What I love about Japan

I love Japan

Everybody I know who’s been to Japan say they love it. There’s a great deal to love. Everyone who’s yet to get there say it’s at the top of their wish-list. Japan is like no other country. It’s a modern society, with a strong regard for history, a love of simplicity and a keen appreciation…

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What I love about Macau

Why I love Macau

I have a particular fondness for Macau. It’s the distinctive combination of Macanese, Chinese and Portuguese influence. It’s also the peaceful way it seems to approach life. Hong Kong can be a hectic place, so a short ferry ride to the former Portuguese colony can be a refreshing respite. Macau is most known for its…

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What I love about Hong Kong

I love Hong Kong

Hong Kong. The harbour is indisputably the essence of the city.  The whole place has an undeniable energy about it – with the liveliness of both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula balanced by the waters of Victoria Harbour. I’ve been to Hong Kong three times in the past twenty years and each visit has…

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Say it better – words from other languages

Wabi sabi mural Kyoto

You can become a better traveller by paying attention to words that don’t exist in English, says travel writer Brian Johnston. He went on to talk about a Dutch word voopret, which literally translates as ‘pre-fun’, and might be used to describe the feeling of excitement we get when planning a trip. While foreign travel…

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A little something extra

La Belle Esplanade NOLA Gail Holloway

Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get a little something extra. Like when you order a half dozen doughnuts or potato cakes and they throw in one more as a bonus. In New Orleans they have a local word for that – Lagniappe. We picked up one excellent word, a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a nice, limber, expressive, handy word — ‘lagniappe’. They pronounce it lanny- yap. It is Spanish — so they said.  MarkTwain, ‘Life on the Mississippi’. On my first visit to New Orleans in 2015,…

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