. We chilled together on the rocks and ate pretzels.
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When I’m not outside I’ve been doing a lot of yoga. I have been watching all of Boho Beautifuls’ videos but found a new video channel called Yoga with Kassandra. My counterpart came over with her 10-year-old daughter. An endless amount of giggles peeped out from her daughter as she clumsily transitioned from one pose to the next. Falling over like a baby giraffe.
I finished reading “The Great Alone” by Kristin Hannah and “Armageddon” by Leon Uris. Hannah’s book is set in Alaska and had me in tears. I finished it in two days. I highly recommend this book! The other is about the re-birth of Berlin after World War II.
On the other hand, a pipe that connects from my bathroom and into my kitchen has burst in three separate places. The repair man had to turn off the water flowing through it but water is still sprinkling out. So now no hot water, my kitchen has a bucket (probably) permanently leaning against my wall, and I’m back to boiling water and pouring a bucket onto myself. Makes me appreciate what I will soon be going back home too.
The best part of my break was my weekend in Ulaanbaatar. Before leaving town, there were people at the bus station dressed in anti-contamination gear spraying hand sanitizer onto our hands and water into our mouths. There were frequent stops with people out on the road spraying down bus wheels.
The new Ulaanbaatar sign by Blue Sky Hotel and Chinggis Square.
I treated myself to a stay in the Shangri La and spent Saturday with my friend whom I’ve been close to since Peace Corps training. We hit all our favorite spots such as Green Zone, Swiss Coffee, an art store, an Indian restaurant, and the movie theater. It was a weekend I really needed to resuscitate myself, but the fairy tale was shattered as soon as I was back at Dragon Center and back on a bus to my town.
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When school begins I’ll be back to preparing for my project. It’s almost April!
For Mongolia’s New Year, Tsagaan Sar, I traveled back to Yeruu in northern Mongolia to visit and celebrate with my host family. I hadn’t seen them since we last hugged goodbye in August 2016 when Peace Corps training was finished.
Summer 2016
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Now flash forward two years and it’s a long trip back. I took a seven-hour bus ride to Ulaanbaatar. Followed by a four-hour bus ride to Darkhan and ending with a one-hour car ride to Yeruu. There are now paved roads that shoot straight to Yeruu. During Peace Corps training, there had been a lot of cross-country driving over bumpy terrain.
I was so happy to see my host family. My host siblings immediately wanted to play and my grandmother was tottering about making sure plenty of food was on the table. This family has been there with me since the very beginning. They were there during all the highs and lows I experienced during that summer. They were witnesses to when I first began learning Mongolian as I tried to (very poorly) make the KUUUHH and x sounds. Despite this, I have the most success understanding and communicating with them. They know we need to speak slowly with each other and we all patiently make huge efforts to make ourselves understood.
Two years later, Winter 2018 with my host family.
During my first night, everyone came to the house – all of my host mom’s brothers and sisters and their children. The kids thankfully haven’t changed much and are still chubby and adorable. Together, we drove to a hill and went sledding.
I felt pathetic as I fell asleep dressed head to toe in under armor underneath three blankets while my host family fell asleep in t-shirts with only one blanket. This was my first visit to the countryside during winter and from now on I will only be visiting in the summer. I was like a cockatiel sitting perched on a stool by the stove where the only source of warmth was coming from.
Friday was the first day of Tsagaan Sar. We were all dressed in our Mongolian deels. Every house we visited had salads and buuz on the table with milk tea and vodka. We stayed at each house for at least an hour. There was a lot of: “Back in the car, Anna!” “ZAAAAA!”
I had to leave Yeruu at 5 AM on Saturday morning. Not a lot of transportation leaving during the New Year and having to leave at that ungodly hour was my only option. However, my trip out of Yeruu felt surreal. It was pitch black and snowing. I was stuffed in the back of a small car between luggage and another girl. ABBA was playing on the radio. We encountered no other cars. These small moments of my time in Mongolia are what I will oddly remember the most.
This year, me and a friend are Write On’s 2018 National Coordinators. Write On is a creative writing competition held in 20 Peace Corps countries.
Last year, almost 1,000 Mongolian students and adults participated nation-wide.
This year, I held more writing workshops at my school and surprisingly more 6th, 7th, and 8th graders attended. Most of these students ended up writing on competition day! During these workshops, students learnt about characters, settings, plots, and solutions and how to weave all these aspects together into one story.
The most difficult aspect was explaining the differences between a story and an essay. When I was explaining that these stories can be fun, entertaining, and humorous they all had the same expressions on their faces screaming, “But that’s not what we’ve been taught!”
Competition Day
Write On in Arvaikheer was held on February 10th at the Children Center with 75 students attending. There was an equal amount of young and older students. From 9 AM to 2:30 PM, I sat in the Children Center registering students and supervising the event. It got chaotic in the morning but ebbed off in the afternoon.
Once the last 12th grader left, PCVs met at Friend’s Café to score all the stories. Thankfully there were six of us to get the job done sooner.
Awards
It was cute when I sent congratulations text messages to all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners telling them to come back to the children center on February 11th for certificates and medals. Responses I got were: “Wow!…Thank you!…How exciting!” My favorite was a student, who after winning first place for his grade, happily said, “I never win anything!”
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All seven 1st place winning stories will now precede to the national level in March.
Now that I’m back in Mongolia, I’m still in disbelief that I’ve set foot in Japan. Kyoto nonetheless. It doesn’t feel as if the trip happened. I undertook a solo trip to Japan for 9 days. Some people weren’t surprised and others said: “Alone?!?!” “Aren’t you scared?!!?!”
No.
Before my departure, I experienced a hiccup with my flights. The glee I woke up with on Christmas morning evaporated when I checked my emails and saw one from Expedia stating one of my flights had been canceled. I had to restrain myself as I spoke with someone from Expedia (unsuccessful) and a copious amount of phone calls to Mongolian Airlines (unsuccessful; numbers weren’t working). I finally had to call our Peace Corps Director who patched me over to our administrative assistant. She knew a number and had my itinerary changed, confirmed, and sent to me. A great wave of relief. I was finally flying to Japan.
I knew since middle school I wanted to go to Japan. Flash forward 13 years later. It’s 7 AM and I find myself lounging on the second floor in a near-empty Chinggis Khan Airport with my backpack. I flew UB – Seoul – Osaka. I felt buoyant as the plane was flying over the ocean and islands. From Osaka, I had to take a 90-minute train ride from Kansai Airport to Kyoto Station and then the subway. My airbnb was in a neighborhood off of the Kitauji stop.
Kita Ku
Kyoto is unbelievable. Houses are a combination of modern and traditional. They are narrow at the front and sit so close to each other to almost be touching. The streets are clean and taper down in residential areas.
My airbnb was in Kita Ku. It was a beautiful district of Kyoto! It’s not a crowded area and I gained a great perception of a Japanese locality and every-day local life. My airbnb was tiny but a comfortable apartment. My bed was incredibly soft. Not like my bed in Mongolia where I sleep on top of a piece of concrete and a sleeping bag. There was also a kitchen, bathroom, a washing machine, and a balcony. I was also provided with a pocket wifi. It was a lifesaver.
At the first restaurant I went to for lunch called Kyoto Kairikiya, I was the only obvious foreigner sitting at a long counter; looking at a ramen menu as the sounds of slurps, clicking chopsticks, and the host calling out “Arigatou gozaimasu,” every time someone left, filled my ears.
In order to visit main sites, I rode the subway back and forth from Kyoto Station.
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Arashiyama
From Kyoto Station, I rode bus 28 to Arashiyama where the Bamboo Grove, a monkey park, Jojakko-Ji and more shrines are. If you walk the main street further up, you’ll arrive at the residential areas with innumerous hidden gems separated from the main tourist area. I had the most fun strolling these streets. Lots of small shrines, cafes, and cute houses.
Arashiyama’s Bamboo Grove was a lot smaller than I thought. It’s just a short path that takes you in a circle around the bamboo grove. Afterwards, I found Jojakko-Ji shrine where the trees and the moss were a heavenly shade of bright green. Autumn colors were also still prevalent despite it being January. I’ve been deprived of so much color in my Mongolian town that it was illuminating. Climbing the stone steps took me to the monk’s quarters and the Tahoto Pagoda where there’s a panorama view of all of Arashiyama. I did try to visit the monkey park but was an hour to late. Instead, I walked a road with the mountains on my right and the river stretching alongside my left.
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Fishimi Inari-taisha and Gion
Unintentionally, I ended up visiting two of the most famous sites from one of my favorite movies and books, “Memoirs of a Geisha.” Upon arrival at Fishimi Inari-taisha, the sky was gray and cloudy with the occasional sprinkle but this type of weather only enhanced the bright red tori path weaving up Mount Inari.
Kyoto, Japan
There are a total of 10,000 tori gates. The path is crowded with people at the beginning but thins out the farther up the mountain you walk. There are more trails that divert from the main one leading to smaller shrines and fox statues draped in red. The foxes are the messangers for the God Inari.
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After sampling some of the street food – rice cakes followed by a nice and salty fish on a stick – I took the train to Gion, the once-famed Geisha district. It’s extraordinary rare to spot a geisha but you will see plenty of young men and women wearing rented kimonos. A historic tradition that continues today due to young Japanese girls continuing to take interest in all that entails in being a geisha: art, dancing, the clothing and makeup, hosting, maintaining poise, tea pouring, and music. However, some will quit because of separation from family and having to abstain from much of modern life and technology.
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I walked up and down narrow roads passing by what were once geisha establishments. Untouched and preserved from the wear of time. As the pavement sloped upwards, I came across a black pagoda where girls holding their selfie sticks and wearing kimonos took selfies together. There were many tourist shops and eateries but they were all replicas of each other, selling the same products and food.
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It got dark in Japan by 5:30. As the bus back to Kita-Ku crossed the bridge away from Gion district you will come across the shopping district. A brightly lit H&M sign illuminating red next to a Zara was a sight for sore eyes.
Shrines, shrines, shrines
Kyoto has thousands of temples and shrines with over a million throughout the rest of Japan. I visited Rokuon-Ji and Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Rojuon-ji, notably known as the Golden Pavillion, sits in the middle of a small lake. The temple is gilded in gold-leaf with a phoenix statue perched on top. The gold and surrounding greenery reflected into the lake creating a mirage of blue, black, yellow, and green. Past the temple is a trail taking you to more sacred spots.
At Kiyomizu-dera the veranda is under renovation but you can still take some good shots alongside the trails without construction interfering.
At these temples and shrines people will wait in long lines to ladle up sacred water to wash their hands in or to swill in their mouths. There are also many tokens to buy for yourself, family, or friends. Tokens symbolizing love, happiness, good luck, having an easy childbirth, plus more.
An unexpected hike
It took a long time but I finally found the bus to Daigoji Temple. I had to find Keihan Hotel where the Yamashina Express stops. I was the only one on this bus.
There are three parts to the temple grounds. First, there’s Sanboin Garden. You can walk around inside an old home. Simplistic and airy with open windows with views of the gardens and ponds.
Next is the main temple complex area where Daigoji Temple sits perched on the edge of a pond with an orange bridge arching over the water. Tranquil, calm, pleasant, soothing, and harmonious. There were scarcely any other people to disrupt my view.
When I walked past the temple, I unexpectedly found myself climbing a steep rocky trail snaking up the mountain. No reasons whatsoever and grateful I was wearing the right shoes, I found myself half way up a forested mountain. My body gets affected by the poor air quality in Mongolia but I felt so sprightly as I trekked upwards. Finally there’s a museum but when I came back down the mountain I was too tired to see it.
Himeji Castle
It decided to rain when I boarded the train to Himeji and it didn’t stop. Of course I didn’t have an umbrella and had to buy one at Himeji’s train station. The owner of my airbnb will appreciate a second umbrella after I leave.
It takes 90 minutes by train from Kyoto to Himeji.
The main attraction at Himeji is Himeji Castle, one of Japan’s three premier castles and the largest. Five-floors with a white façade, the castle survived the bombings of World War II, while the rest of Himeji was flattened, and an earthquake in 1995.
I was able to explore inside the castle keep, the west bailey, and the castle grounds.
Himeji also has a large thrift-shop mall.
As a day trip, I highly recommend visiting Himeji.
Walking Kyoto
The food I ate in Japan ranged from ramen, rice cakes, sushi, sashimi (cheap if bought from a supermarket), Italian food at Saizeriya Kyoto Shichiku, matcha ice cream, and even crepes from Creperie Garcon near Gion.
Shirakawa-minami Dori is one of Kyoto’s most beautiful streets. Most of the buildings have been preserved with bridges draping over the canal. What I really appreciate about Kyoto are its quiet spots amidst the hustle and bustle of city life, like little pockets you can hide inside for a moment before stepping back in to the real world.
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In the middle of Kyoto Imperial Park is the Imperial Palace. Once the residence of Japan’s imperial family before the capital was moved to Tokyo. Admittance is free but unfortunately two of the buildings were closed due to renovations.
Osaka and Nara
Osaka, Japan’s second largest city, is an hours train ride from Kyoto.
First, I have to mention how often I got lost in train stations. Train stations are huge, clean, and have countless restaurants and cafes, massive shopping malls (Kyoto Station’s shopping mall is calling The Cube), and different sections for what kind of train you need – local, subway, or national. I spent a large chunk of time wandering around aimlessly. It was easy to get distracted. Now back to Osaka…
I took a train to Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade, a shopping area in the Minami (Namba) neighborhood. It’s a massive shopping spot with a combination of small stores and prominent, international stores intermingled together. I didn’t have anything in mind to buy but stopped occasionally when a store looked intriguing. It’s easy to spend a fortune in Japan.
Osaka has one of the largest aquariums in the world, Osaka castle, and a Universal Studios but I left the bustling crowd of shoppers behind for the roads selling street food and the solitary, quiet streets. So many nice houses and apartments!
I spent my last day in Japan hanging with the deer in Nara. Nara is famous for its deer. At Nara Park, they approach people hoping to be fed. They are curious, cute, and docile animals. Yet I passed by people screaming as they were feeding the deer. You would think they were feeding lions. Nara Park is home not only to the deer but also temples and shrines, most notably Todaji Temple where there’s a giant Buddha. Just like the fox statues at Fishimi Inari-taisha, the deer are considered in Shinto to be messengers for the gods. Consequently, Nara’s 1,200 deer have become a national treasure.
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Back to Mongolia
A cab to take me to Kyoto Station arrived at 5 AM.
I woke up at 5:10.
I was out the door in two minutes.
I had to make the 5:45 train to Kansai Airport and was on it two-minutes before departure. 5,000 yen was enough to pay for the cab and my train tickets. I spent the 90 minute train ride rearranging my bag and brushing my teeth, washing my face, and applying makeup in a small alcove covered by a curtain.
Even in winter, Japan is beautiful. Japan is an efficient and organized country with polite people at every corner. People were always saying thank you and bowing. Language was never a problem. Everyone I met spoke English or understood English. I would go back to Japan in a heartbeat.
Peace Corps Mongolia 