Vladivostok September 2018

This was my first time in Russia. I was very excited to go and it was only about an hour and a half away from Seoul.

Train station in the city--you can actually go to/from the airport. I just got on a cab (Maxim app, similar to Uber) since it was after midnight.

My hostel was around the GUM department store. The old courtyard has restaurants and dessert cafes. I also exchanged dollars into Rubles.

My burger at Shonkel.

Hitchhiking at the city center

This is the main street called 'Arbat Street' where they have big supermarkets, shops, restaurants and others.

Blin (crepe) was just great!!  It was less than $5 and so good 😋

Tea in Russia very popular more than coffee. I bought boxes of tea like 'Greenfield' and others from the local markets as a gift.

pelmeni is a kind of noodle soup and it's so hearty and good I had two 😂😋

Yeah, Russian alphabets (Cyrillic) is kinda hard to read. But I used Google translate to just recognize some of the signs.

I don't really recommend this pepperoni pizza with pickles..

This was Yul Brynner's birthplace.

A pleasant surprise, I remember watching the movie Magnificent Seven in college.

Ride the 'funicular' or cablecar to reach a viewpoint. The air was so clear and good compared to Seoul!

If you want to try the shrimps, go to the park near Arbat!

They microwave it for you, but you can bring it home and cook it with butter.

Going home @ airport

These Russian dolls were beautiful! I'll definitely go back sometime~

Jeju Island, Jan. 2017

In January we were in Jeju for a short trip. I miss driving there because the road is much wider and drivers are more easy going. 🚙

Ogyeopsal anyone? It's pork belly from Jeju with 5 layers of fat I think. 🐖🐷🐽

Because it was during Seollal(national holiday), we had to wait for the restaurant to open. It's tough travelling during holidays...

Ray imitating the statue guy

I also caught some pokemons here 👾

omg... the best burger ever. It compares to shake shack... pork belly patty was real juicy 😋 I think it's called 허브팜 and the address is 제주 제주시 애월읍 애월해안로 11 

We went kayaking in the Jungmun or the southern area. My arms hurt a little but it was fun!

They also had pig pens where you can see and even play with them. 

We found a little cafe to enjoy our afternoon ☕

That's all for this this post! Thanks for reading :)

Patuxay in Vientiane, Laos

Hello! It's been a while since my last post! I have been attending a design school for the past 5~6 months so I was busy. I went to Laos in January for five days, and I thought I'd share some photos with anyone planning to travel there. :)

 Vientiane is the capital of Laos. You'll find this victory gate named Patuxay easily in the capital, which was built after Laos's independence from France.

You can see the Arc de Trimophe influences and Buddhist decorations from the exterior.

 This is the ceiling before entering the gate. You can see the Buddhist characters from different angles as there are more than two windows from the inside of the gate.

 Souvenir shop. You have to take the spiral stairs to go to the roof!

Apparently, Patuxay's construction was funded by the U.S. and the fountain in the park was a gift from China.

 View from the top. Vientiane is a small city indeed. You can see the pointy pagodas scattered throughout the city.

On the other side, there's a park where you can stroll and relax. 

So in Laos, you'll find tuk-tuks which are like cabs in other countries. If you don't like walking, you can always hire a tuk-tuk. You'll have to haggle price all the time and they charge per person. As of Jan. 2015, I'd say you'd pay about $5 for anywhere within the city. (Or you can always walk with a map-it's pretty safe during the day)

 There are different levels at the roof, so be sure to check out the views for the perfect shot!

Some stories about the decorations would have been nice. I don't think I saw any descriptions except that Patuxay is a war monument dedicated to the soldiers who fought for independence. 

 Next time, I'll write about temples in Vientiane.

Cebu, Philippines DAY 3 - City Tour

Cebu is wonderful for sea activities, but you must visit the city and its attractions. You'll learn a lot about its diverse background and colonial history.

On the streets you'll see small fruit markets where you can buy mangoes and mangosteens. These are the BEST fruits in the world :O Make sure you buy a bag or two and keep them in your hotel fridge ;)

Onomnomnomnom

Hmm, I don't think we tried a bottle of Filipino rhum while we stayed. :/

Lots of schools and public buildings still used Spanish and seemed heavily influenced by Christianity. (haha, those high school Spanish classes weren't useless)

We finally arrived at the famous Magellan Church where the Magellan's Cross is. 

A brief film of the Church - garden and hallway (It was very crowded)

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who reached Cebu in 1521 and was a big part of the Philippines' Christianization and Spanish colonization.

I wonder if the statue on the right is a depiction of a Filipino person during the colonization?

 The map of the Philippines - Magellan died in a battle with Lapu-Lapu, who was a ruler of the Mactan island. Apparently there were statues of Lapu-Lapu that I missed. He was one of the first native rulers to resist Spanish colonization.

Interesting painting. There was a sign saying the original Magellan's cross is encased inside the wooden cross. People believed that the original cross holds magical powers and they prayed and touched it to the point it was deteriorating.

Outside the church

Next, we go to the Beverly Hills of Cebu - it's where the rich Filipinos live, away from the poor area. It was a quiet neighborhood on the hills.

On top of the hills, there was a huge Taoist temple with lavish decorations. The architecture was interesting, a mixture of Chinese and tropical designs.

Photography of the inside was prohibited by the temple and all visitors had to be very quiet. I quickly turned my camera away from the temple because I didn't wanna get in trouble :P

On our way down the 99 steps

 I wish we had more time to visit places :) We'll definitely come back to the Philippines soon.

Dinner :)

I'll post more about the resort next time.