Welcome to the sights of Nagasaki. Here are the odd little things that do not fit into the other categories. My goodness! I sounded almost serious then. I promise it won't last. If you would like to experience these images in all their glory, do the old clicky thing with the mousey wossname and off you go.

This is a yellow, one man, diesel car. how do I know this? Because on the side, it says "Yellow One Man Diesel Car". For those watching in black & white, this single car is yellow, powered by diesel and has...er...one man. Presumably. However, just to confuse things, 10 minutes later they attached another car. Don't know what they called it then. Probably a "Yellow Two Car One Man Diesel Car". I didn't stick around long as neither maths nor semantics are personal strongpoints of mine.

Hmmmm. Looking like a cross between marine road-kill and the leftovers from cosmetic surgery; this is Nagasaki Champon and one of the most famous foods in Nagasaki. It is basically fish and veg on a bed of noodles in a nourishing soup (it says here) and originated in China. Champon (careful pronunciation needed) restaurants abound most with their own twist on this old theme. And, get this, you can even get this dish with crispy noodles! Is there no end to the inventive culinariousness of the region? Rhetorical question by the way. If you are not a fish lover, the sight of all those tentacles (ooer missus) will have you reaching for a harpoon. Alhough it is usually already dead when you get it, it's best to be sure.

Nagasaki has a great network of trams, some of which go back to a bygone era. Nostagically reminiscent of Blackpool and Birkenhead, both towns of which the Japanese remain blissfully ignorant, these old beauties rattle, bang and shake their way with great character to all the places of interest around the city. They are not merely for tourist decoration, they form part of an integrated, mass transit system the envy of any civilized city, especially Bangkok which has about 5 million residents and one subway line. A day ticket for the trams is 500 yen and you are always guaranteed to have someone speak to you. It's not at all like the late night Mersey Tunnel bus where eye-contact means certain death, or at least carrots on your trousers.

There is a always something interesting to see around every corner in a place like this. Or even, as in this case, perched on a roof. This is a very big statue, and when I say big, I don't mean big, I mean klatting huge. It's bigger than a very big thing, and believe me, that's big. Think of the biggest thing you ever saw, double it, and multiply it by big and you might get close. Ahem. So, what is it then? Haven't got a clue, except it's big (damn, sorry, off on that theme again). It appears to be a woman, standing on a huge turtle telling two kids off. We took a considered guess at it being of religious significance, possibly Buddhist, but nobody knew for sure. Mind you, it really is big. How big? Well..............and there's that turtle. Wow! It's huge. It's huger than a huge thing. It's so aaaarghhaaarghh (Editors Note: Sorry, Neil's had to go away for a short time. Please read on).

This is Chinatown and as with other Chinatowns worldwide, there are a lot of Chinese things here. This is not a coincidence. When the city fathers realized they had a Chinatown locally, they endeavoured to fill it to the brim with as much Chineseness as possible. Damn good idea too. Lots of Champon eateries, Chinese medicine shops, fine Chinese restaurants by the dozen, and the best thing - NO McDonalds. Though I did meet a Hong Kong Chinese sweet-seller whose name was McDermott. True. He had a little dog that could count. I heard him shouting "where's that counting dog". I heard him.

Much of the centre of Nagasaki was rebuilt after the A-Bomb blast of September, 1945, giving it broad avenues and a more western-style grid layout. However, walk a few blocks back and there are some areas of atmospheric quality that still retain the feel of old Nagasaki. Shanty houses crowded over babbling, stony rivers; steep hills and hidden shrines and some pretty authentic pre-historic vending machines selling such salubrious items as 'Ye Olde Calpis Water', 'Undressed Wench A-Go-Go', and my personal favourite, the indispensible 'Pocket Wettye'. Take the electric horseless carriage to the end of the line and just soak up the atmosphere. Cool.