Kitagawa

I've been working out among the rice paddies of rural Japan on the JET Program for almost 2 years now. My home has been a small hamlet in eastern Shikoku called Kitagawa village. Foreign population: 1
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Korea

I worked in Seoul for the better part of 3 years, and had the chance to see a lot of the countryside. Most weiguks (foreigners) have a love hate relationship with Korea and either leave not long after they arrive, or wake up one day years later and realise they never left.
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Singapore

3 days: A quick stopover on my way from Australia to Japan. Amazing blend of cultures, great food, and a rare example of a dictatorship done right.
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Hong Kong

3 days: Short stopover on my way between Japan and Australia. Hong Kong felt more city-like than anywhere I've ever been before. Though I steered well clear, I also happened to be in Hong Kong when some Korean farmers turned violent in their protests against the WTO.
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Taiwan

3 days: Another short stopover. Another big, somewhat ugly asian city. Taipei is a pretty fun place though. The hot springs were really nice too, and it was the seconf time I got to see a "tallest-building-in-the-world" (now that Taipei 101 has eclipsed the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur).
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India

2 months: Recruited for a Bollywood movie. Travelled through princely Rajastan, ghastly Delhi and beautiful Kashmir. Took part in the world's largest festival. Saw the Taj, the Rat Temple, the sex temples of Khajuraho, the birthplace of the Buddha and the holy city of Varanasi. Stumbled exhausted across the border into Nepal.
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Nepal

1 month: Buddhist wonderland of Lumbini. Relaxing in Pokhara. Tea-house trekking in the Annapurnas. Soaking up the culture and cuisine of Kathmandu. A hurried departure across the border into Tibet to avoid Maoist strikes.
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Tibet

3 weeks: Over-
whelmingly beautiful. Drove across the 'Friendship Highway' from Kathmandu to Lhasa on some of the highest roads in the world. Felt the Dalai Lama's absence in Lhasa. Saw a 'sky burial'. Experienced the otherworldly beauty of Namtso Lake.
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China

2 weeks: Last leg of my Bombay to Beijing trip. Giant Pandas, Giant Buddhas, nursing a friend with pneumonia, a slow boat down the Yangtze River, Peking duck in Peking, crumbling sections of the Great Wall, and a ferry ride to Korea.
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