Travel photos and journals from across Asia [1997-2025]
Day 13: Fukuoka Today, we wanted to sample some evening street food, so we set out a little later and walked over to the Canal City shopping mall, which turned out to be another multi-floored collection of empty shops selling hi-so brands. It did have a fancy fountain that would come on for a little…
Day 11: Asakura to Nanzoin Today, we had to return the van, and the weather remained grim, but there were a couple of sights to see on the way back to Fukuoka. The first stop was Amagi Park at Asakura, which was one of the top spots to view the cherry blossoms. The annual Sakura…
Day 10: Kurokawa Today, I turned 50 (an entire decade since we went here), and to mark the occasion, the weather was cold, wet, and miserable, but I was determined not to let it make a difference. We would stick to the plan for the day, which involved motoring north to the Daikanbō lookout first…
Day 8: Aso With the boat trip over almost as quickly as it began, we were on the road again for the hour’s drive north to the Aso-Kuju National Park, which is home to Japan’s largest volcanic caldera and one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. We checked out the Asobo no Sato…
Day 7: Nishiki to Takachiho Today was a driving day as we had to head around three hours north to get to Takachiho, where we had booked a boat trip for the following day. We decided to avoid the boring toll expressway and take the scenic route through a spectacular river valley on Highway 212….
Day 5: Sakurajima to Ebino Leaving the still-smoldering volcano in the morning, we pointed the van north, driving through the coastal town of Kirishima and toward the Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park, where we would spend a couple of days hiking. Before venturing into the national park – free to enter in Japan – we checked out…
Day 3: Ume to Miyazaki Temperatures dropped below zero again, but there was no snow overnight, just a layer of ice on the front windscreen. When the van and ourselves were suitably warmed after a coffee, we headed south to Nobeoka to fuel up and fix the rear tire, which had picked up a screw….
It was time for a return trip to Japan to celebrate my fiftieth in March. We’d originally thought of going to Sapporo and Hokkaido, but flights were either fully booked or silly prices for that time of year due to the skiing season, so we opted for Fukuoka and Kyushu instead. Kōdō (行動) is the…
Ban Rai is a quaint little town in the hills in western Uthai Thani province and this was to be our next location. Named after the owner’s pet, the Owl Yard campsite was a pristinely kept spot, clearly aimed at Bangkok glampers with power sockets at each pitch, trolleys available to cart the gear from…
It was time to turn south, so we headed for Khlong Wang Chao National Park, an hour south of Tak. This quiet park had a picturesque camping spot right on the river, and being a weekday was very quiet. We also had the waterfall to ourselves (again) so I took advantage to get some shots. …
Mark and JJ wanted to head back south, but Pat decided to venture north a little more, so we headed to our sixth campsite at the Lang Sang National Park near Tak. This place was very quiet, and we had the waterfalls to ourselves. Managed to catch a glimpse of a snake catching a fish…
The five of us motored north to the Khlong Lan Waterfall National Park in Kamphaeng Phet province. I have tended to avoid national parks in Thailand over the years due to the dual pricing principle, but when camping in them, it can often work out cheaper even with the ‘farang tax’ since they charge a…
A tricky offroad drive was in store today as we ventured further into the wilderness, heading to the peak of Khao Tevada in Phu Toei National Park. The tiny remote hill village consisted of a few ramshackle sheds and a handful of campsites. We picked one near the start of the climb, where the friendly…
Camping season had arrived, that small window of great weather in Thailand when it isn’t hotter than the surface of Mercury or wetter than the Amazon rainforest, and overnight temperatures are conducive to sleeping in a tent, especially up north! We decided to take advantage of it before smog season kicked in with a two-week…
We opted for some luxury after a week in a tent and stayed in a decent hotel on the lakefront. Phayao has a very laid-back feel to it and a marvelous lakeside boulevard with seating, flowerbeds, and plenty of shade trees. By late afternoon the locals gathered there to flirt, fish, or exercise and we…