Mr. Toilet House? A toilet museum in Suwon, South Korea
The big gold-colored turd statue at the entrance to Mr. Toilet House, a toilet museum in Suwon, South Korea, sets the tone for a fun visit!
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Traveling by Train in Japan: 8 tips
For those of us who do not know Japanese, traveling by train in Japan can be a bit daunting, to say the least. Here are some tips for Japan travel that will allow you to negotiate the Japanese rail system, including reading signs, without knowing any Japanese at all. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links….
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Gion Corner: The Simplicity of Japanese Musical Art
A show that’s produced for foreign tourists can be an insulting oversimplification of local culture, or it can be an interesting peek into that culture. I wasn’t sure which I was getting when I agreed to go to a performance by Kyoto Traditional Musical Art Foundation at a venue called Gion Corner, in the famous…
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5 Tokyo Gardens
I’m not particularly into gardens. I enjoy them, but don’t enjoy gardening. I visited a few gardens in Tokyo partly because I was curious about Japanese gardens in particular, and also curious as to how they are used by people in such a big city. But mostly I went to them because I wanted to…
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Takayama Hida Folk Village
More than 30 Hida traditional houses have been moved to form this open-air museum in Takayama: Takayama Hida Folk Village.
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Marina Del Rey: LA’s playground
Los Angeles is one of those places that everyone wants to visit someday, to glimpse some stars on Rodeo Drive, visit the Hollywood Walk of Fame, or enjoy the original Disneyland. The city is very spread out, though, and the Los Angeles area includes some great beach communities, including Marina Del Rey, called “LA’s coastal…
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Strolling Yanaka in Tokyo
Tokyo is best known for its big-city-ness: huge, new, shiny, crowded, and exciting. I found it overwhelming in terms of noise and crowds, and also in terms of choices: where to go, what to do, what to eat, where to sleep. Add to that my functional illiteracy—I can’t read Japanese lettering or say more than…
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What to do in Himeji on a day trip from Kyoto: Himeji Castle and Engyoji Temple
As I stepped off the train for my Himeji day trip from Kyoto, I said to myself, “I’ll look for the tourist information office first and ask how to get to the castle.” (Yes, traveling solo for so long, I did sometimes say things like this out loud!) While there are other things to do…
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A day trip to Matsumoto, Japan
While the main attraction is the 16th-century Matsumoto Castle, there are other things to see as well on a day trip to Matsumoto.
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Is Kanazawa worth a visit?
Read what there is to see in Kanazawa before you decide whether it is worth visiting!
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A baseball game in Japan
When I took a group of Dutch students to the US a few years ago, I insisted that we attend a professional baseball game, something they were distinctly unenthusiastic about. They said it was a boring game. I told them it wasn’t about the game; it was about the whole event around the game: the…
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Singapore, the Old and the New
NEW Singapore After my visit to Pulau Ubin in Singapore, I spent most of the rest of my very short stay visiting with my foster daughter, Krislyn, and her Singapore family. But Krislyn and I needed time for a good long chat, and decided to check out Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. Disclosure: This article contains…
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A day trip to Hiroshima
I had mixed feelings about visiting Hiroshima and initially decided not to. I know a lot about the atomic bomb attacks on Japan. Back in the early 90s, I attended a three-week intensive workshop for teachers about nuclear issues. I learned about the science of the various kinds of nuclear weapons, the mathematics of radiation…
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What to see in Nikko, a breathtaking World Heritage site
Nikko, Japan, nestled in the mountains north of Tokyo, is a small town, but is home to an incomparable assemblage of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Sprinkled around a national park forest above Nikko town is a collection of Shinto and Buddhist shrines and mausoleums that are breathtaking in their beauty and workmanship. Most of them date to…
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Barefoot in Japan: A bumbling fool
Much of the time that I was in Japan I felt like a bumbling fool, and shoes were a big part of it. The Japanese have a lot of rules regarding footwear. Basically, you are expected to go barefoot in Japan pretty much anywhere inside. That was more difficult for me than you’d think. Disclosure:…
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Pulau Ubin: Singapore’s Memory Lane
When my new friend and fellow blogger, Betsy Wuebker, posted about her visit to Pulau Ubin, near Singapore, it couldn’t have come at a better moment. I was on my way to Hong Kong but had just heard from my foster daughter, Krislyn, who lives in Singapore now. It turned out she couldn’t come visit…
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Hong Kong Impressions
My short visit in Hong Kong was a stimulating, perhaps over-stimulating, series of strong impressions. Here are some of the strongest ones.
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On Lamma Island, a Meditative Walk
Car-free Lamma Island is the third largest island of Hong Kong after Hong Kong itself and Lantau.
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Tai O, Hong Kong: Village on stilts
Tai O village in Hong Kong is known as a picturesque village of stilt houses. Up close, though, it raises questions about poverty tourism.
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Big Buddha Hong Kong (and a cable car)
The Big Buddha on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island is breathtaking because of the beauty of its mountain setting and the stunning cable car ride up to its base.
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Victoria Peak: The Top of Hong Kong
Victoria Peak, the mountain that looms over the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, is one of Hong Kong’s top tourist attractions.
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Hong Kong Park Has a Lot to Offer
Hong Kong Park is a destination in itself, with an oddly wide variety of things to see: an aviary, a museum, a conservatory, and more.
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Choosing Accommodations: Consider Out of Town
How do you choose your accommodations when you travel? You probably take several things into consideration: cost, quality of the hotel, and location probably top the list. If you’re like me, you try to balance the three. I want the best quality possible within the amount I can spend. Often, though, I find that a…
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Gothic Barcelona: A Walking Tour with a Difference
As you know, I attended the TBEX travel bloggers’ conference in Lloret del Mar recently. While I was there, I was fortunate to be able to take a walking tour of Gothic Barcelona offered by Context Travel. They operate walking tours in more than 36 cities, “the world’s cultural capitals,” around the world. Context Travel’s unique selling…
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Kreol West Indies: a new concept
On my last day in Guadeloupe, I stumbled upon a special little museum. I was on my way to the easternmost tip of Grande-Terre, the eastern “wing” of the butterfly that makes up Guadeloupe’s main island. Called Pointe des Chateaux, it’s a windblown, craggy place. On the way, I noticed a brightly-colored building, only catching…
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Flying Aeroflot
If you’re an American of a certain age, as I am, the name Aeroflot will conjure certain images. Aeroflot was the airline of the “commies,” and it was considered one of the worst airlines in the world. We Americans didn’t fly Aeroflot. Partly because we didn’t, in general, visit the Soviet Union. They were the…
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Gala Dali Castle: Dalí’s Gift to his Muse
If you like Salvador Dalí’s art—even if you’re not such a fan of his work—the Gala Dali Castle in Púbol, Spain, is something you should not miss. This is not a Dalí museum. Dalí bought the building, a medieval castle, as a gift for his wife and muse, Elena Ivanovna Diakonova, who was called simply Gala….
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5 Things to Do in Bossier City, Louisiana … Besides Gambling!
I’m not much of a gambler, but my husband would gladly tell you a story about having to drag me away from the low-stakes slot machines at Lake Tahoe. I insist that my reluctance to leave had more to do with the generous free drinks I received than the slots themselves. Note: I originally wrote…
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The High Line: An extraordinary, elevated New York City park
The High Line: an extraordinary, elevated and linear park on a disused railway line in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
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Watersports in Marina del Rey, California
If you’ve read my blog at all, you know I tend to go for the more off-the-beaten-path, lesser-known destinations when I travel. Even when I go to a relatively popular place, like, for example, Romania, I seek out sights that the tourists don’t visit, like the painted churches of Moldavia. Or, visiting South Korea, I…
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Solo travel so far
My trip to the Caribbean last month was my first solo trip. When I talk about solo travel, I’m not talking about when I fly somewhere to lead a workshop and then have a day free to explore whatever city I find myself in. I’m not talking about when I go somewhere to visit friends…
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Impressions of Guadeloupe
My impressions of Guadeloupe: how “French” it is (and isn’t) and how I felt as I explored the island. In short, I fell in love with it!
