What did 2014 look like? 2014 marked an important change in my life. After 5 years as a PhD student living in Hong Kong I finally defended my dissertation and graduated the PhD to leave Asia and begin a postdoc
Visions of France : Road-trip photo summary
After a long absence from Europe, I got to spend a couple of wonderful weeks in Paris and roaming around France. To my delight, I was joined by some of my charming family to head out from the Paris airport
Visions of Paris : France
After many years of being away, this year I was finally able to spend more time in Europe. Earlier I visited the Netherlands, which increased my appetite, and so after wrapping up my life in Hong Kong I decided to
Bamboo Forest & gorgeous walks : Arashiyama Kyoto
Arashiyama was the last area I visited in Kyoto and it was a glorious beautiful day, filled with gorgeous scenic views, mountain wild monkeys, enchanting bamboo forests and magical hidden temples. You can probably spend a whole day there slowly
Ginkaku-ji temple path : Ancient Kyoto walks
Lots to see and do in Kyoto, and by the end of the first day you’ll probably already feel a bit over-templed. Some temples are very impressive, and some more humble, some are Zen, some Buddhist, and if you’re a
Iwatayama Monkey Park Arashiyama : Kyoto
On my last day in Kyoto, feeling a bit of temple overload I was hoping to try something a bit different and the Arashimaya area was just the thing. One of the highlights in the area is a monkey park,
Singapore Gardens by the Bay : Cloud Forest Dome
If you’re in Singapore, then Gardens by the Bay is probably one of the MUST-DO attractions. It’s one of the most surreal man-made gardens I’ve ever seen, almost hard to believe that someone built something like that, and especially in
Shrines of Fushimi Inari Temple : Kyoto
Fushimi Inari is one of the nicest temples to visit in Kyoto, one of the must TODOs on your temple run. In the first post, we hiked up the Inari mountain through the thousands of orange torii orange gates of
Hiking up the Toriis of Fushimi Inari Temple : Kyoto
Of all the temples I visited in Kyoto, the first and possibly the most impressive of them all was Fushimi Inari. Climbing up a 4km trail from ground level on the slopes of the Inari mountain, you’ll be awed by
Illinois Amish Country : Arthur Arcola
Less than an hour away from Champaign Illinois is the little town of Arthur, with a vibrant community of Amish. Though the Amish are generally considered to be quite reluctant to connect with the modern world, the Arthur Amish are
