How to Prepare Yourself to Travel to Japan
The islands of Japan, with their harmonious coupling of cutting-edge technology and time-honored tradition, beckon from across the Pacific. As your far-away dreams materialize and your travel plans form, keep in mind a few items that will help prepare you for your journey to Japan.
First, confirm your travel plans with a trusted travel company. At Asia Transpacific Journeys, our exemplary reputation with the world’s most respected cultural organizations will put you at ease. Our exhilarating Small Group Trips and private Custom Journeys to Japan will provide an unrivaled, rich and immersive Japan vacation experience.
Make sure your party’s travel documents, including passports, are current. Then, let one of our travel experts assist you in arranging your flight to Japan. We will take care of the logistics so you can focus on soaking up as much as you can of Japan’s thrilling landscape, unforgettable people, age-old customs, and progressive achievements.
Before you travel to Japan, you will receive a customized Japan Travel Guide to help you familiarize yourself with Japanese customs and etiquette. This comprehensive book also includes a few key phrases of the Japanese language that you may want to memorize prior to departure, as even the most basic attempts at Japanese will go a long way to facilitate meaningful interaction with its people. Our Japan Travel Guide also includes tips on cultural traditions, historical background, and destination information to familiarize you with Japanese culture. It includes a Japan reading list that provides wonderful suggestions for you to explore Japan’s rich literary traditions.
Although you can never fully prepare yourself for a life-enriching travel experience to one of the world’s oldest and most complex cultures, learning as much as possible beforehand will make your journey Japan immersive and meaningful.
And the Winner Is…
Our congratulations go out to Willy Vanaudenaerde, who has won our recent India Travel Photo Contest. His stunning photo of two women taken at the Amber Fort in Jaipur captured the most votes, and earned him first prize: a 16 MB WiFi enabled iPad!
Willy Vanaudenaerde
We had 101 gorgeous submissions and 37 outstanding semi-finalists. Our thanks go out to the many travelers and photographers who participated in our contest—your images are a joy to behold, each one a delight.
India Photo Contest Semi Finalists Announced
We asked to see your best India travel photos—and the response was impressive! We received over a hundred stunning entries, accompanied by stories about the moments that touched you during your travel.
We’ve chosen our semi-finalists. Check out the online album and tell us who are your favorites.
It’s going to be hard to pick only one, but we will announce the winner of the contest on August 31 who will receive an iPad to take on their next journey!
Less Stuff, More Vacations Brings Happiness
We had a hunch all along: a recent article in the New York Times makes the case that leisure time, not consumer goods, is the key to lasting happiness.
New research finds that experiences—such as travel, being with friends, a day at the ballpark—purchase the most happiness bang for the buck. Acquiring possessions, by contrast, is an endless, unfulfilling cycle, the studies show.
If unbridled acquisition results in clutter and deflated hopes, while travel with friends and family creates joy and enduring satisfaction—happiness, in other words—what are you waiting for?
“Only one component of consumption is positively related to happiness—leisure consumption.” DeLeire, University of Wisconsin; Kalil, University of Chicago
“It’s better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch.” Dunn, Van Boven and Gilovich, Harvard University.
Investment Strategy: Join a Small Group Trip or let us create a personally tailored Custom Journey for you today. It’s the best investment in happiness you can make.
Call a Travel Specialist at 800-642-2742 or email us directly about your Asia travel plans.
New Things: Eastern Bhutan Opens to Trekkers
Click here to read the full article or find out more about creating a custom trip to Bhutan on our website or call us at 800-642-2742.
Mekong River Trip
One of the most majestic waterways in the world is the Mekong River. It begins on the Tibetan Plateau in China and flows to the coast of Vietnam, where its estuaries, the “nine dragons,” fan out to form a fertile delta that meets the South China Sea. The Mekong River is over 2,600 miles long, and supports an expansive river basin comparable to the Amazon River in its biological diversity. The beauty of the basin’s mysterious jungles, soaring mountain peaks, and countless species of wildlife will captivate you as you visit the Mekong River delta for your next travel destination.
As you explore the Mekong River, evidence of the alluring Southeast Asian culture abounds in the form of floating villages and markets, thriving shoreline cities, and stunning coastal architecture, such as the royal Four Rivers Palace in Phnom Penh. Journey by longboat as the river winds through the Laotian jungle, take a river cruise on the Mekong Delta, or opt for a longer, leisurely cruise between coastal cities of your choice, including the bustling capital cities of Vientiane, Laos, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Your group and custom travel options are limitless, and our expertise is unmatched.
Travel along the Mekong River is most enjoyable between November and February, when the river is full and navigable, the weather is mostly dry, and the temperatures are moderate. The Mekong River is a worthy destination for part of your journey or for an entire getaway.
This week’s photo was taken by Sudipto Das.
“A camel seller leaves the fair ground with unsold camels after the biggest camel fair is over at Pushkar, Rajasthan in India. Camel sellers from remote villages in Rajasthan gather at the fair ground yearly to trade camels which continue for seven days.” — Sudipto Das
Sudipto Das © Asia Transpacific Journeys
If you’ve captured that one-in-a-million shot on a recent trip to India then enter your photos in our “Share Your Experience – India Travel Photo Contest” and you could win an Apple iPad! (16 GB with Wi-Fi).
See all the other wonderful India travel photos that have been submitted on our Online Photo Contest Album.
Deadline for submission is July 31, 2010. Winners will be announced by August 31, 2010.
How to Travel to Borneo
Visit Borneo, the exotic island dense with tropical rain forests and teeming with rare and diverse wildlife. Traveling to Borneo is less complicated than you may think, and we would love to help you get there in style.
Asia Transpacific Journeys offers unrivaled Small Group Trips to Borneo, or can assist you in creating your own Custom Journey. Explore clear waters that host thousand of reef fish as you snorkel in the warm waters of Brunei Bay, hike to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu followed by a soak in the Poring Hot Springs, explore underground caves in the Gunung Mulu National Park, or embark on one of many exhilarating treks through the Borneo jungle.
You can always expect a balmy, tropical climate in equatorial Borneo. However, plan your trip between March and October if you prefer the best weather. Our Travel Specialists are always happy to work with you to make your journey as effortless as possible.
Lastly, be sure you have a valid passport that it is good for 6 months beyond your travel dates. If you need to, apply for a passport or renew yours as soon as possible. Visas are not required for U.S. citizens.
Call Asia Transpacific Journeys and talk with one of our travel experts about the range of exciting options. As always, rest assured that Asia Transpacific Journeys is committed to working only with partners in Borneo that have exhibited the best practices to care for Borneo’s precious wildlife and resources.
This week’s photo was taken by Willy Vanaudenaerde.
“I call this photo ‘Working Woman.’ This was a very interesting place. As our guide was explaining the history, I noticed this scene to one side as the ladies where waking to the gate of the [Amber] Fort. I was only able to take a couple of pictures. We were amazed as these ladies were actually working in construction, moving dirt.” — Willy Vanaudenaerde
Willy Vanaudenaerde © Asia Transpacific Journeys
If you’ve captured that one-in-a-million shot on a recent trip to India then enter your photos in our “Share Your Experience – India Travel Photo Contest” and you could win an Apple iPad! (16 GB with Wi-Fi).
See all the other wonderful India travel photos that have been submitted on our Online Photo Contest Album.
Deadline for submission is July 31, 2010. Winners will be announced by August 31, 2010.
“Eat, Pray, Love” in India and Bali
Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling book Eat, Pray, Love can embark on their own quest for worldly pleasure, spiritual enlightenment and meaning in life by traveling to India and Bali, two of the three lands featured in Gilbert’s candid memoir of self-discovery. We at Asia Transpacific Journeys are experts on everything from ashrams to art in both India and Bali, where we’ve been organizing travel for individuals on their own journeys of discovery for nearly 25 years.
The book, which is scheduled to emerge as a movie starring Julia Roberts on August 13, 2010, paints shimmering pictures that stay with the reader. India is intense and chaotic, yet deeply absorbing and for Gilbert life-changing. One of the world’s most ancient cultures, it indeed seems to possess a special wisdom that Gilbert is not alone in seeking.
Bali is altogether different, a soft-spoken, gentle, lush, green and tranquil island of great natural beauty. It was in Bali that love came the author’s way, and whether romance lies in store or not, the island casts a spell on all visitors with its quiet spirituality.
Asia Transpacific Journeys offers a 16-day journey called India: In the Realm of the Spirit that focuses on the contrasting spiritual traditions in the region. Travelers visit sacred temples, join pilgrims at holy sites, and practice yoga at a world-renowned retreat in the Himalayas.
On Bali and Beyond travelers discover hidden gems on an incredible 17-day exploration of this magical land. The journey features sailing, snorkeling, dance and the arts, wildlife, ancient cultural traditions and UNESCO temples sites.
We can also create private Custom Journeys to India and Bali for individual travelers, their family and friends. These depart on your timeframe and incorporate special features completely tailored to each traveler’s unique interests.
