Vignettes of the World
My Travel Journal
It feels very familiar in Guangzhou. The people, the streets, the structures. I have certainly been to Guangzhou before, perhaps even before the rapid economic development that took off after 1992. The trips to Guangzhou during my childhood years have not left me with any …
It was a hot day but I was keen on seeing the Gankeng Ancient Hakka Townlet in Shenzhen. From the Futian boundary crossing, I made it onto Shenzhen’s MTR and got off the Gankeng Station on Line 10. Then I walked about 8-10 minutes on …
We took a bus to Siena from Florence and arrived 1.5 hours later. Siena made a great first impression, but perhaps not as breathtaking as San Gimignano. During the Middle Ages, Siena was a rival of Florence in terms of culture, commerce, art and cityscape. …
The medieval town of San Gimignano is a kind of place that you can fall in love with at first sight. It is not of the same grand sophistication as Florence, the city of culture. Yet San Gimignano has a long history of its own. …
One must buy leather shoes in Italy, the boot-shaped country. And we did so in Lucca. And in Lucca, everybody biked. On our way to Pisa, we met some American tourists on the train. They suggested that we visit Lucca, so we bought the train …
It was quite a walk from the Pisa Centrale to the Duomo and the Leaning Tower. I would say at least 30 minutes. We stopped by a small delicatessen kind of restaurant and paid a ridiculous check for a simple pasta lunch. We paid €18 …
In Siem Reap I wake up to astounding cacophonies of insects. Their singsongs accompany my journey throughout the day, from my waking at dawn to my resting at dusk. Thousands and thousands of them, each releasing its own distinctive sounds, perhaps by stridulating. There must …
On this final day in Hue, I decided to take a look at some special sites in the city. An easy stroll around the city would do for me. The An Dinh Palace You can’t miss the luxury and the preoccupation with all things western …
The breakfast at the Melody Hostel was something that I looked forward to every morning. The lady that cooked breakfast and managed the Hostel was Ling. She has two children. She showed me the photographs from their family vacations. I gathered from the photographs that …
A young Vietnamese woman came to pick me up in her motorbike. She had nice long flowy hair, perfect skin and a round face that said friendliness all over. She also spoke perfect English. I liked her immediately. Mandy was my guide for the day. …