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Of baseball and karaoke

Around the World Travel — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:39:45 +0000

After a stint of temple gazing in Kyoto it was back on the big old bus to Tokyo, only this time I would not be greeted by the u-bend of a toilet with more buttons on the arm rest than James T Kirk’s favourite arm chair. Instead we were guided by a lovely Japanese fellow, …

Japan – first impressions

FionaHandscomb — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:34:34 +0000

So, India and Japan are polar opposites. In India, it was frequently too hot to go outside. In Japan, it seems that every time we set foot outdoors we get drenched in sheets of cold, grey rain. Everything is peaceful, systematic and reserved. The super-clean zen of Tokyo was a welcome relief after the hectic, …

Shangri-la

trevorw — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:39:25 +0000

Past greetings from China! I thought that Shangri-la was in India somewhere. I know it was the name of a bungalow we took as a weeks hoilday at a long time ago in the UK and a resort in Laos. Anyway I digress! I am still getting used to China. I like the food more than Vietnam or Laos, …

The East Coast and Hue

Around the World Travel — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:31:04 +0000

Our carriage seemed to have been designated as the creche carriage. Kids with mothers who do let their children do anything they want really. One noticeable thing about the Vietnamese culture is their complete lack of appreciation of volume. They don’t talk they shout most of the time. This makes things hard to bear, not …

Our friends of Hanoi

Around the World Travel — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:21:40 +0000

As we were due to arrive in Hanoi late and the likelihood of hostels being closed for the night, we pre-booked using Hostelbookers, which is far easier to use than Hostelworld (yes, we have used both a few times). Our A/C, luxury taxi took us to the door, where we were greeted well, but with …

Hong Kong Food Marathon

Around the World Travel — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:30:07 +0000

After a good flight with Cathy Pacific, one of the best we have had on our journey, where Iberia is worse than bottom of the list. En route we cruised at 35,000 ft as dawn was breaking in the east as we passed over Malasia. A tropical storm was flashing non-stop as we passed massive …

Our final week in Fiji

Around the World Travel — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:24:08 +0000

Al, Pietro and I caught a small chartered boat back to Taveuni and then a taxi to Nagala Bay. The taxi was full of India-Fijians who reminded me of the Indians we encountered in India. Loud and dominant. They took over our 8 seater taxi for about half an hour. Al and I secretly smiled …