Silvano On The Go

Now that South Korea and Japan are sorted, time to turn my attention to next month’s holiday. Some people who know the kind of holidays I like fail to understand why I am so in love with Barbados and what compels me to visit every year, as I’ve been doing for the past 13 years. I guess some see Barbados as no more than see and sun. Not so. One of my favourite things about this beautiful island is that it offers something for everyone. For those whose idea of a perfect holiday is topping up their tan on a sandy white beach while listening to the waters gently lap the shore than there’s plenty of that to be had, especially on the south and west coasts of the island. In fact I dare say that the island has some of the best beaches in the world. Beautiful white sand and crystal clear sea water. As for me I can’t lie on a beach for more than 2 days in a row – as my honeymoon proved. We spent the first 9 days of our honeymoon in the Maldives; come day 3, I was literally prepared to swim off t...

It would seem as though in my haste to experience all things Japanese that I completely overlooked South Korea as a destination within itself. If only I had allowed for a few more days it could have been a mini off the beaten track holiday with its mountains and rice paddies and unspoilt islands. Anyway, be that as it may, my flights are booked and paid for so I have 3 nights, 2 full days in Seoul. Initially it looked like loads of time but I’m sure it’s going to go all too quickly. 3 nights, 2 days I’ll probably start with one of those city ‘orientation’ type walks to get my bearings, although I’m not encouraged by the fact that most streets in Seoul don’t actually have a name. It gets better – the buildings have numbers but they don’t run consecutively, they were allocated in the order in which they were built. So unless you were around at the time they were erecting the buildings…. no, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I am definitely going to visit the DMZ and Panmunjom. At first I thought it...

Finally got around to uploading photos from my last holiday. Oh the memories; good and bad. Planning Russia was probably the most complicated holiday I ever booked. Not that many travel agents specialise in Russia and the few that do seemed intent on selling me a group tour. Not against group tours but prefer to do my own thing in my own time. Booked flights directly with BA, into Moscow out of St Petersburg – easy enough. Hotels there are all overpriced in my opinion but managed to get a slight discount booking them via an agency. Actually I managed to get the Kempinski in Moscow at a decent rate. The real headache was getting the visa and invitation letters so just used an agency which did it all – for a hefty fee of course. But I still had answer the reams of questions ranging from a list of all the countries I’d visited in the last 10 years to information on any specialised skills I possessed in nuclear matters or biological chemicals! And I still had to ‘register’ my visa when I g...

Japan, Japan, Japan. So much to see, so much to do, so many questions… I’ve decided to go in May, just after the Cherry Blossoms, before the rainy season kicks in, followed by the hot, humid summer. Deciding when to go was the easy bit – now for the real important stuff! 1) Do I do a 3 night stopover in Seoul and 11 days in Japan? If so itinerary will run: 3 nights Seoul 3 nights Tokyo 2 nights Hakone 3 nights Kyoto (day trip to Nara and Osaka) 2 nights Hiroshima (day trip Miyajima) 2) If I do the above, am I missing any key places in Japan? 3) Do you REALLY have to bathe naked in an onsen? Surely there must be one somewhere that allows you to wear a swimsuit?? Not that I have anything to be ashamed of, naturally… 4) What happens if it’s cloudy when I visit Hankone and I don’t get a view of Mt Fuji? 5) Is it worth arranging a visit to the Imperial Palace? I understand you have to make arrangements in advance. 6) Are Ryokans really that expensive? I’ve been quoted more than £300 ...