Mori Art Museum is located in Tokyo’s upscale Roppongi Hills. It’s not too difficult to find, given the number of signboards and maps that are placed at regular intervals. A winding staircase (with a glass facade) in Mori Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, leads to the main ticketing area. I bought a combined ticket for…
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In the seventies, my parents and my toddler brother set out to explore a foreign land. Their expat life was short-lived, but their stories lasted for a lifetime. As a young kid who hadn’t travelled at all, I found their stories to be alluring. I was hooked by a life that was alien to the…
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A year back, roughly around this time, I was a bundle of jittery nerves and two jelly feet. As July approached, so did my anxiety of having to relocate to a new country. The positive effect of living for two months in Seoul (April and May) — in preparation for the actual move — had…
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On most prominent public holidays, Seoul resembles a zombie town. I’d only heard about it and never experienced it until Lunar New Year last month. For starters, getting out of Seoul becomes a nightmare. If you have a car, it’s best to leave in the wee hours (around 2 AM) of the morning. For the rest of us…
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After a long sweltering summer, I couldn’t have been happier to welcome October. And as I waited patiently for the temperatures to fall, leaves to turn, and magic to descend on the city, I’ve been calling home — for half a year; Basil got a few days off. The timing couldn’t have been more wrong.…
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There are many things I love about Korea. Undoubtedly, mountains top the list of my favourites. Unlike walking, hiking has never been easy for me. Often, I’ve let my fear of heights get the better of me and have given in to defeat without a honest fight. And that’s why, I admire those rocky peaks —…
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Summer brings in a new phase of festivities in Seoul and the rest of the country. From tea tasting at Boseong Green Tea Festival to elaborate reenactments of royal life; there’s a lot take in. It’s probably, a good time for tourists to visit with the weather being moderately warm; never mind an occasional shower.…
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Most of Seoul’s sidewalks are dwarfed by towering high rises. Fortunately, there still remain few spots in the city — dominated by red brick walls or painted graffiti. Not visible in plain sight, searching for these hidden gems, often involves climbing steep, curving alleys. While some of these might be listed as tourist hot spots, there…
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It was Basil’s fourth visit to Seoul and the first for me. Here’s what we didn’t expect. There are way too many places to discover, hike, or dine. It was hard to choose and we opted for sights that seemed mandatory. With Basil working during the week, we were left with weekends to explore Seoul – together.…
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It’s not possible to cover the vast expanse of a country like China. Skipping Xi’an from your travel itinerary, might seem like a sensible thing to do, if you’re pressed for time. But, if you’re a culture enthusiast – it might prove to be a mistake. After four days of exhaustive walking in Beijing, we headed to Xi’an, the…
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