As the biggest city in the world (by most definitions), Tokyo is not exactly famous for its greenery. Concrete jungle, sure. Actual jungle, not so much. [Tokyo – it’s a jungle out there.] I was a guest of the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and I spent a day visiting gardens and green spaces of […]
Visiting Aomori Prefecture in Japan
Aomori Prefecture is at the northern tip of Honshu (the largest island of Japan). Like many casual visitors to Japan with no ties to the country, I had never heard of Aomori. There are 47 prefectures (like a province or state) in Japan, and Aomori is one of the lesser visited of Japan. [Map of […]
Flight Review: ANA – Sydney to Tokyo Haneda
Flight: All Nippon Airways NH 880 From: Sydney (SYD) To: Tokyo Haneda (HND) I flew with ANA from Sydney to Haneda Tokyo. My flight was arranged by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau who provided the flight for my trip. This was my first time flying with ANA so I was looking forward to trying […]
Visiting Minsk on the free 5-day visa for Belarus
Borders have a magnetic pull for me, which gets stronger the closer I get. Belarus wasn’t in my travel plans until I looked at a map of the Baltic states. Minsk is practically just down the road from Vilnius, so it seemed logical to visit after my visit to Lithuania. Initially I wasn’t going to […]
Notes on Tallinn
Visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site Old Town, old warehouses, hipster area, and the E-Residency program. I last visited Tallinn in 2000 on a whirlwind tour of Scandinavia. Seeing that Tallinn was a short ferry trip from Helsinki I couldn’t resist paying a visit. I didn’t get to visit the rest of the Baltic nations […]
Bangkok vs Ho Chi Minh City – population size and other comparisons
Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City are two of the largest cities in Southeast Asia (the largest being Jakarta). It was recently reported that Saigon now has up to 13 million people living in the city. No one really knows the exact amount, but it was thought that there were 8 million, with the city […]
Cafe Saigon 1975 – a war memorabilia cafe in Ho Chi Minh City
[Edit: This cafe has since closed.] In my quest to visit different cafes in Saigon, I’m always looking out for new places in my wanders. One day I found a sign pointing down an alley that stopped me in my tracks. It was for Cafe Saigon 1975. There are some years in history that are […]
Kanchanaburi to Hua Hin by train (with a bonus stop at the tallest stupa in the world)
Kanchanaburi is west of Bangkok on the Nam Tok railway line, separate from the main north and south lines. This line formed what was part of the Death Railway, which connected Thailand to Burma by rail. There has been proposals to connect Thailand and Myanmar by rail via this route, but for now it remains […]
Dusit Thani Bangkok – The iconic modernist hotel that will soon be demolished
One of the most iconic hotels in Southeast Asia will soon be no more. The Dusit Thani is a landmark of the Silom area, but it now has a date with the wrecking ball to make way for a new mall and hotel development. The hotel was founded by Bangkok-born businesswoman Chanut Piyaoui, who brought […]
Where to stay in Hong Kong: The best areas and famous hotels in Hong Kong
If you are visiting Hong Kong and wondering where to stay, I have listed the best areas for first-time visitors to Hong Kong. Regular visitors may find places further out if it’s going to save money, but for a short-term visitor, it’s best to stay in the southern end of Kowloon or the northern portion […]
