Asia is without a doubt my favorite corner of the world. Below is a blog roll of all my posts related to traveling in Asia. You’ll find that Taiwan features the most prominently, as I’ve called it home for over 10 years, but you’ll also find articles about Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and more!
Are you looking to dig a little deeper into Korean Buddhist culture during your travels in South Korea? If so, doing a Beomeosa temple stay in Busan is an experience you won’t soon forget. Recently I took advantage of insanely cheap flight deals (only $200 return!) from Taipei, where I live, to Busan, South Korea’s …
Lion’s Head Mountain (also known as Shitoushan or 獅頭山) is one of the most underrated attractions in Taiwan. Whether you enjoy hiking, are interested in Taiwan’s Buddhist and folk religious culture, want to spend a night in a temple, or simply want to get off the beaten track in Taiwan, Lion’s Head Mountain should be …
Museums have never really been my thing. I lived in Taipei for five years before I ever stepped foot in the National Palace Museum, one of the most important museums in the Chinese-speaking world. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the comparatively small Museum of World Religions Taipei (世界宗教博物館), the only …
Burma Street (Mandarin: 緬甸街) goes by many names. Myanmar Street is derived from the country’s official name today, while many still prefer the Southeast Asian nation’s former name, Burma. The actual street in Zhonghe, a crowded district of New Taipei City, is called Huaxin Street (華新街), while the New Taipei City government officially goes with …
Before I took my parents, wife, and one-year-old son on a trip from where we live in Taiwan to Phuket in Thailand (see the difference between Taiwan and Thailand here!), I was on a mission to find the best place to stay in Phuket for families. Most importantly, we wanted to be very close to …
Kyoto blew me away. Japan’s ancient capital is a mecca for temple lovers, with so many magnificent historical structures that the city was sparred during WWII campaigns. The city without any doubt deserves a top spot on your Japan travel itinerary. There are so many things to do in Kyoto that you really need four …
Qufu, China is a small but ancient town 550 kilometers south of Beijing in Shandong. This province is famous for three things: Qingdao beer, Tai Shan (Mount Tai), and Qufu, the hometown of Confucius. The Temple of Confucius Qufu is the largest and most important Confucius temple in the world, and together with the adjoining …
The Kumano Kodo is a network of pilgrimage trails that connect various Shinto-Buddhist sites in the mountainous Kii Peninsula south of Osaka and Nagoya, and is considered one of the world’s great pilgrimages that travelers can easily join. These expansive tracts of wilderness are replete with spiritual sights that have attracted pilgrims for 1000+ years, …
In 2018 I visited Wakayama, a remote and wild region of Japan south of Osaka and Nagoya, to walk parts of the Kumano Kodo, a network of ancient pilgrimage trails. These trails are easily accessible, making them one of the best pilgrimages in the world for travelers. Besides these amazing hot springs at the eastern …
Hikers doing Japan’s Kumano Kodo walk, a network of trails that follow a pilgrimage route going back over 1000 years in Wakayama prefecture south of Osaka and Nagoya, are rewarded with a plethora of hot spring baths along the trail. After tramping up and down forested trails all day long, one of the best things …
