Crossing the border from Namibia into Botswana was relatively straightforward – unlike most of the countries I’m visiting on this trip, I don’t need a visa.
We had quite a long driving day on a fairly terrible road to the town of Maun which is a gateway town for the Okavango Delta.
An early start the next morning for a scenic flight over the delta which was very picturesque, even if it was quite difficult to spot the animals!
In the late morning we then set off into the delta in an open 4×4 down a long, dusty and bumpy dirt road. After a couple of hours, our driver slowed down a bit as he had spotted lion footprints in the sand on the road. And then just a little further up, we saw 2 lions feasting on a very dead giraffe. At once both the most incredible and gruesome sight I’ve seen.
It felt like it was staring right into my soul
We continued into the delta and after a short game drive we arrived at our tented accommodation for the next 2 nights. I am not much of a camper but I could get on board with these tents, very roomy with actual beds and en suite facilities consisting of a chemical toilet and a bucket shower.
After a delicious dinner and warming up around the campfire (I have misjudged the evening and night time temperatures – it is cold!!) it was an early night before a 5.30am wake up call for a full day of activities the following day. We all got bush babies (hot water bottles) to take to bed which were definitely needed!!
We had a morning game drive the next day, lots of elephants, giraffes, impalas, zebras, and fluffy and colourful birds. We also had 2 flat tyres in the space of 10 minutes which was quite exciting considering you’re not meant to get out of the vehicle when on game drives!! Thankfully no animals nearby and our driver was very adept at changing the tyre.
After lunch and a short rest back at the camp, we embarked on a mokoro trip along the waterways. Mokoros are traditional canoes which were carved out of wood, though the ones we used were made from fibreglass. They are propelled by one guy with a long pole, almost like gondolas. It was a supremely peaceful way to spend a couple of hours, meandering up and down the river, watching the flies and insects darting in and out of the water, a few hippos and the occasional bird in a distant tree.
On the way back we saw an awesome sunset, with all the trees silhouetted against the orangey pink sky, just stunning.
Dinner that evening followed by another bush baby. I’d also doubled up on the duvet and blankets and was, frankly, a bit too warm that night!!
Another early start the next day to drive the 5 hours back to Maun to be reunited with our overland truck before continuing on for another nearly 7 hours to our next lodge near Nata. Such a long day. This lodge was called Elephant Sands and had a watering hole. As we were eating dinner in the evening, an elephant came for a drink which was so cool to see.
Back on the road early the next morning as we headed to our last stop on this brief visit to Botswana, in Chobe. This was a relatively short driving day and we were at our accommodation in Kasane by lunchtime.
In the afternoon we enjoyed a river cruise where we saw lots of elephants walking and bathing along the river, a few crocodiles and hippos. This was the first time I’d seen the hippos out of the water. Lots more bird life and we also caught an awesome sunset before returning to shore.
This was such a brief visit to Botswana, only 5 nights in total but so much great wildlife viewing, and some incredible sunsets.
Next up, an overnight in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe before onwards to Zambia.
We left a misty and foggy Swakopmund after breakfast and drove up the coast. Not that we could see anything… We did stop at a shipwreck which this stretch of coastline in notorious for. The ship was wrecked in 2008 and is still bobbing away just off the shore.
We then turned inland and arrived at our next accommodation at Daureb Isib in time for lunch. This accommodation is very near to the Brandberg mountain and in the afternoon we drove to the mountain and had a 3 mile round hike along the riverbed to see some cave paintings, the most famous of which is the White Lady. It’s really incredible to think of the age of these paintings. They reminded me of some similar ones I saw in Matobo in Zimbabwe.
Brandberg mountainThe White Lady in the centre
After dinner that evening, I attempted some night sky photography but we’re approaching a full moon so it wasn’t super-successful…
A 9am departure (such a luxury on this trip, it’s often been pre 8am and earlier), for a bit of a drive day to our next stop just outside of Etosha National Park.
We made a couple of stops along the way, and I bought a small local artwork to go with my increasing collection of local paintings from my travels. The bonus is that flat things are easy to carry!
We arrived at some very nice lodges about 20 minutes from Etosha in the late afternoon. I’ve generally been impressed with the quality of accommodation on this trip. In southern Namibia we stayed in a couple of basic motels in places where there wasn’t much going on but, in the Namib desert, the previous night at Brandberg mountain and at Etosha, they have been quirky and interesting and very comfortable. More upgraded than G Adventures or Intrepid in my experience.
We had a full day game drive in Etosha National Park the next day. The park opens at sunrise (about 7.30am) so we were up early and ready to go.
We stopped at a couple of watering holes to start with which had quite a few animals getting their morning drinks before heading out for a day in the bush and savannah.
Springboks seemed to be the most abundant animals in the morning but there were also plenty of zebras and a few giraffes.
The highlight of the morning was a black rhino having a drink and finding some food in a muddy patch. I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of different animals on my previous trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe but this was my first black rhino which was really cool to see.
We carried on deeper into the park, to the salt pans which are currently dry. Not much wildlife to be spotted there. After lunch at the Halali rest stop we headed back the way we’d driven in the morning.
It seemed like there were much fewer animals about at this time, perhaps from the heat of the sun. We stopped at another watering hole for a while, there were giraffes, zebras, kudus, impalas and springbok all waiting their turn at the watering hole. And then, far in the distance, 3 bull elephants very, very slowly emerged. We must have waited a good 30 minutes to see if they would come down closer to the watering hole. They eventually started moving, slowly, but we had to leave in order to make sure we’d be out of the park before sunset.
Elephants emerging from the distance
I was feeling a bit disappointed that we hadn’t seen many elephants, especially as Etosha has a lot of them. And then, again when we had driven for quite some time without seeing anything, suddenly in the middle of the road was a family of elephants. We had to stop as they were blocking the road! Really special to see, and they got quite close to our 4×4 which was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time!
After that it was time to head back to the lodges for dinner and a rest as it had been a long, but exciting, day.
The next day we had a leisurely start as, for some people, this was a changeover day in the trip. We were waiting for some new people to join us, who were being driven the 4ish hours from Windhoek, and then the people leaving us would be driven back to Windhoek. After we’d all had lunch together it was time to say farewell to our new friends who would be leaving us. It’s always amazing to me on these trips how soon you become a family and develop friendships with people from all over the world who I only met a few days ago. And it’s always bittersweet to say goodbye. My trip in Africa is 8 weeks so I think I’m going to have a few more of these hellos and goodbyes before I leave.
After lunch, those of us continuing the journey headed back to the park for a drive through and out through the eastern end. Having seen relatively few elephants the previous day, the park seemed to be teeming with them on this afternoon. Again we were on a deadline to be out of the park before sunset so there wasn’t quite the same opportunity to sit and watch the animals as the previous day but it was still very cool to see the animals, even briefly.
We exited the park with about 20 minutes to spare and still had another hour or so to go to our next accommodation in Tsumeb. This stop was just a quick overnighter as we arrived late and left early for another long drive day. We were heading to our final stop in Namibia, at Divundu on the Kavango River, and fairly close to the Botswana border. Namibia is a vast country and, as you’d expect on a long overland trip, there have been a few long drive days to get between highlights. This day was one of those. Thankfully a tarred road the entire way (not always the case, especially on our way to Fish River Canyon and the Namib desert), but it was late afternoon by the time we arrived at our accommodation on the banks of the river.
We enjoyed the evening watching the glowing orange sky as the sun set over the far bank of the river. The sunsets in Africa really do seem to hit differently. Brilliant orange and bright red skies. Beautiful.
We started our last full day in Namibia with a breakfast cruise along the river, looking for hippos and crocodiles. And we were successful! We could actually hear the hippos through the night and they sounded incredibly close, though we convinced ourselves that it was just the sound travelling in the quiet surroundings.
I love how hippos just hang about partly submerged in the waters, peacefully bobbing underwater from time to time. Seems like an idyllic existence.
On our way back to the river bank we spotted a crocodile hiding on a small island behind some reeds. It seemed to just be resting and didn’t move at all despite the sound of the boat’s engines. There were also loads and loads of birds flying over us in formation, which looked spectacular against the perfectly blue sky.
I spent the rest of the day relaxing at the lodge whilst some others in the group did an afternoon game drive to nearby Mahango area. I’ve decided that as I have many more opportunities to see wildlife in the coming weeks, I could miss out on this one and enjoy a bit of downtime and relaxation.
I am back underway on the next part of my sabbatical travels. I arrived in Cape Town late morning after a long flight via Istanbul from Manchester, and was greeted by Table Mountain in all her glory. It was such a beautiful, clear day and as I assumed the next couple of days would be the same, I didn’t bother taking a photo…
I spent the first day napping and relaxing after the journey. I’ve been to Cape Town before (in a post which has been sitting in my drafts for about 2 years!! I may yet get round to finishing and posting it), so I didn’t feel in too much of a hurry to be out and about seeing things.
I had booked a full day wine tour to Stellenbosch, Franshhoek and Paarl the following day. There were only 2 others on the trip so we managed to squeeze in an extra stop in the colourful Bo-Kaap neighbourhood in Cape Town at the start of the day. This had been on my list to do so I was glad to be able to see it.
It was a very cloudy day with lots of low cloud hanging over the mountains. As we drove out towards Stellenbosch, our driver bemoaned the weather as apparently we should have been able to see some lovely scenery…
We were at our first tasting at 9am, 2 whites and 2 reds plus some biltong. Not a bad way to start the day!! The weather had lifted and after stops in the pretty towns of Stellenbosch and Franshhoek, both of which reminded me of other towns in wine producing areas elsewhere in the world, we had a short ride on the Franshhoek wine tram before stopping at the next winery for lunch and 3 more wines. The final stop was in Paarl for 4 more wines to round off the day.
On my final day before the tour started, I took the hotel shuttle bus to the V&A Waterfront, in the pouring rain. After wandering around the shopping mall, I ventured out in the rain towards the contemporary art museum, which I had been to on my previous visit.
After lunch and a further wander (it had just about stopped raining at this point but still no sign of Table Mountain), I headed back to the hotel in time for the evening meet up prior to the tour starting in the morning.
I am travelling on this trip with Nomad Africa. Overall it’s 8 weeks but it’s split into 3 sections, the first of which is Cape Town to Victoria Falls.
We left Cape Town bright (well, still cloudy) and early the next morning, and started with a brief stroll at Blouberg Beach where you’re meant to be able to see a lovely view of Table Mountain from across the bay. We could barely see the sea, let alone anything else! We continued to head north, with a stop off for supplies at a supermarket before stopping for lunch at a gas station on the Cape Namibia highway. Thankfully by this time we had escaped the clouds and it was a warm and sunny day.
As we continued to head north, I was struck by the landscape with these wide open vistas, huge skies and then later, craggy mountains as we headed slightly inland.
We are in rooibos country and we stopped at a place that sold rooibos tea, had wine tasting and was growing citrus! I quite like rooibos, and after an hour or so in the sun chatting with my group, we were then on our way to our overnight stop just outside of Citrusdal, in the Cederberg region. There are lots of citrus trees growing in this region, and the place we stayed produces 1500 tonnes of fruit per year for export, alongside its camping and accommodation business.
The next day it was a long driving day to the Namibian border. I was glad I’d arranged my e-visa online beforehand (though the website was fairly temperamental) as it took us all quite a long time to get through the border. Namibia is my 50th country, and I’m sure it will be a good one.
We arrived at our accommodation on the banks of the Orange River just as the sun was setting in a glorious red sky.
We started our exploration of Namibia the next day with a drive to Fish River Canyon, a vast canyon, definitely on a par visually with the Grand Canyon with the added bonus of significantly fewer people! We had a short walk along the edge of the canyon, which meandered sufficiently to get lots of different views of the canyon. You can never quite capture in a photo what you can see with your eyes, it really was spectacular. We then had lunch before continuing our journey north to our overnight stop at Keetmanshoop.
Onwards the next day, towards the Namib Naukluft national park. On our way, we stopped at Quiver Tree Forest where all these trees are apparently growing out of the rocks. We also stopped at Giants Playground where all these boulders appear to have been very carefully placed in various formations, but it’s all completely natural weathering of the stone.
The landscapes on the driving so far have been vast, and surprisingly green. There were rains at the end of April which have caused grasses and other bushes to spring forth which means Namibia doesn’t quite look as I’d imagined. There was more grassland as we headed west towards the Namib desert, and then suddenly there were flowering bushes, mostly yellow flowers interspersed with orange-coloured bushes. It’s so interesting to see not only the landscape here but the flora and fauna too, which is adapted to survive in some harsh desert conditions.
We stayed overnight in Hammerstein before a very early, pre sunrise, start the next day to explore the national park. The park gates open at sunrise, and we joined a long queue to get into the park. We then drove the 45kms to Dune 45 for an early morning hike up an enormous sand dune with a bunch of other tourists. The colours at this time really took my breath away. Extraordinarily red sand dunes with the backdrop of a beautiful clear blue sky. I couldn’t stop myself from just staring at the dunes and the colours and trying to take it all in.
Hiking up a sand dune is quite hard work. The firmest sand is on the ridge, which is fairly narrow, and this dune rises more than 100 metres. It was also surprisingly windy, and I lost my nerve at a flat section about two-thirds of the way up and called it a day.
After that it was time for breakfast before continuing on to the Sossusvlei pan, with yet more red dunes, and Deadvlei, where trees in the pan appear to be petrified, which makes a very striking photo with the red dunes and blue sky. I am certain there is a very similar image which pops up on Windows desktop backgrounds…
After a final stop at Sesriem canyon, we headed to our next overnight stop in the desert. I have to say the rooms we stayed in at this place were stunning, and the nicest accommodation so far.
The next morning started with a super-interesting desert drive and talk about animals and insects that live in the desert, as well as the bushmen, or san, peoples who live off the land here. We had not nearly enough time but everyone in the group found it to be enormously enjoyable.
We were heading northwest towards Swakopmund, and passed through the Tropic of Capricorn along the way, as well as the Moon Landscape, which certainly looked different to what we’ve seen so far in Namibia. It was a long and very bumpy drive to Walvis Bay for a breezy lunch by the sea before we rolled into Swakopmund in the mid afternoon. We are here for 2 nights and have a free day for an assortment of optional activities but I am taking the chance to have a quiet day strolling around the very German-feeling town, doing my laundry and catching up on some admin.
I’ve hugely enjoyed Namibia so far, the scenery has been absolutely spectacular, we have seen some awesome things, and I’m sure this will continue as we head north towards the wildlife…
Asahikawa is the second largest city in Hokkaido, but doesn’t even get a mention in my Lonely Planet guidebook, which didn’t fill me with the greatest confidence about the city!! We arrived too early to check in so had a wander around the massive Aeon mall that is attached to the JR Station at Asahikawa.
We had a free afternoon after check in. It was cold with a bracing wind, I wandered up and down the main pedestrianised street, past shops, izakayas which were already busy, and a surprising number of statues of women in various states of undress…
We went to a small jingisukan restaurant in the evening. Jingisukan is essentially a do-it-yourself lamb barbecue which originated in Hokkaido, and is a Japanese translation of Genghis Khan.
Lamb barbecue with bean sprouts, greens and other veggies
The following day we started with a visit to an Ainu museum to learn about the indigenous Ainu peoples who have been in Hokkaido for thousands of years. They have only very recently been formally recognised as indigenous peoples in Japan so it was really interesting to hear about how the museum is helping to preserve their culture and educate others on their history and traditions. We had a delicious lunch of salmon, soup, and grape jelly for dessert from our Ainu hosts.
After lunch it was off to another sake museum, and for some more tastings. Still not sure I like sake…
We also visited a wood working centre, which is a key industry in and around Asahikawa. Lots of very cool, and very expensive, furniture designs.
Ramen for dinner that evening, followed by karaoke, which is ubiquitous in Japan. Now, I can’t sing, but there’s something about singing in a booth in Japan with some people I’ve only met a few days ago which makes it pretty enjoyable. Probably because if I make a fool of myself, I’m likely to never see them again anyway!!
The next day we headed out of Asahikawa, to Mount Asahi and the Asahidake Ropeway (cable car). As we headed out of Asahikawa, it started to snow. And as we drove up towards the ropeway station, the snow got heavier and the road got whiter and whiter until you could barely see where the road was. We did take the cable car up the mountain but instead of the glorious vistas, we got heaps of snow, a blizzard and a bit of a white out! I’m actually not sure I’ve ever seen this much snow in person so despite not seeing the views, it was still pretty awesome to be in a bit of a snowstorm.
Snowing on Mt Asahi
I was quite cold at this point, and very glad of the coat and thermal trousers I’d bought earlier on in Japan! We went to a small restaurant for lunch, a lovely warming bowl of beef stew, which reminded me of home!
After lunch we visited the Blue Pond, which despite the snow and clouds, was surprisingly blue. We also went to a nearby waterfall at Shirogane, again with some unexpectedly blue colours given the weather.
Blue pond and waterfall
We then headed to Furano, which is an area known for cheese and wine production. We made our own mascarpone which we then had for dinner at the hotel along with some biscuits, local strawberries and local wine. The hotel we stayed in at Furano had an onsen so later in the evening I squeezed in a final soak on my Japan trip as I suspected the hotel for the final couple of nights in Sapporo wouldn’t have any baths. I’ve really enjoyed the onsens on this trip. An extremely relaxing and peaceful way to spend time.
The next day we headed to Sapporo on the train. The weather was such a contrast to the previous day – lovely blue sky, and very spring-like, though still quite chilly. When we got to Sapporo, we had lunch at a cafe at Hokkaido university and then spent some time in the university museum which was extensive and had lots of interesting exhibits. Not all of it in a language I could understand so Google Translate came in very handy!
En route to Sapporo
We had a free afternoon so I walked around Sapporo – an easy city to navigate due to its grid street pattern. It also has underground walking subways which must be very useful in the depths of winter when it’s very cold. As we walked into the subway for the first time, it did look a little dystopian as it is very quiet, and with everyone walking in an orderly fashion on the left. But I thought it was really ingenious, as it connects directly with all the buildings above at street level, and there are even shops and restaurants at the subway level too. Almost like an underground city.
I used the subway to walk about half an hour downtown towards the Susukino area, stopping along the way at the Clock Tower, the TV Tower, and Nijō Ichiba market. Sapporo is quite a nice city for a wander, though in the late afternoon it was getting increasingly cold so I headed back to the hotel.
Clock towerSapporo TV TowerSusukino
We went to an izakaya (a Japanese pub) for dinner. There was an extensive menu of small dishes that we had including yakitori, sushi, ramen and rice. The izakaya was small and full of people, which made for a bustling environment, I’m really glad I experienced one during my trip.
The next day we headed out on the train to the nearby port city of Otaru. Formerly, Otaru was a financial capital of Hokkaido, due to the port and the coal that was exported from here. There are some very impressive buildings here that were all previous banks and financial institutions which grew up around the port. Nowadays, most have been repurposed into shops and eateries. The canal has also been restored and because of the coal history and the redevelopment, it did slightly remind me of Cardiff.
In Otaru
We returned to Sapporo in the afternoon and had our final dinner of the trip that evening. Another jingisukan, this time on a bigger scale at the Sapporo Bier Garten. We rounded off the evening with another karaoke session.
This was the final day of the Intrepid trip, and the following day I had a travel day back to Tokyo in readiness for my flight home the next day. Sapporo New Chitose Airport is about a 40 minute train ride outside of the city, but is very straightforward to get to. There wasn’t heaps to do once through security though…
I was flying to Tokyo’s Haneda airport and needed to get to Narita airport for my flight out the next day. The road distance between the 2 airports is about 55 miles (88km). Whilst it is possible to get trains (with changes) between the 2, I opted for a limousine bus (aka a coach) which leaves regularly from all terminals at Haneda to all terminals at Narita. You can buy a ticket from the machines in the arrivals hall which helpfully have an English language option. Transport in Japan can be a little overwhelming but I was honestly pleasantly surprised by how much was available in English. And the internet, particularly Google Maps and Reddit, were extremely useful tools in helping me figure stuff out when I was on my own.
Overall I’ve really loved Japan, I’m so pleased that I headed north in addition to the more well-trodden route through southern Honshu, and I’m fairly certain I will go back one day.
Back to Tokyo for the second part of this trip, and to meet my new group. A very small group this time, just 2 others plus the guide. As the others were both men it meant I got my own room without paying for it – result!!
We joined the Monday morning crush on the Tokyo subway to get to Tokyo station to catch another Shinkansen which will whizz us the near 700km / 435 miles north to Aomori in just over 3 hours.
The scenery changed and we said goodbye to the blossoms as we hurtled north, passing rice fields and, later, snow capped peaks.
A slightly exciting moment as the train came to a sudden halt just outside of a station and all the power went off. There had been an earthquake out to sea and the train stopped for about 15 minutes as the tracks were checked. All was fine and we carried on and still arrived in Aomori by lunchtime.
Certainly a change in temperature here compared to my first week or so in Japan. And indeed to the last 5 months of my travels. I was very glad for the coat I’d bought when I got to Tokyo. In Aomori it was cold enough for me to buy some thermal lined trousers, a hat and some gloves, which I would be extremely grateful for in a few days time…
The northern part of Honshu, and Hokkaido, has amazing seafood, and for lunch we went to Aomori Nokkedon, a fish market where you can create your own rice bowl lunch by buying some tickets and exchanging them at the various stalls as you go round the market. Some of the freshest sashimi I’ve ever had, absolutely delicious.
In the afternoon we went to the Sannai Maruyama archeological site, which preserves how the Jōmon peoples lived in this area 5000-6000 years ago. It’s still being excavated and it was very interesting to see what has been found and how these people lived.
That evening we had more seafood for dinner, and there was some live music at the restaurant, using a traditional Japanese shamisen – a 3-stringed instrument. There was also a chap in traditional costume who got us all up dancing in a line around the restaurant, surprisingly exhausting!!
The next day we headed to nearby Hirosaki on the train for the day. We started at an indigo-dyeing workshop, which is one of the traditional crafts in this area. The place we went to had these great big vats of indigo dye stewing away. I opted for tie-dye and I was much happier with my attempts here than at the previous tie-dyeing in Thailand.
We then went to the Tsugaru-han Neputa museum which contains these enormous lanterns which are used every August in the Nebuta Matsuri festival, which must be a lot of fun. The lanterns are beautifully decorated but I couldn’t get over how big they were!
After a warming bowl of soba noodles in a cafe for lunch, we then had a brief wander around the outside of Hirosaki Castle, which is under renovation for the next 8 years (I think!). As part of the renovations, they’ve actually moved the castle from its original position whilst the ground is being reinforced. Pretty surreal to think this building has been moved!
We also had a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, kneeling on the tatami mats, and being very calm and precise in making the tea and drinking it. A very serene experience.
Back to Aomori in the late afternoon, and a yakitori dinner.
The next morning was my final Shinkansen of this trip as we made the 1 hour journey under the sea from Honshu to Hokkaido and to the current northern terminus of the Shinkansen at Hakodate. Work is ongoing to extend to Sapporo in the next few years, at which point it will probably be faster to take the train from Sapporo to Tokyo rather than fly, by the time you’ve factored in hanging around at an airport, which is a bit mad really.
We were in Hakodate by mid morning and dropped our bags at the hotel. We took a tram to Goryokaku Tower and went to the observation deck where you get great views over the city, and of Goryokaku fort directly below. The fort is in a star-shaped design and apparently influenced by European designs. In a couple of weeks, the cherry blossoms will be bursting forth, outlining the fort in beautiful pink blossoms.
Views from Goryokaku tower
We had some free time after lunch and I wandered around part of the historic port of Hakodate, to the red brick warehouses which now house an assortment of shops and restaurants. As we were on the coast, it was quite breezy, and the architecture here is very European, it made me feel quite at home!
Red brick warehouses, Hakodate
In the evening after dinner we went to the Hakodate Ropeway (cable car) and timed it perfectly to get to the top in time for sunset. We, and hundreds of others, then hung around for about half an hour for it to get properly dark as you then get great views of Hakodate lit up at night. After getting our photos we then tried to beat the rush back down in the cable cars and called it a night.
I’m already really glad I decided to come north on this trip. It’s a lot quieter than the traditional tourist route though southern Honshu, but has spectacular scenery and great food. Next up, a couple of days in onsen territory…
Back on a Shinkansen the next day towards Hiroshima. We arrived at lunchtime and made use again of the amazing facilities at the station. Most of the stations we’ve been to have large shopping malls/department stores attached to them with food courts and restaurants. I ended up having dessert for lunch. A strawberry sandwich cake with delicious fresh strawberries and strawberry sorbet. Absolutely no regrets.
In the afternoon we hopped on a local train to Saijo, which is famous for its sake brewing. There are several sake breweries (distilleries?) in this town, and most are open for tastings. As I mentioned in my Kyoto post, I’m not entirely sure I like sake, but I’m continuing to try it!!
Back to Hiroshima and to check in to the hotel before dinner. Hiroshima is famous for its okonomiyaki – the cabbage pancakes which I had at the home stay in Kawane. We went to what seemed to be an okonomiyaki centre where lots of separate vendors were serving okonomiyaki which is cooked right in front of you. It’s a great spectacle to watch your dinner being cooked. I was a bit worried about the large size of the okonomiyaki but I managed to polish it all off with a couple of beers.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel via the peace park and the A-Dome, which is lit up at night. The atomic bomb went off directly above the building now known as the A-Dome, which ended up preserving the structure of this building when everything else in the vicinity was destroyed.
We started the next day with a visit to the Peace Memorial Museum, a must-do in Hiroshima. We learned about the devastating impacts of the bomb on Hiroshima, and on the people who survived the initial blast who subsequently became ill, in some cases years afterwards. It was a very sobering visit.
We then took a train and a ferry to the nearby island of Miyajima, which had a ‘floating’ torii gate (certainly when the tide is in). The sun was out and it looked idyllic. Deer roam around the town and were stealing food so we opted for an indoor lunch – deep-fried oysters which were really good.
After some time wandering around the town and the souvenir shops in the afternoon, we got back on the ferry and train back to Hiroshima. A few drinks in a pub definitely catering to tourist groups, and then a delicious bowl of ramen to round off the day.
Another day, another Shinkansen. This time to Osaka. Again we arrived before lunchtime, and after dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed out in the rain to the Dotombori area. This area has restaurants and bars with slightly outlandish facades, it reminded me a bit of downtown Las Vegas. Gyosa for lunch out of the rain, and then a walk through Kuromon Market which has loads of street food stalls. Japanese street food etiquette is a little different to elsewhere as you don’t eat and walk at the same time, you buy your food and stand by the vendor to eat it and then dispose of any waste in their bin.
We also went into a gaming arcade and had a quick go at Mario Kart which was a lot of fun!
This evening in Osaka was the final night of the first part of my Japan trip. We had a lovely group dinner at a small restaurant and had a Japanese tasting menu – a kaiseki. So much food!! And it was all delicious.
We rounded off the night with karaoke – has to be done in Japan!
Next is was back to Tokyo to meet the much smaller group for the second part of my Japan adventure.
A bus and 4 trains from Kawane and we arrived into Kyoto at lunchtime. The train station in Kyoto is absolutely massive, like an airport really, and it has quite a spectacular roof. We went for lunch at a shopping centre attached to the station where there was a ramen floor with lots of small restaurants, holding probably no more than a dozen people each. You ordered from a screen and waited your turn to be seated.
Rainy views of Kyoto and Kyoto tower from Kyoto station skyway Delicious pork ramen
After refuelling we headed to the hotel and had some free time. It was, sadly, raining but I couldn’t just sit in the room so my roommate and I went for a little walk to nearby Nijō-jō Castle. Inside there are these incredible paintings of trees and animals, including leopards which the artists had never seen in real life and were drawing based only on hides. They also have ‘nightingale corridors’ which sound like nightingales as the floorboards creak as you walk along, which was to deter intruders. Really cool. Unfortunately we hadn’t quite given ourselves enough time before both the castle closed and we were meeting up with the rest of the group for a walk through Nishiki Market on our way to dinner.
Nijō-jō castleNijō-jō castleNishiki market
Our leader on this tour is a bit of a foodie and is taking us to lots of different places to try as many different types of Japanese food as possible, which I am extremely grateful for. Tonight we went Gyukatsu Kyoto, for breaded katsu beef steak (gyukatsu), which you can then cook to your own liking on the table in front of you.
After dinner it had just about stopped raining and we walked past more cherry blossom-lined streets, into the Gion district which is where Geiko and Meiko’s (geishas) work. However, due to tourists being too intrusive, you no longer see them wandering around the streets so we didn’t see any in person. The evening finished with a drink on a rooftop bar with great views over the city.
The next day was a reasonably early start (sadly still in the rain, the poncho came in handy) to take the train out to Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine. This shrine is dedicated to Inari, the god of rice, and has hundreds of scarlet red/orange torii gates which look so picturesque. The writing on them looks really cool as well, though apparently it is just the names of people and companies who have sponsored each of the torii gates!! It’s a good idea to get there early as it was very busy despite the rain. The torii gates create a long walkway up the hill and the further up you get, the fewer people you encounter.
Fushimi Inari Taisha shrineTorii gates at the shrineTorii gatesCherry blossoms in Kyoto
We went to a sake museum after this, to escape the rain and learn about how sake is made. We also had a tasting afterwards of 3 different sakes. I’ve actually never had sake before, and if I’m honest, I’m not entirely sure I like it. I preferred the more fruity ones, there was quite nice melon-y flavoured one, but I think I’ll stick to wine given the choice!
After lunch in a food hall in the basement of Kyoto tower, we had a free afternoon. It was still raining, and whilst most of the group retreated back to the hotel, I went to visit Sanjusangen dō, temple containing 1000 Buddhas. It’s really quite the sight as you walk into the main hall where all the Buddhas are lined up in neat rows, the length of the room. No photos inside but outside in the gardens, the blossoms are out so armed with my poncho and brolly, I wandered though the gardens for some photos.
At Sanjusangen dō
On the way back, I made a pit stop in Nishiki market for some candied strawberries. It’s strawberry season here and these strawberries were so sweet even after cracking the sugar-coating. Delicious!
That evening for dinner I had eel, cooked over charcoal. This was my first time eating eel and I’d imagined it would have a texture similar to squid, but it was much more like a white fish in texture. I really enjoyed it. The restaurant, like most I’ve been to in Japan, is very small, often sitting at counters, and maybe holding slightly too over a dozen people in total.
Strawberry candiesEel
This was our last evening in Kyoto – an all too brief visit as there is so much to do and see here. I already feel like I will come back here one day to see more. Kyoto is a big and busy city but I really liked it.
5 nights in Singapore and now 7 nights in Hong Kong…this really is the relaxing part of my trip!
A slightly over 3 hour flight from Singapore and I arrived into Hong Kong, and easily the longest immigration queue of my trip so far. Thankfully it was moving and it may have been 15 minutes of a snaking queue before I was through with my little bit of paper which tells me I can stay until September if I wanted to.
The airport in Hong Kong is out west, and my hotel is on Hong Kong Island. The quickest way on public transport is the Airport Express train which goes to Hong Kong station on the island in about 25 minutes. The cost is $120 HKD / £12 (thankfully not quite at Heathrow Express prices!). I also had to take the metro a couple of stops to where I was staying in Sai Ying Pun, but overall this was a very straightforward trip to my hotel. The easiest way to pay for transport, and a whole heap of other things, in Hong Kong is via the Octopus card. You can buy physical cards in 7-Eleven’s or download the Octopus for Tourists app which allows you to add the card to your digital wallet and top up from the cards you already have in your wallet. In my experience this is an essential card to have in Hong Kong as all the transport and a lot of shops and restaurants accept this, as well as the laundrette I used.
One of my reasons for coming to Hong Kong was to catch up with a uni friend who I last saw 10 years ago on my previous chunk of time off work when I also came to Hong Kong. And it’s also on the way to Japan which will be my last stop on this leg of my sabbatical travels.
We managed to meet up on my first evening and went for a catch up over a very relaxing foot massage. Even though we hadn’t seen each other for over 10 years, it really was like no time had passed at all. I travel mostly on my own (if I was waiting to meet someone to travel, I would never leave my house! If you want to come with me on a trip, please holler!), but it has been really fantastic to catch up with a number of people on this long trip. And to meet all the new people I’ve met, who I will hopefully see again at some point.
I spent most of the next day with my friend too, it was so good just to hang out, meet her kids and catch up.
The following day I’d booked a food tour in the afternoon. If you’ve been reading this blog through my SE Asia travels, you’ll know I enjoy a food tour, I think it’s a really good way to get a more local experience, and give you a bit of confidence about the local food. The one I’d chosen was a local dim sum tour, and was half the price of every other food tour in HK on Viator. It was based on HK Island and we went to some very local stops including the Sheung Wan Market which was a supremely local food court. There is no way I’d have found this on my own. 3 hours later and I was very full!
With having a week here, I had been looking for some day excursions, and plumped for a day trip to neighbouring Macau the following day. Like Hong Kong, Macau is a special administrative region of China. It is not mainland China – certainly from an immigration point of view.
After taking a ferry over in the morning (about an hour), and going through immigration, we met with the tour guide in Macau. We started by going to the Kun Iam statue on the waterfront. This is a large statue dedicated to the goddess of mercy. Afterwards we drove past Macau Tower and saw some people bungee jumping off it (no thank you!) before heading to A-Ma Temple, one of the oldest in Macau. It was very busy with tourists and lots of burning incense.
After a buffet lunch, we went to the ruins of St Paul’s, and then walked through the old town where you can really see the Portuguese and European influence in the architecture. The town square could be anywhere on the Mediterranean!
Our last stop of the day was at the Venetian casino. Casinos are banned in mainland China (and Hong Kong), so everyone comes to Macau for the casinos. It’s like a mini Las Vegas. Except that this version of the Venetian is larger than the one in Vegas. It was extremely busy with Chinese tourists.
We got back to Hong Kong via the HZM (Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau) bridge, a 55km bridge and 6km tunnel which join Macau and Hong Kong. A very impressive feat of engineering!
This was a pretty full-on day trip – 12 hours in hotel and I was pretty tired by the end of it, though very happy I’d decided to go to Macau.
I should have had a bit of a rest the following day but instead I’d devised myself an itinerary for Kowloon. First up was Wong Tai Sin temple, which was overrun with tourists so wasn’t the best experience. I took the metro a couple of stops down the line to Chi Lin Nunnery which I’d visited on my previous trip to Hong Kong in 2016. It was so much more peaceful here, way fewer people, and I had a lovely time wandering around the temple. I also went to the neighbouring Nan Lian Gardens and then got back on the metro to head to Mongkok for some lunch. I picked a very quiet rooftop bar for a quick bite to eat before heading back into the madness of Mongkok, and the Ladies Market. And after that I headed back on the metro to Kowloon Walled City Park, which was formerly an incredibly densely populated part of Kowloon before it was demolished in the 1990s. I had planned to visit the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade which gives great views of the Hong Kong Island skyline but I was pretty tired after 2 long days on my feet so I headed back to the hotel and called it a day.
Wong Tai Sin templeChi Lin NunneryNan Lian GardensLadies market
After a lazy start the next day, I headed to the Victoria Peak tram to take me up Victoria Peak. I was quite fortunate it was a relatively clear day, and so got some great views of the city skyline from the top. I can’t really get over how many skyscrapers there are here, and how tightly packed they are. After taking the tram back down, I walked a short distance to the Central Mid Level Escalators which are a very helpful way of climbing the steep streets in the Mid Levels on Hong Kong Island. I took them most of the way to the top and then walked back to my hotel through local neighbourhoods which were fairly quiet in the mid afternoon.
After a quiet evening, I had a quiet final day where I did make it back to Kowloon to walk along the promenade and take in the views.
And that was it for my visit to Hong Kong. This was the longest I will spend in one hotel in my whole year of travels. It was really nice to not have to repack my bag every other day, and also to spend a couple of days not hot-footing it around all the sights. And most of all, so great to see my friend after such a long time. Now off to Japan for the final part of this section of my travels
A slightly over 2 hour flight from Bali and I’m back in Singapore for 5 days. Several people had told me that the half a day I had on the way south from Malaysia to Indonesia wasn’t enough (they were right) and so I was back, to spend the longest amount of time in one hotel since Adelaide in mid-December (it’s now the middle of March).
My flight arrived mid afternoon, and having booked a hotel near a metro station that was essentially on the one line from Changi airport, I’d arrived to find that due to engineering works, I would have to take a slightly more convoluted journey. An hour or so later, I had reached the hotel a 2 minute walk from Lavender station feeling quite pleased with myself for navigating the metro. You can pay for Singapore’s metro using contactless cards at the gate so no need to worry about getting tickets from anywhere (though there were manned ticket booths at the stations too).
After sort of unpacking and making use of the air con (low 30s and humid in Singapore), I headed out to Gardens By The Bay in the evening and by the time I’d got some food and meandered around, I’d inadvertently timed it very well for the Garden Rhapsody music and light show which happens every evening at 7.45pm and 8.45pm. I called it a night after that as it had been a fairly long travel day.
The Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay with Marina Bay Sands hotel in the background
I started the next morning with a walk through nearby Kampong Glam. It was quite peaceful wandering through the narrow streets in the morning, this area comes to life in the evening.
Next up I headed to Raffles Hotel for the one drink I had to buy in Singapore, a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar. I was there by 11.30am and found only 2 people in front of me in the queue. Advantage of being a solo patron is that I ended up sat at the bar! Obviously it’s a thing to do here, and it certainly comes at a price (£31 for one drink including tax and tip), but it was pretty cool to be sat at the bar, sipping on the most expensive drink I’ve ever bought, and eating as many of the ‘free’ monkey nuts as I could manage. The queue was snaking round the corner when I left at 12.30pm.
I then wandered towards Little India, and stopped off at a hawker centre for a delicious laksa (£2.50!) for lunch. After spending the afternoon in the AC in the hotel room, I headed to Orchard Road, full of shopping malls, and a quick walk up the very pretty street of Emerald Hill. Back to Kampong Glam for dinner in the evening.
Sultan Mosque, Kampong GlamThe most expensive drink I’ve ever boughtA $4 bowl of laksaLittle IndiaKampong Glam at duskEmerald Hill
The next morning I went back to Gardens by the Bay to visit the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. Tickets for both of these cost $46 SGD. I loved wandering around both of these and getting some houseplant and garden inspiration for when I’m back home!
After some chicken satay for lunch, I continued my botanical day by heading out to the Botanical Gardens. I’d planned this slightly poorly and arrived in the mid afternoon heat. After a very slow wander to a cafe in the centre of the gardens, I had an iced tea and slice of cake before calling it a day and heading back to the cool AC in the hotel.
One of the things I’ve been missing food-wise on my travels in Asia is cheese. And one of the missions I gave myself for Singapore was to find cheese (my other mission was to find shampoo/conditioner for curly hair, only partially successful). My cheese mission was successful and I put myself into a cheese coma!
Considering the prices here, this plus my iced tea was only £25 – not bad!
I needed to walk off the cheese so I headed out to East Singapore in the afternoon, for a walk along the East Coast Beach, and through Katong and the very pretty Peranakan Houses. Not a lot of tourists make it out this way, and it was a very nice, peaceful walk through the neighbourhood and to the nearest MRT station to get me back to my hotel.
East Coast BeachA very moody skyStreet Art in KatongSri Senpaga Vinayaga templeKatong Peranakan houses in Katong
On my final day I decided to head to Sentosa Island. Sentosa is essentially an island resort for the city. There are gorgeous beaches here, as well as Universal Studios, an aquarium and a bunch of hotels. I took the monorail over and walked up the beach path to Siloso fort which is the remnants of one of the many forts which in the past fortified Singapore, and free to visit.
On Sentosa Island
After a slow wander back along the beach (it was again a very hot day, I am hoping I will see some benefit from all the walking in the hot humidity when I get home and go running again…), I had Singapore chicken and rice for lunch before heading back to the mainland. There are heaps of shopping malls in Singapore, and whilst I still don’t have any room in my bag, I did enjoy wandering around some of those in the Marina Bay area. I got a bit excited about seeing an M&S Food – I just about resisted the Percy Pigs – for some reason they seem to import the milk from the UK which seems slightly mad…
It was definitely worth coming back to Singapore for a few days. Aside from the obvious tourists sights, I really enjoyed some of the quieter places in East Singapore too. It’s pretty expensive here though and a bit of a shock to the system after the last couple of months in SE Asia. You can keep costs down by eating at hawker centres and taking the metro/MRT (I’ve no idea how they work out the ticketing, I used my debit card at the gate each time I used the MRT which I did fairly extensively over my 5 nights here, and it cost me £10 in total which included getting to and from Changi airport). But definitely worth spending a few days here and I’m sure I’ll be back at some point, if only on a layover.
We caught the ferry to Bali from Ketapang in the east of Java. The ferry ride was about an hour, a calm sea despite the torrential rain that joined us on our journey.
Once on Bali we drove for about an hour to our home for the next 2 nights in Pemuteran on the northern coast of Bali. We were staying in a lovely, quiet resort with cute bungalows and a lovely pool. Dinner in the hotel restaurant that night with some local Balinese rosé wine which wasn’t too bad if I’m honest! We were also treated to some local Balinese dancing, lots of twirling of hands and bending back the palms, which is quite tricky when you try to do it!
Pemuteran
The next day was a free day. I chose to do a cooking class in the morning, where we learned how to cook some local dishes including moringa soup which we’d had at Seloliman and was delicious, fried tempeh, chicken curry, and Dadar Bali, which is green pandan leaf pancakes stuffed with a coconut sugar filling, for dessert. My challenge when I go home is to source some moringa leaves in the UK!
The next day we headed to our stop for the next 3 nights in Ubud. Ubud is in the centre south of Bali and is something of a jungle oasis. The island of Bali isn’t huge but the terrain means winding roads up over peaks in the centre of the island and so it took us several hours, and a couple of pit stops.
On the way to UbudTaman Ayun Temple
Whilst I’d booked this trip through Java and Bali as one 3 week trip, it was actually 2 trips of 2 weeks from Jakarta to Ubud and then 1 week around Bali. The first part of the trip ended in Ubud and we had a final dinner with the group which sort of doubled up as a pre birthday celebration as it was my birthday the next day. There was cake!
With absolutely no conscious planning on my part, my birthday ended up being a free day in Ubud. I booked myself a spa package with a Balinese massage, body scrub and citrus bath as a treat, and very relaxing it was too!
We met the new group that evening (only 3 of us out of the 9 on the first trip carried on through Bali) and the following day we had a guided walk around a village on the outskirts of Ubud. We stopped at a local house and made a traditional Balinese offering. These are made daily, both at home and at shops, hotels, restaurants, for gratitude and balance between good and evil. You see them everywhere around Bali, they are usually accompanied by a burning incense stick.
Balinese offerings and houses and statues around the village
That evening we went to a traditional Kecak dance performance. This was a real spectacle, the ‘music’ is provided by what must have been at least 50 men chanting throughout. It was quite hypnotic. There was also traditional dancing, and fire.
Kecak dance
The next day we left Ubud, via some very picturesque rice terraces. Pretty sure people come here for shots for the ‘gram… We also had a cycling trip on the way – 15km almost entirely downhill. I’m not a confident cyclist, I’ve only been on a bike 3 times in the last 20 years and 2 of those were in Indonesia in the last fortnight. The heavens opened after 5km and I, along with a couple of the others, bailed and went the rest of the way in the minibus. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it though!
We ended the day in a small village called Undisan. The following morning we had a guided walk around the village, seeing the temples, and some local crafts including making these beautiful, delicate ornate head pieces out of bronze sheets. We ended the walk with a traditional bungkus lunch which is what the workers in the rice fields would eat – delicious chicken, veggies, tempeh, tofu and rice.
Beautiful headpiece Ogoh ogoh under construction Bungkus lunchMore rice terraces
After lunch we headed to Sibetan Village, where we would be staying in home stays with the local villagers. One of the things I really enjoy about these kind of trips is getting off the beaten track, away from the usual tourist hotspots, to see a bit about what life is really like in these places. This village grows a lot of salak (snake fruit, so called because of how the skin looks). We were greeted with a glass of salak juice which was very refreshing, and later tasted some salak wine and liquors…the flavoured versions were more palatable than the neat liquor!
In the evening we went to a local restaurant and enjoyed some more delicious food, along with more salak for dessert.
In the morning we had a walk around this village, learning about salak and other plants that grow here. I’ve really enjoyed the walks around the villages and seeing everything that grows – a lot of plants that I have as houseplants at home! As I was travelling in the run up to Balinese New Year (Nyepi), we also saw lots of ogoh ogoh statutes under construction. The villagers make these and then parade them though the towns and villages on the eve of Nyepi before burning them to purify before the new year. This was also really cool to see and learn about.
Salak – snake fruitThis is the snake fruit plant Ogoh ogoh in progress
After lunch we journeyed towards our next stop near to Mount Batur. An early rise (3am) the next morning for another attempt at a sunrise hike. Would I be third time lucky on my current travels at seeing a sunrise having gotten up so early?!
We drove to the foothills of the volcano, as far as the road goes, and then started the hike. It was completely pitch black and even with head torches, I found it quite difficult to see what I was doing. We walked upwards with some breaks for around an hour and 40 minutes. We waited at the top, literally in the clouds which were blowing over, but eventually we saw the sun, and a small cheer erupted from everyone gathered on the mountain. We watched for around half an hour or so as the sun kept disappearing and reappearing behind the clouds. After failed sunrises at Angkor Wat and Mt Bromo, I’m very glad that finally a very early wake up was really worth it!!
Mt BaturSunrise, finally
We were back at the hotel for breakfast and a shower, and then headed off back to the north coast, to Lovina, for 2 nights. After lunch at a local cafe which provides employment for deaf people (a great initiative), we had free time for the rest of the day. I mostly spent it resting in the air conditioning though I did make it to the beach for sunset.
We had a full day of activities the next day, starting with a drive back to the north west of the island, past Pemuteran where we stayed on our first couple of days in Bali, to Menjangan Island where most of the group did some snorkelling, and I stayed on the boat. We were moored over a coral reef that was quite shallow and I could see quite a lot of fish zooming in and out of the reefs. Certainly more than I would have seen without my glasses if I had snorkelled (I’ve learnt this from prior experience!)
Sunset at LovinaOn the way to snorkellingMenjangan Island
We had lunch on the island and on the way back, we stopped off for a soak at Banjar Hot Springs which was very much like having a warm bath. Apparently bathing in these springs can make you look years younger but I’m not quite sure about that…
That evening we had dinner at a local restaurant with some more delicious Balinese cuisine. The corn fritters were a winner for me, but all of it was fantastic.
The next day was our last full day on the trip, and my final full day in Indonesia after almost 3 weeks. We headed south east across the island, to Sanur. We stopped along the way at Gitgit Waterfalls, where we were the only people there, and later at Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple, which is on the edge of a lake and has some beautiful gardens.
Gitgit Falls and Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple
We arrived in the beach side resort town of Sanur in the late afternoon. I had just enough time for a walk up and down the beach before our final dinner.
Before I arrived here, I wasn’t sure I was going to like Bali. My impressions were probably based on the resorts on the south of the island, Sanur, Kuta, Seminyak – just another beach holiday destination. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, in particular the villages and seeing the local life, as well as Ubud, which was touristy but had a nice, laid back vibe to it. Disclaimer it is still low season, not loads of tourists, and perhaps I’d feel differently at other times of the year. But the people are so very friendly, and I remain obsessed with the rice terraces.
Now back to Singapore to stay in one place for the longest time since Adelaide in mid December!
catsgreatadventure 