This was the longest leg of our entire train journey, lasting over 48 hours. I splurged on first class for this leg, in order to have the comfort of privacy. We took train #1, the Rossijia. When I was booking tickets, not all the trains had first class. We stayed …
Day 1 – Irkutsk Wandering We checked into our hostel at Katyusha Travel Centre, a no-frills hostel that is clean, spacious with a large common space. I didn’t realise that bathroom wasn’t en-suite for a double room, but hey, a little hostel living is good for the soul. First order …
Our train departing from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia was already at the station when we arrived, but boarding didn’t begin until around 30 minutes before departure. When booking this trip, I booked second class for journeys that are around 24 hours or less, so for this 23-hour leg, we were in second …
As soon as we got off the train, we felt the breeze of that fresh Mongolian air with a shining sun. We saw a guy holding a sign of our hostel (Zaya Hostel), and walked towards him. But first, cash. With 3 ATMs in the train station, only one worked …
Goodbye China The overnight leg of our Trans-Siberian railway journey was a 31-hour ride from Beijing, China to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We arrived at the Beijing Railway Station a whole 90 minutes before departure. The night prior, we had seen long lines at the square, where people were getting into the …
The day has finally come to begin our grand goodbye tour! The first leg from Shanghai to Beijing was fairly ordinary. We took the high speed rail from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South station. I’ve taken this journey several times throughout my time in China, but this time would be …
Day 1: Bangkok Arrived in Bangkok. There were 4 of us; one coming from Shanghai, two from Washington D.C., and another from Michigan. We managed to all arrived within 24 hours of one another. We spent the night at THA City Hotel, a no frill, cozy boutique in a nice …
On a whirlwind trip with my Peace Corps loves in January, we hit up Cambodia. We traveled just after New Year, and thus was a high tourist season. Angkor Wat was understandably crowded, but I live in China, so nothing is that crowded for me. The city isn’t very big, …
I’ve been living in Asia for the last four years, but yet never ventured to Vietnam. I heard there is good coffee, so I decided to give it a go! One note of caution: Vietnam recently changed its visa policy for Americans. We were only able to obtain 1 year, …
On the start of a new journey, each day is filled with incredible newness. When a day goes by, it feels as though a week has passed. My 30s has been this way thus far. Several months ago, I felt my life was losing direction. The corporate grind and the …