{Seoul} City Adventures

I have never been to Seoul before this trip, so it seemed natural for me to stay a few more days after the installation was completed; this way I can explore the city a little bit. The way the city has preserved the heritage buildings fascinated me, because unlike Beijing, the palace is quite humble in Seoul. Its walls are lower, and the paint less shiny. When walking in Insa-dong, one can also see traditional houses juxtaposed immediately next to modern galleries. It makes a very interesting walk. My mind was traveling through time as my eyes wandered on the street. The rest of Seoul seemed quite homogeneous--condos and office buildings make up most of its urban fabric. The major streets are four to six lane wide, making it very difficult for the pedestrians to cross. Though when I turned the corner and find myself in a neighborhood lined with little stores and cozy cafes, the scale of the city suddenly changed. I felt comfortable and the city around me seemed tangible and relevant to my tiny body.

Day trip to Macau

I'm still back logging here, but this post will conclude my June travel photos!
This trip to Macau was totally spontaneous. I decided to take a day-trip on my own the very night before I boarded the ferry from Hong Kong. When I arrived, I went straight to the bus terminal only to realize I had no idea what I wanted to see let alone which bus to take. I took many detours and received many generous pointers to finally get to the city centre in the afternoon. Macau is quite small, and I was able to explore the town on foot. Though, the weather was not on my side--it had thunderstormed all day and my feet were just soaking in my wet keds since early morning. My complains are only part of the story, and the truth is...I really enjoyed this adventure on my own. I've never entertained the idea to travel to a foreign place on my own, but this is a start, maybe I can backpack for a couple of days on my own next? Baby steps :)

Hong Kong and Its pedestrian walkways

 

I went to Hong Kong with a mission, and that is to explore all of its pedestrian layers. While researching for my thesis, I became very interested in the layering of urban infrastructures that stack up the city in a vertical fashion. In the extremely dense city of Hong Kong, these elevated and  underground pedestrian networks make up a large part of the city's transportation infrastructure, and they facilitate not only safe and conditioned passages but also act as another layer of public space that often hosts political demonstrations and leisurely activities.

If you might be interested in exploring Hong Kong in a similar way, I would recommend looking at this unconventional travel guide--Cities Without Ground: A Hong Kong Guidebook

HongKong - the First Day

On the first day of my trip in HongKong I was already getting an overview of what the city has to show me. From hiking to the Peak to exploring the dense neighbourhood of Mon Kok, my day was packed with surprises. With it's mega towers and intimate neighbourhoods, this city is overwhelmingly unique. More on that later :)

Square Roll

 

The last time I posted Diana Mini photos was almost two years ago, but lately I've been carrying this tiny camera with me while traveling. This roll followed me to Beijing, Nantong, Toronto and Quebec City. It had stayed in my camera for so long and I've almost forgotten what I've taken, but all the good memories of my travels were brought back when I opened the envelope. I always find nice surprises going through these square prints.

Recap

With the temperature here rising up to 25 degrees and spring flowers blooming, I thought it's time for this blog to come out of its winter hibernation! Although I have been neglecting the internet, I had a pretty productive winter. Ｉ stressed over grad school applications in December and January (I now have my fingers crossed everyday). As soon as the pressure was lifted, I headed home to spend Chinese new year with my family. It's always exciting to see Beijing when the festivities are happening. I spent the 15 day long celebration eating, playing and spending quality time with my whole extended family.

By the way, I have to confess I have been terrible at taking my cameras out, because instagram is too addicting.

Grandma's Town

My Grandmother lives in a Tiny town close to the ocean. It's so tiny, we can stroll around the entire town in less than an hour.

I'm not so familiar with this place, I don't even understand the Dialect people speak here completely. I hated to come here when I was a kid, because it gets so hot in the summer, and so cold in the winter, plus, there's no playgrounds here, and no toys I could play with. I couldn't stand a bit of it.

Last time I was here, I was 16. Seven years past by and the town still looks the same as I remembered. Except, this time I started to like being here, because of the boat houses, the old stone road, and my lovely grandmother. She was clapping her hands and kissing me when she first saw me.

My dad took me on a stroll to see his elementary school and the house he lived in when he was 6 years old. I thought it was really special to walk with him on the same road he walked on when he was a child.

Glimpses of China

Due to the extensive blockage of China's internet, I wasn't able to share with you everything while I was there. So here's a quick overview of what happened in the past 6 weeks of my Trip to China.

I have to say, seeing my childhood friends and having my mom's home-cooked food is the best part of the trip.

Beijing still felt like it's home to me, although the city is more crowded than ever, and the traffic has been extremely terrible.

I still dream of living permanently there.