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Pachinko in Japan The little silver balls spurt out into the tray. “Jkjkjkjkjkjkjkjk,” is the best way I can come up with to write the sound they make. The silver orbs glimmer with hope and promise. My fortune could lay with one of them. They are more than just balls in a tray – they ...

Bonsai art, Japan It’s odd. Normally the idea of growing a tree is to make it as large as possible. Or, at least, allow its potential to fill the space available. It seems counterintuitive to intentionally try to stunt the development of a plant, to twist its branches and manipulate its growth in such a ...

Daruma dolls The big round red dolls look slightly intimidating, if you ask me. The colours invoke images of rage and inferno, the facial expressions are on a scale between grumpy and homicidal, and the lack of limbs make me fear there must be hidden powers in the body. These are the Daruma dolls – ...

The rules of Japan In Japan, rules aren’t mere suggestions. They’re not to be bent, ignored, mocked or challenged. They are the rules and all obey. Which makes things very orderly – because there are a lot rules! The red circle with the line through it is as ubiquitous as, say, sushi. Every few metres ...

Cherry blossoms, Japan For centuries, the Japanese have gathered underneath the clouds of pink and white flowers. With the trees in full bloom, the people let their joy and admiration flourish too. For the cherry blossoms are more than just flowers in Japan – they are a symbol of nationhood and the patriotic spirit. It’s ...

Ramayana Ballet, Yogyakarta, Indonesia It’s appropriate that with the ancient Prambanan Temple in the background, you are transported back to a time of demons, heroic animals and epic royal quests. It’s a mythical world illustrated through dance and music that is the setting for a love story centuries old. The Ramayana Ballet is the most ...

Battambang Bamboo Train, Cambodia Ker-bump. The carriage goes over another joint in the track. Although to call this a ‘carriage’ is misleading. Ker-bump. I’m hurtling and hurting down a railway on nothing more than bamboo. It’s almost like a raft on wheels, this little contraption. Ker-bump. And at about 50 kilometres an hour, I finally ...

Experiencing Myanmar like a local I’ve been writing about a lot of the sights you can see in Myanmar but one of the most interesting aspects of the country is the local culture. This is a part of the world which is only slowly coming into the modern age and it hasn’t been as corrupted ...

Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand As far as sights go in Bangkok, one of the most important is Wat Pho. The temple complex is one of the oldest and largest in the city and is worth including in any first-time visit to the Bangkok. To make it easy for the time-strapped, it’s right next to the ...

Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia “Chark-a, chark-a, chark-a, chark-a”, and on… the chant goes. Almost hypnotic, trance-like, the thirty or so barechested Indonesian men sway with the rhythm. They’re sitting on the ground in a circle – and in the middle the drama is unfolding. Two young princes; a demon king; a damsel in distress; a ...