One of the most popular and most visited attractions in Japan is Osaka Castle. Built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a famous general who was known to unite Japan through force, it was completed in 1590. That castle is now the symbol of Osaka and although much of it has been re-constructed, is still a worthwhile place…
I first visited Siem Reap in Cambodia in 2002 when they wasn’t a great choice of hotels. Returning in March, 2018 I discovered the Baby Elephant Hotel, and what a great choice that was. Located in a back street about a ten minute walk from the centre of Siem Reap, the Baby Elephant Boutique Hotel…
Sitting on a point on the man-made Man Wan Island in the Malaysian city of Kuala Terengganu is the beautiful Crystal Mosque. Terengganu, of which Kuala Terengganu is the capital, is an Islamic State so religion forms a big part of everyday life here. The State of Terengganu is also oil rich, and much of…
Things have changed in Siem Reap, Cambodia since I last visited sixteen years ago. For one thing, the town is very much busier than when I first visited. Today, tens of thousands of tourists visit the town every day and this relatively quiet village has morphed into a very busy city. The other noticeable change…
Laughing Buddha Returns I didn’t know about the Laughing Buddha prior to my first trip to China. Back in the late 1980s I used to escort tour groups to China. It was a very different place then, definitely a third world country. But in a very short time it has evolved into arguably one of the…
The Shinkansen, Japan’s super-speedy bullet trains are already a pretty fast and efficient way to get around Japan, as they whisk travellers from the country’s cosmopolitan urban centres to its more traditional rural locales. But what if you want to experience a bit of authentic Japanese culture while you’re zipping across Japan at 200 miles…