Another Ice Fishing Festival (Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival)

Years ago, one of my early posts on this blog, was of an ice fishing festival somewhere in Korea (can't recall where nor find it on the blog). I wanted to go back and give it another go since we didn't catch anything back then. So I got my roommate, Yvonne, and a few other friends to have a go at it.

China and Hong Kong

Food was cheap. Tourist attractions? Not so much. China proved challenging to navigate despite being such a well known country and tourist destination. That being said, the cost and complications made a lot of things forbidding, but interesting as well. We had to get by without even the most basic English in most places and get lost enough times. Somehow, though, we didn't miss any of our train stops.

Prequel: South East Asia and Learning How To Travel

Situations that push you to leave your comfort zone often bring you face to face with the fact that you are not who you like to think you are, nor who you'd like to be.

Part 1: Philippines and Vietnam.

We started our trip briefly in the Philippines as an extended layover before going to Vietnam. There we stayed with some friends Keat met at a Frisbee tournament. We were mostly in Manila, which really doesn't have much for tourists unless you're going to shell out for some of the more expensive entertainment. In the end it was more about the company. I had a really great time with people who treated me like a close friend. We were taken around, entertained and treated generously; my second time receiving a prime example of Filipino hospitality. It was only 4 days or so before it was time to head to Vietnam though.

Part 2: The Kingdom of Cambodia

Going over in Vietnam ended with us cutting out days in Cambodia. Upon arrival, we were to meet Pablo who had just arrived a few days ago. It’s hard to communicate without cellphones. 

Part 3: Laos

Keat and I met up again on the island of Don Det in an area called 4000 Islands. (Cool name, but it wasn’t THAT many islands. Laos is landlocked so everything was in the Mekong river. Not much space for islands there.) We had cut time out from Cambodia to get back on schedule but were thrown off track again by 4 nights in Don Det.

Conclusions and the Nice Photos

I had a lot of things I still wanted to say but the grind of school and other pending things has shooed them to the back of my mind. I mostly remember thinking that Vietnamese and Cambodian people are so kind and always smiling, and that I want to go back to all of the places I missed, to try all of the activities I couldn’t afford before, and eat the better however pricier food I avoided. There was rock climbing, hot air balloons, bicycle tours, motorcycle tours, quad bike tours, elephant tours, 2-3 day treks, paragliding, zip lining, performances and more that we had to pass up due to tight budget restrictions. Yet I’m still glad I had what was one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far, but I expect next will be even more.

But that’s that. At least for now. To end I will share all of my “good photos” or at least the ones that just aren’t for story telling. Enjoy!

On the Road in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore

Road trip!

Peddle Down to Busan

It's been about a year since I wrote the last posts here on my trip to the Philippines, and ever since I haven't had much to write about, or much time either. Finally after our last adventure I have an experience to talk about. Biking down to Busan!

Philippines part 4

This is the last of the video. It may seem inconclusive but nearing the end of the trip I was just relaxing and not doing as much (already low on money) so I didn't film much either. Plus I wanted to focus more on taking photos.