Culture Shock: Part Three – Returning Home.

Today, I am writing about the inevitable reality that almost all travellers face, unless they are travelling professionally that is and when they come home it’s only to say hello, and pack for the next trip. Coming home can be a serious ‘culture’ shock that is not easy to deal with, and I am facing …

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Japan Survival Guide Part 3: Getting around Japan by Rail!

Whether you’re here to live, or here backpacking you are going to have to get from point A to point B somehow. I was considering doing a post all about transport in Japan and including driving, because for many people coming here to live and teach driving is an essential part of the day and …

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Yokohama’s Cup Noodles Museum

Minato Mirai is the harbour area of Yokohama. It’s really the feature of this wonderful city, shiny and sleek built over a few small islands with a large mall and a wonderful walkway that you can take from Sakuragicho station. It’s not in the dead centre of Yokohama, but in a district which includes the …

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Culture Shock Part Two: First Experiences in West Africa

When I went to India, I was a very green traveller. It was my first solo trip, the first time I had travelled alone. When I went to West Africa in 2006, I couldn’t claim the same. I had been to India three times, I had visited Bangladesh twice and been through Pakistan and Iran …

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Cherry Blossoms by Night

Well, Spring is everywhere at the moment even if it did rain for all of Thursday, and in Japan that means cherry blossoms - Sakura. People are out and about celebrating the arrival of spring with 'Hanami', hard to define, a sort of celebration though. After a long, cold winter, where even Yokohama saw some …

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Astounding Uzbekistan and a Video Date with Andy

As followers of this blog will know, I am darned keen on travel. I love to write as well, but also, I love to make short films and the like. Along with my (blush) Doctor Who fanfiction stuff, I also have a channel called 'The Greater World' on youtube which has 13 travel videos on …

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Culture Shock Part One: India

I’ve been working on Short Journeys: India lately (due out in April) and thinking of some of the experiences I’ve had there and thought that ‘Culture Shock’ would be a good topic to write a blog on. This will be a three part article over three weeks (check on Sundays for the next part!) with …

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The Classic Overnight Bus Journey

I have been on many overnight bus journeys in my travels, and last night was another. I have crossed the Baluchistan Desert from Pakistan to Iran overnight, which is perhaps my most memorable for good and bad reasons. Bad - Hot beyond belief and very little sleep, the Good, nay AMAZING - waking up at …

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Sayanara Apartment

Well, today I said 'Goodbye' to my apartment where I have lived the past two years. If moving to Japan was tricky, leaving is not only difficult but also quite slow and frustrating. Still, even though the apartment wasn't quite as comfortable as I might have liked, I'll have fond memories. Not so much of …

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