By now I think our two drivers were getting the hang of the roads and tolls! It was especially useful to be able to input a telephone number into the satnav instead of the actual address – very helpful considering how all the Japanese places were spelt. Because if you put an o instead of an a or e you can end up many miles away as all the names are very similar or so they seem to us. Also included in the satnav the amount of the toll you had to pay was spoken to you beforehand.

We had a four hour drive ahead of us as you can see from the map above. As Kyushu is made up of several small islands there was not really a direct route to take to Kagoshima.

We passed through Yanegawa on the way which is made up of lots of canals.

Arrived quite late to Hotel Shiroyama – beautiful hotel – high up on a hill overlooking Mt. Sakurajima. Sakurajima is still smoking and one of the reasons we visited Kagoshima.

As it was late decided to eat at the hotel on the 13th floor. Had a gourmet French dinner – fantastic!

Four of us enjoying our fantastic dinner

Entree

View from 13th floor overlooking the city of Kagoshima

Shame the windows in our room were frosted! so had no view – obviously you had to pay more for the view.

Pages: 1234

High up on Uluwatu Cliffs

Day #6 for Becky’s SquareUp and also for Jez’s Water, Water Everywhere

Looking down from up above onto Uluwatu Beach in Bali. It will be a long while before we can visit here again!

Stay Calm and Don’t Erupt

My first for Becky’s January Square Up

An active volcano which last erupted in 1914. Luckily when we visited and walked around in June 2017 it was just smoking!

My A to Z Travel Challenge – Y is for Yufu and Yoshinocho, Japan – 🇯🇵

Yufu and Yoshinocho are both located in the Kyushu Islands of Japan. Situated in the Southwest of Japan.

Yufu

These are some of the photos I took on our trip to Japan a few years back. We visited Yufuin Onsen Village one afternoon, famous not only for its hot springs and holy shrine, but also art galleries and museums.

We had a fabulous afternoon here, a bit touristy, but a glimpse into village life.

Yoshinocho

On the same trip we spent a morning at Sengan-En Gardens, located in the Yoshinocho district, Kagoshima. Sengan-en is a traditional garden and stately home built by the 19th head of the Shimadzu family, Mitsuhisa, in 1658. We couldn’t visit the house as it was being used for filming. There are some lovely gift shops here selling local artwork and sweets. This is also where the famous Satsuma Kiriko glassware is sold, unique to Sengan-en and made at the glassworks next door.

The traditional red door, only affordable to the very rich

Water images from around the gardens

We had a wonderful morning here in these beautifully maintained gardens. It would be fun to watch scenes being filmed.

Thanks for reading, until next time!

My A to Z Travel Challenge – V is for Vientiane, Laos – 🇱🇦

Vientiane is the capital of Laos and the largest city, it is located on the banks of the Mekong River very close to the border with Thailand.

We visited here a few years ago for three nights before heading off to Luang Prabang. There is still a French influence around, especially the architecture. The Laotian cuisine is very delicate using herbs such as lemongrass, coriander and basil. Some of the dishes you might eat are sticky rice (Khao Niaw) sticky rice is a staple throughout the country. Minced Meat Salad (Larb) Green Papaya Salad (Tam Mak Hoong) Steamed Fish (Mok Pa) Baguette Paté (Khao Jii Paté) Wet Noodles (Khao Piak Sen) Lao Sausages (Sai Uah, Sai Gok) Noodle Soup (Phor).

The hotel we stayed at was called Green Park Hotel, a small boutique hotel set in beautiful gardens. After we had checked in we arranged with the concierge to hire a driver and car for the next two days. The next day after breakfast overlooking the gardens, our driver met us to start our first day. We were lucky with our driver, a happy chappy called Mr Vong and delighted to be our tour guide.

Green Park Hotel

Nam Ngum River

Our first stop today was the Nam Ngum River where we would be taking a river boat cruise including lunch. We had a couple of mini breaks on the way to take in the scenery.

Nam Ngum River Vientiane, Laos — Deep fried chicken feet

We stopped off at a small concrete pontoon in the middle of the lake, and up some stairs there was a lady selling all types of woven goods, local dried fish and gooseberries. The baskets and pots were made by the inmates of a nearby prison. We couldn’t leave without purchasing something. I hoped somebody remembered to pick her up at the end of the day!

A relaxing few hours was spent aboard our boat, eating lunch and drinking beer just watching the world go by. Not too sure about the chicken’s feet, but a favourite of my hubby, there’s no accounting for taste.

Soon we were back in the car off to our next stop which was the COPE museum.

COPE Museum
Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise

During the Vietnam War American bombers dropped over two million tons of cluster bombs on Laos, even though this was a neutral country. To read more about this terrible event in history click on history.com.

I must say I was shocked to read about the horrific suffering that the Laotians had suffered, visiting this museum was a real eye opener.

Feeling very sombre, we drove into the centre to have a quick stop at the Nam Phou Fountain.

Day two was a drive to the Buddha Park, home to weird and wacky sculptures depicting different humans, animals, gods and demons.

There is one sculpture shaped like a pumpkin with the tree of life on the top. It has three stories representing hell, heaven and earth. Entrance is through an opening which is a mouth of a 3-metre-tall demon head and climb staircases to the top. Each story contains sculptures depicting the level.

It was quite claustrophobic climbing up a very narrow staircase from the inside. Coming down was even worse, with no handrail and a panic attack on the way, I froze to the spot. Mr Vong had to hold my arm and hubby my ankle I manoeuvred inch by inch towards the edge! There were six Japanese men in suits no less, waiting patiently under the midday sun to come down after me. I wondered at one point if I would have to be rescued by a helicopter – a drama queen to the last!

A very interesting morning!

Completely exhausted after this, we drove back to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon at the pool. All in all a very successful two days in Vientiane.

Extra info: To enter Laos from other countries you have to fly into Vientiane, Wattay International Airport so it’s worth a stop for a few nights. Visas can be obtained on arrival, a copy of your passport photo is okay to use. It takes around 20 minutes to drive into the city. We flew from Singapore to Vientiane using Lao Airlines and were very happy with the service and flight. The currency is the Kip but US dollars are widely accepted, so it’s useful to have both currencies.

Have a wonderful time if you ever do visit.
Thanks again for stopping by and reading!

Next of course is W

The next stop after Vientiane

Laid back Luang Prabang, Laos – October 2016

The second part of our trip to Laos was to the incredibly beautiful Luang Prabang. This tiny town is encircled by mountains and sits on the banks of the Mekong and Nam Khan River. We flew Lao Airlines from Vientiane and had arranged for a driver to take us to our hotel. We stayed at…

My A to Z Travel Challenge – T is for Thailand – 🇹🇭

Thailand is a country that I’ve visited many times over the last thirty years! As you would imagine I’ve seen countless changes from sleepy beaches dotted with small basic huts to ridiculously large resorts with five star hotels. Although Bangkok has never really changed that much, always busy 24 hours, just three days is plenty there! Thailand is a country where you can have almost any type of holiday, hiking, biking, swimming, diving, shopping, drinking, relaxing and of course eating the most delicious food. I can’t say I’ve done everything but the options are there! It’s such a welcoming country and I look forward to many more visits.

This post is just about two of the places I’ve loved the best, Koh Samui and Khao Lak.

Koh Samui

Koh Samui is the second largest island in Thailand, Phuket being the largest. It lies off the East coast of Kra Isthmus. Before Koh Samui had an airport it was a fairly difficult place to travel to. I remember when I first visited in 1989 we travelled on a bus from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then a ferry. It was around 11 to 12 hours! I’m not sure I would ever do that again.

My daughter and I went a few years ago for her 25th and we stayed at a fabulous “adults only” resort near Fisherman’s Village, Bophut. We spent our days shopping, drinking and relaxing on the beach on beanbags instead of sunbeds.

We loved this resort with it’s swim up bar, so easy to walk from the pool to the beach in just a few steps.

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

Hubby and I have also been to Koh Samui and stayed at Mae Nam beach, at the very top of the island. It wasn’t a fancy place but just right for us. The larger resorts tend to be set quite far back from the beach and it’s the less expensive ones that actually have the best location.

The small individual villas were perfect

🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖🏖

Khao Lak

We first visited Khao Lak in 2000 and when we mentioned it hardly anyone had heard of it. It was recommended by a travel agent when we lived in Hong Kong. Back in the days before internet travel and online booking so we were really taking a chance. Flying into Phuket and then driving back onto the mainland with a driver sent by the hotel, the journey was around 2 to 3 hours. Nowadays it it much quicker with a new bridge and highways being built over the last decade or so. We stayed in one of the only resorts on this very long stretch of the coast and loved every minute.
Sadly as everyone knows the 2004 Tsunami swept many of the small resorts away along with thousands of tourists and locals alike.

We ventured back quite a few years later with some trepidation but just took the chance like many others. I’m so glad we did as this is still one of the most amazing stretches of coastline in the world.

One thing you can be sure of in Khao Lak is turquoise seas and stunning sunsets.

We will definitely be back again to visit Thailand, hopefully sooner rather than later

Thanks for stopping by 😎

My A to Z Travel Challenge – Quang Nam Province, Vietnam 🇻🇳

Quang Nam Province is where the Unesco World Heritage town of Hoi An is situated. It is a mix of Vietnamese, Chinese and French style buildings. Hoi An sits on the banks of the Thu Bon River and there are many waterways around the area.
We have stayed in Hoi An twice before and visited on a number of other occasions while staying in Da Nang. It gets busier with each year and there is hardly any room to move crossing over the little bridge.

The two hotels we stayed in were just outside of the small town, Hoi An Historic Hotel and Hoi An Beach Hotel. Early evening is the best time to go into Hoi An Ancient Town as it’s a bit cooler then, although not much!

Fishing for the daily catch, views from our balcony

An Bang Beach

The beds are so close, no social distancing here! Crawling from the bottom is the only way to lie on them! No secrets are safe here.

Restaurants and Bars in the walking area of Hoi An

Bikes and doors

Views of the other side of Hoi An

My nightly cocktail – Pina Colada

Hoi An is such a wonderful place to visit but so many places in Vietnam are. It is one of my favourite countries to visit.

My A to Z Travel Challenge: H is for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam🇻🇳

Hanoi Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where we spent four days a few years ago. Hanoi was not a place that interested me as I had heard it was quite industrialised due to the influence of communism. However it was somewhere where Anthony wanted to visit, and I can’t always have my own way! After…

by Alison May 28, 2020December 5, 2020

My A to Z Travel Challenge – N is for Nagasaki, Japan 🇯🇵

Nagasaki was part of our 9 day road trip through the Kyushu Islands a few years ago and we spent two very busy days and nights here. There were four of us on the road trip, me, hubby and our two good friends Cheryl and Vaughan. Vaughan and hubby did all of the driving.

We stayed at a hotel called Hotel Monterey, a great location and decorated in a Spanish Villa style.

Our first night was spent at Dejima Wharf, I’d read that it was quite lively and had a few restaurants. Maybe it had just opened or not been open for long but there didn’t seem to be that many places to choose from. We opted for a seafood restaurant where we sat outside and could cook our own seafood. I have to say it wasn’t such a great dinner as half the things we were served I couldn’t identify and the small bbq didn’t seem adequate to cook anything properly.

After dinner we found a bar upstairs called St. Andrews Jigger Inn, playing live music and everyone singing along, we even got up to have a dance!

The next morning with heavy heads we had a cooked breakfast at the Hotel Monterey and headed out to explore.

Nagasaki has a very international feel to it, with many Dutch, Portuguese and English buildings still standing. We headed first up to Hollander Slope, so called because many Dutch people lived here from around 1600.

From here we took a tram to another historical building, Glover House and Gardens.

Glover House

Glover House was built by Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish merchant who arrived in Japan from Shanghai in 1859. He set up his own trading company, Glover and Co. Glover House is a western style building with imported furniture from Scotland and England. The carpenter is purportedly Koyama Hide who built the Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs. Source: Visit Nagasaki

Nagasaki is a big cruise ship port as you can see from above photo.

There is some Japanese influence in the rooms, but mostly it is of the old heavy wooden style favoured during the 1800s in England.

In this bottom right photo my hubby is with the Japanese gardener, and while I popped to the ladies he struck up a conversation with her. He speaks fairly fluent Japanese and she was so taken aback by him that she dropped everything and bombarded him with questions about his life, they found out that they were exactly the same age, even with the same month, now that’s a coincidence!

With the morning over and our visit to Glover House done, hubby said it was his turn now and he wanted first to go to the Sakamoto International Cemetery and then lastly the Peace Park and A Bomb Museum.

Sakamoto International Cemetery

Trying to find our way to the Cemetery was a bit of a nightmare, but we eventually found it tucked away at the back of some houses.

I wish I had taken more photos of the cemetery but felt a bit morbid doing this. Cemeteries in other countries with foreigners are so interesting. It makes you realise how determined people were hundreds of years ago and how easy we have it today. It would have taken them weeks or months to arrive at their destination and we complain about an hour delay to our plane!

Nagasaki Peace Park

It feels appropriate to be writing this post now as is the 75th anniversary of the Atomic Bomb on 9 August. It was the second bomb to be dropped by the United States after Japan still refused to surrender after Hiroshima. The exact number of people killed will never be known as all records were destroyed and many bodies were totally obliterated.

To walk around the museum is very sobering to see the destruction and devastation that was caused that day. Of course there is no mention of Japan’s part in WWII.

After experiencing that nightmarish war,
that blood-curdling carnage,
that unendurable horror,
Who could walk away without praying for peace?
This statue was created as a signpost in the
struggle for global harmony.
Standing ten meters tall,
it conveys the profundity of knowledge and
the beauty of health and virility.
The right hand points to the atomic bomb,
the left hand points to peace,
and the face prays deeply for the victims of war.
Transcending the barriers of race
and evoking the qualities of Buddha and God,
it is a symbol of the greatest determination
ever known in the history of Nagasaki
and the highest hope of all mankind.— Seibo Kitamura (Spring 1995)

And that concludes “N”

SAYONARA!

More of our trip below!

Kagoshima

Nagasaki to Kagoshima 6 June 2017 By now I think our two drivers were getting the hang of the roads and tolls! It was especially useful to be able to input a telephone number into the satnav instead of the actual address – very helpful considering how all the Japanese places were spelt. Because if…

by Alison March 25, 2018August 14, 2020

My A to Z Travel Challenge: H is for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam🇻🇳

Hanoi

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where we spent four days a few years ago. Hanoi was not a place that interested me as I had heard it was quite industrialised due to the influence of communism. However it was somewhere where Anthony wanted to visit, and I can’t always have my own way! After checking into our hotel and going for a wander, I realised how wrong I had been. The architecture was amazing and the restaurants were some of the best we had eaten in. It is easy to see the French influence in the buildings and especially the food. There’s nothing tastier than French food with a Vietnamese twist.

The view from our room at the Hotel Nikko

Over the next two days we walked around the city going to the Old Quarter and also the Citadel. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some schoolgirls graduating.

St Josephs Cathedral

A heavy load for this small bike!
St. Joseph’s Cathedral in the Old Quarter. Built in 1866 and resembling Notre Dame de Paris.

Hubby trying out a buyer’s load

Graduation inside the Imperial Citadel

The Imperial Citadel was built in the 11th Century and many of the old structures are still standing. The Imperial Japanese Army used it to imprison 4,000 French colonial soldiers in 1945.

Expertly manicured bonsai trees are found all around the Citadel.

Restaurants

I thought I would mention some of the restaurants we ate in as they were all so good.

La Place: A small cafe opposite St. Joseph’s Cathedral. If you sit upstairs you can see the Cathedral from the window. Cute cafe serving Vietnamese food.
Pots and Pans: Sadly this is no longer in operation. Such a great find as they trained staff on the premises and the service and food were excellent.
La Verticale: Fine French dining in the old French Quarter.
La Badiane: Another French restaurant with excellent service. Try and book downstairs, where there is more atmosphere.

Just a couple of the dishes we enjoyed!

Ha Long Bay Cruise

After three nights in Hanoi, the next day we were setting off for Ha Long Bay for a 1 night/2 day cruise. I think most people break up their stay in Hanoi by doing this. We actually cancelled this trip due to a typhoon forecast to hit Hanoi the day before. Luckily we were able to reinstate this trip as it was and has been one of the best trips we’ve ever done. It’s the perfect break after the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. We had booked with Aphrodite Cruises.

Our Itinerary – Day One

7.30 am: We were picked up from our hotel by the tour’s small bus and then went onto pick up other passengers around Hanoi. During the four hour journey we slowly got to know some of them who would be joining us on our mini cruise. The journey seemed endless especially as we had a 30 minute obligatory stop at a restaurant/souvenir type of warehouse.

11.30 am: Arrived at Ha Long Bay.

12 pm: Everyone boarded the ship and we were taken to our cabins and told to meet on deck to have lunch and also meet the fabulous crew.

This ship features just 17 luxury cabins and is served by a five star crew.

On the top deck where cocktails would be served

1 – 2 pm: Lunchtime. A gourmet delight and so well presented.

3 – 5 pm After lunch we sailed onto Thien Cung Cave. A sprawling natural grotto with intricate stalactite & stalagmite formations & colourful lighting.

From outside and inside the cave
The bottom left looks like a giant pair of hanging legs with boots on!

5 pm onwards: The time from here was filled with a cookery lesson, how to drink saki and enjoy a cocktail or two on the top deck. Then dinner was served on the dining deck. It was amazing how many other cruise ships were out in the bay with us. I think the whole area is in great danger of being overpopulated with cruise ships.

Day Two

I woke up to the sound of running water and when I got out of bed found it was coming from our bathroom! The bidet hose had come loose and was gushing upwards like a fountain. I opened the cabin door and shouted for help and as two or three crew members came running in the room, I had no choice but to jump back into bed with hubby while they tried to fix the problem. They managed to stop the leak but emerged from the bathroom soaking wet! We were offered a change of cabin but as we were packing up that day it seemed pointless to move. Luckily not too much damage was done. From then on it was all go, go, go!

First a quick snack before breakfast and then onto a smaller boat to be taken to a beach for swimming or a walk. The beach was on Ti Top Island. We were only allowed one hour there as so many other cruise ships were waiting for their turn. The sea is so crowded that it’s impossible to actually swim. Anthony decided to walk to to the top of the island, but even that was a struggle as many people were coming down as others were going up. Back to the ship for another fabulous meal. Then it was time to pack up, sail away and say goodbye to our fantastic crew.

At the beach!

Relaxing on the way home

If you ever go to Hanoi I highly recommend taking a cruise to Ha Long Bay. It was one of the highlights to our trip.

As always thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this post!

My A to Z Travel Challenge – F is for Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka is the first place we stopped at during our road trip through the Kyushu Islands. It is a city of canals, waterways and bridges. It said to be the oldest city in Japan. We were staying at the Hotel Okura which is located overlooking the Hakata River. As we were only here for two nights we didn’t have much time to see this city so had to decide where we wanted to see most.

Walking over one of the canals on our first night.

In the lobby of the Hotel Okura

Fukuoka Castle Ruins

I really wanted to see one of the castles here but was a bit disappointed that it was only ruins! But we had a good walk around and there were some great views over the city from the top. Built at the beginning of the 17th Century and torn down in the 19th Century, because it was viewed as an unwanted symbol of the feudal past.

Fukuoka at dusk

One of the shopping centres we walked through

Fukuoka is also home to the famous Canal City which is called a city within a city, and has a canal running through it. Unfortunately we didn’t have time for a wander around as we chose to go to Nokonoshima Island instead.

For our last night we stopped at a British Pub called Morris Hippo! strange name and enjoyed a few drinks here before dinner at Cafe Otto overlooking the canal.

Our handsome drivers!

Other places to visit in Fukuoka:

Fukuoka Tower
Ohori Park
Tochoji Temple
Kushida Temple

Hopefully we’ll visit again as I enjoyed Fukuoka very much

****************************************************

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Yufu

Yoshinocho

Share this:

Like this:

Next of course is W

The next stop after Vientiane

Share this:

Like this:

Koh Samui

Khao Lak

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Glover House

Sakamoto International Cemetery

Nagasaki Peace Park

SAYONARA!

More of our trip below!

Share this:

Like this:

Hanoi

Restaurants

Ha Long Bay Cruise

Our Itinerary – Day One

Day Two

As always thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this post!

Share this:

Like this:

Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka Castle Ruins

F is finished and next up is G!

Share this:

Like this: