Inspiring you on your own journey . . .
Your stay in the coal town of Datong has been brief. After a day exploring the old hutongs, reconstructed temples and city walls, you make the break and hire a driver to take you out of the perma-grey atmosphere. The driver cheerfully chatters to you in a mix of English and Mandarin, hoping to hone his […]
All around you high-rises of various ages grow from the ground like a concrete forest. Shabby shop fronts are intermingled with modern chrome and glass fronted businesses. The walk along Queen’s Road East in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong offers a fusion of not only old and new, but also of East and […]
Clutching your bus day ticket, you clamber aboard the busy Kyoto bus that pulls up in front of you. Finding a seat, you keep one eye on the LED display at the front of the vehicle and one on the route map. The efficient and punctual service takes you on a meandering tour through the […]
Weaving through the tight Pueblan streets, you are heading towards something vast. As the car loops through the colonial blocks on streets that were not built for automotive transportation, your excitement builds. Your previous night’s excess of delicious tacos árabes in the city of Puebla lives on in your memory. Although the influence of the […]
For the second time in recent history, a tragedy is set to befall an ancient Afghan Buddhist monument. The world was shaken when, in 2001, the callous and zealous Taliban destroyed the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan. The Taliban government declared them to be idols and ordered them dynamited. The shocking images sent the world reeling. […]
The steady drizzle has been slowly soaking you to the bone for the last few hours of meandering through the streets of Taipei. The crumbling concrete blocks provide little shelter as you pass small dark shops that are filled with dusty merchandise. The smell of guā bāo drifts out from a street-side restaurant. The clam […]
Navigating the various Buddhas and bodhisattvas can be a very confusing task. Every temple can seem filled with overwhelming imagery. With a little knowledge, a visit to a Buddhist temple can be a rich and fulfilling experience that takes you through the heart of Buddhist philosophy. Each school of Buddhism has its own venerated figures, […]
The feeling of festival is in the mid-autumn air. Flags and banners adorn the streets in the small neighbourhood of Tai Hang on Hong Kong Island in preparation of the imminent event. Once a village, Tai Hang retains much of its old nature. Despite the towering apartment blocks, it is still laid out on a […]
The ancient crusader streets of the fortified city of Valletta are preserved as if in a time capsule. The passages climb and drop, giving you vistas of balconies on Globigerina limestone buildings against the pure blue of the sky and Mediterranean Sea. A small alley houses a café that could barely fit five people. Taking […]
The peninsula of Macau is a confusing and paradoxical place. Wandering through its streets you feel as if you are in Europe. The Portuguese street names add a dimension of colonial charm to your drifting, but are almost incomprehensible to many locals who only speak and read Cantonese. At ground level, the buildings remind you […]
