Gwangjang and rainbow

Gwangjang Market I had considered going to the royal tombs, Donggureung, today but they are closed on Mondays. Having been to the other key sights of Seoul, some more than once, I thought I’d swing past Gwangjang Market on the way to Hanok Buchon for lunch at a place I enjoyed on my first visit […]

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Namsan

Moving to Seoul During my lazy morning in the room, I realised that the heated floor was on, on a day which is expected to peak at 30 degC! Even though it was only in key patches of the room (eg. where one hops out of bed, where one’s feet are at the desk or […]

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Sights of Suwon

Hwaseong Fortress I woke after 9 hours of sleep, having missed a night’s sleep airborne. Venturing out after some muesli and milk, I was pleased that it wasn’t stinking hot today, with substantial cloud cover.  The plan for the morning was to explore Hwaseong Fortress or rather its walls and gates which are dotted around […]

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Technically not Seoul

Above:  Pedestrian mall in Suwon, near my hotel. Arriving at Seoul Incheon airport at 0630, I wasn’t as lucky as previous visits.  It took an hour to get through immigration and exit without a bag. I’m booked to stay in Suwon, which Google Maps says is 2h away by bus.  The hotel’s check-in time is […]

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Winding the clock back ten years in ten minutes

Taking ten years off my age About 10 days short of six months, I stopped shaving just before going on my three-week trip to Saudi Arabia.  Today, I had planned to have the beard taken off at the Indian barber in KL Sentral / Brickfields where I was overnighting. When I had a haircut there, […]

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Islamic Arts Museum

For this visit to Kuala Lumpur, I had it on my list to visit the Islamic Arts Museum.  This had come highly recommended by E, with whom I travelled around Saudi Arabia about half a year ago. I arrived at the site by train and foot, getting there a few minutes before their 0930 opening.  […]

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Flying to the capital

My sis and bro-in-law were still in Kuching when I left today, and they kindly ran me to the airport.  Actually, I drove but they drove back.  Traffic was unusually heavy and the journey took an hour.  Just as well we allowed plenty of time. I flew Malaysia Airlines’ 1335 flight to Kuala Lumpur with […]

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A week in hometown

We arrived into Singapore around 0300, ahead of schedule.  It had been an excellent flight but it got so cold that I had to put on my puffer jacket. I had taken two sleeping pills and slept most of the way, having found that one didn’t quite work.  The variety that I’ve been given is […]

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Scooting away

After two days catching up with my aunt, three cousins and a friend from Yemen days separately, it was time to fly back to my hometown.  I had secured a Scoot ticket for AUD200 from Melbourne to Kuching via Singapore with a 3h connection.  About half of that was taxes. I had paid for a […]

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Arriving in Melbourne

Arrival into Melbourne was as good as it can get.  We had probably the nearest gate to the immigration hall.  All formalities were so fast that I was kerbside waiting for the Skybus within 20 mins of arrival. With the 2245 scheduled arrival, I couldn’t afford any delay of more than an hour as I […]

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