We woke up at 4 a.m. to leave Bogor before rush hour. Our taxi picked us at 5 a.m. and we reached Jakarta Airport within an hour. After 4 long days in Indonesia, our trip had finally begun. Given the distances and time constraints, we opted for a private tour (Backyard Travel) of Java —…
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The minute we boarded the flight to Jakarta from Hong Kong, I was amazed by the cultural diversity of the people onboard and felt welcome by their smiles. We clubbed our trip with Basil’s conference (in Bogor) and our route would take us through an exploratory journey of Java (from Jakarta to Surabaya via Yogyakarta). …
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Escape from Seoul In January, Seoul was hit by a cold wave and I desperately needed a break. Tokyo’s weather report recorded temperatures above 0 °C and that was good enough for me to accompany Basil on his business trip. The weather played spoilsport on the day of our departure and our flight was delayed by…
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Getting there: We boarded Bus 3000, outside Hongik University Station, at around 8 am. It takes about an hour and half to reach Ganghwa Bus Terminal. From here, you can take a bus to Cheongryeonsa Temple (청련사) or Baengnyeonsa Temple (백련사). It’s good to know the route before your hike. I had shortlisted the Cheongryeonsa…
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We don’t have a trip planned for the next few months and I really needed one — to escape the daily rut. I decided to become a tourist, in Seoul, and explore around. With nature playing along, it wasn’t too difficult to discover some fantastic places. I think, I may have taken it too far…
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The first week of April marks the return of cherry blossoms to Seoul. After weeks of grey skies, bad air, and bare trees; it was time to get high on pink. This year, I decided to join the herds of cherry blossom chasers across the city. I’d have to become a tourist for that and willingly…
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In August 2017, we travelled across Central Mongolia over a period of 10 days. Our journey took us through National Parks, a lush forest, desolate valleys, nondescript towns, forgotten cities, and of course Ulaanbaatar. It was a trip of a lifetime and it has taken me a rather long time to complete our account (link of story so far)…
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Saying goodbye is never easy… It was the fifth day of our trip across Central Mongolia. After spending two nights with a family of nomads and roughing it in gers; it was time to head back to Karakorum — the ancient capital of Mongolia. We would cover a distance of 130 km, along bumpy country…
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Mongolia’s national airline, MIAT Mongolian Airlines, connects Seoul to Ulaanbataar in 3 hours. However, bad weather and turbulence can cause frequent flight delays or a longer flight duration. We reached Ulaanbaatar rather late on a wet Saturday evening. We took a cab and reached the heart of the city in about 30 minutes. Outside…
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Getting Around When you’re travelling in Saigon or Hanoi, you’d be constantly reminded, by well-meaning hotel staff, to take care of your backpacks and avoid flashing mobile phones or fancy digital cameras. It can make you more cautious than necessary. Honestly, I think the rules of travel are applicable anywhere in the world. As a…
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