Category Archives: Travel
Nara
Nara was one of the first capitals of Japan so needless to say, the main attractions here are……… temples. The place is full of them. But they are good. Nara is less than an hour from Kyoto and about 20 minutes from Osaka so it’s worth coming here for a day or two. Continue reading
Kyoto
Kyoto is one of the most popular cities in Japan, in fact most people will say it’s the most beautiful city in Japan. Some guide books will even say that it ranks with London, Paris and New York as a city that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. To come to this opinion, i think that you will have to spend a good amount of time here. It’s certainly got it’s charms but you will have to do some searching to see its beauty. On first impressions, central Kyoto will struggle to distance itself from any other city. But if you venture to the eastern or western parts of the city then you will find the beauty that all the guides talk about. Continue reading
Miyajima
Miyajima is a little island but a big tourist attraction located about an hour south of Hirsohima. It contains the famous floating torii. I have no idea why its famous but it looks cool and its classified as one of Japan’s three best views. You can get here using the trams from Hiroshima and a day trip will suffice. The tram will take you to Miyajima port and then you get the ferry across. It’s very simple.
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Hiroshima
Known across the world for all the wrong reasons, Hiroshima is actually a very cheerful and surprising city. With a population of over 1.1 million, the city has been completely rebuilt since the atomic bomb detonated in the skies above it in 1945. The only building that still remains from those days is the A-Bomb dome, an eternal reminder of the tragedy. Continue reading
Osaka
Osaka is the working capital of Japan. It’s the second largest city in the country and also the biggest of the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe trio in Kansai. The prefecture contains 8.8 million people and I reckon we met at least half of them in our 3 days there. The place is crazy and the city has an incredible pace to it. It took a while to get our bearings but after a few hours you realise that it is an incredibly easy city to navigate through. The train system is just excellent to use and nobody should have an excuse to use any other means of transport when they’re in Osaka. Continue reading
Sydney
Ah Sydney. Definitely my favourite place in Australia and it was so good to be back here after spending all that time driving around the country. The drive from Melbourne was long, but a happy one as we knew it was the last leg. I began my time in Sydney at the WakeUp hostel in Central just about 3 years ago and I ended it right next door at the YHA. Before I went on this trip I was too occupied with sorting out apartment bonds, car rentals and flights etc that I didnt really realise what I was leaving but it definitely struck me in my final few days here.
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Melbourne
Melbourne is an amazing city and probably one of my favourites. I’ve been here 4 or 5 times and always seem to have a good time. The highlight of Melbourne, for me, is the Melbourne Cup. This is without a … Continue reading
Adelaide
Again, I was delighted to get back into a city. Just to be able to relax and not have to drive for a few days. We spent Friday and Saturday in Adelaide and it’s pretty good. The weather is crap, it’s raining and freezing cold and as I was walking through the city, I felt like I should be doing my christmas shopping. Being in South Australia now means that I have been in every state in Australia which is a nice little achievement (I’m not counting ACT because it’s too crap to be considered an actual state).
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Some Roadhouse At The Other Side Of The Nullarbor
I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. I am so sick of driving. Continue reading
Kalgoorlie
This is going to be terrible. The drive from Perth to Adelaide is 2700km, roughly the same distance from London to Moscow. We’re going to attempt it in a little over 2 days which means a lot of driving. First stop is Kalgoorlie, and with 85000 people its the second biggest place in Western Australia. It’s only 600km east of Perth so this was an easy days driving and it’s a nice place to relax for a while. The funny thing about all these outback towns is that the barmaids in all the pubs have to work in their ‘skimpies’, lingerie in other words. So many places in Perth were advertising for girls to come work in outback pubs and earn up to $1000 a week but none of them mention that ya you can only wear your underwear. It’s hilarious.
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