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We also went to the food market in town. That evening we went to a show at the roof top bar of the Majestic Hotel and then for dinner at the Mandarine Restaurant. I think the food is a bit westernized but it was still just about the best meal we've had since we left Australia. Business was...

Day 68 Mar 15 Ho Chi Minh City As the Internet seems to have improved a fair bit I'll post about our two day stay in Ho Chi Minh City. We have been to Vietnam twice before. First time was for an extended land vacation in 2004 and then, five years later to Ha Long Bay, Da Nang and Saigon on a...

Day 64 Mar 11 and Day 65 Mar 12 Hong Kong The struggle with the Internet goes on. Over the last few days it has been the worst of the whole trip but now we seem to have a small reprieve so I'll make an attempt (Attempt 54) to update. The sail into Hong Kong is usually quite spectacular. We...

Finally, we visited the French Concession and Pudong. The French Concession is like any other smart inner big city area and apparently very pricey. South Yarra? When we were last here a decade plus ago the building surge was underway in Pudong and now it looks like it is slowing down. The...

Day 61 Mar 8 Shanghai I have to say that the architectural tour we did of Shanghai was the best ship's tour I have ever done. The guide was an American ex-pat who had been in business in Shanghai for 22 years. He had an expertise in Shanghai architecture, particularly from the Art Deco period...

Through Silversea, love_the_life. We have a generous OB credit. Some pictures from the Humble Administrator's Garden which dates from around 1520.

Day 60 Mar 7 Suzhou The Shanghai smog lifted very quickly on our first morning. It is at least 10 years since we were last here and the pace of development has left its mark. Pudong, opposite where we were docked, has grown both up and back. For us today it was a trip to Suzhou, a city of a...

Day 59 Mar 6 Shanghai After two days sailing from Tokyo across the East China Sea we made it to Shanghai. Well almost. We were stopped just after the pilot boarded a good 5 hours short of scheduled docking because the port was closed due to fog (aka smog, but they didn't call it that!). We...

Still suffering from the joys of the Internet at sea. Someone said tonight it is because of Chinese censorship (where we are at the moment). Who knows. And now it is time to head to Singapore via Shanghai, Hong Kong and Saigon.

And finally, a visit to Tenru-ji Zen Buddhist Temple for a vegetarian lunch and a bit of meditation. The gardens again were spectacular. The meditation session was meant to be an introduction. The day ended with a ride on the Nozomi Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Tokyo. These three days away...

And finally, a visit to Tenru-ji Zen Buddhist Temple for a vegetarian lunch and a bit of meditation. The gardens again were spectacular. The meditation session was meant to be an introduction. Theday ended with a ride on the Nozomi Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Tokyo. These three days away...

On to the amazing Temple of the Golden Pavilion and its incredible gardens. Scenically, this was the highlight of the visit to Kyoto made better by warm sunshine. It is gold leaf over the many layers of lacquer. .

The Kyoto market we visited (Nishiki Market) was one long lane, over probably a kilometre, with a number of cross streets. It struck me as very upmarket and a little touristy The stalls looked fantastic and the quality of the food and other goods looked very good. I upset the guide by...

For lunch we went to the Sodo Restaurant, a fusion type place which prepared a light and tasty meal for us. There was plenty of sake to go round. T2 loves it but I'm not a great fan. As well, as you see all over the tourist areas of Kyoto, there were literally hundreds of geishas. In fact they...

On a busy day (Day 54) we also visited the impressive and graceful Nijo-jo Castle in Kyoto. There was no photography allowed inside.

I was thinking washing up liquid.

Day 54 Feb 28 Kyoto After all the rain yesterday, the first full day in Kyoto started bright and cloudy but with the promise of sunshine later. And there are no deer. We headed off to Konkai Komyouji Temple for a bit more of the cultural immersion. (I remember when we took my parents around...

Now it's on to Kyoto for a two night stay at the Hyatt Regency and lots of touring. I rate the hotel highly. It had great beds and a warm toilet seat. We had a dinner in the ballroom accompanied by geisha and music. It was all impressive.

Day 53 Feb 27 Nara. The Nara Todai-ji Buddhist Temple was popular with visitors and deer! The deer seem to bow to you, like the courteous Japanese, but apparently it is only a preliminary appraisal to smell if you have food.

Nara was once, like Osaka and Kyoto, the capital of Japan. It is now a tourist mecca with deer having the free run of the place. Our guide warned us not to step on the little black "stones" everywhere. These pics are from the Kasuga Taisha Shinto Shrine.