February 1, 2008

Tokyo (JAPAN)

India's Notorious Bureaucracy, Expensive Thai, Burmese Protests, and Shibuyaaaaa

India must have the most notoriously inefficient bureaucracy on the planet. Normally, I could care less about such things - a feeling shared by most people, surely - but today I was at the mercy of the Indian Embassy to process my visa. I would argue that the inefficient tendencies began when the British planted the first seeds of bureaucratic management in the 1860s (a certain type of person is often drawn to government jobs, irrespective of the country), but the truth goes somewhat deeper: there is an underappreciated tendency toward relaxation in Indian culture. Walk through any city in India and there will be scores of men relaxing over a cup of tea discussing cricket, politics, or... well... cricket.

I'm not sure if it was cricket being discussed today, but it must have been something equally thrilling because  there were 20 or so people sitting around the lobby twiddling their thumbs. Everyone followed the rule to "grab a number," but for the ensuing 30 minutes not a single number was called. Eventually, I approached the glass counter, briefly explained my situation (I have already been approved for the visa, I simply need them to put it in my ever-bulging passport) and told them I was leaving my passport for pick-up this afternoon. Thankfully, a kind woman who was leaving work for the day took mercy on me and said it would get taken care of.

Afterward, I took the Marunouchi line from Yotsuya back to Tokyo Station, and transferred onto the Yamanote line to Osaki Station. The next couple of hours were spent doing additional research on the human rights disaster in Myanmar (Burma) because later in the day I would join peaceful protestors outside the Myanmar embassy in kita-Shinagawa. Every day from 3-4 pm they stand outside the embassy, which is only a 20 second walk from the house, and hold signs asking for such things as democracy, an end to forced labor, and the release of numerous political prisoners.

Here is a link to a comprehensive background on the most recent bout of government-led abuse, murder, and expulsion of prying foreign eyes from Myanmar. (Some may recall the Japanese news reporter who was shot from point blank range by a member of the Myanmar military, and his recording devices all "disappeared" afterward). Noticing the dates on the above link, the more observant readers will notice I visited the country in the midst of the turmoil, but thankfully I left the country a week before the shooting started. The worst I ever saw was chain gang forced labor, but there were obvious tensions and an underlying fear among everyone within the country (excluding the brilliant comedian Par Par Lay!)

At 1:15 pm, I met Eric (Hong Kong), Neil, and David (both Americans) for lunch at the popular Keawjai Thai restaurant near Meguro station for a going away meal. We are all heading off in different directions for the upcoming vacation, and it will be a few months before I see them again. Although the prices on the menu are unreasonably expensive (dishes start at 2000 yen), we ordered a variety of curries that we could all share, and the food itself justified the price. Granted, in a month or so I will be eating Thai food in Thailand itself, and I will struggle to find a Thai restaurant anywhere costing $20 per dish. Ahhh, living in Tokyo!

By 3:15 pm, Neil, David and I were standing outside the Myanmar embassy gates with 14 Burmese protestors (the numbers steadily grew, and by the end there were 23 people in total). I spoke with several of the organizers in the past, but this was the first time I joined them in their efforts. My goal in participating was to spread the word to people passing by, learn more about the efforts being made from the protestors themselves, and to show my support for the Burmese people.

While I don't necessarily think protesting is the most productive means of implementing change, I sympathize with the Burmese people for all they must endure and how positive they remain throughout; it must be especially disheartening when surrounding nations in Asia do nothing to criticize the corrupt and oppressive government. China is often cited as the biggest culprit - a highly publicized fact given China's tendency to support other "evil" regimes - and indeed trade in 2004 totaled $1.2 billion. However, it is also worth noting that Singapore and Thailand are two of Myanmar's largest trading partners, and they have thus far shed a blind eye on the junta's actions. Sadly, even Japan has ignored western calls for increased pressure on Myanmar, and continues to both invest in and trade with the country.

Later in the afternoon I spent two hours waiting in line at the Indian embassy (again, the oppressive inefficiencies were painfully obvious), but I got my 6-month visa for the country and that is all that matters! An interesting side note is that I am reading a book called The Satanic Verses by an Indian Booker-prize winning novelist named Salman Rushdie, and given there is a death warrant on Rushdie's life over this book, I made a book cover to prevent offending any Muslims. (The fatwa condemning Rushdie to death was issued by the former Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on February 14, 1989, and Rushdie spent most of the following ten years in hiding).

In line with saying goodbye to friends for the holiday season, I decided to do something different by joining friends for a night of bar-hopping and clubbing in Shibuya. Normally, I hate blowing money on drinks at Tokyo's expensive bars or on over-priced entrance fees at clubs, but four friends are leaving Tokyo for good, and this was to be my last chance to see them. We started off with drinks at what must have been the smallest bar in the world - it was literally a second floor room 8 feet long and 3 feet wide - but we managed to fit ten people in there for the better part of an hour, and I am fairly certain I met two mid-ranking Yakuza members (Japanese mafia) at one point. We later moved on from the bars lining "Drunkard's Alley" to a more interesting bar called The Red Room, which as the name suggests was painted to resemble the fiery pits of Hell (perhaps so the regulars will be accustomed to their future surroundings).

Afterward, Rikard (Denmark) got a call from a friend who rented out a club for his birthday, so we headed to a chic place called Soft just before 1 am. (Interestingly, the guy's name is Israel, and where should he hail from but Israel itself. I can't begin to imagine the kind of stick he must regularly deal with, but with his long dread-locks and ability to run a dance floor he doesn't exactly fit the profile of an Hasidic Jew). At this point in the night, we all forfeited any chance for returning home before the morning trains, so it was a long night of intense dancing and partying. However, as much fun as nights like this can be, I still struggle to understand how people build an entire life around such a lifestyle.