A delightful stay at the Hida Hotel Plaza Back to the hotel plaza. I loved our room in this hotel, Hida Hotel Plaza – spacious rooms decorated in traditional Japanese style in colors of red and gold. A very large en-suite with shower, separate dressing room, prayer niche, comfy beds with gold covers and black […]
Two headed monster-Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine-Takayama-Gifu Province
February 6, 2013 by
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Torii gate – old Takayama town Walking down the street in old Takayama town, we passed through the Torii (gate) Hie-jinja, up a few flights of steps to reach the entrance gate to the Shinto Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine at the top of the hill. The shrine sits against a background of dark green forest trees. […]
Takayama Festival Floats – Matsuri Festivals – Gifu Province Japan
January 30, 2013 by
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This photo of Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall is courtesy of TripAdvisor Takayama Festival Float Exhibition Hall Takayama is famous for the Sanno-machi Historic District (old town area) and the biannual Takayama Matsuri (Festival). The Takayama Matsuri considered one of the most beautiful festivals in Japan with ancient (17th century) floats being pulled through the […]
What is an ‘Irori’? What is a ‘Jizai-kagi’? Takayama – Gifu Province Japan
January 21, 2013 by
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Timber forests along the riverbank We left the hotel and pretty topiary gardens and made good time to Odawara Station. Nice views of small settlements and dark green timber forests along the riverbank. A smooth ride on the Shinkansen to Nagoya where a new guide met us on the platform, an easy transition to the […]
Cows – skinny white cows or oxen – Livestock – Cambodia
October 13, 2012 by
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Skinny white cows or Zebu The skinny white cows and oxen we saw all over Cambodia are known as Zebu, also known as Brahmin. There are about 75 known breeds of Zebu. A characteristic of the Zebu is a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears, and a large dewlap or long flap of […]
Water Buffalo | Wild Buffalo – Farm Animals | Cambodia
October 5, 2012 by
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Water Buffalo – important farm animals The weather cleared and gave us blue sky’s once more, we passed a field with grey water buffalo wading in the water. These are the Asian water buffalo, a domesticated farm animal that has adapted to, and enjoys being in the water. They are an important farm animal in […]
Attractions Guilin – Fountains and Silver Moon Pagoda | Guilin China
September 25, 2012 by
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Travel through China was a fascinating experience. Each day brought something new and eye-opening. I had visited Japan before coming to China, although an Asian country, it in no way prepared me for the sights of China. Ancient China is a vastly different country with so much diversity. Guilin attractions Guilin I’m sure, has been […]
Reed Flute Cave and Grotto – Guilin China
September 19, 2012 by
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Guilin City Guilin proved an enchanting city. We stayed at the Hotel Universal in Guilin which was very clean and comfortable as all our accommodation had been to date. One got the feeling that China was very geared up towards tourism and the tourists. Our room overlooked the river with a pretty garden directly below. […]
Durian – Tropical Fruit – Kampot – Landmark Old Bridge
September 2, 2012 by
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The Durian – an ancient tropical fruit A small provincial town Kampot has a very impressive roundabout in the center of town with sculptures of tropical fruit, including a giant Durian. Roundabouts throughout Cambodia often typify the products produced in the district. The Durian is a tropical fruit with a very strong smell and a […]
Plantations of Black Pepper | Salt and Pepper – Kampot
August 29, 2012 by
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Road to Kampot – Black Pepper Plantations A good paved road connects Kep with Kampot, it is only a short trip about 30-40 mins to Kampot. Leaving the crab/seafood market we continued along the seafront turning left at the statue of Vishnu (route 33a), left again at the white horse monument to route 33 the […]