After our busy first day in Hong Kong we were excited to continue exploring. Day two started out with a search for a pineapple bun, something our research told us was a must eat for breakfast. It’s essentially a crispy bun with a huge slab of warm butter in the middle. We supplemented our bun with some scrambled eggs and coffee for energy before heading out to Victoria Peak.
Upon our arrival to the cable car that would take us up the mountain to the peak we noticed that the weaving line seemed to extend for a mile and was filled with people anxiously awaiting their turn to get to the top. Though we felt some reservations about going through with our plan for the day, we decided to stick it out and wait in line. In hindsight I’m really glad we did. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and the view from the lookout really is spectacular with the lush green of the mountain meeting the cityscape which is divided by the harbor. We decided to take our time and soak in the views for as along as possible before heading back down.
After Victoria Peak our goal was to find the Man Mo Temple in Central. We strolled through the streets of Hong Kong appreciating all of the shops and restaurants along the way. We were in no particular hurry to get to the temple. When we did arrive, we realized that it was under construction, though this didn’t stop us from taking a peek inside.
The Man Mo Temple was beautiful. Spiraled incense hung from the ceiling and hundreds of gold lanterns with red fringe filled the tiny space. I’ll say it time and time again, I never get tired of visiting temples.
Following our visit to the temple we took to the streets once more just wandering and enjoying the sights before stumbling upon antique street. Otherwise known as my happy place. I could have spent the whole day there scouring through every store in search of the perfect item to take home. After an hour I found a cute pair of gold vintage sunglasses and called it a day. On our way back to the ferry we treated ourselves to a scoop of ice cream which couldn’t be ignored.
Day three would be short as we had an evening flight back to Korea, but we had one more market that we wanted to visit. We took the morning to wander a part of the city we hadn’t been to yet, visited the last market on our list, and found our way to the airport.
It was a quick trip, but it opened my eyes to a new city that I fell in love with and absolutely cannot wait to go back to.
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A three-day weekend in Korea called for a quick getaway across the East China Sea where we landed in Honk Kong. It only took about 24 hours for this country to captivate my mind and soul. Hong Kong is the ultimate combination of eastern culture and western convenience. It reminded me of being in New York, but then we would simply turn a corner and be in the middle of a night market. I was hooked.
A cable car took us to the top of the mountain where we walked along a shop and restaurant lined street on our way to the stairway up to the Buddha which is where we discovered the Po Lin Monastery also sits atop the mountain. We wandered our way to the Buddha and slowly made it up 268 stairs to the top where we stayed for nearly an hour soaking in the view from the peak of the mountain and snapping countless photos of the Buddha and the surrounding statues.
Once we were back at sea level we took a long yet relaxing train ride to the Tsim Sha Tsui part of Hong Kong which would be home for the long weekend. We spent the rest of the day sightseeing and exploring the city until late into the night. We ended our day at the famous Temple Street Night Market which lived up to all of the reviews of good shopping and great street food.
Every few weekends or so I find myself wanting to get away from bustling streets of Seoul and Incheon and explore new parts of Korea. That said, the recent start of the warm summer months has really amped-up those feelings and has had me reminiscing of past getaways. One of my favorites from last spring was the day trip some friends and I took to Ganghwado Island in search of azaleas on Goryeosan Mountain.
Once we had made it further inward on the island we realized we were definitely lost and actually traveling away from our destination. At that point, we decided to hop off the bus and trust our luck to catch another bus returning in the direction of the mountain we were so desperate to find. Forty-five minutes, two peeled oranges, one snack sized bag of peanut M&Ms, and a few pictures later we managed to hail a lone taxi that seemed destined to pick us up. After a brief drive we were dropped at an azalea festival which we wandered for a bit before starting our hike up Goryeosan Mountain.
Finally reaching the peak late in the afternoon we were able to take in the sun and the spectacular views of the island. Being from the midwest where even a good sledding hill is rare, seeing the lush mountains that cover Korea is always a breathtaking experience.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m obsessed with cherry blossoms and have been since I was very young. I remember visiting my grandmother’s house growing up and staring out the window into her backyard each spring admiring the beauty of the blossoming trees in bursts of pink and white wishing they could stay that way all year round.
The following day we went straight to Nishiki Market to pick up some souvenirs and a little breakfast, and then we were on our way to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. While the shrine didn’t have many cherry blossoms it was definitely a priority of the weekend.
Just weeks after beginning the new semester at school Chuseok weekend was upon us, and that meant the perfect reason to travel. Chuseok is essentially Korean Thanksgiving, and it allowed us a full five days off of work. While 
The morning started with a walk alongside the Saigon River and a shopping trip to the Binh Tay Market. I’d done a lot of research on the various markets in HCMC as markets tend to be my favorite travel experiences regardless of the city. I’d heard a lot about the Ben Thanh market and that it could be a bit touristy where as Binh Tay was where the locals shopped. I had plans to visit both, but Binh Tay would be first.
Once I made it inside the market I was greeted by two floors of a seemingly endless number of stalls with floor to ceiling merchandise including almost anything you could imagine. I spent hours walking from end to end and in between the countless stalls.
I toured this unexpected pagoda for another hour and then ventured back out to the street where I found a little side street market. Up until finding this street I’d been somewhat surprised about what Ho Chi Minh looked like. Of course, I’d seen pictures of the European style buildings, but being in Vietnam I still expected to see hundreds of older women wearing conical hats which seemed to be non-existent. Until I found this market that is.
As our trip to Tokyo was coming to a close the Asakusa Sensoji Temple was at the top of our list for our last day in the city, and we began our venture to the other side of Tokyo.
One of the most memorable parts of visiting the temple was a small area to get your fortune. This was especially exciting to see as it was the start of the Chinese New Year. They had instructions set out in English and the process began.
Day four in Thailand was mostly a travel day with the morning spent in Ao Nang and a long ferry ride over to Ko Phi Phi. We made it to the island for sunset, a bit of beach time, a late dinner and some island exploring. Getting off of the ferry, Ko Phi Phi was already very different than the main land of Krabi had been. It felt more touristy, yet still like we were in a different world. There are no cars on the island, and it’s made up of twisty and turny brick roads filled with people, shops, and carts. It took nearly our entire stay there just to feel like we knew our way around. While it didn’t feel quite as authentic as our stay in Ao Nang had, it was a cute island none the less and certainly had its own highlights. Small yellow flag garlands welcomed us above all of the main streets, the beaches were out of this world, and the tree house bars were really exciting.
Our flight left on Christmas day, which luckily made being away from home for the holidays a little easier. We woke up on the 26th ready to explore Bangkok and see everything.
was packing my bags to the brim and not allowing enough room for extra souvenirs, though I have every intention of going back to that market at some point in the near future.
We enjoyed a smorgasbord lunch at some of food stalls, before wandering our way out of the market. Then it was back to our hotel where we grabbed our bags before heading to the airport and continuing the trip in 
bbm travels 