The question I’ve been surprised I haven’t gotten more often is “why do you list Hawaii as a country on your list of places?” Hawaii clearly is as much a country as Kansas, so it would seem odd to list it separately as a “country”. Moreover, I have Okinawa listed separately, which is also not …
Since I last did a McDonald’s update, I’ve gained a lot of readers. For those who are new, I try to eat at a McDonald’s restaurant in every country I visit. McDonald’s in every country are just a little bit different as they adjust the menu to fit local tastes. Eating at McDonald’s is an …
Sushi is far and away my favorite food. I’m not alone in that assessment. All around the world sushi restaurants have been springing up like weeds as sushi has gained in popularity. It is easily the biggest Japanese contribution to global culture (yes, bigger than Anime). So I couldn’t really go to Japan and not …
Read part 2 and part 3 Travelers to Europe often complain of church fatigue. Everywhere you go, you see old churches and castles and after a while they all sort of just blur into each other. In Asia, the equivalent would be Shrine and Temple fatigue. No place I’ve visited so far suffers more from …
I have a quick question for you, and you have to think really quick…..what is the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th Century? My guess is that the first thoughts that come to mind might include the Walkman, instant cameras, the VCR, blue-green lasers, DVDs (jointly with Phillips), or something involving technology. They took a …
If you’ve been following along for a while, or if you at least take a look at the left column of my website, you’ll notice that I have an affinity for UNESCO World Heritage sites. I’m not trying to visit every one of them, for that would be impossible. I passed up four in Japan …
My day traveling to Preah Vihear is one of the most interesting and grueling of my trip, and so my description of the events is going to be a lot longer than most posts. I’ll be splitting this up into two parts. Today will be a general overview of the temple, its history, location and …