vaga #1/29 hotels "c"

PART XXIX

Kayosan, Japan, January 2018

As per the previous vaga a and b hotels, I have developed over time a vast experience and have come to many "considerations" like those already named and explained. "Mini markets", open 24/7 next to the house, "Curtains" open your eyes and see ugliness, "Plugs" if there is one and at a useless height is absolutely a crucial issue, “ lightbulbs", if there is one it does not help me to read and finding the night switches is a random game, "Balcony" to dry clothes, "Pillows" comfortable and "Views" which sometimes are paid dearly for. Now I end with my "considerations" although each one has different weight to give it its suns as a score.

"The night stands." Night stands are the first thing I look for in the room when taking one, from there, one can organise oneself. They are important to put the phone, batteries, books, glasses, cigarettes, lighter, glass, watch, brush, water, the essential box of medications, my little lamp that I carry with me, etc ... if there is not one it has to all go on the floor, but it is uncomfortable for more than three days and not easy at night without light to get out of bed to go to the bathroom and not knock over the water glass, you wet your book and a few other accidents are happened to you. In the part of the bed that I have left over is the computer, the backpack and clothes, towels, and it is a disaster in the morning because I kick everything off when sleeping. Chairs are an excellent solution and do their job, but sometimes there is no chair. The most spectacular night stand was in Kuching, Indonesia with Peter, a night stand that controlled the TV, the air conditioning, the lights even those in the bathroom.

Night Stand; the super technological, my need of a night stand (a little bathroom, kitchen, library, pantry), in the absence of one ion bed or floor and my dreams full of books.

The "home" I hope I won't return to soon, but I know I have to come back one day and stay in it because it would be my last "home". A memorable "home" experience and one that has absolutely none of the "considerations". It was my arrival in Hanoi, Vietnam, still clumsy in this search for "home" and it was my first stop in Southeast Asia, I arrived from Tokyo to Hanoi at 2 am, (cheap night flight) and with a booking in a hotel at the airport for arrival. In the terminal there was no hotel anywhere, but there was another terminal further away, so I took a taxi to the hotel, in or near the airport grounds, the taxi driver, a young boy, very friendly had no idea that there was a hotel in the airport, asked who knew about it and nobody knew anything. After 25 minutes of going around in a taxi and asking they told us that there was something in the other terminal, they explained it to me, but I did not understand, -well take me there, I told the taxi driver- I just need to deposit my bones and forget about the booking (another mistake of mine-. They left me in the other terminal and asked for something with two consonants, such as SJ, PF, VM, nor did I memorise them, I walked around inside the terminal, it was empty, apart from some characters sleeping on the floor, until I found a hostess who surely spoke English, she took me to the front desk, -it is here- she told me. There was a girl sleeping behind the desk. I didn't understand, the girl got up and opened a door for me. That I understood, inside there was a very narrow bed. Between my impression and exhaustion, exhaustion surpassed impression. I accepted that there was no place for the suitcase, I had to put it on the bed at my feet and curled up. A room or enclosure 1.30m’s wide x 2.50 long and 1.50 high, I had to stoop to enter, I could not stand. It was literally a bed stuffed into a cubicle. The price was given to me for 5 hours, at 7 am I had to leave, if you stayed longer you paid more, and it was not cheap, I told her to wake me up on time. Maybe I set an alarm, but with the extreme exhaustion of the previous day maybe I wouldn't hear it. Leaving Japan was tremendous, I had problems at the airport, they called me over a loudspeaker and I went to my boarding gate immediately, a policeman was waiting for me and stopped me and I could not move until he let me, I had no idea why, nor did they explain anything to me, I asked the hostess at the desk what happened, no response, in the end after several attempts and insistence I found out the information they had found several explosive materials in my suitcase. Plop !!,normally I wouldn't have worried, however, I had bought that suitcase three days before, maybe I was coming around with something purposely hidden, first time I used it and had thrown away the ticket to justify its purchase. The plane was all on boarded waiting for me and me with a policeman glued to my side. Half an hour after this they old me that everything was fine and that I could board, and the reason was 3 lighters that of course were mine, I told him that I had never been arrested for carrying a lighter in my suitcase, not even the one I carry in my backpack inside the plane ... "it is the Japanese policy " they answered me. More connections, first foot in Asia, with zero experience in moving, not finding the hotel's definite booking already at 3 am I was shattered. .. I deposited my bones, and I was able to sleep like a log and that's why I don't want to go back to that "home" so soon because it would be the last.... "it was like being inside a coffin"

A Buddhist "monastery home", a wonder, refined, traditional in Kayosan, Japan, was a lodging within a Buddhist monastery, few monasteries open their doors to guests, it is a way to finance themselves and in turn spread their beliefs. Located in the mountains, in a Buddhist village only for monks, there are more than a hundred monasteries and as many temples and there is no other accommodation option, you would have to get off by bus for an hour to the first village. That "home" full of mysticism (and the town), beauty, recollection, silence and above all feels sophisticated. Outside it was snowy, it has a large "Zen" garden made of dark grey pebbles, every detail impeccable. I was with Sofia, my daughter, our bedroom was a traditional Japanese room with beds on the floor, a low table with cushions and a foot warmer under the table where tea is taken. They give you a kimono as a robe and orange clothes, (jacket and pants) with that on, you can participate in certain prayers inside the monastery. I participated in the prayers with the monks at 5:30 am, it was hallucinating, by itself and even more the mantras were totally familiar to me, I had participated in a Buddhist group in Chile for a while and here those mantras were repeated.... what an impression.... Then breakfast all together with their rites and order to be served and eat in silence, Sofia never had breakfast, it was at 6:30 am. During this stay with Sofia we killed ourselves with laughter (only in the room) for the peculiarities and oddities of the home never seen before , which I show below

"The bathrooms": of this home are the "traditional Japanese" ones. Outside the room, is an area to wash your hands, teeth and hair that you wash with pots, (I saw that they did), this is a common area, open, at the end of the corridor, and you are warned before, so as not to give you a surprise.

"the bath slippers", since you never enter the homes with shoes on there are the "slippers", but in this and other traditional "homes" there are many slippers, and you have to change inside the house different ones to go to the toilet, another to go to the "common bathroom", another for the dining room or kitchen, sometimes there are four different slippers inside a house. There are wooden, plastic, canvas, I was confused I put the ones for the dining room and I went to the room without changing them and so ... I had to concentrate so much that I started taking pictures of it.... a joke.... and the original is the wooden ones !!!

"The Toilets.": then there is an area of "toilets" and different slippers to enter. I already had fits of laughter for the Japanese toilets that had previously seen, but those of this "monastery house" were the most spectacular. There was a manual in Japanese and English on the arm on the side of the toilet with instructions for its use...... what better use than to evacuate your basic needs soon and done I see no more point in anything else. NOPE the Japanese have developed the "toilet that brings pleasure". The manuals are not simple to understand and when you press buttons, jets of water come out and according to the button is the direction that it comes out, in some you can ask for the temperature of the water of the jet ..... hahaha... other buttons I never understood.... a disaster, I never ever got it right, pure laughter and going out with the wet arse on all sides.... at the end of my time in Japan I never used them or played with the buttons any more, I went back to the familiar and safe toilet paper... There are those with the seat that are either padded or directly warmed..... Once in another place that I walked to I was very cold, and I got to the bathroom to pee and sitting on the warm toilet seat was a pleasant surprise I had a freezing bum and I stayed an extra time to reheat that part of the body. hahahaha. It is a frequent topic of conversation among tourists, the "toilets" and no one understands the manual and it all causes a lot of laughter. There is also the most opposite "original Japanese toilet" notice that they put on the outside door, and it is plain and simple, a hole in the ground where for women it is more complicated, obvious that it is Japan and they are impeccable, elegant and well-designed, but a hole.

There are no showers in Japanese bathrooms. They are the "Common or Public Baths". the monastery opens between 3 and 5 pm there are some for men and others for women. Plop!! First time a "community bath" which means a warm pool, and it is the only way to wash your body. I could go a couple of days without bathing without any problems, but curiosity ate away at me about how the system works. I looked into the enclosure, there was no one, well it is my time, and I got into the swimsuit right into the water, warm, a jacuzzi, without jets. Then came two naked Japanese women in their 40s, they hosed themselves down outside and washed their bodies, there are many pots and buckets that are used there is also soap, they rinsed and got into the water and did not stop talking. Being on the small island of "Naoshina" and far away in the basic hostel where there were no showers, showers are implemented for foreigners, although today they are common in modern constructions, only in remote villages do you find them or if you opt for traditional Japanese accommodation. In the hamlet there was a "public bath" where one could go to bathe. I had enough time in the afternoons since it was dark at 4 pm, it was January, in that hamlet of 6 blocks and 4 degrees of temperature. I went the first day, it was two blocks away and little is paid, I went more out of curiosity, for the cold and kill time more than for personal hygiene. In the dressing room putting on my swimsuit I saw a sign that you can not wear a swimsuit, there I knew that in any of the public baths. The first of the monastery I entered when there was no one and no sign and I didn't know it. Here Pufff swallowed saliva, hummmm strip ? it is not comfortable for me, and I did not feel good about my body with extra kilos ..... it cost me to overcome THE WORD SHYNESS, I gave myself a few minutes, I breathed, I encouraged myself and get rid of one of the bathing suit and shyness to leave them both in the locker of the dressing room. Sofia, she was not on the island with me, I can't imagine, neither she nor I, both naked together, only the idea stirred me, because the shyness here is unwavering on both sides. I entered the rather large and bright room with a large tub and got into the water. There were 3 young Japanese women talking, when I got into the tub they looked at me with tremendous eyes, from sideways to round, well I said, -it is rare to see a foreigner in a public bath of a remote hamlet-. Then an old woman of about 80 years old came in, washed with the hose outside,, soaps, rinsed, a whole order and rite and got into the pool, then another old lady entersed and the same rite and it dawned on me. You have to wash before entering the water, ....obvious.... and that's why the round eyes of the first women. I had screwed up, the first, the swimsuit, the second, I did not clean myself before getting into the water, or when I got out. !! hahaha!!! I went every day with the routine learned and the SHYNESS overcome. The community bathrooms are the social centres, there is a lot of conversation, a meeting point for families, friends. That bathroom was special because it was designed by a well-known artist, the island is dedicated to modern art with museums, workshops and my reason to be there. The exterior design of the place is rare nothing special, different, in short, but what was the theme of the design of the tiles of the tub, was rather a pool of 5 x 8 m. I was speechless, a way of saying, because who to talk to... pure pornography..... in that town !!!, with those old ,old ladies...... high-calibre pornography....... !!!! it is called "erotic art", very refined in its colours and drawings, only very unexpected. You can not take photos obviously and the ones below are of the monastery to the paparazzi,

After the observations and learnings of the use of Japanese toilets and public baths, I returned to the monastery. A mystical home, it is not cosy, it is cold and perfect where everyone moves in silence, eating is done in silence, it is a requirement of the stay. I would have liked to stay longer, (a little longer since it was very expensive) but I was travelling with her, and we had a short time as she returned to San Francisco, where she lived. In this home it was to be the closest thing to heaven.

I tell about these two "homes" on purpose in this order - it is not chronological, only a few weeks apart.

GOING FROM BEING INSIDE THE COFFIN TO THEN BEING CLOSE TO HEAVEN

The "Muslim home" of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with Peter in a conservative Muslim neighbourhood and we stayed in a Muslim home for several days, we did it by booking, the details of the house and its habits we do not know, we came from Nepal, and we had to be near the Embassy of Brunei to get a visa for that country, and the process takes more than 3 days. It was another impact, in the room with the Quran on the table, a green arrow on the ceiling pointing towards Mecca and a carpet and prayer clothes. Outside was a prayer room for daily prayers which is five times a day. All the women on staff dressed in veils covering part of the face. The sullen treatment was as nowhere I had experienced before, they were discriminatory, if they were attending you at reception and a Muslim enters they leave you and attend to them, no good day or thanks they don’t answer you. There was a notice stuck outside the elevator that it is forbidden to make fun of the staff. The neighbourhood was the same, eat or buy something, you are given the sullen treatment, zero service and zero beer in blocks. Another “home” that I would not return to.

“The dorm": These I can not call "homes" and they are rooms with several beds, and you can’t choose who will be next to you, they are very common because they are cheap for the "backpacker" that does not include me in the category, Yes I carry a backpack and travel, but my budget is somewhat better than that of the young people of 20 years. I hadn't been in one for about 35 years which was in New York, but at that age and with a budget corresponding to that age, it's welcome, however, I wasn't entirely comfortable even in my 20s. In Colombo, Sri Lanka where almost everything was bad and as I’ve already reported, a cheap country, but at the time of the tourist voice everything goes up by 200%, I had had a bad experience that I already related the first night when I arrived in Colombo, and I was already fed up. First thing in the morning I left that horrible hotel on the first night and walked through the tourist district in search of something decent at least to improve my mood, I saw a beautiful, modern, Nordic European "look", IKEA type furniture, all chic and sophisticated, I loved it. When I asked about the price of the room it turned out to be very expensive, but the receptionist saw my face exhausted, rather moody, and he offered me a room that was just finished being repaired and all the furniture had not yet arrived, that's why it was not offered, they showed it to me, a luxury, not luxurious, but simple, tasteful, they gave me a reasonable price and happy, I stayed there, I asked for a night stand and I didn't need more than that. When I returned to Colombo after 5 weeks of touring the country, I went straight to the hotel, there was no room like the previous one, and they offered me a "dorm", I went to see it because I was tired of Sri Lanka, I counted the hours to leave the country, and I wanted to be at least comfortable and that hotel was the top. Three bunk beds, 6 people seemed impeccable, tidy, with tremendous white linen, each bed with a light and plugs incorporated into the headboard, a curtain to close around your bed and stay in privacy, under the bed were drawers with keys to leave your things, which was mixed, men and women, that made me uneasy.... In the end I took it. I did everything wrong, during the night my roommates began to arrive, young people, I did not look at them, I lay on my bed fiddling with papers, money ,maps, it was time to sleep I put a film on my pc with headphones, I had never used headphones with the pc, I had not been in those situations of sharing a room. It was already all dark and the room was full after a while a woman opened the curtain and asked me to put on the headphones plop,!! I had them on, but not well-connected ..... Sorry... later another character opened the curtain on me and asked me to please turn over because my snoring didn't let him sleep... Sorry..... I was embarrassed to look at their faces the next day, I waited for them to leave I was also an old woman who was twice their age and not comfortable for them to change clothes in front of an old lady, etc ... , thank goodness the neighbours changed rooms every day, and nervous sleep again, I know about the headphones, but what do I do about the snoring. The third day I left at dawn towards Nepal, I had to get up at 5:30 poof!! how to do it without making a noise, even if I left the backpack ready like that I couldn’t but make a noise, obviously I ended up waking everyone up.... Sorry again....

I ended up in another in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, it was the result of absolutely when all the conditions that occurred were adverse and already at 22:00 pm, tired of a trip with a combination of two buses, more than 12 hours of travel and had crossed almost half of the country. The driver of the tuk tuk and without more to do with me for the sum of unexpected adversities, told me that he knew of a "backpacker" place, it was a salvation, and I was grateful. This time with experience, when I pulled my curtain in the morning since I had arrived at about 11 o'clock at night, and they had not yet seen me, I felt that 3 pairs of eyes fell on me, and they could not hide their expressions. An old lady sleeping here!!

During the Covid stay in Thailand, I came to the best combination since there are no tourists and I needed to be by force majeure, (medical), on Koh Samui and Bangkok and because of the pandemic many hotels were closed, and I ended up on Koh Samui in one that offered me the "dorm" at an excellent price and left it private, meaning 6 beds for me and no one else, already knowing this and from a tip I did the same in Bangkok and came to DPM. I asked the Argentinian in charge who is from DPM, his response with a smile "De Puta Madre" (motherfucker), unforgettable !!.

photos of Colombo, a modern and top "dorm", but not for the "golden aged", a solution for a moment.

Dispatch from the island of Koh Tao, Thailand, is the place where I have been most during the pandemic. The longest "homestay", I will complete more than a year in this "home" with some getaways. The "considerations" in general I do not have a "mini market" it was far away, but I am saved by a diving school 50 meters away that has a restaurant still open for omelette and beer in case I need them, curtains I have 4 useless windows with louvres that do not open, the curtains are all of different designs, flowers, stripes, greens, purple and mosaic, but four windows, one on each wall, naturally illuminated the room all day like the bathroom, "Plugs", I have one, at the height of the light switch, meaning still 1.20 m off the floor, useless and getting an extension with multi plugs that work has taken me time and needed replacing many times. "Light bulbs", one, useless to read, my lamp with which I travel I connect it to the pc, it saves the day. "Pillows" I ended up buying one since it would be long stay. "A night stand" not near the bed, close to the wall, but it serves. Apart from the "considerations" lacking it is added that I do not have hot water - tropical climate and already accustomed -, nor air conditioning, - the pedestal fan that I carry with me to the balcony - nor refrigerator, I only have a kettle that it saves me and gives me as many coffees as I want in the day and I boil the water to drink. The staff has been laid off for lack of customers, I am normally the only one in the last 7 months. Housekeeping there is not, you have to go to ask for sheets, and you put them yourself, sheets that do not match and when they give me designs of "Donald Duck or worse", my eyes hurt, but the English of the owner is so insufficient that it is better to leave them than to try to explain that I need another design, the bathroom I do myself and fix the sink every so often when it breaks. The receptionist or the owner, a 100-year-old woman who does not speak English and the reception that has always been my point of contact, help and various consultations, does not exist and neither for all this it is not a "bargain", but quite reasonable. The reason for this "home" that looks so precarious and my long stay in it, is where it is located, its location on the beach, with the sand at my feet, the sea 10 steps away, with sunset from my balcony, a line of palm trees in between, I swim every day and I never lock the door, it is safe, this part of the beach is quiet, it is removed from the activity. 'The balcony' where I spent most the day, I write, I edit the photos, and it is my centre of social operations, I converse with anyone who passes by on the beach, with the fishermen who put their nets out, the walkers of "happy dogs" as they are here and obviously dry clothes on the balcony. I temporarily adopted a puppy, called it "Gringa" until its owners appeared. And the finishing touch was that I got an old grill, so I buy fresh fish on the dock and make "my barbecues" inviting acquaintances. Tourists arrive sporadically to these bungalows and are usually young people who have runaway from Bangkok in the festivities or now that they work "online" because of the latest outbreak of the virus. A few weeks ago a couple arrived who work from their balcony next to me, and we have become good neighbours. I have named myself the "mayor of the bungalows" and I present myself as such to the ones who arrive, I welcome them to the sunset on my balcony with a beer, and it always turns out to be the first of many dinners and shared walks later ... A few days ago I rented a bicycle from a Burmese friend that relieved me from walking a lot, I even have my own Asian broom, very useless.

the reception, with it, with little understanding, the pillow, I think the only thing I have bought if not to be first necessity, the "gringo" that steals my chair, with my Burmese friends who provided me with a grill, and I just incorporated a bicycle, more long-term friends that I receive at “home” for barbecues.