abroadtravelingabroad

Enjoy This Sushi Symphony: Japanese Food as Performance Art

Leave a Comment / Asia, Blogging, Food and Wine, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Before landing in Tokyo I was perfectly content with a plastic tray of wannabe sushi from the supermarket. Not any more. The preparation, presentation and consumption of this oh-so-subtle symphony of flavors, textures, aromas and colors and its accompanying description raised my culinary bar to previously unscaled heights. A caress of freshly “grated over sharkskin”

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A Hike of 10,000 Torii Gates: Kyoto’s Fushimi-Inari-Taisha

Leave a Comment / Asia, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Thousands of vermilion Torii gates blazing in the August sun which straddle a network of trails behind its main shrines. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari. I was fortunate to visit on a steamy August day… A torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance

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Visit Astonishing Takayama: Opulent Festivals, Sake and the Art of Onsen

1 Comment / Asia, Blogging, Shopping, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

A morning walk along the Miyagawa River finds farmers and craftspeople selling sansai (mountain vegetables), wasakana (river fish) along with selections of local pottery and vintage kimonos repurposed as ornate handbags and a subtle rainbow of silk jackets. This remarkably preserved city of 80,000 is in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture. Takayama retains a

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Japanese Jewels: A Stunning Performance by Maiko in Kyoto

Leave a Comment / Asia, Sights to See, Solo Travel / Pamelahawthorne

As strange to me as a rare bird, precious and mysterious. Doll-like, she silently entered our hosted dinner in the Gion area of Kyoto and turned so that we could admire the lavish, shimmering brocade of her kimono. Her kimono weighs over twenty pounds. She is rigorously corseted into her garments which require a man’s

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Japan’s Ultimate Shopping Experience at Tsukiji and Nishiki Markets

Leave a Comment / Asia, Blogging, Food and Wine, Shopping, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

An afternoon at Tokyo’s Tsujiki Outer Market introduced me to the art of Japanese shopping. This is Japan’s “Food Town,” featuring every imaginable traditional Japanese food. It’s raucous and noisy but in a very polite, Japanese way. One main and three side streets feature stalls of the finest, just off the hook sushi-grade fillets in

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A Must See! Tokyo Lights Up Guinness World Record Attraction

Leave a Comment / Asia, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Spanning almost 150,000 square feet, Tokyo Night & Light is the largest architectural projection-mapped display in the world! “Tokyo Night & Light” is a projection mapping display which uses light and sound as an expression of multi-coloured art, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, one of Tokyo’s main landmarks, as its canvas. Travel Weekly Asia

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Borders of a Sacred Place: Visit Tokyo’s Incredible Meiji Shrine

1 Comment / Asia, Blogging, Sights to See, Solo Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Minutes away from the ultra-modern steel and glass skyline, uber efficient ramps and highways in the Shibuye Ward of Tokyo, visitors can find the sublime peace of the Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū). Wooded, with pea gravel walking paths (the Japanese encourage serenity by paving with tiny stones mimicking the sound of water) this is

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Visit the Most Holy Relic of Thailand’s Most Sacred Temple

Leave a Comment / Asia, Blogging, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

The climb is a 306 step staircase bordered by mythical serpents called naga. Presiding over the city at the top is Wat Phra That, one of northern Thailand’s most sacred temples. The golden spire glitters near the summit of Doi Suthep, a 5,499-foot mountain outside Chiang Mai. Lanna was an ancient Thai state located in

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Eat at the Most Bizarre, (delish) and Colorful Food Circus in the World!

Leave a Comment / Asia, Food and Wine, Shopping, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

Bubbling cauldrons of soups, meats wrapped in palm leaves, a rainbow of desserts – honestly…when it comes to street food, Southeast Asia is the Big Top of variety, flavor and (let’s say) innovation. Each country I visited, (Thailand, Cambodia and Laos on this trip,) has their street food cultural fingerprint. But there are many similarities.

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Expression of the Highest Genius; The Majesty of Angkor Thom

Leave a Comment / Asia, Natural Wonders, Sights to See, Solo Travel, Travel / Pamelahawthorne

The Royal Palace situated within the city of Angkor Thom, close to Siem Reap Cambodia, belonged to kings of the tenth and first half of of the eleventh centuries. King Jayavarman VII built the city, whose name translates to “Great Kingdom” and includes Angkor Wat, over a 30 year period with the assistance of 6,000 elephants.

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