Paris is the most beautiful city in the world, dear reader; a city full of culture and tradition, and blessed with magnificent architecture. This journal tells the intensely personal story of six months spent living in this glorious city, where despite the beauty of the surroundings the personal signs were ominous from the beginning. Leading on from the previous journal, I caught the ferry from Dover to Calais and then boarded a train on to Paris where I checked into a hostel in the heart of the city. I was young and adventurous which is a plus, but impulsive with a tendency not to think things through, which for a traveller is definitely not a plus! I originally applied for a student work visa at the French embassy in Tokyo towards the end of 1987, and ... read more

This journal summarises travel highlights from the year 1987, which I spent living and working in Japan. The great Japanese adventure began with my arrival in Shimononseki after a day and a night on the ferry which set sail from Pusan in South Korea. It was good to be back in Japan after spending three months here during 1986, and my cunning plan involved hitchhiking from Shimonoseki north to Tokyo with local truck drivers. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and a Japanese man at the terminal wrote Tokyo in kanji on a large cardboard sign which I held out at the truck stops. Winter had set in, and in the dead of night I was hopping around like a demented kangaroo trying to keep warm while holding up the sign, meanwhile truckie ... read more

The flight from Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport to Gimpo international in Seoul turned out to be a breeze, and all the terrifying things I heard about China Airways prior to the flight amounted to nothing in the end. On arrival I made my way to a hostel in downtown Seoul and checked in to commence a memorable week in the capital of South Korea. The city is blessed with great culture, superb food, high quality tailors at very affordable prices, exciting nightlife and incredibly beautiful women. What a combination, and to top it off I met a fantastic group of people at the hostel that made this visit even more enjoyable, in one of my favourite travel destinations. The Koreans are hard working and ambitious, and I quickly noticed they have a very competitive attitude ... read more

Hong Kong roars along as one of the four Asian tigers, dear reader; along with Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The territory is an Asian powerhouse in the region, and excels by operating as a financial centre with a deregulated economy committed to low taxes and a philosophy of small government. The services economy accounts for 90% of GDP in the territory, with Kowloon peninsula attached to the Chinese mainland and sharing a border with Guangdong province. Hong Kong is also one of the most densely populated places on earth, with a population of six million people packed into a small group of islands. Leading on from the previous journal, my travel companions and I continued our journey south from Canton and noticed significant changes as we headed towards Hong Kong. The level of wealth, infrastructure ... read more

Shinjuku station is in the heart of downtown Tokyo, and the busiest train station in the world. Up until my arrival there I thought I was doing OK, having farewelled my friends in San Francisco and boarded a flight to Japan before arriving at Tokyo's Narita airport. From there I caught the airport train to Shinjuku and was nervous alright, but arriving at the station really freaked me out. There are several floors, train lines in every direction and more people rushing around than I'd ever seen in my life. For a time I just stood at the station paralysed with inaction and feeling completely overwhelmed. But things tend to work out and with some assistance I eventually found the correct line to get to my gaijin (foreigner) house. I arrived safely, and this journal tells ... read more