Travel experiences across the world
All right, I’m stranded in Narita waiting for a massively delayed flight so I’m going to take this chance to jot down some random thoughts that didn’t make it into my Korean posts: Korean donuts are not the shape you think they are! (Spoiler: they are shaped like a long braid. They are also not… Continue reading Assorted Korean Observations
I haven’t understood the weather at any of the places I’ve been to this trip, but I REALLY don’t understand the weather in Tokyo right now. After a sunny 20°C yesterday, it’s a cloudy 10°C. This works much better for me and my winter clothes, but it’s still weird! Like yesterday, I kicked off the… Continue reading Korakuen, Jinbocho, Meiji Jingu
You know the figure of speech, the unmovable object and the unstoppable force? That’s my exhaustion from traveling at full force for two weeks versus my desire of doing a million different things in Tokyo. To start a scorchingly sunny, 20°C day on a cultural note, I went straight to Rikugien gardens, an 18th century… Continue reading Rikugien, Imperial Palace, Ginza
My trip’s not quite over yet! I left Busan this morning to take a Jeju Air flight to Tokyo. The only two things of note: Gimhae airport is a lot smaller than I thought, considering Busan has 3.5 million inhabitants (maybe that’s why there aren’t more tourists: they don’t fit!) and it’s SO HOT all… Continue reading Travel to Tokyo, Akihabara
This was my last day in Busan, my last day in Korea -but not quite my last day on holiday, because I’m stopping in Tokyo for a couple of days before I head back to Europe! So, today was mostly about tying up loose ends. With another gloriously sunny morning outside, temperatures rising to a… Continue reading Beomeosa, Seomyeon, Samgwangsa
I feel like I spent all day on a bus! Prepare to be RIVETED by all the flavors of public transport in Busan. This morning I took it extra easy, because I’ve realized I simply don’t have that many things to do here. All the accounts I’d read online were very vocal about three days… Continue reading Haeundae, Haedong Yonggungsa, Shinsegae
What a strange, forgotten sensation, to walk outside and simply… not be cold! At this rate I’m going to be overdressed! For my first day in Busan, I decided to start with an iconic sight: Gamcheon Village! Originally, Gamcheon started as a slum of houses for post-war refugees, draped along the slopes of a hill.… Continue reading Gamcheon Village, BIFF Square, Haebyeon Beach
Today was not a particularly productive day! I had to make the trip to Busan, and I already saw everything there is to see in Gyeongju and then some, so my initial plan was to make the trip early. I was about to text my Airbnb host to ask if maybe I could check in… Continue reading Bus to Busan
Today’s morning plan was another out-of-town excursion: this one to Yangdong Folk Village, a Joseon-era village north of Gyeongju that is famous for its preserved thatched-roof houses. There are a bunch of buses that connect the Gyeongju bus terminal with Yangdong, but I discovered in shock that their frequency is… once every three hours! I… Continue reading Yangdong Folk Village, Cheomseongdae Observatory, Woljeonggyo Bridge
I took things slow this morning! Partly because there are fewer things to see and do in Gyeongju than in Seoul (I realize that’s true of most places!) so I feel less pressure to get stuff done, but also partly because a damned mosquito kept waking me up all through the night and I wasn’t… Continue reading Bulguksa, National Museum of Gyeongju
This Is A Lake 