Stories from the other side.
It was Christmas morning (2019) and the weather was unusually warm for winter. Our second road trip, in Uzbekistan, would take us from Bukhara to Samarkand. Most tours skip Shakrisabz — cutting down the travel time by a couple of hours. Shakrisabz is a hidden gem and definitely worth a visit. Chor Minor Madrassah We…
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It was the fifth morning of our trip around Uzbekistan. T, our driver, was waiting outside our hotel in Bukhara’s Old Quarter. It was freezing outside and I was thankful for the heating inside the car. We waited patiently for A, our guide, to join us. “Schwarza–anegger,” T remarked as A walked slowly towards the…
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Taipei is a bustling city with a heady mix of natural beauty, spiritualism, and national monuments. The local gastronomy is diverse and famous for its unique ‘Q’ texture. It’s the best entry point to start any trip in Taiwan and proves to be a good base for day trips. We visited Taiwan in the month…
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Getting In We took the early morning flight from Tashkent Domestic Airport to Urgench International Airport. Many international travellers choose Urgench (instead of Tashkent) to begin their multi-city tour of Uzbekistan. After surviving snow flurries and sub-zero temperatures before boarding, we saw the sun rise and bathe the arid land (below) with golden light. It…
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Practical Information Ever since Uzbekistan opened its borders to international tourism, it’s much easier to get a tourist e-visa. The site is relatively easy to figure, even if it has a few problems with speed and functionality. Our middle names didn’t show up on our e-visa, but that didn’t create any problems. However, the Uzbekistan…
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In & Around Suzhou Suzhou is a 30 minute train ride away from Shanghai and I can’t believe that we missed it on our earlier trip to China. Last December, we spent two days in Hangzhou before taking the train to Suzhou. Suzhou is about an hour and half away from Hangzhou. We took the…
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Getting In Hangzhou’s proximity to Shanghai makes it an excellent choice for a weekend trip. High speed trains connect Shanghai to Hangzhou and the total journey is under an hour. We had made online reservations (trip.com) before arriving in China. The great internet wall can be quite challenging without a VPN and it’s wiser to…
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Sunrise at Manseong-ri Coast It was the sixth day of our summer trip around the southern coast of Korea. We woke up early and were lucky to watch sunrise from the bedroom of our pension house. It was the perfect way to kickstart our road trip. We were staying next to the coast of Manseong-ri…
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How Not to Plan a Korea Travel Itinerary There’s a strong Korean Wave (Hallyu) that’s sweeping across the globe. It pulls die-hard Kpop & Kdrama fans from different parts of the world. This wave fuels the billion-dollar Korean skincare industry and Korean tourism. Discerning travellers might find it hard to wade through the tide of…
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Getting There (Jeonju – Gwangju) If you’re not travelling during the peak holiday season or on public/national holidays, it shouldn’t be difficult to book a ticket on the spot. There’s a ticket counter for those who don’t mind waiting in a line. Alternatively, the ticket vending kiosk is pretty simple to use and you can…
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