Reddit mentions: The best asian travel guides

I am Filipino-American born and raised in the US. The only difference is when I first visited Japan, I had some (pathetic) Japanese language capability and I spent 3.5 weeks there with a 7 day JR pass.

> I'm 24 years old, from the US, and I only speak English as I am a Korean American.

Here's the funny thing. When you step outside of the US, you'll just say you're American. If you say otherwise they may try to start using different languages on you or asking you questions you can't answer which is pointless so you end up clarifying you're American anyway.

> Anyone know how racist and xenophobic they will typically be towards Asian Americans like me?

There isn't much xenophobia if you don't understand Japanese and you claim you're there for travel as an American. The reaction is more along the lines of, "oh, nevermind" if they were seeking information or "oh that's nice" because it is understood that you're not going to be there after a few days.

For Asia I've been to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Of the 3 I would say South Korea has the most immediate xenophobia and racism. In Japan the odds are generally in your favor for getting help even if you can't speak the language. The trick in Japan is to ask anyone that is working like a train station attendant, someone working at a store/restaurant etc. If those people aren't available, then ask someone that is standing around waiting for a friend or someone to show up.

What will be different compared to say a white American's experience is people may assume you are Japanese if you look anything like a Japanese person. If you obviously look Korean, then there might be some other differences. If people assume you're Japanese, they tend to treat you like they would a Japanese person but it probably won't matter because you won't understand what they say to you anyway.

Basically I wouldn't worry about xenophobia and racism if you don't speak the language and you're there for a short period of time. Japanese people's true thoughts won't come out until later in your relationship anyway.

> I'm also a little worried that I don't know any Japanese

You will want to pick up a Japanese phrase book. Here's a few:

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Japanese-Phrasebook/dp/1742201865/

http://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-Japanese-Phrase-Dictionary-English/dp/9812681574/

The most useful phrase you will use: "sumimasen".

If you want to try a restaurant that doesn't have a menu with pictures, your best bet is to go with "osusume" which is asking for the recommended dish. However, some restaurants don't really have this concept. For example there is not really an "osusume" if you show up to a purely kushikatsu/kushiage restaurant. Also some kushikatsu/kushiage places they'll just keep serving you until you tell them to stop.

If you're having trouble communicating but the person is obviously trying to help you, try writing it down or showing them how it is written on paper. Japanese English writing/reading capability tends to be better than their speaking abilities. Also you may be pronouncing Japanese words incorrectly.

> Any good guides?

I have yet to come across one. This is generally true of any travel. The locals will always know something the guidebooks know nothing about. Things also change really quickly especially in Tokyo.

For example the guidebooks may not mention anything about "you-shoku" which is western style Japanese food. Despite the name, it is actually different from what I've had in Europe and America. They probably also won't mention that super trendy Udon place in Roppongi. Or Donquixote stores. Or Uniqlo stores and the fact that hemming is a free service.

On my first trips before I gathered a lot of Japanese friends, my strategy was simply to ask the hostel/hotel receptionist for recommendations. They usually have something to suggest. Hostel (not hotel) receptionists usually have more creative ideas as they tend to be younger and have done some sort of travel themselves. Hotel receptionists on the other hand are often a little more rigid. This isn't because that's how they normally are but rather just the formalities of Japanese style formal language (keigo).

Tokyo is also 3 dimensional. By that I mean the best places are often hidden on the upper floors of a building or the basement levels and they won't have a huge sign (there's too many signs anyway). The train stations can also be pretty confusing; not all train exits/entrances are equal.

> I'd also like to possibly see the hot springs

They're called onsen and scattered everywhere in Japan. For a better experience you may have to travel outside of Tokyo like to Hakone. I'm no expert on this but I will say they usually have a "cold" pool where the water is...cold. I couldn't manage to submerse myself in it.

> gardens

I don't know of any good gardens in Tokyo, but there is the Imperial Palace East Garden.

> anime merchandise

Akihabara.

> I also really want to see the universities in Tokyo (Univ of Tokyo, Nihon Univ, Tokyo Tech) and possibly meet the college students there.

That's nice but also very optimistic. If you know someone, it's probably great. If you don't, I think it's going to be hard to get around unless you're a naturally charismatic or an outgoing person. If you want to do something like this you're better off contacting someone in Tokyo beforehand and meeting them when you get there. I say this not because I don't think you can do it on the spot, rather you're probably underestimating the difficulties of not being able to read anything and not being able to communicate in English. If your trip is only 6 days in Tokyo, there isn't a lot of time to experiment.

Given that, here's my recommendation for what you should do with your 6 days:

Day 1: Morning: Tsukiji fish market. Afternoon: Ginza.

Since you're jetlagged anyway, Tsukiji early morning. I don't know if they still open the fish auctions to the public, but if they do you will have to take a taxi at 4:30am to make it in before the crowds. Otherwise you can take the first train in the morning. It is best in the morning as you see the weird looking carts driving around.

If you're not too tired, you can head over to Ginza which is two stops away by subway.

Day 2: Morning: Asakusa Sensō-ji. Afternoon: Ueno Ameyoko market, Ueno park if you want. Afternoon/Evening: Akihabara.

Asakusa Sensoji is a famous temple with a walkway that has many shops. The area around it is also Edo-period-ish and has a bunch of shops you wouldn't normally find in other parts of Tokyo. Food is cheap.

Ameyoko market in Ueno has a lot of cheap food products. Stuff like dried fish, fruits, etc.

Akihabara is the anime/electronics/maid cafe area.

Day 3: Morning: Shinjuku. Afternoon: Harajuku + Meiji shrine. Evening: Shibuya

These are are primarily shopping areas. Shinjuku has the Tokyo metropolitan building which has a free observatory. You can go up there can get a free high level view of Tokyo.

Harajuku bridge on Sundays sometimes has people cosplay. If not there is Takeshita street which has lots of shops primarily targeting high schoolers.

Near Harajuku is also Meiji shrine. This is a big shinto shrine but it's a bit of a walk.

Shibuya has Hachiko crossing. Lots of videos on youtube and pictures of this crossing. Shibuya also has a lot of restaurants and cafes.

Day 4: Kamakura

I would actually want to spend 2 days here as you'll need to do a lot of walking to get anywhere. A lot of historical sites/shrines/buddas/etc. Don't bother with the beach, however, it isn't worth seeing.

Day 5: Morning: Odaiba. Evening: Roppongi.

Odaiba is reclaimed land with a bunch of funny looking buildings on it. Sometimes they have real-size Gundam's there. I don't know much about it. There's a Toyota showroom there and a Fuji-TV building I think. There's also a statue of liberty over there.

Roppongi is not really my favorite place but it's worthy a visit I guess. It has a high number of foreigners, bars, clubs, and restaurants. There's also Tokyo Tower there. (But it is probably overrated now that the Sky Tree is open.)

Day 6: Whatever else you want + shopping/packing.

Night stuff:

If you're into the American club/bar scene and you must have your fix in Japan, you've got the foreigner bars/clubs in Roppongi or more Japanese clubs in Shibuya or the most famous Ageha (take the bus from Shibuya). Note: since the trains stop after midnight, the clubs/bars will be dead until ~11pm. Everyone goes from 11pm till 5am and whoever is left takes the first train in the morning.

I highly recommend you make a friend or organize meeting someone before hand because the better stuff should be done in groups:

Izakaya. Japanese Pub would be the translation. But it is organized more like a restaurant. I guess it would be similar to a Korean style bar except the food in Izakaya is usually pretty good and authentic.

Shabu Shabu. It's a hot pot with boiling water. But it is not Hong Kong style where they put flavoring in the broth. Instead you each the meat and vegetables individually first. Then with the left over broth you usually have noodles or rice mixed in with it.

Karaoke.

Food:

I'll let you look up each item.

• Okonomiyaki
  
• Yakitori
  
• Yakiniku
  
• Kaiten-Zushi
  
• Kushikatsu/Kushiage
  
• Katsu curry
  
• Udon
  
• Ramen
  
• soba
  
• you-shoku
  
• takoyaki
  
• oden
  
• tenpura
  
• Mos burger
  
• gyuudon
  
  If you want to drink "sake" the correct word is "nihonshu". If you want the better kind ask for junmai daiginjo.
  
  If you're really into sushi, you should try to find a place that serves real wasabi made from the root. It doesn't really have the horseradish properties of powered wasabi. If you want to be ruined for life try a piece of good ootoro.
  

Learn the sounds, then the tones, then basic words, then grammar.

I think would recommend getting the Berlitz Mandarin Chinese in 30 Days Book and CD. You should go to Barnes and Noble or another book store and look at it and the other books they have, just to make sure it would suit you.

I looked through it before, and it seems to be quite detailed.

An alternative would be to learn it through online resources, there's certainly no shortage of them. Perhaps glance at Chinese-Tools.com's introductory lessons.

Here's another site that will really help you at the beginning with the pronunciation and tones. It has flash-based audio, which means it plays quickly and easily. No mp3s and no fuss.

Some important points: You WILL need to find someone who is fluent to help you learn. Preferably a native Chinese person, but someone with many years of experience would probably work just fine. You just want to make sure you are on the right track and are avoiding any traditional mistakes (usually pronunciation-wise). It will also help a lot with grammar.

Also, I recommend paying a lot of attention to pronunciation in the beginning. Make sure you get it right. It was only a year after I began learning Chinese that I finally understood some of the nuanced differences between t, c, and z, and between x, q, j and sh, ch, and zh, and it made a HUGE difference in making myself understood (and listening).

(The short of it is t is normal, c is like ts in cats, z is like ds in cards; x, q, and j all end up taking on a subtle y sound--xiao is more like "she-yow" than "shaow", etc... This should all be very clear if you spend enough time on pronunciation, which I sort of didn't.)

Additionally, memorizing the most common radicals will turn learning characters from a tedious, difficult task into a relatively straightforward and relatively painless experience. I highly recommend you investigate them.

And finally, don't ever think you can take an English sentence, translate all the words into Chinese characters, hand it to a Chinese person and have them understand what you are trying to say. 99% of the time, it will not work. When I finally stopped trying to do that direct-translation thing is when my learning really started taking off. You're going to have to wholeheartedly adopt Chinese grammar if you want to be understood. The best way to do this is to listen to what others say and copy it as directly as you can. Change nouns if you need to.

Good luck! I hope some of what I've said is helpful to you.

You're lucky you have a good start learning the basics in a class. I'm assuming that you're only learning spoken language not written, the grammar in spoken Sinhala is a lot more simple which is great.

Finding Sri Lankans to chat with is the best way to learn in my opinion, that's how I learnt almost everything. I used Conversation Exchange but reddit works too. There will always be lots of Sri Lankans who want to improve their english.

When you're skyping with Sri Lankans you can either agree to split up the time into half English and half Sinhala, or you could switch back and forth between English and Sinhala throughout the call. I did the latter because it's more casual, although I think it was a mistake. I prepared stuff to talk about beforehand but since my Sinhala was always worse than their English we often talked in English until I knew how to say something in Sinhala. They didn't often speak Sinhala so right now my listening ability is quite behind my speaking ability.

There aren't many online resources for speaking. The dictionaries tend to have more written Sinhala words than spoken Sinhala (especially google translate). The best dictionary I've found for spoken words is Lonely Planet's phrasebook, or the best online dictionary is Tamil Cube. Have you seen Dilshan's Lazy but smart sinhala blog? It covers some good topics for beginners although it's mostly vocabulary not grammar.

Keep in mind that everyone uses a different system to write sinhala with the english alphabet. Especially the ways vowels are written changes a lot, that often confused me at the start. Even if you're only learning to speak I think it's worth learning the Sinhala script over time so that you can check the spelling yourself when in doubt. If you are typing to people you can write the spoken words and it comes across as friendly/casual. Many symbols look the same but I learned it eventually by copy-pasting what friends write into google translate and it shows a phonetic version below the sinhala text.

Best of luck in continuing to improve after university. Keep enjoying conversing with Sri Lankans and don't be afraid to make mistakes!

(Part 2)

—

It was an armed exodus of millions, and the Five passed their marching columns on the way to Berlin, and some soldiers took potshots at them with their pistols, but the Five just swatted the bullets away like mosquitos. Some soldiers wondered aloud what the point of following Hitler was anymore.

—

Panzers stood arrayed against them blasting, pounding away, but the Five just ran through the hail of whistling howling shells, darting into the rococo canyons that were Berlin, each palace built like a giant layer cake, until they came to Wilhelmstraße No. 77, the Reich Chancellery, where Hitler was standing alone, waiting for them along the vast windows of the ball room at the front of the building—the Festsaal mit Wintergarten, the Nazi Empire's heart.

"Your reign of terror is over," a disheveled Elsa says between her gasps, catching her breath. "Mein Furhrer."

"Who the hell are you?" he says, squinting.

"My name is Elsa Schneider," she says. "First Empress of the World. Now bow down, Mein Furhrer, and relinquish all your lands to me."

Indiana raises a pistol and points it at Adolph Hitler. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you'd better do what she says. Elsa doesn't screw around."

"Well, she did with ush, Junior," Henry Jones says.

Hitler looks at them, looks at the gun, and then gets down on one knee.

"Lower," Elsa says.

Two knees.

"Lower!" she yells.

He bows down on his knees and his wrists.

"All the way," Elsa says.

Hitler genuflects on his forehead, stretching his arms forward, lying on his chest, his belly, stretching his legs back, the toes of his boots flat on the floor.

"All hail Empress Schneider," Hitler says into the hardwood tiles.

She smiles. "Now let's get some cameras, some microphones, some radios and reporters, whatever we need—the time has come to announce our intentions to the world."

Indiana looks at her, grins, and laughs.

—

The Nazi exodus turned back and tried and failed to save their beloved Furhrer, whom Elsa chained to a collar and walked wherever she went like one of his German shepherds. The Russians took a crack at her—followed by the British, the Americans, and everyone who believed in liberty. Elaborate plans were hatched. Nazi generals, Russian generals, British and French generals, even American generals, all met together in the same room, greeted each other awkwardly, and eventually found themselves yelling at each other and pounding their fists on maps and threatening to strangle one another before finally hatching an elaborate plan—get the Five drunk, chain them up, put them in a large box, and send them to the bottom of the ocean.

"Well golly," General MacArthur says. "It's so stupid it can't possibly fail. Now let's shake on it."

"What about after we succeed?" Marshall Zhukov says. "Are we merely to return to our previous conflict?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Erwin Rommel says, rubbing his hands.

—

Just after the Empress chose a new emblem for her worldwide empire—the Earth impaled by a vertical sword—her husband, Royal Consort Jones, sporting a new black goatee, takes her hand, surrounded by hundreds of smiling bowing admirers dressed in white gowns and black tuxedos to celebrate eternal peace and prosperity—and they dance together in the Reichskanzlei ballroom, whirling to the swelling strains of music sawed on innumerable violins, the best musicians collected from the best bands across the planet. Everything is perfect. All are clapping, cheerful, happy, smiling, in the gleaming glitz, the flashing cameras.

After a lull in the festivities a waiter who suspiciously resembles Winston Churchill hands Elsa and Indiana glasses of champaign from a silver platter. He does the same for Sallah, Henry Jones, and Marcus Brody, and the Five are all so drunk on unbelievable success that something so simple as a sleeping potion sprinkled into sparkling alcohol undoes them.

They awaken in a dark metal prison cell, and they scream and punch each other and curse their fate, claw at the walls, but it's no use—there's no exit, and they can hear water outside, the bubbling sounds of the sea, shark fins foaming in the deep, even an occasional groaning whale. Deep distant faraway thumps inform them that the war has resumed, even after they run out of oxygen, and gasp for breath and clutch at their throats for years without ever dying.

"This was such a stupid idea, Elsa!" Indiana growls. "I should have just let you go!"

She spits in his face in the dark. "And I wish I had let go and fallen into that chasm! How could God do this? Why, Lord, have you forsaken us?"

—

The world did indeed resume the conflict, and everyone who knew anything about the Five agreed never to speak about them again. Records were destroyed, and each side acted as though nothing had ever changed. The film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is actually a documentary of these events—though because they were so well covered-up, no one takes any of it seriously.

—

Liked this story? Check out one of my books, or follow me on my blog.

I think folks have done a decent job of answering your questions. I will add the following.
Pakistan is not very DIY, and so not easy for foreigners trying to do everything by themselves, but it can become quite easy if you have good local guides. For example, if you cant buy a pullup bar or weight vest, someone can custom make one for you quite easily, but a local person has to help you find the maker.

If you are interested in outdoor adventures like snowboarding and kayaking, there are a few things near Pindi/Isloo, but Pindi is also a great launching pad for things further up country. You will find some of the world's greatest out door adventures in Pakistan's northern areas. I suggest you start with Lonely Planet's guide to trekking the Karakorams. Lonely Planet's online resources can be helpful too.

BTW, what brings you to Pindi?

I, too, will be headed to India in a few weeks! I'm coming from the other side of the planet, tho, but I've been to India more times than I can count. As a foreigner, I can tell you that if you haven't experienced developing countries, it will be a smack in the face. The poverty in the cities is brutal, but if you keep an open mind and respect for foreign cultures, you'll find Indians to be extremely generous, traditional, warm, and friendly. Also, where there is poverty, there are also riches to be found, and bountiful. India used to be one of the richest countries in the world, and their artwork, crafts, and jewelry still reflects this.

Try and learn as much as you can about the culture before you go. I would recommend this book, my dad had to read it before my mom and I took him to India. Also, ask many questions. Indians will love to see your curiosity and will gladly go to lengths to explain their world to you.
Good luck! Sounds like an exciting trip!

Thanks for the input. We chose Atago and Shiba from one of the walking tours described here but didn't know much about it. The intention was to just have a pleasant walk through some normal neighborhoods, as sort of a way to relax and just enjoy regular scenery. Asakusa is great, but we've been there before so we figured we'd try our luck elsewhere.

Combining Ghibli and Nakano is definitely a good idea that likely should have occurred to us as well.

We actually just recently considered adding in Shimokitazawa, but don't really know much about it and haven't had a chance to meet up and solidify last minute plans. I take it it's a cool place to go?

Welcome. I would recommend you start with A History of South India by Sastri, gives you a good overview (be prepared to get a lot of your existing ideas changed though). Move onto A history of medieval India by RC Majumdar. Feel free to dive into Romilla Thapar's History of India series - don't start the other way though with Thapar. Majumdar is THE Indian historian, Sastri, THE historian that chronicled South India, the later historians like Thapar draw heavily on their books anyways. You want a better understanding of medieval India - Jadunath Sarkar is the only source you need to consider. His The Fall of the Mughal Empire covers over some 1500 pages, extensively the period from 1650 to 1800.

There you go, for just Rs 2,000, about 2,500 pages and seriously you would know more about Indian history than idk 95% of the people out there. You can after this branch out into western authors, the Thapars, Habibs etc.

About Kulothunga, well I cracked open my History of South India AND Colas by Sastri - no dice. If anything my memory was correct, till 500 AD all these religions existed in peace though Buddhism was in terminal decline thanks to how dogmatic it had become. Jainism was running rampant, when Saivism and Vaishnavism countered it with the Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement was mostly saints running around circle jerking each other to death with really high funda arguments - take the schism in the Vaishanavites as an example for how...pointless these arguments were. The Vadakalai branch believed the grace of god had to be earned, the Tenkalai believed by...believing in Vishnu, his grace was a given. That was it, I am picturing a bunch of these guys wearing namams, sitting in a thinnai and arguing each other to the death.

Sastri has nothing on any persecution, and honestly I would rather trust Sastri than Kamal.

Oh, in re-reading these parts, some bonus fun facts - Kulothunga built a Vishnu temple, he sent a trade mission to fucking China and made a huge profit, he lost Sri Lanka (the last Indian king to hold SL) to Veerabahu. On religion, there was some sect called the Radha sect whose only ambition was to be gopis in heaven and get banged by Krishna. They prepared by having monumental orgies on earth - we had hippies before hippies were cool yo! That is 'avar kulcha' :p

It's hard to say because prices will have changed a lot since I did it. SE Asia was ballpark about $1000 a month. Australia is significantly more expensive, but work pays really well there. If you're under 30 and from the right country you can get a visa for there and it's super easy to travel between there and SE Asia.

See if you can get your hands on some up to date copies of books like this or this - download them or just go to a bookstore and leaf through - they'll have sections on budgets for each country that will give you an idea of how much you need. As a rule of thumb, add about 15-20% to what they say as by the time you get there they'll be out of date.

Like I said, I budgeted $30 a day for Laos but in a lot of places I lived on $10 a day. In Thailand you can spend $50 a day in Bangkok or the islands, but if you go out into the country you can easily do $20 a day.

It's all about research - but that's easy because research makes you more and more excited about where you're going.

Let me know if I can do anything to help!

I would totally do it. Of course it will be a culture shock. But you would always wonder about how it might have been. Take it from an oldster, the stuff you didn't do haunts you a lot more than the stuff you did.

Look into the author Peter Hessler. His book River Town is a well-written description of what it is like for a Westerner who moves to Asia. Hessler still lives in Beijing. edit: Hessler is now posted in Cairo, though he does plan to return to China.

My younger son joined the Peace Corps moved to China at the beginning of the summer. He is teaching English to highly motivated young engineering students. He is not making tons of money but he likes his job, has a beautiful apartment and busy social life with Chinese friends.

Older son was making good money in Paris, but wanted to re-stimulate his creative juices. He is moving to Mexico City tomorrow with his girlfriend. They can always move back to Paris (or maybe some day he will return to the States.)

We live on a smaller planet these days, and the experiences we have can enrich our lives and broaden our careers.

I've been visiting / living in Thailand since 2011, it's a great place to be based in and live. I've traveled most of the country and provinces overland, much of it on a motorcycle, and probably seen as much of the country as anyone alive. I'm fluent in Thai and wrote a book on how to speak Thai: https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Thai-Easiest-Immediately-RocketPack-ebook/dp/B07DK6XT8P

If you think it only deserves two weeks you're only experiencing a very narrow slice of backpacker/tourist Thailand. Leave Khao San, Sukhumvit, Nimmanhamein etc.

Almost any country can be wonderful if you find the neighborhood you love to live in. I didn't like my first week in Seoul but when I discovered Jongno, I fell in love. Same with Kadikoy in Istanbul. In Bangkok I love Thonburi, it feels like home to me.

I've heard that as well; I would just go for it and see what happens.

You may as well get your own opinion and experiences, and if the xenophobia is too much can't you just quit and move back home?

Some cultural integration tips I have off the top of my head:

~ Language ~

Learning even the basics of a language goes a long way in most countries. I don't know about Japan in particular.

Have you learned a language before?

I would recommend getting proficient with the local script and studying from something like a tourist language reference; something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Japanese-Phrasebook-Dictionary/dp/1742201865

A full-blown language course is also good, but those phrasebooks are really good at covering the every day situations you'll be in. So even if you don't know what each word in "omelette du fromage" means, you'll at least know that uttering that incantation will get you a cheese omelette.


~ Cultural Appropriation ~

Try to dress like the locals. For example, If everyone wears a suit, wear a suit. If everyone wears a suit, do not wear t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops.

In general, do what you can to fit in. People will have less to pre-judge you by.

Unfortunately, if you want to take pictures while travelling you will always stand out, but that is unavoidable. I just remind myself that the camera makes me look like a tourist in my hometown as well and quit worrying about it :-)

You're not just going to be able to guess/work it out/get an answer in even a long reddit post.

Are you actually studying Japanese? You need a self-study book at the very least (many people recommend the Genki series) or, if you just want to dabble, look at the Pimsleur or Michel Thomas audio series. Another fun approach you may enjoy is Japanese the Manga Way.

It's well worth making the effort. Good luck!

You seem to have a good grasp on things. It looks like some of the linked threads follow a similar path, and I'll probably be following a very similar path myself. Nice books, too. I have quite a few myself. I'm not quite sure which of these are good (since they all had great Amazon reviews). I have the following:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014RTDPBA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078G5P6Q4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4789014401/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/478901441X/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4805312270/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1572229195/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GW5KTDK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0976998122/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0658014900/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(Although Genki I and the Genki workbook, plus the Kata/Hira quick guide looks good)

Might use Speak Japanese in 90 days to start instead of Tae Kim - any thoughts? The "in X time" title almost scared me off, but from the preview it seems pretty good I think.

The general plan it gives seems fairly simple: read grammar lesson with example sentences > book tells you which vocab/grammar flash cards to make for review > move on to next lesson. Repeat while reviewing old stuff regularly. I just don't know if the explanations themselves are actually good, haven't heard much about these books.

Tales of A Digital Nomad: A Narrative of Freeing Oneself Through Travel

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8C7H7Q

FREE until August 4th

> Join Nadia as she frees herself from the mundane and embarks on a journey of digital nomadism, self-revelation, and discovery. Feel the ache of heartbreak with her as Nadia leaves a love behind, and experience the excitement and warmth build as she discovers new friendships on her travels across Asia.

>WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:

>“With effortless narrative, this book describes the fear and apathy related to the mundane and the enormous benefits to reap from doing the unusual. That’s what it’s about in the end – the way Nadia breaks away from the common experiences we all have and does the extraordinary. This describes the reality of it, fear and all, and still makes you want to follow in Nadia’s footsteps.”

Kind of tough to pick just one, as China is vast and there are so many differect aspects of the society worthy of being explored.

I really enjoyed Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside, which was a pretty solid caricature of just about every type of foreigner you meet in China, and a well written story as well, a bit like a more modern, more dynamic River Town.

I think the two most common answers to this question are River Town, by Peter Hessler, and Factory Girls by his wife Leslie Chang. Both are excellent but tackle very different parts of contemporary Chiense culture.

A touch of sin was already mentioned, and it's a very, very good movie. So I'm mentioning it again. If you haven't seen it, go watch it.

I read a really great book by Peter Hessler called River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze that had a great bit about his students funny english names. Give it a read if you haven't already.

I think Mr. Bald is a Soviet apologist and has some sort of link to the region. He speaks fluent Russian and has spent a great deal of time there. It has even been rumored that 'Mrs. Bald' is of Belarusian descent. He actually wrote this book under a pseudonym about his travels through Belarus. He had nothing but shining accolades for post-war governments in the region and praised them for being hard on progressive issues like immigration and equal rights for LGBTQ communities. In his Russia vlogs has gone into some detail about his admiration of Putin and his hard stance on organized crime that plagued Russia in the early 90s. I am willing to bet Bald isn't critical of Trump, given Trump's close ties to Putin and Russia, the lifting of sanctions on Russia, and Trump attempting to normalize Russian relations with the west.

I am no fan of Trump, Russia, or Putin, so it was kind of a shocker. It makes me feel conflicted about giving B&B views. He is also pretty close with travel vlogger Harald Baldr, who is a big libertarian and shares a lot of semi-questionable material that encroaches on European Nationalism and white pride. Some of the comments he makes on social media bemoan. the "Islamification" or "Africanization" of Europe. It is very hard to tell if they are being sarcastic or if they are serious.

This vlog really rubbed me the wrong way because of that shit. Right after pretending to step on a picture of President Obama, he went on about how people need to branch out of their home countries and see the big picture. How can a guy who thinks that way support a world leader that preaches for closed borders and isolationism?

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

While it may have been written in 1985, I would say that The Roads to Sata: A 2000-mile Walk Through Japan by the late Alan Booth (also a compatriot of yours) would be a must-read before coming to Japan as you are - for an extended visit. Reading it may inspire you to look up some of the obscure places that he visited - although not necessarily all on foot as he did. Another of Booth's works published posthumously "Looking for the Lost" is also worth a read (not to be confused with Alex Kerr's Lost Japan - which is also decent although I think Kerr's book could benefit from a stronger editor when he delves too much into his pronounced artsy-fartsy fetishes)

Pierre Elliot Trudeau (not joking it's a good book)

https://www.amazon.ca/Two-Innocents-China-Pierre-Trudeau/dp/1553652541

(Sorry. Don't read read many Chinese authors so watching this thread and figured I would post this. Obviously you need to check out Bo Yang's masterpiece that has been covered here many times)

I really enjoyed Lost Japan by Alex Kerr. It's auto-biographical and has some interesting insights from a Westerner who has lived in Japan and seen it change over the past few decades.

1. KA Nilkanth Shashtri
   
   
   A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar - Amazon Link
   
   
   The Illustrated History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar - Amazon Link
   
   
   Foreign Notices Of South India - Google Archives
   
   
   
2. A S Altekar
   
   
   Rashtrakutas And Their Times - Google Archives
   
   
   
3. AL Basham
   The Wonder That Was India: 1
   
   
   You can read this book for free on Anybooks app.
   
   
   Edit your post and add all these links.

Quite a short read but a really enjoyable one!

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/BURNING-EDGE-TRAVELS-THROUGH-IRRADIATED/dp/1980787514/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=burning+edge+travels&qid=1563665656&s=gateway&sr=8-1

He wrote it under a pseudonym.

okay keep ignoring documented research from people more experienced than you i guess?

https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Living-Abroad-Japan-Kanagy/dp/1612382975

I read this book which was written by someone who was raised and lived their entire life in Hokkaido, I would trust her 100x more than i'm going to trust you. Sorry.

"The Burning Edge". It's a book he wrote under a pseudonym - haven't read it but people seem to think it's good.

Some of my personal favorites (amazon links):
A Fortune Teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels in the Far East, mainly Southeast Asia.
The Geography of Bliss, RTW.

Food-related:
Ant Egg Soup: The Adventures of a Food Tourist in Laos
Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China

Peter Hessler in China:
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
Country Driving

And Peter Mayle's series on Provence.

No problem! And if you really, really want I have tons of Japanese books. The best one for basics is this. You can also find it at B&N. Skip to page 113 for social phrases/invites and page 145 for sports.

If you need any help with some basic phrases, pm me.

Is it this book?

Great book - sitting on my shelf right now...

River Town Not Chinese history per de, but puts the daily lives of modern day Chinese people in an understandable context. It’s also a good read.

The best resource for learning spoken Japanese I have come across is the Michel Thomas Method CDs. It's so easy and doesn't feel like "studying" at all. And if you get started now you will have such a massive head start on your classmates next semester.

Not sure if this really counts for "Modern China", but Red Dust: A Path Through China takes place in the 1980's. I haven't read it personally but it's gotten good reviews and is also on my list of books to read. Same with River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, which is set in the late 1990's.

How, you ask? The guy has the answer!

> Oi vey. The well-documented and well-recorded analysis about hokkaido culture being half-western and half-japanese in the sense that you have SOME Individuality but not complete individuality. the collectivity is in check over there but not to the point where its not present. many people who have analyzed the culture of hokkaido claim this is true, are you refuting that research?

On and his research consists of this book which he claims to have read and shown him the truth. He's never actually been to Hokkaido.

Mhmm I got curious and checked some amazon reviews, if they're anything to go off, this looks pretty cool.

This book is free at the moment.

>https://www.amazon.co.uk/BURNING-EDGE-TRAVELS-THROUGH-IRRADIATED/dp/1980787514

Um, according to what I see his book is dedicated to a dude named Igor.

Archives for the links in comments:

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What country are you in? Some countries can't use the link I provided you have to use your country's Amazon site.
But if you are in the US use this link: https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Japanese-90-Days-Becoming-ebook/dp/B014RTDPBA?ie=UTF8

There should be the option to get the Kindle (free) or paperback (not free). Click the Kindle link and check out on the right (this is how it appears on desktop it may be different for mobile)

If that doesn't help let me know.

Edit: a word

Not Cholas alone, but this book gives factual information of the entire South Indian empires.

The Amazon.com link: https://www.amazon.com/Gaijin-Girl-Stories-Curly-Haired-Sensei-ebook/dp/B074TY12L9/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Beth+matuska&qid=1566967796&s=gateway&sr=8-2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BURNING-EDGE-TRAVELS-THROUGH-IRRADIATED/dp/1980787514/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

If you haven't already read them I'd suggest reading the books by Peter Hessler.

River Town, two years on the Yangtze

Country Driving: A Chinese road trip

Oracle Bones



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hessler

Here is the mobile version of your link

I also live in Korea--I'm a white half Jewish guy married to a Korean with a mixed-race son--and I want to describe the experience of living in a country with such absurdly high population density, since I think that this is more important than the various cultural factors working against procreation in East Asia. I was raised in New York City but spent most of my life in New England.

So. You're at home in Korea. It's Sunday morning. Want to go hang out somewhere with your s/o? Let's head to the river. You walk outside, and there are people everywhere. If you take the subway, it'll be so crowded inside the cars you might have to wait for the next one to come along. If you want to drive or take a bus, you can expect to wait on a huge eight-lane highway in idling traffic regardless of where you want to go. The cafes are full. There are lines outside all of the restaurants, and if you manage to sit down at a table you'll be surrounded by talking eating people who have few qualms about staring at you or commenting on whatever stands out about you (even if you yourself are Korean). If you manage to get to the river, you'll have to contend with people riding their bikes in random lanes, people walking on the wrong side of the path, and other various annoyances.

Faced with all of these obstacles, you two decide to just go for a walk. You have trouble navigating the sidewalks (when there are sidewalks) because, as I said, there are people (mostly old grumpy people) everywhere, and it's impossible to walk for a minute without bumping into someone, without having to stop and wait, without having to change directions. Don't forget to watch out for the motorcycles zooming along through the crowds. Crossing the street also takes time. You spend a lot of time, in fact, waiting for lights to change, as though the entire country is giant factory, instead of a warm comfortable pleasant place to live.

Conversing on the sidewalk with your s/o is difficult: everyone is listening, and besides, what are you even going to talk about? All of the shops are more or less the same, too--a cellphone store, a computer repair place, a noraebang (or private karaoke room), a convenience store, a Korean restaurant, a crappy western restaurant, a fast food place, a cafe, a small grocery store, a car repair place, a bar specializing in world famous Korean beer, various cram schools, and apartments and office buildings, repeated endlessly, in every direction.

The number of unique or quality institutions in a given Korean megalopolis could fit on a single city block, but they're usually spread out all over the place; moving from one end of town to the other can take hours, unless you have a helicopter. There are few parks, and all of them are jam-packed on a Sunday. There is little variety in this country. The businesses, the banks, and the government, are all in the hands of the old people, who very literally had whatever creativity they possessed beaten out of them by their teachers in grade school. It's a crowded place, and you have to conform.

So you get kind of tired after walking around aimlessly with nothing to do and nowhere to go, and decide to head home to your massive cement apartment building, which was constructed in the middle of a forest of massive cement apartment buildings. Don't forget your address, because they all look exactly the same. You don't feel like walking up thirty flights of stairs, so you wait for the elevator, but it takes forever to come down since so many people are using it.

Once you get back to your room you can't think of anything to do with your free time because you spent most of your life studying or following orders, so you decide to turn on the TV to watch any one of the most popular comedy shows in the country: each is somewhat like Whose Line Is It Anyway, with extra wacky sound effects, random computer animation, and relentless bubbly subtitles. It's all improv, all the time, unless you want to watch one of the formulaic soap operas or yet another documentary featuring old men talking about Chinese calligraphy or old women discussing the delicious food they grow on their farms. In Korea.

Given these factors and choices, it's no surprise to me that the population here is decreasing: there are too many people. I personally don't think Koreans have much of a problem finding people to date (I work at a university and I see couples all over the place), but I do know that they aren't interested in dealing with the burden of raising children. It's expensive, it's difficult, and as other posters have mentioned, there are thousands of other hardworking children (and their relentlessly bored and ambitious unemployed tiger mothers) to compete with: although abortions are illegal here, my wife has a friend who seems to prefer this method of birth control over all others, having done so five times. I doubt her case is uncommon.

tl;dr: There are simply too many people in East Asia, and I don't think anything can solve that problem until you can go outside without having to duke it out with thousands of random strangers on a Sunday morning.

[shameless plug] If you managed to get through this entire post, you should check out my ebook. [/shameless plug]