Passengers aboard the boat, the “Pearl Queen”, obviously agree, exclaiming “It’s the spitting image!”

Mizuguchi is a guide for the Kujukushima Pearl Sea Resort, a city-run marine complex that’s home to an aquarium, restaurants and souvenir shops in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. He has become popular with tourists for the unique names he gives to the Kujukushima islands and their strange rock formations resembling animals and other creatures – so popular, in fact, that this May he gave the 7,000th tour of his 15-year career.

Yoshiteru Mizuguchi, left, uses pictures he took himself on one of his tours of the Kujukushima islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. /The Yomiuri Shimbun

He has so far named about 30 rocks, including “Merlion” (the Singapore mascot), “Nemuru Komainu” (sleeping guardian dog) and the fanciful “Ago no Hazureta Monster” (monster with dislocated jaws). He even names some formations after anime characters.

Hailing from Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, Mizuguchi worked as a sales clerk for a department store in Yokohama for about 40 years before moving to Sasebo, where his wife’s parents had a house. Attracted by the beautiful scenery of the Kujukushima islands – a chain of more than 200 islets both large and small – he became a volunteer guide in August 2003. He currently conducts tours 50 times a month.

He got the idea to offer tours of the islands’ strange-looking rocks one day about two years after starting as a volunteer guide, when he noticed that rocky areas resembling human faces would change from “the peaceful expression of a Buddha” to “a furious expression of a demon” depending on variations in light and shade. When he told passengers on the pleasure boat about his discovery, he was struck by the greater-than-expected reaction to his observation from passengers both young and old.

“Although [passengers] easily tire of difficult historical theories, everyone can enjoy the shapes of rock formations right before them and also have fun searching out new ones themselves,” Mizuguchi says.

“Rather than one-way, boring tours, explanations with interesting names leave an impression because they’re something anyone can enjoy.”

Mizuguchi has been commended by the Environment Ministry, the Sasebo city government and other entities for his unique tours. He even has fans who repeatedly join his tours, bringing along souvenirs to show their appreciation.

Yoshimi Nishimura, a member of the Kujukushima Visitor Centre, which serves as headquarters for the volunteer guides, is full of praise for Mizuguchi.

“I take my hat off to his enthusiasm, such as the way he hand-makes the visual aids that he uses to help tourists more easily understand his explanations,” he says.

This April, Kujukushima was added to the Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club, a France-based non-governmental organisation working to promote famous bays as tourist spots and protect scenery.

Also, with the recent rapid increase in foreign cruise ships calling at Sasebo Port, Mizuguchi has taken a direct approach to promotion, arming himself with a poster featuring his own photos in an effort to show tourists the islands he loves.

“This is my life’s work,” Mizuguchi, who turns 80 next year. “As long as my health allows, I’d like to continue to promote the beauty of Kujukushima and Sasebo.”

EYES POPPING in astonishment, his mouth hanging mutely open, seven-year-old Joel approaches the four-metre-high monster and stands nose-to-nose with one of the deadliest killing machines the world has ever known.

The full-scale Tyrannosaurus rex is just one of the prehistoric highlights on display at Portugal’s self-proclaimed “dinosaur capital”, a new theme park in one of the most fossil-rich regions in Europe.

“We have 120 large-scale reproductions of 70 different species, spread over 10 hectares (24.7 acres),” says Simao Mateus, Dino Park’s scientific director with pride.

Although only recently opened, the park sits in a part of Portugal long famous among palaeontologists for its extraordinary array of fossilised remains.

The nearby town of Lourinha, an hour’s drive north of Lisbon, has been dinosaur-mad ever since the remains of a dozen of the creatures were discovered in the late 19th century.

It already has a dinosaur museum and dinosaur statues in metal or resin can be seen on its roundabouts, while pavements are decorated with paintings of dinosaur footprints.

“Lourinha is quite particular about its dinosaurs, so we should all enjoy” the new facility, Mateus says.

Visitors to the park are greeted by the rearing neck of a giant model Supersaurus – one of the largest dinosaur genera – announcing a collection as impressive as anything else to be found in Europe.

Imported from Germany, the resin statues are dotted throughout a forest route guiding budding palaeontologists through the aeons when dinosaurs stalked the Earth.

Pride of place goes to two models of dinosaurs actually discovered in the town.

Lourinhasaurus was a sauropod – an immense, four-legged herbivore similar to Brac

hiosaurus or Diplodocus – that roamed the rainforests of western Laurasia around 150 million years ago.

That gentle giant is not to be confused with Lourinhanosaurus, a sharp-fanged and crafty hunter the size of a crocodile that lived in roughly the same era as Lourinhasaurus.

Mateus says interest in the park has started strong, with 175,000 visitors through the gates in the six months since opening, despite a prolonged period of poor weather.

On this visit, to the backdrop of the roars and squawks of dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes, a gaggle of young schoolchildren gape up in awe at the T-rex, its huge jaws capable of gobbling each one in a single gulp.

Other little ones cluster around a model Iguanodon – a Cretaceous-era grazer – though one boy keeps his distance from the reptile’s giant spiky thumb.

For park employee Filipa Pedro, who has been handing out stone blocks, hammers, chisels and other tools to this next generation of geologists, the experience offers children a glance of a long-lost part of the planet’s past.

“Children love dinosaurs, they are like these mysterious creatures that come from their dreams,” she says.

“Thanks to lots of cartoons and films on the subject, their knowledge is impressive. So this park is bound to please them.”

One in five of Thai travellers puts a lot of research into planning trips to ensure they have the best trip possible and about 22 per cent like the security of knowing travel plans are taken care of. However, 17 per cent think that on-the-go planning is the best way to discover new things and 11 per cent get a thrill from spontaneity.

Booking.com conducted research across 20,500 global travellers to reveal that 75 per cent of Thai travellers frequently use technology to enable limitless travel and 77 per cent use it for navigating while in an unfamiliar destination. Sixty-seven per cent use it for local insights, 52 per cent for entertainment and 37 per cent use it for amending a trip on the spot.

The key to becoming a Limitless Traveller is getting the most from every travel opportunity and not being afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to travelling.

Even with technology at hand, 86 per cent) of Thai travellers have made travel mistakes. The most common mistakes are:

Misunderstanding directions and getting lost (56 per cent)

Misunderstanding what was ordered in a restaurant (25 per cent)

Getting caught in a tourist trap and over-paying (22 per cent)

Mispronouncing a word in the local language (18 per cent)

Not reading reviews before booking place to stay (17 per cent)

Packing the wrong clothes (15 per cent)

But travellers tend to embrace mistakes and learn from them. Fifty four percent believe that is what travelling is all about. Almost half (43 per cent) of Thai travellers even find making travel mistakes to be funny.

Globally, technology is an important factor for Generation Z. So much so that when travelling to a remote location, 30 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds least enjoyed the lack of technology whereas 31 per cent of the rest of the age group didn’t like the feeling of being isolated from the rest of the world, this rose to 36 per cent for 55 to 64 year olds. Nearly half of respondents liked travelling to a remote location because the journey there was an adventure in itself and they like the untouched and undeveloped landscape, this figure was higher for travellers over 65 years old, with 52 per cent) preferring the undisturbed landscape.

Current restrictions confine fibreglass boards to the southern end of the Sydney beach. Softer foam boards popular among novice surfers and children are allowed anywhere, other than inside the flags — a lifesaver-supervised area designated for swimmers.

But Waverley Council, the local government with authority over the beach, is canvassing feedback from residents on a plan to abolish the distinction between hard and soft boards, and instead categorise them as “simply fin or no fin”.

This would force all surfers to the southern end of the 900-metre-long (3,000-foot) beach, where waves are usually bigger and dangerous rip tides more frequent.

Between 50 and 300 people surf Bondi each day, according to the council, with 84 percent of people in the ocean using the beach outside the flagged area.

In the warmer months the iconic shoreline draws thousands of people.

The council says the change would reduce the risk of people swimming between the flags being hit by a surf craft with fins. But it notes the change would increase surfer congestion and heighten the risk of injury outside the flags.

Surfers slammed the proposal, saying it would crowd too many surfers as well as users of other craft into too small an area, notably creating hazards for novices.

“If they agree with the proposal, there will be nowhere for our kids to learn about the ocean other than sticking them with hundreds of surfers on glass boards with kooks mowing them down,” Bondi Boardriders posted on Facebook Tuesday.

Waverley council on Wednesday called for calm, saying there were no plans to ban surfing on the beach.

“At this stage, we are only seeking feedback and no decision has been made,” it said in a statement.

Here are the top three picks for Thai visitors looking for new experiences in the coming months.

eSports & Music Festival

eSports and music come together under one roof with three top international e-sports tournaments being staged this year – the “Return of the Legends 2018” and two brand new tournaments – the “Zotac Cup Masters CS:GO 2018 Grand Finals” and the “Hong Kong PUBG World Invitational”. The tournaments will feature over 110 local and international players.

The highlight is the Experience Zone, which will showcase the latest e-sports and related products and feature game displays, VR experience, mobile game trials, KOL stages, and music performances. Visitors can enjoy fascinating activities and experience game products first-hand.

The festival takes place at Hall 3, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from August 24 to 26.

Be@rbrick Summer

Until August 5, Be@rbrick fans are in for a real treat in the sun and sand, as the Ocean Terminal Deck in Harbour City transforms into a beach. Thirty Be@ebricks with eight brand new summer looks will be joining this summer party. Come and see these adorable characters that come in all sizes, from the standard seven centimetres high to the four-metre-tall l Giant Be@rbricks.

A spectacular 7,000-per-cent Be@rbrick will be there to greet all visitors at two sides of Victoria Harbour, while the 8000-per cent Be@rbrick will be sun bathing on the grand steps.

Carnivale of Stars: Make a Splash at Hong Kong Disneyland (Until September 2)

Until September 2, kids of all ages will love splashing into the fun at Hong Kong Disneyland, as their favourite Disney characters and Disney-Pixar pals get together for a line-up of dazzling activities. Big fans of Moana, The Incredibles, Toy Story, Jungle Book, Lilo and Stitch and many more, will be thrilled with the unforgettable action they can participate in, while enjoying delicious summer snacks and feasts.

The Pixar Water Play Street Party, journeying down Mainstreet USA, is a water-filled celebration not to be missed.

Hyperplay is one of the three festivals happening as part of YOUTHx, a larger celebration of youth aspirations which aims to bring young people from all walks of life together. The diverse line-up of events, which include Shine Festival and GetActive!SG, is initiated by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the National Youth Council (NYC).

Through two of today’s biggest cultural cornerstones of this generation – eSports and music, – youths from all across Singapore and Asean can expect to come together for a weekend of hype and thrills, while embodying the youthful spirit of passion, dynamism and the freedom to dream big! On top of that, young people can get to immerse themselves in activities ranging from dance performances to fitness at Shine Festival and GetActive!SG.

“With Singapore as the Asean Chair this year, Singapore’s young people are extremely happy and proud to host other Asean youth at the YOUTHx Festival weekend, all co-located at the Singapore Sports Hub. Access is complimentary for all, so that our Singaporean and Asean youth can participate together to celebrate their aspirations and strengthen the Asean identity,” said David Chua, chief executive of National Youth Council.

“In the lead-up to Hyperplay, we recognise this is a first of its kind event. We now want to make this an inclusive event to give players and fans from all walks of life a chance to catch all the eSports action and music entertainment. More importantly, while complementing the other components of YOUTHx, we hope to encourage youths to bring along their friends to experience what Hyperplay has to offer,” said Chris Tran, regional manager of Riot Games for Southeast Asia.

Players and fans can get their free Hyperplay tickets by visiting APACTix.com to secure General Admission tickets.

Fans who have already purchased tickets to Hyperplay will receive full refunds and will also be rewarded for their early support of Asean’s first eSports and music festival, with an upgrade to a seat in the CAT 1 section. All existing ticket holders will be notified about the new arrangements.

On August 4, Hyperplay will begin with the first “League of Legends” semi-finals followed by Singapore’s favourite The Sam Willows, who will take the MTV Spotlight stage with their half-time set. This will be followed by the second semi-finals and then by South Korea’s superstar vocalist and rapper CL, to round up Day 1 with a bang.

August 5 sees performances on the MTV Spotlight stage by Indonesian idol Afgan and Thailand’s leading rock band Slot Machine before the finals and the eventual crowning of the “League of Legends” Asean Champion. Nick Jonas and Alessia Cara will close out the festival.

You can stream live across the two-day ticketed event on Hyperplay.sg, with key segments broadcast live across Southeast Asia. Get news updates by following Hyperplay on Facebook.

WHILE THE tourist-packed island paradise of Boracay off the northern coast of Panay has been given half a year off to recover on the order of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, to the south temptingly dangles mango-shaped Guimaras, and a waterworld ripe with possibilities.

Natago Beach – Hiding Beach – lives up to its name with a sparseness of visitors, subtly delighting in ways reflective of intriguing Guimaras, which quietly produces some of the tastiest mangoes found in the central Philippines.

While never approaching the epic grandeur of Koh Phi Phi Leh’s Maya Bay, Natago’s tempting alcoves can still trigger recollections of the enchanting spot popularised by the film “The Beach” before the Thai idyll, like Boracay, recently temporarily closed to visitors, a victim of its own beauty.

Iloilo is the point of arrival on Guimaras and the launch pad for island adventures. The small city offers bustling malls, places to dance and gamble and many Spanishera marvels.

For the time being, like one of its fat, juicy “carabao” mangoes, Guimaras hits the traveller’s sweet spot – engaging vibes and precious few visitors.

Laid-back locals, convenient proximity to vibrant Iloilo City, a range of water sports and ample opportunities for solitude help make this emerald isle a perfect place to disappear for awhile.

While other local mangoes suffer from smallness and imperfections, the best Guimaras mangoes are second to none in the world.

The matrix of rigging lashed to the ferries plying the short, exhilarating Iloilo-Jordan route show their readiness for the times of the year when mangoes aren’t in season. This is when gusting winds and monsoon rains are busy nourishing the fruit’s goodness towards another triumphant harvest.

This central Philippines islands group is known as the Visayas, a name etymologically linked to the English word “victory” but more particularly to the Indian-inspired Sri Vijaya Empire. Malay migrants from the culture based in what is now Malaysia, southern Thailand and western Indonesia settled here, bequeathing their name to the islands.

Natago Beach – ‘Hiding’ Beach – is as inviting as any stretch of sand on any sea and, with few visitors, far more placid than most.

A bracing 15-minute ferry ride from Iloilo, the isle of Guimaras is most easily entered from the port of Jordan, the main jumping-off point to its multiple attractions.

Among these are an 18th-century lighthouse, countless beaches, unique rock formations, tours of the mango groves and sampling anything and everything made from Guimaras’ famous fruit, including biscuits, biscotti, drinks and chips, as well as shopping for souvenirs bearing its likeness.

Bouncy jeepney rides spiral out from Jordan to all parts of Guimaras. One road passes restaurants advertising mango-topped pizza on the way to Alubinod Beach, which looks like something waiting at the end of the world and is a popular spot to embark on island-hopping tours.

Buho Ramirez Cave delights with its moody serenity.

The summer monsoon wind, the habagat, blows strong, but not so strongly as to dismay the fun-loving residents who’ve endured Indian, Spanish, American and Japanese colonisation.

The skies over Guimaras lash out more juicily during summer and winter typhoons, darkened by storm clouds lending mood to the otherwise brightly coloured seascape, a dazzling array of aquamarine, turquoise and the like.

Flanked to the north and south by two island groups named after their biggest islands – Luzon and Mindanao – the Visayas, like much of the archipelago, are an outpost of raw natural beauty.

With towns named in Spanish superlatives – Buena Vista, Nueva Valencia – and with most residents adept at English thanks to the US occupation, Guimaras most deeply delights with its natural scenery. It is blissfully far beyond the great sweep of influences of conquerors and travellers who left behind remnants of cultural flotsam.

Raymen Beach offers an ideal spot for bobbing in the wild but accommodating sea, as well as journeying off for an exciting island-hop with any of the many tour operators.

Besides the mango sweetness of this idyll – and of Natago Beach, made for quiet romantic moments – also within reach are abandoned nunneries with epic sea views and countless under-appreciated attractions and surprises that only the locals know about.

Particularly deserving a look is Buho Ramirez Cave, well worth a few hours’ exploring by boat. Also known as Baras Cave, this darkened environment unveils vistas that are likely to stay with visitors for a lifetime.

The waters encircling Guimaras and the other Visayas islands are radiant and multicoloured.

As the boatman silently guides guests past fruit bats in their perches, the sunlight fades and then disappears, only to return at the end of the ride, which can be as short or as long as desired. It’s a mysterious place that gradually transitions into a beautiful seascape of colours, now all the more radiant as you emerge from the gloom.

Getting to Guimaras is easy via the short flight from Manila, touching down in nearby Iloilo, a small city offering excellent seafood, bustling malls and opportunities for dancing and gambling. There are Spanish-era delights like Jaro Cathedral and colonial mansions.

Iloilo’s Jaro Cathedral harks back to the twilight years of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines.

The extraordinary Esplanade walkway lining both banks of the beautified Iloilo River is an amazing testament to the public’s will to restore areas previously pockmarked by industrial blight.

The colonisation of the Philippines has been likened to spending three centuries in a convent, followed by 50 years in Hollywood.

Many Spanish-era sights in the region go under-appreciated and show signs of physical neglect. Similarly, American-era mega-malls offer far too many cheap thrills. But the intrinsic beauty of less-discovered spots – well developed but not overdeveloped, like those that dot Guimaras – reflect the timeless quality of the Philippines’ smaller islands, which seem ideally designed for capturing flavours previously undiscovered.