I didn’t drink beer until my first week at university. I was one of those dreaded lolly-drink girls, who then graduated to gin and tonics and cocktails. Beer just wasn’t my style, I had decided early. However, it is mighty hard to go to university and not drink beer. On a pub crawl during O-Week, [...]
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Love amongst the cherry blossoms
I met Paul in July 2008, in a little hostel in Beppu, Japan. Even though that day was more than four years ago, I’ve never written about how we met. And I’ve covered everything on here from chafing to my love of the golden arches so it’s not like I’m wanting my privacy or anything. [...]
Getting naked in public
Hamam. Onsen. Sauna. Bath. To some, they are words associated with indulgence and luxury. To others though, they are reason for white-knuckled panic. For one main reason. You have to get naked. In public. Most Westerners freak out at the very thought of parading around in nothing but a birthday suit, myself initially included. The [...]
The quest for the perfect dumpling
You can take the girl out of Melbourne, but you can’t take Melbourne out of this girl – that’s probably the main reason why I was reading this article in the Age the other day about the best dumplings in Melbourne. Frankly, I think this list is pretty lazy. Although I used to be a [...]
A country in a photo – Japan
Japan is one of my favourite places in the world to visit. It’s bursting with history, full of delicious food, populated by friendly people and insanely easy to get around. So, how am I to encapsulate it in a single photo? Spain was easy. I’ve looked at that photo many times and deemed it reflective [...]
Give it a miss
Planning a big trip can be mighty hard. I can remember the moment when I brought my ‘Europe on a Shoestring’ home from Borders, after months of flicking through its pages. I sat down, highlighter in hand, and began planning. I knew the big places I had to go. You can’t go to Europe and [...]
Dewa mata, Japan
In Europe, I was used to long train trips. I settled in for long, ten hour journeys perhaps once or twice a fortnight. In Japan, the longest trip I’d been on was just over two hours. Until I decided to go to Nikko. I had studied my little JapanRail map for ages. Takayama and Nikko [...]
Are you ready for sumo?!
I liked the sumo. I really did. There’s just one little problem with the sport. The bouts take about two minutes. A tournament day goes for ten hours. I have patience. I really do. I can watch test cricket, for God’s sake. But after all I went through to get a ticket to the sumo [...]
Rome of the East
I’ve spent much of the past week in Kyoto yet I feel as if I hardly touched the iceberg of what it had to offer. For a bit of background, Tokyo’s only been Japan’s capital for about the last hundred and fifty years or so. For most of the rest of recorded history, it’s been [...]
Take me out to the ball game
Possibly the most fun thing anyone can do is go to a baseball game in Japan. The Japanese are known for being very reserved people. But everybody needs an outlet. Here, it`s a few hours at a baseball ground. Not wanting to do things in half-measures, I wanted to see the Japanese at their craziest. [...]
About me
I'm Caitlyn, a twenty-something Australian living in the Netherlands. Six years ago I crammed my life into a backpack affectionately called 'the Beast' and hit the road, anxious to see all the world's Olympic sites. Needless to say, I got a bit distracted along the way. Today I'm a tour guide in Europe, and blog about what I love; travel, sport and food.
I’m in: Dordrecht, The Netherlands
