The name for this site is inspired by Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, in which Telemachus declares:
I’m sailing off to Sparta, sandy Pylos too,
Homer, The Odyssey
for news of my long-lost father’s journey home.
Someone may tell me something or I might catch a rumour straight from Zeus,
rumour that carries news to men like nothing else.
Over the past few years we have continued to make our own epic journey across Asia, exploring India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Now we turn to ‘The Land of the Rising Sun’, Japan, followed by a return visit to the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia, for a little bit of this…
It was during our adventure across India that I picked up The Odyssey (a long-promised read); for such journeys offer up time to do so. I suspect that Telemachus may well appreciate the excitement and sense of anticipation we feel as we return to the fascinating melting pot that is Asia.
He may well, too, recognise the full might and force of nature depicted in Katsushika Hokusai’s, The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa, with boats threatened by the broiling sea, Mount Fuji in the background.
A daily travel blog telling of our journey across Japan, followed by a return to Bali can be found here
If you feel you might be interested in the literature and research that informed the preparation for our visit then something on that is available here
Sailing off to Sparta 