is what travel is supposed to do, but does it? Unequivocally yes in my case, whether it’s been staying in gites in various parts of rural France, driving between guesthouses in the Black Forest and environs, or getting to know Italy on bus tours with friends or on our own. We’ve learned such a lot through being immersed in the life of the communities we’ve stayed in, however briefly. These places I’ve mentioned so far have been in Europe, our local patch (I am a confirmed and unrepentant citizen of Europe). Further afield, I’ve enjoyed poetic trips to Lithuania and Quebec. But I’ve also visited some more exotic destinations, where the cultures have been radically different from that in my home patch.

Experiencing these places – Japan, China, Tibet – really did open my eyes to different ways of living, although I was already steeped in Japanese art, culture and…