Mount Moiwas is 532m above sea level. My walk to the top started from the same location as the Maruyama walk a couple of days ago. This was twice the height. There were more people on the walk but it wasn’t that busy. Hikers are very friendly: everyone says hello to you (“konichiwa”). There were … Continue reading / view photos Mount Moiwa and Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art
Category: Culture
Sapporo TV Tower and Moerenuma Park
My plan when I left the hostel was to go to Moerenuma Park. However, the sun was out today. As I passed Sapporo TV Tower, it looked good. So, I decided to go to the top of it for the panoramic views of Sapporo. I saw the length of Odori Park, which I walked along … Continue reading / view photos Sapporo TV Tower and Moerenuma Park
Some candles flicker and some candles fade
Sinéad O’Connor’s lyrics expressed deep emotions and conveyed raw vulnerability. Her powerful, soulful voice — sometimes haunting, sometimes uplifting — brought her songs to life. She wrote about her own life and about the injustices she saw in our world. She was a force of nature, who refused to be crushed. At the beginning of … Continue reading Some candles flicker and some candles fade
Non-stop rain in Seoul
It rained and rained and rained on my last day in South Korea. I searched for some indoor activity and settled on going to the National Museum of Korea. My hostel owner gave me an umbrella and I made my way to the museum by bus and metro. In the photo on the right below, … Continue reading / view photos Non-stop rain in Seoul
War Memorial of Korea
In all my time in Seoul, both before and after going to Busan, I’d stayed in this lovely hostel run by a considerate owner. It was well located, reasonably priced, close to a grocer, and had all the facilities I wanted: washing machine and dryer (both free to use), kitchen, and dining/lounge area. They even … Continue reading / view photos War Memorial of Korea
Into the future at Dongdaemun Design Plaza
After leaving Hongdae, I headed for the futuristic Dongdaemun Design Plaza. It exemplifies Seoul — the most modern of cities I’d been to around the world. It looks like a spaceship and even has an alien-like figure staring at it. There’s not much in the museum or adjoining buildings but the building itself is the … Continue reading / view photos Into the future at Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Hip Hongdae
Named after Hongik University, Hongdae is one of those neighbourhoods that was once cheap to live in and given a new lease of life by artists and musicians until it became impossible to ignore. Gentrification followed and the upmarket brands moved in. Despite that, the area is still known for its indie music scene, urban … Continue reading / view photos Hip Hongdae
Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival
After my taxi journey from the temple to Singyeongju Station, I was standing on the platform waiting for my train. At one point, I heard a train coming. By the time I’d switched on my camera and was ready to take a photo of the train, it flashed by without stopping! The KTX trains are … Continue reading / view photos Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival
Gyeongju – the “museum without walls”.
Gyeongju was the capital of Silla, which, two thousand years ago, was a Korean kingdom located in the southern and central parts of what is now Korea. At one time, Silla was a wealthy country and Gyeongju was the fourth largest city in the world. Some of the remains of the Silla kingdom still exist … Continue reading / view photos Gyeongju – the “museum without walls”.
From the Big Buddha to the fishing village
A scenic way to go to see The Big Buddha statue on Lantau Island is via the Ngong Ping 360 cable car. I was thankful my friend (of Hong Kong origin) suggested getting a ticket online in advance. When I got to the entrance, there was a long queue to buy tickets and only one … Continue reading / view photos From the Big Buddha to the fishing village