The air buzzed with many conversations that are very Vietnamese. This has surprised the local crowd a lot. Also the founder of hoa Vien is an honorary consul of the big Czech Republic.  The crowd over here is made up of young Vietnamese men in button down shirts and slacks.  The men usually also have lanyard with keycards dangling down from around their necks.  There are many couples who chat under large shady trees. All this is a [art of the fast growing culture of young people who are hip and professional.

When you go on a beer odyssey that passes through this long and amazing country, you should prep yourself up to savor the much unexpected taste of Vietnamese brews that is made right there in Vietnam and it had the Hoa Vien Hoavener label.  The freshly poured bia vang which is basically yellow beer. This is what you would generally refer to as lager. You also get bitter hops flavor which lies in between the Czech pilsner and the Munich style lager. You also get Bia den, which is black beer. The dark lager is quite bitter.

The many varieties of local and regional beer are quite surprising. It also seems as though the beer is names after different cities like Bia Can tho, Bia Thai binh and bia Saigon. Also Bia Hanoi, bia hue.

Since the last few decades, the beer here in Vietnam has changed, meaning it had adopted European styles and embrace the home grown brew which they called Bia hoi.  Vietnam gets an annual immigrant population of about four million people who are quite familiar with the Bia Hoi.

This place is also a handful of European breweries which are located in the center of district one. also there are some of these people who cue to claim to brew their own beer; this is according to the Bavarian purity law which is known as Reinheitsgebot.  Vietnam used to import Pilsner Urquell, and then later this place built a European style brewery which is inside the restaurant. This is along with the help of the many experts who make their way here from the Czech republic.  After this many other breweries also started doing the same thing and started adopting domestic beer in the western culture. This place produces about two billion liters of beer every year.

Nha Trang is the most popular coastal town that is located here in Vietnam.  Even during the typhoons that were happening in Philippines, the Lousisiane brew house which was nestled beneath the undamaged palm trees, was still open for business.  All this is just an arms length from the sand. The north eastern tropical flvaours are incorporated in to the north European styles.

Check back here for more about the beer and the breweries in the beautiful country of Vietnam.

There are specialist bars here offering you different types of domestically made whiskeys. If you really are a whiskey enthusiast then you should go and take a look at these spots unfailingly.

The Shot bar Zoetrope which is located at Nishi Shinjuku (813 3363 0162) is perhaps the only bar here within the twenty three wards of Tokyo which is dedicated to exploring the produce of japans distilleries.

This place has opened in the year two thousand and six by Atushi Honigami. This plays is essentially a cinephile which screens many silent movies on the back wall of the structure.

Zoetrope also offers you a wide array of local Libations.  A good place to actually start would be the Yoichi Single Malt from nineteen ninety eight.

More exclusive than all this is the snifter of Ichiros Malt shot bar called the Zoetrope which has the third anniversary edition single malt which costs about thirteen hundred yen.  There are about twenty six bottles that are limited in quantity made up of two hundred and sixty three bottles. There is an independent Ichiro’s Malt. This is actually softer than the Yoichi eighty eight. The specialty of this is you get a nice unique warm feeling that rolls up the tongue and then the whiskey just disappears in the ether.

Nikka Whiskeys have a Head quarters in the Aoyama neighborhood which is highly fashionable. The Nikka Blenders bar which is located in the Minami Aoyama district of Minato. You could reach them at 813 3498 3338.

This bar usually offers only whiskeys of Nikka, however the visitors can try at creating their own blend based on a combination of about five of the many single malts and the one grained whiskey.

The blending set which costs about three thousand yen, includes six small glasses on a matt wooden tray, these are each paired with description like sweet and sherry, and salty and peaty. There are also ones called woody mellow.

Also , if you feel like what you are doing isn’t really going with what exactly it is you want then don’t worry the bar itself has its range of blends to magically cook up something amazing for you with the six available blends.

Evidence of this, i.e. the intersection of art and commerce is found at the Atmaran Mansion at Kastruba Gandhi Marg in Cannaught place. This place has been opened by an investment firm and in a market place which is smack in the Indian Habitat Center.  This place is the cities biggest hug. You cold also top up your coffee cup at the drip coffee maker.

You could pull out one of the Pantone color printed Seletti chairs that you could also buy. While you browse through the specialty section of the shop, be sure to check out the books on art, m architecture and photography. This store now hosts many cocktail parties for avid art collectors.

Once you are done with the above art gallery, then you should head to the Mocha art house. This place is located at the Promenade Mall located in Vasant Kunj. This place has most of the new malls o the city. The owners of this place have no issue regarding the location of this place as they believe that they bring art to people who least are expecting it.

A studio that is based in Delhi called Boxdesign actually curates the many artworks at the Mocha Art house. There is also a good collection of digital art and photography hat are on display over here. Most of the stuff here in the gallery is for sale, including the paintings and even he fork that you may use to have your meal.

O Palacio is the best of all the art galleries here. This place is located at the Hauz Rani, in the saket region of Delhi. This place used to earlier b the factory o Nakul Sen. Nakul is a famous fashion designer; he later changed this factory into a replica of a charming Portuguese villa. This mansion now has four room galleries and many boutiques and restaurants. The courtyard around the mansion is pebbled.

Zaza Home

This place is located at Zamrudpur. It has a furnishing shop that has a fine selection of local Kitschy wares and totes that are painted which are inspired by common Indian market bags. The top floor is essentially a large art gallery and later on a restaurant serving a Mediterranean cuisine, opened up here. The Triveni Kala Sangam which is located on Tansen Marg at the Bengali market has a gallery and a theater which is designed by Joseph Allen Stein.

Stein is a resident of Nebraska, when he came to Delhi during the fifties and the sixties. That was about the same time, Delhi was having its fling with modernism. From then on there have been many upcoming art talents and displays in this region. In fact art got integrated into the culture of the region. The work that is displayed here is quite avant-garde.

The Malay Peninsula lies to the west and java lies to the south of this place. The tallest peak here is Mount Kinabalu which is located in Malaysian region. The peak is at a height of four thousand meters above sea level. This apparently also makes it the tallest island in the entire world. The Kapuas River is the largest river systems in the country.  The river stretches for about seven hundred miles and it is also the longest river here. The caves here on the island are also well known for them being quite extensive.  Also, the Clearwater cave has one of the world’s longest underground rivers.  Also, known to be the largest cave in the world, the Deer Cave is thought to be the largest cave passage in the world.

According to Chinese, Indian and Javanese manuscripts, the city of Borneo had then become a trading hub.  This also became par of their trade routes all the way since their first millennium. The Chinese manuscripts were originally made here. In fact, the Chinese manuscripts were made of gold and sometimes camphor an tortoise shells, ivory from hornbills and ivory from rhinoceros horn, cranes nest, bees wax, Lakewood, dragons blood and rattan. These and various other edible spices were the most valuable items from Borneo. Also, the Indian here called Borneo, Suvarnabhumi. This literally means ‘the land that is made of gold’.  And it was also referred to as Karpuradvipa which is ‘Camphor Island’.  The Javanese people names Borneo as Puradvipa which mean Diamond Island.  The many archeological findings here show that this place used to be a large trading center, that serviced both India and China from as early as five hundred right to one thousand three hundred AD.

The stone pillar which have the stone inscriptions of Pallava script found in Kutai which lies along the Mahakam River. This is dated from the three hundred AD.  The Majapahit kingdom had control over the coastal parts of Borneo. Brunei used to rule a large part of Borneo while it was at its golden age in the fifteenth century right up to the seventeenth century.  The Sultanate of Sulu received Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei.

Borneo is very rich in biodiversity, there are about fifteen thousan d species of plants that flower and about three thousand different species of trees here. Also there are two hundred and twenty one species of terrestrial mammals and about four hundred and twenty species of resident birds in Borneo. This place just happens to seem like the center of evolution and radiation of most of the species and plants and animal. This apparently turned to e be the subject of mass deforestation. The Borneon Orangutan is endangered specie which is only found in the Borneon rainforest.

Check back here in a short while to find out more about he beautiful island of Borneo.

Coming to one of the richest countries in a variety of tradition and culture, we talk about Japan. The Kyoto city in the country is famous for its culturally rich district, Gion. It is a development of the Middle Ages and was originally built to comfort the traveling and visiting people, with their needs. Eventually, it started being known as a well- known geisha district in Japan. The term Geisha refers to ‘artist’. They are Japanese females well versed with traditional art and entertainment. They possess skills including various performing arts and classical music and dance that are native to Japan. The district of the Geisha, i.e. Gion, consists of roads which are narrow, aligned on both sides by teahouses, restaurants and residences, each having a front of bamboo sticks.

Geisha is a noun with no different plural. The Gion Geisha, locally, preferred to be called Geiko. They play traditional music in the ochayas, dressed in colorful attires and are elaborately garmented. They line up the streets, entertaining with their art. In case of misconceptions, Geisha are not prostitutes. They are primarily just entertainers. Gion and many other districts with Geisha are of the same kind as the red-light districts. The count of Geisha in the district of Gion has reduced to a considerably small number, over hundred years from the past. But as a preventive measure, the preservation of the area and respect for their traditional skills is highly practiced. In earlier times, Geisha used to perform for Samurais or Generals. But in current times, they perform for business executives, instead. Their performance compensations are against accompanying the people who hire them, teach them to sing and dance, tell them jokes for lightening the stressful business atmosphere, serve them with tea and alcohol in graceful ways, and so on. The costs, good in amount, are justified.

Geisha dances are famous all over the country through Gion and other Geisha districts. The most famous of all is the Miyako Odori, held in Gion, also known as ‘Dances of the Old Capital’ or ‘Cherry Blossom Dances’, which is held in honor of the cherry blossom season that occurs in April. This is a good time to see the Geisha dance, with ticket price beginning at affordable 2,000 yen. Also, along with Geisha and Maiko attractions, there are events like the tea ceremony, traditional music and dance, which is held daily around the Gion Corner.

The main believers of Lord Pashupatinath are the Hindus. Hence, anyone not born in Nepal or India is considered as a non-Hindu and so is not allowed to enter the premises of the temple, but they can have a look at the temple from the non-temple side of Bagmati River. Among all temples of Lord Shiva all over the world, this temple is regarded as the most sacred. The festival of Shivaratri – the night of Lord Shiva – is celebrated as the most important one. On this day, thousands of devoted people come to aquire the blessing of the Lord. Near the temple, there is a shore known as the Arya Ghat that lies along the banks of Bagmati River. This is the place most widely used for cremation of dead people in Nepal.

Mystery and History

Since this temple belongs to the devotism of Lord Shiva, there are stories of how he landed up at this place, now called Pashupatinath temple. It is said that Lord Shiva, while searching for a new place for his escape from the Himalayas, landed downwards bringing his feet into the Kathmandu Valley. When all other Gods came searching for him he disguised himself as the majestic deer. But when he refused to help them, Lord Vishnu applied his force and broke the thorns of the deer. The used them to create a linga on the river bank. Gradually, the temple, where the linga existed, got buried and was forgotten. But, a cow seemed to secretly sprinkle its milk over the burial and when the place was dug out, people found the linga and re-established the temple, now known as the Pashupatinath Temple. The temple was built in 5th century. The saints and priests were called Bhattas and the main priest, the Mool Bhat.

Architecture

The temple is built with cubic constructions, beautiful carvings on the wooden rafters, two level roofs of copper with gold covering, four main doors covered with silver sheets, and a gold pinnacle called Gajur – a symbol of religious thought. This is referred to aas the pagoda style of building. The door in the west has a statue of a large Nandi bull covered in gold. The deity’s idol is of black colored stone, of 6 feet height and circumference.

Besides being famous for its myths, history, architecture, devotionals, and some controversies, this temple also takes the pride of being in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

Yesterday’s glory

The Taj Lake Palace is located in the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan, India. It was built in the year 1743 under the supervision of Maharana Jagat Singh (the second), of Udaipur. It was built as a royal summer palace, on a huge rocky land of 4 acres, and was formerly called Jag Niwas or Jan Niwas. After the Maharana became friendly with Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and encouraged his own craftsmen to follow some of the beautiful carves of the incomparably built Taj Mahal at Agra, the Lake Palace came into existence. The palace was built in a manner such that its entrance could face the east for Hindu inhabitants to pray to the Sun God when dawn arrived. The initial ruler and his successors used this palace as a summer place to cool themselves from the harsh sun, since the palace was surrounded by water. The palace consists of courtyards, pillared terraces, fountains, and gardens.

Times of today

After the palace was off the hands of its rulers, in 1971 the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces group took over the management of the palace. The tradition of using it for luxurious purposes continued and the Taj Lake Palace was converted into a luxury hotel, and is the same till day, locally known as the City Palace. The hotel provides boat services for tourists to travel from the jetty to the palace. The hotel consists of 158 luxurious rooms and suites, inlaid with white marble walls and floor. The upper room of the palace is a large circular room, about 21 feet in diameter. Its floor is decorated with black and white marble, walls are furnished with décor and designs consisting of various-colored stones. The dome of the palace is enchantingly beautiful. There are many other objects of interest on the palace island like a mosque, Shah Jahan’s throne, and so on.

As both, the royal palace and a luxury hotel, the Taj Lake Palace caught eyes of many foreign rulers like Lord Curzon, Vivien Leigh, and Queen Elizabeth. The palace was used in the 1893 film of Jame Bond, named Octopussy, shown as the home of the title character. It was a major attraction in the movie.

The landscape in China is quite diverse.  It has rich forests and white sandy deserts. He Gobi desert and the Taklamakan desert are the two main desert regions in China. China is surrounded by Mongolia, Siberia, these lie around the north of China. Around the south; lies, Vietnam, Laos and Burma

The Wudang mountain range is also called Wu Tang Shan or just Wudang happens to be a small mountain range that lies in the northwestern part of the Hubei province in the Peoples Republic of China. This place lies to the south of the city of Shiyan. The name Wudang Shan is both the peaks that are locate in the Wudang Shan Jiedao and the entire mountain range which runs along the southern edge of the Hanshui river valley. The small groups of peaks are known as the Taoist center.

The terrain here is rugged and placed high on a high altitude. The Tian Shan mountain range along with the Himalayas gives China its borders with the whole of central Asia and India as well.

The maps that are available now have the highest peaks in the entire Wudang Shan range. These peaks reach up to one thousand six hundred and twelve meters.

The entire Wudang Shan ranger has elevation everywhere. It is also believed that the Wudang range is actually a branch of the Great Daba mountain Range. This is apparently a large mountain system that is part of Hubei, Shaanxi, and Chongquing and of course Sichuan.

This place is highly associated with Martial arts. According to legends, the founder of Wudangquan was very inspired by a fight that he witnessed between a pied magpie (white crane) and a viper. The Taijiquan from the twentieth century along with the Xingyiquan and the Baguazhang have been considered to be famous Wudang styles, these styles follow Sun Lutang.  This place comes under the Central Guoshu institute and has martial arts tournaments which have participants in two categories which are ‘shaolin’ and ‘Wudang’.

This was later incorporated into a festival which was called the Wushu festival which was held in the Wudang Mountains. The festivals started being held in the Wudang Mountains from the year two thousand and eight.

The mountains of Wudang have been known for its many Taoist Monasteries which were found here. These have come to be known as an academic center for the different kind of research that is conducted here. The teaching and practicing of disciplines like meditation and Chinese martial arts and even traditional Chinese medicine.

The emperor of this region was always intrigued by this place. And during the time of the Tang dynasty, the first site of worship was the five dragon temple. During the Cultural Revolution that took place between nineteen hundred and sixty six and nineteen hundred and seventy-six, a lot of these monasteries were damaged.

The Wudang Mountains have become very popular amongst the many tourists who come here. The tourists come here because of the many beautiful locations and sights here along with the many historical sites to visit here.

The palaces and temples that are located in Wudang have been organized into a complex during the reign of the great Ming Dynasty. There are Taoist buildings are here from as early as the seventh century. this brings to light the apparent high standards of Chinese are architecture that was wonderful considering that is was always from one thousand years ago. These monasteries and buildings have been listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The site got listen by the UNESCO in the year nineteen ninety four.

This place apparently represents the highest standards of Chinese art and Architecture. The temples that have been built in this extra ordinary manner are the golden Hall, the Nayan temple and the purple cloud temple.

The Yuzhengog palace which is located at the Wudang Mountains is about six hundred years old. This palace was accidentally burnt by one of the employees from the martial arts school here. The rooms which were about two hundred square meters, was all reduced to ashes.  Along with this many sculptures, paintings scrolls and cultural artifacts from the ancient cultures were also destroyed along with this.

There is also a gold plated statue of Zhanf Sanfeng which is located right here in Yuzhengog.  This large gold plated statue was moved to another building just before the fire could take place. And hence this large statue survived through the burning temple incident.

The temples here are the temples of Purity and Truth. This place had a synagogue that stood here once upon a time. A large group of travelers keep coming here to experience the rich heritage that this place has been enriched with.

There is a specific concentration of Jews here who are Chinese. The Chinese Jews are usually quite famous here although most of them are just stories in the history books.

There is a Mezuzu here which is attached to a door frame. This is apparently a copy of the Sh’ma. This is considered to be the most important Hebrew payer. This copy is decorated with many Chinese lettering. These are hung on the wall which lies to the west side of the temple.

A black and white Portrait of Mr. Zhao, who was the creator of the temple is displayed next to the Chinese styled alter. There are reportedly about fifty descendants of Kaifeng Jews.  These people embraced their legacy and began learning the Jewish ways again. Kaifeng used to be the capital of the Song dynasty that lies to the north. This place is now a cosmopolitan center which is also part of the famous silk route. Many Chinese imperial suitors and merchants from Persia came through here on their camels. There is also a community of Sephardic Jews who arrive mostly from Persia. The ones who arrive from Persia and India were usually the traders.

The scholars who studied about this had other theories like about seven hundred years ago, the Jews here was completely free from persecution. Also they were largely out of mind regarding the many Chinese empires that called them as the blue hated Hui. These people were essentially from the west.  The people from here started trading and during eleven hundred and sixty three they built a synagogue.

In the year sixteen hundred and five, an Italian Jesuit missionary called Matteo Ricci. This is one of the emissaries here in Beijing. The origins of this place have been traced back all the way to Europe.

The many European missionaries who come here bought the seventeenth century torah which belonged to the Hebrews.  This place is now shown at the British museum based in London. Since the scrolls were in Kaifeng local language, no one could actually read it. And when the synagogue had been destroyed by regular flooding, it was never rebuilt again.

After about one hundred and fifty years later, the last rabbi here died.  Although this happens the spirit of the Jewish heritage still carried on. The Jewish people here in china, have baked unleavened cakes and rooster’s blood is dabbed on the doorsteps during the Passover.

Whenever there is a Jewish tour, somehow Kaifeng is never on the list. Since this place is a little away from the main cities, like Shangai, Harbin, Tianjin and Beijing. There are synagogues that are not used for prayers which are located in the main cities and this is where the tourists are usually directed. This place however gets a fair amount of back packing travelers who come here by word of mouth. There are reports of four rabbis and a Jewish scholar who come here on heritage trips every once in the year. A lot of visitors, who come here, have a good look and just leave immediately.

The place is less the architectural wonder and more of the magical presence that once lived here when the synagogues stood. Where the people would not eat pork and have unleavened bread.

China, although doesn’t not recognize Judaism as one of its approved religion.  Jews some how are not even considered to be one of the fifty five minorities here. If a foreigner comes here and wishes to practice Judaism; they are allowed to do so. Although; there are currently no officially active synagogues in China and the Chinese claim that; at this time, there are no Chinese Jews that exist here.

The local authorities here are quite tolerant the Jewish community and the visitors that it brings here. The Kaifeng Municipal museum here will offer you locked rooms that take you all the way into the Jewish presence here in Kaifeng.

This road was an inspiration for many artists and poets for the kind of beauty that can be found here. They said that the elation received here when they felt inspired was just amazing hen you look at the series of these paintings. The fifty three stations of the Tokaido. This place has a lot of people who come here traveling for pleasure. This is also considered to be one of the world’s most famous touring routes. These fifty three stations were all built all in one day.

Today this place has a lot of things to look at. This traveling route has many opportunities to experience an ultra Japanese experience. The Shinkanses and the walking postman style are some of the ways that you can actually go around exploring the place. When you actually do try to travel this way, you would then be able to complete this entire trip in ten days.

When you are at Tokyo

A lot of roads in Japan; start at Nihonbashi. This place is actually called as the Japanese bridge. Ni-Hon Bashi is also considered to be the center of Tokyo. This place is usually where most of the journeys begin. Before you actually set out on your journey it is best to get to know a few places here and check them out as Tokyo has a lot of beautiful things to see and experience. If you want to get in the imperial palace then you better pre- book and make a reservation a few days in advance. This place has lovely garden and it is right beside the imperial palace east garden.

A tribute to the people who died in the war is the Yasukuni shrine. This place also lies close by to the temple. You will later come across the Tokyo booksellers district here you can come across a lot of cheap books about Japanese history.

The Tokyo museum and the sumo stadium are some of the most popular places here; this museum has some wonderful artifacts. These reconstructed models of the old wood blocks have a large printing shop and a wooden theater here as well.

The shrine and temple here in local temples are in regular use. you could also go and visit the Senso-Ji temple, the Hanse Kannon temple and the Meiji Jingo.

The side of Japan which is filled with neon lights and glitzy shops are in Ginza and Harajuku. There are lots of electrical goods that you could find at Shibuya. Mitsukoski is also a good place to shop. This place has green patches or gardens every few meters. After a few temples there is the Tokyo city hall.

You should definitely check out the local fish market. The fish market is said to leave a lasting impression on all the people that come here.

After you get done with Tokyo, get on the Shinkanses and go to Odawara. This is the official gateway to the Hakone national park. This apparently is one of the most famous parks in the entire region.

It would be preferable if get a Japanese rail pass before you actually begin your journey. Once you get your rail-pass you could get around the place quite easily.

There is a Fuji pilgrimage that takes you to the spiritual places in the region giving you an authentic Japanese temple experience. Hakone is famous for its black eggs which are cooked in the valley water. This apparently adds about seven years to your life.

Golden route

On the way to Kyoto, you could try boarding a slower train. Kyoto is a beautiful place and it is the actual heart of Japanese culture. For example Gions famous floating world streets. These mysterious floating streets have different smells and colors. The hotels here are very abundant and precious in the local market region of Kyoto. Try taking a walk on the philosophers path, this path is what would bring you to wonder about a lot with regard to your life.

This path apparently passes some of the most beautiful houses, temples, shrines, and along this beautiful path you will also find a willow trees and cherry trees. Once you are done with this entire step into a local restaurant and treat yourself to one of the many amazing local food stalls here. You might want a take a short walk a while after your dinner before to you head out to the famous moss garden of Ginkaki-Ji . Make sure you pick up a map from the local travel shops. If you ever have a doubt about where you are headed and you need help, don’t hesitate to ask any of the local friendly people who will be more than glad to assist you.