Japan – A Survival Guide !

Japan – A Survival Guide !

Lost in Translation, Dazed & Confused both film names spring to mind when it comes to getting to grips with Japanese Culture, it is not weird as some sites say it is just totally different and it takes some time to get used to, even for seasoned travellers. However some tips on what to expect and how to make the experience easier will I hope be welcome. There are however a few conundrums that I have to mention.
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Affordable South Africa

Affordable South Africa

A trip to South Africa to include Cape Town, the Wine District, Johannesburg and finally a Safari stay at the Kruger Park arranged independently and for non car drivers may sound daunting but when you see how much you can save on advertised packages and also learn that it can be done safely this soon becomes a very reasonable reality.
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Market Trends – Food Markets in Spain & Portugal

Market Trends – Food Markets in Spain & Portugal

It all started in Madrid with the Mercado San Miguel, it was an old fashioned typical neighbourhood market in the centre of Madrid then it closed down and re-opened in 2009 as a “Gastronomic” market with a huge variety of places from which you can buy food and drink to eat in a central area and it has become one of the top visitor attractions in the city.
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Marrakech & Essaouira – Morrocan Travels

Marrakech & Essaouira – Morrocan Travels

I first visited Marrakech over thirty years ago while working in Morocco back then it had two types of tourist, the very rich and those on the hippy trail, it was not the easiest place to choose as a holiday destination but boy was it fascinating. We have been back three times since, all in the last eight years and have noticed a huge change, many more visitors, most for
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Hong Kong – Food – Street to Gourmet

Hong Kong – Food – Street to Gourmet

It was great to be back in Hong Kong especially after a twenty hour overnight sleeper journey from Shanghai, the deluxe soft sleepers are very good but soft is not really the word that should be used for the bunks. The journey however was excellent although there was less on offer in the way of snack trolleys than on the Xi’an to Shanghai sleeper but we had our own Shanghai picnic.
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Xian – City of the Terracotta Warriors

Xian – City of the Terracotta Warriors

We were visiting Xian for one major reason, the same one as most of the other visitors, to see the Terracotta Warriors. Having done my research before the trip I realised that Xian was a large city but I had not realised how large. We arrived from Beijing on the high speed train at Xian north station and took a cab to our hotel within the city walls, the journey was over 13km but the fare was the equivalent of £3.50. Checking later on the size of the city it has a population of similar size to London.
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Shanghai – The Amazing City Skyline

Shanghai – The Amazing City Skyline

Arriving at Shanghai main railway station on an overnight sleeper train from Xian it was good to see easy access to the main concourse and directions to the well organised taxi stands that were simple to follow, after spending time in a few Chinese railway stations over the past weeks we knew this was not always the case.
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Beijing – Forbidden City and the Great Wall

Beijing – Forbidden City and the Great Wall

Nothing can prepare you for the vastness of Beijing, the sheer size of the city and the number of people is staggering, but it is also a city of huge varieties. In the middle of some of the main shopping areas with all the designer names such as Chanel and Prada and more high end watch shops than you can count there are still small lanes of grey brick houses called hutongs where families live and little eating places and local shops thrive.
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Palma – The Sa Gerreria Neighbourhood

Palma – The Sa Gerreria Neighbourhood

This was our first visit back to Palma in seven years and this time we were renting an apartment in the old part of Palma in a neighbourhood called Sa Gerreria. This was the area of merchants and craftsmen and it retains much of the original character with narrow winding streets and small squares.

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Northern Spain – Galicia for Wine & Seafood

Northern Spain – Galicia for Wine & Seafood

May has arrived and time for our third trip to Galicia in Northern Spain, this time with four friends, two of whom have been before but two have not. The aims of the trip are to taste some great local wines and eat great seafood and for the two newcomers to get a taste of Galicia and we sure did all three. I’ll start with some places and end on the amazing wines.
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