Bake N' Shark is a local dish in Trinidad, and if you ask any Trini where to go to get the best bake n' shark on the island- they all tell you to go to Maracas Beach. Maracas Beach is not only one of the prettiest beaches on the island but is also the place where bake n' shark originated. So in our quest to experience the local culture and food, we decided to organize a trip to Maracas. Now there is nothing baked in a bake n' shark, it is all fried- so the name is a little confusing. The [View Full Entry]

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Day 1: The Yoga Retreat w/Laura DeFreitas & Danu Enterprises It is morning over the rice fields. Expected sounds of roosters crowing and crickets singing spread across the valley. Small birds chirp as they hover over the green carpet and geckos skitter along patio walls. The daylight of Galungan is cast over Ubud, and amidst the silence of the hour, an elderly man acts as a human scarecrow. He barks tonal commands and guttural expressions. He swings a bamboo pole tied with plastic. This is his duty, and as the days continue and our presence remains, it becomes hab [View Full Entry]

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We decided not to do the Inca Trail due to time constraints. Instead we took the train from Cuzco to the sleepy little town of Aguas Calientes (aka Machu Picchu town) and stayed in a hostel there for a couple of days. Following the advice of a number of locals we decided to take two days to explore Machu Picchu, the first to explore the hill of Wayna Picchu, and the second to actually explore Machu Picchu itself. The first morning there we woke up bright and early and headed down to the bus stop around 5am in order to catch [View Full Entry]

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The friendly local Slovenian guy decided to take us under his wing at the bus stop near the Italian border, he too was waiting for the elusive white minibus that was supposed to come and whisk us across the border. His English was limited, but he tried to communicate with a smile and determination ... and we managed to convey that we were trying to get across the border too, and travelling on to Lake Bled. Finally the minibus came and we piled on board, and crossed over into Slovenia. When we got to what we suspected was the Nova Gorica [View Full Entry]

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Well thankfully I’m pleased to report that a jaded traveller I’m definitely not - after the flat experience that turned out to be my time in Vietnam I have absolutely loved being in China - even if I have been travelling alone again. It’s a vast and varied country with stunning scenery, sprawling cities, friendly locals and such a different culture to my own that, though I was left bewildered and amazed on many occasions at both what the country once was and how it is today, I couldn’t get enough of it. I decided when leaving Vietnam to head straight [View Full Entry]

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And back to Kuala Lumpur we go!! First time around we landed in KL due to the Chinese visa mishap, but then left the city after a few days to continue onto Singapore and Indonesia. After Borneo we wanted to hit up some of the islands around peninsular Malaysia, but ran into a brick wall! At the time it was "school holiday" and every bus or train to the islands were full ... or the only available seats where premier first class. Out of frustration we bused back to KL, thinking maybe we could catch ride from there, but we ended [View Full Entry]

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Well, the summer holidays were upon as, along with the screaming humidity. You even sweat when you're not moving. I had two weeks off, Mitsu only got four days (hardly fair, I know), so we decided to have a belated more-or-less-honeymoon in Okinawa. Okinawa is a set of tropical islands about an hour's flight from the rest of the Japan. It was two hours for us- and our first flight together. Mitsu had the window seat- a sign of things to come?! Okinawa is famous in the outside world for being the scene of the closing but brutal days of the [View Full Entry]

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After 16 months off the road a short hop to the French Alps to the town of Chamonix, this time without Lily who chose to stay home... After a week of work in Germany, I took the weekend off and headed Chamonix at the foot of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe (4800m). After 6 hours cruise on superb German highways (viva la GPS!) I arrived a winding road climbing up a high mountain pass only to drop sharply into Chamonix valley. Quite a joy ride! I found a nice though basic hotel (Les Campanules - recommneded) and drove [View Full Entry]

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