11/15/13 - 11/22/13 Chiang Mai is known for its many temples and its laid-back atmosphere. And it does not disappoint. I had came here for the Lantern Festival and I left a fan of the city. It does have many fantastic temples and the atmosphere is relaxing enough, that I stayed three days longer than I expected too. It was also my first foray into Thai culture, which is quite fascinating. The first day I was there, I just walked around to a few of...

11/15/13 - 11/22/13 As I flew out of Hong Kong, my time in China had drawn to a close. I hope to eventually return to China, but now it was time for my journey to continue. The next phase of my trip is South East Asia and the first country I would be exploring was Thailand. My first destination was Chiang Mai. It is one of the few destinations on my trip, when I knew the exact date that I would arrive. The reason why is because of the Lantern Festival tha...

11/11/13 - 11/15/13 After Taiwan, I flew back to Hong Kong, where I would spend another four days. Since, I had already been there twice, I felt very comfortable navigating the city. The MTR subway is amazing and links the whole city together. The bus system is also pretty good and on Hong Kong Island, there is a slow tram that goes across the island, which is a really cool way to see the city. This time in HK, I had more time and so I wanted to explore even...

10/23/13 - 10/25/13 and 11/06/13 - 11/11/13 My first time to Hong Kong came on a whim. I wanted to go to Hong Kong, but I thought I wouldn't get there until later in my trip. However, an opportunity arose to go there a little bit earlier than I expected. A friend of mine named Vasiliki, who I had met in Beijing, was on a tour through China and her final stop was in Hong Kong, before she returned home to Ireland. She invited me meet up with her, so ...

11/01/13 - 11/05/13 Luck has a certain duality to it, that can be either good or bad. With the good comes the bad and vice versa. If you are unlucky enough to have a bad experience, hopefully the balance will shift and you will be blessed with a good experience, as well. Obviously, it is not as simple as that, but sometimes the Universe works in mysterious ways and that is exactly what happens. For me, I had the unlucky experience of being stranded in the ...