Guide to UNESCO World Heritage Sites
It has been an amazing ride, but the time has come for me to move on. I know it is kind of a cliché, but it really is NOT you, and it really IS me (well, mostly). You have been lovely for the last four years, but I just want to try something new. I know these break up letters are usually filled with lies to ‘let you down easy’ and not ‘hurt you further,’ but I think you deserve the truth.
Size does Matter Read more
I mentioned this a few times before, but my recent trip to Japan’s Kansai region marked my second time in that region. The first time, I was flying solo, so I definitely wanted Sidney to see some of my favorite spots and show her why I fell in love with Japan. This included revisiting Kyoto and Nara. For myself though, this post about ‘keeping the same country fresh’ inspired me to try something different and look a bit deeper to see if I missed something amazing.
My research stage before a trip involves a lot of trailing off, which lets my mind wander. Are there good onsens nearby? No dice. Maybe cool monkeys? Too far north. Then I remembered a story I read about the completion of a Shinto shrine in Japan last year. Is that nearby? Turns out, it was only an hour away from Nara, or two hours if Japanese transportation still completely baffles you.
About five years ago, a very good friend of mine told me about this wonderful trip she was about to take: Six months across Asia, mostly couchsurfing. Naturally, I worried about her safety, but wished her the best. Six months passed and everything went without a hitch as my curiosity grew. My preconceptions of the ‘dangerous world’ were thrown into question. Although I already had an account, it was time to actually give couchsurfing a try.
[For those of you who are not part of the 5.5 million strong membership, here is a brief. Couchsurfing is a community of people who are curious of travelers from all over the world and offer their home, (or sometimes, literally their couch) as accommodation, free of charge. The idea is that the host will get an enriching experience from meeting a new person and in turn, the ‘surfer’ will get to meet a local as a cultural exchange. The terms are completely arranged person to person. Many serve as hosts while in their home country, and are surfers while abroad.] Read more
Coming back from a trip is the perfect time to reflect on what has been learned. Travel, like pretty much anything in life, is something you refine the more you do it and (hopefully) become better at it. This last adventure abroad came with one of the most important lessons to date: There are times when you don’t have to be THAT cheap.
I spent the last 2 weeks in the Kansai region of my favorite country thus far, Japan. We got around to see Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Koyasan, and Ise. Having visited this region two years ago, I kind of knew how much money would be needed. I purposefully brought less cash than required in a bid to use my travel credit card a bit more to accumulate points and limit how much cash I had left over. Nothing sucks more than knowing you are losing money by exchanging into a foreign currency, and then changing the unused cash back.
The first snag was upon realizing that many places in Japan simply don’t accept credit cards. Shocking for one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world. I am not talking about ice cream stands or mom and pop shops. Many convenience stores, shops, and even the train stations (Nankai) were cash only. Read more
Visited: Mar 2011, Sept 2012, Apr 2013, Oct 2013
Site Type: Cultural
Inscribed: 1997
Background and Opinion:
Changdeokgung was built in the early 1400s (like 1411 or 12, I forget) as a secondary palace to my absolute favorite place in all of Korea, Gyeongbok Palace. It was totally a back-up place to stuff the in-laws when the king was just not having it or was in a generally bad mood. Read more