Tag Archives: Tourism

Luoyang Peony Festival

23 Apr

Luoyang Peony Festival!

Follow up on part one of my Luoyang visit! You can see my post about the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, another beautiful site to see in the area 🙂

Did you know that for a long time the Peony was actually China’s official national flower? And it started right here in Luoyang, where the Peony was the flower of kings and noblemen.   Now, there are many types of Peonies grown in the gardens of Luoyang, and those gardens are opened up to visitors during the annual Peony Festival!  

Every year from the middle of April until the middle of May, the Peonies bloom and visitors from around the world come to check them out.  The festival itself is during the peak time, usually April 15-25, when the flowers are at their most stunning.  

There are many, many Peony gardens you can see, for example the Luoyang National Peony Garden (it was too busy so our tour bus couldn’t reach it; we checked out another garden) is said to be the very best.  But there are many others you can see, like the one we visited. It was much smaller, but still breathtaking!  You can check out China Highlight’s post for a list of options and prices!

You can reach Luoyang via Train (approximately 4 hours from Beijing and 8 hours from Shanghai) or by Flight, and the price to the gardens isn’t too bad. There are lots of hotels and restaurants to check out, and many other sightseeing activities for your family 🙂

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Book Review: “Italy Travel Guide: Top 40 Beautiful Places You Can’t Miss! “

31 Mar

“Italy Travel Guide:

Top 40 Beautiful Places You Can’t Miss!”

by Manuel de Cortes

A handy tour guide gifted to visitors in Italy.

Manuel de Cortes’s recent book, “Italy Travel Guide: Top 40 Beautiful Places You Can’t Miss” is an resources for travelers or students interested in visiting Italy.  At 125 pages, the book is small but still contains quite a bit of useful information on locations worth checking out during your trip.

I’ve never been to Italy, so I cannot actually tell you if the places he recommends are truly the best. But I looked up some reviews and pictures of the spots, and I would definitely want to check them out if it were me. I’m planning my dream trip to Italy one day, and this book gave me some great ideas 🙂

There are seven Chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. He has divided the country into a general overview, North Italy, Central Italy, South Italy, and the Islands.  Each gets its own description and list of recommended locations.  In addition to brief descriptions, he also throws in the fun fact here and there  to spice up your trip.

The book is a little simple, and he doesn’t include directions or tell you how to reach these spots. And it’s usually recommending a larger area (this city, that pot), so specifics like where to find dinner or shop aren’t here.  That will be up to you. But it is a good place to find ideas if you want to get a good look at all the different areas in the country.

Writing style: Pretty good. Some of the writing could have been edited better, but I feel that with a decent editor it would read like a professional.  Mr. Cortes has written several other books, and is obviously familiar with the writing process.  The book is self-published, and you can tell in some places. But overall, I really liked the flow and all the information he includes. A lot of people seem to have really appreciated his use of pictures – he has one for almost all of the major locations. It certainly helps you find them on the streets. 

If you are planning a trip to Italy, I recommend checking his book out.  You can find it on Amazon as a cheap E-book ($2.99) so you can carry it with you as you tour 🙂

BUY ON AMAZON

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Chinese Health Concerns

17 Nov

You know you drink too much soda when . . . the gas station cashier gives you a free bottle of water and looks disapprovingly at your drink selection. All the while telling you, “tsk tsk . . . water have more power.”  0_0

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First Trip to Zhengzhou

7 Sep

Last Thursday we took our first trip into Zhengzhou,

a large city about 1 hours drive from Xinzheng, my new hometown.  Xinzheng is considered a rural farming town out here in China, but it actually boasts of about 600,000 people living here.  While it has a ton of normal shopping, the prices can be a little high and the variety of items is small.  Consequently, a lot of the foreigners and students prefer to go into the much larger Zhengzhou (8 Million Inhabitants ~ the size of New York City) for a greater selection of products and more opportunities for bartering prices down.  

One of the things Zhengzhou offers that Xinzheng doesn’t is a far larger number or walk-in clinics, including one that works solely on Job Physicals or Physicals required by Visa Applications.  So this past week we were sent into Zhengzhou to visit the clinic to have our physicals for the Permanent Residency.  This was really our first major foray outside of the College Campus, since we have been so busy moving in and settling down.  It didn’t help that classes were starting last Monday and we had to instantly jump into lesson planning.  But all that aside, this was really our first adventure and we soaked up  every minute of it.  I’ll post more about the physical itself later, but here are a few things we noticed in our drive through the city:

The Traffic is INSANE!  

Two lane roads that suddenly have five lanes of cars, scooter and taxis driving down the sidewalks, huge poles holding up the overpasses above suddenly appearing in the middle of a driving lane, no merging lanes, and a complete disregard for any road signs contributes to what seems like absolute chaos.  It’s truly amazing that there are not more accidents than we saw.  There are NO traffic laws ~ at one point we had a four way corner with cars going from each corner all at the same time, crossing three lanes of traffic in any given direction. The only exception is that you are responsible for everything in front of you.  Conversely, you don’t have to look behind you at all, whoever is behind you is responsible for not hitting you.  It’s pretty confusing, but they work it out. Makes for a lot of butting into lines.  

Crazy Drivers ignoring the lanes
I couldn’t snap fast enough to get the hold picture, but these two lanes meet at the bottom.
It doesn’t help that they tell you how long til the light changes. All the cars just get impatient and jump the light.
Scooters and bikes take up a shocking amount of room!

Continue reading →

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Seoul Storytelling Tour

30 Jun
Gwanghwamun Square

Image of the square mainstreet square of Gwanghwamun leading up to Gyeongbokgung Palace

I so wish I could take my mom to do this, the tour sounds like a lot of fun!

Seoul Metropolitan Government has established the Seoul Storytelling Mission Tour, which runs from July 27 to October 2014. There is a new tour every week, and there will be English, Chinese, and Japanese variations.  

Once every week, international tourists or foreign residents can participate in the tour as it slowly walks them through many of the city’s attractions.  Stops include Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (beautiful area), Gwanghwamun Square (best palace in the city), Yeouido Hangang Park (picnic heaven), and others.  As part of the event, each participant will be given various assignments such as photographing certain locations.  So it’s kind of like a scavenger hunt!

Sign up quick!  Only the first 100 people to register can participate!

DATE: July 27- October

COST: Free!!

WHERE TO REGISTER:  http://www.seoulstory.org/article/notice/184?pageindex=1 

MORE INFORMATION: Website

Program

Route

Seoul City Wall Course

Marronnier Park → Ihwa Mural Village → Naksan Park →
Hansung University Station (Seoul Subway Line 4)

Dongdaemun

Dongdaemun Design Plaza → Dongdaemun Gate (Heunginjimun Gate) →
Pyounghwa (Pyeonghwa) Fashion Town

Sejongdaero Hangeul Gaon-gil

Gwanghwamum Square → Gyeongbokgung Palace → Sejongno Park →
Sejong Center → The Korean Language Institute → Dorim Forest Park

Hanseong Baekje Cultural Heritage

Olympic Park World Peace Gate → Gommaldali Birdge →
Mongchontoseong Fortress → Hanseong Baekje Museum → The sky Garden

Hangang River

[Yeouido] Yeouido Hangang Park → Nogeumsu Plaza →
Night View from Mapo Bridge → Water Light Square → Seogangdaegyo Bridge
[Banpo] Banpo Hangang Park Moonlight Square → Floating Island →
Media Art Gallery → Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain

 

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Feels Like Home

10 Feb

Irish Parliament, nearly identical to US White House

When traveling, it feels kind of amazing when you stumble across a little bit of home clear across an ocean.  

Maybe it’s a person. A Toronto native bumps into a San Franciscan in China, and suddenly they’re next door neighbors separated since birth.  Immediately it’s all, “oh have you ever been to Chicago, why yes I went when I was 2–oh my gosh, I was there when I was five, how’d you like it?!?”  

Familiar brands can also catch your eye, a McDonald’s, Marriott Hotel,  or Motorola. Even when you never actually bought them back home, they seem a little comforting.   Personally, I never buy from Cold Stone Creamery.  My mother’s parents used to own an ice cream store, and we’ve all eaten our fill of the heavy cream desserts.  Too much, and it gets a little sickening. So instead, whenever we eat Ice Cream we make our own.  But I used to hang with a group of friend who liked to stop there. So on a hot day alone in Korea, Cold Stone Creamery seems awfully comforting. Purely because at that very moment, someone I know might be doing the same thing.

It’s the felling of connection that matters. Homesickness isn’t a craving for home, it’s a craving for the connectedness of home. Despite what many non-travelers think, we usually aren’t really wishing we were at home instead.  We don’t want to abandon our trips abroad or regret taking off on an adventure.  Really, it isn’t home we’re looking for at all, it’s just that sense that you are bonded to the world around you that gets lost sometimes. The feeling that you matter, that you are part of the events around you instead of just a stranger wandering through. That feeling that, if needed, home and friends are just around the corner.  You don’t want to go back to home, it’s just that home needs to be brought to you. Usually, what we really need is a sign that home can still be found right were we are.

For me, this summer that connection was a little flyer I picked up in Japan.  I’d been there nearly 3 weeks and I was starting to miss home and family a bit.  On my way back from school, I ran across an ad for the theatrical version of Kuroshitsuji in a Gas Station.

Kuroshitsuji

You may not recognize the name, but Kuroshitsuji was an anime my best friends and I used to watch in college.  Whenever college or finals or life got to be too much, the four of us would all get together and watch whatever episodes were out. If nothing new was up, we’d watch re-runs. It got us through deaths, failed classes, broken hearts, lost jobs, family fights, and 21-credit semesters. It’s actually a surprisingly angsty show, which allowed us to get all teary-eyed and dramatic without looking like idiots in real life. But it also had characters like the insane, safety-scissor waving, cross-dressing death god who we all adored.  I actually watched a lot of anime in college, but I never met anyone in Japan who recognized my shows or saw anything talking about them.  So to find this little ad for Kuroshitsuji meant a lot to me. Admittedly, it was Japanese in nature, but to me it connected Japan to home.  I ran to the hotel and messaged my friends all about it, and for a little bit I got to squeal with them about something we all recognized.  I felt reunited, just enough to remind me that home wasn’t really that far away.  In fact, I could still find some parts of it as far away as I was.

So for those of you who are travelling abroad, and are reaching that point where you just need a home-sized hug, look around you. Maybe you aren’t looking for something in the U.S. (or whatever nation you’re from); maybe you just need to find something familiar.  Think back to what made you fall in love with the idea of visiting this country? Don’t focus on what you don’t have. Focus on the one think in your life that lives in both locations. You will always be able to find something that looks at you and screams: “You Know Me!” It’s the familiarity that matters.

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Seoul Grand Park Zoo

23 Nov

Random photos from my trip to the Seoul’s Grand Park Zoo!  Great place to take your kids 🙂 Just make sure you have run and play clothes cause the kids like to hit the fountains, play areas, etc. 

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Subway Stop: Seoul Grand Park

Subway Directions: Take Line 4  to the Seoul Grand Park stop (i.e. toward Oido) and follow Exit 2.

 If you look at the subway map here, it is the 7th stop after crossing the river.

ONWARD TO THE ZOO!!

When you take Exit 2, you will see a long walkway in front of you. All you have to do is go straight  until you come to the big fountain and the building behind it that says zoo.

Exit from Subway
Entrance Building

There is a little ticket booth at the big building, where you buy a shuttle ticket for 1,000 Won.  Go through the gates and get on the shuttle; the zoo will be on your first stop.  Check out the map below for directions.

Shuttle
Yay! So Exciting 🙂
Hard to miss the big tiger at the entrance.

 

From there it’s all fun and games and pet-the-animals 🙂  After you enter the zoo grounds, there are red, yellow, blue, and green lines painted on the paths. Each one is a different route, and you can pick and chose which you want to follow via the maps.  I ran up the Blue and Green paths, which took me past the big wild animals (Bear, Tigers, Elephants, etc.), ocean/marine animals, and a few other odds and ends. Plus I got to hit the HUGE ski lift which carried me down the mountain over the tiger/cheetah/lion exhibits and some gardens; an amazing experience.  I am seriously going back there just to ride the ski lift again.  I also like it cause it gives the kids something fun to do on the way down without making them walk all the way back down the mountain when they’re tired.  With my undying distaste for anything snake related, I always avoid the reptiles and birds weren’t really high on my list; however that all available as well.  

Water Pond
I won this stare contest!
Stupid Cheetahs wouldn’t turn around.
But the lions were out to play
Roaring Lion
It was feeding time for these luck fellows
Come early enough to catch a show!
They spent most of their time in the bath
This is the kind of guy I was lucky enough to see in the wild in Japan-rare sighting.

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Wall of Travels

16 Sep

Wall of Travels

I make no bones about the fact that I am a very, very poor law student. And by poor, I mean macaroni & cheese eating, ramen-guzzling, hold off on air-conditioning until 100+ degrees poor.  So when I have the opportunity to travel abroad, I get down on my knees and thank God for the money to pay for the hotel.  I’m incredibly lucky if I can pick up a few presents for my family and friends, but souvenirs. . . not real high on my list of what is worth spending money on (like food, and, you know, museum fees).

Then there’s the fact that I’m moving in less than a year, hopefully abroad, and that means GARAGE SALE!  Woot, woot! I get to get rid of all my stuff/treasures or figure out how to pay for a storage unit for it all.  Adding to the stuff I have to get rid of is hardly an incentive when looking at the prospect of buying souvenirs. If it isn’t worth keeping in a storage unit; it’s not worth buying in the first place.

And none of this takes into consideration the issue of packing. . . . I’m a professional packer. No, seriously, people should pay me to pack for them.  I came home last summer with 1 suitcase at 49.3 lbs and the other at 49.7 lbs on a 50 lb. free luggage limit (the guy at check-in was incredibly impressed 😛 ).  This summer, it cost me a pair of holey shoes, a few underwear-related items, and a buttload of beauty products but I got my suitcase through at 48.8 lbs.  But I’ve had a friend who insisted on buying so much stuff she had to leave some souvenirs behind and it broke her heart. So I’m always a little cautious about buying things that will either break in transportation or weigh too much entirely.

Instead, I’ve stumbled upon the beauty of postcards.  Usually people buy postcards to give away or to mail back home, but I actually like to keep them.  I have a few rules before buying a postcard:

  • It has to depict something I’ve actually seen — i.e. the building, the artifact, etc.
  • It has to have been bought at the place where I saw it/or at a related place on the same day (If I’m visiting a bunch of temples in one day, I might pick up a package at one that has a picture of several I visit that day).  
  • It has to be worthwhile–a picture of the airport doesn’t count 😛
  • I don’t get a bunch of the same place. I have to choose what is the best image.

I’ve actually been collecting postcards for several years now, and each one has a special memory attached to it. I’ve got everything from the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, to one of the churches in Savannah, Georgia, to a dolphin I saw at the zoo in Seoul.  I have cards from the whirlwind tour my aunt, mom, and I took when looking at colleges where we covered the greater East Coast through Texas in 2 weeks.  There are cards of the trip my mom, aunt, and I take on their birthday (they each have one in the same week) every year (we’ve gone all over the US).  I have some from China, and from the temples of Japan.   

Here you an see some of the places I visited in Japan and China. I actually really like the hand-painted ones!
The bottom and top left are temples in Kyoto; while the top left is the Tienanmen Gate in Beijing
I walked the path between the bamboo forest here, and I’ve stood on the lake of the Golden temple.
It took forever to find the fire-lit emblem on the mountain seen on the top left, but it was definitely worthwhile. And the gold statues on the bottom left me in utter awe for several hours. Each is entirely different from any other.
Here are some of my favorites from the US and Ireland. The Texas one is from the college tour I took with my aunt and mom when piking colleges.

But I don’t just collect post-cards; I also save some small gifts that I’ve been given during my travels.  For example, the Red, yellow and blue fan was a present from a tourist-helper on a particularly hot day when I was dying of heat.  There is a small, pocket-sized good luck charm someone gave me before my exams in Japan when I visited a local temple.  There is also a sheet of paper I was given at the book expo in Seoul; the guy hand printed it with a replica of the world’s first movable type printing press.  

Note my name up at the top; a lovely Chinese man spent 20+ minutes helping me find my name in the list.
You can see the bears from the Teddy Bear museum in Seoul, artifacts from the Seoul National Museum, and the Boat that I visited in Yokohama Japan.
These fans are dear to my hear. One is a traditional Korean fan; one is traditional Japanese. Both are beautiful and connected with my love of history.

I’ve been working on this wall for 4+ years now, and finally I have completed one portion of the wall!  You can’t really see it, but I’ve filled up the rest of the wall with some hand-outs I’ve gotten from temples, a timeline of Korean history I got at a museum, etc.  None of it cost me more than $3; many were gifts.  They are flat and easily transported when I move; and they connect so carefully with all of my happy memories of these places.  I hope to continue gathering my collection until I can fill up all 4 walls of my room.  Each one a great memory; reminding me of the best of my trips and encouraging me to carry onward in the future.

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I’m Back!

27 Jul

Have I got stories for you! China is just a fabulous place to visit!! I had such an amazing time visiting with and learning from these amazing people. Their kindness to my group was immeasurable; I cannot even being to tell how wonderful everything was.  And this next couple weeks I’ll start updating with pics, stories, and reviews.  But to give you a little taste; here are some of the cool things I saw and did!

When you see pics of the Great Wall that show people smiling on a flat terrain; they lie. It was death by a thousand stairs dead upmountain. My ghost is writing this.
Visited a Jade Factory!
The Mountains of China–Beautiful
Temple of Heavenly Peace
Tienanmen Square
Imperial Palace where emperors reigned!
One of 2 summer palaces–the empress’ vacation home
Rode the Dragon Boats!
Ancient Culture Street
Pandas!!!!!

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Sayonara Japan!

12 Jun

Two days ago, I officially made my sad goodbyes to the wonderful people I met in Kyoto.  I had the opportunity to meet some amazing folks, both in the program (like my absolutely fabulous roommate) and on the streets of the city itself (like our totally sweet and awesome hair cutter/stylist at the Noel Salon on Shijo-dori near the corner of Shijo and Senbon–you should definitely check her out).  I got some amazing pictures and great adventures were had by all 🙂  Everything from washing our hair in Shampoo and then Body Wash because it looked like Conditioner (stupid look alike bottles) to finding a restaurant that offered Beef Tongue and Grilled Horse meat (true story–it also served beef gristle; you know the stuff you cannot eat off your steak?!?).   We got lost so many times, but every time met someone or ran into some awesome landmark that made up for it.  We found new favorite restaurants (Anri in Porta at Kyoto Station is DELICIOUS!), favorite hang-outs (loved wandering around the riverside at Arashiyama), and new best friends.  

To Japan: I Salute You For A Wonderful Time!

View of Kyoto from Kyoto Tower
I rode the JR Line to many locations, everything from temples to shopping 🙂 Good old reliable Japanese train lines!
The Tokufuji Temple view. I’ll miss the gorgeous landscapes!
Kyoto Tower–you can always find your way by this giant landmark
Water Lilies/Lotus flowers blooming this time of year are stunning in Kyoto ponds
Kiyomizu-dera Temple–definitely a must see!
The many, many, many taxis lined up at Kyoto Station to whisk people away to happy vacations!
Chishaku-in Gardens –> A lovely place to rest and relax, so many of these calm places in Japan to rest your spirits.
The artwork in Japan is stunning, especially the ancient paintings.
Temple Gardens in Kyoto are some of the prettiest I’ve seen
Sanjo Street where I lived. You were good to me!
Fushimi Inari. Long-assed hike up the mountain, but a beautiful vista along the way. Lined with the famous Torri statues.
The Golden Pavilion, incredibly famous spot in Kyoto, and well worth the visit.
Who can forget the yummy, but beautiful food. Truly a work of art here in Japan!
These Torri statues are found by the thousands at Fushimi Inari, but they area also the gateways to many temples and shrines in the area. There’s one on nearly every street and they range in all sizes.

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