Blogs from Asia - page 14781

We woke up this morning to rain!! Luckily it didn't last that long - and the sun came out. We had American breakfast this morning at the hotel. It was okay - a nice change from the pastries in the morning. We walked back to the main area/river to pick up some sandwhiches for the train. Then we walked to the train station, and got on the train. The ride is so beautiful. I just love staring out the windows. We switched to a bullet train in Nagoya and had another 2 hour ride to Odawara. There we switched to a local train for a few stops, then got on a VERY local train that took us up the mountain very, very slowly. But the ride was gorgeous. So lush and green, and there was fog ... read more

"A Holiday, whilst on a holiday" 18.04.06 We were up early giving ourselves plenty of time to walk to the bus terminal to catch our 9am bus to Mersing in Malaysia, (we could have done this cheaper by catching a local bus to Johor Barhu, then another bus from there. But we decided it would be too much hassle, so we took the direct one instead) As it was we got to the bus terminal just in time and sweating a lot! The bus was nice so that was a good start. We got off the bus just before the causeway to depart Singapore and then off again on the other side to arrive in Malaysia. It was a really easy crossing, no problems, so that was pleasing. From here it was then 3 hours to ... read more

It seems there’s a formal code for walking in the street in Hong Kong. There are two speeds: “amble with obligatory zig-zag path” and “Get out of my way I’m late”. Both are the same speed but the second uses quicker, smaller steps and you tend to travel in straighter lines. Most importantly though, get in other people’s way. It doesn’t matter how you do this but techniques often include not looking where you’re going, not looking like you’re going where you’re going, walking diagonally, looking backwards, slowing down in narrow gaps (or ideally stopping; past-masters will change direction) and walking straight across the front of other people. Examples include leaving a shop and not even contemplating the chance that there may be someone walking on the pavement already, crossing at a pedestrian crossing and showing ... read more

I'm back. For those of you who haven't been subjected to one of these before, or haven't had to endure countless previous tales, i've been to Bangkok a few times before. And like those previous occasions i'm rather enjoying myself at the mo, and would like to stay longer. Bangkok, despite being a hustling, bustling sort of place, is still very relaxed, a la the rest of Thailand. Taxi drivers will still often take you to the wrong place (usually a gemstore of some description), and the heat has been up around and above 40 degrees, but all is still well. The city specialises in food, shopping, and gigantic buddhist edifices. Prostitution and crime are also significant sidelines (if you're into that kind of thing). My experience this time has been similar to those I have ... read more

hello, Laura - Still in Shanghai til Monday, then we get a train to Beijing overnight. It was such a hassle getting train tickets - we ended up going to the train station twice, couldn't get tickets on the day we hoped, and had the only ones left were 1st class (at least we get to travel in style!). Not to mention the irritation of queuing in a 50 people queue in a country where pushing in right at the front desk is perfectly acceptable! So we find ourselves with a few days extra to spare in Shanghai. We had a chill out day yesterday and stayed in the hostel until dinner (partly because we'd been woken up in the early hours by the sound of a wall being demolished in our hostel). Today we went ... read more