Arriving into the harbor on Chichijima, the main island in the Ogasawara archipelago, was like arriving in the new world. After a long and arduous journey aboard the Ogasawara Maru we pulled into the gorgeous port to throngs of islanders welcoming us to their island. It was very nice to be greeted so warmly after […]
The 25.5 Hour Ferry to Ogasawara
December 5, 2011 by 10 Comments
The Ogasawara Archipelago is located about 1000 km south of Tokyo. The entire area is administered as a single rural municipality, Ogasawara Village, which itself is a subprefecture of Tokyo. The archipelago consists of four island groups: the Mukojima (Bridegroom Island) group, the Chichijima (Father Island) group, the Hahajima (Mother Island) group, and the Volcano […]
#300 Jeju Island
December 3, 2011 by 6 Comments
Three years ago, when the Travelers Century Club added Jeju Island to the list of countries that I had to visit to achieve my goal I was a little annoyed. I had already spent some significant time in South Korea proper and Jeju wasn’t exactly the easiest place to get to. You really had to […]
Taipei 101
November 15, 2010 by 11 Comments
Taiwan has been the easiest or most commonly visited place that I hadn’t been for a long time now. That fact always annoyed me so it was only a matter of time before I visited the island. Many people visit as a stopover en route to somewhere else but it had never worked out for […]
Lost in Translation
November 11, 2010 by 14 Comments
The past week or so has been pretty hectic for me, with a lot of planes, places, booking stuff, researching, touring around and very little sleep. After Sri Lanka, I headed to the Maldives for a few days to chill and because I had to get a plane from there; since it was booked before […]
Four Days in Tibet
August 26, 2009 by 4 Comments
“Go to Tibet and see many places, as much as you can; then tell the world” ~His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tibet is a land that has inspired wonder and existed with an aura of mystery for centuries. It has piqued the imagination of many Westerners as little was known about this remote Shangri La […]
Beijing to Lhasa By Train
August 23, 2009 by 13 Comments
Inaugurated in 2006, one of the worlds great train journeys, the Beijing to Lhasa train opened with much fanfare and eagerness. This engineering marvel through the Tibetan Plateau topping out at an altitude of 5072 meters took decades with the difficult conditions at such high altitudes and cold temperatures. However, against the wishes of many […]
Mongolian Barbecue
August 20, 2009 by 3 Comments
If you were to mix up dramatic landscapes of empty deserts, rolling green hills that look like putting greens running up a mountain, snow capped peaks and sparkling lakes-you would have the start of a place like Mongolia. Throw in a few felt yurts of the nomad people, Buddhist temples, ruins, great wildlife, warm hospitality […]
The Great Wall of China
July 17, 2008 by 8 Comments
I have seen pretty much all of the modern wonders of the world and now all of the new seven wonders that were voted last year. I believe that the Great Wall of China is as good as any of them. Today, I had the priviledge of walking and climbing the wall for several hours […]
