Posts/Entries
All posts/entries, for now, from over two decades of global travel. And a few colourful tags, too.
Todai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan
Todai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall, which houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, is also the largest wooden building in the world. The temple, home to the the Japanese headquarters...
Nara, Japan
Before Kyoto became the capital of Japan in 794 AD the honour was held by Nara, a town some 35 kilometres south of Kyoto in the Kansai region of the country. This is an area which prides itself on being the birthplace of Japanese culture. The city's temples and...
Kyoto, Japan
The Old Imperial Capital Of Japan & One Of The Oldest & Most Historic Metropolises In Asia Maiko on the streets of Gion, Kyoto, Japan. July 18, 2005 As the capital of Japan for more than a thousand years, Kyoto conjures up the classic images of Japan: narrow...
Tosho-gu Temple Complex, Nikko, Japan
The Tosho-gu Temple is a Shinto shrine, one of three complexes containing over 100 buildings and structures - two Shinto shrines & one Buddhist temple - that make up the Shrines and Temples of Nikko, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site set in wooded surroundings...
Nikko, Japan
A fter a dizzying few days in Tokyo it was time to catch the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) north to Nikko, a city in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture some 140 kilometres from the capital. A popular tourist destination, Nikko is home to the UNESCO World Heritage listed...
Tokyo, Japan
K onnichiwa from Tokyo, Japan, the capital, largest city and economic & cultural centre of the country. After a jarring flight from Dublin four days ago I quickly got energised & ready to go. And energy is what is needed for this city, especially in the summer...
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo, the capital & largest city in Japan & the economic and cultural centre of the country is, with a population of over 32 million, the centre of the largest metropolitan area in the world. It may be busy but it's also something of a modern-day urban utopia...
Rhine Valley, Germany
The UNESCO listed Upper Middle Rhine Valley, often refereed to as the Rhine Gorge, is a 65 kilometre stretch of the Middle Rhine Valley in western Germany. The area, with its castles, historic towns and vineyards, graphically illustrates the long history of human...
Cologne, Germany
Cologne is a commercial centre and river port in western Germany on the Rhine River. It's Germany’s oldest city dating back over two millennia. Dominated by the soaring towers of its rustic cathedral, Kölner Dom, the city is a little heralded corner of Germany that...
Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), Germany
Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the largest Gothic church in northern Europe, boasting the second-tallest spires and biggest façade of any church in the world. The hulking Gothic masterpiece, Germany's most visited landmark, was constructed in several phases between...
Yungang Grottoes, Shanxi Province, China
“The Buddha in grotto 13 is suffering from various levels of decay, as is the colourful plaster on the backing of his cave, most of which is gone – a little to the original is visible in the top right of this image. During carving, the large right arm of the Buddha needed support hence the need to carve a smaller Buddha.”
The Hanging Temple of Heng Shan, China
“The 50m-high structure is propped up on long oak stilts anchored to the ledges below & supported by crossbeams with the main supportive structure hidden inside the bedrock.”
Terracotta Army, China
“Rather surprisingly, I had received a lot of negative Terracotta Army feedback from fellow travellers prior to arriving in the city. The words ‘disappointment’ & ‘overrated’ were bandied about quite a bit, as were the words ‘boring’ & ‘avoid’. I’m glad I didn’t avoid them as I found the Terracotta Army anything but boring. In fact, I found them fascinating.”
Yangtze River Cruise, China
“It wasn’t easy, but I eventually secured a basic berth in an even more basic 6-berth dorm on a public ferry that I shared with 5 Chinese travellers, none of which had so much as a word of English. It was an interesting time.”