Poking around Narita, Japan

In planning my trip I elected to take a brief layover in Narita rather than getting onto another  congested plane after 12 hours of woozing through serial movies.   Recalling a sweet stay at the Hotel Nikkei Narita enroute to Bali some ten years ago, I decided to do it again.  The breakfast buffet was beyond amazing; I managed to sample at least 10 different kinds of Japanese pickles and seaweeds.  In addition to foods the buffet included a full array of vitamins and supplements.   Skeptically I passed,  doubting the efficacy of taking a single body-enhancing pill.  The hotel coffee bar provided loads of free access ipads.  While the key pads featured Roman lettering, each of my bar strokes confounded me by producing Japanese gibberish.  Meanwhile outside it was 27 degrees (truly freezing) so I holed up in my cute little room for the night, appreciating being horizontal.  The next morning I took quick look around Narita and then headed back to the airport for my flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Why Borneo?

Several people have wondered why of all places I have chosen to visit Borneo.  My answer is multi-pronged, much coming out of my anthropological passions.  Some of it comes from teaching about mortuary practices amongst tribes such as the Berawan who leave the body out in the open where the flesh has time to separate from the body so that ghosts will not be able to hover over the village causing harm because they've been trapped underground.  (Thoughts of American mortuary practices like embalming truly horrify the Berawan.). I was at an ethnographic museum yesterday where a parallel burial practice was discussed; I feeling reasonably confident I will have the field work experience I've been seeking.

Another sensation I am seeking is an off the grid experience.  At home I spend endless hours on the computer and on my smart phone.  I check into Facebook many times a day, quickly respond to pressing emails and have many texting buddies.  Thirteen years ago I had a memorably primal experience in Papua New Guinea living in highland villages, eating the same sweet potatoes and sleeping in the same huts as people whose life ways and world views were continents different from my own.  Yet a common humanity linked us all.  I was yearning for such a feeling again and thought if I could make my way out to the highland interior of Borneo this could happen.  Meanwhile, I've just had a full-on-the grid experience in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.  (I now have a Malaysian cell phone number, was interviewed on Skype this morning and did not miss a beat on Facebook and my primary email account.  I am on a break from texting in the US, but am otherwise very much on the grid.). Later this week (I fly to Borneo tomorrow) this could all change.

Getting Ready

My travel itinerary is set...and my bags are about to be packed.  My trip begins with a gradual descent into the highlands and jungles of Borneo where I hope to meet the descendants of headhunters and orangutans.  I leave tomorrow afternoon for a 12 - hour flight to Japan and then overnight at a hotel near the Narita (Tokyo) airport.  My next stop will be Kuala Lumpur where I will be couchsurfing and taking in Malaysia's premiere capital city.  Then on Jan. 15 (my birthday) I fly to the island of Borneo, spending my first two days in Brunei.  More to come, soon!