All posts by Benjamin Welby

About Benjamin Welby

Hi, I'm Benjamin Welby. I'm a displaced northerner currently living in Croydon, I church with a group of Christians who meet in a Soho nightclub on Wednesdays and I support Bradford City. I've an academic background in History, Politics and International Development. I work for the Government Digital Service but I left my heart in local government. This blog is infrequently updated and may feature any, all or none of these things...

Russell – the Hell hole of the Pacific

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Friday 10th May and Saturday 11th May, 2013

We packed up our things but before we could say goodbye to Auckland we needed to pick up the car we were trusting to get us around for the next two months. We’d got a fantastic deal from Ace Rental Cars that worked out at less than £500 (and a great deal on car hire excess insurance) so we were a little dubious about the quality of car we’d have.

We needn’t have worried – the car was pretty new and certainly had enough room for our baggage even if it was a petrol based automatic. I’d never heard of a Nissan Tiida though.

A Nissan Tiida
Our trusty(?) wheels

Continue reading Russell – the Hell hole of the Pacific →

Auckland day 3 – One Tree Hill and the Auckland Museum

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Wednesday 8th May, 2013

Today the rain was back with a vengeance! Although the weather forecast was fairly bleak we set off early in the hope of getting to Maungakiekie (more commonly known as One Tree Hill) before the rain. We were fairly dry when we got to the top but by the time we reached the Auckland Museum we were absolutely sodden!

Maungakiekie is an important place for both Maori and Pakeha (the Maori word for New Zealanders of European descent) and its chequered history demonstrates something of the tension between the two. Continue reading Auckland day 3 – One Tree Hill and the Auckland Museum →

Auckland day 2 – Devonport

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Tuesday 7th May, 2013

Our first day in Auckland had been very damp but with the sun shining brightly we decided we were going to spend today out and about and started with the Lonely Planet’s walking tour of the city centre.

Continue reading Auckland day 2 – Devonport →

Arriving in Auckland

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Monday 6th May, 2013

It has been quite a season to be a Bradford City fan. Just before we left the UK we secured our place in the playoffs with victory over Burton, the same team we would play in the semi-final. I’d woken up early to watch us lose the first leg and was gutted that the season defining second leg was taking place while we were in a complete information blackhole en route from Tokyo (it can’t be long before we demand web access when we’re airborne). Happily there was 30 minutes of free wifi at Auckland airport leaving Christine, with eyes rolling, distancing herself from the weird, claret and amber clad person randomly celebrating in an airport (we won). Continue reading Arriving in Auckland →

Bringing to an end 5 nights in Tokyo…

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Saturday 4th May, 2013

Today was a bit problematic for us – we’d been fairly happy in terms of what to do with three days in Tokyo but the fourth stumped us. Particularly as Golden Week was well under way and so everybody was in holiday mode.

Should we go on a day trip to Mount Fuji? Logistically it’s a long trek and there’s no guarantee of seeing the mountain, particularly in May when visibility is apparently at its poorest. Continue reading Bringing to an end 5 nights in Tokyo… →

Go fish, localgov, cosplay and curry

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Friday 3rd May, 2013

Having been to the auction yesterday today we chose to visit the retail side of Tsukiji. It was absolutely fantastic and although we got there a little late and things were being packed away you still got a sense of the thing. It was also good to be able to poke around away from the hordes of people who would be there normally. I think the vendors probably enjoy seeing off squeamish tourists, none more so than the guy who took great delight in skewering a fish with a metal rod down its spine while we watched (killing it but preserving the body of the fish). Continue reading Go fish, localgov, cosplay and curry →

Purple, sweet potato ice cream is a thing

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Wednesday 1st May, 2013

Walking tours are a great way of getting under the skin of a place. Rather than jumping from subway station to subway station you can wander (with purpose) from place to place seeing everything that’s on offer. So for Wednesday morning we decided we’d go for a walk.

We started in the Maronouchi area of Tokyo, home to some big buildings and the main Tokyo station – a very different experience during the day than the night. It’s also where you can find the Imperial Palace. Continue reading Purple, sweet potato ice cream is a thing →

A slow start to Tokyo

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Tuesday 30th April 2013

Today was looking so promising when we checked out from the Piece Hostel, headed to Ginkakuji to complete our visits to Kyoto’s temples, gardens, shrines and pavilions and then caught our penultimate shinkansen to Tokyo where we hoped we might get to travel at a world record speed. Continue reading A slow start to Tokyo →

Geisha and Gion

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The late afternoon, Monday 29th April 2013

We’d spent most of today in the Higashiyama region of Kyoto and had arrived at Gion in the late afternoon. I first read Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006 after finishing my university exams and loved it straight away. The bulk of the story centres around the Gion region of Kyoto, which is the best-known Geisha district in Japan. I never thought we’d be able to get tickets to a show – they are incredibly popular, and most Japanese who go book months in advance. However, Ben used the tried and true method of showing up on a whim and asking if any were available. As luck would have it, they were.

Geisha are highly skilled artists who train for years to become expert in traditional Japanese dance and song. The Kyoto geisha (or geiko as they are more accurately called) are not prostitutes, though the history of geisha has involved different nuances of what is expected of a women whose profession is to entertain. I like to think along the lines of how the lonely planet puts it; that they are ‘living museums.’ Continue reading Geisha and Gion →