Tokyo has some of the best nightlife in Asia. One of the most pleasant experiences though is also one of the simplest. Go to one of the many old alleyways or yokochos and join salary men and locals for a drink.…
Takayama: Feudal Japan
While Kyoto was incredibly nice and the Gion Matsuri an eye-opener to Japanese festivals, Takayama offered a slice of Japanese culture, tradition and architecture in a setting that felt a lot more authentic. One major highlight of the region is…
Kyoto: Of Geishas, Maikos and Matsuris
Kyoto was probably the city I was looking forward to the most on my Japan trip. I’d heard endless stories from fellow travellers about how Kyoto is the city which best preserved Japan’s cultural heritage. This holds true compared to…
Weekend in Saigon
…and I’m still procrastinating to complete my posts on Japan to talk about my quick weekend in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) while memories are still fresh. It was my fourth or fifth time there, the previous trips primarily for work. What a…
Osaka: A laid-back Tokyo
Osaka was the first leg of my Japan tour and landing at Kansai International Airport got me all fired up. I had enjoyed myself tremendously the previous time I was in Japan and I just couldn’t wait to get past immigration…
5 great places to drink cheap in Singapore
Singapore is by far the most expensive place to drink in Southeast Asia. You can find some cheap beer at supermarkets, sure, but once you hit a bar, prices are inflated three-fold. And yet, Singapore has a really strong drinking…
Luang Prabang
My trip from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang may have been a nightmare because of the ridiculously cold weather and incessantly winding roads, but I just love that place. It has a very strong French influence, in terms of architecture…
Vang Vieng
When you reach Vang Vieng by land from Vientiane or Luang Prabang, you see yourself on a defunct air strip where dogs run about freely and kids play in the dirt. A tuk tuk picked all the passengers of the…
Weekend in Bali
Bali holds fantastic memories for me. I enjoyed my times surfing the waves at Kuta and riding aimlessly with my ex-housemates. Or with my ex-colleagues and friends pigging out and drinking along the coasts. Most memorable was my stay at…
Favourite cocktail bars in Singapore
In the past couple of years, we’ve been seeing the emergence of a number of upscale cocktail bars with savvy bartenders – or mixologists as they are now professionally called – who can whip you drinks from very unusual ingredients.…