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<li class="cat-item cat-item-408"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/beijing" >Beijing</a> (14)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4594"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/japan/brooding-in-japan" title="A series of reflections about two years spent in Japan.  ">Brooding in Japan</a> (6)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-1232"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/cambodia" title="Just your standard Siem Reap/Ankor stop.  Four days in February, 2006.">Cambodia</a> (3)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4591 current-cat"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/capitals-tour-of-asia" title="A two week, winter romp from Seoul to Tokyo on the smallest budget possible.  ">Capitals tour of Asia</a> (24)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4588"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/chinahong-kongmacau" title="Entries from my February/March, 2006 trip.">China</a> (16)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4593"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it" >Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it</a> (88)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-2223"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/chinahong-kongmacau/hong-kong" title="The most entertaining city I've been to in Asia.  When you're Chinese visa expires, this is where to come!  March 31st-April 6th, 2006.">Hong Kong</a> (4)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3035"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/iceland" >Iceland</a> (11)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-963"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/japan" title="I've compiled my entries over my past two years in Japan into an orderly group.    ">Japan</a> (33)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4595"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/capitals-tour-of-asia/japan-on-the-cheap" title="How to travel in notoriously high-priced Japan by living like a bum!">Japan on the cheap</a> (14)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4598"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/kazakhstan" >Kazakhstan</a> (3)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3705"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/capitals-tour-of-asia/south-korea" title="December 25, 2006-January 1, 2007.">Korea</a> (10)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3412"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/kyrgyzstan" >Kyrgyzstan</a> (9)
</li>
<li class="cat-item cat-item-2984"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/chinahong-kongmacau/macau" title="A quick stop for a Visa and food, March 5, 2006.">Macau</a> (1)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-278"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/mongolia" >Mongolia</a> (24)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4596"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/nanjingsuzhou" >Nanjing/Suzhou</a> (3)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-24"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/poland" >Poland</a> (4)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-2718"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/shanghai" >Shanghai</a> (8)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4589"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/teaching-english" title="Thoughts and reflections about my time teaching in Japan.">Teaching English</a> (10)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4587"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/thailandcambodia" title="Entries from my February, 2006 trip.">Thailand</a> (12)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4590"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/trip-preparationdeparture" >Trip preparation/departure</a> (5)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3401"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/uzbekistan" >Uzbekistan</a> (10)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4594"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/japan/brooding-in-japan" title="A series of reflections about two years spent in Japan.  ">Brooding in Japan</a> (6)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4593"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it" >Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it</a> (88)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-2223"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/chinahong-kongmacau/hong-kong" title="The most entertaining city I've been to in Asia.  When you're Chinese visa expires, this is where to come!  March 31st-April 6th, 2006.">Hong Kong</a> (4)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3035"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/iceland" >Iceland</a> (11)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-963"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/japan" title="I've compiled my entries over my past two years in Japan into an orderly group.    ">Japan</a> (33)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4598"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/kazakhstan" >Kazakhstan</a> (3)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3412"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/kyrgyzstan" >Kyrgyzstan</a> (9)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-278"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/mongolia" >Mongolia</a> (24)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4589"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/teaching-english" title="Thoughts and reflections about my time teaching in Japan.">Teaching English</a> (10)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4587"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/thailandcambodia" title="Entries from my February, 2006 trip.">Thailand</a> (12)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4590"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/trip-preparationdeparture" >Trip preparation/departure</a> (5)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3401"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/uzbekistan" >Uzbekistan</a> (10)
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    [20] => <li class="cat-item cat-item-4587"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/thailandcambodia" title="Entries from my February, 2006 trip.">Thailand</a> (12) </li>
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Beijing (14)

Brooding in Japan (6)

Cambodia (3)

Capitals tour of Asia (24)

China (16)

Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it (88)

Hong Kong (4)

Iceland (11)

Japan (33)

Japan on the cheap (14)

Kazakhstan (3)

Korea (10)

Kyrgyzstan (9)

Macau (1)

Mongolia (24)

Nanjing/Suzhou (3)

Poland (4)

Shanghai (8)

Sweden (2)

Teaching English (10)

Thailand (12)

Trip preparation/departure (5)

Uzbekistan (10)

Archive for the 'Capitals tour of Asia' Category

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Best of Seoul, and another spot to miss

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

The Korean War Memorial is a must. You can wander about the huge military junkyard and larger than life statues that surrounds the fortress-like building. I felt like a kid sitting in the cockpit of an old B-52 bomber, staring down the cross-hairs of anti-tank artillery, and climbing on old bombs and submarines. Okay, okay, war is awful and all that, but this place is like a life-sized toy box from your average male’s childhood, although the Millennium Falcon was conspicuously absent. Unfortunately the inside of the Memorial was closed, marking my biggest disappointment of my Seoul trip. I was looking forward to learning about the Forgotten War that claimed the lives of 34,000 U.S. soldiers and 2.5 million Koreans. Looks like I’ll have to head to the library instead.

While the Memorial was recommended and lived up to the hype, the club district of Itaewon was a bore. It’s right next to the U.S. military base, which would have been enough to let me know to skip it had I known. It’s a foreigner friendly line of boutiques and shops by day, and apparently some lively clubs at night. It reminded me of Roppongi and we left.

Posted in Capitals tour of Asia, Korea | No Comments »

Big day in Seoul

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

Seoul is by far the most tourist friendly of all the huge Asian cities I’ve been. When you arrive, head straight to one of the many kiosks scattered about the tourist areas, especially the bustling markets of Namdaemun and Dongdaemun. These information centers provide free maps, brochures, and even a lengthy book listing Seoul’s best restaurants for traditional Korean cuisine. Even if the restaurants are out of your price range it’s still worth picking up for the beautiful pictures of food and ideas for your next culinary adventure.

We started out in Namdaemun Market, the best place for cheap gifts and small souvenirs. Chiaki is a much better barterer than me. She picks a young Korean guy and slowly starts breaking him down. By the time she had finished talking Lee-san’s price down by ₩15,000 he turned to me and asked if I was sure she wasn’t Korean. I took it as a compliment, to her or me I’m not sure.
After buying all our omiage (Japanese souvenir gifts), we ducked into the narrow food alley for a great lunch of cold spicy noodles (bibimkimsu) and Korean style pancakes (Pajeon). We ended up coming back to this restaurant because the women serving were so fun. On our second visit Chiaki got hugs. Japanese-Korean relations on the mend!
Namdaemun is also close to one of Seoul’s ancient city gates, Sungnyemun. From the gate we took a rather lengthy stroll up to Gyeongbokgung, the work in progress that was once the emperial palace before the Japanese destroyed it…twice. The first time was about 450 years ago and then again during the 35 year occupation before and during the war.

Gyeongbokgung is impressive yet suited for travelers new to Asia. I’ve had my fair share of temples and pagodas in Japan, and on the surface these kind of places all start to look the same, only in Korea the dominat tones are green rather than red. Big deal. Since ancient Japanese cites didn’t have walls to protect from invaders, I was more interested in the gates scattered about inner Seoul, the last remaining evidence of these barriers.

Walking up the massive Namdaemunno street from Sungnyemun provides a good picture of Seoul’s immensity. There is no defined downtown, nor the pockets of skyscrapers dotting Tokyo’s skyline, although some specific commercial districts are on the rise. The majority of the central city is a random mix of buildings of all sizes with high-rise apartment blocks circling the core. Most Koreans seem to live in apartments as we saw few houses in Seoul.

We followed Cheonggyecheon creek from Gyeongbokgung down to another massive gate, Dongdaemun, surrounded by Asia’s largest outdoor market that shares it’s name. The creek is a new urban renewal project, the brainchild of Seoul’s green mayor. It was bustling with holiday excitement, it’s sunken concrete walkways and patios packed with people admiring the impressive Christmas light displays on both banks. It is a great way to get to Dongdaemun, especially if you’re in the trendy Insadong art district.

Dongdaemun market is the highlight of Seoul. You can spend hours exploring its narrow alleys filled with every random thing you can imagine. By this time we had walked all day and were losing steam, unfortunately, so we had to duck out of the market and head home to rest before dinner.

Posted in Capitals tour of Asia, Korea | 1 Comment »

The Japanese travel juggernaut

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

We were greeted at Incheon airport by the travel agency coordinator. Since Incheon is about an hour from Seoul, we thought we'd take advantage of the free ride to the hotel. In the past I've used Japanese travel ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Capitals tour of Asia, Japan, Korea | No Comments »

You have bullet?

Monday, December 25th, 2006

I've been waiting at this luggage carasol way too long, starting to think that all of my good travel karma has finally been exhausted when I spot my bag. We made it to Seoul at last and are in ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Capitals tour of Asia, Korea | No Comments »

A week to go: The Capitals Tour rough itinerary

Saturday, December 16th, 2006

In 9 days I'll be heading to Seoul to begin my two week "capitals tour" of Asia. The capitals tour, as I've started calling it, will begin on Christmas day in Seoul. My girlfriend and I will be spending three ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Capitals tour of Asia, Trip preparation/departure | No Comments »

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Archive for the 'Capitals tour of Asia' Category

Best of Seoul, and another spot to miss

Big day in Seoul

The Japanese travel juggernaut

You have bullet?

A week to go: The Capitals Tour rough itinerary