Having recovered sufficiently from my Nihon homesickness, I feel I've settled into a bit of a travel groove, now two weeks in to the voyage. Hoi An is a pleasant spot on the central coast, just south of Danang. I have mixed feelings about my time in Vietnam so far. Experiences other travellers report to me mostly confirm what I've seen and experienced so far. Independent travel here is a bit of a struggle, as Vietnam has fully embraced and is capitilising upon a tour-based infrastructure. Attempting to move about outside this is a little more hassle than I'd expected. It's [View Full Entry]

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My stay in Japan was like a concentrated dose of my life there. I met Kazu, Stew and Orie, their babies Aleesha and Joshua, and wandered the streets of Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto feeling as though I'd never left. Real sushi, sake, ocha, donburi, ramen, soba, okonomiyaki, yakiniku... all worth the seven year wait. Kazu and I spent alot of time together, played an impromptu gig (as a trio) at a favourite old bar - Sunflower, and went to a gig at a Kyoto livehouse to see his friend's band 'Frying Dutchman'. Kazu now plans to make his way around Honshuu, just [View Full Entry]

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