Asia

Once you have seen central Kathmandu set out and explore the treasures around Kathmandu: the historic squares, temples and royal cities. And get up on the hills around Kathmandu for views of the Himalayas, the world’s highest peaks that make Nepal famous.  Kathmandu has some extraordinary cultural sights right outside the city: the Monkey Temple Swayambbunath in the west, Boudanath ...

Pokhara is a lakeside city at 900 m which in Nepal means the lowlands. Yet the city is at the very foot of the Himalayas. In Pokhara you can combine subtropical climate with snow-capped peaks – added with a green mountain lake. Pokhara, Nepal offers short hikes, a lake and the Annapurnas. The Annapurna Massif is literally behind the corner. The ...

One day we understood we were going to travel to Nepal. Clas had a Kathmandu business trip approaching and should spend a week or two in the Nepalese capital. So I started creating a trip to the mountain country from scratch. What can we do and where should we travel in Nepal? Nepal children in Sarangkot, Annapurnas Most travelers go ...

Tokyo is known as a huge, ultra modern city and that’s what it is. Yet the Japanese capital hides wonders in it. The old Japan still exists in many parts of the city and you will find it, just walk around. This post will show you four easy walks in Old Tokyo. You can find the old Tokyo in the shrines ...

Sri Lanka’s South Coast from Yala to Galle is palm-fringed beaches, national parks and jungles. And an endless row of busy Sri Lankan villages along the coast. My last post on our Sri Lanka road trip will show you what the South Coast is like and what is special about it.  South Coast has made its own mix of colonial and Sri Lankan cultures and ...

This post will show you the drive from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya in the Sri Lankan tea country where the famous Ceylon tea comes from. Tea grows here in millions of bushes and you can see green tea gardens all the way from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. Tamil tea pickers walk through tea gardens with baskets strapped to their backs and ...

Kandy is a city deep in Sri Lanka’s rainforest hills, yet full of traditions and history. It is where Sri Lanka’s last kings ruled and made this rainforest city the cultural capital of the island. The kings built their palaces and temples, the biggest of them for Buddha’s tooth. They changed a paddy field to a lake that became the new heart ...

Sri Lanka’s East Coast is far away but has the best beaches and friendliest locals. We stayed in some paradise-like beach resorts that made a perfect setting for our holiday. We really liked the east coast. No tourists, no crowds, just us and the smiling locals. East coast must be what the old Sri Lanka used to be. Few tourists have ...

Sri Lanka has a long and remarkable history, most of which happened in the jungles. We went to see Sri Lanka’s ancient cities that once were the capitals of some of the world’s great kingdoms. Sri Lanka’s ancient cities had dagobas almost as big as the Egyptian pyramids. One after one these cities disappeared and became parts of the jungle, until ...

In this post we will take you to Sri Lanka’s west coast and we will drive from Colombo to Kalpitiya. We are traveling by car, using the same road as buses.  First we will see Colombo’s sights and afterwards drive to Negombo to watch fishermen at work and fish drying on the ground. We will also see Negombo beaches. Driving ...