I get this question a lot from readers. Is the Japan Rail pass a good value? I mean it’s expensive and honestly, I really don’t want to spend so much on a train if I can save in other ways. Travel in Japan is expensive, it’s just a fact of the situation there. Yes, there are opportunities to use slower trains between some of the destinations but … [Read more...]
Category: Asia
Travels in the Eastern Province: Hofuf – Saudi Arabia
- It was one of my first weekends in Saudi Arabia, finally getting here after a disastrous attempts at getting visas that required me at one point to even replace my passport. The folks had already been here for several months, mostly just traveling to Bahrain and sitting around the hotel pool. They were antsy to go and seemingly since I was … [Read more...]
50 Great things to do in Tokyo Japan
There are easily more than 50 things to do Tokyo, so it was not hard to come up with this list. But start here and see how many you can get through. Do you have your own places you love that you would want to add? Have breakfast sushi at the Tsukiji Fish Market Watch a show at the Kabuki Theater in Ginza Get a beautiful view of the city … [Read more...]
Photo Essay: Wanderings in Salalah Oman
Salalah Oman is one of those places that is so beautiful and so magical yet so few people know anything about it. Surprisingly that even is the case among Arabs. Perhaps being peaceful and quiet means people generally ignore you. Additionally Oman is not as flashy as some of its neighbors to the North such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai. And honestly … [Read more...]
Thoughts on Returning to Jordan
Can you return to where you have been? Would it be at all the same? It’s been a weird year back in the states. I sorta fell into a mid-east role without any mid-east work and various worries about unemployment or even continued employment but as anything time keeps moving forward. I realized I had been losing my Arabic at an accelerated … [Read more...]
Art Exhibit – Zaatari Refugee Children – Amman Jordan
I’m always the last person to know anything that seems to go on around town. As I went into my new favorite café (Café Fann wa Chai) in Jabel Al-Webdeih I noticed they were having an art exhibit that opened tonight. The exhibit is sponsored by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and featuring artwork from Syrian refugees in the … [Read more...]
Adventures in Middle East Living: Visiting the Embassy
I didn’t take photos of the embassies so I just have a photo of Amman traffic to share. So wanted to get another story and update on life, love, and study in the Middle east. Or at least two of the previous three. Besides regular classes, I've been working on trying to get my business visa to Saudi Arabia. On advice I woke up really early to … [Read more...]
Return to Amman Jordan – Middle East Living
The lovely and ancient Roman Theater in Amman Jordan It is interesting to be finally back in the middle east and one of my now favorite places Amman Jordan. Cities of the world are known for so many things, and I try to think about the distinctive thing that I think about when I imagine Amman and perhaps it is the city of hills. If you have … [Read more...]
Photo Essay: Views of Mysore – India
As I wrote earlier I had taken a quick trip down to Mysore and Bangalore from Hyderabad with my cousins. For all of us it was our first time in Karnataka and against my better judgment we ended up taking a day tour of each of the places. Alas, however that doesn’t mean I am without photos, although probably without as many good stories. Beyond … [Read more...]
New Travels to the Middle East
So people have been asking me what’s been going on and I’ve slowly been answering it in various forms randomly in phone calls or on Social Media. But yesterday I learned that my Visa arrived which was a great surprise. I mailed it to the embassy the previously Friday and it returned on Thursday. I actually thought there was … [Read more...]
My trip to Bangalore and Mysore – or why (most) day tours are terrible
He looked at me, his nose scrunching at the idea and a look of dejection ran down his face. I could tell he was not pleased with my suggestion. “But, But, But, how will we see…everything?” – he asked. I sighed, past experience dictated it would not work out, but I knew I didn’t really had it in me to fight. Sometimes with new travelers only through … [Read more...]
Quick Trip Report: Hyderabad India
I’ve been terrible about posting India photos I know. Getting into a car accident right after coming back sorta threw the normal schedule out of alignment and for some reason I haven’t quite brought it back to normal. I haven’t even sent out my email of photos from the trip (sorry!), so hopefully at least I can try to make up some by trying to … [Read more...]