One of the most enjoyable parts of travelling is experiencing a moment of serendipity, that is to say coming across something unexpected, or in other words a “happy accident”. During my most recent trip to South Korea the weather was pretty miserable but pausing for shelter on a bridge during a hard downpour yielded a particularly memorable scene…
On Christmas Eve I made the 18 hour journey from Shenzhen to my hometown in the UK; Norwich in Norfolk to spend the festive season at my parents home a little way outside the city center. Unlike last year they knew I was coming so there were no big surprises, only the inevitable jet lag brought on by the 8 hour time shift.
Given my recent busyness I never got a chance to conclude the write-up of my previous mammoth mid-autumn trip around Jiangnan province. The third stop on this epic journey was the world-famous city of Hangzhou which lies about 100 miles southwest of Shanghai and is renowned for its beautiful West Lake as well as other historic sites. To see Hangzhou properly you’ll need at least two or three days – one for the West Lake and the rest for surrounding places of interest. You can hire bicycle very cheaply from bike stations around the city – these come with automatic locks which allow you to hop on and off wherever you like. Don’t forget to take your passport as proof of identity when you…
If you’ve ever spent 12 hours on an uncomfortable bus then you may have some sympathy for my travels last weekend when I visited Yangshuo. Coupled with the discomfort of 5ft long metal bunk beds and poorly surfaced freight roads traversing China’s southern interior then you know you’re in for an unpleasant journey. Experiencing this twice in 3 days was verging on the bounds of my tolerance and I certainly wont be in a hurry to repeat it. That said the destination was just about worth the discomfort! Surrounded by karsk peaks the spectacular back drop of Yangshou is located in Guilin, Guangxi Province, Southern China. My company had arranged a weekend trip there so about 70 of us from various departments piled into…
On my fifth day in South Korea I headed east by train to Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon province, a much quieter affair than Seoul with more of a country feel to it – they obviously don’t see a huge number of westerners here as the stares I got were far more pronounced. I’ve often been mistaken for an American whilst in Korea due to the massive US Army presence there but in general I’ve found people to be a little more gracious if they know you’re not one of them! Arriving around lunchtime it was time to find some food and as Chuncheon is famous for its “dak-galbi” (닭갈비), a spicy stir-fried chicken dish with vegetables (as seen before), it only seemed a…
After a pretty intense beginning to my travels Wednesday was a little more relaxed – I ventured south again to the Seoul’s main tributary, the majestic Han River. As rivers go the Han is very broad at over 1km wide but only 514km long and was historically used as a trade route to China before the country was divided. Today river traffic is mostly limited to tour boats and to that end I took a 1 hour ferry round-trip which was pleasant but rather unremarkable for what could be seen along the river banks (mostly high rise apartments). It probably would have been better to go at night when you can see Seoul on in all its neon glory. Along the rivers northern edge…