Lee LeFever

We went for about a month in 2006 (http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/tags/japan) and loved it. Though it can be hard for English speakers outside of Tokyo, it is so worth a visit. The people are very friendly, helpful and honorable. I could not get over just how unique Japanese society is. It is an island in the world in many ways – an island that developed it’s own uniqely Japanese way of doing things. There is no other place in the world even close to Japan.

It can be expensive though. We wrote some tips about the cost called “Is Japan Expensive for Tourists?” See: http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/is_japan_expensive

We spent about a month in China in 2006 and I came away from it with a completely different view than what I had going in. I expected to see an ancient culture with a rich heritage and old traditions. I quickly learned that a lot of China’s cultural heritage was smashed by Mao and the Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution. Once I understood this, I became completely fascinated with China’s pace of change and how quickly they have risen from the ashes of Communism. As we heard from a couple in Shanghai, China is more young than old right now. It has been restarting for about 30 years. It’s sad to see things like the three gorges dam project and the pollution in the air down the Yangtze river. Actually, I made a video about the 3 gorges dam project. See: http://www.theworldisnotflat.com/three-gorges-dam

Angkor Wat itself is a giant temple and I much preferred the other parts of Angkor to Angkor Wat. Other areas like Ta Proom (sp?) is where the trees grow over the temples and look so magical. It is all amazing and a must see for SE Asia.

We were there in 2006 and luckily had a couple of friends to show us around. It’s a giant city that doesn’t exactly bleed warmth. The subway system is amazingly beautiful, but in a broken-down Russian sort of way. Beautiful architecture, but in need of some refurbishment.
The photo above was taken inside a crowded subway…

I was looking very forward to hitting Mio Posto while we were gone. I was not disappointed. Just last night I have the Beet Salad and a gorgonzola, caramelized onion and pancetta (Can’t remember the name).

Located on the fashionable High Street, we found this place thanks to the crowd of people inside – a tried and true way to find good places. I highly recommend it – the sandwiches were full of love and yummy ingredients. Go there…

We were attracted to Sonic on the rocks because they had live music. The music was nice – a guy and a guitar playing old favorites. What turned me off was the service. Our server seemed too rushed the whole time and never came our way. I had what looked like an awesome thai chicken pizza, but upon the first bite, it was clear that something was amiss. It had no base – no sauce for the toppings. It was flatbread with toppings and a bit of cheese, which made for a dry and mostly tastless pizza. Nice location, nice music but a bad experience for me personally.

We’d never had Malaysian and this place was a good place to start in the very cool section of Wellingtom called Cortenay. This was the first restaurant I’d seen that has wireless server things on the table where you can hit a button for order, drink, bill, etc. The waiter said it would charge the table 5 dollars with each button press (a joke of course). The food was very good and a lot like Indian food with lots of currys. Yum.

Sheepworld is part campground, part tourist attraction with a sheep show, petting zoo, etc. We didn’t go into the tourist place, but the campgrounds for campervans were some of the best we’ve had so far. Private bathrooms and nice cooking facilities. There is also a fat little dog wandering around with a big yellow tag that says “Please don’t feed me”. SheepWorld is right off Highway 1 just north of Warkworth, North Island, New Zealand.

It’s been around forever and generally requires reservations. Use the valet parking- there is no other parking around…