More than just saying “G’day, mate” in that distinctive Australian accent, there’s another aspect of the language in the land down under that you need to be familiar with: Aussie slang. Visiting this country-continent is famous for having excellent beaches, deserts, urbanised cities and the Great Outback. As such, no matter what type of adventure it is that you are looking for – whether it’s being in the middle of a busy city lifestyle or immersing yourself in the great outdoors – Australia has all these for you and more.

A Brief Background of the Australian Language

The good news for Americans and those who consider English as their second language is that almost everyone in Australia speaks English. Perhaps the only ones who are not adept at speaking English are a few elderly who immigrated to the country as adults. There’s not even one common second language in Australia, except for some cities where a high population of Vietnamese/Chinese immigrants or Japanese tourists are present.

If you would like to sample Chinese food in Sydney’s Chinatown, you will find that Cantonese is a dominant language. For tourists who do not speak English, make sure to book for tours which come with guides who speak your particular language so that you can learn more about the country’s history and culture while you’re there.

The Top 10 Aussie Slang Terms to Remember

Now, if you do speak English and you find yourself in a local bar in Sydney, it’s good to familiarize yourself with a few Aussie slang terms. Although most locals are familiar enough with the differences between Australian and typical American English, you don’t want to be the brunt of jokes so make sure that you are in on it by learning about a few Aussie slang terms. Here are a few slang terms that you can arm yourself with prior to gearing up and travelling to the land down under:

1. “I’ve gone walkabout.”

Most of the Aussie slang terms are derived from its indigenous culture. When you say that you’ve gone walkabout, it means that you enjoy travelling – be it backpacking around Asia or going on a well-planned trip in an exotic destination outside Australia.

1. “Let’s hit the frog and toad.”

Think of this expression as the American equivalent of “Hit the road, Jack.” It simply means “Let’s get out of here, mate.”

1. The gray nurse, pineapple and lobster.

These three phrases refer to the notes used in Australia. The gray nurse is $100; the pineapple is $50 and the lobster is $20.

1. “How about one for the road, mate?”

Similar to the English expression, having “one for the road” means that you are getting one last drink before going home.

1. “Crikey!”

Another variation of this is blimey, which is a simple term used to express surprise.

1. “Let’s throw a shrimp on the Barbie.”

This is a local way of inviting someone over to your house for lunch where you can have a barbecue party.

1. “No worries, mate. She’ll be right.”

Aussies say this when they mean that there’s really no point in worrying about something.

1. “What’s the John Dory?”

John Dory is a fish found in the Sydney Harbour – although the expression has nothing literal to do with that. It simply means “What’s up” or “What’s the story” when someone wants to know what the latest gossip is.

1. “Wrap your laughing gear around that!”

Laughing gear basically refers to your mouth – so the expression simply encourages you to eat whatever “that” is.

1. Dog’s breakfast.

This expression is usually used by parents who think that their kid’s lives are messy or a “dog’s breakfast”.

Travel Topics: Aussie Slang, Australia, australia travel

Seoul is a dynamic capital which spans more than six centuries and pleasantly melds the old with the new. Incheon is a busy port, Daegu is a modern city, Gyeongjuis an ancient kingdom capital while Jeonju is a former spiritual capital of the Joseon Dynasty. These are just some of the most interesting cities that you can visit when travelling to South Korea. This part of East Asia has a lot to offer in terms of history, dining and wining options, natural sights and man-made architectural wonders, making it a must-include in your list of places to travel to.

As a nation, South Korea is probably one of the most fascinatingly complex that you will have the pleasure of exploring. Immersing yourself in the rich culture might make you feel like you’re stepping back in time. However, the locals definitely have a sense of adventure and an unbreakable can-do attitude, especially in the way that they adapt to modern technology.  But more than all these, it’s the infectious energy of cities like Seoul that will really get to you.

Live Octopus, Anyone?

Now, you cannot pay South Korea a visit without trying out what the local cuisine has to offer. Those who are looking for a truly unique dining experience might be shocked or hooked once they learn about a local delicacy called “San-Nakji”.

Last 2003, a movie entitled “Old Boy” shocked filmgoers who had to sit through a scene where the main actor Choi Min-Sik grabs a live octopus, bites its entire head and slurps the still-moving tentacles while chewing grimly. The Western audience who had no idea about live octopus being a popular side dish for South Koreans might have been disgusted after seeing that clip from the film. But it is a local delicacy which is popular especially for drinkers. When you’re in a restaurant, you can order live octopus as a side dish along with the traditional Soju drink or rice wine.

After the movie was released and awareness about this exotic dining experience has increased, more and more foreigners are willing to try out this surprisingly delicate side dish. Aside from serving it with rice wine, the live octopus is usually dipped in a mixture of sesame oil and salt sauce. It can also be eaten with raw garlic and doenjang to prevent the tentacles from sticking to the throat.

Once you pick up the still-live creature using your bare hands or a pair of chopsticks, you will have this unbelievable sensation of a live animal wrapping its tentacles on your tongue. But the burst of flavor on your mouth is certainly like no other.

Live octopus restaurants have sprouted all over Seoul, but the original is Gasiri. The restaurant opened ten years ago and has since spawned less than a dozen branches and a lot of copycats. Rich in iron while also having antioxidant effects for your liver, eating San-Nakji will leave first-timers with a truly unforgettable dining experience – something that you can only try in South Korea.

Travel Topics: korean food, San-Nakji, South Korea

With more than 14 million locals and 9 million immigrants, Shanghai is the largest, most populous and most developed city in China. Situated in the eastern part of the country, Shanghai has seen an enormous growth in tourism for the past couple of decades.

Shanghai, Home to the Strangest Museums

Shanghai is one of the few cities in the world which manages to perfectly mix the old with the new. If you’re looking for a dose of culture, one of the best ways to do just that is to check out the numerous museums scattered within the length and breadth of this huge city.

But if you’re looking for something a bit more eccentric, Shanghai will never disappoint. More than the typical art spaces and history exhibitions, there are quite a few places that will give you a strange glimpse of China’s past through a few odd collections:

• Chinese Chopsticks Museum

This is probably the smallest museum in Shanghai, but the tiny room is filled with a 2,000+ collection of chopsticks – and awesome stories of how they were collected.

• Shanghai Antique Music Box Gallery

Filled with European music boxes, it showcases the oldest one in the world which is a tiny music-playing contraption made way back in 1796.

• Shanghai Animation & Comics Museum

Displaying everything from Chinese shadow puppets to Disney characters, kid visitors will have a blast visiting this museum.

• Shanghai Calligraphy Museum

Written scripts, writing and calligraphy are treated with reverence in this amazing museum at Fuzhou Lu in Shanghai.

• Shanghai Typewriter Museum

With 50 ancient typewriters on display, the Typewriter Museum is such a throwback in time, with the oldest item being a Redwood machine made in 1809.

There’s also the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, the Shanghai Postal Museum and the Shanghai Museum of Public Security.

How about the Shanghai Museum of Glass?

Yet another strange-but-awesome museum which is a must-visit in Shanghai is the newly-opened Shanghai Museum of Glass. It’s the first serious museum of glass in China. The 6,250-square meter museum used to be a glass factory which has a sleek, contemporary design.

Building a museum solely dedicated to glass was the idea of Zhang Lin from the SGC Shanghai Glass Company Limited. Their goal is to create awareness for the locals and tourists visiting Shanghai about glass – not just as a building material but as an artform as well.

The Shanghai Museum of Glass is made up of four sections: the first section is an exhibition definining glass; the second is a glimpse at the history of glass in China; third is the use of glass in modern lives; while the final section is dedicated to contemporary glass art. The fourth section is particularly interesting especially for those who would like to see a reflection of China’s past and future – through the works of international and local glass sculptors.

Visit the Shanghai Museum of Glass at night and you will be awed at the way that the light is illuminated off the glass surface of the walls – giving you an insight into what the museum’s about in the first place – showcasing the beauty of glass as a material.

Travel Topics: glass museum, Shanghai, Shanghai Museum of Glass

For more than fifteen years now, Masahiro Hidaka had to deal with and sometimes tame down huge rockstar egos. He had to organize a group of people who faced down typhoons and managed a humongous crowd, just so that they can hold the annual 3-day Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Set amidst the picturesque Mount Fuji, never a year went by that the base of the majestic Mount Fuji was not rocked by music from a slew of guest bands from all over the world.

The music festival is held at the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture and Hidaka is the head of Smash Japan. For the three-day event, Hidaka and his team put together more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making the Fuji Rock Festival the largest music event in the country. In the year 2005, more than 100,000 fans attended the event which is typically held by the last weekend of July. The event was named so because the first-ever show was held at the slopes of Mount Fuji.

A Difficult Year for Japan

Since the earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan last March, will the Fuji Rok Festival still push through? The country may be slowly but surely recovering, but there are the effects of the quake are still being unfolded in the northeastern part of the country. Considering the fact that the Fuji Rock Festival used to attract audiences from around the world, should Smash Japan still attempt to put together the event despite the heartbreaking loss that the country has faced?

Hidaka does recognize that this year’s event will be a very emotional time for his staff and the audience. Looking back, he recalls how the disaster unfolded on television and how he thought then that his friends – and his country – did not deserve to suffer from such horror.

Adding to the somber mood is the incredible self-restraint or Jishuku that the Japanese people displayed during the chaos. In other countries, the quake would have been a recipe for disaster but the Japanese people showed grace under pressure.

As a result of the quake, local cultural events and festivals had to be cancelled. This is especially heartbreaking since Japan holds a significant number of music festivals which attract worldwide audiences every year. Examples of cancelled events are the Kabuto Metal Festival and the Punkspring Music Festival. For the country’s biggest classical music concert, the La Folle Jouree au Japon, a lot of musicians have already pulled out of the event.  Add to this the fact that there’s a 50% drop to the number of tourists visiitng Japan for fear of being in the middle of the disaster-hit area.

Fortunately, the musicians who are set to perform for the Fuji Rock Festival have not pulled out yet.  Ticket sales for 2011, however, have been much slower as compared to previous years. Hidaka and the other organizers had to assure many international bands that it is perfectly safe for them to play at the festival.

In more ways than one, Hidaka believes that the Fuji Rock Festival this year is more significant in the aftermath of the disaster, seeing as how it is the first major gathering and a time for release of all the terrible times and tension that has been winding up inside the shook-up Japanese people. Hopefully, despite being in the midst of such trying times, music will be a medium by which the entire country can start the healing and recovery process.

Travel Topics: Fuji Rock Festival, japan, japan travel, mt fuji, Naeba Ski Resort

Tokyo is known as the largest metropolitan area of Japan. Formed in 1943, it’s a merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. This megalopolis might be a jungle of concrete, bright lights and other man-made structures, but there are actually a few surprisingly ‘green’ spots where you can escape to.

These places in Tokyo are where you can commune with nature. Women in traditional Japanese kimonos carrying clear plastic umbrellas are a common sight here, as well as Elvis impersonators dancing to the tune of their boomboxes. Some have free admission while others charge a minimal fee for you to enjoy the lush greenery of the parks.

Where to Go in Tokyo to Get Your “Green” Fix

Take a look at the top five lushest green escapes in the megacity that it Tokyo, Japan:

• Imperial Palace East Gardens – Tokyo Station
  Park Admission Fee: Free

For those who would like to enjoy nature while having a glimpse of Japan’s history at the same time, check out the Imperial Palace East Gardens in Tokyo. It’s far removed from the commercial district of Tokyo and you’ll definitely feel like you have a temporary escape from the busyness of the citylife when you’re  strolling around the park. The gardens have a smattering of the old Edo castle and serves as a memorial of the shoguns and samurais which ruled the country for more than two and a half centuries.

• Rikugien Garden – Komagome Station

Park Admission Fee: ¥300

Those who are looking for a Zen-like break from all the chaos of Tokyo culture immersion would find exaclty what they’re looking for in the Rikugien Garden. It has neatly-manicured Japanese gardens which are interspersed with the six elements of the ancient waka poetry.

• Rinshi No Mori Park – Musashi Koyama Station
  Park Admission Fee: Free

Take a break from the strerile air of air conditioned offices in Tokyo as you hit the Rinshi No Mori Park. It’s a favorite summer destination of the locals which cool them off during the entire month of August.

• · Shinjuku Gyoen – Shinjuku Station
  Park Admission Fee: ¥200

Think of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen as Japan’s answer to New York’s Central Park. It’s one of the most photographed parks in this part of the world.  Take a break from being amidst one of the buildings in Tokyo’s economical command centers by breathing some of the fresh air in this park. To get there, simply take the train and get off the Shinjuku Station, the Shinjuku Garden is a mere 10-minute walk from there. The garden is popular for having more than 1,500 cherry trees which are a sight to behold during their blossoming season – and the park is open seven days a week.

• · Yoyogi Park – Harajuku Station
  Park Admission Fee: Free

If you’re bound to feel like you’re in the set of “Memoirs of a Geisha” when you visit the Shinjuku Garden parks, the scene in Yoyogi Park is quite the opposite. During weekends, you are bound to see a parade of young locals clad in trendy outfits, while the older men are giving their best Elvis impersonations. It’s quite an immersive experience of what life in Tokyo is like –  but the hustle of the corporate world is left. Instead, you’re free to enjoy the lush surroundings, have a good laugh over the antiquated outfits and antics – while having a dose of old school music all at the same time.

Travel Topics: japan travel, tokyo japan, tokyo tour, tokyo travel