Vietnam was my special first for overseas travel. I arrived as green as can be without the tools I needed to make my trip easier. No Maps.me app or currency exchange app in hand. Not even a guide book. But I did carry my 5 essentials! In hindsight having a few apps for Vietnam could have Read more…
Japan is my favorite country to travel. The culture is wonderful, the old temples are pristine and the food is delicious (oishi!). The country is very modern, arguably more so than North America given the vending machines with beer, the trains that are never late and the conveyor belt sushi Read more…
I finished off my 30 days in China in Qingdao, a city that wasn’t really on my radar and travel itinerary until I found a cheap flight to Fukuoka, Japan. To my delight, I discovered Qingdao’s beautiful heritage still visible today in the German Architecture and Festivals like the Annual Read more…
Dalian and Lushun (Lv Shun) are seaside cities on the Liaodong Peninsula. The region isn’t as popular as nearby Beijing or Tianjin for international tourists, but it may be worth exploring for those who love military history or technology. Dalian is the Tech Hub of North East China while the Read more…
Welcome to the Summer Palace! The last of the big three tourist destinations in Beijing! The others being the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The Summer Palace was the summer home of the Chinese Imperial Family for centuries. But before that, it was already a popular location for temples Read more…
Xi’An is one of the most historic cities in China. The downtown core is a UNESCO world heritage site thanks to the giant ancient wall that stands as a reminder of the Empires that rose and fell beneath them. From the Qin Dynasty’s capital in Xianyang where China was first Read more…
The Standing Terracotta Army is probably the grandest artistic project and act of self preservation in the history of civilized mankind. 8,000+ hand carved clay statues, each one a unique masterpiece armed with weapons to defend the first emperor of China in the afterlife. Nearby is the Emperor’s Mausoleum, an Read more…
One of the biggest differences travelers learn between the time we spend on the road and at home is the appreciation publicly funded parks, monuments and museums. At home, we complain our taxes are too high and our public services too few. But in a foreign country we love the Read more…
Hong Kong is one of the cheapest cities to fly in and out of Asia. Thanks to the two systems, one country policy established since 1997 when the British gave back the territory to China, most travelers don’t require tourist Visas! Getting around in Hong Kong is super easy with Read more…
Welcome to the magnificent and sacred Itsukushima Shrine! Japan is filled with thousands of wonderful temples and shrines, after only 10 days of travel in the land of the rising sun you’ll probably experience dozens! But Itsukushima is special, the entire island has been built up around this shrine since Read more…
The Atom Bomb. Mankind’s most destructive creation. The result of an arms race against the Germans and the last weapon used to defeat the Japanese in World War 2. Two atom bombs: Little Boy and Fat Man were developed by a team of scientists from Europe and North America. This Read more…
Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park opened April 1st 1954. It stands as a reminder of the first nuclear weapon attack, an attack on innocent civilians, children and an entire city. Today, threats of using nuclear weapons are being made on Twitter by World Leaders who were born after the destruction of Read more…