Destinations : Stories of Asia

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Rescuing those who challenge Nepal's highest peaks

Marc Atchison

Nepal

Dan Stretch is a Global Rescue operations manager and is based in Nepal during the Mount Everest climbing season. He has coordinated hundreds of evacuations and crisis response operations and shares h...
Hong Kong village has a silver lining

Marc Atchison

Hong Kong

Marc Atchison visits the small town of Mui Wo on Lantau Island and discovers its silver mining past and links to China's great dynasties makes it a must-place to visit.
Reaching the peak of perfection in Hong Kong

Marc Atchison

Hong Kong

Marc Atchison joins some dedicated hikers to reach the top of Kowloon Peak, the legendary summit that few tourists ever get to enjoy but one that offers much more than great views.

Digesting the Pros and Cons of Street Food

Hilary Duff

China

BEIJING - I used to eat by the guidebook. Before first travelling to Asia in 2013, I received all the requisite warnings from the local travel clinic — how to avoid malaria, ways to ensure my water w...
Getting Lost in Japanese Culture

Marc Atchison

Japan

TOKYO - From a vantage point 50 stories above Tokyo in the lounge of the Park Hyatt Hotel, it becomes clear that this is a city that sprawls endlessly in every direction. Like Bill Murray’s character...
'treKKing' through Malaysia’s Kota Kinabalu

Dennis Chu

Malaysia

KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA — The only thing hotter than the suffocating air hanging over this city’s bustling night market are the flames I see spewing from the mouth of a man standing just a few metre...

Archive by author: Marc AtchisonReturn

Marc Atchison is a veteran journalist and a seasoned traveller with more than 20 years of travel writing experience. As the former Travel Editor of the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper, and now Editor-in-Chief and Senior Writer for TraveLife magazine (Canada) and travelife.ca, Marc has been to over 100 countries in the world. Japan is one of his favorite destinations and he's been there on numerous occasions.

Breaking Down a Great Wall in China

Marc Atchison |

MUTIANYU, CHINA - They say China's Great Wall is the only man-made object you can see from space. But on this hazy morning, we can barely see the small portion of the UNESCO World Heritage Wall that snakes through this remote outpost, a two-hour drive from Beijing.

Magical Suzhou is Heaven on Earth

Marc Atchison |

SUZHOU, CHINA - If you believe the Chinese, this grimy, polluted industrial city of 6 million about an hour’s drive from Shanghai is “Heaven on Earth.”

Xian is China's City of Lights

Marc Atchison |

XIAN, CHINA – They call this ancient capital the “Jewel of China.” Maybe it's because It sparkles at night.

Touring Bali is a Natural High

Marc Atchison |

BALI, INDONESIA - The traffic jam stretched for almost kilometre. Cars and trucks filled with school children patiently waited as the religious procession slowly made its way along the rural back road.

Xian's City Wall a Great Wall, Too

Marc Atchison |

XIAN, CHINA - Jiang Li (a.k.a. Ella) asked what other city walls I had walked on? “A few,” I responded but before getting a chance to name them, the local girl I met while walking Xi’an’s ancient stone fortress interrupted me and asked: “Okay, how many have you ridden a bicycle on?”

The Man Who Guards China's Famous Guards

Marc Atchison |

XI’AN, CHINA - We were warned not to take out our cameras and try to photograph the old man hiding behind the hand-held fan.

Chinese Village is a Visitor's Cup of "Tea"

Marc Atchison |

HANGZHOU, CHINA - The neatly attired young man welcomed us to his tiny tea village that rests just outside this mega-city of six million people by saying: “I will be your guide because I am the only one here who speaks English.”

Cambodia's Angkor Wat a 'Happy' Place to Visit

Marc Atchison |

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - Mr. Happy is not happy. The delightful guide with the infectious laugh whose real name “Soc” means “happy” in Cambodian, has lost sight of members of the tour group he’s guiding through the tangled roots and crumbled temples of Ta Prohm, one of the major archeological sites at Angkor Wat.

Retracing China's Past in Lijiang

Marc Atchison |

LIJIANG, CHINA - Daylight is fading when we set out in the direction of the Tea Horse Road — southern China’s version of the Silk Road — which is just outside this renowned UNESCO World Heritage city.