Travelling solo

The first time I traveled by myself was a short trip of 2 days; I decided to take the scenic route to visit my friend in Manchester from Amsterdam, and stopped in two cities for a day each. Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle and made it a lot worse from all the walking-around-because-I-was lost that I did.

Bukhansan

The original plan was to arrive at Bukhansan early in the morning to avoid as much of the crowds as possible... but the unexpected late night led to last minute changes. I grabbed a convenient breakfast yet again, and managed to get to the base around 9am, where I couldn't resist buying more kimbap from the many stalls there.

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Across the river

I started the day early again, and left for Samcheongdong around 7am. My last visit to Seoul had included Bukchon Hanok Village, but it had been packed with fellow tourists, and I wanted to see if I could come back and catch it at a quieter time.

Ttukseom

I was pretty tired after hiking all morning, so I decided to take it easy for the rest of the day. I showered and headed back out to Book Street again with my camera in hand for some better photos.

Achasan

I started off my second day in Seoul with a visit to Achasan. Truthfully, my goal was to climb Bukhansan, and seeing as I hadn't had a proper hike for awhile, I wanted to ease my way into it.

Return to Seoul

I'm back.

Three and a half years after my first trip here, I found myself back in the bustling city of Seoul. I came with a very different state of mind than previously, and was determined to make the most of my remaining time in South Korea.

Temples, beaches, and bad decisions

My second morning in Busan started early again. Normally an early riser, vacation usually makes me wake up at ungodly hours, and I settled in to enjoy the view from my hostel.

Unwinding in Busan

My visit back to Hong Kong didn't last very long; I was on a plane to South Korea the next morning, for a bit of a solo adventure before the rest of my family arrived in Hong Kong.

Gloomy London

Day 5

My first trip to Europe happened in the summer of 2007; now ten years later, I was back again. However, the only place I stopped at again was London; therefore it inevitably made me draw comparisons.

I headed out to the station an hour early; the smug feeling lasted all about two minutes before I realized that going to the UK meant leaving the Schengen area, and therefore, Passport Control.

When we arrived, I realized why people called London gloomy - even during rainy days in most other places, the sun shines through in spots and there are moments of brightness. In London, the skies were depressingly grey and drab, and it made its surroundings appear grey as well.




The first stop was to grab an ankle brace from the nearby Boots. Lights change extremely quickly in the U.K., and coupled with my lame ankle and not being used to the cars being on the 'wrong side', I got beeped at a few times while making my way across.

Bruxelles, par moi-même

Day 4

This day marked the first of my solo adventures. I have never travelled alone before; the most I've done was take a flight by myself.

I had a 6am train from Amsterdam Centraal to Bruxelles Midi aboard the Thalys. I sleepily lugged myself to the ferry and hopped over to the station. It was too early for me to feel hungry, but I did notice that my ankle, which had felt sore the evening before, had not improved with rest.



The first thing I noticed in Brussels was the security - there were soldiers with armed rifles patrolling the station, and it definitely changed the vibe of the area.

I made my way to my hostel and dropped off my luggage and had a quick catch-up chat. Then I was off to explore!