What 10934 DialAFlight clients thought of Asia

Elliot was excellent throughout and it wasn’t his fault that our luggage got left in Bangkok for 24 hours!

Dylan has been so helpful and informative, wouldn’t book with anyone else

Do not say to future clients that Hong Kong is fully open yet. 4 PCR tests and a RAT every day for 7 days plus mask wearing is not what you could call open !

I recommend you often - Lily Reeve was wonderful as always!

Phillippa is the best. She never lets me down and always delivers. First class service as always. Thank you so much for making my travel arrangements and hotel accommodation stress free.

Once again we are delighted with the service.

Very good customer service and polite staff

Super good

Gavin was excellent and words cannot describe how helpful he has been with our booking. Would definitely be booking my next holiday with him. Appreciate his honesty and thoughtfulness - the hotel he helped choose was perfect for our young family. His knowledge of hotels and destinations was very impressive. Could not have asked for more.

Good service. Kept us well informed and up to date

Michelle Dooler excellent as always

Stafford was extremely helpful

Our contact, Theo Naim, was pleasant, efficient and used his initiative to ensure we had a holiday to remember.

Used many times and always satisfied

Great service, as ever.

Must say we were really impressed with the service given to us by Seymour throughout the booking process and follow up. Have kept his number for future bookings

As on previous occasions Fergus Convery has provided a first class, friendly and efficient service. He and his team have been pleasant to deal with and prepared to go beyond the simple fact of achieving a sale. Thoroughly recommended.

Isabelle says the Malaysian Airlines flight was very comfortable with plenty of leg room and more than ample food and drink.

Both hotels brilliant! On leaving Singapore the arranged taxi did not turn up but the hotel were brilliant in arranging another one for us. In Bali the courier and driver were excellent but the car provided by Asia International did not have passenger seat belts which worked.

Jonathan looked after us exceptionally well as he always does. I will continue recommend him and Chris as they are by far the best I’ve ever dealt with when booking holidays.

Amazing experience as always! Thanks to Neil and Ross.

We were guided through all the flight changes and reassured all would be well, and it was.

BA Club seats and service - awful!

All round services excellent.

Once again Darren has over delivered on a great holiday. Huge thanks for all your help and assistance in making changes due to my errors

Very good service and always available when needed.

Good support from Dale with good communications

My flight from Bangalore was delayed leading to a missed connection. Sadie was very helpful with advice and arrangements and the best resolution that was possible was found.

Everything organised really well. Communications excellent.

Great service. Will use again.

Rise and shrine in Japan!

The spiritual Kansai region of holy sites and tropical beaches (and sumo wrestling) is suddenly attracting attention - including that of Nick Boulos

Hiro raises his bare thigh and slams his foot on the ground, spreading ripples across his man mountain of a body.

He bows at his opponent and, in a vision of manboobs and giant wedgies, they engage in combat; wrestling, pushing, heaving and tugging until one emerges victorious.

Suddenly, it's my turn. I step into the ring and stare ahead towards the sumo wrestler a few feet away - all 26st of him. A moment later I'm pressed up against his folds of flesh, my face alarmingly close to his armpit as I push with all my might. My feet scramble at the salt-strewn floor while Hiro - a wrestler for 22 years - stands there chuckling.

Sumo wrestlers are held in high esteem in Japan and the sport is looked upon as an art form

I'm in the small city of Katsuragi, considered the birthplace of sumo. Located an hour from Osaka in the Kansai region, this is a corner of Japan that has just become more accessible thanks to British Airways direct flights from Heathrow.

Kansai is an area of misty mountains dotted with remote shrines, tropical beaches and tea plantations which will appeal to visitors keen to explore what lies beyond the capital Tokyo. After putting Hiro through his paces ('You have great potential,' he jokes), it's time to move on to Osaka.

Home to three million people, the city is a patchwork of 16th century castles and 21st century glass skyscrapers. From my room on the 36th floor of the Conrad Hotel, the view of Dotonbori district, the main restaurant and entertainment area, is dizzying.

This 164-room hotel gives off a Lost In Translation vibe – think Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson – and is filled with 389 artworks including one by local boy turned renowned sculptor, Kohei Nawa.

While Osaka is certainly worthy of a few days' exploration, the experiences awaiting further afield prove to be the real temptation.

Travelling south, urban sprawl gives way to delightful rural scenes. Before long we're surrounded by the crumpled green peaks of the Kii Peninsula. These mountains are the gateway to Wakayama.

Occupying the southern tip of Kansai, this city holds the key to much of Japan's ancient spiritual heritage.

Pilgrims in Heian period costumes on the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trail

For more than 1,000 years, everyone from emperors to humble farmers has walked these peaks seeking peace and purification. The Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage ranks as one of the world's great pilgrim routes. A network of trails, it has several options, from gentle hour-long strolls to arduous multi-day treks.

Opting for the easier and shorter route, I slice through silent bamboo forests and inch along paths that hug plunging wooded ravines. I pause to enjoy panoramas splashed with cherry blossom. I am feeling more peaceful by the moment.

The climax is our arrival at the grand Shinto shrine of Kumano Hongu Taisha, the hallowed ground where all trails meet. The silence of the forest is broken by the rhythmic chiming of bells and the flapping of flags in the breeze.

Grand Shinto Shrine of Kumano Hongu Taisha where all the pilgrim trails converge

I watch as worshippers cross the gravel courtyards, clap their hands twice (to announce their arrivals to the deities) and bow their heads in prayer. This is a special, unforgettable place. Just down the road, in the valley and dissected by a stream of healing thermal waters, is Yunomine, an onsen village centred around natural hot springs.

These healing waters were discovered 1,800 years ago and became an important part of the pilgrimage by offering hot water purification along the way.

Pilgrims enjoy a spiritual soaking by stripping off, as is custom, for a dip in the stone plunge pool housed in a rickety shed. Barely big enough for two, it makes for quite the intimate experience.

I choose instead a riverside dip in the thermal rockpool at the Kawayu Midoriya. A spa hotel somewhat stuck in the Seventies, it models itself on the traditional inn, the ryokan. Expect sliding paper screens and legless chairs.

No trip to this part of Japan would be complete without the glittering jewel in its Imperial crown, Kyoto.

Reached in 15 minutes from Osaka by Shinkansen bullet train, this enchanting city was the nation's capital until 1868. It retains much of its ancient character, particularly in the Gion district where geishas once scuttled between teahouses in their elaborate silk costumes.

From the comfortable Ritz-Carlton hotel, it's a pleasant 20-minute stroll along the Kamogawa River to Gion.

Delving into the backstreets, I discover deserted gardens and teahouses serving fragrant cherry blossom tea and sit with elderly locals painting watercolours of a pagoda.

Hunched over their palettes, they look long and hard and produce thoughtful brushstrokes. They seem lost in their individual reveries, drinking in the beauty. It sums up my experience perfectly.

First published in the Daily Mail - November 2019

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