Hiroshima reborn - Japan

I remember when I was a few centimetres shorter and much younger about the possiblity our young family may be settled in Woomera much further northwest of my home city Adelaide in South Australia. Woomera is a militarily sesnsitive zone and at the time known as the Woomera Rocket Range.

I was too young to understand the science or effect of nuclear bombs but I knew that Woomera itself was very far from anywhere. What we all know now is the British government conducted several nuclear tests from the mid 1950’s through to the early 1960’s at Maralinga within the Woomera area. Maralinga was also sacred ground for the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara aboriginal tribes. There was also a major coverup of the long-term contamination effects on land and water as a result of these nuclear tests. I was shocked to learn that a Federal Government Minister who supported partnership plans with the British Government had gloated about the fact this alliance would produce a device to protect the 'free world' by harnessing the forces of nature. So Hiroshima and Nagasaki where just trivial events were they? The US government deliberately kept the ssouthern industrial cities off the carpet bombing list to see how they would be affected by the atomic bomb. Kokura was the target for the second bomb three days after Hiroshima but due to poor visibilty the bomber continued further south to Nagasaki the last major city on the mainland.

My hotel at Ground Zero

The Dome

The location for my four-day hotel stay in Hiroshima was a deliberate choice to be about 200 metres from ground zero where the atomic bomb exploded 600 metres above. On that fateful day of 6 August 1945 at 8:15am the Japanese nation experienced something more sinister than anything they could ever imagine and the world we knew changed forever. Early that morning 5000 young Hiroshima school girls were busy preparing fire breaks in the timber villages of the city centre districts. Firestorms had occurred in other cities where carpet bombing from US planes had devastated large urban areas.
The young girls had no idea would was coming as they dutifully laboured on for their country and that many of these young lives would end in an instant - simply vaporised with no trace.

The suffering for many Hiroshima citizens continued after that day from the horrible injuries. It's very sobering to visit the Peace Memorial Park, the infamous 'dome' and the Hiroshima Memorial Hall all within the park grounds. I spent over two hours in the Peace Memorial Hall which is free and focuses entirely on the 80000 victims that died that day and another 60000 within a year from injuries suffered that day. By the way here's the irony - a number of US prisoners of war in Hiroshima were also killed that day.

A must visit

Shrine for the school children that died

The Hiroshima of today is an incredibly important and vibrant new city on the beautiful bay only few hours train travel Southwest of Tokyo which reminded me of other bay cities like Melbourne, Wellington and Seattle.

Travelling north to Hiroshima

Pasta with chilli prawns

”Can anyone spare me some money for a train fare?”

As well as exploring Japanese cuisine I travelled by ferry to the large island of Itsukushima south of Hiroshima. Here you will find the magnificent 1400 year old Itsukushima Shintu Shrine complex after walking through the stunning little village of Miyajima. I also came for a quiet easy trek to the top of Mt Misen. The local deer were not shy in attempting to steal my lunch.

Spent a quiet reflective time for the people of Hiroshima, Nagisaki and all lives lost in wars

Taiwan - Is it China?

Taiwan's other title is the Republic of China (ROC) and mainland China's other title is the People’s Republic of China keyword being 'People'. Are you still with me? Taiwan and Hong Kong seem to be united cousins in a way because they both want to continue as sovereign nation’s in their own right free from China's absolute rule. Many centuries ago China was the most powerful nation on earth long before the British Empire's claim to fame. Taiwan's female President, a progressive democrat has stated the nation's wishes publicly for China to refrain from its renewed territorial ambitions. Some 'powerful' global nations do not recognise Taiwan in its own right which does not help the cause so its diplomacy aspires to a status-quo despite immense pressure from China.

Taiwan markets

Go girl!

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I can collect all the media intelligence I like but there's nothing like getting the real truth from the Taiwanese people here. There are and has been so many nations in history striving to achieve independence from a parent or occupying nation either be force or negotiation of the current political/economic arrangements. Other than the power agendas of dictatorial megalomaniacs who by the way appear to be mostly male. Don't we all just want a peaceful, happy and prosperous life?

There's an old beginning to a story “Once there were two Chinaman, now look how many” Oops! this is a travel blog - not an Anthropology lesson John. But as I travelled far from my Australian home I’ve realised how extraordinarily compressed but vibrant lives these various SE and NE Asian people live. We would be in constant panic mode in the organised chaos of these crowded intense spaces but the people here simply get on with living. A beep of the car horn in my country could become a 'road rage incident' but here it's a norm and simply means 'I'm here'. Unfortunately these developing nations have extraordinary high casualty statistics. I get many 'you ride my bike' offers but I kindly decline and walk most of the time because I like to and also to survive another day.

No it's not Mr Whippy the icecream man. It's your daily rubbish truck rush.

Wonderful railway network service 

English-speaking Taiwanese people are hard to find but the nation encourages English speaking where possible. Thank goodness for the language translator on my IPhone as I explored the amazing street food districts asking “fish?”, “chicken?” or “woof woof?”.

I think the women of these nations are extraordinary and the most hard working, strong spirited pillars of their communities. Watching them interact with each other and their entrepreneurial skills are impressive. They won't and should not be expected to be ordered around the home or kitchen in some domestic misery. I have family members and dear close friends who in my opinion have these wonderful attributes.

Fishing village NE Taiwan

But Taiwan is not just about high-tech industries and fabulous street food. A mountain range spine runs all the way from south to north essentially separating the east from the west almost to the northern capital of Taipei. Taiwan has a good train/bus network providing great options for either city, regional or national conservation park destinations. There are stunning forests and highland slopes supporting 'Barking deer’, the Formosan Macaque Monkey and many distinct and attractive birds. 

Many centuries ago the country was joined by a land bridge to mainland China but as the seas rose the island's inhabitants remained and the nation of Taiwan emerged. The early maritime explorers from southern Europe named this land as 'Formosa' meaning 'Beautiful Island'. My forest hikes were very relaxing as expected - surprisingly I did not see many Taiwanese walkers but the occasional backpacker. I finished my last four days in the northern capital Taipei and as usual established myself in the best location for food, public transport, cultural activities and an overdue movie session. Wow! I've never seen so much night light signs in one place - not even Hong Kong.

Cooking my own hotpot

Downtown Taipei district

'Made in Taiwan'

All I've ever known about Taiwan is that unlike most of my clothing that has 'Made in China' still hanging on to the seam a lot of my electronics and my current touring-around-the-globe bicycle were made in Taiwan. The bicycle albeit a New Zealand brand is of high quality, robust and well built. Its never let me down despite supporting 30 kg of gear for several years accumulating 25000 km on all types of terrain that some 4WDs would fear. Yes, even river crossings and snow. So while 'Ava' (there's a hint of the brand for you) earns a good rest I take the ‘backpack' option for this Asian trek. Not a true 'backpacker' because I'm now much older and I've become a bit precious about my privacy and space at the end of a long day so no more hostels for me.

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I decided to use the TRA slow train network through most of Taiwan so I can view the terrain at a comfortable pace and it's also much cheaper than the high speed rail THSR network. The TRA trains are not that slow in relative terms because they move along at quite a pace. The ticketing machines at the stations are quite antique but they work well and easy to use once you understand the system. As I travelled along the routes I noticed the urbanised/industrial mix of regional and city landscapes. My bicycle and number of laptops/computer systems would probably have come from these locations. As you will see in some of my short video clips the spaces for workers infrastructure and their living zones are not far from each other. It looks like a well planned almost 'cooperative' IT manufacturing system without being communist. The highly educated nation supported by a very flexible and hard working population has allowed Taiwan to prosper very quickly compared to China during the earlier decades. Japan established a strong investment strategy in Taiwan as labour costs were low but standards were high. If I had explored my 'Japanese' laptop closely it would likely have shown 'Made in Taiwan’ somewhere.

Prawn crackers machine

There is a price to pay for Taiwan's booming IT manufacturing economy where industrial zones are compacted into a small area because of its narrow north-south topology between the mountains and the sea. I noticed the smog haze was consistent in most cities and outlying areas. I had not really noticed the white surgical masks covering citizens mouths in Hong Kong but did see them being occasionally worn by Asian students in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne during the last decade. I asked the Taiwanese people why they wore them and the answers were 50 percent flu panic related or 50 percent pollution related. The masks have become a normal fixture and now a fashion accessory where it appears that 1 in 4 people are wearing them. It's more of a placebo for the 'pollution' group because it apparently does not prevent inhalation of harmful air pollutants or very fine dust particles. It does apparently work for the 'flu' group which started a long time ago due to outbreaks of transportable 'killer' diseases in Japan and more recently China.

The heavy cool air appears to weigh down the pollution. I noticed this as I walked along the city river in Tainan southwest Taiwan. It's coming from the usual sources like heavy industry, cars, buses and thousands of motor scooters. I’ve noticed in the developing SE Asian nations like Malaysia, Thailand and here that bicyles are rare and the motor scooter/motorbike is the dominate transport for most people than cannot afford a car. I spend a lot of my pedestrian journeys walking on the road because the motor scooters block my path because there's nowhere to put their scooter other than on the footpath.

Empty bicycle racks everywhere

Hong Kong - Is it China?

It's best that I travel solo because any company I have would probably become quickly annoyed with my insistent engagement with the locals. I want to learn about the life and culture of the people by spending time with them. I think you can remove a lot of the mystery that way as well as feasting on a Thai curry or French croissant (which actually originated in Austria). In a different life I’m sure I would have been aspiring to the role of a foreign correspondent but I won't get ahead of myself 😉

Here comes your Ebay item

There appears to be an overwhelming majority of Hong Kong citizens that do not want to live under Chinese rule post 2047 but over time that balance could move the other way as the migration of about 55,000 Chinese mainlanders per year continues. Slightly offsetting this number are several thousand Hong Kong natives receiving British National Overseas passports - the application criteria stipulates that they must have been born before July 1997. Carefully study netween the lines here.

Legacy of British rule still stands amongst the concrete and glass syndrome

I try not to generalise but after seeking out opinions from people of Hong Kong and mainland China I was surprised with the consistency from both sides. My abode in Kowloon was nestled in old areas amongst markets and third world laneways despite the glitzy plazas and modern streets just metres away. Quite a contrast but a perfect space to blend in and have some interesting personal dialogue. In a crowded coffee shop I met a Chinese-Malaysian who was interested in my journey and more than happy to translate for me while she practiced her english. Yes - of course I paid for her lunch and coffee and she knew a great vegetarian restaurant for later - yessss!

The Chinese mainlanders I spoke to think that Hong Kong people are spoilt, opinionated and despise the 1997 change to China's domain. They also said Hong Kong people are not interested in conforming to China’s will and are always complaining about theIr own Hong Kong Government. Sounds like democracy to me.

The Hong Kong natives see mainland Chinese as a nation of rude, money-hungry, uneducated and materialistic people. One academic I met on the train said “that due to China’s long legacy of a 'one baby per family' policy an army of ‘spoiled brats' has morphed into a burgeoning middle class on a scale never seen before in any nation - not even India”.

They also have issue where Chinese mainland women are giving birth in Hong Kong hospitals to gain permanent residency thereby directly competing for places paid for by tax-paying Hong Kong women....ouch!! One woman's dreams of a better life was soon shattered when all she and her new-born daughter got was a space in a shared apartment no bigger than a double bed. She probably would have been better off staying in regional mainland China than as another economic refugee in an already overcrowded megalopolis. Her other daughter and husband still remain in Nanchong

In 2008 China experienced an infant milk scam where thousands of Chinese infants became sick and some died due to tainted milk, China's apparently inadequate quality comtrol standards at the time appear to have allowed dubious practices to occur. Chinese milk producers were adding water to increase item volume and make more profit but this reduced the protein level so they added melamine crystals to increase the nitrogen levels thereby increasing the perceived protein levels to pass the production test. Hard to believe they would knowingly poison their own young. Most modern kitchen bench tops and cupboards are made of melamine.

Up to four families per apartment

After this, Australia's ‘safe green' reputation quickly became attractive to young Chinese parents. I can totally understand a parent wanting safe milk for their children - I would.
Immediately this triggered an infant milk powder buying frenzy in Australia where a network of several hundred thousand Chinese women shoppers in Australia called the ‘Daigou’ were cleaning out all the stores across Australia, re-packaging them and sending back to China at huge profit margins. This still continues to this day and unfortuntately many shop staff are being abused by these women for trying to limit their purchases indicating the sign that displays 'Only eight per purchase' but the Daigou come back again later or send another person to buy for them the next day. This also directly competes with Australian parents trying to obtain the product which in many places are empty shortly after the shop or pharmacy opens.

This network now permeates many sectors of the Australian retail industry where the Diagou are happy to explore other products to send back to China. We’ve seen the impact in the real estate sector. On the other hand the Australian retail sector for instance has quickly developed some new niche markets to capitalise on this new wave of Chinese middle-class consumerism. How can a nation of 25 million compete with a nation of 1.5 billion? I'm not passing judgement as any nation, developing or not will have material opportunists. Welcome to the new world.

In 1982 I saw a compelling philosophical futuristic film called Blade Runner set in the year 2019 starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, directed by the gifted Ridley Scott. Quite a prophetic impression of Eurasian cities of the future.