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DECEMBER’S FEATURED POST is:-

VIETNAM & HONG KONG - Asia ancient and modern

HOW TO GET THERE We flew into Hong Kong. This is a destination in its own right that we visited properly on the return journey from Vietnam. We stayed overnight at a hotel at the airport and took an early morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City the day following our early evening arrival.  ROUTE HONG KONG The flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City takes about 2.5 hours. HO CHI MINH CITY We stayed in a hotel facing the  Saigon River, which was very central and allowed for easy walking around the core of the city. The local buses were easy and cheap to use for destinations further afield. The only problem with transportation is the volume - crossing the main roads on foot between the blizzard of motorbikes called for steely nerves and usually the protection of some locals who just stepped off the pavement without a second thought. HO CHI MINH CITY - TEMPLE The city has attractions throughout, and we set about each of our days out by grouping what we wanted to see in the central, ...
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UZBEKISTAN - Central Asia’s Silk Road

Travelling along the Central Asian section of the ancient trading routes between China and Europe. Visiting the cities of Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. There are a large number of UNESCO World  Heritage Sites on this trip, covering religious buildings, fortifications, bazaars and the scientific and cultural aspects of the country. (Picture shows Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand ) HOW TO GET THERE We travelled as a couple with a personalised itinerary provided by the tour company Avantour ( based in Tashkent), who booked our hotels, rail tickets, guides and drivers for our journey. We flew from Manchester (U.K.) with a connecting flight from Istanbul to Tashkent.    ROUTE Headed out from Tashkent we went to Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva then flew out from Urgench to Istanbul and then back to Manchester. TASHKENT Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and the biggest city in Central Asia. Most of the old buildings in the city were destroyed by the earthquake of 1966, a...
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JAPAN - Central Cities train trip

Japan is a wonderful blend of the ancient and ultra-modern.  There are a large number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites on this trip - fabulous gardens, temples and cultural highlights linked by super smooth fast bullet trains.  Visiting the major cities of Central Japan - Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Okayama and Kanazawa - together with trips out to the Nikko National Park and Naoshima Island. (Picture shows Garden at Nishio Yatsuhashi-no-Sato restaurant , Kyoto) HOW TO GET THERE We arrived at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport. For this trip we used the services of a travel company - for a number of reasons. As you may know from other posts we have usually made all our own travel arrangements because we enjoy tailoring trips to our own tastes. The Japan trip took us outside our usual comfort zone because we have no language skills at all in Japanese. We also wanted to make the most of our time on the trip rather than having to navigate all the connections and bookings befo...
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PORTUGAL (North) - Historic towns ,cities and the green (verde) region

  Take the trip heading out of Northern Spain to the remote mountainous Verde (Green) region of Portugal, and travel back via the historic towns and cities of Braganza, Guimares, Braga, Santiago de Compostela and Gijon. Photo shows Braganza - the Citadel HOW TO GET THERE We completed this trip with a car and towed caravan*.  The main loop of the trip inside Spain and then into Portugal could just as easily start anywhere within it, and you could do it in a car staying in hotels or other accommodation. Headed to Portugal from the UK or Northern Europe you have plenty of options on land routes and stops on the way across France. Alternatively there are ferries into Santander and Bilbao from the UK. We took three weeks to complete the main trip loop, and a further week in total on the outward and return journeys across France taking the ferry from Newhaven(UK) to Dieppe(F). * please see notes on travelling with a caravan or motorhome underneath the header 'Caravanning' next ...
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