THE uneven stone steps - built by demons according to legend - increase in steepness as they rise, as if they are trying to block my ascent.

YOGYAKARTA, more popularly known as Jogja by the locals, is a bustling town of some half a million people and the most popular tourist destination in Java.

Thanks to the growth in personal incomes and consumer credit, the number of Bangladeshi travellers visiting foreign countries for holiday or medical reasons is increasing every year.

On arrival in Tokyo's Haneda airport, we were met by our guide Toshihiro Kamba who gave us a quick history lesson on the region before we set off for Sakata City in Yamagata, the first stop on a trip that would see us traverse Japan and get a glimpse of the country's east and west coasts.

Two mummified bodies are found entombed on a Mexican mountain

IT'S hard enough for the uninitiated to throw a dart, what more a shuriken (four-pronged metal star), at a dartboard.

The world today is becoming a more travel-friendly place. Societies are encouraging people to “go out there and explore.”

It was the first time I realised that a Roman holiday could very well remind you of Bangladesh. Oddly, it is a familiar sight across Rome.