Hong Kong shares many similarities with Singapore, with a highly dense population, full of skyscrapers and cars on the roads. However, I was still surprised to discover new things on this trip to Hong Kong. Originally, I had a connecting flight from Hong Kong to Singapore with a stopover of only 1.5h, but I decided …
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Just 20 years ago, Oslo was a sleepy, provincial town known mainly for the annual ceremony of handing out the Nobel Prizes. Today, it is one of Europe’s fastest-growing capitals. Skyscrapers are being hastily erected in the downtown area, and new residential areas along waterfront area are being constructed. No doubt that Oslo is expensive …
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Oslo was not on my original plan as my went purpose of going to Norway was to escape to the mountains. However, thanks to my Norwegian friends whom I met in singapore while they were on their university exchange programme, they invited me to stay with them in Oslo. Karoliina from Finland also joined me …
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I was supposed to stay with Gunnar for 4 nights, but due to some work commitments he couldn’t host me for the first two nights. Instead of ditching me and letting me find another host on my own, he made agreements for his son to host me in the north island. His son, Kristoffer and …
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In many ways Tromsø is the Arctic capital of Norway. People from more than 100 different countries live permanently in Tromsø. The Tromsø municipality has a population of around 70000, of which 60000 live in the city. Tromsø is the largest city in northern Norway and also the largest Nordic city north of the Arctic …
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Located in the southernmost part of Lithuania, Vilnius is its capital and the second largest city in the Baltics. With this visit, I have successfully completed my tour of the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).Today, it pulsates with a vibrant, artistic community within the beautiful baroque architecture of its Old Town, which has been declared …
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train from Riga to Sigulda How to go to Sigulda: Take the train from Riga to Sigulda. There are several daily departures and the cost for a return journey is €4.70. Alternatively, you can also take the bus. Sigulda is a small town in a hilly location, just under an hour away from the capital …
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Latvia’s capital, Riga, offers an interesting mix of traditional and modern. The city sits at the mouth of the scenic Daugava river, a unique location at the juncture of trading routes. It used to be part of the Hanseatic league which was a huge trading empire with close links to Germany. Much of the Latvian …
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1) Spend a day or more in the Hermitage, one of the world’s unrivalled art collections. I oohed and ahhed as I entered the different state rooms which showcased the luxurious lifestyles of the Russian royalty in the past. 2) Witness the amazing kaleidoscope of colours that is the church of spilled blood. 3) Revel …
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75km to the northeast of Moscow lies the town of Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk in the Soviet era). Although it is nowadays an industrial centre with a population of over 100,000, its fame rests on the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergii (a Lavra is the highest rank of Orthodox monastery, and there are only four in …
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This massive metropolis captures Russia at her most extreme: her communist austerity and her capitalist indulgence; her devout orthodoxy and her uninhibited displays of wealth and power; her enigmatic ancient history and her dazzling contemporary culture. Moscow is the seat of political power in Russia, but it is also the country’s cultural and commercial center. …
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bridge over the Volga river on our way to Sviyazhsk the Russian flag fluttering in the wind The place where the Sviyaga River flows into the Volga forms the idea for Pushkin’s lively tale of the Island of Buyan. Sviyazhsk was built by Ivan the Terrible as a fortress for the siege of Kazan, and …
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Kazan railway station Kazan is not a well-known city outside of Russia, but this special autonomous region is actually the third capital of Russia, after Moscow and St Petersburg. The architecture and culture of Kazan are distinctively different from the rest of Russia, due to the ethnic Tatars. They don’t look very much different from …
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For something away from the city and closer to nature, do take the opportunity to visit Ganina Yama when you are in Yekaterinburg. I don’t know the specifics of taking public transport to this place as I was lucky enough to be driven by my host’s mother to this place for a short sightseeing tour. …
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Yekaterinburg, is the fourth largest city in Russia, with a population of 1.3 Million. Yekaterinburg was founded in 1723, and was named after Peter the Great’s wife Catherine I. From 1924 to 1991, Yekaterinburg was known as Sverdlovsks (Свердло́вск) , which was named after the Bolshevik leader Yakov Sverdlov. Yekaterinburg is situated on the eastern …
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The process of getting from Urumqi, China to Almaty, Kazakhstan is simple because there is a direct bus. The Northern Long-Distance Bus Station is at Heilongjiang Road. Almaty, Kazakhstan (via Korgas) – takes about 24 hours and ¥440, tickets can be bought at the international bus station at Nianzigou (碾子沟国际客运站 +86-0991-587-8637, mandarin speaking). The international …
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Urumqi is the capital city of Xinjiang province in China. This autonomous region has received negative media publicity due to separatists carrying out bomb attacks and instigating riots in recent years, but during our stay in the city we felt perfectly safe as there was a strong police presence. We had originally wanted to visit …
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From Khovd, take an 8h shared car to Bulgan. It used to be longer, but there are more paved roads now so the journey time is reduced. It cost us 35000T per pax. We reached Bulgan around 1030pm and stayed in a hotel for 20000T per night. The next day, the driver drove us to …
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Khovd may be a small city, but it is the largest of five aimags, making it the provincial capital. It is a tranquil town surrounded by nature, with mountains looming in the distance. Actually the whole of Mongolia is full of nature that is within easy reach from the cities. For some cultural capital, visit …
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After four days in UB, it was time to get out of the city and head to the countryside. Khovd was our next destination, located in western Mongolia and 36h away by bus. We bought our bus tickets the day before at the newly renovated Dragon bus centre. You can take bus 26 or 27 …
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Mongolia has been awesome so far. Staying in a ger with a Mongolian family is the best thing ever. They have four children, but the eldest son is studying in the countryside, so only the three girls stay at home with their parents; they go to school during the day and come back in the …
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From Beijing stadium (subway station exit C) take bus 407 alight at Jian xiang qiao dong (健翔桥东) bus stop then change to bus 658 to Xi jia huo zi (郗家豁子) which is opposite Bei jiao ( 北郊) bus station. The ticket from Beijing to Erlian cost 200Y, and the guy told us he usually charges …
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What’s a visit to Beijing without seeing the Great Wall of China? There is a Chinese saying that 不到长城非好汉 which means those who have not been to the great wall are not good guys. So today I fulfilled this saying by visiting and climbing the many steps of the Great Wall. The wall is so …
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On day two in Beijing, we romped the seemingly endless courtyards of the Forbidden City and stood in the centre of the Chinese universe Tiananmen square. I used to confuse those two because they are found in the same area. However, after reading the guide book for the explanation, I finally manged to differentiate the …
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