East Asia

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Washed out in Jeonju

Killing time in Seoul I woke at 0530 and finished the little bit of muesli I had brought along with coffee.  I have the morning to take in a few more of Seoul’s sights but nothing appealed to me.  Also, things don’t really open that early in the morning here. So instead, I hit the […]

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Something old and something new

Hanok Bukchon I woke at 0515 after last night’s early rest and was out at 0715 on the metro for Anguk to explore Hanok Bukchon, the traditional village area.  I was hoping to get a breakfast of steamed dumplings from somewhere close to where I stayed last time.  Unfortunately, at around 0800, nothing was open. […]

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South Korea again

Despite our delayed departure, we landed at Incheon on time at 1855.  It’s my second visit to South Korea, having visited 11 years ago and loving it. It was a long walk from the aircraft to the health checkpoint and then immigration.  I got the feeling that the Air New Zealand staff had been overzealous […]

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Cijin Island, Love & Happiness

Short outing to Cijin Island This morning, I set off to check-out Cijin Island, a very long island that acts as a natural breakwater for Kaohsiung.  It was reached via MRT to the area which I had been to yesterday, followed by a short walk to Hamasen pier.  The ride itself on the ferry was […]

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To my last stop in Taiwan

I had my eyes set on fish soup for breakfast yesterday but instead opted for McDonald’s.  I made it a point of having it today but the shop was closed!  I settled for some local snacks washed down with a lukewarm milk tea. My B&B has a check-out time of 1100 so I continued my […]

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Historic Anping

Tainan is historic because it was the first place to be settled by Han Chinese from the mainland, eventually overtaking the native Austronesian population.  It is also historic because nearby Anping was where Duth set up their base and fortification. It seems significant enough for me to check out Anping.  While it was only about […]

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Traditional Tainan

I have two full days to spend in Tainan.  That’s one day more than what I think is necessary but I allowed a spare day in case I was disrupted coming in from Kinmen due to the airport being closed during fog season. This means that I can do “half-days” instead of the full-day explorations […]

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Back on Mainland Taiwan

I had been worried about fog closing Kinmen airport as it is the fog season.  But I woke to strong and gusty winds.  Worried that the propeller aircraft may not make it in, I checked the forecast and noted that the wind was coming from the north-east.  That’s the same direction as the runway orientation, […]

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Little Kinmen

Cycling around Little Kinmen The weather had been forecasted to be better than yesterday’s.  That’s why I had reserved Little Kinmen, off the main island of Kinmen, for today.  I walked from my homestay to the ferry terminal about 20 minutes away.  The terminal for the boat to Little Kinmen was hard to find, overshadowed […]

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Exploring Kinmen Island

Half-Day Bus Tour The day was cool and was forecast to remain that way with chance of rain.  What a change from yesterday’s scorcher.  I put on longs and had breakfast of congee, doughsticks and some pastries. I weighed up the idea of renting a bicycle vs taking the sightseeing bus, taking into consideration the […]

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