Asia Travel Information Blog

A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Sakai, Japan by TravelPod blogger Nikinike titled “Sen no Rikyu”. TravelPod is a company of TripAdvisor™. Nikinike’s travel blog entry: “I visited the place most deeply associated with Sen no Rikyu; his birthplace of Sakai city, Osaka. Rikyu was born in Sakai in 1522. The son of a wealthy merchant, Rikyu soon familiarized himself with the ‘way of tea’ from an early age. He began to study Chanoyu under the tutelage of a figure also closely associated with the Wabi aesthetic, Takeno Joo. Rikyu also underwent Zen training in Nansyu-ji temple in Sakai. A visit to Nansyu-ji can unearth a wealth of historical and spiritual treasures deeply embedded in the Japanese consciousness. You might discern, against the evening backdrop of a cerulean sky, the tower erected for the repose of Rikyu’s soul, Sen no Rikyu Kuyo-to. Try cleansing your palms in Rikyu’s cherished Chozu-bachi, the stone basin used for hand washing before the tea ceremony, or maybe even stumble upon the Jissoan, a teahouse built to Rikyu’s exacting tastes. A plethora of discoveries just waiting to be found… The picture on the left is of a “Nijiri-guchi” in the Jissoan. “Nijiri-guchi” is a tiny guest-entrance, comprised of a square, sliding wooden door to the tearoom (about 60 by 60 cm). Guests enter the tearoom through the Nijiri-guchi and actually have to bow down far enough to crawl through, as the doorway is so low. The bow-style entrance design emphasizes …

A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Beijing, China by TravelPod blogger Tallbird_lankey titled “Beijing Part 1″ Tallbird_lankey’s travel blog entry: “only 9 million bicycles – Melua you’re off your noggin~!!!! Hello readers – we’ve made it to China (phew) -the main destination for our jaunt… let’s hope that it lives up to the expectation. We left Mongolia (Ulaan Baator) by the trans-siberian. It was a shame to head off, leaving the world’s best nomads, mare’s milk, Mongolian Miaghi, the scenery and everything else behind us. We had another near miss on the cabins though not as amusing as the last. We met Anne and Kim (again brilliant – our luck has held out with room mates so far) from England, and were next to the cabin with the loudest shrillest American Newyorker (for those of the “Friends” generation allllmost Janice)we’re sure there were other people in her cabin.. at least we hope that she wasn’t talking to herself for 40hrs.. but only her voice was audible. The journey was smooth and peaceful (once you’d tuned out Janice), and we rumbled into Beijing at 2pm the next day and experienced the dramatic contrast between UB and Beijing.. The scale of the place, the number of people, and the incredible atmosphere and humidity. Lugging bags through Beijing was a challenge, but we negotiated the subway, the Hutongs, and the hawkers and found ourselves a nice hostel where we’ve been holed up this week. The rest of the first day we did a quick reccy of the …