Irish Cream

“Hawarya?” Says Liam Fahey, the famous marketing guru from Babsons College in Boston. Almost as famous as his books on marketing are his thick Irish accent and deadpan Irish humour. “A week in Oireland? Dat’s aboot roy ta go arownd,” he opines. And then proceeds to mark for me on the map of Ireland, the places I should go to, the driving route, night stay options, restaurants to eat in and sights to see. He even refers to us a distant relative in Dungarvan who runs a bed-and-gourmet-breakfast.

Thus armed with local knowledge we land in Dublin on a bright and sunny day and in no time are zipping along to Dungarvan in Waterford county. Yes, the same one of the famous Waterford crystal – and shops here are full of some delectable stemware.  Brian Wickham, the aforementioned relative receives us warmly at Cairbre House and brings us to our room – it is actually a suite – with views of the Colligan River and a lovely garden. We happily review our pictures of the Rock of Cashel that we visited en route, before stepping out for a walking tour of the Dungarvan harbor.

The promised gourmet breakfast lives up to expectation. The quality of potatoes in Ireland is outstanding, and I must confess I ordered them at every opportunity. Every restaurant or bar we ate in throughout our stay in Ireland had several vegetarian options, clearly marked, yes even the ones on the harbor in coastal fishing towns such as Kinsale and Dingle that we subsequently visit.

Ireland has had a difficult history, this most people know. The hardships made a lot of Irish emigrate, with the result that almost 20% of the American population may be of Irish descent. President Kennedy, actors Harrison Ford and Gene Kelly, the intrepid explorer Neil Armstrong, industrialist Henry Ford and Margaret Mitchell, author of the famous epic Gone with the Wind all had Irish ancestry in common. More than twenty American presidents claim Irish ancestry to some degree! Here in Ireland, though, the Irish people are modest and self-effacing (boasting is extremely bad form, even when you are drunk). Talking of drunk, the Irish apparently drink more, on average, than any other nationality in Europe. Consequently, depression rates are high, and the financial meltdown of 2008 hasn’t helped. Ireland’s banking system collapsed and the country officially entered recession, the first European country to do so. The empty shell of the now-disgraced Anglo-Irish bank building stands on the banks of the river Liffey in Dublin, not far from the harp-shaped bridge, a stark reminder of the crisis.

Despite their troubles, the Irish are the friendliest of all peoples in Europe. They welcome you into their famous pubs, yes even with a seven-year old child in tow unless it is late in the evening. There is plenty of food and music and all kinds of drinks to drink, if you want to look at something other than Guinness. People will lean across and talk to you and join you at your table and order for you. If that happens, remember to place a return order for them, before their drink runs out. That’s the only decent way to drink in a friendly Irish pub, where when you first walk in you could be forgiven for thinking there is large private party going on, till you mingle and figure out it is just a lot of strangers pubbing together.

One item on my bucket list is checked off this trip – staying in an Irish castle. The one we find is in scenic Connemara – the Ballynahinch castle that was once owned by the famous cricketer Ranji, the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar. They have rooms dedicated to his memory and several pictures of him on the walls, but the real charmer is the walk around the estate along the stream, and you could even go trout fishing to the very spot that was Ranji’s favourite, if you ask nicely, of course.

The Irish are very proud of their literary tradition. The Irish language is a rich, thriving one and like most European countries that value their language as the essence of their culture, Ireland gives pride of place to the Irish Gaelic tongue. All tourist sites have descriptions in both Irish and English, so do the tourist brochures. On highways too, all names, information and instructions are signposted in both languages.  This rich linguistic heritage shows in strength in English writing as well – who hasn’t heard of James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, W B Yeats and Jonathan Swift?

Trinity College in Dublin has a stunning library – a long room of wooden arches where your jaw will drop when you enter. Very well-informed and entertaining students offer a guided tour of this historic university. The university also displays the ancient Book of Kells – a fabulously illustrated book of Gospels – that is more than 1200 years old. Not far from Trinity College is the City Hall, worth a visit, and further afoot, the very impressive St Patrick’s cathedral.

St Patrick brought the Catholic faith to Ireland, picking up a three-leaved sprig of the Shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Since then the Shamrock has been the national symbol of Ireland and St Patrick its patron saint, and no matter where in the world the Irish or their descendants may be, on March 17^th they will have a rollicking time feasting, parading and making merry for it is St Patrick ’s Day.

The scenic, natural beauty of Ireland has much to visit and admire, and travel guides have plenty of recommendations – a cruise to the spectacular Cliffs of Moher, a day trip through the Gap of Dunloe, a drive around the Ring of Kerry – and all of them are definitely worth the effort. What stays with me, though, is the view from my room at the Lake Hotel in Killarney - a small castle overlooking the Muckross lake, a moody sky and a colour of green that you’ve only seen on the Irish flag. 

Arigato Japan

The Yamanote Line. Murakami. Sushi. Ginza. Fujiyama. The Japanese Garden. The Geisha. Kabuki Theatre. Miso soup. Kimono. The Shinkansen bullet train. Mitsubishi. Toyota. The Kamikaze warriors. Harakiri. Sumo wrestling. The Sony Walkman. And now – the Nobita of my daughter’s favourite cartoon series! The Japan of popular imagination is a world of legend, a tale of fantastic proportions, a story of nationalism, hard work and courage. In the first impression, however, two things stand out:  how stylishly well-dressed everyone is. And, how clean everything is.

Slowly, other impressions start to add up. The unfailing politeness, courtesy and concern for others – no one talks on the phone in the metro, for example. Then, not a single person – not one Japanese that I see – is fat. I have to admit I didn’t go to a sumo wrestling match, though!  Then again – all – yes, all - women carry Louis Vuitton. You also notice how small private spaces are. Hotel rooms in Tokyo – whether in the Marriot, a global chain, or in ANA, named after Japan’s famous airline – are all smaller, on average, than those in any other city in the world. You notice too, how seamlessly the traditional integrates with the modern. Unlike Rome, Tokyo does not wear its ruins like a badge. Indeed, Tokyo’s centuries-old palaces and temples are living, breathing spaces, as much a part of modern Tokyo as the dizzying heights of skyscrapers. And then, over time, the strongest impression begins to form – the tremendous energy of the city, its electric vibe, a sea of humanity poised on the cutting edge of design, pulsating, throbbing and pushing the boundaries.  Indeed, Japan understands “civilization” like no other country in the world, not even Germany. Order, and orderliness, and efficiency and thoughtfulness – the fundamental traits required for mass human cohabitation – come closer to perfection in Japan than anywhere else in the world.

We arrive in Tokyo on a balmy April morning, at the peak of cherry blossom.  The husband is here on a mission – to acquire some Nikon lenses for his camera that, apparently, are hard to come by or are exorbitantly priced elsewhere. He gives the famed Akihabara – that mecca of gizmo-shoppers - a miss, and also the famous outlets in Shinjuku and Ginza. He finds instead, a camera shop in a narrow lane (think of Katra Neel or Katra Nawab in Chandni Chowk) in a non-touristy area of Tokyo. In that shop he spends half a day browsing, testing, clicking, discussing in broken but perfectly clear English, and finally leaves with his bag of goodies clutched close to his chest and a wide grin plastered on his face. That evening we celebrate (because he is in a good mood), by eating in a restaurant high up in the Mori Tower in Roppongi, that famous district of the swinging nightlife, from where the view of the Tokyo night is to die for.

Many Japanese restaurants display their dishes in showcases – so you not just read the menu before entering, you also window-shop your dinner. The ingredients are the freshest and chopsticks are always disposable – anything else would probably not be acceptable to the Japanese sense of hygiene. There is a long list of dos and don’ts if you want to comply with table manners – for example never cross your chopsticks and don’t stick them vertically into rice – both have something to do with death and funerals.

Our travels in Japan have taken us to other places too – Kyoto and Nagoya, for instance, two cities very different from each other in spirit and character. Kyoto is the ancient, traditional city of palaces and temples. Nagoya too has a palace, but is more famous as the Toyota city. Work brings me to Nagoya. While there, every morning when I get into the metro train to go to the office, a white-gloved man pushes – literally pushes – everyone inside the coach, so that he can make room for more people. All passengers are polite at all times, and there is hardly any sense of violation of personal space even though three people are pressing into you. How do they do it?

Kyoto seems more relaxed, more laidback, and as many of us discovered during our Prime Minister’s recent visit there, more traditional. I would strongly recommend, however, a visit to the city of Nara, a UNESCO world heritage site, to see a really traditional Japanese city. Nara has an imperial palace, several Buddhist and Shinto temples, a museum, gardens and even a forest and a visit there would mean a day-well-spent. The husband brought back owl-statues as souvenirs from there.

I realized a childhood dream in Japan – that of travelling in the bullet train. Once the initial excitement of zipping down in the fabled Shinkansen settles down, you begin to notice other things – how every train that arrives on the platform stops at the exact same spot – down to an inch, how the ticket checker lady bows to the entire coach before moving on the next, and of course the famous mountain Fujiyama, of which we get splendid views from the train. A train ride from Tokyo to Osaka or Nagoya is a great way to see the sacred volcano if your time in Japan is short.

We have all heard of Italian kitchens and German appliances – but an interesting discovery I made on one of my work-trips to Japan was that Japanese kitchens are the most advanced and better-designed than anywhere else in the world. In Shinjuku, there are streets lined with “Kitchen OEMs” – in India we call them suppliers of modular kitchens. There are floors upon floors of built-up kitchen displays. The shelf fittings, cabinet design and attention to detail are in a different league altogether.

Likewise for Japanese toilets. The humble potty has been exalted to an engineering marvel. The seat itself has a built-in warmer so your behind isn’t discomfited on cold winter mornings when you first park yourself. There are multiple jet options that can be set at variable temperatures. A Japanese toilet with a warm seat and warm water is a luxury that, at the expense of sounding gross, I must admit beats many others!