Hello all Well we've saved up for another long haul trip down under going to Australia first and then on to New Zealand to see the areas we didn't get to last time Leaving 26th via Kuala Lumpur Another blog soon Bye all and best wishes Derek and Joan [View Full Entry]

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Hi all Moved on to Kyoto Went around Imperial　Palace today on pre-arranged tour Lovely grounds and blossom at last getting to be its best but a week later would be better Seen Golden Pavillion and Zen gardens at Ryoanji temple 15 rocks arranged within a gravel raked setting Very peaceful Took a walk from the hotel to Yasaka shrine opposite The gate is being restored but inside there are a number of temples and shrines On the way up the paths to the shrines are lots of stalls selling food trinkets and games of chance - a bit like Blackpool [View Full Entry]

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We left Tokyo on Sunday and took the train to Takanawa Went through snow covered mountains. Snow at side of roads and rail about 18inches deep even after thawing Mountain streams very full Takanawa stayed in Rickshaw Inn a ryokan. Slept on the floor on futon on tatami mats Great nights sleep Went to the old merchants area with original houses and shops and up to the terrace walk along the 13 shrines and temples. One of the best things to do was visit the old government buildings looked small from the outside but went back a long way. Very [View Full Entry]

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Just completed a great day - possibly one of the best so far - seeing Hiroshima Peace Park and then on the ferry over to Miyajima The Peace Park has a lot of memorials to various groups who lost their lives in the atom bomb dropped 6th August 1945. There are 2 main memorials, the cenotaph and the childens memorial. The childrens one has tens of thousands of paper cranes (birds) that the children have made Whilst we were there a teacher was putting her classes cranes there with a message fo There is the peace flame that will be [View Full Entry]

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Konichiwa to you all Arrived Tokyo and settled into hotel Next morning I had prebooked a visit to the Imperial Palace gardens which is limited to 120 persons per visit twice a day need to prebook as arriving on the day there were no places left Taken around Palace grounds and outside of Palace itself - a newish concrete building replacing the one destroyed in 1945 Went on to East gardens - litttle cherry blossom out yet Afternoon went to Electric City at Akihabara. Lots of neon lights and brash signs but prices only just lower than UK internet. Not [View Full Entry]

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Hello all Arrived in Osaka Saturday after 25hours straight travelling Flight good but didn't get a lot of sleep so jet lag hit for first 2 days Went to Nara and Horyuji to see temples Great introduction to Japnese sights Train journeys are great - arrive on time or a few minutes early and always leave on time Platforms marked out for where to stand to get on for your car number and doors open right in front of you with carriage number you are booked in for If you don't stand in right places as marked there are no [View Full Entry]

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Left Osaka on the Shinkansen bullet train Very impressive Runs frequently from southern Japan to Tokyo Makes British Rail look even worse than I thought The train crew are impeccably dressed and very polite. Every time they leave a car as they move on to the next one with the trolley the hostess turns and bows to the passengers We have had lots of offers of help from the locals just coming up and asking us if they could help. Still a problem with language but we get by We stayed in a Ryokan a traditional Japenese hotel near Mount [View Full Entry]

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Hello all Going to japan on 16th March for conference and then holiday Visiting Osaka, Nara, Hakone ( Fuji area), Tokyo, Takayama, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Himeji, and Kyoto I will try to keep a blog going whilst away and add to it on return until next entry Sayonara Derek & Joan [View Full Entry]

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Hello all Arrived in the hotter climes of Langkawi on Thursday am. Temp 33'C yestarday pm Wonderful place staying in Pelangi Beach resort in great accommodation with views from room on to beach and out to sea. Very friendly locals. Out for walk this am in cooler temp - only 28'C so far. Very relaxing place with plenty of time to swim and relax by pool or on beach. Sea is warm as you go in - sorry if this is depressing you all in UK. wouls recommend staying here to anyone if you don't mind heat and want tropical island [View Full Entry]

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Hello all A surprise entry as we are in the Air NZ executive lounge at AKL airport and found a computer with free on line access Just bought a compact flash card reader so am now able to connect to USB port without needing access from slot on computer. This has been a bit of a problem in some areas notably in the centre of Auckland where there is lots of cheap access but most don't have or even know what you are asking for when you mention cf card reader. Flight due out at 14.10 and into KL at 20.00 [View Full Entry]

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