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  FUN AND INTERESTING THINGS TO DO IN Seoul, Korea We weren’t quite sure what to expect when we entered Seoul. It was a place on our list only because a number of friends had visited and because we thought it might be some type of tech mecca because of companies like LG and Samsung that call it home. We had also read about some travelers being disappointed with their Korean experience - especially those that had just come from Japan...like us. We spent around 10 days in Seoul. Longer than expected because we came to know about a lantern festival only after we had landed. We extended our trip, shuffled some of our downstream plans, and made sure we didn’t miss the chance to celebrate this festival in the biggest city in Korea. A handy resource is the https://korea4expats.com website. It’s been put together by expats for expats to help them adjust and assimilate into Korean life and culture. I would definitely recommend combing through this! > WHERE TO STAY We stayed in Hongda...

  FUN AND INTERESTING THINGS TO DO IN Gwangju, South Korea Gwangju isn’t a common destination on most Korean itineraries for the reason that there honestly isn’t much to do there (though, right outside the main bus station, you'll find a really helpful tourist office with maps of local sites to visit!). That region or area is known within Korea for having some of the best food in the country, but as vegetarians we really didn’t get much of a chance to experience it. There is supposed to be one really amazing vegetarian place in Gwangju itself (Naver: http://naver.me/5BSaW5MT ), but it’s about an hour (by bus) away from the main bus station so we didn’t end up making the trek there. Instead, we used Gwangju as a base for a few day trips. Given it’s serviced by an airport, a high speed train station, and a bus station you’ve got pretty much any type of transportation method you could need to explore the southwest region of Korea. One thing to note is that the main bus station is ab...

  TOP THINGS TO DO IN Taipei, Taiwan The capital of Taiwan! It’s a big bustling city surrounded by many options for eventful day trips. We spent about four days here. It was more than enough for non-rushed sightseeing and a single, packed day trip outside the city. The buses, trains, and subway make getting around really easy. Ample eating options everywhere make it a foodie mecca. Here are some of the top things to do and our highlights: > Shifen Waterfall - We did a day trip out to Shifen from Taipei via train. It took about 2 hours to get there with one train change at Ruifang Train Station. Once we arrived in Shifen, we walked through the small town which is full of vendors selling souvenirs, food, and lanterns. The waterfalls are approximately 1.5 miles from the town and there are plenty of scooter rentals and taxis you can take to get close to the trail head. I’d say it’s a pretty easy walk since you only have to navigate some stairs, walk across some fun suspension bri...

  TOP THINGS TO DO IN Hualian City , Taiwan Hualien made it onto our list because of Taroko Gorge National Park. The photos we saw on other blogs and sites made it look amazing. And, even though our expectations were in the clouds, we were not let down.  > Taroko National Park - The park was absolutely gorgeous (pun intended)! There a number of hikes you can do all directly or indirectly serviced by the public buses that travel  through the park. You can pick up buses from either Hualien or Xincheng station. Each bus has its own pass and you can’t use one on the other. Another thing to note about the park is that many hikes are closed during heavy rains. You can find the full list of hikes and conditions here: https://www.taroko.gov.tw/en/Tourism/DayHikes . If it has been raining for a few days or it’s heavily raining on the day you decide to visit you may be limited in which hikes you’ll be able to do. Also, the famous narrow bridges you see in many people’s pictu...

  TOP THINGS TO DO IN CHISHANG, TAIWAN ( Chishang, Taitung ) Although it was mosquito central, we really enjoyed our stay in this small town on the east side of Taiwan. It’s become famous in recent years due to an EVA Air commercial that was filmed along the towns rice paddies. Every day, people rent bikes, ride along the rice paddies, and take a picture at the tree ( https://goo.gl/maps/ipRLgLpLGheWEb577 ) and view featured in the commercial. The best part of Chishang is that you’ll find very few foreign tourists there. It’s mostly locals from neighboring cities and towns on a weekend getaway. Our first evening there, we didn’t see any other foreigners! Exploring some of the smaller streets, you start to get more of a feel for what rural Taiwan looks like. Here are some of our highlights from this awesome little town: > Brown Boulevard - This is the main “sight-to-see” road among the many biking paths in Chishang. It’s the road that has the famous Takeshita tree from which the ...