For Chuseok this year (the Korean autumn harvest festival), Kate and I went on a short hike up Mt. Umyeon. It’s located near Nambu Bus Terminal, which is only one subway stop from my house. It doesn’t get much more convenient than that!
It was a very leisurely hike, and only took about an hour to get to the top. Despite the short climb, the view at the top was pretty spectacular. And the best part was, it wasn’t crowded! It was a very peaceful climb, and we only saw a few people, and one terribly behaved little dog on the trail. Maybe it was so empty because of the Chuseok holiday, but I’ll take it. Overall, it was a great way to spend a relaxing day. There was even an old man selling honeydew melon flavored ice cream at the top!
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This August, my dad had a great opportunity to come visit me in Korea. It wasn’t a real vacation – he was actually on a overseas training exercise for the military. He was stationed in Daegu, which is about 3 hours south of Seoul, so I had to travel a bit to get to him. Sadly, because of his work schedule and military curfew, we were only able to see each other between 4 and 8pm. Conditions weren’t ideal, but hey, I’ll take what I can get!
Drinking iced coffee from a street vendor
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My second trip to Hong Kong was even better than my first. It seems the more time I spend in this place, the more I fall in love with it. Sensory overload. That’s a good way to describe Hong Kong. I mean that in a good way, of course. It’s a city that just has so much to offer. The food, the sights, the sounds, the smells. The way the city blends into the jungle and the sea. Gucci stores next to $3 noodle shops. Ah… I’m getting nostalgic just thinking about it.
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My first trip to mainland China was quite the experience. Kate and I stopped over for three days en route to Hong Kong. Recently, (maybe one or two years ago?) China has started allowing 72 hour layovers without requiring a visa. Great! The hassle of applying (and paying for) a visa was one of the main things deterring me from taking a trip in the past. As an american, I pay roughly double that of other nationalities. Keep in mind that there are some rules to the new 72 hour regulation, so do your research before you book a flight:
- You can only visit selected cities
- Only selected nationalities are eligible
- Your ticket cannot be round trip. You must be on your way to a third location (Hong Kong counts). For example, I went from Seoul->Beijing->Hong Kong->Seoul.
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