Thirty five years ago, while living in Japan, I used to joke that the average American's knowledge of Japan was limited to Mt. Fuji and the Great Wall of China. This snarky reference to our national lack of knowledge and interest in Asia has proven to remain true to this day, except that "Mt. Fuji" should now be replaced by "Anime".
Despite my years of familiarity with Japan and a year working for Korean Airlines in New York City, my own ignorance of Asian geography and culture was my shameful little secret. In May of 2010 I took early retirement and moved to Singapore, with a resolve to rectify that gap in my education. In the last 3 months, I have been to Vietnam and Cambodia and in the next 3 months I plan to go to Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan. My trips are aimed at being educational, with an emphasis on culture and the arts. I hope to visit as many Asian countries and cities as possible in the next few years.
I will use this blog to record my travels, feelings and observations.
