Exploring Taipei
The metro journey to Beitou was overground most of the way, so we got to see Taipei’s suburbs – a wasteland of shabby concrete apartment complexes. A very slow branch More… →
Hello Taiwan
Originally we had planned to go to China from Japan, work our way south from Beijing to Guangzhou, visit a friend, and exit via Hong Kong and back to Bangkok. More… →
Thoughts on Japan
It’s amazing. Impossibly beautiful gardens. Such care in making little things look pleasing. Design so restrained, simple, tasteful. Where there is ornamentation, such as carving on a temple, the colour More… →
Exploring Osaka
We stayed in our room most of the following day to sort out and back up computer files and research Taipei – it had suddenly dawned on me that we More… →
Finding Nemo
The hotel breakfast buffet was…interesting. Triangles of pressed rice triangles with a sesame crust, miso soup, really hard sour pickled cherries, seaweed, some cooked vegetables. Some miniature croissants were the More… →
To Osaka
We took a stopping train to Osaka, but even so it took less than an hour. Since budget accommodation can be hard to find in Kyoto, some tourists stay in More… →
Last day in Kyoto
As Nishihonganji temple was literally around the corner from our apartment we thought we should at least take a peek, even though it’s not one of Kyoto’s top sights. It More… →
Kiyomizudera to Gion
Of course, with a new camera comes the need for a new case, so it was back into Bic. Taking the bus to the station served as a dry run More… →
Fushimi Inari
It was another perfect spring morning when we took the train to Fushimi Inari, just two stops from Kyoto. The temple grounds start right in front of the station, so even More… →
Arashimaya
It was so sunny and warm the next morning that I dug my sandals out of my backpack; they hadn’t seen daylight since Kuala Lumpur. From the station we took More… →