From the category archives:

Asia / Middle East

Siem Reap Cambodia – Home to Exquisite Temples

GUEST ARTICLE: After visiting Phnom Penh we rented a car and driver and drove 300kms to Siem Reap. Getting out of the city was a bit slow going at first because of the traffic but fortunately it thinned out as we entered the countryside.

About 70kms out of Siem Reap we came upon a [...]

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Phnom Penh Cambodia – The Killing Fields

GUEST ARTICLE: This was our first time to Cambodia and oh what a time we had! We arrived in early March just at the end of dry season. The temperature was still pretty hot but still made for some great days and beautiful warm nights. We caught a cab from the airport to [...]

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Photo Highlights – Brief Glimpse of Bali Indonesia

After spending 48 hours in Darwin, I was a guest of Air Asia on a very brief tour of Bali. Air Asia is a Malaysian owned Airline that has a fleet of Airbus A320 jets covering South East Asia and has won the Skytrax award for Worlds Best Low-Cost Airline in 2009, 2010 and 2011. [...]

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Incredible Sipadan Snorkelling – Pom Pom Island, Malaysia

GUEST ARTICLE: It was a beautiful day in March when we flew into Tawau Airport in Borneo. Our destination was an island called Pom Pom which is located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It is one of the few unique islands found on the South China Sea. When I think of Borneo [...]

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5 Tips for First Time Japan Business Travellers

I’m flying to Japan today for a short business trip to Osaka, Kobe and Tokyo, including a bullet train ride on the Nozomi Shinkansen (bullet train). Have you also been asked by your company to head over to Japan and are worried that you’ll make a bad impression?

The number one thing you should keep in [...]

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Abu Dhabi – Worth More Than A One Night Stopover

GUEST ARTICLE: Holy Hotness!! Abu Dhabi was a scorching +42C when we arrived and +45C when we left. The air was dry as a bone and the sun absolutely scorching. You really couldn’t stand out in the open for very long before you literally started to self-bathe and sprout a Rudolf nose. [...]

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Petra, Jordan – Step Back To An Ancient Time

GUEST ARTICLE: Our first stop in Jordan was to the Dead Sea where we spent 2 wonderful nights floating in the very salty water. Afterwards we drove to the ancient city of Petra. I can see why Petra is dubbed one of the top places to see before you die. We are so [...]

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Floating in Dead Sea, Jordan – Dont Get Salt In Eyes or Nose!

GUEST ARTICLE: We landed in Queen Alia International Airport located in Jordan’s capital city Amman and were met by our car hire rep. After signing some papers and agreeing to pay for some extra insurance ‘just in case’, we were on our way to our hotel the Movenpick Resort located on the North Shore of [...]

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Eye Opening Mumbai India – Dharavi Slums and Dhobi Ghat Open Air Laundry

GUEST ARTICLE: Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) is the 2nd most populous city in the world with a staggering population of about 14 million. We had just been on a little tour of the Golden Triangle and Mumbai was our last stop in India. We couldn’t have picked a better place to end our [...]

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Incredible India 3 Days in Indias Capital Delhi

GUEST ARTICLE: India wasn’t exactly at the top of our list of places to see but we knew that it was something we had to do at least once. So this year we made it a reality. We had pre-booked this trip a year before and hadn’t realized that we were going to [...]

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Top Tips for Foreigners (Gaijin) Travelling to Japan

EDITOR: After 4 trips to Japan, my friend Kat Clancy has come up with some great tips that foreigners (gaijin) should keep in mind before travelling to Japan.

Japan Rail Pass
GUEST ARTICLE: If you are going to venture outside of Tokyo, you will very likely benefit from a Japan Rail Pass. The JR pass has to [...]

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Armenian WW1 Genocide by Ottoman Turks: Ghost from the Past

While Australian diggers were fighting in Gallipoli in 1915, and of course we honour them every year on Anzac Day (25 April) there was another war being waged in the Turkish heartland where hundreds of 1000’s of ethnic Armenians were driven out of their homes.
Many were slaughtered, others starved, historians say as many as 1,000,000 [...]

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Why Angkor Kingdom Collapsed and Modern Cambodian Corruption

At the height of its power, 300 years before its collapse in the 15th century, the kingdom of Angkor controlled a large part of what is now Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Laos and Vietnam and its capital was the largest pre-industrial city known to man.

Angkor Wat Collage photo credit: meilyn

Australian ABC TV foreign correspondent Eric Campbell [...]

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Chinas Racquet Town – Longmen, Zhejiang Province

Stringing badminton racquets – Longmen Villagephoto credit: Alexandra Moss
Practically every manufactured item you buy in shops these days is “Made in China” or “Fabrique en Chine” but have you ever wondered where all these things are made?
If you’ve ever played the sport of Badminton, then the odds are pretty good that your badminton racquet was [...]

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Saudi Arabia: The Magic Kingdom

GUEST ARTICLE: You don’t go to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a tourist. In fact, there’s no such thing as a tourist visa in Saudi. The only holiday makers are on their religious pilgrimage to Mecca for the Hajj. If you are not Muslim, the only way to get into the country is with [...]

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