A Beautiful Day in Tokyo!

Posted in Japan| Tokyo

Just wrapping up day four in Tokyo and what a day it was! My friend Midori, who came to see me at the hotel the night I arrived, took a day off of work and plannend a full day of sight seeing for me.  And when I say planned I don’t just mean that she put together… Read more

First Stop: Tokyo

Posted in Japan| RTW| Tokyo

It was a mad dash to get here – no sleep, a last minute shopping frenzy, extreme packing, and finally a bowl of killer shrimp – but I eventually made it onto the plane. Sunday morning I left LA and Monday afternoon I landed here in Tokyo.  I made it – the first stop on this… Read more

Culture Close to Home

“You’re going to be gone for how long? FIVE months?? Wow – I wish I could do that.”That’s usually how the conversation goes when I tell people about my round the world trip.  Everyone I speak to WANTS to travel more, but not everyone feels they can. Although there are always ways that people can include more… Read more

Too Many Choices

Analysis Paralysis – that’s a phrase I am far too familiar with these days. Given too many choices I will sit for hours scrolling amongst reviews and photos and links and star rating.  My first day of freedom from the office shackles and I have literally sat glued to my laptop trying to decide on my… Read more

Comparing Cafe Culture

A quick pick-me-up in VancouverIs it weird that I will travel thousands of miles, spend the better part of a day on a plane and likely drop a decent wad of cash only to end up in a foreign country to do…nothing? Well, not exactly “nothing” but pretty darned close to it.  No matter where I… Read more

Japanese New Year (aka Mochi-palooza)

Posted in Culture| Food| Japan

Sometimes when you’re stuck at home dreaming of travel, you have to find your cultural experiences in your own back yard to compensate. You can go to art galleries or museums featuring international artists, look on the calendar for cultural celebrations or check out a dance class like Salsa, Flamenco or Bhangra. OR you could just… Read more

The Culture of Death

Posted in Japan| Oman

WARNING: For those of you that are looking for a Christmas themed post, please scroll down a bit to Monday’s entry (or click on this link). Today’s post is most definitely NOT filled with holiday-themed joy, but as always there is travel related joy for me, so please read on. When I travel, there are some… Read more

Why I'm Loyal to Lonely Planet

Posted in Japan| Thailand

One thing you should know about me is that I am extremely loyal. If I’ve decided that I like a person or a particular product, I’ll stick by it in good times and in bad. One of my first international trips back in 1994 was from Tokyo where I was studying abroad to Bangkok and the… Read more

Newer