Adventure City Walk in Busan: First CouchSurfing Guest

Our adventure city walk in Busan led us along this oddly behaving stream.

If I think of the things I’ve done in Korea so far, it’s mostly hiking. Well, what else do you expect from me? The thing is, I want to see the country. And what better way to do that than to just see it? I want to find all the beauty spots, get to know the lay of […]

The Kindness of Strangers in South Korea: Language Barriers Notwithstanding

The kindness of strangers in South Korea saved me after hiking Seonunsan, where I photographed this lovely landscape.

The kindness of strangers in South Korea isn’t always as overt as in other countries in which I’ve travelled. I’ve said before that I’ve been laughed at or rudely shunned when asking for help. This isn’t always the case. I think Koreans are eager to help, but often intimidated by the language barrier, which, frankly, is bigger than […]

Bus Ride Near JeonJu: Confucius Says, Read Not Thy Book When Interesting Old Men Are By

If the old man from that bus ride near Jeonju had seen this crowd of hikers gathered around a vendor's cart on a mountain peak, he wouldn't have worried about me hiking alone.

I met an old man once on a bus ride near Jeonju; I was going hiking. The man was 80 years old and really wanted to talk to me. I don’t know if it was just to practice his English or because he was curious about me, but he wouldn’t let me read my book. That’s ok, it […]

Getting Over the Initial Culture Shock of Living in Korea

Sights like this unique mountain formation make getting over the initial culture shock of living in Korea a breeze!

Getting over the initial culture shock of living in Korea was really hard for me. When I first got here, life was pretty depressing. I was excited to get to a new country and in awe of everything I saw around me. But I was disappointed by Busan — from what I could see, it’s an ugly city. […]

Living in Korea: Generalizations and Observations

A view of the city of Busan from Amisan in the suburb of Dadaepo.

There’s something about living in Korea I like a lot. The sidewalks. Not all of them, but a lot of them are made from old tires. The ground is then soft to walk on, easier on the knees. But it’s a good use of an otherwise useless product. I don’t know whether the process of grinding up and […]

Hiatus on Titicaca: Rowing Across

Magnificent lake scenery during a hiatus on Titicaca.

Get back to Cuzco late on a Sunday night after hiking el Camino Inca to Machu Picchu. Find out Monday that I have nearly a week to kill before my eighteen-hour bus ride into the jungle. Up at 4:00 on Tuesday morning to catch a beaten-up old bus to Puno at 5:30. Sleep most of the way. My […]

First Impressions of South Korea

My first impressions of South Korea were tainted by litter, such as at this beach in Molundae Park, Busan.

I think this is long overdue, since I’ve been here for three months. My first impressions of South Korea and my experience in this country so far. I can’t entirely fill these pages with anecdotes and day-to-day life because it’d be too long, but what I can do is give my first impressions of South Korea. So here […]

Hair Cares in Ecuador and Peru: Take It All Off!

A short-haired young woman with no hair cares smiles proudly in the bell tower of the Monestario de Santa Catalina in Quito, Ecuador.

Familiarity. Confidence. Sometimes you have to let go. Now try incompatibility and uncertainty. Transitions aren’t always easy. That’s what I told myself when I decided to crop my hair shoooort before travelling sola to Ecuador and Peru for three months. The locks fell away and I was smitten. Why did I ever have long hair? External self-discovery before […]

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