Asian Travel Blog

When people think of visiting Japan, they think of beautiful temples, vivid shrines with green tiled roofs and vermilion painted woodwork, fascinating culture, and up-to-the-minute technology. What people tend to forget is that Japan also offers some absolutely top quality skiing, and that skiing doesn’t come much better than Rusutsu.

The largest resort of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, Rusutsu gets an average of 40 ft of dry powder snow, which makes it a real magnet for skiers in search of perfect snow. However the good news is that, recent reports of the skiing in this resort verify that the place does not get overcrowded, which is reassuring when we are talking about Japan, as, due to the high population, any place of interest to tourists can quickly fill up with a mass of people.

At 310 m above sea level, Rusutsu nestles close to three mountains, West Mountain, East Mountain, and Mount Izora, and offers thirty-seven ski courses, which cover a total length of 42km. The longest run is an impressive 3.5 km. West Mountain is the smallest, and so is good for those who are still on the nursery slopes. West Mountain also has a snowboard park, and night skiing. East Mountain is reached by gondola, and has some good novice and intermediate slopes. Mount Izora offers the most varied terrain, including some pretty severe gradients that are not for the faint hearted, and are strictly for the very experienced skiers.

The skiing season at Rusutsu runs from December to April, and for the non-skiers, the resort also has an amusement park.

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It is said that it is worth visiting Bali simply in order to enjoy the food, and when you’ve tasted the lovely cuisine on offer, it isn’t hard to see why. As in much of Asia, the staple foodstuff is rice, and this comes steamed, boiled and fried. There are loads of accompaniments to go with rice, such as chillis, shallots, garlic, and ginger. Fiery sambal sauces, along with plain rice, form an intergral part of most meals. The steamed rice goes particularly well with the thick stews and rich curries that this part of the world is famous for.

If you want to try several dishes in one meal, try nasi campur or nasi rames, as both of these consist of several small meat and vegetable portions around a scoop of rice. Another way of getting to try a wide variety of Balinese food is to go for what is known as rijsttafel, which means literally “rice table”, which is a full spread of dishes – a bit like a smorgasbord - popularized by the Dutch and still found at many restaurants.

Nasi goreng appears on many menus, and is fried rice with shallots, chillies, soy sauce, and other ingredients such as meat, fish and egg. This popular dish has made its way around the world, and I once came across it in a Swedish restaurant.

You will not find alcohol in any Muslim restaurant, but you will find it otherwise readily available throughout Bali. A particular drink to look out for is the potent rice spirit known as arak, but if less strong drinks are more to your taste, then how about very nice Bali Hai beer?

All in all, there is always something new and different to try if you go to Bali.

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The Indonesian island of Bali has long been a popular tourist destination. The culture of the island has flourished under Chinese and Indian influences, with Buddhism and Hinduism being introduced around about 800BC, and Islam being introduced later on. Bali came under Dutch control in 1909, from when there was a steady stream of European professionals, artists, tourists and intellectuals, and some Dutch influence remains today. By the 1930’s Bali was well-known as an exotic and sophisticated resort.

As well as golden beaches, great food and nightlife, Bali offers exciting attractions such as Goa Gajah Bedulu’s Elephant Cave, which is one of the southern region’s most famous tourist sights. In addition to the caves running through the mountain, the complex above the Petanu River includes temples, statues, pavilions and three pools for bathing. On the outside of the entrance to the cave is the dramatic, carved head of a devil. Once you get inside the cave, it is really dark, so you are well advised to take a flashlight. Inside there is a niche with a statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god who is the son of Shiva.

The Taman Burung Bali Bird Park, in Batubulan, has more than a thousand birds of both Indonesian and worldwide origin. The park is set in magnificent gardens, with lush tropical plants and beautiful water features. The park is also has an excellent restaurant where you can sit out and eat, enjoying the natural environment and the birds.

Another must-see of Bali is the Gitgit Waterfall, which is the most impressive waterfall on the island, and can be found not far from the town of Singaraja, which is on the north coast of Bali. If you enjoy walking, it is a pleasant walk through the jungle from Singaraja to the waterfall, but don’t forget to wear decent footwear if you want to do this.

In my next post I will tell you a little about the delightful cuisine of this fabulous island.

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The Pig and Whistle in Kyoto has to be seriously one of the best expatriate hangouts in town. And it’s not just the place where the Westerners go, plenty of Japanese enjoy going there too.

You can get pints of draught beer, bottles of Sam Smiths, (you have a choice of room temperature, or straight out of the fridge), shorts and cocktails, all at reasonable sorts of prices for Japan. There are loads of different varieties of whisky, with Scottish, Irish, American and Japanese alternatives.

Not only this, but you can actually get fish and chips here too – although I think they have never quite got hold of the idea that with fish and chips there are supposed to be absolutely loads of chips. But never mind, the tartare sauce and slices of lemon more than make up for this. Their pizza is plain and simple, but filling.

If you are feeling homesick for darts, then you have come to the right place, as the pub boasts both a southern dart board, and a northern dart board, (southern and northern referring to the opposite ends of England, that is).

Brits, Irish, Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, Japanese – you can find them all here and more besides.

The Pig is especially good on St Patrick’s night, when it’s green everything and Irish music. It’s also an excellent place to go for Halloween, when people are encouraged to go in fancy dress, and there are prizes for the best costume. It’s also good on New Year’s Eve when they have been known to give out free champagne …

Many people congregate in the Pig in the early part of the evening before taking off later to the clubs, when the Pig closes at around midnight.

Well worth a visit if you happen to be in Kyoto.

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Having already developed a liking for Chinese and Indian food in the UK, moving to Japan opened up new food possibilities.

In Japan I found slightly different variety of Chinese food, and enjoyed eating garlicky gyoza dipped in chilli oil, vinegar and soy sauce. Gyoza are a bit like a Chinese verion of ravioli, with a little parcel of meat or prawn wrapped in a type of thin pasta. I also found in Japan the popular Chinese dish known as Ghengis Khan, which is stir fried slices of lamb with vegetables.

Another discovery in Japan was Korean food, and I once had a great meal at a Korean restaurant in Kyoto, where we had fried garlic, delicate slices of raw liver – yes, I really didn’t realise how raw liver could taste so good – and then grilled meat and kimchee.

From Japan I visited Thailand, and here I was willingly seduced by yet another variety of food. The Thai food combines the fieryness and spice found in Indian food, with some of the crispiness and soupiness of Chinese food. I fell in love with Thai green curry, which I now often make at home. An additional feature of Thai food which makes it so tasty from my point of view is the plentiful addition of coconut milk and pulp which I so much like.

One feature that runs throughout all of Asian food is rice, and I am sure that this is one of the reasons why I like it so much. Although British, I am more a fan of rice than of bread and potatoes.

In future posts there will be more mention of Asian food – hardly surprising since it has so much to offer the tastebuds.

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If anyone asks me what my favourite food is, the answer is simple – Asian food. I really do love just about all of it.

As a resident of the UK, my love of Asian food probably started with the excellent Chinese restaurant in my small home town, run by a couple from Hong Kong. The crispness and freshness of the ingredients grabbed me at once, as well as the delicious flavours of char sui, (red cooked pork), duck, and other exciting dishes. Having discovered Chinese food I was then eager to try other establishments, and with other foodies went to restaurants in Leeds and Birmingham.

Then it was Indian food, and many a time, when out with friends, we couldn’t decide whether to go to an Indian or a Chinese restaurant. I once heard that to eat Indian food is to take a glimpse of heaven, and I have certainly found this to be true, with the irresistable flavours, the spiciness, the rich sauces, and the lovely scented pillao rice. My friends in the UK who come from Indian families recommended Indian cookery books for me and other Indian food enthusiasts to try, and we cooked up some very passable and tasty dishes of our own.

Then I moved to Japan, and discovered how delicious sushi can be – particularly liking the sushi rolls. Here I also discovered many different kinds of noodles, from the lovely ramen with pork that you can have in the small ramen shops after a night out, to the fine, white somen that are so cooling in the summer. I also discovered miso soup, which I still have to this day.

Being in Japan also led to other new food findings, which I shall relate in the next post.

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