ARCHIVE OF POSTINGS FOR February, 2015
The far-east destinations of Japan, Korea and Shanghai are all fine places to visit as part of your world travels. All three destinations can easily be served by a trip on a cruise ship that departs out of Shanghai. Modern Shanghai is a fantastic city to visit. Shanghai is a very large, modern and vibrant city that offers many activities and sights. As a city of 17 million people, it seems to have everything. There is no shortage of fine hotels and restaurants, and the shopping districts are second to none. You can shop for virtually anything there and find it. It has a very lively night life and districts that turn night into day, such as the Nanking Road district. The outskirts of Shanghai offer many tourist destinations, including Watertown, which is a small city built using canals instead of roads to travel around. Shanghai is also an arrival point for those who plan to take one of the celebrated Yangtze River cruises and a visit to the Three-Gorges Dam. You will need at least four days to view Shanghai and its environs. It is indeed a unique city to visit.
Japan and Korea are excellent travel destinations. Japan has a unique culture that must be experienced to be appreciated. The many large, modern cities are an attraction, as are the numerous mountains and volcanic landscapes, such as Mt. Fuji and at Kagoshima. The transportation and the populous are high-tech, with a network of modern bullet trains reflecting this. With an enormous coastline, fishing villages are nearly everywhere, and offer a contrast to the large cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto. Among the more moving historical sights are the Atomic museums and peace parks in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. You will truly be affected by a visit there. Japan should be on a world travellers list of countries to visit.
In terms of visiting Korea, what is really implied is South Korea, as North Korea is a long-time closed society. South Korea is another high-tech country, and is the source of many products that are shipped all around the world, particularly electronics. Most people who visit South Korea go to Seoul, but Korea has a number of popular vacation spots, such as Jeju Island to the South, which offers a beautiful playground to both tourists and South Koreans alike. Jeju Island is a common Port-of-Call for cruise ships in the China Sea Area, and you will not be disappointed in your visit there, If you visit Japan, make an effort to also stop at Jeju Island, South Korea. These three far-east destinations should be on every world travelers list of places to visit.
Australia is a fascinating country to visit. It is a very large and diverse country that cannot be experienced and appreciated in a single visit. It has everything from the great barrier reef to mountains to massive desert regions, along with many fine cities. The area in and around Sydney is a great place to visit, and a week can be spent there just seeing and enjoying the sights. A one-week railway pass, which is very cheap (about $60), will take you nearly anywhere around the area or along the east coast (the rail system is amazingly good and convenient). It should be noted that the Australian dollar and the United States dollar are very close in value, and can be treated as approximately equal. The cost of living in the big cities of Australia is higher than in the USA, and items such as food will cost you about 60% more. However, the minimum wage in Australia is quite a bit higher than that in the USA, so it doesn’t seem to bother the Australians.
As for the railway pass, its not just rail travel that is covered … you can take ferries across the harbor for great restaurants and a fine sunset view of the Sydney skyline. You will also enjoy sitting in the outdoor cafe at the waterfront by the Opera House and having a beer and a pizza as you view the harbor bridge and some of the largest cruise ships in the world loading passengers. They speak English there … well, sort of! You will get used to it after 4-5 days, but the accent is tough to understand at first. After a couple of weeks even you will be saying “G’day mate”. The Blue Mountain National Park is a two-hour train ride north of Sydney (using your pass), and should not be missed. The mountain scenery is spectacular, with the Three Sisters, cable car rides across the gorge, and a series of cascades and waterfalls that you do not want to miss. As with the rail pass, you can buy a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus pass that will let you see more that 30 sights in the Blue Mountains on your own schedule. Plan to spend three days there seeing it all.
Brisbane and Canberra are relatively close, and should be visited, and the famous Blow-Hole at Kiama on the South Coast is only an hours relaxing train ride south. Don’t go down to Kiama to see the Blow-Hole on a calm day however, as it needs the waves to perform like a geyser. To visit the Qutback and the Ayers Rock area usually requires a flight out of Sydney, as it is a long, arduous drive. A compromise might be a shorter trip to Broken Hill, where the Outback begins. There are some fine National Parks and Lodges there that can provide some spectacular nighttime stargazing and unforgettable views of the southern cross and southern milky way. No trip to Australia could be complete without a trip to a koala sanctuary where you can hold a Koala bear and see wombats, wallabies, platypus ducks and kangaroos. It might cost you $10 to $16 to get your photo taken holding a koala, but do it. The photo will be a great memento of your visit there.