Travelling Buddha

Thurso, Scotland So, we've started a family tradition... Anybody who knows us will be aware that going back to somewhere you've already visited is not encouraged. I don't know why, it just seems to be a thing. However, the trend has well and truly been bucked because we have had two, yes two, trips to Scotland in the last couple of years. I know there's a third planned for 2020 because we've decided to head to the West Highlands on this occasion. The Spey We have enjoyed two long weekends Speyside. Both times staying in hotels in Grantown-on-Spey which is a couple of hours drive from Aberdeen airport. Our preferred method of travel is to fly to Aberdeen (quite cheaply from Heathrow in the BA sale!) and hire a car. From there we have the freedom to explore lots of different places. With Grantown as our base we were able to visit Cairngorm mountain (2018) via the funicular railway (currently being repaired) and almost got blown away by strong snowy winds o...

Central Park, April 2018. "New Yoik City" I was very lucky to bag a free trip to NYC in 2018 when my partner's company sent him to Philadelphia for a conference. We had a few days in New York and then he went off to Philly while I flaneur-ed (yes, real word) my way around the city and did a few of the sights. A seven hour flight to JFK airport was perfectly doable and then a yellow cab (there's no other way - well there is, it's called the subway, but it's a long trip if you're tired from your flight) to downtown (or uptown) Manhattan where we were staying. It's a set fare from JFK to Manhattan (worth knowing, I think). I took this photo on my phone to help navigate part of the subway. We were staying somewhere a little south-eastwards from here. It hasn't taken long before I've started referring to trains but the subway was a prominent feature of our trip and it would be for any traveller. It tooks a bit of getting used to: som...

Why go? Why not! In November 2017 we went to Japan for ten days, creating our own itinerary. Planning for this involved, yes you guessed it, buying maps! But not only did this trip combine my love of maps and travel guides but also of trains. If you like trains, Japan is the place for you (more on that later). There are a hundred reasons to visit Japan but mostly you should go because it's beautiful, easy to navigate, the food is gorgeous and it's pretty bonkers. The itinerary We stayed for three nights in Tokyo (having landed at Narita airport which is only 30 minutes away from the city centre via the express train) and chose Shinjuku as our base. It's pretty central and is said to be the entertainments district - the Soho, if you like. From here we could access everything fairly easily. In fact, you can access most things easily because the metro is so efficient. And with our Japan Rail (JR) passes (available for around £190 per person for 7 days) we could use...