Thailand is incredible! As soon as I entered Bangkok I was overwhelmed by Asia and its contrasts of colors and smells. I thought after living in Asia for a year it wouldn't phase me but yet, Asia manages to surprise and entertain me over and over again. I was worried about getting bothered by touts (like in Beijing) but I guess I have learned to look confident, like I've done this before. But I haven't! It's my first time travelling solo and it has been scary but also rewarding in knowing I can do this. My first night in Bangkok turns [View Full Entry]

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Another year in another country is coming to a close. I still cannot believe how fast 12 months can really be! Korea has truly been a learning experience; a mix of good and bad that has really allowed me to grow and learn in ways that were unimaginable. It is the reason I love travel; just when you think you have seen it all, something new pops up to blow your mind! Moving to Seoul was a quick decision but one that I do not regret one bit. It has given me more opportunity than I had ever expected. It has [View Full Entry]

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I have spent most of my time in Beijing walking. Even though taxis are cheap, the best way to see the city is walking and when you enter sights like the Forbidden City, Lama Temple, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace, there is nothing to do but walk. It's just so vast that you simply can not understand the need for the ancient Chinese to make everything so grand! Lama Temple is the biggest Tibetan buddhist temple outside of Tibet. On the outside it's not much different to any other buddhist temples I have seen, but on the inside the statues [View Full Entry]

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As I mentioned before things are cheap in China. But if you know how to bargain, they are super cheap! Taxis in Beijing cost less than $10 to go across the city (and it's a big city). Staying in a hostel room costs about $10 as well and a meal can be anywhere from $1 - $10 each (sharing is a big thing in Chinese culture). David and I checked out all the markets there is to check out in Beijing and got some wonderful stuff. Bargaining is a skill that we had yet to master so this was our first [View Full Entry]

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Beijing is bitterly cold! It doesn't help that the rooms are also not heated well. Of course Beijingers are used to it while the spoiled westerners can barely get out of bed. Today David and I bundled up and headed to do a 10K hike up the Janshanling section of the Great Wall. Of course I have heard from others who have visited the wall how amazing it is, but I was really in for a surprise. The hike was harder than I imagined since this part of the wall is not as touristic (which is a lot better, but even [View Full Entry]

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Although it is one of the biggest countries and holds the biggest population of the world, China has never fascinated me. Living so close to it though gives me no excuses to not visit it, only a 2 hour flight from Seoul. So here I am, in the city that is meant to be one of the most populated, most polluted, has the worst air quality, host of the 2008 summer Olympics, and home to one of the greatest civilizations that has influenced mankind far and wide. I assumed that much of East Asia would be similar, since Japan didn't seem [View Full Entry]

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This weekend was spent in Gyeongju which was the capital during the Shilla dynasty. I learned quite a bit about the history of Korea on this trip since we also had a tour guide. The owner of the school I work at made a generous gesture of taking all his staff on this trip for the weekend along with his sister who is a history major from Busan that works as a tour guide so we were all quite lucky. Gyeongju is 4 hours south east of Seoul and it's absolutely stunning among the autumn foliage. Bulkuksa temple is one of [View Full Entry]

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Buddhism is quickly being taken over by Christianity in Korea. In any given neighbourhood you are bound to see at least 3 red crosses indicating the churches. Of course this is intriguing to me since I am an ex-Catholic who is currently more inspired by Eastern religions where I feel the real roots are. I took this opportunity to experience a temple stay at Buddhist temple near Daejon, about 2.5 hours south of Seoul. A temple stay is typically 2 days, 1 night minimum and you stay with monks waking up at 3am to meditate and chant. It is basically a [View Full Entry]

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I'm not a big fan of baseball but I was told by many people that baseball in Korea is worth a try. So of course, I took the recommendation and finally went to a baseball game at Jamsil stadium which is practically in my backyard. A sporting event in North America means big bucks. In Korea, a great seat costs you 8,000 won (= $8) AND you have to tell them which team you are rooting for so they can give you the right seating area, but no assigned seating (yet they have seat numbers in movie theatres!). I went to [View Full Entry]

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The great part about being in a small country is that you actually can scope out a city in a weekend. A few of my co-workers and I took a cheap flight to Jeju this weekend. At first I was skeptical about how much we would actually be able to see but after being here its amazing to see how small this place really is. Renting a car is the best bet for Jeju and being with Koreans is a great plus since you do need a license and some Korean navigation skills to do so. After flying in Friday night [View Full Entry]

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