Category Archive: Asia

Postcard from Ipoh, Malaysia

I had never heard of Ipoh before this trip to Malaysia. The town once known for its thriving tin mining industry is now staking its claim in other ways, including spa and wellness tourism. This water lily was in the gardens at The Banjaran, Malaysia’s first natural hot springs wellness retreat, providing peaceful bliss after a week on the road.

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Postcard from The Blue Mansion, Penang

The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, also called the Blue Mansion, dates back to the 1880s and is a private residence as well as a 16-room guesthouse. It gets its distinctive blue color from mixing lime with a natural blue dye made from the indigo plant. Tours are offered, giving visitors the chance to peek behind the scenes and take a look at how the wealthy lived.

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Postcard from James Bond Island, Thailand

James Bond Island is officially known as Khao Phing Kan, and is a part of Ao Phang Nga National Park just off of Phuket, Thailand. It would most likely have remained an obscure area were it not for the James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, where it was Scaramonga’s island. Do you recognize it?

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Postcard from Bangkok

It took me over 24 hours to get to Thailand and my first day was full of delicious food. Like this classic , and delicious dessert of sticky rice, coconut milk (to pour over it ), and mango. Lunch at Sala Rattanakosin in Bangkok.

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Yoshida Udon: A Meal Fit for Mt. Fuji

It was hot and filling, and best of all – it wasn’t fish! I slurped up that bowl of Yoshida Udon like there was no tomorrow. I had been in Japan for a couple of days and had been treated to gourmet meals aplenty. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were beautiful works of art, masterpieces of flavor, and were eagerly devoured by my traveling companions. I, alone, appeared to be the one person who couldn’t face fish, often uncooked, for three meals a day. I felt bad as I pushed things around my plate, trying to be polite and look like I was both eating and enjoying this impressive presentation. This was beautiful food; it was expertly prepared and presented, but I just couldn’t face it. In that fleeting moment, I realized that I was more gourmand than gourmet. What I […]

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Tokyo: 12 Things I Didn’t Know Until I Got There

I love researching travel.  I love reading guide books, checking out travel blogs, looking at photos on Pinterest, and pretty much everything about the process of learning about a destination.  From the massaging of flight schedules to selecting accommodations and tours, from reading restaurant reviews and learning about food trends to learning about which sights are worth visiting, it’s all a delightful challenge to me. But no matter how much you prepare yourself, there are things you will encounter that you just didn’t know before you got to your destination. When it comes to travel to Tokyo, here are the things I just didn’t know till I got there: Tokyo goes right.  In Tokyo they drive on the right hand side of the road, the vehicles are right hand drive, and in crowded spaces you stand to the left and […]

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Postcard: From the Wedding

In my touring around Tokyo, I was fortunate to happen upon a number of traditional weddings, giving me an opportunity to learn more about the customs and traditions involved.  In this post-wedding reception, a helpful mom assists with her daughter’s wedding kimono.

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Postcard from the Air: ANA Dreamliner at 40,000 Feet

I flew from Seattle to Tokyo on ANA’s inaugural Dreamliner flight.  There was plenty of mood lighting, during boarding as well as this peaceful post-dinner evening lighting.  This aircraft, and ANA’s business class service, has me spoiled about luxury flying.  See more pictures in my Tokyo flickr stream.

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I’m Going to Tokyo #ANASEA

Yes, I’m going to Tokyo and I’m very excited about it. But I jumped to the end of the story before telling you about how this came to be, why it’s important to me, and how you can help make sure my trip is everything I want it to be.  So let’s rewind just a little bit. . . . All Nippon Airways (ANA) is launching a new service between Seattle and Tokyo on July 25th, 2012.  The daily flight departs Seattle at 1:15 pm and ten and a half hours later arrive at Narita at 3:45 pm (the next day).  For visitors interested in traveling on to other cities within Japan, or making connections to other destinations in Asia, this arrival neatly coincides with outbound flights. The outbound flight leaves Tokyo at 5:25 pm and arrives in Seattle at […]

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