Good thing Yumi and Hiraoki have two cars! Three kids, food, clothes, couple of sleeping bags, two Canadians (and their two pieces of luggage) and Mom & Dad!! No way we would have fit in one car!   Hiraoki had to go to work on Saturday morning and Natsuki had an 'Igo' (a Japanese traditional board game we call 'Go') competition so she arrived later with Dad and her friend that we'd met the day before. So that meant only five of us in the ...

I just love the Japanese rail system.... in fact I love a lot of things about Japan! Comfortable, clean and on time, we arrived at Shirahama Station to find our names printed on a sign held by a woman we had never met. By the end of the week (actually by the end of the day) we were good friends.Months ago, as Shane and I were planning this trip, I did some research on Wakayama Prefecture and the sacred trail known as the Kumano Kodo. For over 1000 years people...

This blog entry is not the kind I usually post. Yes, I'm going to try to bore you with some details, what else would you expect from me? More than travel, however, this part of the journey was about reconnecting with good friends (our Japanese family) and meeting new friends (yes Yumi, I mean you and your family).Pretty much the first thing we did after Mayumi and Gosuke picked us up from Kansai Airport was to take Shane to the doctor. Seems that nasty col...

Back to the chaotic reality of Kathmandu. A slight drizzle is keeping the nasty pollution at bay. Even the hills are visible!  Found the best MoMos in town (according to TripAdvisor and our taste buds). My favourite was the pork hot chilli dumpling.... Yumm!Strange to be back where your senses are bing assaulted at every turn. Bhutan is so peaceful compared to this city. Walking down the street is an exercise in dexterity! In order to survive just one short...

My right arm aches a bit as I reflect on our time in Bhutan. Walking clockwise around all the temples and stupas (that is the most auspicious way) means that your right hand is the one to turn all the hundreds of prayer wheels you come across. At first my prayer was for good health (after a couple of us battled ailments) and it worked. We wanted good weather for our treks.... and it happened. We wanted to see the Rhododendron trees in bloom... and we did! The...