Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kinkaku-ji

(Finally!) Resuming my Japan travel posts, this time focusing on the third leg of my 4-city Japan tour (naks!). More than Osaka, Kyoto was a must in my itinerary, because I felt like it mostly represents much of the culture and history that fascinates me so about this country. It is the Kyoto itinerary that I had the most trouble figuring out where to go in the limited amount of time, because there was just SOOOO MUCH THAT I WANTED TO SEE! Sadly, we only had to choose a few. (And it didn’t help that it rained the first day.) So our first stop was one of the historical buildings most representative of Japan… Kinkaku-ji. Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kinkaku-ji” →

April 9, 2015 3

Osaka, Japan 2014: Minoh Park

I’m back from a 4-day sojourn in beautiful Coron! Still recovering, actually. My first day back at work was spent mostly in a daze because I just wanted to go and curl off to sleep. 🙂 I haven’t even downloaded all the photos I’ve taken from my camera! Still in denial, I suppose. Before I do, however, I have to clear some things off my long backlog for this blog, and one of them is about my visit to Minoh Park, which I consider to be one of the highlights of my Osaka stop.

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March 7, 2015 7

Osaka, Japan 2014: Shitennoji Temple

Osaka had soooo many interesting places worth checking out, but we had soooooo little time to spend here, so we had to just go for the choicest ones. And by “choicest”, I meant the ones that are closer and would not take so much time to get to. And we also had to make sure that we visited the first Buddhist temple, and the oldest administered (state-built) temple in Japan, the Shitennoji Temple. Continue reading “Osaka, Japan 2014: Shitennoji Temple” →

February 17, 2015 4

Tokyo, Japan 2014: Ye olde Tokyo, Asakusa

From the Imperial Palace, we proceeded to Asakusa. where vestiges of “old Tokyo” can be found. This was a must-see on the itinerary I drew up, and I even devoted an entire afternoon for it. But since it was included in the Tokyo Morning Tour of HatoBus that we went on, I scrapped it from the list. The result? I was left wanting more.

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January 14, 2015 4

South Korea Pt 19: Chill Time at Haedong Yonggungsa, Busan

Bright and waaaay early, we woke up so we can cram as much as we can on our last day in “dynamic” Busan. After getting directions for the hotel concierge, we took a not-so-short walk to the bus stop and took a bus to our first destination for the day: the Haedong Yonggungsa or the Haedong Yonggung Temple.

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October 4, 2014 2

South Korea Pt 11: Yakcheonsa Temple, Jeju

Picking up where I left off in my South Korea travel post series, particularly on Jeju Island. After my Siem Reap series, which focused primarily on tombs/temples, I apologize for – yet again – talking about another temple. I’m talking about the Yakcheonsa Temple of Seogwipo City in Jeju.

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June 8, 2014 2

Siem Reap ’14 pt 9: Ta Som, Neak Pean, & Preah Khan

We come to the last leg of our Temple Run, covering three temples. You would think by now we’d be fed up with seeing rocks, ruins, stones, and towers. Well, in a way, we were. But that did not mean we appreciated it any less. There’s still so many things to discover at every turn, I doubt anyone could fully explore all of them. For this post, we’ll zero in on Ta Som, Neak Pean, and Preah Khan.

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June 1, 2014 0

Siem Reap ’14 pt 8: Pre Rup, Banteay Srei & East Mebon

From some readings and word-of-mouth, I kinda had an idea that Angkor covers quite a large area. After all, it wouldn’t be called the world’s largest archaeological monument for nothing, right? But it was still overwhelming when you’re there and realize the scale of it.

The Grand Tour (or Big Circuit Tour, as some would call it) began with us heading for Banteay Srei. Before that, however, we passed by Pre Rup, or pronounced more often as “Pre Rub”.

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May 30, 2014 0

Siem Reap ’14 pt 7: Afternoon at Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is famous for its sunrise scenes. And some visitors would probably think that is enough Angkor Wat dose already. But there is more to see in this famous temple, and so we went back later that afternoon to check it out.

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May 28, 2014 0

Siem Reap ’14 pt 6: Ta Prohm & Banteay Kdei

Remember this movie? Or this scene?

Yes, that is Lara Croft, from Tomb Raider. And no, we didn’t get to see Lara Croft when we did our own version of “tomb-raiding”, but we did see that tree. Or what’s left of it.

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May 25, 2014 0

Siem Reap ’14 pt 5: Angkor Thom – Baphuon

Angkor Thom is more than just Bayon. In fact, if you have the luxury of time, and you got the 5-day pass, you can spend an entire day in Angkor Thom and still not be able to explore all of it.

(And hello from Palawan! By the time this is posted, I am likely to be in the middle of the sun, sea and sky in beautiful El Nido!)
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May 23, 2014 0

Siem Reap ’14 pt 4: Angkor Thom – Bayon

It’s not everyday that you get to “own” a temple. And an ancient one, at that. Often I escape to my world of make-believe, and this time, I kept telling myself that, yes, Bayon is my temple, since we share the same name, only mine is hyphenated. But that’s ok, because I also conveniently led myself to believe that the Khmer don’t really use hyphens much, so it doesn’t matter. It. Is. Mine. #DreamOn #feelinglang
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May 20, 2014 2

Siem Reap ’14 pt 3: Sunrise at Angkor Wat

I’ve long since stopped trying to figure out this universal “need” to witness sunrises almost everywhere we go, considering we’re talking about THE SAME, ONE SUN merely going through its motions. I’ll settle for “Because it’s just so darn beautiful” as an answer, and be perfectly happy with it.
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May 17, 2014 2

Siem Reap ’14 pt 2: Phnom Bakheng & the Apsara Encounter

As much as we want to catch each and every rising and setting of the sun, there are some sunsets that will prove elusive to us. And so we have to make do with what we get, and enjoy every moment of it. Continue reading “Siem Reap ’14 pt 2: Phnom Bakheng & the Apsara Encounter” →

May 14, 2014 2

Tag: temples