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I’ve visited Kyoto several times, and each trip reveals something new—like the city is quietly waiting to share its secrets one layer at a time. On a recent journey to walk the Nakahechi route of the Kumano Kodo, I carved out a side trip to Kyoto. I flew into Kansai International Airport, and what I learned about it completely floored me. The airport is built on a massive man-made island—7 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide—and it actually sinks a little each year. That fa

For years, Ethiopia called to me with its ancient allure, but nothing stirred my curiosity more than the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela — a UNESCO World Heritage site and a marvel carved out of a monolithic stone. Perched in the Lasta Mountains of northern Ethiopia, this highland town offers breathtaking views and the portal to visit the ancient churches carved directly into the rugged terrain. Flying out of Addis Ababa with Ethiopian Airlines, I landed at Lalibela’s quiet ai

About an hour drive from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, it a UNESCO world heritage site, Gobustan which is also written with a Q. There is a prehistoric cultural site as well as a geothermal phenomenon that attracts tourists here and I was on my way to see the Mud Volcanoes. I was told that there is a government managed site that one can drive to and see these. I also heard that the real ones are in the wilderness and need a 4x4 vehicle as the roads to it are non-existent.

Amritsar, a city very close to India's border with Pakistan has the most holy temple for the Sikh religion named Harmandir Sahib , popularly called the Golden Temple. On a clear day, I landed, checked in, and headed straight to Sikhism’s holiest shrine — the stunning Golden Temple, wrapped in the calm embrace of the Amrit Sarovar. Inside its sacred walls, the Akal Takht is housed, the highest seat of Sikh spiritual authority. From every angle, the Golden Temple was a visual e

Oman is a beautiful desert dominated country on the Arabian sea and Gulf of Oman. A country with about 5 million population, 40% of it is composed of foreign guest workers. As I got out of the airport, I was happy to see cleanliness everywhere and everything was very well organized. I had booked a rental car, but when I reached the counter, I had no confirmation number on it, somehow it had gotten lost. Dreading to be taken advantage of, I was pleasantly surprised to hear th

Driving to the city of Muscat from their international airport, you cannot miss the ornate mosque on the way. It is the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque . Built by 2001, this mosque is huge and can host twenty thousand worshippers. The large grounds around it look like an oasis. On a sunny day, I decided to visit the mosque. It is customary to wear full pants, shorts are not allowed. There is an entry ticket, but it was not being charged on the day I visited. From the entry door, t

I have been aware of Oktoberfest since the early 1990s and quickly agreed to go to experience it when a friend proposed a trip. We decided to go to Munich for enjoying it for a couple of days. Late September in Munich is a time for booming business time. V isitors from all over Germany as well as the world participate in this beer festival, probably the biggest in the world. It is hard to find hotel rooms close to Theresienweise - the area that hosts the festival. To seem l

Thinking about Japan, my mind always goes to the World War II bombing, and I visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I went again in the most recent trip and walked around the Peace Memorial Park. On the towards the ground zero monument, I saw the 'A-bomb Victim' sculpture. It had a brief description of the bombing. The statue reminds us of the victims of the atomic bomb and the roof tiles melted by the heat rays. The ground just below the explosion reached 4,000 degrees centigrade a

It is a hopeless task to find the pre-iPhone era pictures of my visit to Kyoto, Japan. When I visited it again, armed with my iPhone, I was determined to revisit the gem of the Kyoto temples, the Kinkaku-ji . I took a bus and arrived close to the temple area, then walked the remaining distance, bought the ¥500 ticket and entered the temple. The Kinkaku-ji temple is a World Heritage Site, a Zen Buddhist temple from the 14th century, one of the most visited in Kyoto and famed t

Yogyakarta is a city on the most populous Java Island in Indonesia, about 45 minutes flight from its current capital, Jakarta. It is a gateway to two amazing UNESCO world heritage sites. There are many tour operators in there and the most popular trip starts with a 4am pickup to see the sunrise over Merapi mountain. Tourists are driven for just over an hour to the parking lot of Punthuk Setumbu, a popular place to watch the sunrise, northwest of Yogyakarta. The Mount Merapi a

A few tourists told me about a town named Lovina at the north of the Bali island which was reachable in about two hours on a drive over a 5,000 feet pass driving on a very winding way. It was well worth the drive because the path goes by the two beautiful lakes : Beratan and Danau Buyan, before arriving at Lovina which is situated on the Bali Sea. Lovina has a very long, black sand beach with many restaurants and moored boats. Walking on the beach, it is easy to wade in the

In a small town named Saba, by the bay, in the Gianyar region of Bali, lies Indonesia’s winery named Sababay and it has quite a success story. The story starts in 2009 when the founder discovered that in the northernmost town of Singaraja in Indonesia’s Bali Island, the farmers were only getting about 3 cents per kilo of grapes that they produced. Already a businesswoman, Mulyati, the founder of Sababay, struck a deal to buy all the farmers’ grapes for between 10 to 15,000 In

In my drive north from Mendoza, Argentina, about 800km away through a beautiful drive on Ruta 40, I finally arrived at Fiambala . Along the way, I saw many beautiful mountains, plains, valleys, rivers and canyons. There were several wineries and bodegas on the route as well. Malbec, Torrentes, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and many other grapes were well represented, with entire bottle of wine priced from $3 and up. Enjoying sweet wines, dry wines, those with low tannins, sparkling w

As a foodie, I had heard about San Sebastián for a long time and wanted to visit it. The Camino de Santiago also goes through it, if one is walking the route Camino Norte. After my Camino De Santiago walk by the Camino Frances route, which I finished 9 days faster than planned, I took the opportunity to visit San Sebastián. It is about a five-hour drive from Madrid. As I neared the town, I came across the iconic city gates which are two on each side on the river Urumea . They

I had been driving in Morocco for over 1,000 km and had many experiences which were mostly with friendly and helpful people. From Casablanca to Rabat to Tangier, the driving was mostly on toll roads, and driving was very fast with occasional stopping for tolls. The highways are very well-maintained. Driving from Tangier to the Erg chebbi desert was mostly on national highways which are smaller, sometimes single lane, and little bit bumpy. The journey to Marrakesh was also

The sixteenth century Madrasa built by Sultan Abdullah Assaadi in Marrakech was an ancient destination for scholars in various fields including religious sciences. It is a stunning monument to visit. The visit costs a ticket priced at about $5. The entrance is very ornate, and it gets more and more beautiful as one goes inside the Madresa. The Ibn Yusuf Madrasa is considered as a historical treasure and a testament to the genius of Moroccan ancestors in architecture and decor

Anywhere in Morocco, when you sit down for a meal, the first thing they bring to your table is some Hobs bread, a plate of olives, and some mint tea. The traditional Moroccan dish is cooked in a Tagine and therefore the dishes are named based on what is in the Tagine, e.g. Seafood Tagine. The Tagines are made of clay and have a cover. The food ingredients are place in the based and cooked in an oven. The restaurant I saw in Casablanca had a lot of Tagines placed neatly in the

Next to the north Atlantic, right off the water is the modern and spectacular mosque Hassan II , built in late 1990s and is the largest functioning mosque in Africa. The striking feature of the mosque, its minaret, is 210 meters high and the second tallest in the world. The detailed carving and filigree on the minaret is astounding. Adjoining the mosque is a museum which looks quite elegant. When I visited during the late afternoon, I barely time to visit the mosque and was p

One of the few forts not conquered by the Moguls is the Ramshej fort a few miles away from Nashik. We went to hike there and it is a quick half hour away from the city. The full moon was out and the mountaintop with the fort on it was shrouded in clouds. As we progressed on our walk, the fog cleared revealing the distinctive shape of the mountaintop. There were some stairs at the beginning which made for an easy climb. The steps ended soon enough and the rock face of the mou

Like most of my recent hikes, for the one to Harihargad , I started early morning at 5 AM with a few colleagues. We all traveled in one car, and it was the seven of us. The ritual of drinking tea at all hours of the day is very prevalent in India, so at 5:15 AM, we were at a small restaurant which specializes in tea. There are many such places around the whole state, and the tea supposedly is as good as "Amrut", the mythical elixir, which can bring a dead person back to life.