I blame the three month hiatus on my never-ending assignments and work commitments. A new school semester always meant an overwhelming amount of workload, but I'm glad that's out of the way!
So much has happened in these past five months since South Korea (wew, how time flies), and I'm finally getting around to blog about the visuals captured then. I went to Korea at the start of December back then, which also meant it was nearing the end of the Autumn foliages.
I can't write much about Korea because I didn't extensively plan out the trip, nor did I go out of the way to save on transport. I pretty much booked everything on Klook.
So, here's just the visuals. Don't you love the soft hues of this travel photo set?
After this first trip to South Korea, I would definitely go back again for the shopping. But as someone who doesn't really chase a lot of K-dramas, K-pop stars or know much Korean aside from "kamsahamida" and "oppa" (lol what a selective dictionary), I struggled pretty much everywhere I went...
Technically at places like Myeong Dong or hipster spots, you can get by with English or Chinese. But while at the Gwangjang Market, where many of the stalls were run by ahjummas, it was difficult to order or get seats in the popular-among-locals shops. I only got to have the local experience because a South Korean that hosted me from couchsurfing was guiding, and that also got me to try raw beef + egg and mungbean pancake with lots of soju. It was pretty awesome.
I have always been one to attempt learning a bit of the country's language and culture before one's travel but I just went to Korea without thinking too much about it. I still survived though, but I think I'll try to learn a bit of Korean next time. Maybe the ahjummas and taxi drivers will be more patient with me then LOL.
So yes, it was also in Korea (and Taiwan) that I had my first go at couchsurfing, and I'd say it was a pleasant experience!! But I'll get into that in another post another day, because I'm about to couchsurf yet again.
Just three days ago, I had this sudden craving for Japan's convenience store foods. I suddenly missed being in Japan, so I thought "hmm okay let me check the flights there", because air ticket prices have always been successful in pulverising all my hopes and dreams of travelling spontaneously.
But not this time. The return tickets to Japan were only $300; $200 if I were to claim my miles. Have you ever seen flight tickets to Japan this cheap?? No. It was a calling. Someone heard my plea.
I started looking for hosts on Couchsurfing, and the moment I found one that was able to host me, I immediately booked my flight. And that's the story of how I'm jetting off to Japan in a couple of hours to get my hands on the convenience store foods that I so crave. And I can work on my own Japan photobook that I've been aching to do too.
After four years, I'm finally going on another solo trip!! I have actually been wanting to do this since last year, but I just wasn't able to. Now that my freelance works are mostly cleared (at least for the next two weeks), there's no better time to do it. Plus, considering everything that has been going on, I thought I ought to give myself some space.
This feeling of nervousness and excitement about travelling solo and at the drop of the hat, I didn't know I missed it until now.
Funny how I was in Japan less than five months ago and now I'm heading back haha. It's going to be my forth time there, so I'd say I'm pretty confident and familiar with the getting around and whatnot. This time though, I'm planning to backpack the entire trip. I'll probably just cover two or three mainstream cities since I want to interact with my hosts more, but as of now I'm planning to travel Japan the way I did New Zealand - by taking each day as it comes.
It's not the peak period now either, so accommodations and everything else will be easy. The goal is to spend only $1k (including flight) for 14 days. Will I be able to do it??
I guess I will soon find out. And it's going to be fun. I look forward to writing an entry on backpacking Japan and my experiences with couchsurfing. Heh.
Check out my other travel posts:
▶ 33 Days Around Japan, Korea and Taiwan
▶ Autumn Foilages in South Korea
▶ Postcards from Taiwan - Jiufen and Keelung City
So much has happened in these past five months since South Korea (wew, how time flies), and I'm finally getting around to blog about the visuals captured then. I went to Korea at the start of December back then, which also meant it was nearing the end of the Autumn foliages.
I can't write much about Korea because I didn't extensively plan out the trip, nor did I go out of the way to save on transport. I pretty much booked everything on Klook.
So, here's just the visuals. Don't you love the soft hues of this travel photo set?
After this first trip to South Korea, I would definitely go back again for the shopping. But as someone who doesn't really chase a lot of K-dramas, K-pop stars or know much Korean aside from "kamsahamida" and "oppa" (lol what a selective dictionary), I struggled pretty much everywhere I went...
Technically at places like Myeong Dong or hipster spots, you can get by with English or Chinese. But while at the Gwangjang Market, where many of the stalls were run by ahjummas, it was difficult to order or get seats in the popular-among-locals shops. I only got to have the local experience because a South Korean that hosted me from couchsurfing was guiding, and that also got me to try raw beef + egg and mungbean pancake with lots of soju. It was pretty awesome.
I have always been one to attempt learning a bit of the country's language and culture before one's travel but I just went to Korea without thinking too much about it. I still survived though, but I think I'll try to learn a bit of Korean next time. Maybe the ahjummas and taxi drivers will be more patient with me then LOL.
So yes, it was also in Korea (and Taiwan) that I had my first go at couchsurfing, and I'd say it was a pleasant experience!! But I'll get into that in another post another day, because I'm about to couchsurf yet again.
Just three days ago, I had this sudden craving for Japan's convenience store foods. I suddenly missed being in Japan, so I thought "hmm okay let me check the flights there", because air ticket prices have always been successful in pulverising all my hopes and dreams of travelling spontaneously.
But not this time. The return tickets to Japan were only $300; $200 if I were to claim my miles. Have you ever seen flight tickets to Japan this cheap?? No. It was a calling. Someone heard my plea.
I started looking for hosts on Couchsurfing, and the moment I found one that was able to host me, I immediately booked my flight. And that's the story of how I'm jetting off to Japan in a couple of hours to get my hands on the convenience store foods that I so crave. And I can work on my own Japan photobook that I've been aching to do too.
After four years, I'm finally going on another solo trip!! I have actually been wanting to do this since last year, but I just wasn't able to. Now that my freelance works are mostly cleared (at least for the next two weeks), there's no better time to do it. Plus, considering everything that has been going on, I thought I ought to give myself some space.
This feeling of nervousness and excitement about travelling solo and at the drop of the hat, I didn't know I missed it until now.
Funny how I was in Japan less than five months ago and now I'm heading back haha. It's going to be my forth time there, so I'd say I'm pretty confident and familiar with the getting around and whatnot. This time though, I'm planning to backpack the entire trip. I'll probably just cover two or three mainstream cities since I want to interact with my hosts more, but as of now I'm planning to travel Japan the way I did New Zealand - by taking each day as it comes.
It's not the peak period now either, so accommodations and everything else will be easy. The goal is to spend only $1k (including flight) for 14 days. Will I be able to do it??
I guess I will soon find out. And it's going to be fun. I look forward to writing an entry on backpacking Japan and my experiences with couchsurfing. Heh.
Check out my other travel posts:
▶ 33 Days Around Japan, Korea and Taiwan
▶ Autumn Foilages in South Korea
▶ Postcards from Taiwan - Jiufen and Keelung City
