Tour the world

Saturday, 1 March 2014

A city and culture as old as the land itself.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Kyoto

Thursday, 27 February 2014

Seoul - Soul of Asia

It's been a long while since my last post, two years in fact. Pretty damn long and I can only blame it on time constraints. You know, life happened and well, I kinda grew up.

Ha, not really - I actually have been doing heaps of travel. Haven't updated because, brb, was busy hiking Angkor Wat and cruising down the Mekong.

So in this post, I'm going to highlight June 2013, when I went to Seoul, Korea.

숭 례 문 (Namdaemun)

Seoul is an ancient city but unlike its counterparts, Seoul is high spirited and energetic. Home to most of South Korea's Chaebol(s) (재벌), i.e Hyundai and Samsung, this city is the heartbeat of the nation. In the recent past, Seoul played host to the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, amongst others. With a massive 5-star airport in service and two mega-airlines (Asiana Airlines being one of the 7 only five-star Airlines of the world), Seoul is prepared for anything. Anything.

K-pop has grown rapidly in the past decade. What was called the Korean wave (한류) now seemed more like a Korean Tsunami, bringing Korean pop culture to the shores of every country in the world. Seoul is very well ready to receive the millions of foreigners traveling to Korea, and maybe even claim the title for "World's Most Exciting City".

Seoul

Itaewon District

Myeong-Dong

Central Seoul

Traditional Korean Palace

Being one of the most advanced cities in the world, Seoul's technology is unparalleled. In the next few years, ultra-smart homes will be introduced. The whole house functions with just an LCD screen. See below.

Ultra-smart

Korean Technology Museum

Of course, the city will never lose it's old "Seoul" - pun intended.

Oh, just random people in traditional gear roaming the streets

Koreans are very proud of their city and rightful so - if I was a Korean, heck I'd be proud too. Korean pride is evident all around the city, especially the Seoul City Hall.

"Citizens, remember, you are somebody's hero"

"While we're at it, have a really large national flag"

No, but in all seriousness, other city halls can learn a thing or two from Seoul. See that tsunami-like building at the background - that's the new city hall. Talk about a Korean Tsunami.

National Hero - Psy

The Real National Hero - King Sejong the Great

Admiral Yi Sun-Sin and a very grumpy Korean tourist

Admiral Yi Sun-Sin and an overly happy fangirl

We're at about halfway through this post and I feel that it's the right time to address the elephant in the room and what many of you may have been wondering. Yes, plastic surgery is big in Seoul. Posters promoting "the best surgeon" for "the best job" is all over the subway stations.

Hmm

not sure if plastic or....

But hey, I'm not complaining. No problems with pretty-looking girls whatsoever. My problem is at the 38th parallel. The Korean De-Militarised Zone, the DMZ.

A couple of miles away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul lies the border to North Korea.

The situation in this area is tense and its sad that political differences are separating families and dividing a culture apart.

Cut us some slack, Mr Kim and lets reunite Korea

Love food, not war, Kim. I mean, Korean food - who can resist?!

But yeah, the next time you plan a trip - do consider Seoul, you won't regret it - these six people didn't!

Group Photo 1

Group Photo 2

Group Photo without Korean pose

Group Photo with Korean Pose

Welcome to Seoul. The soul of Asia.

Sunday, 1 July 2012

Hong Kong.

Hong Kong, where to begin?

Located in the heart of Asia, at the crossroads between mega-economies China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and India, lies a few tiny islands that makes up the special administrative region of Hong Kong. Tiny, but one of the most influential cities in the world.

Hong Kong, what's it like?

Think about any sci-fi movies you might've seen (that's the Star Wars trilogy for me) . In it, there will always be that one megapolis with soaring skyscrapers and flying cars (that's Coruscant for me). Now, hold that image in your mind and minus the flying cars, you can then get a glimpse of Hong Kong's cityscape. More or less.

Hong Kong has the most number of skyscrapers than any other city in the world. Enough said.

Hong Kong, who lives there?

A former British colony, Hong Kong is now a special administrative region of China. It has a very diverse population with many different cultures but the chinese are still the largest ethnic group.

Hong Kong, what's the buzz?

My first trip to Hong Kong was back in January 2011. It was spectacular, so much that I went back again in February 2012. A few travelers I met said that 4-5 days was just about enough to cover HK and I shouldn't spend too long there. That's odd because 2 weeks was nowhere enough for me!

When I think of HK, I think of all the amazing food and urban culture the city has to offer. Truly, HK is a photographer's paradise if you are a night-skyline enthusiastic. Here's some pictures I took, to summarize what I thought of HK;

Food