Category: Asia

 

Asia is a huge continent with diverse geography and an even greater diversity of cultures. This is where I share my stories and photos from all my travel experiences throughout Asia.

My Visit To The Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park – A Continuing Classroom for Peace

A visit to the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park should be on all Japan travel itineraries. I’ve been fortunate in that I had the opportunity to visit twice, most recently during my small ship cruise with Heritage Expeditions.

The original version of this story was recognized with an Honorable Mention in the 2018 North American Travel Journalists Association Competition in the  Historical Travel-Online category.

As a teenager, I learned about the devastating effects of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. On my visits to the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park as an adult many years later, I encountered present day Japanese teenagers learning their history in this living classroom for peace.

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My Favorite Unique Japanese Experiences

After four trips to Japan, these are some of my favorite unique Japanese experiences and photos from one of my favorite destinations.

Japan is one of my favorite travel destinations. I’ve visited four times in the last few years and could easily go back again and again. The unique mix of east and west in this culturally rich country continues to fascinate me.

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The Faces of Laos

In a country with beautiful scenery and a deep spiritual culture, it was the people I met along the way that I remember most. Let these Laos photos inspire you to add this Southeast Asian country to your travel bucket list.

Some of the photos in this post were recognized with awards in the 2023 North America Travel Journalists Association Excellence in Travel Journalism competition. The feature photo for this story received a Bronze award in the Cover or Feature Photo Illustration category

Laos is still one of those off-the-beaten-path countries that requires some effort to get to and even more effort to tour. As a result, I found it pleasantly uncrowded and surprisingly authentic.

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The Boats Are Back In Town – The Triumphant Return of Pandaw River Cruises

Discover why Pandaw river cruises in Southeast Asia are a one of a kind experience that keeps bringing customers back to sail with this very special cruise company.

I was sipping my Pink Lady cocktail and enjoying the brilliant orange sunset across the Mekong river over the city of Vientiane, Laos’ capital. It was the last evening of my Laos Pandaw river cruise and the day had been very hot, but now a gentle breeze was slowly cooling off the open top deck lounge.

A dragon boat sped by in the evening twilight, its crew chanting loudly as they oared in perfect unison, dipping their many paddles into the water in synchronous time to their chanting beat. Not far from our docked vessel, a local fisherman squatted on the tip of his longtail boat, checking his nets. I marveled at the ease with which he maintained his balance as he twisted and twirled on his boat’s narrow tip, his gyrations worthy of an Olympic balance beam routine.

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PhotoPOSTcard: Colorful Portrait Session in Gion

As my husband and I walked around the Gion district of Kyoto, Japan early one morning, we came upon this colorful couple posing for formal photos. There were about four or five people involved with the staging and photography, posing the couple this way and that, fixing creases on the clothes, moving the umbrella slightly to the left, changing the white umbrella to a red one. Then it was time for photos of just the young woman by herself, with the husband?, fiance?, boyfriend? hanging out in the background, looking pretty bored. I presume this was a special and happy event for the two of them, but neither one cracked a smile the whole time. I sure hope they lived happily ever after.

Thanks for visiting.

Rose

Why You Should Visit the Tokyo Quilt Festival Even if You Don’t Quilt

Please note – the Tokyo International Quilt show is no longer being produced as it was before the pandemic. I am keeping this post for those that are curious about what the show was like when it was running.

It is the largest quilt show in the world. Hundreds of exquisitely crafted quilts made by Japanese artists, any one of which would take home a blue ribbon in a major US quilt show. Visit the Tokyo Quilt Festival at the end of January to see the masterpieces of Japan’s best textile artists on display. Even as a non-quilter you will marvel at the detailed and delicate craftsmanship.

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Reflections From 2017

I love taking reflection photos. 

There is something about the symmetry of a perfect mirror image that never gets old for me. Or the juxtaposition of the inside and the outside of a window reflection.  As a result I am always drawn to photographing reflections. Sometimes the reflections make up the whole photo and sometimes they are just a small element, but  with each trip, I always come back with a few more.

Here are my favorites from 2017, at the same time, chronicling my travels for this year.

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