Flight Centre’s Mariel Clayton checks in to continue her great blog series on Japan travels. In this post Mariel travels to Koyasan, Japan to take in the monastic life and she finds herself being awakened with the chanting of monks just in time for some prayers before heading out to explore Koyasan's streets. Let’s turn this over to Mariel - Science says that scent is the strongest sense linked to Memory. Every time I travel I look for a specific scent or perfume to wear for the duration of the journey so that I am always transported back to that time and that place at one smell. My perfume for Japan smells like Koyasan, of cedar and sandalwood, of leaves and incense, of even the passage of time. One of the benefits of the monastic life is that you ...

Flight Centre’s Mariel Clayton continues her travel blog series from Japan. This time Mariel arrives at the temple she will call home for the night, enjoys (?) a vegetarian feast for dinner, visits the historic Okunoin cemetery… and ends up a wee bit spooked. Thrilling vacation tales, so let’s turn it over to Mariel - It's a long day of travelling, and even though I've not been the one doing the hard slog, I feel tired and restless. Getting off the bus I am another few minutes’ walk away from the temple, and I've never been so glad to see a monk in my life. The temple is richly decorated on the outside, but inside is sparse and dark and jumbled. Hidden alcoves where snarling statues lurk. Dingy paper scrolls hang limply on the walls. There is a neglected ...

Karim Kanji is our newest guest blogger on the Flight Centre Travel Blog. A quick bit of history - we connected with Karim on Twitter, had some great conversations, helped Karim book his vacation to the UK, and next thing we knew Karim was offering to blog about his holidays; wow, we were honoured! So, Karim is going to jump in with quick bits from his travels. Hello FC'ers! My name is Karim Kanji and I am an avid blogger. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook as well as at my online "home" at INSPIRation by Karim. This, however, is my first visit to the Flight Centre blog. I want to tell you how I got here. I believe that social media, among other things, is a great way to tell companies what we want. ...

Happy talk indeed and sing it from the rafters because we now have the Flight Centre Top 10 Travel South Pacific Photos. They are amazing and public voting starts now! You sent in your vacation and holiday photos and we (including Flight Centre’s own Mariel Clayton) picked the 10 that best demonstrated the diverse landscapes and amazing travel activities from Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. Now it’s time to help us pick the winner of the great Flight Centre prize pack from Flight Centre and our friends at MOO and earworms. You can vote once a day (polls reset Noon Eastern Time each day) so come back often to see who has the most votes. Don’t forget to share your favourite South Pacific photo on Facebook and Twitter and encourage your friends and ...

Flight Centre’s Mariel Clayton continues her travel blog series from Japan. After spending her last day in a rainy Yuzawa, Mariel travels to Koyasan, the home of the gods. Thank goodness sake doesn't give me a hangover. What it does do though, is make my mouth feel and taste like the underside of an old hoof. I wage war against my bedding, and after valiantly disentangling myself from the psychotic floral futon cover, I hobble to the bathroom and brush my teeth twice with my thoughtfully provided 'Happy White' toothpaste. Aahh... mintyfresh. I am in no hurry to move on this morning, and once again the weather is proving most… aquatic, so I really don't want to sog around outside in the few hours available before I need to catch the train. Instead I head back for one last ...

When Flight Centre’s Mariel Clayton last joined us she went up in the mountains to take in the gardens and doing some people watching. In this post Mariel travels back down the mountain to explore Yuzawa, Japan, enjoy different types of sake, and share with us incredible vacation ideas and of course her incredible holiday photos. I get back on the Cable Car. About half way down I see the first pack of hikers straggling up through the trees. While I'm sure hiking is a very healthy and rugged and noble pastime, it's not for me. I don't mind the odd stroll along a softly sloping incline, but If God/Buddha/Deity of Choice had intended for me to climb mountains he would not have made them so big, or invented the Cable Car. I shall be a vociferous ...