Blogs from Asia - page 13

The Japanese culture values hard work and social harmony. As modern as this country has become, they seem to continue to practice their traditional values and spiritual beliefs. It is refreshing to visit Japan because the people are polite and respect their elders. This was demonstrated a couple of times when younger people offered us a seat on the train. Yes, it made us feel older, but the kindness and respect were evident. There is also great reverence for the past and many Japanese value this greatly as evidenced by the shrines and embracing traditional clothing. All this is evidenced in our travels..... Nikko A short train ride from Tokyo is the town of Nikko with a population of 80,000. It was nice being out of the hustle and bustle of Tokyo even though we enjoyed ... read more

A complete day off with nothing to do and the day has just blazed past before I even knew it. Being able to eat breakfast is quite a treat also, but the timing is not very good. Seems like every tour bus, or tour group checking out shows up about 7:30 and stampedes into breakfast. I’ll enjoy the early, quiet breakfast next week. The first part of my exploration day started with a visit to the Wat complex at Ekamai that I see 4 times a day from the BTS. There wasn’t much info I could find there, so I had to look it up online. I have a few pictures, but there wasn’t much to see. From there, I went to Terminal 21 which is the closest shopping mall. I remember the last trip there ... read more

I reached Hoi An from Trang An, taking an overnight sleeper bus. The nearly 900KM journey took about 14 hours, but Vietnam has comfortable sleeper buses and I found the journey alright, even though tiring. Hoi An, meaning peaceful meeting place, used to be a trading port. Situated on the Thu Bon river, this town used to have easy access to a wide river which made it a port for trading. Today, the river is much smaller and hence the port has moved to Da Nang, changing the economic basis of Hoi An from trading to tourism (90%+ of the work force depends on tourism). I explored the town the first evening and was amazed by the number of tourists (very large) and the lanterns, lights and lit up boats. It was a kaleidoscope of colors ... read more

Another sunny and warm day here. Unfortunately it started much earlier than I hoped. Still haven’t solved the sleeping more than 4 hours, or past about 1:30 am local time. Standard breakfast routine, but I ate a light dinner last night, so I was hungry. I didn’t want to eat too much knowing what was coming though. I’m not much of a breakfast person anyway. BTS was again nearly empty on the way out. Almost seems like it’s a day off here, but on the way back it was crazy packed. Cars were so jammed that people couldn’t even get on. Got to the gym right about 7:25 and hit the ground running. Today feels much more like I remember with the heat and humidity picking up. 7 laps this morning in a little better time, ... read more

Upon waking up in Pyeongchang, we'll prepare for a visit to the Ski Jump Tower Observatory via monorail, a landmark from the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018. Take delight in the panoramic views from the Sky Lounge and enjoy some leisure time with the option to purchase coffee or tea at your own expense. Next, we'll journey to Yangyang for a brief hike at Jujeongol of Mt. Seorak, renowned for its breathtaking fall colors and remarkable valley and rock formations. After the hike, we'll relish lunch at a local restaurant. Our return to Seoul Insadong is scheduled for around 18:00. AUTHOR’S NOTE: Midmorning, one of the ladies from Northern Ireland discovered she had lost her pocketbook, most likely at the ski jump complex. Looking at our photos to get a reference of “it was there when ... read more