We traveled the length of Vietnam on the Reunification Express – the train line linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. And then disaster struck. … More Life and death on the Reunification Express
Someone was rapping on the locked door, barking orders at us like a prison guard. It was 5 a.m and our night train was pulling into Hanoi. Sleepy people were dragging themselves out of bunks, queuing for the toilet and a chance to brush teeth at the shared carriage sink. Last time we’d hit this … More Hanoi unscripted: how to fill 12 hours in a crazy city
We had a wonderful time in Sapa, which is in the north-western corn of Vietnam, not far from the Chinese border. It’s a mountainous region with the natural/artificial landscape of terraced paddy fields. Vietnam has many minority ethnic groups and each village in this area has one or two tribes living in it. What is … More Photo essay: the fantastic faces of Sapa, Vietnam
We weren’t in Beijing long before it became clear that there are two strata of vehicles in Beijing – probably reflecting the two economies, capitalist and communist. The Mercs and the Beemers were there, but what fascinated me were the transportation of the masses. Here are a few pics:
The woman beamed at me. And slipped her arm around my waist to give me a quick squeeze. She’d stood back to let me off the boat to the former Emperors’ Summer Palace first, and I’d attempted a ‘thankyou’ in her language. She seemed not only astonished by my gesture, but by my appearance. In … More Putting up walls: a sweet and sour taste of China life
Introduction Time of year: Mid-October 2016 Purpose of trip: This was a one night stopover during our round the world trip. We particularly wanted to experience a traditional ryokan whilst in Japan. Why we chose this place: Miyajima is an island with many Shinto and Buddhist temples and shrines, set amongst beautiful wooded hills. It was a place that we … More Review: Ryoso Kawaguchi, Miyajima, Japan
It was lunchtime on the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Hiroshima and the immaculately dressed food hostess was passing. I had heard that they sell bento boxes on the trains, so I asked the lady what was on offer. She handed me 4 cards, each with a different option. One consisted primarily of braised beef tongue, … More Bento: the art of the unusual food experience
This was my fourth trip to Hong Kong. In fact, I was here as recently as March 2015. The main reason for repeated visits is that my younger brother, Dan, lives here with his wife, Philippine, and two children – Zara and Louis. In many ways, it is an incongruous place. It’s very Chinese in … More Hong Kong: a personal guide to this vibrant city
Cue Earth, Wind and Fire. Start digging out the knee-high, brown suede boots. Think about ordering logs for the wood burner, and sourcing those warming, home made soup recipes.Those are the kind of things I’ve always thought about at this time of year. But I only realised the other day that, for the first time … More Another kind of autumn…
Digital nomad. I love that phrase. It evokes in me an image of a robot astride a camel … a T1000 Lawrence, if you will. But since Jane and I got into the travel blogging thing, we’ve seen the term again and again. It’s used to describe people whose means of earning an income does … More Nomadism in the 21st century
2emptynesters 