Articles from this Category
1 August 2024
Long-awaited opportunity Today, I start the next chapter of my trip, undertaking independent travel once again from Sary Tash in Kyrgyzstan to Kashgar in Xinjiang, western China. Entering China’s Muslim west from its Muslim neighbours may have caused suspicion when applying for a visa. So, when visa-free travel was introduced late last year, I was […]
17 June 2024
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 […]
15 June 2024
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 […]
14 June 2024
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 […]
26 March 2024
Internet connection; the enabler As my previous trip to China was 9 years ago, this is my first visit since the country went largely cashless. I came prepared and everything worked like a dream. I didn’t use any cash or my credit/debit cards for any travel-related expenses during my whole stay! An internet connection is […]
26 March 2024
Above: At the next massage table. My turn next. Massage and cupping Our flight back to New Zealand leaves at 0230 “tonight” (technically tomorrow morning) from Haikou. We have the day to kill before taking the train from Sanya to Haikou airport before killing more time there. I opted to skip breakfast and take brunch […]
25 March 2024
Today we had agreed on an excursion to Binglanggu (Betel nut valley) Li & Miao Cultural Heritage Park, about an hour out of town. It is somewhat of a tourist trap but how bad can it be after yesterday? At least here, we will get to learn about the native people of Hainan. I opted […]
24 March 2024
Visiting Nanshan I woke at 0600 today and fell asleep till 0750. I quickly messaged Swee and Chen to make arrangements for breakfast a few doors away, where I had a lean pork and century egg congee. Apart from the beaches, there’s not much to do in Sanya. Many of the attractions are out of […]
23 March 2024
Train to Sanya With an early afternoon train soon after check-out, I decided to skip breakfast and have some pastries instead. The idea was to have brunch around 1045 then checkout and get a taxi to the railway station. All went according to plan and we got to Haikou East high-speed rail station around […]
