“If one walks, a road is made.” So reads the cover of the walking map for the Nakasendo I brought back with me from Japan–a sentiment which perfectly encapsulates the origins and spirit of the Nakasendo. An ancient postal road connecting Kyoto (Kyo) and Tokyo (Edo), the Nakasendo was built over 400 years ago in the Edo period. …
history
The Cherry Blossoms of Gyeongju
One of my favorite memories from my first year in Korea involved riding my new scooter to Gyeongju to see the cherry blossoms with my friends. This year, I rode my motorcycle along the same winding, rural road from Pohang to Gyeongju–the cool breeze of early spring whipping the falling cherry petals in swirls and eddies of …
Chocolate and Executions: Valentine’s Day in Korea
Many people have dubbed South Korea as one of the most romantic countries in the world. Taking ‘romantic holidays’ to the next level, many amorous young Koreans celebrate an unofficial ‘love’ holiday on the 14th of every month of the year. For an excellent write-up on what those holidays are, as well as the traditions …
Angkor Wat: the Grand Tour
I guess the title of this is a little misleading. I didn’t go to Angkor Wat on the second day. Just to keep things simple, however, I’m sticking with it. Instead of renting a tuk tuk and having a driver for the day, I decided to rent a bicycle and peddle my way around what’s …
Angkor Wat: the Mini Tour
The past few days, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to explore the Angkor archeological area. The complex is massive, dotted with ruins of temples and the like; all tucked into the folds of the enveloping jungle. A good portion of the ruins can be explored by following one of two ‘tours’: the Mini …
One Pagoda Too Many: The Plains of Bagan
The subject of my previous post, Inle Lake, is one of the biggest tourist draws for Myanmar. The other is the city of Bagan. Bagan is famous for one thing. The arid plains are dotted with an absolutely mind-boggling number of temples and pagodas. Over 2200 remain from the 11th-13th century. If you like temples …
Ayutthaya: Lotsa Wats
After our few days getting things situated in Bangkok, Sandy and I hopped on the Northern line train to begin a long journey up to Chiang Mai; the capital of the old Lanna kingdom and the big destination for anyone going to Northern Thailand. On the way, however, we wanted to break up the crazy …
Things to Do in Bacolod
I spent the last week in Bacolod for the Masskara Festival, as you may have read in my previous post. The festival itself was a mixed bag, but definitely worth checking out at least once. The town of Bacolod itself I enjoyed much more. We did many things over the course of the 6 days, …
Couchsurfing, Trickeye Museum, and Other Things…
Well I managed to have myself another fantastic weekend, and you lucky folks get to hear all about it! I met up with some Couchsurfers, watched a movie at the National Digital Library, went to a really cool art museum and a history museum, and spent some time with my Korean family! It was fun, …