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Tuesday 2 February We leave chisubani around 8. The trail is much easier than yesterday because we are going down into Batase. We pass through villages on the way, busy with rebuilding, tending the farms, and schooling. Not all of the villages have schools so students have to walk to another village for school.We getContinue reading “Tuesday 2 February 2016”

Hiking into Batase village tomorrow to volunteer teach. Batase is a two-day hike from Kathmandu and was badly effected by the earthquake. Many lives were lost and the community left traumatised by the disaster. I’m not sure what wifi will be available there so my posts may be rare over the next two weeks. Don’tContinue reading “Sunday 30 January 2016”

Visited the World Heritage listed Pashupatinath Temple today and my guide, Bikram Tamang, gave me a great insight into this amazing Hindu place of worship. Bikram gave me access to places I wouldn’t have had the courage to go and saved embarrassment from places I wasn’t allowed. He explained that this place is as significant toContinue reading “Saturday 30 January 2016”

Testimony to the demise of the royal family in Nepal is the Royal Palace Museum. This version of the palace was built in the 1960s after an earthquake humbled the previous version in 1934, taking the king’s two daughters with it. Typical of palaces the building is grand and filled with Royal intrigue. Tragedy struckContinue reading “Thursday 28 January 2016”

Durbar square featured on our tv screens in Australia last April 25 when this ancient heritage-listed Royal Centre crumbled to the ground. The earth shook and down came a lot of beautiful ornate structures that had been standing for hundreds of years. Lives were lost. It’s a popular area for both locals and visitors. IContinue reading “Friday 29 January 2016”

It’s a stunning day. I get up and visit the park across the highway again. It’s Saturday morning and many are jogging around the lake. And in typical Japanese style, they are all going in the same direction. It makes you feel like running in the opposite direction, against the flow, against the order. IContinue reading “SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER – Fokuoka to Kyoto”

I visit Ibusuki for the day. It is an easy 1-hour train ride from Kagoshima. Ibusuki is a popular seaside town for locals, not so much for the beaches because they are flat and the sand is black volcanic residue, but for the food and hot springs. As well as the hot spas, you canContinue reading “THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER – Kagoshima”

I leave Kagoshima on the on the 9.42am bullet train. And when they say 9.42, they mean it. They leave dead on time. When they stop at a station you have about two minutes to get off and alighting passengers to get on. They announce when the stops are approaching and that is your cueContinue reading “FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER – Kagoshima to Fokuoka”

Visited Sakurajima today. Its part of Kagoshima but across the other side of Ginko Bay. You can drive right around or take a short ferry ride. There is an active volcano here that forms a spectacular backdrop to Kagoshima’s cityscape. The smoking crater has been active since the mid 1900s. A community is well establishedContinue reading “WEDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER – Kagoshima”

I would have live to spend another day in Nagasaki but the hotel prices were rediculous. I find out why. There is a major highschool sporting event happening. I board the bullet trains again and head for the southern-most point of Kyushu. Kagoshima is a sea port and has a population of over 600000 people.Continue reading “TUESDAY 14 OCTOBER – Nagasaki to Kagoshima”