Country #103 - China

Day 1 – The Disney Welcome

The flight to Shanghai went by quite quickly and I was so excited to start my time in China with Edward. It will be the longest time I have spent in a country so far, and we get to start it off with a day at the newest Disney park in the world! Immigration was a breeze and afterwards we used Didi Chuxing for the first time. It’s basically the exact same thing as Uber, but in China. My favorite feature was how it automatically translated chat conversations with the driver – hopefully Uber will do this someday!

It took about twenty-five minutes to arrive at Disney from the airport. By this time it was dark outside so we couldn’t see very much, but I was very excited. We finally pulled up to our hotel, the Toy Story Hotel, and I was just blown away by everything from the very beginning. The hotel uniforms were adorable Woody outfits, the design of the hotel was impeccable Disney, and our room was just like Andy’s! Yes, I was way too into it but Edward was enjoying it as well. To show just how easily amused I can be, the honest to goodness best part of the hotel was how every time you used the elevator the green alien guys would announce which floor you were going to with a funny quip. It got me every time!

After we finished having fun exploring the hotel we headed down to the cafeteria area to grab a quick bite. The main restaurant was already closed as it was after 10pm, but we got some cute Mickey shaped pastries and a tasty lemonade/ice cream drink. We then headed back to the room to get a great night of sleep before inevitably walking ourselves to death tomorrow!

Day 2 – The Disney Shanghai Experience

I set out with the mindset that today would be an amazing day and it even surpassed my expectations. After a great night at the Toy Story Hotel I was already enthralled and couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear. I had spent about an hour before going to sleep last night planning out our day today so we would be able to see as much of the park as possible. As we were staying on property we had a special gate to enter through to help save time. Once in the park we headed straight to, in my opinion, the main attraction – Tron! If you have never seen the ride in action definitely look it up. Even the line to wait was super futuristic. We did not have to wait long, though, and before I knew it we were sitting on the bike style coaster. It was absolutely incredible! My only complaint is that it was not longer. It was the smoothest and most fun coaster that I have ever ridden, and I cannot wait for it to come to Disney World in a few years!

After Tron we spent the morning riding as many rides as we could, including Soaring, the Mine Train, and more. Yes, we have some of the same rides at home, but it was still so fun! We stopped for breakfast at Chip and Dale’s, where we had some adorable treats for breakfast, along with a nice and toasty hot chocolate. It was actually pretty chilly outside since it was early so that warmed us up. From there we headed for some more rides! One of the most interesting rides of the day was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It is completely different from the one in Orlando, and is touted by many people as one of the best theme park rides in the world. Needless to say, that made our expectations quite high. The line finally wasn’t too long and we decided to give it a go. I will say this - the ride was visually very impressive, but it wasn’t the best ever. That’s not to say it wasn’t amazing, because it was, but I think it is a bit overhyped.

For lunch we ate at Barbossa’s Bounty where we split some tasty ribs before continuing on with the day. Our next stop was to go up inside of the castle which was a very unique experience! It is basically a walk through ride where there are animatronics and projections throughout. Next, I was able to grab an ice cream cone (there is no Dole Whip in Shanghai, sadly) and then afterwards we fit in some lower intensity rides, such as Winnie the Pooh! It was so fun to hear the story told in Chinese throughout the ride (every ride was in Chinese) and see all the classic characters. We also did the Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue ride and after a heated battle I pulled out the victory. Another fun part of the day was the parade! It was cool to see which characters got the most reaction from the crowd and how some characters were more popular here than at home. Unsurprisingly, I would say, Mulan was the highlight!

Our next stop was to buy souvenir Disney Shanghai Mickey ears. We were super touristy and got our names written on the back in Chinese because, well, why not! Mickey ears were not super common in the park (but Minny ones were everywhere) so we were glad to find them in our size and wore them proudly for the rest of the day! We were able to ride so many rides and see so much of the park throughout the day. Before finishing, though, we sprinted the park minutes before closing, in typical Demonbreuns visiting a Disney park fashion, to be able to ride Tron one last time. It was amazing to ride at night and I’m so glad that we did! We then made our way to the center of the park for the Ignite the Dream nighttime show. Unlike at home the show focuses more on lasers and lights instead of fireworks to help with air pollution. It was quite an impressive show! There were still a few fireworks but it was actually really cool with the lasers, and I enjoyed it a lot. 

By this point we were both struggling to walk even though we knew our hotel was nearby. We tried to stop for food but everywhere in the Disneytown area was packed with people, so after I bought a Disney Shanghai sweatshirt we dragged our feet to the shuttle bus and just ended up just snacking at the hotel. It was a very fulfilling exhaustion because we had had such an incredible day. We enjoyed every aspect of the park and had so much fun at Disney Shanghai. It was a highlight of my trip for sure and just such a fun day!

Day 3 – The Day in Shanghai

We were about as exhausted as possible after our magical day at Shanghai Disney. While it goes against my nature when traveling in a new city, there was no fighting the necessity to sleep in today. We both needed it so much - and our feet definitely did! We got a great night of sleep at the Toy Story hotel before we unfortunately had to check out. I’m going to miss it! Before we headed out though we were in luck. Jessie and Woody were doing a meet and greet outside - couldn’t leave without a picture! 

We bid Disney farewell and took the shuttle bus to the main transportation hub. From there we took the subway system, which was adorably Disney themed, into the city. It took a little under an hour and was quite easy. We just found a cheap place to stay in the heart of town to be able to see as much as possible with our one day in Shanghai. After we dropped off our bags we made our way to the first stop, a tasty dumpling lunch. The service was so fast it was amazing! Afterwards we headed to the Shanghai Museum. We only had about an hour but hurried through to be able to see most of it. It was very impressive! There were so many artifacts and I learned a lot in a short amount of time. After finishing the museum we walked over to People’s Park. People’s Park is crazy because it is basically a marriage market where parents go to basically advertise their single children to try and find them a partner. I’ve never seen anything like it!

After the park we walked down the Nanjing pedestrian street. It was filled with tons of shops and we made sure to stop at plenty of interesting ones. Edward bought more candy to take home and it was a very enjoyable walk down Nanjing to the Bund area. The Bund is arguably the most famous part of Shanghai. It is a walkway along the water that allows you to look out at all of the amazing Shanghai buildings. They are all lit up at night and it was quite spectacular to take in! We timed it just right because we were able to get there at sunset: the buildings were normal when we got there and lit up before we left. It was great! We enjoyed the Bund for a while before deciding to find dinner. We struggled a bit to find somewhere to eat but we finally found a very good Italian restaurant of all places. It was a bit pricey but some of the best pizza that I have had in a while. We wanted to find a Chinese spot but once again our stomachs got the better of us and we didn’t want to walk all over the city to find a restaurant that we would both like. So tasty Italian won out and it ended up being a great, if unorthodox, decision.

After dinner we ended up being close enough to our hotel to be able to walk the rest of the way back. It was a very enjoyable walk back getting to see more of Shanghai at night. We fell asleep right away when we returned as we have a very early morning tomorrow - we are taking the bullet train to Beijing!

Day 4 – The Bullet Train

We woke up super early to get a Didi ride to Shanghai Hongqiao station for our 7am bullet train bound for Beijing. Our train, the D10, would hit speeds up to 217mph. It is fastest scheduled train in the world! It really was so fast and such an interesting ride through the Chinese countryside and the outer suburbs of both Shanghai and Beijing. It took a little over four hours for the entire journey - it was quite impressive!

When we arrived in Beijing we took a Didi to our hotel for the next few days. We stayed at another cheap place in the center of town that worked out quite well for our purposes. After checking in and resting for a few minutes we headed out for our day in Beijing. Our first stop was an unexpected visit to APM mall after the place Edward had chosen for lunch had closed down. After trying in vain to find it we were now running out of time to make it to the Forbidden City before it closed. So we, unfortunately, we had to eat at McDonalds. In China. We did at least get foods unique to the Chinese market so it actually ended up being fine. It was just unfortunate at first, for sure!

After grabbing a quick bite we made our way to the Forbidden City. It was still open and we ended up having a good amount of time to see it all. It was, truly, amazing! It is massive and just keeps going, and going, each section as impressive as the last. After walking through it all, and walking all the way back to the entrance, we tried to walk towards Tiananmen Square. However, we weirdly kept having to wait in really long security lines. After waiting for a while, and hearing some faint chants in the background, we finally realized what was going on. This morning China ruled to give its president the possibility to rule for life by removing term limits, and we think what we heard was protesters. So, for safety reasons, we gave up on that pursuit and instead walked along the street for a while until we decided to take a Didi to the Hongqiao Market, also known as Pearl Market.

We had so much fun at Pearl Market! Yes, the place was just teeming with counterfeit goods and we were constantly being asked to buy things, but I loved bargaining the prices on everything we bought and finding so many fun things. We bought a suitcase (because we literally are now out of room for Edward to get everything home), some fun dog shaped pillows, presents for family, a waving solar powered cat, Nashville Predators jerseys, and even more. All of which I was able to haggle down to reasonable prices. We were like kids in a candy store, which is appropriate because that evening we went back to the hotel and tried all of the crazy candies that we have picked up on this trip. It might not have been exactly the night that we planned, but we had a great time anyways!

Day 5 – The Great Wall

Today Edward and I embarked on yet another adventure, and this one was one of the best yet - today we visited the Great Wall of China! The Great Wall is obviously huge and we had to decide which segment to see. We ended up choosing Mutianyu Great Wall, as it had some of the best reviews and a fun way to get back down, though it is a bit more difficult to get to. We took the metro to the bus station where we took a bus for about an hour to Huai Rou Bei Da jie bus station about an hour out of the heart of the city. It was a bit cramped but otherwise it was a really good bus ride. It was interesting to see China outside of the city and see more of the smaller towns. From the bus station we called a Didi to take us to the actual Mutianyu Great Wall center.

Once we arrived at Mutianyu Great Wall we purchased our tickets and walked to the cable car entrance. I had never envisioned taking a cable car up to the Great Wall, but then again I really had no idea how people got to it. Once we got to the top it was incredible. It stretched so far and was really just breathtaking. There is a reason it is a wonder of the world, I guess! We took plenty of pictures, FaceTimed our parents, and just enjoyed taking it in for a while. We turned right at the top and walked along for about an hour. It was always interesting to go in each tower along the wall and look around inside. There were lots of stairs but thankfully there was only one section that really made us out of breath. We decided to FaceTime our Grandmother because she has been to the Great Wall before and we wanted her to see us there. It was a very normal phone call until she blew us away: based on the FaceTime video she knew exactly where we were on the Great Wall and had been exactly there before. She listed off all the things that we would have just passed and everything - we were so impressed with her memory! I guess that’s where I get mine from?

After we walked a bit more and took some more pictures it was time to head down. And I was so excited for our method of transportation - we would be tobogganing down the Great Wall of China! We each had our own toboggan and sped down the side of the incline. It was so much fun! It was an incredibly unique experience and the views on the way down were fantastic. I only wish we could have gone again! Once we reached the bottom we went in a few of the gift shops before, grabbed a snack at Burger King, and then called a Didi to take us back to the bus. It took a long time for someone to pick us up but eventually a car came. We timed it very well because a bus picked us up right when we got to the stop. 

Once we were back in Beijing we took the metro to try and see one last sight, the Temple of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest that’s inside. We had been right next door yesterday when we visited Hongqiao Pearl Market but it was already closed, so we were excited to have enough time after visiting the Great Wall. The Temple of Heaven was basically a really nice park to walk through and, though we couldn’t see inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest for some reason, it was an amazing structure to just see from the outside. After walking through the park we made our way back to APM mall to eat at a restaurant Edward had wanted to go to yesterday. We had a very tasty final meal in China and got to try a few different things. It was a fun dinner and great end to another great day in China.

Day 6 – The Day Off

This morning I, unfortunately, had to tell Edward goodbye. It has been the absolute best time having him along and I only wish he could have missed more school and stayed for longer – silly college! We had such a fun time and were able to see and experience so many things. I have a long trip through Asia ahead of me and I’m so glad that I was able to start it off with him.

We figured it would be easiest and not horribly cost-ineffective to call a Didi for Edward to take straight to the airport. He had to leave very early, while my flight was not until the evening, so I woke up to send him off before I went back to sleep for a few hours. I actually had quite a few things to work on today before my crazy schedule takes me to a different place every day, so it was quite a relief to get a bit of a late check out. I was able to sleep in, work for a bit, and they even allowed me to use the lounge upstairs to easily print a few things. 

I left for the airport in the early afternoon and was not a happy camper when I found out that my already unfortunately short time in Mongolia would be cut even shorter – my flight was delayed by hours! I had originally planned to go to Mongolia in the morning but due to a change in dates the flight was only offered in the afternoon, and now it was going to be delayed until late at night! It was not ideal at all. All I could do was let my hotel know and just sit and wait. There was a nice lounge to wait in in the airport, at least, but it wasn’t much consolation.

I finally boarded around midnight and after a few hours I was in Mongolia – and it was so cold! I knew it would be freezing, but after Mongolia I will be incredibly hot for the rest of my trip so I sent almost all of my cold weather clothes home with Edward. My hotel, Best Western Gobi's Kelso, arranged to pick me up at the airport

103 countries down, 93 to go.

Country #102 - South Korea

Day 1 – The Myeongdong District

This morning my brother, Edward, and I headed off for our second country of his short trip with me. Instead of dealing with the confusing airport train again we instead took a bus from the Tokyo Central Station. It was much easier and I was able to book online ahead of time! We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our flight, headed to a lounge where we ate some delicious Japanese cookies for a few hours, bought our dad some crazy Japanese candy for his birthday, and then boarded our flight to South Korea. The flight was fantastic because we were able to see a Japanese highlight out our window: Mount Fuji! We were very lucky, and it was a great way to end our short stay in Japan.

When we landed in Seoul I was immediately like a kid in a candy store. First, we met a robot that I proceeded to play with. We then saw the Olympic mascots everywhere, as the Winter Paralympics were now going on, and I had to take pictures with them as well. We then headed to the train hub where we got our tickets for the local train into Seoul Square Station. From Seoul Station it was a very easy transfer to ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong, our hotel while in Seoul. After a warm welcome we headed to our room with an amazing view out over the Myeongdong district. Thank you so much to ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong for sponsoring my stay in Seoul! The location was absolutely perfect, and we loved the fun yet modern room. And, once again, we had a fun Asian toilet to try and learn how to use.

After settling into our room we then headed out to a meal of Edward’s choosing: Korean BBQ from a restaurant called On the Grill! Neither of us had any real idea what to do so it was quite the entertaining evening. We eventually figured it out and it was quite tasty. After dinner we headed to walk around Myeongdong. Myeongdong is a super busy and unique shopping area in the heart of Seoul. Our first stop was to get some really cool ice cream that was in the shape of a flower. From there we then walked up and down the streets to see all that we could! I bought some fun socks while Edward went for a sweatshirt. We had so much fun walking up and down the streets of Myeongdong – it was such a cool area!

After a busy evening we were so glad to be staying right in the heart of Myeongdong. We wanted to get a good night of sleep before our morning adventure tomorrow to try and get Edward’s Chinese visa. 

Day 2 – The Racoons

We started off the day with a great breakfast at ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong before heading to Seoul Station. We had to visit the Chinese visa processing center to have Edward’s visa expedited as the service we used to get it done before we left the US failed to deliver (it was actually a lot more dramatic than I’m making it sound, but what can you do). Figuring out that the visa center in Seoul existed was a saving grace – without it Edward would have had to fly between Shanghai and Beijing through a third country to reset his visa free periods. But with Chinese visa in hand he could easily ride the bullet train with me as planned. We found the center very user friendly and it was overall a simple process. We left all of his application materials in a process that took about thirty minutes, and we will come back tomorrow to pick up his passport.

With that all taken care of we started off on our full day in Seoul. Our first stop was definitely my choice: the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. It had a mix of modern and traditional Korean art and was such a unique museum in how well it implemented technology. I mean, Samsung is in the name of the museum, so I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Our audio guides would start talking when we walked in front of a new work of art, and there were so many cool pieces throughout the museum! I loved it and Edward tolerated it / pretended to enjoy it for my benefit / I like to think he actually did enjoy it to some extent.

To even the score, though, our next stop was one that I tolerated and Edward thoroughly enjoyed: the War Memorial of Korea. Don’t get me wrong, it was very interesting and I definitely wanted to see it, but Edward is a HUGE World War II buff so I sat and watched while he read every description of every airplane and tank. I found the memorial itself to be very interesting though I wouldn’t have understood in the slightest anything that he was reading.

Our next stop was one that came to us courtesy of Facebook – the Blind Alley Café. While it might sound like a normal café I can assure you that it is not. Blind Alley is situated right in the heart of a university district and is home to many fun animal friends. Namely, the raccoons! While some people may not agree I think that raccoons are adorable and knew as soon as I heard of Blind Alley that we would have to visit. I loved how well taken care of that the raccoons were and I enjoyed seeing the other animals, like the pig and of course the dog, as well. We were both quite surprised when the raccoons were sat on our shoulders and it made for quite the funny photo op! After meeting with the raccoons we had a raccoon shaped shaved ice (of course) and then headed to our next stop, Deoksugung Palace.

Deoksugung Palace used to be home to members of the Korean royal family. We really enjoyed walking around the grounds and also got a glimpse of a traditional procession walking the grounds. It was very cool! We then walked all the way up Sejong-daero (daero means street) to get to Gwanghwamun Gate. Along the way we stopped and took a few pictures, like with Olympic animals (yes, again), the statue of King Sejong, and the U.S. Embassy. Gwanghwamun Gate is the largest gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was the royal palace during the Joseon dynasty and was built all the way back in 1395. There were many people interestingly dressed in traditional Korean clothing, called hanbok, to take pictures inside of the palace.

After the palace we headed right next door to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. There were not many current exhibitions but the ones that were on were quite interesting, including one powerful film on the Korean War. Afterwards we made our way to our last artsy stop of the day, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. It was such a cool building! Inside there were many fun design stores and outside we walked (for too long) to finally find the really cool LED flowers. They were unlike anything that I’ve seen and I was so glad that we found them.

By this point our feet were in a sad state and we started to make our way back towards ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong. Even with our sore feet we were able to enjoy the piano stairs that we happened upon in the metro - they played when you stepped on them! On the way to our hotel stopped in the Myeongdong district once again. I bought one of the adorable Olympic animals (I might have a problem?) at Lotte Department Store before we visited Star Avenue which is basically a walkway celebrating K-Pop. From there we headed to eat some very tasty dumplings for dinner. After dinner we bought some Oreo churros and yes, they were as good as they sound. It was a very long, full, day but it was fantastic from start to finish. We saw so much and I’m looking forward to another day in Seoul tomorrow!

Day 3 – The Palaces

Today we had a few last stops in Seoul before making our way to China. We started the day by heading to the Bukchon Hanok Village. The Bukchon Hanok Village is a preserved traditional village. We then split a tasty grilled cheese in a little spot that we found on our walk before we went to Changdeokgung Palace. Changdeokgung Palace is one of the five Grand Palaces built during the Joseon Dynasty. It was very large and felt even bigger because it connected to the second palace that we visited today, Changgyeonggung Palace. I really enjoyed visiting them both and overall have really enjoyed visiting and learning about all of the palaces in Seoul. They have been unlike anything else that I have seen before and were so interesting!

Our next stop was Jongmyo Shrine, but it was unfortunately closed so we instead made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags and then headed to the Chinese visa center. Our fingers were crossed, and we were quite anxious to see how Edward’s visa predicament would turn out. Luckily, we got there and were given his passport, visa inside, straight away! It was so easy to do and saved us a huge hassle in China. From the visa center we crossed the street to Seoul Station and reluctantly made our way towards the airport. We did not want to leave Seoul!

Luckily, Seoul wasn’t done impressing us yet. When we arrived at the airport there was a full on K-Pop performance going on, because of course there was, so we watched that for a bit. We then headed to a lounge where we had a full meal. On our way there we passed a nap zone which made me wish that every other airport in the world were that thoughtful. Our last fun Seoul Airport encounter was the string quartet playing in the middle of the terminal. They were even playing the Frozen soundtrack as we boarded our train to out gate! South Korea definitely went out with a bang and I already cannot wait to come back. It was one of my favorite stops so far and I absolutely loved it!

102 countries down, 94 to go.

To learn more about ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Myeongdong click here.

Country #101 - Japan

Day 1 - THE CRAZY ROUND TRIP FLIGHT

I’ve reached a point in my travels where, I guess thankfully, I have started to run out of easy countries to visit. But this has also become a bit of a hassle. According to the rules set in place by Guinness, every two weeks I must travel to another country. I’ve hit a time in my trip where I need a little more time to plan things out and raise money, and I unfortunately no longer have any countries that I can easily visit to reset the clock. So today I went to Japan, passed through immigration, found witnesses, had my picture taken, and then got right back on a direct flight home. This sounds absolutely insane; trust me, I am aware. But I really have no other options. Flying to Japan on a cheap round trip same day flight allows me to buy myself two more weeks of planning for my next (very long) trip, and will definitely be worth it in the long run. I also had to make this decision once my original plans fell through. I was supposed to be visiting Venezuela right now but ran into problems securing my visa. As a result I had not choice but to make a last minute visit to Japan.

This was definitely the easiest trip to pack for so far! With just my backpack in tow I headed to DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) Airport and made my way to my gate. I enjoyed checking out the lounge in the international terminal (terminal D) for the first time before my flight. I then boarded and found my place in premium economy. I flew on an American Airlines family pass so I was lucky enough to be seated in a premium economy seat. This was the first time I have ever had premium economy so it was quite interesting to see all of the differences. I really did enjoy it overall but it has its limitations as well.

I had a second row window seat and spent most of the outgoing flight trying to work on my blog and to continue to catch up on things from my last long trip. I watched a few movies as well, and really enjoyed the food in premium economy. It was much more similar to that of business and included free drinks as well. The flight actually went by quite quickly! I tried to use the international in flight wifi but it worked so poorly that I requested (and was granted) a refund. I have found wifi to usually work pretty well on American domestic flights to I thought it was worth a shot! I was still able to get plenty done without it.

When I landed in Japan (approximately 13 hours later) it was now in the wee hours of the morning back home. I called my brother, who was somehow still awake, and talked to him on the very long walk from the plane to immigration. I was so excited to be in Japan, even if just for a few hours, as it is where I will be going on my next actual trip and my brother will be joining then as well! After the very long walk I went through immigration very quickly (they had cool machines that I had never seen before that would scan your fingers and take your picture) and then I headed out to try and find some witnesses to prove that I had visited.

Luckily, they found me! They were two very kind young Japanese men who were actually doing surveys of foreign tourists. I unfortunately was no help to them (they were specifically looking for Europeans) but they were very helpful in being my witnesses. I ran into them a bit later (after I checked in for my flight back and walked around the departures hall for a bit) and had one of them take my picture. They were so very kind and interested in my trip, and I really enjoyed meeting them!

After about an hour outside of the airside area I then went back through immigration and wandered through the duty free shops. I loved all of the cute Japanese products and can already tell that it is going to be so hard to restrain myself from buying tons of souvenirs when I’m back in two weeks. My one purchase on this short trip seemed pretty appropriate, though. A Tokyo 2020 shirt! I am a huge fan of the Olympics and since the winter games are on right now it only seemed fitting. I also am really hoping to visit Japan again in 2020 to go to the Olympics so now I’m prepared!

After shopping around I then made the long walk back towards my gate. I stopped in a shop that had some crazy Japanese flavored Kit Kats (like green tea!) that I will definitely have to try when I’m back in a few weeks. When I got to my gate I continued to stand and walk around to help keep the blood flowing in my legs. I wanted to help myself out as much as possible before getting on another incredibly long flight! Eventually, it was time to board and I received another premium economy seat. This time I was in the front row of the section, which actually makes a huge difference! The front row has leg rests that actually extend from the chair itself and are super comfortable. I was able to sleep for about six hours and watched a few more movies.

I landed back in Dallas only a little over twenty-four hours after leaving. This was, without a doubt, one of the most bizarre days of my travels so far. But thanks to some fun rules that I have to follow it had to be done. I’m just glad that I had a fun time doing it, and that I got a glimpse into how great Japan will be in two weeks. I’m happy to now have a little time to plan before setting out again, and am very excited for my next trip to come. Six weeks in Asia, here I come!

Day 2 - The Actual Trip to Japan

Today I boarded yet another direct flight from the United States to Tokyo, and this time I plan to stay for a bit! It is my brother, Edward’s, spring break from university so he is going to be joining me for the first ten days of this trip in Japan, South Korea, and China. After he leaves I will have about five more weeks on my own where I will be traveling to every country in Asia. I’m so excited for this trip as I have said since the very beginning that the region of the world that I’m most excited for is Asia as I have never been anywhere like it before. I’m so glad that it is finally here!

Edward flew in from Nashville last night and we had a hectic evening of packing and repacking. A six week trip in two tiny carry-on bags will be no easy feat! This morning was very busy as well with lots still left for me to do before our 11am flight. We were definitely running late but ended up having enough time once we got to the airport. We flew on American Airlines family passes and when we checked in the nice man at the counter actually remembered working with our grandmother who retired over twenty years ago. I definitely have a pretty unique last name so I guess that is how he remembered, but it was still a super cool coincidence.

We ended up getting great seats in economy for the long flight. We had the first row and there was no one next to Edward and I was seated in the aisle. It was more than enough room for the 13 hours! We each watched quite a few movies and slept for a bit as well. The flight went by relatively quickly (well, after about four movies I guess) and before I knew it I was back in the same airport I had to rush through only two weeks ago. But this time I was here to stay!

I had been telling Edward about how easy immigration had been on my last trip when we ran into a giant mess of a line. It was literally the antithesis of the line I had to wait in last time. Instead of being non-existent it was massive and very unorganized! It took us over an hour (the beginning of which was very uncomfortable as people were pushing and shoving) to finally make it into Japan. Once we did we had our next challenge at hand: figuring out the trains.

Here’s a little tip - if you are visiting Japan for the first time, be prepared to be very, very confused by the rail system. There are like three different companies that run rail and metro lines in the city and it was very confusing to understand at first. I might give it the honor of being the least intuitive public transit that I have ever used, even. And I have used quite a lot of it. Once we got the hang of it it was very easy but in the beginning, it was just so overwhelming.

We wanted to take the slower, cheaper train into the city but it was very difficult to tell which one that was. We just barely missed the first train (as we weren’t sure it was ours and didn’t want to hop on the wrong train) so we had to wait about an hour for the next one. Which I spent trying to figure out the trains so at least it wasn’t an hour wasted. The train ride in was about another hour which we both spent trying, and failing, to keep from nodding off. I eventually just let Edward sleep until we arrived at Tokyo station.

Things did not get any less confusing upon our arrival into the city. After attempting to figure out the metro, thinking we had it figured out, and then not being able to find a place to buy tickets, we eventually gave up and headed above ground to take an Uber to our hotel. At this point , our ineptitude largely had more to do with our extreme sleep deprivation than anything else, and we eventually realized that we just needed to get to our hotel and crash as soon as possible.

The unfortunate thing about Uber in Japan is that, at least right now, only premium services are available. Which meant our five minute Uber was about $15. So, until Uber becomes more mainstream, I highly recommend using it only in unique cases (like sleep deprivation). We arrived at our hotel, a tiny spot in the heart of the city, and fell asleep not long after. It was a cramped room but we definitely could not have cared less after such a long day. The day ended on a pretty funny note, though, as it was Edward’s first time seeing one of the crazy Japanese style automatic toilets and he had no idea how to use it. He couldn’t get it to stop flushing and the whole ordeal was pretty entertaining!

While it was a bit of a stressful beginning to out time in Japan I’m willing to chalk most of it up to our tiredness. I’m so excited to be in Japan and really looking forward to what is to come when we explore tomorrow!

Day 3 - The Tokyo Drizzle

Well, it was quite the first day of the trip! We got a relatively early start to the day and, after having spent plenty of time researching the metro and trains last night, I was ready to start the day and take on Tokyo’s transit. Our hotel was just a short walk from the nearest metro station. After finding the correct entrance we ran into a bit of an issue (the machines don’t take foreign cards) but it was actually pretty entertaining because a little peephole opened up and an actual person handed me my card back. It was pretty cool, honestly! We found an ATM, bought a 1-day card that covers all of the trains in the city, and were on our way. Now that we had everything figured out the transit was a breeze for the rest of the day!

Our first stop of the day was the Asuka neighborhood which is home to the Sensō-ji Temple and other historic and significant buildings. It was a great first stop as it was about as traditional of a Japanese sight as we would see all day. It was so interesting to see my first Buddhist temple (of many to come) and to begin to learn about the different practices. I also really enjoyed walking around the Asuka area and looking in the cool little stalls. Our next stop was to grab a quick bite to eat. We headed to Ichiran Asakusa which served ramen and other small dishes. You ordered out of a vending machine (which was super cool) and then received a ticket. The food was then brought to the table! We shared one large bowl with a few sides. I have to say, for my first real ramen, it was pretty tasty!

The next area that we visited was Ueno Onshi Park. Unfortunately, by this time, it had started to rain, and our supposedly beautiful walk through the park was quite wet and dreary. But I could see that it was a very nice park when the weather is nice! After wandering around Uneo Oshi Park, we took the metro to our next destination, Akihabara, where Edward really wanted to make a stop. The area is basically one huge shopping area for all things associated with anime, manga, and video games. He wanted to buy his friends a few small presents, and I also enjoyed taking in the overstimulation of the area. It was crazy but really cool, too! We went to a few different stores and the number of figurines of different characters was truly amazing. They had everything!

After Uneo Oshi Park and Akihabara we realized two things: that we needed to get out of the rain, and that I needed a new rain jacket. I got a new coat for this trip but realized once it started to pour that the hood basically did not work at all. So we hit two birds with one stone and made our way to the Ginza area, which is basically the High Street of Tokyo. We decided to visit Uniqlo in Ginza as it is home to their flagship store, which is actually one of the ten largest flagship stores of any brand in the world. And I could definitely tell! Once inside it was ten floors of clothes. And it was quite a cool store as well! I found an inexpensive, lightweight jacket, and we also bought a few inexpensive t-shirts. They had Shanghai Disney t-shirts which I figured would be much better to buy inexpensively now than to actually buy at Disney. So it was quite the productive little stop! And by the time we left the rain had let up as well. It was a win-win!

Our next stop was just a short walk down the road to the Kabukiza Theater. I’ve heard the story from my grandmother many times of her visit to the Kabukiza Theater over 30 years ago, so it was cool to see it for myself! We bought a ticket to a short 30-minute act of the play that was ongoing. I really appreciated the ticket setup where you can just see a short snippet to get a glimpse of the theater and the shows. It was a traditional Japanese show (completely in Japanese) but we were able to follow along with the English pamphlet. After the show, we visited the Tsukji Market which is famous for its fish market, though it was mostly closed up by mid-day when we visited.

From the market, we headed to the metro to make our way across town to Chidorigafuchi Park to attempt to see the cherry blossoms. We were, unfortunately, quite disappointed as they were not yet in bloom. We must have missed them by just a few days as it is technically the beginning of the season. We then tried to visit the National Garden which unfortunately was closed earlier than it had listed online. After two failed stops our next stop was thankfully just barely still open. The guard was very nice and let us and another few tourists in right before he closed the gate to visit Meiji Jingu Shrine! It was quite an eerie walk up the long pathway to the shrine as the sun was going down and it was starting to rain again, but it was cool all the same. The shrine itself was very interesting to see and was a highlight of the day. I’m very thankful to the guard for allowing us to visit! It was a rushed visit but we were able to see the entirety of the shrine and take pictures as well.

While our walk up to the shrine had been eerie, our walk back out was downright creepy. There were no other people in sight, it was getting quite dark, and, all of the sudden, sirens started to blare in the distance. Given our current location in the world I could think of two things: either there was an earthquake or North Korea had done something. But after searching online for any explanation we still have no idea what that was about. Anyways, creepy sirens aside, we then made our way back to the metro to visit Takeshita Street, a pedestrian street lined with cute stores and unique foods. We were determined to try two different delicacies: the giant rainbow cotton candy and the creme brulee crepe!

The giant cotton candy was our first stop at a store called Totti Candy Factory. It was truly giant! It was so crazy and very fun to attempt to eat. We were both quite the mess afterwards! We then stopped in a few adorable shops (where I bought some cute socks and a little Monsters Inc. outfit for one of my dogs… I am such a sucker for cute things) and then found the crepe shop that serves creme brulee crepes! Unfortunately, we were almost out of cash for the day so we decided to just split one. It was so good I could have eaten many by myself - I definitely recommend them! We had them at a place called Com Crepe Sibuya.

By this point in the day we were both struggling to even walk. My feet were killing me and we still had plans to go to the Samurai Museum. I somehow convinced Edward that our feet (and sanity) were more important to maintain since we still had a whole week ahead of us, so we then made our way to the Shibuya Crossing Intersection instead. It was so cool! I had, of course, seen the crossing before, but I couldn’t believe how crazy it actually was, especially with the unfortunate weather bearing down. There were people, and cars, everywhere, and the district itself was very cool and filled with shopping and tons of light up signage. Edward had picked out a spot for dinner but we unfortunately could not find it anywhere until we finally found a sign saying it had closed. We were now reaching peak exhaustion and just wandered into the restaurant next door. We had been searching for somewhere serving Japanese food but somehow ended up in an Italian restaurant (the signage outside was very deceiving). I offered to leave if Edward wanted to find another spot, but he was so tired he had no desire to try and find somewhere else. So, we had Italian food. It was okay but the best part was definitely just being able to get off of our feet.

After quite the busy day in Tokyo we then took one final metro ride back to our hotel. We are exhausted and have to wake up relatively early to fly to South Korea in the morning. It was definitely a short visit to Japan, and there is so much more that I want to see in the future, but the good news is that we both are seriously planning on being back for the Olympics in 2020. So, despite the lingering rain all day, thanks to Tokyo for a great day: we can’t wait to be back soon!

101 countries down, 95 to go

Country #100 - Sweden

The 100th Country!!!!!

I’m excited to be back in Sweden for many reasons, but the most important is that I have finally hit 100 countries!!!! It has been a crazy past eight months and it is honestly hard to believe that I have made it this far, but here we are! I’m now officially been to 100 countries and am more than halfway to visiting them all. It is an exciting milestone for sure, and I can’t wait to keep going!

Sweden seemed like an appropriate country to be number 100 for a few reasons First and most importantly it fit that way on my schedule. But for more sentimental reasons it was a perfect fit. Sweden is actually the first country that I ever visited on my own. Almost two years exactly to the day I flew from London to Gothenburg, spent a day in Gothenburg, and then flew to Stockholm for a few days before heading to Finland. It was an amazing experience and I like to think it helped to spark all of this!

I only had a few hours to enjoy Stockholm this morning. I wish I had more time but it’s unfortunately a Monday so most things would have been closed if I stayed an extra day, and tomorrow I would have to deal with flight connections instead of a direct flight to the US so I made the difficult choice of only one day in Stockholm.

I started my day by getting a great night of sleep and then having a nice breakfast at Hotel Rival. Afterwards I walked just down the street from the hotel to Monteliusvägen, which offers an amazing view out over the entirety of Stockholm. It is a great path to walk along and totally worth it just for the amazing views! I then took the T just two stops to Galma Stan (the Old Town). Gamla Stan is fantastic - it is basically a tiny island in the middle of Stockholm that is home to countless tiny shops and restaurants.

I had about an hour to spare and I spent it walking around Galma Stan. I really enjoyed just walking along the streets and going to the stores, and also got a hot chocolate from a great spot called Kaffekoppen. I got mine to go but I recommend sitting down as it is a cool place inside. To finish up my visit to Galma Stan I headed in a store that I realized was the store that I bought my current hat in last time I was in Stockholm: it was quite the coincidence!

I decided to buy myself a new hat since this one has been through the ringer for the past two years, and also to help celebrate country number 100! The brand is Sätila and it’s pretty cool as it is a Swedish brand that has been around since 1896. I also really love that they include a tiny text on the inside of the hat that tells you who actually knitted it. I also bought a cute Swedish ram stuffed animal (yes, it’s for me..) to commemorate my 100th country. I’ve found over my two trips here that Stockholm is basically an endless money pit. I don’t know what it is, maybe all of the cute stores, but money seems to go much quicker in Stockholm than most places I’ve been!

After my walk around Galma Stan I then headed back to Mariatorget where I stopped in the Sandqvist store. I bought my first Sandqvist backpack two years ago at this store and still absolutely love it. I bought another to use on my trip and it has been great for everything that I have needed. I love the Swedish brand and couldn’t leave without stopping by and looking around. I bought a tiny pouch that matches my backpack that I’m going to use to store my extra foreign money keepsakes in.

I then made my way back to Rival Hotel to grab my bags and then took the T back to the central station. I unfortunately missed the first train to the airport by just a few seconds (I would have made it if the signs in the station had been accurate - they listed that it was running seven minutes late but it definitely was not). The next train left fifteen minutes later. I wasn’t late to the airport but I definitely wasn’t early. The line for security was very short but then the line for passport control was over thirty minutes long. It was not ideal but I eventually made it through! I was totally fine, though, because my flight ended up boarding and departing about thirty minutes late.

I’m flying straight from Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) to LAX. It’s a long flight but at only around $180 is quite the bargain, as all my transatlantic flights with Norwegian tend to be. I’ll land around 4pm, and then take a flight from LAX to Dallas. Good news is I have a whole row to myself on the ten-hour flight! When I get back I’ll spend the next few weeks in Dallas really working to make the rest of my trip happen. I’ve gotten it all logistically planned, but I still have to get the financial situation figured out. I know that it’s possible, but the next few weeks will be all about making it a reality! After my time in the US I plan on starting the Asian leg of my trip. Asia is the region that I have been most looking forward to since starting my trip, and I am so excited for it!

This past month of travel has been so crazy. It’s been stressful but it has also been fantastic. I have met amazing people all along the way; whether it be on a train in Hungary, the airport in Guinea-Bissau, or a hotel in Algeria, I have really enjoyed getting to meet so many people. I have really enjoyed these countries as well. I won’t miss the indoor smoking in the Balkans but I will miss learning about such a unique region. I’ve officially finished up with Europe so I am of course going to miss it, but I know I will be back someday so it is thankfully not too difficult to say goodbye for now. I also began my time in Africa, and along with doing so my level of worry for that part of my trip has decreased as I have only had incredible experiences so far. It’s been an amazing month, but I’m excited to go home for a bit and take a nice, long nap!

100 countries down, 96 to go.

To learn more about Rival Hotel click here.

Country #99 - Armenia

The Sprint Through Yerevan

Today I overslept. It was kind of on purpose but also not really. I was planning on sleeping for four hours, which would have been until 10:30am given my late arrival last night. But I slept about an hour more, which left me with only an hour to see the city when all was said and done. It was unfortunate, because I really wanted to see more of Yerevan, but also necessary because I had no sleep and hadn’t showered in two days. I can’t thank Tufenkian Heritage Hotels for providing such a great room for getting caught up on some much-needed sleep! It was, apparently, a very comfortable bed that was quite the struggle to get up from.

Once I did finally get up there was lots of music that I could hear right outside of my window. It turns out that Tufenkian Heritage Hotels was located right next door to Vernissage, a big open-air market set up. It was a nice first stop on what would be a whirlwind tour of the city. I stopped by the front desk to drop off my luggage where I enjoyed talking with the staff for a bit. They were great! One of the best parts about Tufenkian Heritage Hotels was that I was in a really great location in the Yerevan that would allow me to see as much as possible in about an hour.

From Vernissage I walked to Republic Square. It’s one of the main areas of the city and when it isn’t freezing outside is home to a really cool fountain show! From what I read it sounded like a smaller version of the fountains in Dubai, so I’m sad to have missed it. I took lots of pictures in Republic Square before heading to my next destination: Charles Aznavour Square. It was another nice square though not as large but was also very busy.

From there I headed to Freedom Square, which is in front of the Opera House and has large statues out front. At this point, I was almost up on time and had to head back to the hotel. I walked back along Northern Avenue which was filled with people and seemed to be the main shopping street. I also stopped to read a bit about the Armenian Genocide. My biggest regret in Yerevan was not having enough time to visit the Armenian Genocide Museum and memorial area. It was interesting to learn a little just by what I was able to read in town, and I definitely recommend that you read more about it on your own as I did. I had heard of it before but had no idea just how large in size or scope that it was.

When I arrived back at the hotel I had a few minutes to spare and walked back through the Vernissage market before calling a taxi and heading back to the airport. I encountered a lot of people who spoke English well but my taxi driver didn’t even understand airport so I think that was a first for me. I had to show him on my phone after my failed attempts to act out an airplane taking off.

I do wish that I had had more time in Armenia, but once again it all came down do flight scheduling and timing. I would love to spend more time exploring the country in the future as well as a few others in the region that I had to rush through, so hopefully, at some point, I can make it back!

The airport had a really nice lounge where I ate lunch and was able to look out and see my gate so I knew exactly when to board. My flight was to Kiev, Ukraine, and from there I would have a two-hour layover before flying to Stockholm, Sweden. I slept on the first flight, ate chicken in a lounge in Kiev for dinner, and then worked on blog posts on the second flight. The second flight thankfully didn’t feel too long, and before I knew it I was landing in Stockholm. I took the Arlanda Express train from the airport to the city, and then took the metro (called the T) from Stockholm Central Station to my hotel, Rival Hotel.

Rival Hotel is in a great area called Mariatorget. I was there in about five minutes by metro, and then a two-minute walk from the metro station. My room was absolutely fantastic! It had a great balcony (though it was a bit too cold to enjoy given that it was snowing) and was all around just so unique while being luxurious as well. I really liked the cool light fixture that gave the room a lot of character. There was also a DVD and CD collection in the room to enjoy, a sound system that worked throughout the room and the bathroom, and an amazing shower and tub. Thank you so much to Rival Hotel for sponsoring this night of my trip. I look forward to getting a great night sleep before having a few hours to explore Stockholm tomorrow!

99 countries down, 97 to go.

To learn more about Tufenkian Heritage Hotels click here.

To learn more about Rival Hotel click here.