[Dana]

I absolutely adore Chiang Mai. Markets are great and dirt cheap, temples are plentiful and amazing, and there are so many treks and tours to do around the hilltribes, to the waterfalls, caves and all other amazing places in the area. SO much to do. Second favourite place in Thailand behind Phi Phi.

So close to Kyoto and so much to do, it’s a great place to go. Even if you don’t like temples, the whole atmosphere of the place is great. Watch out for the deer… I was one of them attack a small child, but then that’s what you get for having them in such close proximity to people with millions of people a day stuffing shikasenbei in their faces.

There’s a post inside the temple that you’re supposed to try and crawl through… you might see people looking at it sheepishly deciding wether or not to go through. Supposedly, if you can make it through you’ll have great luck, or a million years added to your life, or something of the sort. Saw an 60 year old woman shimmy her way through while her husband looked on with sheer embarrassment. She wasn’t your typical skinny Japanese obasan either.

Really freakin’ great area to visit, even if you’re not there for the food. Shop fronts are pretty cool, the food inside is even better. Seriously, Okonomiyaki from Osaka is one of the best foods i’ve eaten in my 4 years on Japan. That and the Takoyaki. Yum. REAL yum.

So easy to get to from Tokyo, and it’s really westernized (which is fantastic if you’ve been living in Chiba for 4 years). Landmark Tower was a little on the expensive side, especially when you can get a free view of Tokyo from the Government Metropolis Building in Shinjuku.

Great place, but if you’ve seen as many temples in Japan at I have, they tend to be not as special after 4 years. However it’s great that there are so many in such close walking distance, and the whole area has such a lovely traditional warm feeling to it. Lots of space too, so it doesn’t feel so crowded.

Definitely worth visiting for the castle, and there are other places in the same area that are great to visit if you’re travelling by car. Hida Takayama is not that far to go to, so you could easily do two great places in one trip.

Japanese love going to Atami for a summer vacation, but there are much better places in Izu to travel to. I’d suggest just stopping off as you pass through. The idea is that the rich all live there and holiday there, but for a foreigner living in Japan there are other places I’d much rather spend my time.

Flew down from Bangkok and stayed here on the way to Phi Phi, Was nice not to jump from place to place but wish I’d have gone to Railay. There’s always next time. Went to Phi Phi from Phuket last time, so I thought it might be nice to go to Krabi for a bit.

Actually only went to the airport, then went up and crossed the border into Laos. But seemed like a nice place.

Good advice for travelling to Laos: Lao airlines are expensive, so travel close to the Thai/Lao border (domestic Thai flights are dirt cheap), then cross the border by bus/taxi/foot etc.